Author's Note: Before I begin my story, I just want to tell everybody that this is my first fanfiction ever, and I hope you enjoy it :) It's an AU, mostly in Katniss' POV. This is a story about what Katniss' life might be like if Snow hadn't been born and the Hunger Games didn't exist. If you like it don't forget to review (:

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins is the owner of this amazing trilogy. This story is mine, although the characters are not.

Chapter 1

Katniss' POV

I sat on my porch with Prim, watching Gale walk towards us. Tonight he was leaving. His mother had remarried, and they were all going to live in District 2. Gale didn't want to, I could tell. But he kept telling me that he didn't mind going.

He smiled happily at us. "Hiya Prim. Hi Catnip." He looked into my eyes, and I could see that although he was trying to look happy, he felt miserable. "Have you packed everything?" I asked.

He nodded and turned to Prim. "Prim, I'm really going to miss you. Look after your sister for me. And stop feeding Buttercup, he's turning into a pig." He said and half-smiled. "Of course Gale, and Buttercup isn't fat, he's just very healthy!" She turned around and walked into the house. I chuckled.

Gale looked at me. "You know how I feel about you, Katniss. We could still run away. Our families would be fine. I-" I put my arms around him. "No Gale. You have to go. For your family. For yourself. You'll be happier there. Don't worry, we'll all be fine, and you'll be used to District 2 in no time. I'll send you a letter every 2 weeks, OK?" He smiled sadly. "OK.. I'll write you a letter as soon as I get there. Bye Catnip."

He gave me one last hug and walked away. I couldn't believe it. He was one of my only friends. Of course there was also Madge. But Gale was my best friend. I loved him. He had asked me before if I wanted to be his girlfriend, but I never said yes. He was like the brother I never had.

I looked at my best friend for the last time, and walked back in to the house.

Later that day..

Prim was jumping around the house looking for her schoolbooks. Tomorrow was the first day of school again. I was happy I still had Madge. I never particularly liked school, but I'd get in to trouble if I didn't go. And Madge made it bearable enough.

I grabbed my schoolbag and filled it with my books. I then checked my bike to see if the wheels were still pumped up. Most kids in the area went to school with their car or motorcycle. But since my Dad had died, we didn't have a lot of money. So Prim and I went to school on small bikes. It was still better than walking all the way.

I set my alarm clock for 7 and put Prim to bed. My mum wasn't home yet. She never came home till about 11 P.M., and then she had to leave again at 6 A.M.. So we never actually saw our mother. I didn't mind. I had stopped relying on her years ago.

I walked to my bedroom and looked out of my window. Across my bedroom window was the window of the neighbors' house. Gale lives there. Well, lived there. I forgot he didn't anymore.

When I woke up the next morning, it wasn't because my alarm clock went off. It was because there was a lot of noise coming from outside. I grabbed my old slippers and went outside.

People were already moving in to Gale's old house. That was quick. I saw a man, he didn't look to old. He was staring and walked over to me.

"Hi, I'm Mr. Mellark, we just moved here." He said friendly. "I'm Katniss Everdeen, we're your neighbors. Nice to meet you." He shook my hand and smiled at me. He seemed very nice. Prim came running towards us.

"Hi, I'm Prim, are you our new neighbor?" She asked the smiling man. "Yes, you must be Katniss' sister. Nice to meet you Prim" Prim smiled and ran back into the house.

"You have an adorable little sister" Mr. Mellark said. I smiled. It wasn't the first time I had heard that. Everybody just seemed to love Prim.

"Ah, I'll show you the rest of the family," said Mr. Mellark, "That boy over there, that's Rye, he's one of my three sons. And that one, that's Leo." He said proudly, obviously he was very fond of his sons. "And that's … my wife." His shoulders dropped and the smile vanished.

I looked at the woman and was surprised. The two boys I saw looked very happy, like their father. But the mother looked like someone just told her she only had 24 hours left to live.

"You'll have to meet my other son later, he must be inside at the moment. Anyway, I'll let you get dressed," he said teasingly, looking at my pajamas, "It was nice meeting you Katniss!" He waved and went back to helping his sons carry some boxes.

I waved back and went inside to get ready for school. Before I knew it I was parking my bike and waiting for Madge. She was always 5 minutes later than me, because she had a chauffeur to bring and collect her from school.

I finished locking my bike and stepped back. "Ow!" I accidentally stepped on someones toe. It was Madge. "Sorry Madge." I smiled, apologizing. "It's okay. You ready for another year full of fun and games?" She asked, sarcastically. I grunted and we walked in to school. A lot of our classes were at the same time, but I now had maths and Madge had history. So I sat down at a chair down the back. There was then only one seat left, right next to mine.

From the corner of my eye I saw someone sit down a few moments later. I didn't communicate with anybody except for Madge and Gale really, so I usually avoided eye contact with other people.

"Hi." I looked to my right and saw a blonde boy, with the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. He looked at me with a gigantic smile on his face. "I'm Peeta Mellark, I'm new here." He shook my hand and then looked at me. I realized I had been staring and saying nothing. "I- I'm Katniss Everdeen. I think I met your father this morning." He looked surprised. "My father did mention something about meeting our new neighbors. So we live next to each other. Great!" He smiled and I couldn't stop myself from smiling too.

Something about him just made me feel.. happy. The class began and the teacher started talking. I kept glancing at Peeta. He was quite tall, had big muscles and always looked happy. When he caught me staring at him, I instantly looked away and felt my face turn into a tomato. He grinned and I felt myself turning even redder.

The class finally ended, I grabbed my books and nearly ran to my locker. There was something about Peeta.. something that made him be all I could think about.

Authors Note: So this was my attempt at an AU-story. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this story, probably will if I get some reviews. Oh and I'm terribly sorry if the grammar is wrong. I'm only 14 and my first language isn't English. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you like the idea as much as I do! :)