This story is dedicated to Windsongspringheart.

Like Romeo And Juliet

When I wake up, I come face to face with Katniss, the only girl I've ever loved, the girl I love so much that I gave up my life to be with her. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I've been dead for two months, but have put off meeting Katniss' family. I'm nervous that they won't like me. That they'll convince Katniss I'm not good enough. That she'll kick me out of her house. I don't think my could could take that.

I reach out to touch my girlfriend's check. She means the whole world to me. I smile, and try to memorize her face, just then her eyes pop open. She smiles at me and yawns. "Hi."

"Hi," I echo.

"Today's the day." she declares. "You're not getting out of this, you-"

"But I think I'm feeling sick," I cut her off.

"You're dead, you don't get sick." she points out. I sigh, and roll onto my back. "Now get out of your race car pajamas, and come meet my family." she hesitates. "And friends."

I sit up. "What?"

"I thought it would be better to just rip the band-aid off, you know?" she says. "Because otherwise, you're going to freak out over meeting my friends, too."

"But... then I'll be in a room filled with people I need to impress," I say. "And then, what if they don't like me?"

"Peeta," Katniss grabs my face, effectively forcing me to look into her eyes. And as I stare into them, counting the shades of silver, I start to calm down. "They'll love you." She gives me a quick kiss, stands up, and gives me her hand, I take it, and stand up too.

Within an hour we're ready to go. We walk hand in hand to our front door, she opens it and I barely make it four steps before stopping. "Hey," says Katniss, and I look up from my shoe. "I've known them for like... forever, they'll love you." Then she pulls me across the street and into the house directly across from ours.

I look around at all the ghosts staring at me, and it's like I've walked into a history book. Finnick Odair, his wife, and a boy who must be their son, Haymitch Abernathy, Effie Trinket, Johanna Mason, Gale Hawthorne, and his wife, Katniss' parents, and PrimRose Everdeen with her husband, all stand around the room.

"This is Peeta," says Katniss. "My boyfriend."

People jump up to greet me, and some of my nervousness goes away. "About time," says Haymitch, as he slaps my back. "I was starting to think you'd never find someone."

"Look who's talking," says Katniss.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." he says, then turns his attention back to me. "Now, when did you die, boy?"

"Uh..." I trail off, looking to the wooden flooring. "Two months ago."

"Aww!" says Johanna. "Leave it to Katniss to fall for a baby.

"Shut up, Johanna," says Katniss. "He's been really nervous to meet you."

"Fine," Johanna rolls her eyes. "I'll tease him when he's nice and comfortable."

"How did you meet?" Prim asks.

"He... moved into my house, I tried to scare him away, somehow he could see me." Katniss explained.

"He could see you?" Prim's husband asks. "How?"

"Why would I know?" asks Katniss. "I'm not some brilliant ghost expert."

"How'd you die?" her dad asks me.

"I... killed myself." I say.

"Why?" Katniss' mother stands up.

"Katniss said we couldn't be together because she was dead..." I look at her. "So I thought... if I was dead too..." I trail off.

"So you both killed yourselves." says Effie wistfully. "Just like Romeo and Juliet." Suddenly, I remember the day I told Katniss I loved her, how I'd told her we weren't Romeo and Juliet. The day I got the idea to kill myself. I look at Katniss, and I can tell she's remembering that day too. I squeeze her hand, and wonder if Romeo and Juliet met again in the afterlife.

Suddenly, Katniss' mother cups my face and examines me carefully. "You look... familiar. What's your last name?"

"Mellark." I say. "My great uncle was in Katniss' games."

"Oh," she says. "Well the Mellarks always have looked so similar to each other."

"Do you even know what happened to him?" asks Haymitch. "I'd never thought to look for Peeta."

"I did," says Katniss. "But I couldn't find him."

"Wow," says Gale. "Did you like him or something?" I shift slightly, becoming uncomfortable all over again. Did my girlfriend like my great uncle in a romantic way? Is that why she let me stay in her house in the first place? Because I was related to him? Everybody says I look a lot like him. Is that why Katniss likes me? What if she finds him? Will she leave me for him?

"Of course not, Gale!" Katniss exclaims. Then, everybody gets into an argument over the topic, and I become more and more insecure. "Guys!" Katniss shouts after she realizes how uncomfortable I am. "I asked you all to come here to meet my boyfriend! Not to argue about whether or not I like his great uncle!"

After that, everybody drops the topic, and goes back to interrogating me.

Later, back at home, Katniss sits next to me on the sofa. "I never had feelings for him, you know," she says after a moment of silence. "I went looking for him because I never got the chance to thank him for saving my life."

I look up. "Saving your life?"

"Yeah," she says. "My dad had just died, and we ran out of food. And you're great uncle gave me some bread."

"He sounds like he was a nice person..."

"Yeah." She smiles. "You're just like him, you bake, your artistic, great words."

"If we're so much alike, then how do you know you didn't love him?" I ask.

"Because... I think I only have room in my heart for one Romeo."

I hope you guys liked this one shot, it has been months since I finished writing 'Soulmate' and I was really excited to start writing for these characters again. I'd like to thank Windsongspringheart for requesting this idea. Tell me what you think in the reviews, and I'm really excited for my next story, (it has Everlark in space!) it will probably be out in November, I just started writing it and it's really good!