A/N-Sorry this chapter is so late! This week was my first week of school…it was brutal. I'll try to make this a pretty long chapter. Enjoy! Five reviews and I'll update tomorrow! REVIEW, PLEASE!

Disclaimer-I do not own the Hunger Games

"Peeta," I murmur in surprise. "Peeta, is that really you?"

Peeta doesn't answer me. He runs right past me. He doesn't even glance in my direction. "Peeta?"

We're in a vast field with tall grass and a beautiful sun. Peeta doesn't look like he belongs in this scene. He looks frightened, very frightened. It scares me.

I begin to run after him. "What's wrong? Peeta, what's wrong?" The voices are my answer.

"He went this way," I hear a female voice call out. I finally see her. She's stocky with dark black hair and dark eyes. She has a collection of knives.

She's not alone, either. She has a boy with her and another girl. The girl has light hair and light blue eyes. The boy has dark brown eyes with a muscular build. They must be the Careers.

They all have an array of dangerous weapons. "Don't kill him," I beg. I step in front of them, trying to block their path to Peeta.

They don't notice me, either. They maneuver around me and continue their way to him. It's a terrible feeling. The feeling of being powerless. The feeling of having no control of an outcome. That's how I feel right now. There's only one thing I can think of to say.

"Run, Peeta, run!"

He does, too. He runs as fast as he possibly can. That is, until he falls and hurts his ankle. "No," I shriek. I sprint to him. I try to beat the Careers, but it's no use. They already have him surrounded.

The girl with the light hair borrows a knife from her fellow Career. She smiles a disturbing smile as she plunges the knife into Peeta's flesh.

That's when I wake up to my own screaming.

The square is packed with citizens. The screen doesn't show much yet. It just displays the Capitol symbol. I try to pretend this is an ordinary Hunger Games. My two closest friends did not get chosen. Katniss is standing with Prim, and Peeta will be meeting me soon like he promised. A tear manages to escape from my eye. They might never come back.

No. One will come back. One of our tributes will come back. Who will it be? Will it be the quiet hunter? Will it be the bubbly baker? The odds just keep looking slimmer for Peeta…

No. No. No. They have an equal chance. Peeta may very well be the one who wins this thing. He could. He has the personality. He's strong. He could do it.

I scan the crowd for someone I know. I don't want to watch this all by myself. Being alone gives me more time for my brain to wander to bad topics.

I spot Prim and Mrs. Everdeen in the very front. Prim looks like a ghost of the old one. She doesn't smile. Her eyes are dead. Her mother doesn't look much better.

"Hello," I greet them.

"Hello, Madge," Mrs. Everdeen says with a forced smile.

Prim has a dazed look on her face. "Hey, Madge." She doesn't bother trying to smile. Today is not a day for smiling.

We stand together awkwardly while we all focus on the screen. We don't speak because we don't know what to say. We don't smile because we know what's in store.

Mrs. Hawthorne joins us with her family. Gale trudges behind. He doesn't want to be near me. I don't want to be near him, either. The feeling is mutual.

We greet each other solemnly. If I didn't know, I would think this was a funeral. The Hunger Games are usually a death sentence, especially for our district. We usually just assume our tributes are going to die. It's terrible, but we haven't had a winner since Haymitch.

The anthem plays and the screen presents the opening ceremonies. I want to squeeze my eyes shut. I want to hide under my blanket and dream of happier times, but the Capitol doesn't want that. They want you to watch your friends get slaughtered. Not only that, but they treat it like a holiday. How sick is that?

District 1's chariot appears on the screen, and they're fabulous. They're usually fabulous. That's not a big surprise.

The first couple of districts are absolutely stunning. I begin to bite on my nails. Our tributes are usually stark naked. I…I…don't even want to think about how awkward that would be to see them…naked.

The rest of the Districts are ordinary. Eh. They're not very memorable. The only one I'll remember is the small girl from District 11, but it's hard to forget a twelve year old getting reaped.

District 12 finally comes up, and I hold my breath. They are both dressed in black suits with fire trailing behind them. What? They're…on fire? They're on fire. They're on fire! I smile involuntarily. Capitol citizens will love that! They'll get sponsors!

Katniss blows kisses, smiles, and waves…that's not like her. That's not like her at all. Peeta does the same, but he's…Peeta. He usually does those things.

District 12 cheers for Peeta and Katniss, and I hear the Capitol citizens cheering for them as well. I study them closer. The smile gradually vanishes from my face. Are they…holding hands?

I try to hide the shock that I'm sure is apparent on my face, but what? Why are they holding hands? Why! Peeta and Katniss have never spoken a word to one another! Does this mean they're a couple? Friends? Peeta was mine! Mine!

We never dated. I have to remind myself of that. Seriously, though? Why? He held my hand. He held it quite a lot. I think he liked to hold my hand. It hurts, honestly, that he would hold her hand on live television, but hold mine in secrecy.

I subconsciously hold my right hand in my left. Peeta used to hold my hand like this. He used to joke around and swing our hands as we would stroll through the meadow.

I risk a glance at Gale. I can't help but stare at him through the corner of my eye. He has his teeth clenched and his hands balled into fists. He glares at the screen. What's his problem?

Is he mad about the holding hands part, too? Wait…does that mean he has feelings for her? Oh. That really stinks. That explains why they're together nonstop. It also explains the way he stares at her.

Maybe Katniss and Peeta are just friends. Maybe they're just scared. Maybe they need to hold hands to balance themselves. I don't think that's the case, though.

They release hands, and Katniss rises on her tiptoes. What is she doing? She places a kiss on his cheek. A kiss! How dare she!

I ball my fists like Gale and clench my jaw. I'm sure we're mirroring each other's actions right now. I observe him through the corner of my eye, and that's the case. He opens and closes his hands furiously. Yeah, he totally has deep feelings for her. Is it love? I don't know.

The announcers babble about stupid stuff. I don't even bother to try to listen to what they're talking about. I'm too infuriated about the idea of Peeta and Katniss as a…couple.

Peeta and I were supposed to be a couple. We were the ones supposed to be the ones sharing gentle kisses on the cheek. Not her. She was supposed to marry Gale. I guess Gale thought so, too.

The screen eventually flickers off, and the crowd scatters. Gale stomps off somewhere, and I scamper off to the meadow. The steam eventually wears off. The sadness begins to invade my senses. Tears threaten to spill, but I don't let them. I have to be strong.

I decided to mosey through the meadow because it reminds me of Peeta. This is where we shared many of our laughs, our troubles, our secrets. The meadow was our haven. We could get away.

The meadow is now just a place of memories.

I amble through the grass and spot a tall figure near the fence. Gale. Gale just has the perfect timing, doesn't he?

"Undersee," he states without so much as looking at me. I'm surprised by the lack of venom in his voice. It's empty and hollow.

"Hi, Gale." I saunter closer to him. He looks like he wants to escape to the refuge of the woods.

"Too many Peacekeepers," he says simply. I nod. Nobody wants to test their luck with Peacekeepers today.

The newfound knowledge of Gale having feelings for Katniss is just too hard to ignore. I want to know if it's true, and he's usually the one who torments me. I want to reverse roles for a change.

"You have deep feelings for Katniss, don't you," I ask gently. Not the tone I was thinking of using, but whatever.

"Yes. I love her just like you love Mellark, blondie."

His voice is still empty, but I can tell how much he's hurting. That doesn't hide my embarrassment, though. "How did you know?"

"I find it pretty obvious, actually."

"Oh," I manage to get out as my cheeks start to heat.

"Well, I love the old Katniss."

"Huh?"

"That wasn't Katniss. That was the Capitol's newest creation. The Girl on Fire. She's not Katniss."

"She won't let them change her." She's still the same Katniss. What the hell is he talking about?

"They already have." He shimmies under the fence.

"What about the Peacekeepers?"

"I'll take my chances," he mutters with his back facing me. He jogs to the trees and slowly disappears into the distance.

The Capitol won't change Peeta. The Capitol didn't change Katniss. He's just over exaggerating. It's not true. They're the same people.

Or is he absolutely right?

A/N-Sorry again for the late update! REVIEW, PLEASE! Five reviews and I'll update later today!