Wow. Thanks to all of the people who reviewed and favorited the story so fast. I was only expecting like one or two before I started to work on the second chapter, but I like the way it went better. I hope that you all like how this story plays out. I plan on having there be quite a few chapters. I know that it is a little fast for a next chapter, but I have a little bit of time on my hands.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or any of its characters.
Chapter 2:
Peeta POV:
I head out into the early hours of the day to pick out some of the herbs needed for today's workday. Yawning as I make it to the garden. I turn to see the beautiful brunette girl who I have been in love since the first time I saw her.
Katniss Everdeen has continued to make me fall harder and harder in love with all of her little quirks, that I have found by staring. I don't think that me staring while she tries to go about her business is creepy. I would never do anything to make her feel uncomfortable or in harm. In fact, it is just the opposite. I would give my life for Katniss, even if that meant that she would get to live one more hour than I did, I love her that much.
I shake myself from my thoughts as she smiles as she walks past. The only thought that remains in my head is: smile back you idiot, or else she think you ARE an idiot. So, I smile as fast as I can, so she won't get the wrong idea. She looks away, and continues to walk. I stare as she walks away. She turns back to look at me, and I hurry and divert my eyes away. I have gotten pretty good at looking away from her throughout the years. I pick up all that I have picked and start to head back into the bakery, where I also live.
Walking in, I see my older brother Rye working on kneading out the bread dough. He is only one year older than me, but he acts like he is a few years younger. I have two older brothers: Rye, and my 24-year-old brother Bannock. Bannock is married with two kids. So I don't see him very often. He left the house as soon as he could. I don't blame him for that because of how my mom treats us. She was a lot softer on him than she is to both Rye and I. She beats us when we do things that she does not like, such as, spilling flour or not sweeping properly. The worse the mess up, the worse she beats us. We have gotten pretty good as not screwing up, but everyone makes mistakes. The one time that I actually meant to do something that brought on my mother's rage was burn a few loaves of bread for Katniss and her family. I took that beating with pride, which only made her beat me worse.
After a few hours of slaving in front of a hot oven, I get to finally start working on one of the highlights of my day, decorating. Decorating the cakes and cupcakes is one of the only times when I am actually free to express myself. I work with a steady hand and create beautiful works of edible art.
When I get done I finally get to relax and hang out until dinner. The only thing that needs to be done in the bakery is selling the things that my brother and I have made. If we are lucky, the bakery will not sell everything from the previous day. If they don't then we get to eat all the stale bread and goods. People assume that because we live in a bakery we get to eat whatever we want whenever we want it. But that is very much not true. I like to think while eating the stale leftovers that it could always be worse. We steal a few cookies every now and then, because what mom doesn't know won't hurt her.
I step outside into the sunny and coal smelling atmosphere that is District 12. I look to all of my neighbor's houses, and think of the lives that they live. The better of my neighbors is the mayor's house. They decided to build next to the bakery so every morning they can wake to the smell of cooked bread. Their daughter Madge lives a very easy life. She hangs out with whomever she wants. She doesn't have to worry about being picked for the games. And the thing that I would like the most out of all of the things that she takes for granted is the love of both of her parents. I mean my dad loves my brothers and me, but if he ever shows it in front of my mom she freaks out at him. I was told there was a time when we were the light of my mother's life. I don't remember that time, and I most definitely don't remember her ever saying that she loves me, let alone that she likes me.
As I start to walk around the house I hear a very loud scream that sounds like someone is both hurt and scared. My heart drops when I put together that it is a girl's scream and that it came from the woods. I know that it is Katniss, so I take off like a rocket for the hole in the fence, dive through it, and take off again into the direction that I heard the scream. I fly down a little path and stop dead in my tracks as I see Katniss on the ground and looking in the direction of some large, fleeting animal that looks like a person. As soon as the creature is out of sight, I turn and run towards Katniss, who looks terrified.
She starts to fall backwards. I catch her and ask her, "What happened Katniss?" She doesn't answer me, as her eyes start sliding shut. I think I am seeing things because her beautiful grey eyes are glowing. I don't really think about it as I see blood on the right side of her body. I slowly begin to slide up her shirt a little to see the damage. Trying not to be sick, I see a huge bite mark on her hip.
I hurry and scoop her up and start running to take her back to her mother who I know is a healer. I make it back into the district to see no one around. Maybe no one else heard her scream, or maybe they just don't care. I run past my house and start to head towards the Seam. After a few minutes of running I see her house. Pushing open their door, I find both her mother and her sister sitting at their table.
I say, "Help! I found her just outside of the fence. She looks like she has been bitten by a big animal."
"Do you know what kind of animal?"
"No I don't."
"Okay, set her on the table, maybe we will be able to identify the animal by the bite."
I set her down and take a step back to let them do their thing. Her mother lifts her blood soaked shirt and looks to where her bite is. Her eyebrows furrow and she looks at me. Prim asks, "Where was she bitten?"
"Right where you are looking," I reply.
She looks at me and says, "Peeta, there is nothing here."
I step forward and look at where I saw the bite. All that I see is her hip that looks like it is covered in new skin. Dumbfounded I look her mom in the eyes and say, "She had a bite right there, and it looked horrible."
"Can you describe it?" She asks.
"Not really, but I can draw it."
She hands me a piece of paper and a pencil, and I start drawing. After about a minute I turn the paper back towards her and say, "The bite looked exactly like that."
She says, "Peeta, are you sure that you drew this right? It looks like a human bite, but it also has some dog like properties to it."
"Mrs. Everdeen, I have no idea what it was that bit her, but the bite was exactly like you see in that drawing."
"Well, alright then, since there is no bite here. The best thing that we can do is wait for her to wake up. You can leave now."
"Um, Mrs. Everdeen, would it be alright if I wait here until she wakes up so I could see if she is alright?" I ask.
"Yeah, that is fine. Take a seat."
We sit and talk for about an hour before Katniss finally starts to wake up. We hurry and come to her side as she looks around. I see that her eyes are the same color as they were before she was bitten.
Her mom says, "Whoa, Katniss, from what I heard from Peeta you were bit. Take it easy until we figure out whether or not you are alright."
"Okay. Peeta can you tell me what happened?" She asks tiredly.
"Yeah. I was walking near my house when I heard you scream. I ran to find that you were bitten by something and were about to pass out."
"Did you see what bit me?"
"Yes, I saw it. But I have no idea what type of animal it was."
She says with a shaky voice, "I saw it too. I have never seen anything like it. All I remember after seeing it was a pain in my hip, and you running towards me. Why does my hip not hurt anymore?"
I reply, "I have no idea. I ran you back as fast as I could. As soon as I got here we saw that the bite was healed."
"What do you mean it was healed?"
"Well, when you started to pass out I saw the bite on your hip. Here I drew it on this paper." I hand her the drawing, and continue, "That is what it looked like. But when your mom went to look at it, it was gone."
She looks at it for a long minute, then says, "I have never seen this bite before. Thank you very much for saving me Peeta."
I blush a little and reply, "I didn't really save you, but if I had gotten there a little earlier, I would have tried to."
She looks at me in the eyes and says, "I know that you would have Peeta."
My heart starts to beat faster. She probably has no idea on how much she can affect me. I wish that I could just tell her how I feel and how much I love her, but I can't. What if she rejects me? I don't think that I could ever live down the love of my life rejecting me.
So I look up to her mother and say, "Well, I better get home for dinner. My parents are probably wondering where I am."
"Okay Peeta. Thanks for helping Katniss out. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome." I say while backing out of their home. I send Katniss a worried smile as I leave. I don't stop thinking about what could have happened to her as I walk home. What if I was too late? I don't think that I could live with myself if she died while I was trying to save her.
I arrive home, with my mom asking where I was. I say something along the lines of being out for a walk. She does not say anything back to me while we eat our dinner of stale bread and soup. After dinner I head to my room that used to be Bannock's.
I lie in bed and quickly fall asleep. About an hour later I startle awake, and look around. My eyes fall on the glowing eyes of Katniss, looking at me hungrily, standing near my open window. I'm a little scared at the way she is looking at me. She jumps on me and starts kissing me. My mind goes blank, then I start to kiss her back.
