Rating: M (explicit language & mention of sexual acts)

AN: 1) I don't own the Hunger Games or any of it's characters. They belong to Suzanne Collins

2) I had a list of AU ideas that I used for this ("We`re sitting in a food court and I can see you starting at me so what´s your fucking deal-wait are you drawing me?") and together with d12drabbles (on tumblr) prompt Fire (the general association of fire with passion and lust) this started to brew in my head. Hope you like it.

3) Only checked it once, no beta and could only work on it late or in my breaks. So sorry for all mistakes.


Chapter 1

Katniss looks for the perceived 100th time on the watch at her wrist. Her right foot is tapping on the floor in a staccato beat. Her whole demeanor radiates 'annoyance'.

The tapping of her foot gets faster and louder. Her wrist flicks again, looking down at her watch.

25 minutes late! Where the hell are you Primrose?

It was sadly becoming a repeating happening with her little sister. Prim asked Katniss to meet at a special time and place, begging so long till her big sister says yes and then letting her wait. In the past, Prim was always punctual but the teenager was becoming more and more unreliable. Katniss crosses her arms over her chest and huffs, annoyed. Her eyes switch from one side of the food court to the other in search of the blond halo of feet had started to tap in the beat of the music blearing from the overhead speakers, her eyes flitting around. There was still no sign of Prim.

Because she got more and more bored and angry at her sister, she started to watch the other people in the food court, forgetting her sister for a few minutes, just to calm down.

There was a family with 2 little children tugging at their parents arms to hurry up to the toy store. An old couple was walking at snail speed down the corridor, blocking all the space. A group of teenage girls, maybe 13, walk behind them with sour faces, slowed down to their pace.

Katniss had to smile. If she is miserable because she was stood up by her unreliable sister, she found it only fair if other people are also in a bad mood.

She keeps on looking through the food court, mildly interested by all the people sitting around. Then her eyes brush over ocean blue eyes. Her gaze stocked. A guy is looking at her, but when he sees her returning his stare his cheeks flush and he dips his eyes back on a drawing pad in front of him.

His hands move in precious movements over the paper, a piece of coal clasped between his strong looking fingers.

Katniss lets her eyes travel over the guy. Tussled blond curls reach his ears and curl behind them, a strong build, broad shoulders, large hands, and the bluest eyes she ever saw - but can´t see at the moment. The side of his face reveals a strong straight nose, full lips; very attractive.

Katniss can feel a prickling in her body, especially between her legs. It was almost 8 months ago that she separated from her boyfriend Darius, and even before the split they weren't really together anymore. Johanna Mason, her roommate in the dorm, more than once said it was a wonder she didn´t burst with all the oppressed passion. That and 'The best way to get over a guy is to jump another, or get under another, or in front of another. Whatever position you like most, just get laid brainless!'

But there was no one she was even mildly attracted to, till now.

This blue-eyed boy with the golden locks aroused something in Katniss she hadn´t felt in a long while…only with the battery operated little friend in her nightstand.

Lost in daydreams of what she could do with this sturdy man, him throwing her on the table in this very food court, ripping her clothes off, she pushing him down, riding him untamed till she comes. Her on her knees before him, his grunts in her ears, his hands in her hair, or her favorite fantasy at the moment, her on her back, legs spread, his strong hands holding her thighs open, his head between her legs licking her, her head thrown back, the long hair spilling behind her with her hands pulling his blond curls, moaning, screaming his name.

She shakes her head to clear it up and wriggles on her chair. She can feel how wet her panties got and squeezes her thighs together.

She lifts her gaze again, looking everywhere than the blond god that fired up her libido. Still, she sneaks glances at him from time to time, and can't shake this feeling that has overcome her.

And so she very quickly notices that not only was she was sneaking glances at him, but he was also looking at her. Always only for a second, then his eyes return on the paper in front of him, drawing away.

She needed a second to understand what he was doing there.

'Wait a second… is he drawing me? What the fuck?! Why is he drawing me? Is he some kind of pervert?'

Her lust changed to anger in seconds. No sneaking glances anymore to still her hunger, but scowls and glares in the direction of the "creepy pervert". But scowling was not enough because he was still drawing her.

'Enough!' Katniss thought, jumping up and walking a brisk pace to him.

"Hey!" she starts when she is standing next to him. His whole body twitches and goes ridged. Slowly, his head moves up looking at her.

Katniss eyes flits over the drawing in front of him. She can see her face but the scene he portrayed her in is strange.

She was not sitting at the table. She was standing next to a window, her hair in her typical braid, a braid that she was not wearing today. Something is around her head that she can´t identify. Her looks wander to the blue of his eyes. She sees the blushed cheeks and guild on his face.

She crossed her arms in front of her.

"What is your problem?"

He looks confused for a second.

"Whattt?" he stutters. Her scowl deepens. "Why the fuck are you staring at me? And why are you drawing me? How do you know how my braid looks like? Are you stalking me?"

"Ahh.." he starts again, his face getting even redder if it was even possible.

"I am… no.. I.. I am not stalking you. I just watch… I mean I don´t follow you everywhere, but…"

Katniss is getting ready to rip him apart. She may be petite but she is an extraordinary huntress and she knows more than one self defense trick. But before she could react she hears the shrill voice of her little sister

"KATNISSS! There you are. Where were you? I was searching everywhere! Come on, we don´t have time!" Prim was suddenly standing next to her, gripping her arm and pulling her in another direction.

During this distraction, the blond-haired guy grabbed his things and hastily left. After Katniss wrangled herself loose from her sister, he was already gone.

'Great.' she thought, then moved her attention to her sister.


"So you tell me there is this hot looking guy, who makes you all tingly inside, let you fantasize about him doing totally unkatniss-like things to you and you just let him go? Without a name or number? What is your problem brainless?" asked Johanna one day later at a party held by their common friend Finnick.

Katniss just rolls her eyes. "Jo, didn't you listen to one thing I said? The guy was following me! He drew me! This is creepy."

"Whatever. You need to get laid Everdeen, pronto! And this is the first guy who even got you to react at all. I say go for it!"

Katniss just shakes her head. "You are unbelievable" she says, sipping on her beer.

The house was crawling with people. It seemed the whole student body from Panem college was present. Knowing Finnick, it would not surprise her if this was the truth.

Her eyes roam through the room, Johanna next to her, still talking about how she missed her perfect chance for a one night stand, when she sees the blue eyes again. He was here. Standing in a group of people, cup in one hand, the other in the back pocket of his really tight jeans. The pants accentuating his strong thighs and the tight white shirt hugging his bulging biceps.

"Hallo?! Are you even listing to me?" Johanna asks and waves a hand in front of her face.

Katniss pries her eyes away and turns to her friend.

"What?" she asks, confused. But Johanna was already looking in the direction of Katniss' stare. A sneaky grin spread on her face. "My, my," she says turning back to her friend, the grin still in place. "What do we have here? Is little Kitty-Kat already searching for her next victim? Are you finally taking a page from my book and getting yourself a hottie to still your carnal cravings? If yes, I say good choice! Go! He is hot!" Johanna's hand winds around Katniss' arm and tries to push her in the direction of the blond-haired stalker.

"JO!" Katniss protests and pushes her heels into the floor.

"Let me go! What is wrong with you?!"

"I'm just trying to help a desperate friend get laid! It is time, Everdeen, to jump back on the horse, literally! Ho, jump the blondie!"

Katniss finally snatches her arm from her friends hold.

"Stop it I said. And just for your info, that is this creepy stalking guy."

A beaming smile overtook Johanna´s confused expression.

"Even better! Now you have a theme to start to talk about!" Her arm was moving in Katniss' direction again, but she side-stepped her demanding friend. "I said let it be? Fuck and let me alone! What is your problem?"

"I would say too may to count," Finnick replies, joining the two. "But we still love you Jo, even with all your faults," he says with a grin.

"Bite me," was Johanna´s only reply.

"Sorry," purrs Finnick, "but my time biting and doing other things with a different girl every night are over." He places a hand over his heart and states with a dramatic voice, "I am a one woman man now."

"Finnick," Katniss starts to stop Finnick´s further explanations about his undying love for Annie. She wanted to interrupt him before his and Johanna´s verbal match really begins. Something that always happens with these two.

"Do you know the blond-haired guy with the white shirt at the chimney? Next to the guy with this hockey jersey." Finnick turns around, searching for the person that has stirred up Katniss interest.

"Do you mean Peeta? Yes. That is Peeta Mellark. He is in one of my history courses. Nice guy. Business major with a minor in art. He is really good. Saw a few of his pics. Why do you ask?" he says, looking back to her and searching her face for an answer Katniss. His gaze is curious first, then he finds his answer apparently and suddenly a grin very, very similar to the one from Johanna just moments ago, appears.

"Why Miss Everdeen? Are you interested? That would be something new! I can introduce you two! He is a great guy! You're perfect for each other."

'Yeah perfect' Katniss thought, 'because he already knows everything about me.'

"No, that is not necessary." She squared her shoulders, deciding to finish what she started in the mall. "If you would excuse me," she says to her friends and moves in Peeta´s direction.

When she is just a few steps away, he finally sees her and his eyes grow wide. But before she can begin to start yelling at him he moves in her direction.

"Before you start," he begins, holding his palms up as a sign of peace, "let us go somewhere else. Somewhere where we can talk without ruining the party, okay?"

She is so perplexed that he talked to her in full sentences that she can only nod her head. He gives his cup to a friend and takes a messenger bag sitting on the floor.

"I will be back in a bit," he says to the group he was talking to and follows Katniss out the backdoor onto the porch. No one is out here so they have peace. When he arrives on the porch and the door closes behind him, she just says,"Talk"

He sighs. "Look Katniss," he starts and she is not surprised he knows her name, after all he was obviously stalking her. "You probably don´t remember me or even know me. My name is Peeta Mellark. We were together in high school and now go to the same college. I grew up here. My father owns the Mellark Bakery. "

She knows the bakery. Prim always wanted to look at the great decorated cakes in the window. Very extraordinary cakes.

"I always wanted to talk to you. But you were just so intimidating with your 'Don´t fuck with me' attitude. Not that this was bad at all! You were… are so impressive. And I am sorry I didn't talked to you yesterday and that I run away but… I was scarred. I didn't imagine that our first time talking to each other would be like this. I am so sorry."

"So what you wanted to say is that you are not stalking me but you know me from high school and you saw me in the food court and just decided to draw me? Just like that?"

He blushes and starts fitting with his feet. "Yeah… and no. I always was thinking about you in the past. About a special occurrence during our school time and when I saw you yesterday, I just had to draw you. Because now I had the chance to study all the finer details I needed for the picture."

Katniss just looked confused at him. "What?!"

He just sighs again and opens up his messenger bag, getting a rolled up paper out. He gives it to her and indicates with a nod of his head to enroll it.

It is the drawing from yesterday. But now colored. It was breathtaking.

Katniss sees herself standing in a room that looks like the music classroom in high school. A place she was often to be found. The sun was going down in the picture, you could see it through the window Katniss was standing in front of. And the lights gave her an earthly aura. She looked like she was on fire. But not the bad kind. She looked like an angel, a goddess bathed in light. Powerful, brave, unbeatable, unquenchable like the sun.

She could just gape at it. "You.." she starts and looks up to him. "You see me like this?" Still with his cheeks flushed, he just shyly nods.

"I walked by the music room one afternoon and you were standing there singing. Every bird outside was silent, just listening you. It was the most beautiful thing I ever heard and you looked like… I can´t even describe it. You looked just like this. Ethereal. Unearthly. Unbelievable. I was a goner."

Katniss could not stop gaping at him and the picture. Lost for words. This guy, who she thought was a creep first just because of a wrong assumption gave her the most sweet, nicest, beautiful compliment anyone has ever given her. And he practical told her he thinks she is a goddess. This hot guy thinks she is an unearthly person and he draws her more beautiful than she could imagine to be.

'Oh fuck it. Maybe Jo is right,' she thinks and wraps her arms around his neck. 'Maybe I should really just jump back in the saddle… or just him,' and brings her lips to his.

It feels like fire starts in her belly, spreading everywhere.

She is the Girl on Fire, like in his drawing.

And when Peeta starts to respond to the kiss, moving his hands along her back into her hair and getting his tongue to lick her lips, she knows that not only she is on fire now but also him.