*Authors Note*
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Okay I'm biting the bullet, I'm posting Marvel. I'm not going to put it off anymore! I will have Clove up soon! (For my HG Tribute profiles)
Happy new year to all! What are your resolutions?
Leave a review, I know it isn't my best work, but I just wanted something sappy for New Years, and I figured this was cute! Leave reviews and watch for Marvel and Clove!
10 Minutes to Midnight
I have no clue as to why I agreed to come to New York City on New Year's Eve with Madge Undersee, Delly Cartwright, and my best friend Gale Hawthorne.
It had started on a Thursday two weeks ago when Madge and Delly cornered me at school and demanded that I come with them to NYC for the ball drop.
I told them that I would think about it.
When I got home from school that day, Prim who had arrived ten minutes earlier than I had was waiting for me at the door, tapping her foot like an impatient mother would when her child was late for curfew.
"Gale was here. He's going to New York with Delly and Madge. I have talked to mom. You're going with them." she said in a commanding tone.
I groaned, "Prim, I don't want to go. I want to stay here, drink sparkling grape juice with you and watch everything on tv, I don't want to go!"
"You're going Katniss. End of discussion." she replied.
Prim thought the conversation was over, but I had a final card.
"I can't afford it! WE can't afford it." I snarked, trying to hide the grin that I knew would help me win this argument.
Prim gave me a knowing smile, "Knew you would say that. Actually you can. Gale told me he would only accept $100 from you at the most. The plan is to drive up there on the morning of the 30th, sight see, crash at a crummy motel, partake in festivities on the 31rst, watch the ball drop, party, crash for a few hours at same crummy motel, then head back on the afternoon of the 1rst. We have $100, you're going."
I whined, "Why! What did I ever do to you guys? How do we even have an extra $100 laying around?"
"You're homecoming dresses from the past three years. Mom has a fund to save up for our dresses, should we decide to go. You never went, so you have homecoming funds and winterformal. So instead, we're sending you to New York." she said with a smirk.
"Fine! What is your motive for this anyway?" I demanded.
"You're a depressing introvert. We're sending you to New York so that you can hopefully stop being so hostile and have some fun for once. You work so damn hard with you job and school that we have decided that you need some fun."
"Whatever! I'm not going to meet someone like you think I will." I replied as I kicked off my boots and stomped into the kitchen to grab an apple from our bare fridge.
Prim followed, "Who cares if you meet someone or not. The fact that we're getting you out of the house for once in your life is a miracle. So we're good with that."
Fast forward to now.
Again, I have no clue why I agreed to come.
The crowd here at Time Square is huge.
With a capital H.
Hell, all of it should be capitalised.
The crowd is GIGANTIC! And they were so loud!
It was a gigantic, boisterous crowd.
And it was only getting worse now that it was 30 minutes to midnight.
I had lost Gale and Madge and Delly somewhere in the crowd earlier. Madge was wrapped around Gale's arm and Delly was just wandering around and being pleasant to people.
I got the feeling that Madge was hoping for a midnight kiss from Gale. She always had a thing for him. I didn't mind. Gale deserved happiness. He always worked so damn hard to help take care of his family.
He worked 2 jobs as compared to my one and he was trying to get a welder's apprenticeship so that he could get a steady career.
He had been this way for years, ever since our fathers died together in the mine explosion that rocked our town.
He and I worked together to survive. Collecting aluminum cans and plastic bottles and finally, resorting to bow hunting in the woods for fresh meat.
The hunting was illegal since we didn't have permits, but it got to the point where we no longer cared.
Thankfully, with me having a nearly full time gig, we only had to resort to hunting during tight months, which were rare now.
Gale deserved Madge. Madge would be good for him.
I hope things work out well for them.
Like I said, I had lost them in the ever growing crowd, but we had a back up plan.
In the event we were to get seperated, at 1 am we were to regroup at a coffee shop about ten blocks from time square. It was a starbucks and we all knew how to get there.
So that was the plan so I relaxed. Also, I had my cheap flip phone so I could call them if needed.
Though that meant using my precious minutes and I didn't want to do that. So I decided to stick with the coffee shop plan and only call them if absolutely necessary.
I wandered the crowd, pushing my way through all the people.
Music was playing, it was the final preformance of the night for Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve.
This year the Lumineers, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Miley Cyrus and Imagine Dragons were playing.
The Lumineers sang "Ho Hey" which is one of my favorite songs just because it is so simple. I was missing them at that moment as Miley gyrated her pelvis onto a panda bear this time.
It was a cringeworthy moment and I looked away and pushed through the crowd again, my eyes on the people around me instead of the gyrating girl who was screaming for attention from her father, breaking his achy breaky heart.
All around me there were either couples or large groups of were reveling in the New Years celebration with drinks all around and noise makers and filming each other making declarations of love.
I managed to witness about three proposals and about 20 girls sobbing because they were turned down.
I got closer and closer to the front of the crowd, the people who were right up against where the ball would be falling from. Thankfully, Miley's performance was over and it was just a news announcer now, so I didn't have to get closer to that trainwreck.
The closer I got the more antsy the people got. I think it had something to do with the fact a good chunk of them were intoxicated.
Whatever the reason be, I started to get pushed around and my small frame couldn't stay up right, and I was pushed into the very strong arms of some boy with wavy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes who was wearing a black pea coat, a red scarf, one of those ear flap hats and a pair of sturdy looking blue jeans.
I recognize him immediately.
It is Peeta Mellark.
He and I go to school together.
He is the baker's son.
And he is the boy who saved my life.
My mind flashed instantly to the past
The days following my father's death, we no longer had food in the house,and me being a measly 12 year old, i had no way to get income and my mother was just gone essentially, completely unresponsive to everything. So we couldn't get on welfare since she couldn't fill out the paperwork and I didn't have access to the information that the government needed.
I did the only thing I could think of, and that was dumpster diving for possible scraps.
When I was at the bakery, Mrs. Mellark chased me away.
I sat pathetically under a tree in the pouring rain, crying. Peeta came out a few minutes later with a red mark on his cheek and two blackened loaves of bread. He crumbled up half of one of the loaves of bread, intending it for the birds, then checking behind him, he chucked the rest of it at me, looked at me briefly, then went back inside.
I grabbed the loaves and ran home.
Apparently Peeta had burned the bread, whether by accident or on purpose, I don't know and I didn't particularly care, but it fed my sister and I and it was food for my mother.
The next day I went and collected cans and bottles from the trashcans and side of the road and turned them in and was able to buy the cheap cans of food from Aldi's.
I cooked an edible meal that night for my sister and I.
It consisted of beans and hotdogs, but it was still food and it kept us full and gave us energy.
Things were starting to look up because Peeta had saved me.
I was shocked back to the future then.
"Katniss! Are you okay?" Peeta asked, worry in his eyes.
I nodded my head, "Yeah, um thanks for catching me."
I had to yell since I couldn't even hear myself think.
Peeta righted me then pulled me close so he could talk into my ear, "You sure you're okay? You zoned out and I yelled at you like three times, but you won't respond."
I nodded, "I'm fine Peeta. If I may, what are you doing in New York?"
"Same thing as you, here for the party. Where are your friends?"
I scoffed, "Who knows! Madge is probably trying to corner Gale to kiss her and Delly could be anywhere. Are you here alone?"
"Nope, my brothers have a tradition of coming to NYC every year for New Years Eve and this year I got to be included. I just don't know exactly where they are currently."
I looked up at the gigantic clock that was on the plaza, counting down until midnight. It read 20 minutes to midnight.
"Do you want to get out of the middle of the crowd?" Peeta asked me, still having to yell.
I nodded.
Peeta wrapped his warm hand in mine and started to pull me away to the side of the crowd, out of it and onto the far sidewalk that was less crowded.
We walked down the street until the crowd thinned out. But we could still see the ball and everything, if anything, we could see it better because there were no longer so many people obstructing our view.
There were still a lot of people where we were, but not as many, and the deafening loudness had dwindled down to a slight roar.
The clock now read 10 minutes to midnight.
"So, Katniss, how are you liking New York?" Peeta started, removing my hand from his and shoving both of his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
I shrugged and mimicked his moves, "It is okay. It is gigantic and I don't like that. Too many people, so few trees. I mean, Central Park is nice as are all the sights, but I never want to live here."
Peeta let out a hearty chuckle, "I can agree with you there. I can't wait to go home tomorrow. I mean, New York is an exciting place and what not, but still, I prefer my home."
I nodded in agreement with him. "Yeah, home isn't as loud. I mean, this place NEVER sleeps."
"No it does not."
After Peeta said that, we stood there in silence for a few minutes. It was rather awkward. Yet somehow we seemed to push through it.
Then Peeta broke the silence between us.
"You know, there is magic in New York though." he said with a grin.
"Magic? Really? Do elaborate please." I said, trying to return his grin.
"Well, think here for a minute. We are in one of the largest cities in the world, on New Years Eve, when the place is packed, and us, two high school students from Pennsylvania, managed to run into each other in the crowd only minutes before midnight on New Years Eve. Come on, there is magic here. That sort of thing just doesn't happen." he said with a smile.
"Do you really think that is magic?" I replied, mulling over what he had just said.
"No, I think it is more along the lines of fate. The universe is trying to tell us something." He said in all seriousness.
"What is the universe trying to tell us?" I asked.
"Not really us per say, more like me." Peeta replied, glancing up at the countdown. It read 3 minutes to midnight.
"Okay, so what is the universe trying to tell you?"
"I think it is trying to tell me to stop being a baby, take advantage of this pristine moment in time, and tell you how I feel." He said, his cheeks turning red.
I was taken aback, "How you feel? Care to elaborate?"
"Katniss, I have been smitten with you since kindergarten. Completely head over heels, practically in love with you. You just never noticed because you were always so focused on survival. But here we are, in New York, at midnight on the New Year and we run into each other right before midnight. That is the universe telling me to get my damn act together and do something."
My breathing hitched, and I realized that I liked the baker's son. A lot.
I took a step closer to him, so that I was less than an arm's length away.
"What is that something that you need to do?" I asked as quietly as I could without my voice being drowned out.
And that was when the countdown began:
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
It rang out from the voices of everyone in the square.
I felt Peeta's strong arm wrap around my waist and pull me closer to him so that our bodies were pressed together. I stood about 6 inches shorter than him.
I looked up to see his piercing blue eyes staring into mine, they were filled with lust.
His face got closer to mine, and his breath danced across my lips.
"This is what I need to do," he said against my lips right before pressing his lips against mine.
It was a perfect first kiss.
The square rang with celebration and "New York" played out on the speakers set up around the square and confetti rang down on us.
Peeta pulled away from my lips a few seconds later.
I smiled up at him, the cold nipping at my cheeks as I beamed up at Peeta.
"So, how do you feel exactly?" I asked him with a smile.
Peeta's chuckle rang out across the square and he pulled me against his chest again.
"Do I need to make my point clearer?" he asked with a smile.
I nodded and Peeta pressed his lips against mine again.
This time the duration of our kiss lasted longer, and this time I wrapped my arms around his neck, making it last longer.
We finally separated about a minute later, and I pressed my lips against his cheek, not wanting to separate from him. Peeta smiled down at me.
"So, what time are you heading back tomorrow?" he asked.
"Early afternoon. We were going to 'party' tonight and then sleep for a few hours in the morning and then head home around one tomorrow, or today, you know what I mean."
"Sounds like our plans. I have no clue where my brothers are, and where ever they are, they are probably going to have sex, so I don't want to deal with them. Can I come 'party' with you?" he asked with an award winning smile.
I pecked his lips and nodded.
"Yep."
We started to walk to the coffee shop. The cold was bitter and I could use a hot chocolate. Peeta's hand slipped into mine.
I blushed and laced my fingers with his.
"So, Katniss, where does this leave us?" Peeta asked with a smile as we were waiting at a crosswalk.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, can I make you my girlfriend?"
I paused, contemplating what he asked, then the light changed and we started to cross.
Suddenly I stopped in the middle of the crosswalk, stood on my toes, and kissed him.
We separated because cars were honking at us.
"Does that mean yes?" he smiled.
I nodded my head.
Peeta smiled at me and then did a fist pump in the air.
"See? I told you New York City was magical! I came here alone and single, ran into the girl that I adore, and now she's my girlfriend."
I beamed up at him and leaned against his arm, "I guess you are right. New York is full of magic. I still miss my forest."
Peeta's cheery laugh rang out.
That there was possibly the best New Years of my life.
In New York City, the place that is full of magic.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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