Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Katniss POV
I ran to through the seam to the fence that separates district twelve and the forest. I stood there listening to see whether the fence was turned on. Fortunately, it was not. I slipped under the fence and ran to the log I kept my bow and arrows. Today would be the first time I went to the woods since the arena. Today would be the first time I saw Gale, and I was excited. I grabbed my bow and arrow and went to the meadow. I decided I would wait there until Gale came. I heard distant movement and got an arrow ready. I was scared it could be a peacekeeper.
"Put your arrow down Catnip it's only me" I heard the familiar voice of my best friend, Gale say.
I dropped my arrows and ran into him. He picked me up in a bone crushing hug and spun me. I almost started to tear up. Almost. I inhaled his scent and realized how much I missed him since the games
"I missed you so much" Gale said, his voice breaking at the end.
"I missed you too Gale" I mumbled even though I knew he could still hear me.
When he put me down on the ground I picked up my arrows and looked at him, not knowing what to say. But as soon as his eyes met mine, I could tell there was something on his mind. For a second I thought about whether or not I should ask him but I decided against it. Knowing Gale, he would probably end up saying something.
"Should we get started?" he asked, breaking my trace of thoughts. I nodded and we went to work.
After about an hour of hunting I went to the meadow and saw Gale sitting there.
"Four squirrels, two rabbits, two birds and two turkeys. You?" he asked.
"Three squirrels and a bird" I said and looked down knowing that was not a lot. Gale's eyes looked at the ground before meeting mine. He then stood up and we started heading back to town. We walked silently to the fence before listening. The fence was silent so we slipped under. We continued walking around in silence until we reached Victors Village before he opened his mouth.
"Katniss" he started off and right away I knew that it was going to be serious because he didn't use the name "Catnip" He inhaled and started again.
"Katniss, are you ok? I know it's been hard considering everything going on, but I want you to know that I'm here for you, in whatever way you need me to be" He said as he put his arm around me. To everyone, this may look like a romantic gesture, but I knew better.
"Katniss, I really want you to know that you can trust me" he said. And with that sentence, I broke down crying. I tried to stop, because I knew that crying would make me look weak, and Gale must have known what I was thinking because he wrapped me in a hug allowing me to sob into his shirts. I didn't realize we were already at my house until Gale opened the door to my Victors Village house. Once again, I tried to hold back my tears, failing miserably.
"You know Katniss, its okay to cry" Gale gently told me. I was still crying into his shirts but I managed to reply.
"Crying is for the weak" I managed to get through my sobs.
"No Katniss it's not. Crying doesn't make you weak. Katniss, you are the strongest person I know, you have been through a lot, it makes it ok to cry" Gale told me soothingly. And then I cried for everything. I cried for Prim, for Gale, for Peeta, for Rue, for Thresh and the games. I cried knowing I am a target for president snow. I even cried for Haymitch.
When I finally gained control over myself. I looked at the time. I had been crying for a straight twenty minutes. I looked at Gale and realized that I soaked his shirt.
"Thanks Gale, for everything. Thanks for being there for me and for taking care of my family when I was gone" I said this knowing now that I am in debt to him.
"No problem Catnip, it's what friends are for" he replied.
"Gale, I know I'm in debt to you-" he interrupted me before I could finish my sentence.
"Katniss don't think of it like that. I'm your friend and after everything you had been through, I think you deserve a friend" He said. But my mind still wasn't at ease, but instead of arguing, I just nodded my head.
I went a grabbed a paper and pen. Gale looked at me with a questioning glance. I began writing on the paper.
(Katniss is in Bold, Gale is in Italics)
"I can't say much now, my house is probably bugged. So just in case, don't say anything the capitol could get us in trouble for" I passed it to Gale covering as much of it with the front of the journal so that hopefully, secret cameras would not be able to see what I wrote.
I looked at Gale and saw him replying. He passed it back to me.
I wouldn't be surprised. He replied
I nodded my head and ripped it out of the journal tossing it in the fire. I quickly showered and got dressed allowing Gale to shower after me. Half an hour later, Gale came out of the shower with only a towel around his waist.
"See something you like?" Gale said with a joking wink. And we laughed. He got dressed and we went through town. He first went to the butcher shop and sold the turkeys. We then walked past the bakery. I tensed and stopped walking. I knew Gale wanted bread so I sucked it up joined him. We walked into the bakery and I saw Peeta kneading dough.
"I'll be right with you" he said. He wiped his hands on his apron and washed his hands. He then turned around and saw me. His smile got bigger and for whatever reason, he looked at Gale and his smile dropped. I wonder why. He quickly put another smile on his face but I could see right through it.
"I Have 2 squirrels for trade" Gale said. Peeta nods nonchalantly and went to get the bread. Gale sensed that I was uncomfortable and swung his arm around me and pulls me closer to him. He bent down and whispered in my ear.
"Looks like bread boys forgot how to talk" Gale said and I forced a laugh out.
Peeta came back in with 6 loaves of bread in a bag and handed them to Gale. Gale took out the squirrels and gave them to Peeta. Peeta and Gale glared at each other the whole time while exchanging the items. Gale then turned around and faced me. He threw his arm around my waist and we began heading to the exits before I stopped. I wanted to buy a couple stuff.
"Gale I'm going to buy a couple stuff. Go on and ill catch up with you" I said. Gale nodded and kissed my cheek before heading out. I turned around and saw Peeta kneading the dough again. Much harder than the first time we saw him kneading it. I stared at him and smiled a little when I seen him kneading it.
"Peeta?" I asked, hoping to grab Peeta's attention. He turned around and replied with a "Yeah?'"
"Can I have a couple cheese buns?" I asked.
"Of course Katniss" He said as he went and got them. I put my hand in my pocket to pull out money.
"Katniss, its ok" he said. He meant that he didn't want money "I already have more than enough" he finished saying. Even though I know it's true, I already had enough I owed.
"No Katniss really" he said, still protesting.
"No, I'm paying" I said, kind of harshly… He sighed and reluctantly accepted the money. I turned to leave but before I could reach the door Peeta spoke again
"Katniss, if you ever need anything, I'm here" he said, I quietly mumbled a thanks before heading out. Wasn't the first time today I heard something similar to that… I easily caught up to Gale because I was running.
"So how did your meeting with bread boy go?" Gale asked.
"Its Peeta and it was fine" I said playfully punching him. We walked into the hob and I pulled money out to buy us two bowls of Greasy Sae's soup.
"Katniss, I can take care of myself" Gale said stubbornly.
"No Gale" I said.
"Katniss, I'm paying for myself"
"Let me do this Gale" I said.
"No." he said, louder than I expected.
"I was just trying to help" I saw ruddy before turning around and leaving. I walked straight to my house in the Seam, where Prim and my mother were living. I offered for them to live with me, but they refused. I knocked on the door and Prim answered.
"Katniss!" she said and jumped on me.
"Hey little duck" I replied "How's everything?"
"Great! How are you and Peeta?" she said and giggled.
"Nothings going on between me and Peeta" I said.
"Yah, but you like him right?" she asked.
"No, he's just my friend Prim" I said.
"Sure, keep telling yourself that" she said and giggled again. I groaned. Then my mother approached.
"Hello Katniss" she said.
"Hi" I replied. I pulled out a bag filled with money. "This if for you and prim, I'll bring more soon" I said and pushed the bag of money into her hands. She took it and thanked me. I sat down and half listened to Prim talk about her and Rory. When she finished talking I got up, hugged her and my mom before heading out. As I was heading out, I heard my mother whisper something that sounded like "I love you". I mentally groaned as I heard this, why did people decide that today was the perfect day to be all…talkative about their feelings with me?
I walked all the way to my house in Victors Village. It was almost dark so I decided it was time to call it a day. I layed on the couch before I heard a knock on the door. I groaned as I got up to open the door. Without checking who it is, I opened the door and saw Gale.
"Gale-"
"Katniss-"
We both interrupted each other.
"You go first" I said, gesturing him to come in. We stood by the window.
"Katniss I'm sorry about today" he said.
"No, I'm sorry, I should have stopped when you told me to" I said. We both chuckled and sat down.
"Its just, Gale, you need to start accepting things. I mean, you were there for me when I was crying, and when I was away, you made sure Prim and my mother would have something to eat! Gale, I owe you, a lot" I said.
"Katniss, you don't need to repay me" he replied.
"Yes I do. Gale why don't I give you an amount of money every week or something, I mean, I have more than enough for my family and me" I suggested.
"No Katniss, I don't want ca-" and he shut his mouth. He opened his mouth again and said "I don't want your money. I want to work for my money" He said. However, I knew before he was going to say that he doesn't want capitol money.
"Gale, there has to be something I can do. You know I hate being in debt" I said.
"Katniss, there is something you can do…" he said, his voice filled with doubt.
"Anything Gale, you name it. I'll do it" I said hopeful.
"Be my girlfriend" Gale stated. I did not expect that. My mind raced his girlfriend? What? Since when did he even like me? What do I say? Should I say yes?
"Ok" I replied. I owed him that much. His smile got wider. He leaned in and gave me a small peck on my lips. He then turned around and wished me a good night before heading to sleep.
I then went to bed and attempted to sleep. I had the worst nightmare as I slept.
"ahhhhhhhhhhhh" Prim yelled. She was being chased by the mutts from the arena. Prim was a good 20 feet away from the mutts, but the mutts were gaining on her. They finally reached Prim and bit her, tearing her apart but not killing her. They were making this slow and torturous. I heard Prim's agonizing scream as the mutts tore her apart. Then I saw the capitol. I saw President Snow, holding a single red rose. "This is what you get for defying the capitol" His tone was cold and malevolent. When President Snow gave the word, Gale and Peeta got tortured. The men whipped Peeta and Gale over, and over again. Their screams filled the room.
I then felt someone shake me and I woke up "Katniss, Katniss, its ok" I heard. "Katniss it was only a nightmare, only a nightmare" I heard a familiar voice say. I opened my eyes and saw Peeta. His blue eyes staring into my grey, seam eyes. I relaxed just a bit when I heard that it was just a dream, but only a little. The screams were still there, still fresh on my mind. Prim getting torn apart was still on my mind.
I finally went back to reality and saw that Peeta was still there. Rubbing soothing circles into my hand. When did he even get a hold of my hand? How did he even get in here? He must have sensed what was on my mind.
"The door was opened. I was still awake and heard you screaming, I got scared. I thought it could be an intruder" He said looking at the window. I looked at myself and realized that I was all sweaty and gross. Time for me to shower I thought to myself.
"I can leave if you want me to" Peeta said
"No." I said, a little desperately. "Stay with me, please" I asked, hopeful.
"Always" he replied.
I went and took a nice shower. I stepped out of the shower and dried myself in a towel. I put my clothes on and walked into my room. I was happy when I saw that Peeta was still there.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked. He was referring to my nightmare.
"It was horrifying. I saw Prim getting ripped apart by the mutts, and I saw Gale, and you, getting tortured" I said.
"How often do you get nightmares?" Peeta asked.
"I get them a lot. Every time I fall asleep. I wish they were about me. About me getting tortured. Me being ripped by the mutts. But instead, they're always about somebody I love getting hurt in the worse way possible" I said quietly hoping he didn't hear me.
"Same with me. They're always about losing you" He said, his tone matching my own.
"Well you have nothing to worry about" I said.
"Yeah, but sometimes there about losing you… to another" He said it quickly. I knew who he meant. He meant him, losing me, to Gale. We sat in silence for a while before he got up.
"No… stay please" I practically begged.
"Katniss you need to sleep" he said.
"Sleep with me. There's plenty of room on the bed. Just please don't leave" I pleaded with him. His eyes averted from mine and looked at the bed before he said okay. I quickly scoot over and made space for him. At first he sat at the other side of the bed. Which wasn't really helping. Soon I was fed up with it.
"Just get over here and hold me" I barked at him. I could hear him smirk before he scooted over and placed his arms around me. I inhaled his scent. Unlike Gale, who smelled of the forest and the mines, Peeta smelled like bread. He smelled like cinnamon and pastries. I like it. It felt so wrong, Gale was my boyfriend. How could I betray him like that? Stupid Katniss I thought. Even though it felt wrong, it made me happy. It made me more relaxed and content. Like I belonged there. I finally got tired and became drowsy. I felt Peeta move and sit up. Before I could say or do anything, I heard him start talking. So I pretended that I was asleep.
"I just don't know what to do Katniss. You know I love you and I thought after everything we could be friends. And I hope with all my heart we could be something more but I know that will probably not happen. But all I want is for you to trust me. I know it may be hard for you to let me in, but I really hope that you can. I love you, more than you will ever know" Peeta said. He must have thought I was asleep. What am I going to do with this information? I sighed as I felt Peeta put his arms around me again. It made me happy when he did that. Soon after, I fell asleep.
It was the most peaceful sleep I have experienced in a while.
