Sure, Katniss Everdeen was born and raised Amity, but she never really belonged there. Peeta Mellark has been watching her for as long as he could remember, and this much he knows. From the first day of kindergarten when Katniss showed up in a red dress with yellow ribbons fastening the ends of her long, dark braids, Peeta felt drawn to her. He wanted to know her. He felt the strange urge to protect her, though he didn't know what from. That day, he had plucked a dandelion from the courtyard outside the school building and tucked the small yellow blossom behind her ear. They both blushed, cheeks as red as her dress, but didn't speak a single word. From that day on, Peeta made it his mission to be kind to her. He was kind to everyone, a true Amity at heart, but he was a different type of kind when it came to Katniss Everdeen. He rushed to hold doors for her, pretending like the action was meant to benefit all of their classmates, not just her. He baked cupcakes and handed them out to everyone at school so that she wouldn't notice he was thinking of her the entire time he frosted dandelions onto the cake. Now, at sixteen years of age, Peeta Mellark still hasn't worked up the nerve to speak directly to Katniss. He's spoken near her, sure. Maybe he's cracked a joke to a circle of friends that just happened to include Katniss, but he's never said anything that was meant just for her. He's watched her for years. He knows she's different. He knows that she belongs in Amity just as much as his mother does. Mother doesn't let her boys forget that she wanted to be in dauntless, could have should have would have chosen dauntless, if she had not already been pregnant with her first son. So she stayed with Peeta's father, resenting it every day since. Amity are supposed to value peace, they are supposed to be kind, they are not supposed to be violent, to like violence, to act violently towards their children. Mrs. Mellark didn't seem to care. With the choosing ceremony lurking just around the corner, Peeta is beside himself with worry. None of his brothers have transferred, for everyone knows that the parents of transfer kids get looked at differently. Mrs. Mellark does not want to be looked at differently. She makes sure her sons are aware of this.
Leave, and I'll find you. Don't think I wont find you. I'll teach you what it really feels like to get beaten. I'll do it Dauntless style.
Mrs. Mellark's most recent threat still rings in Peeta's ears as he sits on his bed, feet on the cold hardwood floor, head in his hands. Katniss Everdeen's melodic voice sounds in his head, mixing with the bitter tones of his mother's. He sees her high up in a tree, picking fruit. She's always climbing the trees. Always volunteering to go first, to go highest, despite her shy and quite nature. He knows that Katniss got Dauntless as a test result. He always knew. He never thought he'd be able to follow her. He never thought that his result would read anything other than Amity. It did place him in Amity, he thinks. And Abnegation. And Dauntless. A strange combination, he was told. Very rare, but not unheard of. Not something to be ashamed of, but something to hide. Divergent, he thinks. He shudders. He knows he shouldn't choose Dauntless. He knows he isn't safe there. But he also knows that, if he's going to transfer, it's going to be to the faction that would piss his mother off the most. He feels the courage to leave deep inside of him. Courage. He is Dauntless. He doesn't care about the risks. He doesn't care about leaving his life behind. He needs to get away from his mother. He needs to learn to fight back. Most of all, he needs to follow Katniss. He needs to learn to be brave. Brave enough to make her his.
He falls asleep that night with thoughts of black coals and bright fires dancing on his eyelids, the sound of trains rumbling over their tracks acting as the soundtrack to his dreams of freedom.