Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or its characters. This fiction is for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter 6: The Dark Side of the Moon

Peeta and I were sitting at the water's edge letting the waves lap against our bare toes. I didn't even care that the salty water was soaking through the chiffon layers of my red gown nor did Peeta pay any mind to the moist sand that plastered itself to his uniform tuxedo. We watched in blissful silence the full moon sitting low on the horizon, its broken reflection shimmering in the dark ocean water. I turned to look at him, memorizing the perfect profile the moonlight traced on his face. His eyes turned to meet my gaze. His blue eyes glowed phosphorescent in this light drawing me in.

Just then we heard a screaming in the distance coming from the country club and getting closer and louder every second. We couldn't identify the source of the screaming in the darkness of the beach until suddenly, the menacing face appeared several yards away, baring his teeth and heading directly toward us.

"Cato!" Peeta and I yelled simultaneously.

"Katniss, run!"

"What? Where?" I asked in a panic, my heart pounding out of my chest.

"Just go!" Peeta ordered.

I turned to obey without further questioning when I heard the grunts and groans of their confrontation. Turning back, I saw Cato and Peeta wrestling one another in the sand, Peeta on his back and Cato towering over him throwing punch after punch.

"Peeta!" All I could think to do was run back to help him.

Peeta maneuvered himself from his vulnerable position, but Cato grabbed him from behind and locked his head in a tight hold.

"Cato, stop!" I pleaded. He put one arm down only to reach into his pocket and pull out a switchblade. Within a second, he had his knife pointed at Peeta's neck.

Cato laughed ominously at me, blood dripping down his teeth from one of Peeta's hits. Peeta's face was beginning to swell from the pummeling it took and the oxygen deprivation. I felt helpless. Here was the boy who had already taken a beating to save my life once before and I couldn't even return the favor.

"When are you going to understand, Katniss? I always get what I want," Cato sneered at me.

I found Peeta's eyes once more and followed his gaze down to my feet. What was he looking at? My shoes? I pulled up my dress to see my unbuckled high heels. Wait, when did I put them back on? I couldn't figure out what Peeta wanted and then I remembered. The heels were practically a weapon. But could I throw them at Cato with enough force and accuracy to get him before he slit Peeta's throat?

"But you can't have me!" I challenged back before my shoe flew towards Cato in a quick spinning motion.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" a scream resounded from the mound of the two boys that had both collapsed to the sand.

"Katniss! You're late! Katniss!" Peeta called out to me. "Get up!"

His voice became high pitched and sounded much closer. I felt like I was falling, then suddenly – thud! I woke up with a start to find myself lying on the floor of the living room with Prim standing over me. It was just a dream. Light was filtering through the slats of the blinds shining a bright streak of light over one eye and leaving the other in darkness. I rubbed the throbbing on my right elbow.

"Katniss, you're going to be late," Prim repeated.

"What am I doing here?" I asked Prim groggily.

"You slept on the couch last night so Rue could sleep over," Prim replied.

"Rue?" I asked still trying to find my bearings. "Who's Rue?"

Just then, a vaguely familiar face poked her head out from behind the wall of the hallway. Her eyes were as big as golf balls and her hair was a crazy mess of curls, but her shy smile reminded me of Prim's. The events of the previous night slowly came back to me – Atala, Thresh, the gala, Cato… Peeta. And of course, Rue came back to the front of my mind. When we got back from the gala, Rue had fallen asleep on Prim's bed and Prim on mine, the ending credits for Bridge to Terabithia scrolling on the screen. Atala was about to wake Rue up to leave, but my mother suggested just leaving her to sleep here. I could have just slept on my bed with Prim, but I was too tired and lazy to bother cleaning up the spilled popcorn and Monopoly game pieces off my bed to make room, so I opted for sleeping on the couch instead.

"Hi, Katniss," Rue said apologetically.

"Hey, Rue. Sorry about that. I'm still a little out of it." I turned my attention back to Prim. "What time is it?"

"Well, your alarm went off half an hour ago, but I may have 'snoozed' it by accident," she said as she pointed back to our shared bedroom. "I've been trying to wake you up for the last ten minutes!"

I jumped to my feet and bolted for our room, nearly knocking Prim to the ground. "Shoot! My shift's about to start!"

Thankfully, my job didn't require much more preparation than braiding my hair back – which, by now, was second nature – and slipping on my bathing suit, tank top, and red shorts. The pool was just about 40 yards from our bungalow, but I still had to rush to the office in the main building to punch in my time card. I started jogging the winding path to get there, but the blisters on my feet from those wretched high heels hurt way too much, so I slowed to a slightly less painful brisk walk.

"Hey, Katniss!" a chipper voice called from a nearby golf cart.

"Oh, hey, Delly," I replied, keeping up my rapid pace and averting my eyes to hint that I did not want to start a conversation with her. I wasn't trying to be rude, but obviously, I was running late as it was.

"In a hurry?" she asked. In typical, Delly fashion, she didn't wait for me to answer before continuing on. "I can give you a lift if you want. I'm just on my way to drop off some things for Haymitch anyway."

I hopped into her cart without any protest. My feet were thankful for the respite and I was just glad that my knight in shining armor was someone besides Peeta for a change.

"Working the north pool today, right? I'm surprised you can even get up early enough for the morning shift after the gala last night. But don't worry, that means the pool will probably be kind of dead until noon since most of the young folks sleep in on Sunday mornings." Was Delly at the gala too? I would've remembered seeing a friendly and familiar face. "I heard that party went on until 2 AM! I also heard that Cato was flirting with you."

"What?!" My one-word outburst was literally all that I could get in edgewise.

"Oh, Thresh was dancing with my friend, Larissa, and told her about it. Cato is so… ugh! Whatever you do, don't get involved with him. But you probably already figured that out. That guy flirts with anyone with two X-chromosomes – no offense." I shook my head to indicate none was taken. "Seriously, I think he's hit on my mom before! He thinks he's God's gift to the female species, yet can't score anyone better than that blood-sucking Clove. And truth be told, she's only with him 'cause he's loaded." I gripped the seat and roof of the golf cart to keep from falling out. Delly didn't even slow down as she swerved around an elderly couple walking across our path. "Anyway, hey, I was going to ask you… my friend is having a house party tomorrow night since her parents are gonna be out of town. Thought maybe you'd like to go? Meet some new peeps or, if nothing else, get off this property for a hot second!"

"Umm…I guess? But I don't have a ride." I wasn't really sure how I felt about attending a party thrown by someone I didn't know. Or about attending a party at all. I seemed to have used up all my social graces at the gala.

"Just ask Peeta. We're both going straight after our shifts tomorrow, so I'm hitching a ride with him too. So you'll come?" She smiled hopefully at me.

I shrugged and gave her a weak, "Sure, why not?"

Delly parked the golf cart under the porte cochere of the main building. With a minute to spare, I dashed into the personnel office to punch my time card. Delly was still assisting Haymitch when I had finished, so I decided to walk myself back to the pool. Since I was already on the clock and, according to Delly, the pool was most likely empty, my walk was far more relaxed and leisurely than the manic ride up.

I had some extra moments to reflect back on that dream – no, that nightmare – I was having before Prim woke me this morning. A shoe? Who honestly uses a shoe as a weapon? That was completely ludicrous. But far more ludicrous than that was what was happening between Peeta and me. Why in the world would I dream of a romantic moment on the beach with him? Wait, was it romantic or platonic? I don't really know because it's not like we had kissed in my dream or anything, but I remember those feelings I had – longing as we sat on the beach, desperation as he fought with Cato, and despair when I thought Cato had gotten him. There was only one emotion I remembered from my dream that I was very well acquainted with in reality – anger with myself for not paying Peeta back for what he did for me so long ago.

I opened the wrought iron gate to the large pool and headed directly for my lifeguard chair. The pool was, as Delly had predicted, completely deserted save for the pool boy who was currently digging through the utility closet for his supplies. The pool boy! My conversation with Peeta last night flashed back.

"Peeta?" He jerked back in surprise, subsequently banging his head on a shelf in the closet.

"Oh! Hey, Katniss! I was beginning to wonder if I had scared you away from coming to work today," Peeta replied smiling but rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"I just woke up a little late this morning. I had to sleep on the couch last night," I informed him.

He nodded in understanding. "I just checked the pH levels of the water. It's a little high, so I'm just looking for some muriatic acid to add to it. This utility closet is a disaster." He returned to his excavation.

"So how do you know so much… about pools? And y'know, everything else you do around here?" I asked curiously.

He reemerged with a bottle that assumed to be the chemicals he was in search of. "I guess I'm just a fast learner."

"So have you ever been a lifeguard here?"

He laughed at my question. "No. I'm missing one very important qualification to do that job."

It took me a couple moments to catch on to his insinuation. "You can't swim?" I asked in disbelief.

Peeta looked around us to make sure no one heard my question. "No, I can't. Never had a chance to learn how." He knelt down beside the pool to test the levels again, but I could tell he was trying to avoid my condescending gape.

"I could teach you," I suggested quietly after several minutes of awkward silence.

He stopped and stared at me, surely wondering when I'd follow up with a punch line. When I gave none, he finally lent his own. "Aren't you afraid I'll take over your job too?"

I couldn't help letting out a whooping laugh. The sound was foreign even to me. The amused expression on Peeta's face said he didn't even think I had the ability to laugh so loudly. I cleared my throat to rid myself of any remnants of that momentary lapse of self-composure.

"No," I replied haughtily. "I don't believe that 'fast learner' thing one bit."

"Then you're on."

"Thanks again for the ride, Peeta," I said as he, Delly, and I hiked to his car in the employee parking lot the following evening.

"No problem," he responded sincerely. "It only makes sense since we're all coming from the same place." Peeta dug his keys out of his pocket and pressed the 'unlock' button on the key fob. The taillights on a cherry red Jeep flashed a few yards away from us.

"Huh."

Peeta pulled the passenger door open for both of us girls, holding our elbows to boost us up into his jeep. Delly clambered into the back seat, leaving the front passenger seat open for me.

"What's that about?" he inquired, slamming the door shut after me. "What was that 'huh' for?"

My cheeks flushed. I hadn't realized he heard me. "Oh, umm… you just didn't strike me as a Jeep Wrangler sort of guy, that's all."

Peeta hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine with a loud rumble. "And what did I strike you as?"

"I don't know. Like a 'Beemer' or a Mustang convertible kinda guy."

Delly let out a snort. "Peeta's not douchy enough for that. Not even when he had money!"

The car ride fell awkwardly quiet the rest of the way. Peeta didn't seem hurt or offended by Delly's comment. He just snapped shut like a clam. The more I seemed to find out about Peeta, the more mysterious the last two years become. I chose not to press the subject for the next twenty minutes.

We pulled up to a large, modern white and grey house with expansive windows stretching across the entire façade. Through the windows, we could already see dozens of other teenager already partaking of the festivities inside the house – talking, laughing, dancing, drinking, making out. It was a scene I could only recall from the movies, but had never participated in. Gale and I were definitely not the party types, and even then, the parties our classmates threw took place on their front lawns if they had them, or in abandoned parking lots.

Peeta maneuvered his jeep into an open spot on the semi-circle driveway before shifting his gears into 'park' and unbuckling his seatbelt. Delly immediately hopped out of the back seat without opening any doors while Peeta exited and circled his jeep to my side. I was frozen in my spot, painfully aware that I didn't belong here.

"You coming?" I looked at Peeta who stood next to my open door with his hand offered out to me.

"Are you sure it's okay that I came? I mean, I don't know any of these people," I asked with uncertainty, taking his hand to steady myself as I jumped down from the raised vehicle. "Who's house is this anyway?"

"Madge!" Delly hollered to a blonde girl standing on the front steps then dragged me by my arm to meet her. "What's up, girl? Hey, I brought a friend. This is Katniss."

"Hi… Katniss, was it?" she greeted me politely. "I'm Madge." She must have noticed my questioning look because she quickly added with a shrug, "My mom is a huge Madonna fan. What'cha gonna do?"

Madge led the three of us into her majestic home. I tried not to gasp too loudly since my company seemed completely unfazed by the grandeur. We followed her into the room we had seen from the driveway which was complete with an extra-large white sectional sofa, large enough to seat well over fifteen people comfortably, a pool table, and well-stocked wet bar – all of which were being utilized by the crowd.

"Help yourselves to whatever. Drinks in here, food's out there," Madge instructed. "I'm gonna go get some more ice in the kitchen."

I looked to my right and left to take social cues from Delly and Peeta. Delly had already wandered away to a group of guys playing pool. They were all drawn to her like a bunch of moths to a candle. While I wasn't about to follow her cue, I had to admire her likability. It wasn't even that she was flirtatious. She was more infectious. I reluctantly turned back to Peeta who was waving at someone across the room. I didn't want to weigh him down by clinging to his side all night. He clearly had other people to hang out with. People who were probably more friendly and sociable than me, but he and Delly brought me here against my will – alright, maybe not entirely against my will, but I was definitely coaxed – to a place where I was completely out of my element. Well, people in general were out of my element.

"Bro!" Peeta's friend approached and they greeted one another by slapping and locking their hands then pulling into a hybrid hug-back slap thing. Guys. "What's up, dude? Can't believe you actually got some time off! Feel like I've hardly seen you all summer."

"Yeah, man. Been working a lot," Peeta replied. "Oh, I'd like you to meet an old friend of mine from back home…" We're friends? Okay, I probably shouldn't overthink it. "Katniss. Katniss, this is my buddy, Trace."

"Nice to meet you, Kat." I was about to correct him, but before I could, he held out his beer bottle to us. "Can I get you guys a drink? Beer? Wine cooler? Tequila shot? No one here has any real bartending skills, so mixed drinks are kinda out of the picture."

Peeta shoved his hands into his pocket and shook his head. "Nah, I'm driving tonight."

"Kat? You look like a wine cooler kinda gal. I'll be right back." Trace ducked away just long enough for me to give Peeta a hard nudge.

"Sorry, he's sorta in his own little world. You don't have to drink it. Just hold the bottle so no one offers you anymore."

Trace returned quickly holding a bottle of red liquid out to me. Heeding Peeta's advice, I took the bottle without protest. Trace and Peeta, and a couple others that joined us whose names I didn't bother to note, engaged in several more minutes of small talk about teachers I didn't know and sports I didn't understand. I soon tired of standing around like a statue, so I slipped away without notice. I found Delly out in the courtyard alternating sips of her blue wine cooler and bites of Cheetos.

"Heeey, Katnisss! Where'd you run off to?" Delly said, already starting to get tipsy.

I laughed lightly. "I was right where you left me. But it was getting kinda stuffy in there with all those people."

She took another swig from her bottle. "Oh. I thought you were just upset that Cato and Clove arrived."

"They're here?" I asked incredulously.

Delly's face reddened with embarrassment… or drunkenness. I wasn't sure. "Sorry. I should've told you that Clove is Madge's friend. I forgot they were gonna be here." A tall, muscular guy who looked like he could be in college approached Delly and began kissing her fervently, not paying any mind to my presence. "Mmm… sorry… Katniss…" she said between kisses before the two of them stumbled away to get some privacy.

Through the glass sliding doors, I peeked back at Peeta who was now sitting on the couch next to a familiar head of curly hair. What did he say her name was? Sparkle? Glitter? No, Glimmer. Honestly, what was her mother thinking? Glimmer had her feet tucked underneath her and she was leaning shamelessly onto Peeta's shoulder. There was 20 feet of available space on that particular piece of furniture and the girl practically chose his lap. I couldn't really see his reaction to her because her unruly mane was blocking my view of his face. Every so often, she'd throw her head back with exaggeration, laughing and hitting his chest flirtatiously. My mind flashed back to the conversation with the ladies back at the club and their comment about Glimmer being in love with Peeta, and then seeing, firsthand, how she was throwing herself at him. Girls here were so easy.

Without another thought, I twisted the cap off the bottle I had been carrying around as an accessory and tilted it to my mouth. I squeezed my eyes shut expecting my first taste of alcohol to be a bitter, burning sensation in my mouth, but it was surprisingly sweet. It just tasted like fruit punch which made it dangerously easy for me to take several more gulps. I didn't even notice how much I had drunk until my tongue started to tingle and my head started to spin a little. I guess I'm what people would call a "lightweight."

I wandered aimlessly back through the house, weaving through the bodies of loud, inebriated teenagers. I finally came across an empty room at the end of a long corridor which appeared to be purposed as a music room. A black baby grand piano took center stage under a dramatic spotlight on the ceiling. Next to it leaned an ornate cello accompanied by a messy stack of sheet music and a well-worn bow. On the far wall hung eight various guitars both acoustic and electric. The wall adjacent to it was lined with several glass cases housing autographed album covers and photos of famous recording artists with the same blonde, middle aged man who I deducted must be Madge's father. In the last case, there were five bona fide Grammy awards labeled "Song of the Year", "Best Contemporary Song", and "Record of the Year". Wow. This might be the closest thing to a celebrity home I'm going to get.

"Impressive, ain't it?" Startled, I turned to the owner of the voice. I raised the bottle to my lips to hide the smile that unwillingly surfaced at seeing Peeta leaning against the doorway, Glimmer-free. "And you made use of that drink Trace gave you, hmm?"

My smile, as per usual, was quickly replaced by my signature scowl. "Don't judge me. We can't all be as angelic as you, Peeta Mellark." I guess I'm an angry drunk.

He peeled himself away from the door and walked towards the piano. He casually rolled his fingers over the open keys, playing a lazy arpeggio. "It wasn't a judgment. It's was an observation. And what do you mean I'm 'angelic'?"

My head started spinning again, so I chose to ignore his question. "So you play piano too? Is there anything you can't do, Mr. Renaissance Man?" I was having trouble holding myself upright, so I staggered towards a bench seat by the window and leaned my head against the side wall.

"Oh, I don't play piano. Unless you count the one-finger rendition of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' that Delly taught me last summer," he answered playfully. He ambled over to the guitar wall, eying each one carefully before pulling a glossy, black acoustic off its hook and taking a seat next to me on the bench. "I'm more of a six string kinda guy."

"Y-you play guitar?"

"Well, it's not like I've spent my whole life taking lessons or anything. I just dabble," he said casually before adding, "Y'know, to impress the ladies." To that, I rolled my eyes.

Peeta began plucking the strings and adjusting their tightness, tilting his ear to listen closely to the sounds emanating from the instrument. Then he turned his body to face me, pulling one leg up to the bench to support the guitar. He began moving his long fingers gracefully over the strings, plucking and strumming a beautiful tune I've never heard before. I was so enthralled with the melody, I didn't even realize tears were streaming down my cheeks until Peeta stopped playing.

"Katniss? Are you okay?" he asked. "Why are you crying? You're not one of those emotional drunks, are you?"

I wiped my tears off my cheeks and recomposed myself. "No. I'm okay. I was just remembering…" I wasn't sure I was ready to talk about my father, especially to a practical stranger. Peeta seemed to understand my hesitation and thankfully did not pursue it.

"Do you want me to stop playing?" he asked pointing to the guitar.

I shook my head. "Keep playing. It's a really nice song."

"You know it?" He smiled at me as his fingers played on.

"I don't think I've heard it before."

"Well, I guess we were still in diapers when this song was popular, but it's always been pretty special to me." As he approached the chorus, Peeta licked his lips and began singing in strained falsetto, "I knew I loved you before I met you. I think I dreamed you into life. I knew I loved you before I met you. I have been waiting all my life…"

I buried my face in my curled up knees, trying to hide my laughter, but my shuddering shoulders were a dead giveaway.

"What? You didn't like the song?" Peeta said feigning hurt.

"The song was fine, but maybe you should just stick to playing guitar to impress the ladies instead of singing," I jested as my laughter tapered off.

"So it was working?" He wagged his eyebrows at me receiving a throw pillow to his head. "Okay, here's one I know you're familiar with."

He was right. I was very familiar with the song he played. It was one that was very special to my father and me when I was little. He'd play it on his guitar while I sang along, dreaming I was Dorothy. I snapped myself out of my brief reverie before I could burst into tears yet again and emptied the remainder of my drink into my mouth to numb the emotions that were threatening to surface.

"Would you mind singing it again, Katniss?" he asked quietly.

"Again?" I eyed him curiously. "You remember me singing this song? I was, like, six when I performed it."

Peeta blushed. Well, it was nice to know I wasn't the only one not in control of the blood flow to my face. "It's hard to forget the little girl with the two pigtail braids, dressed in that iconic blue checkered dress silencing the entire school auditorium with her performance of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.'"

"Wait, you were there?" I swallowed hard as my mouth was beginning to feel like cotton.

He held his fists up in front of him and recited, "Put 'em up! Put 'em uuup!"

I gasped. "You were thecowardlylion?!" We both laughed at the shared memory. "I haven't sung insolong. I'm prettysure I can't singanymore." My words were beginning to slur.

Peeta strummed the song more fervently as an invitation for me to join him. I don't know if it was the intimacy of our conversation or the effect of the alcohol that started dissolving my inhibitions, but before I knew it, the familiar lyrics were arising from my throat. My eyes were still shut when the song came to an end.

"I love you," I said smiling. "Daddy."

"I love you, too, Katniss."

The last things I remembered were a gentle kiss on my forehead and a pair of strong arms picking me up and carrying me away.

A/N: Ok, so I realize the chapter title is a bit of a reach there. I was struggling with titling this and it annoyed me that something so trivial was keeping me from posting! Originally it was titled "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" for obvious reasons, but I felt like it wasn't relevant to the earlier scene of this chapter. Then I changed the title to "The Dreams that you Dare to Dream" for the dream sequence in the beginning and the fact that it's a line from S.O.T.R., but then decided I didn't want to hint that the first part was a dream before you even read it! Ugh… I finally settled with "The Dark Side of the Moon" for its many meanings – "dark side"= evil Cato; the unexamined things in life, fear of the unknown, and of course the Pink Floyd song's infamous link to the Wizard of Oz. So much thought for a stinkin' chapter title! Lol

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