Before I fall.. ~ One Direction in the Hunger Games.

Before I fall. ~ Chapter 1.

PART 1: THE REAPING. 

This is the time to thank them. ~

When I see Caroline Flack, I feel an icy rigidity take over my body. She has to guide two children this year and at least one of them will die. And because I live in District 12, the poorest district of them all, we have never even had one victor.. Twenty seven years long every year two kids between the age of twelve and eighteen died.

It's the day of the reaping. Today twenty four children will get selected by lottery and will be forced to join The Hunger Games. The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. Each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate. The twenty-four tributes will be imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland. Over a period of several weeks, the competitors must fight to the death. The last tribute standing wins.

As horrible as the Hunger Games are, the fact that twenty three innocent children die every year isn't even what hurts me the most. What hurts me even more is the word "hunger", that reminds me of one of my four best friends, Niall. We haven't been in touch for six months and we all live in different districts now, but I still think about them every day. I know what hunger is, we've all had it, and I still have it every day, even now. I've even thought about cooking my cat Larry a few times, but I'm so glad I didn't do it, because it's the only thing - except my family - that is still with me after all the recent horrors.

Our country is called Panem, from the Latin word that means "bread." It has one shining Capitol ringed by twelve poor districts. The thirteenth got destroyed long ago.

The Capitol requires us to treat the Hunger Games as a festivity, a sporting event pitting every district against others. The last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, and their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting of food. All year, the Capitol will show the winning district gifts of grain and oil and even delicacies like sugar while the rest of us battle starvation. That's just another way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy and also the reason why District 12 will probably always stay the poorest. We never have a winner, unlike District 1, 2 and 4. But with the exception of those districts, the other nine barely have any victors.

My whispering, singing voice is cracking the silence as the skin of an overripe tomato. Thinking of the old times, when my four best mates and I formed one of the popular boybands of that time, still hurts me, but even though I've tried, I can't live without singing. I still sing today, because it comforts me, and because only then I can keep the best memories of my life alive; being in a band I thought would never end. My four mates and I thought One Direction wouldn't have an end, but we had not counted on the Capitol that decided to separate us and divide us over the different districts because we became too popular and had too much power. I remember when we said One Direction would only go in one direction together; up. The opposite came true: we were all force to go in different directions.

I keep singing the words of "More Than This". It has always been my favorite song and one of the only things the Capitol did not change is my passion for singing. It is still the only thing that keeps me alive.

"Harry Styles!" a little girl voice screams, and as I reluctantly turn, I can see how her mother pulls her arm back and forces her to look the other way. Even after all those months, I'm still not used to how parents protect their children from me and hide them when I walk passed. It's not that they think I'm dangerous, but they're afraid of President Snow, the man who destroyed my life and said live on television that Niall, Louis, Liam, Zayn and I are dangerous. Coming from the most dangerous and evil of them all, I still think it's ironic.

Even thinking the names of my best mates hurts me. It feels like someone's pouring salt on my cuts. We used to all live in District 7, the district that provides lumber for the Capitol, so we all know how to throw axes and knives properly. The Capitol forced me and my family to move to District 12. I have no idea where the others live now. Maybe they aren't even alive anymore. I'm afraid I'll never see them again. But at least Zayn and Louis are safe; they're too old to participate in The Hunger Games. And if I'm right, this will be the last year Niall, Liam and I can participate too. After this reaping, we're all safe. Even though I never talk to them anymore and I'm not even sure if they still remember me, the thought of them being as safe as possible makes me happy. It even gives me hope. Hope is the only thing that is stronger than fear, I've realized that long ago.