Disclaimer: I do not own THG. I'm just borrowing the characters.

AN: I have been blown away by the response his story has gotten so far. I would just like to thank everyone who has commented, followed or favorited this story. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. I'd also like to apologize in advance if I don't keep up with the planned updates. I'm trying really hard to keep up with it. Thanks.

CHAPTER 2

It's been a week since my hallucination (as I'm calling it now) and I do my best to distract myself. Distracting myself only seems to work when I have something to do, which I don't. Luckily, I get a notice in my mailbox letting me know I have a package waiting for more me at the post office in town.

There's not much to the town really. The sheriff's office, the post office, a burger joint and a few mom and pop stores line main street. The town hall, a few other businesses and a library are on a side street and other than that, that's pretty much the town. There are a few streets of houses connecting to the town, but most of the population live on the out skirts like me.

I've just reached the door of the post office when I see him. My hand stops short as I catch sight of a man in my peripheral vision. A man with blond hair, chiseled chin… and bright blue eyes. I'm frozen as he turns the corner. Before I realize what I'm doing, my feet are already running in the direction that he went. I don't know exactly what I plan on doing when I reach him, all I know is that I need to see this man.

I turn the corner and there's no one there. I look up and down the street and I see no one. I shake my head and am about to go back to the post office when I realize where I'm standing. Right in front of the town's hall. It's also where the hall of records is located. Christ, Katniss! You are not seeing who you think it is, I chastise myself. It almost seems weird that I see this doppelganger of the man in the portrait just outside the building where I learned his name. I berate myself once again before heading back to the post office to retrieve my package.

I need to do more work in the office when I get back from town. I decided early on that I was going to use some of the insurance money to start my own business. Making custom bows. My dad taught me how to make them and I wanted to do something that would make him proud of me. Making the bows is easy, starting a business is a whole different story.

I'm not in the office more than an hour when I start to get frustrated. Maybe this is something I need to have the lawyer help me out with. I mentioned it to him once and he seemed keen on helping me. I'll give him a call next week. I need to relax a little so I decide to get up to the small library located on the second floor next to my bedroom. Why they decided to put the library up there is beyond me. Maybe I can find a good book to help me relax.

Once I'm up there, I can tell I didn't do a very good job of cleaning it out. Every book I pull from the shelves has a thick layer of dust. The first one I tried blowing the dust off of had me almost hacking up my breakfast. I realize I'm going to have to clean all these books one by one. Damn. I thought I was done cleaning the house. I may have to hire a maid to help me. Cleaning is not my forte.

I'm about to head out to the hall closet I keep the cleaning supplies in when I hear it. Voices. Just like before. I stop to listen. I wait a few minutes. Nothing. I'm going crazy, I think to myself. But as soon as I walk out of the room I hear it again.

I know I heard it this time. The hushed whispers grow louder. I try to follow the source, but they just keep leaving. Traveling through the rooms at a rapid pace, one that I cannot keep up with. Then silence.

Wait. There it is again. On the staircase. I'm running now and by the time I get to the bottom of the stairs it is no longer traveling. The voices are no longer whispers. The noise is so loud I can't decipher what is going on, what is being said. My hands come up to cover my ears, but it's no use. The sounds are in my head. Then, I hear one sentence clear as day.

"There's someone at the door."

The doorbell rings. Silence. The voices are gone. My eyes are wide as I move towards the door to answer it, afraid of what I will find on the other side. I open the door.

Standing on the porch is a young man, facing away from me. My eyes dart around in surprise, looking to see if anyone else is with him. He's alone. He's of medium height, not too much taller than myself. From what I can tell his hair is blonde, but the sun is setting so all I can see is more of a shadow within the sun's rays.

He seems to be enchanted by the coming sunset and he has yet to turn around. I clear my throat before speaking.

"Um… Can I help you?"

He seems startled by my voice and turns abruptly. My breath catches in my throat. This man looks exactly like the man in the portrait. He smiles and his mouth opens to say something.

"Peter?" I whisper, not believing my eyes.

He frowns as the name falls from my lips. "I'm sorry. Do we know each other?" His forehead crinkles in question and I realize this is not Peter. His eyes are a darker shade of blue than the man I've come to know as Peter. Though the facial structure is mostly the same, this man in front of me has a dimple in his chin and his blonde hair is a darker shade with hardly any waves.

My God, he's gorgeous. He waves a hand in front of my face and I realize I must've been staring. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks at being caught. I clear my throat again.

"Uh… I thought you were someone else. Um... can I help you?" I manage to squeak out.

He smiles and a stirring starts low in my belly. "Sorry to bother you so late," he says, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck. "My name is Peeta. Peeta Mellark."

I stare at him blankly. Peeta? Mellark. Of course he's a Mellark. But what is he doing here.

"You're a Mellark?" I ask dumbly. He nods, giving me another one of his smiles. He smiles a lot. I think of the portrait of Peter and I assume he didn't smile all that much. God, I'm comparing him to a portrait of a man I don't even know. What the hell is wrong with me?

"Yeah," he answers. "I tried calling yesterday, but I think our connection was bad. Sorry for showing up so late. Can I come in?"

I'm still looking at him with confusion on my face. He looks so much like him. I come out of my thoughts when I hear a chuckle come from him. "Yes," I say a little too loudly. My face heats up once again. I step inside and open the door wide inviting him in. I walk through the door, but he stops short. "Are you okay?" I ask when he brings his hand to his mouth, rubbing his chin.

He turns to me, but his eyes are darting around the foyer. "Yeah, sorry. I just got a weird… feeling." His eyes finally land on mine. His eyes are so strikingly blue I can't seem to focus on anything else.

I shake my head again, trying to clear it. "Um, I'm Katniss…Everdeen," I say motioning to myself.

"Katniss, yeah I already know your name."

"How?"

He blushes a little, but doesn't hesitate to answer. "I asked my brother actually. He was the one that sold you the house and had all your info. I hope you don't mind." I shrug my shoulders in indifference. We stand there in awkward silence for a few moments until I finally find my voice.

"I'm sorry if I'm acting a little strange but, um..." I can't shake the fact that this person, Peeta, standing in my house looks so much like the portrait hanging in my parlour. "Can I show you something?"

Peeta's head shift to the side in question, "Sure."

He follows me as I lead him to the parlour down the hall. When we enter, he doesn't see it right away. He's about to sit down on the couch in the middle of the room when he notices it and halts. His eyes grow wide.

"This is why I was acting so strange. I thought I was losing my mind," I chuckle a little as I he walks towards the image.

"Wow." He mumbles. "I look just like him. No wonder you look liked you saw a ghost when you saw me."

"His name is Peter," I say without thinking. "I'm guessing he's like your great great great great grandfather or something."

He smiles again and I notice the way his eyes light up. Stop it Katniss, I fight to keep the blush from rising to my cheeks again. You're acting like you've never been in the presence of a good looking man before.

"Actually it's only three greats, not four. I was down at the County Hall of Records before I came here. Is it ok if we talk for a bit?"

I sigh deeply, relieved that it must have been him I saw in town and also that I'm not going crazy. At least about that anyway. I nod motioning to the couch he was going to sit in earlier. We take a seat and he continues to speak.

"I'm actually doing a bit of research on my family history. When my father passed away I realized I really didn't know anything about my dad's side of the family. My father brought me up here a couple of times when I was younger and I loved it. My mother didn't like it here for some reason and never wanted us to come. Just how Mom was, so these outings were usually kept a secret." I nod, not really getting at what's he's telling me. He continues, "Anyway, I was hoping maybe I could investigate a little. I'm a writer you see, and I wanted to get some of my family's history down. See if there's anything interesting I could tell my kids when the time comes."

I deflate a little at that. I don't know why. I look down at his hands. No wedding ring. "You have kids?" I ask.

He laughs, "NO! Um, sorry. I didn't mean to give you that impression. I'm not even married. I meant when I have kids. I'd like to give them a sense of where they come from. I never knew so it would be a great project for me." I start to question my sanity when I sigh in relief at his answer. "I was wondering if you'd let me poke around a bit. The county records didn't really have much information to go on. I remember going up to the attic when I was a boy and there was all kinds of stuff up there. Creepy as hell, but I'm sure I can handle it now. Not afraid of the dark anymore. That is if it's okay with you? If you haven't gotten rid of everything that is?" he asks. His voice full of hope.

"I haven't touched anything in the attic, aside from this portrait actually. You're welcome to anything up there. It really belongs to you after all," I say, a little too excitedly. "It'd be nice to have someone else in this house for a while aside from Haymitch."

Peeta's head whips up. "Haymitch is still around?"

I nod, rolling my eyes. "Yeah. A real people person that one."

Peeta chuckles. "Same old Haymitch. So, you'll allow it? Me being here for a while?" I nod with a smile of my own. "Great! Um, I'll just get a room down in town. I'm sure there's a motel or maybe even a bed and breakfast around here right?"

I pause. "You mean you don't have a place to stay yet?"

"No, I uh…sort came here on a whim. Wasn't sure if I'd be staying or not."

The words are out of my mouth before I can help them. "Why not just stay here?" I cringe at how overzealous I sound. Peeta's eyes grow wide. "I mean, it makes no sense for you to get a motel room really. There are more than enough rooms here that aren't being used."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose. It wouldn't be any trouble to find other lodgings."

I wave him off. "Of course not. It'll save you a trip anyway."

"Thank you Katniss. That's very generous of you," he says with excitement. If I'm being honest I feel that excitement too. God I'm pathetic.

I smile warmly at him. "Great. It's settled then. I'll get a room ready for you."

I leave in a hurry, not wanting him to see how giddy I am. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me. I ignore the fact that it has something to do with how much he looks like the portrait that I've becomes(become) somewhat obsessed with. Or the fact that I haven't been around a man in over a month since I've been here. Haymitch doesn't count.

As I walk up the stairs, I wonder which room I should place Peeta in. There are three bedrooms upstairs. Mine is the furthest on the right. They're all connected. I'm guessing it wouldn't be appropriate to put Peeta in the room right next to mine. Plus the other bathroom is right next to the farthest bedroom on the left. It would make more sense to put him near that one so he wouldn't have to share mine. It doesn't have a balcony but that's ok. I go to the linen closet , grabbing clean sheets and start changing them. All of a sudden, everything goes black. Dammit. I don't realize how late it is until the lights go out and I'm left in darkness.

"Shit," I mumble reaching for my phone in my pocket. I hear movement downstairs. I assume it's Peeta. Turning on the flashlight app on phone, I head out to the hallway closet hoping to find a flashlight. All I find are lanterns. I feel like I'm back in the 19 century using these things. I never unpacked my stuff in the barn where I know I have a box full of flashlights and batteries for this sort of thing.

I've just managed to light the lantern when I turn and run straight into Peeta. "Aaaghghh!," I scream. "You scared the shit out me."

"I'm sorry. I heard you call out to me so I came as fast as I could," he says holding onto my arms. I look at him strangely.

"I didn't call out to you," I say puzzled, pulling away from him. Being so close to him is making dizzy. A strange sensation is coming over me and I'm not sure if it's our close proximity or something else. Peeta's expression is questioning.

"I swear I heard you call my name."

I glance around the hallway, but all I see are shadows being cast from the little light coming from the lantern. "This house makes a lot of weird noises," I say thinking of the voices I've heard.

"Yeah. So I've noticed," Peeta mumbles. I wonder what he's means by that. I don't question him though, so I start heading towards the stairs.

"I think the fuse box is in the basement. Mind giving me a hand?" I ask.

"Sure," he says following me down the stairs. We've barely reached the landing when the lights flicker back on.

"Sorry sweetheart," I hear from the entry of the basement door. "I was trying to switch the fuses when one burned out on me. Don't worry. I fixed it." Haymitch walks through the door, but stops in his tracks when he sees me standing there with Peeta. He expression is almost comical, until I remember I probably had that same expression when I first saw Peeta.

I clear my throat. "Haymitch, this is Peeta Mellark. His family owned the place."

"Little Peeta. I remember you boy. How the hell are you?" He says coming over to shake Peeta's hand. My eyes are wide. He's never been that nice to me.

Peeta takes his hand and gives it a firm shake. "Hey Haymitch. Wasn't sure if you'd remember me or not."

"Course I do. How could I forget the little shit who used to run around making a mess for me to clean up." There's the Haymitch I've grown to know. I bite my lip to hide my smile as Peeta's face flushes, seemingly embarrassed by Haymitch's recollection of him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Peeta is going to be staying here for a while," I say before Peeta can answer. Both men raise their eyebrows. "He's doing some research on his family and wants to explore the attic."

Haymitch stiffens at the news. "Is that right? Well, I'm sure there's not much you'll find out up there. Better to do some research at the county records office."

His behavior is making me wonder even more what he's hiding. "I already tried there,"Peeta answers. "Unfortunately I didn't come out with much. I'm sure I won't be here for more than a few weeks. I mean, there's not much I can find right? Dad never mentioned much."

Haymitch looks away, a grim look on his face. "Well. I'll be off now. You two kids play nice, now," he says before walking away and out of the house.

Peeta looks to me with a funny expression. "That was strange. I don't remember him being so weird."

I shrug my shoulders. "Let me show you to your room."

The next day Peeta starts his research. The only 2 places that will be helpful to him are the library and the attic. He decides to start with the library since it's smaller and I have some my own business to take care of in the office. My day is filled with returning a phone call to my lawyer, which isn't in the least bit fun. But I did get some sort of head way in starting the business. He said he would email me the specific within the week.

The third day after Peeta's arrival I decide to ask if he needs any help. I find him in the library.

I knock on the door, making him aware of my presence. He looks up and I see he's wearing glasses. Fuck me, he looks sexy in glasses. He pulls them off as I enter the room.

"Hey," he says sounding tired.

"Hey. Find anything interesting yet?" I ask, not meeting his gaze. I hear him sigh deeply and I look up to see him rubbing his eyes. "That bad huh?"

He shakes his head. "There's not much here really. All there are in here are old books and stuff about the money and taking care of the property. It doesn't even say what kind of business the family did," he says exasperated.

I try to give him a reassuring smile, but fail miserably. "How about some lunch?" I ask instead.

"Food sounds great," he says giving me the smile that's made my knees weak since he's gotten here.

"Don't sound too excited. It's only sandwiches."

Once I've gotten the sandwiches made, which Peeta insists on helping with, we grab a couple of drinks and head to the dining room to eat.

I've been keeping my distance from him since he's arrived. For some reason, I lose the ability to think straight with him around. I've never felt this way around anyone before. Especially someone I've just met and it scares me. I'm attracted to him I know that for sure. But the reason behind that attraction is questionable.

Peeta breaks through my thoughts when he speaks. "So, Katniss. How does a girl like you, end up living in a place out here in the middle of nowhere?"

I smile slightly. I find it hard to answer without bringing up the obvious reasons. There's no way around it so I decide to go with the truth. " My uh… parent's and my little sister passed away a little over six months ago," I start. I keep my gaze away from his face, knowing the look that is sure to be on his face. "I just needed to get away from everything. Kind of start over. The insurance money was actually how I was able to buy this place."

I chance a look at him and I'm a little shocked at what I see. Instead of the pitying look I expect, I see a look of understanding on his face. Then it hits me. He's lost a father too. Of course he'd understand in a way.

"My dad used to bring me to a place like this when I was just. The woods I mean. He used to take me hunting."

"You hunt?" he asks, surprise apparent on his face.

I smile shyly. "Uh, yeah. Been hunting since I was a little girl. My father gave me my first bow when I was ten."

"Wow. That's hot."

The laugh that escapes me echoes around the small room. Peeta's ears go red, obviously not meaning to say it out loud. I'm still laughing when I question ask what kind of writing he does.

"Well, I don't actually have a steady job per say. Most of my work is freelance which gives me the freedom to do other things. I actually help out a lot in my family's bakery most of the time."

"You bake?" I ask interested. "Haymitch told me your father was a baker. Any chance I'll see any of that skill while you're here?"

"As a matter of fact, I planned on baking you my famous cheese buns in the morning," he says wagging his eyebrows, which makes me laugh.

We continue to chat while we eat our lunch. I learn that we're the same age. Both 25. Peeta graduated college with a BA in journalism. I'm a little intimidated my his knowledge, I myself opted to skip college and started working to help keep the family afloat. I find it very easy to talk to Peeta. The only other people I was able to be like this around were Prim and Gale. It's refreshing yet terrifying how easy it is.

"So you plan on starting your own business making bows?" Peeta asks, even more surprised than before.

I nod my head finishing my sandwich. "If you want, I can take you hunting with me before you go."

"I'd love to," Peeta says with a wide smile.

"I actually haven't been since they died," I say quietly. "I think it's about time I get out again. Plus, I'm dying to see what these woods have to offer."

"I don't think there's much out there other than a bunch of squirrels," Peeta says.

"Aw! But squirrels are my specialty," I say with a laugh. Peeta laughs along with me.

He glances to the grandfather clock against the wall. I follow his eyes and I'm surprised that we've been sitting here for over an hour already. He finishes his drink and stands. "I better head back up. There's still so much to go through."

"Do you need some help?" I ask quickly, not ready to separate from his presence just yet.

Peeta smiles and nods his head. "That would be great, thanks. I think I need all the help I can get."

Cleaning up our mess from lunch, we head upstairs.

"The library has been a bust so far. I thought we could head up to the attic," Peeta says. I nod in agreement. Opening the door to the attic, I feel the heaviness I felt before. We walk up into total darkness. I forgot to bring a flashlight but I remember where the drawstring is so I continue without it. "This place is creepy," Peeta says as we climb the stairs.

We reach the top and I pull the string that floods the room with yellowing light from the old bulb.

"OW!" I turn to see Peeta holding his shin. "I'm alright. I just ran into this…." I look down, but don't see anything. My eyebrows raise in question when our eyes meet. "I swear there was a box there," he mumbles.

"Watch your step," I say playfully. Looking around, I see tons of boxes I didn't notice the first time I was up here. "Where should we start?"

Peeta comes to stand beside me and takes a look around for himself. "Well, this one bulb isn't giving off too much light. I think I'm going to need a flashlight. Ugh. This place still gives me the creeps."

I turn to look at him and I can tell he is wary of the place. He scans the entire attic. His eyes land on mine as I give him a reassuring smile. "I'm here, Peeta. I won't let anything happen to you."

He smiles, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm gonna go get that extra lamp down in the hallway. Is that okay?"

I nod as he turns to get down the rickety stairs to the second floor. A cold chill runs up my spine as I see him reach the stairs. "Peeta, wait-"

He turns at the sound of my voice and as he does, I see a black mass rush past me heading straight towards him. My eyes grow wide as it rushes him, causing him to stumble. Before I realize what I'm doing, I've already reached him. I grab onto his shirt just as he starts to fall backward and pull him towards me. He lands on top of me as we fall to the floor of the attic.

His breathing is heavy and my eyes are shut tight. "Oh my god!" I exhale.

Peeta quickly scrabbles to his feet, pulling me with him. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"No. No. Are you?" I ask as we check each other over.

"Yes. I'm fine," he says breathlessly. "Thanks to you. If I wasn't so clumsy I wouldn't have missed the step."

"Wait! You didn't see that?" I ask surprised. I look around the attic again, but I see no sign of what had rushed past me. Were my eyes playing tricks on me?

"See what?" Peeta says following my gaze.

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head. I had to have imagined it. I don't believe in what I think I just saw. "Why don't we just head down together?" He nods in affirmation and starts down the stairs again, slower than last time and taking each step more carefully. I'm about to follow him when I feel a set of eyes on me. I look around the attic again and I think I see what looks like another black mass. This time it's in the far corner. Hovering. I run down the stairs to catch up to him. I don't believe in ghosts. I don't.

AN: Thank you for reading. Feedback is muchly appreciated Once again thank you to my betas ALLoB and YPiS.

Join me on tumblr.

supersudzissecretlyamellark (personal blog)

slagheapwhore (writing blog)