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I don't remember how I ended up in bed last night. All I remember is that the moment we stepped into the house, my heavy eyes finally gave up and closed down like curtains in theatres. I look at my digital clock on the nightstand next to my bed. The red light shows that it's already 9.45.

I sit up on my bed and realize that I'm still in the same clothes as yesterday. I feel too lazy to take a shower but I don't want to smell like hotdog and smoke. I grab my towel from my chair and head out from my room. My eyes are still tired so I'm walking on the hall with half-opened eyes. I then reach the bathroom which is located at the end of the hall and take a quick shower. After the shower, I change into a dark tank top and a pair of shorts that is short enough to expose my legs till my mid thigh. When I get out of the bathroom, I walk past Prim's room and I very slowly turn the knob and push the door open, slightly enough to peek in her room.

She's sleeping soundly on her bed. I quietly step in and walk over to her and examine her tired face. Her blonde hair is spread on her pillow, next to where her hand lays; her mouth is slightly agape which shows how exhausted she is from yesterday's long journey and the carnival. Her blanket covers her right below her shoulders so I pull it up and tuck it under her chin. She shifts a little, and then I stroke her hair softly and kiss her forehead. I get out of her room soon afterwards.

While walking down the stairs, I use my towel to dry my hair and then I notice that Haymitch is making our breakfast; blueberry pancakes. I can smell the delicious scent and immediately my mouth waters. As if sensing me on the stairs of his house, he looks up at me.

"Hey, good morning, sweetheart," he says.

"Morning," I say, surprised with my own good mood.

"Come and have some pancakes, and don't tell me you're going to grab something around the beach cuz you've missed my spaghetti yesterday." He raises a finger at me as a warning gesture, but his face doesn't have a serious look on it.

I chuckle and walk closer to the dining table. "Don't worry. I don't think I'm going anywhere today. My muscles are sore from last night," I tell him, rubbing my aching shoulder and sit down.

"Well you wouldn't feel so tired if you ate my energizing spaghetti before you left," he says, sitting down.

"Maybe, but most likely it's because of I was lacking of my energy drink." Coke is my energy drink.

"How so? I'm pretty sure they sold tons of Coke yesterday. Jeez, you can't believe how many cans I found at my backyard yesterday and I had to throw every single of them."

"Some guy bumped onto me and made me spill it," I confess, shoving the pancake into my mouth, feeling frustrated from the memory.

"Who is this guy?" He asks.

I'm not actually the type of girl who complains whatever problem she's having. But I don't see the harm of telling him, unless he's going to see this guy. That would be embarrassing, so I say, "If I tell you, just don't do anything embarrassing like complaining to his parents or whatsoever."

"Okay," he promises. Somehow I'm unconvinced and I glare at him.

"I promise," he continues, raising his hands to show me he's not crossing his fingers.

Satisfied, I give him an answer. "That guy's name is Peeta Mellark."

He coughs up his coffee, staining the table with dark spots and I immediately lose my appetite when I notice a spot on my pancake. "That Peeta boy?"

I stop chewing. "You know him?"

"Of course I do. He's a good boy. He provides charity to those who need it."

"That's all that you know?"

"Why? Are you interested in him?" He smiles a quirky smile and cocks his eyebrow.

I immediately straighten up on my chair in shock. "I am not!"

He laughs, "I'm just kidding. He's a famous surfer around the city and he has girls all around him."

"Meaning he's a playboy?"

"How should I know? I'm not his parent or something. He also works at the bakery as a part-time job. You wouldn't believe how tasty his breads are. People just hate it every time he had to quit when every summer comes to an end."

Believing I learned enough about Peeta, I take my orange juice and finish it one gulp. "Thanks for the info. I'll be in my room."

And I take off upstairs and shut my door close. I plop down on my bed and grab some magazines that I bought in New York. Flipping through the pages makes me remind my old life there. I roll over so I'm lying down my stomach. I close my eyes and sink myself into the one of the memories when I was still there.

Flashback scene

I see a glimpse of myself roaming around the city at night alone. I was wearing a dark, loose cardigan over a red tank top and a pair of ripped jeans and you can see a glimpse of the skin of my knee and thigh from the holes. In my right hand, I was holding a cup of slushie from Starbucks while my left was somewhere inside my jeans' pocket. I remember I was on my home from looking for a job and Prim was at home with our babysitter, Sae. It was almost 7 months after our parents' death and a week before summer started and I was finding a way to feed her properly. As I walked forward with no destination, my loose hair bounced on my back repeatedly. And then I saw someone walking towards me wobbly, tripping on the gap between the tiles.

"Hey, Kitty," said a drunk guy.

I immediately registered whose voice that belonged to. It was Cato, my ex-boyfriend. He had a bottle of vodka in his hand. His smile was as creepy as a clown. I hate clowns, by the way. The last time I saw him, he had shaved but now his stubble was messy. And his bronze hair was tousled, most likely from a party, or parties he just had.

Most of you might think what type of girl I used to be when you see this guy who used to be my boyfriend: a girl who goes out at nights to a nightclub, have loads of beer, smoke weed, take drugs, and maybe sleep with some random guy. But I wasn't that like that, but yes I did drink but not too much, just enough to quench my thirst. And my top list is NOT to sleep with anyone. Ever.

So yeah, Cato tried to make his way toward me who stayed where I stood at but kept on pushing on people's shoulder and he spat out words such as "Watch where the hell you're going" "Can't you fucking see me?"

I rolled my eyes. This was exactly why I dumped him. Yes, I dump people before they dump me. Honestly I wasn't being sincere to date him. The only reason I went out with him was simply because he was pushy. He chased me all day at school, tried to make me to take me to go school on his car and go home with him after that. Believe me, he even flirted with me when I was at my house. The only way to stop him was to accept him as a boyfriend.

We started dating around March and we only lasted for three months until I reached my limit. He was drunk on one night after a party and I had to bring him home to his apartment. I was glad that he was so drunk at that time that he didn't realize that he spewed some truth. He told me that he only dated me because of a dare that his fellow friends made and if he managed to do so, he could have sex with Clove, a very beautiful girl but very Barbie-ish. And that was when he tried to force me to have sex with him. I remembered how good it felt to kick his dick. I then grabbed a bucket full of cold water and splashed it on his face and I ended our relationship with two simple words: Fuck you.

After the flashback ended, he finally reached me. "What do you want?" I snapped.

He hic-cupped, "Have a drink or two with me." He shook the bottle on my face.

I grimaced from the scent of his body and I covered my nose. "Holy crap! When was the last time you took a shower?"

He hic-cupped again. "I don't know… last week? Two weeks ago?" He then smiled that creepy smile again then he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and he leaned against me. "So are you gonna drink with me?"

I pushed his chest hard and he wobbled backward. "Hell no!" I snapped.

"Oh c'mon, it'll only take a couple of minutes," he insisted, reaching for me again.

I backed away from him. "I said no. I need to go home."

"Why? Scared lonely, little Prim would get worried sick?"

"She's not alone," I told him sharply.

"Whatever. Now c'mon."

"Get the hell away from me!" I shouted, shoving him so hard that he fell down on the floor. I thought he was about to get up and snap at me, instead he passed out cold, snoring heavily in the middle of New York road.

The kindest thing I reluctantly did was calling his friend, Marvel who lived with him to pick him up. I left a note next to him that said: Make sure he takes his shower and never leave him drink alone. I then strode away and arrived at my place safely. It was then I made a decision that Prim couldn't grow up in a place like this and she needed to live in somewhere better than this. And that was when Haymitch gave a call and offered to live with him and I gladly accepted.

End of flashback

My phone suddenly rings, snapping me from my flashback. I grab it and read a text from Delly. I'm glad she sent this because I finally lose myself from the bad memory.

I thought we're going to meet today. So we'll meet at the beach around 12?

I sigh. I forgot I told her last night I'd see her today. I don't want to go to the beach because I know Peeta is going to wait for me. But I don't like breaking promises so I get up from my bed and grab my boots and put them on. I send her a reply.

I'll be there.

So to make you guys less confused, Katniss and Prim's parents' accident happened around November, 7 months before the story starts (story starts during the first day of summer). She dated Cato around March and they dated for 3 months and they broke up around May and they met again during the flashback which was on the 14th of June, a week before they moved in to North Carolina.

I hope you guys are okay with this chapter. The surfing competition scene will happen in the next chapter. Reviews make me smile.