Hey there! I wanted to thank Kpfan72491, everlasting1286 and kamjam for their reviews. I'm at the beginning, so thank you for the support!

Remember, I haven't a beta, so the mistakes are all mine.

Here chapter 2!

P.s. I do not own anything of The Hunger Games trilogy.

Chapter 2

It's one of those afternoons.

Usually, Katniss goes straight home after school, walking or getting a lift on Gale's truck. But today she wants to stay as far as possible from that house. Why? Cray is back from a trip in Spain: he stayed away less than usual, and Katniss is not prepared to face him again so soon.

The last period's bell has just rang, so she walks outside. She calls Maysilee explaining to her that she'll go to archery practice with Gale, even if truth be told, her best friend is right now underground, working his ass off for his family for at least five more hours. Maysilee doesn't know this, so she lets her go. She tells Katniss she has to be home by dinner time. After have said good-bye to Madge, she heads for the woods. It's the Natural Reserve of Panem City's County, and only the 80% of the area is open to the public; it's not that frequented, though. The most of the people like to hang out in the city.

But not Katniss and Gale. After they had explored all of that 80%, they wanted to see the remaining woods. Last summer, they passed days in the proibited woods, making it their home, a place where they could escape everytime they needed it. Or just to think, like Katniss.

That summer is Katniss's favourite one: Cray had been abroad (somewhere near Italy, Katniss didn't ask much) for both July and August and had returned only when school had already started. Katniss was in "free-mood", staying out of the house for most of the day, usually alone. But the time with Gale had been special.

When she was alone in the woods, she meticulously planned her escape, writing every single detail in a red notebook. It wasn't nothing special really. After all, Katniss had always thought she isn't important for other people's life, and those who cared about her... they'll forget about me quickly.

Today is a planning-day, so she has got her notebook in her school bag, ready for the woods. But she walks first to The Hob, the local bar near school: she usually hangs out there with Gale and Madge on Friday night. Now, it's full of students. At the counter, she asks for a take-out diet coke and a sandwich.

"Hello to you too, Sweetheart." a voice behind her says. She turns around and finds the one and only Haymitch Abernathy.

Katniss has never thought a person could drink gin and tonic so easly even in the early morning.

"Good afternoon, Haymitch." she says "What brings you here? Oh, let me guess..." she puts her index finger on her chin, pretending to be thinking, "Gin and tonic or free beer?"

He grins. "That's a damn hard guess, you know."

"Mmmh... Gin and tonic: that's my answer." He mouths the word loser and then puts his elbows on the counter. "Beer, please."

She laughs. Haymitch is always here at The Hob. Pepper, the bartender, once had said Katniss he's lost his only daughter in a car accident right after he divorced with her mother. It was ten years ago, and he still grieves his pain in alcohol. He was fired for always being drunk on work hours, even if Katniss doesn't know what he did for living. Now, jobless but with lot of money aside, he lives alone and drunk.

"And you, what brings you here, Sweetheart?" he asks her. "Lunch." she replies, handing Pepper the money and walking towards the door. "Take care, oldman!" she calls out. She doesn't know, though, that Haymitch was still smiling.


The leaves glitters under the sun and the frost of the night slowly melts with the day heat. Her and Gale's rendezvous spot is a great rock on the lake shore. They had found it the fourth day of exploration that summer: it was mid-July and the hot air was almost unbearable. Right after they spotted the glittery surface, they dived in the water. They spent the day on the rock, laughing in the sunlight : it was the best day of Katniss's life. She hopes it was Gale's, too.

Obviously, Gale's side of the rock is now empty. She sits by the invisible form of her best friend and eats the sandwich in peace, looking at the water, like she would eventually see something coming out of there.

She had been staring under the sun for half an hour, when she hears a noise coming from the tree line behind her. She quickly turns around, eyes wide examining her surroundings carefully.

She grabs her bow and arrows from under her side of the rock, where she usually keeps it. Standing up, she bents the bow, waiting for a wild animal to come out of the forest and on the lake shore. Eventually, she can make out in the distance a human form. A boy. Blonde curly hair flying up and down as he walks in Katniss's direction. He exits the forest.

She finds herself face to face with Peeta Mellark.


His sparkly blue eyes are looking around, fascinated by the nature of the lake. Now, they pose on Katniss's bented bow, the arrow ready to fire in Peeta's direction. With his mouth agape, he puts his hands up.

Even if she recognizes him, she doesn't let go of the bow. "What are you doing here?" she asks.

He looks perplexed, like it's obvious. "Ehm, I was... I-I was walking around." he mumbles.

She finally lets her guard off, but not the scowl. He relaxes and breathes in the cold air.

She walks towards him, never looking away from his eyes. Now she stands in front of him.

"Well, you can go." she says, pointing to the forest with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Ehm, I... I don't really know where I am." he says, passing a hand through his curls. He glances at the ground, a nervous smile on his lips. "I was litterally walking around, and I got lost."

She rolls her eyes. "No one is allowed here." she lectures him, "It's beyond the reserve limits."

His face falls. "And why are you here then?". She frowns. His grin from the day they met returns. "Let's pretend I've never seen you here, and you can walk me back." he puts is hand out "Deal?" She looks at it and gets it: he's offering to don't say anything.

She smiles, "Deal." and shakes his hand.


The walk is pretty quite, only the sound of his feet in the air. She rolls her eyes for the hundredth time, guiding him to where he arrived from.

He speaks up. "Really... why were you there?" he asks "Like you said, no one is allowed to be out of the reserve limits."

From ahead of him, she replies "I'm not that strict about this place's rules."

"Yeah, I noticed."

He never talks again until they reach the fence that delimits the Reserve from the prohibited area.

"So... thank you for walking me back here." he says turning to Katniss.

"I think we're even." she replies, looking in his eye. He nods.

She starts to walk away towards the lake, when he calls out her name. "Yeah?" she says.

"See you at school." and smiles.