Hi! Okay. So, this is my first story. I'd like some reviews. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. Boo.

They call it the Hunger Games. But it's unlike any other game. It's not like the games that the children play back in District 12. It's not for fun, and all but one victor will die. The Capitol claims it is to show the Districts that they are still in control. That you cannot defy the power of the Capitol, but I believe it is because they love the violence.

My name is Peeta Mellark, and I am a contestant in the 74th Hunger Games, and soon I will have to murder the girl I love.

...

I stand on the metal plate inside the cylinder that will soon lead me to my death. Images flood my mind, and no amount of concentration will make them go away. They flit through my head; ghosts of the people I love and will never see again.

Well, not exactly. I think as another image appears. A seventeen year old girl with gray eyes and long dark hair. It hurts to think of her now. Knowing that soon I will have to kill Katniss Everdeen. I sigh and close my eyes; taking deep breaths in hope that it will calm my nervousness. It really doesn't help much, but at least it keeps me from feeling that the walls of my tube are caving in; preparing to squish me. I finally get my heart rate to semi-normalcy.

Then the plate beneath my feet begins to move.

There goes my deep breathing technique. My stomach flips and I taste vomit at the back of my throat. I clench my hands into fists and force myself to look calm.

The arena comes into view and, despite my promises to forget her, my eyes lock on Katniss. She is standing with her feet slightly apart, and her chin held high. I can see her looking around the arena, but I can also see the fear in her eyes. Then I see her eyes focus on something and widen.

A bow and a sheath of arrows lay at the top of a pile of blankets. I can see the wheels turning in her eyes as she stares at the bow. She wants it, and she thinks she can make it. No. I catch Cato staring at me, and I quickly try to make my face emotionless. He smirks at me, and I wonder what he saw.

"Lover boy." he mouths me, and I swallow. I know that this will make her an immediate target. Kill her and kill me inside. I look back at Katniss and see that she is looking at me. I can see the determination in the way she has her body poised to run. I shake my head at her and I will her to understand.

You'll never make it. Please, don't do it. Run. Run as far away as you can get.

At her look of confusion I know that my silent plea didn't work. I look at the five people that stand between us, and then at the seventeen that finish the grand circle. I can't help but wonder who will die? Or who will be the one to kill me?

The sound of a gong startles me, and I'm running. The boy from District 9 pushes me and I fall to the ground. I roll to the side and stand, wincing slightly at the pain in my right ankle. I see that already people have reached the Cornucopia and are gathering weapons. I see the boy who pushed me stand in front of Katniss. Time stands still in that moment.

Please don't make me watch her die! My vision blurs around the edges, and I fight the urge to fall to my knees. I turn away and sprint to the forest's edge, limping slightly. I turn to look over my shoulder, and I see the boy; a knife protruding out of his back and blood welling on his chest. I turn to scan the trees and see a long, dark braid disappearing into the trees. I feel an instantaneous relief. She's alive.

Suddenly, a knife flies past my head with a soft thunk as it hits the tree beside my head, lodging itself into the hard bark of the tree. My head whips around and sees a redheaded girl running to me; a similar knife in her hand.

I turn to the tree and grab the hilt of the knife, yanking it out of the tree with a jerk. I whirl around and see the girl throw the other knife straight at me. I jump sideways, but not fast enough. The knife catches my shoulder, leaving a gash that looks to be about two inches deep. The girl is still running at me, probably hoping that I will be in shock, and that I won't fight back.

But I do. In that moment I want nothing more than to live. I roll and stand in one motion. I take my aim and throw the knife, watching as it slides into her chest right between her ribs. I see her look of shock, and watch as she falls to the ground. I'll regret it later, but for now all I want is to get away from here. I scan the Cornucopia, seeing dead bodies everywhere, and then I see Cato watching me.

Did he see me kill her? This girl who's name I never knew, and would never know now. I quickly turn and retrieve the knife that sliced my shoulder. I look down at my wound and see that it's bleeding steadily. I take a deep breath and turn to watch Cato as I disappear, not trusting him with my back turned. I see that he's walking towards me with empty hands, but he has a spear tucked away in his belt.

"Stay where you are or this knife goes through your chest next." I tell him once he is within throwing distance. He stops and watches me, and I see his hand twitch towards his belt. I can see him thinking something over, and I can't help but wonder how he plans to kill me. Then he smiles at me, but his smile reminds me of a cat playing with a mouse; like its having fun, but it can't wait to kill you.

"Oh, I don't plan to kill you," he says "actually, I want you to join us. I saw what you can do with that knife. We could use your skills." He says it all too innocently. I search his face and wonder why he's doing this. Careers don't ally themselves with the other Districts. I know I can throw a knife all right, but I'm not that great. Why would he want me, a kid from District 12-

Then it clicks. I know why he wants me on his side. "You want me to lead you to Katniss. Don't you?" I watch the shock register across his face as I speak. A grim feeling of triumph courses through me; I shocked Cato. Now he knows that I'm not just some naïve little baker's son. I smile at him an wait for his response.

"Well, of course. I'll make the deal even better. I promise you that I'll kill her, and you won't even have to be around when I do, Lover Boy." He smiles back, because he knows he's won. There's nothing more that I want than to not have to kill Katniss. I know that if anything will haunt my dreams, it would be her face. I feel the acceptance forming on my lips when my mind veers off into a completely different direction.

I could kill the Careers. Maybe while they were sleeping. I would probably die in the process, but at least I could kill as many of them as possible. I would do it to save Katniss. I could see her winning, and living in Victor's Village. She would never go hungry again.

I think back to that day many years ago, when a younger gray eyed girl picked through our trashcan. I remember standing there behind my mother, looking at the girl who was deathly thin and thinking of how lost she looked. You could read the sadness in her eyes, after all her father had died in the mines no more than two months before. My mother yelled at her, telling her to get out, but I barely heard her. Katniss's eyes locked on mine and I saw shame in her eyes. In that moment I knew I would get her food if it was the last thing I did. So when she walked away and sat beneath a tree not far away, I walked inside. I went over to the oven and shuffled the bread with the large oven spatula. I accidentally dropped one into the fire. I quickly grab it out, so that it isn't inedible for the starving girl outside. My mother sees and scolds me, slapping me across the face with the back of her hand. I walk outside and see that the girl is still there, watching me. I grab a few pieces and throw them to the pigs. I hear my mother shuffle away inside, muttering to herself. Once I'm sure she is no longer paying attention to me, I throw the loaf to Katniss. I walk back inside and never once looked back because I didn't want to see if she would be outraged at the charity.

I snap back into myself and look at Cato who has his eyebrows slightly raised in a questioning look. It's then that I know what I will do. I will kill them for her. I will murder them and pray that the girl I've loved for years will live. I can only hope she says goodbye to my parents for me.

"Deal," I say and reach out to shake Cato's hand. He smiles at me and I smile back. If any of the Careers will be a challenge, it will be Cato. He is by far the strongest and he will probably kill me. I can only hope that Katniss can kill him.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think as Cato releases my hand and turns to grab the knife from the redheaded girls back and walks farther into the shadows of the forest, your 74th Hunger Games champion is… Katniss Everdeen!

I smile and follow Cato into the woods that will soon be my burial grounds.