Peeta sits at his dining table, highlighter cap in his mouth as he practically paints his notes yellow, when he hears his apartment door swing open and then slam shut. His face scrunches in confusion until Johanna waltzes through. She doesn't acknowledge him, instead moving to the fridge, snagging herself a beer and popping off the top. He wonders if he simply forgot to lock the door or if he drunkenly gave her a key that she never bothered to mention.

"I need you to do me a favor," Johanna tells him plainly before taking a long swig. He raises an eyebrow at her, pops the highlighter cap out of his mouth and turns in his chair so that his body faces her.

"Hello to you too, Johanna. I'm good, thanks for asking," Peeta drawls out, sarcasm lacing his voice. His eyes grow wide as he watches her down half of her beer in one gulp.

Swallowing loudly, Johanna finally turns to Peeta with her lips pursed and exhales loudly through her nose. Peeta could practically feel the tension coming off of her.

"Gale cheated on me - well, is currently cheating on me. With that sophomore chick, Madge or something." She says it casually, like she's talking about something trivial. 'Hey, the weather is pretty nice today, no rain coming up but they forecast a high chance of cheating.'

Peeta's out of seat in a heartbeat.

"What!?" he exclaims loudly. Anger roils through him as his hatred for Gale reignites. Memories of Gale threatening him to 'keep away from his woman' definitely didn't impress Peeta. He's never shown any interest in her and that's pretty plain to see, but Gale's overdone 'alpha male' routine just didn't sit well with him. The arrogance was nothing to be fond of either.

"Cool it, Blondie. I'm not here to ask you to castrate him for me."

He gives her a look caught between pouty child and aggravated man. "But why not?"

"You cutting off his tool won't make him any less of one," Johanna says evenly.

Cocking his head to the side, Peeta looks at her with contemplation."You can be really poetic sometimes," he says in mock awe. She shoots him with a glare that clearly says 'fuck you.'

"Wait. No," Peeta shakes his head. "What did you need if you won't even let me do that?"

"He doesn't know that I know." Her eyes meet his and they share a look while she lets it sink in. Peeta stares at her, possibilities of what that meant running through his mind, until his eyes narrow speculatively.

"And what are you going to do since he doesn't know that you know?" His tone is almost suspicious.

"That's the part that I need a favor for," she starts.

He raises an eyebrow at her. "And what exactly is the favor?"

Definitely suspicious now. She smiles at him.

"I just want to get even."

Peeta slowly starts shaking his head at her. "You're going to have to spell it out for me because all I'm getting from this is that you want me to help you cheat on Gale and then what? Do you even plan on breaking up with him?"

"Of course," Johanna tells him indignantly. "I just want it to be better than 'I caught you cheating, we're done.' I want it to be good and I want the freedom to be smug about it when he catches us together."

"So you do want me to help you cheat on Gale?" he asks incredulously.

"If that's how you want to put it, then yes. I would like for you to help me cheat on Gale as he had the courtesy of cheating on me first," she huffs out. "But really, it's just doing me a favor."

He lets out a snort and mumbles. "More like doing you as a favor."

Johanna snorts in return. "As if, Blondie. You wouldn't even get to second base with me."

"What's the point then?" He smirks at her.

She swats his arm. "Don't be a dick. All I'm asking is that you casually make out with me somewhere that Gale would find us and then when I tell him that I've moved on to bigger and better things, you let me shamelessly cup your balls through your pants." She has trouble hiding her smile when she finishes.

Peeta lets himself laugh at that one before taking a step towards Johanna and crossing his arms. He looks down at her thoughtfully and takes a moment to really look at her. She's no less put together than usual, eyes dry and makeup intact, and he's glad to see that this isn't bringing her down, that she hasn't been crying over some guy who turned out to not be worth her time. As insane as she is, Johanna could do a lot better and she deserves as much.

"That wouldn't be weird for you? Us making out?" he questions.

"Attractive people make out all the time. No big deal." She shrugs. "It's only weird if you make it weird."

"Pretty sure that's not how that works."

"Ugh, Peeta! It's honestly not a big deal. At least not as big of a deal as, I don't know…having sex with someone else while you're in a relationship." She stops to run her fingers through her hair.

"I'm not asking you to marry me or anything, just help me to get even. You were willing to cut off his dick just three seconds ago!" She's starting to sound desperate and he wonders if maybe Gale cheating is getting to her more than he originally thought.

Unfolding his arms and scratching at the back of his head, Peeta exhales loudly. He looks down at her and sucks in his bottom lip. "I'd really prefer to just beat the living shit out of him, but I'll think about it."

Johanna lets out her own sigh and gives him a small smile. They both know he won't be thinking for too long, that he'll say yes in a couple of minutes and Johanna will brief him of the mission she's imagined up. So she doesn't move, doesn't take another sip of her beer, just takes the chance to look him over because she was being completely honest earlier, Peeta is attractive. Some would even say a man dime - she would agree.

Broad shoulders, lean muscles, nice hair, and an exceptional face. He's got the basics down, but it's in the details of Peeta Mellark that make him as attractive as he is. The blonde curls atop his head practically invite you to run your fingers through it. The well defined jawline draws an eye and a set of nice pouty lips usually work in his favor. Though he often remains clean shaven, the scruffy look works for him too. A light dusting of cute freckles across his nose and the top of his cheeks along with adorable dimples basically makes him the embodiment of boyish charm.

Looking up, Johanna's gaze roams Peeta's face and land on his eyes as he stares off to the corner somewhere. Anywhere but at her, really. He's got long lashes, she notes, never having really noticed before. They're long and thick, any girl would be jealous. But the biggest selling point to Peeta Mellark has to be his eyes. They're impossibly and intensely blue and they glimmer in every light because she's pretty sure he's a fairy or something. How else could he be that attractive? How his eyes could be so blue?

He's started saying words and Johanna is registering none of them until he nudges her shoulder.

She's eloquent in her recovery. "Huh?"

Peeta laughs it off and when he smiles those dimples faintly appear. "I asked what your genius plan was to get back at Gale."

Johanna beams up at him now that he's pretty much agreed to help.

"Delta Phi is having a party in a couple of weeks so Gale is expecting me to come. Until then, I'm having minimal contact with him, he'll notice the neglect - he's pretty needy. At the party I'll promise to make it up to him and tell him to meet me in his room where he will find you with your tongue down my throat and maybe missing a few pieces of clothing." Johanna returns to nursing her beer.

Peeta just quirks an eyebrow at her.

"What?" She asks innocently.

"Sounds like it'll be a little dramatic."

"Pft," she scoffs." Better to be dramatic than psychotic. I could do a lot worse than just making a scene at the party. He's getting off pretty easy."

When he thinks about it, she's right. Johanna is capable of a lot of things, but she does well to keep herself in check. He remembers her telling him stories about when she was younger, how her father taught her how to throw a hatchet and how terrified he was of her afterwards. It doesn't help that Katniss is teaching her how to use a bow and arrow. Hopefully Peeta will never have to be someone she hunts down.

Looking down at her, Peeta watches her nurse her beer and he takes a moment to appreciate how pretty Johanna is. Sure, she's incredibly sexy but can she be so beautiful too and it's something that he's silently admired for a while. Her dark brown hair stops just above her shoulders and it frames her face nicely. Deep honey brown eyes that make it hard to believe she's as intimidating as she is stare back at him but his eyes move down to her full lips, wrapped around her beer. He can understand why anyone would enjoy kissing her.

"You sure it wouldn't be weird for us to make out then?" He repeats. To be honest, Peeta wouldn't mind one bit, but he worries about anything changing between them.

Nodding, Johanna takes a quick gulp of her beer to answer. "It won't be weird, it'll only be a few minutes, if that. Besides, I know you want me." She gives him a lascivious wink and sets her beer down on the counter. "But I appreciate you helping me, Blondie."

Peeta takes a step towards her and he's close enough for her to feel the heat coming off of his body. He nods, silently telling her 'of course.' There have been very few things that he's denied Johanna. Turning serious, his face softens and his eyes grow concerned.

"You're okay though?" He asks. Johanna knows what he means, what he's really asking. If she can handle another week at pretending without exploding, if she can handle all that anger that they both know she's harboring. She appreciates that he doesn't ask if she wants to talk about it because they both know she doesn't like feelings, rarely admits that she even has any. So she nods and offers him a warm smile.

"Yeah, thanks." Meetings his eyes, they look at each other for a moment, neither breaking the stare.

"I'm going to hug you anyways," he informs her. He's rewarded with an eye roll as she steps forward to close the gap between them. Engulfing her in his arms, she wraps hers around his midsection and rests her head against his chest.

"You're such a sap." Her words are muffled and get lost in his shirt but she doesn't mind.

They stand wrapped around each other for a few minutes, Johanna enjoying the warmth he gives, she closes her eyes and lets her mind wander. She thinks of things that aren't related to Gale or Madge, instead focuses on the smell of Peeta as he invades her senses. He smells sweet and floury, probably spent a bit of the morning baking, mixed with the fresh scent of his laundry detergent. Gently, her hands splayed across his back turn into small fists as she grips his shirt and she can faintly hear the beating of his heart against his chest. She feels herself finally calming down and lets out a slow breath.

Suddenly, Peeta pulls back to peers down at her with a curious look and she's jostled out of her thoughts.

"Jo…how did you get in earlier?" There's a slight edge to his voice, as if he's nervous of the answer. His eyebrows knit together and his lips set in a frown.

Johanna doesn't answer, instead pulls herself back into his embrace, hiding her smile as she rests her cheek against his chest once more.