So here is chapter two! I can't believe the feedback I got from you guys! Thank you and please leave a review, follow and favorite! ~N
Katniss.
Katniss Everdeen was twenty-one years of age when she decided to pursue a writing career in England. It wasn't just for a 'change of scenery,' Katniss wanted to escape the pressures of living at home. So she packed up and moved. Whilst on her travels Katniss Everdeen boarded with Annie Cresta - now formally known as Annie Odair – and her fiancé Finnick Odair. Katniss didn't like Finnick for a while because he was cocky and very handsome, but beneath all that self-indulgence Finnick was one of the best human beings Katniss had ever met.
Katniss then went to a small university in central London to pursue creative writing. And here she met the infamous Johanna Mason, whom she instantly disliked; but after having being paired for an assignment and strenuous hours of study time together, Katniss Everdeen couldn't help but love Jo.
Three weeks before Gale visited Katniss, Jo insisted that she come with her to Paris, France. Katniss reluctantly agreed and they left for France. Jo and Katniss stayed in a small apartment in the center of Paris. They did the usual, they saw Eiffel tower, they visited Musee d'Orsay, Musee du Louvre, and ate a lot of French cuisine.
It wasn't a week into their stay when Jo and Katniss met a very handsome waiter at a local café.
Three years ago.
Katniss follows Jo into a small café; the exposed brick walls and mahogany tables and chairs brought a very homey feel to the small café. They sat down at a corner table that faced a window; there they had a magnificent view over the small suburbs of Paris.
"So Kat what would you like to have?" Jo asks whilst picking up a small menu, "There are coffees, pastries, cakes, oh look cheese buns!"
Katniss perks up at the sound of cheese buns, "Really?" Jo nods vigorously and Katniss licks her lips in excitement. Not to soon a very tall and handsome waiter approaches them. Katniss is momentarily lost for words as she takes in his blonde hair that is pushed back, the Ray Ban glasses that sit on the bridge of his nose and his very strong jaw. He watches her with light blue eyes and he smiles lightly, showing a single dimple on his right cheek.
"Hello ladies may I take your order?" The waiter asks, he pulls a small note pad out of his apron and removes the pencil that was resting behind his ear.
"I'll take a vanilla milkshake and a doughnut," Jo answers, she sets her menu down and looks over to Katniss expectantly.
"And for the beautiful lady?" The waiter asks with a shy smile, Katniss is taken aback. He called her beautiful, she points to her self and he nods; Katniss then looks to Jo and she winks back at her. Katniss feels the blush crawling up her neck and burning her cheeks.
"Well, I- I'll get a coffee no sugar and no milk, and t- two cheese buns," Katniss instantly feels self conscious because of her stuttering and the fact that she ordered two cheese buns.
The waiter smiles and writes down her order, he slips the note pad back in the pocket of his apron and places the pencil back behind his ear. "Well I'll go get them immediately," The waiter says, "Oh and my name is Peeta by the way." His eyes linger on Katniss for a moment as he turns away from the girls and makes his way back into the kitchen.
Jo instantly turns to Katniss, her eyes wide and a shit-eating grin on her face, "Oh my fucking god!" Jo whisper yells, "He was totally checking you out, Everdeen!"
Johanna was never the one to be discreet. Katniss blushes and averts her eyes, she shrugs and picks at the chipping wood of the table, "I don't think he was."
"What do you think he was looking at? The bloody beige wall!" Jo uses her arms to make her point; Katniss turns around and is surprised to find a beige wall behind her. "Well Kat, you better work your magic because here come the sexy saint right now."
Peeta sets down the two drinks and the food, he smiles at them both. Katniss feels her heart quicken at the sight of his eyes crinkling up and his lone dimple showing, "Anything else?"
"Yes actually," Jo says, Katniss shoots her a glare before she continues, "We would like to know the locations of the best night clubs." Katniss sits back, relieved that Jo didn't ask him for his number.
Peeta thinks for a moment and nods, he pulls out his note pad and scribbles something down. He rips the piece of paper off and hands it to Jo, she scans the small note and nods approvingly, "Thank you."
"Not a problem," Peeta answers, he looks over to Katniss and she feels her cheeks heat up, "If you need anything else just tell me." With that Peeta leaves, the girls sit alone together at the table and eat their food in silence. Katniss devours her cheese buns; they were the most incredible tasting cheese buns she had ever tasted. They were better than the ones Gale got from the bakery that she liked, and at that moment Katniss remembered that she had a boyfriend.
"What are you thinking 'bout Kat?" Jo asks through a mouth full of doughnut, "You're over thinking something."
"It's nothing, I'm okay." Katniss dismisses.
"Nothing my ass," Jo snorts and picks up her phone. It's nothing right? Katniss worries, just nothing but an extremely good-looking waiter. Katniss scolds herself, c'mon Everdeen you have a boyfriend, remember Gale?
A little while later, the waiter comes back with a cheque. "It has been an honour waiting on you two lovely ladies, on this fine day, so here's your cheque." Peeta beams, glancing between Johanna and Katniss. But his eyes loiter on Katniss every once and a while.
"Thanks Blondie," Johanna remarks, "we enjoyed your hospitality and advice, and are sure to leave a generous tip." Katniss is trying to contain the blush that threatens to over take her neck and face; she can feel Peeta's eyes on her.
"I'm going to use the ladies room," Katniss says, rushed. "Be back in a few," she mumbles embarrassed. Once Katniss slips out of sight, she rushes in to the female toilet. She looks in the mirror and sees the deep red blush across her cheeks and neck, she shakes her head and stares at her self in the mirror, "Okay Katniss… You have a boyfriend, who loves you." And when those words leave her mouth her blush fades and her cheeks return back to their olive colour. Katniss smooths down her hair and straightens her father's jacket; she washes her hands to make it look like she used the bathroom and left. But when she saw a blushing Peeta, his biceps rippling as he rung his hands together, Katniss couldn't help but get a buzzing feeling, down below. Her eyes widen when he runs his hand through his hair and pushes his glasses back up his nose, Katniss almost sighs when she notices his finely shaped bottom. Katniss feels the blush return and she looks down to the floor, she makes her way over to them and interrupts their conversation.
"Ready to go?" Katniss asks, fiddling with her bag strap. Jo nods and follows Katniss out of the café.
"See yah later, Blondie," Johanna calls over her shoulder. Katniss and Jo leave, leaving the handsome waiter behind them
Later that night Katniss's phone buzzes, she instantly thinks it is Gale when she picks up, but she's surprised to find that it isn't.
"Hello?" Katniss asays into the phone.
"Hi, is this Katniss?" The male voice asks.
"Yeah."
"Good… um, this is Peeta from the café, and I was hoping that maybe I could take you and your friend to one of those night clubs I recommended to you." Peeta asks through the other end of the phone line.
Katniss thinks for a moment and realises, "Did Jo give you my number?"
"Yeah," He replies, she can hear the embarrassment in his voice and she smiles.
"Well we're free tomorrow night, we could go then," Katniss twirls her hair through her fingers as she lays on her bed, the hotel has two beds to a room so Jo is sitting on her laptop across from Katniss. She's watching her astounded that Katniss accepted Peeta's offer, and she's acting like a girl, she's twirling her hair through her fingers and smiling as she talks to the boy from the bakery. Johanna smiles mischievously and moves to Katniss's bed, she listens as Katniss talks to Peeta. She thanks him for the cheese buns and the coffee, Jo keeps listening as Katniss blushes and has a small smile on her lips. Katniss giggles, she never giggles, only when she is around her sister. She's surprised how smooth talking Peeta is, he listens how she talks about moving from America to England and knows when to say the right things. Katniss can't help but melt when he calls her beautiful, and how he talks about working in his fathers shop. She never knew that you could talk to someone like this.
Soon enough Katniss has to sleep, so they say their goodbyes and hang up. "Okay, where is Katniss and what have you done with her?" Jo asks Katniss, an almost worried tone to her voice. "Has this sexy guy put a spell on you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." Katniss states nonchalantly, but the thing is that Katniss knew exactly what Jo was talking about. No one could do that to Katniss, not even Gale. She slips under the duvet and pulls it up to her chin.
"C'mon Kat! Tell me!" Jo whines, she makes her way to her bed and gets under the covers as well.
"Night Jo," Katniss says as she turns off the light.
The next afternoon Johanna and Katniss are getting ready to go to a high-end nightclub. Peeta called around lunch to confirm that they were going and to tell them that he was coming around at 5:30pm. And now it's 5:00, and the girls have finished their make up and hair and only need to choose a dress.
Jo picks a tight fitting black dress and what Jo calls them her 'hooker heels,' they're black-strapped 4-inch heels. Whereas Katniss has chosen a red strapless dress that flares out from her waist and falls just above her knees, and black flats. Her hair is pulled back from her face and cascades down her back in ringlets. Johanna just brushed her shoulder length hair back and pushed up her boobs. And at exactly five-thirty on the dot there was a knock at the door. Katniss rushed to open it and found a very handsome Peeta standing there in black trousers and a baby blue button down that matched his eyes, his glasses sat on the bridge of his nose just as they did the day before, but his hair is slicked back and he is clean shaven. Peeta takes Katniss in, his eyes widen and his mouth drops open slightly. Katniss blushes and smiles timidly, "You look…. Wow." Peeta says, breathlessly. He smiles showing his dimple and crinkling the sides of his eyes.
"Not so bad yourself, Bread boy," Jo says from behind Katniss. Katniss chuckles at the nickname Jo has given him, Peeta blushes and looks down at his brown leather shoes.
"Bread Boy?" Katniss asks Jo, she laughs and shakes her head. "Well we better go then." Peeta leads Jo and Katniss down to a small black car and Peeta starts to drive in the direction of the nightclub. When he pulls up he tosses the keys to a boy and walks towards the door, a steady line has formed out the front and only certain people have been let in.
Peeta walks towards a security guard and greets, "Hey Gloss, these ladies are with me." The guard smiles and opens the door for Peeta, he waves them in with him and they all make their way into the night club.
Different stages hold different sectors, a bar, a lounge, a dance floor, a DJ booth the list goes on. Peeta takes Jo and Katniss through the crowd to a secluded lounge, only a couple of people occupy the couches. Peeta sits down on a plush red armchair and smiles goofily at the girls. Katniss can't help but smile at his boyishness. "So bread Boy," Jo says, "How did you get into the VIP area?"
"My cousin Cashmere, she owns this place. The security guard out the front is her twin brother Gloss." Katniss could see that it was a very nice place, the people that occupied it looked very wealthy; all wearing expensive suits and dresses. For a while Jo and Peeta chat, but his eyes linger on Katniss, she always blushes when she catches him looking. He only smiles and turns his back to Jo.
Later in the night Peeta sits him self next to Katniss, he smiles shyly at her and says, "Tell me about your self."
Katniss looks over at Peeta and smiles; "Well I already told you that I moved from America to London. So I'll tell you why." Katniss explains to Peeta her creative writing, that it's hard being only twenty-two because people want experience. She then goes on about how she likes archery and that she goes on nature hikes, and not once does she mention Gale.
"Well you are a very interesting person, miss Katniss Everdeen," Peeta smiles down at her.
"Now you tell me about you," Katniss prods Peeta.
He takes a sip of his beer and raises an eyebrow, "Well I am nothing compared to you, but it's worth a try." Katniss blushes and looks down at her hands, Peeta begins, "Well I moved from California to France when I was nineteen with my dad, I learnt fluent French in high school so I was fine. I am now twenty-four, I work for my father and my dream is to open my own bakery before I'm thirty. I paint and sell them to make a bit of extra money so I can move into a bigger house. I like the colour orange and my hobbies include baking and painting."
Katniss smiles broadly at Peeta, she can imagine him painting, with paint splattered down his T- shirt and through his hair. "That is very interesting, Peeta Mellark."
Peeta blushes, he looks around and stands up, he holds out his hand and says, "Dance with me."
"What? No, I can't dance," Katniss, says waving him off.
Peeta laughs, a very hearty and sexy laugh and replies, "I can't either." And at that moment she decides that she can't help but like Peeta Mellark. Being it is charismatic smile or his enticing eyes, or the way he listens to her, or how when he talks he uses his hands to get his point across. Be it the way he looks at her or the way it feels like she can talk to him for hours.
Katniss takes his hand and he leads her down to the dance floor, it's very crowed but they manage to get right in the middle. The music playing is heavy beats; they jump and sing along to the very trendy song. They laugh and dance crazily, but Katniss and Peeta do not take their eyes off of each other.
When the third song finishes they laugh and look at each other, it seems that they have some how only become inches from one another. Katniss look up at Peeta with an unrelenting smile, and he looks down at her his face consumed in a grin. He inches closer and whispers; "I want to kiss you so bad right now." Katniss feels a shudder reach up her spine as his hot breath blows on her face, his smile fades a bit and he bites his lip, and Katniss feels all tingly.
"The feeling in mutual," She replies with a smile, Peeta laughs and kisses her forehead. Katniss feels a tingling sensation form from where his lips meet her skin; Peeta pulls back and looks down at Katniss with a very boyish grin. "That's enough for me." Peeta laughs again and places his hands on her hips, she wraps her arms around his neck and they continue dancing.
Johanna and Katniss spent the rest of their trip in France with Peeta – when he wasn't working of course. He took them to many places, including Disney Land Paris. So when it came to say goodbye, Katniss just couldn't seem to let go of her Blonde haired and blue-eyed Baker. Even though they shared nothing but a peck on the forehead, Katniss and Peeta could feel themselves fall ever so slowly in love with each other.
In the week when Gale visited Katniss, she didn't mention Peeta at all. After having to leave Peeta and Jo in France (Jo was on a business trip), Katniss decided to leave the feelings behind too.
Even though Katniss convinced her self that she loved Gale, she couldn't help but feel as if something or someone was missing. When Gale arrived he hugged and kissed Katniss like any other boyfriend would, Katniss introduced him to Finnick and Annie and they all went out for dinner. Gale seemed eager to get Katniss alone but she just wasn't up to it.
Gale and Katniss did all the regular touristy stuff to do in England; but the only thing she let him do to her romantically, was kiss and sometimes hold each other's hands. Katniss used the excuse of stomach cramps and an on coming period as the reason to why she couldn't physically be with Gale. He was frustrated and a bit angry at first, but in the end it didn't bother him – okay it bothered him somewhat. Gale didn't understand why Katniss didn't want to be with him after almost six months of being apart, but he loved her so he let her go – this time. After Gale left, Katniss couldn't help but feel relieved almost, like she had been lying to herself for too long.
So the day after Gale had gone back to America, the pressure of having to be with him was gone and she felt great. But she had a lingering thought every once in a while, about Peeta. Katniss thought she left the feelings behind in France, but they crept up on her. Annie and Finnick were supportive enough, they kept telling her that maybe be it Peeta was 'the one' or it was just from being away from Gale for so long.
Two weeks after Gale left, there was a knock at the front door. Katniss got up from her comfortable position on the bed and cursed under her breath. She opened the door and said; "Hi Annie or Finnick aren't ho-" at that moment looked up and found none other than Peeta Mellark standing with a bunch of peonies and babies breath flowers.
He flashed a shy smile and said, "Katniss Everdeen, I am slowly but completely falling in love with you." Katniss stood in utter shock, waiting for Peeta to laugh and admit it was all a ruse.
"Excuse me?" Katniss whispered, she then noticed how Peeta was dressed. He looked very handsome with a white Tommy Hilfiger polo shirt, burnt orange shorts and white converse. His glasses sat on the bridge of his nose like they always did and his hair was swept to the side.
"Katniss… I," The usually smooth talker was replaced with a babbling Peeta. Katniss could feel her self blush at his adorableness. "Ugh... it's just since I met you, I could not get enough. Lets just say you're like a drug to me."
"A drug?" Katniss quirked an eyebrow and a small smile started to form on her lips.
"Yes a drug. And when you were gone I felt like I was having withdrawal symptoms…. Katniss I think I am falling in love with you." Peeta stuttered; he had been using his free hand to gesture and flail his arm around.
Katniss felt the urge to press her lips against Peeta's, but what she did surprise her. Katniss took his flailing arm and held his hand, she looked up at Peeta, smiled and said: "The feelings mutual."
Peeta burst out laughing just like he did when they were in the nightclub, he kissed Katniss's hand and handed her the bunch of flowers. Katniss inhaled their sweet scent and led Peeta into the lounge room.
They talked for hours about everything and anything, playing with each other's hands and hair, and being very open to one another. Peeta tells Katniss about how he started painting and his passion for baking, he has such animated expressions and he seems almost excited when he tells stories of his father. Katniss tells Peeta about the passing of her dad and how her mother kind of faded a way for a while, and how when she was frustrated she would go to the archery range and shoot arrows until the early hours of the morning.
And not once did they interrupt each other, they both watched and listened intently. Katniss felt so bare, she had never told anyone so much about herself, let alone a guy she has known for a month. But Peeta on the other has had women stomp all over him, he wears his heart on his sleeve; but he can't help but feel that Katniss isn't the type of girl to do that. She seems to mature and serious to do anything of that sort.
So when dinnertime rolled around, Peeta and Katniss knew one another like the backs of their hands. Katniss sat on Peeta's lap, while they lay back on the couch talking about cheese buns. Peeta held Katniss's hands in his, tracing the lines and crevasses, she visibly shuddered and he smiled. He moved his head so his lips were touching the shell of her ear, Peeta whispered; "May I please kiss you, Katniss?"
Katniss turned around and looked into Peeta's beautiful blue eyes and nodded ever so slightly. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers, they were soft and sweet. She tangled her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer, he smiled into the kiss and wrapped his arms around her waist. Katniss had never felt so happy in her life, she felt happy when she was graduating high school and left for England; but she never felt as content as she was now. Same goes for Peeta, he was kissing the most beautiful woman he had ever met. He thought that he would not have a hope in hell with her, but here he was kissing her.
They were interrupted by the sound of the front door shutting and a set of footsteps echo through the hallway. "Katniss!" Finnick hollered, "I'm home!" He dropped the shopping bags on the kitchen bench top and turned around to find Katniss sitting on Peeta's lap. "So this is the hottie you met in France?"
Katniss blushed and nodded, "Yeah Finnick, this is Peeta Mellark."
"Mellark? As in Peeta Mellark?" Finnick asked curiously.
"Finnick?" Peeta said, "Oh my god dude! Long time no see." Katniss removed herself from Peeta's lap and he stood to hug Finnick. "I haven't seen you since you got with Annie and that was three years ago. How's that going?" Peeta asks as he 'man hugged' Finnick.
"Yeah man, Annie and I are getting married in October. So yeah planning is in over load, but what about you, how is your dad?" Finnick asks Peeta, both men smiling.
"Oh yeah he's great the bakery is going fine," Peeta responds, "Yeah I'm hoping to open my own soon, so that's big. Are you still working at the aquatic centre?"
"Yeah I am, I started my own business for swimming lessons and that is doing great." Finnick said. They talked for a while, catching up on the years the lost, they tell Katniss how they met in Peeta's cousins nightclub; they both worked at the bar and became quick friends. Katniss smiles as she watches the boys reminisce, they laugh and have a couple of solemn moments, but over all they seem ecstatic to see each other.
Finnick says when the excitement die down, "So you and Kat, aye?"
Peeta nods and takes her hand, "Yeah, I think she has already told you about our meeting."
"Yeah Annie kept quizzing Katniss if she met any one, looks like you're him," Finnick replies with an easy smile.
"Well," Peeta smirks, "I am privileged to be that man." Katniss blushes and kisses him on the cheek. Finnick snorts and left the room, claiming that he needed to give the 'love birds privacy.'
Okay so there is chapter 2. Please check out my other divergent story, A dauntless life with Caleb? I'm finishing it up soon and I am hoping for a lot of feedback for both this fic and my other one!
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Happy Easter and I love you all! ~N
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