My eyes slowly open, and I find myself staring at a boy with sandy blonde hair. Peeta. He looks so peaceful right now. I could live a thousand lifetimes over, and still not deserve him, as Haymitch says. And he's right, I really don't deserve Peeta Mellark. I think about how, just a few years ago, I was confused about how I felt. But I now realize, that Gale and I could have never been together. We are too much alike. And he's always been like a big brother to me. Peeta knows what I went through, he understands why I have nightmares. He knows what it felt like, to be in the arena. I realize that what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. What I need is a dandelion in the Spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I see Peeta's eyes start to slowly flutter open. I lean down and give him a long, lingering kiss. Not a hungry, passionate one like on the beach, in the arena. More like one that shows him how much I care about him. That shows him how much I need him. I see a wide smile spread across his perfect face, and I assume my face is looking similar.
"You love me, real, or not real?" he asks. I surprise myself with my answer, "Real," I reply. I, Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, am in love with Peeta Mellark, the boy with the bread. And for the first time, I'm not afraid of the future, or what's coming tomorrow. All I care about is right here, and right now.