Fallen Flower(G.H)

Chapter One

"Gale." I groan. "Can't you at least tell me where we're going?" I ask hopefully.

"No that would run the surprise." He answers. I sigh dramatically and let him lead me down to our special spot in the woods. We all have one with each other. I've got one with Katniss, and he and Katniss have one. I smile and let him lead me to the blanket he laid out. Our spot is in the middle of a field that is well lit by the moon. He smiles and pulls me down into his lap. I giggle and wrap my arms around him. He smiles and we start eating in relative silence. "Your father gave me these."

"That was nice of him." I say absently.

"Yeah I went to ask him something. I was thinking after the next reaping..." Gale trails off and clears his throat.

"Yes." I answer turning to look at him.

"If you possibly wanted to get married?" He asks before doing a double take. "Really?"

"Yes Gale!" I answer throwing my arms around her. He laughs and grips my hair.

"I hunted for three weeks so I could give you this." He says taking my left hand and slipping a small band on it with a small gem on it.

"How did you?" I ask softly.

"Katniss helped. We shot down a deer and sold it to the butcher. After explaining what it was for she overpaid." Gale smiles. "It's the one time I'll take free handouts."

"I love you." I whisper.

"I love you too Sam." He answers. He kisses me quickly and I giggle kissing him back. He pulls back and sighs. "We should get home."

"Okay." I whisper. We start back to my house which I moved into a little over a year ago.

"Two more reapings and we'll be free." He whispers.

"Just one more for you." I answer. He chuckles darkly.

"So long as you've got a chance to be sent to your death I won't be free. What would I do without you?" He lifts me over a log and takes my hand in his.

"You'd move on. You and Katniss would probably end up together. It would take a while but you and Katniss would end up together." I answer thinking it over carefully.

"No You're it for me. Without you I would be alone for the rest of my life." Gale answers. I kiss his cheek.

"You won't have to be without me." I promise.

The next day was hot. I pull on my reaping dress a gift from Gale for my fifteenth birthday. I carefully button up the dress and brush my hair back into a neat bun. I have to look my best for the cameras just in case. I walk out of my house and am quickly joined by Gale and Rory.

"Hey it'll be okay Rory. You're names only been in there once they won't pick you." I say quietly. He nods tensely. Prim and Katniss join us and Prim latches onto my hand tightly. Once we reach the point to check in Prim pulls back against my hand. I gently take her to the side and hold both her hands. "They're just going to prick your finger. You won't be called, you're name is in there once." I promise. I had added my name four extra times each month for me and the Everdeens. Gale had disagreed with the decision but I hadn't cared that much. She nods and hugs me tightly. I gently lead her back into the line and let them prick my finger. She lets them prick her finger too and I lead her to the twelve year olds area. I leave her in the hands of some of her friends and find my way to the seventeen year old area. Katniss stands behind me at the edge between us.

"Welcome welcome to the 74th annual hunger games." Effie trinket says. My breathing goes shallow. There's so many people in the crowd that I'm worried about. "As always ladies first." She says. She walks to the girls bowl and reaches in plucking a name. "Samantha Mellark." My world stops. That's me. I walk shakily up to the platform at the last moment rearranging my face to be cold and emotionless. "And now for the boys." She walks over to the boys bowl and I quickly scan the crowd for Gale. "Peeta Mellark." She reads. The crowd makes an unhappy noise. Two kids from the same family. That's extremely rare and even more unpopular than a twelve year old getting picked.

"I volunteer as tribute!" Gales voice calls from the 18 year old section. A whisper breaks out as he strides up to the platform. The entire district knows that we're together and it makes them almost equally unhappy.

"And what's your name?" Effie asks.

"Gale Hawthorne." Gale says.

"Shake hands you two." Effie says. Gale takes a step towards me and gently takes my face before kissing me like he has so many times before. The kiss like always leaves me craving more. The stir in my chest hasn't changed from year to year. She leads us into two separate rooms and shuts the door. I drop onto the sofa and rest my head in my hands. The door opens and my dad and brothers walk in. I stand and hug them tightly.

"District twelve might finally have a winner this year." My dad said tears streaming down his face. "You can make it home Sammy. I've eaten what you've killed. You've got great aim with two weapons. You know plants and herbs. You've studied the games since you were twelve. You can do this."

"I can't come back without Gale." I whisper. "I can't live without Gale."

"Then bring him home too." Peeta says.

"Take care of the Hawthorne's until Gale gets back." I plead. "And the Everdeens. Don't let anyone starve."

"I won't." Dad promises. The peacekeepers take them away and let Katniss into my room. She runs to me and hugs me tightly.

"Get to a bow." She says. "Or a knife."

"They don't always have a bow or knives." I answer weakly.

"Then make a bow. A weak bow is better then nothing." She says. "Come back with Gale. Keep each other alive." She hugs me tightly again and then gets pulled from the room. My last visitor is Hazel. I can't help it and my tears finally bubble over.

"I'm so sorry Hazel. I never wanted him to volunteer." I say furiously wiping my tears away.

"I know sweetheart. Just make sure one of you gets home. You guys can do it. You two would move mountains to save each other." She says. I nod.

"I'll get him home. I promise I'll get him home." I answer. I hug her once more and take a deep breath as they pull her away and us out to the car. Gale sits beside me and grips my hand tightly. I'm thankful that he's here because I've got that little bit of human connection left. We reach the train and we're quickly led to the main car. We take a seat on the couch I curl up against Gale holding onto him tightly.

"Ahh young love." Haymitch says. "So what can you do?"

"Gales amazing with snares and great with a bow." I answer quickly.

"Sam never misses when she throws knife and is almost as good at shooting as our friend Katniss. She's light enough that she can get up to the top of a tree without breaking a branch." Gale shoots back.

"Gales strong. He's lifted a wild boar over his head without a problem." I say.

"So you're hunters." Haymitch nods. "Can either of you do anything with plants?"

"We both know edible plants for our area and Sam has been working on healing." Gale answers. I nod.

"Who'd have thought district 12 might finally have a shot this year." Haymitch muses. "Look I'll see you in the morning." He stumbles out of the room and obviously over to his room. I turn to Gale.

"We're allied right?" I ask timidly.

"I'm not spending 18 days hunting you down. Of course we're allies." Gale answers. I nod.

"Don't go for the center of the cornucopia. It's a bloodbath, try and grab a bag around the outside of the supplies if you can reach it without joining the fighting but don't put yourself in danger." I say. "We should eat a lot put on some weight."

"So all of your rewatches of the past games will get us somewhere." Gale teases. I can't help but blush.

"Yes and it was for this very reason." I stuck my tongue out at him. He laughs and pulls me to close to him again.