Hello lovely readers! :) This is my first THG story so I am really excited as I've only ever written for PJO before :D This is a multi-chapter fic and I've already written ahead! :D I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

The cover has been stolen from the Facebook page 'The Hunger Games Quotes: Here's some advice, stay alive.' All rights due.

Disclaimer: I don't even know why we do this because basically the word fanfiction insinuates that I do not own the Hunger Games. I'm gonna do it anyways since everybody else does it :D

Happy reading!

Prologue

All I know, this morning when I woke

Is I know something now, know something now, I didn't before

And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago

Is green eyes and freckles and your smile

At the back of my mind, making me feel like

I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now.

The story can start with a 'once upon a time' or a salutation or the meticulous description of one's surroundings. But it always begins with a turning point. The single moment the world stands still and everything truly begins. The story can start in a hundred different ways.

This story starts in only two.

Five year old Katniss Mellark stood on the balls of her feet, jumping up and down impatiently. Her frilly little red dress flicked about her petite frame and her blue eyes were imploringly large as she looked up at her mother. Her mommy was taking far too much time to deal with the customer at the bakery for her liking. The elderly customer had barely exited the rickety door that Katniss hurried to her mother, her blonde plaits swishing idly from both sides of her head, and eagerly tugged on her mother's dress.

"Come on, mommy" she cried impatiently, pulling the best pout-y face that she could manage.

Kiara Mellark laughed as she saw her daughter's much-too-forced pout and patted her daughter's hair affectionately. Today happened to be Katniss's first day of kindergarten and to say that Katniss was excited was to be an understatement. Kiara was a witness to the persistent, excited banter of her five year old for a weak and it was time that the esteemed day finally arrive.

"We're going, sweetie." She replied to her overly keen daughter tugging on one of Katniss's braids teasingly.

She slid a spare bill into the cash register and grabbed a warm and fresh blueberry cupcake that her husband had just taken out from the oven. Kiara leaned to her daughter's eye-level slipped the brown paper bag containing a solitary cupcake into her hands. Katniss peaked inside and her eyes immediately widened. Her face broke into a toothless grin. It was seldom that Katniss was allowed cupcakes. On normal days they couldn't afford to even spare a single for their only daughter.

"A special something for a special girl's special day." Kiara said with a small wink.

Katniss was almost skipping her way across the town square in the direction of the school. She held her mother's hand tugging her along and chatting non-stop on how she wanted to make so many new friends but what if people didn't want to be her friend? Kiara spent most of the short way trying to calm her daughter down and the rest to assure her that in the issue concerning friends, Katniss would have no trouble at all. Nevertheless when both the mother-daughter reached the school's worn out building it seemed none of Kiara's words had any effect on Katniss.

The small building was streaming with people raging from little kids to high-school students soon to join the mines. Kiara saw the little excited faces of over eager children impatiently waiting for their first day at school contrast heavily with the forlorn faces that of the elder students. She reminisced on her own school days and how she despised the dragged history lessons where they were forced to recount the glory of the Capitol. Almost absently she fingered Katniss's small braids in her hands, not wishing to let go of her daughter just yet.

All of a sudden it seemed that Katniss's excitement had given way to anxiety as she clutched onto her mother's hand more securely and looked around fear reflected plainly in her wide blue eyes. Kiara rubbed small soothing circles on the back of Katniss's little hand and the slight action seemed to calm her down. It was a gesture that had worked since she was a mere month old. Kiara's eyes inspected the school premises and her eyes landed on the little yet lanky figure of a small but recognizable boy. He reminded Kiara so much of his father that she had trouble training her eyes off of him.

"See that boy over there, sweetie?" she asked Katniss pointing in the direction where a lone Peeta Everdeen stood glancing around nervously, yet with a confident stance.

Katniss squinted, "Which one?"

"Over there" Kiara pointed again "the one with the black hair. You see him? His father wanted to marry me back in our time."

Katniss now had her eyes trained directly on the raven-haired and grey-eyed boy and frowned. The boy had a round face filled with baby fat and large eyes that were half obscured by the unruly tangle of dark hair. His skin was an odd shade of olive and he appeared gangly for his age. He wore a stiff pallid shirt that looked like it had seen better days. His tiny sneakers looked as frayed as his clothes and his face held an inexplicable apprehension.

"He's a seam kid." She said as a matter of fact. "His father's a coal miner, ain't he?" she felt confused. Why would a coal miner want to marry her merchant mother?

"Isn't he." Kiara corrected her daughter off offhandedly, "Yes, he was a miner. But he was one of the nicest men I knew."

Her face took on a wistful expression as she spoke and reflected on the past. She still wished they could talk like they used to and still spend time together. More often than not she had found nostalgia creeping up upon her whenever she would pass the meadow or observe the neat files of miners as they marched to their destination early in the morning. She had made her choice but it didn't mean that she wouldn't regret these small things that the choice entitled. Vaguely she thought of neatly-shot squirrels and mid-spring Katniss flowers.

The meadow looked particularly green that day as Kiara sat leaning against the elderly willow. A slight breeze gently caressed her face and blew hair in front of her eyes. From behind her she could hear the intermingled chirping of sparrows and Mockingjays. She ran a hand along the plush grass and the blades felt velvety beneath her palms. She lightly hummed under her breath as she twirled long strands of grass between her fingers.

Deep in the meadow.

Under the willow.

It felt pleasant to be away from the apothecary for even a short while and the weather added to her already uplifted mood. A slight disturbance in the grass caused her to turn around and she spotted Neil Everdeen making his way across the meadow, his game bag packed and full, his face delighted. He stopped beside her and sat down murmuring a cheery greeting. She didn't know how but somehow she had managed to develop a deep understanding with this peculiar hunter and seam boy.

"Someone looks plenty happy today." She said.

He grinned widely. "You could say that. Good haul, good weather, what more can you ask?"

His smile was infectious and she soon found the corners of her lips curling up involuntarily. His face suddenly lit up.

"Oh, I got something for you." He told her while he rummaged inside a satchel he carried over his left shoulders. His hand came out and clasped in its grip was a bundle of bright, sunshine yellow flowers. Katniss flowers.

"Found these on the way. Lovely flowers for a lovely lady."

"Did you tell him no?" Katniss asked innocently, her wide blue eyes still trained on the seam boy that stood unaccompanied at the school's entrance.

Kiara shrugged, "Well, partially. He knew that your daddy was the one for me." She smiled down at her daughter and readjusted the grip on her hand. Sometimes Kiara would wonder, but then she would look at her little angel and she would know that she made the right choice.

"He looks lonely, doesn't he mommy?" Katniss addressed her mother. She looked at the little boy with worry in her face and pity in her eyes. Didn't he have a mommy to drop him off to school?

Kiara could only smile sadly. Neil Everdeen would be at the mines right now, coughing in the smoke and digging through the dark. And as much as she hated it she knew that Risa would never take the time to drop her son off to school. Kiara sighed sadly. Risa had changed drastically, her mood had worsened and her patience had worn thin. She hadn't been made for the harsh life and she had never been able to forget that she was Neil's second choice.

"Yes he does." Kiara looked at the mammoth clock mounted atop the school building. "Come one, sweetie. We wouldn't want to be late."

She didn't know why but throughout the rest of the day little Katniss's eyes continued to subconsciously follow the seam boy. She ate lunch with the mayor's daughter and made a drawing with the butcher's obnoxious son. But she couldn't summon the confidence to go over and sit by the quiet and shy boy who made the tallest building with a worn set of legos. It was at the assembly when the little boy climbed up the stool and sung the national anthem of Panem in a high, clear voice that Katniss suddenly knew. At that moment she swore that every bird outside the window fell deadly silent and the heavens dropped down its ears to listen. She knew the boy was special in more than one way.

The rain fell in currents and sheets as he hobbled his way across the District. Water splashed pathetically beneath his feet and accumulated inside his tattered shoes. His posture was slumped as he clutched onto pieces of little clothing he had failed to sell. He walked blindly yet desperately. Every time he even stopped to catch his breath, his sister's delicate, pale face would flash across his eyes. He would see her sunken eyes, her hollow cheek bones and her parched lips and would force himself to take another step forward. His stomach ached harshly from hunger pangs and his bony hands shook from the little strength that they had had left. But he didn't stop. He couldn't stop.

He cried out in desperation but his voice was lost over the torrent of rain. His sister's tiny baby clothes fell from his grasp and fell to the ground drenched in rain and muck. His legs almost gave out beneath him as he managed his way to the bakery that had lost its color in the storm. The fresh aroma of bread beckoned him forward and taunted him at the same time. What he wouldn't have given to have a small loaf, to see the color return to Prim's face, to see her healthy and growing, to see her eyes light up in happiness and to see her laugh once more. The lid of the trash can rattled as he pawned through the inside. Maybe he could find some burnt bread or some stale cookies that were no longer wanted. He rummaged through but his pale hands failed to conjure up something substantial, anything substantial.

He gave up his search and the lid crashed to his feet, rolling around loudly before coming to a stop. It was then that he slumped against the nearby apple tree and slid to the muddy ground. Hot, fresh tears mingled with the cold drops of rain that spattered against his face. He shakily held up his hands to his face and buried his head in them. The raw sense of failure finally hit him, with enough force that it left him struggling to breath. He had failed his father. He had failed Prim.

At that moment Peeta finally gave up.

Black spots danced before his eyes and his vision blanched. The pain in his stomach seemed only to intensify and the cold splatter of rain made his skin numb. Was this how it felt to die? Or was this just the anguish of lost hopes and abandoned expectations. He was at least glad that his father's death was sudden, as quick and painless as a bullet to the heart. Subconsciously he wished that someone would find Prim. That there was still a hint of good left in this world.

Just as he was about to fade out an angel appeared in front of his vision. An angel? No, a girl with soft honey-gold hair and angelic blue eyes. To him she seemed to glow like she was emanating waves of gold. A hood was draped over her head and she carried a bundle to her chest. Her lips moved but he couldn't manage to hear her. He wanted to hear her voice. Maybe he could tell her to take care of Prim. She leaned at his eye-level directly before of him and he could've sworn that she blazed a golden aura. Suddenly he felt a small bundle being placed in his arms. It felt soft and warm against his skin.

Bread.

He looked up sharply and fading grey eyes met the striking blue.

"Take it."

She ran back to the bakery but he felt that she had left her misty glow behind. As he clutched the bread to his chest and somehow managed to stand up, for the first time in five weeks Peeta felt a spark of hope ignite inside him.

"This is a Katniss flower, Pete. These petals here are usually orange in summer but manage to go this vivid yellow in spring." His father played with the short spiky stem of the flower. "The shoot is usually squat but flexible but beware of these little spikes, they can cause horrible itching, I'll tell you Pete. They make fine salad dressing, quite fine with some parsnips and a hint of capsicum and there we have it!" he handed Peeta the flower who twirled it idly around his fingers closely examining the delicate petals. "I used to take a whole bundle every other week for the baker's wife, back in the day. She loved 'em, I'll tell you"

A bell went off in his head and all of a sudden the pieces came together. He knew how he would do it, he knew how he would same them, he knew how he'd tip the scales in his favor. Suddenly he could see a small spot of illumination midst the darkness.

He saw her the next day, in school. He saw her smiling with the mayor's daughter. He saw her blond haired tied together in an intricate braid and saw her sapphire eyes sparkle. He could see the pure good that radiated from her personality and he wondered, slightly amazed how he had never seen her before. When their eyes connected over the school yard, he bent down picked up a single yellow dandelion in full bloom and slid it teasingly behind his sister's ear. At the same instant he saw two beautiful girls smile.

This is a story of a girl and a boy. A baker and a hunter. This is the story of hearty hazelnut bread and of meaningful glances across the yard.

And that ends our prologue :D Hope you like it!

Constructive criticism is wanted and appreciated! Flames will be used to toast marshmallows. But I need feedback guys!

And now you all must be wondering aren't Katniss plants ugly root tubers? Yes, yes they are. But for this story let us pretend that they are not.

On a side note I just loved writing from switched point of views. Its so much fun-er! (yes I am aware that this is not a word) and so riveting!

The song at the beginning is 'Everything has changed' by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. (omg like I love this song)

Sneak peak from Chapter One!:

He quirked an eyebrow in Gale's direction. "You hitting on my girl again, Hawthorne?"

Hehe

Review for continuation of story! :)

~EG