Chapter 4: Cheesy, Corny Trainwreck

(Peeta's POV)

Peeta gripped his cup of beer in one hand and Katniss' hand with his other as she dragged him through the mass of people to the front porch. The excitement he felt at finally talking and touching her was almost too much. He finally had his chance. He couldn't screw this up.

"Wait," he said suddenly, pulling back on her hand. She turned and gave him a quizzical look. "The back porch will be less crowded."

She paused a moment before nodding and following him back towards the kitchen. He wove through the people, this time leading her instead of vice versa as they made their way onto the small back porch off the kitchen. They could still hear the music booming from inside the house and a few drunk people were moving through the alley beside them, but it was better than nothing. He shut the back door with a hard slam and turned back to face her. She was leaning on the railing, sipping her beer contemplatively as he took a nervous sip of his own. This was it, he thought. He was finally alone with the girl with the braid. He had fantasized about this moment many times during class; he would kiss her soft pink lips, winding his hands in her hair after pulling out the hair fastener. She would moan and arch against him, begging him to-well, that was usually where it stopped. For as much as Katniss Everdeen enthralled him, she just didn't seem like the type to throw herself at a guy. Especially not him.

"Good party," he said awkwardly, trying to forget about his stupid, boyish day dreams. The dim, dirty light of the porch gave her hair a reddish sheen, much like the one the Black Widow had. He smiled sheepishly as he thought about his first words to her. "Sorry for the lame pickup line earlier. I'm a Marvel loving geek, what can I say?"

She took another sip of her beer and nodded enthusiastically. "No, Gal-erm, one of my guy friends used to read the comics a lot as a kid. He used to make me watch all those cartoons growing up. Um...the movies are really good though, I like them."

He remembered that they had just introduced themselves as Black Widow and Captain America – no real names. The idea gave him a sort of confidence that he usually only felt with girls that were strictly friends. He had no problem rambling on to those friends, but it was girls he actually liked that he had the most trouble with. He grinned through his blue mask, bobbing his head. So she was hot and she likes Marvel movies. Not bad. "Yeah, I uh…figured this was my last chance to dress up as my boyhood idol, so…"

"Really?"

"Well…senior year and all. I doubt it's socially acceptable for a guy my age to go trick or treating next year. I would do it if I could get away with it, but…like I said, this is probably the last time I can dress up and get away with it while looking half sane."

Katniss laughed. "Yeah…I figured tonight is one of the last chances for me to do a lot of things," she added shyly, smiling down at the deck. Her eyes slowly flicked upwards as if she was unsure how he would take her words. She took another gulp of beer and shrugged.

Was she…is she flirting with me? He asked himself incredulously. Deciding not to chance it, he gave her his best boyish smile.

"I agree. I mean…last Halloween, last chance to….dress up and be someone else. It's nice."

She nodded. "Can I make a confession?"

"Course."

"I actually really like the chance to be someone else for a night. I borrowed this costume from a friend, but….I'm glad I did," she added quietly.

He gulped, his tongue sticking to the top of his mouth as he fumbled for the perfect, flirtatious phrase. "Well….a lot of people don't know this, but Black Widow and Captain America actually liked each other for a while in the comics," he added hopefully. It was a lame attempt at flirting, but he was suddenly at a loss. He took another long gulp of beer to help him relax.

Katniss smiled and shook her head. "I actually did know that, yeah," she laughed softly, taking another sip of her drink. Peeta shrugged and gave her another nervous smile. It was obvious they were both chugging their beers in an attempt to loosen up, not that he minded. The flood of beer was actually helping him relax slightly.

"I think those characters had it right," he added lamely. "You look amazing."

Katniss looked up in surprise. "I do?"

He nodded. "You have this kinda dark but sexy thing going. Maybe kinda dangerous."

"Wow, and I thought my friends were just telling me that to get me out of the house," she laughed.

"You don't go out much?"

She shrugged, toying with the rim of her Solo cup. "No, I um…I'm usually too busy out fighting Russian thugs and all that," she laughed. "You know, just doing what I do."

He nodded, playing along. "Oh, me too. Not the Russian thugs thing, just the….I go…fight crimes too," he stammered, shrugging slightly.

Katniss eyed him curiously from behind her black mask. "Captain America has that …boyish charm to him," she coughed. "I bet girls like…erm, me would like that."

"Yeah? Someone as mysterious and sexy as the Black Widow?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. Katniss sipped her drink and nodded, tilting her head to the side. Peeta knew this was getting cheesy and corny and all sorts of fucked up, but he didn't care. Katniss Everdeen was flirting with him, so he would play along.

"They seem to….connect," she laughed, chewing her lip.

Peeta inched closer to her, the porch creaking beneath his feet. "I think they do too."

Katniss watched him inch closer, her grey eyes slightly dilated in the dim light. Or it could have been the Keystone buzz she surely had by now as well. He was right in the middle of contemplating it when she suddenly leaned forward to firmly press her lips against his. He let out a slightly muffled noise of surprise as she grabbed his hair and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Her mouth moved against his shocked and unresponsive one, her tongue swiping against his lower lip. She tasted surprisingly sweet for swigging cheap beer for the last half an hour, but he tried not to dwell on that too much.

Instead, he finally got himself together and kissed her back.

Katniss was an aggressive kisser, not that he minded. He also didn't mind it when she pushed him up against the back of the house, either. His hands found her hips in the sleek black bodysuit and brought her closer, his mouth fused to hers. Her tongue sought entrance into his mouth, and went along with it after getting over his surprise. He let out a groan of approval as she playfully bit his lower lip between her teeth. Peeta let his head fall back against the vibrating house as Katniss lightly stroked his tongue with hers. The kiss was hot. His fantasies were way off – she was better than he could have ever dreamed. She was so different than he had imagined; he had pictured a shy, unsure girl that would take a lot of coaxing and pleading. At least that was how she was in his fantasies. But this girl was different. She knew what she wanted, and it was him.

He happily obliged.

Hang on East Coasters! I've been thinking about you all today : *(

I'm a review reply fail so far on this story. So sorry guys - please know that I read and love every single one, I'm just not getting over this sickness as fast as I would like to. I was up at 5am today I was coughing so hard! Ulgh!

But I love my readers and hope you have at least had some lovely Halloween Candy. And for those of you who don't celebrate the holiday in your part of the world, well...go out and get some candy tomorrow!