This is my first attempt at an actual multi-chapter Hunger Games fanfic, so here goes nothing I guess! I hope my writing will be considered worthy among all the amazing talent in this community.

Big thank you to Prisspanem for prereading this and fixing my silly mistakes, and for being a great cheerleader. Both of us can be found on tumblr, if you're into that sort of thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything realted to THG, that's all Suzanne's

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Apparently, Uncle Haymitch is rich. That information would have been quite helpful a few years ago when Mom checked out after Dad died. She missed a lot of work, we almost ended up losing our house. My mother was never close with her half brother, though, and so I didn't even know about him until a few weeks ago when she informed my sister Prim and I we'd be staying with him for the summer. She needs some time to herself so she can get some help, and so I can't really complain. Prim deserves a mother who can be totally there for her.

I assumed that when Mom told us Haymitch lived on a lake that she meant a tiny little cabin. I was proved very wrong when we arrived here earlier today. He lives in a god damned mansion. It's four stories with some expensive wood exterior, maybe mahogany, and is about twenty feet away from the lake shore. The side facing the water is almost entirely windows. It has an extremely large wrap around deck outfitted with a hot tub, fire place, patio seating, and retractable awning. The landscaping is also ridiculously impressive. There is no shrub out of place, no blade of grass sticking out. The inside of the house is equally as impressive; seven bedrooms, four full bathrooms and two half ones, a state of the art kitchen, dining room, laundry room, parlor(a freaking parlor), large and decked out living room, sun room, two offices, an exercise room, and there are at least two other rooms who's purposes that I have yet to figure out. All of the furniture and decorations are extremely modern, everything is very tidy. I have never even dreamed of a place like this.

My own home is a single story town house with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. Nothing in comparison to the monster I'll be staying in this summer.

Uncle Haymitch is nice enough himself; the man in is his forties and oddly resembles me with the same olive skin tone, dark hair, and greyish eyes. It sort of shocked me as I always thought that I didn't take after my mother's side at all, getting all my features from my father. He doesn't say very much and is somewhat twitchy; Mom informed Prim and I that he's a recovering alcoholic. His wife is an entirely different story. Effie looks a lot more like my mother and Prim with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She's tall and dresses like she belongs in a magazine. She also loves to talk, chatting our ears off until I convinced her that Prim and I were tired from the long drive and needed some time to settle in. She quickly shut up and let us say our goodbyes to our mother, which were surprisingly tearful, and then showed us to our rooms.

The room I'm staying in is simple, mostly white with just a bed, nightstand, and bureau. One of the walls is made of glass though, so I probably shouldn't call it simple. Prim's room is right beside mine and nearly identical. This will be the first time in our lives that we won't be sharing a room… I'm not quite sure how I feel about that yet. Aunt Effie assured us that we could go to the store later this week and pick out things to personalize our rooms so we could feel more at home. Prim was ecstatic about this, we've never been able to decorate before. She won't even have to worry about compromising her style for me, everything will be up to her. Seeing her smile so much made me a little more optimistic about spending our summer here. Prim will get everything she needs and more, everything that she wants. And as long as she is happy, I am too.

xXx

"Katniss, come swim with me!" Prim whines. We've been here for three days and still have yet to take advantage of the body of water literally in our front lawn. The days have been hectic, all of them quite cool and one of them rainy. Today, though, we have nothing planned and the sun is out bright and warm. Prim has been trying to get me out all morning, and even though it's only eleven I don't have the heart to say no to her again.

"Fine Prim, but you're going in later to get us lunch." I tell her.

"Yes!" She grins and jumps. "Thank you!" Then she runs to and up the stairs, presumably to get her suit on. I follow at a much slower pace.

I've owned my bathing suit since I was fourteen, for three years, and I never had a problem with it. But when Effie went through my closet as soon as I'd finished unpacking, she insisted on updating a few "key pieces" of my wardrobe, bathing suit included. At the store she steered me away from the tankinis and one pieces to the bikinis. I ended up getting a plain white one, which "really compliments my skin tone," that was the least revealing. I still feel far too exposed when I put it on.

When I exit my room Prim is waiting for me in the hallway with two crisp white towels already in her arms. "Let's go, let's go!" She grabs me by the wrist and tugs me through the house and out the door.

Once we're in the water I realize how much I have missed it. Dad used to take me, and later Prim, to our local lake two or three times a week in the summer. He called me a fish because I was always underwater, and Prim a duck because she preferred to float. We haven't visited that lake very much since he's been gone, the memories always hurt too much. There must be something about how beautiful the day is, however, because thinking of him isn't making me sad for once. I even smile and quack at Prim. This caused her to splash me and soon we're in a water war. We stand just a few feet away from each other, heads turned and flinging water with abandon. And I'm laughing. Really truly laughing. I don't think I've been this happy in a long time.

My mood turns pretty quick when I'm suddenly deafened by the roar of a motor and sprayed by water coming from the opposite direction of my sister. It's that sharp and painful kind of water, traveling fast in small drops. I can tell that Prim was hit by it too as her splashing assault ceased at the same time mine did. What the hell?

I quickly turn in the direction the splash came from, ready to give out a death glare. How dare someone interrupt Prim and I finally having some fun? My stare is met by a boat. Not a canoe or even a small motorized fishing boat, but a big, fancy, fast, boat. Really shouldn't surprise me by the force of that spray.

"Watch it!" Prim barks, irritated. "You nearly ran us over!" I look over at my younger sister with wide eyes, I'm usually the one to do the yelling.

"I am so sorry!" A man's voice calls. A boy who looks about my age then pops out of the cockpit. Even at forty or so feet away, my breath catches at the sight of him. Blonde and messy slightly curly hair, lightly tanned, defined jaw, facial features of an angle, with a pair of light orange bathing suit slung low on his hips. I can't help but stare at his exposed skin, he's broad at the shoulders and obviously but not overly fit. I find that I am nearly drooling. I snap myself out of it quickly. Katniss Everdeen does not swoon about boys.

"I didn't know that anyone was here." He continues. I force myself to look away and focus on the side of his boat. "The S.S. Mockingjay" what a stupid name for a boat. "No one ever is. Haymitch told me that it would be fine to bring my boat through here…" He sounds so flustered. I glance back up at him. Mistake. Him running his hands through his hair paired with his sorrowful expression nearly makes me fall over. How is he so attractive? How is he so nice? I was all prepared to rant at this asshole who nearly killed Prim and I, but he's not an asshole at all. "I tried to stop as soon as I saw you, I swear. I am so sorry! I am an idiot…" He trails off looking down.

"You know Haymitch?" I ask. His head snaps up at my voice. He stares right at me. Dear god. Are his eyes blue? I think they're blue.

"Yes." He nods. "Since I was a kid. My family owns the camp just a few spots up." He points to his right. "I guess you could say that we're friends, but it's really just Effie and my mother. But I've always brought the boat through here. No one is ever swimming…he and Effie don't swim." His expression then turns to confusion. Which is equally as knee weakening as the sorrowful one. I wonder what he looks like smiling. Or laughing. Or angry. Or…I stop myself before my thoughts get out of hand. I don't even know this boy's name. "Why are you swimming here? How do you know the Abernathys?"

"He's our uncle," Prim says. "We're staying with him for the summer. And we accept your apology." Prim nudges my side, I nod my head and flash him a smile. "As long as you didn't do it on purpose, it's fine. We can't really blame you. It's kind of a random thing that we're here. I'm Prim, by the way."

"Oh, that's cool. I didn't know Haymitch had nieces. He doesn't talk about his family much… thank you, for being cool with this. I feel like such an idiot, really. I guess I'll just have to make it up to you, maybe take you for a ride sometime?" Before I know what I'm doing I find myself nodding again, still smiling. I'd love to ride you-ride with you. What is going on with me? The boy chuckles and I feel like I am going to die. "I'm glad you like the idea! My name is Peeta. I look forward to seeing more of you, Prim and…?" His eyes are on me again and he is wearing the faintest of smirks on his lips, eyebrows raised.

"Katniss Everdeen!" I blurt. My eyes widen and my cheeks warm. I am an idiot. "Katniss I mean…I'm just-" I take a deep breath and exhale. "My name is Katniss."

At this point Peeta is full on grinning. "I look forward to seeing more of you Prim and Katniss Everdeen." He then drops into the cockpit, obscuring him from my view. I find myself wishing he would stay longer. I've known this person for barely five minutes and all I can think about doing is licking up the water droplets that I saw on his chest. Then he's off, causing small waves to rise over my chest. I stare after the boat until it's around the bend and out of sight. What just happened? I look down and notice my nipples sticking out, my bathing suit's lack of padding putting them on full display. Were they like that when Peeta was still here? Could that have been any more embarrassing? Damn Effie making me buy this freaking stupid bikini.

Water hitting my face, a gentle splash, startles me out of my thoughts. I turn to Prim for the first time since she yelled at the then stranger. She smirks in a knowing expression. "You so want in his pants."

"Prim!"

"What? You were undressing him with your eyes the entire time he was talking to us! You were so distracted and flustered…it was awesome, Katniss."

I pale. "Was I that obvious?"

"Sort of." She giggles. "But it seemed like he might be into you too, so who knows? Maybe Peeta will let you ride on more than just his boat." She finishes with a wink.

"Prim!"

My little and apparently no so innocent sister starts to cackle with laughter. I put my full force behind my next splash.