Chapter Text
July 4th, the day of the Reaping, the day after everyone collectively agreed to illegally wash their clothes at streams or bathe with same-gendered friends/lovers at large rivers somewhere near the border. It's reckless, forbidden, and thrilling, everything District 12 always does.
Everyone hates this day, the only positive thing you can look forward to this day are the Tesserae and if you work at the Mellark Bakery where you'll have a bonus for working overtime to make bread for every family at District 12 but as a Mellark he have an unfair disadvantage of having no bonus.
Of course Peeta's one of the workers who worked overnight, and of course like every morning of July 4th he can barely open his eyes or move his arms.
"Wake up!" Mom rapped the door and Rye groaned facing his pillow, prompting a groggy Peeta to open it.
Mom put the freshly ironed white dress shirts and beige trousers at his bed and Peeta just stared at it lazily while rubbing his eyes.
"Rye get out of bed!" she smacked his shoulders then left with a yawn making Rye get up pouting as he stomped towards his bed. Peeta rolled his eyes at his dramatic attitude and Rye also rolled his back at him for a reason he didn't care to know. Peeta just snorted at his brother's strawberry blonde bird's nest.
"White? This will be filled with coal before we even reach the square." Rye whispered frowning and Peeta nodded with a hum, after complaining they quietly got ready for the reaping. The first day of the 'celebration', as Caesar Flickerman always says, is the introduction of the tributes and future Victor. And the celebration needs attire to match the festivity.
So mandatory festive semi-formal clothes have ensued and Peeta hates it, like what— you have to dress formally to make yourself look presentable before engaging in a life-or-death battle with kids near or similar to his age? Like killing to survive is a happy occasion? District 12 agrees with him, all refusing to wear festive clothing and opting a neutral, near funeral-like clothing. That is why black and grey are most of the colors Capitol's can see during life, that is what they feel that is what they'll wear.
'Oh, great Capitol' he thinks sarcastically 'we're honored to be the pawns for the Hunger Games'.
Hunger Games, an annual game that started as a punishment for starting the Dark Days and torturing the Capitol netizens which now turned into what connects us Districts to the Capitols, at least that's what the history books says. From Peeta's point of view, the games make all the districts fear or hate one another and the games makes the Capitols think they're just bloodthirsty animals who want honor, not scared teens who are forced to fight to go back home.
'Overall the Hunger Games made a good propaganda, so no one could rebel against the Capitol.'
This makes him hate and pity them at the same time like we're not all homo sapiens destroying mother earth. Peeta reminds them of the Jabberjays, a genetically engineered homing 'bird', manipulated to stalk the lives of rebels and report it to their masters. Made to be mindless mutts that once given a choice, could be good and associate with fellow species.
District 12 tries not to be like the Capitol, being the poorest and least guarded district helps to that, it made them more 'free' compared to the other districts. They can sneak out of the border to get food, herbs, water, and wash our bodies or clothes; but they're not allowed to go too far since they might reach Districts 8, 3, and 13. And if you run the other way you'll reach a Cliffed Coast with Sea mutts created by Capitol netizens during the Dark Days. Though some say the sea mutts are already extinct you can't be so sure, because Mockingjays exists and there might be a sea version of it. Cannibal dolphins, large piranhas, fast electric eels, etc.
Sneaking out of the border to get necessities wouldn't have started if the 3 large mines—that were created during the building of Panem— hadn't blown up leading to starvation, brownouts to the other districts, and complete blackout in 12 aside from the LS butcher and Mellark bakery 5 years ago. The mining supplies were too old that they caught up and killed thousands of workers. It was so bad Haymitch Abernathy needed to step in by earning more money than he already had and talk to the other Victors for help since District 12 coal mining is only for the other districts.
This gave teens below 18 and widowed Seams a chance to work at the Merchant sections while the Merchant men mine with the workers we had left. The money the Merchants earn is given to the orphanage and workers. Merchants like them were also affected, with their mom making them sneak out of the border to get water, and fruits, and bathe with the others.
It was terrible for everyone, he heard some Seam teens 18 and above who can't mind sell their bodies to the Peacekeepers like Cray. Peeta himself risked their family business by burning the bread and throwing it to the starving people that are outside their bakery. He's done it so much that he was forbidden to go outside during work or just decorate the cupcakes. It doesn't help that his dad was mining and with his mom needing to teach the new workers and raise him and his 3 other brothers she became the 'witch' everyone knows today.
Katniss Everdeen, his crush, was one of them, with her mom Mrs. Shiloh Everdeen slowly going into dissociation and deep depression, it's up to Katniss to feed her and her family. Ash, his oldest brother, told him Mrs. Everdeen tried, that she would go to the hob and teach them what fruits, mushrooms, and herbs are edible and which animals are poisonous in return for money for the first 2 years before completely losing it.
Everyone suffered but it made the Seams and Merchant's economic class slowly lessen and made their current generation free to be friends and marry.
"-Peet! Peeta! Breakfast is ready, what are you staring the the bookshelf for?" Zal, his younger brother, asked while tilting his head.
"Nothing, let's eat"
After sitting Peeta's stomach growls as he stares at the food at the table, French onion soup with squirrel and sourdough bread with the onions that are grown from their rooftop 'vegetable patch'.
He grinned at his mom "Thanks Mom," she smiled back at him with a nod.
Dad raised his glass of water "Now that we're all together, let's eat, and may the odds—"
"Be ever in our favor!" They completed the sentence with a laugh, it's better to joke about the day than to cry or worry. Though Peeta can sense the stiff demeanor and shallow breaths.
As always, going to the square during the reaping is as suffocating as the previous reaping, both literally and figuratively. It's cramped and it's the day 2 lives will be lost and mourned.
"Hey Maize you have a bet?" Mr. Loveridge asked his mom
"Just Gale Hawthorne" she whispered and Peeta left to sign up
He went towards the 16-year-old group of boys and gave each other a short good-luck nod. There are two columns separated by gender, before it used to be separated by Seams and Merchants but it all changed three years ago.
Peeta yawned looking down, he suddenly felt sleepy but before closing his eyes he pinched his palm fully waking him up. He looks up and is fully awakened by Effie Trinket's light pink Marie Antoinette hairstyle, pale white skin, and fern green ballgown with dark green ruffles and outer corset.
'What the fuck— why?'
Peeta hears Harry Thunderwood choke a laugh and he bites his gum to remind himself this is live television.
'Effie... Mayor... where's Haymitch Abernathy? Drunk again?'
"Wish us District 12 can drink like Haymitch, would love to drink my troubles away." Elijah Vee Yang, a Seam, whispered towards Peeta who nodded humming.
Even without the mining explosions, District 12 loved drinking and overdosing their hunger away which led to many disasters and a lack of enough coal to give to the 11 districts. So 30 years ago the other districts made a petition to make District 12 stop drinking any drug substances except for medical reasons.
Peeta then saw their only living Victor, olive skin, grey eyes, black eyebrows, and eyelashes but curly sandy blonde hair. They said that after he won some scientist secretly bioengineered his hair to resemble the color of his ally's hair Maysilee Donner. He made angry comments about it during his interview with Caesar Flickerman which led to his family and then-girlfriend dying. He never talked about his hair ever again, no one joked about it too, except for Mrs. Maybelle Undersee who is Maysilee's twin.
Haymitch staggers onto the stage and falls into the third chair. He looks very drunk, 'does he need to drink alcohol for breakfast?'. The crowd applauded and laughed, but he ignored them looking at Effie with confusion. Probably asking himself if that was Effie or not then- 'Did he just smell her? maybe hug? Yeah, Hamitch hugged Effie because he could not smell her to know if it was her- how close are they that Haymitch can tell it was her from her scent? And doesn't Capitol perfume have a strong scent? How could he not smell it from afa- okay STOP!'
"Let's welcome our District 12 escort Effie Trinket!" Mayor Undersee announced trying to put the attention onto the reaping, 'You just have to respect him, his so stressed out he's balding'
"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" Her smile looks forced and practiced, with her eyes soulless, unlike the other escorts from the other districts. That's probably why she was never promoted even after 11 years of being an escort at age 38, the only times Peeta saw her eyes sparkling and looked genuinely happy was 10 years ago and when Haymitch tried to hug her 'because that is what his doing'.
'because there's no fucking way Haymitch Abernathy would flirt nor fuck a Capitol, but then again Zal could be right that the sponsors have ownership towards the Victors they help survive. So Haymitch wouldn't have had any choice. So it was his instinct to flirt with the nearest Capitol he sees while drunk, but why the fuck does he have a mischievous glint in his eyes? And why do Effie's eyes genuinely spark, is that lust? Oh no is she paying Haymitch? No, she's not the type of person. I think. Fuck are you even allowed to love a Capitol? They're the type to perceive anything as ownership, probably groomed to think that way like how they think about the Hunger Games.'
"Ladies first!" Peeta stopped thinking and his heartbeat started beating loudly. He hopes she's not anyone he knows, he hopes she could have a fast torture-less death and could watch over her family peacefully-
"Delly Cartwright!" Effie Trinket said with a fake cheery voice
Peeta closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his trembling, 'No. Not Delly, please she's the best of us please'. He looked at Delly who's being given space to walk towards the middle, she's seemingly accepting her death but then looked at Rye with a sad tearful smile holding his hand before walking towards the stage. 'Fuck!'
He looked at Rye, his nape was pale, with Gale Hawthorne's right forearm and palm five inches away from Rye's back and shoulders.
They're supposed to be engaged after the Hunger Games, Rye's already taking part-time at the CartShoe Makers with Delly sometimes cooking at the bakery while gossiping with the whole family.
The ring from their grandparents is already sized for them to wear.
"Any volunteers?" sobs were coming from the 12-year-olds and 18-year-olds, Peeta finally let his tears fall. 'Maybe she could win! She can get sponsors and-'
"It’s time to choose our boy tribute!" Effie continued, then she planted one hand on her tilted wig as she crossed to the ball that contained the boys’ names, Peeta watched with dread and followed her every movement as she grabbed the first slip she encountered.
"Peeta Mellark!" 'SON OF A ROTTEN FUCKIN' WHORE!' he took a deep inhale and tried to calm himself, but who is he fooling? He probably looks like prey, and him being reaped with Delly means that she would do everything for him to live, 'but then again she would do it to anyone'
"NO!" Rye yelled, finally managing to go back to his senses. Peeta also snapped and slowly walked toward the middle. Everyone's looking at him, he unconsciously looks at Katniss. Her hair is done beautifully today, with her mother's old soft grey dress that matches her doe grey eyes. Katniss is looking at him in an odd expression that Peeta never saw before which is odd because he always looks at her and knows her every expression like how her nose scrunchs when she smiles at Primrose or her sharp gaze whenever she's trading with his dad. Peeta nodded at him stiffly and walked towards the stage.
He walked towards Rye and whispered "Don't you dare think about making a Romeo and Juliet tragedy, Delly wouldn't want you to go there because of her and would want you safe here. I also wouldn't want you to go there because the odds were not in my favor."
"It's a tragedy no matter what I do, and wouldn't you do the same if it was any of us?" Rye gripped Peeta's shoulders, looking at all of him as if he might disappear once he let go.
'Yes, yes I would'
"Let me be selfish for once Rye, comfort the Cartwright's too."
He then pulled away from Rye and walked up the stage.
"Any Volunteers?" thankfully Rye did not Volunteer
"Let's now congratulate the tributes of District 12!" no one applauded, most people looked shocked that the tributes were two merchants. His mom, dad, and brothers look like ghosts, he would've laughed if this wasn't a he's going to die situation.