In honour of Catching Fire being released, I decided to finally post this. It's finished quickly and it sort of sucks but I hope you'll like it anyway. Where the little black heart (♥) is, is where it jumps forward in time because of me being too lazy to finish it properly.
Looking to the sky to save me [Hunger Games!AU]
The Reaping is today. Louis does not like it one bit. He has four younger sisters. Two of them would be in Effie Trinket’s bowl today and Louis knows that if one of them gets chosen, there’s nothing he can do. If he volunteered, he would be the male contestant from their District and he would have to compete against his sister. And that’s something he would never do. He’s put his name in the bowl more than required, because if he got chosen, at least his Mum and sisters would have food and fuel.
District 12 was definitely not the best District to live, but it could have been worse. Louis had a job at the bakery (he had no idea how either) and he was glad he didn’t have to go into the mines every day. Jay, his Mum, was a nurse and the two oldest girls, Félicité and Charlotte, helped her and took care of the other two, Daisy and Phoebe.
Louis never wanted his kids to grow up in grey, dark District 12. It disgusted him how the people from the Capitol only held the Hunger Games for their own personal entertainment. How is watching kids, aged twelve to eighteen, kill each other entertainment? Some of the kids getting chosen are so young, just turned twelve and already approaching their deaths in the arena.
Louis hated watching the Games on television every year. He forbad his younger sisters to watch it, not wanting to terrify them.
In the distance, a siren goes off. It signals them to gather on the square in front of the courthouse and Louis sighs deeply. He feels his heart jumping around in his chest at the thought of one of his sisters being chosen. Lottie is braiding Félicité’s hair and Jay is straightening out Daisy’s dress. Phoebe crawls into Louis’ lap where he’s seated on one of the beds.
“Nothing’s going to happen today, right Lou?”
“Of course nothing will happen, sweetie”, he smiles. He can’t bring himself to tell her that yes, something might happen and either me or Fliss or Lottie gets chosen.
“We should go”, Jay says and Louis can hear she’s nervous. She’s nervous every year, ever since Louis turned twelve.
“It’ll be fine, Mum”, he whispers once the girls are all out the door and it’s just the two of them.
“What if you get chosen? What if Fliss gets chosen, or Lottie?” Jay says, panic audible in her voice.
“We’ll be fine, Mum. And if we get chosen, there’s nothing we can do.”
“That didn’t exactly help, Louis.”
“I know but it’s the truth. Come on, we have to go.”
On the way to the square, Daisy and Phoebe cling to Louis and he’s scared. Scared to lose his sisters or himself in that arena.
Louis, Fliss and Lottie all register themselves quickly and they go to stand in the waiting areas, Lottie and Fliss clinging together and Louis in the boys’ area all by himself. It doesn’t take long for everyone to arrive and much too soon, Effie Trinket is coming on stage. She tells the basic stuff with a much too happy voice and the standard video is shown once again.
Louis looks around in boredom and he spots a young boy with dark curls. He seems to be around the age of sixteen and he’s staring at the girls’ section with an anxious look on his face. Louis wonders if maybe he has a sister old enough to be chosen. He’s seen the boy before and he wrecks his brain trying to remember his name. Is it Henry? Harold, maybe? No, Harry, right. That’s it. Louis used to have a small crush on him when they were younger.
“And now it’s time for the Reaping”, Effie Trinket says, barely hidden excitement in her voice. Louis scoffs. “Ladies first.” She takes off her glove and sticks her hand in the perfectly round glass bowl. Her manicured fingers grab a piece of paper and she pulls out her hand, unfolding the note.
“Charlotte Tomlinson.”
And Louis’ world stops. No no no no, his brain is chanting. Not Lottie.
Louis looks over to the girls’ section. Fliss starts screaming and Lottie pales. Louis can’t move.
“Charlotte Tomlinson? Please come up here, dear”, Effie says, smiling widely as if it’s an honour to get chosen.
“I volunteer”, a girl’s voice says loudly over Fliss’ screaming. Effie gasps and the world stops spinning again. Who would volunteer to take Lottie’s place? He gets his answer quickly. A girl with long, dark hair and stunning green eyes steps out from the crowd and Harry, three rows ahead of Louis, covers his mouth with his hand. His sister, perhaps?
“What’s your name, dear?” Effie asks as soon as the Guards have brought her on stage.
“Gemma Styles.”
“Well that was very brave of you, to take Charlotte’s place.” Gemma says nothing but her eyes search Harry’s in the crowd and Louis feels sorry for the poor boy three rows ahead of him.
“And now the boys.” Effie sticks her hand in the bowl again and pulls out a note, not wasting any time now. “Louis Tomlinson.”
Of course, he thinks, just my luck. First Lottie and now me. He wrestles his way through the crowd and he hears Lottie and Fliss crying. When he’s up on stage, Effie asks if anyone wants to volunteer for him, but it stays silent. Of course. But that’s fine. Because maybe, by protecting Gemma, he can repay her for taking Lottie’s place.
-
When in the train to the Capitol, Louis keeps replaying Harry’s words in his head. Take care of my sister and get home safely. He can’t quite forget Harry’s soft lips on his cheek.
What did he mean with his words? That Louis had to protect Gemma and get her home safely? That he had to protect her but get home himself? He’s no fighter. Yeah, he knows how to handle a bow and arrow but he’s never used it to shoot people before. He also knows his fair share of edible plants and climbing trees but that’s about it. Just surviving skills. And that’s not going to be enough to live.
“I’ll just leave you to it”, Effie says and the door closes soundlessly behind her.
“She’s your sister, right? Charlotte?” Gemma says.
Louis nods. “Why did you take her place?”
“Because you couldn’t and she’s only thirteen. You would’ve done the same for Harry, even if you don’t know you would’ve.”
Would he? Would he have taken sweet, wide-eyed, innocent Harry’s place? As soon as he asks himself, he knows the answer. Yes, he would have.
“See”, Gemma says with a half-hearted smile. “I know I won’t win. I’m not a survivor. But you can win. You’re charming, which gets you sponsors, and you know how to handle bow and arrow. I don’t.”
“I promised Harry I’d protect you as much as I can.”
Gemma smiles bitterly. “I’d rather just die in the first few hours than hide and starve to death.”
-
The second Louis steps into the hall to train, he knows he doesn’t stand a chance. He sees a girl with pink hair throwing knives at dummies and she hits the heart every time. A guy is throwing spears at other dummies and yeah. Let’s just say Louis does not want to be on the receiving end of his spears. Gemma tells him they’re Careers – they’ve been trained for years. He follows her to the stand where a small girl is trying to learn which berries are edible and which ones aren’t.
He feels eyes burning into his back and suddenly, he feels very uncomfortable and homesick. The thought that follows hits him like a freight train. The chance is major that he won’t be going home. Not alive, at least.
The staring doesn’t seem to bother Gemma at all and Louis thinks it’s because she’s already accepted her faith – death.
“District twelve, huh?” a guy with short, brown hair says. Louis wants the ground to swallow him up.
“Yes”, Gemma says, her toning daring.
“No, no”, he hurries to say, “there’s nothing wrong with District twelve. I was just curious to know as to why you took the girl’s place.”
“I couldn’t stand watching a thirteen-year-old go into that arena when I know I could’ve taken her place.”
The girl that’s next to the muscular guy nods sympathetically. “I would’ve done the same.” Gemma smiles slightly and Louis relaxes. Maybe not all of them are awful people.
“I’m Liam”, the guy introduces himself. “This is Danielle. District eleven.”
“I’m Gemma and this is Louis. District twelve, of course.”
Louis takes Gemma’s arm and drags her away from the stand. “Why are you attempting to be friends with them?” he hisses.
“Because we might need them at some point”, she hisses back.
“You’re picking allies?”
“Four know more than two. If we go off with them, we might survive longer than when it’s just the two of us.”
“You’re assuming we stick together.”
“Naturally. You’d hate yourself if you broke your promise to Harry.”
He knows she’s right but he refuses to admit defeat. “What promise?”
Gemma rolls her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about.”
-
Training goes alright. At least he’s still alive, for now. The parade and the interviews fly by and Louis doesn’t remember a single thing except for a lot of screaming and the ongoing feeling of his approaching death. He hates how people of the Capitol see the Hunger Games as some form of entertainment when it’s not entertainment of all. Twenty-three of them will die in the next few weeks.
And then the day arrives. They’re going into the arena today. Louis doesn’t see Gemma at all that morning, nor does he see Liam or Danielle, their allies. His stylist fixes his hair (who cares about his bloody hair, Louis thinks) and dresses him in efficient pants and a fleece jumper with a waterproof jacket.
He can’t hear anything but the pounding of his own heart in his ears when he steps into the tube. At exactly ten o’clock, the tube starts rising and his muscles tense. This is it.
He knows to stay on his stand for a minute because if he doesn’t, he’ll be blown into a thousand pieces. Slowly, the arena comes into sight. Louis sees nothing but trees and shrubs. The Cornucopia is in the middle of the circle and he spots two small backpacks not too far from the edge of the forest. That’s good. He hears the clock tick away the seconds and he looks around to find Gemma. Liam is on his left, Danielle is out of sight (which means she’s on the other side of the Cornucopia where he can’t see her) and Gemma is three stands to the right. She nods at him. There’s ten seconds left.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
And everyone jumps off his stand and runs for it. Liam goes off too and Louis sees the girl with the pink hair plant a well-aimed knife in the small girl’s back. That could’ve been Lottie. Then suddenly there’s a hand on his arm and someone pushes a backpack into his arms.
“Go!” someone screams and he starts running blindly, following the dark haired girl in front of him, despite his heart and brain screaming at him to help the little girl. He looks over his shoulder and sees Liam following them. No Danielle. They run and run until there’s no more screaming in the distance and then they stop.
“Where’s Danielle?” Gemma pants.
“She tried to get a sword but Perrie, the pink-haired one threw a knife at her. I had no choice but leave her behind”, Liam says. He looks sad, tears glinting in his eyes but Louis knows they all realize that one mistake means your death in the Games.
“What do we know so far?”
“The Careers are with six. I’ve seen about five dead people around the Cornucopia but there’s more.”
“Let’s keep moving”, Gemma says. Louis takes a knife out of his backpack and straps it on his back. They move deeper and deeper into the forest until it gets dark. Gemma’s been doing something very mysterious all day and she refused to tell Louis what.
“I suggest we eat and drink something and take turns in sleeping”, Gemma says. Her suggestion meets no resistance and she hands Louis a water bottle.
“I have my own”, Louis says confused.
“Just drink it”, Gemma yawns.
So Louis takes a sip. And he blacks out.
♥
“Mr Tomlinson, wake up.” Louis blinks. A face swims in and out of his vision and he tries to focus on it. His head hurts.
“Where am I?” he croaks.
“District twelve”, another voice says. Louis knows that voice. He hasn’t heard it that often but it sounds familiar. So he blinks again and again until his eyes focus on a very familiar face. Green eyes, pale skin and dark, slightly curly hair. Harry.
“Gemma”, is what he says instead. “Where is Gemma?”
Harry’s facial expression turns bitter. “She’s dead. Got a knife in the back from that pink-haired girl.”
Louis stares at him blankly. “I promised I’d protect her.”
“She was determined to get you home safely”, he sighs. “And once Gem sets her mind on something, she gets what she wants.” He smiles proudly, love for his deceased sister shining in his eyes.
“What happened?”
“She’d been making a very powerful sleeping draught and put it in your water to make sure you’d miss all of the fighting. You were the last Tribute remaining when Zayn threw a spear at Liam and Liam shot an arrow at Zayn.”
“So I won? Without doing anything?”
Harry nods. “I guess you could say that.”
“You should be mad at me”, Louis mumbles. “Because I survived and Gemma didn’t.”
“Gem knew she’d die as soon as she volunteered. She had accepted it.”
“I’m so sorry”, Louis whispers.
Harry helps him sit up and wraps his arms around him. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve still got you.”
They’ll be okay. Eventually.
*** A/N: Meh. Meh's the only word to describe this. Leave a comment anyway? We get too little comments on our one shots. x***