Hello! Okay, this is the Sequel to "The Worst Games Yet". If you want to understand this sequel better, than you could read the other one. But, if you don't want to read it, I think you can catch up quickly! Anyways, thanks for those who read the other story too! :-)

Broken Flames - Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, and Primrose Everdeen have won the Quarter Quell, but just when they think it's over, it gets worse because the Capitol is back to haunt them.

Remembering

Katniss' POV:

I'm sitting on the couch in my home, the Victors Village. This couch seems far too comfortable, beautiful, and delicate for me to own. I don't own it, the Capitol does. The Capitol owns everything. They even own our lives. It's hard to accustom the thought that the Capitol owns everything that once was ours. But, I still have my sister, Primrose. I don't know where Peeta and I stand. We haven't been talking too much lately. I only go over to his house when I agree to paint with him when Prim wants to. Painting. Painting is how we get used to the fact that in a couple of years, we may be as dreadful and scarred as other Victors. We are scarred though. The things we saw in the arena were far from pretty, but awfully close to horrible and sad. It's sad because innocent teenagers go into an arena and fight, and kill others. I still can't get used to the fact that the Capitol has made us feel like we're monsters.

People in District 12 don't look at us the same way. Peeta is offended greatly by it. He's not the monster he thinks he is. To me, he's not even close to that. Gale, on the other hand, manages to avoid the looks. I don't know how, but the people don't dare to look at him the way they look at us. I don't see disgust in their faces, it's more like sympathy. We don't like to feel as if people see the need to feel bad for us.

The silence in the house is driving me mad. There's nothing to do. I can't go into the woods because the fence is now lighted with electricity, and I found that out the hard way. I know Gale's in his house, making something and dedicating all his time to that. I stand up and pace back and forth behind the couch I was just sitting on seconds ago. Prim is with Peeta, painting something beautiful and nothing like the games to get those things off her mind. I'm grateful that Peeta's doing that. I've only thank him about one thousand times, and I still feel the need to thank him one million times more. He always smiles, but never says anything. He's quiet most of the time. I miss hearing him talk like old days. But, those days are far gone.

Mother is sleeping, and she barely wakes up, only to go help at the hospital. I stop pacing and decide to go to Peeta's house. It won't hurt to see him. Besides, Prim is always smiling when she paints, and she's very good at it because she's got something I don't. Patience. Painting is not my obsession. I don't like it, but I don't hate it. Peeta, on the other hand, is so passionate and extremely good at it. His paintings are so realistic that at one point, I was going to start to cry. But, I wasn't going to cry for just any painting. It was a painting when we were just eleven, and my father was teaching us how to swim long after the fence between the woods and District 12. I hated the painting. But not in the way to criticize his work. In the way that it reminds me of my father and the days when we were actually happy.

The cold air from winter makes me shudder. Immediately, my nose feels cold and stuffy. I'm so weak when it comes to enduring cold temperatures. I partially survived the Quarter Quell because Peeta was there. I sadly sight when I'm only four feet away from his house. He lives alone because his intoxicated mother died when we returned. I've missed him to a great extent. I don't know how he has been doing, especially because he hardly leaves his house. Haymitch doesn't either. I remember the day after we moved into the Victors Village. We were all painting, laughing, and at the same time, we were healing, very slowly. But now, that process is just about worn to shreds.

I don't bother to ring the bell on his house because his door is always open. When I walk in, Prim is on the couch. She's sketching something on notebook. Peeta is working on a painting that looks like an ocean, with high waves, but at the same time it looks like a face. I stare at him, for about seconds before he feels the cold wind come in from the door, and he turns around. Immediately, his face lightens up. The concentration look he had on his face, vanished in seconds.

"Sorry…for not knocking," I say, barely over a whisper. Prim looks up at us, and then concentrates on her painting. I don't know why, but things are awkward with Peeta and me. It doesn't make me feel any worse, but it just seems like we are growing apart. And that, that truly bothers me.

He smiles, "It's okay, you always do it anyways, so I'm used to it," he says. He sounds so much like the old Peeta, that it makes me smile. "You want to paint?"

I don't feel like it. But I don't tell him. Instead, I agree because I was just freaking out moments ago in the house all by myself. But, he can see it in his eyes that he knows I don't want to. Prim, sighting and giving me a teasing look, says, "I'm going to go visit Gale. I'll see you guys later. Bye Katniss, bye Peeta."

"Bye Prim," Peeta says as she leaves out the door. The room is silent when I hear Peeta sight and put down his paintbrush. He looks at me and grabs my hand. "Let's go somewhere."

"Where?" I ask.

He smiles and says, "You'll see," putting on his jacket. He pulls me out the door and we start running. The cold is no longer a problem. Something as simple as Peeta's hand on mine gives me warmth that can last forever. I laugh as we run through Town and the Seam. Right now, I could care less what those people think. I can feel their eyes on us, and to my surprise, some of them are smiling. As we run, Peeta turns his head to look at me and smiles, his blue eyes shining like they used to. I smile back, and it's not forced at all. Seeing Peeta be like he used to, brings back a lot of happy moments. I'm so lost in my thoughts, that when I snap out of it, we're in the meadow. It doesn't look as ugly and dull as the rest of District 12 does. There are orange and red leafs everywhere, on the slightly green and yellow bed of grass. It's just the beginning of winter, and it still hasn't snowed yet. But, I still prepare myself for rough snowstorms because they come in quickly.

Peeta smiles and, still holding my hand, moves to sit down on the grass, me following him. After a few minutes, I'm lying on the bed of grass with Peeta next to me, holding my hand. We're looking at the strangely still blue sky. I turn my head to the side to look at him. He looks up at the sky, thinking. "What are you thinking?"

He turns his head to look at me. "Everything," he simply answers. I turn to look at the sky again, about to be lost in my thoughts again. But Peeta asks, "What's wrong?"

I know that he understands that I have many things I worry about. He only asks me that because he wants me to talk to him. We haven't talked in a while, and this almost seems…great and relieving. "Everything," I return the response.

He sighs, and for the first time in a while, he pulls me very close to him. I look into his blue eyes, and he looks into my eyes. Practically forgetting about our surroundings, he leans in and I feel his soft lips against mine. His arms go around my waist. It doesn't feel strange, it feels…new. I've missed him so much, that it hurts. I move myself closer to him and I don't let his lips leave mine. I wrap my arms around his neck. His kisses are warm and sweet. I don't remember them being so comforting and kind. As my eyes are closed, a memory flashes through my mind.

Just then, a tree burning in flames lands between us. Peeta pulls me back from it; apparently I was dangerously close to it. I hear the screams of the Careers and I catch I glimpse at one of the blond girls burning alive. It makes me shudder as Peeta and I run to the cave to warn Gale and Prim. Gale stands up with a start and right away smells the smoke. We tell him what happened and we grab bags and Gale carries Prim over his shoulder.

We're running through the icy woods. I smell the smoke and I start to cough. My chest feels as if someone was pressing against it. The heavy smoke won't leave my system even when we are a little far from it. Suddenly, a fireball passes right to the right of me. My eyes widen and I look back, just enough to dodge another one that was going to take my head off. Fire does not mix with cold air for nothing. I hear ice crack as I try to run. And then a terrible coldness engulfs my entire body. I realize something horrifying.

I've fallen through the ice. And I'm drowning.

The water is dark and I can't see anything. The coldness keeps me captive and I find myself suffocating. I need air. That's all I'm thinking about. But soon I start to feel light headed and I fall into deep unconsciousness.

I push him back from me abruptly. I sit up and cover my face with my hands. My breathing and the hammering of my heart is irregular. Fear irrupts through me and all around me. I start to sob right there. I feel Peeta's arms go around me in a protective and comforting way. I feel the warm tears slide down my cheeks. Peeta holds me tight for a while. I forget everything in the moment. Everything else seems like a blur, and the nightmares are taking full affect on me during the day too, along with the night. All the memories start to smash up together in my head. All I can feel are the arms of the guy that I've loved for as long as I can remember. And that…

That is what keeps me from going insane.

He must know why I'm crying because he says, "Shh, it's okay. It's over, okay? It's not here anymore," as he strokes my hair.

I bury my face into his chest. Why am I being so weak? I move closer to him every moment I feel as if the memories are crawling behind my mind to my thoughts. He whispers comforting things in my ears, trying to calm me down. We stay like that for what feels like hours, but really is minutes. When I finally calm down, we get up from the grass. Peeta holds my hand as we walk back. I walk very close to him, not letting him let go of me. We're walking through the Seam when I suddenly feel my legs stop working. My vision blurs for a second, and I almost fall if it weren't for Peeta's hold on me.

"Wow, are you okay?" He asks, his voice filled with worry and unease.

As composed as I can, I reply, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He walks me through the strangely quiet Town. It's late, but at this time the Merchants are still working. Today, on the other hand, all the lights are off and no one is around. When we get to the front of my house, Peeta hugs me and asks, "Will you be okay?"

I nod and without even rethinking my response, I reply, "Yeah, I'll be fine." Right away, I regret saying it. Peeta gives me a kiss on the cheek and heads out to his house. I mentally kick myself. I want him to stay with me. I want him to hold me and keep the nightmares away. I scowl at myself as I open the door to find Prim sleeping on the couch. I sigh and walk towards when suddenly she starts to scream. My eyes widen and I immediately kneel next to the couch and I start to shake her gently. "Prim, wake up. Wake up." Her screaming is replaced with crying as her eyes open. I look at her with pain in my eyes. My heart can't handle the sound of her crying and the sight of her waking up with a nightmare. It reminds me of how things will never be the same.

I send her upstairs to wash her face and wait for me in my bed. I know she won't be able to sleep alone, and it doesn't make my nightmares go away. Only Peeta makes sure that my nightmares stay away. But, it helps Prim, and I'd do anything to make her stop screaming and make her pain go away. The nightmares are the least of my worries as I sit on the couch, thinking of the many things ahead of us. Suddenly, the door opens, letting in a vile smell of white liquor we all know who loves it. Haymitch. The man looks as if he hasn't been sleeping with dark circles under his eyes. The crestfallen look on his face, makes me jump up from my seat. That look only shows when bad news hits his phone from the Capitol. "What's wrong now, Haymitch?" My voice cracks in the middle. He looks up at me, and that's when I see Peeta come in, with a unreadable expression on his face. It scares me that I can't read his expression because I usually can. And when I can't, it's not something good or pretty that comes out of his mouth.

"Oh, sweetheart, you're going to love the news," Haymitch laughs, staggering in my direction, and putting and arm over my shoulders.

I step away and look in Peeta's direction. "What's going on?"

Peeta looks down at his feet, and then, as if regaining all the courage to say, "The Capitol has already started to make demands apparently." I look at him carefully, waiting for him to continue. But Haymitch continues for him.

Haymitch's breath is right in my face, suffocating me with the horrendous smell. "Well, looks like you guys are taking the next step in your relationship!"

My eyes move in the direction Peeta's in, quick enough for me to see the readable look on his face. And it's a mixture of good and bad. He coughs and says, "The Capitol wants us to…to move together."

How was that as a first chapter? Did you guys like it? Anyways, thanks for reading and REVIEW PLEASE.