Title: Katniss Everdeen's Rules to Live By

Rating: Definite M

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, no copyright infringement intended.

A/N: As a warning to my readers, this fic will be a lot different than my other ones. This one is very mature and not like the sweet fics that I usually write. I am still working on Behind The Scenes, but I wanted to branch out into something new as well. Also, a special thanks to my friend monpretenduevie for the quick beta read!

Prologue

In life, there will always be rules. Do this, don't do that, and live this way, not that way. Rules are important, but I like to make my own. My rules protect me; they keep me from losing everything that is important in my life. These are my five rules to live by.

Rule 1:

Protect and help my family. This rule is pretty straight forward. I make sure that my mother stays on her medication and pays her bills on time. I make sure that her and Prim have everything that they need and that they are safe and sound.

Rule 2:

Make enough money to send Prim to medical school. Simple enough, this rule helps motivate me to save money for my little sister to get into medical school. She already has the intelligence, she just needs the means to get there, and I'll be damned if she doesn't get there because of financial concerns.

Rule 3:

Do my job to the best of my ability. It's not like I have a difficult job, but it does tend to get on my nerves sometimes. Everyone who knows me at all knows that I am not the world's most patient person, so I made this rule to ensure that I stick by my job as it provides money that can be used to help my family and me.

Rule 4:

Have fun! Go out and party, drink, sleep with different guys, have a good time. Life is too short not to have a little fun at times. Going out with my friends or by myself helps me to de-stress and relax after work. I don't make a habit out of partying too hard. I don't do drugs and although I drink, I rarely drink enough to get sick, mostly just a nice buzz. I also like to have (safe) sex with different guys. Sometimes I keep them around for a nice fuck buddy, other times it's a one night stand kind of deal. Either way, it's fun and it let's me forget about the worries of my life.

Rule 5:

Don't fall in love. Ever. Love is weakness, and I don't tolerate weakness. Falling in love causes people to do all kinds of stupid, idiotic things that they would never do otherwise. Love is dangerous; it can break you into a million different pieces that you can never put back together again.

Chapter 1: Rules to Live By

I roll over in my bed and immediately smack into the warm body beside mine. Fuck, I forgot I had someone over last night. He was a new guy, what was his name again? Carter? Calvin? No wait…Cato, that was it.

The man in question mumbles something in his sleep. He must be a heavy sleeper if he is still out after me smacking into him like that. Since he is still mostly covered by the thin blanket draped over us, I pull it down to get another look at him. He is attractive. Blond hair and a decent looking face. I draw the blanket down further to find a nicely sculpted abdomen that leads down to…

"Enjoying the view?"

I drop the blanket and stare into the mischievous eyes of last night's conquest. His lips quirk up into a half smile and I scowl and turn away from him, recalling how I met this man the night before.

It's Friday night and I have just arrived at one of the many local bars and found a seat when he walks in. Tall, short, spiky hair that just begs to be mussed up by my fingers, a little smirk on his face that shows cockiness, that bastard knows that he is attractive.

I order a rum and Coke to start off with and as I sit at the bar, I know that it is only a matter of time before Mr. Cocky comes over to speak with me. Now I'm not conceited by any means, but I know the look in a guy's eye when he wants a woman, and that man wanted me from the moment he stepped through the door.

Not five minutes later, he comes and sits down next to me, leaning his body close to mine. "Hey baby, can I buy you a drink?"

I roll my eyes at him, oldest line in the book. "Nope, I have one right here." I lift up my glass to show him my beverage.

He doesn't look deterred one bit by my drink refusal, in fact, his eyes alight with fire. "Hmm…so you do. I'm Cato, by the way."

I pretend not to be interested. Most men seem to like the thrill of the chase, at least for a little while. "I didn't ask."

He looks taken aback, like how dare a girl not immediately rip her panties off at the sound of his name. "You know, it's proper etiquette that once someone tells you their name that you respond with your own."

I raise my brow at him and take a sip of my drunk. "Is it now? Because you don't exactly look like the type of guy who cares about proper etiquette…" I let my words trail off, hoping that he gets my meaning.

He does, and it isn't an hour later when we are back at my apartment, naked in my bed. I eventually tell him my name, just so I can hear him scream it when he comes. He doesn't disappoint.

I shake myself out of my little flashback and back into my current situation. Oh yes, naked guy in my bed. Now it's decision time, do I give him my number for some future rendezvous? Or do I throw him to the curb?

"Katniss?"

My gaze flickers to his and I decide to keep him around, for now. He was good in bed, much better than that guy Marvel from a few weeks ago. "What?"

"What time is it?"

I look at my wrist to the watch that I always wear. It's worn down by age, but I will wear it until it disintegrates, it means too much to throw away. "Just past ten."

Cato groans and lifts himself off of the bed. "I have to go now. I was really hoping for another round or at least your mouth on my cock again, but there's no time."

I wave my hand at him dismissively, burrowing back under the covers. "Go."

He moves to the door, but then stops just short of actually leaving the room. "Can I call you?"

Yep, I figured that was coming. That's why I didn't offer my number up right away. I don't want to seem too eager. I sigh and lift myself off of my bed a bit. "Look, I don't do relationships okay? If you want to fuck some time, call me, but no flowers, no 'dates' no anything having to do with romance."

He blinks his light-colored eyes at me in confusion before what I said sinks in. His lips turn up into that cocky smirk of his before he answers. "Not a problem. What's your number?"

I rattle off the digits to him and tell him to find his way out. I have to get up and get a shower before I go see Prim.

I walk the four blocks from my apartment to my mom and Prim's house. I like being close to them, it helps me protect and take care of them, and since it is one of my rules, I take it very seriously.

My journey takes me by the brand new bakery, and I can't help but to stop and glance at the display window on my way past. Beautifully decorated cakes of all colors are shown off in the window. They all look delicious, but almost too pretty to eat.

Prim has a bit of a sweet tooth, so I make my way into the sweet-smelling bakery.

I find myself surrounded by pastries, cakes, and cookies, all of which look amazing. I take my time looking at the various muffins for sale, until I hear a voice speak up behind me.

"Can I help you?"

I spin around quickly and find myself staring into a pair of the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.

I take a step back and give the man before me a once over. He is taller than me, but not too tall. He has a stocky and firm build, and I can tell that his shirt is hiding some rather nice muscles under it. The man has wavy, blond hair and pale skin, but what entrances me the most is those eyes. I have never seen eyes that blue before, they are breathtaking.

"Miss? Are you okay?"

I mentally shake myself out of my trance. "Yes, sorry. Do you work here?"

He nods and then smiles at me, showing off his perfect, white teeth. "I own the place. Can I help you with something?"

Yeah, you can help me take my clothes off later on tonight… The man is smoking hot. I need to make my move on this one, and soon. "Oh, I just wanted to get a muffin for my sister." I give him my best sexy smile, and push my chest forward a bit so that he can see my cleavage.

He doesn't even glance down at my chest though. He just smiles again and helps me to pick out a banana nut muffin for Prim.

My gaze flickers over to his left ring finger. He has to be married if he didn't as much as glance at my cleavage. However, to my surprise, his finger is bare.

Gay, he has to be gay. But he didn't show any outward signs of it, and my gaydar is pretty spot on.

I have to have this man, I just have to. I scramble to think of an excuse to ask his name, but as he is ringing up my purchase, I see that he has a name tag on.

Peeta Mellark: Owner

Well Peeta Mellark, prepare for the force that is Katniss Everdeen.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the brief prologue and first chapter. Reviews mean a lot to me so send one along if you can.