Disclaimer: This fanfic is rated 'M' for language and future sexual content. I do not own any of the characters or the Hunger Games.


Chapter 1: The Return

The evening has been uncharacteristically hot for mid-May. What's even more uncharacteristic about this evening is me…here…with him. This was the last thing I expected to happen during my summer break that was supposed to be spent catching up with Prim and laying low around town in hopes of not running into anyone from my childhood.

While at the grocery store to pick up a few last minute dinner ingredients for my mother two nights ago, I turned down the spice aisle and that's when I saw him. He was staring down at a bottle in his hand as I quickly retreated to the end of the aisle before he could notice me. His blond hair still looked the same as always; the naturally mussed up curls hanging haphazardly against his forehead. It's a look I've seen other guys try to achieve through the use of expensive styling products, but from what I can remember, he's always achieved it so effortlessly just by rolling out of bed.

He was dressed in a grey band t-shirt, the sleeves tight against the muscles of his arms with a pair of dark blue jeans that happened to hug him in all the right places. A days worth of stubble had started to show along his jaw line, which was new to me. I was used to seeing him cleanly shaven, but upon further scrutiny, I quickly decided that the rugged look suited him just as much, if not more.

As carefully and quietly as possible, I peered around the corner of the aisle to see if he was still there and almost internally combusted when his unnaturally blue eyes lifted for a brief instant to meet mine. My face instantly flashed an embarrassing shade of red before I smacked head first into an old man behind me as I turned to run for my life.

"Katniss Everdeen?" The familiar smooth tenor of his voice was closer than I'd expected, and when I finally turned around to face my fate, he was already jogging towards me with a goofy grin plastered across his beaming face.

Why was this happening to me? This was supposed to be a quick in and out job to the grocery store with a clean getaway before the afternoon rush. Up until now, I had successfully avoided running into anyone from my childhood, which was actually quite an impressive feat in this small town.

I took a deep breath and mustered up my best fake smile as I waved pathetically in his direction. When he was not more than two feet in front of me, I noticed that he was a bit taller than I remembered, and the lines of his chest and shoulders were definitely more defined that from when I last saw him. It wasn't much of an accomplishment though for a guy like Peeta Mellark. It was obvious he still worked out.

"I didn't know you were back in town!" he said as he propped himself up against a shelf lined with cereal boxes. "How long have you been back? How have you been?"

The enthusiasm in his voice caused a sting of guilt to flash through me for not making my return from school known to anyone besides my family. I hadn't even told Annie or Johanna that I was back in town until the day before, and that's after I'd already been home for a week.

"Uh, I got back a few days ago. I haven't really been out much though, just been busy catching up with the family, you know, spending some time with Prim." I hadn't intended for my reply to come out in a whisper, so he had to lean in closer to hear me. The scent of sweat and cinnamon washed over me; he had to have worked at the bakery earlier that day. It wouldn't surprise me if one day he takes the place over from his dad. Peeta had always seemed to be at home there, at ease in his element. Not that I really took much notice. Everyone expected it. Well, almost everyone.

"Of course." His smile widened and I caught a glimpse of his perfectly straight teeth. I tried not to stare at the way his lips curled, but it became impossibly hard not to when the tip of his tongue darted out from the corner of his mouth. He cleared his throat as my eyes flitted back up to meet his. "So, how is Prim by the way? I see her at the bakery every once in awhile."

I felt the air between us start to grow thick despite the heat as I struggled to breathe. How was it that I'd been in his presence for no more than two minutes and was already feeling guilty, light headed, and like crawling into hole to hide? It didn't help that he just smelled so…good. What had I done to deserve such a punishment?

"She's fine, everyone is fine," I muttered as I fished my phone out from my back pocket and glanced down at the time. "Speaking of which, I need to get back home, kind of in a hurry. My mother's waiting on me so she can start dinner." I pocketed my phone and tightened my grip on the shopping basket I'd almost forgotten I was clinging on to. "It was nice seeing you again, Peeta."

I offered him a curt smile and turned to shuffle away as quickly as possible, but his hand caught my arm just at the last moment. His fingertips were calloused against my skin, but his grip was gentle. My shoulders slumped in defeat as I twisted back around in disappointment.

"Hey, what are you doing later tonight?" I narrowed my brow as I waited to see where he was going with his inquiry. "Finnick is throwing a party tonight, and I thought well, maybe you'd like to stop by and see some of the old faces? If you're not busy that is."

I tried to keep the frown that was tugging at my face at bay at the mention of our high school classmates, but those were the last people on earth that I'd wanted to see. Peeta pressed on though, his face annoyingly optimistic, yet in a way, somehow endearing.

"It's supposed to be pretty casual so don't feel like you have to dress up or anything. I think Annie, Johanna, and Madge are going to be there too, if that helps to sweeten the deal." He winked and waited patiently for a response as I diverted my eyes to anywhere but his face or his chest.

I tried to think up an excuse to get myself out of the awkwardly never ending situation, but my brain wasn't cooperating. The faint scent of cinnamon caught my attention once again as he lifted a hand to his hair to scratch at the back of his head.

"Um, I'm kind of busy tonight," I replied lamely, lying through my teeth. "I promised Prim that I'd hang out with her, you know, girls' night kind of thing." It was a perfect excuse. He couldn't make me feel guilty for wanting to hang out with my younger sister, now could he? It hadn't been a complete lie either. Prim had a girls' night with Rue planned for later that night, but there was no reason why I couldn't join them.

Peeta's face fell slightly before he recovered quickly with a hopeful smile. "That's cool, well maybe some other time then."

He had yet to look away from my eyes, and that damned tongue of his quickly darted out again before he licked his bottom lip enticingly slow. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and I noticed his jaw clench. From the years I'd spent in high school unconsciously watching him from afar, I'd learned that the nervous habit was his tell for when he was disappointed, but that didn't stop me from the guilty relief that washed over me.

"Yeah, maybe another time then," I mumbled as I forced my eyes away from his face. "See you later then. Nice seeing you again, Peeta." I turned again to leave but just as I was celebrating with a little victory dance in my head, his voice interrupted my internal gloating.

"Are you busy Monday? Wanna catch a movie maybe?" His words were rushed as he too fidgeted with his grocery basket. "There's a matinee playing at three, maybe we could grab a bite to eat afterwards if you—"

Before he could continue, the words I was certain to regret later tumbled from my lips, "Yeah sure, sounds good. See you then!"

I practically sprinted to the cashier in hopes of getting away before something else could happen. I chanced a glance over my shoulder as I handed the cashier a twenty dollar bill, hoping that he'd left by then. But when I caught Peeta from the corner of my eye right where I'd left him, he waved and flashed me that goofy grin of his again. Ugh, what had I just agreed to? How was I going to get out of this one?

When I got home that evening, it didn't go unnoticed by Prim that I had been extra quiet during dinner and being the every so perfect—and nosy—sister that she is, she somehow convinced me to relive the whole awkward chain of events that lead to my current predicament.

"You should go with him to the movies, Katniss!" Prim squealed as she handed me a dinner plate to dry off. "You've barely left the house since you got here."

She was right. I'd been hesitant to leave the confines of our home, only stepping out to run an occasional errand for my mother or to get some fresh air out in the woods behind our house. But I was completely content to stay in, hiding from the memories that haunted from beyond our doorstep. It gave me time to clear my head and think. After the year I'd just had at school, from exams to my recent failed attempt at a relationship with Gale, I just needed to be alone with my thoughts.

"You still haven't even attempted to see Annie or Johanna yet," Prim continued as she finished putting away the rest of the dishes. "You can't keep making up excuses to avoid everyone forever, you know."

And that's where she's wrong. I can do that, and it's exactly what I plan on doing. It's what I've been doing ever since I graduated high school; when I skipped out in search of bigger and better things, leaving the likes of this god forsaken town behind…and the likes of Peeta Mellark.


Author's Note: Hello! So this is my very first fanfic…ever, so I hope some of you like it and please feel free to leave a review and maybe cut me some slack if you don't like it?! If you haven't already figured it out, this is an Everlark AU and I already have a storyline planned out in my head so hopefully things go as planned and you'll enjoy the ride. Thanks for reading!