Authors note: Katniss is fourteen, Prim is ten. Enjoy!
"Prim, I promise that I'll meet you after school right here. Prim, I promise you I'll be fine."
"But Katniss, you promised you wouldn't leave me!" My sister started crying. I quickly pulled her into my frail frame and shushed her. I pulled away from her looked into her azure eyes that reminded me so much of my mother's, although the edges were tinted red from her sobbing.
"I'm not leaving you Prim I promise I'll be back for when you finish school." She sniffed and wiped her tears away with the back of her sleeve.
"Ok, Katniss. Just be careful" I bent down to grab my backpack.
"I will Prim." With that she walked into the school gates and met up with her friend group. I turned my back to the school and headed towards the centre of town. Prim had every right to be nervous about what I was going to be up to today. My father had been killed in a mine explosion just over three years ago now, it had left my whole family devastated. My mother was a shell of a woman. She had left me and Prim to fend for ourselves while she mourned for her husband. Rapidly our worlds sunk into a black abyss. On the third year anniversary of my father's death, mother took her own life, that was three days ago. We held her funeral the day after her death. Myself and Prim were the only people to attend her funeral. The realisation soon hit me that I'd have to get a job, as lost as my mother was she still found time to care for district twelve's sick. I had no know talents, apart from hunting skills that my father had taught me which I used to provide game for Prim, Mother and Myself, but that was illegal in district twelve.
I pulled my father's hunting jacket around my frame, keeping the sharp autumn air from freezing me. It would be winter soon and I needed to find a stable job. I knew there was only one place in town that would take a broken seam brat. The previous winter I had seen starving seam girls make their way to head peacekeeper, Cray's front door. Not reappearing for a good hour, but when they finally appeared they looked broken. It took me a while to figure what happened behind Cray's door. I was disgusted, judging the girls for even considering that. But now I was in their shoes and realised there was no alternatives.
Proudly I walked up to Cray's crimson front door and knocked twice. When Cray appeared I could smell the scent of cheap alcohol radiating off of him. His puzzled look turned into amusement when he realised why I had come to see him.
"Ah Miss Everdeen, what can I do for you?" He smirked. His smirk soon disappeared as his eye caught something behind them. Katniss turned around; she noticed a tall broad figure walking towards them. She realised it was the kind mayor of district twelve. He had always been pleasant towards the Everdeen's. Cray stood up straighter. "Oh good morning Mr Mellark, how can I help you?" He politely asked.
"Well Cray I was hoping I could have a word with Miss Everdeen here." He turned to me. I gathered my composure.
"Yes Sir." I started to follow Mr Mellark. In the distance I could hear Cray's door slam shut. I walked a pace or two behind Mr Mellark until he stopped outside his family bakery. I remembered as a young child my father would buy me and Prim a small cupcake from the bakery, to share, for our birthdays. The taste of the cake would overwhelm me and I would always crave for more. As soon as Mr Mellark opened the door, the scent of fresh bread wafted into my nostrils. I hadn't eaten a proper meal in a while and the smell made my stomach growl. I followed him into the bakery taking in the vast amounts of pastries and bread. Mr Mellark went behind the counter and pulled out a couple of pastries and handed them to me. "Thank you sir." I said tucking into the buttery pastry. It was the best thing I had ever tasted and I soon finished every last crumb. I then noticed the bakery was closed and it was just me and Mr Mellark in the shop, for some reason his presence comforted me.
"Katniss" He looked at me, saw I was paying attention. "I know what you were doing at Cray's house." He said, looking at me sympathetically. My cheeks reddened, I was embarrassed. I suddenly had a crazy idea that maybe he wanted what Cray had wanted from me. I moved closer towards him.
"Sir, I really am desperate. I would do anything for money or food." He soon looked at me in shock, backing away.
"Oh God no Katniss, I don't want anything like that. You're just a child." He paused. I felt utterly relieved. "I have a job here at my bakery; we need someone to just generally help out. Just to clean and wash up. I know you and Primrose are having a difficult time at the moment but I know you are both strong girls that just need a small helping hand. With your parents passed away I can imagine it would be hard living in your house. We have a small living apartment above the bakery, you are both welcome to stay there. We would also provide meals. I know you are an independent girl Katniss but I just think you need a little helping. So what do you say?" He asked smiling at me, I couldn't help thinking he looked even kinder when he smiled. I was stunned at the generous offer.
"That's very kind of you Sir, but may I discuss it with Prim before we make a decision?"
"Of course sweetheart." He replied. I thanked him and left the bakery, promising to return soon with an answer. As I had three hours until I had to meet Prim I decided I would go hunting. I jogged away from town to the seam, running past our battered old house. I slipped underneath the district twelve border fence, pausing beforehand to see if it was electrified. As usual it wasn't. I walked into the woods for a good five minutes before I came across the old trunk where I had hidden my father's bow and arrows. As I was walking deeper into the woods I came across a squirrel sitting among the branches. I took aim and shot it straight through the eye. Sometimes I would trade with Mr Mellark, he would always buy my squirrels, and he told me once they were his favourite. I thought I should take some game for him as a way of saying thank-you. After two hours I had collected a rather impressive haul. As I was walking back to the fence I noticed light footprints in the mud, realising the footprints were not my own as they were too large. I started to panic, thinking a peacekeeper had followed me. I tracked the prints; they were leading to the meadow. I noticed the dark-haired boy, sitting in the meadow by himself. I audibly expired. It was just Gale. I had met Gale a few years ago, his father was in the same mine accident as mine and he had also died. Gale had to become the sole provider for his family, just like I had. We had grown close, over the three years. I walked over to him.
"Caught much?" I asked as I sat down beside him amongst the tall grass.
"Not that much today, Catnip. Looks like you've caught it all." He laughed. Gale was a good looking boy, I had always thought so. He had the rugged "seam look" about him and I had heard most girls in our school talk about him. I handed him two rabbits. "Thanks Catnip. So what's happening with you and Prim then? I would say you could stay with us but you know we only barely fit in our house."
"I kind of wanted to talk to you about that, promise you won't get mad?" I looked at him, he looked worryingly at me. "I went to see Cray today."
"You did what Katniss?! Are you crazy?! Did you" He paused. "Did you sleep with him?" He asked gently. I paused and sighed.
"I was close Gale, so close. Mr Mellark stopped me, he told me to follow him and he took me to his bakery and gave me free food and then I thought he wanted the same thing Cray wanted, but he said he didn't and then he offered me a job in the bakery and said me and Prim could live above in the apartment above it. Now I don't know what to do. Me and Prim can't stay at ours anymore, we're bound to be kicked out any day now." I paused my rambling and looked at Gale. He seemed deep in thought.
"Catnip, I'm only saying this because I want what's best for you and Prim, but I reckon you should accept his offer. I know you hate it when people help you Katniss but Mellark seems like a nice enough guy, especially if he stopped you from sleeping with Cray." I thought about it for a moment. Prim needed a place to live. She needed something stable in her life. I would do this but it wasn't going to be for me it was going to be for Prim. I looked at my watch I had twenty minutes until I had to go meet Prim. Gale and I walked leisurely back to the fence, I told him my decision about accepting the offer. I arrived at the school gate five minutes early. School was optional in district twelve; I used to attend school before father died. I had better things to do like hunting.
I noticed Prim walking out of the school with her large crowd of friends, she looked up and saw me. Her face soon broke out in a smile. She ran over to me. "Katniss, I missed you so much today!" I hugged her.
"I missed you too Prim." We then walked off towards town.
"Katniss, where are we going?" Inquired Prim. I then went on to explain to her Mr Mellark's offer, missing out the Cray part. Once I had finished explaining, Prim looked at me grinning even more than before. "Oh Katniss, I've always thought Mr Mellark was kind. Can you remember when daddy used to buy us a cupcake on our birthdays? They used to be so yummy." She said excitedly.
"Yeah I remember Prim. What do you think Prim, would you mind staying there?" I asked.
"Oh of course not Katniss." Prim grabbed a hold of my hand and we made our way towards the bakery. I peered in through the window of the bakery. My eyes latched onto a pair of stunning cobalt blue eyes. It was him. The boy with the bread. I had never forgotten that night where the youngest of the mayor's sons threw me a loaf of bread that had saved my family's life. I never had thanked him for his kindness. But I could now see where he had gotten his generosity from. I broke the bond between our eyes and looked around the bakery, it only had a few customers in it. Me and Prim decided to wait outside, waiting for the last of the customers to leave. Once everyone had left we made our way in.
"Hi, how can I help you?" The boy asked, staring into my eyes.
"Is Mr Mellark in?" I asked politely.
"He's not at the moment but he'll be back in a few minutes. You're welcome to wait here for him." We accepted. We learnt his name was Peeta, he chatted away to Prim and I about the bakery. After five minutes Mr Mellark walked into the bakery, smiling as he noticed me and Prim. We told him that we had accepted our offer.
"Come on then girls, I'll show you the living space." He said. We followed him up the stairs leaving Peeta in the bakery. The apartment was cosy; there were two smallish bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. "Right girls, did you need a hand packing your belongings?" He asked.
"It's alright sir, we only have a few belongings. I'll go get them now." I said.
"Alright well Primrose can stay here and help Peeta decorate some cookies, how does that sound Prim?" He asked. She gleefully nodded and we all made our way downstairs into the shop again. I left my game bag behind the counter and sprinted back to our old house in the seam. It felt strange to think that we wouldn't be living here anymore. Our family had had some great memories in this house, but that was our past and now I had to think about mine and Prim's future. I knew this decision was what was best for Prim. I packed up a few precious belongings: my mother necklace that my father had given her, a photograph of my father and a few items of clothing for me and Prim. Everything else I would trade in the Hob. I put everything in my backpack and set off back to the bakery.
As I entered the bakery, I noticed Prim's face was covered in some type of pink icing. She looked genuinely ecstatic. She was trying to wipe some of the icing onto Peeta's face, his face mirrored Prim's. If I didn't know better I would say they looked like siblings or at least cousins. At that moment I knew we were going to be alright. I coughed, as they didn't realise I was back yet. They both looked at me.
"Come on Prim, let's get you cleaned up." She jumped off the stool she was sitting on and started to follow me up the stairs. She quickly turned back and ran into Peeta giving him a hug.
"Thanks for letting me help you Peeta." She told him.
"You're welcome Prim." He smiled at her then looked to me.
AN: Please read and review. Should I continue?