children of victors

Names

~one year later~

The day after they met, Katniss and Peeta did not feel ready for the 73rd Reaping. Obviously, they were physically ready: their nice clothes had been pressed and their muscles slightly ached from the hard work out from the previous morning. They followed all protocol to enter the dreaded ropes that disconnected possibly-Reaped children from people who were safe. Their nerves were through the roof, but being able to look into the crowd of underfed children and seeing their friend's hopeful eyes made the experience a little more bearable. Luckily, their names weren't called this time and it was guaranteed that they were home safe for another year. Peeta and Katniss happily followed their families' tradition of cooking food and baking treats for everyone in the district. The Victor's children walked around town and handed cookies to the children and dishes to their parents while the Mellark and Everdeen parents would go comfort the families of the tributes. Usually, the two older Victors of District Twelve who weren't mentoring would go with the families and deal with the tears, denial, and anger. Most times, their kindness was able to get through to them. 

Neither Katniss nor Peeta is willing to admit how awkward it was to give out the food with their families and feelings ashamed that they hadn't talked before. They whispered here and there about their return home the night before. Katniss was able to climb her tree easily and make little noise as she entered her room, slipping into bed as quickly as she could. Peeta, on the other hand, was caught by his little sister, Prim. She normally has nightmares and would sleep with either her parents or Peeta. That night, she had a want for her big brother and the safe feeling he brought her. They had pinky promised not to tell their parents about being up so late, but Peeta was home free for the time being. He knew Prim wouldn't spill his secret out to his parents so he wasn't that worried. Katniss was. Her father always has nightmares, which meant her mother was awake most hours of the night comforting him. Sometimes, he felt comforted by waking his children and asking to hold them for a while. Katniss appreciated these times with her father, but her older brother did not. Gale Everdeen had won his own Games at the age of eighteen and felt that he couldn't comfort his father any longer. He had his own set of nightmares and struggles. Gale also lived in his own house, usually having his girlfriend over for the night or two. Either way, Katniss was the only one left her father could go to to get comfort after a nightmare and she was worried about the thought of him coming into her room and not finding her in her bed. She was more worried about how her absence would worry him rather than getting in trouble with her parents. 

Katniss and Peeta expressed these worries to each other as Prim ran around the street, handing out cookies to other children. These small yet deep conversations are what started their friendship. Their small, awkward conversations slowly turned into long, serious discussions that helped them see one another for who they really were. 

This change happened over the course of the next year. Katniss and Peeta slowly became best friends, which was something they knew was dangerous for children of Victors. They understood that the Capitol was constantly dangling their lives over their heads every second of the day, but they couldn't care less. They were enjoying their last year as children, which wouldn't last long, and would find happiness to enjoy after their last reaping. They had hope for and in each other.

The two routinely spent afternoons together playing chess or baking, going to the woods to relax or to hunt. The company they gained from each other was something they never truly had before. No one from their school understood them like each other. No one was a child of a victor. No one understood waking up in the middle of the night from your father screaming after a nightmare or why your parents pushed you so hard during training for the Hunger Games. His best friend had been Rye and with him gone, his friends began treating him differently, like he was a delicate flower ready to wilt with one piece of bad weather. When they weren't being too sweet to Peeta, they were talking about wrestling and girls, which were two things Peeta enjoyed but wasn't stressed about. Peeta was number one in wrestling, even beating out his older brother the year before he was called into the Games and he knew every girl was obsessed with him, but he wasn't one to brag and his brother brought bad memories to wrestling now so none of these things were interesting enough to hold him steady throughout the day. He usually felt bored with his friends and didn't hang out with them outside of class. On the other hand, Katniss only had one really good friend, Madge, and they rarely spoke at school. They enjoyed the quiet time together at school and spent some time outside of school doing small activities together like playing the piano or fixing clothing for those in the district. Nowadays, Madge was hanging out with Gale more often since they began dating. Katniss didn't mind but felt the lack of social activity she had without time with Madge outside of school.