Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. The plot, however, is mine.

Title: Possession and Obsession

Rating: T

Pairing: Cato/Prim, (possibly some Peeta/Prim, though unsure)

Genre(s): Romance/Friendship/Drama

Summary: In a world where Katniss did not volunteer, Prim is thrust into the Hunger Games, wide-eyed and terrified with Peeta as her actual support system. Things get messy when she is exposed to a possessive Cato, who seems to have taken an interest in her, and a scheming Haymitch and Effie, who thinks District 12 has a shot of winning.

Setting: The Hunger Games

Warning(s):

1. AU.

2. Prim was born a year earlier, so this makes her 13 in this fanfiction, while still keeping this within the first book's timeline.

3. I shall be sticking to the book's age references, where Cato and Peeta are 16.

Act One

Chapter One – The Reaping

"Primrose Everdeen."

Effie Trinket's voice rang in Prim's ears as she froze in her spot.

Two in thousands, and she had the worst luck in the District. She barely heard Effie encouraging her to come closer as she mechanically began to move. Her heartbeat was pounding in her chest and it's steady thump, thump, echoed in her ears. She absentmindedly tucked her duck-tail – as Katniss called it – and continued on walking.

"PRIM!"

Sky blue eyes squinted as Prim searched the crowd for her sister. She saw Katniss as she yelled her name for a second time, and Prim understood what she was trying to do as Katniss hurriedly made her way over to her.

"NO!" She exclaimed even before Katniss could speak. Prim wouldn't let her do it. Katniss mattered. A lot of people depended on her – not just Prim and their mom. There were others too – the people she sold game to, the Hawthornes, those who admired her strength, and those who simply loved her. "I want to enter The Games." Her voice cracked as she said the second word, and she couldn't help but wince. Who would believe that?

It didn't register in her mind that Katniss had reached her until she was being shaken by the shoulders.

"Don't do this Prim." Katniss knelt before her. "I'll go in and I-"

"NO!" Prim found herself contradicting once more. She roughly pried Katniss' hands off of her and began to head for the stage. Her hands shook as she grabbed the railing, but there was no turning back. One foot at a time. Prim found herself on the stage and beside Effie Trinket, overlooking the entire population of District 12. In the distance, she could see that Gale had a sobbing Katniss in his arms. Peacekeepers loomed nearby, ready to prevent them from stepping further out of line.

She looked away. This was the right thing to do.

"My, my, what an event, District 12." Effie said, a cheeky smile on her face and a small lilt in her voice. "Now tell me, Primrose, who was that lady who wanted to volunteer for you?"

"That was K-Katniss," Prims answered shakily. "My sister."

"Well, well, don't want her to get the glory, do you?" Effie's joking tone was lost on everyone, and Prim couldn't help but pity the poor woman. Here she was, in all her Capitol glory, stuck in a place that probably seemed as horrid to her as she did to the people living there. Her encouragement of applause for Prim went through one ear and out the other as not a single sound was made.

For a moment, Prim thought Effie had forgotten her lines, but then a most peculiar thing happened. She watched as they made a gesture that Prim was only vaguely familiar with; placing their left hand's three middle fingers to their lips and then holding it out to her. She remembered Katniss and her mother making the sign when her father died. Her mind whirred at what it could mean.

It meant gratitude…

admiration…

and farewell.

Prim's breath turned shallow as she watched almost each and every District 12 resident do the gesture. Even Katniss and Gale, whose eyes must have been as tear-filled as hers, did the same. Tears began to leave Prim's eyes then, one drop at a time. She coached herself into breathing deeper, and she succeeded enough that Effie could at least go on and find out who she would be traveling to the Capitol with.

"Peeta Mellark."

The name – particularly the last name – sounded familiar to Prim, and she scanned the crowd and found the baker's son. She knew him from the times that Katniss had sent her out to meet with his father to trade. The baker was a kind man who would slip her some freshly baked bread and whatnots when his wife wasn't looking. Prim always did like him. He was always so nice and only ever disregarded them when his wife was scolding him. In the times that she and the baker had spoken, he would sometimes tell her stories about his three sons, and she idly recalled Peeta having older brothers, and she supposed that none of them would be volunteering for him – one was too old to do so; the other simply wouldn't.

Her gaze followed Peeta's figure as he moved. Blonde hair, though darker than hers, and blue eyes similar to her own. He was a great deal taller than she was, standing probably of the same height as his father.

Once he was on stage, Effie asked them to shake hands, while Haymitch stumbled over to them and slung an arm over each of their shoulders.

"Memorize these faces, people!" He shouted, and Prim can barely mask her distaste as the overpowering stench of alcohol invaded her senses. "This may just be the last time that you see them." And with that, he stumbled away, leaving a murmuring crowd in his wake and a frozen Peeta and Prim. She and Peeta eventually did shake hands, and it wasn't lost on her when their eyes met and both pairs - hers and his - shined with unshed tears.

Once the whole event was over and done with, Prim and Peeta were ushered into the Justice Building, a place neither had ever entered beforehand, though Prim had heard about it from Katniss after she received a medal following their father's death.

Prim paid no attention to anything other than the fact that this next hour, the time allotted for tributes to bid their goodbyes, would be the last time she ever saw Katniss again. Her eyes began to water once more at the thought, and she fell onto the velvet couch with a shaky exhale.

The moment that Katniss and her mother entered barely registered in Prim's mind as she was pulled into a hug by the two most important people in her life.

"Take care of Lady and Buttercup, okay?" Prim said, her voice muffled by the fabric of her mother's dress. She gasped as she was roughly taken by her elbows, Katniss' fingernails digging into her skin quite painfully. Her mother had stood up, leaning against a wooden table for support, still sobbing.

"No! Don't say that. You're going to make it." Katniss said adamantly. Who were they kidding? "You're going to win this, Prim. You're going to go out there, win the Capitol over and get lots and lots of sponsors." She hissed; and Prim froze, frightened by the intensity in her sister's eyes, but she couldn't bear to look away. "And you're going to get through this and you'll come back home – to us – to me!"

Prim suddenly felt older than she really was. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. She gathered her wreck of a sister into her arms, and seeing as she was seated on the couch, Katniss found herself kneeling in front of Prim with her head resting on Prim's lap. The younger of the two ran her hands soothingly through Katniss' dark locks.

"Shh…" Prim murmured. "Alright, Katniss. I'll do everything I can and I'll win." She said, though her voice lacked warmth, and the raw sob that left her mother made her look up. She held out her hand, and her mother took it without question. "Now, while you two are waiting for me, promise me you'll take good care of Buttercup and Lady. Buttercup likes Lady's milk and I tend to give her some once a week. I'm sure you know how to take care of yourself, but just in case, I keep some herbs – both medicinal and not – in the cupboard above the sink. It would be good to use for another month." She paused, inhaling deeply. "After that, you will have to go look for them, Katniss. Remember how I taught you which is which and the promising ones? I kept a notebook about some of the progress I've made."

And she continued on quickly, telling them where she hid her journal and what lay in it – the names of different plants and even some little animals and how they can be used to treat or heal someone.

Before long, the Peacekeepers were at the door and Katniss was being pulled out, their mother following closely behind her. Prim wanted nothing more than to cry out and follow them home, but she knew that it was no longer an option. She looked around the room she was in, and walked over to the window whose view was obscured by pale blue drapery.

She fingered one side and was just about to pull it when the door opened loudly, startling her.

In came the baker, and Prim was momentarily confused. Shouldn't he be with his son?

"Hello, Mr. Mellark." Prim's voice was polite with an edge to it due to the dryness of her throat. "Thank you for helping my family out." She added softly, "I hope you continue with it. We really do love the bread you make." She smiled at him, her eyes filled with gratitude, and he was left to wonder how someone so young could be so strong about everything.

"I brought these for you."

And then he handed her a white paper package. Taking it with a grateful smile, Prim peered in and found that there were cookies inside – freshly baked from what she could feel and smell. She wondered idly if he did this to every tribute – giving them baked goods he felt they would never have the luck of getting once they left.

Minutes ticked by, and Prim felt undeniably sick to her stomach. She couldn't think of anything other than the games, and she had no idea if she could even take a bite of any type of food, much less hold it down.

"I'll see to it that they're alright." He said, sending Prim a reassuring smile. And she understood what he was saying without him having to voice it out.

Your death won't lead to theirs.

He was saying basically the same thing that the District's gesture earlier had stated.

Thank you.

Only this time, Prim was resigned to her fate.

"That's all I could've asked of you," said she, offering a small smile.

After that, he left and she was surprised when the next guest came in.

"I'm Madge Undersee." She said by means of an explanation as she came over and enveloped Prim in a hug. "I'm your sister's friend; well, her classmate, and I wanted to give you something." She reached into her pocket and took out a small gold pin. "They let you wear one thing from your district in the arena; one thing to remind you of home." She held it out to the young girl with a tentative smile. "Will you wear this?"

Prim's fingers grazed the figure – a bird in flight – and she nodded mutely in affirmation. She hadn't even thought about such unimportant things. Did it matter what she wore to her death?

"Here, I'll put it on you." And she did so, securing the pin in place, just above where Prim's heart rests. Pulled into another hug, Prim focused on keeping her breathing in check and making sure that she didn't stain Madge's beautiful dress. "Wear it into the arena, okay?" And though Prim could barely process what she was saying, the younger girl nodded and Madge placed a kiss to her forehead before leaving.

"Little duck," called Gale as he entered the room. His open arms made Prim smile, and she walked into them without a second thought, hugging him tightly and taking in his scent. This was something she would never have again. Gale's warmth threatened to make her tears fall.

She understood that he and Katniss were nothing more than friends at the moment, but she also understood that it wouldn't be long before things changed between them. Prim could only hope that at least something good would come out of her being called to the Games.

Her mind tried to take in all the information that Gale began to throw at her, and when he finished, her mind was far from the games.

"Name one of your kids after me." Prim smiled up at him. "Prim, or Rose, or even Primrose," she continued. "I want the two of you to end up happy, alright? So you better take care of her." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and her throat clogged up as her arms wrapped around his waist, and her tears began to fall once more.

"You know I will." Gale's cheeky smile almost made Prim laugh.

Almost being the keyword, as a knock on the door signaled that time was up once more.

Prim met up with Peeta as they entered the same car on the way to the train station. She knew how everything went – having been forced to watch the games before – but to actually experience everything first hand was an unnerving perspective.

Making conversation was thrown out the window as Prim realized that Peeta was just as frazzled as she was. She reached over and placed her hand over his in a gesture of comfort. Peeta's head snapped to her, and she squeezes his much larger hand then, meeting his gaze shyly and sending him a smile. They were silent until they reached the station.

As they stood before the cameras, Prim absentmindedly tucked her ducktail in. And in a gesture that surprised both of them, Peeta took her hand in his.

They may end up killing each other, but there was nothing wrong with getting to know him while they were still alive.

A/N: Edited 03/26/2020