Katniss POV

Peeta Mellark. That was his name. I always thought the way he smelled was odd. Don't mistake me. It's not like he stunk or anything. Quite the opposite actually. He was the son of a baker. Hell, at this point he practically owned the family bakery. Peeta always smelled like an uneven combination of sugar and flour; almost like a cake batter that had yet to be properly mixed. Contemplating the way he smelled was not unusual for me. It was typically the most exciting thing to do in my Feminism in Literature course. I was being tortured enough. Surely I could stand to look at a gorgeous guy with blue eyes and blonde curls. I viewed it as my reward for being there. Most people asked me why I was even taking this class in the first place. My reply was simple: my best friend Rue was making me do it, and I owed her big time because of the last couple of times she cleaned my puke off of our hardwood floors (a story I will get to at another time). Thanks to an evil professor, and perhaps the worst luck in the world, she ended up at the back of the class and I ended at the front, making the bright spot of my day the only male in the room.

I'd never even spoken to him before and I was quite plain. I usually wore my dark hair in a single braid. I was fond of boots because I liked the outdoors. Hell, according to my sister Prim, the only time people noticed I was a girl was when I was in class, absent bow and arrow. I know what you're probably thinking. A girl with a bow and arrow in 2012? Cut me some slack here people. Most of the mainstream stuff that happens during this time period doesn't amuse me. In my mind, nothing beats the clarity of the woods. Nothing beats the satisfaction I feel when I let an arrow loose and hit my target on the first try. Besides. The only person who knows about my hunting habit is my friend Gale. He'll never tell anyone that or share the fact that he calls me Catnip on a regular basis either.

During today's lecture I see Peeta begin to write something down and I panic,thinking I've missed something important. For the life of me, I can't understand why the dragon lady refuses to put her lectures online, but whatever. All of a sudden, I see a scrap of paper being pushed my way, and as is typical of Katniss, I begin to freak out.

Peeta POV

I didn't know much about the girl who was sitting next to me. My buddy Finnick said her name was Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. It didn't really matter to me what her name was because she was hot. Ok. Let me be honest. Of course I knew her name. Every guy on the soccer team has the mental image of her, in a bikini, being a lifeguard during the free swim hours of the college pool in their spank bank. She was skinny, but not in that off-putting way most of the women here were. She had grace to her. She had muscle, but not enough to be intimidating. As far as I knew the only people she really talked to were a girl named Rue and Gale Hawthorne. SInce freshmen year, Gale Hawthorne had been the bane of my existence. He had this nasty habit of trying to show me up on the soccer field, and then, when I would react and shut him down. I'd be the one who came out looking like a total jerk off.

I saw Feminism in Literature as my opportunity to get to know Everdeen; to finally communicate the crush I'd had on her since we started at this ridiculous college and I started taking this ridiculous course. I slipped her a note that I hoped would turn into more. The look on her face and the blush that ensued was a total reward for me.

If you had to choose, would you be in this lecture, or repeatedly sticking your hand in a fully loaded mouse trap?

I watched her remove a pen from her bag. Could it be more obvious that she wasn't interested in this class. I mean, I never took notes because of my eidetic and photographic but I at least took the pen and paper out of my bag to keep up appearances.

As long as the mouse trap doesn't scream about how all men are evil, I think that would be my best bet.

I tried to hide my excitement at the fact that she'd replied to me. I decided to push the envelope this time around.

Little Italy, that pizza joint in the town square, is pretty quiet. No male-bashing feminists there. Care to ditch tomorrow's lecture and grab a few slices with me? My treat.

I tried my best to focus back on the lecture and hoped she wouldn't tell me no.

I try not to miss lectures, bread boy, no matter how boring they are. Maybe some other time.

It wasn't a definite no. It wasn't a yes either. We briefly made eye contact to let her know I understood. She probably thought that put the matter to rest. Katniss Everdeen would know me well enough soon. My nod was in understanding that we wouldn't be going out tomorrow. I had no plans on giving up on her. I could already tell I liked this girl. I wanted her to be around for awhile and the sooner she went on a date with me, the sooner I could try and make that happened. Before I could realize what was happening, the professor was wrapping up and Katniss was out the door. I couldn't help but smile. In her seat, I saw a picture of her smiling back at me. She had managed to leave her drivers license, giving me another opportunity to ask her out.