Well hey! I'm back again, because I just missed writing really after I finished Those Blue Eyes. This is just a cute little one-shot that I dreamed up, and my boyfriend told me he loves me for the first time yesterday so I'm feeling extra-mooshy and cute! (I'm also a little hungover so I need something to take my mind off of my headache. Reviews, maybe?)
Enjoy x
He was in his AP Biology class the first time he saw her.
She wasn't like the other girls. No, she was so much more beautiful. But in a subtle, natural way.
Her hair was over her left shoulder in an intricate braid. She had no make-up on, and was only wearing simple jeans and a green t shirt.
But Peeta knew that he was a goner. He had to talk to her. No girl had ever made him feel what he felt right now, and how Peeta had never noticed her before in his class was a complete mystery to him. It wasn't a particularly large class; it contained about seventy students, and they all sat in tiered row seats. It also wasn't a large college, most likely as it required ridiculously high grades. Scholarships were few and far between.
Somehow, he got the feeling like Katniss usually liked to sit at the back, as right now she was near the front and scowling down at her notebook.
At that moment, the teacher entered, forcing Peeta to tear his gaze away from her; luckily, she had not noticed him staring.
He had to talk to her.
Peeta entered the large house, immediately assaulted by the smell of alcohol and sweat. He hated frat parties; being surrounded by drunk, slutty girls and gyrating bodies. He began to wonder why he had even bothered coming.
A girl with waist length blonde hair and slightly orange make-up approached him, her eyes lustful. She made a show of pushing her chest towards him, but Peeta wasn't interested. He had been with his fair share of girls; some of them one night stands, and some relationships. But now, and ever since his biology class last week, he hadn't been able to get that girl out of his head.
Peeta smiled distractedly at the girl, sliding past her to get a drink. His plan was to have a drink or to, say hi to Finnick, and leave.
That whole plan went straight out the window the second he saw her.
She was standing in the kitchen of Finnick's house, holding a glass of what looked to be water, and sporting a slight scowl.
Peeta's feet started to move towards her on their own accord, but his brain soon caught up. He quickly turned around and left, panicking.
"Peeta! How's it goin' man?" Finnick slurred, throwing an arm around his shoulder.
"Uh, good, good." Finnick nodded, clearly drunk.
"So, uh, who's the chick in the kitchen?" Peeta asked hesitantly.
"Who, Katniss? She's kind of a bitch. A little snobby. But, hey, maybe you could crack her?" Finnick declared, making Peeta blush.
"Why's she here?"
"Oh, she's Annie's friend. She's been here before, but she's hardly said two words to any of us." Peeta presumed 'us' was referring to Finnick's housemates, Thresh and Thom.
"Interesting. I'm gonna get another drink. See you 'round." Peeta said, already making his way back to the kitchen. Finnick's insight made him even more intrigued.
Peeta approached her slowly, trying to choose his words carefully. In the end, all he could come up with was;
"Hi." He gave her a slight smile while he said it, and her eyes snapped up from looking at the ground. She looked guarded; shocked, almost, that someone was talking to her.
"Hi." Her response was short, and her tone was clipped. Almost defensive.
Silence.
Peeta cleared his throat. "So, uh, are you a biology major? I saw you in the class."
"No."
"Oh. So what do you major in?" He asked, grasping at straws to keep the conversation alive.
"English." Her replies were short and quiet, and Katniss kept looking at her watch and sighing. But Peeta wasn't giving up that easily.
"Cool. Why're you taking biology then?"
"I needed an extra class, and I like science. Look, I don't know if this is some kind of practical joke or what, but can you just.. Just fuck off."
Peeta blinked. "K-Katniss, I- I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Of course you do. The kids in my high school had the same idea. The whole 'let's pretend to like the poor girl, invite her to a party, get her drunk and take advantage of her' game."
"I- I would never d-do that." Katniss gave him an exasperated sigh and stalked off, leaving Peeta frozen in shock.
Peeta could smell popcorn in the air, and the bright lights and loud, happy noises almost overwhelmed him as he walked through the gates towards the fairgrounds. It was a completely cheesy set up, but Finnick had convinced him that it was a good place to pick up girls.
Why not?
He had barely even looked at a girl since his first encounter with Katniss, which had been a little over two months ago. He had almost approached her several times, as they always seemed to be the first people that showed up for their general biology class.
But he didn't.
And he missed sex. Crude as it may be, he was still a guy. It had been over three months since he had last been with a girl, and it had not gone unnoticed by Finnick. He had even christened Peeta 'Blue Balls', and claimed that this would be his nickname until he found a 'sweet piece of ass'.
He had classy friends.
All of these thoughts left his head as he saw her standing there.
She was wearing a floral dress, with brown ankle boots and a thin denim button up shirt, which was opened. Her hair was in its usual braid, and she had no make-up on. But she was still the most beautiful girl that Peeta could see. Her beauty overloaded his senses, and it took him a few minutes until he realised that his friends had moved on. They were headed towards the arcade.
Peeta followed along, trying to slip back in to the group unnoticed. He thought that he had succeeded, until Finnick whispered to him.
"I saw you staring at her."
Peeta simply shoved him away, not acknowledging him.
They had a great night, drinking beer and spending money on the clearly rigged games. They decided to leave at around midnight, to go to the bar which was down the street. But Peeta saw Katniss standing on the end of the dock, and she looked upset.
Not like she was jut in a bad mood; no. She had tears running down her face and she was hugging her arms, shivering.
"Hey, guys? I'll catch up with you at the bar." They all shrugged in response, but Thom had seen him looking at Katniss. He gave her a sly grin and winked, turning round to join the rest of the group as they walked ahead.
Peeta jogged over to Katniss, concerned.
"Katniss? Are you OK?" Katniss looked up at him and sucked in a shaky breath, clearly trying to regain her usual composure.
"I'm fine." Her voice was meek, so Peeta sat down beside her, mirroring her position, swinging his legs over the edge of he dock.
"Are you sure, because you look pretty upset." Peeta bumped his ankle against hers, trying to lighten the mood a little. This was the first contact that he had ever made with her, and it sent a shudder up his spine.
Katniss sighed, letting a few tears roll down her cheeks. Her resolve seemed to crumble before him, and she opened up.
"You see that guy over there?" She asked, pointing to a tall, brown hair, olive skinned boy who was making out with a blonde girl.
Peeta nodded. "That's my boyfriend. And the girl? She's my best friend. Madge and Gale. This is just yet another round of the whole 'let's laugh at Katniss game'. They were making out when I got here, and they saw me and didn't stop."
"Oh, God, Katniss. I- I'm so sorry."
Katniss laughed bitterly. "I'm sure you are, Mr. Preppy Rich Kid. I bet you're loving this."
Ouch.
Peeta winced. "It's not like that. I actually care."
"But why, though? Why do you care?" Katniss refused to make eye contact with him, still staring out at the water.
He shrugged. "I guess it's just the kind of guy I am."
They fell in to silence, but nothing about it seemed awkward. Peeta did notice, though, that Katniss' tears had stopped. He smiled.
Katniss noticed.
"What?" she asked, looking at him wearily.
"You stopped crying."
Katniss' eyes softened. "I guess I did," she said softly.
Peeta glanced at his watch, and realised that it was almost one in the morning. As much as he didn't want to, he had to leave.
"Look, I have to go. My friends are gonna worry. I think. If they're not drunk already." Katniss laughed quietly, smiling at him. And it was the most stunning smile that he had ever witnessed.
They both got up, and Katniss looked sad again.
"I- I'm sorry that I was such a bitch to you, at the party. I'm just not used to having people want to talk to me."
"Hey, don't worry about it. I guess I'll see you 'round." He replied.
Katniss nodded slowly, and just when Peeta thought that she was going to walk away, she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
"Thank you." she sighed. Peeta was momentarily stunned, but hugged her back regardless. She suddenly drew back, spinning on her heel and walking away, towards one of the exits.
Peeta was early for his general biology class. Not even Katniss was there yet.
But then she strolled in, looking utterly beautiful. She was wearing shorts today, and she was oblivious to Peeta staring at her legs.
She had the large anatomy textbook balanced in her right hand, and she started to walk towards her usual table.
But instead, she stopped, turned around, and dropped the book on the desk next to Peeta's.
They grew closer over the course of a year. It took time; it was a month before Katniss even spoke to him again after the night at the fair.
And then Peeta realised it.
He was in love with her.
They were baking in Peeta's kitchen. Well, they weren't. Peeta was baking. Katniss was watching and eating the batter; she had called it supervising.
Peeta pulled the cheese buns out of they oven; they were Katniss' favourite.
"Mmmm, very impressive buns Peeta." She winked at him, and then laughed.
"Oh God. I can't believe I actually just said that." Katniss snorted, laughing so hard that she almost fell off of the counter top that she was sitting on.
"It's ok, I know you love my buns." He winked back at her, clearly amused.
"In your dreams, Mellark."
Peeta just smirked, but then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Feelings of lust, hunger and pure love rushed to the surface, and rocked him to his very core. Sure, he had noticed that Katniss was sexy before - it was hard not to. But that was more of a you're a girl, I'm a boy, this is what I'm meant to feel kind of situation.
Now, though, it was so much more. He wanted her. So badly. he didn't want to be the boy that she just ran to whenever a boy fucked her over - which had happened more than once in the last year - or whenever she thought she had a crush on someone, or when she just wanted to get drunk.
No.
He wanted to be able to kiss her, hold her, feel her. He wanted so much more than what they were now.
"Peeta!" He looked up, and saw Katniss running towards him. She seemed to be brimming with excitement, like a child.
"Guess what!"
"What?" he inquired, wanting to know what was making her so happy all of a sudden.
"I met someone."
Peeta's heart fell. He felt everything inside him crumble. This wasn't like the other times she had told him about a guy. This was different. Before, she would just mention in passing that she thought someone was hot or that she liked them a little.
This. This meant that she had a boyfriend.
Peeta quickly regained his composure. "That's, uh, that's great. What's his name?"
"Cato. He's so handsome. He has these smoky blue eyes, like yours but not as bright and striking. And his body. Holy shit, Peeta, I almost jumped his bones in the middle of the lecture. He's new here, from Chicago. Aaaand, he asked me out on a date!" She squealed, and Peeta was jealous.
Not mild jealousy, like when they were children and his brother had better toys that him.
No, this was pure, unadulterated, anger.
"Ugh! Why won't he answer his phone?" Katniss said angrily.
"Because he's a dickhead." Peeta grumbled under his breath.
Katniss looked up from her blackberry, where she was typing furiously. "Huh?"
Peeta sighed. "Nothing."
"Baby! Finally! Where have you been? Oh, that's ok. Gimme a call whenever you can. Love you too." Katniss chattered happily down the phone.
When she hung up, she explained to Peeta. "He was at a party last night. Got waaay too drunk and passed out at Marvel's house."
Peeta sighed.
It had been like this every weekend.
He knew he had to tell her. Quickly, too, or he would lose his nerve.
"Katniss?" Katniss looked up from her phone in answer.
Peeta quickly strode over to her, cupped her cheeks in his hands, and kissed her hard. He moved his lips over hers greedily, and the kiss felt better than he could have ever hoped. She let out a squeak of surprise, but kissed him back regardless. He swiped his tongue along her bottom lip, begging for entrance. But Katniss pulled back, breathing hard.
"Peeta, what the fuck was that?" she whispered, touching her lips.
"Katniss, I'm in love with you, and I fall for you more every day."
Katniss' face fell. She reached up and touched his cheek, but suddenly pulled her hand away. "I- I can't do this. I'm s- sorry, Peeta."
Se got up and left, leaving Peeta alone in his living room.
And the tears began to fall. He hadn't cried in years; not since his mother died. And even then, they had been tears of slight relief. Because it had meant no more suffering for him and his brothers at the hands of that evil woman.
But this; this was Katniss. Not just some crush on a random, pretty girl. He loved her.
Peeta got on with life after that. He didn't see Katniss outside of their general biology class. She returned to her old seat at the back of the lecture hall, but throughout the boring classes, every week, he could feel her eyes on him.
He liked it.
One day, he was sitting in the college library scrolling through twitter on his laptop, when he noticed Katniss approach him.
She didn't say a word.
She just swooped down and crashed her lips to his.
When she pulled away, she spoke quietly to him. "It's you. It's always been you. Since that night at the fair ground. I love you."
Peeta was shocked, to say the very least. After minutes of silence, he regained his voice.
"C- Cato?"
"He cheated on me. And I realised that you were right. You weren't just saying those things because you were jealous. You would have known he was an asshole even if you didn't love me." She replied, tears brimming in her eyes.
"I love you Peeta. So much, it scares me. But I don't care. As long as I get to be with you that doesn't matter." She kissed him again, silencing any response he would have come up with.
They barely made it into Peeta's apartment. They were a flurry of hot, wet kisses, and searching hands. His roamed over her breasts and backside, and hers ran up and down his back and grasped at his hair when he began to leave a trail of burning kisses along her collarbone and neck.
"B- Bedroom," was all he was able to get out, before she wrapped her legs around him. He stumbled his way down the short hallway, never breaking their kiss. He pressed her up against the wall, ripping off her shirt and bra. He gasped when he saw her exposed breasts for the first time; she made a similar noise later when she pulled down his trousers to his ankles.
They both savored the night.
When he entered into her, he kissed up her neck and stopped at her ear, whispering "I love you." to her.
They made love into the early hours of the morning, never letting go of each other. It was perfect; albeit slightly awkward. But Peeta half expected that, because they were best friends. They knew each other's embarrassing stories and shortfalls. This was going to take time.
But Peeta knew that it would be worth it.
A/N.
Weeeell there you have it! I know it's not very long but I wrote this in a day. I had the idea just rattling around in my head, and also the two subjects they're studying at college (biology and English) are my two favourites and I am currently trying to decide which to study at college myself. Any opinions on that? Feel free to add it to a review!
Love you guys!