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I wake just as the sun is on the horizon. I wish I could let myself sleep in, but I know my duties. Prim and my mother need food, regardless of what day it is. I quietly get out of bed – I sleep on a cot by the window in the attic and my mother and Prim sleep in my parents' old bed in the living room. I'm lucky to have my own space – most boys from my side of District 12 have to share a room – maybe a bed – with their parents, brothers, or sisters.

But, I live better than most of my side of District 12.

I pull on my father's old hunting boots and jacket and I head towards the Meadow. I slip under the fence, which is supposed to be on and highly dangerous twenty-four hours a day. However, I come from District 12. As long as we don't try and rebel, the Capitol leaves us alone for the most part. Except, of course, for days like today.

I walk about a mile into the woods, shooting squirrels as I go. I want Prim, my mother, and I to have a nice meal after today's emotional event. That is, if all three of us are returning home this evening. I brush the thought out of my mind – I can't afford to think like that.

"Hey, man," a voice from behind me says.

"Hey, Gale," I reply. Gale Hawthorne is two years my senior and my best friend and hunting partner. We met when I was attempting to steal a fresh squirrel from one of his snares. Over time, we began to trust each other. And, one day, we began splitting the spoils and working together, making sure both our families were fed. We spend a lot of time in the woods together, and he and I are basically brothers.

"Stopped by the bakery this morning," he says, tossing me a fresh loaf of bread. "Baker overpaid me again. I tried to turn him down, but –"

"But he wouldn't let you, like always," I laugh. "The baker's a great guy."

"You're just saying that because of Katniss," Gale grins. My cheeks flush immediately and I split the loaf in half roughly and toss it back to him.

"I am not," I grumble.

Gale laughs. "It's okay to like a girl, Peeta."

"Not Katniss," I sigh.

He groans. "Can we not have this pity party again?"

"What's a girl like Katniss going to do with a guy like me?" I say. "I've got nothing to offer. It's not like I'm just another merchant boy who actually has something to do after we're done with school."

"You're a better guy than ninety percent of those merchant idiots," Gale scoffs. "I don't know why status means so much to you."

"It doesn't matter to me," I say. "But I bet it matters to her."

Gale rolls his eyes. "If you never try, you'll never know."

AEAEAEAEAE

Gale heads back home after we hunt but I go into town to do a little trading. I have an extra squirrel and I want to get Prim something special for her first Reaping. I stop in the bakery and I almost turn around and leave when I see who's behind the counter. Katniss Everdeen, in all her glory. Her beautiful, dark hair in a single braid down her back. Her piercing gray eyes (which met mine the second I walked in), her slim, curvy figure . . . I give my head an imperceptive shake and walk to the counter. "Hey, Peeta," she says softly.

"Hi, Katniss," I reply. "How are you?"

She narrows her eyes at me. Oh, right – Katniss Everdeen doesn't do small talk. In fact, I'm not quite sure she does talking in general. "I'm fine," she replies. "You?"

I shrug. "Okay, I guess."

"What would you like?" Katniss asks.

"Is your dad around? I wanted to trade a squirrel for a cookie for Prim," I say.

Katniss immediately softens. She's always liked Prim. "Dad's upstairs," she says. "But, you don't have to trade for a cookie."

This time, I narrow my eyes at her. "What?" she snaps.

"You don't have to do me any favors, Katniss," I say.

She rolls her eyes. "Why would I do you any favors? I know you're extremely self-sufficient and all that, but it's your sister's first Reaping and she deserves something nice."

I stare at her for a long time. I know what this is about – in the ninth grade, just over a year ago, I'd written a pass to use the restroom and I'd found Erik Leder, who was a senior at the time, shoving Katniss against the wall, trying to kiss her. Needless to say, I yanked the asshole away from her and beat the living daylights out of him. I was suspended for a week, but it was worth it.

"You don't have to thank me," I say. "For the thing with Erik last year."

Her eyes flash. "I could've taken care of it myself."

I smile. "I know you could've. But I'm a gentleman, and gentlemen don't stand around watching a pretty girl get harassed." Oh, shit, I think. I just called her pretty. To her face. Shit.

She flushes red. "What kind of cookie do you want?"

I shake my head, just as embarrassed as she was. "Never mind, Katniss. Good luck today."

I turn to walk out. "Peeta!" she calls. I turn back around. She looks up the stairs, pulls a cookie from the display case, and runs around the case to give it to me. "From me to Prim."

I look at her for a long moment and then I remember what my father used to tell me. You just need twenty seconds of courage, Peeta. Just twenty seconds. And, for all I know, a month from now, I'll be dead.

"Only if you'll go on a date with me," I say quickly.

She looks taken-aback. "What?"

"I'll give this cookie to Prim if you'll . . . go on a date with me," I say.

"A date? With you?" Katniss asks.

I flush and turn my eyes to the ground. Twenty seconds are up. "I guess I figured you'd think that. I know I'm from the Seam and you're a Merchant and –"

"I never said no," she says softly.

I stop in my tracks. "Then are you saying yes?"

She shrugs. "I think so."

I smile wider than I think I ever have. "How about tomorrow afternoon? I can't afford much, but I can take you out to ice-cream or something."

She smiles. "Okay."

I take a risk and touch her arm briefly before I take the cookie from her and walk out. "Bye, Katniss. See you tomorrow!"

She says the same in reply. I walk all the way back to the Seam with a giddy grin on my face.

AEAEAEAEAE

"The female representing District 12 in the 74th Annual Hunger Games is . . ." Effie Trinket cries. I'm so busy praying for Prim that I'm completely blindsided by who's name is called. "Katniss Everdeen!"

It's like the breath has knocked from my chest. I see her up in the stage and my heart shatters into a million pieces. I'm just getting my breath back when Effie states, "The male representing District 12 in the 74th Annual Hunger Games is . . . Peeta Mellark!"

I'm blindsided for the second time that afternoon. I'd never worried about myself being reaped – I was worried about Prim, Gale . . . Katniss. I swallow back my tears – for Katniss and myself – and I walk up on stage. Effie orders Katniss and I to shake hands. We lock eyes and she allows herself to panic for one second, but quickly regains her composure. I give her hand a comforting shake, but when Effie tells us to enter the Justice Building, I don't release her hand. Instead, I hold it until Peacekeepers pull us apart so we can say our goodbyes.