Living In The Summer Sun

Rating: T to M

Summary: Katniss goes to visit her aunt and uncle every summer at their house by the beach. She mostly spends time with Prim and her friend Gale. However, Prim is not going this year and Gale seems to have more than just friendly intentions for Katniss. To make matters even more complicated, a new family had recently moved down the street and the youngest son (Peeta) seems to want to get to know Katniss. She is torn between the guy she always thought of as just a friend, and the intriguing new guy who is threatening to steal her heart.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hunger Games, no copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 1: Summer Begins

A/N: Here is a brand new story for you all! If anyone reviewed my last one and didn't get the sneak peek, I apologize. I either lost track of who I sent it to, or I wasn't able to send it to you for some reason or another. This will be told (probably entirely) in Katniss' POV.

As I entered the airport straight off of the plane, I anxiously looked around for my Uncle Robert and my Aunt Marie. They were supposed to pick me up to take me to their home along the beach for the summer.

My father died when I was eleven and his older brother and his wife decided to move next to the ocean the following summer. Ever since then, my sister Primrose and I had spent every summer with our aunt and uncle.

However, Prim was not with me this year. She had just graduated from middle school and was attending some summer camp for upcoming freshmen who were intellectually superior. I wasn't surprised that she had been chosen for the camp, but I was sad that she wasn't going to be spending the summer with me.

I stood on my tiptoes, trying to find my burly uncle with his thinning brown hair or my slender aunt with her curly blond hair. I strained to get through the crowd of people in the airport, almost worried about where my aunt and uncle might be.

"Catnip! Over here!"

I whipped my head around to see my friend Gale standing about ten feet away from me. I was surprised to see him, but happy, so I smiled.

Gale came rushing over and swept me into a fierce hug. "Hey!"

"Hey yourself, now let go, you're crushing my lungs!"

He chuckled and released me, placing a small kiss on my cheek. "Sorry about that, I'm just excited to see you again."

I grinned back at him. "I'm excited too, but I thought my aunt and uncle were coming to pick me up?"

"They were, but right as they were about to leave, I realized where they were going and insisted on picking you up myself. You aren't upset by that, are you?"

I shook my head. "No! Not at all. It was a nice surprise. Let's go get my bags so we can head out."

Gale placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the baggage claim.

Gale and his family was my aunt and uncle's next door neighbors. I had met him the very first summer when I was there. He was fourteen and I was twelve and after bickering over every little thing for a few days, we soon became good friends.

Now, I was eighteen and had just graduated from high school. Gale was twenty now and working at a restaurant to pay for community college.

We laughed and reminisced about our adventures together during previous summers on our way to the baggage claim and then to Gale's beat up old car. He helped me in and threw my bags in the trunk before transporting us back to town.

When we finally arrived at my aunt and uncle's house, I was overcome by how much I had missed the place. Their house was directly along the beach, a solid looking, gray colored Cape Cod style home that was picture perfect.

"Katniss!" My uncle greeted me with a hug and a big smile.

"Hi dear. Oh, you look so grown up!" My aunt embraced me as well.

"Hey, I've missed you two!"

After reunited with my relatives, Gale helped me lug my stuff up into the room that I always used when I was there.

"Jeez Catnip, you sure do have a lot of stuff!"

I laughed. "Well, I am going to be here for almost three months!"

I sat down on the pale blue quilt on the bed and smoothed it out with my fingers. I couldn't believe that I was back, and without my Prim.

Gale must have noticed my sullen demeanor because he sat down next to me and put his arm around my shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

I sighed. "I'm really going to miss having Prim with me this year."

He rubbed my back gently. "Well, I guess you'll just have to hang out with me more..."

I looked up at him. Something was different between us, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "Hmm...I guess so."

Gale reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gift-wrapped package. "By the way, happy graduation!" He thrust the box into my hand.

I ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the small box to reveal two beautiful jade earrings. "Gale! You didn't have to get me anything!"

He chuckled. "I know, but one of my best friends just graduated from high school and I wasn't there to see it so I figured that I might as well get her a gift. Do you like them?"

I picked up one of the dangly earrings and beamed at him. "They're beautiful, thank you."

"You're welcome."

I began to unpack my clothes and put them away while Gale watched me. "You want to hang out tomorrow?"

He sighed. "I have to work until six, but after that we can."

Six? What was I supposed to do all day? My uncle would be at work and even though my aunt worked from home, she couldn't exactly do anything with me. "What am I going to do until six?"

Gale shrugged. "Sorry, but I really need the money. You should go to the beach and relax in the sunshine, you won't even miss me."

I pouted at him. "Fine, but you'll miss out on seeing me in my new swimsuit." I winked at him.

He gave me a lazy grin. "I'm sure I'll see it soon."

The next morning, after a nice pancake breakfast with my aunt and uncle, I set out to do some light reading on the beach.

I wandered along the shore for a few minutes before setting up my lawn chair, towel, cooler full of bottled water, and a new novel.

It was still early June, but the beach was already bustling with activity. Girls in tiny bikinis chasing after guys, children building sandcastles, surfers catching some waves, teenagers tanning themselves in the hot sun, and older adults settling under umbrellas.

I breathed in the smell of the salt air and felt the warm breeze tickle my cheeks. It was nearly ten am, but the sun was already burning hot.

I laid back in my lawn chair and watched some of the surfers.

"I'll come by and see you after work, okay?"

I jumped in surprise to see Gale standing next to me in his uniform.

"Yeah, okay."

He smiled and leaned down and placed a kiss on my head. "See you later. Nice swimsuit by the way." He winked.

What was with him lately? He had never been so touchy-feely with me before.

I shook myself mentally, trying to take everything out of my mind besides the beautiful beach I was at.

After a few moments, I went back to watching the surfers. One caught my eye right away. He had a stocky build with what looked like some nice muscles under his wetsuit. His blond hair was drenched and pieces were plastered to his forehead.

I watched him catch wave after wave, until one snuck up on him and pulled him under. I sat up a bit in my chair, waiting for him to resurface.

He didn't resurface right away and I grew concerned for him. I was just about to inform the lifeguard when his blond head popped back up. He looked okay so I settled back down in my chair.

I quickly decided that I needed to stop creeping on the blond guy so I pulled out my novel and began to read, losing myself in the story.

"Hey."

I snapped my book shut in surprise. The blond guy was standing right in front of me. What did he want? "Hey...can I help you?"

He plopped himself down in the sand next to me. "How long have you been dating Gale Hawthorne?"

I looked at him quizzically. "Umm...I'm not dating him, we're just good friends. Do you know him?"

"A little bit. He comes into my parents' bakery that I work at a lot to pick up bread for the Captain's Inn."

The Captain's Inn was the name of the restaurant that Gale worked at. "Oh."

"Yeah, I thought maybe you two were related at first cause you sorta look alike, but then I saw him kiss you on the head and thought maybe you guys were dating."

Why did he care anyway? And who was this guy? "No, not dating, not that it is any of your business."

He shrugged. "I'm Peeta by the way. Peeta Mellark." He stuck out his hand and I reluctantly shook it.

It was then that I noticed his beautiful blue eyes that matched the color of the ocean. He was really quite attractive, if not a little bit annoying. "Katniss Everdeen."

"Everdeen? Are you related to Robert and Marie Everdeen?"

He knew my aunt and uncle? Well, the town wasn't too big... "Yes, they are my aunt and uncle."

He nodded and smiled. "They come into the bakery a lot too. Really nice people."

"How is it that you know everyone I know, but I've never seen you around before?"

Peeta pushed back some of his wet hair. "Me and my family just moved here about six months ago to open up the bakery."

Oh, that made sense then. "I see. I come here every summer to stay with my relatives until late August."

"That's cool. You should stop by the bakery some day and try out some of our pastries, they are delicious. It's right on First Avenue in town next to the hair salon."

"What's it called?"

"Mellark's Bakery. I hope you'll stop by when I'm working."

I smiled at him. "Maybe I will."

Peeta said goodbye and then went back out to surf some more. I wasn't sure why, but I was intrigued by the 'baker boy'. He seemed like a nice guy, a little annoying at first, but persistent and kind, not to mention totally hot. It looked like I was in for an interesting summer.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! Please review to let me know if I should continue with this story or not. Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcomed! :)