Slow, draggy footsteps carried you through the huge crowd of potential tributes and their families in the early afternoon the very next day, the sun shining brightly just as it did the day before, but it wasn't as nice as it had looked. You wore nothing but a simple (F/C) dress that your mother passed down, as well as an old pendant that she once wore when she was little. It was a very simple pendant, actually--just one with a sparkling sapphire, and a golden bird wrapped around it.

"Tributes are allowed to carry one thing as their district token," your mom told you. "You would wear it if you get reaped, would you?"

You nodded. "I will, mom. I promise."

Your mom smiled and gave you a hug now, and then off you went.

Every tribute had to sign in with a prick of a finger and a blood sample to confirm your attendance. Soon, you found yourself lined up behind a whole group of scared 14-year-old girls, even some 12-year-old girls who were entering the reaping for the first time. One of these girls, a young one with blond hair styled into two separate braids, started hyperventilating as she saw the blood withdrawals, and began to cry. The girl beside her, a taller one with brown hair, looked around wildly before crouching down to calm her sister down.

"That must be Katniss," you whispered to yourself.

"Next," the Peacekeeper barked, holding out a hand to you.

You only gave a bored glance as you handed her your hand, felt the pricking sensation in your fingertip as she took out some of your blood onto a heavy book. The name (Y/L/N), (Y/N) flashed out from a machine.

"Good. Next," the Peacekeeper instructed.

You quickly made your way through the throng of people, standing with some of the other girls from your region. Off to your right, a few girls away, you saw Delly with a simple baby blue frock donned over her form, her hair half up, half down in a ponytail. You immediately caught her eye and waved.

"It'll be okay," Delly mouthed, and you nodded.

Just then, everyone stopped talking as the escort for District 12, Effie Trinket, approached the mic and tested it, tapping it once, twice, thrice before speaking into it.

"Welcome, welcome welcome!" she greeted you all with a smile--genuine, in your opinion, but creepy at the same time amidst the pale white makeup she put on her face. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!"

Of course, no one responds. The Hunger Games, you knew in your district, meant sending two people literally to their demise. No one in District 12 has ever came out of the games alive--well, except for two people, one of whom is still alive. And even he, you knew, couldn't even train the tributes well from scratch unless they have raw talent.

"Now, before we begin, we have a very special film. Brought to you, all the way from the Capitol!" Effie chirped, gesturing you to the big screens that were placed right beside the Justice Buildings.

Instantly, music began to play--the classic soundtrack from the film that Effie spoke of that you have grown to hate. You glanced back briefly, taking a glimpse of the boys' side in hopes to find Peeta, only to have seen one of the eighteen-year-olds with brown hair and dark grey eyes mouth out, War. Terrible war.

You had to resist rolling your eyes as you glanced at the film, paying absolutely no attention to it. What is the use of hearing your own land's history over and over again, anyway? You can't help but imagine what life would have been like, though, without any sign of the rebellion against the Capitol that resulted in one district's downfall. Would people still have been able to fight back if they had learned to accept the Capitol's decisions to govern you the way they did? You knew only a discussion with Peeta would help you find the answers, but he's too far away. The most you could do was grasp onto your left wrist as the video continued to play.

"This is how we preserve our past," the film concluded. "This is how we safeguard our future."

"Oh, I just love that!" Effie remarked breathlessly as the film finally came to a close.

"Now the time has come for us to select one courageous young man and woman...for the honour of representing District 12 in the 74th annual Hunger Games!" Effie announced. "As usual...ladies first!" she added with a flair, pulling off her glove sharply and strutting off to the glass ball on her right.

Ladies first? It's always that way, isn't it. Regardless of doing anything out of complete politeness, it's always the women who receive special treatment. But you thought differently for this one.

Slowly, she spun a hand around the glass ball, and pulled out one single piece of paper after some momentary hesitation. Then she returned to the microphone, opened up the folded piece of paper, and cleared her throat.

Silently, you were praying that it wasn't you. Fifteen slips, fifteen of them had the name (Y/N) (Y/L/N) written on them. Yes, you decided to sign up for tesserae ever since your father died and you decided to sign up for extra food. Food could only go a long way for you and your mom in district 12, and though you weren't technically poor, you had to feed the family. So that meant signing up more times in the Games.

Effie then reads the name out loud. "Primrose Everdeen!"

Wait a second. Who's Primrose Everdeen?

In front of you, you saw a small young girl with the two blond braids you saw earlier determinedly walk past the other girls who made way for her. She even tucked in her blouse at the back as she slowly walked forward.

In that moment, everything came to you. She must have been one of those inexperienced tributes. She's only 12, for heaven's sake! And she can't just go up there to face her death already! She had a long life to live. She can't just give herself up now, could she? In that moment, you made your decision.

"Wait!" you shouted, running forward, though the Peacekeepers stopped you the moment you got to the open area where you saw the girl being taken. "Stop! ARGH!" You pushed past them and ran forward, almost knocking the girl, Prim, down. "I volunteer as tribute!"

"Prim!" another girl's voice shouted. It was Katniss Everdeen, you knew it had to be her, the way she was running to her.

"I believe we have a volunteer...Mr. Mayor?" Effie asked in complete confusion.

Katniss was holding her sobbing sister close as she turned to you. "What's your name?" she asked you quietly.

"I'm (Y/N)," you whispered.

"And I'm Katniss," she murmured. "Thank you for saving my sister. Now go. Go up there."

You obeyed with a curt nod as she brought Prim to the audience, to her mother, while you made your way up to the stage.

"There seems to be a turn of events now for District 12," Effie reported, which made the entire crowd quiet as you made your way up the stage. Once there, Effie wrapped an arm around your back and escorted you to the centre of the stage.

"What's your name, dear?" Effie asked you.

You swallowed. "I'm (Y/N)," you stated clearly.

"I'll bet my buttons you knew that little girl," Effie commented.

You shook your head. "No, I don't, as a matter of fact. But I saw her just before the reaping. Her scared face, her pale white form. I don't want her to be suffering any more than she should be. That is why I volunteer to take her place."

Effie nodded in admiration. "Let's give a big hand for our very first volunteer, (Y/N) (Y/L/N)," Effie said warmly, clapping her hands excitedly.

Of course, no one else does it. Very rarely does one ever step up and volunteer when they know how horribly District 12 has done in the Games. For you to just step up and take that little girl, Prim's, place...suddenly, everyone was holding out their middle three fingers of their left hands to you after kissing it once. It almost made you want to cry, seeing this emotional act bestowed on you for the first time in your living memory, but Effie knew better than just letting the crowd see someone cry onstage. It would ruin the Capitol's image of the Games.

"And now, for the boys!" she quickly announced, walking off to the left and picking out a boy's name. You stood onstage now, completely exposed to the rest of the district, straightening your back as you tried to hold your desperation in. Please. Please don't make it be Peeta.

"Peeta Mellark," Effie's voice boomed, making you snap out of your trance.

Hold on. Peeta Mellark has been reaped?!

Your eyes alighted now on the boys' side, and Peeta made his way slowly out of the crowd of surprised people into the hands of the Peacekeepers. He then made his way to the stage, his eyes looking at anywhere but you, and you felt a slight twist in your chest as you looked forward, not acknowledging his presence onstage.

"Here we are!" Effie chirped excitedly. "Our tributes of District 12!"

She then turned to the both of you. "Come on, now, shake hands."

Peeta finally turned to you--your best friend for the past eleven years. A small smile played on his lips. "So we meet, (Y/N)," he whispered, holding his hand out.

You nodded as you took it in a tense handshake. "I know." Your thumb rubbed against Peeta's in a comforting manner, just once, before you had the sense to let go.

"Happy Hunger Games!" Effie called out finally. "And may the odds be ever in your favour." With that, she brought you and Peeta into the Justice Building and into separate rooms.