Song of the Chapter: 'No Scrubs' - Cover by Bastille
Chapter Two
As it turns out the "house" we are staying in isn't so much a house but instead the penthouse suite in a fancy hotel. The first thing Peeta and I notice is all of the camera men waiting in the lobby. I guess this is where the whole "having your life filmed" thing begins.
"It's weird right? Having these guys follow our every move for the next four month," Peeta whispers as he joins me in the elevator along with three men accompanied by huge cameras.
Peeta is close enough for me to smell his spicy cologne and see the small freckles on his nose and cheekbones.
"It won't be so bad," I say, only because the camera is actually on me as I speak. In reality it's very weird, so weird I almost didn't want to send my audition tape in in the first place. The only thing that gave me the courage was hearing that you get used to the cameras after the first week.
As the elevator continues up to the top floor one of the camera encourages Peeta and I to talk so they have good footage of everyone's arrivals.
Peeta turns to face me, "So, Just Katniss, where do you come from? Did I catch a hint of a Southern accent?"
Oh great. Now I'm going to be trying to keep my Grafton accent less exaggerated. As I reply I'm careful to clip my words so it doesn't sound as bad, "You are correct. I'm from West Virginia. The town I grew up in is as Southern as they get. We live off sweet tea and grits. What about you? Where are you from?"
"I've lived in Orlando most of my life but I was born in Ireland. My mom is 100% Irish and she met my dad there while he was backpacking through Europe. It explains why, besides the fact I've lived in 'The Sunshine State' for the last 20 years, I'm pale as shit and have more freckles than a ginger."
He raises a toned forearm covered in freckles to prove his point.
"Irish huh? My dad was 100% Native American and my mom is white so I get pretty dark." I reply with a smile as I compare my tanned arm with his pale one. We make a nice contrast.
The elevator stops with a ding on the top floor which causes Peeta and I to jump back. Apparently the whole top floor of the hotel is the suite because as soon as the elevator doors open we're staring at the huge walk-in area of the penthouse.
Peeta let's out a low whistle as we step out and take a look around the place. It's easily the biggest living quarters I've ever been in. The floors are a nice off white marble and the walls are painted a muted grey close to the color of my eyes. As we round the corner, to the right is a large open concept kitchen with butcher block counter tops and light teal cabinets. To the left is a large seating area with a couch big enough to sit 20. Past the seating area is a row of three rooms. They all have two queen sized beds and each of them are decorated in a different theme. Since Peeta and I are the first ones to the house we get first choice on the rooms. I decide to pick the last one in the corner simply because it's more secluded and it's the only one with a balcony.
"Would you want to room together? I mean I only ask because I can already tell you're not going to cause any drama and this is the nicest room." Peeta says as he follows me into the room. He has a sheepish look on his face and due to his fair complexion I can see a blush on his cheeks.
I had not intended on sharing a room with a guy. Especially one as good looking as Peeta. Not because I was worried about being tempted to sleep with him but because I didn't want to be stuck sleeping on the couch every time he brought a girl home from the clubs.
"Ehh I don't know," I tell him, "How do I know you're not going to kick me out every time you bring a girl home? And please don't tell me you don't mind if I stay in the room while you get down and dirty."
Peeta let's out a hearty laugh, "I can assure you, Katniss, that I will not be bringing home girls. I'm not the type of guy to do one night stands. That's just dirty. No offense."
I have hard time believing a guy as good looking as Peeta doesn't use his charm to pick up girls. But he does seem pretty laid back and I would probably have less issues rooming with a boy than a girl.
"Alright Peeta Mellark, I suppose you can room with me. But for every pair of dirty boxers or, dare I say, random girl panties that I find you will owe me a sandwich," I tell him with a sly grin.
He heaves his suitcase onto the bed closest to the door and looks at me very seriously, "Well, Katniss Everdeen, I just so happen to be a baker so I take sandwich making very seriously. If you're nice to me maybe I'll make you pastry's just for fun."
I'm about to make a smart reply when we hear more people come into the suite. I hear an "Oh my God"' and "This place is unbelievable" before Peeta and I turn the corner to find the culprits. There's three new people in the entryway, two girls and one boy.
One of the girls is tall and lengthy with long dark hair and dark green eyes. The other girl is short and curvy with a shock of bleach blonde curls. She's the first to come up to myself and Peeta and give us each a big hug.
"Hi ya'll! Oh my God, you're both so good lookin'. My name's Delilah Smith but everyone calls me Delly."
Delly puts my Grafton accent to shame and she's also one of the few people I've met who is shorter than my 5'3 frame.
Peeta is the first to respond, "Nice to meet you Delly. I'm Peeta Mellark." He says this with an easy grin and I can't help thinking of how lovely a couple Delly and him would make. Both with their blonde curls and extrovert personalities. They look like the poster children of all American beauty.
I extend my hand to Delly, "Hello. My name is Katniss. Nice to see I'm not the only southern girl here. Where are you from?"
Delly eagerly shakes my hand back, "That obvious huh? I was born and raised in Tennessee. What about you, sweetie?"
"West Virginia." I reply simply.
Just then the man who walked in with Delly and the other girl comes to stand in front of Peeta. He's quite tall, a few inches taller than Peeta, and very built. His coppery hair goes well with his sun tanned skin and flashy smile. Unlike with Peeta, where I never felt as though he was coming onto me, this guy seems to flirt with everyone. Even Peeta, who he is currently wiggling his eyebrows at.
"Yeah man. A lot of pretty girls here," I catch Peeta say as he makes eye contact with me. I quickly turn my head and walk over to the tall girl.
She's gorgeous and has the look of a runway model. Her big eyes and dark angular eyebrows pair well with her fair skin and sharp cheekbones. Her full lips turn into a shy smile as I extend my hand to her,
"Hello. I'm Katniss Everdeen. West Virginia."
"Annie Cresta. New York." She replies.
"Oh! We have a local. That's good, now we have someone to show us around," Peeta adds as he joins us, "I'm Peeta by the way. Florida."
Annie nervously crosses her arms in front of her, "Nice to meet you both. I just recently moved here to start modeling but I know a few good places to sightsee."
The pretty boy throws his arm around Annie's shoulder causing her to jump, "We're not interested in sightseeing honey, we want to know where all of the good clubs are," He then turns his attention to me, " I don't believe we've met my exotic beauty. My name is Finnick Odair. California" He says this as he extends his free arm towards me.
His remark makes me cringe. I can already tell he thinks he's God's gift to Earth and immediately I'm put off despite his remarkably good looks, "I'm Native American so I'm technically not exotic at all. The name is Katniss Everdeen by the way. I don't want to hear any 'sweeties' or 'honey's'. If you call me anything other than 'Katniss' I'll be sure to only call you 'Dick'."
Finnick lets out a loud laugh, "Oh my! We have a feisty one. Well I'm sure you and I will get along wonderfully, Katniss."
Annie makes quick work to shrug off Finnick's arm before she asks, "Are you and Peeta rooming together, Katniss?"
"Yeah we are. We took the last room. I hope that's not a problem," I reply.
"Peeta! You dog! Already getting the chicks in your bed," Finnick says with a clap to Peeta's shoulder.
Peeta let's out a shaky laugh and raises his shoulder to shake Finnick's hand off of him, "Uh yeah dude, but there's two beds so it's not like we're going to be sharing."
I give Peeta a look that says thank you. Delly and Annie announce that they'll room together and if another girl roommate shows up that she can stay in their room which leaves Finnick to room with any of the other boys that show up. He voices a few complaints about not having "a chick present" in his bedroom but retreats to his room with a huff.
Peeta and I relax on the couch as the others get settled in. He sits close enough for our knees to touch and a flutter forms in my stomach from the contact. There's no denying the attraction that I have for him. He's handsome, funny, kind, and any girl would love to date him. But that's not what I'm here for. Truth be told, I've never had a serious boyfriend. I've never been good at flirting or dating and I think my perpetual scowl tends to scare any decent guys off. I'm here to find a job and maybe a have a little fun along the way but hook ups are not on my itinerary.
"What did you do back at home?" Peeta asks to break the silence.
"I worked at the bank. It basically sucked. You have no idea how many calls I got from old dudes asking me to erase their strip club bill so their wives wouldn't see it. Makes you realize just how sacred marriage vows are to people these days," I say with a tone of disgust.
"Damn. That's pretty fucked up. I never understood why people cheated. Like, if you don't love your partner enough to be loyal then why are you with them?"
I'm impressed by his response, "Yeah well, what can you do? The world is a dark and fucked up place."
Peeta rubs my knee lightly, "Don't be so down, Just Katniss. I get the feeling you've been dealt a pretty crappy hand in life. I'm going to make it my mission to prove that not everyone is awful."
His blue eyes are alive with a challenge and he gives me a small side smile that I can't help but return.
"Why do you keep calling me 'Just Katniss'?" I ask.
"You told me to call you that. Don't you remember?" He says with an impish grin.
I punch his shoulder playfully, "Asshole. Shall I start calling you 'Dick' as well?"
Peeta rubs his shoulder in mock pain, "Damn woman. You punch hard. And please don't refer to me as 'Dick'. I know i'm rather well endowed but I'm more than just dick. For example; I have a rather large brain. I'm a little hurt that you're objectifying me, Just Katniss."
"You have a rather large ego as well, don't you?" I ask.
He holds up his hands in retreat, "I just tell it like it is."
We spend the next few minutes talking about our lives back home. Peeta tells me about his two older brothers and overly strict mom and I tell him about Prim and Haymitch. I'm about to ask more about his job when the last two roommates show up.
"What's up bitches! The queen is in the house!" Yells a young woman with a pixie haircut.
Behind her is another overly tall young man with a stern face that's made up of angles. He has the same dark hair and olive skin as myself. Annie, Delly, and Finnick come out to join the rest of us as the new girl plops down on the couch next to me..
Up close I take note of her toned arms and almond eyes. She's very pretty but she has a mischievous glint in her eyes that tells me she's here to stir up drama, "I'm Johanna Mason, and this hunk of tall, dark, and handsome behind me is Gale Hawthorne. I'm from Portland and Gale here is from Virginia, isn't that right, Gale? He's shy so be easy on him ladies."
Gale just rolls his eyes in response. After we've all introduced ourselves to each other one of the camera men announces that they need to do private interviews with each of us to get our opinions on the other housemates. Peeta goes first and returns about 30 minutes later to tell me it's my turn.
The room that they're conducting all of the interviews in is across the hall from the bedrooms. When I walk in I see a man with a shock of blue hair sitting behind a camera.
"Miss Katniss, correct? I'm Caesar, I'll be the person conducting all of your guy's private interviews. I'm just going to ask you some questions so that the viewers can know what exactly is going through your head during all of this. What do you say we get started? Who do you think is the hottest roommate?"
Wow. He's jumping right in, isn't he? "Uhm well, Gale is what I would normally like in a guy but I think Peeta is the best looking," I reply with some trepidation.
Caesar raises his eyebrows, "Very interesting. Peeta said that he thought you were the best looking housemate as well. Do you see a potential hook up there?"
My cheeks flame up at the thought of Peeta thinking I'm the prettiest girl here, "I don't plan on hooking up with anyone to be honest. I'm just here for a good time and hooking up with a roommate seems like a good way to start drama. Also, I think it's a little early to confirm anything in that department."
Caesar goes on to ask me a few more questions all relating back to my first impressions of the roommates. Once I've finished and joined everyone else I notice that there have been several cameras installed around the house. I suppose it's so the camera men don't have to be everywhere at once.
Finnick is the last to do his interview and by the time he's done it's about 9:00pm. Delly makes the suggestion to go out but we all agree it would be best to call it an early night since we're tired from the traveling. It's only once I go to take a quick shower that I realize the "shower" is just one big area with multiple shower heads. Not exactly what I was hoping for but there's at least one section of glass to separate yourself if you want to be alone so that's where I go.
I return to my room just as Peeta is pulling off his shirt and I stop dead in my tracks. It's almost unfair how much of a physical specimen he is. His shoulders are sprinkled with yet more freckles and his stomach is perfectly toned.
He breaks my trance when he says, "Oh hey, you heading to bed now?"
"Yeah. I wanted to catch up on my sleep. It's been a long day. What about you?"
Peeta answers my question by kicking off his jeans and slipping into bed, "Same," he says.
I make quick work to settle in and turn off the lights. I'm getting close to falling asleep when Peeta says my name.
"Yes?" I respond.
It's hard to see him in the dark but I can tell his body is faced toward my bed and when he speaks his voice is soft, "You said earlier that your dad was Native American. I hope I'm not crossing the line, but did something happen to him?"
Damn. I was hoping no one would catch that but it seems Peeta is more observant than I thought.
"It's fine. He died when I was six. I hardly remember him but it's really not something I like to talk about. His death really messed my mom up and you could say she had a hard time taking care of a six year old and a baby. That's why my uncle had to adopt Prim and I."
I hadn't planned on sharing this much with anyone here but there's something about Peeta's soft and curious tone that makes me want to open up a bit.
It's a long while before he responds and I start to wonder if he has fallen asleep when he says, "I'm sorry."
His response confuses me, "Why are you sorry?"
I hear the ruffle of Peeta's blankets before he responds, "I'm not sure. It just seemed like the right thing to say. Seems kind of stupid now though. It's not like me saying 'sorry' changes anything. But still, I'm sorry you had to go through that,"
He's right. His "sorry" does nothing to change the fact that my dad is dead and my mother is catatonic, but the fact that he cares enough to feel bad about it means more than I could tell him.
"Yeah well, I appreciate it. Goodnight, Peeta."
"Goodnight, Katniss."
Authors Note:
Please let me know what you think and feel free to suggest what you would like to see in upcoming chapters. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update but I'll try to do so as much as possible. I'll be posting a song at the beginning of each chapter. I suggest looking them up, not because they're detrimental to the story, but because they're good songs;).
Thanks for reading and reviewing!