Prologue – Katniss's POV

I'm such a liar.

I didn't mean to be, but then again, I never did.

I was just so tired, so tired of dealing with the whole thing. All I wanted was a quiet, boring life. So that's what I envisioned for myself. Peeta thought that I'd made the whole thing sound too dreary, but Haymitch thought it sounded impossibly sappy. So I figured maybe I had predicted the truth, somewhere there in the middle.

I was wrong.

I didn't see that life wasn't done playing with me yet. That Panem wasn't done with me. Like Buttercup tormenting a mouse.

But I also didn't see that I could come back alive - feel real joy, and real fear, again.

At least I learned that little white lies hardly ever stay little - or white.

AN - Thanks for your help – IrishLuck19.

As I hope you've noticed this story is now complete. I know I prefer to read complete stories myself – no one likes to be left hanging. But the strange thing is, and I'm guilty of this myself, people tend not to review complete stories. Maybe you think the author is no longer hanging around fanfic any more. Hopefully, you're so dying to read the next chapter you just can't slow down to review. Whatever the reason, I've noticed this story is still getting lots of readers (thank you so much!), but fewer reviews.

So – drop me a line. Let me know your favorite part. Tell me if something strikes you as OOC or just not right. I still go back and fix things if I find something that could be done better.

One way or another, I'm honored that you're reading and I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I did.