Peeta doesn't wait very long before he talks his father into coming with him to visit with my mother. I know that Mr. Mellark would probably never deny any of his children such a simple request, though I doubt his mother is happy about it. In fact, when the two show up at our door Saturday afternoon, about two days after I told Peeta to talk to her, he has a fresh bruise on his face. I tried to warn my mother that we may have visitors that had nothing to do with medicine and that a boy from town was thinking about asking me out, but she just kind of laughed it off, saying I was too young for such things. So, when they do show up, she is completely thrown.

"I'm sorry to intrude Lily; I thought Katniss might have told you we were coming." Mr. Mellark says to her as they come in. Peeta smiles at me and gives me a small wave and I smile back shyly. I'm a little embarrassed about how little we must have compared to them and yet I have a feeling Peeta could care less. He doesn't like me because of where I live, he likes me, well, I don't know why really.

She looks at me with a humble smile but answers him with a soft tone, "Honestly, Brand, I didn't believe her."

He smiles a warm smile, much like Peeta's and I see where he gets his kindness from. "Why ever not, Lily?"

My mother shakes her head, "Where are my manners, would you two like something to drink? Tea, water, I think we have some milk left."

Mr. Mellark shakes his head, "No need to trouble yourself, Lily, water is just fine."

Prim gets up from playing with her stupid cat, Buttercup, and fills the glasses for us. She hands them out and then disappears upstairs, somehow knowing she doesn't need to be around for this. The four of us sit down at the small dining table where our lunch was just cleared away. Mr. Mellark picked a good time because Mother doesn't have any people to see today and no one has come by yet in need of her assistance. I look to Peeta, tilting my head towards my mother and take a drink of my water. He straightens his back and clears his throat.

"Yes, well, Mrs. Everdeen, it's because of me that we're here really." He starts and she focuses her blue eyes on him. His eyes are a deeper blue, prettier to me, but I tell myself to focus on what comes out of his mouth. That perfect, full-lipped mouth of his. Wait, what? Why am I looking at it like that? Like I want to know what it would feel like against mine? Maybe my mother's right, I'm too young.

"I figured that much Peeta, but go on." She tells him, looking at him, giving him her full attention.

Peeta takes a deep breath and goes on. "Well, Mrs. Everdeen, I've liked Katniss for a really long time and I was hoping, if it's okay with you of course, if you'll let her be my girl-friend?"

"You two are only twelve, what do you know about being boy-friend and girl-friend?" She questions him, not in a mean way, but an honest one. Mr. Mellark clears his throat but doesn't interrupt. She looks at him for a moment and then back to Peeta.

Peeta looks at his father, who only nods at him. "Well, honestly, not a whole lot. I know that I want to spend time with her. I mean, you let her hunt with Gale Hawthorne and this wouldn't even be as dangerous as that. We could just do homework together; maybe spend time together that doesn't have to do with school, with chaperones if you want."

My mother looks down at me and I give her a small smile back. "Is that what you want, Katniss? Do you want to be Peeta's girl-friend?"

My smile comes easily enough to my face. I don't think she'll deny me this since I do provide us with a food source. "Yes, Mother, I would like that very much."

She nods at me and then, looking across to Peeta, "Well, I guess we have it then. Since there are siblings on both sides, I don't think you two will be left alone a whole lot, so I won't worry about that, yet."

Mr. Mellark laughs and my mother smiles. Peeta smiles over at me and I return it happily. "Mother, may we go for a walk, over to the meadow?"

"Take your sister with you. She wanted to get some more flowers." She tells me. I get up to go to the stairs, but Prim is already bounding down, no doubt having heard everything. She smiles at both Peeta and I, knowing that we've been sitting together at lunch for the past month. Madge doesn't really know when to keep her mouth shut sometimes.

Mr. Mellark heads back to his home in town, telling Peeta to be home by dinner. Peeta waves him good-bye and we walk hand in hand with Prim lagging behind us.

"I've never been to the meadow. Do you two go there a lot?" He asks as we get closer to it. The flowers are in full bloom right now, different colors everywhere. His eyes grow wide at the sight. Prim giggles and runs ahead of us, going to an area full of blooms.

"Yes, this is where I get the dandelions for soups and salads. Have you ever really been outside of town, I mean, I've never seen you in the Seam before now." I reply with a question.

Peeta frowns, looking down at the flowers by his feet. "No, our mom doesn't really like us to be over here."

I pick a spot where we can both see Prim and all of the flowers that the meadow has to offer and sit down cross-legged. Peeta follows my lead and sits down next to me. "She doesn't like that you like me, does she? Is that where the new bruise came from?"

Peeta runs his fingers gently across his cheek, wincing a little. He shakes his blond curly head and looking at me, "No, she's not happy about it, but my dad said that she should just let it be. He had heard her yelling at me about it when he was downstairs in the bakery."

"You guys don't live in a house in town?" I ask him, picking up a flower and twirling it between my fingers.

"Nope, we live above the bakery. I think most of the merchants live above their shops." He grabs my hand, preventing me from fidgeting. "Katniss, what are you really thinking?"

I look at him, staring into those bottomless blue eyes, knowing that I can't lie to him. "That your mother is evil for hitting you over someone like me. I'm not that important really and she doesn't need to get upset over it."

Peeta gives me a reassuring smile, drawing random things into the palm of my hand. "You're important to me. It doesn't take much for her to get upset over though. Don't worry about her though, my dad is all for us being together. He was the one who pointed you out to me after all back then."

"Really? Why would he do that? How did he know who I was?" I ask him, looking down at our hands and smiling at how comfortable I am with him touching me.

"Well, we were in line, waiting to see what class we would be in and he pointed over to your dad, said that he was the reason why he couldn't marry the woman he had liked when they were younger."

"You're dad liked my mom?" I think about it for a moment, knowing that my mother lived on the merchant side of town. But she was so in love with my father that she moved to the Seam.

"Yeah, I guess, at least from what he said. He also said that your father had such a great singing voice that the birds would stop to listen and then sing with him. When we were in, the teacher had asked if anyone knew the Valley song and you just stood up and started to sing it. Everyone was quiet, even the birds, everyone wanted to listen to you." He pauses for a second and then looks up at me. "I fell in love with you then."

His face is tinged pink, but not like a few days ago when his cheeks were bright red. I can feel the heat rise in my own, wondering if he is ever going to stop telling me that but not wanting him to either. All I can say in response is, "Peeta."

He shakes his head, smiling, "I'm not worried that you don't love me….yet. At least I got your mother's permission to have you as my girl-friend. That's just one step closer."

"Well, I guess that does make me officially yours." I tell him and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.