Hunger Games, Gales POV (Everthorn)

The Reaping

I woke up to a silent house, all my siblings still asleep. My younger brother, Rory, woke to nightmares of the games for the past month. But tonight he just gently shook, dreaming of the horrors he would endure if his name were to get picked in the reaping. I slipped out of bed, silently getting ready long before anyone in the seam would wake. I ran through the town, wanting to get to the bakery before it would be full of people buying bread for celebratory meals if their children's names weren't called. I had left one piece of game in my bag from the day before, a squirrel. I hoped it would be enough.

I opened the bakery door, a little bell rang to signal my arrival. The bakers youngest son stood at the counter, waiting for an early riser to buy. I knew his father was the only one of them who would accept game as payment. The moment his father stepped behind the counter, we began to barter. We settled on a small loaf of bread in exchange for the squirrel. Peeta and I wished each other luck and I hurried off to the woods.

The day of the reaping always left me on edge. When I entered the woods, I grabbed my bow and arrows from their hiding place. A safety precaution, neither of us would be up for much hunting. I quickly wandered through the woods hoping to beat Katniss to our spot. I didn't want her to sit alone with her thoughts. The woods were familiar, leaving me far to much time to think on this one particular day. As I approached the spot, I saw Katniss sitting there, a small pile of berries next to her. I poked an arrow into the bread hoping I could get as much as a smile from Katniss. Rarely does she gift me smiles on the day of the reaping.

"Look what I shot," She laughed at the sight of me holding our bread, a sound that had come to remind me of the woods. I've only seen Katniss happy around two people, Prim and me. Not so much me as the woods. She was truly free in the woods, I could see it every time we passed underneath the fence. We both sat quietly enjoying a feast of bread, berries, and Prim's goat's cheese. As the sun slowly started to rise, we made fun of the capitol and their crazy accents and costumes they wore daily. It was a lot easier to make fun of them rather then face the fact they are who will bring twenty-three kids a year to their death. As the sun rose, we began to hunt. Neither of us were working to hard, this was a hard day for both of us. My name was in the drawing forty-two times, Katniss' twenty. The odds were nowhere near our favors.

We spent the early morning fishing, talking about nothing. If we talked about anything real, it would've killed us both. It was both of our siblings first reaping, their names each in the bowl once; impossibly good odds. But, still, you worried for the ones you loved.

"Katniss, we should head to the hob. We have to be in the city square by three," I hated that I had to be the one to remind us to head back, but I needed to be there for my brother today. We hurried into the town, our fish weighing down both our bags. I went to buy a bow for my youngest siblings hair, Posy, my only sister. Something to cheer her up, she wasn't yet old enough to understand the reaping or why Rory woke up with such bad nightmares. She was still so delicate, the horrors of the seam hadn't reached her yet. As I wandered back over to Katniss, she sat on one of the stands, a bowl of chowder (the ingredients have never been confirmed to either of us) in her hand. One of the peace keepers stood near her, flirting as he always did. I'll admit it, Katniss was pretty, but he had no reason to be bothering her today. I had to roll my eyes, he looked pathetic trying to make her laugh; but the worst part was she did laugh at his jokes. I walked up and he immediately stopped, as he always did. Rumors spread around the hob like fire, since the first day Katniss and I had walked in together, they were convinced we were going to marry. As the years went on, the whole town was. As soon as Katniss saw me, she set her bowl down and nodded for us to go.

She and I wandered through town, running any errands that needed doing, slowly making our way to our houses. I walked inside to the laughter of Posy as Rory played with her. He seemed to be doing better then I thought he would. My mother soon ushered me into a bath where I scrubbed the grime of the woods off of me. When as much dirt as I could get off was gone, I slipped into the clothes my mother had laid out for me; my fathers old slacks and a button down shirt. I joined my family to begin the walk down to the city square. I stayed right next to Rory, knowing he needed more comfort then he ever would admit. We were pushed into the pen they kept all of the potential tributes in, joining our respective groups. I looked back for Katniss, knowing she'd need a smile of support.

Time blurred together until it was time for the first name to be called, the girls. The name seemingly was read in slow motion, "Primrose Everdeen."

As soon as the name registered in my mind, I heard Katniss scream the words I never wanted to hear from her, "I volunteer as tribute"

I pushed through the crowd not knowing what I was going to do, but knowing she needed me. When I made it to Prim and Katniss, I knew all I could do was get Katniss onto that stage. I grabbed Prim in my arms and took her abuse, knowing it's what was needed of me in that moment. Making my way away from Katniss and to their mother. Prim needed someone to comfort her and I didn't have it in me anymore. I returned to my spot, not willing to even look at that stage. I never wanted to see her looking like a lamb going into the slaughter.

The boys name was called, the bakers boy. Every cell in my body wanted to volunteer, to be there for Katniss, but I knew I had to stay and feed our families. I closed my eyes and breathed until they were ushered into the Justice Building. I knew the next steps, they would see the ones they loved for the last time. Two lines formed, one for Katniss, one for Peeta. I stepped behind Katniss' family. My head was spinning, I had spoken to Katniss everyday since I met her, yet now I have nothing to say. There are a million things to say, but nothing feels right. I'll feed our families. I won't let them starve. You're going to be okay. You can win. I love you. I thought we had forever so I was waiting for the right time to say it? I believe in you. You will win. I will miss you.

Everything I want to say seems selfish, all guaranteeing that I have a tomorrow to dream about and she may not. I have always purposely avoided saying goodbye to the tributes, I don't know what to say to a lamb going into the slaughter. When a peacekeeper pushes me into the room she's kept in, I know the right thing to do is just open my arms to her. I sit there holding the girl I thought I'd marry, whispering all the promises I can; Promising that her family will be okay, promising that she can win, promising that it'll all be okay. She holds me until they pull me out the door and away from her.

"I love you," I scream it as they slam the door. I'll never know if she heard me or if she feels the same way, I'll never know if that was the biggest mistake I've ever made. I wander out the doors of the Justice Building to find my family waiting for me. If anyone knows I love her, it's them. We walk through the town back to our house and I immediately fall into a dreamless sleep. Exhausted, already, from the pain in my chest.
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I wake up to the sound of the recaps blaring on the television. The capital has it set so they can turn on any television so the whole country is forced to watch the horrors of the games. I wander into our main living area to find the Everdeens huddled together on our couch. We all sit in silence watching the horrors of the day. I make a list of all the tributes, Katniss is better then most of them. She is strong and can hunt, she has to have an advantage in the arena. As she walks through the train station for their cameras to get a final glimpse of the district 12 girl, she looks almost bored. I'm impressed she's kept her composure this long. It wasn't looking possible as we stood in the small room together.

I walk the Everdeens home, knowing there's nothing I can say that will dull their pain. We walk in silence all the way to their house, Prim pulls me inside into her room, shared with Katniss. I've been inside their house before, but never into Katniss' space.

"Do you love her?" Prim, ever the romantic, asks me. Her eyes begging for me to answer correctly. My mind reels, of course I want to admit it. But, it's been my secret for so long, I thought one day it would just happen. Neither of us would ever need to say anything, we'd just fit as we always have. But, now I know that the world will always steal happiness from me; I will never get a happily ever after. All I can do is nod to answer Prims question. We both know neither have more to say, so I walk out, into the night. Knowing I should get used to the night, I won't have a good nights sleep until she's home.