I HAVE A SNOW DAY TOMORROW! YESSSSSSSSSSS!

Anyway, I was dying to write this chapter and I didn't have to get in bed at a decent hour so I just did it! It is absolutely precious. I was just grinning the whole time haha

The song used in this chapter is 'Fix You' by Coldplay. That song is probably my all time favorite Coldplay song and possibly my all time favorite song, period. It's helped me through a lot of troubled times and if you haven't heard it I HIGHLY recommend it.

Also, I respond to mostly all my Private Messages, so if you ever have a question or just want to talk or something, PM me!

Enjoy! :)

I had absolutely nothing to wear on a date, so I just put on one of the sweaters that Peeta had bought me and jeans. At six, Peeta and I leave. He opens the truck door for me, like he always does. He backs away and drives in the direction of downtown St. Peters. Peeta and I haven't gone many places, but we've been downtown a few times.

"Did I tell you that you look nice?" he says.

I shake my head.

"Does that count, or should I say it?" he asks.

"That counts," I laugh.

"Do you like Mexican food?" Peeta asks. "One of my friends from high school runs the best Mexican place in town. Well, only Mexican place in town. But still, it's good."

"I like Mexican," I say.

"Do you really like Mexican?" Peeta asks. "You don't have to like Mexican, Katniss. I'm not going to be mad."

I pause. "I prefer Italian, but I don't mind Mexican."

"Then we'll get some Italian," Peeta says. He pauses. "You're allowed to have likes and dislikes, Katniss. How am I going to get to know you if you won't tell me what you like or don't like?"

"I'm sorry."

"Please stop apologizing," he says. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"I just . . ."

"I know," he says softly, grabbing my hand. "And I'm going to fix you."

"I love that song," I say softly.

"What song?" Peeta asks. "'And I'm Going To Fix You?'"

I laugh. "No, 'Fix You'," I say. He glances at me, his expression blank. "Coldplay? Are you serious? You'd never seen Titanic and now you've never heard 'Fix You'?"

"I don't listen to much music," he shrugs.

"Oh my God," I say. "I need to fix that about you."

He grins. "I take it you like music?"

"I mean, I guess," I say.

He sighs. "It sounds like you love music. Does Gale not like music?"

I shake my head. Peeta nods. "Well, I will happily listen to any song you want me to. Do you play any instruments?"

I shake my head. "I . . . I sing," I say softly.

"You sing?" he asks. "That's so cool! I, personally, am a horrible singer. I played trombone for a couple years in high school for Fine Arts credits, but other than that, I was pretty much a jock."

"I was in choir," I say. "From fourth to twelfth grade."

He whistles. "Wow, that's impressive. Would you sing for me sometime?"

I look at him wearily. "I don't know, Peeta."

He shrugs. "Okay. I'm not going to force you to. But maybe you could sing me that 'Fix You' song?"

"I don't know," I say.

"Okay," Peeta says. We drive in silence for awhile.

"I have the song on my iPod, if you want to listen to it," I say.

He smiles. "I would love to listen to it."

I pull my iPod out of my purse and pull up the song. "This is my favorite song," I say softly. "This song has gotten me through a lot."

"Let's hear it," Peeta says.

When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want but not what you need

When you feel so tired but you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse

When the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

High up above or down below

When you're too in love to let it go

But if you never try you'll never know

Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

During the guitar solo, Peeta's head starts bopping back and forth and when the bass came in, Peeta whispers, "Wow."

Tears stream down your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Tears stream down your face

And I

Tears stream down your face

I promise you I will look for my mistakes

Tears stream down your face

And I

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

Peeta pulls into an Italian restaurant parking lot, parks, and shuts the car off. He sits back in his chair and grins. "Wow."

"Wow what?" I ask.

"That song is amazing," Peeta says. "You have very good taste."

I smile. "Thanks."

He comes around the car and opens my door. "That part in the middle, the guitar?" he says. "I got chills."

I smile. "That's my favorite part."

He grins at me, grabs my hand, and leads me into the restaurant.

AEAEAEAEAEAE

"Do you have any family?" Peeta asks once we're seated. We ordered our food and our drinks had just been delivered.

I nod. "A sister."

"Younger or older?" Peeta asks.

"Younger," I say. "She's eighteen."

"So that's a four year age difference?" Peeta asks. "Me and my oldest brother Jake are four years apart."

"So that makes him twenty-six?" I ask.

"Twenty-seven," Peeta says. "I'm twenty-three."

"I thought you were twenty-two," I say.

Peeta shrugs. "My birthday's in February. Just turned twenty-three. You're twenty-two?"

"My birthday's in May," I say.

"I'll remember that," he grins. "Will you tell me a little bit about yourself? All I know is that your name is Katniss, you're twenty-two, you have a little sister, and you have a wicked taste in music."

"What do you want to know?" I ask quietly.

"Where you're from, for starters," Peeta asks.

"A mining town called Waterfront in West Virginia," I say.

"I've heard of that," Peeta says. "Katniss, that place is, like, fifty miles away. How much did you walk?"

I shrug. "A lot."

Peeta smiles. "Did you go to college?"

"I went to the University of West Virginia for a couple years," I say. "I was a music education major."

"Did you graduate?"

I shook my head. "I met Gale in my sophomore year."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Peeta asks.

"He was two years older," I say softly. "When he graduated, he made me come back to Waterfront with him."

"He was from Waterfront?"

"The rich side of town," I say. "I'm . . . I don't come from rich means."

His eyes meet mine. He grabs my hand and squeezes. "That's the past, right? The important thing is you're here now, with me. You're safe."

"Gale's fifty miles away, Peeta. He's probably trying to find me," I say.

Peeta grins. "Let him come. I'd like to get my hands on that motherfucker." I smile. I don't know how I'd been so lucky to find someone like Peeta.

AEAEAEAEAEAE

"The only theater within twenty miles is a drive-in," Peeta says. "I hope that's okay."

I shrug. "Sounds fine."

He glances at me. "Are you lying to me?"

I shake my head. "No, Peeta."

He laughs. "Is my constantly doubting you starting to irritate you?" I nod my head and he laughs. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," I mock.

He laughs again. "I just didn't know if you'd be comfortable with the whole drive-in thing. You know what happens at drive-ins."

"What happens at drive-ins?" I ask.

He glances at me and grins. "People generally go to a drive-in to hook up, Katniss."

"To hook up . . .?" I ask, confused. Then, I understand. "Oh, God!"

Peeta laughs. "We don't have to go if you don't want to. I've only been to the drive-in once, actually."

"Did you hook up with someone there?" I tease.

He grins. "Maybe."

"Peeta!" I laugh.

"It's what you do!" he laughs. "And anyway, I was pressured into it. She wanted to and I wanted to make her happy."

"So are you telling me you had sex with somebody in a car?"

"Jesus, no!" he laughs. "I was sixteen, I had just gotten my license. I had this crappy old beater – it had been my dad's, and then it was Jake's, and then Rye's. I only got to second base before a bug crawled out of the backseat and scared the crap out of my date."

I laugh. "That's horrible."

"I got this for graduation in May," Peeta says, referring to his truck. "I graduated with honors and my parents were really proud."

He pulls into the drive-in and puts the car in park. There are around fifty other cars around. Peeta unbuckles his seat-belt and I do the same. "What movie are we seeing, anyway?" I ask.

"No idea," Peeta says. "They play older movies here."

Fifteen minutes into the movie, I already know the ending. It's some murder mystery, but I know who the killer is already. "This movie sucks," I say.

Peeta laughs. "It does suck. I would say we leave but we're stuck." There are cars parked all around us. I turn to look into his blue eyes and I know what he's thinking.

"You can, um . . . kiss me, if you want," I say quietly.

He grins. "Are you serious?"

I shrug. "That's what people do at these things and you want to."

"Do you want to?" Peeta asks.

"Don't make me answer that," I say.

"Do you want me to kiss you?" Peeta asks. "I'm not going to if you're not comfortable with it."

I groan. "Peeta, I want you to kiss me."

He grins. "Well, if you insist."

"Oh my God," I laugh as he leans towards me. His lips touch mine and I taste chocolate cake, even though the last thing he ate was lasagna. He plants his hands on my waist and gently pushes me against the door. I tangle my hands in his hair as he runs his tongue along my bottom lip. He's such a gentleman, I think as I allow his tongue into my mouth. He brings his hand to my lower back and slowly lays me down. He lays his body on top of mine, but holds his body weight up with his forearms. Our bodies are pressed together tightly – the feel of his body on mine isn't terrifying, like I thought it would be. The closer Peeta is to me, the safer I feel.

When he pulls away, we gasp for breath. His breathing is ragged as he says, "Wow." I smile and he smiles back at me. "You are a very good kisser."

"You, too," I say softly.

He brings his lips to mine again and we kiss for the rest of the movie.

AEAEAEAEAEAE

"Ice cream time," Peeta says as we finally leave the drive-in.

"Ice cream sounds good," I say. "And don't you dare say are you sure."

He glances at me and smiles. "You're so great, Katniss."

I blush. We sit in silence for a minute. "Katniss, can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"Okay," I say.

"How long did Gale abuse you?" he asks.

I flinch. "We were together for a little over two years," I say. "And he hit me for about a year and a half of that time."

Peeta nods. "Did you two . . . did he ever force you . . .to . . . you know." I knew what he was insinuating. Gale had forced me to have sex with him more times than I could count.

"I don't want to answer that," I whisper.

Peeta's nostrils flare and he clenches his perfect jaw. He breathes in heavily and exhales loudly. "I'm going to castrate that bastard," Peeta says. "I'm going to find him and I'm going to fucking kill him."

"Peeta . . ." I say.

"No, Katniss," he says. "Nobody deserves what you've gone through. Nobody. But it pisses me off that if happened to you. You're amazing, Katniss. You didn't deserve that. You're funny and strong and smart and beautiful. I . . . it makes me so mad that someone had the balls to abuse you like that."

"You're too good for me," I say softly. "I'm not funny or strong or smart or beautiful. I'm just broken. Damaged."

Peeta pulls the car over to the side of the road and unbuckles his seat belt. His lips are on mine before I can say anything else. He cups my face in his hands. He doesn't run his tongue along my lip. It's a sweet, chaste kiss. When he pulls away, he kisses my nose softly. "It's you that's too good for me. You're perfect, Katniss. You're perfect."

"I'm not –"

"You're perfect," he whispers, almost inaudible. "So perfect."

AEAEAEAEAEAE

After ice cream, Peeta and I go back to the diner. It's almost midnight. Scooter, the middle-of-the-night guy, greets us and we head upstairs. "I had an amazing time tonight, Katniss," Peeta says.

"I did, too," I say.

"Do you want to come to Rye's with me tomorrow?" I ask. "My brothers are dying to meet you."

"I don't know," I say.

Peeta shrugs. "Okay. If you don't want to, I can bring pizza and a movie home and we can hang out tomorrow night."

"That sounds nice," I say.

He walks towards me, grins, and kisses me softly on the lips. "Good night, Katniss."

I smile at him. "Night, Peeta."

AEAEAEAEAEAE

"Katniss, why do you screw everything up?" Gale screams. "All I want when I come home is a nice meal. Why do you have to ruin everything you touch?"

"I'm sorry!" I shout, but it's too late. His hand makes contact with my cheek. I know better than to scream. He punches my nose, causing a nosebleed, and I fall down. Gale kicks my side.

"Get the fuck up!" he screams. "Get up!" He grabs my hair and yanks me to my feet. "You're so fucking ugly. Why am I even with you?" He pushes me to my knees and unbuckles his pants. "You've fucked up enough today. Do you think you can give head without screwing up?"

I wake up screaming. Peeta comes rushing into my room. My clothes are soaked and I'm sobbing. I reach out for Peeta – I don't care how vulnerable I look. I need him near me – he makes me feel safe.

"Peeta," I sob. He crawls into the small bed next to me and I latch onto him. "Peeta."

"I'm right here," he says softly. "I'm here."

"It was h-h-horrible," I sob, my breathing ragged. "I had a n-n-nightmare."

"You're okay, baby," he whispers, kissing my head. His arms are wrapped tightly around my waist. My arms are wrapped tightly around him and my head is laying on his chest. "It was just a dream."

"It was real," I sputter. "It was so r-r-real."

Peeta shakes his head. "No, it was a dream, baby."

"It was a memory," I say, calming down just a little bit.

Peeta doesn't reply immediately. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head. "You're safe with me," Peeta whispers. "Nothing will happen to you when you're with me."

"I know," I whisper.

"Do you want me to leave?" he asks.

My grip on him tightens. "No!" I say. "Stay."

He kisses my forehead. "Always." The last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep is Peeta pulling the blankets over us and pulling me closer to him.