Chapter 1

Katniss's POV

I wake up to the sounds of dishes clanking downstairs. I groan, and roll over, burying my face in my pillow and wrapping my blanket tightly around myself. I pretend not to hear him coming up the stairs. Without knocking, he comes in, sets something on the bed behind me, and comes over to me, brushes the hair out of my face, and kisses me on the cheek.

"Katniss? Hey, It's time to wake up."

I pretend to slowly start to wake up, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I sit up, and he sets a tray on my lap. It's filled with breads, and fruit. There is a glass of orange juice to the side. I look up at him.

"Peeta. You really didn't have to do this."

"Well, I figured you needed..."

"Breakfast?" I ask skeptically.

"Uh.. Yeah" He says, scratching the back of his head, blushing.

I smile and roll my eyes.

"Well, I can't eat it all on my own. Care to join me?"

He smiles, and comes to sit next to me on the bed. I start eating a warm roll, and he heads towards a bunch of grapes. We eat in silence for a while, while I try to figure out exactly why Peeta was here. Then I remember. Nightmares.

"What were they about?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "You didn't say."

"What time did you come over?"

"Around two. I had to run, lucky your door is unlocked. You were going to wake up the whole neighborhood."

"It was that bad?"

His sigh answers it all.

"Damn."

"Hey, maybe you should talk to someone about this, see if you can maybe get help?

"Ha! Open up, talking to a complete stranger about my deepest darkest worries and fears." I stand up.

"Not gonna happen"

He sighs. "Fine. I'm gonna go back over to my house, I'll be right next door if you need anything."

"Thank you, Peeta." I say curtly.

Peeta walks out, and I feel a twang of regret, being so rude to him.

No. I thought. I can't lead him on. We had to pretend to be in love, but the victory tour is over, there;s nothing else we need to pretend for.

I sigh, and look through my closet. I pull out a pair of jeans, plain black t-shirt, and a light jacket. I run downstairs and grab my quiver and bow off the kitchen table, lace up my boots, and I'm out the door. I walk through town, greeting people I pass, making a beeline for the woods. The fence is never on now. The only reason it's still standing is because it keeps the animals out. I crawl under it, and run into the woods.

I walk along a path that only I know, leading to a tree. My tree. It is huge, easily climbable, and form the top you can see everything- My old house, the Vector's village, the bakery. I wonder how much time Peeta spends there now.

No! Why do you keep thinking of him? I mean, it's not a bad thing. Is it?

I shake the thoughts out of my head, and look around. I see flocks of birds, several squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and even a deer. Not needing to hunt, I lean back, and close my eyes, listening to the sounds around me. My favorite noise.

Slowly, I fall asleep. I don't realize it's a dream, because I'm sitting in the same position as the one I fell asleep in, sitting in a tree. I'm attached to the tree, tied to it. I'm back in the arena, and I'm looking down at the disfigured body of Glimmer. Suddenly, I hear a quiet humming, growing louder. I realize it's tracker jackers, and start thrashing around, trying to untie myself. But it seems the more I try, the tighter the rope gets. Soon, I'm surrounded my the buzzing insects, screaming as I get stung repeatedly, all over.

Suddenly, I'm shaken awake. My eyes are foggy.

"Peeta?" I ask groggily.

Before I know it, I'm pulled into a hug.

"It's okay Katniss. I was out here, I heard you screaming, I climbed the tree and..." I hold him tighter, glad to have him there.

"Thank you, Gale."