Requested by: @AceGeneralissimo

Modern Time

Katniss

It was a Saturday night and, like usual, I wasn't busy. There were no parties I was invited to or friends I had that were in even town. Just like I liked it, the house was peaceful; it was just Prim and me.

I was quietly sitting in the living room, watching a rerun of one my favorite movies. The whole day had consisted of lounging around, keeping ourselves entertained with movies and scrolling through our phones.

I glanced over at my baby sister, her blue eyes attached to her phone. Her petite fingers quickly typed on the screen, a smile present on her face. "Who are you texting?" I asked, making her jump.

"Oh, it's no one. Just a friend." Prim brushed off, shrugging her shoulder.

I've known Prim her whole life. I know when she's lying. She tries to change the subject and keep the attention off of her.

But instead of pestering her for answers, I left her alone.

Who knows? Maybe it really was just a friend. Prim really had no reason to lie to me unless she just wanted to keep something to herself. Which, I totally understand because it seems like everyone knows everything about me before I know myself.

"So, what do you want for supper?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I wasn't even hungry since all I did today was eat junk food.

She stretched, turning off her phone. "I'm feeling pizza."

"Delivery?" I asked, smiling.

She scoffed, rolling her gorgeous eyes. "Is there any other way?"

So Prim and I ordered a large pizza to share. Even though we tried as hard as we could, we couldn't finish the pizza. I placed the leftovers in the fridge as she cleaned up our mess. As much as we felt like doing nothing, we hated leaving the place dirty for Mom.

After we finished, I plopped onto the couch, tossing my blanket over me again. If I could chose my favorite spot in this whole house, it would be this spot on our worn couch. Before I had time to offer, Prim laid down in front of me, cuddling Buttercup.

I smiled, tossing the blanket over the three of us. We snuggled together, warmth quickly spreading throughout our bodies. I was actually beginning to sweat, but I wasn't going to complain. I loved spreading time like this with Prim...even if it meant dealing with that snarly cat.

xxx

For the next week, Prim had been attached to her cellphone. In fact, she had gone over her share of gigabytes, which was a first. Usually, Prim was pretty good at staying under her limit. This time, it was crazy high.

I had to talk to someone about this.

I wanted to talk to Madge about it, but she was out of town the entire week. Her father, the mayor, had to meet with other city officials about government stuff that completely went over my head. I just knew she wouldn't be back until some time next week, hopefully.

My next option was my best friend, Gale. Unfortunately, I had to find time to be with him between working in the mines and helping out at home. Which, at first, I thought was going to be a difficult task. But then I remembered this weekend was deer opener. Gale always sets aside deer opener for him and me to go hunting.

So early that Saturday, we got up and headed into the woods. We took the path we could walk backwards with our eyes shut and ended up at our favorite rock. Wanting to get everything off of my chest, I let it out. "I think something's wrong with Prim." I declared.

Gale scoffed, arching his eyebrow. "What? Is she sick or something?"

I shook my head. "Worse. She's constantly texting someone and won't tell me who it is." I complained.

Gale laughed, tossing his head back. "Seriously, Catnip? You're worried about someone Prim is texting?"

I nodded my head. "Yes."

"You're just overreacting," he waved away. "It's probably just a boy."

I scrunched my nose, glaring at him. "It's not a boy," I huffed. "Prim is too young for a boyfriend."

"Seriously? Katniss, she's in high school. I'm surprised she this is the first she's taken to a boy," Gale chuckled, sitting down and cleaning his arrows. "I mean, you and Prim have your similarities, but there's a huge difference between you and her when it comes to boys."

I was mad at Gale. He had to be wrong about this secret friend being a boy. After all, what did Gale know about relationships? He's never had a girlfriend that I've known of. Well, he hasn't had a girlfriend but I've heard plenty of stories of him meeting girls by the slag heap. And everyone knows what happens around there.

"Who cares if it is a boy?" I growled, sitting down beside him. "Prim has plenty of friends that are boys. What makes this one different?"

"The fact that she won't tell you who she's texting." Gale fired back, his gray eyes meeting me. On his lips rested an all knowing smirk. He knew he was right. And I was angry at him for it.

There was one other person I could ask who could possibly set my mind at ease.

xxx

Gale and I returned back home with plenty of game, although we didn't really need it. But, it was a nice hobby we probably won't ever end. And even though I was mad at him for possibly being right, we still had a good time. It helped that he let me get the first shot at a deer.

After I dropped off my recent kills, I headed into town. The air was cold, hitting my bare neck, so I hid myself into my scarf. My mother had crocheted it for me last spring, but I finally got to use it this week.

I entered the bakery, the sweet smell of cheese buns entering my nose. I know the baked goods were for the customers, but I secretly hoped the baker had set some aside for me. "Good afternoon, Katniss." He greeted.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Mellark." I nodded, smiling.

"Peeta's in back. I'll go get him for you." He said, heading to the back of the bakery. Peeta and I had begun dating about a year ago from a setup by Madge and Delly. And as much I hated the idea at first, I was thankful for it now.

"Hey, Katniss." Peeta smiled, his blue eyes making an appearance. He pulled on his coat then opened the door for me. I smiled, exiting the warm building. Even though I came over nearly every day, I had never seen the inside of Peeta's house. He didn't want to bring me around his mother, which I was okay with. His mother is a wicked witch who I know hates me.

"So, how was your hunting this morning?" He asked. "Shoot straight?" He teased, softly smiling at me.

"Yeah, I got a few kills." I nodded, stuffing my hands into my pockets. The temperature had drastically dropped from earlier this morning. Maybe that meant snow.

"Here, I snuck this for you." He said, pulling two cheese buns out of his pockets.

I quickly grabbed them from his hands. "Peeta!" I grinned. He knew these were my favorite and made sure to grab me some anytime they were made in his household. God, what did I do to deserve him?

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked, kicking a rock down the road.

"How do you know there's something I want to talk about?" I asked, eyeing him. He shrugged his shoulder.

"Well, you usually don't come over this early on Saturdays. I just assumed there was something troubling you." He answered.

Now I was mad at him for having me figured out.

Well, maybe not mad.

Just a little annoyed.

"Well, I wanted to ask you about Prim," I began. "She has this friend that she's been texting nonstop and she won't tell me about them. Do you have any idea who it might be?"

Peeta's smile widened and he nodded his head. "I have a pretty good idea."

"Really?" I exclaimed. "Who?"

"I'm not sure you want to know." He hissed, his smile never leaving.

I glared at him, hating that he knew this secret. I was also slightly offended that Prim supposedly told him and not me. "Tell me. I have to know." I replied.

"Well, there's this boy that's been showing some interest in your baby sister." He began, trying to get a rile out of me. Peeta wasn't surprising in this way. He liked having the upper hand on me when he had the chance.

"Let me guess, they've been meeting behind the slag heap?" I groaned, hoping what Gale implied wasn't true. Because if it was, that meant I had to go and make sure this boy knew who was boss and tell him what would happen if he ever broke my little sister's heart.

Peeta shook his head, his blonde waves shifting. "No. Actually, complete opposite. I've seen him at your house a couple of times this week."

"My house?" I scoffed. There was no one I could think of that had been at my house recently enough for me to piece the two together. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," he nodded. "I was dropping off a delivery from the bakery near your house when I saw him there."

I vibrated my lips and frowned. Peeta would never lie about something like that. And I had to trust him because he saw it with his own two eyes. "Does this stranger have a name?"

"Honestly, I have no idea. I could pick the kid out of a line up though." Peeta answered.

Great. Just great.

There was a boy visiting Prim and I didn't even know his name.

But trust me, I was going to find out.

xxx

The doorbell rang and I jumped off the couch. Maybe it was him. Maybe Prim's secret boyfriend was finally at the door and I could catch them in the act.

Instead, it was just some young Peacekeeper.

"Got any ibuprofen I could borrow?" He asked, peeking his blonde head inside.

"Yeah, I'll go get it for you." Prim replied, heading to the kitchen. Once she left, I studied the boy who looked too short for his uniform. He had to be a rookie, hardly of age to be Peacekeeper. But, he was attractive. He had soft brown eyes and sandy blonde hair.

"Thank you," He smiled, taking the bottle from Prim. "I'll return it to you tonight."

"I'll see you then," Prim nodded, gently closing the door. She then came back into the living room, her eyebrow arched. "Why did you jump off of the couch like that?"

"No reason," I lied. "I was hoping it was Peeta."

Prim furrowed her eyebrows, studying me. "Peeta has wrestling practice tonight."

Crap. How did she know that? Was she dating him, too?

"And before you ask, I only know because Tabitha asked if I would go watch with her tonight." Prim quickly added, almost as if she could read my mind.

I slapped my forehead. "God, I completely forgot!" I exclaimed, pretending like I was supposed to go. Peeta actually hated me showing up to any of his matches or practices. He never told me why though.

"Oh, whatever, Katniss." Prim chuckled, walking off to her room.

Once she left, I slouched on the floor.

It seemed like I would never know who her mystery boy was.

xxx

The young Peacekeeper returned like he promised. He thanked Prim then quietly left. Maybe it was the blush on her cheeks or the look of stars in her blue eyes. I had a hunch it was the young Peacekeeper.

When Prim had retired to her room, I crept downstairs to the kitchen. Why did he return the bottle? There had to be something up with that stupid medicine bottle.

Mom was working the night shift this week, so she was currently at the hospital. That meant all I had to do was make sure that I didn't wake Prim up.

I shuffled through our medicine cabinet, but it was filled with tons of bottles and pills that I had no idea what they would be used for. Unfortunately, I hadn't gained a passion for healing people. Just ask Peeta.

I may or may not have almost killed him by accidentally giving him the wrong medication.

Thank goodness Prim was home to stop me!

Finally, I had found two ibuprofen bottles. Quickly, I popped one open and poured out the contents. Disappointingly, there was nothing in there. I rolled the pills back into the bottle then opened the next one.

I dumped out the pills and found a small sheet of paper.

Silently squealing, I unfolded the tiny scrap and tried to read what was written. All could get out of it was some thing about happiness and rainbows. Typical young love.

I couldn't wait until the next morning.

xxx

Prim came happily skipping down the stairs, her blonde strands braided down the back. She froze, seeing me smirking at her from the kitchen table. "What?" She asked.

"Who's Holden?" I asked, holding up the sheet of paper.

"Give it to me!" She cried out, reaching for the paper.

"Who is he?" I demanded, standing up so she couldn't reach it.

"No one!"

"Doesn't sound like no one!"

"Katniss! Give it back!"

"Not until I know who he is!"

"He's just a boy!" She shouted back, jumping up and down for the note.

"Like a boyfriend?" I asked, watching her desperately reaching for the worthless piece of paper.

"Not yet!" She replied, frowning, still trying for the paper.

"Primrose, you're too young for a boyfriend." I said, making her stop reaching. She glared at me, her blue eyes hard.

"Says who?" She asked.

"Says me."

"You're not Mom. You can't tell me if I can date or not." She argued, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Can, too! I'm your older sister and I don't want to see you getting hurt. Little girls have fragile hearts so you're not allowed to date anyone until you're eighteen." I declared.

"Katniss." She whined, slouching her shoulders.

"Those are the rules." I stated, folding up the piece of paper and stuffing it into my pocket.

"Then you broke your own rules," she pouted. "I guess you forgot about your own boyfriend."

"Well, Peeta's different." I argued.

"Different how? He's a boy." Prim fired back.

"For one, Mom actually knows about Peeta. Two, he's not like the rest of the guys in my grade who just want to get in pants. And three, he's everything I'm not." I rambled, counting on my fingers.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Prim asked, scrunching up her nose.

"It means he's nice and isn't stubborn." I replied.

"Katniss." Prim whined, pouting up at me.

"Go get ready for school," I declared. "When we get there, you are going to take me to this 'Holden' kid and I'm going to have a nice long talk with him." I explained, a smirk growing on my face.

"Oh, Katniss. Please don't scare him away." Prim groaned.

xxx

"Katniss, you're going to embarrass me." Prim complained, following me to her 'boyfriend'.

"Good. Then maybe boys will stay away from you." I fired back, holding her wrist.

"Katniss." She whined.

"Besides, you're not allowed to date yet. Those are the rules." I reinforced.

"Those are your rules." She countered, rolling her blue eyes.

"Still rules." I replied. I began to softly smile as I approached the kid. There were hardly any students around, and if they were they were busy talking to their friends. "Holden." I declared.

He turned around, his brown eyes meeting me. "What's up?" He asked. He glanced at Prim. "Hey, Prim." He softly smiled.

"Holden, run before she-" Prim began to warn before I cut her off.

"What do you plan on doing with my baby sister?" I asked, glaring at the kid. Any boy that wanted to date my sister was on my hit list. I couldn't trust these young teenagers to protect my Primrose's heart.

"Um, I'd like to date her," he answered. Prim must have begun to use symbols at him, because he began to stutter. "I-I mean, if that's okay with you."

After scolding and warning him about what I would do if he ever my sister, I told him about what I expected. Unfortunately for him, his expectations were pretty high considering I love Prim with all of my heart and I have Peeta as a boyfriend. This kid had a lot to live up to.

Eventually, I met Peeta, who was sitting at a bench near my encounter with Holden. I let out a sigh and plopped onto the bench beside him. "Ya know, I was expecting a lot more yelling." Peeta teased.

"Yeah, he's young. I thought I'd let him off easy." I waved away, making Peeta chuckle.

"I'll say," he agreed. "At least he has a job. That has to count for something in your judging eyes."

I smiled, nodding my head as I watched Holden nervously grab Prim's hand. A light blush was on her cheeks, and as much as I wanted to be mad, I wasn't. "Yeah, I think he'll be okay."

"You still want me to keep an eye on him, don't you?"

"Is that even a question? Of course. We need to make sure they don't go to the slag heap. You know what happens there."

He chuckled. "Got it. No slag heap," he turned towards me, his blue eyes meeting my gray ones. "Well, no slag heap for Prim and Holden. But what about us?" He teased, bouncing his eyebrows at me.

"Oh, shut up!" I laughed, shoving him.

~~~~~~~~~~