A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first attempt at something that is not a one-shot (it's like a bunch of one-shots XD), and even though I have no idea how this is going to turn out, I hope you enjoy it anyways!

Disclaimer: (I'm just going to say this once) As much as I wish I did, I don't own any of the characters or places from The Hunger Games. Everything belongs to the wonderfully talented Suzanne Collins.

I can still remember the first time I saw her. It was the first day of school and we were both five years old at the time. That was eleven years ago. Did I know back then just how much she would come to mean to me? No. But even then, I knew that she was different.

She was always different. While the other girls would laugh and giggle together, she would just walk by without even so much as a glance in their direction, her shoulders straight and her chin held high. She wasn't afraid to be herself. That was what made her, her, and that was why I loved her.

...

Eleven years ago...

...

"Peeta!" I turn around as I hear my name being called. I see my father standing a little ways away, beckoning me towards him. "You don't want to be left behind!"

Huffing slightly, I run to his side. "I was looking at that tree," I say, pointing towards a towering oak. Its many branches form a canopy over our heads as sunlight illuminates its brilliant red and orange leaves, casting shifting shadows on the ground. "It's so pretty and colorful!" I say reverently.

My father leans down. "That's because it's autumn. Now hurry, you don't want to be late for your first day of school, do you?"

Shaking my head vigorously, I follow him down the path, trying to avoid being jostled by all the people around us. My eyes are open wide in excitement; I have been looking forward to this day for a long time—ever since I had first heard my two older brothers discussing this "school." Now, I'm finally here. A huge grin stretches across my face as I look around.

Many families are standing clustered together around the courtyard, some holding toddlers, others chatting animatedly amongst themselves. All around me, I can see children my age hugging their parents and siblings, their faces lit up with the same nervous anticipation that I feel.

Everyone turns around as a gray haired woman walks out of the building, looking very official in a crisp, gray suit. She says something in a low voice to a small group of people beside her and gestures towards something before she walks back into the building again. Confused, I just stand there as the other kids begin to say goodbye to their parents and siblings.

"It's time to line up now. School's about to begin." My father says, patting me absent-mindedly on the back. He seems distracted, his gaze roving around as if he's looking for something or someone. Apparently, he finds what he's looking for because he pauses and raises an eyebrow. "Peeta," he says, his voice sounding strange.

I look up at him questioningly. "What is it?"

He sets a hand on my shoulder. "See that little girl?" I follow the direction of his nod and see a small family of four. A tall dark haired man and a beautiful blonde woman who is holding a young infant in one hand are hugging a small girl goodbye. It's too far away to tell what the little girl looks like, but from here, I can see that she is wearing a red plaid dress and her dark hair is braided in two plaits down her back.

"I wanted to marry her mother," my father says, "But she ran off with a coal miner."

Staring at the blond lady again, I say incredulously, "A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner if she could've had you?" I'm not trying to be mean; I'm just stating the obvious. Even though we are not wealthy, we still have enough money to get by and live a relatively comfortable lifestyle.

My father gives me a tired half-smile, running his hand through his hair before answering. "Because when he sings… even the birds stop to listen."

"Really?" I breathe, turning my gaze to the dark haired man. It still seems odd that she would pick the coal miner over my father, but if he could sing... "I want to hear him!" I say enthusiastically.

Letting out a small chuckle, my father says, "Maybe. Not now. It's time to line up for school. Behave—I'll see you again in the afternoon." And with that, he turns his back on me and begins walking away.

Sighing, I stare at his retreating back. My father isn't someone who wastes his time on unnecessary words, but just this once, I wish that he could've stayed a bit longer to say goodbye to me. Sure, I'm excited, but at the same time, I'm a bit nervous too. This is all so new, and having a familiar face around is comforting. However, I'm glad that it was my father who dropped me off, and not my mother. She's always snapping at me or my brothers, and once, I even saw her hit one of them.

I let out another small sigh and start heading towards the place where the lady in gray indicated that we should line up, feeling empty inside. There's no one to talk to—all the other children are preoccupied, standing in line and talking together in small groups, but I don't know any of them. I spot the dark haired girl wearing the red plaid dress again. Like me, she is standing by herself and seems lost. I'm in my middle of debating whether or not I should go over and talk to her before someone interrupts me from my thoughts.

"Hi!" a voice chirps from beside me.

I turn around and see a boy my own age with fair hair and mischievous brown eyes grinning at me. "Hi." I say shyly.

"Is this your first day too? Because this is mine! Aren't you so excited? I know I am! My name is Rian! What's yours?" He says this all very quickly and loudly.

Blinking once, I reply hesitantly. "My name's Peeta. This is my first day of school too."

"Really?" Rian's smile gets even wider if that is possible. "Hi Peeta! Let's be friends!"

"Okay!" I smile back, deciding that Rian is nice and I like him. "So do you know what we're supposed to be doing right now?"

Rian looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I know that we're lining up right now, and we're supposed to have a music assembly next. My dad said that the music assembly was supposed to help make us more comfortable here." He grins impishly, "But I told my dad that I'm already comfortable here! There are no parents around, so I can't get in trouble!"

I laugh. "Do you get in trouble a lot?"

Shrugging, Riansays, "I suppose. But that's only because my mommy is always in such a bad mood."

"My mommy is mean too. She's always shouting at me."

"Yes. All mommies are mean and shout a lot." Rian says solemnly. "Daddies are nice!"

Quickly, I shake my head. "No, sometimes my mommy is nice!" I say earnestly.

"But that's only sometimes," Rian points out.

"Oh." I say knowledgeably. I'm beginning to like Rian a lot. He seems very smart.

"Look!" Rian says suddenly. "The line is moving! I bet it's time for the music assembly now!"

We both look forward eagerly and follow everyone else inside. I am slightly disappointed. The interior of the school is rather like the outside—rough-hewn gray stone with a few windows scattered around the corridors to let in some light. I shiver.

"Are you cold?" Rian asks curiously.

"Not really," I reply, shaking my head. "But this place is." Not in the literal sense. It just seems so... unwelcoming—like no one has ever taken the time to decorate this place and make it more cheerful.

"So you're cold? 'Cuz my mommy made me bring an extra jacket even though I told her that I didn't need one. You can borrow it if you want!"

I shake my head again. "No, never mind, but thank you." I say. Sensing that he is still confused, I deliberately change the subject. "I think we're almost there!"

Sure enough, we step out into an extremely large room a moment later. It is exactly like the rest of the school—gray, hard and cold. The lady dressed in gray tells us all to sit down. She herself remains standing next to a stool.

"Welcome to this school. We are pleased that you are here. We hope that you are comfortable…" the lady dressed in gray drones on and on in a monotonous voice. It's not long until all the children begin zoning her out and looking bored. Rian and I glance at each other, and he rolls his eyes in the direction of the lady in the gray and sticks out his tongue. I smile, which prompts him to wrinkle his nose at her as well. Before long, Rian and I have completely forgotten about the assembly and are instead taking turns to make faces at each other.

"Our goals are to help each and every one of you and educate you in the ways of—will you two boys over there please stop making those horrible faces?" the lady's voice sharpens, and Rian and I both look over at her guiltily. I can see that everyone's faces are turned toward us, so I duck my head down, my ears burning. Rian gives them all a cheeky smile and waves.

The lady shakes her head, and continues on. "As I was saying before, we are here to help you and educate you in the ways of..." Soon, everyone begins tuning her out again.

"Whew!" Rian sighs. "That was close! See, I told you we couldn't get in trouble here!"

"Yes, but let's try to not do it again." I whisper. Rian nods.

The lady in gray, who I now know is called "the prin-ci-pal," introduces someone new to us and leaves. Apparently, the new person is the music teacher, and for the next few hours, this music teacher makes us sing song after countless song. She claims that this will help us be more comfortable and get to know each other better. Privately, I think to myself that the only thing all these songs are doing are making me desperately want some water. I look over at Rian, and I see that he too looks bored.

"Good job everyone!" the teacher says brightly. I think she's trying to sound encouraging, but instead, she sounds like one of those people from the Capitol with their strange accents and colorful appearances.

"Now, it's time for the valley song! Does anyone know the valley song?" she pauses, and a hand shoots into the air. It's the small girl with the red plaid dress.

"You know the song? Why don't you come on up and sing if for us?" the teacher says, patting the stool next to her. Needing no further encouragement, the little girl springs right up and climbs on top of the stool.

By now, I'm interested. I wonder if she has a good voice too, like her father.

Taking a deep breath, the girl begins to sing. The room falls silent.

Now I'm not going to lie and say that she has the voice of an angel, because she doesn't. Her voice is good, but it isn't great. It's still childish, but it's charming. She misses some of the high notes, but she makes up for it with the passion in her voice. You can hear it in the way she sings and see it in the intense look in her eyes. Time does not stop and the sun and stars do not align, but everyone does grow completely quiet. It's impossible to not be enthralled by her song.

Like everyone else, I am so caught up in her song that it takes me a while to realize that she is close enough now that I can actually see her face. She has dark hair, wide gray eyes and olive skin. Right away, I know that she is different. It's in the way she holds herself, the way that her eyes are so intense even when she's singing. She's pretty, but her voice is what captivates me the most.

I want to close my eyes, to just let her voice wash over me, but I can't. I can't tear my gaze from her face. She has everyone else under her spell too; hanging onto her every word, unable to look away. I know that the end of the song is fast approaching, but I can't help but wish that the song would go on forever. Her voice becomes almost unbearably sweet and sad as the song draws to a close, her last note hanging in the air before finally fading away.

There is a deafening silence. I notice that even the birds outside the window have fallen silent. It's almost like they understand how sacred this moment is.

Finally, someone begins clapping. The noise soon grows into a thunderous roar as everyone stands up and follows their example.

"Not bad," Rian shouts over the applause. I nod, my eyes still on her.

Through all of this, I still haven't torn my gaze away from her face. In this moment, I finally understand how her mother must have felt when she first heard the coal miner sing. It doesn't even matter that I don't even know her name, but in this moment, I do know that just like her mother, I am a goner as well.

And it's as if she can sense my thoughts, because although the entire audience is on their feet applauding her, she turns around and looks straight at me.

So what do you think? Should I continue? I'd appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism!