The Price We Pay: A Hunger Games Fanfiction

Chapter One

You drew your bow back as you watched the deer cross the field. Katniss stood beside you, her eyes also glued on the deer. You took a deep breath and readied yourself. Just as you were about to let the arrow fly, you heard a noise behind you. The deer looked in your direction and took off running. You sighed and let your bow string go back. You turned around and saw one of your best friends, Gale Hawthorne standing there. "Dammit Gale." You said, smiling at him a little. Katniss just smiled and shook her head. "Oh come on." Gale said looking at you and Katniss. "What would you have done with that deer anyways?" He asked. "Sold it." Katniss simply replied. Gale smiled and shook his head. "Here." he said, as he picked up a rock and tossed it into a bush, causing about seven birds to fly out. You and Katniss both drew back your bows, and quickly let your arrows fly. You watched as the two birds fell from the sky. As they hit the ground, Katniss turned to you and smiled. "Nice job." She said. "Thanks." You replied, honored that Katniss thought you had done a great job. For the past few months, Katniss and Gale had been teaching you how to hunt and defend yourself in order to stay alive if you were chosen as the female tribute from District 12 for the Hunger Games. As you, Katniss, and Gale, walked to pick up your game, Gale sighed. "Today's the day." He said, sounding scared. "Yep." You replied, not looking at Gale. "How many times is your name in there Gale?" Katniss asked him. He sighed again, but said nothing. "Gale?" She asked again, stopping where she was and looking up at him. You stopped too, and looked at Gale. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. If my name gets called, my name gets called." He said. "No." You said, shaking your head. "It does matter, Gale." You insisted. "Gale, How many times is it in there?" Katniss asked for the third time. "Forty Two." Gale answered, looking at the ground. You felt your heart drop. You really cared about Gale, and now he had an even bigger chance of being chosen for The Hunger Games. "Forty Two times?" You asked. Gale just nodded. "How? That's not even how it works." Katniss argued. "I don't know." Gale answered, "But I don't intend to find out. You don't question the capital." Katniss sighed deeply, and you looked over at Gale. You knew he was lying, but you didn't say anything. "God I hate this." She said. "Don't we all?" You asked, as you began walking away to pick up your game. Katniss and Gale jogged to catch up with you. You bent down and grabbed the bird, and pulled the arrow out with ease. You slid the arrow into the quiver that was strapped to your back, and handed the bird to Katniss. "You can take this if you want." You told her. She nodded. "I'll take them both to the Hob." She said, as she pulled the arrow out of her bird. "Well, I guess I'll see the two of you at the reaping." She said, as she turned to walk off. She quickly turned around and looked at Gale and I. "And may the odds be ever in your favor." She said with an accent, as a smile formed on her face. You forced a smile back. She then turned and began walking back through the woods making her way towards the Hob. Once Katniss was out of sight, you turned and looked over at Gale. "Why the hell would you do that?" You asked, scared for Gale's life. "Do what?" Gale asked, confused. "You signed up for the Tesserae!" You said, your eyes filling with tears. "Y/N." Gale said, as his face fell. "If you needed help or more food for your family, you could have said something." You said. "I would have done something. Got a job, came hunting more." You said. Gale shook his head and wiped the tears off your cheeks with his thumbs. He grabbed your face in his hands and looked down into your eyes. You felt butterflies in your stomach. "Don't worry about me." He said, not taking his eyes off of yours. "It's kind of hard not to do that." You said, not looking into his eyes. "Why?" He asked. You shook your head. You couldn't bring yourself to tell him how you really felt about him. You just couldn't tell him that you loved him, and that you felt safe when you were with him. "I'll see you later Gale." You said, as you turned and ran back through the field and up into the woods.