I'd been keeping an eye on Katniss Everdeen since we were kids in Kindergarten. I remember the first day of school some boys tugged on one of her braids. I had started to walk over, to do what I still don't know; I just knew they needed to stop bothering her. Before I got to her though, she had kicked one of them in the shin and the other sat on the floor crying. That was when I knew I'd only need to keep an eye on her. She could clearly take care of herself and we were only five.

When we were eleven Mr. Everdeen died in a car accident and not too long after their mother was entered into a home, unable to function without her husband. Katniss' grandmother Sae, came to live with Katniss and her younger sister, Prim. I remember hearing Katniss tell her friend Madge that they might have to move. I'm pretty confident that was the first time I felt real fear.
Fortunately, they stayed in town. After just a few months, their mother was able to come home. But I never saw her at the parent volunteer days anymore. Katniss and Prim both started to look a little unhealthy.

One night I heard my parents talking about them.

"That Rebecca needs to get a grip. So what her husbands dead? She's just going to sit idly by while her children starve?"

"Sally give her a break. She lost her husband. Her mother had to leave. Shes alone and unemployed."

"Exactly my point. She just sits around and does nothing. No job. Nothing. I'm sure her children are running around wild."

Dad must have seen me eavesdropping because he told my mom to stop talking about it. With the knowledge I had at that point, I knew my days of watching Katniss were far from over. There was this one day when we were during lunch and I noticed Katniss sitting alone without any food. I sat down next to her and handed her my sandwich. She didn't say a single word, but she took the food and I know she was grateful because she smiled. Everyday after that I ate lunch with Katniss Everdeen. Slowly, I noticed the color come back to her cheeks; Prims as well. I even saw Mrs. Everdeen down at the school. I guess she just needed more time.

As selfish as it may sound, I was grateful Katniss didn't have a lunch that day. Because of that, Katniss and I became best friends and I finally had a reason to be apart of her life instead of watching from a distance.

When we were seventeen, Katniss started to get a lot of attention at school. We were juniors and some of the seniors had taken notice of her. I, being the coward that I was, sat by and did nothing but keep an eye out. Then everything changed in one single moment. We were eating lunch when lo and behold, Gale Hawthorne, the senior of all seniors, sat down with us.

"Katniss, right?"

She looked at me from the corner of her eye. "Uhh, yeah? Why?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me to the game this Friday night. You know, the kickoff for the season?"

Again, she looked at me. "Um, I really wasn't planning on going."

This was when things took a turn. Gale snaked his arm around her shoulders.

"Are you sure? It's going to be a great time and I'd love to get to know you better."

"No, really. I'm sure." She made an attempt to push his arm away, but he wasn't having that.

"Come on, Katniss. Just come with me."

"Hey man. She said no."

He let go of her and looked over her towards me.

"Wasn't talking to you."

At this I stood up. "Yeah, well you weren't listening to her. She's not going with you."

Maybe he wasn't looking for a fight or maybe he underestimated my size, but whatever the reason, Gale rolled his eyes and walked away.

"You okay?"

She nodded. "Peeta-," she was cut off by the bell ring. I picked up her backpack. "Come on, I'll walk you to class."

She linked her arm through mine, something she occasionally would do. Nonetheless, it always caught me off guard and brought a huge grin to my face. When we reached the gymnasium, we both reached for the handle causing our hands to accidentally collide. Quickly, she withdrew hers while mine lingered, still tingling from her touch. She averted my eyes and walked into the gym. Taking a deep breath, I followed after her; we had gym at the same time. I noticed the bows and targets set up and immediately felt the disappointment well up. I was horrible at archery. However, where I was awful, Katniss was an expert.

I noticed her eyes light up and I felt my disappointment ebb away. I may suck at this, but at least I could watch Katniss. She made it look graceful, like an art. She pulled the arrow and released it, not even blinking an eye. Of course, it hit the center of the target. She looked over at me and smiled. Archery isn't so bad. After several failed attempts from my end, she must have felt bad for me because she walked over.

"Like this," she said, standing next to me. She took my arm in her hand and lifted it up so that it was held straight in front me. She placed the bow in my grasp and then an arrow into my other hand. Here's where things became…interesting. She took my hand in hers, and pulled the arrow so that it was at level with my eye; her face was aligned with my own.

"Breathe, and release," she whispered, her voice tickling my ear. I let the arrow go and it still missed. But my god I would miss every single arrow for the rest of my life as long as she kept trying to show me how.

She laughed and stepped away. "You know, I really thought that would work."

With a shaky breath, I replied, "Probably would have if it were anyone else."

She chuckled again. "You always sell yourself short Peeta. I'll bet you'll get the hang of it one day."

I shrugged. "If you can't teach me, I highly doubt anyone else will be able to."

She rolled her eyes and grinned. "With an attitude like that it's a wonder you even show up for gym."

"You know me. It's my favorite class."

"I still haven't figured out why," she said and went back to firing off arrows.

It was my favorite class because it was the only one I shared with Katniss. Eventually the rest of the day dragged on. And it was certainly a drag because of the lack of Katniss. The final bell rang at last and I began my customary walk to the exit doors where Katniss always waited for me. Except for today, she wasn't alone.

"Gale, I already told you I'm not going to the game this Friday."

"Yeah I heard you. But what about dinner instead?"

For the most part, I'm not a violent person. I mean sure, everyone has their moments, and right now I was definitely having one.

"Gale look, there's someone else, alright?"

"You have a boyfriend?"

At this, I stopped and hung back.

"Yes. I do."

Unless Katniss was suddenly and expert secret keeper, I knew she was lying. Once again, Katniss saved herself with me just watching.

"Who?" His disbelieving tone made me want to punch him in the face all over again.

"Peeta."

She could have picked anyone. She could have made up a name. And despite the fact I knew I was the easiest lie, it still thrilled me that I was chosen. For some inexplicable reason, I decided to play the part.

I caught up to them and took Katniss' hand in mine. "Are you ready?"

Startled, she jumped a little but relaxed when she saw it was me.

"Always," she said, waving away Gale.

Once we were out of eyeshot, I expected her to let go, but she didn't. If anything, it felt like her grip had tightened. When we reached her front door, she finally did let go and I felt the loss immediately.

"Thanks Peeta. Again."

I tried to sound nonchalant. "Anytime." I started to walk away, but she grabbed my arm.

"Peeta, wait."

I turned around. "Yeah?"

She tucked her hair behind her ear and shuffled her right foot against the ground. She looked shy. She looked adorable. "I didn't want that to be a lie."

I wasn't sure if I'd heard her right. "What?"

"Oh never mind. I'm being stupid. I'll see you tomorrow Peeta."

"No hold on. You can't just say that and expect me to forget it."

She scowled. "Yes I can and that's what I'm doing." I took a step closer.

"No. You can't. I won't let you." We met in the middle with an explosive kiss. Her arms around my neck, her back to the wall, her legs around my waist.

And that's the story of how I started dating Katniss Everdeen.

It was the easiest thing we'd ever done together; the transition from just friends to more than. What wasn't so easy was the backlash we dealt with from our parents.

Of course, nothing on this planet could ever make my mother happy so I wasn't expecting much from her. What took me by surprise though was Dad's reaction.

"Peeta, if you date an Everdeen…they come with a lot of baggage. Are you sure you want to get involved all of that?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I've been involved for practically my entire life Dad. How is this any different? I already know Katniss; sometimes better than I know myself. I know what comes with being apart of her life because I've been apart of it for so long now."

"Peeta, they're tricky women. Especially with the loss of their father, and basically the loss of their mother. I know you've been friends for a long time, but this is different."

I shook my head. "You're wrong Dad. The only difference is I get to tell the whole world that I love her."

Apparently, Mrs. Everdeen had her own objections, but Katniss wouldn't tell me what.

That's how we spent our senior year too. Together. With only three months of school left, I started to get a little worried. With college and careers, what would happen to us? I already knew Katniss was all there would ever be for me. I'd known since I was five. But how strongly did she feel? Did she want to cut things off to go away for college? I knew how much Katniss hated where we lived. I knew how much she wanted to escape.

All at once it seemed like every option for her was stolen away when Prim was killed in a car accident. I will never forget the funeral. Mrs. Everdeen leaned against Sae, openly wailing. Katniss sat alone, staring at the little closed casket. By this point, most of those who had gathered to say goodbyes had left. It was just me, the Everdeens and my father left. Dad cleared his throat and hugged Mrs. Everdeen. He awkwardly pulled back and left the building. Eventually, the Everdeen family exited as well, but not Katniss. She stood alone. I walked towards her as she crumpled onto one of the pews.

"Katniss…"

"What am I going to do Peeta? She's gone. My baby sister is gone." The tears fell endlessly from her eyes. I sat down next to her and pulled her into my arms. She sat on my lap as she clung to me, sobbing. I brushed her hair away from her face where it clung to her tear soaked cheeks. Her fingers curled around my shirt and her body shook against mine.

"What am I going to do? Grandma is taking Mom back home with her. Mom hasn't spoken to me since this all happened. They're forcing me to leave with them. I don't want to go. I can't leave this place. This place is Prim. I can't leave Prim."

It hit me like a bomb. She couldn't stay. She would have to leave me. I would lose her only after just finding her.

"Peeta I'm so sorry. I love you. I love you so much. But I have to go. I have to leave," she sobbed out. It was the first time she'd said those words to me. I love you. The first time, and I was hooked.

"Katniss what if you didn't have to leave?"

She sat up and leaned away from me. "Peeta, I'm still in high school. What would I do? Shack up with someone from school?"

I winced at her choice of words, especially given what I was about to suggest.

"What if you lived with me?"

She let go of my arms. "Are you crazy? I'm seventeen Peeta. I'm not ready to live with you. I love you. I really do, but I just don't think I can just live with someone. If we were married, that would be different, but obviously-,"

"Marry me."

Author's Note: So originally, I was going to make this a giant one shot, but instead I think I'm going to break it up into chapters. This is LOOSELY based on the song Memories by Panic at the Disco, so if you're familiar with the song, its kind of a little summary of this story. Regardless, chapter two is being written and if you like the story, don't forget to review and follow! Love you guys