Our regular walk home that day turned into more of a run because of the rain. I didn't complain considering it saved me from what would have inevitably been an uncomfortable conversation between me and Gale. I managed to avoid eye contact with him until he said a quick goodbye as we reached their house.
That evening consisted of helping Prim out with her homework, and listening to her go on and on about how much she loved the story of Romeo and Juliet. I listened patiently, but didn't give any input on the story myself. I didn't want to ruin her view of the story with my negative take on it.
See, I had always hated Romeo and Juliet. It reminded me far too much of my parents. My mom had grown up in town, and my father in the Seam. Just like the ill-fated lovers, they came from two families that should have never intersected. My mother's parents had thought the idea of their daughter marrying a coal miner was despicable. They didn't attend their toasting, and as far as I knew, my mom hadn't spoken to them since.
I remember once, when I was still very little, making my way through town with my parents. I was holding onto my father's hand, and they were laughing with each other over something that I no longer remember, when my Mother had suddenly gone quiet. There was a woman standing, not twenty feet away, on the sidewalk outside of the general store. Her eyes were a pale blue and the same shape as my mother's, but had a sort of hardness about them. She was staring intently at my mom, and then pulled her eyes down to me. There was a flicker of something there, though to this day, I'm not sure what it could have been. The next thing I knew, my father had lifted me into his arms, and we returned home without even getting what we had walked into town for in the first place. My Mother didn't leave their bedroom for the rest of the day.
That next morning, as my father was getting ready to head out beyond the fence to hunt for the day, I stopped him before he could exit the house. I can still remember the way that he looked as he knelt down beside me to see what I wanted. His index finger lifted my chin up so that my eyes met his. He smiled as he saw what I'm sure was a look of deep confusion on my face.
"Daddy," My voice came out much softly. "Is mommy, okay?"
"Mommy's just fine, little bird," He grinned softly at me.
"Who was that lady that upset her?"
His eyes left my face for a moment as he searched his mind for what to say. Even at a young age, I found that relating to my father, and reading his emotions and moods was fairly easy for me. I watched as a shadow of guilt ran over his features. His forehead creased, and I remember running my tiny fingers along the lines to smooth them out, effectively bringing the smile back to his face.
"That was your grandma, sweetie."
"I thought you said grandma was in heaven."
"That's my mother, Katniss. Your mother's parents are still alive and the woman you saw yesterday was her mother."
"But if her mommy's still alive, why have I never met her?"
My father then pulled up a stool to sit in, and placed me in his lap. I turned so that I could see his face as he answered.
"Well, sometimes there are people who don't like things that are different. Your grandma is one of those people. See, mommy and daddy, we grew up with different lives from each other. Mommy grew up in town, where she was supplied with all of the material things that she needed. She had a roof over her head, with a warm bed under it. Her clothes never had holes in them, or were worn thin in spots. She always had food on her table. And I, well… Daddy's family lived here in the Seam. We had a roof over our heads, but there were sometimes holes in it that needed to be patched up. My bed wasn't quite as comfy, my clothes almost always needed mending, and the food that was on our table sometimes wasn't enough. Daddy's house had something that mommy's lacked, though."
I could still remember the look on his face as he peered down at me expectantly. I didn't disappoint him as I asked my next question.
"What was it, Daddy?" In my young mind, I couldn't fathom needing anything more than the things that he had listed my Mother growing up with.
"Love, sweetie," He kissed my cheek as he answered. "Daddy's family had so much love in it that the little things that we were missing didn't seem to matter so much. So when I fell in love with your Mother, your grandma couldn't understand why her daughter would be willing to give up all the comforts of her world to be with a man like me. Grandma doesn't understand love the way that we do."
"Daddy, does our family have that much love?"
"Oh, Katniss," My mother's voice rang out from behind me. She knelt down slowly due to her belly that was telling of Prim's soon to be arrival. She took my hand in one of her own, and my father's in her other. "We have so much love. More than I could have ever hoped for."
And we did, which made it that much harder when my father was killed. It had only taken an instant for the light his love had put into my mother's eyes to go out. She hadn't been the same since. After that day, I couldn't help but see love as being something that would only lead to a more intense form of pain.
The walk to school the next morning felt awkward with Gale on one side of me, and Prim on the other. She and Rory were the only ones talking, though I could tell that Gale had something on his mind. I also had an idea of what that something might have been. I was more at ease as we separated for our first period classes and started the day. I had even debated on whether or not to skip lunch, but realized I couldn't avoid him forever. Besides, I told myself, I needed to stop being so self-centered. Surely he had something on his mind other than me.
I successfully avoided Peeta's eyes throughout our history class. Luckily, the lesson for that day was more in depth than usual, which meant I had to pay closer attention. It made keeping my mind off of him much easier.
When I arrived outside during lunch, I couldn't help but notice that Prim and Rory seated by themselves. I was getting ready to head over and take my normal seat beside them when a strong hand was laid on my shoulder. I turned to see Gale standing beside me, and let out a sigh of relief when he offered me a smile.
"Come on," He jerked his head, indicating an empty table. The heat of his hand soaked through my shirt as he led me to our seats. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, and looked away quickly as soon as his eyes caught mine.
"So…." I trailed off as I sat down and looked over to where Prim and Rory were talking quietly. "Any reason that we're sitting here today?"
"Oh, I promised Rory that I would let him have some alone time with Prim."
"What?" I hissed, leaning across the table toward him. "They're twelve, Gale. Why would they possibly need time alone?"
He did something then that I had hardly ever seen Gale do while we were at school. Hell, he hardly did it in general. He laughed. He laughed, and instead of it bringing me joy like it normally would if we had been, say hunting, or even trading at the Hob, it made me angry. I sat back, not meeting his gaze.
"I don't see what's funny about this."
"So Rory likes your little sister," He started, running a hand through his hair as he leaned toward me. The hand that still lay on the table was dangerously close to mine, so I crossed my arms over my chest and continued glaring. "It's not like we both didn't know this was going to happen, Catnip. Rory's been head over heels for Prim since they first met. He told me just last night that NOT liking her just wasn't an option for him."
I still refused to meet Gale's eyes as I replied. "Yeah, well you know how I feel about things like this."
He didn't respond immediately, so I continued to look around the courtyard. Anywhere but at him, really. To my left, the tables occupied by girls from town were busy whispering about and pointing at Gale. Giggles were escaping from all of their mouths as the one nearest met my gaze. Within seconds, the entire table had fallen silent, and my mood had worsened.
Tearing my eyes away from them, I landed on Prim and Rory's table next. I felt my cheeks burn as I suspected I was witnessing what was meant to be a private moment between the two. Prim's smile was taking up most of her face, as Rory's hand grasped hers.
Desperate to rest my eyes somewhere that wasn't Gale's face, I stared over his right shoulder. My eyes almost immediately locked on to the same pair that I'd caught staring at me the day before during that same time. Since we had actually managed to exchange words since then, he offered me a small smile, and lifted his hand in a wave. I lifted my hand in return, and looked away quickly.
Gale noticed however, and shifted to see who I had acknowledged. He turned his head back to face me, his lips pressed together in a harsh line. He leaned forward on his elbows before he started to speak.
"So, you and Mellark looked pretty cozy yesterday."
I swallowed hard, and looked him in the eye. His expression was a mix of anger, hurt, jealously, and what seemed like genuine curiosity.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He scoffed, and sat up straighter. "Yeah, I'm sure. He had his hands all over you, Katniss!"
I couldn't believe the accusatory tone he had taken with me. I leaned forward, elbows on the table, and practically hissed back at him.
"Yes, Gale, because placing his hands on my arms to keep me from falling on my face is equivalent to him 'having his hands all over me'." I used my fingers to make the quotation marks.
"I'm only telling you what it looked like." He ran his hand through his hair in an aggravated manner, and I could practically hear the girls from the table next to us sighing. A look that I could only explain as a sneer crossed his face. "Listen, I just…I know that guys like Mellark are like. I know what town guys think about girls from the Seam, and I just want you to keep in mind that his intentions might not be so noble."
I was quickly becoming livid.
"You think that I don't know what they think, Gale? Really?" My voice was starting to gather volume quickly, but I wasn't thinking clearly enough to care.
"I just don't want people to get the wrong idea."
"It sounds like the only one with the wrong idea here is you."
That was the second day in a row that I found myself leaving lunch early. I ignored the strange looks that were cast my way, as I made my way back inside the school. I hadn't even had time to un-bag my lunch while I had been outside, so I just pressed my back against the nearest locker, and slid down to the floor. I had just taken the first bite of my sandwich, when the door I had just burst through opened.
Assuming it was Gale, coming to apologize, I didn't even bother to look up.
"I don't want to talk to you," I spoke harshly, my mouth still half full.
"Well, that's not a very nice thing to say," A voice that did not belong to Gale's said from above me.
"Oh, God," I muttered, and started to stand. He squatted down beside me, motioning for me to stay where I was. "Sorry. I thought you were someone else."
"Yeah," He chuckled lightly. "I figured that much. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Uh, yeah," I choked out as I watched him settle and lean against the locker beside me. "I'm fine."
"Good. You just, well… You seemed pretty upset out there. I don't think I've ever heard you yell before." To my surprise, he pulled out the bag containing his lunch, and started to eat. He slowly nibbled at the corner of a roll as if it was a normal occurrence for us; eating lunch together on the floor of an empty hallway.
"I guess I don't very often," I spoke quietly, taking great interest in my meal. It bothered me how much I wanted to talk to Peeta about what happened. It bothered me even more that I didn't understand why I wanted to. "I guess Gale's just being kind of a jerk."
If I hadn't spent years in the woods as a hunter, I would have never picked up on the way that Peeta's stiffened slightly. I heard him exhale slowly, and looked over at him. His features were lightly pinched. He turned his head to face me, and as I watched, his face softened back into its usual appearance.
"You want to talk about it?" He offered.
"Not really," I faced forward again. "I think he's just a little… protective of me. I guess? I don't know…."
"Well, that's understandable."
"Why?" I looked at him in disbelief. Surely he had no idea what Gale had said about his, er, intentions toward me. I watched as his cheeks were stained a light shade of pink, and he ran a hand through his blonde hair. The muscles of his back caught my attention as the fabric of his t-shirt stretched across them. I tore my eyes away, and shook my head slightly. What was wrong with me?
"I mean, I'm not dating you, but if I were…" Peeta was making a point not to look at me. "Well, if I had a girlfriend, I would be pretty protective of her, too."
It took me a second to realize what he was insinuating, but once I did, I started to choke on the sip of water I had just taken out of my thermos. I continued to sputter as Peeta put his food on top of the paper sack he had been carrying his lunch in. He started to lean toward me. When I caught on to the fact that he was about to 'come to my rescue' so to speak, I put my hands out in front of me. They landed on his shoulders, bringing him to a stop before he could move closer. My eyes were watering, and I felt like a fool by the time I finally blurted out my reply.
"Gale and I are not dating." I looked him dead in the eye, and coughed to try and clear my throat more. "He's not my boyfriend. I… I don't date."
"Oh. Sorry, I just thought…" He looked embarrassed. He looked down, smiled to himself, and then looked back up at me. "Sorry. I guess I just assumed. Katniss, are you okay?"
I hadn't been aware of the fact that I was still coughing until he'd said that. I nodded my head.
"Yeah, water just went down the wrong way."
He nodded, and we sat in silence for the next few minutes. I was still trying to regain my composure. The silence was odd, but not entirely uncomfortable. After we had both finished our lunches, Peeta stood and extended his hand to help me up. I stared at it blankly.
"I thought we might as well get a head start to gym," He shrugged. I returned the shrug, and took hold of the hand he was offering. We each deposited the trash from our meals into a nearby garbage can, and began to walk in silence. Something was bothering me, though. I pulled my hand up, and placed it on Peeta's forearm once we reached the door to the gymnasium. What was with all the unnecessary touching that this boy was eliciting from me?
"I have a question," I started, breathing in deep. "You said you assumed that Gale and I were dating."
He nodded, a confused crease formed between his brows.
"I guess I just want to know why you assumed that."
"Oh. Well, I mean I never see you with anyone else, Katniss. He walks you and your sister to school every morning, you sit with him at lunch, and then he walks you guys back home at the end of the day. Honestly, Katniss, I think that everyone kind of assumes that you two are together," He gave me a sheepish smile, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "And then there's the way that he looks at you. It's pretty obvious that he cares about you."
"Well, that doesn't make me uncomfortable at all. Wait… What? How does he look at me?"
I was genuinely curious. I knew that Gale cared about me. I cared about him, too. He was, after all, my best friend. The bell rang then and people started making their way through the gym door. I froze in place as Gale entered, his eyes immediately finding Peeta and I standing together, my hand still on his arm. I jerked my hand away, and let out a sigh of relief as Madge saw me, and waved me over. I glanced back over at Peeta, who had a smirk on his face.
"You have no idea the effect you can have, do you?"
Author's Note: I've had several people ask for longer chapters, so that's what I tried to do with this one! Also, I'm throwing around the idea of putting the games into this story later on, but obviously not with Katniss and Peeta competing. Any opinions on this?