He was staring again.
She could practically feel the shift whenever his gaze fell on her. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, in fact, she was almost surprised it had taken this long for the feeling to come. She'd been at the gym for over an hour, and she'd been in his vicinity for at least half of that as she ran on the treadmill.
A quick glance to her right confirmed her suspicions. She momentarily locked eyes with his glacial blues before he turned away. She watched him lift weights for a few moments before returning to her own workout. She still had fifteen minutes remaining of her run, and then she would be through for the night. It had been a long day at work, and she was looking forward to going home and taking a relaxing bath to soothe her sore muscles.
Her boss, Coin, had added an extra route to her normal schedule, as one of her coworkers had taken the day off. Patrolling the surrounding forest was a simple job, but it was a lot of ground to cover. An extra route had left he exhausted, even if she did love being a natural park ranger.
The treadmill began to slow down, and with a sigh of relief, she turned off the machine and grabbed her duffle bag from the floor. She bypassed the women's locker room on her way out, deciding that she didn't need a clean T-shirt just for the three-block walk home. She gave a half smile to the receptionist who called out for her to have a good night as she shrugged on her jacket and exited the gym.
It was a quiet night as Katniss began her walk home. A few cars passed her, but it was still relatively uneventful, as most nights in Panem were. Panem was a small city, surrounded partially by a natural preserve and by farmlands. While Panem was not exactly a country city, it did have rural qualities. There was only one bank, which resided across the street from the singular gym, along with a handful of shops that sat at the heart of their small city, in what was known as the merchant square. The only market in town sold locally farmed vegetables, from an area on the outskirts of town known as the Seam.
She had just passed over the boundary of merchant square when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. She jerked around only to be met with the same eyes she had seen earlier. In the fading sunlight, his eyes looked even icier than before. He hadn't let go of her shoulder, so she removed his hand herself.
"I was thinking I'd take you out to dinner," he smirked as he raked the offending hand through his blond hair. He was attractive, sure, if meaty and overconfident men who spent all their free time at the gym and were on steroids were your type. Nobody's neck was naturally that large without a little supplemental help. In the two months she'd been in Panem, she could honestly say that she'd never given him a second look, no matter how many times she'd caught him watching her.
"Thanks, but I'm good," she replied as she turned on her heel. She didn't make it two steps until his hand was back on her shoulder, halting her progress and yanking her back around. She glared at him, and if he didn't move his hand immediately, she wasn't going to be as nice about it this time.
"I don't think you understand. No one turns down an offer to go to dinner with Cato." She rolled her eyes at this. Could this guy actually be serious? Who even referred to themselves in the third person? She'd had enough. It had been a long day, and she just wanted to finally get home.
"Look, Cato-"
"Katniss! I was wondering what was taking you so long." Katniss looked up to see the baker exiting the front of his store and walking down the few steps towards them. Katniss realized that her and Cato had been having their conversation on the side of the bakery, right in front of the glass windows. At least there didn't seem to be any customers inside watching the confrontation. The baker ignored Katniss' look of confusion as he walked up to them and rested his arm on the small of her back, and gave her a crooked smile. She couldn't figure out what he was doing or possibly smiling about, since they hardly knew each other and she was almost certain that her shirt was drenched in sweat where his hand was.
"Sorry man, but our dinner is getting cold. Can you talk to Katniss some other time?" The baker didn't even wait for Cato to answer as he used his hand to steer her into the bakery through a back door that she hadn't even known existed. She was too shocked at the actions of this man – one who barely even know her – that she hardly resisted. However, the moment the door shut behind them, she whirled on him.
"What was that?" She seethed. She didn't need someone to come to her rescue like she was some kind of damsel in distress. She could have handled the meathead herself.
"I apologize for interfering, but Cato is bad news." He heard her scoff, and at her incredulous look, he hurried to explain himself. "My cousin got involved with him a few years ago when we were still in high school. They got in a bad argument, and he hit her, Katniss. She had a black eye for over a week. And then we found out that it hadn't been the first time. He'd been hurting her for almost the entirety of their relationship.
"My aunt tried to press charges, but he's Mayor Undersee's step-son. He's practically untouchable here. I just couldn't stand by." He suddenly turned sheepish, as if he'd just realized how he'd brazenly dragged Katniss away and into his bakery. He raked a hand through his hair, and rested his hand on the back of his neck. She couldn't help but compare his action to Cato's earlier ones and notice the similarities between the two men.
Both men were well-built. Cato looked unnaturally bulky, but the baker had a natural stocky build that was more impressive. The baker's blue eyes were clear like the pond in the nature preserve, and were friendly while Cato's were cold and unyielding. She also preferred the way the baker's blond hair had a slight curl to it around the ends. Everything about the baker's presence radiated friendliness and a willingness to help others. She could feel her scowl relaxing, and she uncrossed her arms.
"Thanks, Peeta. I didn't know," she quietly responded. He hadn't meant any harm, he was just trying to be a good person, and she couldn't fault him for that. He probably would have done the same for anyone else who Cato had approached. He almost looked surprised that she knew his name, but why wouldn't she. She'd been visiting the bakery at least twice a week since she arrived because of the delicious cheese buns and fantastic hot chocolate he sold. They were wonderful treats during the winter, especially in a place as chilly as Panem.
He gave her another soft smile, and she turned to leave the bakery through the same door they had just come through. But her progress was once again halted, this time by a gently grip on her elbow.
"Please let me walk you home, you live in Effie's old house, right?" She wasn't surprised that he knew where she lived. Everyone in the small town knew of her aunt's passing and her subsequent arrival to town. But Katniss didn't need a protector to walk her home. It was barely dusk. Protecting people was her job, or at least it had been. Before her sister had gone to college and she had no one else to take care of.
"I'll be fine." She gave him a strained half-smile in hopes it would calm his concern and turned again to leave. She just wanted to get home and take her bath, was that too much to ask? This was the most she'd ever been delayed on a single trip through town. Peeta still hadn't released his grip from her elbow so she grabbed his hand to gently remove it.
The second she touched his skin she was assaulted with a variety of images. An assortment of colors and images flickered through her mind. Paints, bread, open windows, a cup of tea, and a pair of double knotted shoes were some of the images that were featured prominently in the onslaught. A faint orange glow even seemed to surround Peeta. She dropped his hand, and suddenly it was over. No more images invaded her mind, and Peeta certainly didn't glow orange. She could hear her blood pulsing with her racing pulse, and her whole body seemed to hum. She must have been losing her mind.
She stumbled out the back door, she needed to get home. Forget the bath, she was going straight to sleep. She was just exhausted, that's what the problem was. She ignored Peeta's worried shout and briskly continued on her way home. The humming feeling wasn't going away, but that was probably just a side-effect of her lack of sleep induced hallucinations.
She could feel herself breathing easier as she passed through the gates leading into Victor's Village. It was one of the nicer neighborhoods in Panem, with sprawling lawns and spacious lots. She was thankful for what her aunt had left her, even if the four-bedroom house was a little large for her to occupy.
She finally made it into her house, and promptly changed out of her workout attire. She then crawled into bed and tried to calm her still racing pulse. The stress of the long day caught up with her and soon pulled her into a deep slumber.
The next morning, she could still feel the humming, but she chose to ignore it. Maybe if she pretended she couldn't feel it, it would go away. She showered and dressed for work like normal. At least it was Friday, and she would have the weekend to relax. She fixed her hair in her signature braid before heading downstairs to eat one of the leftover pastries from the last time she'd been to Mellark's, the bakery that Peeta owned.
When she entered her kitchen, she saw she had an unannounced guest. Her closet neighbor, and the town drunk, Haymitch Abernathy, was sitting at her counter. Except there was a slight problem, he wasn't drunk. She didn't normally talk to Haymitch, and she certainly had never seen him in a non-disheveled state.
"Well Sweetheart, things just got interesting," he smirked at her once he noticed her arrival. "You just had to touch the boy, didn't you?" He continued. Katniss didn't know what he was referring to, and at her confused look, Haymitch let out a sigh.
"You skin is humming, has been since you last saw him, or am I wrong?" He waited for Katniss to confirm what he already knew. She wasn't shocked that he somehow knew about what she'd experienced the previous night. Nothing else could account for his mysterious appearance. At her nod, he gave a slight nod in return and stood from his seat.
"Sweetheart, welcome to the Guardians."