Katniss Everdeen tapped her fingers absently against her knees in a joint effort to maintain a clear head and to stop herself from wiping anxiously at her face. She didn't want to ruin the meticulous makeup her best friend Madge had volunteered to apply for her at the last minute before she'd dashed out of their apartment, even though the likelihood that Katniss would sweat it off sooner or later was high. She was nervous, and it showed - from the way her knee jiggled, to how sweat pearled at her hairline, to the way she bit down on her lower lip, worrying it between her teeth. It wasn't every day, after all, that you got invited - no, summoned - to a meeting with the heads of the record label. In fact, it wasn't even every day, or every month.

In the entire time Katniss had been signed to Capitol Records, she'd only ever met Plutarch Heavensbee and Caesar Flickerman once, when she'd first signed her contract. After then, the highest person she'd ever had any dealings with was her manager, Effie Trinket. And really, it suited her just fine. She knew she wasn't a priority for the label - she was just a regular girl who had a small but loyal following in the South. That's all they marketed her for, and that's all they expected back from her.

She wondered if something had changed.

Glancing up at the large framed pictures that lined the walls around her, Katniss studied some of her record stablemates, people and bands who were internationally renowned - The Mockingjays, Thirt33n, The Lumineers, even the labels latest coup signing, Taylor Swift. It was a pretty impressive roster, and the more Katniss looked at the pictures along the wall, the more nervous she became.

She was nothing like any of these people.

The wide mahogany doors to the office swung open, and a woman with long red hair and a friendly smile on her face stepped out, her mile high heels sinking into the plush carpet. She glanced over at Katniss, gestured towards the open doors. "Miss Everdeen, they're ready for you."

Katniss nodded, smoothed her palms along the length of her jean-clad thighs and rose to her feet, followed the willowy woman into the wide, spacious office that looked out over Panem City. Floor to ceiling windows brought the city inside, while minimalist furniture with just the slightest splash of colour ensured that the view beyond was the room's primary focus. Two men sat with their backs to the view, one as stocky and robust as the other was tall and angular, one with slicked black hair that was beginning to thin, the other with a perfect purple pompadour.

They were still startling in their opposition to each other, as much as they had the first time she'd met Heavensbee and Flickerman.

"Katniss, come in, come in!" Caesar greeted, waving her over gaily as the assistant stepped back out. "It's been positively far too long since we saw each other last."

Katniss nodded in agreement and crossed the room, allowing each man to kiss her in greeting - double-cheeked of course - once they'd risen to their feet. "It has."

"Very good to see you again, Katniss," Plutarch greeted. "That last single of yours did quite a lot better than any of us anticipated. The Valley Song? Such beautiful lyrics."

"Oh," Katniss felt her face flush. "Well, thank you."

"It simply made our day every time we heard it!" Caesar interrupted, taking his seat and crossing one leg over the other. His suit looked black, but when he moved, it seemed to shimmer and pearl into a violet hue reminiscent of his hair. She fought back a smile - she'd forgotten how much of a trip this guy was.

"Yes, I was quite happy with it myself," Katniss said - and she was, that she couldn't lie. Though, the better than expected success of her last single certainly wouldn't be why they'd called her here - was it? It hadn't done that well.

She lowered herself into the seat Plutarch directed her to, a low slung chair that was surprisingly more comfortable than it looked. The small conversation area - four chairs with a glass table in the centre, topped with a platter of danishes and fruit, and carafes of water and coffee - was obviously set up to look inviting and informal, but she knew these guys were serious and powerful men. Getting comfortable was one thing; staying alert was another.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Plutarch announced, glancing over at Caesar, who nodded. "You're probably wondering why you're here, correct?"

"Yes."

"We've been tracking your progress for some time, Katniss, and while we're very happy with your work, and with what you're delivering for Capitol Records - well, we have a proposal for you, one that hopefully you'll understand and appreciate the benefits of."

"A…a proposal?" She sat up straighter, her nerves giving way to concern. "What kind of proposal?"

Suddenly, the door to the office swung open, followed by a loud laugh, and a called comment out to someone called Lavinia. And even without turning around, Katniss knew who it was. She grit her teeth, automatically sat up straighter in her seat, refused to give him the satisfaction of her looking at him.

Peeta Mellark. What in the hell was he doing here?

"Ahhh, and here he is," Caesar called, and involuntarily, her head whirled around, doing exactly what she hadn't wanted to do. "Peeta! We almost thought you weren't going to show up!"

The laugh died on his lips as his gaze locked with Katniss', and Peeta crossed the room, his bright blue eyes dimming until they were all but icy. "You didn't tell me much, so of course I had to come," Peeta said, his voice as smooth as honey as he stopped in front of Caesar and Plutarch, shaking both their hands before dropping into the fourth chair. "You know I love the curiosity of the unknown."

"Of course! You know Katniss Everdeen, don't you, Peeta?"

Peeta glanced at her again, this time almost dismissively. "Yes, we've met."

"Good, good, we'd heard that you had. That, of course, might make things a bit easier."

"What things?" Katniss queried, trying to keep her voice calm. "What's going on?"

Plutarch rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, steepled his fingertips together in front of him. "Your last single, Katniss, garnered a lot more attention than what we expected, and we think with the right marketing, it can do a lot better. We want to re-release it in time for spring and before we do, we want to raise your profile a little."

"But…but the song has already been released. Why would you want to do that?" Katniss was confused. While she'd heard of this happening before, and on the second release a track becoming huge, she'd never thought it would apply to someone small time like her. After all, it was just The Valley Song, something she'd written on one of the nights when she'd desperately missed her sister, when she'd wondered if her mom was working herself to the bone again. It wasn't anything that special. "And why is Mr Mellark here? He had nothing to do with that song - it's all mine." She knew Peeta would hate being called Mr - and that was precisely why she did it.

"He didn't, that's correct. But Peeta's got his own fanbase as part of The Mockingjays. The industry went wild when Finnick Odair and Annie Cresta eloped 6 months ago," Caesar piped up, referencing two of Peeta's bandmates. Katniss could remember the craziness that had surrounded that - the reveal of their long-standing secret relationship, the quickie wedding, the even quicker pregnancy announcement. "The impending Baby Odair means that The Mockingjays will be taking a short hiatus, and the Odairs have insisted on privacy during this time. We don't want the band to lose any traction during the break - we suspect they're on track for Grammy nominations, and we want to keep them in the public eye."

"I still don't understand," Katniss said firmly. She could feel Peeta staring at her intently, but refused to give him the satisfaction of looking at him this time. "Can you please just put all of this in layman's terms?"

"What I think they're trying to say is that a little cross promotion for both of us at this time wouldn't do any harm," Peeta replied. This time she did chance a look at him, and his gaze was unflinching. He hadn't changed a bit, not after all these years. "I'm assuming they want an arrangement between the two of us. A…romantic one."

Katniss' head snapped back as though she'd been punched. "What?"

"Peeta is right," Plutarch said, as though what they were proposing was the most normal thing in the world. "The already established fanbase of The Mockingjays will help raise your profile, Katniss, and having a relationship with a hot, new up-and-coming artist will help Peeta remain in the public eye. It's a win win for both of you, and what makes it all the more wonderful is that you already know each other from your childhood! The press will eat that story up!" The final few words Plutarch practically sang in glee, and Katniss' stomach sank as she realised they knew. "It will be romantic and every teenage girls dream and-"

"No." She rose to her feet quickly, had to force herself to not stomp her foot. "This is stupid and ridiculous, and I won't do it."

"But Katniss," Caesar was aghast. "We're suggesting this to help your career, to take that next step. To really make you a star."

"I don't want to be a star," Katniss said firmly. "I just want to sing, and earn enough money to make sure my mom and sister are looked after."

"This is the best option for that, I assure you," Plutarch said quietly, but his voice held a level of steel that hadn't been there previously. "You will be handsomely compensated, both in revenue from sales, and also from an additional stipend."

"A stipend to play along with this?" She snapped.

"Katniss." Peeta didn't look any happier than she did with the offer, but something in his voice, in the way his shoulders were tense and how his palms were flat on his knees, told her she already knew what his answer would be. Funny that, after all these years, she still would. "Is it such a bad thing?"

"You want to do this?" she exclaimed incredulously. "Really? Are you insane?"

"No, I'm not," he said quietly. "But I understand what they're saying. This industry can be a game, and sometimes we have to play it. We don't have to do anything you don't want to, but you need to think about it. In the long run…this might be the best thing to ensure your family that stability that you want."

She wanted to yell at him, to tell him to piss off and not even mention her family. But she knew she needed to be sensible. As much as she hated the idea of it, and didn't give two shits about fame, really, she needed to know what they were offering before she said no. Medical school and medical bills weren't cheap - and who knew what would happen to her contract if she did say no?

"What's the offer?" She said, her voice losing all heat as she slumped back in her chair. Almost on cue, Caesar held out a small portfolio, flipped it open, while Plutarch handed one to Peeta.

"The details are there, though we are open to making amendments if you wish, in regards to some of the…relational aspects."

But Katniss didn't care about that. She cared about her family, and she cared about doing what was right by them. And so she scanned through the document, barely noting a word, until she reached the financial clauses.

She almost passed out.

Regardless of how much her re-released single made Capitol, what they were offering to her to enter into a contractual relationship with Peeta Mellark was more than she'd earned in the last two years.

This was insane.

"This is insane," she murmured her thoughts aloud, and looked over at Peeta. His focus was entirely on the paper in front of him, though his cheeks were flushed a pale pink that was creeping down his neck and beneath his collar. "I…I need to think about this."

"Of course, we understand," Plutarch said, the steel in his voice disappearing so that it was friendly and comforting again. "You have 72 hours. I would also encourage you both to discuss this offer together, as it affects both of you."

The rest of the meeting passed in a blur, and ten minutes later, Katniss found herself back in the waiting area, the portfolio clutched in fingers almost frozen in their tenseness. Peeta stood across from her, his own folio tucked under his arm and his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Did you know about this?" she accused.

"No, of course not," Peeta snapped back. "I didn't have a clue."

"Did you tell them about us?"

He glanced away. "I think I might have mentioned we knew each other once, in passing, a long time ago. But…" he trailed off, rocked back on his heels. "I didn't expect anything like this."

"Would you do it?" She couldn't believe she was asking him this.

"I don't know."

Katniss inhaled deeply, then let out the breath slowly, heavily. "I want to think on my own first."

"Of course. On your own is what you do best."

She ignored the jibe. "And then we can meet to discuss."

He nodded. "Fine. My number is in the folio - they've put all my details in there. Reach me when you want to."

Turning on his heel, Peeta said a quiet goodbye to Lavinia - the name of the red-headed assistant, apparently - and walked towards the bank of elevators, leaving Katniss alone.

And she wondered how on Earth she'd gotten to a place where she had to consider fake-dating her high school crush for the sake of her career.

A/N - This originally started months ago on tumblr as a drabble. It slowly but surely turned into this, lol.

I hope you enjoy - I'd love to hear what you think! Also, I have no knowledge of the inside of the music industry. Everything that happens in this is purely my imagination while I borrow Ms Collins wonderful characters :)