Author's Note: This is a one-shot I just published for Yellow for PIP. It will eventually become a 4 chapter fic…hint, hint…there's a reason this one is labeled "Freshman Year." ;)
Thank you to my betas, ct522 and Peetabreadgirl for their wonderful work, and a third thank you to nightlockinthecave for making such a great banner! Now without further ado...
Elevators: Freshman Year
"I finished class, Finnick. What court is it again?"
Katniss looked up from her phone, startled at the sound of the voice now reaching her ears from just outside the rickety dorm elevator and began to blush. She would know that low timbre anywhere.
"Ok, 3A, got it," Peeta Mellark said, phone to his ear, as he walked onto the platform. He pushed the button for the 9th Floor and turned to face forward so quickly that Katniss was sure he hadn't noticed her standing in the corner, continuing his conversation with his friend. "Shit, she is going to be there? Why didn't you say that earlier?" he said in an exasperated voice. Katniss let out an almost inaudible sigh and looked back down at the text message she'd just received from her sister.
Prim: Go out with Johanna tonight. It'll be good for you! P.S. You have almost a full semester of college under your belt now, and you may be hopeless, but I definitely don't believe you when you say that you haven't thought even one guy at CU is hot. Gotta fly, Rory's here! XOXO
Katniss glanced back towards Peeta, her eyes raking over the jeans that hung deliciously off his narrow hips and molded perfectly to his well-sculpted ass, before they traveled higher to stare at the slightly flexing muscles of his broad back, outlined easily by the thin blue jacket he wore. Finally, she peered upwards at his wavy ash-blonde hair that looked like it was in need of a trim, repressing the strong urge she always felt at the sight of those curls to run her fingers through them. Katniss let out another soft sigh, knowing from the many days in the classroom that Peeta's front was just as hot as his backside.
Sure, Katniss could tell her sister that she thought the boy in front of her was, in fact, the hottest guy she'd ever seen, not to mention funny, kind, and incredibly sweet. But Katniss had too much pride.
She knew Prim probably wouldn't laugh at her for liking the guy who was the Freshman Class President, the captain of Capitol University's soccer team, and chair of multiple volunteer projects on campus. Peeta was the guy every girl wanted to fuck and by the sound of his phone conversation, he already had someone to fuck him. Meanwhile, Katniss had a hard time just admitting to herself that she'd fallen for him, too, even more that she'd had a crush on him all semester long.
She still remembered watching him stroll through the door on that very first day of the stupid speech class all freshmen were required to take, exuding confidence in every stride, a broad smile on his face…
Katniss scowled around at the empty seats surrounding her, unsurprised and yet a little disheartened that no one had wanted to sit by her, much less engage her in any semblance of conversation. She hadn't been bothered by it in high school, was used to ignoring the popular girls who insulted or shunned her for the sometimes ragged clothes she wore and her love of archery, hunting, and the general outdoors. But Prim had insisted Katniss buy some new clothes for herself in honor of a new school year instead of going without for the sake of her sister like usual. She was, after all, beginning college, thanks to a very generous need-based grant.
Katniss had hoped she'd be able to make some friends besides Gale, whom she had known since she was young and was like a brother to her, and his girlfriend Madge. They had been her only real friends in high school and were both starting school as well, but playing third wheel to them wasn't always enjoyable.
She tried to remind herself that she didn't need friends. She wasn't here to have fun, of course. Katniss was here to obtain her degree. However, she'd thought...maybe...possibly...that she'd be able to start over somehow, that she wouldn't be known as the girl with blood under her fingers and dirt on her face. But judging by the vacant desks around her, it appeared to Katniss that college was going to be just like high school. She pulled her textbook and notebook out of her bag, resolutely avoiding any further thoughts about the loneliness that the next four years might hold for her.
But then he walked into the room.
Katniss could barely keep her jaw from dropping as she caught sight of the boy's handsome face, crooked grin, and astonishing crystal blue eyes. And that wasn't even to mention his toned body that was on display for all to see in a well-fitted orange t-shirt that stretched across his broad chest and blue basketball shorts that hugged his ass to perfection.
Katniss looked around, judging by the wide-eyed looks on the other girls' faces, that she hadn't been the only one to notice the boy's arrival. But then Katniss embarrassedly remembered she'd been left alone in here like the loser she was, an island unto herself in the middle of her chattering classmates. She ducked her head, wishing for once that her hair wasn't in the braid she always had it in, so that it could fall on either side of her head to shield her from the humiliation she was feeling.
But then, much to her surprise, the boy came over and plopped down into one of the seats next to her. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he rummaged around in his backpack, barely able to tear her eyes away from his rippling bicep as he pulled a notebook out from his bag, and she felt herself burning with embarrassing desire. She'd never been affected like this by another person ever, especially not one that hadn't even spoken to her yet…And one that likely wasn't going to, she realized with chagrin, for the blue-eyed, blonde-haired god was immediately engaged in conversation by a vapid-looking but beautiful, simpering, ultra-blonde girl with the plastic-looking smile on the other side of him. Katniss bit her lip to keep herself from sighing and went back to staring at her textbook. She hated this class already.
Katniss stared at the clock anxiously, wondering what Professor Snow could possibly be doing that would delay him five...now ten…now fifteen minutes past when the class was supposed to start. She was staring so intently at the door that she only caught the tail end of what the boy said to her.
"...in your hair?" Katniss looked at him in startlement, shocked that he had turned away from the blonde bimbo to talk to her.
"Wh-what?" she managed to stutter out, desperately willing away the flush she knew was creeping into her cheeks. Katniss had never been good at concealing what she felt.
The boy gave her a broad grin and pointed at her hair. "I said, do you know there is a dandelion in your hair?
Katniss mouth fell open in mortification. "Shit," she said, frantically combing her fingers over the top of her head to try to remove the offending weed, accidentally releasing several threads of hair from the braid in her haste. The strands fell in front of her now beet red face. "I was lying out in the grass before class. Thanks for telling me," she muttered, casting him a discomfited look, which only increased at the clear look of amusement she could see on the boy's face. She glared at him, and he gave her a mollified smile.
"Ah, sorry," he said carefully. "Just, it's...still in your hair."
"Damn it," she cursed, sweeping her hands over her crown once more. She gave him a questioning look.
He shook his head, laughing softly. "Nope. You've moved it, but it's still not out."
Katniss huffed in frustration and glanced at the door, debating whether she should chance running to the bathroom and risk the professor finally showing up while she was out of the classroom. Public speaking was definitely not and would never be Katniss' forte, and thus, this was one class she couldn't afford to make a bad impression in. She bit her lip while the debate raged in her head.
"Here, I got it," the boy said, reaching out his hand towards her hair. But Katniss jerked away from his sudden nearness so fast that he jolted into putting his hands up, looking like he was being held at gunpoint. She stared at him in wide-eyed alarm. "Ok, ok. Sorry, bad idea, should have asked," he said hastily, his blue eyes earnest and apologetic. Katniss relaxed a little bit at his apology. "I promise I'm not a creeper. You just looked upset about it."
"You just startled me," Katniss said with an irritated sigh. "A heads up before you invade my personal space next time would be nice." She watched as a light pink tinge flooded the boy's cheeks and nearly kicked herself. Katniss hadn't meant to sound so blunt, but the only close contact she usually had with anybody was a hug from Prim or perhaps a slap on the back from Gale. Though it wasn't exactly like this guy could know that. She had just reacted on instinct. "Sorry," she mumbled at the floor. "Could you just tell me where it is?"
"Right above your left ear," he said quietly. Katniss quickly reached up and finally swept the elusive shoot from her hair. She watched it flutter down to the floor with disgust and moved her foot to grind it into the wooden floor boards. "Hey! Wait a sec, don't do that!" exclaimed the boy, drawing Katniss to reconnect with his gaze. She watched in astonishment as he bent down to pick up the dandelion gingerly. He placed it carefully onto his desk.
Katniss narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Why are you saving an ugly weed?" she asked confusedly. The boy just shrugged.
"Guess I just have an eye for beauty," he said with a searching look that Katniss didn't quite understand, her eyes rising skeptically at his ridiculous sounding answer. The boy laughed again. "Or maybe I just have weird tastes."
"Ok...Sure…Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes a little, which earned another grin from him. "But what are you going to do with it?"
The boy opened his mouth to answer but just then a tall intimidating looking man with a white beard that looked to be in his early 70s walked into the room. "I apologize for my delayed arrival. One of your peers from the previous class thought he'd have a go at becoming the class clown and needed to be...dealt with," the man said in a soft but deadly sounding voice. Katniss' eyes marveled at the thought that there was a student who had dared attempt to mess with this almost sinister-looking man. If there was any teacher who was one not to be trifled with, Professor Snow clearly was it.
He asked them to get out their syllabi so that he could go over the course expectations with the class, which Katniss did so dutifully, but after a few minutes of explanation on the various speeches they would be expected to give, her attention began to wander. She cast a sideways glance at the boy besides her, eyes flying wide in surprise at what he was doing.
The boy hadn't bothered to get his syllabus out but had instead brought out a small worn-looking notebook with a leather binding. He was staring at the dandelion still perched on the edge of his desk, looking down occasionally to sketch the flower out on the paper.
She watched the image bloom before her eyes, fascinated at the way his hand moved smoothly across the page. His care-free expression faded, giving way to a look of far greater intensity, hinting to Katniss that there was an entire hidden world inside him. She wondered who would be lucky enough to explore that place. Certainly, it wasn't going to be her.
Suddenly, the boy looked up at her so quickly that she jolted and had to grip the desk chair to prevent herself from falling out of her seat. She saw his eyes widen, clearly noticing that she had been watching him work, as his mouth upturned into a smile. Katniss felt herself go bright red, and she immediately dropped her eyes to the floor. It was only then that she realized Professor Snow was speaking.
"KATNISS EVERDEEN," the man called out loudly. Katniss snapped her hand up into the air.
"Yes?" she asked.
Professor Snow gave her an imperious gaze, his cold eyes radiating displeasure. "We were introducing ourselves, Miss Everdeen. Or do I have to give you a zero on your first assignment?" Katniss scowled and got to her feet.
"My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am eighteen years old. My home is a small town called Seam about two hours from here. I have a sister named Prim, who is 4 years younger than me. I want to study environmental science," Katniss said bluntly.
"You may sit down now, Miss Everdeen," came Snow's curt reply, dislike written on his face. Katniss' heart sunk, knowing her speech had probably been too short or that she hadn't fulfilled some sort of instruction because of the distracted state she'd been in.
She cast a sidelong glare at the boy as she lowered herself to the seat, feeling a little guilty at the mollified look he was giving her under her stare. Katniss knew she shouldn't be angry at him. It wasn't his fault that she'd tripped all over him like an airhead. She had just never let boys or anything else distract her from her goals and wasn't quite sure how to deal with the frustration. Katniss pulled out the hair tie holding her braid and let the curtain of hair fall into place, determined to ignore everything and everyone for the rest of the period, though that became much harder to do when the boy's name was called.
"Peeta Mellark?" Professor Snow asked. Katniss tensed slightly as she noticed the boy's Converses shift so he could rise from his desk.
"Hey everyone. I'm Peeta Mellark, as the good professor said. I'm from Merchant, though my parents aren't merchants, ironically enough. They're bakers. " Small titters of laughter echoed in the room while Katniss felt a little stunned. Merchant was another small town only fifteen minutes from Seam. They lived so close, and yet she'd never even heard of Peeta. Or maybe she just hadn't noticed.
Peeta continued, "And before you ask, my name is not spelled P-I-T-A; it's P-E-E-T-A, but please don't feel too sorry for me. It could've been worse. I've got two older brothers named Bannock and Rye. At least our parents changed the spelling on my name. They didn't even try to hide the fact that we're all named after bread with those two, the poor bastards." The room erupted into laughter, though Snow's frigid voice still managed to be heard above the din.
"Mr. Mellark, I will not tolerate that sort of language in my classroom. Please see me after the period ends."
Katniss finally looked up to see Peeta holding up his hands in apology, but she could tell he wasn't really sorry at all by the amusement sparkling in his bright blue eyes. "Sorry, Professor," Peeta chuckled. "Anyways, I'm going to be studying business in the hopes that I can open my own bakery someday. Also, I'm on the soccer team so it goes without saying that I'm going to shamelessly beg everyone to come watch us play. First conference game is on the 29th," he finished, sending the group into another round of guffaws.
Katniss subtly looked around, noticing the determined looks on all the girl's faces, and almost snorted with derision. She didn't doubt they would all be at Peeta's games, particularly the blonde girl who was now staring at him with wanton expression, plainly trying to claim his attention as he sat back down…
...Successfully, she realized, as Katniss watched the girl slip some sort of paper onto Peeta's desk. She didn't bother assuming that it was anything other than the girl's phone number, and she looked away before she could see what Peeta did with it. It was better not to know.
The rest of the period passed quickly, much to Katniss' relief, and when Professor Snow announced the end of their session, she hastily began to pack up her things. All Katniss wanted to do was get the hell out of the stuffy room, away from her feelings, and get a bow and some arrows into her hands as quickly as possible.
"I expect you to have read Chapters 1 through 3 of your textbooks for next time," Snow announced as the class began heading towards the door. "There will be a quiz. I also expect you to have picked topics for your first speech about demonstrating 'how to do something in 5 minutes or less.' Now Mr. Mellark, up here if you please," he finished.
Katniss couldn't help but look at Peeta as he again rose from his chair, chatting amiably still with the blonde. Katniss felt her mouth twitch down into a frown, which only deepened when Peeta, not watching where he was going, tripped over someone's bag still on the floor and bumped her desk a little. He meet her eyes, a sheepish expression on his face, but Katniss only scowled back. The blonde was still at his side.
"Mr. Mellark. I'm not going to ask you again," Snow rumbled from the front, while Katniss looked away from him, refusing to be drawn in again. And she swore she fabricated the frustrated sigh she heard him exhale when she did. Peeta made his way to the front, where the professor pointed him towards the door. "Let's go to my office to talk about appropriate classroom behavior, shall we?" said Snow. He marched out, Peeta following along after him with a surprisingly bored expression on his face.
Katniss watched after him in confusion, wondering if he really didn't care about Snow or if he was just acting that way, but then blinked under the realization that she was the only one still in the room. She looked down at her notebook, the only thing she hadn't yet put away, and started at what lay on top of it. It was the dandelion Peeta had been drawing.
Katniss let out a gasp as she looked down at the image, staring in wonder at the way he had sketched each tiny petal with intricate detail. Much to her bewilderment, he had even shaded in the image with some color, though she had never noticed him with any colored pencils. The stem he had shaded a deep forest green, while the flower he had colored the bright yellow of the sun. She tentatively ran her hand over the drawing, marveling at how real his sketch looked. Katniss could imagine the dandelion amongst the grasses and wildflowers of her meadow back home, swaying in the summer breeze under a cloudless blue sky.
Under his hand, Peeta had indeed made the dandelion beautiful. Katniss saw that now, and she could not explain the new sense of hope, for the semester, for friends, for herself, that stole over her. She carefully tucked the drawing into her folder, determined that she would thank him for the drawing when the class next met, and walked out the door with a rare smile on her face…
"Alright man, I'll see you in a half hour," Peeta finished, breaking Katniss out of her memory, while the elevator doors slide shut. She felt it begin to rise. Peeta did not turn around to look at her, and Katniss grimaced, knowing she had been right to think he hadn't noticed her. It wasn't surprising really. Following that first day, she and Peeta hadn't spoken at all.
Katniss had arrived early to the next class session and taken her chosen seat, assuming that she'd again be treated like a pariah, and thus, open desks would remain around her. Instead, she had been surrounded by other girls. It didn't take Katniss long to figure out they were all trying to do the same thing, and to no girl's surprise, the beautiful blonde was the one who managed to have an open seat beside her when Peeta finally walked through the door.
She had almost jumped in surprise when Peeta's eyes had flitted in her direction as he had sat down, but Katniss had only ducked her head in embarrassment, sure he was only confused why the seating arrangement had so radically changed. All thought of thanking him for the drawing had fled from her mind, and she dismissed the strong connection she felt with him as a passing fancy. Though they hadn't even sat near each other since, Katniss at least acknowledged that she was riveted by Peeta's speeches. But then so was everyone else, which made her feel a little better about it.
Whereas Katniss struggled just to get through one assignment, even with the aid of notecards, Peeta talked with such ease that she wondered if he ever practiced at all. Anytime he spoke, she swore she could see every girl clenching their legs together as his smooth voice washed over them. The one where he had demonstrated how to make cheese buns, culminating with him passing around a bag of freshly made ones for the class to try, had been particularly memorable. Her mouth still watered when she thought about how fantastic they had tasted. But Katniss still swore she didn't like him.
Of course, that hadn't stopped Katniss from going to the first men's team soccer game when her roommate, Johanna, had asked her if she wanted to go. Katniss had told herself she was doing it to get out of the dorm, ignoring the fact that she only followed one blonde-haired man as he ran around throughout that game.
She'd been to every game since then too, but Katniss assured herself that it was only to keep Johanna company. The two had formed a fast friendship, much to Katniss' shock. But her friend was a bit wild in terms of her sex life, and Katniss tried not to let it bother her when Jo constantly joked that she wanted "to make it through the entire soccer team, or at least the hot ones." She was never sure if Johanna was serious about that and stopped herself from asking whether Johanna included Peeta in that group. She still didn't like him after all.
Unquestionably, a little thrill still ran through her when she pulled out his drawing from where she always had it carefully tucked in her Speech folder, but she was unable to accept the small hope that still rose within her at the sight of it. And her heart rate always increased when she thought she saw him looking at her in class, but his eyes usually flitted away so quickly that Katniss convinced herself that she was imagining things.
No, the only time Katniss acceded that she might have feelings for Peeta occurred in the dead of night, when she awoke with a cold sweat, her dreams of them together still flashing before her eyes. The visions demonstrated heated kisses and warm embraces, gentle caresses and kneading strokes, two slick bodies lithely intertwining in a rhythmic dance performed since Adam first discovered Eve in that ancient Garden. The hunger that grew within Katniss under the onslaught of those fantasies spread like wildfire through Katniss' body until she felt consumed, a flame burning in the darkness.
It was at those times that Katniss would begin to squeeze her breasts with one hand as she slipped the other beneath her panties to explore the wet that pooled between her legs. It was never long before she would slide her fingers inside to pump herself, wondering all the while what it would be like for Peeta to be there instead. When she would next find the sensitive nub at her apex, rubbing over the bud with rapid circular motions, she imagined it was his fingers performing the act. Then her entire body would tense like a tightly wound coil until the sensations became too great, and Katniss brought herself to trembling completion. She would always have to turn her head into her pillow to muffle her pleasured cries, Peeta's name falling from her lips as she moaned softly with hidden longing.
Tendrils of that now familiar heat were just beginning to surface within her, due to what Katniss assumed was Peeta's all too close proximity, when the elevator came to a shuddering stop.
Katniss jolted forward and went careening into Peeta's back, sending him into straight into the shiny elevator doors. He let out a small cry of pain as his knee made contact with the hard metal.
"Ouch!" he yelled out. Peeta swiveled around to look at her, his pained look giving way to one of surprise. "Katniss?" he asked wonderingly.
Katniss blinked, voice suddenly frozen in her throat over the shock that he had remembered her name. She was sure that he'd forgotten it. "Katniss? Are you ok?" he asked, this time with a look of concern.
"Y-yeah. Just was startled. Are...are you?" she forced out. She looked around him and glared at the elevator doors.
"I'm ok. Just surprised the crap out of me," Peeta answered. He turned around again and went to examine the elevator panel, pointing to the button with the word 'Alarm' written on it. "Think we're justified in pushing this?" he asked. Katniss looked up at the small screen above the doors that should have been displaying what floor they were on. It was blank.
"Yeah, I don't even know what floor we last passed."
Peeta nodded his head in agreement and pushed the small square. They waited a few seconds before a sharp click sounded out from the intercom, indicating it had been turned on.
"Yes? Is something wrong, my dears?" a chipper voice trilled out. Peeta and Katniss exchanged a chagrined look of understanding, recognizing the voice as Effie Trinket's. She was the Resident Director for the dorm and though she was nice, she was sometimes a bit dramatic.
"Uh, yes, Effie," Peeta said politely. "This is Peeta Mellark; I'm here with Katniss Everdeen. We're on Elevator B right now, and it just abruptly stopped about minute ago. Power is still on, but the display screen is blank above the doors."
"Oh! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear," Effie exclaimed. "My poor dears! That must have been so frightening for you; please be alright." Katniss rolled her eyes at Peeta, which he replied to with a smirk.
"We're fine, Effie," he said calmly, his voice so reassuring that Katniss actually heard Effie breath her sigh of relief.
"Ok, Peeta, I trust you my dear. Let me just see who I need to call." They heard some papers shuffling in the background. "It looks like the on call person for maintenance tonight is Haymitch Abernathy. I'm going to hang up now to page Mr. Abernathy, but please don't be scared children. Should you need anything, just press the button again. I am sure we will be able to get you out in a jiffy!" There was a click, and Katniss knew Effie was gone again.
Katniss slumped against one elevator's side panels, letting her head fall down to her chest in frustration. "Haymitch. Greeeaaaaaaat," she said. "We're so going to be in here til next year." She brought her head up again to find Peeta looking at her with a confused expression.
"You know the maintenance guy?" he asked.
Katniss snorted. "You must have gotten a better dorm room than my roommate and I. Our sink keeps springing a leak, and Haymitch is usually the one who gets called to come fix it. He always smells like alcohol no matter what time it is, and I swear to God, he deliberately does a crappy job repairing the sink just to piss me off." Katniss grimaced. "I, uh, may have accused him of that and kicked him out the last time he stopped by. I mean…I don't really know if he was doing that, but telling me 'I know what I'm doing, sweetheart,' when he'd been in to fix it seven times already was the last straw. So…he might not be too keen on helping me, and we might be in here awhile. Sorry."
Peeta's stared at Katniss impassively as she finished speaking, and for one heart wrenching second, Katniss thought she had made him angry, but then he let out a loud laugh. "I don't mind waiting a little longer. It sounds like he deserved it. Next time, you should call me and my roommate, Finnick, instead. We somehow managed to fix our sink the second week on campus, so maybe we can tame yours just as well," he said with twinkling eyes.
Katniss' mouth fell open, both at the way he was taking the news that he was going to be trapped with her until God knew when, and at the insinuation that he would be ok with her calling him. She tried to come up with something witty for a reply, but all she did was blurt out, "I don't have your number." Peeta stared at her, his eyes growing wide in surprise, while Katniss felt a deep heat begin to rise through her face. She bowed her head again, wishing she had a rock to hide under. She'd never been great in social settings, but she thought this might take the cake in terms of awkwardness.
Therefore, it completely bewildered her when she heard a ripping sound from Peeta's side of the elevator. She looked up to find him handing her a piece of notebook paper with his number neatly printed on it. "Here," he said. "For leaking sinks or any other emergencies that may arise." Katniss reached out to take the paper, and their fingers brushed together in the exchange.
Katniss felt a spark of energy as charged as a lightning bolt ran through her, and she reeled back from him, stunned by the sensation. Peeta met her eyes, his blue orbs glinting in the dim light, an expression on his face that Katniss didn't understand. But she felt her heart begin to pound, thundering in her chest under his gaze. They stared at each other in silence for what must have only been seconds but to Katniss, it felt like hours. Finally, she managed to utter a breathless "Tha-thank you."
"You're welcome," Peeta murmured, offering her a warm smile. Katniss smiled back, her stomach flipping with nerves…or maybe it was pleasure. She looked down at her phone and fiddled with the touch screen to bring up her contact list.
Peeta groaned. "Or I could have just told you my number, and you could have put it in that way. Sorry."
Katniss shook her head. "It's alright. It's old school. Now we just have to start passing each other notes during class to solidify our retro coolness," she smiled. "Here, I'll send you a text so you have my number, too."
Peeta retrieved his phone from his pocket eagerly, grinning widely when his phone buzzed with the received text. "Got it," he said. Katniss watched him type her name into his contact list before he looked back up at her. "Passing notes, huh? That would be quite the rebellious thing to do in Snow's class. What do you think he'd do to me if he caught me trying to send a note to you?"
"He'd probably torture you, brainwash you, and then use you as a weapon to kill me. Since, of course, he likes me so much," Katniss laughed. "I think he reminds himself every day that I wasn't paying attention to him that first day in class."
"Just as much as he likes me. I don't think he's forgiven me yet for using 'bastard' that day," Peeta grinned. "It appears we're just two accidental revolutionaries, sacrificing our grades for the betterment of all." He puffed out his chest and struck a noble pose, winking at her as he did so.
Katniss laughed again, but then eyed him skeptically. "I doubt your grades suffer. You're the best speaker in class." Peeta's mouth dropped open.
"You like my speeches?" he asked, a bewildered expression on his face.
"Of course, I do," Katniss said. But the confused look stayed on Peeta's face, prompting her to ask, "Did you think I didn't?"
To Katniss' surprise, she saw a distinctly pink flush creep into Peeta's cheeks. He lifted his cap up and smoothed his hair down, replacing the hat back on his head before he finally answered, "Well, uh, yes…Or, no…I don't know," he said slowly. Katniss quirked her head at him, and he let out a nervous sounding laugh, directing his eyes towards the floor. "It's just…you never look at me when I'm speaking."
Katniss felt warmth spreading from her head all the way down to her toes until she felt like her whole body was on fire. She didn't usually look at him during his speeches, not because she didn't like them, but because she liked them too much. Or rather, she liked the boy who was giving them so much that it took all her willpower not to jump from her seat to kiss him when she listened to his smooth voice, a feeling that only grew stronger if she actually was looking at him. But she couldn't tell Peeta that.
"No, I like them," Katniss said hastily.
"Oh. That's good," Peeta said, but his eyes still did not meet hers. Katniss frantically cast about in her head for some explanation to give him, but none came to her.
"I mean, I did listen to them, Peeta," she said. "I thought the social issues one about the disparate spread of wealth even in Merchant and what's going on there reflects the country as a whole." Peeta's head snapped up at her words, but Katniss plowed on, trying to make him understand that she had been keeping track of him. "You're talk on how to make cheese buns was amazing."
Peeta gave her a sly look. "Or maybe you just liked the snacks I brought? Don't deny that you took two. I definitely saw that," he said teasingly.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Katniss denied airily, trying and failing to keep the scowl on her face, acutely aware that she'd smiled more in the half an hour that they had been trapped in here than in probably the last two weeks. She continued, "And that debate between you and Cato about the best way to survive in the wild was so funny. I still can't believe Snow assigned that as a topic. I don't think I'll ever forget the looks on Cato's face or Snow's face when you said you'd hunt animals by bringing 100 pound bags of flour to throw at them."
Peeta grinned. "Well, when Cato suggested that he'd bring a pack of rabid dogs to hunt for him, obviously forgetting that you know…rabies kills you if you get it, I thought I should respond with an equally stupid answer," he laughed, but then he eyed Katniss furtively.
"I think you'd survive in the wild with no problem," he said, eyes suddenly serious. "I can talk about how to make cheese buns, but you're 'How to' on techniques for the use of bow and arrows was amazing. I only wished you could have actually shot them in the classroom."
"Snow didn't like that I chose that topic for precisely that reason. Could talk about different arrow types, proper stance to be in when you shoot, and how to track the target, but couldn't exactly fire at anything. He gave me low marks," she scowled.
"What?!" Peeta said in an outraged voice. "Yours was definitely the best speech. I think you could have heard a pin drop, we were all so spellbound."
Katniss inhaled sharply at his compliment, feeling like he had to be lying. No one was ever 'spellbound' by herself in general, much less by her words. "Thanks, I guess," she said curtly. A shadow crossed Peeta's face upon hearing her abrupt reply, and Katniss thought she saw a little sadness in his eyes. He nodded his head in acknowledgement of her words, set his backpack down, and slid down the wall to sit next to it.
"Seems like we've got a little longer to wait," he said quietly before pulling out a textbook from his bag. Katniss shrugged and slid down the wall as well, but she didn't move to pull something out of her backpack.
The next few minutes passed in oppressive silence, the easy rapport they had established in the last minutes gone. Katniss opened her mouth multiple times to say something, regret over her blunt reply filling her heart, but each time, she closed it again, at a loss for what to say. Then, her phone buzzed, causing her to jump.
She glanced at Peeta quickly but was disappointed to see he hadn't even looked up from his book. Her gaze again turned downwards to view the message on her phone.
Johanna: Are you coming out with me tonight? Scratch that. I'm not even going to give you a choice. I'm going to get you to loosen up if it's the last thing I ever do.
Katniss let out a soft sigh. She'd almost forgotten about Johanna's insistence that she get out more. Apparently, Katniss' willingness to go to soccer games earlier in the semester didn't meet Jo's standards in terms of social engagement. There hadn't been a weekend since the soccer season ended that her friend hadn't hounded Katniss to come to the parties she went to, telling her over and over that spending entire weekends studying or on the shooting range by herself was abnormal.
Katniss: Trapped on Elevator B right now. Waiting for Haymitch to get me out. Has been 45 minutes already with no end in sight. I'll text you if we ever get out of here, but I doubt I'll want to go out. This is exhausting.
Johanna: Pfft. You spending an hour alone in there shouldn't be tiring. Unless there's a wild and crazy party going on that you aren't telling me about…
Katniss: Well, I'm not alone. Peeta Mellark is in here with me. We talked for a little while, but now he's reading a book.
Johanna: Wait a second. You're trapped. On an elevator. With PEETA MELLARK?
Johanna: WTF, Katniss? Why didn't you tell me that first?
Katniss hesitated before responding, casting another surreptitious look in Peeta's direction. She had the distinct feeling that he'd been watching her, even though his eyes were at least now focused on the book. Or maybe that was just more wishful thinking, she thought, exhaling another sigh. She began to type out a reply.
Katniss: I don't know. It didn't seem important to say.
Johanna: Katniss. You went to every soccer game I asked you to go to with me this semester, and then didn't pay any attention to me whatsoever during them. Don't think I didn't notice you eye-fucking our Class President, Mr. Sex Walking, the whole time. I'm not an idiot.
Katniss: That's not true, Jo!
Johanna: You've been hot for him since the first day of your speech class. Yes, I know you have that class with him. No, you're not allowed to ask me how I know that. It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are in a small enclosed space with that tasty morsel. So what you are going to do about it?
Katniss: Tasty morsel? That's gross, Jo.
Johanna: No deflecting! Seriously, Kat. You've liked the guy since the day you met him. Take a chance and tell him. Going to sign off now but text later when you get un-trapped.
Katniss bit her lip. It was easy for Johanna to say all these things to her; she'd never had a problem saying what she wanted. Katniss, on the other hand, wasn't sure what her desires were half the time. She was always so focused on school or Prim or whatever else was going on at the moment. Her phone buzzed again.
Johanna: P.S. He likes you. Don't fuck this one up, Brainless.
Katniss gaped at the screen, repressing the strong urge to look at Peeta again. What did Johanna mean? How could she possibly know who Peeta liked? Hadn't Katniss heard him talking about another girl earlier when he was on the phone with his friend?! Those questions and many more like it raced through Katniss' head, before she let out a snort of disbelief. Johanna had to be wrong.
"Something funny?" Peeta's asked suddenly. Katniss looked up and saw the curious expression on his face. She felt her face turn red.
"Ah…Just something my roommate, Johanna, texted me. She wants us to go out tonight, but as I'm trapped here, it's not too important." Katniss internally sighed with relief when Peeta nodded, seeming to have bought her lie. She was terrible at keeping secrets. But then an odd look crossed Peeta's face.
"Johanna…" he said slowly, recognition dawning on his face. "As in Johanna Mason?"
Katniss blanched, her fears that Johanna had successfully worked her way through everyone on the soccer team rising again to the forefront of her mind. Her heart plummeted to her stomach and then continued downwards, shattering on the floor. "Yes, that's her," she said flatly, anger flaring at Jo for having encouraged her when she and Peeta had probably hooked up sometime. That was probably how she knew that he and Katniss shared a class. Katniss got to her feet, suddenly too anxious to sit anymore.
"Johanna is cool," Peeta said, staring at her confusedly, before he rose to stand as well. "That's got to be fun having her as your roommate."
"How do you two even know each other?" Katniss asked in a harsh voice.
Peeta winced at her tone. "We've been at a few of the same parties, so we've talked to each other a bit. Some of the guys on the team have uh…gotten to know her well."
Katniss stared daggers at him. "Gotten to know her well," she echoed. "That's an odd way to put it. Did you forget I live with her? She talks about how well she's gotten to know your team, all of the members on your team 'in the biblical sense,' as she likes to phrase it," Katniss practically shouted. Peeta just stared at her, open mouthed and wide-eyed.
Katniss took his silence as his acquiescence, and she had to turn away from him to blink back the frustrated tears that had formed in the corners of her eyes. Suddenly, all she could think about were those lonely nights where she had thought about him while touching herself. Some of those were probably times that Johanna and Peeta had been together.
She heard Peeta softly stepping towards her and tensed as she felt his presence right at her back. "Katniss, please look at me," he requested, his voice just barely above a whisper quietly. But Katniss shook her head, refusing to turn around. "Ok, then. Please just listen to me," Peeta said with a soft sigh.
"Johanna is nice and all, but she scares the shit out of me. I probably don't need to tell you some of the crazy stuff she does, and while yeah, she's probably um…been with the majority of guys on the team, I'm not one of them. I don't have a problem with the way she is, but I can guarantee you nothing will ever happen between her and me." Katniss sucked in a breath, her heart rate increasing again, but she still couldn't bring herself to look at him.
"Why?" she whispered.
"Because I like someone else," he said simply. She felt Peeta's hands on her arms, his touch sending warmth flooding through her body, as he gently turned her around to face him. Katniss looked up at him and nearly gasped at the loving look he was giving her. "And judging by how jealously she was acting just now, I think she might like me, too," he finished with a smile.
Katniss opened her mouth to say something but once again found her words paralyzed in her throat, stunned by his confession. She watched the smile slide off his face, and he took a step back from her. "Or maybe not," he mumbled at the floor, his face turning bright red. The loss of him finally sprung Katniss into action.
"Yes!" she said, taking a step towards him to bridge the gap he had created. "Or…I mean no. Or…shit," she said, embarrassed at her stumbling words. But then, she got an idea.
Katniss reached down to her backpack and rifled through it, finally spotting the item that she wanted. "I'm not…always good with words. Sorry. But here," she said, pulling out a piece of well-worn notebook paper from within her speech folder. She offered it to him, and Peeta took it, his confused expression morphing into one of astonishment.
"You kept this?" he asked, his voice rough with emotion, staring down at the drawing he had given her of the dandelion.
Katniss tugged on her braid a little nervously. "Yes. It, you were right. Dandelions are beautiful. Or at least the way you draw them."
Peeta looked up at her then, amazement plastered on his face. "I thought I had made you mad. You looked upset when you sat down after you gave that introduction speech. I…I just wanted to make you happy."
"You did make me mad," Katniss admitted, bowing her head in shame. She moved on quickly, saying, "But I wanted to thank you the next class period, and then I just lost the nerve to tell you." She watched Peeta's feet move closer to her again. "That first day in class, I was so embarrassed that I was alone, that no one had chosen to sit by me. It felt like high school all over again." She paused, trying to collect her thoughts, and took a deep breath. "But your drawing…it probably sounds so stupid…it just gave me hope for this year. That things would be better. Yellow is now definitely my favorite color after green."
Katniss shuddered as she felt Peeta's hands cup her face, bringing her head up gently so that she met his blue eyes, which were like shining lakes, brighter even than the stars. They were so close now that Katniss could have counted every small freckle he had scattered across the bridge of his nose. He ran one finger along her cheek, leaving a trail of fire in its wake, and Katniss felt her eyes drifting downwards seemingly of their own volition to his mouth.
"So your favorite color is green," he whispered, his warm breath caressing her face. "Mine's orange." And then his mouth descended upon hers.
For a second, Katniss stood there, not quite able to believe that Peeta was kissing her, but the heat from his lips on hers finally left her with no doubt, and she began to respond. Katniss wrapped her arms around Peeta's neck as he pressed her tightly to him, her hunger for him licking through her as quick as wildfire. His kiss was so much better than she had ever imagined.
Katniss moved her hands up to Peeta's hair, knocking off his baseball cap to gain better access to his curls. She ran her hands through them, smiling against his mouth at the deep groan she drew from him by her actions. "Two can play at that game," Peeta said roughly. He gripped her hips and pulled her lower body more tightly against him, causing Katniss to gasp in surprise. She could feel how hard he was already though his jeans, and she felt wetness begin to pool between her legs in response. "Oh, Peeta," she moaned, pulling his mouth back to hers.
Peeta tentatively ran his tongue along her bottom lip, a silent question on his lips, which Katniss answered by opening her mouth to him. He plunged inside, probing every corner of her mouth with his tongue, sending new pulses of energy directly to Katniss' already throbbing clit with every stroke. She joined her tongue to his in a sensual dance.
She didn't know how long they held each other like that, but when they finally broke away from one another, Katniss found herself unable to catch her breath, paralyzed under the look of desire on his face. His eyes were nearly black from his want. "I've wanted to kiss you like that since the first day I saw you in that classroom," Peeta gasped, his chest heaving from their exertions. He brought her back to him to suck on the tender skin behind her earlobe before he began to trail kisses along her jaw.
"Really?" Katniss panted, gripping his shoulders tightly as even more powerful sensations wracked her body under his ministrations.
"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He stopped for a second, and Katniss growled with disapproval, but his eyes had a curious look to them. "Why were you mad at me that day? You said you were." Then, he went back to kissing down her neck.
"I-I wasn't' really m-mad at you," Katniss stuttered out. "You just were...Oh!" she paused, temporarily rendered speechless by the onslaught of pleasure flowing through her as he ran his tongue along her collarbone.
"Yes?" he chuckled, now blowing on the supple skin that formed the juncture between her neck and shoulder.
"Y-you just were…" she trailed off again as he began to suck at that point, struggling to hold herself up. Katniss' legs felt like jelly. He stopped again, giving her a playful grin.
"Yes?" he asked again. By the mischievous look in his eye, Katniss could tell he knew exactly what he was doing. She snorted in frustration, watching as his lips descended towards her neck again.
"Fuck. Distracting," she called out. Katniss cupped his face, not allowing him to go any further. Instead, she ran her hands down his chest to his stomach and back up again and backed him up against the wall, she stretched up on her tiptoes to attack his neck with her lips, satisfaction rising within her at the loud gasp he emitted. Two could play at this game, indeed.
"God, Katniss," Peeta groaned. "You feel so fucking good." He tilted his head downwards again and slanted his mouth back over hers, his tongue thrusting between her lips without hesitation this time.
Their kisses took on a different texture than before, filled with a more frantic energy. Little sighs of blissful revelry fell from Katniss' lips as Peeta's hands ran over her body, making her feel like he was everywhere at once. But eventually she couldn't take anymore. Katniss gripped him tightly around the neck and wrapped her legs lightly around his waist.
Peeta slid his hands underneath her and turned, pressing her up against the wall. He thrust against her, grinding against her core until Katniss was moaning with pleasure. "Peeta," she gasped. "Please. I'm...I'm going to…" But she couldn't speak anymore as she reached her climax, coming harder than she ever had before, never more grateful for Peeta's steadying presence as she shiveringly came down from her high. Finally, Peeta set her down gently but still kept his arms wrapped around her.
Katniss looked up at him and kissed him gently. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Mmmm. You're wonderful, Katniss," he replied softly.
"I think you have me confused with someone else," Katniss said with a shake of her head. "But you're amazing." She glanced down at his still straining erection and boldly cupped him, stroking his length through his jeans. "I'd like to take care of you now," she smiled.
Peeta groaned, his head falling back onto his shoulders. "Don't you think that would be a bit messy for the elevator?" he asked. But he made no effort to remove her hand.
Katniss looked at him wickedly. "I think there are ways to avoid the mess, don't you?"
Peeta's eyes flew wide at the implication behind Katniss' sentence, his body tensing as Katniss quickly unbuttoned him and slid her hand inside his jeans. "Katniss, you don't…"
A loud banging suddenly erupted from just outside the elevator doors. Katniss and Peeta sprang apart like they'd been shocked by something as a gruff voice called, "I'll have you out in a second, sweetheart."
"Shit," Peeta groaned, scrambling for his backpack. He arranged it over his groin and gave Katniss a sheepish smile. Katniss, however, was unable to smile back, suddenly panicking at the thought of leaving the elevator.
Small, dark, and dingy as it was, Katniss had come to like this place for the safety it provided. But once those doors opened, she knew the reality of their world would come crashing down upon her and Peeta. Even though he had confessed to liking her since the beginning of the semester, Katniss could not hope to expect that he would continue to want her. Peeta could have anyone he wanted, and there still was that girl he'd spoken about on the phone, after all. She tried hard to resign herself to the concept that they would probably not have more than this hour together, but the pain in her heart suggested that she would not survive it. Somehow, Katniss knew she needed him.
The elevator doors slid open to reveal a grinning Haymitch. "Good evening, sweetheart. Nice to see you again," he said, voice filled with sarcasm. She watched his eyes scan over herself and then travel to Peeta, a knowing look that Katniss didn't like on his face. "Who's your boyfriend?"
"Nice to see you actually fixing something for once," Katniss retorted, deliberately ignoring his second question. "Let us out now," she demanding.
Haymitch smirked at her and moved to the side silently. Katniss breathed a small sigh of relief as she walked past the man, feeling Peeta walking closely behind her. She looked around and realized the elevator had actually jammed at the eighth floor. Her dorm room was just down the hall. She turned to Peeta but scowled when she saw a troubled look on his face, her fears rocketing skywards now that they were officially out of the elevator.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh. Nothing," he replied, but he didn't quite meet her eyes. Katniss' heart skipped a beat.
"So, I...uh...guess…you probably have things to do now," Katniss said haltingly, her distress increasing as Peeta's face fell. She didn't understand what she'd done to upset him.
"Yeah, I guess so," Peeta sighed. "I was supposed to meet some friends to play basketball a half hour ago, but I would…" Peeta trailed off briefly for a second. "J-j-just. Nevermind. I'll see you a-around," he uncharacteristically stammered. He turned to go, but Katniss caught the sad expression on his face, and she finally understood that he didn't actually want to go.
"Wait!" she said, gripping his hand to stop him. He turned back to her, the hope sparking in his eyes encouraging Katniss to speak. "Don't go. I...I know you're supposed to play basketball tonight. I heard you when you were talking outside the elevator. I'm sure that girl is way prettier and better than me, but please stay with me. I don't...want to lose this."
"Girl? What girl?" he asked her, confusion reigning on his face.
"You asked your friend why he didn't tell you she was going to be there," Katniss said reluctantly, worrying that Peeta would be upset that she had eavesdropped. But to the contrary, Peeta started to laugh. "What?" Katniss asked indignantly. She tried to place her hands on her hips, but Peeta tugged her into his arms to embrace her tightly.
"The girl I was talking about was Glimmer. I don't think I have to tell you what a nut she is?" he asked against her ear, kissing along the shell carelessly. Katniss trembled and nodded. Glimmer was the beautiful blonde that Katniss had been jealous of on the first day of class. It hadn't gone without her notice that Peeta rarely talked to Glimmer, no matter how hard that girl tried to get his attention.
"So you'll stay with me?" Katniss asked in a small voice.
"Always."
Katniss: I found a cute boy. Not so hopeless anymore, Little Duck. :)
Katniss: Hey Jo. Took your advice. Sorry...or not so sorry...but I can't go out tonight.
Johanna: Details! I need to hear this…
Katniss: Nope.
Author's Note: As always, thank you so much for reading. Please review!