"It's a round trip. Getting to the summit is optional, getting down is mandatory."

-Ed Visteurs

Peeta

Wow, this is awkward. Neither of us have said anything for at least half a minute. Honestly I have no idea what to say. 'Hey, I've loved you since we were kids and I think you're beautiful and perfect'? Yeah, I can imagine that on going over well.

It's easy to see Katniss' distress. She looks nervous and is fidgeting. Finally I decide to just speak, to metaphorically break the ice.

"Look, Katn-"

She cuts me off.

"I climb alone. I don't need a partner," she snaps.

Then, without a second glance in my direction, she stomps out of the command tent, leaving me utterly confused. What just happened? Did I do something wrong? One thing I do know is that I shouldn't go seeking her out right now. She obviously has some stuff to work out or something.

I sigh and run my hand through my hair. I make a mental note to cut it before we go for the summit. It's getting way too long.

Slinging my huge pack back on, I exit the tent and search for my personal tent, which shouldn't be too far. I find it in short order and discover Finnick and Annie sitting near it joking and having some coffee.

"Hey guys," I call to them as I approach my tent.

"Peeta!" Annie yells so loud I'm sure the entire camp heard it. She jumps out of her chair, hastily handing her mug to her husband, and runs at me full speed. I barely am able to catch her as she gives me a bone crushing hug.

"It's good to see you Peeta," Finnick smiles as Annie finally lets me go.

"It's good to see you guys too," I reply honestly. "I'm glad you are here too."

"Well, you know us," Finnick says, "always down for a grand adventure."

"Did you meet the rest of the team?" Annie asks.

"Kind of. I've met Johanna before, but I've never met Gale."

"Oh," her eyes widen a bit. "Did you meet your new climbing partner?" She asks, obviously curious.

I find myself sighing again.

"Yeah. Actually we grew up in the same small town in Maine."

"What? No way!" Finnick exclaims in disbelief.

I nod my head.

"Yeah. She was in the command tent when I just went in there to tell Haymitch I was here. When he told us were partners, she told me she climbs alone and stormed off."

"That's terrible sweetie," Annie says sympathetically. "Give her some time. She'll come around."

"I hope so. I need to trust and rely on my partner up there." All three of us turn our gazes to our prize, which is still twelve miles away. It looms over the landscape, an ominous presence that threatens every life that attempts to conquer it.

"Well I'd better settle in," I tell them.

"Come find us when you're done," Finnick calls out as I walk to my tent. "We'll catch up bud."

"Sounds good," I smile over my shoulder.

All six climbers have their own tent at base camp. As we move up the mountain to the high camps, we'll start sharing tents to maximize space usage and for warmth.

I throw my pack inside and then sit right at the entrance of my tent, carefully removing my boots, not letting any dirt or snow into the tent. I take a quick inventory of all my gear, making sure I have everything I need that Haymitch won't provide. After about twenty minutes I lace my boots back up and step outside.

Base camp is quite an interesting place to live. It's a blend of western and traditional cultures. Looking around it's easy to see all the stone piles that are memorials to people who have died on the mountain. There are Tibetan prayer flags everywhere, fluttering in the wind, sending prayers up to the mountain gods for save voyages.

I find the mess tent. I'm starving from my trip to base camp. In it I find a few Sherpas cooking. I introduce myself and make a plate. It's delicious yak meat and some veggies. I got used to yak meat when I climbed Cho Oyu, which actually isn't that far from here. Standing on the summit, I could clearly see Everest in the distance, teasing me.

As I'm eating I hear two people enter. I look up and see it's Johanna and Gale.

"Hey, Jo," I smile at her.

"Look who it is," she replies sarcastically. "I guess they're letting any shmuck climb, huh?"

"Still better than you," I tease back.

We chuckle and hug. I haven't seen Jo for over a year. I've never climbed with her but I've been in the same camps with her many times.

"Oh, sorry Peeta, this is my climbing partner Gale Hawthorne. Gale, this is Peeta Mellark. He's on the team."

"Nice to meet you," I extend my hand. He shakes it, obviously sizing me up.

"You too," he finally replies.

Then that awkward silence happens again. Gale is just staring at me and Johanna is looking between us.

"Well you finish eating, Peeta," she suggests. "We'll catch up soon?"

I turn my gaze to hers.

"Definitely."

She nods and they go to grab some food. I sit back down and finish eating. What was all that about with Gale? It's almost like he doesn't like me, and I've never even met him before. Hmm.

Finished with my meal, and feeling full, I head back outside. It's important along every step of the way to keep eating. The altitude makes you lose your appetite, and that can be very dangerous high up on the mountain.

I take stock of the other teams here at base camp. There's a large Chinese expedition, a smaller Italian team, and a team of mixed nationalities, consisting of paying customers. While we are paying Haymitch for his services, we're all experienced pros. That other team might have some experience on it, but for the most part they're not very proficient climbers. It's the type of people you watch out for up there. They can easily cause problems.

It's good we're attacking her from the north side. The south side, in recent years, has become vastly more popular, but the north side is harder. Good.

I wander around for a while, just checking everything out. I stop at the rock altar in the middle, where offerings are made for safe traveling. When we embark for the summit, we'll gather here with monks and pray for our safety. It's tradition on every expedition up the mountain.

As I walk around, I can't stop thinking about Katniss. Not just the fact we're partners now. But what happened back in the command tent? She just, well, left. No explanation. She even seemed mad at me, or the situation. Probably both.

Eventually I make my way back to our area. I see Haymitch talking with Finnick and Annie. I don't see Johanna, Gale, or Katniss.

"Haymitch," I say as I come closer.

"What's up kid?" He asks, turning to look at me.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure."

I lead him over near my tent where it's a tad more private.

"Haymitch," I begin, "after you left us, Katniss kind of, well, split. She said she climbs alone then left me there."

He laughs and shakes his head.

"She's a piece of work, that one. Stubborn and headstrong as they come. It helps up there," he points to the summit, "but down here it's just annoying. Get used to it, because you're stuck with her."

"Great," I mutter facetiously.

"You'll do just fine kid," he chuckles and slaps me on the back.

I nod as he heads back to sit down with Finnick and Annie.

Just as I'm about to head into my tent to lie down for a bit, I spot Katniss sitting cross legged on a huge boulder. She's staring at the mountain.

I can only see her back, but even that is beautiful. Her braid hangs down over her fleece. I can almost make out the determined expression she's wearing.

I debate whether or not to approach her. She wasn't too happy last I saw her, and the very last thing I want to do is compound that. So, for the time being, I let her be. I crawl into my tent, take my boots off, blow up my ThermaRest, and lie down, dreaming of summits.

Katniss

I don't know why I did that. I snapped at him then stomped off, not even caring about what he was trying to say. As always, it's my selfishness. I hate that Haymitch is forcing me to climb with a partner, but I can't do this alone. I have to follow his orders or else he'll kick me of the summit team. So, I guess, for the time being, I'm stuck with Peeta Mellark.

I'm still having trouble coming to terms with that. Out of all the millions of people who could haven been chosen to climb with me, it's Peeta Mellark. What do I say to him? 'Hey, thanks for saving my family's lives for years, please forgive me for being an asshole'?

We haven't even started to climb and I've already screwed everything up. Typical, Katniss. Always thinking about yourself, not how your actions affect others.

I find a big boulder and climb atop it. I settle in, crossing my legs, and think while I look up at Everest, still miles away. Hopefully in a matter of weeks I'll be standing atop that peak. But first I need to get there.

"You're such an idiot," I mumble to myself. It's true, I am. Peeta was only trying to be nice and break the tension, but I just made it worse.

I sigh, hard to do at this altitude, and climb off the boulder. I wander back towards camp, still thinking about Peeta. I come to our row of tents and find Finnick, Annie and Haymitch sitting and talking. I take an extra seat and sit with them.

"Hey sweetheart," Haymitch greets.

"Hey," I mutter back.

"Good job gaining the trust of your partner," Haymitch snickers.

"Shut up."

"You already fucked up and he hasn't even been here six hours," he points out.

"I know," I say sadly.

"I don't care if you know, you need to do something about it if you want to climb. Those are my rules. Everyone travels in pairs with at least one Sherpa guide."

"I know," I repeat.

"Well either way you'll have a chance to rebuild some trust tomorrow when we practice some ice climbing."

"Fine."

I get up and storm off, again. I don't know why this is making me so angry, so emotional. I can blame it on wanting to climb alone, but that's not the real truth. I can just hope he doesn't already hate me. That would be real fun, having your life in the hands of someone who hates you.

Maybe a walk around camp will help me clear my head. I look around at the other teams, hoping we don't all get stuck in the Death Zone because there's too may people on the route. That's partly what led to the infamous 1996 Everest Disaster, where eight people lost their lives in one night near the summit.

As I wander back towards our tents, I see Gale talking with Johanna. He glances over at me and I almost can't decipher his look. Then I remember it. Anger.

It's not my fault I won't climb with him anymore. It's his own damn fault.

The straw that broke the camel's back was when we were on Mt. McKinley and I came down with Altitude Sickness. Any good partner would instantly abandon their summit bid and help their sick partner down. Not Gale. He pawned me off to a team that was already descending and went for the summit on his own.

When he made it back to base camp, I angrily told him we'd never climb together again.

And now, for the first time in years, I have a partner. I need to fix this and soon, because once we start moving up, I'm going to need to be able to rely on him and vice-versa.

I decide there's no better time than now, so I head back to where Haymitch is.

"Have you seen Peeta?" I ask the three of them.

"He's resting in his tent," Annie answers.

"Thanks."

I walk back to our row of tents and find Peeta's. I have no idea whether he's asleep or not. Well, either way, here goes nothing.

I unzip the vestibule and peek in. I see him lying on his back with his hands underneath his head. He looks like he's deep in thought.

"Peeta?"

His head snaps up and he sees me.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in? I want to talk to you," I ask as politely as possible.

"Um, why don't you give me a minute and I'll meet you outside."

"Okay."

I stand back up and wait. True to his word, not a minute latter he appears.

"Let's take a walk," he suggests.

I nod my agreement and we begin walking.

"Look, Ka-"

"Look, Pee"

We both start speaking at the same time then abruptly stop.

"You go first," he motions to me. I nod again.

"I'm sorry," I blurt out. "I was terrible to you back there. You don't deserve that. I just haven't had a climbing partner in a long time, years actually, so it's going to take a bit to get used to."

"That's fine," he replies. "I get it. You want to climb alone now you're stuck with me."

"It has nothing to do with you," I say quickly. "I'm sure you're going to be a great partner. It's my problem, not yours."

"Um, thanks?"

"You're welcome," I chuckle.

"Isn't it weird that out of everyone in the world, you and I ended up being partners from the same town?"

I shrug my shoulders.

"Small world."

"Not here it's not," he turn to look at the mountain. I do too.

"You got that right."

We stand there staring up at the mountain for a few minutes, but this time the silence is comfortable.

"She's so beautiful," I remark after a minute.

"You got that right," he repeats my previous sentiment. But when I turn to look at him, I realize he's not looking at the mountain. He's staring right at me.

"Um, what?" I ask, confused. He blushes deeply and I can't help finding it a bit attractive.

"Nothing," he quickly backtracks. I let him go, not wanting to complicate things further right now.

But, the honest truth is, I felt something when he indirectly called me beautiful. I slyly peek another look at him. He looks so determined yet relaxed, driven but peaceful. Not to mention he's pretty easy on the eyes.

Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought.

A/N: Hmmmmmm, it's starting!

A few notes about climbing:

Everest Base Camp on the north side is in a valley approx. 12 miles from Everest. Advanced Base Camp, or ABC, is much, much closer. Our characters will move there soon to start acclimatizing to the altitude.

Mt. McKinley, or Denali as it SHOULD be known, is the tallest mountain in the United States and in North America. Located in Alaska, it's a breathtakingly beautiful mountain that can be difficult to climb.

The 1996 Everest Disaster revolutionized expeditions up the mountain. There's better communication amongst teams and more and more precautions are being taken into account. If you want to find out more about it, I suggest reading Jon Krakauer's account of the disaster, titled 'Into Thin Air'. He was there that night, helping to rescue people off the mountain. One of the guides that night, Anatoli Bhoukreev, wrote his own account titled 'The Climb'. They're both excellent reads.

A ThermaRest is a small inflatable mattress used to keep you off the ground. They compact and are easy to carry, as they're fairly light, and I can tell you with great confidence that they're very comfortable to sleep on when the alternative is the ground.

Altitude Sickness is just what it sounds like. Some people are not physiologically built to survive at altitude, or the climber affected tried ascending too fast. The ONLY cure for Altitude Sickness is descent. I mentioned High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, or HAPE, last chapter. There's another thing called High Altitude Cerebral Edema, or HACE. HAPE causes your lungs to fill with fluid, amongst many other things, and can quickly lead to death. HACE causes your brain to swell and also easily causes death. If you contract either, your bid is over. You must descend, or die.

The South Side is much more popular than the north. It's the more famous of the two, as it's the route Hillary and Norgay took in 1953. It's also a little easier than the North Side, so I chose the North Side for this story. Once they get up into the Death Zone, it will become quite harrowing.

When Peeta's observing the other teams, he saw a team of mixed nationalities containing novice climbers. There have been many pushes and petitions to start limiting who can attempt to summit, because many, many deaths on Everest have been caused by people with inexperience. However, the most seasoned guides are never, ever perfectly safe on the mountain. She takes who she sees fit. In 1996, Rob Hall, one of the guides, had just become the first non-Sherpa to summit Everest five times. He was a world class climber, one of the best of his generation, and he ended up dying that night. There was also a climber named Beck Weathers. He'd been left for dead not once, but twice, and the next morning stumbled into camp, his hands and face frozen solid. He lost most of his fingers and his nose.

Well, there's the second chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. This is becoming a very fun story to write, as I love climbing and writing. It's like a peanut butter Fluff sandwich. The best of two worlds.

The next chapter of 'The Truth Revealed' will be out tomorrow some time in the late afternoon / early evening, Eastern Standard Time (eastern seaboard of the US).

Keep reading and reviewing! I appreciate every review!