I'm Sorry if you don't like the idea of Finnick being back, but he was one of my favourite characters, and i wanted him to be alive so much i completely changed mockingjay just to fit that in. Thankyou for the review whoever you are, and i was shocked to see someone has favourited it! Even if i only have one fan, I'll keep writing! I'm just 15 years old so if you have any criticisms could you keep them constructive please? Thank you for reading, it may seem silly but i'm ecstatic that someone that isn't my teacher has actually bothered to read something i have written! i'll try to update every day, but im busy with school lately so you may have to wait a few days for a new chapter.
Things were tough after the war , as soon as i was granted permission to leave the capitol, i returned to district 12, or what was left of it at least. No sooner than i arrived did the rebuilding effort begin, prefabricated homes were put up for those who lost their houses in the bombings, and for anyone who had decided to relocate to 12. Those who held special significance to the war effort were granted houses in the victors village, and a medical centre was set up at the hob until a more permanent one could be established.
It was about 6 months later that Peeta returned, after Dr. Aurelius was absolutely certain that he could handle the sight of me. The night of his return, which was a surprise to all of us, i caught him planting primroses around the side of my house. I let him labour away for a few minutes, before my anxiety got the best of me and i rushed out to confront him. I was shaky at first, i just stood there, staring at him until he plucked up the courage to talk to me "Hey, katniss". I didn't respond, i just stood there, dumbfounded, trying to figure out why he wasn't trying to kill me. It took about 5 minutes for me to say something, and instead of greeting him, or telling him how much i'd missed him, i cut straight to it "What are you doing Peeta?" i asked, realizing how ungrateful i sounded. "I thought you'd like this, a memorial for prim" he said in his usual, soft caring tone. As he stood up, dusting off his muddy trousers, he gazed into my eyes, and gently placed his cold hand upon my cheek, i shivered at the touch, but i allowed it, it was something i had longed for, the entire time he was away. I noticed the look in his eyes, it was the first time he has looked at me like this since that moment on the beach, with the pearl during the quarter quell, the Peeta i knew, the boy with the bread had returned to me. I let his gaze linger for a while, taking in the old Peeta, gauging whether or not i could have a future with this boy. I glared back for a while, getting lost in his eyes, allowing my mind to wander, before i found myself repeating the word prim, over and over in my head. I started fighting with my conscience, be nice to him katniss, the boy is hurt, he is doing something nice for you, but all i could think about was the last word he said to me prim."I hate it" i snapped, and immediately regretted what i had just said, but i couldn't take it back, i turned and ran, before Peeta could say anything, back into my house and slammed the door.
I spent the rest of the night curled up in a ball in front of my fire, in tears, reluctant to sleep for fear of having nightmares about prim. I didn't mean what i said to Peeta, i was so grateful to him for what he did, but just hearing the words prim triggered that reaction, i figured i would apologize to him in the morning, and tell him how i really felt. I fought with all of my willpower to stay awake, to not drift off and re-live prims death, but i couldn't fight it any more, at about midnight i fell asleep. The same dream plagued me every night since that day in the capitol, watching the children's little faces light up as they rushed to gather the parachutes that they thought to contain food, or water, only to be ignited just moments later by the balls of fire protruding from the parachutes. I see prim rushing in alongside the other medics from 13, desperate to help them. She turns and smiles at me, and for a moment it seems as if everything is going to be alright, but at that moment, the second bomb erupts, flames engulf her, singeing off all of her hair and melting the flesh away from her face, i scream her name, helpless as i watch my little sister slip away in front of me, i collapsed to the floor in a heap of blood and tears, and that's where it ends.
I am woken up early to the sound of my front door rattling, i drag myself up off the floor and stumble to answer it, still half asleep, and find myself staring at a rather happy looking Haymitch. He invites himself in, finding his way into the kitchen, scouring my kitchen cupboards for something to drink, before coming to the sudden realization that i don't possess any alcohol, the look of horror on his face was priceless. He took a minute to gather his composure, before turning to me and breaking the news "Peeta's back!" he exclaimed. This i already knew, but i thought i'd let haymitch have his moment of joy, and tried to act surprised. Haymitch saw right through my façade of course, after feigning my love for Peeta for so long, i thought i might have been a good actor, but clearly i wasn't. "He's already been here hasn't he?" he asked me condescendingly. I figured it might be better to show him, so i took him outside, and pointed at the primroses, Haymitch stared at them for a moment, trying to figure out what i was on about, but when he finally realized he seemed quite pleased with himself. "He always was one for sentimentality." he said softly, i was taken aback by this, i'm not used to Haymitch having feelings, he's normally too drunk for emotions, but i let it slide just this once. I stood silently with him for a minute, taking in the beauty of the flowers, they truly did reflect her, the beautiful yellow petals reminiscent of her long, golden hair, and their splendour and beauty was definitely a quality that was bestowed on prim, now i understood why my parents named her what they did.
A month passed, Peeta visited regularly, we played real or not real every time he came round, each time scratching deeper into his memory, reaching down to some of the more personal stuff. One night was particularly memorable though, we were sat in my living room, after just eating rabbit stew that greasy sae provided, and began our usual game of real or not real. We started with simple things, like "My name is Peeta" and "I come from district 12", getting progressively more personal, until we reached the more interesting questions."My favourite colour is orange, real or not real?" "Real, but not like effie's hair, more of a sunset orange." we both giggle, it's nice seeing Peeta happy again, he's slowly coming back to me, and for that i'm grateful. "Yours is green, real or not real?" "Real" i smile at him affectionately, he picks up on it, the look in his eyes is the same one he had when he first came back to 12, the one when he touched my cheek on the night he planted the primroses. I decide to turn the game around, and ask him a question myself. Taking a huge risk, i quietly and softly ask him "You love me, real or not real?" he pauses for a moment, leaving me in fear that i may have just triggered an episode, he closes his eyes for a moment, and i move to the edge of my seat, ready to run if he decided to attack me. We remain like this for several moments, until he finally opens his eyes, cracking a huge ear to ear smile, his face illuminating as he does this, he's so handsome when he smiles. When he manages to escape his smile, he leans into me, whispering the word i longed for him to say, right into my ear "Real".
