It was reaping day, a holiday for most, but not in District 12. Katniss woke and dressed, same as Prim, then together they helped their mother dress. She plaited their hair and together the three of them headed out onto the dirty streets of the Seam. Her heart was heavy; there were many things to worry about. She didn't worry about herself, only about Prim and him.
Him? His name was Kolton, and he also lived in the Seam, just the other end. It all happened a long time ago, but today she couldn't think about that. Today she had to keep her head present and clear. As much as she loved him, thinking of him today made her sad. Right now she needed his strength, but one touch would break her, and she couldn't break, not today.
Head straight ahead, she smiled down at her sister who clung to her hand as they stood with the rest of the girls. The nervous energy filled the area, and she could feel his eyes on her. Swallowing hard, she turned and for one brief second their eyes met. Love, adoration, need, sadness, and fear passed from her to him even while a smile brushed across her lips. Just like that, she was settled.
The unthinkable happened seconds later: Prim's name was called out, and the peacekeepers jerked the young girl from her grasp. So shocked, Katniss said nothing, not until Prim screamed her name. Shooting into action, Katniss lifted her arms and yelled over the panicked cries. "I volunteer as tribute!" It took them only seconds to release Prim and grab her. Guiding her to the stage, as though she didn't know where it was, in reality, it was to keep her from running off.
Climbing those few stairs, Katniss stood to the side of Miss Effie, waiting nervously for her to call out her male counterpart's name. Her eyes landed on Kolton; this could be the last time she laid eyes on him. This couldn't be happening. The emotional aspect of what she had done hit her, tears came to her gray eyes. She turned her head slightly, if she didn't look at him, she wouldn't cry.<|im_end|>
Another year meant another day of fear and anxiety for Kolton Smith. The young boy only needed to survive two more reapings before he'd be too old for the Games. Being from the Seam, his family was quite poor and signing up for tesserae was a difficult but necessary thing for him to do. Besides, his older sister just turned eighteen two years before him and she was fine... surely he could survive these next two years, right? In all honesty, his own safety wasn't at the front of his mind. No, it was all about her.
In a loveless and hopeless country in a district so poor that it was commonplace to find children with their ribs showing from such starvation and to have so much death from disease and coal mining accidents, Kolton seemed to do the impossible. This girl named Katniss whom he met a long time ago had really grown on him. They weren't the couple to be seen laughing and playing around all the time, but the love they shared could be seen by anyone that watched them though their most intimate and private moments happened in the woods outside the district where it was like another world, almost, and how badly he wished it was.
But here they were again, lining up for the reaping of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games. As the colorful Effie Trinket was reaching in the glass ball to grab a slip of paper, Kolton prayed to every deity known to mankind that the name wouldn't have the last name of Everdeen. Was it wrong to wish this on someone else? Maybe it was, but as long as it was neither Katniss nor Primrose, he couldn't care less. When the name was read out in an almost happy manner, his heart stopped beating. Before this was even processed in his mind, Katniss was walking to the stage and volunteering for her little sister.
Without having time to realize what was going on, his head was kept lowered and he couldn't look at the stage because that would make this real... and this wasn't real! Just when things didn't seem like they couldn't get any worse... they did... they got significantly worse.
"Kolton Smith!"
Kolton made his way towards the stage when his name was called. Even though he was going to volunteer, the shock of the moment was still registering on his face. His struggle to remain emotionless was evident, but the alarm in his eyes weren't from being picked... the alarm originated from both he and Katniss being picked. Following protocol, the mayor read the long, dull Treaty of Treason and upon finishing, the mayor gestured for the tributes to shake hands. Swallowing hard, he did his best to only show his emotions to Katniss by shaking her hand and holding onto her longer than necessary before releasing her hand while being marched a different direction than her by the Peacekeepers to the Justice Building for final goodbyes.
In Kolton's room first were his parents and sister. Of course, they were all torn up about this and Kolton did his best to remain strong. They wanted him to come back home to them but Kolton reminded them of something. They instilled in him that whenever he said he loved a girl, he should be willing to do anything and everything for her- that if he really loved her, he'd be willing to die for her. In fact, his father said if he wouldn't die for a girl he said that he loved, then that's not love. Kolton straight up told his parents that he wasn't coming back. He loved them so much but Katniss had his heart and a life without her was boring and dull. After some back and forth, his parents and sister (reluctantly) accepted what he was telling them. They couldn't help but be proud- he was willing to die for the girl he loved and that was true love, that was a true man and that's what they taught him his entire life even with how awful of a world they lived in. After some heartfelt goodbyes, hugs, and kisses, they exited to go see Katniss briefly with tear-filled eyes and broken hearts, but they couldn't stop Kolton and they knew it. A few other friends visited him but what he didn't expect was to see Primrose. When she arrived, he gave her a hug and grabbed her shoulders, squeezing them and telling her that he was going to get Katniss home to her, that she didn't need to worry and that Katniss would be back. They didn't get to talk long before Peacekeepers barged in and pulled her away before slamming the door behind them.<|im_end|>