Win a Date with Peeta Mellark

Chapter 1

The lights of the city created an amazing sight, but Peeta Mellark didn't really notice it. He was standing on the balcony of his apartment in the hills overlooking the Panem valley below. While it was beautiful, the handsome young blonde still felt an empty feeling inside. It had been going on for a month or so now, but he had only recently figured out what it was. Loneliness.

Peeta had been in the Capitol for two years now. At 24, he was living out his dream. He had wanted to act ever since his first school play role when he was 10. He had performed in every high school production, and then graduated from the dramatic arts department at Capitol University. Once Peeta had his diploma, he moved to the city to begin his career. He rented a small one room apartment, got an agent, and started auditioning. It was tough going, but soon he landed some commercials and small roles on TV. Before he knew it, the parts were getting bigger and he was moving from TV to movies. He began gaining respect in the industry. Other actors and directors he worked with began calling his agent to ask if he would be in their next picture. Now, two years later, he had money, and multiple jobs lined up for the next couple of years. He was busy, and he loved it. He absolutely adored being an actor and getting into character.

So why wasn't he happy? Why is it that a few months ago everything he did just started to seem meaningless? He had taken a long needed vacation and did some soul searching. The break revealed to Peeta that while he was constantly surrounded by people, he was still lonely. He didn't really have anyone who was truly close that he could tell anything to and be himself with. In his career, it was always about the face you put on. It wasn't very often that he could take the mask off to just be Peeta. He just wanted to find someone special to share his life with, to be a rock in the midst of this crazy world of his. He needed it. He was ready for it.

During these wonderings, the door to his condo opened suddenly and in walked Haymitch Abernathy, the agent to the superstars. The man had an impressive client list of glittering actors and musicians, including Peeta. He had seen something in the young man when he first came to L.A., and took him on after seeing only one performance. Since then, he had guided the young actor to the right projects and auditions. His advice had always been spot on; even wtih the gruff manner it was usually given.

"Hey kid," his mentor greeted, "I brought you a few scripts to look at. There are a couple of good roles that I think would fit you. The one on top I think could possibly be an Oscar winner."

Peeta looked over his shoulder at the older man, "Thanks. You can put them on the coffee table." He motioned in the direction of the living room. "I'll read them later."

As Abernathy placed the papers down, he noticed the sullen look on his client's face. Usually the kid was all smiles, so this mood he was in was unusual. "Something wrong, boy? You look down in the dumps," he asked tentatively. Maybe the young man didn't necessarily want to confide in him.

Peeta finally turned around and looked at Haymitch. His mind raced. Should I tell him what's going on? I guess I need to get it off my chest to somebody. "I…" he sputtered, "I'm just feeling lonely. That's all. I've been here for a while, and… I don't know….I'd just like to meet someone."

"You want to meet someone?" the agent said, "I've got a hundred girls on my list I could call who would go out with you in a minute. All you've got to do is ask."

"No." Peeta shook his head. "I don't' just want some random girl to go out with for a night. I could do that anytime with anyone I wanted. I'm ready to meet someone special.

"Someone special," Abernathy repeated trying to let it soak in.

"Yeah," Peeta went on. "Lately…I've just found that I don't want to mess around anymore. I want a real relationship."

"Again," Haymitch offered, "I've got tons of clients and friends who are single and would absolutely love to meet you. Any of them could be the right one."

The young actor sighed in frustration, "I'm tired of dating actresses. All of the ones you have set me up with before have been such snobs. They only care about their career and themselves. And anyone else I meet, I never know if they like me for me, or if they are just attracted because of the celebrity thing. I want to be with someone for real who just wants to be with me, not Peeta Mellark, the actor.

His mentor stood there in silence for a minute, then stood up and came over to place his hand on Peeta's shoulder. "Look here, kid," he began. "I understand what it's like to be alone. This is a lonely world in this business. Let me think about this for a few days. I promise I'll come up with a plan." Peeta was nervous about what cockeyed idea Haymitch could come up with, but decided he was willing to listen to any and all ideas. He nodded and with that the older man walked out of the condo leaving the younger man by himself and his thoughts once more.

A couple of days later, the agent was as good as his word as he walked back into Peeta's home and came into the kitchen. His client was eating breakfast.

"Take a look at this, kid. You're going to love it. Leave it to old Haymitch." He pushed an open laptop in front of Peeta's face. The young man eyed the screen and gasped when he saw the big letters flashing on the website that was in view.

WIN A DATE WITH PEETA MELLARK!

Girls! Win a chance to win a romantic date with everyone's favorite leading actor. Take this opportunity to have Peeta Mellark, star of We're Just Friends come to your town and be your date for the evening. One lucky winner will be taken on for the night of her dreams. Fill out the form below and submit it by Friday, March 18th. Winners will be notified by phone after the deadline.

Peeta looked up in shock. "You've got to be kidding me. This is your idea?"

"You bet," the mentor smiled in pride, "and it's a doozy."

"A doozy?" the actor replied. "I'm probably going to end up having to take out some mental girl on a date and end up doing who knows what?" He had stood up and was actively pacing now with wide eyes.

The old man pushed Peeta back into his chair. "Calm down. I've got a plan." Haymitch came over and sat down next to him. "Look, once we get all the submissions, you can look them all over and choose yourself. Both you and I are pretty good and sniffing out the crazies. We can narrow it down to someone with qualities you are attracted to who sounds really great. You can take her out wherever you want, and if it goes south, I'll get you out of there pronto. I promise. Just give it a try. You never know what might happen."

Peeta looked again at the website. All of the worst case scenarios popped into his mind. But really, did he have any better options just standing here at home all the time? At least he would get to possibly travel somewhere and get out of the city. He was pretty good now at spotting the stalkers and hangers on, and Haymitch could get him out of the date if anything went wrong. He weighed the pros and cons in his head, and finally decided that he was willing to try anything at this point.

He sighed, and placed his hands up in defeat. "Alright. You win. I'll do it."

The old agent pounded him on the back. "Great. I've given two weeks for all the girls to submit their information. After that, we'll get together and figure out a winner."

"Fabulous," was Peeta's less than enthusiastic reply.

The two weeks passed by in a flash. Peeta kept busy doing some prep work for the movie he would be working on in a couple of months. It was a romantic comedy where he playing the part of a baker. To learn more about that life, he was taking some classes and actually getting pretty good. Frosting was quickly becoming his specialty. He had just come home from making his latest creation, a beautifully decorated cupcake. Peeta had just taken a bite when Haymitch marched through the door, laptop in hand. The actor immediately realized with the agent's visit that the deadline for the contest passed yesterday. It was time to look over all of the entries.

"Here they are my boy," Abernathy pushed the computer in front of him as he popped one of the cupcakes in his mouth.

"Mmmm. Delicious," he noted. "I think you may have another career ahead of you if your acting goes down the tubes. Now, I've put in a filtering system to help you bring the number of contestants down. Start with that."

Peeta ran his hand through his hair dejectedly as he slowly sat down in front of the computer. He began by looking at the number of entries. There were more than 8,000. Oh good Lord. I'll never get through this. He saw a database with a search bar and categories to narrow down what he was looking for. He decided to start by taking out any submissions by males, as he did not go in that direction. Next, although he wasn't picky about age, Peeta decided that someone around his age would at least be easier. He marked it for all entries of girls between ages 21 and 29. He filtered out any that contained the words love your movies or you are so cute, the obvious words of fangirls. Even after this, there still seemed to be so many left. He was going to have to get creative. He thought for a few minutes about specific qualities he liked in girls, and then did one final search. Likes to sing.

The results came back with only a few dozen names. He breathed out. Finally, he hit a number that he could deal with. Peeta began clicking through the different names and looked at the pictures. He thought that he would try just looking for inspiration first before checking out the full information. He came across one of a girl from District 2 name Clove, who was a singer, but also had an obsession with knives and punk music that was kind of scary. Another one was a girl named Cashmere, who loved music, but also posted way too much about how she adored fashion. The young man sighed. This was going to be harder than he ever thought. He finally reached about the 20th one when Peeta suddenly stopped. There was a picture of a girl, with dark hair in a neat braid, a small smile on her face, and the most amazing grey eyes. It was the eyes that caught his attention. They were so different and looked like they could see right through him. I could get lost in those forever. Peeta clicked on the picture to find out more. The information he wanted popped up on the screen.

Name: Katniss Everdeen

Age: 24

Hometown: Seam City, District 12

Likes: Hunting, Singing, Outdoors, Books, Children, and Movies

Favorite Food: Italian and Cheese Buns

Tell a Little About Yourself: I work in the children's department of the library and spend my free time with my close friends and family. I love to walk and hunt in the woods around home and sing in the shower. The rest of the time I read and watch old black and white movies. I'm petite, but feisty with an adventurous spirit.

Why Should You Win this date? Because I would love the opportunity to have a date with a great guy like Peeta. He seems like a really nice person and it would be great just to get to know him for real. To find out who the guy is behind the face in the magazine. I'm just a normal girl who would enjoy the chance to just meet someone and have a great time together.

There was a contact number listed underneath. It was short and to the point, but seemed that there was no real ulterior motive that he could tell. This girl just honestly wanted a chance to win and meet someone special. Just like him. It was a risky gamble, but Peeta had to admit that after seeing the picture and reading even this little bit about Katniss that he was hooked. Fascinated even. So much so that he was absolutely dying to get to know more about her. Decision made, he walked over to where Haymitch had fallen asleep on the couch. He nudged the older man to wake him. The agent grumbled and opened his eyes as Peeta spoke.

"This one. I choose this one."