A/N: Hey, guys! I'm so sorry for all the trouble with Chapters 2 and 3. I'm new to ffnet and still getting the hang of it, and I couldn't change it last week because I wasn't at home. But now, it's all right! I triple checked lol. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Hopefully, there'll be more soon. Thanks for the reviews! xo
CHAPTER 2 – A FAMILIAR SOUND
His gaze keeps meeting mine through the flames of our campfire and I have to actively avert my eyes again, my beer bottle label suddenly seeming much more interesting than whatever is going on around me. I pick at the thin material with my nails and my mind flies back to earlier, when Peeta came into my room.
Although I do have some theories, I can't actually figure out what he meant by saying that, and if it actually had some hazy significance or I'm just being my usual self and freaking out about everything involving him.
The thing is I felt like he was flirting with me. However, that could not be the case, because Peeta wouldn't be interested in me of all people. First, because he sure has a supply of college girls ready for him anytime he'd like. And secondly, we are family and that's a fact I can't just ignore. Any desire we could have for each other should be shut down before we could even acknowledge it, but he doesn't make it easy for me with his eyes fleeting in my direction every couple of minutes.
"Yo, Kat, your marshmallow is burning," Finnick calls out.
I hurriedly draw my stick back from the flames, and the candy is actually catching on fire. Everyone chuckles when I lean in and blow softly on it, but I just shrug, biting on it as soon as the fire is out. My tongue burns because it's still a little too hot and the sugar dissolves in my mouth. It's so good that I hum quietly and immediately chance a glance at Peeta, self-conscious about what he would think, but he's not in his place across from me or anywhere to be found, actually.
I look over my shoulder and see him entering the house and my brow furrows. I suppress the will to ask everyone if he's going to sleep, because it really is none of my business.
Annie distracts me when she asks about my plans for college.
"Uh, I'll be going a couple of days after we come back, actually," I explain, pausing to take another bite on my marshmallow. "Ma and Prim will help me move to my dorm and probably stay the rest of the week to help me get to know the city. Then, the classes start and I'm on my own."
"It's crazy how everything is ending and restarting, right?!" She says, a pensive look on her face.
"Stop being such a wuss, Annie," Jo interjects.
Annie ignores her. "I mean, yeah, I'm excited, but it's also very scary."
And then goes on a spiral telling everyone her and Finnick's plans, since they will be going to the same college.
I listen attentive to her while she tells how she already knows who's going to be her roommate and the trip she took with her parents to the college she's attending right after graduation, finishing both my marshmallow and my beer in the meantime. But then I hear the squishy sounds of footsteps in the sand and a moment later feel a presence behind me. Just when I look up a blanket falls on my shoulders.
There's Peeta again, a guitar in his right arm and a smile in his face. "I thought you looked a little cold all by yourself," he explains.
It's strange because I didn't really give any sign of being cold, despite the breeze that plays around all of us, but it's such a nice gesture from him that I smile back.
"Thanks," I say, fiddling with the ends of the cloth to envelope it around myself.
He shrugs. "Move over."
I slide on the little tree trunk I'm using as a bench to give him some room and he settles down beside me, balancing his guitar on his right thigh. Sometimes, it makes me mad how crazy talented he is. He can bake and decorate a perfect cake, knows how to pass on feelings and events on a beautiful painting, is capable of winning over anyone in a debate and was the second best wrestler in our high school, losing only to his older brother. And, as if all of that isn't enough, he learned to play guitar by himself.
"I thought we could play a little something," he says, his eyes concentrating on tuning the musical instrument.
"Yeah, sure," I agree.
I scan our friends as Peeta's thumb grazes the strings for a moment, not really playing anything while Thresh talks to Finnick, laughing about some joke I missed. The laughter dies down after, the silence falls among us and a second later the chords of "Blackbird" invade my ears. It's a favorite of ours, me and Peeta, and I feel my heart wincing because since he went to college we didn't sing it together anymore. I close the blanket around myself, suddenly feeling chilly, but I know that it's the realization that I'll be even more far away from my friends when I go to Capitol University that has everything to do with it and not the cool air around us. Annie's words ring back in my head, making sense. It really is scary how everything is ending.
Thinking thoroughly, I don't know if I'll ever find friends in college like the ones I have right now. Someone like Jo, that makes everything feels lighter despite her sour humor. Or Annie, that is so sweet and cares about how everyone is feeling. Or Finnick, that is always charming and funny. Or Tresh, that cracks a joke when the mood is too heavy. Or Peeta, who is kind, and treats everyone right, and makes me feel warm and safe in a way only my father used to. I won't have any one of these folks close to me next year and this awareness makes the back of my eyes sting with tears.
It's crazy to feel like this, I know that. I've been waiting for college all my life, always excited to go away from my little town, to discover another place, to meet new people. And when I think about it now, I still am pretty enthusiastic about it, but the eagerness is accompanied by an unfamiliar nostalgic feeling that this is the end. I didn't enjoyed my high school years fully and now the clock is ticking and I don't have any more time left to enjoy my friends or to do the crazy things I wanted to.
I'm brought back to reality by the meaningful look Peeta gives me when I miss the beginning of the song. I shake my head to get rid of my thoughts and he begins the first stanza again. There's no sound left but Peeta's guitar when my voice raises with the lyrics.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
I bite my lip when there's a brief pause before the next lyrics, feeling everyone's eyes on me, and then sing again on my cue.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
All your life
You were only waiting for the moment to be free
The stinging on my chest lessens a bit and a warmth spreads through me when everyone joins me at the chorus. Even Finnick's and Peeta's terrible voices mingle well with everyone else's. And if I'm being honest, Peeta's voice doesn't sound that horrible when he's not forcing it like he was earlier in the car.
Yeah, maybe everything is changing, and we will too, but, for now, I think we're good.
Blackbird, fly, blackbird, fly
Into the light of the dark black night
Blackbird, fly, blackbird, fly
Into the light of the dark black night
It's only me again when the last verse comes in and I take a gulp of air to finish it.
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
You were only waiting for this moment to arise
When the song dies down in Peeta's guitar, there's a quiet ovation and I look up to my friends.
"Wow, Kat, your voice never fails to amaze me," Finnick says, charming as always, and I give him a shy smile.
"Yeah, brainless, you're not bad," Johanna jokes, sipping from her beer.
I shrug, feeling my cheeks starting to flush. "Thanks, guys," I hurry to say, hinting there's no more compliment needed.
Peeta somehow feels my discomfort and nudges me on the ribs to catch my attention. "One more?" He asks with a coy smile and I nod.
One song ends up in five more and we only stop when I feel my throat dry from all the singing. At this point, everyone is pretty drunk and I grab a beer for me and another one for Peeta from the cooler beside Jo so we can catch up with them. He rests his guitar against the tree trunk before accepting the bottle I offer.
He doesn't make a move to go back to his previous chair across me and I am thankful, because all this singing brought back memories from my father and having Peeta by my side grounds me in place in a weird sort of way.
The conversation between our group picks up again, this time with more jokes than before, some of the voices stumbling with words, in many ways not making any sense, and I find myself laughing hard. I find myself involuntary casting glances at Peeta, too, whenever I take a swig of my beer, and I don't miss the raise of goose bumps in his arms when a drift blows over us.
I feel guilty for having a blanket all for myself when he's obviously feeling chilly, so I drag a corner of it off from my body and hold it out him. "Here." He looks at me with mild confusion and I shrug. "I don't want you to be cold either."
The smile he gives me before taking it, so more beautiful with the glint on his eyes, makes my stomach drop. He pulls the blanket around his shoulders, sliding closer to me so the material can go around both of us. Still, it's a little uncomfortable, because neither of us is completely covered. I'm about to give up and leave it to him when I feel his large hand on my waist and he pulls me even closer to him. A surprised gasp grows in my throat, but I choke on the sound before anyone can hear it. Peeta seems oblivious to the fact as his arm falls comfortably around me. He rearranges the blanket again and in this new position it closes around us successfully.
"Better, right?" He whispers, and I can hear the laugh in his voice in the same way that I feel his breath against my ear, too close and too alluring.
"Uh, yeah," I whisper back, not daring to tilt my head up and look at those beautiful eyes up close.
I try to get back to the conversation, I really do, but it's hard with Peeta so close to me, his big and warm hand splayed on my side like it's no big deal. Everyone doesn't seem to care about it, though, not even bothering to give us a suspicious glance for a second, completely immersed in the conversation going on. So I start to relax on his embrace, because maybe it's nothing much, anyways. We are just protecting ourselves from the wind together with no proclaimed second intentions.
My back screams from relief when I finally let myself loose, leaning into Peeta until my shoulder is brushing against his chest. He doesn't comment on it, so I, free from the tension, join the jokes going on again.
The conversation between everyone carries lightly, going from college to books to TV shows to old adventures and that time Annie's mom caught Finnick slipping from her bedroom window. I gulp down another beer or two, already feeling slightly dizzy when Finnick calls it a night and Annie follows him. The rest of us stay, and Thresh picks up Peeta's guitar to play and our singing returns. One song merges into another and I feel peaceful being here with my friends.
These good memories will be the ones I'll take with me. And maybe this last week I can create some more.
"You know, Finnick is not wrong," Peeta whispers after we finish another song and it startles me because, except for the singing, he's been silent for a while. "You are pretty amazing."
I snort, shifting slightly to face him without the risk of bumping our faces together. "Thank you, but I think all of you give me more credit than I deserve."
"Well, I think that you give yourself little credit, how's that?" He teases, a smirk on his lips, and then his face grows sober. "But, seriously, you should definitely think about pursuing it. A singing career, I mean."
I shake my head. "Nah, I wouldn't been interested in it. And could you imagine me in a concert? I would probably have a panic attack on the stage."
He shrugs and takes a gulp of his beer before replying, "You don't seem to have problem singing here."
"It's different."
"How so?" He asks, his eyebrows shooting up. "We are very much like an audience since you're the only one here that has a decent voice."
"I don't know." But, in fact, I do know. Music could never be a career for me. It's something I inherited from my father, something that we did together, something that belonged only to us. He was the one who taught me how to play a guitar, who brought me new songs to practice, who incite me to keep singing. And the only reason that I can do it now in front of all of my friends, it's because I want to share that same love and care he had for me with them.
"I can sing with you because you're my friends. But I don't feel like I could share it with a stranger, they wouldn't know what it means," I try to clarify. And then, because this turned into something very awkward, I add, "Besides, I doubt any label would be interested in me."
Peeta gazes at me with amusement, eyeing me up and down like I'm some kind of mystery he's trying to figure out. It makes me uncomfortable and I shift on my position while he scrutinizes me.
"What?" I snap.
"Nothing." His eyes still inspect my face when he talks again. "You just have no idea, do you? The effect you can have."
"What do you mean?"
He shakes his head, seeming frustrated. "I told you, Katniss. You're amazing."
For a moment the force of his words, what they do to my heart and my body, takes me aback and his eyes are so intense on mine that they hold me in place.
Then I stand up to walk back to the house before I do something stupid like kiss him.