I watch from our bed as she braids her hair in the small, cracked mirror across the room.
Our bed.
She doesn't live here, but it feels as if she does. A majority of her clothes have made their way into my tiny closet, and she sleeps here almost every night.
She notices me staring at her reflection and her eyes meet mine in the mirror.
"What?" Her voice is a bit uneasy as she finishes off the end of the braid with a hairband. I can tell she feels self-conscious with me looking at her.
"Nothing," I reply, looking down at my fingers which are now brushing through the knots in Buttercups fur.
Katniss is from the Merchant section of town, though she doesn't act like it. Her father owns the only bakery in District 12, and yet she dresses like she's from the Seam. She only curls her hair and wears Capitol sent dresses when she's around her family, the people who don't approve of her association with me. They're humiliated that she's with a Seam boy, and I don't blame them. I don't have anything to offer Katniss other than the deer I haul from the woods, and the love I give her at night, but still—she stays with me.
You could call me a lucky guy.
"Peeta," Katniss is now at my side of the bed, snapping her fingers in my face to get my attention. Buttercup hisses at her defensively.
Buttercup has never been a big fan of Katniss. The first time they met, she accidentally stepped on his tail. He's been leaving little presents around the house to show his disapproval of our relationship ever since. It seems like everyone is trying to tear us apart, even my mangy old cat.
Katniss looks down and scowls at the little lump of orange in my lap, "shut up fur ball." I laugh at their little exchange. Buttercup jumps off my lap and hisses again before leaving the room.
Katniss takes Buttercup's place on my lap and I let out a tired groan when she sits right on my morning wood. Her arms snake loosely around my neck as she nudges me forward, "Peeta, come on. We have to go to the bakery in an hour and I don't want to be late. This is important."
Her eyes are filled with urgency, fear, and ultimately sadness.
She had been trying to get her parents to like me ever since we met by the pond in the meadow, when she calmly informed me that she was trying to drown herself.
I hadn't known her at the time; I only recognized her from school. But the second I laid eyes on this girl in the water, this beautiful, delicate girl with bruises all over her arms, I knew that I couldn't let her go. I had this immediate and overwhelming urge to protect her, a part of me had ignored the practical voice from within that warned not to get involved with this Merchant girl.
When I finally convinced her to come out of the water, she collapsed in my arms, sobbing into my shirt incoherently and clutching at my shoulders.
After all her tears had subsided and her body was no longer shaking, she was limp and exhausted. If I could lift a 100 pound deer then I could lift this girl, I thought as I picked her up in my arms and carried her to the nearest oak tree. I slid my back down the tree, trying not to drop her. My butt made it to the ground without waking her; she must have gone days without sleep.
I wasn't sure what to do. What if this girl woke up and didn't remember what had happened? What if she ran to her Merchant parents and accused me of hurting her, when I hardly touched her bare skin? I pulled the fallen strap of her dress back over her shoulder and felt her stir in my arms.
"No, no, no, no," she started to whisper rapidly as her eyes winced.
She gripped tightly onto my shirt, pulling a bit of my chest hair and making me groan—not in pleasure, but in pain. For such a petite girl, she had a strong hand. I couldn't help but think about what that hand would feel like on me, pushing down onto my chest, grabbing onto my hair, holding my-
Her heavy breathing pulled me out of the inappropriate gutter I was clearly falling into, "Who- where?" She stammered, her eyes wide and hands still shaking. I wasn't sure what to say without embarrassing her. I could tell she was strong, wasn't one for crying. But she did cry right in front of me, a stranger.
"You collapsed after I found you in the pond, and then you started having a nightmare. I thought that the only way to calm you was to hold you." It was blunt, somewhat a lie, but close enough to being true.
"So- I… thank you," she looked down at her hands still gripping onto my shirt and immediately pulled them away, brushing through her messy braid. This was awkward.
"My name is Katniss," she said quietly, reaching her hand out for a shake. I took it.
"Peeta."
"So, " she started with difficulty, still trying to catch her breath. "Where are you from?"
"The Seam." I wasn't afraid to admit it. The Seam wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be. Yes, there were some rougher characters that lived there, but the people were mostly nice and just trying to survive like everyone else in District 12.
"Oh," she looked down, wide eyed. She was still in my lap, sort of. When I told her I was from the Seam she backed up a bit and sat up straight with her legs in a kneeling position on my calf. It hurt, her knee digging into the little space between my real flesh and the prosthetic, but I didn't want to her leave. I liked her here.
"Well, Peeta," she slid off my lap and stood up, shaking the dirt off her dress. I stood up a moment after and rubbed the back of head with my hand, trying to think up a conversation. I didn't want her to leave, but I didn't know how to make her stay.
"I guess this means we're… we're friends," she bit down on her lower lip, trying to hide her slight smile, which made my cheeks hot. I didn't realize how beautiful this girl was until she smiled.
"Friends," I offered my hand for another shake and she took it, her own face flushing.
Friends Peeta, just friends, I had to remind myself. There was so much I didn't know about this girl, such as why I had stumbled across her at the pond in the first place.
But, in that moment, all I could focus on was the way her hand felt in mine.
"So, Peeta... do you like sunsets?" she looked up at the orange sky, which reflected onto her skin and made her glow. Yes, I like sunsets. And this is the best one I've seen yet.
I knew then that I was a complete goner for the baker's daughter.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I will try to update once or twice a week maybe even more now that I'm on break and have so much time on my hands.
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If you want to contact me personally, send a message to my tumblr - frostingpeetaswounds
I want to thank my amazing friend Jessa (ff: misshoneywell – tumblr: peetaspenis) for helping me out with this chapter and hopefully many more to come. She's really amazing, everyone go check her out.