Hurrying to his spot with the seventeen-year-old boys, Peeta worried about everything and anything. Did he turn off all the ovens before he left? Did he finish all the orders this morning? Was his hair still in place? So many questions were running through his head he didn't notice Effie Trinket, Twelve's perky escort, talking and smiling with her pearly teeth to the crowd of children in the lines of rope and the fidgeted parents waiting not to hear their child's name be called over all of Panem.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Reaping of the 74th Hunger Games!"

She was the only one to clap.

The silence was so sharp, it could cut stale bread, Peeta thought. It made him smile and breathe out. His fingers were still shaking and scratching at the insides of his palms.

Everyone stood patiently as Effie announced the rules, the steps, and the videos they stated and played every year. By this point, every Panem citizen over the age of twelve knew every word the escorts said by heart. They had seen the same images their whole lives and knew of the cruelty that followed the Reaping.

It wasn't too soon until Effie finally got the scariest part of the Reaping. This is when Peeta's breath caught in his throat and he started sweating. The picking of the names.

"First off, the girls."

Effie clicked her bright pink heels to the bowl with all the girls' names. She plucked her hand down and snatched one from the deepest part of the bowl. Peeta wondered how she didn't get hundreds of paper cuts from how sharp the little envelopes looked. She walked back to the microphone, suspense filling the air. She opened the paper and read out:

"Susan Langer."

A girl from the group of fifteen-year-old's looked around, her blond hair shining in the sunlight. She walked forward with a blank expression on her face, heading to the Justice Building stairs. Effie pulled her the rest of the way, extremely enthusiastic to have her first tribute of the new year.

"Now, for the boys," she said.

This part went ten times slower than the last part did for Peeta. There was never really worry for him with the girls, both his siblings were brothers and one had already aged out of the Reaping. He knew his name was in the bowl more times than his brothers ever were, but he still had a chance of staying home. He took a second to rethink that thought. Which would be better for him? Staying home where he was beaten and disliked or go to the Capitol to await his victory or death?

Effie's hand reached into the bowl and snatched a paper as quick as a fly, without thought, in a second, right from the top of the bowl. She was in a hurry to know who she would be reaping this year. What oh-so-lucky boy would stand next to her on stage this year? Would it be a young twelve-year-old who hadn't hit puberty yet? Hadn't kissed a girl yet? Hadn't felt like a man yet? Or would it be an older boy? Someone who was feeling like they were lucking out of the Games? A boy who was about to go propose to a girl once the Reaping was over? Ready to feel like a strong man rather than a shaky kid? She walked back to the microphone once more without thought of what this boys' life meant to him and the people around them. She read the name aloud.

It echoes through Peeta's head until he realizes the boys around him are all staring at him with wide and relief filled eyes.

"Peeta Mellark," she said.

It rang through his head, sounding disorienting. He knew it was his name, but it didn't make any sense.

Effie looks towards the crowd, trying to spot the male tribute she called. She found him once all the boys around him turned to face Peeta. "Come up, Peeta."

Peeta shook his head and cleared his throat. He didn't look back at his family. He only knew how to walk toward the stage. He couldn't feel his body. He focused on his breathing but his chest felt so heavy. So many things ran through his mind, but none like earlier when he was in line. Would he ever have a family? Would he ever tell the girl he loves how he feels? Would he ever take over the bakery for his father and watch his wife at the cashier while their children helped him decorate cupcakes and cookies in the back? Would any of his dreams come true or would he die too soon?

Once on the stage, Peeta's eyes landed on the girl he would be tributes with. He couldn't remember her name. He couldn't even remember his own. She didn't look familiar to him. She had on a blank expression, much like his own. He could not remember if he had ever met this girl, probably not since she was much younger than him.

Peeta felt so numb.

While Effie was leaving her last message with District Twelve, Peeta turned back to see his future mentor and was hit with memories from the year prior. She was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, sizing up the girl beside him with fire. He could see the wheels turning in her head and her eyes suddenly met his. She blinked away and turned forward, chin high up in the sky. Her eyes focused on the forest far beyond the fence of Twelve. He was hit by so many different feelings. But he didn't have too much time to linger on the past or his emotions because Effie told him and his fellow tribute to shake hands.

No one volunteered for him. He had no one left to. His friends wouldn't risk their family's life for him. He would be entering the Hunger Games alone.

Her hand was shaking and sweaty, much like his. He jumped when his mentor appeared from where she was sitting and shook both of their hands, congratulating them on their amazing opportunity.

Peeta never thought this would be his future. He thought he would live and see as beautiful of a life for Twelve play out before him. But his faith decided to choose the latter.

X

Katniss Everdeen had always been a strong-willed girl. Her mind was eager to learn skills that required strategy and focus, that when performed made her look like a beautiful bird soaring. She had a quick tongue, never meaning to sound rude, but always honest. Most people knew that about her and accepted that she would always be truthful to them. Katniss reminded many people of her father who spoke of his beautiful daughter with pride to this day.

Ever since Katniss was born, her father dotted her. Even after Prim, her younger sister was born, her father's love for his firstborn was out of this world. And Katniss returned the love. She followed him everywhere he went if it was safe. This lasted up until she was about ten and begged her father to teach her how to shoot and train in the woods. Her mother was not for it but could not say no to Katniss's large and sweet, gray eyes. He had already taken Katniss to the woods before to show her what he did out there, without the knowledge of her mother of course. So, Katniss was well prepared and unafraid of the woods when she began training. She was quite a natural too. Her skills with a bow and arrow quickly surpassed her father's and he only felt pride.

During the 73rd Hunger Games Reaping, Katniss was not thinking about her skills with a bow or how the forest floor felt between her toes as she ran shoeless from her sister as they played tag. Fear consumed her. It was the same fear that she felt at twelve years old during her first Reaping. It was fear that crept around her throat and wrists and lips, making her feel trapped and held down.

"Kitty Kat?"

Katniss jumped at the sound of her father's voice. She turned to him, standing a whole head shorter than him. She knew she would grow no taller, being sixteen and having gone through all of her puberty she would go through. It felt nice to look up at her father who gave her the most gentle and loving look.

"You're nervous. Remember what I said your first Reaping?" She nodded and together they said:

"No matter what happens, everything will work out how it's supposed to."

Areli Everdeen gave a soft chuckle and hugged his daughter, leaving a soft kiss on the top of her hair. Her mother had put it up in a braid that wrapped around her head. She had just done it hours ago but short hairs were fighting their way out of the braid to frame Katniss's thin face.

He watched as Katniss changed, setting her shoulders back and lifting her chin up high. She walked off into line with the other children who would have their names in the bowl as well. Areli prayed that the slip with her name on it would stay in the bowl this year.

Katniss knew that while she was getting her finger pricked and getting in line with the other sixteen-year-olds, her father and mother were arm in arm with Prim holding onto either one of their waists. This would be her last year on the sidelines, watching and waiting to hear the names of the new year's tributes. The last year that she makes carefree memories that will too quickly dissolve from fear. Katniss's still had this year plus two more and then she would be free. Free to worry about living a life of marriage, working in the mines, and seeing her baby sister helpless as she waits at the Reaping alone.

Her father was right, she was nervous stiff. She attempted to relax, remembering the soothing tone of her father's voice and looking around at the girls standing beside her. Some girls she knew and others she only recognized but could not remember a name. She couldn't really well see the boys since they were too far to her left. There were only a couple of boys she was close friends with and others she knew, but only one to worry about. Most others not her age were nothing but citizens from her district who shared her fear and nerves.

When Effie Trinket walked onto the stage, Katniss was still distracting herself. She only realized she was speaking when Effie was the only one to clap to display her excitement about the new Reaping.

The rest of the Reaping went as usual. Katniss zoned out quickly, feeling her heart race and intensify her nerves.

"Girls first!"

Effie's booming voice brought Katniss back to reality. She watched Effie pull a slip right from the top of the pile of papers in the bowl. Once Effie said the name out loud, Katniss lost all of her breath. She saw the stage grow closer and closer until she was standing on the stage right next to Effie Trinket. She could see the thick layer of makeup she had on and the shininess of her hair that told her it was a wig. She blinked many times, wanting to wake up from this dream.

From the back of the crowd of children, she could hear her mother sobbing in her father's chest. Prim was screaming at the top of her lungs, her high pitched voice piercing through the silence. Katniss searched and searched for her family. Upon finding them and seeing how upset they were, she took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back, and held her chin up high. She would never disappoint her father or let up on being her sister's role model. Not even the Games could touch that.

Katniss almost missed who Effie called for the boy tribute, but when she caught the name, she almost gave up her bravado.

She didn't though. She turned to her best friend and shook his hand. All of the memories she had with him flashed before her eyes. It took a lot to keep her chin up and the tears bottled inside. Coming home to her family was what kept her upright and her bravado intact. Katniss would do anything to win these Games, even if she had to kill every tribute to get her the crown.

A/N:

Sorry for the short chapter! It's mainly a short intro to how the story will flow and feel :) I also wrote the og chapter years ago and have gone through it multiple times to make it flow better and be longer. The next chapter will definitely be longer than this one (if you know me from other works, my chapters can be long as hellllll).

sorry if it actually doesn't flow well in some parts, I was listening to music while writing and was being distracted by musical bops lol

I hope no one was confused about how the story is going to be told! The first part will in the present which is when Peeta is reaped for the 74th Games. The second part is going to be the past when Katniss was reaped for the 73rd Games. I want to try to keep their stories aligned during each chapter so the next chapter will be them seeing their families and getting on the train, then the next will be the tribute parade, etc. ***** also Katniss's dad isn't dead fun! I love playing with who he could have been!

Keep reading guys!

~R. W.