Coffee and Classics
CHAPTER FOUR:
I groan as a light pierces my eyes. Slowly I open them, and glance at the clock on my nightstand. 9:47 a.m. Panic takes over and I swiftly jump out of my bed, only to fall back down on it as I get a head rush. Fuck, I'm so hung-over. Slowly, I stand up again and close my curtains, then run to my dresser, throwing on a blue University of Washington sweatshirt and blue jeans. I pull my hair to the side and begin to braid it—my usual hairstyle. When I'm finished, I turn back to my bed, looking for a hair tie and when I spot a blue piece of paper elegantly folded with my name scribbled on the front.
I drop the end of my braid and walk over to the note, tentatively picking it up and opening it. It reads:
Katniss,
I hope you feel okay when you wake up, though I wouldn't be surprised if you are a tad hung-over. You were kind of pounding those rum and cokes last night. Anyways, I'm working tomorrow, so I can't stay to see if you're okay, but feel free to drop by if you don't have any plans. I would love to see you. And see that you're okay for myself.
Peeta
A smile changes my face, but quickly it disappears. Katniss, I lecture myself. You don't have time for boyfriend. Pull yourself together. Plus, look at him. You'd just be another number. I set the note back on the bed and grab a hair tie that lies next to one of my pillows, quickly tying the end of my braid. I look for my bag and see it hanging off the corner of my door. Peeta must have put it there last night. I quickly write a note to Prim, leaving it on the kitchen counter and run out the door.
I get to class with one minute to spare, and instantly regret going out to the bar on a Thursday night. Why couldn't I just wait one day until the weekend? I chastise myself silently as my professor begins to lecture about symbolism of the green light, but I tune it out, having read The Great Gatsby at least ten times.
My mind wanders to the rent, which is due in three days, and I remember I have to stop by the bank to get it. After my parent's death, Prim and I were left with a huge inheritance. My father was a CEO at Boeing, and my mother was lawyer for the company, that's how they met, and why I don't need to get a job while in school. My father told us before he died that he worked hard to make sure our schooling and residence would be paid so we could focus on our education. It makes me uncomfortable not to have a steady income, but I know that it's what he would have wanted, and Haymitch constantly reminds me of that as well. But I stilI don't like having to rely on anyone else.
Soon enough the class finishes, and though I barely paid attention, I took diligent notes. As I walk out of class, I hear voice call my name.
"Katniss! Wait for me, bitch!" I roll my eyes, knowing there's only one person in the world that calls me bitch as both an insult and a term of endearment: Johanna Mason. We met freshman year in a poetry class, and bonded over our intense hatred of the professor. He had the ability to be both condescending and spectacularly douche-y as he taught you how to write a villanelle. It was terrible, to say the least.
She's hilariously vicious, and amazingly slutty, but we get along pretty well. I stop outside the door and wait for her, and it takes less than thirty seconds before her tall and curvy frame exits the room and crosses over to me. Her chocolate brown eyes meet mine, and she lifts a hand to tuck her black hair behind her ear. In the two and a half years I've known her, it has been a dozen different colors and styles, but currently it lands at her shoulders and elegantly frames the harsh angles of her face.
"What are you doing tonight?" She asks as she reaches me and punches me in the arm before we begin to walk out of the building together. "I want to go out to a club, and you said that Gale was going to get you a fake ID, so I want to go out with you! I want to get drunk, dance the night away, and bring a man home to get banged, hopefully standing from behind. What do you say?"
I cringe at the bluntness and detail of her future sexual encounter. Why do I have friends like Johanna and Gale that want to tell me all the details of their sex life? I need new friends. Johanna just laughs at my response and pats me on the back.
I begin to think about her proposition. Johanna always takes me on these epic excursions, and they always end with her ditching me for some emo douche guy, and I have to call a cab to get home. It's always fun, up until the end of the night. But I shake my head. I just want a quiet night.
"I went out last night, and I just need a quiet night tonight. Rain check?" I say, looking at her with hopeful eyes.
"Fine, bitch. Tomorrow then. I'll call you," and with that, we separate as she goes off to her next class, and I go off to mine.
At five, I'm slipping into my slippers and sweats and grabbing my book bag as I head out the door to Coffee and Classics. It's not raining today, so I walk slowly to the store, taking in my surroundings. We had to move to the city after our parents died; we used to live in Sammamish, a small city twenty minutes from Seattle, and sometimes I miss the green lush of the trees that surrounded the house I grew up in. However, on days like this, I do love the concrete jungle.
The closer I get to store, the more panicky I begin to feel. I called him beautiful last night! How am I ever going to live that down? But I refuse to let some womanizer ruin my favorite hangout in Seattle. I was here first, after all.
I open the door and head straight to the counter to order by usual. Considering I didn't get to have my drink yesterday, I'm craving one. They are seriously addictive. Sae smiles as she rings me up, her eyes full of some knowing emotion. But I'm still too hung-over to ask her what it is.
I walk back to my usual spot in the store, only to find Prim and Peeta chatting animatedly. I pause and listen to their conversation, hoping they won't notice me right away.
"…and then Katniss screamed so loud, 'WHAT THE HELL IS THAT,' jumped up on the kitchen island and started dancing around for a minute, screaming curse words and squealing, until she finally calmed down enough to call Gale. He came over and trapped the mouse and took it out of the apartment, all the while Katniss was screaming insults at him and telling him to hurry up. It was seriously hilarious. I was calmly reading on the couch and she was just freaking out." Prim laughs boisterously, her face starting to turn red and Peeta is laughing too, trying to muffle the volume by covering his large hands over his mouth.
I scowl at the pair of them. I really hate it when people laugh at me. I am about to turn away, when the movement catches Prim's eyes and she turns to me. "Oh, hey Kat! I didn't know you were coming here tonight!" She instantly takes in my attire and her eyes start to scold, while still keeping a smile on my face. She hates when I wear sweats in public; she says it's in insult to my natural beauty. I just roll my eyes at her expression, and then my eyes meet Peeta.
He's slightly flushed, probably from the laughing, and still has a grin on his face. I ignore his gravitational pull and try to return my face to its normal state of indifference.
"Hey, Katniss," Peeta tone is suddenly concerned, as he steps closer to me. "Are you feeling okay? Dizzy? Nauseous? Headache? Anything?" He moves his hand quickly to my forehead, but I dart out of the way, his hand skimming the skin on my cheek instead. I ignore the fluttering in my stomach his touch caused, and I pass him to sit into my usual chair.
"I'm fine Peeta, seriously. A had a headache earlier, but it's faded. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," I say, slight malice dripping into my voice. Prim just rolls her eyes, and Peeta's eyebrows furrow.
"Don't worry, Peeta. She's mean like that to everyone. It's how she says hello," Prim says, smiling at him. This seems to ease the tension in his face and shoulders, but doesn't take it away entirely. "She pushes away the people she likes."
I glare at Prim. She crossed the line with that statement. She's implying that I have feelings for this guy, and I don't like that at all.
"It's okay, I can understand the need to protect yourself," he says gravely, and lifts his hand to rub his forehead. When he pulls his hand away, I see the trace of a small white scar, before his hair flops down, returning to its messy state. I freeze. I wonder where that came from. "But I'm happy that you're okay, Katniss. I was worried. And I'm sorry if that scares you."
Again, I freeze. Scares me? Why would that scare me? But even I noticed that when he said it, fear did seem to creep up on me. How can this guy know so much about me?
"I'm not scared," I say, but my tone quivers and renders my statement ineffective. Thankfully, Sae shows up with my hot chocolate, and it seems to ease the awkwardness.
"Thank you so much, Sae. I needed this today." I take the mug from her and swallow a huge gulp. The warmth travels down my throat and sigh, perfectly content. Peeta's chuckle breaks me out of my reverie, and I look up to see him looking at me pleased. A small smile forms on my lips, and I try my best to make it fade, but it doesn't want to.
"Hey, Sae, can I talk to you for a minute?" Prim asks. Sae nods with a smirk on her face, as Prim and her move towards the front of the store, leaving Peeta and I alone. I take another sip of my drink and try to ignore his existence. Bedpost, bedpost, bedpost, I repeat in my head as a mantra. He's too beautiful to ever be interested in you for any reason than for you to be just another notch in his bedpost. Peeta clears his throat, and I look up at him questioningly.
"I want to be your friend Katniss," he says simply, his voice ringing with determination, his blue eyes glowing. "More than anything. Will you let me?"
The first thing that pops into my head is, I don't need any more friends, but his tone makes me unable to say it aloud. Before I even realize what I'm doing, I begin to slowly nod my head. His face erupts into a grin, brighter than anything I've seen before, and I can't help but smile back.
I guess one more friend couldn't hurt.