Katniss had never been a fan of concerts. Sure, she liked singing as much as the next person. But that was the kind of singing that was restricted to your room, whilst you were on your own, and it usually involved a hairbrush, too. She definitely didn't like the idea of being stuck in a hot, stuffy room, with a load of loud people you didn't know, all singing out of tune.
Katniss had never been a fan of Christmas parties, either. Big Christmas parties, at least. She loved the ones where she stayed at home with her parents and her little sister, where they exchanged inexpensive gifts around their small Christmas tree, before they satin front of the fire. She had just about gotten used to little parties with her friends, too. She definitely didn't like the idea of huge Christmas parties, where most people you didn't know got drunk and became a little too jolly.
So what she wanted to know was why she would be going to a Christmas concert.
It had all began when Delly got an email from one of her best friends. When he was eighteen- as he had waited until he had finished school- Peeta Mellark signed up for a recording deal and did well with it. He was coming back to their home town, to perform in the Christmas concert, and he wanted everyone to come.
When Delly mentioned it to Madge, Gale, Johanna, Annie and Finnick, everyone jumped at the opportunity to go to the concert. Everyone, except Katniss. It wasn't because she didn't want to meet Peeta, as everyone had been relatively good friends with him before; it was just the prospect of going to a concert. But, surprise, surprise, what did she get in her Secret Santa gift? A ticket to go to the concert.
Of course, she felt like she couldn't turn it down, so, three days later, Katniss found herself making her way towards the Justice Building: home of all the concerts in his town. All her friends had forced her into a dark green Christmas jumper, decorated with snowflakes and reindeers, as well as a matching Christmas hat, make-up and an all-over new style. She was not happy. She may not have been able to turn down any gifts, but she certainly would not enjoy them.
"Cheer up, Katniss. It'll be fun!" moaned Madge, nudging her friend's shoulder with her own. "You're meant to at least look happy at this time of the year."
Katniss huffed, pulling her coat more closely around herself, but without say anything.
"Well, personally, I'm looking forward to it," announced Delly, grinning widely. "I haven't seen Peeta in months and I'm really looking forward to. Did you hear that we've got backstage passes to see him afterwards?"
Katniss wanted to reply and say yes, to remind her of exactly how many times she had mentioned that little fact. However, she'd long ago lost count of the number of mentions.
"Okay then. I hope you at least appreciate him, when we do go and see him. He's put a lot of effort into this and I'm sure he'd hate to think that you didn't enjoy it," Delly complained.
Despite her hostile nature towards everyone that night, Katniss knew that she probably would enjoy it. She just didn't want anyone to know, especially after she had been forced there. If it was something she had chosen to do, it would be one thing, but she hadn't chosen to do it, which made it a whole lot worse.
Therefore, even though all of her friends tried their best to make her talk, none of them succeeded. That meant that when the concert actually started, Katniss was still quiet. She recognised some of the songs, but she didn't even dance along, as she hid by the bar. She may have looked like she was a spoilt princess, for being at an expensive concert that she wasn't enjoying, but she felt as if she couldn't blame herself.
During the interval, after all the support groups had performed, all of Katniss' friends- everyone but Delly, who had gone outside to get some signal on her phone- came over to see how she was. They offered to stay with her, but, when she shook her head because she knew that they didn't deserve to have their night ruined by her, they didn't stay with her for very long.
With a sigh, she sat back down on the stool she'd claimed at the bar, leaning back on one arm, whilst she held her drink in the other. Although staying at the back hadn't been as bad as she thought it would be so far, or at least it hadn't been as horrendous as some of her past experiences of concerts, she knew it could get worse. In reality, she couldn't wait for it to end.
That was until the music started again, signalling the entrance of Peeta. Obviously, she glanced up, as she was interested to see how stardom had changed him, but she had no intention of singing along, which became exceedingly convenient when she realised it must have been a new song he'd written himself.
However, despite the incredible amount of cheesiness it included, it was catchy. Over and over again, the line "All I want for Christmas is you" repeated. Also thrown into the equation were a couple of "I don't want a lot for Christmas, There is just one thing I need," and some "Make my wish come true". And it wasn't nearly as bad as the other Christmas songs that she had heard before.
Of course, Katniss joined in with the clapping at the end of the song, although her enthusiasm did not quite reach jumping up and cheering level. Admittedly, it was a good song. And he was a good singer. And he did look incredibly gorgeous in the casual outfit that he was sporting. But she had no reason to think about such a thing, as he obviously had someone he had his own heart set upon.
Just as she was beginning to wonder who had captured his heart so much, he began to speak. "Hi guys. I suppose I should say welcome to my concert and I hope you're feeling Christmassy? I don't really know. I haven't done many concerts, much less Christmas concerts." He paused whilst some of the audience members laughed, running his left hand through his blonde hair, messing up its slight waves.
"I suppose some of you might be wondering who that song was about. Well, it was about the same girl as all of my songs are about. People have asked me before, but I've never answered. I thought tonight would be the perfect opportunity, as she's come here tonight, my sources have told me," he continued to say to the crowd, stopping again when there began a slight commotion on the floor, as everyone began looking around.
"The only problem is, despite being kind of famous, I don't think she actually knows who I am. Personally, I've kind of liked her from the first day of school. Before now, I've been a bit too afraid to say anything to her, so I don't know why I'm doing it in this way, but here goes." He takes a deep breath. "All I want for Christmas is you, Katniss Everdeen."
Katniss felt her breath freeze in her chest as soon as she heard her name announced, before she felt thousands of people staring at her. She didn't know what to do, how to react, because she was still in shock.
Luckily, the man on the stage seemed to sympathise with her shock and embarrassment because he soon signalled for the spotlight to be turned off, saying softly, "Just thought you might want to know."
The rest of the concert passed by in a blur, as Katniss joined her friends, so she could be with them as soon as they started heading towards Peeta. She wasn't exactly sure what kind of mood she was in, but she just about managed to dance and eventually sing along to some of the songs she recognised.
However, when Peeta did his encore song, and then it finished, Katniss began to feel nervous. Excited, too, but nervous most of all. Therefore, she tried not to think, until she reached backstage and caught Peeta's eye, as she stumbled on a wire. He was close enough to catch her, before she hit the ground, but that also meant she was close enough to see the hundreds of shades of blue in his eyes.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
"It's nothing," Peeta replied, smiling. "I've got a lot to make up for, announcing what I did in such a way."
"It was okay," Katniss heard herself say.
"It was?" repeated Peeta, looking a little shocked.
"Sure." And then Katniss pressed her lips to his, without thinking once.
