If It Means A Lot To You (A Hunger Games Au)

Chapter 1

Niall woke up to his brother shaking his shoulder gently. He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, letting them adjust to the morning sun. He blinked at his brother, wondering why the hell he was in his dress shirt... oh.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Greg said softly, moving Niall's fringe out of his face. He smiled softly, leaning into his older brother's touch. "Morning."

"It'll be useless for to go hunt today, yeah? Just stay here." Niall nodded.

Greg patted Niall's knee before standing up from the bed, "Big day."

"My ass."Niall tugged Greg back by the arm, pulling him in for a hug, "Hey."

"Hey."

"You made it." Greg smiled, pulling back to look at his younger brother, his expression faltering a bit when he realised, "But you-"

"I'll be alright. I always am."

"You better be. Now, come on. Up you get."

*

Just a few weeks before the reaping, Greg had turned eighteen, which meant he was to just pass this reaping and... and well... that was it really. He could forget abut waking up to the dreadful day every morning, instead waking up to the calm and quiet day of District 12 and work. 

Niall had thought about how his brother was to be cut from this heavy chain linking him to the horrible games; just this reaping. That's it.

His thoughts turned to this year's arena and the tributes. He thought about the two years he had left, the years left that evey child in the districts. He stayed in just as Greg asked him to, helped his mother with breakfast, and even with dinner. When they were ready to leave, she kissed his cheek and hugged him, repeatedly telling him how proud she was of him, and that she loved him and "I'll see you for dinner." 

That was when Greg and Niall made the way to "the floor".

It was stationed in front of the stage where all the possible tributes stood until they were called out.

Niall thought about Greg being in the stands the following year, big blue eyes clouded with worry. He perked up at the thought of his brother getting throught this years and his final reaping. 

The blonde boy stood with the other seventeen-year-old boys waiting for Caroline (capital mentor) to step up to the micophone stand. He rolled his eyes when the anthem started playing, not paying the slightest attention to the video.

Soon enough, he watched as Caroline walked over to the bowl with the girl's slips in it. She reached in and dug around before pulling her hand out, a simple white slip with a single black piece of tape on it. Walking back to the mike, she opened the slip, letting a moment pass.

"Marley Cains."

The boy looked over to the girls, watching as the fifteen-year-old tried her hardest not to fall off stage, wiping the very few tears that gathered up in her eyes. Caroline left the girl in the center of the stage, walking over to the opposite bowl.

This time, it seemed like she wasted no time in picking a slip, pulling it out quickly and going back to the center of the stage.

Opening the slip with shaky hands, she smiles unsure before reading it out loud,

"Greg Horan."