Hello! Thank you for choosing to read this. You are surely in for a treat! I do not own The Hunger Games so any direct quotes will be in italics.

Ch. 1

I wake up with a start from a horrible nightmare. The air is cold in my bedroom. My brother must've left the window opened last night. I told him not to, it is always freezing in the mornings when he does. The sun shines bright outside the window as I close it. I need to get downstairs fast or my mom will get mad.

Sure enough, "Peeta! Wake up!" My mom screams up towards my room above the bakery. I hope no ones in the shop yet. I doubt there will be, it's reaping day, and not many people are up at this hour.

"Yes, Mother." I reply respectively. I breath in the familiar scent of breads and pastries, I hear my dad scrambling around the shop, trying to get things ready. We're quite busy right after the reaping. People are grateful their children weren't reaped so they come to buy breads in cakes in a bittersweet celebration. Even if their own child wasn't sent off to the Capitol, two of our own were. No one really celebrates the night of the reaping, but people do try.

Right as I enter the room, I see Gale Hawthorne walking towards the door, squirrel in hand. He gives me a small nod of the head as I walk past him. I don't even acknowledge him. I doubt he knows why I always give him the cold shoulder, or why I never even say hi to him.

"Peeta can you hand me one of those loafs." My dad says as he walks over to negotiate a deal with Gale. I throw one of our smaller loafs towards him and walk towards the cakes.

"Peeta, I'll frost them, go help your brother make cinnamon rolls." I could argue, but I decide not to since my mother is always crabby on reaping day anyways. So I walk towards my oldest brother Rhys and start helping him. Rhys isn't in danger today and it's my other brother, Marcus's last year. Since we're not dirt poor our names our only written on the least amount of slips they could be written on. We usually don't worry much.

What I usually worry about on reaping day, is her, Katniss Everdeen, the girl I've been in love with since the first day of Kindergarten. Every time I pray our district escort won't call out, in her high capitol accent, her name. Each time she doesn't I promise myself I will tell her. I can never find the strength to though because I know Katniss would never give me, Peeta Mellark, a second glance. If I were to declare my love for her, she'd probably run-off to her best friend, Gale Hawthorne, and just laugh about it. She probably wouldn't even know my name. So that's why every single year I break my promise, and never tell her. If I don't do it this year I will probably lose her to Gale.

"Peeta, on a second thought, I'll work with Rhys." My mom turns away from the unfrosted cakes, one sits with a horrible flower on top. Today clearly isn't my mother's best day at frosting, not that any day is.

My dad finally comes back from talking to Gale. He is carrying a fairly small squirrel. "You gave him a whole loaf for that? That will barely feed Rhys." My dad just looks at me then looks back down at the bread he was kneading. He's always had a soft spot for the seam people and I had no idea why. He'd probably give bread to them for free if my mom would let him, but she never would, because we already have to eat the burnt and scraped bread as it is.

I get to work on the 30 cakes I have to frost. I have until two; it's plenty of time. Frosting cakes is therapeutic for me. I stop thinking and I just frost. I could frost anything really. Today it's just flowers; Orange, purple, blue, green, red; all kinds of colors. I absolutely love it. I started frosting when I was only six and my parents were completely overwhelmed with work. Soon I was frosting all the cakes, even the wedding cakes. My dad once joked and said I was Capitol ready. They would probably think my cakes weren't eccentric enough. I wouldn't be able to get there anyways, well, unless I was reaped. Which would be horrible at all cost, but especially because I wouldn't last two days in the Hunger Games. Probably die at the cornucopia at the hand of the careers.

Before I know it, it's time to go. The reaping is always brutal. Seeing two kids that you know, being shipped to slaughter. Really the chances of being a victor in District 12 are zero to none. There have only ever been two victors. Every one here is just sorrowful on reaping day and sad that we have to watch two of our own be shipped off and get killed.

I spot Katniss with her sister, Prim. They exchange a moment in each other's arms, Katniss looks fine, only with the look that almost everyone wears on reaping day, but Prim looks horrified. It's probably her first year. They let go of each other and walk off to their areas. Katniss stands right across from where I am. She just stares straight ahead. I see her glance back to what looks like the eighteen year-old section, where my brother is standing. Then it dons on me, of course, that's where Gale is sure to be standing. I wish I was the one she looked to, to calm herself down, I wish I was her everything. She's already is mine.

Our mayor, Mayor Undersee, walks to the microphone. To begin the speech he tells every year; to talk about all the disasters that our country Panem rose out of; then of the uprising that the capitol of course won. Because of the uprising, the capitol had to make sure the districts would never rise up again, and so The Hunger Games were created.

The mayor ends his speech with the same line each year, "It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks."

He then pulls out a paper, a paper with two names written on it. The names of District Twelve's only victors. Which as he says his name, Haymitch Abernathy makes his way onto the stage. Sloppily hugging Effie Trinket, our district escort, in confusion. She of course gasps, which kind of makes me laugh. I've always kind of admired Haymitch, even if he is a ruined drunk, he still beat the odds and won. He deserves respect, and most everyone in District Twelve gives it to him. Not that we see him that often.

Effie gladly gets up and walks to the microphone. She says a few things, and then makes her way to the girls reaping bowl as always. She dramatically draws out a slip. The entire district waits there silently as she walks to the microphone again.

"Primrose Everdeen." Effie Trinket calls out in her high capitol accent. I wince, that's Katniss' sister. It can't be her. No wonder she looked so horrified. Did she know deep down in her core?

Then I hear a voice in the silence. Not just any voice. Hers.

" I volunteer!" She steps out of the crowd and people whisper their respect, but everyone knows she's the only one that would ever do it. Everyone knows she would do anything for her sister. While everyone is whispering, I'm silent because this might be the last time I see Katniss in all her beauty. Then our district shows their respect with our three finger salute. I'm not sure who started it, but it was needed. I gladly do the small action that means a lot to anyone in our District.

I take her in as she walks up to the stage says her name and solemnly stands, waiting for Effie to call the boys name. I see Haymitch get up say something in a drunken stupor. I can't quite hear him, but it's sure to be something snotty. He loses his balance and plummets off the stage. Oh how the Capitol people will love this. Will they even care that I just lost the love of my life?

Effie's quick to walk to the boy's reaping bowl and she's also quick to call out my name.

I hope you liked it! Don't forget to REVIEW on the way out! Thanks! ~boywithbreadlover