Summer was officially over. Katniss realised this as she was dragged by her forearm by a very persistent Madge Undersee to a stationary store in the centre of town. Her braid flung from side to side behind her as she began to dig her heels into the ground, her eyes wild as Madge turned around, dropping her hand stubbornly, her hands finding her hips which had already cocked to one side.

"I swear to GOD Katniss, you are not going to senior year with shitty notebooks again." Madge tutted at her, closing her eyes at the mere thought of 99c notepads, her fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose dramatically. "I will even buy you something nice!"

Katniss rolled her eyes. She was not ever one for handouts and she wasn't going to let Madge change that.

Katniss was someone who spent a lot of her time reading or working. Working to pay off her school fees so that her mother could put every last cent towards her sisters education - by her request and insistency. Ever since her father decided to spend every waking hour at the office, spending his money on the debts that had piled on them throughout her poor childhood, her mother had been single handedly supporting them, working day in day out to provide for her and Prim, her younger sister who had just started high school. Prim was sweet and naive. She was one to only see the kindness and heart in others, instead of instantly judging or making a biased opinion based on gossip. It was refreshing and Katniss could only hope she kept these wonderful traits.

"Madge, pretty stationary isn't essential for graduating high school." Katniss rolled her eyes, following Madge through the doors of the fancy new stationary store Annie P, her eyes darting around the brightly lit store, "I can manage with a couple of pens and some books."

Madge chuckled, shaking her head, "Katniss, it's all about the look. You have to present yourself well if you want to get anywhere in life."

Madge was the Mayor's daughter. When she first arrived at Panem High, she kept to herself, only speaking to Katniss and Johanna about assignments and due dates. Jo, being the obnoxiously loud person that she is, questioned why Madge was acting so strangely towards them all the time, prodding her in the chest continuously until she answered, or Katniss had stepped in to stop her before she made a mark, she couldn't remember which came first. Madge was only being shy because she was afraid she would be an outcast because her dad was the mayor, to which Johanna told her to "get over yourself, brainless, no one gives a flying fuck who your father is!" to which Katniss forced Johanna to apologise for her obtuse behaviour. And from then on they were friends.

They filtered through the beautiful stationary, testing pens and studying the various pencil cases that were on display. Katniss tried to feign interest in the store, but found her mind wandering and a blank stare was almost constantly on her face when Madge asked her anything.

"Oh my god Katniss, at least try and pretend you're interested. I promised I'd buy you one notebook, maybe for English?" She looked at her with hopeful eyes, nodding her head encouragingly. "It's only one!"

Katniss sighed, turning herself to look at the seemingly never ending shelves. Each book had something she wasn't too keen on. It was either the books with lace or with pretty patterns. She scanned the shelves, picking something out at random and handing it to Madge, who's eyes shone with approval.

"So, can we leave now?" Katniss asked, her hands finding the pockets of her shorts, fumbling with a gum wrapper that she'd shoved in there. "This store is making my head ache."

Madge laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, "Katniss, you need to chill." Her hands ghosted over the array of pens, snatching one delicately and placed it onto the notebook Katniss had just selected, "This'll go nicely with what you've chosen!"

Katniss groaned, rolling her eyes and trudging along behind Madge as she beelined for the checkouts.

Once they'd exited the store - not before Madge had picked up a colouring book and a vast array of colouring pencils from in front of the checkouts, showing Katniss with raised eyebrows, to which Katniss then dragged Madge from the shop with haste - Katniss shoved her second hand sunglasses onto her nose and looked around. The sun had come out and the clouds were beginning to blow away to the east, returning to their normal place - far away from the town centre. The summer weather had still not left, which Katniss was thankful for. She hated wearing jeans every single day during winter. She'd much rather have her legs free, then being stuffed into pants. God forbid she ever wore a skirt. She shuddered visibly at the thought.

"Do you wanna head down the Gino's? Grab a coffee? I can message Jo and Annie and see if they're down for a catch up." Madge asked, throwing her hand into her bag to search for what Katniss assumed was her phone, "All that shopping has me positively parched!"

Katniss frowned, "Madge, we have school in a few days? We're going to see them then."

She didn't see the point in constant catch ups, even though Madge showed up outside her house every time she arranged one to make sure Katniss was present. Her Jeep would park right in front of her car, so she had no escape, with her horn honking obnoxiously. It would always make the usual scowl appear on Katniss' face, where lines had begun to form on her forehead.

Madge quickly tapped her screen with both her thumbs, not even bothering to give Katniss any kind of answer. When she dropped her phone back into her bag, she looked up at Katniss with a grin on her face.

"It's settled, they're meeting us at Gino's and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it!" Madge clapped her hands together like she'd just accomplished pulling off an evil plan, "Let's start walking over, might as well get a nice spot in the sunshine."

"Madge, I could just go home. I have a lot of, um, stuff to prepare for school and Prim needs help with her goat." Katniss managed to fumble out, looking longingly behind her to the carpark where her beaten up Toyota was parked, staring back at her.

Madge's hand found its all too familiar spot on her forearm, pulling her towards the cafe, "Nonsense, we're going to catch up and it's going to be fun! I'll even buy you a latte or whatever."

"I don't drink coffee, Madge." Katniss told her, for what seemed to be the 100th time in the last week, "It makes me feel sick."

As they neared the cafe, Madge spotted a table out the front, squealing gleefully at the prime spot, "This is perfect. Makes me want iced tea."

"Well, let's hope it's a long one." Came a voice from behind them to where Johanna was standing, her hands folded over her chest, Annie standing behind her with a smile on her face, "after the shift I've just had."

Katniss grinned. It was always refreshing to have Johanna there. She kept Madge at bay from completely combusting every time something remotely thrilling happened, even if it was an extra buttery croissant or a smooth glide from one of her many pens across the paper. Johanna and Katniss became friends immediately at school in their first few days at Panem High.

Johanna had thrown a ball directly at Katniss' face, not knowing any better as Katniss' reflexes we're ones to admire. Catching the ball with ease, Katniss glared at Johanna, who had a knowing smile on her face.

"Why? Why did you throw a ball at my face? Are you fucking insane?" Katniss had yelled towards Johanna, who was making her way across the football field, "You don't even know me?"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, brainless, you're going to be someone I get to know very well."

From then on, they were friends. Not that Katniss had any issues with it. Johanna, although rude and annoying sometimes, was always brutally honest, which is what Katniss and to be quite frank, everyone needed.

"Thom won't leave you alone?" Katniss prodded playfully, knowing that Johanna had been experiencing issues with a guy named Thom Rodgers at her work, who, if Katniss was none the wiser, had a massive thing for Johanna. Who of course, found his advances irritating and pointless.

"God no, I've managed to get him to leave me alone. For the time being anyway," Johanna slumped down into the wooden chair, throwing her bag onto the floor at her feet, "A customer decided that because he ordered a burger, and then some fries, even though his burger already came with fries and he had ordered extra when clearly on the menu it states that all the meals come with fries, and he had the damn AUDACITY to accuse ME of selling him more then he wanted."

It was relatively normal for Johanna to complain about customers, especially considering she would more then often express how she was really feeling, which always got her into trouble with her boss. She was stubborn like Katniss, and she supposed that's why they got along so well.

Annie piped up, "Jo, maybe you should just inform every cust-"

"-don't even bother Annie, they never listen." Johanna said, throwing her hand up for the waiters attention. "Double gin and tonic thanks."

"Jo, we've come to a cafe, you know, for coffee?" Madge insisted, ordering herself a mocha, Annie nodding at the waiter for one for herself as well, "Surely you can't just have something warm instead."

I shook my head at the waiter, waiting for Jo to respond to Madge, to which she simply deadpanned her, "I think you'll find I'm a grown woman, you all still have a year to go until you're legal."

Johanna was in the year above us, yet she took a few of the extra classes at Panem High to up her overall score, which included English Literature, which they only introduced during the Johanna's senior year. It was only available for the 11th Grade students and below, as the work load in senior year was too much to include it. Or some bullshit like that.

"Speaking of which, Finnick's throwing a back to school bash. I heard it through the grape vine." Annie said, clearly desperate to diffuse the attention which didn't stop her cheeks flushing at the thought of the blonde boy she had been fawning over for years, "we should all go."

"Yeah, I'm down," Johanna said, grabbing her drink immediately from the table as the waiter placed it down in front of her, taking a large gulp, "if it means you finally make a move on Finnick and Madge finally gets up the courage to dump that weedy Marvel."

Madge glared at her, "He's not that bad!"

Katniss scoffed, "he leaves every time you hook up or even sleep together, I don't exactly think he's a keeper."

"Exactly, Katniss is right. And you could probably do so much better." Johanna's eyes turned to me, "Is a certain Gale Hawthorne going to be making an appearance?"

Katniss rolled her eyes, knowing what was about to come, "Gale will be anywhere there's a party."

"Great! Go for him Madge, he's sexy." Johanna purred, her eyes moving off into the distance and Katniss shuddered at what her thoughts might be. "Or maybe I might."

Gale Hawthorne had been once of her best friends since she was little. They spent all their childhood together, majority of it out in the forrest, hunting for deer and squirrels. His eyes were as grey as hers, which was something they'd instantly bonded over when they first met. Gale was at Panem High with them and spent a lot of his time hanging around Finnick and Cato. Cato was one to only think with his biceps or what lay beneath his trousers. He wasn't exactly smart and had hit on Katniss dozens of times, only to be shut down. It wasn't that Cato was unattractive, he just wasn't her type. Katniss didn't really have a type now that she thought about it.

"I don't think he'd ever be interested in me." Madge admitted, taking a sip of her mocha, her tongue licking the excess milk on the side of her mouth, "plus, he's been in love with Katniss for years!"

Katniss nearly choked on her own spit, "I think you might be wrong there Madge."

"No, even I've noticed it!" Annie said, her eyes wide with the new realisation, "He's always looking at you and always spending time with you!"

Johanna chuckled, draining the rest of her gin, "You really are stupid aren't you, brainless?"

Katniss scowled, "Gale and I are just friends. He knows that! We're only friends."

"Whatever you say, Katniss." Madge said with a knowing smirk, "just you wait to see how he is this weekend at Finnick's."

"Who said I was going?" I mumbled, folding my arms across my chest, "I don't even really like parties."

"You better be there Katniss, or I'll drag you there myself." Jo threatened, her finger pointing dangerously close to Katniss' face.

Hopefully she forgot her proposition by Saturday.

—

When Katniss arrived home that evening, throwing her bag down onto the kitchen table with a sigh, her mother was nowhere to be seen.

"Prim?" She called through the house, waiting for a response.

"In the living room, Katniss!" Prim called, her voice slightly distant, "Mum's just having a rest upstairs."

Katniss stepped into the room, watching as Prim rhythmically stroked her cat, Buttercup, which she had rescued from the local cat pound, her eyes focused on the animal programme currently playing on the TV. Our living room was on the smaller side, but Katniss liked to think it was cosy and homely. It had two large red plush couches that Mumma had found on the side of the road. We had Gale pick them up and bring them down in his ute and found that they fit perfectly in the living room. The TV was given to them by their uncle Haymitch, who wasn't exactly their uncle, they just called him that.

"Have you had any dinner?" Katniss asked, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear as she flopped down onto the couch next to Prim, "I didn't even realise the time."

Prim shook her head, "Mum's been asleep since I got home from Rue's. I went in to check on her but she wouldn't wake. She looks exhausted Katniss."

She hated seeing her sister worry, especially when she looked so hopeless. Prim's eyes were the best when they were full of hope and glimmering with excitement, which was something that didn't happen very often. She was only 14, spending her first year at high school making friends and becoming the favourite of the teachers. Katniss couldn't blame them though, Prim was hard not to like.

"How about stir fry?" Katniss asks tiredly, her rubbing her eyes, which were beginning to become sore from the tiring day, "and then maybe I might be able to rustle up some ice cream and apples."

Prim grins, her giggles echoing through the room, "I think there's a little leftover from last week."

Walking into the kitchen, Katniss pulls together a stir-fry in no time at all. It was one of the few dishes Katniss had learnt to make, given the cheap ingredients and simplicity of it. Her recipe book included cottage pie, porridge, spaghetti and tinned soup. Stir-fry happened to be her speciality, simply because it only took a few minutes to prepare and cook and it kept Prim healthy and happy.

"So, what did you do today duck?" Katniss turned to Prim, popping a piece of chicken into her mouth and chewing slowly.

Prim swallowed, "I went over to see Rue. She's got a new kitten and it's so cute! It has these little paws that trot around the house. I swear I could watch it for hours and hours."

This is what Katniss loved to see, Prim's eyes dancing with life as she retold stories about her day.

"I thought Buttercup was the only cat you ever needed?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at Prim, "that's what you've been telling me ever since you found her."

Prim shook her head, "I love Buttercup but imagine what she would've been like as a kitten? So small and tiny and the meows."

Katniss chuckled, amused at the passion her sister had inside her, even for small things like kittens. Prim had always loved animals, ever since Katniss could remember. Her eyes would constantly light up at any chance to touch or even look at something fluffy or feathered. When they used to live in the country, their neighbours owned a farm which Prim would spend many hours at, feeding the chickens or spending time with their strange goat, Lady. Katniss would sometimes have to pull Prim away, insisting that she had to come home at some point.

"What did you do today?" Prim asked, scraping her bowl for the remainder of dinner. It was quite the compliment.

Katniss shrugged, moving a piece of rice around her bowl, "Madge forced me into stationary shopping, saw Johanna and Annie and then came here."

"Why don't your friends ever come over here?" Prim asks, offering to take my plate as she moved to the sink behind the kitchen table, "I really like Annie, she's nice."

"They have better things to do," Katniss said, as if trying to convince herself this was the case, even though it was the fact that she never invited them over, "plus, I don't want Johanna corrupting you!"

"She's not that bad." said Prim, her voice smaller then before, "She makes funny jokes."

Katniss rolled her eyes, "Yeah, mostly at my expense."

They both went quiet, Prim rolling her eyes and shaking her head, mumbling under hear breath as she left the room. Katniss narrowed her eyes at Prim's retreating figure and chose to just ignore it, it was easier then arguing. Her eyes drooping as the fatigue started to kick in, the weight of the day finally taking a toll on her.

She wrapped the leftovers and placed them into the half empty fridge, telling herself that she'd need to go grocery shopping at some point and made her way upstairs. Her room wasn't anything to brag about, only containing a double bed, a desk and a small wardrobe that was half stocked with clothing. Katniss wasn't one to bother about fashion, probably only owning one formal dress and a pair of heels which she couldn't even walk in. It was simple and it'd do until she moved out.

She threw herself down on the bed, sighing at the relief her lower back and calves felt after trailing after Madge all day. Madge must have huge calves from all the shopping she was capable of without needing a rest.

It wasn't long until her breathing evened out and she fell into a deep slumber, the thought of school and the party that weekend playing on her mind. She knew something was bound to happen, but wether it was good or bad she didn't know.

A/N

Hey guys, I'm back! I've been so busy with uni and working that I've had no time for writing but I managed to find my creative passion for writing again. I promise I will not abandon LTW! I'm halfway through the next chapter and it will be updated soon! Thank you for sticking with me ! x