Author's Note: Of course, for me to carry on with this new story, I must apologize for my absence. I really can't give an excuse, I just haven't been writing fanfictions. I have been very busy working on a novel of mine that I'm hoping on publishing hopefully by the end of the summer. I'm sorry, again, for deleting Strange Place to Find Love. It was an accident and I just haven't put it back up. My writing has strongly improved from then and now and every time I think about the story, I think about how much better I am than that story so I just haven't brought myself to touching it. HOWEVER if you readers want, I WILL make many changes to it, repost it, and continue from where I left off. I accept the fact that many of you have given up on me during my absence but I am back and I need your help through messages and reviews to get this story going and with the other fanfictions that I have written. Thanks to everyone who actually read this note, I usually just scroll past when I see these, but for those of you who read this, thank you and I hope that you understand and are willing to forgive me. As for those of you who have never read what I have written, welcome to my world. My old fanfics aren't as great as they can be now, for I have improved immensely but I still need all the help I can get. Thanks to all of you who have stuck with me through all this time. Anyway, along with the story.

Some things you need to know:

1. This story takes place in a somewhat modern-ish Panem.

2. Haymitch is the only living District 12 victor

3. Katniss and Peeta have never been in the Hunger Games.

Summary: When the games are no longer enough, the Capital releases a pandemic that leaves the districts dying of a virus that attacks the body and slowly takes over the mind. Now those who are still uninfected must unite to bring down the Capital before everyone's body has been taken over. They are the Revolution.

We Are the Revolution

When the teardrops fall, the world will be engulfed in flames. When we are nothing, they will be ashes. When The Fallen is influenced to destroy those very few of us left, we will rise from the ruins. When we are left shattered, we will pick up the pieces. We will stand. We will be strong. The Capital has given us a reason worth fighting for… a cause worth dying for. From a distance we may look like pieces in their games, but up close, we are the Revolution.

ONE WEEK BEFORE

"Katniss?"

I whipped around to see the worried face of Madge Undersee. Her hair was pulled back in a tight pony tail, several strands coming loose as they hung in front of her face. Her eyes were distance and the bags under her eyes showed that she longed for a moment of rest.

"Katniss," she repeated exasperatedly. "My father needs me at home, could you-?"

"Sure Madge."

"Really?"

"Yes," I assured her. "Now go, I'll cover for you."

"Oh! Thank you Katniss!" She threw her arms around me, consuming me in a large hug.

"Hey" I giggled softly, gently pushing her away. "That's what friends are for."

She cracked a wide smile as she tore off her apron and placed it into my hands. She hugged me once more before hurrying out the door. I heaved a sigh as the bell above the door dinged softly, signally that she was no longer in the diner.

I shook my head slowly and I tossed her pale blue apron onto the hook that the other ones hung silently. I made my way into the kitchen where Hazelle Hawthorne stood at the sink washing dishes. She hummed softly to herself as she scrubbed grease off of a plate.

"It's getting late you know?"

I chuckled. "I'm not going home anytime soon."

She placed the plate onto the pile where the clean dishes were stacked. "Don't tell me you said you would cover for Madge again."

I grabbed a towel and began to dry the dishes within the stack. "What else am I supposed to do? She is my friend after all…"

She began scrubbing another plate. "Friend or not… she should find another time to bang her boyfriend, not when she should be working."

I shrugged. "It's not like I would be doing anything away."

She handed me a plate and I began to rub the towel against it. "That's because all you ever do is work."

"I have to make money somehow."

"Honey, we all do, but you're a teenager… you should be having fun. You should be going to parties, making tons of friends and-"

"No thanks." I cut her off. "I'd rather be working then to have me ass grinding against some guy's dick to pounding music."

She scrunched her face in disgust. "Yeah, me too." We laughed and continued to make jokes about modern society until the dishes were dried and put away.

The bell above the door rang.

We stopped laughing and I sighed once more. "I guess I'll go get them seated.

I grabbed a handful of menus and made my way to where a group of boys had just seated themselves in a booth that resided in the back corner. I threw on a fake smile and I handed each of teenagers a menu. "Hi guys, welcome to Sae's Diner… I'm Katniss; I'll be your server." I grabbed a small note pad and pencil from the front pocket of my apron. I flipped to a blank sheet and poised the tip of the pencil to the top of the sheet.

"You go to school with us right?"

I looked up at the boys for the first time since they walked in. I had at least one class with each one of them. But they were merchants so they didn't associate themselves with girls like me. Girls from the Seam. "Yeah" I swallowed. "I'm surprised you noticed." My voice was bitter. There were four boys at the table. One blonde, two brunettes and one with coal black hair.

"Hang on," spoke the black haired one. His green eyes shined. He pointed at my shirt. Fearing that I had ketchup on my chest, I looked down to where he was pointed. I was relieved to see that he was only pointing at my name pin. "You're Katniss?"

"I'm Katniss." I shrugged. "It's uniform." I spoke as I gestured towards my black shirt, khaki pants and pale blue waist apron.

"My father buys your deer."

"I sell deer to a lot people."

"Cray." He chuckled. "I'm Cray's son."

"My mom slept with your dad."

"My dad sleeps with a lot of women."

The boys burst out laughing, and I myself, couldn't hold back a giggle either. "Yeah um… my mother works at the infirmary a few miles from here."

The green eyed boy smiled. "Yeah, she's good at what she does. Anyway, I'm Leo." He stuck his hand out and I hesitantly shook it. "You don't need to be afraid of us, you know."

I stared at him. Oddly enough he had been nice the entire time they had been there. But he was a merchant. "I don't know why I wouldn't."

He looked offended. "How about I introduce us?" I damn well knew who each and every one of them was. "This here is Ryan." One of the brunettes waved. I stood expressionless. Two years ago he pushed Prim into a puddle saying that she was trash and a waste of space. When I tried to step in, he smacked me and told me not to ever get close to him again. Something about not wanting filth to get on him.

When I looked at Ryan, he didn't seem to remember what I had. "This is Carter." The other boy nodded at me. Three years ago he pushed me into a frozen lake while on a school trip. I suffered of hypothermia and stayed in bed for weeks where I almost died. He didn't seem to remember either.

"And last, Peeta Mellark. You probably know him… his family owns the bakery."

(Flashback)

I collapsed beneath the large oak tree that stood proudly in the backyard belonging to the Mellark's home. My breathing was fast as my throat burned and blood trickled out of my mouth. I choked on the crimson liquid, coughing it up onto the grass. My skin ached and my vision was blurred as blood came seaming out of the wound that was deep within the flesh of my face. My body shook with hunger and pain. I sagged against the tree as I tried to hold on to life, despite hanging off the cliff above death with only two fingers. I was slipping.

A middle aged woman came bursting out of the house with a scowl as she waved a rolling pin viciously. She came after me. I laid there as her strides quickened. I couldn't move.

"Leave you filthy Seam trash! Scat! Get out of here!" She screamed. I coughed up blood and black spots danced across my vision. I was helpless. The rolling pin came in contact with my head. Another blow, this time to my stomach. I heaved as the wind got knocked out of me. "Leave you Seam whore! Get up!" She raised the rolling pin high above her hand. I flinched as it landed against my skull and the sound of my bones shattering filled my ears and muffled my screams. With one last blow she huffed and retreated back inside her home.

I laid there with my face pressed against the grass. I was clutching on the edge with one finger. I stared at the door through the curtain of red. A blonde boy snuck out of the home only moments later. He knelt next to me. I didn't register his voice. I only saw his cerulean eyes as they stared at me with hope.

My finger slipped. I let go. I began to fall.

He pressed a cloth to my wounds as he whispered in my ear. I only saw his eyes.

He had caught me.

(End of flashback)

"Are you ok? Katniss…"

"I'm fine." I snapped. "Can I get you guys something to drink?" They all mumbled responses and I hastily scribbled them down in the notebook and darted back towards the kitchen.

"Hey what took so long?"

I shrugged. "They were indecisive."

She nodded as she pulled her hair back into a pony tail. Her chestnut hair matched her soft eyes. Whenever she was around, I felt comforted and the air was always settling. I only felt like this when I was in the forest. She was more like my mother than anybody. She understood me.

I grabbed some glasses and one at a time I placed them under the soda fountain. I pressed the glass against the trigger and watched as the liquid quickly filled each one of the glasses. When they were all filled, I placed them on the tray and carried back over to the table in the corner. The boys quickly grew silent when I reached the end of the table.

"Here you guys are. Two Pepsi's, a Sprite and one Mountain Dew. They gave me soft smiles as they each took their drinks. I caught Peeta's eyes; he gave me a look that meant that he remembered and knew why I stood silent for several minutes before I retreated towards the kitchen. I looked away, refusing to look at him any longer.

"Are you ready to order?" I brought the notebook back out from within my pocket, my pencil ready.

Ryan was the first to speak. "Which is better… the cheeseburger, or the cheeseburger without the cheese?"

Carter smacked the back of his head. "What the hell man, a cheeseburger without the cheese? That makes it a burger." Leo snorted as he began drinking his soda.

"Well, if you're asking for my opinion, I'd say that everything on the menu is crap. It all sucks; you might as well go home." I snorted, brushing a few stray strands of hair out of my face.

"Then why do you work here?"

"Why do you go to school?" I retorted.

Ryan shrugged. "Because I have to."

"Exactly."

"I'll take a stack of pancakes."

"Ryan… this isn't IHOP."

"Shut up Carter."

I pointed to the clock with my pencil. "We don't sell breakfast after eleven."

"Well, it will be eleven in an hour. So, we have time still."

"Ryan… she means eleven in the morning."

"Shut up Carter."

I laughed. "You know what, I'll make you pancakes."

"Really?" He spoke with hopeful eyes.

"No Ryan, it's ten at night."

"Shut up Carter."

"I will make you pancakes, ok?" I scribbled it down onto the paper. "You're lucky that I'm one of the only ones working right now."

"Can I also have bacon?"

"No Ryan"

"Shut up Carter"

"Hey! Leo boasted. "If he gets bacon then I want some too!"

"Leo!"

"Shut up Carter!" both Ryan and Leo shouted. I groaned and added bacon to the list.

"Do you also want me to make a smiley face using eggs as the eyes and bacon as a mouth?"

Ryan's jaw dropped. "Oh my god! You guys can do that?"

I blinked slowly. "Yeah, do you want that too?"

"Yes!"

"What about the rest of you?" I continued, worried that I was going to get a bunch of weird orders. They were boys after all.

"Can I have a whiskey?"

"No Ryan, this isn't a bar"

"Shut up Carter"

"Just give me a chicken sandwich please." Leo blurted and I wrote down his order. "But instead of lettuce, can I get scrambled eggs?"

I furrowed my eyes in puzzlement. "You want scrambled eggs on your chicken sandwich?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Just double checking…"

Carter scanned the menu. "Is there nuts in the grilled cheese sandwich?"

Leo smacked the back of his head with a menu. "Why the hell would there be…"

"I don't know!" He said defensively. "I was just asking because I have a severe nut allergy."

I rubbed my temples in annoyance. "No Carter… there isn't."

"Oh thank god." He muttered. "I was going to cry if there was."

Leo smacked him again. "Why would you…"

"Because I really want a grilled cheese sandwich!" He shouted, banging his fists against the table.

I added his order onto the list. I looked up at Peeta with pleading eyes, silently begging him to not be complicated. "Just a cheeseburger."

I sighed in relief. "I'll be back soon." I said before returning to the kitchen.

Hazelle turned on the stove and I started grabbing some pans to start the food. "Did Sae leave?"

She nodded. "It's just us again."

I laughed. "Well we have a weird order to prepare."

She raised an eye brow as she looked at the paper. "But we don't serve breakfast after-"

"Just make it. They're teen boys…"

"Help me"

I began to fry the eggs and bacon as she threw together the cheeseburger and chicken sandwich. It didn't take long to finish cooking the four dishes. I gave her a grateful smile as I began placing the plates of food onto the tray. I carried it back to the table.

I gently placed a plate of bacon in the middle of the table and Ryan and Leo immediately pounced on it, stuffing their faces with the crispy meat. I placed the rest of the plates onto the table. I grabbed the cheeseburger and when I handed it to Peeta, his hand softly brushed against mine. I quickly retracted my hand, feeling a spark when our skin touched.

I left their table and began to mop the floor. I slowly crossed the floor, a trail of water following me. It reminded me of the stream that winded through the trees in the forest. I thought about the birds… of the deer. I imagined the sound of my arrow flying through the air. I imagined the feeling of the Earth in my hand, crumbling the dirt between my fingers. The smell of the crisp air in the fall.

Before I knew it I had finished mopping the entire diner floor. The boys stood up from the table and started shuffling towards the door. I watched them as they walked by. Ryan and Leo kept cracking jokes while Carter smacked their heads when he felt the need. The group reached the door. Leo and Ryan walked outside with Carter hot on their heels. Peeta stopped in front of the door, his hand clutching the handle. He turned around, giving me a finale glance.

It reminded me the feeling of falling. I was distant. I was unreachable. I was descending. I stared into his cerulean eyes and his hand shot out and caught me.

Author's Note: So there is the first chapter, I really hope you liked it. Sorry for it being short but it's getting late. This is kind of like a preface to the story; it kind of introduced you to some of the main characters. I'll be getting onto the plot in the next few chapters, so the more likes and reviews, the faster I'll upload a new chapter. I also want to mention that at the very end of the chapter, Katniss didn't actually fall and Peeta caught her… it was kind of a follow up on her flashback. So I just wanted to say that if any of you misunderstood. The ending is kind of like her remembering the falling feeling and remembering that her was there and saved her. Anyway. Comments please!