Here's the next chapter! Enjoy! I do not own Catching Fire so any direct quotes will be in italics.
Ch. 4
Before I go back to my house I stop at the Everdeen's. I know Katniss won't be opening the door. She never does. I just hope that maybe, since in only a couple hours from now we'll have to be in love, that'll she'll see it's me and come to the door. I know it's too much to wish for. I can talk to her on the train.
"Hi, Peeta." Mrs. Everdeen opens the door, lines of worry cross her face. She never really looks happy, but right now she looks even more worried than usual.
"Is everything okay?" I say as I hand her the still warm bread.
"Yes, everything's fine. I'm just sad you and Katniss will be leaving again. At least you won't be gone too long." She puts her hand onto her forehead and sighs, letting some of the tension between us leave.
I know I told myself to talk to Katniss on the train, but I have this strong want to just talk to her now. To hug her, and kiss her, and caress her face. And if I can't get any of that, I at least want a real conversation, "Can I talk to Katniss?" I say, peering into the living room. Katniss is nowhere to be seen.
"Umm…" She pauses, at a loss for words, " She is taking a bath right now. She decided to get a jump-start on her prep team. You can talk to her later. After the prep-team and all that. I think that'd be best." Mrs. Everdeen goes to close the door before I can say anything else, "Bye, Peeta." The door shuts and I hear as she walks away into farther into the house. I stand at the door for a minute. Maybe I can just wait until Katniss is out of the bath, maybe then we can talk. But I know time is ticking away. My prep team will be here soon. I decide to go back home, and take a bath just like Katniss.
At least then I won't have to be with my prep team as long.
They come into my room quietly at first. I didn't even know anybody had walked into my house, but then I hear them. I turn around and see the all to familiar faces of my prep team.
"Peeta! I haven't seen you in so long! I can't wait to see your paintings!" Lucinda squeaks and runs over to where I'm sitting on my bed. All I have is a robe on, but I know that's what they would put me in anyways. She grabs me and hugs me a little too tight.
"Peeta! Come over here!" Talia holds out her hands and is only three feet away from me, but I can't reach her. My fake leg isn't on.
"Sorry, Talia I can't." I gesture towards my stumps and her eyes go huge.
"Oh my goodness Peeta! I'm so sorry! How could I forget?" She comes over to me and does the same thing Lucinda did. It again was too tight. Rake comes and hugs me too, but it isn't as tight and excited.
"We missed you so much!" Squeals Talia. They begin to get to work on me. After the questions and fake answers they start to talk about themselves and things in the Capitol. I begin to tune out their high-pitched voices as their hands work some sort of magic on me.
It's not soon enough when Portia comes in and tells them to leave. But when she comes I am so glad. She hugs me too, but not too tight, it was perfect. She had helped me work the leg on, that still hurt when left on to long, but I've begun to get used to it. I even sleep with it most nights now. I tend to like to wander a lot at night and I can't do that without a leg.
"So, Peeta how have you been?" I've gotten the occasional letter from Portia. I usually don't tell her too much in them. I'm not sure if the Capitol screens them or not. But right now I just want to pour my whole heart out to her. I know I can't there are cameras being set up down in my living room, not even fifty steps away, they can't know of the pain Katniss has caused me.
"It's been hard." Is all I say. I know she'll get it. She has to see the heartache in my face.
"I bet it has. I've seen some of your paintings. They're beautiful. So deep. You really have a good hand. Katniss was right when she said you were born with it." Her comment throws me back into the Games. A conversation we had only hours before the mutts appeared. I forget it was broadcasted to all of Panem. I forget that all those moments shared with Katniss, were also shared with the non-forgetting minds of the Capitol.
"It's really helped me." She begins to help me into my outfit. There's snow outside, so I dress warm. The clothes are nice and fit perfectly to my body.
"The cameras are ready!" Effie flies into my room. I can't believe that I actually kind of missed her. I want to hug her, but I know that isn't fit into her schedule so instead I just follow her down the stairs. "Now, you prepared for this right?" She asks, and I see a ton of my paintings set up through my living room. I was called earlier this week and told to pick out the ones I had wanted to take with me to the Capitol. I decided to bring the ones that didn't have meaning, the ones that didn't leave me staring at them for hours, wondering how my mind could create such a powerful masterpiece. I picked the simple ones, the ones the Capitol people would actually be able to understand.
When I first started to write out what I would say for this, the words I had written would never be able to be broadcasted. Victors were supposed to be happy, not tortured. The first words that came to mind were: The last few months have been really hard. With Katniss not here to keep me together I've begun to fall apart. The only thing that keeps me here and breathing is painting. It releases all my fears and let's me empty them out onto a canvas. In a way, it's kept me sane.
When I had stopped and read it over, I realized this would never work. So in the end I went with a bunch of fake words. None really true.
I hope you liked it! Don't forget to REVIEW on the way out! Thanks! ~boywithbreadlover