Catch My Breath

Chapter One

Maxine

I struggle against the arms around my waist. I stamp my foot and gnash my teeth.

"Let me go, Alec!" I demand. "This is captivity!"

"Max, you can't go," my brother says. "You have to stay here."

"But I don't like here!" I say. "And besides, I'm just going to see a friend before the Reaping!"

"And what are you planning on doing with this friend?" Alec asks.

"We are going to talk and wish each other luck!" I say. I pry at his fingers until they let me go.

"Why?" my older brother asks.

"Because I can't just stay here!"

Alec huffs and crosses his arms over his chest. "You aren't even ready for the Reaping, which is in an hour!" He grabs my shoulders and pushes me into my room.

"You say that like you want me to go to the Reaping!" I scream at the door.

"I don't," he calls. "But we don't have a choice." I hear his footsteps echo around the house as he heads to his room.

---

"Your mom actually let you do that?" I ask.

"Yep." Bax pops another grape into his mouth.

"That is so weird." I roll the purple oval between my fingers before finally eating it.

"Yeah." My best friend stares off into the horizon. No doubt thinking.

In the silence, I decide to ask a question. "So, how many times is your name in today?"

Bax doesn't answer at first. He just keeps staring. Finally, he says, "Thirty-six." He takes a side glance at me. "You?"

"Forty-five." I laugh. "This is absurd."

He nods in agreement. "If we could just run away. Go out into the line between the districts. That would be great."

I tuck a loose strand of red hair behind my ear. "It would," I start, "but what would we do then?"

"Worst comes to worst, we live in a neighboring district." Bax picks a little dandelion out of the ground as he talks. "No one will know our names. We could be new people!"

"I would love that," I say. I take a look back, trying to see District 10, but only getting a view of grass. "But I can't leave my family." I sigh. "And even if I left without them, Alec would find me and kill me."

Bax lets out a little laugh. "Yeah, your overprotective brother is so going to kill you for trying to keep yourself safe." He puts another grape into his mouth.

I nod and smile.

I see Bax look over at me. I move my eyes so I can see him.

"You look so beautiful," he says.

I blush involuntarily. He's just my friend! It's not like I have this crush on him!

Or do I?

"Thanks," I say. "You look pretty darn hansom yourself."

And he does. His white button-down shirt is tucked neatly into the waistband of his black dress pants; his hair is sleeked back with water. His green eyes pierce my dull gray ones.

He chuckles and looks back at the horizon. I can't tell what he's thinking, but he has a sad look in his eyes. Like he's afraid of something.

I finally ask him. "What's on your mind?"

He turns his head to look at me. He looks into my eyes for a few second. I look at his facial expressions to see if I can sense what he's thinking. But his face shows nothing.

And then he kisses me.

It's just a little kiss. Didn't last for more than half a second. But it happened. Bax Gunther, my life-long best friend, just kissed me.

He pulls back. I can see a blush on his cheeks. He never blushes. I didn't know that I had that affect on him.

"Sorry," he says. "I had to do that. In case something happens at the Reaping." I nod in understanding.

///

This is a fanfiction based off of the Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins. I don't own the name Hunger Games or anything else that's in the real books, but I do own most of the characters.

I hope you all enjoy this story! I hope you like it! If you don't, then go read something else. That simple.

Bye! Until next chapter!