Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. All glory and honour goes to Suzanne Collins. (That goes for the first chapter too...oops..)

A knock on the door woke him up. He slowly rose from the couch, rubbing his eyes, and quietly cursing the person who had woken him up.

'Hurry up Mellark!' cried a voice on the other side of the door.

Peeta smiled. She could wake him up anytime. He walked faster towards the door, and opened it wide; ready for the massive hug that always followed when she visited. He wasn't disappointed.

'Delly.' He said sweetly. 'To what do I owe this honour?'

'No reason. Can't a friend just come by and say hello?' Delly replied, as she crossed the threshold and made her way to his kitchen. She opened a cupboard, took one of the red-and-white striped sweets that Peeta kept in the top drawer under the sink, and sucked on it. She then leaned against the worktop, smiling at her lost friend.

'Yes. If they live next door. Not in a different District.' Peeta laughed. Each time she came, it always amused him how well she knew his house, where everything was, and where everything ought to be when he didn't put them there.

'I missed you.'

'I'm sure you did. But that's not why you're here. I assuming everyone in 12 knows about the ceremony in 2 weeks?'

'Maybe...' Delly replied, in sing-song.

'I'm not going.'

'I knew it. Hence why I'm here'

'And I thought it was because you loved me...'

'Haha. Very funny Mellark. I do love you. And it's because I do that I'm trying to stop you from making a mistake. You can't hide forever. Not from me. Not from District 12. Not from her.'

Peeta sighed. He'd known that as soon as he got the letter, Delly will be down hauling his butt onto the train. She was the second person who had tried to stop him from 'hiding'. That had tried to make him see sense. But that wasn't the problem. He wasn't hiding, he was living.

'I'm not hiding from anyone Delly.'

'Oh come on Peeta! I know I'm not as clever as you, but I'm not an idiot.'

Peeta said nothing.

'You don't have to see her, if you don't want to.'

'This isn't about Katniss.'

'Of course not.'

Peeta said nothing.

'She married Gale, you know. When you left.'

'I know. You remind me of that every time you come round.'

'Because I'm trying to make you see what you're giving up. You're letting another man take what's yours Peeta!'

At this, Peeta started laughing.

'What's mine?' he continued, still laughing. 'Have you ever met Katniss? No-one does, can or ever will own her. Besides, like I said, this is not only about Katniss.'

'Then what is it about Peeta?'

'I can't go back to 12.'

'Why not?'

Silence.

'Peeta?'

'Silence'.

'You can't just avoid it. You're Peeta Mellark for crying out loud. The whole of Panem knows you, knows your story. You and Katniss are the whole reason I can jump in and out of Districts 12 and 13 without batting an eyelid. You, of all people, can't run from it Peeta! You can't run from your home!'

'12 isn't my home!'

'Yes it is!' Delly yelled. She stepped closer to Peeta as she shouted, and it was as if, with that movement both of them realized how loud this conversation had become.

Peeta took a deep breath, before speaking again.

'I can't go back to 12. And not just because of Katniss. Because of everyone. Everything. Do you know I don't eat bread anymore? I take the long way round town just so I don't have to walk past the bakery. So yes, maybe I am running from Katniss. But not because I love her. Because she makes me remember. And it's so much easier to forget. So I don't change into...' Peeta trailed off. 'This ceremony is the worst thing that could possibly ever happen. How can I go to it, when I don't even know if what I'm remembering is real? So no, I'm not going. And that's the end of it Delly.'

And with that, Peeta walked into the living room, and sat on the couch, head in his hands.

Delly, slowly walked over to the living room, and leaned against the door frame.

'I have no idea what you're going through Peeta, so I'm not going to say that I do. But maybe this is a good thing. 'She paused. 'They're going to go through the life of each person who died. Short life stories, but long enough to make it seem meaningful. Maybe this is just what you need. Someone to tell you all of it. Then you will know which ones and real and which are made by the Capitol because, they won't fit with what you've been told. Maybe this will help you start to sort out the memories you've been trying to block out for the last few years. 'She paused again. 'Look at me Peeta.'

He refused to at first. But, after thinking about what she said, he realized she had a point. Besides, she was the first person to stop talking as if the only reason he ran was because of Katniss. The only person to actually begin to realize the real reason for his messed up life. So, slowly, he turned to look at her.

'You need this. I'm only here to help you Peeta. And you need help. And as much as you think it's easier here, you're not going to get better whiling away in District 13. You need to go back to 12. To sort this out properly. Come home Peeta.'

'Do you think he'll show?'

'I never know what that boy's going to do.' Haymitch replied, with his standard drunken slur. He chucked back the remnants of the bottle he was holding, and then looked around for another. When he saw that there was none around him, he wandered around the kitchen, opening every cupboard to try and find his current reason for survival. In the last cupboard, he found half a bottle of whisky.

'Be a doll, Katniss. Stock me up. I can hardly go to town in my 'inebriated' state.'

Katniss sighed. She'd resigned to the fact that Haymitch would be an alcoholic for the rest of his life.

'Fine. Maybe I'll get one for myself too.'

She walked through town, two bags full of alcohol in each hand. If it had been anyone else, a peacemaker would probably would have asked her why she had so much. But it was common knowledge that Katniss did Haymitch's 'grocery' shopping for him. As she walked past the bakery she thought about buying some bread. If she managed to get some down Haymitch, then the bread would soak up some of the alcohol, and maybe he won't be so intoxicated, that they could actually talk about this whole Peeta situation. Peeta Mellark. Even after years of not seeing or hearing from him, his name still caused her to smile. She would never admit it to Gale, but that's part of the reason she insisted on having some sort of bread everyday for dinner. But she also knew that Gale wasn't stupid and probably suspected something. She loved going into the bakery. It was always so warm and cosy, smelling of freshly-cooked bread. But there was always something off whenever she went it nowadays. And she knew exactly what it was. No Mellark behind the counter. All but one was dead. And the only one left had fled. Occasionally, she would come in and she'd see a boy, with big strong arms carrying bags of flour, and she'd temporarily think it was Peeta. Only temporarily. Then reality kicked in, and she was filled with a gaping hole, that even loving and marrying Gale had never managed to fill. In all her thinking, she hadn't realized that she had bought a loaf, and now was just standing, holding up the queue. She turned to the man behind her and apologised, then walked towards the door. Still on auto-pilot. Still thinking. Thinking so much, in fact that she walked straight into someone. The bags clattered to the floor and the sound of breaking grass filled her ears.

'Let me guess. Haymitch?'

She froze. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

'Here. You dropped this.'

She looked up. Saw his cute smile and blue eyes that always sucked her in. His blonde hair shone like it always did. He stood there, holding out her wheat loaf.

'Peeta.' She said, shocked. He was here. Back in District 12. The Boy with the Bread.

Thank you everyone who read this. This is my first ever fan-fic , so please be gentle.I Have no idea how long this will be, i just think as i type.

Shout out to my good friend and beta, Jana. She's the only reason this story makes sense (Although this chapter has not been beta'd yet, i just wanted to put it out, so it may change slightly in the future.)

Lastly, Reviews Please! I hate myself for saying it cause it always pissed me off when i read stories and people wrote this, but as a newbie reviews are highly motivational!