Effie is sitting in her living room couch reading a magazine, when a picture of a girl wearing a necklace with a pink diamond catches her attention.
"A pink diamond. Is it possible that it has really been eighteen years already." Effie mumbles to herself.
"Eighteen years from what?" Steven Mellark steps inside the living room wearing a tuxedo.
"Oh it's nothing. Me and some women from the club were planning on hosting a tennis camp to help the children that live in the streets. Your presence would really help us, especially for the promotion of the event." Effie says gently.
"Oh please Effie." Steven says with an angry voice, walking away from his wife.
"Steven please." Effie walks after the man.
"I'm a really busy man." he doesn't listen to Effie.
That's when Steven's oldest son Finnick walks in and he starts to walk after his father and his step mother Effie.
"Oh please dad." Finnick starts.
"If you have nothing to do with your life, than do whatever you want Effie. But don't pull me in this." Steven says rudely, while he walked up the stairs of his mansion, his son and his wife following quickly behind.
"Dad can you explain to me what I just heard from the office?" Finnick asks with a warning tone in his voice.
"What?" Steven says, but doesn't bother to stop walking or turn around to look at his son.
"That you just named my brother Peeta as the general manager, that's what I heard." Finnick says with an angry voice.
"Well that is the place that he deserves. He knows what he is doing, and he is my son, not untalented and inept like you."
"No dad, you know very well that I deserved that place." Finnick goes on.
"Now you listen to me, you lost your chance when you married that stupid worthless woman and moved to Spain. And of course then you come back, divorced and with your tail in between your legs. Peeta has the brains and what you are missing in between your legs."
Effie stand next to Finnick awkwardly listening to the two men fighting.
"No dad, you are the one who should be worrying about what you are missing in between your legs. Don't you see the face of need and sadness that your wife has?" Finnick says pointing at Effie.
Effie just gasps in shock.
"What the hell is your problem, huh?" Steven says stepping closer to his son, their faces only inches apart, both ready for a fight.
"Hey, hey hey, Steven calm down please." Effie pulls his husband away from Finnick.
"You know, you are a loser, and you can't stand that your brother is better than you." Steven laughs.
"Your brother Peeta deserves that spot so much more than you. He really is like me." Steven says before he walks away.
X
Finnick steps into his room and slams the door, throws his jacket with force into his bed before he changes his shirt.
Effie walks into his room slowly.
"I'm sorry Effie, I didn't mean to offend you." Finnick mumbles.
"I know. In a way you were right. I don't really have a happy face."
Finnick takes a deep breath in.
"Listen to me. You can't keep fighting like this with your father. Try to understand him. It still hurts him that you left to Spain five years ago. He had high hopes for you in the company." Effie says.
"That is a lie. The thing is that he always loved Peeta more. Peeta was always the best sport player, the most intelligent one, the lady's man. Effie those words, I have them in my head, ever since I was little. And to top it all of, I leave to Spain, and he takes my room. Nobody tells him anything." Finnick tries to explain.
When the anger gets too high, Finnick just takes his jacket and leaves, leaving Effie alone.
X
Now Finnick opens the door to Peeta's room and that's where he spots him.
"Where are you going?" Peeta asks his brother.
"Congratulations for being the new general manager of Aqua." Finnick says sarcastically.
"Next time knock before you open the door to my room. One day your going to catch me with a girl here." Peeta smiles while he packs his suitcase.
"Your a traitor."
"Ha. Traitor no, winner my dear brother. There is a difference."
"You know nothing about the company. Your going to break us just going after women, like you always do." Finnick says annoyed.
"That is why I know so much more about women than you. I know every single detail of the woman's body. I know what they like, what looks good in them. And I don't even know why you're so angry at me. It's not my fault that your stupid." Peeta says with a cocky smile.
"Falling in love, is not stupid. Unless you fall for the wrong girl." Finnick says with a sad impression.
"Finnick, all the women should be treated the same. You use them and then you throw them away, like gum. Yes, well unless you need them for something else."
"That's why you have a girlfriend called Glimmer?" Finnick says with a disgusted voice.
"Of course. Glimmer is the heiress of Charlie Everdeen. When he dies, she will all of his money. And when that happens, I'm going to brake their company, leave them with nothing. How does it sound?" Peeta asks proudly.
"It sounds like your sick." Finnick says before he walks away.
Peeta touches his forehead as if to see if he has a fever. "No, no I don't feel sick." he yells after Finnick before he continues packing his suitcase.
X
In the Everdeen's mansion Misses Everdeen is walking to the living room when Charlie's sister Maggs starts to help her with walking.
"Let go of me, I might be blind but I'm not useless." Katherine snapped.
"Well hello hello family. Grandma Katherine and aunt Maggs. And of course my daddy." A blonde tall and slim girl walks in the living room, wearing a red dress and high heels. She places a kiss on Plutarch's, her dads cheek.
"Hi Glimmer." Plutarch tiredly mumbles from behind his coffee cup.
"Oh you just won't believe the day that I have had. All alone outside and bored." Glimmer sighs, while touching her hair.
This is where Charlie walks in the living room to join them.
"Glimmer, who is the boy that drove you home yesterday?" Charlie Everdeen asks the girl with a firm voice.
"My boyfriend Peeta." Glimmer says proudly.
"Peeta, what? His full name?" Charlie goes on.
Glimmer takes a deep breath in and says his full name through gritted teeth.
"Peeta Mellark."
"So what I heard is true. Listen your going to go tell that bastard right now to never come close to you again and that if he puts one leg in this house.."
"Listen grandpa. with all due respect, Peeta is not a bastard, he is my boyfriend and we love each other. And it's not his fault that you and Peeta's dad have your own problems and fights, I think you're both old enough to solve them alone. I'm not going to leave Peeta just because you and Mr. Mellark are fighting. Why don't you just ..
"Shut up Glimmer." Charlie yelled.
"And you better start telling the story of that shitty Mellark family to your daughter. Unless you think the same way as she does. And if that's the case.." Charlie says pointing at Plutarch.
"No, no uncle, of course not." Plutarch says before he pulles Glimmer with him.
At this point Katherine is already up trying to walk to Charlie when once again Maggs starts to help her walking.
"Let her be. She can walk alone. Since she suffered from that mysterious fall that left her blind, she has become an expert." Charlie says with disgust.
"Mysterious nothing. It was an accident. Don't blame me for that too." Katherine answers coldly before she walks away. Alone.
"Why so much hate towards your wife Charlie?" Maggs asks.
"For what she did to me, I will never forgive that woman."
"What could she have done that is so terrible that you cannot forgive your own wife? I remember when you got married. You were so much in love. But ever since I moved into this house, I have yet not seen even one act of love." Maggs tries.
At the same time Katherine is walking in the hallway.
"Eighteen years. Eighteen." Charlie mumbles.
"What is it that Katherine did to you?"
Katherine walks close to the living room, where the door is closed.
"She embarrassed me. She offended me in the worst way possible and after eight years, she filled me with pain."
"The pain was caused because she forced you to send Madge into that institution right?"
"Right."
At this point Katherine took her sunglasses that she kept inside at all times, off of her face, she moved a painting that was hanging in the wall, and through a small hole that she had made years ago before she faked her "accident." watched Maggs and Charlie talking.
"I think that she just lost her mind after her son died. Try to understand her a little bit. But what is the thing that she did to you eighteen years ago, the thing that embarrassed you, that offended you?"
"Eighteen years ago, she forced me to get rid of something.."
"Of what?" Maggs begs.
"No..nothing. But my grandchild Madge wasn't guilty of anything. But Katherine always hated her. Katherine never accepted that her son married the woman that she didn't like. That is why she hated Madge. If I'm honest she never wanted her son to have any woman. But her hatred got stronger after the accident where her son and his wife died, and only Madge survived. That's why I wanted to take Madge away from that hatred. Since those eight years, my poor granddaughter has basically been abandoned in that institution."
Katherine watches the pair, with anger in her eyes. She was boiling inside.
X
"Katniss I was looking for you all morning, what happened, did you talk with Miss Margaret?" Madge asked Katniss with a worried voice.
"Yes. And she gave me this." Katniss says with a frown, holding the diamond necklace in her other hand.
"That witch giving you jewelry?" Madge asked in shock.
"What do you think? No, she told me that the woman who abandoned me here asked Miss Margaret to give give it to me when I turned eighteen." Katniss says this with a tired, non happy voice.
"She also told me that I have to leave the Institution."
"Don't worry about that, you can come live with me. What do you think of us going to work on my grandfathers company. Don't forget that he is the owner of one of the countries best company's." Madge smiles.
"Well, let's just say that I'm really starting to like the idea." Katniss says smirking.
Madge hugs Katniss.
"You know I love you right?" Madge asked sweetly.
"I love you too." Katniss laughs.
X
"I can't believe that you're spending your vacation to celebrate you being the new general manager of Aqua in this side of town." Gale, Peeta's best friend says while Peeta checks in in the hotel of the slightly poorer side of town.
"Shut up mate." Peeta laughs.
At the same time in the institution Katniss and Madge are walking around and laughing.
"I can't believe that Miss Margaret said that." Madge laughs.
"Well she did. She told me that She is very worried because I'm a bad influence on you." Katniss says in a mocking tone.
"Oh please. I think that she is forgetting that I already turned eighteen. And she is acting as if I'm an idiot." Madge says slightly offended.
"But well..can we please escape to the city today?" Madge asks with her sweet voice.
"Uh..I don't think so Madge. I don't want another fight with that old woman." Katniss answers.
In the other side of town, Gale and Peeta walk out of their hotel room, to explore the city.
"I can't take care of the office every day..I need some time to relax. In fact I need a little taste of a good cookie. What do you think if to celebrate we get ourselves some good looking chicks?" Peeta asks making Gale laugh.
"I think it sound perfect. And what do you think of getting a new chick for every day?" Gale says.
"You are a genius. And I'm going to turn my phone off, so that Glimmer won't disturb me. Eh, let's go change and let's start the hunting yeah?" Peeta smiles his commercial smile his blue eyes sparkling.
Back in the institution where Katniss is still talking with Madge, Cato interrupts the two girls.
"Madge, Miss Margaret wants to see you."
"Oh god. Wish me luck." Madge tells Katniss before she turns around to head to Margaret's office.
"So I heard that you escape every night to the city, huh?" Cato asks Katniss.
"They tell me that you go out looking for guys." Cato says.
Katniss looks at the man with her eyebrows raised.
"Yes, why not." she lies.
"Because you don't have to go that far. My room is so close." Cato says with a flirtatious voice, while he walks around Katniss.
"Look, maybe I can go to look for guys in the city, but I don't need pigs like you." she says, and she is walking away when he grabs her arm.
Katniss gives a disgusted laugh. "Get your hands off of me." she says through gritted teeth.
"Be careful with me, because if you lay just one finger in me.." Katniss says with a sweet voice while she runs her hand through Cato's shoulder and takes her finger slowly down and down and bam, she kicks him right in between his legs.
"..You won't be as lucky as now." she finishes her sentence and walks away.
Leaving Cato swearing in pain.
"I swear that one day I'm going to wipe that smile out of your face." he mumbles.
X
"I know that you and Katniss have been friends since you were both very little, but Madge honey, Katniss is a very bad influence for you. I think that slowly you should start to get away from her, and make new friends. Someone more, from your level." Margaret says sweetly, while she laughs.
"Katniss has been with me in my better and in my worst. I'm not worried because she isn't in my level." Madge says firmly.
"Oh, Madge. You just don't notice because you are such a good girl. But Katniss envies you."
"That's not true. Katniss is not only a friend to me. She is like my sister."
"Oh, please Madge. Katniss sees in you everything that she couldn't have. Money, class, a grandpa that loves you, and those expensive shoes, your clothes, all of that."
"I'm going to have to ask you to stop talking like this about my friend. I really love her Miss Margaret."
"Okay, don't tell me later that I didn't warn you." Margaret says with a smirk.
"Oh, and another thing, your grandpa called, he is going to visit you. You can go now." Margaret says.
"Thank you." Madge smiled and walked away.
Margaret is left making mocking faces of Madge.
"She is my very good friend ugh." Margaret repeats in a mocking tone.
She then takes out her eighteen white diamonds that she never used for Katniss's education. She never used any of them. She always gave Katniss used old clothes and used broken books. She would only buy her cheap and unhealthy food, and she would never let the girl out.
"My diamonds." Margaret laughs.
X
Katniss quietly sneaks out of the institution, and goes for a walk in the city. At the same time Peeta Mellark is drinking his first shot, and when he brings his glass down, well that's when he sees her for the very first time walking in the street wearing her red jacket and white shirt, and her blue short skirt, her costume in the institution. Her long brown hair curls a little in the end, but it hangs loosely in her lower back.
For a second Peeta just stares at her, as she passes him, and that's when Gale comes back with their drinks.
"So I brought.." Gale started but Peeta cut him off.
"Look at that, a schoolgirl. I love them." Peeta says while he stares at the girl.
"No Peeta, don't get yourself in problems." Gale starts.
"That's how I like them." Peeta says, and then he gets a ring out of his pocket.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Gale cries.
"I'm going to use the plan C. I have to go, she's getting away." Peeta says quickly and then he is up from his chair and running after the poor girl.
Katniss is slowly walking when she hears a voice behind her.
"Hi." Peeta says.
"I knew that I was going to find you." Peeta says with his acting voice.
"Me?" Katniss asks her eyebrows raised.
"Yes, you." Peeta reaches for Katniss's hand.
"A gypsy in Spain read my hand and she told me that today at 4 pm. in this very same street in front of this building, I was going to meet my future wife." he then kissed her hand gently, his eyes never leaving hers as he places the ring that he got from his pocket on her finger.
With that Katniss looks at the time from Peeta's clock.
"Well looks like you lost your future wife honey, because it's twenty past five." Katniss says pulling her arm away.
"But hey, I like your ring, I'm gonna keep it." she smiles and with that walks away leaving the man intrigued and his blue eyes sparkling.
Katniss walked to the lake and she stops there to admire her new ring with a huge smile on her face.
"So you kept the ring that was meant for my future wife. And now your here, alone." Peeta says making Katniss's smile freeze.
"I'd rather be alone than with bad people." Katniss says walking to the other side, so that she wouldn't be close to Peeta.
"Ha ha, looks like you're a hard piece of cake? What do you want, I can dance for you, sing to you, or kiss you." Peeta states.
Katniss turns around to face him and laughs.
"Well at least I made you laugh." Peeta smiles.
"You really are beautiful." he softly says.
Now Katniss looks at him. Really just looks at him with a genuine smile playing across her lips. She was stunned by the deep blue color of his eyes. And god, he was good looking.
"If I'm honest I lied to you. I don't know how to dance. But you have two options. I can sing you a song. Or kiss you." he says again, his eyes blue eyes locking with her silver ones.
"And really, I'm not in the mood to sing anything right now."
And with that he stepped closer to her, closing any escape for the girl because she was pressed against the wall, and his arm was above her head.
And then he slowly and sweetly pressed his lips against hers.
They kiss for a while, until she pulls herself away.
"Didn't you like it?" Peeta asks his eyes still closed.
"No." she says shortly, before she presses her lips against his again as their second kiss.
This kiss was more dangerous, more passionate and so much more deeper.
It was a kiss that Peeta really didn't want to break and that does not happen often.
Soon he had to break the kiss and when he did, Katniss gave him a sweet and soft smile.
"And now, what do you think?" Peeta asks while he wears his cocky smile.
In just one second, Katniss slapped him hard across the face.
The face of shock that Peeta Mellark was wearing now, replacing his cocky grin, was priceless.