Peeta Mellark stacked his Physics textbook on top of his binder and swept the stack into his arms. He ran his fingers through his blonde hair and checked his watch. Four minutes to the next bell. If he timed it just right, he'd make it.
"Hey Peet," called his buddy, Thresh, who pointed a dark finger in his direction. "Hold up a sec."
Peeta waved him off. "Catch you at lunch, man, gotta get to my locker and then down to Mrs. Coin's history class before the bell rings."
Three minutes, he noted when he checked his watch again as he crossed the mezzanine to the other wing of the school where his locker was located. He rounded the corner and grinned.
This was the best part of his day, even if she didn't know it yet. Katniss Everdeen was leaning against his locker like she did every afternoon, giggling with her friend Madge as Madge exchanged what he thought were Advanced English books for what was definitely math. Katniss's dark hair was in its typical braid, tossed carelessly over her shoulder where it lay in a straight line over a flannel shirt that floated over trim hips snugly tucked into a pair of skinny jeans.
His mouth watered, then it went as dry as cotton. He licked his lips and praised the locker assignment gods for the four-hundredth time. Katniss's daily presence more than made up for his other locker neighbour, Cato Coughlin, who spent every lunch break tongue wrestling with his girlfriend, Clove Jones; sprawled against Cato's locker door and Peeta's as well.
He shook his head to chase that disturbing image from his mind and tapped Katniss on the shoulder.
Her silver eyes flicked to his, startled as always by his presence.
"Excuse me," he said with a grin. "That's my locker."
"Oh!" she exclaimed as she moved away. "Sorry about that. I'm always doing that, aren't I?"
"It's okay," he croaked a shrug and began to spin the dial on his lock, trying to resist the urge to beat his head against the door. It's okay? Fuck. What happened to the ten funny things he practiced in the mirror that morning?
Madge fastened the lock on her own locker and gave Peeta a wry grin, shaking her head. "See ya later, Peeta." Katniss said nothing, just wrapped her arms more tightly around her books.
He peered around the corner to watch the two girls move down the hall to their next class, heads bent together as they continued their conversation. Their hips swayed in unison as they moved along. They were a study in contrasts; Katniss's raven braid and Madge's blonde curls, Madge's fair skin and Katniss's olive complexion. His mind had already wandered to how her hand would look intertwined with his when Katniss's gaze flicked over her shoulder and connected with Peeta's. His heart stuttered and his lips were just twitching into a smile when she turned her attention back to Madge.
He whipped his History textbook out of his locker and grabbed his binder. He'd just have to try harder tomorrow.