Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins does.

AN: Hey guys. This whole story has been in the process of a rewrite. So here's the first rewritten chapter which is more or less the same.

Ch: 1 Introductions

Peeta Mellark is a junior in high school keeping up a false identity of happiness. Everyone thinks that he has a great life with no troubles or problems. That's nowhere close to being true. He is going through depression and abuse.

It all started when he was ten. Peeta had lost his brothers and father in a car wreck. They were coming back from his baseball game. His team had won the tournament. His dad was driving the car, and his brothers were patting him on the back and congratulating him. They were passing through an intersection when a drunk driver ran the light and hit them. Peeta got out with a few scars, bruises, and a broken leg; but his father had died on impact, and his brothers died in the hospital a few days later. Peeta's mom wasn't the same and has blamed him ever since. Since they died, his mother has abused him and had Peeta believe that he was the reason they died, not the drunk driver. Because of the abuse that he's been going through, Peeta doesn't socialize as much as he used to. He's had nightmares every night about the crash and rarely sleeps because of them. He has cuts on his wrists as reminders of their deaths and makes a new one for each one of them on the day of their deaths. He wears long sleeves or jackets to hide the cuts. He needs help, but he won't ask anyone for it.

Katniss Everdeen is a curious girl who has a crush on Peeta. She wants to know more about him and why he changed. She's missed the kind smile that used to reach his eyes. Katniss notices that there is a hidden pain behind all of the smiles and laughs, and she wants to know why it is there. Katniss has always been too curious for her own good. She knows about things that she shouldn't know. Katniss has ways of finding out about things; but this time, she may regret finding out about the secret behind Peeta Mellark. The question is what will she do when she knows. Will she help him get through it, or will she leave him alone? Only time will tell.