A/N: Thanks everyone who read the first chapter, and all the positive reviews, I hope that you guys can keep up with me!

"What you don't know intrigues you more than what you do know." – Loretta Young

Katniss couldn't help but to moan in delight, her taste buds were reaching nirvana and due a slice of lemon tart.

"Do you really like it?" Peeta asks, spoon playing idly with his peach ice cream.

The girl nodded swallowing loudly, "I should ask the pastry chef to marry me, or at least take him hostage at my house and make him bake these for me forever," she says in a hurry to take another bite. Katniss is not one to feel self-conscious about her table manners, if anything she indulges her gluttony streak with far more ease than she should, but the way that Peeta is staring at her now is enervating, perhaps it should be satisfying considering her ultimate plan for him.

His eyes had darken – in a manner that Katniss assumed only happened in old novels – and the smile that he is wearing is without doubt predatory, "I did these," he says pleased.

Katniss chokes, coughing and searching for her glass of water.

Peeta laughs passing her the glass, "You're not going to die before taking me hostage, are you?" his laughter gets louder with the blush that graces the girl's face, "I'm just kidding, but I wouldn't mind making more just for you while keeping my freedom,"

She smiles bashfully at him, "That would be nice," she takes another bite.

After spilling her drink all over Peeta's jacket the two of them end up sitting together at Prim's table, the girl and Rue eyeing them warily before resuming the conversation far from them. Peeta only smiled at Katniss when that happened. He seemed to be on a mission to provide anything for Katniss, he went to get her drinks and food whenever she voiced something like 'that salmon looks delicious,' or 'I could use a martini'.

He was gentleman, even his posture denounced him. Peeta held a conversation like a professional host, he had a sense of humor that was slight self-depreciative but never mean or shady, and Katniss notice a couple of curious things about him while they talked.

Peeta double laced his shoes, he favored sugar free drinks and had a penchant for baked goods. Part of Katniss wondered if Peeta had spent time with his family in their bakery before the fire that consumed their lives.

Suddenly there is rustling and people grunting, the latter coming mostly from men, and a few whistles and even a cat-call, Katniss spots the bronze hair before anything else and nearly groans at the sight.

With tanned skin, white charming smile, designer's suit and a cosmopolitan in hand, Finnick Odair is a sight to behold and a dangerous wild card in Katniss's plans more so. She is already on edge with just his sudden appearance, she doesn't need…

"Peeta, my boy!" Finnick almost barks when he is within reach of the pair, of course he would know Peeta Mellark, "Glad to see you my friend… oh! That is a nasty stain,"

Peeta rolls his eyes, "Nice to see you too, Finnick," he spares a quick glance at the red stain in his blazer's sleeve that is resting over the chairs next to them, "Thanks for pointing out the obvious," there is something hidden in Peeta's word that catches Katniss' attention, almost as if Peeta was bothered by Finnick's presence.

"Sorry man," the older boy then eyes Katniss in a clear double-take that has the girl bristling in her seat, the smirk he throw his way is not missed on Peeta, "Who is your lady friend?"

Peeta's eye narrow ever so slightly, "This Katniss Abernathy, she our new neighbor," the way that the words come out leave no room for question about Peeta clear dislike for Finnick's approach, "Would you do us the kindness to behave properly, at least with her?" and if Katniss didn't knew better she would have assumed that it was an order.

Finnick shifts his gaze between the pair before smiling widely at them, "Why don't we leave for Katniss to decide? Seems only fair,"

At that Katniss's jaw clicks, she is breathing evenly trying to keep her cool, "I don't think that I have in me the time to spare with you Mr. Odair, besides I don't have much to keep the pleasure of your company," the subliminal message strikes right on and Finnick's face crumbles quickly, but he smiles just as fast to cover it up.

"I see," his gaze falls to the floor and he make his way to the other side of the boat, but he makes the choice of going past Katniss and as soon as he is in her earshot only he whispers, "Your secrets would pay an entire night with me,"

And with that he is gone, and Katniss nearly sighs. Finnick did what he came to do, make himself notice in her radar, and now she has a wildcard in the plans. But as with any other card Katniss can make two things happen with it, make sure to use it to her advantage or discard it from the game.

As soon as Finnick is out of the picture Peeta seems to get in a better mood, "I'm impressed, not many people have refuted Finnick's advances, not in front of me at least," there is a certain edge to his voice that Katniss finds intriguing, "He stole a girlfriend of mine once," he clarifies like he is reading her thoughts.

"Must have been a nasty affair," she tries to conceit, but he only frowns at her.

He shakes his head while sipping the last of his club soda, "Not really, she was the wrong girl for me, it took Finnick and his lewd behavior for me to notice," he stares after Finnick who now is talking to a lonely Enobaria, "It was for the best,"

"So I take it that you two are friends now?"

Peeta gives a humorless laugh, "Not really… civil towards each other at best, we don't have much common ground anyway,"

It's like comparing water and wine really, Peeta and Finnick are both too distinguishable, and are polar opposites of one another behavior wise, almost haltingly so. They resume their amicable banter with just enough flirtatious moves when Peeta volunteers to get them more drinks, "Maybe I can offer you a Dry Martini, less chances of accidental stains," he eyes his ruined blazer and Katniss rolls her eyes playfully.

"You're not going to let that one go are you?"

He raises his hands, "Hey you made quite the splash in our first meeting already!" when no laugh is forthcoming, "No? No smile? Okay, bad puns are not you thing," that gets a smile from her and he leaves with a smile of his own plastered in his face.

Maybe Katniss will be able to keep Peeta entertained for the rest of the evening, he a vital part of her master plan and so far he seems nice enough to not become a burden. The fact that he is gallant and easy on the eyes is an obvious plus, she won't pretend that it isn't. But there is something else about him that has Katniss intrigued, and she can see that she has the same effect on him.

Katniss's train of thought is interrupted by a quiet static noise followed by Mrs. Snow's voice, "Good afternoon everyone, I'm so glad and thrilled with the presence of all of you," her smile is sweet but it holds something that even from where Katniss is standing doesn't quite manage to come off as genuine.

Alma is standing in small wooden structure set above the wharf and she is being escorted by two bodyguards. Granted they are wearing simple navy polo shirts and khakis but the proximity and stance does not fool Katniss, they are clearly there to protect her at any given moment.

"And to start things off, I shall announce the winner of our art auction," the auction was part of the entire charity façade. The piece itself was a mesmerizing Mamet painting – apparently the Snows were notorious art collectors and Alma was bored with the Mamet in question, "And the winner is… my dear friend, Enobaria Callaghan," there is a round of good natured applauses.

Enobaria looks the complete definition of surprise on the contrary, because she seems at best constipated, she is seated in a large table that no one aside from her decided to put it to use. Prim stands behind her looking bored, Effie not far from there.

Peeta is standing close to her, drinks in hand, even with all the noise and conversation going around she could still his heavy footsteps, "But instead of the Mamet, Enobaria will be leaving with the treasured Van Gogh that hangs in my living room," at that Enobaria can't suppress a gasp and her face crumbles. Alma whispers something to one of the bodyguards before smiling brightly at the crowd.

There are a collective set of hushed whispers, surprised commotion and not so subtle sideway smirks. Glancing briefly at Peeta, Katniss can see that he is surprised too, "But the Van Gogh was a gift from Brutus and Enobaria," he says absently almost as if to no one in particular. Also not far from them Mr. Snow look worse for wear, not only he is surprised but something akin to disappointed is written all across his face.

"Also in related news, Enobaria asked me to announce that the beach house that she shared with her husband is officially on the market," Mrs. Snow voice is genuinely thrilled, a few seconds later two security agents approach Enobaria and they are not too discreet about escorting her off the boat, "I'm afraid that this is will be Enobaria's last weekend on the Hamptons," Alma declares with a sweetness that rivals the sugary goodness made by Peeta.

Finnick is filming Enobaria's humiliation with his phone practically on her face. Prim and Effie looked confused by the entire act.

"So call your retailers ladies and gentlemen, because this is one is going to go fast," Enobaria looks at Alma for a moment, and the tension could only be sliced with a chainsaw, "And Enobaria, whenever you end up… I hope that the Van Gogh is a constant reminder of the friendship that we shared," the next round of applause is appropriate. It's not every day that a friend obliterates the other, socially at that, in front of a live audience.

Alma seems beyond pleased with the outcome of her auction and for moment her eyes lay upon Katniss in a seizing stare, almost as if she was a feral creature displaying her power in front of a new prey. Katniss wonders how much this woman remembers from the past, if she took more people out of her life out of convenience, maybe in more permanent ways, or if all of this is just some past time for her now.

The memory is clear in Katniss's head. It was a typical Wednesday, her father was watching some musical reality show re-run, till to this day Katniss can't quite remember the actual song that the contestant was trying to sing in the show but it sounded eerily familiar, like it was a song she heard before in an important event. She was reading her father's plant book when a beam of light just outside the porch got her attention, her and the weird kitten that lived with them at the house – the cat wasn't a pet, he just showed up unannounced and her father gave him food occasionally, Katniss ignored the thing more often than not.

However, unlike when Katniss played 'crazy cat' with her father's flashlight the kitten didn't move, it just stood in a defensive posture. That got the girl's attention, she turned to say something to her father, but he was focused in notebook. So she stood from her spot in the living room and went to check the source of the light.

At the very moment she dared to peak through the white curtains several other lights joined the first one and a man in a jet black uniform emerged from the shadows.

It was as if hell had been broken loose. Katniss screamed, which startled her father and set everything else in fast motion, the man in the uniform wasn't alone, there was dozens of him. They broke inside the house, and the girl jumped back only to stumble upon one of the men that had got through the kitchen door, they took her by the arms, and she felt like a ragdoll under their hold. Her father screamed for them to let her go and she screamed back.

But they were taking her away.

She started kicking, screaming, crying for her father and then she saw them.

They neighbors, the man with snake eyes and the woman with pretty hair, the Snows, both of them looking at her with a hollow expression that conveyed little emotion despite the emotional display of misery happening in front of them. The woman was looking right into Katniss eyes, and it felt like a hot brand being burned into the girl's mind.

"Here, a martini for you," Peeta disrupts her thoughts again, he is holding a club soda of his own, "To chance meetings," they click glasses.

Katniss smiles, "To an unforgettable summer,"

"So, gastronomy…" Katniss says with an easy smile, resting her head in her hand over the table, "Why do I have a feeling that your family was not happy with that?"

Peeta smirked at that, "My uncle and aunt threw a fit of legends, I think people in Manhattan could hear them shouting at me," he says playfully, "Prim got a headache that took days to go away,"

"What a delicate flower," Katniss teases good-naturedly, "She didn't seem much of a daddy's girl when I met her earlier," she elaborates.

The smirk in the boy's face gets for the first time really cocky, "She is certainly not, but they don't need to know that," he almost whispers the last part, which is ludicrous since there is barely a soul left around them.

They've been talking for hours, drinking and avoiding being near other people. Katniss finds Peeta's company eerily pleasant, almost as if being friendly and communicative is a crafted skill that he possesses instead of a natural trait. Peeta talks about how beautiful Singapore is this time of the year, about a new trend in restaurants that is happening there and summarizes his trip to the island.

In no moment Peeta clarifies the reason for his passage in the foreign country nor does he give any personal information. Katniss also questions if this something practiced or just Peeta's behavior, but she decides to think that is the former. There is no chance a Snow – albeit only for affiliation in Peeta's case – is not trained to be obnoxiously elusive.

"So, what about you? I take it that you are Haymitch's tutee, given your last name and all," he says sipping the last of his club soda. Katniss has noticed that Peeta is prudent with alcohol, he'd had a glass of vodka tonic earlier but that was about it, what makes the girl wonder if he has any reasons to avoid drinking.

She shrugs, "Nothing much, at least not recently, Haymitch keeps me busy whenever I'm in London," she says dawning her dry martini in one go.

"Oh, London… does he lives there now?"

She nods, "He enjoys rain, monarchy and tennis, I went there for Wimbledon this year, but Haymitch can tire me out very quickly, and since he is not very fond of beaches, that makes the Hamptons an amazing escape for me," which is all true, it's not like she hides Haymitch nature from anyone, he is truly insufferable, "I don't think that he is fond of anything in general, do you know him?"

Peeta smiles at her, "Not really, but he held some negotiations with my uncle many years ago, he so… unique, that is hard to forget the impression that he leaves," he sips his drinks, "And hey, he is fond of you I guess,"

"Touché," she smiles back at him, the soft breeze making her hair swish and for more than a second Peeta seems truly entranced by the sight of Katniss. Of course it's then that his aunt decides to appear.

Mrs. Snow hesitates the moments she sees them. Katniss can only imagine what it must look like from the outside. A couple talking intimately, all alone at the deck of a luxurious boat with easy smiles and laidback postures chilling under the last rays of the sunset, if not feeling intrusive Peeta's aunt will at least be uncomfortable.

Truth to Katniss' instinct the woman has to clear her throat in a clear effort to get their attention, Mr. Snow is not far from her now, but he keeps his distance from them, "Peeta, my dear, it's getting late and we are leaving, sorry to interrupt your conversation with your friend," the woman nearly grits the word friend, she looks at Katniss as if they weren't introduced earlier, almost as if the girl was a strange being from a foreign place.

"Oh, right, let me introduce you, Katniss this is my aunt Alma," he gestures between the two women, "Aunt this is Katniss Abernathy,"

The older woman seems stunned for a couple of seconds, a smile blooming in her face right afterwards, "I know the lovely Mrs. Abernathy my dear, she is our new neighbor,"

Peeta turns to Katniss with a questioning look, "I'm the girl next door," Katniss says with a shrug and an easy smile, Peeta smiles back at her which makes his aunt raise an eyebrow.

"As I was saying, we are leaving Peeta," she says in a stern voice, "It was a pleasure meeting you Ms. Abernathy, I'm hoping to see a lot more of you this summer,"

Katniss can hear loud and clear all the falseness of the woman's voice, "I hope so too,"

Alma looks hesitant, she takes a few steps back giving a pointedly look at Peeta before leaving, Mr. Snow waiting for her, he even smiles and waves at the both young adults. Peeta relaxes the minute they are out of sight, "Guess I'm going then, they are my ride,"

"That's a shame, just as the party was finally getting fun,"

The only sound around them was of the catering crew cleaning the tables inside the boat.

Peeta laughs, "Not a people person I take it," the girl nods smiling, "Me neither," the boy stares intently at the girl before speaking again, "There is polo match happening in two days, is at the Bridgehampton, you should come,"

She eyes him skeptically, "You are seriously inviting the girl who doesn't like people to watch a polo match surrounded by strangers?" she can see the sudden flush of color rising to his cheeks.

"I didn't think this through did I?" she shakes her head laughing, "Okay, how about this, you come to the match and after I win we can hang out together and loathe about being surrounded by strangers,"

It actually coaxes a genuine smile from her, "That's sounds like a great idea,"

"It does, doesn't it?" it eerily bizarre how much Katniss is smiling, she doesn't even want to dwell much on the fact that is not too much forced, "So, see you later?"

She nods, "See you later,"

And with that Peeta leaves. Katniss guesses that the stain in his blazer will never leave.

The house is pretty much the same, a two story wooden structured colonial house in baby blue and white color, along with white fences and resilient vegetation around the sandy terrain. Katniss has barely passed the threshold when a presence makes it way towards her.

She turns around and has the man pinned to one of the pillars, her fore arm constricting his throat, "Do you have any idea how easy it would be for me to crush your windpipe?" Finnick's sea green eyes are wide in surprise and terror, he is gasping, but Katniss knows that the amount of pressure she is putting is enough for him to speak.

She forces her wrist further.

"I came here to help!" he nearly shouts. It would be a shout if his voice didn't come completely broken. Finnick must be surprised by her strength, because he is taller than her by some inches and is clearly more built but he still struggles under her hold.

Katniss releases him and Finnick stumbles while catching his breath, "You can't help me Finnick, you have no business in this," he scoffs at that. Katniss narrows her eyes at him, he may be taller than her but somehow they both know that she is the one towering above him.

He is caressing his throat, "You've got to be kidding me!" his eyes looks just as much as incredulous as they are heated, "They ruined my life too, and your father was the one that helped me when no one else would! I own that to him,"

She eyes him warily, "You don't want to be involved in this Finnick, I can assure you, when I'm done with them there won't be any skeletons hidden in their closets," it feels that she needs to elaborate more in order to make him understand, "Not even the ones that you set there yourself," Finnick bows his head down.

"That's fine, you don't want my help," he stares at her, eye to eye, "But I can guarantee, that I'm a powerful enemy, just as much as they are,"

Katniss nearly smiles at his sullen threat, "If you decide to cross me, you'll find the same end that they will,"

Finnick looks oddly hurt at that, as if the idea of going against her is insulting to him, but it's for the best. Finnick has already damaged himself enough while being under the Snow's command. Katniss doesn't really know what went down between the Odairs and the Snows, her father never mentioned in any of his diaries, just some vague information that didn't meant much to her.

Finnick nods and leaves in the same manner that he got there, in silence.

It takes some moments for her to resume what she was doing. She changes her clothing and decides to clear her head in the wooden wharf that resides in the periphery of the property. The wharf was there even before she moved here with her father, and it hold a special place in her heart, she remember spending time gazing at birds in the morning and at the starts at night. It remains chilly at night, a sight that is just the beginning of the summer in the Hamptons. She turns around with the wind fanning her hair, she has a prime perspective of the Snow Manor from the wharf, and it may be the lights playing tricks with her mind, but she is almost positive that there is a silhouette in the upper floor balcony gazing at her.

From afar she can see the young woman standing in solitude over the private wooden wharf of the former Callaghan's property; it's a lovely thing, the wharf. It was built before the Everdeens moved into the Hamptons, Alma can even remember the day, when the young couple arrived at the Hamptons, when they decided to use the wharf, the day that the couple decided to spend dancing in that stupid adorable wharf all day long.

It was sickening to some point, the Everdeens. Ethan Everdeen was the new CEO to one of the rising companies that had been added to the Snow's portfolio, his wife Clara Everdeen a doctor, who was pregnant at the time and they already had a young baby girl, Katherine Everdeen, if she isn't wrong.

That baby girl would be Ms. Abernathy age by now. In another life she could be where Katniss Abernathy is, in the simple and beautiful house that faces the beach…

The phone rings only two times before answering, "Yes?"

"I want you to find out everything you can about a young girl named Katniss Abernathy,"

"Katniss Abernathy," the voice repeats.

"Yes,"

The phones goes silent and Alma keeps staring at Katniss, who seems lost gazing at the stars.

A/N: In this chapter I found out that my favorite part was to create new things instead of adapting the original show.

Katniss and Finnick's dynamic is something that I really want to explore, as well Peeta and Prim's. And just so we are clear, the Snows are not the only ones on Katniss sight, and I'll only stick to Revenge's season one *because season two was awful, and the third was great only in the end*