I knock on the Everdeens' front door, hoping that when I come in Gale will still be unconscious from the medicine. But, as usual, the odds aren't in my favor. "Hello, Peeta." Mrs. Everdeen's greeting seems too formal, too forced. I knew that she would be uneasy with me and Gale both here, but there's a hint of exasperation in her voice. Perhaps it's just from treating Gale's lash marks. Gale stares me down with such intensity. I swear, if he weren't wounded at the moment, I would probably turn around and run back to the bakery, locking the door behind me when I get there. Although, with the looks I am getting from him, he might just pick the lock. He is probably that eager to keep me away from Katniss. His Katniss…I guess I would be giving me the same looks too if I were in his position. After all, I am marrying the girl he thought he would marry since he was 14.

Prim, always so warm and kind, doesn't have a hint of insincerity in her voice when she addresses me. "Hi, Peeta! Are you here to see Katniss? She's upstairs in her room. Maybe sleeping, I think her cheek probably still hurts from the whip. You can go up there if you want!" I don't hesitate to address her just as warm. "Thanks, Prim. I just came to check on her. I was worried she might be in pain, so I came to cheer her up."

I take my time walking up the stairs to Katniss's room. Maybe she doesn't want to see me. Maybe I should just leave her alone. She probably wants me to. She probably wants for me to just go away, so she can run away with Gale…

"Katniss? Are you awake?" Her voice is hoarse when she addresses me. "Ya, I'm awake. Come in."

I tiptoe in her room, shutting the door behind me. She slides over to one side of the bed and pats the space next to her. I don't hesitate to sit next to her. But once I do, I forget everything I was going to say. Just looking into those beautiful eyes, I could get lost in them. They aren't just one color. They are a silvery gray mist, with specks of black and white. Suddenly, I remember she is probably waiting for me to say something to her. "I just wanted to see if you were ok, you know, with your foot and all. I know you would rather be somewhere else." I don't say 'the woods', because I know there are probably people spying on us. Ever since those peacekeepers showed up and questioned Katniss about where she had been, I haven't been able to shake the feeling that we're being watched. "I know," she says, "but at least I have you to visit with." I start to lean forward, wanting to kiss her, but stop when I remember we are supposed to be 'just friends'. That is going to be harder than I had imagined.

"Ok. So what do you want to talk about?" I say a little too eagerly. She gives me a questioning look, but continues with what she was going to say anyway. "I'm looking at my mother's plant book. It goes back generations. It was originally for healing, but my father added edible plants, too. It kept us alive when-" Katniss gets a faraway look in her eyes, and I can tell she's remembering her father. To distract her from whatever memory she is recalling, I throw myself into the conversation once more. "That's interesting. There's so many pages in this thing, it must hold tons of information. Even I could survive in the woods after reading this!" I say, trying to get her to crack a smile. She doesn't, but at least I pulled her out of whatever trance she was in before. "Maybe, but you would have to be good at guessing. It doesn't have pictures of the plants or anything, it just describes them-" I cut her off before she can continue. "I'll draw the plants for you." I say. "It could be something we could work on together. As friends, I mean."

Katniss hesitates a moment before saying anything else. When she speaks, she is quiet, but sincere. "I'd like that. A lot." She smiles, and once again I am transfixed by Katniss's beauty.

"Great. Do you want to start now?" I ask. "Actually, I'm pretty tired. But perhaps you could come over tomorrow. We could work on it then." She says. I agree, stand up, and pull the covers up to her chin. I know we are supposed to be just friends, but she looks so beautiful and innocent that I can't resist leaning down to kiss her gently on her forehead.