A/N: Hey everyone! so this is the third story I've started and will probably be working on along with the other two as well. I planned on this being a oneshot, but I cant sum it all up in one chapter...so it'll be more of a short story. After seeing catching fire, and reading Mockingjay a million plus times I figured I'd use my imagination to see what happened to Peeta while he was in the Capitol before and after the hijacking. this is a Katniss/Peeta story. Huge shipper of those two 3 reading and writing fanfictions will also hold me over until Mockingjay part 1 comes out. Anyway, bear with me on how long my updates may take. Also, please Review and follow...I'd like to know your thoughts on this so far.

Disclaimer: All rights go to Suzanne Collins on her beautifully written Hunger games Trilogy

I sat in President Snow's office under rather unwelcoming circumstances. Not only were my hands and feet bound but I was in the Capitol…the last place I ever wanted to be.

The last thing I remembered was screaming for Katniss; we were supposed to leave the group together, to try to survive on our own but we lost one another.

Here I was, alive…and at the mercy of the snake of Panem.

Those final events replayed in my mind.

Flashback to the Arena

An explosion went off and I remembered the feel of my skin being ripped off right from the bone.

I couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't breathe.

I remembered mouthing Katniss's name…frantic to find her, but too injured to get up and search.

I was dying, I had to be.

Death would be a blessing considering the hell I've lived the past two years.

As long as Katniss was alive, I would go peacefully.

"Please, be strong Katniss…don't you die. Think of Prim, and your mother…and Gale." I tried to shout throughout the humid forest of that dreadful arena, hoping she would hear me but my words came out as no more than a hushed whisper.

The feel of cold metal slipped underneath me. I felt myself being gently pulled toward the light above me, a ghost of a smile shown on my lips.

This was it I was free from the nightmare I lived, and I was happy.

End Flashback

A lump; hard and sore hitched in my throat. I did my best to swallow it down, trying to fight back tears.

Any and every thought that sored across my mind sent me further into pain and sorrow.

But what I didn't know until I felt it rise in my chest white hot and wanting to explode was how angry I was.

Haymitch better have kept his promise.

Katniss better had been alive, because if Katniss died I'd be better off dead anyhow.

If I lost her, I would truly have nothing...she was my everything.

I never mustered up the courage to tell her how much I did love her, I was sure she didn't feel the same…she had Gale. Jealousy always tried to cloud my judgment, as badly as I wanted her love…I wanted her happiness more…and most importantly; I wanted her to live.

I wanted her to wake up twenty years from now when all of this had past; to a husband and a child…to her baby's first smile, words, and footsteps.

I wanted her to have a husband who loved her more than anything and knew how lucky he was to have her.

I wanted her to witness her child's first birthday.

I wanted her to experience the beauty I believed life could offer.

The tears pricked my eyes; "I did find myself wishing over, and over, and over again... that I had the chance to tell her that I loved her…that I always will If only I had more time..."

She needed to overcome this hellish nightmare.

I did my best to put aside all negative thoughts. She was alive; I knew that because she was strong. I believed that with all of my heart to the core…that hope is what kept me from breaking.

President Snow entered the room he stifled a cough and I noticed a trickle of blood on his bottom lip, curiosity shown in the furrow of my brows drawn together.

He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the blood on his lip.

He made his way to his desk, sitting down across to me where we sat face to face.

I fidgeted, fighting against my restraints. "Do it! Just kill me already." I tugged at the ropes that bound my wrists together.

"That's your plan isn't it?" I shouted. My jaw clenched in anger.

President Snow chuckled; watching me like a hawk does a rabbit ready to swoop down on its prey. "My dear boy, my plan is to destroy the Mockingjay."He narrowed his eyes at me, staring at me intently.

That stare sent chills down my spine.

"To get to her, I needed you…as unfortunate as that is for you. You see Peeta, having you in harm's way will surely rip her to pieces." If looks could kill, President Snow would have fallen to the floor stone cold dead with the look I was giving him.

"You've got it wrong, Snow..." I cut myself off; he didn't need to know the truth.

I mentally scolded myself.

If he wanted to believe she loved me, then by all means….I would let him believe it if it kept her safe from both emotional and physical pain...I did not want to be the cause of her heartache.

This made him laugh once more.

He pulled the white rose out from his suit jacket pocket, he gazed at it softly spinning it around and around in between his fingertips. "I'm no fool…you may have put on a good façade when it came to the 'star crossed lovers from district 12' before the games, but I saw how she really felt when you hit that force field."

I opened my mouth wanting to speak but shut it abruptly; I had no idea what I could have said.

I was an open book to Snow after he told me that.

"You see Peeta…sometimes people don't know how much they truly love someone until they die." He snapped the rose's stem in half.

"She loves you. That was clear to me in the games…without a doubt she may care for you the most. This is why you're such a huge asset to me." The snake smirked; his eyes never leaving mine.

He had some sort of machine that sat flat on the top of his desk, he pushed the button in the center and a screen appeared in front of our eyes.

I gasped, my heart pounding in my chest.

It was Katniss…aiming the arrow at the dome of the arena and letting it fly.

The screens cut out and she was gone.

"She's dead." I confirmed out loud.

"Oh…I hardly believe that to be the truth, this girl has difficulty dying." The screen refocused on something new…it was Katniss in district twelve.

The words at the bottom of the screen confirmed it was live footage. She was alive.

Relief washed over my face and I had almost forgotten President Snow's presence.

"You undoubtedly love her. Which is why you're such an easy pawn in this game…death would be a gift; I have far worse plans for you than that."

A/N: I hope you guys liked the first chapter! please review, follow, favorite :)