Katniss had to admit that she was happy that neither she nor Prim got reaped for the Hunger Games this year. It was Prim's first year, and she had been absolutely terrified about the reaping. Katniss had been so busy trying to calm Prim down that she hadn't had the time to worry about her own feelings. As usual she had put on a brave face not letting anybody know that she felt scared too. Actually she had been mortified, but she knew she had to stay strong for Prim and of course her mother too. She knew that if she had died in that arena, her family probably wouldn't have been able to survive. After her father's death, she had been the breadwinner of the family, and she knew she was the reason why their heads were still above water. Of course Gale would have taken care of them, she knew that. Oh, Gale. The sound of his name was enough to make her eyes teary.

Again she had fled into the woods, where she used to go hunting with her best friend. She sat down in the outskirts of the dense trees and looked over the field, like they used to do together. They were usually dreaming of a better world and joking about the Capitol and their Hunger Games. It always seemed so far away, and together in the woods joking about it, it seemed almost unrealistic. The chance that either of them was to be chosen was so slim that they never thought it would happen.

Katniss got up again and grabbed her bow before again becoming overwhelmed with these horrible thoughts. Even if Gale wasn't here anymore, she still needed to bring home the dinner. That goal hadn't changed. With or without Gale, she still had to make sure that her family didn't starve to death.

Actually, hunting helped her mind escape the thoughts of Gale's death, but it didn't kill off the memories of him. Hunting enhanced it, unfortunately. It was a cold day, but Katniss didn't have time for the chilly weather, and her feet slipped a couple of times when she was taking aim at her prey.

"Damn it", she shouted angrily and fell to the ground. The arrow went in the wrong direction scaring the pheasant away. She slammed her hands towards the wet leaves on the ground in frustration.

"You have to kill the animal, not the sky, Catnip", she could hear Gale laughing at her while lending her a hand to get back on her feet. Now she had to get up on her own. That was difficult, and she stayed on the ground even though she could feel the dirt from the earth all over her. It was wet and it started to soak her clothes, but she didn't see the point in carrying on. Well, of course she knew that her life couldn't just end because she had lost Gale, but right now she needed time to grieve and let herself mourn her loss. Nobody had known Gale the way she did, and nobody felt as sad as she did. His family was obviously suffering too, but they had each other to find comfort. She felt alone and left out. She didn't let anyone in, and she couldn't bear talking to anybody about Gale. Her mother had tried to console her, but all she got in exchange for her care was a cruel answer and a hard attitude. Katniss knew it was wrong and she never meant to hurt her; she was just short-tempered and ill-mannered right now. The only one she tried not to hurt was Prim, her precious little sister. Every word from her sweet lips was soft and gentle, and Katniss could never get angry at her.

She stayed in the woods all afternoon before going home. She no longer felt at ease among the quietness, wild animals and the trees and bushes like she used to do. With Gale she had felt that out here was her refuge, her safe haven, where nothing could touch her, but now it felt soiled with Gale's death. So with two squirrels she started walking home. It was enough for dinner, but it wasn't much, she knew that too well. Her mother or Prim wouldn't start complaining, she knew that too; they were just happy to get fed yet another night.

Entering the village, she met a few of her neighbours, but no one seemed to notice her. No one except the boy from the bakery. Katniss had started noticing him standing in the window in the bakery at night. He always opened up the window to get the moist out when baking the bread and pastry, and the smell was so mouth-watering. Sometimes someone inside the bakery was shouting at him, which seemed to affect him a lot, and sometimes he was just standing there glancing out into the darkness. His arms were crossed, and his expression sad even though he had a friendly face. Katniss looked at him while walking past the bakery, and he looked back not taking his eyes off her. His stare annoyed her, so she pushed together her eyebrows and frowned. She knew why he was staring, and his sad face gave away everything: He pitied her, and she didn't like it. She didn't need his pity or his sad face, and she got angry.

"Stop watching me", she shouted at him and got closer. She could tell that her shout startled him, and he looked all confused, but he didn't walk away from the window.

"Why are you watching me?", she yelled as she approached him. Her angry eyes sought his, but his sad expression didn't change.

"I'm Peeta Mellark", he just said putting out his hand through the window to shake her hand with a smile on his face. Now it was her turn to get confused.

"I don't care about your name", she said refusing his hand.

"You are Katniss Everdeen", he then said. There was a strange kindness in his eyes that she was trying to ignore.

She didn't know how to respond. Normally no one knew who she was, and she kept to herself most of the time. She wasn't particularly popular in school and had no real friends besides Gale - which meant she had no friends left now.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I know you and Gale were friends", he continued.

"You don't know anything about that", she instantly screamed, getting all defensive and felt out of place. His knowledge made her confused. How did he know that?

"You used to go hunting together", he said stroking his blonde hair away from his forehead.

Katniss didn't reply; she just felt bewildered and uncomfortable and took a step back. The chilly wind made her cold, but it was his comments that sent shivers down her spine.

"I understand that you are upset. I saw your face when the woman shouted his name at the Reaping. We all cheered for him, and for what it's worth – he really did great in the Games", he said calmly looking softly at her.

"You know what; that is none of your business. You don't know anything", Katniss shouted directly at him again approaching him in a threatening manner. Her fist clenched in her pocket, before she controlled herself.

"Just leave me alone", she then said in a normal voice, looking up into his blue, kind eyes and left him in a hurry.

"I can't do that, Katniss Everdeen", Peeta said, hardly loud enough for her to hear, as she walked away.

He watched her every step and couldn't stop smiling. He had finally talked to her, and it was a minor detail that she had stormed out of their conversation. Peeta closed the window and turned to the bread in the oven. He really wanted her to have a couple of them.