Haymitch, Katniss, Prim, Finnick, Annie, Peeta and Gale are all 15. They are playing spin the bottle. So far, Finnick has kissed Katniss, Katniss has kissed Haymitch, Haymitch has kissed Prim and Prim has kissed Annie.
The glass bottle, hastily picked out of someone's bin, rattles on the concrete floor of the abandoned house. It comes to a stop facing Gale. Annie blushes and leans across the circle. Gale does likewise. They kiss and Prim counts to ten for them. Gale takes the bottle and spins it. It rattles about for a bit, then stops, pointing at Peeta. There is a pause. "C'mon, guys. Rules are rules. You have to do it." Finnick tells them, smirking. Peeta goes red. Gale leans in slightly. Peeta shuffles forward. Cautiously, their lips meet. "One." the people in the circle chant. Peeta and Gale stay still, eyes open, lips locked. "Two." is chanted, after a break of clearly more than a second. "Three."
"Look, you have to kiss properly, you guys." Katniss tells them, "Or we'll slow the count down even more. Gale lets his eyelids slide closed and Peeta follows suit. "Four." Slowly, their lips start moving against each other. "Five." Gale starts probing gently at Peeta's lips with his tongue and Peeta opens his mouth to Gale. "Six." Gale reaches one hand up to cup Peeta's face. "Seven... Eight... Nine." Peeta is running out of breath. "Ten." Gasping for air, Peeta pulls back.
"There's no way that was ten seconds!" he pants. Katniss grins.
"We never said ten seconds," she says, "We said we'd count to ten." Peeta rolls his eyes.
The game continues. Peeta spins the bottle and kisses Prim. Prim spins it and kisses Finnick. Finnick spins and kisses Annie. All the while, Peeta cannot meet Gale's eye. Eventually, at 7:20, he glances at his watch and exclaims "Shit!" Everyone turns to look at him. The bottle rattles to a stop. "Sorry! I just remembered," he says, "Mum wanted me home twenty minutes ago." This is a lie; Peeta's parents are away for the weekend. He shrugs apologetically and stands up. "See ya." he says and walks off. Prim raises an eyebrow. Everyone else turns back to the game.
Once he is out of sight, Peeta starts running. He reaches his house, opens the door and shuts it behind him again. He slides down to the floor and leans his head back against it. He's glad no-one's home. His brothers are at university and his parents have gone on holiday for three days. He is alone.
He's been sat there for two hours, thinking about the kiss. About how good Gale's lips felt against his own. About how he shouldn't be feeling like this. But he is and there's no denying it now. He's had a crush on Gale for a long time, but he is now sure that someone has noticed or realised after the kiss.
There is a knock on the door. Peeta starts. Slowly, he gets to his feet and opens the door. Gale stands on the front porch. Peeta is surprised. "Hi." Gale says rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Is...um anyone but you home?" he asks. Peeta shakes his head. "Good." Gale says, clearly steeling himself for something. He looks at Peeta, takes a step forward and gently presses his lips to Peeta's for a moment. He pulls back and looks at Peeta shyly. Peeta is shocked. His mind is not processing properly and Gale is beginning to look worried. "Um..." Peeta says. "Wow." This brings a small smile to Gale's face. "That was... um... surprising." Peeta continues. "I mean, it's not that I didn't like it, cos I did... but... um... umph!" Gale cuts Peeta off by kissing him again. Longer this time. When they break apart, they're both grinning. "You going to invite me in?" Gale asks. Peeta takes his hand and, rolling his eyes, drags Gale into the house, closing the door behind them.