A.N: Heyyy ! Who's excited for the third book? I am ! I seriously cannot wait ! I hope you like !

In the End

They always said life would never go the way you planned. And the fact that she knew it was true made it worse.

Today was a special day. It was one of not only happiness, but also sorrow. A lot of sorrow.

Exactly one year ago, she had escaped the horrid games that had taken the lives of another round of innocent children. It was a day to be celebrated since she had been that one in a million to survive.

And because she had been that one in a million, things had gotten a heck of a lot better than it was supposed to be.

Being in her position, there were little dreams of happy ever after. Little parts in her life were filled with false happiness. Maybe some events in her life could be considered real bliss if it weren't for the constant reminder of the horrids of their life.

Right as she had come back, everything started to look better. Children looked up to her. Parents thanked her. And her family no longer had to worry about going hungry. Gale and she even started a relationship everyone knew was bound to happen.

But no matter how many wonderful things happened there was nothing that could fill the hole in her heart…the part that belonged to Peeta.

The idea she had come up with to save the both of them at the end was a genius idea. The only problem was that you had to be careful not to get any of the juice in your mouth.

And he hadn't been careful enough.

In the end, there was no proof of whether or not Peeta really did want to commit suicide. It could have been an accident with the conditions they were in. But rumors spread about how he would have taken his whole life all along just to keep her alive.

Looking towards the lonely tree that marked his grave brought tears to her eyes. As poor as their District was, they had a separate land to bury all of those who had been lost in the Games. To the community he was just another casualty. But to her he was someone who had changed her life.

He was the boy that baked the bread. The boy who had saved her life long before the Games. The one who had kept going to make it out. The one who would never see the after-effect of it all.

Yes, the action that she and Peeta had taken to stay alive had taken a toll. The government wasn't happy with her idea. And even she knew that it showed signs of rebellion.

But even they had let it go since there was misery out of the fact she lost the 'love of her life.'

Even her and Gale had to keep their new relationship on the down-low. She hesitated to say yes at first, but she convinced herself that in time thing would get better for her…

But so far nothing had changed.

Even through the fancy new clothes Katniss owned, she could feel the mud from the grave seeping through the thin material. The little stone marker with the litters 'PM' stared back at her hauntingly.

Katniss couldn't lie about the fact that she was a strong person. But under it all, she broke when it came to thinking about him again.

Her tears soaked the already-wet ground beneath her. To think that he was in it for one goal: to keep her alive.

She had never suspected that kind of thing until she was called over one day by Haymitch. Apparently since the Victory Tour would be coming soon; he wanted to discuss some details with her.

But Katniss thought it was a joke when she had walked in to see Haymitch drunk. She would have walked out if it wasn't for the fact he started to go off about random things. Useless words, the Games, and Peeta…

"You know Peeta shouldn't have gotten himself killed. To finally have two contestants who knew what they were doing. Fool, he could've come home. But instead he wanted to assure your surivival…" That day she took a seat next to him at his table and just listened to his drunken slur.

She would have walked away. But her feet wouldn't move from the spot they had seemed to be stuck to. No matter how much she tried, there was no way she was moving from that spot. It was like her sub conscience was keeping her there to expose some deep secret.

She couldn't flat out say that she loved him. Love. The thought of it caused her to laugh darkly.

Maybe that wasn't exactly the expression she was looking for. But even if it wasn't, it was certainly close.

Yes, she loved Gale. But you could love more than one person, right? If Peeta had survived, would things be different?

Katniss heard the heavy footsteps trudging through the mud. For the first time, she didn't respond to the noise. It was probably another unfortunate soul who had lost someone close to them in the disgusting Games.

She jumped as that soul laid a hand on her shoulder. Instantly she had turned, bracing herself to throw a punch if needed. At the last moment she caught herself, seeing the person who had joined her.

"Sweetheart," he greeted, stepping ahead of her. His footsteps were still as heavy.

Since the tears had stopped falling, she felt herself rubbing at her eyes. "Haymitch," Katniss replied.

The silence that came after was welcome. Side by side, they sat just sort-of enjoying each other's company. Weirdly enough, neither one commented.

Katniss closed her eyes, imagining that he was with them right now. His blue eyes lit up through the haziness of District 12.

His blond hair came to his eyes, making her fight the feeling to push his hair away. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew Peeta wasn't actually there. But just seeing him again made her feel at ease.

"I'm proud of you." Her eyes opened to see that Haymitch had moved from his seat in the grass. A sigh escaped her lips when she realized that her vision of Peeta had gone away. Things would never be the same, would it?

She stood up, feeling her emotions rise. Why would he be proud of Peeta? Yeah, the boy had saved her. But she returned the favor! Was the old man happy that the boy didn't make it out or something?

Haymitch turned around, feeling the anger rising in her. "You jump to conclusions. Why do you think I never really made plans with you?"

Katniss stayed quiet, not even wanting to reply. "Do you even realize what he sacrificed for you?"

It was hard to tell whether or not her old mentor was drunk. She doubted it though, considering his ability to lecture her and stay upright.

"He loved you so much. At such a young age it was unbelievable, but I could see it. And I thought since he was determined to protect you, well, between the three of us, we might have been able to bring you home."

He smiled bitterly, throwing a rock towards Peeta's grave. "And guess what? Mission succeeded."

The words shocked her. Now it felt like every part of her was experiencing every single type of pain that she had suffered. If anything left of Peeta's had been with her would have probably been broken at that moment. Yet nothing could change the way the news was eating at her inside.

Because in the end, they did end up succeeding in their twisted little plan…

Her heart beat was too loud in her ears. Her chest was too heavy. Every part of her body felt like it was on fire…Just like she had always been. But this time it felt like her signature of being the girl on fire was mocking her the way it was affecting her now.

Because now, she had made up her mind on the word she was looking for.

Didn't he ever realize how much it would affect her if he was gone? Or was he too caught up in the thought of dying to care?

Because in the end, he would never do anything else in life. He would never be able to experience false happiness. Or see his family and friends again. Eat the cakes he iced so perfectly. To have a new outlook on life. Or experience love…

To everyone, he would just be the boy with the bread

But to her, he would always be the boy who stole her heart…

By breaking his own.

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