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Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters; they all belong to Suzanne Collins.
As I walk into the classroom, I feel the eyes of some people sitting in the front stare in my direction. They're a bunch of girls and guys my age in the same complicated study course as me, but they still manage to be some of the most stupid people I've ever met. Most of them are from old money, which I privately suspect has something to do with their enrolment here, let alone their ability to gain entry into one of the most challenging courses on offer. There are a few, though, that actually have a brain cell or two.
Like Glimmer.
She's seated in the middle of them all, flicking her blonde hair and smiling with perfectly painted lips. Although I hate her, even I have to admit that she's pretty. Gale pretty much drools over her at every opportunity he gets.
Shit. Gale.
I haven't spoken to him since I stormed out of his house, which was almost a month ago. He's probably been expecting me to come crawling back to him, complete with some new sexy lingerie and a gushy apology. He's a dick, but to expect that would be fair since it's what I usually do. But something has changed all that.
Or someone, says my bitch of a brain.
I feel where my mind is going before I can stop it, and then the exact colour of Peeta's eyes is flashing through my brain and then the feel of his lips and his hands and his voice, and I ride out the high of his memory before it comes to a shattering stop when I remember the girl moaning over the phone.
It's all over in a second, but the misery that grips me is all consuming.
Still can't think about him without turning soppy, continues the masochistic organ inside my head. You're pathetic.
"Katniss? Would you like to take your seat now, please?"
I look around, only to realise I've been vacantly staring at my lecturer for the past minute or so, not having moved an inch. At least I'm one of his favourites; otherwise he might have mistaken me for a fool. Which I am.
Fucking daydreams.
"Sorry," I mutter, before quickly walking to my regular seat at the back of the room. A bunch of snickers from the group at the front ring loud at my embarrassing moment, but I barely notice. I'm just glad that they didn't decide to create a scene of their own and trip me up on my walk to my desk.
As I'm packing up my books two hours later, a high, piercing voice echoes out my name.
"Katniss?" Glimmer shouts in her bitchy voice. "Darling, are you okay? I was so worried about you for a second there! You looked positively dreadful. But, then again, you always do, so maybe it was nothing to worry about at all."
She smiles wide, seeming to believe she's won something over me, but I simply cannot find it in me to care enough to break her surgery-fixed nose. I smile back and turn back to my book bag, vaguely registering the ear-splittingly loud mindless chitchat that continues in the front row.
"Who does she think she is …"
"Glimmer, baby, don't worry about it …" says the biggest guy of the gang.
"Cato, just because you want to fuck her …"
"I just bought these cute boots the other day, I'll show you a picture …" says an Asian girl with obvious breast implants, handing Glimmer her phone.
"Dude, you should've seen this crazy drunk bitch at the bar on the weekend …" says Marvel, a guy I used to date.
It continues as I walk past them on my way out the door.
"Her ass is bangin'," whispers one of the guys that's name escapes me.
"Peeta and I had the best sex on the weekend …"
My head snaps around to find the soft voice that spoke those words. I cross out Glimmer and fake-tits, leaving two girls in a huddled conversation. One of them is Enny, a girl who shouldn't be allowed to talk due to the pure idiocy of the things she has to say. The other I don't know, but the smirk on her face locks in my realisation.
This college is too small for her to mean anybody else other than the beautiful man I'm picturing in my head.
This is the girl on the phone.
"Oh, Cas!" Enny squeals. "That's great! I'm soooooooo jealous. He's a dream!"
"Oh yes, he is," Cas replies. She goes to speak again, but she must sense my eyes on her, as she turns to face me with a raised eyebrow.
"Can I help you, slut?" she near-bellows, earning her a shriek from Enny and a few muffled laughs from everybody else. It's so obvious that she's saying this purely for the benefit of her friends, because although she initially seems to hold her ground, a look of fear enters her eyes when she takes in my thunderous glare. No doubt she's heard about what I did to Mary Stanbridge last year when she called me a whore at a football game; it's become something of an urban legend. Her nose has never looked the same.
I feel like smacking her over the head, but I'm still shocked after learning that she is the mystery girl I've hated over the past week. Seeing her now, realising that she is nothing more than a member of Glimmer's posse, makes me feel both thoroughly refreshed and utterly disappointed. She's no threat to me in terms of brainpower, and her body resembles that of a spindly stick figure … yeah. We are nothing alike, something I am grateful for.
But if that is Peeta's type …
I let it go and strut towards the door feeling pretty dejected, until I hear Cas burst into tears. It's just enough to bring a smile to my face.
As soon as I get home after class, I rip off my clothes, hop into my gym gear and run straight out the door. I don't know why I start running instead of taking the car to the gym; I usually get embarrassed running around the campus, preferring to be in an enclosed area with a bunch of people who know nothing about me.
I continue to ponder this mystery, until I find myself in the quad that is bordered by Gale's dorm. The quad where I watched Peeta nearly Hulk-Smash some little shit, all in the defence of my honour.
Wow. I'm in so deep.
I collapse on the grass, not three feet from where Glimmer's brother sat with his friends and taunted me. Why didn't I act faster? Why did I stop to try and sort him out? Why did he have to say anything at all? Maybe, if he hadn't, then I would've never seen Peeta in the first place. He would have walked on by, with maybe a sidelong glance at my lack of suitable attire, and never thought about me again. I probably wouldn't have even looked at him.
It's been about half an hour before I hear footsteps approaching, the first set I've heard this whole time. I glance to my left and see none other than Gale, walking towards me with a guilty look on his face.
"Okay, Kat," he begins. This annoys me; he knows better than anyone how I hate having my named shortened. "You don't have to sit out here in your sexy gym clothes looking all glum. You can come to my room now. I'm sorry."
Shit. He's probably been watching me from his window, thinking that I wanted him to come out and see me.
I get up, brushing some bark off my pants. He is such an arrogant prick.
"Actually, Gale, I'm not here to see you." Even though it's the truth, it sounds stupid coming from my lips, and completely unbelievable. This dorm is on the other side of campus, definitely not an area where anybody else I know stays; why else would I be in here? Even I can't answer myself.
Looks like I'm going to have to lie after all. "I'm … seeing somebody else."
"You're WHAT?!" he shrieks. This takes me so aback that my eyes nearly pop out of my head. What the fuck?
"Since WHEN?" he continues. "Didn't take you long to move from one dick to another, did it?"
"Gale, that's not what I mea-"
"You bitch! You heartless bitch! How could you do this? Go from fucking me three times a week to fucking someone else?"
Even though my lie was meant to suggest I was seeing a friend that I had recently made and most definitely not a guy I was fucking, his harsh and confusing words kick my defences in place.
"What do you mean, heartless?" I say, almost on the verge of tears. "You've been acting so weird lately! I've wanted to be more than your fuck buddy for ages, but you always pushed me to the side! We are not together! We never were! You made that very clear!" My voice begins to crack, but I don't even care. "You can't just possess me without giving anything back..."
He looks utterly heartbroken at my words, but they are so true that it's almost liberating to speak them.
"I've moved on from your games, Gale. I deserve better. And this other guy? He's not just a friend-with-benefits. He cares." My words ring true for the first part, but falter at the lie. He notices.
"And who is this amazing new guy, Katniss?" he asks, emphasising the last letters of my name in a hiss.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
"I'll call him right now. Want to speak to him?" I seethe, knowing he'll back down when I offer hard evidence.
Gale smirks, and I know what he's going to say before he does. "Sure."
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Confidence is key, my brain whispers. If I pull out now, he'll know I'm bullshitting him.
I smile politely back, flicking through my recent calls. He knows the limited amount of guy friends I have and would recognise their names in a heartbeat. I consider calling a random number and praying they don't pick up or have voicemail, but the odds aren't in my favour.
And then I come across a number with no name attached, but a number I instantly recognise. I take a gamble and press the call button.
It takes about four rings before the phone is picked up and a deep, soothing voice is purring through the speaker.
"Hello?" he asks.
"Hey … baby," I begin. "It's Katniss." As if my boyfriend wouldn't have my number … shit. I quickly cover up the mistake. "Sorry, my number is blocked right now." I pray that he remembers my name.
"Katniss? Kat- hey! Hey, how are you?" he says excitedly, and I nearly collapse in relief while Gale's neck stiffens in front of me.
"Yeah, just wanted to call and tell you I miss you …" I say.
There is no reply for a few seconds, and I feel so embarrassed that my whole body flushes a beautiful, radiant shade of tomato.
"Um … yeah, I … miss you, too." He says, but the end of his sentence sounds more like a question. "Where are you right now?"
"I'm in the quad where we met," I reply, letting a dreamy look take over my face for Gale's benefit. "Out the front of Scarborough Hall. Just about to jog home. I just wanted you to talk to my frie-"
"No!" He shouts over the phone. "No! Don't go anywhere! I'll be right down. Stay there!" And the line goes dead.
I stare at my phone in horror for at least twenty seconds before I look up at Gale, vaguely notice that my hands are shaking. "He's … coming here. Now."
And just like that, Peeta bursts out of a dorm on the other side of the quad and jogs to where I stand.
Confidence! Conviction! my brain screams, going mental to try and get my muscles to act. Don't let Gale see the lie!
Just before Peeta's feet touch the grass, I start sprinting towards him and barely register his expression of shock before I leap into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist, and crush my lips to his.
I feel about a millisecond of doubt on his behalf before he wholeheartedly responds to my kiss, coaxing my mouth open with his tongue before pushing it in. I forget Gale, I forget why I'm doing this, I forget my own name.
I pull away and take in his cheek-hurting grin, sure that my own is almost a mirror image. Jumping down from his torso and turning around, I'm surprised when he pulls my arm back and steps in front of me, wrapping a protective arm around my body. I glance at him in confusion, until I see where his eyes are directed.
Oh.
Gale's standing there, and he looks pissed. I already know Peeta to be chivalrous from our last encounter in this very same place, and Gale's anger is enough to sense from a mile away. If anything was going to seem a threat, it's the tall, dark man glaring down on the two of us with the death stare to end all death stares. If looks could kill …
"So this is the guy, eh?" Gale spits. "The first guy in the world willing to put up with your crazy shit?"
I step forward, both to argue back with an equally angry comment and to stop Peeta from talking and revealing the lie, but before I can say anything, Peeta speaks up.
"Yeah, that's me," he bites back, with rage practically rolling off his skin. "And you are?"
Gale smiles. "I'm the guy that's been making her moan for the past two years."
Peeta's reply is quick and snappy. "Not anymore, mate. Now piss off. Katniss is looking way too good right now for me to pass up the opportunity to take her to my room and show her how a real man fucks."
Woah.
Gale steps towards us, his fists clenching up. Using all the strength I have, I push Peeta behind me and stare up into Gale's eyes.
"It's over, Gale. Now go."
He glares at me, and for the first time in the past two years, I barely notice our height difference. He may be over a foot taller than me, but it feels like so much less right now. Like we're equal.
He must sense it too, because his face shows a small glimpse of hurt before turning to full-blown anger. He storms off in the direction of his dorm, not looking back once.
Wow. That really just happened.
I actually ended things with Gale.
I turn around and find Peeta staring at me. A terrible fear begins to consume me, a fear that this whole ordeal has traumatised him and made him realise I'm a headache with way too much baggage to carry.
He smiles. I melt.
"Katniss, I think we might need to have a private chat," he says, grinning from ear-to-ear and making me weak at the knees. "You've got some explaining to do."
Hope you enjoyed! I'm thinking about writing the next chapter through Peeta's eyes ... let me know what you think about that. Remember, the more you review, the faster I write!