"…And that's it, really. Apart from filling out the orientation paperwork, of course."
Katniss nodded at her new boss. He was a short man, maybe in his 40's, with bushy grey eyebrows and a thick moustache – the latter seemingly compensating for his shiny bald head. His black button-down shirt was two sizes too small, and she could see two buttons in particular suffering from the stress of his fast food fetish. He was friendly, though, and Katniss had decided early on that she liked him.
"I'm sure you know us hiring someone from your district is a bit…unorthodox." He started, 'But I really do think you'll be a great fit!"
Katniss nodded again, clutching her welcome kit tightly, "Thank you, Mr Beetee. I won't let you down."
He chuckled, stopping in front of a solid white door, "I'm quite sure, Miss Everdeen. Now, are you ready to meet your new team?"
No.
"Sure!"
Mr Beetee pushed the door open, allowing Katniss to go in first. A large table was in the centre of the room, with three men sitting at the far left side. Her eyes locked onto a pair of bright blue ones instantly.
Get. Fucked.
The folder fell, freeing her fists to clench at her sides. She watched Peeta's brow furrow in confusion; his hand swat absent-mindedly at Finnick's persistent nudging; his eyes never leaving hers.
"Whoops!" Mr Beetee chuckled again, bending to pick up the fallen was a grunt as he pushed himself back on to his feet, returning the folder to Katniss. She tore her eyes away and thanked her boss, forcing a smile as wide as her face would allow.
Appeased, he turned to face their audience. "So, lads, it seems our newest group member likes to make an entrance!" There was a beat of silence as he waited for someone to laugh. No one did. "Unfortunately Faux had to take on another position quite suddenly, which left us momentarily ill-equipped, to say the least! But I'm very happy to introduce her replacement, Miss Katniss Everdeen!"
Keep it together, Everdeen. He's just a regular asshole. Nothing unusual.
She waved slightly, her frozen smile still in place. Finnick waved back, nudging Peeta yet again.
"Katniss, this is Cato, Finnick and-"
"Peeta." She finished his sentence before she could stop herself.
"Oh! So you two know each other?"
"You could say that." She smiled purposefully at Peeta, her eyes cold.
Or you could say I've just experienced the fucktard first-hand.
"Well that's excellent! The ice is broken already!" Mr Beetee clapped his hands together, oblivious to any tension, "So, for those of you who don't know, Miss Everdeen has been working in the industry for a long time. She's come highly recommended from our friends over at Thresh Management, and I think her fresh perspective is exactly what Mockingjay needs to expand their market. I expect this to go swimmingly!"
His speech complete, Mr Beetee stopped and looked expectantly at the men. The silence lasted longer than it should have before the third member of the band finally stood and moved towards her.
Cato held out his hand, "It's really great to meet you."
Katniss accepted his hand, shaking it firmly, "Thank you. Cato, right?"
Mr Beetee smiled warmly before glancing at his watch. "Right, then. That's the tough part over. Have fun kids!" He exited quickly, humming something cheery.
Apparently Mr Beetee has not experienced said Fucktard.
The door shut silently, sealing the tension inside. Katniss took a deep breath, shifting her weight.
"So, um – let's get right into it? Mr Beetee said you guys have some public appearances coming up. I thought we could work out a bit of a schedule and-"
"At least it all makes sense now." Peeta leant forward in his chair, cupping his chin in his hand.
"I'm sorry?"
"Got the job and figured you'd do some personal re-con work, is that it? See what the front-man is like in his natural habitat?"
"No?"
Although you wouldn't be out of place in a zoo.
"Right. So you expect me to believe this is all just a coincidence." He sat back now, folding his arms defiantly.
"Actually, yes I do." Katniss mirrored his stance,"All I received was generic information. I didn't even know which band I'd been assigned to until I entered this room."
"Bullshit." He scoffed, "The charming introduction, the mysterious exit, the trying to make me jealous…none of that had anything to do with this?"
"No!" She paused, mentally replaying his words, "…Wait-"
"Let's hit pause on this whole he said she said merry-go-round, shall we? Maybe it would be more productive to shut up and just agree to disagree?" Cato pulled out a chair and moitioned for Katniss to sit.
"Suits me."
Trying to get you jealous? …The fuck?
"Peet?" Cato turned his attention to her sparring partner, "If we're gonna be in this for the long haul, you gotta try."
"…Fine. I'll try."
"Good. So. You were saying, Katniss? About the schedule?"
"Right. Yeah…" Katniss shuffled through her paperwork, finding the timetable she'd drawn up earlier, "As I started earlier, I think being more organised could really be the turning point here…"
Why would he think I'm trying to make him jealous?
An hour later, the meeting had finished. Katniss had only just managed to keep her mind on the set agenda, and as she bundled her paperwork back into her folder, it drifted back to her confrontation with Peeta.
"Need a hand?"
Finnick's voice jolted her back to reality, "Finnick! Don't sneak up on a girl like that!"
He smiled apologetically and handed her some pages she'd missed, "Sorry…honest mistake." They stood in silence for a while - her organising and him watching. They were alone now, Peeta and Cato having mentioned something about starving children in developing nations being less hungry before exiting hastily.
"He doesn't mean to be an asshole!"
Katniss looked at Finnick, confused.
"I mean, he knows when he's doing it, don't get me wrong." He stammered, suddenly fascinated by the table beside them, "But it's just a a defence mechanism; his go-to trick to avoid feelings."
"No one asked him to feel anything, Finn. He defaulted to asswipe all on his own."
"It was Gale that set him off."
"Pardon?"
"That's why he was such a jerk. Gale."
Katniss rolled her eyes, "Gale was perfectly nice to Peeta."
…to his face.
"Yeah...but he was there."
"So?"
Finnick didn't respond. His forehead was creased in deep thought, his fingers absent-mindedly tracing patterns in the wood grain. She sighed heavily and made her way to the door.
Good work, Kat. Piss off another third of the band.
"You know, he almost didn't even show up." Finnick was standing behind her now, his tone firm. "He tried to play it off like he didn't care – but something about you made him nervous. And then we walked in…and Gale was there."
"What difference would that make?" Katniss spun around, "I told him I would be there with a friend!"
"Do you think that if he had thought for even a moment that your 'friend' would be a guy, he would he have promised me female attention?"
Yes.
"That situation is intimidating as fuck for any man – even Peeta. He reacted badly-"
He's reactING badly.
"-but cut him some slack. He's a good guy, Katniss. And he's not any happier with how this has turned out than you are - he's just trying to save face." Finnick pushed past Katniss, closing the door behind him.
Katniss Everdeen, Asshole Extraordinnaire.
Peeta picked at his plate, his hunger nonexistant.
Of all the fucking people! Her!
He pulled his sunglasses down over his eyes and leant back, enjoying the sun. This district didn't often get bright sunny days, so he wanted to make the most of it. It only took a moment for her shadow to ruin it.
"Mind if I sit?"
Peeta shrugged.
Wouldn't mind if you fucked off, either.
"So…someone upstairs has a pretty good sense of humour…"
He nodded, "Apparently."
I'm the laughing stock of my own bloody life.
The conversation stalled. It was apparent she had something she wanted to say; some specific reason she's showed up. He would've asked, but he was mildly entertained by her obvious discomfort. Suddenly, she looked up.
"I'm sorry about Gale."
Peeta straightened in his chair. "What?"
Katniss played with the end of her braid nervously, "About Gale. The other night. Finnick said him being there upset you."
Fucking Odair!
"It's…he didn't…it wasn't…" Peeta stumbled over his words, looking for the right ones.
"He's my best friend – that's all. I wasn't trying to…I mean, we were going to be there anyway. To celebrate this job, actually. Which is sort of ironic if you think about it...Either way, I didn't mean anything by it. So if that's why you were being so foul-"
"I didn't care." He interrupted, "I mean…I don't care."
"Oh."
Smooth, Mellark.
They sat in an awkward silence, Katniss braiding and unbraiding her hair, Peeta cleaning an imaginary speck off of his sunglasses.
"Look," he breathed out heavily, "we'll be working together for a while. And we did get along well for a little while." He offered her a small smile.
She returned it without hesitation, "That's true. Maybe we just need to be surrounded by alcohol and public indecency in order to place nice."
You won't catch me objecting.
"Obviously a contender for the best workplace ever."
"Fuck it." She stuck out her hand, "Friends?"
"We'll try." Peeta shook her hand, smiling wryly.
Silence returned, though this time without the awkwardness. It was Peeta who spoke first.
"So how many times have you boned him?"
"Huh?"
"That Gale dude…you know, 'the best friend'?" Peeta used quotation marks, rolling his eyes, "How many times?"
"Uh…none!"
"As if."
"Seriously!" She scrunched up her nose with disgust, "I would never go there."
Peeta raised one eyebrow, "Never?"
She shook her head emphatically.
"He would." Peeta sipped his water thoughtfuly, "Go there, I mean."
She scrunched up her face again, "No, he really wouldn't."
Peeta scoffed, "I guarantee you're wrong."
"We've been friends since we were kids. He's like…my brother!"
Welcome to the friendzone. Population: Gale.
"Doesn't mean you're like his sister."
"You were only with him for all of five minutes – what could you have possibly seen in that time to make you so sure?"
"Just…I could tell."
"Wow. So descriptive. I feel like I was there."
"Shut up! Guys know these things, alright?"
"What's your proof?"
You're hot.
"You're female."
"So is half the population. I know Gale. It's not like that – for either of us."
Peeta shook his head, amused, "Alright…if you say so!"
"I do!" she insisted, "So unless you have actual proof…"
He threw his hands up in defeat, "Okay, okay...you win."
She smiled, standing up, "Thank you. Now, shall we?"
He threw some money on the table and grabbed his jacket, "You're really making this friendship thing difficult, Everdeen."
"You have no idea, Mellark."
