Chapter 7

Peeta

Everybody sleeps in late the next day as a reward for finding that girl last night. When I finally wake up I'm covered in sweat. During the night I'd gotten out of my sleeping bag it was that hot. I hadn't prepared for this, I was expecting blistering cold, not wet heat.

As I stand up I see everybody else is outside. I walk out to join them, and see Cato frying some breakfast over various fires. The others are sitting in a circle around him. The sun hits me again and I start sweating. Glimmer's wearing just a bra and shorts, catching the sun. The rippling lake water sparkles, inviting me in. I'll take a dip later.

I collapse between Glimmer and Three, a gap between them. As I lay I feel myself relaxing into the ground.

"Morning, Peeta," Glimmer says in a cheery voice.

"Morning," I reply, "it's boiling today."

She agrees with a simple "mm-hmm" as I lay back, staring at the cloudless sky, the smell of exotic foods filling my nose. People often think that because I live in a bakery, I'm well fed on quality food. We aren't financially stable, so we can't afford to eat our food, we have to sell all of it to survive. We'd usually eat the foods that didn't sell, stale or overcooked bread. On a good day my father would buy one of Katniss' squirrel's. But that, aside from holidays, was the best it'd ever get.

"Grub's up!" Cato says, scooping this aromatic new food, with a spatula, onto five plastic plates. My stomach grumbles. When I get my plate I begin to examine what's on it. There are three strips of meat that don't look familiar, some beans in a read sauce, fried mushrooms, something white with a yellow centre that looks like an egg and a slice of bread that's been fried.

I look at my plate curiously, then stab a strip of meat with my fork and taste it. It's much more flavorsome than squirrel. It's probably from a rare animal. The sauce the beans are in is quite sweet and gives the beans more flavour. I tried mushrooms before when my father bought some from Katniss, who scavenged them in the woods. The egg, if it is an egg, tastes very peculiar, I assumed it'd taste like the cakes we make because we put eggs in the mix. It doesn't, it tastes weird. I can't put my finger on whether I like it or not. I've tried fried bread before, so I'm very shocked by the taste.

Glimmer sees me eyeing my curious plate.

"Are you okay? You look lost," she says with a joking laugh.

"Yeah, I'm just taking it in. I've never seen this stuff before, let alone tasted it." I confess.

"What did you expect, Glimmer? He's not from the district of luxury." Cato says, a hint of malignancy in his tone. She doesn't speak and goes back to resting her head. I go to talk to her, to tell her I'm not offended but Cato stops me.

"It's an ancient delicacy from way before Panem existed," he explains, "they think it's called an 'English Breakfast'. But they don't know what an 'English' is."

"Hmm, well, maybe this meat is from an 'English'?" I say, a little puzzled.

"No, it's bacon, it comes from a pig. It's big in the Capitol."

"Wow," is all I can say. Who would have known Cato is so educated?

We all finish our 'English Breakfast' and lounge in the sun. I wake up not long after, having decided to take a nap, and notice the sun's directly overhead, I'm probably tanned now. I'm still filled from my big breakfast so decide to simply have a banana for lunch.

"Guys, I know we earned the break we're having," Cato begins as we begin our lunch, "but we still need to do something. So after lunch we'll plan the rest of the day."

We all nod and agree, personally it sounds like a good idea. I'd still like to have a dip in the lake before it starts getting cold, even though it doesn't feel like that's possible. You never know with the Gamemakers. When we finish we all stand up, idly awaiting instructions.

"Okay, I was thinking because we don't know what Three can do, besides that," Cato says pointing to our supply pile with strategically placed mines, which I'm yet to know how to safely avoid, "somebody could go to the woods with him and some weapons to see what he can do, using trees as targets." He says.

"We also need our washing up done, I don't mind doing that," he says, "Glimmer, perhaps you'd like to help him?" He asks, but we know it's a rhetorical question.

"Sure," she says, not sound pleased. "I'm not very good with aiming, though, why doesn't Clove come with me?" she asks. Cato looks at Clove as if asking her what she thinks. She simply shrugs.

"That's settled, then," he says, as the three of them walk over to the supplies. He then looks at me, "So, what are you going to do?" he asks.

"I was thinking I'd have a wash in the lake," I say hoping he doesn't think I'm going to the lake just because he is, "the weather seems right for it."

"Yeah, I'll probably join you after," he says.

"Okay," I say, starting my walk to the lake avoiding the implications of Cato's words.

The grass gets cut off and there's a small drop to a bank of sand. The sand is only two steps long until the water's edge. I stand there for a few seconds taking in the view, it's extraordinary.

I walk back to where the grass cuts off and take my shoes and socks off. I put them on the grass, then proceed to take my shirt off, placing it on the grass, knowing that the female audience of the Capitol probably have been anticipating this moment.

I forget that I need a towel so I swiftly jog to Cato, who's collecting the plates from the ground.

"Cato, where are the towels? There are towels, right?" I ask, approaching him from behind.

"Yeah, they're with our supplies," he says standing up then turning around, realizing I'm topless, "wow, nice frame."

I don't know what to do, I like the fact he finds me attractive but... But what? Is there a but? There's no use in denying I'm attracted to him. I can't say that because we're being watched is the 'but'. The audience is saying what Cato's saying and I had no problem with a it a moment ago. It's because we're both going to die. He might live, he's the leader of the Careers. But me, I'm going to die soon. Knowing that, would giving him a try be that bad?

"Thanks," I say with an awkward smile, then turn and walk to the supplies. I begin to jog because it's half the way over the field. I jog faster then run. Run away from my thoughts about him. I get near the supplies, my feet feeling freshly turned mud under them. I immediately stop as soon as I realize.

How could I be so stupid? I'm amazed I'm not dead already. I can't risk moving. I'm not close to the supplies so I guess there aren't any mines in this area. There's no indication in the ground as to where the mines are. They did a good job.

I knew I was going to die soon but this takes the biscuit. I know Cato won't hear me if I shout. He'd hear me if I exploded. The others aren't going to help either, they went in the complete opposite direction. I'm fucked.

I think this all in a second as I turn around. Cato's just a figure in the distance. I jerk my arms up and wave frantically, not caring if he sees me. My stomach sinks when he immediately starts sprinting towards me, quicker than I'd expect him to.

I hear him shout "don't move!" as he gets closer, though I wouldn't dare to, anyway. My heart beats faster the closer he gets. He slows down and begins to jump from one point to another, a look of hysteria mixed with concentration on his face. He stops, a couple metres opposite me.

"Peeta, there's one between us, I'm not sure where, you must have jumped over it mid-run, do you remember where your foot fell?" He says. I try remember but my mind was focused on getting a towel, then focused on not dying. I look at the distance between us. It seems the mine is either close to me, or close to Cato. I can either take a step then a jump, or a jump then a step.

"Is there anything? Anything at all?" he asks, distraught.

I try retrace my steps, quite literally. I was running, then realized I was in the minefield and stopped. That's all. I look at Cato helplessly. I could try jumping and landing in the gap between the two potential mines. But if I did that I'd have so much momentum going that I'd end up taking a step on the one further away from me. If that's where it is. That's it!

I think back to when I was running. I stopped when I realized I was in the minefield, but I was running so fast I had to take another step. Meaning it can't be directly in front of me.

I tentatively move my right forward, hovering over where my death could be. My heart rate increases. I sweat more under the heat.

"Peeta, are you sure-"

"Yes," I interrupt.

My toes gently touch the ground, barely putting any pressure on it at all. Here goes nothing. With my heart beating out of my chest, bracing myself for an explosion, squeezing my eyes shut, I press my foot down.

I'm standing there, waiting for something to happen. I wait a few more seconds. Still nothing. Cato's face brightens like the sun, and so does mine. He braces himself and holds out his arms. I leap into them, trying not to jump too hard, and he takes me in a bone-crushingly, passionate hug.

He nuzzles his face into my shoulder, as I rest my chin on his, feeling his arms keep us together. I slowly move my head away so I can look at him. I stare into his eyes, this time the sun is in them. I raise my hand, gently pull his chin forward, close my eyes and let his soft lips meet mine.

Time stops. I feel his warm breath on my cheek, his chest rise and fall against mine, his hand on my bare back. We stop and he gets the towels then guides me back to safety. I don't know what he took from the kiss. I don't know what I took from the kiss. I knew I was going to die soon and began warming to the idea of Cato. Then I nearly did died and Cato saved me. Maybe I should take that as a message.

"That was..." he begins, trailing off into his own thoughts.

"... a reward, yes." I say with a small grin, "You saved me life."

"You saved mine," he snaps back, "Anyway, I've gotta get the washing up done."

He walks to the tent while I walk to the lake. When I get to my shoes and discarded shirt I start taking the rest of my clothes off. I keep my underwear on, I don't want them to see me naked. I imagine the sighs of a thousand middle-aged women.

I step down off the grass and onto sand. Feeling it between my toes. I walk forward and the crisp water cools my feet. I sigh in relief, the cooling water should stop me from sweating so much. I continue walking til my ankles are under. I know that despite how hot I am, the water will feel cold when I fully immerse myself. I continue walking, preparing to dive forward.

"What are you doing Peeta?" I hear Cato shout behind me. I turn and see him holding a plastic box the size of his chest, probably holding plates.

"Taking a dip?" I try. He laughs as he sets the box down next to where the grass drops. He jumps down.

"This is how you do it," he says, pulling his shirt off, then his shoes, socks, trousers then finally with a piquant look, takes his boxers off and runs into the water. Once submerged for a second he jumps up, shaking the water off of him, looking exhilarated.

I continue walking into the water. Then he jumps in my way, playfully blocking me.

"Come on," he says, "or I'll rip them off myself," he adds with a cheeky smile.

With a groan I walk back, strip, then run into the water to waist level trying to avoid that Cato wants to get me naked. I feel the intense cold and hug myself, rubbing my arms. I feel my balls and dick shrink to retain heat, undoubtedly there are cameras underwater catching every glimpse.

"It gets better once you go deeper and start moving, you need to swim and create some friction," he says, energetically. I nervously look at him.

"I... I can't swim," I say, looking down avoiding his eyes. I forget he's naked and see his cock in the clear water. I want to linger but I'll get a boner and I don't want to know what will happen if I get one. Not to mention he'll see me staring at him.

"Doesn't mean you can't try," he says, going further out, "come on, I'll teach you."

I follow him, shivering the further I go. I stand facing him.

"First thing, you've gotta go underwater," he says. I know I need to, I remember when I had a cold bath because that week we couldn't afford to heat it, and once I was under it felt better. I count down in my head and then drop. It feels like I'm covered in ice. I shoot up, shivering horribly for a few minutes. I go back under, keeping my head out. After a while I stop shaking so vigorously.

For the next half hour Cato teaches me the basics of swimming. I can keep myself afloat for a few seconds by the end, but only by flailing. Cato explains that in the Career training centre there's a swimming pool for exercise, he said that the reason his hair is blonde is because chlorine in the water turns his hair a lighter colour.

The cold isn't so bad any more, I could even say it feels warm. I start flailing again, managing to stay up for ten more seconds.

"Well done, just remember to focus on keeping your bottom half up, it helps with the buoyancy," he says. I try to avoid that his words can be crudely misinterpreted as 'show me your naked ass'. I've almost forgotten that I'm naked with a guy who I've kissed... twice... on television.

I try 'swimming' in his direction. He sees me struggle and holds out his hands, I take them and focus on kicking my legs.

"Remember, keep your legs up," he says as they begin to sink. I try but it's harder than he expects it to be. At least for me it is.

"I can't," I manage to say over harsh breathing.

"It's okay," he says, letting go. "can I try a different way?"

"Uh, I guess," I reply, not sure what he could mean by 'different way'. I begin to swim again, then he puts his hand under me, touching my stomach. I quickly jump away from him, not expecting to be touched so close to my area. Oh god. I'm going to get an erection.

"If you wanted to touch me up then-" I begin.

"Don't be so stupid, I was helping you stay floated," he says, sounding agitated. His words take me aback. I thought he was making a move on me.

"Oh, see" I say, he looks like he's calming down, "well, we'll try that again."

I begin swimming, and he places his hand under my stomach, stopping me from sinking. It's weird, his touch feels so good. So intimate. This is the reason I didn't want him touching me. However, him keeping me up is really helping my swimming. I can focus on the coordination between my arms and my legs.

"So what do I have to do?" he asks out of the blue.

"Huh?" I gargle with a mouthful of water.

"When you freaked you didn't say 'don't touch me', you said 'if I wanted to touch you' and I didn't hear the rest. So, what do I have to do?" he explains with a grin.

"I thought you were making a move, I wasn't going to give you tips," I say with a laugh.

I've managed to keep myself from getting an erection. Then as I start swimming faster, and he moves away, seeing what I can do by myself, my penis brushes against the back of his hand. I jump away quicker than when he touched me a few minutes ago.

"This is too weird," I say, backing away from him, into shallow water.

"Oh, come on," he says, but knows I'm right. I run out as quick as I can to my towel before my semi becomes any bigger. I wrap the towel around me, secure it, then pick up my clothes.

"I'm sorry, Cato," I say, wondering why he's looking disgruntled.

"No, it's fine," he says as I turn around and jog back to the tent.

Once inside I dump my clothes in the corner. I run to the heater and turn it on. As I go to the other corner my towel falls of, my fully erect cock swinging out. There's no use in paranoia now. I squat in the corner, the heater's warmth hitting me.

I stroke my cock. Then I begin to pick up the speed. I imagine Cato, I wonder what would have happened if things went differently, what would happen if I continued swimming. I ignore that and think of just Cato, I thought the audience would find me attractive, they're probably fainting over Cato. I wish I'd taken a better look at his cock. Still as I'm wanking I imagine sucking it. I begin to feel closer to the edge, I'm nearly there. I reach back and grab my towel then drop it in front of me. I spill my seed on the towel in four loads. Despite my best efforts I moan each time.

I stand in front of the heater, naked, drying myself. It feels nicer than a towel, besides I can't use mine any more. In a few minutes I'm dry and dressed, prepared to help Cato do the washing up.

I walk to him and see he's got clothes on but he's topless and he's crouching over something, his back to me. I see it's his shirt he's hunched over and he's pouring water on it. As I get closer he hears me and quickly scrunches his shirt up, looking like somebody who'd been caught masturbating. I'm pretty sure I'd seen a white stain on his shirt. It stood out against the dark fabric. Shit. I decide to play dumb.

"Hey," I begin, "are you done with the washing? I was thinking I'd lend a hand. I'm sorry for storming off." I make sure to keep my eyes on him and not his shirt.

"I've only got one last thing to do, so don't worry about it," he says, I sense he's trying to get rid of me.

"I can do it," I say, again avoiding looking at the shirt.

"It's fine, honestly," he pushes.

"Fine," I say, sitting down, leaning my legs over the edge of the grass. I watch him as he turns back around, hectically scrubbing his shirt, while I absently pick the grass.


That night we all sat around a fire while I cooked. Clove hunted a rabbit earlier in the woods, so I decided to spit roast it then make a broth with some basic rations we have in our food supplies. I could have cook something fancier, but I don't want to use the good food, yet.

Luckily, in our supplies we have various pots and pans, so I can make lots of broth without fear of overfilling the pot. I put the rabbit in to stew then start chopping some wild garlic I picked. I add the garlic and let it to simmer, allowing me to rejoin the conversation.

"So you basically explode bombs all day?" Glimmer asks Three.

"There's more to it than that, but you could say that's what I do," he replies.

"That must be really cool, what's the biggest explosion you've seen?" she asks, eagerly. They've gotten friendlier since this morning. I'm not sure whether she's interested or flirting. She seems like the flirtatious type. I turn to Cato and Clove and listen to them.

"I'd say we'll have another day off tomorrow, then we'll have to start hunting," Clove says.

"Yeah, we can use tomorrow as a training day. I still haven't seen what Peeta can do," he says, noticing me listening in.

"I can throw, but can't aim. I'm better at wrestling." I say.

"Well, we'll see tomorrow. Is the food ready yet?" he asks. I open up then pot, and taste the rabbit. It looks and tastes done.

"Yeah, does somebody want to butter some bread while I plate up?" I suggest, picking up the bread basket.

"I got it," Cato says, taking it from me.

I decide to put the broth in bowls instead. By the time I have everybody served, Cato has five bread rolls buttered. We all eat in silence, the occasional slurping sound is heard.

"Well that was delicious," Cato says after draining the juices from his empty bowl. Everybody else quickly nods and hum in agreement, still eating. He carelessly throws his bowl into the empty washing up box.

Not long after we all finish our food we go into the tent, the nippy air beginning to become too much. I burrow deep into my sleeping bag, and position myself as close as I can to the heater. I breathe a sigh of relief as I warm up, happy there isn't any tension between Cato and me any more.


"Come on, Peeta, it's like you're not even trying," Cato says, locking me in a choke hold. I reach up behind me, grab his shirt, bend down and pull forward, flipping him over me onto his back. Luckily we're wrestling on the sand, if I had done that on the grass it'd have winded him.

"That's what I'm talking about!" He says jumping back up, positioning himself for another round.

"I think it's time we had lunch, besides we've been at it for hours," I say, jumping up onto the grass.

I notice Cato didn't follow me as I walk out the tent with an apple and bread roll. He's just sitting on the sand, look out at the lake. I hear somebody behind me. It's Glimmer.

"Hey Peeta, can you come and see if this is poisonous? We figured you might know best," she asks.

"Yeah, sure," I say following her into the trees. She jogs ahead, lost from my view behind a tree. As I walk past she grabs me and pushes me against a tree. I think she's attacking me but she instead kisses me. I push her away, maybe too aggressively.

"Oh come on Peeta, you know you want me," she says placing a hand on my chest, trying to kiss me again.

"What gave you that idea? I'm sorry for you the wrong impression." I say, sidestepping away from her.

"I don't know, I just feel it," she says. I let the words sink in.

"I should have known," I say, realizing her true intentions, "you just want to use me to win."

I walk away, ignoring any attempt at an apology she makes. I heatedly rush back to Cato, hoping to vent my anger in physical violence.

With a firm grasp on his shoulders I push him back, while he does the same. We're muscularly equal, but his height gives him a slight advantage. I push, but feel myself slipping. I hook my leg around his and pull, he falls, not expecting that move. Not giving in so soon, he keeps a hold on my shoulders and drags me down with him.

I land on top of him, prepared to shout obscenities at him but when I hear him laugh I can't help but laugh too. I roll off him and sit, crossing my legs. He props his head up with his arm.

"I'm enjoying this new Peeta," he says, a hint of cheekiness in his tone.

"You like me, don't you?" I ask, taking him by surprise.

"Depends on your definition of 'like'," he replies, I can tell he knows what I'm asking.

I consider what he says. There's only one way I can be sure he does. I lean down to kiss him, but stop when our lips are an instant from touching. If he didn't want the kiss his eyes would still be open and he'd question why I stopped as soon as I stop. If he did want the kiss then his eyes would already be closed, meaning there'd be a pause before he notices.

My lips linger above his. Nothing but silence. My heart flutters.

"Is there a problem-" Cato begins, only just opening his eyes, before I thrust myself on him. I crush my lips against his, he lays down on his back. I climb over him, my body hovering over his as we continue kissing. He places his hand on my back and strokes down it while my hand feels his chest. I begin to feel my cock harden.

His hands explore my ass, cupping each cheek. I run my hand down his chest, feeling his toned abs, putting me more in the mood. I should stop, but it's so good. His hand begins to stroke my hips, then they slowly come around to my front.

I let him feel my cock for a second before I brush his hand away. I sit up, with a sigh, without noticing I'm sitting on his dick. He lets out a small unexpected moan and I jump off him.

"Maybe not in broad daylight," I say, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Oh come on Peeta, you know you want me," he says, sitting up, placing a hand on my hip. His words remind me of somebody who tried seducing me not so long ago.

"Besides, the entire country will be watching," I say, hoping it will prove a good point.

"Who cares about them?" he says, kissing my neck. I can't believe it, the feeling of betrayal creeps across my skin like an oozing black liquid.

"You..." I choke out, "you want them to watch, don't you?"

His face is blank.

"You want to use me," I accuse him. For a brief second he looks guilty, but it's gone as quick as it was there.

"I'm not, I swear," he pleads.

"You and Glimmer would get along fine," I say as I jump up and storm off to the tent.

I grab my sleeping bag, a spear, a bag with food, clothes and a knife then walk back out. I don't intend on leaving the group, I just want to be ready should I need to. I go to the empty cornucopia, knowing I'll be left alone there.

The rest of the day I spend practicing with the spear. I climb on top of the cornucopia and aim at the rising tip of the metal. This distracts me until night time, then I go inside, eat and wait for the cold to creep in.

I manage to get a few hours of sleep, but the temperature is proving a good fighter against my sleeping bag. I end up jogging in circles outside, hoping it will heat me up more, until the sun rises. Which doesn't take long.

Despite my hopes, the sun doesn't warm me. I contemplate making a fire when I look at the forest. Something must be happening where we found that girl the other night because I see wall of smoke, blackening the blue sky. As I stand, mouth hanging open, everything I've been preparing for becomes real.


A/N: Here it is. I hope you like that it's almost five times as long as my other chapters. Sorry if it's not the same quality as others, proof reading this much is tedious which is why I prefer doing small chapters. Nonetheless, I'm glad I'm making more content and I hope you all enjoy it. I've added quite a few headcanons so if you're confused then just ignore them, I've tried not to make them important to the story. If any of you are confused as to what the lake/grass edge looks like to me, I made a sketch and will upload it to deviantart then post the link on here upon request. Please review. Thanks!

(Oh and sorry if you don't like the ending)

Abugsaunt:

I don't know why but I assume Cato's the kind of guy with fantasies. Well, I'm glad you liked it and hope you like this one.

sOMEBODYsTRANGE:

Sorry the update isn't so soon, but there's more this time. Glad you liked, you're welcome person!

MangoMagic:

I'm so glad you go into detail, it's a rare thing to see in reviews, at least for me. Yeah, I'm glad you see that to Cato Peeta isn't an object, despite the thoughts he has of him. I know there future looks pretty bleak, but you might be able to predict what is around the corner. I'm also glad you see that I'm taking the characters, adding personal twists and trying to keep a balance. I'll try keep my update as frequent as they have been.

SakuraDrops141:

Like I said to sOMEBODYsTRANGE I imagine Cato as the person with fantasies. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Alykat14:

What you've said has got me thinking. I had an ending in mind, but I keep getting more ideas. I might choose one of you and let them choose which one, if they say, get me more readers. I don't know. It's still a while yet, so if any of you have suggestions as to how you'd like it to end, or how I should choose, feel free to tell.