Chapter 1

'I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart...'

'I wish I could freeze this moment, right here. And live in it forever,' Peeta says, sadness growing in his voice. Yet, he is still smiling.

As he contorts my hair into different shapes, tying knots here and there, that was when I start to think...

Does he love me that much?

I mean, with everything he told me in the cave... He claims that he loved me when he first laid eyes on me. Kindergarten. We were 5.

How could you love someone without them knowing? It's been 11 years. How did I not see? The way he looks at me in class, the way he silently watches me from a distance.

I am not sure if I am able to reciprocate the same feelings. I am certain that his feelings for me are strong. He's not afraid to show it. But I, on the other hand feel guilty. I feel like I'm leading him on.

But my guilty feelings could be mistaken for realization.

'Okay,' was all I managed to say.

We fall asleep atop of the roof, until a sudden rattle shakes me awake.

'Katniss, you've got to see this!' Peeta pulls me up.

He was right to wake me.

Because I was lead to a beautiful sunset above the horizon.

We sit on the edge of the roof, our feet dangling over the curve.

'Orange... It's your favorite color. Not the neon bright orange, but the orange like this,' I say, motioning towards the colorful sky.

He smiles, the white in his teeth glimmering.

'And your favorite color is green, not a bright green but a dark, beautiful green. You love the color because it reminds you of the forest,' He says with confidence, as if he had practiced every line.

'I'm surprised you remembered,' I say, a hiding a smile across my face, but it's no use. It still shows.

'I remember everything about you... You were the one that wasn't paying attention.'

'Yet, I don't know everything about Peeta Mellark.' I say in an equally confident tone.

I lied, I know that he is a painter. A baker. He loves to sleep with the window open. He never takes sugar in his tea and he double knots his shoe laces. I just want to know more about him...

'Well, I'm a painter. I've been painting for as long as I can remember.' He says, interrupting my thoughts.

'What was the first thing you've ever painted?'

He just smiles his beautiful smile in response.

'Oh, come on! I promise I won't laugh!' I say laughing.

'Okay. The first thing I've ever painted was... You...'

I just give him a shy smile and shake my head.

'No, no you didn't.'

'Yes, Yes I did! Remember in kindergarten when we got to fingerprint whatever we wanted on our free time? You were sitting at a table with Delly Cartwright. Even though she was small then, she still knew how to talk, like her life depended on it. She was chattering away at how her favorite animal was a cat and that she was going to paint one. You giving a her the death glare! Like you wanted to cut her mouth off!'

'And I did! You have no idea how annoying it is to sit beside her!'

He smiles, for the thousandth time that day.

'Anyway, I painted you. But instead of your hair was in 2 braids instead of one. And you had bows in your hair.'

Both of us had smiles plastered on our faces. Glancing at one another every once in a while. When I stared at the sunset, I knew that he was staring at me. I'm not ashamed to say that I did the same thing.

He looked longingly at the sunset, like it would stay like that forever. His blonde hair was lit by the orange in the sky, making the color more beautiful then I have ever seen it before. His skin glowed, under the dim sunlight, causing it to look tanner then usual.

'What else is there to know about the Peeta Mellark?' I ask curiously.

'Well, I think you already know this one. I'm a baker.'

'Is that it? Your a painter and a baker? I'm sure there's more too it...'

'And there is. I love to sleep with the window open.'

'Why is that?' I ask more seriously.

'Because, I feel as if all the bad dreams would fly out the window. And they never reappeared in my dreams again.'

'Interesting theory...'

'Its not a theory. It's a fact.'

'Okay, whatever you say,' I say, throwing my hands up in surrender.

'The cool night breeze is relaxing as well. It helps me fall asleep faster.'

I smile.

'I also, NEVER take sugar in my tea. I find it too sweet.'

'Really... Even one sugar cube?'

'Even one sugar cube' He says.

'I think Finnick would disagree.'

'Yeah, I think he would. Did you see him, he takes, like what? 10 times more sugar in his coffee then a normal person should.' Peeta lies down on the ground, feet still hanging over the edge of the roof.

I lie down beside him.

'Finnick eats sugar cubes 24/7! It's like his own little addiction,' I say laughing. 'I remember the first thing he said to me...

'Do you want a sugar cube?' Me and Peeta say in a seductive tone.

We laugh hysterically, not noticing that the sunset had faded and the black, night sky taking its place. Stars twinkle around us.

'The last thing you should know about me is that I ALWAYS Double knot me shoe laces. Only because I'm such a klutz. Even though I knot my laces once, they come undone anyway!'

'You should see me, when I was walking in those high heels Effie made me put on, I fell every time I stood up,' I say, laughing back at the memory.'Effie shouted at me saying that, 'Proper ladies should know how to walk in heels', I mimic.

'Well, I would rather walk in heels, then in shoes with only one knotted laces.'

'Really? You should tell that to Effie the next time we are coached separately,' I smile.

We lie there, staring at the dark sky.

I should tell him.

'Peeta, I have something to tell you.' I say, sitting up.

'Yeah?' He asks, sitting up as well.

'I lied.'

'What do you mean?'

'I lied about knowing nothing about you. I already knew that stuff about you.'

'Then why did I bother telling you things you already know?' Peeta asked, slightly curious.

'Because I wanted you to say why.'

'What?'

'I wanted to know why you love to paint. Why you love to bake. Why you sleep with the window open. Why you don't take sugar in your tea. And why you double knot you shoe-'

Peeta interrupts my train of words with a kiss.

I grasp my hands around his neck as he wraps his hands around my waist.

This kiss was something different. It was not staged, like a quick peck on the lips, but one with more fire and passion. One that made me crave more. I can feel him smile and I do the same thing.

We break apart for air as we lean our foreheads together. I grab his and a give it a reassuring squeeze. In pull his hand over my beating heart.

My earlier thoughts from before were now smashed into bits. Yes, my feelings for him were not love, but guilt. But one thing I was right about was that my guilt HAS turned into realization. That I do care for him. Therefore, I admit that I DO love him, as much as he loves me.

Peeta Mellark is the caretaker of my heart.