Hi guys. This is my first attempt at Fanfiction. Hopefully I do it some justice. Appreciate any helpful comments and reviews. Even if it's just to let me know if I should continue or not.

I intend no copyright infringement at all. The story is my own idea. Characters are owned by the awesome Suzanne Collins and all other incorporated parties.

Thanks Again.

There's nothing like your senior year in high school to bring up a sense of nostalgia. Sure it's been a great run and as all the good and bad things you've done come up, you also remember everything you haven't. There's only one thing Peeta hasn't done and it's the one that's eating him up alive inside.

It has been tradition every year. Just as summer is dwindling down a large, bright manila envelope gets delivered with the mail. It is both a good and bad thing when it comes. For one, the envelope contains the school schedule; basically the guide to life for that year. On the other hand, it signifies that school, the last year, is only a few weeks away. Peeta spends this time of year with his best friend, Finnick. This year, they both managed to get jobs as lifeguards on the beach. To say Peeta didn't have a good time would be a lie. Originally, he had planned to work the summer at the bakery, but Finnick talked him into life guarding, claiming it would "take his mind of things." And it sure did. Peeta was 17 going on 18 and it finally looked like puberty was finished with him. He was relatively tall with a body to die to for. All those years of football and basketball had paid off on his toned body. Not to mention, he spent the entire summer basically fighting away all the girls at the beach alongside Finnick. They were trying to save peoples lives all day and all girls wanted to do was distract them both with incessant flirting and their skimpy bikinis.

It was a welcome distraction that summer, but as school reared its ugly head, Peeta realized that he still only craved the attention of the one girl who wouldn't give him the time of day. Katniss Everdeen. She ran through his mind all day regardless. Even though he had barely spoken to her in 10 years, his mind drifted to her. He had so many other accomplishments in his life, but the day he actually spoke to her was his biggest. The memory is still vivid in his mind.

Flashback

"Okay. Next point - Game Point." a seven year old Peeta says to a seven year old Cato. Dribbling at mid court on the blacktop, Peeta starts to approach Cato.

"Cheater! You know that last point didn't count." Cato yells at Peeta.

"Which point the one before, or the other eight before that?" Peeta smirks at Cato.

"Let's get this over with Mellark."

Even at seven, Peeta was a star athlete. Dribbling the ball quickly and efficiently, Peeta approached Cato, spin moved himself past Cato and made his way to the rim. Cato, being the sore loser he was, knew he was beat. So as Peeta went for his lay up, for the win, Cato clipped his leg and knocked him over. He thinks the ball went in signifying his win but he doesn't remember that. He remembers black and blood. He remembers someone gently lifting him of the turf and holding a rag to his head. He remembers her beautiful grey eyes looking down at him as his head rested on her lap.

"Are you okay?" a young seven year old Katniss asks worriedly to Peeta.

"I think so. Are you?" Peeta asks this beautiful girl.

She laughs at him. Then she responds,

"I am, but I'm not the one who hit their head on the concrete."

There's a gash at the side of his head where he fell. As he tries to sit up, the world spins and he is forced back in her lap.

"Take it easy," Katniss eases his head back down. She runs her hands through his hair and stares at him like a mom does.

"I like your hair." Peeta who has been playing with the end of her braid snaps Katniss out of her thoughts.

"I was thinking the same about yours." Katniss responds. She then hears her mom in the background calling for her. With that, she runs her hand through his hair one last time. Then she bends down and places a small kiss on Peeta's head where his injury is and tells him, "All better."

She helps him to his feet and scurries away. Peeta is reeling. Not sure if it was from the blow to the head or the kiss Katniss gave him. As he stands there with a bunch of thoughts running through his head he hears his angel one last time.

"You won by the way."

It's funny how when your young and know ten different words you can formulate a coherent sentence. Ten more years of education later and he can't get more than one word out to her. He's snapped out of memory lane when he hears Finnick.

"So Peeta, did we get any classes together this year?" Finnick asks Peeta.

"Uh, looks like Phys Ed and sociology. Remind me again why I'm taking sociology?" Peeta asks, remembering Finnick had talked him into choosing it as an elective, in hopes they would have class together.

"Yo the teacher is hot. And I heard it was an easy A." Finnick winks at him. "I wonder if Katniss has any classes with us." Peeta laughs at the way Finnick mockingly says her name. "Hey, I can ask Annie if she can get me her schedule or something."

"And how do you think you're going to accomplish that? Annie wouldn't talk to you if you were the last guy on Earth." Peeta laughs at Finnick's dejected frown.

"I got her number from a friend of a friend of a friend. Dude, it is the perfect excuse to talk to her though. Besides, she's going to think me awesome when she realizes I am doing it to play cupid. She's going to love me!" Finnick happily exclaims.

"Finnick, don't even stress it. I joke about you, but truth is Katniss wouldn't talk to me either if I was the last guy on Earth. Not to mention, she's got the college guy after her. You know girls, 'Oooh, a college boy. He's so mature.' Blah blah blah. It makes me sick."

"You mean Dale? Come on bro. This is the year of the Peeta. You're king of the school. Every girl at school wants a piece of that ass."

"It's Gale and that is not true."

Peeta never wanted to be king of the school. It came with the territory. He was star quarterback and star power forward on the school teams. He only played though to go to college. Peeta's family had money sure, but he wanted to get to college on his own merit. He had the grades but it was easier for him to get a football or basketball scholarship than an academic one. He didn't want to play forever, even though they already talked about the pros with him. He wanted to go to school for art. He remembered his mother yelling at him when he told her about an art major. She had told him that wasn't a real job. So he settled on a business major.

Peeta also knew that every girl in the school did want "a piece of that ass" as Finnick put it. His future was bright and he was one of the best looking guys at school, next to Finnick. When he started playing football, girls gravitated towards him. Then, when he hit puberty, along with a growth spurt, deep voice, and his jaw line, more girls came. He hated the fact he was so good looking because he didn't know if girls liked him for him or for his looks. As handsome as he got, Katniss didn't even know he was alive.

"Dude, make a move this year. It's your last year. Use that charm and that mug and get her to like you. Look, this may be the last chance you get with her. Don't live with the regret."

They were still at the beach in the sand. As Peeta stared out at the ocean, he knew Finnick was right. It was now or never.

"You're right, Finn. Fuck Gale! It's about time I turned on the Peeta charm." This just might be Peeta's year.