Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games.

What's Real

~Chapter 2~

Katniss

A couple days of being home and doing minimal chores had quickly bored Katniss. She felt confined, unable to go anywhere. Technically, she was. She wasn't allowed to go out on her own and everyone was too tired or too busy to go out when they came back home. Katniss was itching to go out and explore Panem. She wasn't sure how exactly it looked, but she knew that, since she lived in this town- had once remembered this town like the back of her hand-, that she could probably get around just fine.

She'd brought it up during dinner one day. It was actually her third day home. She was already tired of exploring the house. She already discovered every single secret passage, looked at all the nooks and crannies. The place felt familiar. Sometimes, she'd actually reach for something like she did it a million times before. Like muscle memory. She was familiar with her surroundings. She needed more of a distraction.

"Well, what would you do?" her mother asked.

"She could walk around town by herself, she's a big girl," her father commented. "She did it when she was younger. She may not remember, but I'm sure she'll be able to tell where she is as soon as she begins exploring."

"I don't know, honey," her mother replied. "I don't feel comfortable with that. People don't even know she was discharged yet, let alone awake."

"I think Katniss should go out on her own," Prim piped in. "She does need to know her way around the town. Plus, I think she'd rather figure it out on her own."

Katniss smiled down at Prim and then quickly shoveled another forkful of broccoli into her mouth. Eventually, her mother was convinced that Katniss should go out and explore the town, to get reaquainted with the area. She'd start her exploring the next day.

Real or not real

She didn't get really far the first day. She'd wanted to chart out the small area of housing that she'd lived in first. The more familiar she was with the roads near her house, the better she could get around the place if ever she found herself entering her neighborhood from any other sides. She found Gale's house, saw Hazelle walking out of the door as she passed by the house. She figured she'd found Madge's house when she saw 'Undersee' written on a mailbox in front of a beautiful white building. She recognized many of the nameplates on the houses and their mailboxes. Could connect them to faces conjured in her mind. She figured that that was a good start.

The second day, she ventured further out, towards the town. She figured that's where Peeta lived. After all, they were the bakers and they did actually live above the bakery; she'd confirmed it with her father during a round of real or not real. However, she felt like she'd start hyperventilating when she reached the shoe shop. It felt as if it were all too much for her. She couldn't go any further. She saw the bakery and she panicked. She turned back and retraced her steps back home.

When she got home, she sat in the living room staring straight into the empty fireplace. Her family got home and saw her that way. She told them about her day, her panicking when she'd seen the bakery.

"I want to go back. I want to go in."

Prim looked at her elder sister, concerned. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Now."

"Katniss," her mother started, "are you sure you don't want to wait for tomorrow? Don't you want some time to let it sink it?"

"No. I want to go back tonight."

Her mother sighed. "Honey, when does the bakery close?"

"Not for a few hours," her father replied.

Her parents stared at each other for a little while. They looked as if they were having some sort of silent debate. Finally, it seemed as if her mother relented. Mr. Everdeen looked at his daughters with a bright smile. "Let's go look at the cakes!"

Real or not real

Katniss spent a good amount of time looking up at the bakery. She must have looked odd, standing right in front of the building, staring up at the large sign that read 'Mellark Bakery' above the door. Her parents and sister stood off to the side, watching wearily. They didn't know how she would react. She felt ashamed that they would feel so concerned for her over such a trivial thing like a visit to the town bakery.

She made the first step, led her family to the front and opened up the bakery doors. It smelled just as it had in her head. Sugar, spices, dough- the scents mingled in the air and embraced her within its warm arms. She didn't know that she could actually miss a bakery.

The customer at the register looked back, her eyes widening at the sight. Katniss was pretty sure the person manning the register and that lady were gossiping about Katniss. She'd been out a couple times and people had taken double takes as she passed by. She was bound to be the center of gossip in town.

"Everdeen!" A deep voice resounded around the room. Katniss turned her head towards the voice's owner and couldn't keep the smile from her face. "I haven't seen you in ages!"

Mr. Mellark, Peeta's father, gathered her father into a warm, friendly hug. They were like old friends. Well, she was sure they were by the way they were talking. Her dad must have said something, because not too long after that, Mr. Mellark's head spun around and his eyes landed on her.

Katniss raised a hand awkwardly, offering a tiny wave. She didn't know what else to do, so she let a small smile grace her lips, a barely audible "hi" escaping as well.

"Katniss?" Mr. Mellark sounded surprised. He strode up to her and examined her, the disbelief never really leaving his face. "I can't... wow."

"Uh, yeah," she stuttered. "You're telling me."

Mr. Mellark laughed. "You haven't changed a bit! Oh, wait until Peeta sees you! He'll be very surprised. He was actually very worried when we head about your accident..."

But as Mr. Mellark went on, Katniss couldn't hear any more of his words. The mention of Peeta set something off in Katniss. What if he wasn't as she thought he was? What if he didn't care as much as she about him? What if he actually hated her, the Peeta in her mind completely made up?

She felt her breathing pick up and she fell to the floor, crumpling into herself. She was so scared of Peeta not being her Peeta. She was so scared that she didn't know what her life was, who she was before, how this life worked, what she was supposed to do when she went back to what was deemed normalcy. She didn't know what to do. And it frightened her.

She felt arms wrap around her and lift her into the air. She barely heard her father apologizing, promising to fill Mr. Mellark in on what was happening later, barely registered just who she saw as her dad carried her out of the bakery.

Peeta was looking at her. And she felt herself lose all her control.

Real or not real

She woke up in her bed. The last thing she remembered was seeing him- she really saw him!- and then nothing. She sat up and looked at her bedside alarm clock. It was 3 am.

Katniss flopped back into her bed. She was so absolutely tired, but she couldn't close her eyes again. How had she gotten back home? Her father probably carried her the whole way. She was probably struggling in his arms as well. Had Mr. Mellark offered to drive them home? Or had she calmed down and fainted instead of going crazy? She'd have to find out later when the rest of her family woke up.

Katniss padded out of her room and down the stairs. It was in the livingroom that she paced. She paced back and forth, wondering just what had happened, what Peeta saw, what Peeta thought. She'd probably scared him. She'd be scared as well if she were in his position.

She probably wouldn't be allowed outside anymore. And she was probably the most talked about person in Panem by now. Everyone would have heard about what went on in the bakery by now. She'd be a laughing stock. Either that, or she'd been labled as crazy. Each one of those things were certainly viable as to what happned. And that left Katniss pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

She wished she had Cinna to talk to. She could really use his advice. Or Haymitch. His snarky comments were welcome to her, especially now since she had no idea what to do. She'd even settle with Octavia if she had to! But this isn't the world that she had in her head. It was the real world, and she didn't know these people the way she thought she did. They had different kinds of connections. But all of them she knew. She could at least try to get the same relationships as she had inside of her head.

When Katniss saw her father hurrying down the stairs, calling to her in a slightly panicked voice, she apologized profusely. She stuttered and teared up, trying to explain herself and make him understand that she didn't know what she'd been doing. Her shame was undeniable and Mr. Everdeen told her multiple times that he understood, that it was alright. He held her while she stumbled over her words and laughed quietly when she ran out of things to say and voiced the fact out loud.

"Baby, you did fine yesterday. You walked into the bakery, even said hi to Mr. Mellark. You made great progress. I'm sure Dr. Aurelius would think so too."

Katniss smiled up at her father and he smiled back. When she was fine with him letting her go, he rushed to get ready for work. Her mother and sister did the same as he did, and they soon bid their good byes to her. Katniss was left to her own devices.

Real or not real

In two days, Katniss would be going back to school. She'd start on a Friday. Her parents thought that would be good; give her an in on what high school would be like for her then give her a break for a couple days. But Katniss wasn't sure if it was a good idea. She felt nauseated whenever she thought about going back to school. But she couldn't help the excitement she felt at finally figuring out how her life was like all those years ago. She's 16 now, people may not remember her- or maybe they do-, but she could finally get to know the people she used to. Her parents wouldn't let her during her recovery period. They claimed she needed rest.

However, she soon grew restless as the day went on. Katniss wanted to go to the bakery again. She knew her family would be home soon, so she quickly wrote down a note and left it on the dining table. She slipped on a sweatshirt and shoes, swiping some money she'd collected from when she was little into her pocket before she walked out the door.

She used the spare key they told her about to lock the door and hid it again. As soon as she turned around to walk down the path to the sidewalk, she felt instantly lighter. She practically skipped out of her neighborhood and into the streets of Panem, passing by shops and window shopping.

She noticed the odd looks people gave her. But she pretended not to notice. Her attention was solely on the Mellark family's bakery.

She walked up to the bakery, looking up at it's tall stature. It was pretty big, so the family must live very comfortably upstairs. She could smell the baked goods without the door being opened. And the glass allowed her to see that Mrs. Mellark was manning the register, her husband most likely in the back.

Katniss panicked. In her world, Mrs. Mellark was terribly mean, always scoffing at the Seam residents and yelling at them to stay away and keep out of the bakery. She always viewed them as 'dirty seam brats' after all.

She turned on her feet and walked further down the side walk, entering the grocery store instead. She looked through the aisles, noting how different this place was compared to the Hob. It was clean and filled to the brim with products and foods that could be used by all of the people in town. She knew people didn't necessarily starve to death here, especially when she saw the multiple donation boxes of money and canned food collections for the local food bank down the block.

Once she'd gotten enough strength, she walked out of the grocery store towards the bakery, only to lose the urge and shuffle into the shoe store. She was terrified of getting yelled at by Mrs. Mellark. And she hated the fact that she'd been so affected by the lady. She never really bothered Katniss other than the time when she yelled at her for digging through the bakery trash (something that happened within Katniss's dream). She just didn't want to get Prim on the receiving end of her wrath. But Katniss was never scared of the lady. So why did she seem to be frightened now?

Katniss had been standing in front of the bakery after getting enough courage to leave the shoe store, staring at it for a while, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Surprised, she whipped around and her breath quickened in mild fright.

"Hey." The boy was Peeta's brother. She believed him to be the middle child. "I'm Rylan. But everyone calls me Ry."

Katniss remained quiet for a second, studying the boy's face. And when she returned his greeting, she did so in a whisper, "hello."

"You're Katniss, right?" he asked. She was a little taken aback, but she nodded anyway. "I heard about you. It's great to see you awake."

"Uh, thanks."

"We visited you."

Katniss's eyes widened. "You did?"

"Yeah," he replied. "When we heard about the accident, we rushed over. We visit once a month."

"But, I thought I didn't know any of you."

"What?"

Katniss looked down awkwardly, scuffing her shoes on the ground as if she were fascinated with the sidewalk. "I lost my memories. Replaced by my version of some reality."

Ry stared at her and she felt increasingly uncomfortable. They stood there for a while, her avoiding his gaze and he peering at her with curiosity. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak:

"Why don't you come inside?"

Real or not real

Somehow, Ry got her to explain everything. And he listened quite well for someone she could barely remember- even from her own reality. He made her laugh when she was about to cry. He expressed interest in the most embarrassing parts- the mention of his brother and their love. He gave her courage to speak when she stuttered and fell silent. She liked him.

"Wow," he said when she was finally done with the recounting. His parents were working the bakery and had let him skip duties when they saw him pulling Katniss along. Peeta and Westley would take over his responsibilities for the evening.

"Yeah. Awkward how all of it isn't real," she replied. She was seated quite comfortably on the living room couch above the bakery. The building was three stories. The bedrooms were one more story up.

"No, you're pretty accurate on personalities," Ry told her, smiling. "And all the people that you spoke of- they all live in Panem. You have people right."

Katniss looked him in the eye for the first time that day, her eyes questioning. "Even your mom?"

Ry's expression darkened. It was his turn to look away from her. "She's better at hiding it in this world."

"Oh."

The two of them heard commotion coming from the bakery below, and quickly stood. They looked at each other, confused. Katniss felt agitated, slightly panicked at the sound. She had no idea what was going on and she felt like her mind was beginning to deteriorate just as it had when she first visited the place.

"Ry!" Katniss squeaked, trembling. There was a shout. Was it the Capitol? Were they bombing District 12 again? Was Gale warning everyone. "Ry!"

She fell to the ground, curling up on her side. "We're under attack! They're coming! They're coming!" She was breathless, she was sobbing. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Katniss!" he yelled.

She couldn't see past the tears; they were blinding her vision. Her body was shaking violently and even she couldn't tell what she was trying to say. Her mind was trying to figure out what was happening. Where was she? Was she in Panem the town or Panem the dictatorship? She was so confused, so scared, so lost.

She felt someone touch her, their hand on her arm, and she completely snapped. She thrashed. She screamed. They wouldn't get her. The Capitol would never take her; they already took Peeta's sanity... Peeta!

"Peeta!" she screamed, sobbing and searching frantically. "Peeta, no!"

There was commotion from near by. It must've been the rebel force! She sprung up, her voice cracking as she called for Peeta, for Haymitch, anyone.

She felt arms wrap around her, restricting her movement and keeping her from any escape. She kicked her legs, growled, threatened. But she had no luck in getting away from her captor. She couldn't hear anything but her raw screams, although she was sure that there were people yelling to one another. She couldn't hear, all she could do was feel the intense fear that resided within her. She thought she got rid of all this fear after taking down the Capitol. But had she really taken them down? Was that all a dream? What was real? What was REAL?

She felt a pinch in her arm and then she was out.

Real or not real

Apparently she'd been sedated. Ry told the Everdeens that she had seemed very normal when they were talking. She'd only started to react badly after they heard a large thump from downstairs in the bakery. It was actually her father who flew into the store, looking for her in a panic. When he panicked, she panicked. Katniss thought it was pretty funny. Well, now they know that panicking is something they musn't do.

Her screaming had caused quite the commotion as well. The customers had been ushered out at the sound of her yells and her mother was notified to bring those emergency sedation shots that the doctors had provided the family. In case something like this happened. She was lucky that her mother was quick to get to her.

The whole Mellark family dropped what they were doing and ran up the stairs, following her father who'd pushed his way up the stairs in an effort to get to her. They found Katniss curled up on the floor, screaming and crying with a very distressed Ry trying to get her to calm down. Her father pulled Katniss into his arms when she'd sprung to her feet and held her tight, despite her resistance and fear. He spoke soothing words, but none of it work. It wasn't until her mother showed up and gave her the shot that she stopped in a drug induced sleep.

Katniss felt ashamed, very ashamed. She knew Peeta saw her. She knew that he very much did believe that she was crazy. Hell, she thought she was crazy herself! She'd have to apologize to them as soon as she became stable. After her first day of school, probably. She needed her rest. And she didn't want to show up and mess up their business with a mental breakdown again.

~Chapter 2 End~

This is my first go at the Hunger Games fandom, so I hope that I'm doing alright. Thank you for all those who followed this story, I really appreciate your enthusiasm to read my story. Sorry about the late update, but please know that I will not be updating this story every week- more like once in a while when I can get to have some time of my own.

Comments and suggestions are welcome and I'd love to hear a few opinions. Please review to let me know how I'm doing. Thank you!