"Peeta!" I heard her cry.

Katniss is near me. After the recent announcement from Claudius regarding the rule change, I was desperate to find her too, but with the current state of my severed leg I was unable to move from my existing location. Camouflaged perfectly into my surrounding rocks and scrub, I lay still hoping she looks for me by the lake then I can grab her attention. I hear rustling from the forest behind me. Footsteps. Someone is coming in my direction. My heart races frantically in anticipation to find out who or what is moving awfully fast in my direction. Then splashes in the river. The heavy breathing of a human being. A girl. My eyes search around towards the sound, but nothing is in my range of vision. I continue to lay as still as possible, unwilling to make a move and give away my hiding spot in case the tribute is not Katniss, but a career. The girl steps onto the rocks out of the lake now, and is only about a meter away from the back of my head.

"Where are you Peeta" she whispers.

Relieved, I let out a sigh and look up to her. She appears not to have heard it as she take another step, this one only an inch from my nose.

"Well don't step on me" I laugh.

This catches her attention as she looks down towards her feet.

"Peeta!" she exclaims as a lift my head making cracking noises as my painted disguise detaches from the symmetrical boulder in which I lay beside. She kneels down beside me, bringing her face to eye level. Even with her face being mud covered and blood stained, she is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Her bright grey eyes in complete contrast to her dark brown hair, which is in a single braid, as usual. She throws her arms around my neck and leans into me, causing her thigh to come in contact with my slash from Cato. I let out only a slight grimace because my mind inst focused of the pain. It is focused on the heat Katniss is providing where her cheek is touching my own. She pulls away and looks at me worryingly. My eyes motion towards the tear in my trousers where Cato's knife cut threw. Gently, Katniss lifts the flap of fabric revealing the large gash in my thigh.

"I haven't looked at it yet" I say "I'm too scared to be honest."

Katniss gives me a look. It's obvious from her eyes that she is trying to hide the fact that the wound is severe. "It doesn't look to bad" she lies "We just need to get medicine on it, and it will be as good as new".

I nod in agreement, hoping that even if it is as bad as I think, medicine will do the trick.

"We need to find shelter. Some place where you can rest." Her eyes search around looking for a suitable place to take cover. I look as well, hoping to find something not to far away because I don't know how much walking my leg can handle, if any. "How about that cave?" Katniss says pointing towards a small opening between rocks. "Do you think you can make it that far?"

she offers me her hand to help me to my feet. I go to take a step and the intense pain is too much to handle, causing my leg to give out. Luckily Katniss is there to catch me, pulling my arm over her shoulders and supporting my weight all the way to the cave.

As she lays me and puts her back pack under my head I grit my teeth. The next half an hour or so, while Katniss cleans the wound is the most pain I have ever been in before. Tears well in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall in front of her. Once it's clean and bandaged, Katniss starts making a meal for the both of us beside me. My heart is beating a steady pace which is slightly faster than normal, but still steady. I think back to when we were at district 12. After a few minutes of silence she offers me some bread and a bit of broth Haymitch must has sent her in a parachute.

"That's nice" I say after swallowing the warm brother she spoon feds me.

"Well you fed me once" she replies softly. I look up at her. She remembers when I threw her the bread. She took notice of me.

"I think about that all the time. How I tossed you the bread" I begin.

She attempts to cut me off by sighing my name. "Peeta..."

but I still continued. "I should have gone to you. I should have just gone out... in the rain"

I look at the floor. I'm a little ashamed of myself now. We both stay quiet for a while then I speak softly. "I remember the first time a saw you"

Her head turns to face the floor "Peeta.." she begins but I cut her off.

"Your hair was in two braids instead of one. You were wearing a red dress. My father pointed you out to me actually."

She raises an eyebrow, "Your father?" she asks.

I nod "Yeah. When we were young, at school one day my father pointed to you and said 'see that girl over there? I used to be in love with her mother'. And I said 'her mother? Then what happened?' and he said 'she fell in love with a coal miner'."

Katniss's expression fell into a slight smile. I knew she was remembering her father.

I continued the story. "And I looked at you, then to him and said 'a coal miner? But why would she choose a coal miner if she could have you? And my dad smiled. 'Because when he would sing, even the birds would stop to listen'."

Katniss nodded. "It's true. He did have a beautiful voice"

I smiled at her. "And then in the music assembly, when the teacher asked who knew the valley song and your hand straight up and she sat you on a chair in front of the whole class and you sang... from then on in knew, just like your mother, I was a goner"

There was a second or two of silence before she broke it. "Peeta.." she sighed.

I cut her off again, "After that I watched you go home every day." I paused. "Everyday"

Her eyes, found mine and I held her gaze for a extensive amount of time. "Well say something" I insisted.

"I'm not good at saying something" she said.

"Then come here" I lifted one arm offering for a spot to lay her head on my chest. She hesitated for a bit before laying down against me and I wrapped my arm around her. We lay for about an hour. I drifted in and out of sleep the whole time, as I think she also did. My eyes never left her, not for a second. I knew she didn't feel the same about me. She probably didn't even know that I existed until the reaping. I'm surprised she hasn't just killed me. It would mean she was one step closer to going home to her sister Prim. Actually, why hasn't she just killed me? Is it because she feels a bit of loyalty towards district 12? Or the new rules about having two victors if both are from the same district? These thought pestered my mind while I was both awake and in my dreams. After a while I decided to push them aside. All that mattered is that she is here now, in my arms. I never thought this day would ever come.

The one to break the connection was she when she sat up to the sound of Claudius, the games announcer, over the speakers again. "Attention tributes. Commencing at sunrise tomorrow morning there will be a feast at the Cornucopia. This will be no ordinary occasion, each of you need something... Desperately... And we plan on being generous hosts" and then it falls silent again.

Katniss and I both look at each other. "Your medicine" she exclaims as she jumps to her feet to get her bow, ready to head to the cornucopia.

An instant wave of fear goes through my body. If she goes alone, she is a perfect target for Cato and Clove. I grab her wrist and pull her back down to me. "You're not going alone" I sternly say to her.

Katniss frowns as she tries to resist my grip. "You need it and you can't walk".

I refuse to let go of her arm no matter how hard she tries to pull away. I can't bare even the thought of losing her, let alone losing her because she is doing something in my favour. "Katniss, you're not going to risk your life for me. I'm not gonna let you." My heart is beating faster now.

Then she sort of shouts at me. "You would do it for me. Wouldn't you?" her eyes now staring straight into me. Yes I would. We both know I would. But I love her, and she now knows that. What reason does she have to risk her life for me? Even if we can both get home safely, it's no reason for her to die for me.

"Why are you doing this?" my voice is shaky. I would rather die from this infection than lose her now. Suddenly her lips are on mine. It takes me by surprise at first, and then I shut my eyes and embrace it. They are soft and warm, just like I imagined them to be. It's several seconds before her lips part allowing me to softly slide my tongue through them. She does the same. Now our lips and tongues are moving rhythmically with one another's. Her hand caresses my cheek as mine rests on the small of her back. My whole body is filled with a warm sensation as I kiss the girl I have had a crush on forever. When our lips finally break contact she gazes into my eyes likes she is pleading for me to let her help me. Her hand is still resting on my face as now both of mine are around her, and I cannot find the strength to ever let her go. "Now there is no way I'm ever letting you go" I whisper. Her eyes close as the words leave my mouth.

"Peeta.." she say once more.

"Please" I plead. "Stay"

my hand now rests on her hand on my cheek. She lets a breath escape her. Before she lays her head on my chest again, this time both her arms embrace me tightly. I think to myself, There is no way I am letting her go ever again.