Gale's Story ~On Hold!~

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Mommy did you see Katniss in the opening festival?" Prim asked her mother during dinner.

"No, I didn't honey. What did she look like?" Mrs. Everdeen asked her kindly. She had actually watched parts of the festival, just not the whole thing, fearing that she would completely lapse back into the depression she was starting to come out of.

"You should have seen her! She was dressed in back and she was on fire!" Prim cried out, causing Mrs. Everdeen to fake a gasp.

"Well, she wasn't literally on fire, it was just her cape. It looked amazing though!" Rory piped in. He had been fascinated with the dress ever since he saw it in school when they played the recap.

"Aww, mommy she was beautiful!" Prim sighed, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"I believe you baby. Now, don't cry. Your sister will be home soon!" Mrs. Everdeen comforted her.

"What if she doesn't make it?" She asked choking back sobs.

"Catnip is one of the strongest tributes. She'll do everything she can to make it back out to us." My mother added. Prim then glanced at me, waiting to see what I had to say about this topic.

"They're right. Your sister and I hunted out in the woods every day. She has more experience than any other tribute, not to mention her strength. She'll come back home!" I told her soothingly, wondering who told Prim her sister wouldn't make it back out. That was the only possible reason she could be doubting her sisters promise.

"Are you sure?" She asked me trying to blink away her tears.

"Did your sister promise to come home?" I asked her. She nodded solemnly.

"Has she ever broken a promise?" I asked her now. I didn't want to have to promise her Katniss would come home, because it didn't depend on me, and it would just make us feel worse if both promises were broken.

As a reply Prim shook her head no.

"Then do you think Katniss will come home?" I questioned her carefully, trying to show that we all loved her.

Prim nodded briskly again before replying. "She will come home right? I won't lose her the way I lost daddy will I?" She asked me, tears starting to flow again.

"You definitely won't lose her the way we lost our dads." I told her, trying my hardest to keep my tears from starting to flow. Sending a glance at Rory I noticed he was having a hard time keeping his tears in too.

Walking over I pulled the two of them into a hug. "I promise Katniss will do everything she can to come back to us!" I told them, and this I was sure of.

Prim nodded slowly and I wiped her tears away with my finger. Pulling out of the hug I kissed both her and Rory's heads. I hated seeing them this way. I hated seeing everyone in pain, while there was almost nothing I could do to erase it. I wished there was something I could do for Prim. I loved her like my own sister. It killed me to watch everyone suffer.

"What about that boy?" Prim asked looking up at me.

"Yeah, what about the boy that Katniss was holding hands with?" Rory asked me and I looked up at our moms. Mrs. Everdeens and my moms faces were masked with worry and understanding.

"We don't know what will happen to the boy." My mom told them truthfully.

"So he'll probably die?" Roy asked her.

"Most likely, yes." Mrs. Everdeen answered this time.

"The rich boys said he would kill Katniss the first day!" Prim told us, confirming my suspicion from earlier.

"He wont kill Katniss!" My mom, Mrs. Everdeen and I snapped in unison.

"But, why would he hold her hand if he was going to kill her though?" Prim continued. "And why would Katniss let him hold her hand?"

The three of us shared a look. That thought hadn't even occured to me. Why had she lat the Mellark kid hold her hand? Why hadn't she pulled away? It was always a possibility that they were told to hold hands, but they could have been holding hands be free will. The thought worried me.

"We don't know why Katniss let the boy hold her hand." Mrs. Everdeen replied, studying my face. I knew our mothers wished I had already told Catnip I loved her. They both made it clear a while back that they hoped we would become a couple.

"Does she like him?" Rory asked now, causing us to exchange glances again.

"We don't know if Katniss likes him or not. We'll just have to wait and see." My mother replied this time.

"I thought she loved Gale." Prim added again. I didn't know how to react to this though. I sure hoped she loved me.

"We don't know who Katniss liked. All we know is that Gale loves her." Mrs. Everdeen explained, watching me to see if it was okay for her to tell them that. I nodded and she continued. "We'll see when she comes home."

"I hope Katniss and Gale end up together." Prim giggled. I rolled my eyes, not even waiting to know the thoughts going through her head.

"I think we all hope that!" My mother laughed, before the loud crackles of the TV silenced us, as we rushed into the living room.

President Snow was staring at us again, smiling that freaky evil smile of his. His hair was combed to the side, almost as white as snow now. He was twirling a white rose between his fingers.

"I'm just here to inform you that this year things will be a little different in the games. We'll be doing this a little differently this time." He paused to chuckle.

"Well, we'll see each other again when we show everyone the scores of the training next week. I have a feeling those scores will be as interesting as possible." He added cocking his head to the side so we were able to see the number 2 flash behind his head. It was signaling something to District 2.

"Until then, await the games as patiently as possible." He grinned, letting the tension settle upon all the viewers, before the TV screen crackled and went black all over again.

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I updated... Finally. :) Tell me what you think!

Thanks!