Ok, guys here it is, Chapter 6. Thanks again to you all for reading, and especially to Jade, who threatened to pester me daily until this chapter was posted! Enthusiasm like that makes me write faster and the reviews this has been getting are lovely, keep them coming!
Don't forget to review/favourite/follow
DFTBA ~MadcapScribbler
I don't mean to, but I slap him. I stare at him for a minute, not sure whether I should be confused, angry or scared. Eventually I come to the conclusion that I am all of them. I look up to see that prim has the same expression on her face as me; I scan the room, noticing that my mother is in complete shock as to what I have just done. She clearly has no idea of what type of person Gale really is. When I look at Peeta, I feel sick. I know that I love him. I know the he loves me, yet here we are.
"Gale. I." my breathing is heavy. "I need to talk to my mother for a minute. Excuse us." I say signalling for my mother to come with me. We walk into the bedroom and I shut the door.
"I can't marry him" I whisper.
"What?"
"I can't marry him" I say, out loud this time.
"And why not?" she asks. I'm not surprised she's disappointed, I just wish she wasn't. It would make everything easier. I don't answer her.
"Katniss, I know that marriage is a scary thing for you. But it has to happen someday and-"
"He hits me." I stop her.
"He what?"
"He hits me, mum"
"Katniss, take that back. I can't believe you would accuse gale of something so outrageous. Honestly, it's not like you to lie"
"I'm not lying. It's true. Wait here, I'll show you"
I leave the room, run to the bathroom and scrub off the makeup with some water from the tap. I look in the mirror before leaving. The scar is now fully visible, along with a faint bruise where my eye used to be black.
When I walk back into the room, my mother has her back to the door.
"Mum…" I say; my voice timid. She turns around and I watch her expression change from disappointment to sympathy.
"Oh Katniss…" she whispers, walking slowly towards me before encircling me in a hug.
"I'm sorry"
"Don't be" I tell her. "It wasn't your fault."
She pulls away from the hug but takes my hand.
"Come on" I follow her back to where Gale is standing.
"Katniss" he starts.
"Shut up." My mother seems to even surprise herself a little bit. "She's not marrying you Gale."
"Mrs Everdeen…"
"Don't talk to my mother Gale." I tell him. "Neither of us wants to hear what you have to say. So leave." He opens his mouth to say something, butsighs and looks at his feet.
"Very well." he turns and heads for the door.
"Gale, wait" I stop him, he faces me with a hopeful expression. I follow him into the hall, no one follows me. When we're alone I take a deep breath before saying anything.
"If you ever come near me or my family again, I will show everyone what you did to me. Everyone. And I mean it. I don't want to talk to you, see you or hear you ever again. And that goes for all of us. Peeta. My mother. Prim. Or you'll have me to deal with, even if it's the last thing I do." He leans down so his lips are level with my ear.
"I'll keep that in mind." He whispers, before turning towards the door. Before leaving, he looks back at me.
"Mark my words, Miss Everdeen, You haven't seen the last of me. I. Will. Have you."
His tone was sickening and worrying but I don't let him show what he'd done to me. I Swallow my emotions and keep a straight face as he flashes a poisonous smile. He closes the door behind him and I let out a short sigh of relief.
"Kat, are you ok?" Peeta surprises me and places his hand on my shoulder. I touch it, but don't hold it, still keeping my stare fixed on the door.
"Kat? Katniss…"
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine" I say, facing him and faking a smile. He hugs me tight and whispers in my ear.
"I know you're not"
"Sorry" is all I can manage to say. He looks me in the eyes before kissing me forehead and taking my hand.
After that nobody says anything about the matter at all. We continue on with the day as normal, and Peeta stays for dinner.
"So, how is your family, Peeta?" My mother asks him politely.
"Good. Since I graduated we've managed to get a lot more done at the bakery" he says.
The small talk continues through the evening, although I remain practically silent for the majority of the time, only speaking when I've been asked a question, and even then I only answer with single words. When I do speak up, it causes a whole new conversation to start.
"I'm going to go and get some sleep" I say, excusing myself from the table.
"Wait, Katniss, would you mind just sitting back down for a minute" My mother calls. I do as she says and look at her questioningly.
"The thing is, Kat, I'm still a little worried about…"
"Gale." I finish her sentence.
"Right. Well the thing is, say he were to get in somehow. He looked very angry when he found out that you wouldn't marry him. And I don't think slapping him would have helped much."
"What exactly are you saying?"
"Well we need some sort of plan. Because, if he did manage to get in… Well you're still not fully recovered and lord knows that I would be no match against him, never mind Prim. Perhaps you could sleep in a different room tonight? Or hide somewhere he couldn't find you?"
"He knows this house like the back of his hand, it would never work" I point out.
"If you don't mind me interrupting" Peeta chips in. "I have a suggestion."
"Ok…"
"Well. You see, my parents are going to look after my cousins while my aunt's in the capitol, and Rye's spending the week at his girlfriend's. Adrian's never, and if he is he'll get in late… so. Well. If you wanted to. I. Umm. Well, you could stay at mine…"
I look at my mother, who looks at me with the same expression. We communicate non-verbally, almost entirely with our eyebrows, before my mother turns to look at Peeta.
"As long as you're sure that it wouldn't inconvenience you in any way, Peeta, and of course Katniss is ok with it, that would be great."
Everyone stops and looks at me. Even Prim, who was in the middle of taking out our dishes, stops dead in her tracks to look at me. I look at Peeta, who seems hopeful yet his eyes are nervous.
"I would love to."
New chapters soon to come! Also, I've been thinking about a Sherlock fanfic, so if any of you are fans (of the show or the idea) then please let me know! Love you all, thanks for reading!