I Don't own The Hunger Games in any way, this is just a fanfiction (: All rights to Suzanne Collins,

Chapter 1: Nightmares.

"You love me, real or not real,"

I tell him, "Real,"

My head rests on his shoulder, I can't really explain my feelings, but I feel like saying "real" isn't enough, I turn to face him, his eyes are looking into mine, he opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, I place my lips on his, I pull away from him,

"I gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow,"

"Okay," He says,

I walk out the door with a faint smile on my face; maybe I'll be lucky and have no nightmares tonight.

I wake up, it's probably too early in the morning for me to be up, but the nightmares don't ever stop, ever since the war finished; all of my memories are relived every night. I'm at my breaking point. I look out the window to see it's still quite dark; no lights are on at any other home. I'm alone. I slip into my old hunting boots, as they are the only shoes near me, I open the door, go downstairs and make my way outside. I climb a nearby tree and just sit there for a while, frozen. Everything is on my mind right now. I hear echoes of people yelling, screaming for help, the screams get overwhelming. I start climbing down and making my way towards my house, but before I even reach my front door when I feel a flood of tears down my face, I break down screaming and sobbing and almost instantly, Peeta's house lights up, I know I have just awoken him from his sleep, and he's probably making his way to my spot now, I look up, tears making my vision blurry, I can make out somebody walking towards me.

"Katniss?" He says. I instantly recognize that is Peeta's worried voice. I look down and go through the thoughts that have been coursing through my head days on end. All I can think about now is that Peeta is here now and I need to talk to him.

"Katniss?" He repeats as he crouches by me, I'm hopelessly lying on the front porch in a pool of my own tears. He rubs my back in circular motions; I cannot bring myself to talk even though I must speak with him.

"Peeta." I choke. Then I continue to sob. Peeta shakes his head, picks me up and walks me into my house. He takes me up to my room, I'm still sobbing. But I feel safer knowing that Peeta has come to help. He lays me down on my bed. And kneels beside it.

"Katniss? Are you ok? What happened?"

I finally have enough time to say something, before I start sobbing again.

"The nightmares. They just get worse and worse each night." I curl over making those horrible choking sounds I make when I sob.

"They never stop do they..." He says sympathetically, like he knows how it feels. He does know, I'm not the only one who gets the nightmares around here, It's the fact that Peeta cares about me so much he's willing to come over in the middle of the night to come help me. The boy with the bread,

"No. They don't, but how are you holding up" I sniffle.

"Alright, better than last week for sure," he says,

I chuckle a little.

"Yeah… If only for one night they'd just stop. It's embarrassing you found me on my porch sobbing to death. But I'm also happy you came." I smile a little. I still don't notice the flood of tears that are still streaming down my face. He laughs a little at my statement, and cups both of his warm ands in my face, stroking it, making sure no tears fall down,

"It's alright, I'm always happy to help you, I do care about you y'know."

I look down and smile a little.

"I know."

He kisses me softly,

"Are you feeling any better now?"

"Yeah, thank you for coming,"

"No problem Katniss."

He starts walking towards the door,

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Peeta says,

"Yes, goodnight Peeta." I smile as he exits my room.

I wake up in the morning, from a more pleasant sleep; ever since Peeta came to visit me I had no nightmares. I feel groggy since my tears have dried on my face from last night, my first thought is to take a shower, and I do so. I feel much better once I'm under the water, washing my face. After I get out of the shower, I put on some clean clothes and braid my hair into my traditional side braid. I go downstairs and collect my game bag, I decide to go hunting today. I open the front door to find a small basket on my doorstep.

"What's this?" I murmur.

Under the small towel there are a few loaves of freshly made bread. And a little note attached to the basket. I read it aloud to myself.

"Hey Katniss, hope your feeling better soon, come by any time you need me. – Peeta"

"Thank you Peeta. Bread always seems to save me." I put down my game bag, and pick up the basket, "In my case, you saved me from hunting today." I chuckle.

"I'll never forget that day." I look over to Peeta's house. I find my hunting boots just by my door, neatly lined up I slip them on. He must have taken them off my feet when he carried me inside last night. My hands find my head. My heart warms up. Before I know it I'm running towards Peeta's house. There are many thoughts coursing through my mind. Something makes me stop dead in my tracks, A primrose flower. I kneel down beside it.

"Prim." I say under my breath. "Prim.." I say again. Realization hits me once again.

"Your dead."

I miss her terribly. Tears start running down my face again, but I quickly try to get a hold of myself, before I start having an unstoppable sobbing fit again. I get up, I stop looking at the flower, and it pains me too much to see it. I continue walking until I stumble upon Haymitch, with his horrible alcoholic stench and that same silver flask he carries with him everyday.

"Whoa. Where you going sweetheart." He says. I look at him with disgust,

"What do you want, Haymitch."

"Wow. Feisty in the mornings aren't you?" He takes a swig from his flask.

"Shut up Haymitch." I say with a slight whimper.

"You've been crying sweetheart?" He picks up on my whimper and my still puffy eyes.

"Yeah, how nice of you to notice." I say with sarcasm.

"Your welcome, now if you'll excuse me. I'm going to go. See you around, sweetheart" Haymitch stumbles off. I give a slight huff, I keep walking towards Peeta's house, when the door swishes open, I see Peeta, covered in flour, its obvious he was baking this morning, because he had dropped off some bread to me this morning.

"Hey Katniss!" He yells over the yard.

"Hey, thanks for the bread" I yell in return. Still walking towards his house.

"No problem, I thought it might cheer you up." I walk a little closer, his expression changes into a little frown.

"Katniss, are you ok? You look like you've been crying.." Peeta says.

"Tell me something I don't know." I huff. I feel strange now. I almost feel lightheaded. I can see Peeta's expression change into a more worried one. Then I realize I'm falling backwards. I hit the grass with a loud thud. Peeta is crouched above me now. Saying my name over and over again.

Then I black out.

I wake up to the smell of baking, my eyes flutter open, and I'm in Peeta's home. He must be baking again. I'm on a couch; in a blanket my vision is hazy,

"What just happened?" I say under my breath. Peeta comes walking in with a glass of water.

"Katniss!" he says, as he scurries over to me. "Your awake!"

"Yeah. I am. " I pause for a bit. "What happened?" I look at him with a puzzled face. He frowns. "I don't know, you just looked really dizzy, and you fell."

"How long have I been out?"

"A few hours…"

I look across to the clock above his front door,

"It's nearly five in the afternoon Peeta! Oh my god."

"I didn't want to wake you, you had fainted you know."

"You looked after me for over five hours?" I look at him.

"Yes…?"

I can tell by the sweat I have on my face, I have been thrashing about in my sleep. My mouth tastes of blood, I must have been biting the insides of my cheeks as well. I feel awful.

"Are you feeling any better? I got some water for you.."

"Oh, yes, I am, thanks for the water." I thank him.

"Just call me if you need some other things. Haymitch should be coming over soon-"

"Oh god. Last thing I need right now is Haymitch."

"Would you like me to cancel it he can pick the bread up later-?"

"No, no. It's fine, Peeta." I laugh. I sit up on the couch, I take a sip from the water Peeta had got me, and it was ice cold. My stomach grumbles, Peeta laughs that light chuckle I know so well.

"Well, I know what I'm going to go do now."

"Your just in time, I just made some bread." Peeta says as he takes my hand and leads me to his kitchen. He has me sit down on the chair at the bench. He goes over to the oven to find two fresh hot loaves of bread; he takes one of them and puts it on the chopping board. He slices the first slice of bread, puts it on a small plate and hands it to me,

"Thanks Peeta" I say as I pick up the bread, I smell it and it brings back the memories of the first time I met Peeta, It smells divine, divine enough for my mouth to flood with saliva. I take the first bite of the bread. I instantly recognize the taste of the bread. It's the same flavor as the bread Peeta threw to me that day.

"You know our first Games. When I said I thought about the bread all the time, Katniss." Peeta states.

"Yes. I remember that."

"I still think about it now." Peeta pauses "Even after the war."

I'm surprised at how well Peeta's memory is, ever since the Capitol took him, he hasn't remembered a lot from the first Games. Then again, he did get shown multiple tapes from our first Games.

"Your memory is getting better," I say.

"Yeah. I guess so." He says. There's a long pause before I speak up again.

"I'm sorry about last night-"

"Katniss." He says, "It's fine, stop worrying."

"I was just making sure… I feel like I woke up the whole neighborhood… It was sort of embarrassing." I chuckle.

"From what I know, Haymitch was dead to the world, or still up drinking and couldn't be bothered helping you. But I think I was the only one who woke up. So it's fine."

"That sounds like Haymitch." I snort.

"What sounds like me?" Haymitch enters the room, with that same, foul stench.

"Oh, so nice of you to join us Haymitch." I snipe.

Haymitch makes a rude gesture at me. I return the favor without hesitation.

"So. Haymitch. What was your order again?" Peeta cuts in. Trying to change the subject.

"I don't know, anything that's good with alcohol." Haymitch snorts. Probably too drunk to remember what his order was. Peeta walks over to his cupboard. It has piles and piles of fresh bread inside. He picks a loaf and gives it to Haymitch; Haymitch puts a few coins on the bench,

"Thanks, Peeta." He says as he takes a swig from his bottle and walks out the door clumsily. Peeta sighs and walks over to close the cupboard.

"Wow. Haymitch is always drunk."

"Your telling me, it disgusts me." I spit. "I think I should go head back. It's getting a little late."

"Yeah, sure." Peeta says, "I'll see you tomorrow." He smiles.

"Thanks, and thanks for the bread, again"

"No problem at all."

I start walking out the door, "Bye." I say once more before I shut the door.

As soon as I walk out the door, I realize how well District 12 is rebuilding after the war; it ended a few months ago. The square is starting to look the same, and most of the houses are well rebuilt. District 12 is no longer a pile of forgotten families and lives. District 12 has built a memorial for those lives that were lost when the Capitol destroyed us. But there is still a ghostly feel towards District 12. My mother no longer lives in District 12, she lives in District 4, she works in the hospital there. As for Gale, He's moved down to District 2, with who knows how many girls by him. Thoughts pass by in my head. I wonder how Prim is, somewhere far off, in a safe place.. I stumble upon that primrose once again, I hold back my tears and pick the flower. I hold it in my hand close to my chest. I feel as though she is right there. In my hands, I continue walking; I get to my front door and pick up my game bag that I had left on the floor this morning. I hang it up on the hook close by my door, then take off my hunting boots, and pick up the basket of bread I hadn't put in the cupboard yet. The primrose still grasped in my hand, I take a glass out of one of the lower cupboards below the sink. I fill it with water and place the rose in the glass, on the windowsill. I smile at the sight of the flower against the sunset. I look out the window for a moment, watching the sunset over District 12. I can't believe what has happened in the course of three months. The sunset is absolutely stunning, the different shades of orange and pink lick the clouds coursed over the sky, creating a golden display that I have missed. I remember watching the occasional sunset with Gale. I remember when he called me his best friend all those years ago. Yet he leaves me after just three months, I suspect he had something to do with Prim's bomb. When I think about it, hatred grows between Gale and I. I just don't believe there is a possibility that he could have killed my sister. I shake my head and leave the windowsill, I make my way to the door check whether it's locked, then I head upstairs and get into my sleeping clothes. I take out my braid, which leaves my hair flowing down my back; wavy from the way the braid stayed in my hair all day. I sit down on my bed, I whisper to myself.

"Please, can I have one night, one night? With out any nightmares."

I lie down on my bed, lean over and shut the lights off.

"One night?"

Ahhh, I had to fix it. I made some mistakes in it before haha. Leave a review, was it ok for a first chapter? Thanks for your input! more chapters coming soon! :)x