A/N: Hello again everyone! Thanks for checking out the first chapter of my new story. I hope you enjoy it. I'm excited to be diving into another Everlark tale. As always, your reviews, likes, and adds fuel me. I have plans to update every Monday like I did with "Stay With Me Always". Much love to my beta Mikus Proud. Finally, as you know, the characters do not belong to me.

Dear Daily Ask,

I recently discovered my boyfriend of five years has been cheating on me. I can't say I'm surprised, but I really feel like I need closure. Any ideas for revenge?

Sincerely,

Peeved in Panem

Oh boy, where do I start with this one? I don't have any expertise in this area; the cheating, I mean. I'm pretty confident I can manage to think of some vengeful acts. Someone nearby clears their throat. I pull my attention back to the meeting taking place around me. I suppose I should be listening. My coworker, Peeta, catches my eye from across the table and makes a face. I try my best to stifle a laugh by acting like it's a cough, but I've caught the attention of our boss, Mr. Snow, anyway.

"Miss Everdeen, what's new with The Daily Ask?" He inquires, trying to hide his annoyance.

I shoot Peeta a quick death stare, then turn my attention to our boss, and inform him that I'm "Tackling a cheating case, sir."

He gives me a thoughtful nod (even though I'm 100% sure he could care less about my column), then turns his attention to the next person. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I care a whole lot about my column either. I inherited the section from the writer before, and the writer before them. It has been a staple at the Panem Press for decades, but also a bit of a joke. I had always dreamed of being a writer for a big publication, but I was hoping to report on the hard hitting news, not life's hiccups. Relieved I'm out of the spotlight, I turn my attention back to Peeta. He now appears to be the model employee. He's sitting stick straight, with his full attention on Snow. I see him glance at me out of the corner of his eye, and smirk. I stick my tongue out at him for good measure and return my attention to my notepad. Peeta attempts to make a hasty retreat out the door afterward. I catch up quickly and give him a pinch behind the arm.

"Ow!" He whines as he rubs the spot. "What's that for?"He asks, giving me a hurt look.

I roll my eyes at him and scoff.

"I'm going to the new hotspot downtown tonight for a review, want to tag along?" He changes the subject as we round the corner to our respective cubicles on the news floor.

"Can't," I reply. "Gale's birthday celebration is tonight."

I notice Peeta's eager look falters slightly as he gives me a nod. He sits down at his desk and turns toward his computer with a shrug, telling me it's my loss.

Typical thought process of Peeta Mellark: God's gift to women (or so he thinks). We've worked together for the last three years, I started just shortly after he did. In that time we've come to know each other quite well. He writes for the Lifestyle section of the paper, reviewing all of Panem's latest and greatest restaurants and nightlife hang outs. The seemingly endless eating, drinking and partying never seem to wear on him. He always has some new tale, or exploit to share come Monday. He's always outgoing and friendly, the very opposite of myself. Perhaps that's why I got handed the notorious section of Lifestyles: The Daily Ask. Readers constantly send a steady stream of letters and emails. My job is to sort through and pick out a few that peak my interest that I want to respond to. While I'm typically quiet and sullen, I am not short on opinions. As I lose myself in my work, the back of my head is suddenly disturbed by a wad of paper. I turn slowly to see Peeta staring at me thoughtfully, his hands steepled under his chin.

"What?" I practically bark.

"What do you have planned tonight with Gale?" He asks with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Dinner." I reply simply with a shrug, and turn back to my computer.

"That's it?" He says incredulously.

I turn back. "What does it matter to you?"

Peeta shrugs. "You ok?" He asks after he considers me a moment.

I give him a half-hearted nod and go back to my work again. The truth is, I wasn't ok. I wasn't even entirely sure if Gale was going to be home tonight for us to celebrate his birthday. Lately he has begun taking on more hours at work, which means less time for us. In the two years we have been together, he has never been more determined to work his way up the ranks on the police force than he has recently. Honestly, I'm beginning to take it a bit personally. He assures me once he reaches detective status, our lives will be much better. I let out a sigh and pick up my phone, wondering if I should text Gale or not to find out about tonight. Before I have a chance to open a message screen, a text pings in from Peeta.

"Lunch?"

"It's 11:00" I reply back, when I could simply turn and talk to him.

"Exactly." Is his response.

I smile and shake my head. I turn to see him stand and gather his jacket. He stands by my cubicle expectantly. I relent and join him as we make our way to the elevator. We ride down in silence. Peeta plucks away at his phone. I sneak a quick peak.

"Who's Madge?" I inquire nonchalantly, although I find myself feeling a bit more concerned than I think I should.

"Just a friend." He replies back with the same air of nonchalance, giving me a curious side glance.

We make our way out to the bustling sidewalk and ease in with the rest of the crowd. Peeta keeps a light protective hand on my back as we maneuver between the slow moving tourists and the regular commuters of The Capitol. Shortly after, we slow and move off to the side as we approach our favorite food truck parked in its usual spot. Peeta insists it's his turn to buy as we order our favorite go-to meals. As if on autopilot, we make our way with our food to the nearby park and saddle up on the ledge of a long stone wall.

"Did you want to tell me what's really going on?" Peeta asks as he nudges my shoulder, obviously sensing I'm not acting like myself today.

I sit and chew slowly for a moment. "Just boyfriend-girlfriend stuff, you wouldn't understand." I say, blowing off his attempt at concern.

"Wow." He says slow and loud, gaining the attention of a group of passers by . "And what exactly wouldn't I 'understand'?" He asks sounding a bit put off.

"Seriously, Peeta? I've never known you to have a steady relationship. Ever. You're a bit of a playboy." I reply.

He considers my words. "I'm checking out my options." He finally admits with a smirk.

"At the rate you're going, you're going to run out of options soon!" I laugh.

"The right woman is out there for me." He says looking me dead in the eyes.

I suddenly feel unnerved as a blush enters my cheeks. I clear my throat and turn from his stare. "Gale has been working a lot lately, that's all." I finally admit.

Peeta nods and we finish our lunch in silence.

I'm flooded with tasks for the remainder of the day, but decide to sneak out a bit early, seeing as it's the weekend, and so I can grab Gale one final gift. As evening rolls around, something feels different as I climb the stairs to the apartment Gale and I share. I feel edgy, like something is disturbed. I can't put my finger on it until I open the door to discover piles of clothing strewn on the floor leading from my feet to down the hall.

"Gale?" I call out apprehensively, not wanting to allow my mind to piece together what I know is most likely true about this scene.

"Katniss!" I hear him call back, panic in his tone.

I drop the bags in my hand and take large strides to cover the distance between the entryway and the back of our apartment where our bedroom is. As my hand reaches for the doorknob, the door is suddenly ripped open. I startle.

"What's going on?" I inquire as Gale attempts to block my view into the room as he hastily buttons his pants. I sense movement. I feel fire burning in my eyes as I look to him and shove past to enter the space as he deftly tries to explain the scene.

"We didn't mean for this to happen." Gale begins.

"Cressida?" I shout as the blond grabs her clothes from the floor and makes for the adjoining bathroom. I turn back to Gale. "Cressida?" I scream at his face. He takes a cautious step back.

"This isn't what it looks like." Gale starts again as he holds his hands up innocently.

I laugh bitterly. "What is it? You just accidentally fell into bed together? With your clothes off! My God, Gale! How dumb do you think I am?"

I become manic as I head for our closet. I pull down a duffel bag, and several other items fall down with it. Without thinking I begin shoving my clothes into the bag, muttering under my breath all the truths I knew about how this happened. I curse myself for being so blind, being so stupid. I let out a frustrated growl for good measure as I stuff the remaining items away. I turn then and begin assaulting Gale with the things that didn't make the cut. I throw the spare pillows and blankets that we keep in the closet at his head as I curse at him. He deflects them easily, as tears begin to roll down my cheeks. Cressida stands silently in the doorway of the bathroom, looking unsure of what to do. I shoot her the most threatening look I can muster as I angrily wipe the tears from my face. Without another word I grab my bag and storm from the apartment.