So here we are! My second fic :3 If you can't tell by this mega long chapter, I plan on this story being much longer than my eleven chapter "The Contract". This one will be much more mature as well, with some suspense, gore, and some romantic situations I suppose. So its rated M! Hah! I know this chapter kind of drags, but it was important to set the stage, get some backstory, and introduce most of the characters. I'll try to update again this week so that we can get to the nitty gritty here. I have big plans for this one! Review if you like, but feel free just to follow or favorite! Enjoy :)

-Honeybooboochild

"Take Me"

chapter 1

Katniss watched as her breath formed clouds on the dirty bus window. She wasn't sure what stop it was, maybe she had even missed hers. It had been years since she had been here. She wasn't entirely sure where she was going.

She had been on the bus for several hours, traveling further and further and away from what she hoped would be her final semester at school. She hated it there. She wanted it all to be over. College was not what she thought it would be.

When the sky began to turn an icy blue, she knew she was getting closer. She hadn't been to Panem since she was a kid, and the most she knew about it was that it took an entire night to drive there from Philly, where she lived. Where her family used to live. After her freshman year at the university there her mother had taken a research job down south back in her hometown of Panem. Her mama packed herself and her other daughter up and fled into the night. It had been almost four years since Katniss had seen her mother. Since Katniss had seen her little sister. Her sister, Primrose, was only ten when they left. Would Prim still recognize her? Would they be as close as they used to be?

Katniss scowled to herself. As the sunrise threw cold daggers over the North Carolina hills, Katniss felt that the chill of the north had followed her. It was only November, but it was definitely almost winter here. It would probably get colder. She made a mental note to buy a heavier jacket. She never made much of an effort to take care of herself while in college, maybe she would start now.

Minutes later the bus pulled into a full fast-food joint parking lot, and instantly she was reminded of her grandparents. Always going out to Hardee's for breakfast at sunrise on Sunday before church. Even at dawn there were barely ever any seats.

Katniss gathered her rolling bag, duffle and pillow and shuffled her way into the aisle, muttering apologies to the sleepy passengers she bumped into on the way. Whatever chill she had was gone now, the physicality of the action brought a heat to her chest. When she was off the bus, she saw them instantly.

- (Katniss' POV)

I bit into my chicken biscuit like it was a fragile sandwich made of gold. I hadn't had one since I was probably in diapers, and it tasted better than I could have ever imagined. Prim, fourteen going on fifteen already, sat quietly across from me, every now and then looking over her shoulder or down at her smartphone. I tried to smile, but I couldn't bring herself to get over the tension. She made it this way. I looked over to my mother, quietly finishing her country ham. She seemed better than the last time I had seen her, and for good reason. She got away from me. She ran away.

"How long will you be staying?" Her mother whispered, her voice lighter than a flower. Already, already she was planning on having me out. My throat went dry. Years of missed birthdays, of unanswered phone calls, and this was what her mother decided to ask her. When are you leaving. Please make it quick.

I swallowed a bit of my coffee and mulled the answer over in my head.

"I'm not sure. Maybe until I find a job."

"You're not going back? To the college?" Another whisper.

"Nope. No way. Never." I stuffed a hash-brown into my mouth. I didn't want to get into this now. My mother seemed satisfied with it anyway, and wiped her mouth with a napkin.

"Well your bed's made up at grandma's and grandpa's. That's where we live now." Where you live you mean. Where you live without me.

I simply nod. She and Prim help me with the few bags I have and we load it into her shiny new Outback. I sit in the back seat and watch as Prim fidgets with the fancy radio. The reception sucks down here. She settles for some pop song with a country twang. I want to gag.

It takes about forty minutes to get to Panem from the Hardee's. I had thought it looked too developed of an area to be the town I spent my summers in when I was young. My grandparents lived in an old white farmhouse at the top of a big hill. The only house up there. With their own winding dirt road. As I felt the Outback's suspension pick up the worst of the ride, I was secretly glad my mother had bought the shiny new car. All wheel drive, or no wheel drive.

The big old farmhouse hadn't changed much since my grandparents died. Wood panelling on the walls, oil lamps, white hand-crocheted runners on ALL of the tables. The only modern update was satellite TV and wifi, which according to Prim, was the best in town. I looked down at my own prepaid cellphone, much simpler than Prim's smartphone, to see that I had no bars. Not that I had anyone to text or call anyway. Still, a cellphone let me feel safe and secure. I was starting to feel less of that. I felt like I was in a room full of strangers.

Mom offered to take me on a quick tour and I agreed mechanically. Her office was on the first floor, the dining room right next to it; kitchen and living room joined together in an open floor plan, separated by wooden columns connecting to beams on the ceiling. The kitchen had looked slightly newer, with a shiny chrome fridge and clean white granite on the counter tops. It was simple.

Mom and Prim's rooms were on the second floor, along with a multipurpose room that housed an old desktop computer and a couch. Some board games sat on shelves, some of Prim's old toys hung out of bins. I could say a layer of dust on them. Obviously they hadn't been disturbed in a while. I scan the room for another detail, something from my past. I had hoped that my mother kept it. But its obvious absence left a reassuring emptiness in my heart. Hope was dangerous, and I had learned to survive without it. Without my mom, and without my sister. They left me. That was their choice.

She shows me their bathroom, specifying that its theirs, and turns to take me up to the third floor. This is grander, more open. No green carpeting like downstairs, no there's dark hard wood on the floors. She'd been trying to restore it she says. The walls are white and sheet-rocked, no panelling. Next to the staircase there's an open parlor with a desk, a bookshelf, and an armchair. I look to my right and see my bedroom door. I know its mine because there's a hand lettered sign on it with my name. Someone took the time to decorate a small chalk board with wooden katniss plants and paint my name in white on it. It screamed south, and dare I say it, brought a smirk to my lips. Without taking direction from my mother, I ventured into the room on my own. It was large, the size of the living room downstairs. A bed, my own desk, a small sofa and some shelves. A coffee table stood in front of the sofa, and there was space for a TV in front of that. I have a closet and my own bathroom on the right.

"I've been working on it...for a while Katniss." My mother seems to choke on the words. I stare at the room, walls blazing white. There's a sage green quilt on the queen sized mattress, and on top of the pillows lays the small stuffed cat I had been looking for just minutes before downstairs. I begin to smile, but quickly shut off the action. If my mother had been making a room for me at her house, why hadn't she told me earlier? Why hadn't she made an effort with me? Instead of leaving me at a college hours away with barely any notice? No money, no phone, no nothing.

"Are you hungry at all?" She whispers.

"No. We just ate."

"Okay, I'll have Prim bring your things up, I'll let you get settled in..." Her voice dissipates as she leaves.

I was barely eighteen. I was wearing a black dress. I was at the cemetery in the city, watching my father being lowered into the ground. No one held me. No one held my sister either. My mother hadn't been able to make it to this part of the funeral. My mother had been a doctor once. My father had been alive once.

I hear him banging from the inside of his coffin. "Get me out of here! I can't breathe!" He screams. I rip at my hair and yell at the priest continuing the ceremony. He throws a small handful of dirt into the open grave. I run up to him and grab at his robe, can't he hear my father scream? "Katniss! Please! I can't breathe!" He's alive! I know he is! No one will believe me. I turn and look at Prim. Her eyes are so sunken, she's like a corpse. A corpse with the most golden hair I've ever seen. Its growing longer and longer the more I stare.

I turn and see my father, standing behind me. He picks a gun up and brings it to his mouth. He fires it. He does this again and again. He doesn't fall. His expression doesn't change. He is diligent, even in death. I turn again, and see his mouth, dripping with blood. He screams. "Katniss!"

I've soaked my sheets again. Years of nightmares and you would think I would have learned to put a towel down by now. I pull my hair back into a ponytail, and take off my long t-shirt, cold and damp from my sweat. I cringe and throw it to the other side of the room. That shirt had been Gale's, a loan from my best friend.

I returned to bed, not bothering to put on a new change of clothes, instead I lay a towel down- in anticipation of more nightmares.

Gale. I wonder what he's doing? I don't know where I'd be without him. I'm surprised I could leave him. I had been friends with Gale since high school, and we ended up at the same college. I had always assumed I would end up marrying him, I figured he'd be a better choice than most. When my father died, he took "best friend" to a whole new level. He got me a job, he taught me how to apply for student loans by myself, he bought me my prepaid phone and taught me how to put minutes on it. He let me live with him rent free. He tried his hardest to save me. He saw how my mother started visiting less and less. How she never called. When I told him she moved without warning, he introduced me to his friend Whiskey. When I wanted to try out having sex, he let me try it on him. I didn't like it. He never tried again. Gale was basically everything and anything to me. When I told him I wanted to leave school, he's the one who convinced me to go find my mom. You have to do this someday anyway. He said. How old is Prim now? Do you even know? I shuddered at the thought.

I had missed some of my sister's most important years. I could have been there for her, I should have been there. But It wasn't my fault! My mother called me one day, to tell me, that they were already in Panem. And had been for a week. The next time I would hear from her would be two weeks later. I cried on the phone to her. She tried to reassure me and say that it was temporary, that she was doing chemical research there in the game lands. I asked her if I should take the bus down for the holiday, and she crushed me when she said No. Better not.

But I still hoped. I still hoped I could talk to her. That we could go back to the way things were. She had changed so much since my father died. I knew she loved him, we all did, but why did she run away from me? Did I look that much like my father? We shared the same olive skin and dark hair. The same gray eyes. The same sharp nose and chiseled cheek bones. Some people even said we sounded alike. Was it that terrifying to her? Was she that weak? She had to be.

I asked her to visit until I couldn't ask anymore. She didn't want me there. And then the phone calls stopped. And she stopped answering her phone when I tried calling her. And then she changed her number.

Someone knocks on my door before I could get deeper into my own panic. I throw on another huge t-shirt and open the door. Its Prim. She's too much of a woman now, I can't look at her. She looks like a replica of my mother. Blonde and pale with sparkling blue eyes. She may even end up taller than me. She's a soft southern beauty for sure. And I ended up harsh and cynical like the city we were born in.

"Can we talk Katniss..." she whispers, I can hear a slight twang in her voice. No evidence of the nasally northern accent we had when we were kids. She's a stranger. Still, I let her in and return to the bed, quickly covering up the towel with my blanket. She doesn't need to know that I have night terrors and sweat all night.

"You know...Mom never let me talk to you on the phone right?" I stare into space. "I asked and asked. I wanted to talk to you so bad. But she just wouldn't let me have the phone. It got to the point when I gave up." She looks down and shields her eyes with the side of her palm. She shakes a little. She's crying.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't know you." She chokes out. The sentence catches me off guard and instantly its like she's cracked something in me. The tears come and I pull nervously at my hair. She looks up and joins me on the bed, leaning in for an embrace. I relish in the closeness, forgetting any tension there had been between us. We had never had the chance to heal together. Our father died, and our mother took her away from me. We hadn't had our chance to mourn as sisters. I cursed myself for reminding her of the past. I sniff my tears away and stroke at her hair.

We stay up all night together, talking about everything and anything two sisters could. College parties, first kisses, first anythings. She's older and she needs these talks. I'm dumbfounded but enjoy it. I hadn't been able to make any girlfriends in Philly. I must have missed Prim too much.

The next morning Mom goes out early to the labs, but drops Prim and I off in the town square. We might be the only family who doesn't attend church here, and so the square is empty. Prim quickly shows me around the main street, showing me good places to get a sandwich and trendy stores that ship scarves down from up north. My gloves are thin and my black hoodie is not adequate in this morning chill. I make a mental note to keep an eye out for any stores that might sell jackets, and most importantly I try to find "help wanted" signs. I had to quit my job at the school when I left, and now I was feeling powerless again.

"You're cold Katniss aren't you?" I nod, I can feel my nose getting red. Prim smiles and grabs my wrist. We walk down the street until she stops at a little cafe. "Remember this place? Mellark's? The only place that serves bagels for at least fifty miles?" I smile. My grandparents took us here a lot when we were little. I remember my dad chewing on the bagel, insisting he wasn't in North Carolina, he had to be up north in the city.

I cringe. I had almost forgotten about the nightmare I had last night. That one was particularly gruesome.

In reality, my father hadn't committed suicide. He was killed in the line of duty. He was a cop. At one time, he had been a detective. But he given that up to "clear his head" as he put it. Maybe if he had stayed in missing persons, he wouldn't have been killed walking the beat.

"Primrose!" A sturdy voice sings. The person is tone deaf, but the voice is pleasant and cheerful. Its hard to be annoyed at.

"Peeta, this is my older sister. She's home from school for a while." Prim beams, she seems proud of me. What do I have to be proud of?

Peeta extends his hand to meet mine. I return the shake.

"Peeta Mellark. You're Katniss right?" His voice is in between that of a boy and a man. He can't be much older than me. His name rings a bell.

"Peeta...yeah. We played together when we were little right?"

"You remembered." He smiles, and there's something sad about it. So odd. He lets his blonde hair fall over his eyes a little, as if he's trying to hide them. He looks as if he hadn't slept in weeks. "What can I get you pretty ladies." He snaps back into a cheerful demeanor, leaving me to second guess myself. Maybe I hadn't seen him look like an emotional wreck for a split second.

"Two Mexican hot chocolates...a croissant for me and...I don't know for Katniss. What'll you have?" I cringe at the words 'Mexican hot chocolate' but I try to trust Prim on that one. I look over the glass case filled with baked goods, and I can't decide. I look up at Peeta, only to find him staring at me with the most pitiful look. He looks like he's staring at a sick puppy or something.

"Surprise me Peeta. I don't know whats good, so I'll take what you think is best." I try to be friendly. It works and I shake him from his agony. He hands us two paper cups and our treats in bags. We sit in the front of the bakery and I sip the drink. Its thicker than regular hot chocolate, and tastes homemade. There's a slight kick of chili in it, and I love it. I can't believe I didn't trust Prim. I smile contently and look inside my paper treat bag. I pull out something slightly larger than a garlic knot, but not as big as Prim's croissant. Its piping hot. I take a bite and in an instant I'm in love. Its gooey and melty and cheesy and heavenly. I make Prim try it, and she loves it too. She goes back up to the counter to buy a few more. I look outside the front window, to see the square slowly filling up. People are dressed in their Sunday best, and I see many looking toward the bakery, getting ready to grab a quick post-sermon breakfast. I look over to the front counter and see Peeta nervously straightening his hair and readjusting his apron.

The bell on the door handle rings and an old man with blanched hair and a cheesy tweed suit steps in. He's got an old fashioned pocket watch hanging from his waist coat and he smells like a funeral parlor.

"Good morning sir! How was the service?" Peeta says through smiling teeth. He doesn't look very comfortable. The man brings a black handkerchief to his mouth and coughs before answering.

"Good sermon today." He grunts. He coughs again and then raises his hand. "Black coffee Peeta. You know how I take it." Peeta makes him his order, and hands it to him without accepting his money. He nods gratefully and takes his leave, but not before I notice him glance at Prim and I. I swore I could see him grinning. His teeth were stained a rusty color.

"That's Congressman Snow. He comes home from D.C. on the weekends to attend service." Prim whispers. Her southern drawl coming out even more. Like Peeta, she seemed uncomfortable at the very sight of this man. I sipped my hot chocolate as my eyes followed him to the square. He seemed pretty popular among the older set, tons of old ladies were fawning over him right now. I notice they all dress rather dark for Sunday mass. Rather old fashioned too. Whatever. The south is the south.

"Mind if I join y'all for a bit?" Peeta drags a chair over to where we're sitting.

"You sound so funny when you say y'all!" Prim giggles.

"So do you!" He laughs and musses her hair. I take another sip, still intrigued by the stiff politician outside.

Peeta and Prim engage in effortless banter. They obviously know each other, everyone in this town seems to judging by the events in the square. They're probably all related too. Which I guess would mean that I might be also...I shake the thought away. I have no where else to go. This has to do.

"What brings you back to Panem after so long Katniss?" Peeta asks while getting up to pour himself a hot drink. I try to quickly think of how to answer this question. I had been practicing for conversations like this in my mind for weeks.

"Change of pace I guess." my voice is flat. He doesn't question me, just stares while he sips his drink. His blue eyes seem to see right through me. He must suspect there's more to it. He might even know already. News probably spreads quickly here.

"I tried college once. It was alright I guess...Might go back one day." He says into his paper cup, his eyes never leaving mine.

"You in college Peet? Now that's funny!" Prim giggles and Peeta pretends to be mad. Peeta and Prim get on so well, you'd think they were either brother and sister, or dating. My eyes narrow at the thought of Prim with a man this much older than her, but come to think of it, there probably aren't that many prospects around here.

"You twenty-one yet Katniss?" He stares me down.

"Do I look it?"

"No."

"I'll be twenty-two in May." I grumble. Still as youthful looking as ever. I guess its a compliment.

"The pub down the street is where kids our age hang out. Sometimes younger ones sneak in, but the bouncers know everybody, so they get thrown out." He sticks his tongue out at Prim. So Prim sneaks into bars...huh. Again, I regret not being there for her during puberty.

"Anyways they got good food too if drinking isn't your thing. You should come by with me so you can meet the crowd." I don't even need to think about it.

"I don't know Peeta. I don't mind bars, but I don't know if I want to get drunk with any townies...yet."

"Well at least you said yet!" He smiles. I smile back. Its hard not to.

"Well I gotta get back to the house, I have a report due for school tomorrow." Prim pipes in. We say our good byes and make our way up the street, turning to face the long walk up the hill to our grandparent's house. Our grandparent's have been dead for years, but their presence seems to hang in this town like a bad smell. Even though our property is surrounded by trees, autumn leaves the landscape barren, and the image of the house on the hill is an ominous sight from in town. Its cold.

The walk is shorter than I thought, and within ten minutes I'm indoors, warm again. Prim disappears up the stairs without a word, and I hear her door shut softly. She must really need to work on that report.

I end up in my room, unpacking clothes and putting them into the antique white dresser agains the wall. Everything about this room is white. The couch, the throw pillows, the bed frame, the furniture. The only color is my stuffed black cat and light green quilt. The room is pretty, but there's still a coldness here. Everything about this town seems a bit crisp and chilled.

As I put my things away, I can't help but wonder, am I making the right decision?

I'm placing my last pair of socks in the top drawer of my new dresser when my lamp on my desk turns off. Half of my large bedroom melts into buttery shadow without the aid of additional light. I chalk it up to a dead bulb, and make my way to the door so I can run downstairs to grab a new one. Then I see the plug on the floor. I pick it up and replace it into the old socket, something my mother probably didn't think to replace. Instantly the light returns, and my room is once again bright and white. And cold.

Maybe there's a draft from the attic, but I don't feel like looking for it. So I find myself in the kitchen making hot chocolate on the stove. The way my father used to make it for me, by melting a bar of chocolate with milk. I smile when I find the same brand of chocolate bar in the cupboard, at least Prim was able to keep that piece of our father here.

It takes me a minute to figure out the electric stove, but soon I have a pot of boiling milk and melted chocolate. The aroma fills me with something wonderful, and I let myself smile. As I pour it into a simple mug, I wonder how Peeta makes his "Mexican" hot chocolate. Is it chili powder? I lean against the counter and blow away the steam emitting from the chocolate brew in my hands. With eyes closed I replay the events of the day in my head. Prim and I becoming friends, becoming sisters again. Touring the town my mother grew up in. The town I spent my summers in when I was younger. I tried to think of my grandparents. But something was wrong. I could barely remember them.

I grimaced.

Had it been that long since they passed? There was something else wrong. I didn't remember much of those summers. I remembered Peeta. I don't remember anything else. What did Prim and I do here when we were little? Prim was probably too little to remember, she probably would have been an infant or toddler during our time here.

I sipped on the hot chocolate. It had to have been because I was just too young to remember. But I wasn't that young when my grandparents died. Did I attend their funeral? Maybe I didn't. It was while I was in college. A little before my mother abandoned me in Philadelphia.

What time is it.

I pull the prepaid Nokia out of my pocket to discover its still early, and confirm it by looking out the window. Its still daylight. I pull on the end of my braid and place the mug in the sink. My head's pounding.

My room's unpacked. Prim is doing school work. Mom is still at the lab. I should probably take this time to get myself settled in town.

"Prim I'm gonna go for a walk into town!" I call up the stairs towards her room. It takes a little while before she answers me, and when I'm satisfied I pull on a light jacket of my mother's I find on a coat rack near the front door.

If it was chilly this morning, its downright cold now. With every step I feel fallen leaves shatter beneath my sneakers and the chill creeps into my toes. Its almost like walking in snow. I guess I need new socks or something, these must be too thin.

A lot of the shops have begun to close- dusk on a Sunday still has meaning for these people, and as the sun begins to set I see the old fashioned wrought-iron street lamps turn on one by one.

Mellark's Cafe is one of few storefronts brightly lit. It even seems busy. The bell on the handle rings happily as I step in. Most of the tables are filled, and I notice a few people look up from their conversations to look at me. I want to yell "yes its me Katniss Everdeen. I moved to town. Now mind your own business" but instead I saunter up to the front counter.

"Hey Katniss! Back for some more of my buns?" Peeta smirks with an eyebrow raised.

I stifle my giggle as I shake my head.

"Nah I'm just bored."

"Might I recommend the veggie cream cheese? I made it myself this morning. Oh on a delicious sun dried tomato bagel..." I smile and nod. He waves at me as I take out my wallet.

"Katniss no, this one's on me." I ignore him as I take out some cash, which of course he won't take. "My shift is just about over. My brothers just got here for the evening shift. How about I make myself a matching bagel and I join you." I shrug my shoulders wordlessly signaling a yes.

After he grabbed his coat and our bagels, he lead me outside, waving a few goodbyes to some nosy customers. I don't ask where we are walking, and just focus on the delicious food in my hands. I didn't realize how hungry I was. We walk to the end of the main street and I see a small park. The church lies next to the park fence and a cemetery sits on the other side of the small worship building. The park is cheerfully lit with some vintage lightbulbs on wire and a few pendant flags hang parallel to them with the mascot of the local high school printed on them. He sits at a cozy looking wooden picnic bench and I follow suit. He places his bagel on the table and pulls something out of his leather jacket pocket. He places it into his mouth and flicks a lighter in front of it.

"Cigarette?" He mutters through clenched teeth. I shake my head no. I didn't take Peeta for a smoker. Gale and I used to smoke menthols when we drank, but I hadn't drank in a while. Peeta nods and puts the pack back in his jacket, exhaling smoke and through his nose.

"So why are you back? Like for real why." His cheerful demeanor from the cafe is no where to be seen.

"I-I'm not sure." I wasn't ready for such a blunt question from him. I suppose I could call him a friend, but I hadn't seen him since we were children.

He nods in understanding. He brushes his hand through his blonde hair, glowing in the light from the wires.

"Sorry for being so direct. I was just curious." He takes a large bite from his bagel and closes his eyes. "Your mother showed up here a few years ago without a word. Put Prim in the schools. Ignored me whenever I asked about you. Been asking about you for years." He wipes his mouth against his leather sleeve.

"Yeah. Its...complicated."

"I know." He puts his hand up to my chin and turns my head towards him. Again I'm surprised by his directness. His eyes are looking right through me, even in this dim light they're neon blue. He seems to be searching me for something. What is he trying to learn from me? My head starts to hurt again. He pulls the cigarette from his mouth and turns to exhale. I'm sad to see his eyes leave mine.

"Sorry bout the smoke." He says as he turns away. I'm frozen on the bench. That was the hottest exchange I've ever had with anyone. I have goosebumps. Where the hell did silly Peeta go and who is this serious bad boy in the leather jacket? "A lot of people turn to vices in a town like this. Smoking, drinking, its a great way to pass the time." He throws his finished butt under the bench and finishes his bagel. I still don't know how to carry this conversation, but he seems content with me just listening.

"You got a phone?" He whispers. I nod and pull the Nokia out from my mother's jacket.

"Do me a favor..." he says as he takes it and starts punching the key pad. "You call me if you ever need to."

Peeta walked me to the foot of my hill in an awkward silence. I could feel him watch me walk back up to my grandparent's house, and I could smell him smoking another cigarette. Something was just so off about what just happened. Shouldn't we have hung out at the park like a couple of young twenty-somethings? Eat a bagel, maybe even grab a beer like he suggested earlier? Did he sit me down in the park to warn me about something? Why the hell was I so turned on by this creepy stalker version of Peeta?

I pulled off my mom's jacket and placed my phone in my back pocket. The house was exactly like I left it before, Prim still in her room, a messy pot in the sink. I ran upstairs and into my room. I felt my phone vibrate.

Text me when you're in your room. It's Peeta...I slip my shoes off and begin typing when I notice something is different. I could have sworn I left my light on. Its dark outside now and I fumble to my desk when I realize just how different it is.

The lamp is unplugged again.