This is my first published fanfiction. I know more or less the path this story is gonna head. I don't have a beta so I'm sorry about any errors. And I'm 17 so I'm sorry if my writing sounds mediocre. If you have any feedback, good or bad, I would really appreciate the reviews or messages. Anything to improve my story. Enjoy.

"Shit!"

The consistent ringing of my alarm woke for yet another extremely, pointless, exhausting day. Lately all my days just intertwine with one another. I would wake up, go to class, come home, read a book, sleep and wake up to do it all over again. The weekends were the only thing that provided a different atmosphere, although I've spent it with the same group of people since high school. I just feel like sometimes -

"BONG BONG BONG BONG"

Since I'm an exceptionally deep sleeper I just had to get to most obnoxious alarm clocking I reach across my queen sized bed to turn the damn thing off, but since I refuse to open my eyes the alarm clock slips off the nightstand and lands on the floor. All the while still going off and somehow getting louder.

"KATNISS! I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T TURN THAT DAMN THING OFF IM GONNA COME IN THERE AND TURN IT OFF MYSELF"

Awww, Jo is so sweet in the morning. Unlike myself, my roommate is not the deepest of sleepers. Sadly I found this out the hard way. Jo and I have been friends since we were very young. She was easier to get along with and didn't curse quite as much. At one of our sleepovers as teenagers my phone started vibrating next to me. I wasn't aware if this until Jo jumped on top of me, screaming about getting no sleep and my lack of consideration. Needless to say I have kept my phone on silent around her since.

I've finally gotten out of bed and turned the alarm clock off. Followed by groans from Jo's room. I don't have class today but I wanted to wake up early so I could go to the park in front of the beach and run for a bit. It's one of those uncommon days in Miami where the low isn't 80 degrees.

I go to the bathroom throwing the dirty clothes Jo left lying around and put them in the hamper. I brush my teeth and pull my hair into a high ponytail since its to messy to braid. I come out and change into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. Luckily neither of them smell so I'll only have the appearance of a hobo rather than smelling like one. I fetch my black running shoes, phone, keys, and wallet and am out the door. I usually don't drive to the beach considering how close it is to avoid traffic but since its still early and I want to stop at the book store after, I might as well just drive.

Jo and I live in a tiny apartment that we pay very little rent for but the location is great. Its in the edge of miami beach. We both go to the University of Miami. Jo has a much longer drive to the main campus in Coral Gables but luckily since I'm studying Marine Biology I go to the Biscayne campus which isn't that far. Being one semester away from graduating I don't think either of us care about the commute to school, especially considering we only go twice a week.

I've known Jo since I was 3 years old but we became official best friends in 1st grade. Since then I can't remember a moment in my life that she hasn't been with me. We've always gone to the same schools and hung out with the same crowds. I thought that moving to Miami and living with each other would leave us wanting to smash each others skulls but being such good friends we know our boundaries. Don't get me wrong, she's hardheaded and could be an aggressive bitch but I love her anyways. I don't know how but I do.

Finding a parking spot isn't difficult but finding the change to put in the meter is hell. I'm currently taking out any lose change from between the cracks of the chairs in my 2002 Mazda. Finding enough change I deposit into the meter and am given a 2 hour slot to do whatever I please on the beach. I love this part of the beach. It's always so quiet and has a nice boardwalk parallel to the shore where I could run. A lot of celebrities run through here but since I'm not much on famous people I kinda just ignore them.

Half way into my run I pass a small convenient store for a snack since I skipped breakfast. As I'm reaching for a York Peppermint Patty the tray with countless amounts of candies fall. I stand there frozen looking at all the candies on the floor when all of a sudden I hear a low chuckle. I raise a questioning eyebrow and turn my head to the left. I am met with a tall, at least 6 foot 3", blonde, blue eyed man. He can't be any older than 24. He keeps chuckling and then it turns to quiet laughter and eventually loud laughter. I still haven't moved and he hasn't given any explanation as to why he's laughing but never the less I begin to pick up the fallen candies. Once he notices I'm on the floor he bends down and rests his hand on my shoulder and says,

"Don't worry, I'll pick it up." Next thing I know he's screaming over his shoulder, "Hey! Fin! I told you this thing was gonna break! Come help me out man!"

Half way through the sentence a man about his age comes walking in shirt less. He has gorgeous golden locks and shinning green eyes. And his tanned chest is nothing short of perfect. He takes a look at the scene and starts to laugh like his friend.

I'm still on my knees trying to make sense of the whole scene. The shirtless Adonis realizes I'm here and offers me his hand. I stare at it and realize he's offering assistance in getting up. I gently grab it and am pulled up. I go to release but his grip doesn't falter and he proceeds to shake my hand.

"Well hello there, I'm Finnick, the owner of this fine establishment" the chiseled chest man declares. I hear a scoff behind me and turn and met with the same blue eyes. Seriously dude, are you always laughing at something.

"Fine establishment my ass. Finn over hear is just a bit cocky. I'm Peeta. Sorry about the mess."

I just stand there and take this Peeta guy in. He's attractive that's for sure. He probably knows this too. He's in swim trunks with tacky orange palm trees on them. He has a pair of Ray band sunglasses sitting on the top of his head. Most people in Miami spend close to $200 on a pair of sunglasses but unless they let me see through space I'll stick with my $5 imitations. He's wearing a black undershirt to cover what I'm assuming are rock hard abs. He looks strong but not overly buff. His hair is a messy dirty blonde and his eyes are so blue they rival the oceans. His megawatt smile that shows a huge portion of his perfect white teeth would make any girls panties drop. And it's for all these reasons that I hate him.

I realized I haven't spoken a word since both their introductions. Finn has yet to release my hand so I hurriedly pulled back.

"I'd like to buy this please" I show him my York patty. The boys exchange an obvious questioning glance and I tip toe around the discarded candy to the register. I wait for a few seconds when Peeta comes back around the register and takes the candy from my open palm and starts ringing it up.

"So what's your name?" He's casually asks.

"Katniss" I reply curtly. I hand over my money and get my receipt. I take the snack quickly and walk out of the store.

Ugh, guys like those make me wish men didn't exists. Not that I would have any experience. Jo on the other hand has had enough experience for the both of us. She's bounced from boyfriends more times than either of us could count. Each guy is the same. After every break up she goes on this crazy party spree. She has to drag Annie, Madge, and I along everywhere. It's fun at first but carrying her drunk ass home ain't my idea of a great time with the gals. We met Annie when we moved here. She was the CPR instructor for the classes Jo demanded we take after moving down here. "It would be a disservice to our community to not know something so crucial. She had said, "you never know when someone is gonna need you" and that's how we became certified and made a new best friend.

Annie is very quiet around big groups but when you get her alone she becomes this big ball of hyper fun. She is always talking about something different or thinking of another art activity she can entertain herself with. She's a huge self fit nut and is constantly promoting good health habits. It goes great with her job as the community centers health instructor.

Madge is a bit more 'experienced'. If that's the word I could use to describe her as. She and I share most of the similar hobbies and interests but when it comes to going out we couldn't be more different. She's loud and crazy and sometimes I think she has multiple personalities. I hate going out with her when drinks are involved because she is an aggressive drunk and I have scars and bruises to prove it. She's studying to be a farm vet. I met her when I found a lost kitten who looked ill and took her to the clinic. Madge was an intern and I spent 5 hours waiting for the cats checkup. Being the only one in the office Madge and I hit it off and became instant friends. Since then she has joined our dysfunctional group of "gal pals" as Annie likes to put it.

I continue to walk up the boardwalk and take out my iPod and plug in my headphones. I put it on shuffle and the song lands on 'I knew you were trouble' by Taylor Swift. She's one of my guilty pleasures. I finish off my patty and go to throw it away. I glance at my watch and notice I have half an hour till my meter runs out. I walk back to the car in a slow pace enjoying to smell of the ocean and the decent breeze the morning has to offer. I'm half way through a random Ed Sheeran song when I reach my car. I pull my keys out of my hoodies pocket and start the car.

It's 12:34 and the traffic has picked up a bit. I drive to Lincoln rode to go to Books and Books. I park my car in the cheap garage. Lincoln Rode is one of the main spots in Miami beach. It's a long rode with shops, restaurants, cafes, and anything that's trending. It has my favorite book store so I come here often but I haven't been for a while now. My school work has literally taken up all my time. You'd think considering its only February of the new semester the work would start off light but between my job and the two classes that both are 4 hours long, I have run out of time to do anything fun.

I make the short walk to the book store/cafe. I walk in and order a chocolate croissant and an iced caramel coffee. I know little to nothing about these weird complicated coffee drinks. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm ordering because the names all sound fake and ridiculous to me. But I know I like caramel and I wanted something cold this humid afternoon so I went with Iced coffee. I get my drink from the barista, who of course misspelled my name, and take my food to one of the tables inside. I sit down and look at the books other costumes have left behind. I pick up a pretty interesting looking book and start to I read and I feel a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey! I know you!"

I turn around and for the second time today am met with the strong jawed man from the shop. Gone are his ray bands, the tacky swim shorts, and the black tank top. He's now wearing a black polo with kaki pants and an apron over his attire.

"Katniss right?" He asks, "I'm Peeta from the store earlier"

After a long awkward pause I realize he's talking to me. I nod my head and turn around to look back at my book. Apparently he took this as the okay to sit in the chair in front of me. He looks at me and says,

"I saw you walk in but I had to wait for my break to come out and find you." He says this as if I was waiting for an explanation as to why he had taken so long to come out and say hi. I just stared at him, hoping he'd get the point and just leave me alone but he mistakes this as an okay to continue.

"So, you liked my croissant?" He asks with a smirk.

"Excuse me?" I asked appalled.

He looks down at my croissant and points at the bag that holds the fluffy desert. It says Mellarks Bakery in the left bottom hand corner.

"Mellarks, that's my last name. It's my family's cafe. I make most of the pastries when my dad can't."
He says with his continued smirk. I wish I could just wipe it off his perfect face. My mouth betrays me when I say,

"I thought you worked at that convenient store by the beach" I imply.

He chuckles and nods his head. Some of his blonde curls fall into his eyes and I can't help wanting to move it out of the way. Either way I remain with my hands on my book and an uninterested expression on my face.

"You would think that , but that's just my friends Finns place. I go there to hangout and mooch off some free snacks" he laughs. "So you ran out of there pretty quickly that you didn't notice you dropped this" he holds out my gold charm bracelet that my dad gave me when I was 10. I look at my left wrist and noticed it bare, lean over, and grab it from his hand. As I went to grab my bracelet my hands touched his and his eyes shot to me. I pulled my hand back back as quickly as I could. I'm fumbling with the bracelet to get it on when he decides to lean over and help me get it on. I usually don't accept help but it was either that or embarrass my self trying to get the dumb bracelet back on. Once the bracelet is on I decide I need to get the hell out of here. I stand up, grab my bag, and head to the door mumbling a quick thank you.

"Katniss wait!" He yells out while following me to the door. I turn around and look at him expectantly. Waiting for him to tell me I've left another item behind. Instead he just stands there and looks at me.

"I was kinda hoping to get your number, maybe we could go out to eat or something" did this guy just ask me out? Does he think I owe him something just cause he brought me back my bracelet? What an asshole.

I narrow my eyes and with as much sarcasm I can muster I say, "No thanks"

I turn to walk out again but he calls my name again. This time when I turn around he's much closer that I almost crash into him, losing my balance and sending me to topple backwards. I close my eyes in anticipation but after a few seconds of nothing I open them to see Peeta's face mere inches from mines. He has me tilted at an angle. One of his arms is wrapped around my back and his other arm is gripping my forearm. His eyes glance behind my head and he whistles. I turn and realize I'm about a centimeter from colliding with the sharp edge of the table behind me.

"Saving your life has to count for something. Common one date won't kill you but apparently rejecting me will" he jokes. If he wasn't such a pompous jerk I would've found that funny but instead since he hasn't let me go I wiggle out of his grasp and regain my balance.

"Look I appreciate you giving me back my bracelet and helping me up," he raises his eyebrow obviously knowing where this is going, "but your not my type." I lie. I don't even have a type. And if I did I'm pretty sure cute blondes would be in it, but cocky jerks wouldn't.

He just stares at me with his raised eyebrow in silence. I half expect him to say or do something but since he hasn't I turn and slowly walk out.

"You know I'm not like him." He calls from his spot by the door. I turn and look at him in question. Did I hit his head on my way down cause this dudes not making sense.

He continues, "Whoever left you with the impression that all guys are assholes, I'm not like him. I'd really like to get to know you. No hidden agendas." The genuine look in his expression really makes me want to believe him. I will admit I soften up a bit but I can't let him think he has something over me. So instead of giving him a chance I, in the nicest way possible, say, "Look, Peeta, I just... " I pause and take a deep breathe because his eyes are staring right at me and I have trouble with eye contact. Especially when his eyes are as beautiful as his, "Im sorry..." I say lamely. I turn and walk out with no interruptions this time.

Btw this story takes place in Miami since I live here and I know locations around here. All these places that I speak of are real places. If you feel like I'm adding to much detail please let me know. Thanks for reading!