A/N: Hey! I kind of gave up on Its Now Or Never, but I've taken up a new challenge! Yay! My brother and I had come up with this idea in my basement as we played Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 on multiplayer mode. I think this idea has already been done before, b/c as my friend Bush Girl would say, "Great Minds Think Alike." So don't give me hate, guys. I don't like to be hated. So...this story is A/U where the Hunger Games don't exist, but the Capitol is still cruel. It works like this: Everyone is to be married within 3 weeks of their 18th birthday or they will be taken into custody by the Capitol to be slaves. Clear? It's bad, but not by much. Well, you get the point. Read and Review, please! -ArcherGirl

Disclaimer: I wouldn't be writing "Fan Fiction" right now if I owned the Hunger Games. I'd be rewriting Mockingjay since that didn't do me justice. ):

CHAPTER ONE:

As I trudged through the blackened snow to my small house in the Seam, I sighed. The air was cold and wintry, and wherever I breathed, it left a mist of vapor, like I was smoking a cigar. Little specks of ivory dust floated around in the air without any general direction and turned everything gray around me. The Seam never looked pretty in the snow. Then again, my neighborhood was never pretty at all. All the years of coal mining had left a layer of dust as thick as a tablet of paper on everything, so when the pretty white blended with the black, sickening stuff, it turned the snow an awful gray color. Tucking my braid inside my leather jacket, I strided up the street, hugging my school books close to my chest. My eyes darted to the warm glow of my house, where I could see a fire blazing in the hearth through the window. I jogged, even though my feet were wet and cold in my old boots, to my house, only to regret it.

My name is Katniss Everdeen, and I'm 18 Years old, therefore making me an adult, by standards. In three weeks, if I don't find someone to marry, I will be forced to live as a slave for the Capitol, a place where I'll be treated as an animal. I bit the inside of my cheek and walked up to my doorstep. Don't think about it, Katniss, I thought, it'll only make you feel worse. The truth was that I didn't want to marry, which is forbidden in Panem. Our country, or should I say the Capitol, believes that marriage is necessary and beautiful while I believe it's not all what it's cracked up to be. Plus, I don't believe anyone would want to court me, other than my friend, Gale. But he's 21 and married to Leevy, a quiet, sweet girl who was once my neighbor. He'd probably understand my anxiety. But he'd never had trouble finding a spouse, with his natural good looks and nice attitude. Who he'd courted was completely unexpected, since Leevy was very shy. But they're as happy as it can gets.

They're what you would call a Good couple. But with good, also comes the dark cloud called Bad, and unfortunately there are couples who are just that. I shivered and rubbed some warmth into my arms before stepping into my cozy little house. As soon as the door opened, I saw my bubbling little sister, Prim, bounce up to me, a smile as bright as the sun lighting up my mood a bit. "Katniss!" She squealed joyfully, "Guess what?" She wore her blond hair in a loose braid today, with a petite daisy resting near her ear. Her blue eyes sparkled and she leaned forward on her toes, like she had too much energy and was going to blast off any moment. I smiled lightly and said, "Tell me a bit later, Little Duck. I need to finish my stupid assignment," She frowned in an instant, and said, "NOOOOOOOOO, I need to tell you NOOOOOOOW!" I rolled my eyes as I slipped off my soggy boots and sweater, hanging the jumper on a hanger so old, it probably was made when time didn't exist yet, and pushing boots on a mat Prim had sewn last year on her loom. "Just wait a minute, Primrose, and I will listen to whatever is so important!" I said, and walked over to a chair near the fire, enjoying its beauty and peacefulness as I warmed my nearly frozen skin. Prim had stayed home that day because of a cold that had popped up in her system around 3:00 AM. Whatever she'd had, it was gone now, for sure. She nearly jumped through the roof in excitement, and I wondered how a fifteen year old girl could hold in that much energy. Out of her frock' s pocket, she pulled out a pristine, white envelope and said, "When I woke up, I went outside to check on Lady, only to find this on the doorstep! I couldn't help but wonder if this could be a note the Marriage Rule!" My sister thought that the Marriage Rule was the greatest thing that could happen to the history of mankind, and she'd been looking forward to my eighteenth birthday for a long time. She continued, "It has to be, of course! I mean, look at who it's addressed to! Whoever it was, they have some darn pretty handwriting!"

I stared at her, unresponsive, until I heard my mother shuffle into the room. " Hello Katniss, how was your day?" She asked nicely, and I shrugged. "Eh. I have some stupid exams and assignments due tomorrow. Other than that, nothing." I answered truthfully, and she pursed her lips. "Did you meet anyone?" She asked bluntly, and I cringed, "No, not yet." She nodded and said, "Any progress?" I opened my mouth to tell her no, but Prim butted in, like she's good at doing. "YES! SHE'S GOTTEN HERSELF A LETTER!" She squealed happily and my mother's eyes brightened. "Do you know who it's from?" My mother asked me this hopefully and I shook my head. "I would read it if Prim actually handed it over to me," I said bitterly and Prim passed it towards me in a frantic rush, bouncing up and down as looked at the lettering. In the prettiest script, my name was scrawled in a spidery cursive, and underneath held a small, rough, yet elegant, sketch of a flower. Huh, I thought, as I unfolded the seal, Interesting. I pulled out a paper, and Prim muttered, "Read it...READ IT..." I looked at her, only to see she held a very hard expression. I laughed an airy chuckle at the intensity of her face. I unfolded the paper, and said, "Here we go," as I let my eyes skim the neatly scripted lettering.

Katniss,

Well, I guess I should start out basic. So, um, Hi. Well, that didn't work out. So, Lets cut to the chase. A week ago, I turned 18, which, according to law, means I'm a man now, which is sort of strange, since my brothers still call me names I've had since I was 3. And, yesterday, I believe you turned 18 as well, therefore giving us the untimely burden of that stupid rule. Now, I think you're smart enough to see where I'm going here, Katniss, So what do you say? Just to clear this up, I think you'll know who I am whenever I say this one word. Here's your clue: Dandelions. There. Have you gotten a idea of who I am yet? If not, tomorrow, in third period, the first guy to use the word "Orange" randomly, is me. If not, well, I'll just stand up and yell "Alright! It's Me, Already!" I just want to know your opinion on the situation.

Sincerely,

Mystery Guy (:

I stared at the paper in disbelief. Was this a cruel joke? I thought bitterly, Is this some sort of nightmare? "SOOOOOO, What does it SAAAAAY?!" Prim almost yelled, and I said, "Read it for yourself, Little Duck," I said softly ad I handed it to her. No way, I thought, No freaking way. It couldn't be HIM. It WASN'T Him. Yet the clues in the text: the older brothers, a birthday a week ago, dandelions, Orange...it was him. I could even tell by the way his letter was humorous in some sort, that this was him. I stared at the floor in complete and utter shock as Prim said, "Who is it? WHO?!" I muttered, "but it can't be-" Prim gave the letter to our mother and said, "Katniss, if you know how sent you this, spit it out, or I'll smack you until I get the truth. Because I WILL." I looked up at her and said, "I have an idea, but it makes no sense." She made a Go-On thing with hers as she waited for my answer. I sighed. "It's Peeta. Peeta Mellark. The baker' s son."

A/N: How was it? It probably sucked real bad, but I don't care. Review please! Love to all!