74 Years of Bad Luck - Gale Hawthorne X Reader

Chapter 2: twelves reaping of the century

Everyone stood in there age groups as Effie trinket did her little speech. I didn't listen much untill she said those dreaded words.

"as always, ladies first." I watched intently as she walked over to the bowl and picked a folded card out. She unfolded the card and breathed in. "Annabelle brooks." I gasped as I heard the name. I knew her. She's only 12 just barely eligible for the games.

"I volunteer as tribute!" I shouted I didn't think after that. I ran up to Annabelle and kissed her head. " Visit me before I go." I whispered then jogged up the stairs and stood next to Effie.

"What's your name dear?" She asked.

"Y/n Ryder." I said adopting by blunt tone.

"Now for the males." She lowered her hand into the bowl and slowly pulled a card out and opened it once again. "Rory Hawthorne." My head jerked to gale and my eyes started to water. Suddenly his hand shot up.

"I volunteer as tribute!" He shouted and my hands flew to my mouth and I became weak in the knees. He came on stage but instead of going on the other side of Effie he came and imedeately embraced me in a hug. "I'm sorry I had to." He whispered.

"Name please?" She asked.

"Gale, gale Hawthorne." He said.

Ohh, I'll bet my buttons that was your brother. So brave. Well here we have it two volunteers "y/n Ryder and gale Hawthorne."

I walked off the stage tears streaming down my face. I could barely see and I just wanted to scream. I can't believe what gale did. I tripped as I walked through the justice building but a peace keeper caught me and put me into a room where I would get final visits.

Annabelle walked into the room. She was the last visitor after the Everdeens, Hawthornes and even the mellarks who I had visited hundreds of times in the bakery and had grown close with.

"Why did you save me?" She asked as I embraced her small figure.

"Your too young and you have a family I wouldn't have let anyone go and play those games. It needed to be me this time." I said.

"Thank you." She said and I just continued to hug her until the time was up.

I was taken to the train along with gale and we started going to the capital. I was in my room in the train but I decided I needed to talk to gale. I walked out and sat next to gale as close as I possibly could without sitting on top of him.

"Gale why." Was all I could say but I knew why. gale knew I didn't come for an answer. He knew I came for comfort so he pulled me onto his lap and just held me as I cried the hardest I have ever cried in my entire life. Gale was crying too. we just gave our lives to save so many peoples suffering.

I never thought I could feel so much pain for saving a life but it was at the cost of my own and gale's.

"I'm sorry." Gale said.

"It's going to be okay we can make it through this." I replied with I lot more fury than I knew I had.

"Are the two of you up for a meal?" Effie asked.

"I guess." I suprised myself with my answer but gale agreed so we went to a table full of food.

"Eat up tomorrow is going to be a big big big day." Just her voice alone made me lose my appetite but I ate a bit. I was already used to starvation because Im an orphan living in the hob. I decided not to build up an appetite in the next week as I'll be starving after that so after a few spoonfuls of soup and a roll I just pick the mint leaf garnish off of a desert and start to chew it.

Later that night as I was heading to bed haymitch finally arrived to dinner. He took a drink out of his little flask of alcohol then passed out right in front of me. I caught him just before his head hit the ground. I set the rest of him on the ground and left to my room to wash all the problems off of me in the luxurious shower.

Once I was done I disguarded my old clothes for a night dress that synched at the waist. Not the most comfortable thing to wear to bed but that's all they had.

Instead of going to bed I went out of my room and sat on the cushioned seats around the perimeter of the train. Gale must have heard me leave my room because I was joined a moment later by him in his pajamas.

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you in a dress." Gale remarked.

"It's a nightgown and it's really uncomfortable." I said as I began to yawn. Gale yawned shortly after and we decided nothing more needed to be said so we went to bed.

As soon as my door closed I took the nightgown off and threw in on the ground and just got into the bed not bothering to put anything else on.

In the middle of the night I woke up to a crash and I threw on the nightgown and left my room to find haymitch had dropped an entire bottle of alcohol on the ground.

"Sorry." He mumbled and I just pushed him back to bed nearly tripping over my nightgown. Unbeknownst to me gale was watching the whole thing. Admiring the nightgown that hugged my figure in all the right places. He knew I had taken it off to go to bed because I accidentally put it on backwards.

"Your nightgown is on backwards." He finally said as he went back into his room. I once again tore the gown off of me and went to bed again. These beds were so soft. I thought as I drifted back to sleep only to wake up the next morning to Effie opening my windows so the light shone through.

"Today is a big big big day!" Effie said.