I'm sorry I haven't uploaded much this weekend! I've been busy, and I'm also working on other ideas for Hunger Games fics! :) Hehe, please review. I love hearing feedback! It helps me keep going! Sorry it's so long… There is a lot I wanted to put in here! Enjoy ;)

Chapter Six

My eyes flutter open as I yawn. I love the feeling when you just wake up from an amazing night of sleep, your mind is clear. Nothing is on your mind because it's been imagining amazing things that would more than likely never happen in real life. Sometimes I don't even remember what I was dreaming about, like today. What I do know, though, is that it was something extremely happy. I turn onto my stomach, trying to recall my pleasant dream. I bury my face into my pillow just as a huge smile appears on my face.

Peeta.

With that happy thought I sit up, still smiling. I see Prim lying to my right; she's wrapped in the blankets, peacefully sleeping. I decide to let her and my mother sleep in. I walk to the bathroom and strip down before I jump in the shower. I decide to take a little while, knowing it's pretty early. I'm going to Peeta's house at ten, and it's at least seven. I wrap myself in a towel when I finish and walk back into my bedroom. I walk to my dresser and grab a t-shirt and tight jeans. I braid my hair and sigh at my reflection.

I walk to the kitchen, a small smile still clearly visible. I make myself a small breakfast, and finish quickly. I tap my fingers on the kitchen counter, staring at my plate. I'm guessing it's around eight, and I don't have anything to do. I stand up and wash my one used plate and walk to my living room. I plop down on my couch. I'm a very impatient person. If you didn't know that, you do know. I look at the clock.

"8:30," I mumble. I look around the room, trying to distract myself. I look back to the clock after what feels like hours. "8:31," I groan. Why is this taking so long? I mean, time usually goes by really fast, but now time has decided to make seconds feel like eternity.

Damn you, time.

After about ten minutes, I give up on waiting on the couch. Even though staring at a wall for an hour and a half seems very pleasant, I'd much rather walk around the Seam. So that's what I do. I smile at the little kids playing and their parents or older siblings carefully watching them. Time goes my fairly quicker out here. I look up at the sky and guess the time; it's a little before ten. I walk through the Seam carelessly, but take a take more caution through the town. When the bakery comes into view, I suddenly have cold feet. Baking with Peeta doesn't seem as fun as it did this morning or yesterday. I see a slightly large, blonde woman exiting the front of the bakery. I sigh of relief.

Yes! I don't have to deal with her today!

I smile and quickly make it to the door. I swallow hard and slightly push on the door. The bakery isn't completely strange to me. Besides my trades with Mr. Mellark, Prim continuously drags me in here to admire the divinely decorated masterpieces. I have to admit, the cakes are gorgeous.

I'm greeted by Peeta's older brother, Rye; who is sitting at the counter. "Hello!" he says. "Welcome to the Mellark Bakery, how may I help you?" It's amazing how similar his tone is to Peeta's. They both give off such a happy vibe. Our eyes make contact as he stands up. I lightly smile and walk toward him. "Oh, Hey, Katniss," he brightly smiles. My eyebrows rise.

When did he learn my name?

"Oh!" he slightly laughs. "I'm Rye, by the way."

I nod my head, "I know," I whisper.

He nods as well, drumming his hands on the counter, "So, need anything, Katniss?"

My smile widens ever so slightly, "Actually, yes, I do." He raises his eyebrows, wanting me to go on. I glance up at the clock, which reads 10:22. "Is your brother around?"

He grins, "One second," he whispers with a finger held up. He walks toward the door I went through just yesterday. He sticks his head through it, "Oh, Peeta, dear!" he says with a sing-song voice. "Someone's here to see you!" he holds out the last word of his sentence as he settles back into the chair behind the counter. "He'll be just a minute," he smiles.

I nod my head and soon see Peeta swinging the door open. His apron is covered in flour, and his hair is a bit messed up. I fight the urge to giggle when I see some dough on his shirt. "Yes," he groans. His blue eyes land on me quickly. "Oh," he whispers. I suddenly feel like he had been dreading this day. When his sweet smile appears, though, my fears fade. "Hey, Katniss," he beams.

I smile and wave, "Hi." He continues standing there, staring at me.

Rye rolls his eyes, "Peeta," he says. "I'm pretty sure Katniss didn't come here just to have you gawk at her all day." Peeta nervously laughs as he looks to the ground; his face turning pink. "She doesn't want to see you blush, either." This only causes Peeta to get redder. "You're so cute when you blush!" Rye teases. He turns to me, "Isn't he just so adorable, Katniss?"

"Shut up, Rye!" Peeta snaps. I silently laugh at the pointless argument these two are having. "C'mon, Katniss," Peeta smiles. I'm afraid Rye is going to comment on my flushed face as Peeta grabs my hand.

Instead, he simply laughs, "Don't have too much fun!"

"I'm sorry about him," Peeta sighs as we enter the kitchen. "I question the fact that we're related sometimes…" I laugh as he leads me forward by our intertwined fingers. "I have to finish making some bread really quick, can you wait?"

No.

"Yes," I smile.

No! Why did you say yes? Stupid…

He smiles, "Thanks." He lets go of my hand right before he walks to a counter. I watch him toss around a big clump of something for a minute or two.

I've waited enough today!

I walk over to him and lean my side on the counter. He turns his head to the right, facing me; he smiles

I tilt my head to the side, "What are you doing?"

His smile widens, "Kneading the dough." I knit my eyebrows together, which causes him to laugh. "It's a step in making bread, Katniss." I nod my head, not exactly sure what he's talking about. "Would you like to try?"

My eyes widen as I shake my head, "Oh, no thank you. I wouldn't know how to do it. I'd mess it all up."

He continues smiling, "Katniss, you're here to learn how to bake. I'll help you. You won't mess it up, I swear."

"I don't know," I whisper.

"C'mon!" he grabs my arm and slowly drags me to him. I stand in front of him, still unsure what I got myself into. "Put your hands on the dough," he instructs.

I do so and slightly laugh, "It feels funny…"

He laughs, "I'm glad you're focused, Katniss." I smile and look up at him, he's standing pretty close, but he's been closer… "Now, start moving your hands." I raise my eyebrows and smack the dough slightly. He laughs and I can hear his hand slap his face. "Not like that."

I laugh and poke the dough, "I told you! I don't know what I'm doing!" I look back at him, "Show me," I whisper.

He shyly smiles and nods. I look back at the dough, waiting for him to give me an example. I feel him moving closer to me. His front presses against my front as his arms come over my shoulders. He drapes his hands softly over mine; he pulls himself closer as his hands guide mine. His breath hits my neck.

"Gently," he whispers right behind my ear. "You have to handle it gently." I feel his lips moving on my skin as he speaks. "It's simple. It's very simple, Katniss." I'm not moving. I can't move. He does all the work as I watch his hands smoothly move the dough, taking mine with him. "Do you see how easy this is?"

"You've had practice," I manage to whisper.

I feel him shake as he chuckles, "True," he whispers. As he continues working the dough, I look up at him. He looks completely care free.

I smile and try to get as tall as I can. Aiming for his cheek, I barely kiss his jawline, "This is fun," I mumble.

His smile is so wide, it looks like it hurts. He leans down and kisses my forehead. "Yeah," he breathes. "This is fun."

I don't exactly understand why we're so close. Not just physically, but mentally. I mean, what gave me the right to kiss his face? What gave him the right to kiss mine? Only friends can do that. I've been talking to him for, what? Three days? And I'm already this close to him? He's just so easy to like and get along with. Like yesterday, I was actually learning stuff. Since when do I learn stuff? He was teaching me, and I was having fun. Who has fun with your tutor? Peeta makes the most boring things, enjoyable.

I feel Peeta's movements slow. Our faces haven't moved. We are still staring at each other, my head slightly tilted. I look into his extremely blue eyes. Have I ever mentioned how gorgeous they are? His eyes move down, then back up to my eyes. I do the same, and realize he was looking at my lips. I swallow hard.

This isn't even the closest we've been…

"What did I tell you?" Rye hisses. Peeta quickly turns around, still holding onto me. "Not too much fun!" He smirks, "That's for upstairs, my friends." Peeta squeezes my hands. "Will you let the poor girl go?" Peeta reluctantly lets go of me, but I don't move. My brain is still processing everything. "Oh," Rye grins. "I see how it is." He shakes his head and walks toward the door. "But why my brother?" he laughs.

I blink a few times, trying to see if I'll ever wake up. When I hear Peeta breathing, I know this isn't a dream. I turn around and find my face in his chest. I murmur an apology and I step to the side. He quickly fishes the bread and puts it in the oven then turns to me.

"Cake time?" I smile.

He smiles back, "Cake time."

Peeta shows me the ingredients that you put into the cake. He shows me how to mix and I try, but completely fail. After silently laughing at me, he helps. He does as he did with the bread, but we get no interruptions from Rye. After pouring it into a pan, he stuffs it in the oven.

Peeta turns the radio on, and we easily make small talk.

Okay, I know what you're thinking.

'Katniss Everdeen making small talk? What?'

If you're not thinking that, I'm thinking that. Katniss Everdeen does not make small talk. But Peeta Mellark does. And he's very good at it. I guess it rubs off on me. He's so easy to talk to. It's like we've known each other forever-which is true. But I mean as friends. It's like we've been friends since forever.

"No! Stop singing!" I giggle. He jumps up from his chair and runs around the table I'm sitting at. He stops in front of me and attempts to dance. I laugh at him. "You aren't the best dancer…"

He grabs my hands, "Dance with me!"

"No!" I screech. I try to sit down, but he grabs my waist. "Let go, Peeta!" He shakes his head and grabs my hand. He twirls us in a circle, pulling me close. "Stop," I whine.

"Complaining only makes it worse," he laughs. He pushes his forehead against mine, "Enjoy yourself." I smile and begin moving with him. "There you go," he smiles. A new song begins. "I love this song," he whispers.

I roll my eyes as he continues turning me in circles, "Sure you do…" He grins. "Oh, you're not going to sing are you-"

"Called you for the first time yesterday."

I sigh, "Peeta, no-"

"I finally found the missing part of me."

I groan, "No-"

"I felt so close but you were far away."

"Will you stop?"

"Left me without anything to say."

He smiles.

"Now I'm speechless over the edge, I'm just breathless

I never thought that I'd catch this lovebug again

Hopeless, head over heels in the moment

I never thought that I'd get hit by this lovebug again."

He kisses my hair as we continue spinning. I bite my lip as I start humming to the song. He looks down at me, and our foreheads touch as he continues.

"I can't get your smile out of my mind."

"I think about your eyes all of the time."

His voice is soothing.

You're beautiful and you don't even try

Modesty is just so hard to find."

He pulls back, "Sing with me!"

"Now I'm speechless over the edge, I'm just breathless

I never thought that I'd catch this lovebug again

Hopeless, head over heels in the moment

I never thought that I'd catch this lovebug again."

He kisses my cheek.

"I kissed her for the first time yesterday."

I sigh, "Peeta, stop…"

"Everything I wished that it would be."

He grins, "I'll stop if you start!"

"Suddenly I forgot how to speak."

He laughs, "C'mon!"

"Hopeless, breathless, baby can't you see?"

His smile is so… cute…"Fine," I huff

"Now I'm.."

Why can this boy convince me so easily? Why can I have such a good time with him? Why-why-why…

I smile at him, and take a deep breathe; I forget my thoughts and sing.

"Now I'm speechless over the edge, I'm just breathless

I never thought that I'd catch this lovebug again."

We sing together,

"Now I'm hopeless, head over heels in the moment

I never thought that I'd get hit by this lovebug again

Oh! Lovebug again."

He continues smiling at me as the song comes to a stop. He sways us back and forth, no longer spinning. Our faces have managed to come closer.

"You sang to me," he whispers.

Well, I wouldn't say I sang to you. I just sang… in front of you… facing you… looking into your eyes… thinking of you… what's wrong with me?

"Yeah," I whisper back.

Our intertwined hands slip away from each other; his goes to my waist, mine goes to his neck. He pulls me closer by waist. I pull him closer by his neck.

"Your voice," he mumbles. The distance between our faces slowly decrease; our lips brush, "makes all the birds stop and listen." I want to smile, but I'm afraid my lips will have a mind of their own. Our eyes close as his breath hits my face, "It's beautiful. Just like you." This time I do smile, and I was right.

My lips have a mind of their own.

Our heads jerk back at the sound of a quick bell. My lips may have a mind of their own, but they sure aren't quick. Peeta slowly slips away from me and approaches the oven. I shake my head and sit down. I watch him get the cake out of the oven as I rub my temple.

What is wrong with me? Can you imagine what would have happened if the timer wouldn't have gone off? Friends, Katniss! He wants to be friends! Do friends do that? No!

Peeta comes back and I fake a smile. "The cake needs to cool before we can frost it." I nod my head. He does the same and sits next to me. The silence that I usually adore is now suffocating. "Are you thirsty?" I smile and nod my head. "Water?" I nod my head again. "Be right back." I don't even watch him walk around the kitchen. I try to slow my rapid heartbeat, instead. I manage to get it at a decent pace, until Peeta comes back. I sip the water every so often as I look around the room. After a while, Peeta stands up, "We can frost it now."

I smile as we walk to the cake. "If you thought I was bad with the bread," I laugh. "You have another thing coming…"

He laughs, "It's not that hard, Katniss."

I love the way he says my name.

He smiles at me.

Stupid timer…

I nod my head. "Here," he says as he picks up a white bag. "This is a pastry bag," he smiles. "You use it to frost the cake." He shows me how to use it, easily making the side of the cake perfect. He hands it to me, and I attempt to repeat his actions. It comes out pretty decent. "You see! You're doing fine."

I laugh, "It didn't come out half as good as yours."

"Well," he grins. "No one's comes out as good as mine," he jokes.

I shove his shoulder, "Don't get cocky, baker boy."

He arches his eyebrow, "Baker boy?" I nod my head. He shakes his head, "Whatever, huntress."

I laugh, "Alright, wrestler."

He laughs as well, "Sure, dancer."

I smile and roll my eyes, "Are we just going to sit here and give each other nicknames?"

"We're technically not standing…" I hit his arm. "Okay! Gosh…" We both laugh as I finish frosting. "Now we get to do the designs!" I shake my head. "Oh, c'mon, Katniss! It's the best part!"

"How about I watch you instead?" I smile. "It'll be more fun for me."

He shakes his head, "No! I want to teach you, not show you," he frowns.

"Next time," I whisper.

His eyes light up as he broadly smiles, "Next time!" he nearly shouts. I laugh as he begins blushing. "I'll show you next time, then," he continues smiling. "You want a cookie? You can have some while I finish this." I begin shaking my head, knowing he's already given me too much. He rolls his eyes, "It's not that much, Katniss. It's a cookie. Just have a few while I finish this."

"Okay," I whisper. I walk to the plate of cookies on the table. I grab one and quickly finish one. "Yum!" I smile. Peeta laughs at me as I skip back to him with a handful of cookies. "These are really good!" He continues laughing as I sit up on the counter, watching him. His face is relaxed, acting like he doesn't have a care in the world. He looks extremely focused, but doesn't put much effort into it. "It's amazing how concentrated you are," I mumble. He looks up at me with a soft smile. I blush, "You're really good at it…"

He looks back at his masterpiece in the making, "Thank you. I decorate all the cakes, you know."

"Really?" He nods and I smile, "My little sister loves them. She can't walk by the bakery without dragging me in here to look at them." He smiles as he finishes up the last flower. "They're all gorgeous. You have a lot of talent, you know."

He grins, "Oh, I know," he jokes. I roll my eyes as he puts the pastry bag down. "Like it?" he asks, gesturing to the cake.

"Love it," I whisper. He smiles as he takes the cake and walks to the door. "Where are you going?" I question. I finish my last cookie as I follow him to the front.

"Putting it in a box," he smiles. I raise my eyebrows. "So you can take it home to Prim."

How does he know Prim's name? Oh yeah! Prim already know him… I'll have to ask her about that later…

I shake my head, "No! I can't take that!"

He smiles, "Katniss, you made the cake. It's technically yours." He finishes and places it on the counter. "You're taking it, even if I have to force you."

I roll my eyes and nod. This boy is almost as stubborn as me, almost. I just don't understand why I'm not stubborn with him. He convinces me so easily, it's ridiculous.

"Hey, Peeta," Rye says. "Can you watch the counter for a second? I have to go to the restroom." Peeta smiles and nods, taking Rye's spot. "Thanks, and, remember," he grins, "not too much fun! At least not where the customers can see…" Peeta shoots his older brother a glare, who merely laughs, "I'll be back in a few."

I start bouncing on my heels, looking around the room. "Are you okay?" Peeta whispers.

I shake my head, "I think the sugar is settling in…" He shakes his head; I look at him, "Let me try!" I smile as I walk behind the counter. His eyebrows furrow together as I stand next to him. "I want to be in charge! I want to handle the front!"

Peeta laughs, "Calm down, Katniss."

I turn to him, still bouncing, "This is why you don't give me cookies! Cookies have sugar, and sugar results in this!" He continues laughing at me. "Don't laugh at me!" I whine.

He places his hands on my shoulder, "Katniss, breathe." I hear a small bell.

"I am breathing, Peeta!" I laugh, "If I weren't breathing, then I wouldn't be alive. Duh!" He groans as he looks down, laughing. I smile and put my head on his shoulder. "No more sugar for me, Peeta!"

I hear someone clear their throat, and I move my head to the side, expecting Rye.

Peeta's right hand slips off my shoulder. "Hello," he says. "How may I help you?"

I swallow hard; my head is still on his shoulder. I slowly move away from him and slump into the stool to my left.

"I just need a small loaf of bread," Gale says through gritted teeth.

Peeta nods, still maintaining his happy-person personality. He smiles, "Alright, I'll be right back." He goes to the kitchen, leaving my hunting partner and I alone.

Gale's head turns to me. "Hi," I whisper. He rolls his eyes; I frown, "Don't give me that."

He glares at me, "Give you what?"

I sigh, "That. I'm not doing anything wrong."

He continues giving me a dirty look, "Because cuddling with the baker's boy isn't wrong?" he hisses. I open my mouth to argue, but he holds his hand up, "Don't," he spits. I groan, knowing the only way I'll get a decent conversation out of him is in the woods. Peeta comes back, telling Gale how much it is. Gale grabs the bag after he pays. "Thanks," he mumbles with a roll of his eyes. He turns to me, "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he whispers. I nod my head and watch him walk out the door.

I turn to Peeta, who is slightly smiling at me. I smile back and check the clock.

"It's already 2 o'clock," I frown. He nods his head as I sigh. "I better get going…" He frowns, but agrees. I'm stuck in the same situation as yesterday. Should I hug him? Instead of having an inner conflict, Peeta helps me. He leans in and gives me a tight hug. "Bye," I whisper in his ear.

He smiles at me, "Bye." I'm about to walk past him, but he stops me. "Don't forget about the cake!" I smile and grab the box, leaving. "See you Monday, Katniss," Peeta says.

I nod my head, smiling, "See you Monday, Peeta."

I don't think I've ever smiled that much outside of the woods…

I groan as I walk back home.

Why can't I just skip Sunday? Gale is so going to kill me! Well, not kill me. He's just going to go on and on about what he saw today. I don't get why he's so mad, though. Peeta's a really nice guy. Who cares if we become friends? I mean, am I not allowed to have friends of the opposite sex? Gale sure does. Ha! I just found my argument. Bring it on, Gale!

I hope you liked it! I spent a little while on it. I'm sorry there isn't a lot of fluff, but I tried to put in a little!

Song: Lovebug by Jonas Brothers