A/N - Hey everyone! This is my first Hunger Games fanfiction, but since I love the books so much I thought I'd give it a try :) Just some quick background info, this story takes place starting at the part in Catching Fire when Katniss's wedding gown photo shoot is aired, along with the announcement about the 3rd Quarter Quell. BUT the Quarter Quell is different than the one in the book. Plus there's a lot of Katniss and Peeta 3. Hope you like it, and please review!

Chapter 1

"Katniss!" cries Prim, and I hear the sound of her feet hitting the floor as she races through our new house in the Victor's Village. "Katniss! It's on!"

I sigh and roll over, burying my face in the fluffy pillows. Of course I find it totally adorable that Prim is so excited over the premier of my wedding dress photo shoot, but me? Not so much. Just as I hear her loud knock on my bedroom door, the doorbell goes off downstairs.

Peeta.

"Katniss?" My mother shouts, "Peets'a here to watch the shoot with you."

"Katniss?" Prim lets herself in and shakes me gently.

"Katniss!" My mother repeats, annoyed.

"Katniss, get up! It's mandatory viewing, plus it isn't nice to keep poor Peeta waiting." Prim tugs on my arm.

I let a moan escape my lips. It's all just too much for me. First the games, then President Snow's visit, then the victory tour. Now, to top it all off, I'm being forced by the Capitol to marry Peeta. Not that I don't like him – I do. I probably even love him. But all of the emotions I've been feeling lately have become one tangled, chaotic mess inside of my head.

"Katniss!" says Prim. "It started a few minutes ago!"

It's just too much for one person to handle. That's exactly what it is. Too much. If it wasn't for Peeta grounding me, I'd have turned to alcohol like Haymitch.

I roll over on my back, turning my eyes on Prim. Her features soften immediately upon noticing they're rimmed with red.

"Oh, Katniss." My little sister sits down on the bed and wraps her arms around me. I force a smile and push her away gently.

"You're right," I say with fake brightness, hoping Prim won't detect it. "We better go. It's just been a pretty wild few months."

Prim nods understandingly, even though I know that what I'm going through, she could never truly understand. There's only one other person in my life that comes close to getting it – really getting it. And he's sitting downstairs right now, probably wondering why I won't come out of my room to see him.

"Quick." I grab Prim's hand, force another smile, and pull her along behind me. We enter the living room just as I appear on the television screen in my second number. My stomach clenches as everything I'd just been thinking about becomes more real.

I liked it a lot better buried in those pillows.

My mother is seated in the armchair closest to the TV, and she turns to me when Prim and I appear. "Katniss, where have you been?" Her tone is stern, and when I see Peeta seated all alone on the loveseat, I don't blame her.

"Just...thinking," I say carefully. My gaze falls on Peeta, who is smiling sadly. Like I said – only he knows and understands just what I'm thinking about. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Peeta."

"No, it's fine." He scoots over on the couch to make room for both me and Prim, who won't let go of my hand. She's staring, mesmerized, at the screen, sighing every now and then.

Peeta places his arm over my shoulders and leans in to whisper in my ear. "Katniss, are you alright?"

If I was the kind of person who could let down my walls for Peeta, invite him in, then I'd have been able to shake my head. But I'm not that kind of person. Peeta may know what I'm going through better than anyone, but he doesn't know everything. I don't want him to know everything.

So I just nod my head and crack a small smile. Peeta looks at me, unsure, before saying, "I know this is hard for you. Do you want to talk about it after the program?"

"Nah," I whisper back, "I'm fine. Really." The look on Peeta's face makes me feel even worse about not being able to open up to him. But he does his best to mask his emotions because that's just the kind of person he is.

The kind of person I'll never, ever deserve.

When I've finished parading around the television screen in my collection of wedding gowns, an announcement is made for everyone to stay tuned for an important message from the president. My stomach sinks when the realization of what the message can only be dawns on me.

"I wonder what it could be," contemplates Prim aloud. I turn to Peeta, who also knows. I find the hand that had been sitting in his lap, and grab onto it tightly. He squeezes.

A few moments later, President Snow materializes on the screen and I can't help but shudder. His visit to me before the Victory Tour is still fresh in my mind, along with the scent I'd detected on his breath – blood and roses. Peeta pulls me in closer.

"As you all know, the Third Quarter Quell is coming up very quickly," the president declares in a loud, dominating voice that makes my blood run cold, "and tonight I will announce what it will be." He goes on to explain the history of Panem, the rebellion, the Hunger Games in general. As he speaks, Peeta rubs his thumb over the back of my hand in a comforting motion. I look up into his deep blue eyes and smile anxiously.

"So what will the Third Quarter Quell be?" My eyes are glued to the screen as President Snow draws a small manila envelope from the box before him, the envelope marked '3'. I take a breath and prepare myself for this year's new twist on torture.

"This year," President Snow opens the envelope, careful not to tear the flap, and pulls out the card. "Oh!" He exclaims. I, along with every citizen of Panem, hold my breath as his eyes travel back and forth across the card. When he continues, the silence in my home is suffocating. "Well now, this is new. Quite interesting, actually. It seems that for the 75th Hunger Games there will be only twelve tributes, all of which are girls." He goes on to explain about rebels and the meaning of the Quell, but I don't listen.

Prim turns to me with wide eyes. I'm about to address her expression when the President continues.

"Oh, wait! And there's something else. Any existing female victors between the ages of 12 and 17 will have their names entered in the draw as well. Hmm, this is very different." The President gives a light-hearted, yet cruel laugh. "It looks as though this Hunger Games will shape up to be one of the most exciting yet." And with that, our screen goes blank.

I'm frozen. Unable to move. As a victor, I was supposed to be safe for the rest of my life. My name was never to be put forth in the Reaping again. But now I just feel foolish. When would I ever truly be safe from the Capitol? According to President Snow, my little berry stunt at the end of my games had stirred up thoughts of rebellion. Since the idea was completely unacceptable, I'd had to convince everyone in Panem of my innocence. That I had defied the Capitol because I was so madly in love with Peeta. But my act hadn't been enough. And this was how President Snow was going to get rid of me along with the question of rebellion once and for all.

"Katniss-" Peeta starts but I cut him off.

"My name is going to be pulled. It's no coincidence that for the Third Quarter Quell only girls will participate and the names of existing victors in the right age group will be put forward. They planned it this way to get rid of me. The whole girl thing was arranged so that you couldn't volunteer for me, like everyone knows you would."

"Katniss, just because your name will be in the draw doesn't mean it will be pulled," says Peeta, sounding as though he's trying to convince himself of that fact more than me.

I feel anger begin to rise within me. I'm angry at the Capitol, at President Snow, and even at Peeta for reasons I can't explain. "Peeta, open your eyes!" I snap. "I've started talk of a rebellion, and now they need to get rid of me as damage control. This is the perfect way to do it, without too much suspicion."

Peeta's voice rises in volume. "Without suspicion? Katniss, really. If your name gets pulled, everyone will know it wasn't just a sad coincidence."

"Not necessarily. People will just think the Capitol wanted a true fighter to be thrown into the mix. And if not, so what!" I hear myself screaming. "What will the people do? We're all just prisoners of the Capitol!"

"We could start a rebellion!" counters Peeta in a controlled, yet loud voice.

"That's the whole reason the Capitol's doing this!" I cry, dumbfounded by Peeta's naivety. "I started this alleged rebellion, so now I'm the one who has to pay. Not only are they making an example of me, but they're diminishing their chances of a full scale rebellion with me as its supposed leader."

"Would you actually do that? Lead a rebellion?" Asks Peeta quietly.

"Oh, I don't know! Maybe? Probably not. It would hurt those I love too much. But the Capitol doesn't know that." All of a sudden I feel my eyes begin to get wet. But I can't cry. Not now.

Peeta, as usual, takes notice, and he pulls me into a tight embrace. All of the fight seems to drain out of me, and I bury my head into Peeta's shoulder. Then I can't help myself. I begin to sob.

It's just like the nightmares I have almost every night. Only this time, I know I'm not going to wake up.