Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or the song Over and Over Again.
Over and Over Again
Wringing my hands, I walk into the drama/choir room where the teacher of both classes, Effie Trinket, awaits tapping away at her phone, seated neatly at her desk.
"Excuse me, Ms. Trinket?" I call out. "Teacher said you needed me, and that it could, "Absolutely not wait until class!"—I heard you over the phone."
She startles a little, but a smile immediately replaces her overly perfected features, no doubt from the pounds of makeup she uses every day. "Oh, yes! I have some very exciting news!"
"Yeah?" I say, taking a seat in the front row of chairs lined feet from her piano.
"Yes!" she chirps, "You've been such a good assistant these past three years, so I wanted to give you the pleasure of choosing a song we could sing for the Valentine's Day Spectacular!"
My brows furrow a moment, it's the beginning of December and we're still rehearsing for the Christmas Joyfest. But then a thought comes to mind and I begin to nod enthusiastically, "Yes, of course. Thank you so much, Ms. Trinket."
A proud smile takes over her face. "Do you have a song in mind? I have others picked out, but mostly for the whole choir, I need more solos and duets?"
I feel my cheeks begin to redden as the song I sing to myself whenever I think of Katniss comes to mind, "I have one. Have you ever heard of the song Over and Over Again? Particularly the duet between Nathan and Ariana?"
Her eyes sparkle in recognition. "Oh, Peeta, that's perfect!"
Nodding my head, I feel myself becoming light headed at the thought of the song I'm so overprotective of being sung by two people it means nothing to, but want to show off their "talent." "Could I make a suggestion? On a singer."
"Enlighten me, dear,"
My cheeks feel on fire once again as I say her name aloud, "Katniss Everdeen. I believe she's in your women's choir?"
Her eyes soften at the name, "She has a beautiful voice, perfect for this one. . . but I don't know if I could convince her to do this, dear. I've tried to give her solos many times, but she never budges. And that young lady has real talent."
"Yeah," I say softly. "So when do the song lists get posted?"
She looks down at her notebook full of. . . well, notes. I swear, if you ever try to find something in there, you'd get lost and never be found again. I may or may not speak from personal experience. "I was thinking this Friday actually, with auditions on the last Monday before break, then I will announce the performers that Friday. That gives everyone two weeks to practice their act, and then break for the official performers to adjust themselves. And when we get back, we can practice, practice, practice until our voices are raw."
I chuckle, "Sounds fun."
"Yes, now get back to class dear, let me write you a pass. . ."
Students go crazy after the lists of acts are posted. I see it myself as I stand near the back of the crowd listening in on people's conversations about what they think which songs are worth trying out for, mine seems to be a hit. It's when I'm turning back to get to my next class that I see her. "You going to audition this year?" I can't help myself.
She jumps before looking at me in surprise. "No,"
"Why not?" I ask, my voice audibly disappointed. I've only talked to Katniss Everdeen a handful of times, always out of obligation, but only because she's the only person who's able to make me nervous.
Her eyes are full of curiosity when she looks at me again, "I don't like attention."
I'm caught at a stalemate. "You could still try it."
She hugs her books tighter to herself, and I can see her trademark scowl threatening to make its appearance. "No thanks."
With that, she speeds off, my eyes loosing sight of her in the midst of the crowd. Damn.
Sitting next to Ms. Trinket, I tap my pen lightly on the clipboard. Of all the auditions, only two girls have come close to meeting my expectations for the duet. No guys.
Another guy steps in and tells us that he's auditioning for Over And Over Again. I'm immediately alert as I ready the evaluation sheet. Ms. Trinket begins to play the instrumental and he begins the first verse.
Nope.
When he's finished, I can't help myself from standing up. "Do you want to hear me sing it once? Your voice has really good potential."
The boy is obviously a freshman, and he looks intimidated by the second place wrestler. He nods and I look over to see Ms. Trinket eyeing me curiously, a pleased smile across her face.
As she begins to play the piano, I feel many pairs of eyes on me, but train my focus on the long manicured nails of Ms. Trinket as she approaches my entrance.
"From the way you smile
To the way you look
You capture me
Unlike no other. . ."
When I finish, Ms. Trinket is busy writing something down.
My cheeks fill with color, but chills run down my spine as I feel an even greater presence. After taking my seat once again, I discreetly look around to find none other than Katniss looking at me, an unreadable expression.
"Next."
Katniss makes her way to stand in front of Ms. Trinket. "I would like to audition for the female counterpart in Over And Over Again."
"You came, darling! I guess my nagging worked, huh?" Ms. Trinket teases.
Katniss' eyes meet mine before turning away quickly, "Kind of."
Ms. Trinket begins to play the instrumental leading up to the female's entrance. I am in no way prepared for the voice that fills my ears.
"From the heat of night
To the break of day
I'll keep you safe
And hold you forever. . ."
The room is silent when she's finished. Her eyes flit about nervously before I begin clapping, others joining me one by one. I'm in awe as I see a couple of girls begin to exit the room.
"I knew you had it in you, darling." Ms. Trinket whispers softly. "Thank you for coming."
Without a doubt, my scores for her are off the charts. This is hers without a doubt.
The rest of the auditions go by in a blur, filled with recording every audition as well as scoring them.
The room is filled with talk of the quiet Everdeen girls' audition until they slowly come to a stop.
"Thank you again, Peeta. I don't know what I'd do without you." Ms. Trinket tells me as we exit the room and make our way out of the building. "I think I have a good idea on who they're all going to."
"Do you think—"
She chuckles, "You'll have to wait like everyone else."
"But I always hear your top—"
"Not this time," she says evasively. "It's six o' clock, you better get home now. Take care!"
Nodding, I begin to walk in the direction of my car. "You too, see you tomorrow Ms. Trinket."
As I get into my old black pickup truck, I put the key in the ignition and sit back. Why would Ms. Trinket not want to tell me her top five from each song?
A horrible thought comes to mind. What if she didn't want me to know because she didn't want Katniss for my song? I had told her I wanted her. . . but no one else even compared to Katniss.
Trying to push the though in the back of my head, I drive back to my family's bakery to start my shift.
The biggest mob of people surrounds Ms. Trinket's door. The bulletin board is cleared for the list that Ms. Trinket has yet to tack up there. If Katniss doesn't get the part, I want to see who Ms. Trinket thought was better.
The door creaks as Ms. Trinket exits her room and walks over to the bulletin board. Everyone steps back as she tacks up the list.
As soon as Ms. Trinket steps away, everyone rushes forward.
The print is far too small for me to read from my spot, but I begin to pick out the disappointed and happy faces from the crowd, trying to remember what each of them auditioned for.
"Congratulations, Peeta," I hear a voice say, turning to find Clove, who did a fairly okay audition for Over And Over Again. "You and that Everdeen girl got my song."
My eyes nearly pop out of my head. "What?"
Her little smirk becomes more confident. "You're gonna duet with Everdeen. You mad 'cause it isn't me?"
"I didn't even audition," I argue. "How. . ?"
A laugh escapes my fellow wrestler, football, and baseball teammates' girlfriend. "Come on, everyone heard about your pretty little singing. I was actually getting used to the idea of singing a love song with one of my boyfriend's best friends. . . but then she got it."
I turn to find Katniss being bombarded by congratulatory comments and gestures. Her cheeks are a beautiful scarlet and she has a small proud smile on her face, one of my own begins to grow. "You did great on your audition, Clove."
My shoulder is met with a powerful punch and I turn to face her, rubbing my throbbing shoulder. "Well you should've scored me higher. Now I don't even have a solo. I was so sure I was going to get that part. Everyone else sucked."
I shake my head at my small friend. "I'm sure you were a close second."
"I mean, who could've expected that Everdeen would audition? Who even knew she was even a little good?" Clove rants. "Ms. Trinket always gives me a part, no matter what. And then suddenly she decides to do something and she gets the part I wanted?"
"Calm down Clove, you got the big lead in the Christmas concert." I try to calm her, but that only seems to add fuel to her fire.
"Exactly! I'm good. Really good. Ms. Trinket knows that," she says, her eyes fiery. "That part should've been mine."
Shaking my head, I squeeze her shoulders lightly in an attempt at a light hearted hug. "It's not that big a deal."
"It's the biggest one! Everyone wanted it. And I heard Ms. Trinket had big plans for it." Clove pouts before rolling her eyes. "At least you got a part without even trying."
I don't even have time to respond before she's storming off muttering something about Cato.
"Good job."
Turning around, I find Katniss standing awkwardly behind me. "Thanks, you too."
Nodding, she walks away, heading to Ms. Trinket's door. I watch as Ms. Trinket engulfs her in a hug before handing her multiple sheets of paper. I catch her eye and she winks in my direction before talking to her other performers.
It hits me then that this is the reason why she wouldn't tell me her top picks. Making my way through the mob, I accept congratulations before giving Ms. Trinket a look.
"I'm sorry, Peeta. You just did so wonderful!" she tells me before pulling me in for a hug. "I can't believe you were hiding such talent from me!"
Shaking my head, I give her a smile. "I'm not a performer. But, thank you for giving me the part. I hope I don't disappoint."
"You could never!" she says before handing me my own small stack of papers about the song and other important information.
When she's finished, the warning bell sounds and everyone begins to make their way to first period. "At least it's a half day," I sigh.
Katniss and I are side by side as we sit before Ms. Trinket.
"Okay my darlings, why don't we start by singing through it. Then we'll go over areas that need some work and try to get you two acquainted with each other's singing."
It's our first rehearsal, and I can sense the nervousness in Katniss. Every other Thursday until the Twelfth is our day to practice with Ms. Trinket, though she wants us to rehearse on our own time. Along with the ton of papers she gave us was the instrumental. I doubt that'll happen.
"Okay. Whenever you're ready."
I nod and she begins to play. Katniss sings the most beautiful notes, and I become so entranced I almost forget my entrance,
"From the way you smile,
To the way you look,
You capture me,
Unlike no other. . ."
Ms. Trinket has a pleased look on her face as I sing my last line before Katniss begins,
"From the heat of night,
To the break of day,
I'll keep you safe,
And hold you forever. . ."
Her voice is unlike anything I've ever heard before, and it has only improved since we were children. I begin to imagine that the words she's singing are towards me, and I'm exceptionally excited as our voices begin to mingle.
". . . When I'm with you,
I lose track of time.
When I'm with you,
You're stuck on my mind. . ."
My voice in no way matches up to hers, but I can't help but think that they blend so nicely together. By the last verse, I'm sad to know its coming to an end. I could hear her sing forever.
"Promise it won't get broken,
We'll never forget this moment,
It will stay brand new,
Cause I'll love you,
Over and Over Again
Over and Over Again
Over and Over Again."
As Ms. Trinket plays the final notes, Katniss and I look at each other with soft smiles.
Our teacher's claps snap our attention back to her. "You guys did so wonderful!"
We nod and she eyes us with pride. "You won't need much practice, just rather time to get used to one another's voices. Let's go over some areas, okay? You both began to falter some when the other entered. . ."
…
"You guys did great! I'm excited for the show, you two give me hope. See you in two weeks!" Ms. Trinket says as Katniss and I begin to pack up and leave.
"Thank you, good night," I say as I begin to exit the room. Katniss says her own quiet goodbye before following me out of the room.
"I didn't know you could sing," she says quietly as we walk towards the front door.
I look to her with a smile, "I didn't either."
She looks down at her feet as a small smile forms on her lips. "Well, you're good."
"I didn't even try out," I point out jokingly.
"Well, I'm happy you got it, anyway."
I'm stunned silent. "I'm happy you did too."
Her cheeks turn a beautiful shade of scarlet at my soft words, "Thanks."
When we get outside, I see her begin to walk towards the sidewalk. "Are you walking home?"
She turns to me, her breath visible in the air as she shyly nods.
"Come, I'll give you a ride."
Katniss sighs as she closes the passenger side door, "Thank you."
"It's freezing," is all I say.
The ride is quiet until I reach her house. I can tell she's confused as to how I know where she lives, but she shrugs it off. "So, do you want to practice next week?"
I'm caught off-guard again. "Really?"
Her cheeks redden slightly, "Yeah. Next Friday. My place?"
I nod a little too enthusiastically. "Okay, I'll pick you up after school."
Her eyelashes flutter as she blinks and nods slightly, "Thanks again, bye."
"Bye."
I rush from my last class to her locker, which isn't too far from mine. She stands in front of hers, waiting patiently, looking at Cato and Clove in disgust as they say their goodbyes. I can't help a chuckle.
"Ready to go?" I ask.
Katniss jumps a little, "Stop doing that."
I smile as we make our way to the exit. "Sorry."
"No you're not," she's says in the most monotone voice, I find myself laughing. "What?"
"Nothing, I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing," she demands.
I almost apologize again, but she's ready and gives me a pointed look. Instead, I raise my hands in surrender. She smiles.
…
When we get to her house, she takes me to her room. It's a small one-story house, but it feels more like home than my big house ever could.
"Okay, I'll put the CD on my laptop," she tells me as she reaches for a silver device on a desk.
Nodding, I get out the song sheet and some notes Ms. Trinket gave us. "Ms. Trinket says we need to work on our entrances the most. We "falter at each other's entrances." But other than that, we just need to work on our dynamics."
"Nice," Katniss says absently before I hear the instrumental begin. "I'm going to skip to you last verse before my first entrance."
I nod as I hear her her begin to skip until the correct point,
"I promise it won't get broken
We'll never forget this moment
It will stay brand new
'Cause I'll love you
Over and over again
Over and over again."
Katniss begins,
"From the heat of night
To the break of day
I'll keep you safe
And hold you forever
And the sparks will fly
They will never fade
And every day gets better and better
And I won't leave you
Always be true
One plus one, two for life
Over and over again."
She looks to me as I begin again,
"So don't ever think I need more
I've got the one to live for
No one else will do
Yeah, I'm telling you
Just put your heart in my hands."
The music pauses and she looks at me with eyebrows raised, "I don't hear anything bad. We sound pretty good."
"Is that a compliment, Everdeen?" I say mischievously.
Her cheeks redden slightly, "Well, you're not that terrible."
I laugh. "Why, thank you."
It became routine for us to practice at her house every other Friday. And with every practice, I felt Katniss and I growing closer together. We began partnering up more in the few classes we had together, and I made a habit of sitting with her and her friend Madge at lunch.
By the time our last rehearsal came around, I could feel the disappointment radiating off both of us.
"You guys, this sounds wonderful! We don't even need to practice anymore!" Ms. Trinket gushes as we both take our seats in front of her piano. "I'm so excited to hear you guys next week, I'm sure it'll be a big hit!"
Katniss and I both exchange a glance before Ms. Trinket has us begin the warm ups. . .
…
When we get into my car, I can feel the tense air even more. After turning on the ignition, I turn to her, "So, when's our last rehearsal?"
She turns to me in confusion, "As a whole, on Tuesday and Wednesday remember? Every act is going, and it'll be as if it were the real thing?"
"No," I say, shaking my head. "Our last practice."
Recognition shines in her silver eyes, a small smile forming, "Oh."
"Thursday after school?" I ask.
The brightest smile she's ever given me forms, "Okay."
The big rehearsal on Tuesday sounded and looked great. We got pretty much everything on schedule, and there were a few minor mistakes, but nothing we couldn't fix.
Wednesday proved successful as we hit everything perfectly, Ms. Trinket was pleased with both her choral and drama departments.
Now it's Thursday, and I'm making my way to her locker once again to practice one last time. It's not necessary at all, as we've "perfected everything even past the point of perfection." Whatever that means.
I bump into a smaller frame and look down to see attentive silver eyes. I chuckle before unconsciously pulling her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew I was coming to you."
Katniss stiffly returns the gesture before looking around quickly and beginning to pull me out to my truck. Oh yeah. Rumors had been running rampant that this duet had sparked a love affair between the two of us. Katniss could not have been more horrified. I couldn't have wished harder for something to be true.
When we get into my truck, I turn on the ignition and begin driving the opposite direction of her house, "What are you doing? My house is that way."
"I know,"
She hits my arm to get my attention. I'm grateful were at a stoplight when I look over to her. "Where are we going?"
"To get ice cream?" I say innocently as the light turns green and I continue driving. The slap on my arm that followed was as painful as it sounded. "Ow, do you want me to crash?"
"Sorry," she says. "But I thought this was an actual practice."
Shaking my head, I turn into the parking lot. "You should know me by now, Everdeen. Practice over ice cream? Please."
"It's cold," she points out. "And you'd had picked practice over anything before."
I chuckle. "Got me there."
When we enter, I drag her over to the counter and let her pick whatever she wants. When it's my turn to order, I just choose a simple one scoop of vanilla in a cup.
I pay, and then we make our way back to the heat of my truck. "Really?"
Turning to her, I raise my eyebrows. "What?"
"For such a colorful personality, your ice cream choice is very basic."
I feign hurt. "Why, Miss Everdeen, I'm hurt. And frankly, I bet my ice cream feels worse."
"Shut up."
We sit in a comfortable silence as we begin eating our ice cream.
"I auditioned because of you, you know?"
Turning to her, I put my spoon back in my cup. "What do you mean? You were already there."
"To watch the other auditions." she shrugs, eating another scoop of her ice cream. "I'd been interested in auditioning for that duet, but my mind went to all the idiot guys in our school, or better yet the ones in the concert choir. So I thought it'd be better to not. . . but then I heard you."
My eyes are glued to hers. "But you saw, I didn't audition. I just showed the guy. . ."
"But I saw Ms. Trinket write down your name on her favorites list when you finished." Katns says softly. "I could practically see her giving you the part, so I took my chances."
I finish the last of my ice cream before setting the cup down and beginning to drive. Was this real? "I wondered why she didn't tell me her top picks after the auditions were over."
"You have the best voice I've ever heard come out of a guy," Katniss tells me. "I'd only ever heard my dad sing like that. . . I thought he was the last in existence." She strains a chuckle.
I reach the nearest stoplight before giving her a quick hug. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be, why—"
"I know you better than you think."
The rest of the ride goes by in silence. When I reach her house, we sit there. "Thank you."
I turn to her, her eyes tell me her mind is elsewhere. "Anytime."
"See you tomorrow, good luck." she says before going to open the door.
"Wait."
Katniss turns around to look at me, her eyes even more lost than before. It's almost instinct when I reach over and kiss her. She does nothing at first, but eventually melts into the kiss. We break apart moments later, and just stare into each other's eyes.
Eventually, Katniss looks down. "Goodbye Peeta."
And with those last words, she slips out of my car and into her home. I don't leave until I make sure she's inside. Even then, it takes me a moment to process what had just happened.
I just kissed Katniss Everdeen, and there's a good possibility I could have just lost everything I worked hard to get.
Standing backstage waiting for Katniss, I looked down at myself, pleased with my simple yet formal outfit. I was dressed in a plain white dress shirt and pants, with matching shoes. And small amounts of makeup accentuated some features. I'm excited to see Katniss.
As if one cue, Ms. Trinket's gushing and heels clicking on the floor told me that they were on their way. "The third act is just starting, the timing is just perfect. You look gorgeous, darling."
Katniss walks in draped in a gorgeous deep purple gown, with the smallest pink accents that complimented both her and the gown gorgeously. Her makeup was light, but made her features stand out beautifully amongst her softly curled hair. She was stunning.
"Get ready, you two. When this little skit is finished, he'll just need to bring my piano out and we'll be ready to go." Ms. Trinket tells us before giving my some compliments as well and leaving to get some "touch ups."
"You look great," I tell her.
She looks at me nervously. Ever since our kiss yesterday, she'd been a little shy towards me. I had been worried that I'd ruined the friendship we'd formed, but she gave me a small kiss on the cheek before preparation today.
We worked on some warmups before the stage director called us out. The curtains were pulled close, and I could hear the crowd behind. Katniss took her seat upon the piano with a microphone, and I stood a few feet behind the curtain with my own microphone in hand as I took my place on the small X discreetly marked with a PM.
The lights turned off as Ms. Trinket gave a thumbs up to the director, and I stood in pitch black darkness for a second before a spotlight was out on me, and stage lights in the colors pink, purple, and white shone behind me, masking Ms. Trinket and Katniss in the darkness.
As the curtains rose and the piano began playing, I began to sing the most beautiful song I'd ever heard.
"From the way you smile
To the way you look
You capture me
Unlike no other
From the first hello
Yeah, that's all it took
And suddenly
We had each other
And I won't leave you
Always be true
One plus one, two for life
Over and over again
So don't ever think I need more
I've got the one to live for
No one else will do
And I'm telling you
Just put your heart in my hands
I promise it won't get broken
We'll never forget this moment
It will stay brand new
'Cause I'll love you
Over and over again
Over and over again."
A second spotlight finds Katniss on the piano as her turn approaches.
"From the heat of night
To the break of day
I'll keep you safe
And hold you forever
And the sparks will fly
They will never fade
And every day gets better and better
And I won't leave you
Always be true
One plus one, two for life
Over and over again."
A huge smile is on my face as I begin singing once again.
"So don't ever think I need more
I've got the one to live for
No one else will do
Yeah, I'm telling you
Just put your heart in my hands."
I can't help but think how accurately the words I just sang describe my feelings to Katniss as we begin to sing together.
"I promise it won't get broken
We'll never forget this moment
It will stay brand new
'Cause I'll love you
Over and over again."
I sing a small verse during a small instrumental as she "oohs" and "ahhs."
"Over and over again,"
Then we begin to duet once again, my favorite part.
"Girl/Boy when I'm with you
I lose track of time
When I'm without you
You're stuck on my mind
Be all you need
'Til the day that I die
I'll love you
Over and over again
So don't ever think I need more
I've got the one to live for
No one else will do
Yeah, I'm telling you
Just put your heart in my hands,"
Katniss is now by my side, holding my free hand in hers as we continue singing. This was definitely not part of the act.
"Promise it won't get broken
We'll never forget this moment
It will stay brand new
'Cause I'll love you
Over and over again
Over and over again
Over and over again."
Applause breaks out as I'm turned around and pulled into a kiss, even louder cheers erupt.
Katniss and I then bow as the curtains close. "What was that for?" I ask her quietly.
"I don't know, I just wanted to."
Ms. Trinket then drags us off stage, telling Katniss that she didn't have to perform in the next act with the choir if she didn't want to.
And she doesn't.
When we get back stage, we accept more congratulations before sneaking off to the empty hallway.
"You did amazing." I tell her.
She smiles, "No better than you."
"Way better than me."
I find her in my arms then, and we just hold each other tight for a long time. "I'm glad we got to do this." She eventually says, breaking the silence.
I smile, "Me too."
With a huge teddy bear, card filled with words straight from my heart, box of chocolates, and targets for her archery sessions in the back seat of my car, I make my way over to Katniss' house in the light snow.
She's going to kill me.
I know it's not the most unique day to ask, but I can't help myself from asking her to be my girlfriend. We don't have school tomorrow because of President's Day, our big duet was Friday, the encore yesterday. It's perfect timing.
As I approach her house, I turn off my car and make my way over to her front door with everything in hand. The struggle has never been realer.
I'm just reaching her door, wondering how I'm going to knock when Katniss appears, swinging open her door with a surprised look on her face. "Peeta, what are you doing?"
I can't help the words that escape past my lips, "I love you."
Her eyes soften as they fill with tears and she opens the door wider. I walk in and set everything on her dining room table. "You're such a fool."
I turn to face her, only to be met with a tight hug and a kiss. When we break apart, I ask the question I'd come for, "Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend."
She laughs, tears running down her cheeks before placing another small peck on my lips, "It would be my pleasure."
After hearing this song for the first time, I fell in love. It's Over And Over Again by Nathan Sykes featuring Ariana Grande. I've never done a holiday fic, and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to, so I spent the entire day writing this (it's so late!) for you guys. Who wouldn't want to spend their Valentine's Day any other way? Haha, I hope you guys liked this, it felt great to write it. Not to mention it's good prep for the other one-shots I'm waiting to post. (;
Follow me on Tumblr at MelodicDaisy (:
Happy Valentine's Day!
With love, Daisy