I already uploaded this chapter before, but I had to delete it for some reason.

I do not own The Hunger Games.

Chapter 1

Raised in a wealthy community, it was not surprising to Katniss that all her life, she was taught that once you're on top, you can't ever slip down. Even at a young age, her parents made sure that that in every action, every interaction she would have, something beneficial would come out of it. Think like a business woman, Katniss. Just like what her mother would say.

Her parents were owners of a mining site. And it wasn't just a mining site, where you obtain coals or simple necessities no one cared about in the age of time. It was The Site. Gold? Silver? You would find them. Katniss can guarantee. And she had 30 years of stories of sweetness and pain to support the claim.

It was an enormous challenge for Katniss to follow the footsteps of her parents. But there was no room for fear. A challenge means an opportunity. And opportunities may mean huge amount of money being deposited to her bank account. How can she let that scare her? At 21, she successfully plugged herself in the world of business. Gaining millions of dollars overnight as she helped create the new social media crazed, Capitol Links, that society had fully invested itself in. It was a glorious moment for her. It was a time when the presence of her parents was caught under their own roof. Though when she said time, she meant a single night spent around the dinner table. A once in a blue moon night, when they were complete.

If it was up to her, she would not have minded even informing her parents of the happenings in her life. But young Prim, sweet 17 year old Prim, would. And if it meant putting a smile on her sister's face, then she would resist the itching feel at the back of her mind to change her name. Forget that she is Katniss Everdeen.

If only it was that easy.

But she tried not to fixate on it. 21-year old Katniss Everdeen may not have the best family in the world, but 21-year old Katniss Everdeen had millions of dollars in her bank account. Wasn't that what she was aiming to have? She almost felt invincible. That at a young age, she had been indulging herself with that much success already. But eager Katniss would never settle for good.

One night, she met Cinna. He is the head designer of the biggest fashion brand in Panem, Cinna, of course, he had to name the brand after himself. Katniss became sort of a muse to him without even knowing it. For several seasons, she became the inspiration to several collections of the man. Girl on fire, he would call her.

When she figured it out, she slowly developed an interest in fashion merchandising. Normally, she would hang out with the man, but the more time she spent with him, the more urge she felt into trying that route. Designing. And one sleepless night, she finally gave it a try. Cinna learned about this after a while and in a way, he became her mentor. Teaching her every detail about his personal experiences in designing.

On the 50th anniversary of the brand, 72 years old, Cinna announced in the celebration that he would be retiring. And that she would love to offer to 24-year old Katniss the position that he would be leaving. From there, things just happened. And suddenly, Katniss Everdeen is not just the co-founder of Capitol Links, but also the head designer of Cinna.

She was riding at the back of the world. Literally, she was. Her work with Cinna has been great. In her first year, her designs put on hundreds of million dollars in the earnings of the brand, which solidified her position in the company; meanwhile, her success with her social media stint was still going strong.

What more can she ask for? She is Katniss Everdeen. And this time, it was a name not made by her parents, but by herself.

It was a great life. It was perfect. The last few years had been a success story for her, yet again. She and her Capitol Links co-founders had new ideas about the new site that they would want to start. They knew it would be a hit. Meanwhile her work at Cinna was still going strong. Nothing in the world can put her down.

But in the back of her mind, she knew it was a lie.

And when her 30th birhday came, she knew she can't live in denial anymore.

Present:

After a grueling time in Fashion Week, she feels like her body will just drop at any moment. But that doesn't stop her from going back to Twelve. And there she is, right at the town that she knows like the back of her hand.

Not much has changed.

As she looks around, she starts to remember memories she has had at this place. She wants to ignore the hollow feeling within her, but she just lets it through.

How did I forget all of these?

Passing at the Hob, she remembers those times she spent with her friends there after a boring prom night when she was a Senior high school. She remembers how happy she was with Annie and Johanna, all those people she spent all her laughs with in that year.

She drives along the expressway and thinks about the way she laughed with Gale and Finnick about nothing as they drove in that exact same road. Fun times, good old times. She tells herself.

She has kept in touch with them. But they all have busy schedules. Though, just few months ago, she was with Gale and his girlfriend, Madge. They were in Four, having dinner at a restaurant beside a beach talking about the vast improvement that Gale's business had been experiencing lately. After finishing the course of meal laid out to her, Katniss asked them if they wanted to walk in the shore with her. Madge agreed, but Gale told her that he had something to say to Madge. And he wanted Katniss to be a witness.

It wasn't that much of a surprise when Gale proposed to Madge. They've been together for quite some time. And if it wasn't for Gale's busy schedule in the past years, Katniss thought the couple would've been married earlier.

Marriage.

Being 30, Katniss knows her expiration date would come soon. Or if it hasn't yet. It's not like she's desperate to get married. Or that guys are resistant to get involved with her. In fact, there are couple of men in her life. The recent lover she had was Darius, a head of a security agent company. Thinking about it, she did have a good time with him. But she realized soon enough that she only enjoyed his company in bed. And she had a feeling their feelings were mutual about it.

One night, after some intimate moment, the man talked to her quietly, telling her that he found a girl. He told Katniss how thankful he was that she gave him what she wanted for the past year. And all gibberish that Katniss translated to, "Thank you for letting me fuck you for the past year. Here's my farewell fuck."

She didn't feel betrayed because they were never official, but she still can't shake the thought that maybe if she tried a little harder, and did not label her relationship with him as what it was, then maybe things could've gone further.

As the man left, she told herself, "Nahhh, you'll find someone new."

But of course, she didn't.

Feeling nostalgic and hungry, she decides to stop by Sae. Thinking of ordering her favorite dish, lamb stew.

The thing that I'll always come back at in 12.She smiles.

As she enters, a blonde lady directs her to a table. Katniss does not bother asking for the menu, and immediately orders a Lamb Stew. The girl smiles and asks if she still has anything to order. Katniss looks at the name tag of the girl in front of her, and she returns the smile.

"No. That's it for now, Delly." Delly smiles widely once again, and Katniss reminds herself to give her a generous tip later on. Genuine smiles rarely come in Katniss' life nowadays.

After few minutes, a young man, approaches her table with her order. Katniss does not miss the way the guy's eyes widen. She doesn't understand why. But she pushes the thought aside as she takes a good look at him.

He is tall. That is the first thing she noticed. She suddenly wonders where else he is gifted length wise.

The guy has blonde hair and extremely blue eyes. It's almost like she is looking at the beautiful, blue ocean in Four. She can't help but admire how perfectly symmetrical his face is. Through his thin polo shirt, he could almost see what he was hiding underneath.

It takes her a while to realize that she is staring at him. And that he can clearly see that. But she certainly doesn't care. Seeing the effect that it has on him.

"Here is your order." He says in his deep voice, avoiding her gaze. "Have a nice dinner."

"Thank you." She replies, and before he could turn away, she discreetly looks at his nameplate… Peeta.

Peeta.

She licks her lips and eats her dinner in silence. Although, once in a while, she'll sneak a glance at Peeta. She knows, he knows she is looking. And he is still clearly trying to avoid her gaze by keeping a serious look on his face. Somehow, the expression doesn't fit with his soft features. But oddly, she finds it extremely sexy that she finds it impossible to keep her eyes off of him.

She finished her dinner. And when she is about to call for the bill, she sees that Peeta is finally looking at her. But he quickly turns back when he meets her gaze. And she couldn't help but make an impression on the way Peeta's ass was caught up in his jeans…

Fuck. At that point, she knows. She's fucking this boy tonight.

When he finally turns around, she raises a hand to him. The guy quickly comes over. "What can I do, ma'am?"

She asks what dessert he can recommend, and he tells her that the cheese cake is good.

"Okay, then." Nodding at his suggestion.

"Anything else?" He asked. His Adam's apple bobs and she crosses her arms, looking up at him. "Are you originally from here?" Surprised at the question, he nods. When he returns with the cheese cake, she doesn't hesitate to ask.

"When is your shift ending?"