I vaguely remember a dinner at Mayor Undersee's house, but it's just all so routine by now, dinner after dinner, interview after interview, that I don't really pay attention anymore. I get all these events mixed up sometimes. Anyway, the Harvest Festival I do remember.

It's something like the Victory Tour, but it wasn't something we were dreading, it was something we, or at least I, were looking forward to. Mayor Undersee gives a speech and then Katniss and I feast with everyone else in the district. Now, we're among friends.

The first night home, I actually slept alright. I guess it was the relief that it was finally over. Well, at least the tour part was. At least that small burden being lifted helped me sleep somewhat.

The next day, my mother insists that I have dinner with the family in town. Now, when my mother suggests I be at a dinner, and be "halfway presentable, please.", it's normally because the dinner isn't for the family. It's for my mother's friends. I'm certain she just wants to be able to brag about my winning the Hunger Games.

I run into Katniss on the way into town, who is returning from the forest. At first, I'm afraid she's going to withdraw again and become distant, but she looks like she's actually eager to talk to me. "Been Hunting?" I ask her.

"Not really. Going to town?"

"Yes. I'm supposed to eat dinner with my family."

"Well, I can at least walk you in."

Something's up.

I know there is something on her mind, but watching her chew on her bottom lip trying to think of a way to say it is mildly entertaining, and this may be the only entertainment I have all night. My mother's dinners are usually incredibly dull. For me and my brothers, at least. She and her friends always enjoys each other's company.

Near the square in town, I'm about to tell her that maybe she should just come by later. But then she finally says it. "Peeta, if I asked you to run away from the district with me, would you?"

Now, this catches me off guard. First of all, why would she be asking me? Surely she doesn't intend just the two of us run off. So it must be a larger group. Maybe her family, Gale?

"Depends on why you're asking," I say, taking her arm to stop her.

"President Snow wasn't convinced by me. There's an uprising in District Eight. We have to get out."

So this is what her strange acting was about. I did see Snow shake his head on stage. And she did look relieved, but only because she'd put a plan in place.

"By 'we' do you mean just you and me? No. Who else would be going?"

"My family. Yours, if they want to come. Haymitch, maybe."

"What about Gale?"

"I don't know. He might have other plans."

Even if Gale didn't want to leave the district, if she asked him to, he'd go. So I say, "Sure. I'll go." She smiles and I can tell how happy she is. I hate to bring it down a notch but I know for a fact that there is no way Katniss will leave to go live in the woods. If there is something starting, she'll want to stay behind. She'll want to be a part of it, whatever it is that is stirring in the districts. It's her nature.

"You will?"

"Yeah. But I don't think for a minute you will."

Her smile fades. "Then you don't know me. Be ready. It could be any time."

I'm trying not to laugh. Oh, but I do know you. Very well.

She seems so focused and excited about her plan that it hasn't crossed her mind how in the hell we'd even pull it off. She walks a few feet in front of me to try to distance herself, but she isn't getting off that easy.

"Katniss, hold up. I really will go, if you want me to." Then I start to tell her that maybe it'd be best to talk it through with Haymitch, but then I stop paying attention to what I'm saying. There is some kind of commotion in the square.

I don't think she knows it, but the peacekeepers have been punishing people for less and less lately. I'm worried, and I tell her "Come on.".

There's a huge crowd, but I've got to see what it is, see if it's safe for us to even be here. I climb up a crate and then reach down to help Katniss climb it. I climb a few more steps, onto the next crate, when all color drains from my face and my heart stops. Gale is being beaten bloody. She can't see this. It will destroy her. "Get down! Get out of here!"

I should have known she'd be difficult. "What?" She says, trying desperately to climb for a better view. "Go home Katniss! I'll be there in a minute, I swear!" I shout at her, but this only makes her want to stay more. I weigh my options. I can let her see and try to pick up the pieces, or I can shield her eyes and then have her bitch at me later for keeping her away from her friend when he needed her. It's not like she could do anything, anyway. What was she going to do? Shoot an arrow through the Peacekeeper's heart? Oh, President Snow would just love that.

And while I was weighing those options, I notice that she is no longer anywhere near me, she's pushing through the crowd. It's too late to stop her from seeing it. All I can do is be there when she does. When she sees him, she freezes. But when she sees the whip raise up, she sprints towards Gale. Now I'm flipping out too. It's bad enough that Gale is injured in this way, but the Peacekeeper won't magically stop whipping just because some girl jumps in front of the boy. The whip slashes and cuts Katniss across the face. By this time, I'm sprinting towards them as fast as I can. "Haymitch!" I call. He looks. "Do something!" Haymitch is much closer to them than I am, but it seems Haymitch was already planning on doing something. And no, it doesn't involve stumbling onto the stage drunk.

I am eternally grateful to Haymitch for knowing exactly what to do and say to get the whipping to stop. He goes on about how she is a "star" and that he just messed everything up, and how President Snow won't be happy about this. The man hesitates, but after some convincing, lowers his whip. I Have no idea what I'd have done if I'd gotten there first. Probably fling myself in front of the two of them, and create some whipping tonga line. I curse myself for making that joke.

Then, though, that is exactly what I do. By now, I've reached the stage, and I grab her arm. I tell the guard that she's my fiancee', which, technically, she is, and that he'll have to go through me. I'm trying to be brave. But part of me just wants to pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, and run like hell. Thank God I don't have to do that.

"Kid, here," some guy says. I've seen him before, but I can't place where. He hands me a knife, and I cut through the ropes tied to Gale in no time. Haymitch tells Katniss that she should take Gale to her mother. Which means that I will be taking Gale to her mother. Two miners that work with Gale help Haymitch and I carry Gale on a wooden board back to Katniss' mother. As the guys fill her in, I desperately wish there was something I could say to make this better, but I'm actually struggling with words this time.

We successfully get Gale to Katniss' mom. She immediately drops what she is doing and starts looking at Gale's wounds. Katniss looks like she is about to faint. "Okay, that chair looks comfortable." I pick her up and set her in the chair before she can protest. I go outside and get some fresh snow, and I sit across from her, holding the snow to her wound to stop any inflammation.

Katniss starts to become angry with her mother for not using enough medication, or something. I don't know, I don't really understand the whole medicinal herbs thing. So when her mother orders her out of the house, Haymitch and I carry her to her bedroom and pin her down until she stops resisting. "Your mother can't do her best work with you causing a scene, sweetheart."

"Shut up and go drink your liquor."

"Believe me, if Peeta could keep you pinned here by himself, I would."

I glare at Haymitch for his comment. I could easily hold her down alone, I threw hundred pound sacks of flour for years. Still, I don't know what to say. And bickering with Haymitch actually calms her down. She needs to vent, and he doesn't mind her jabs at all. After a few minutes, she covers herself up with a blanket and starts to sob. "She wants us to run," I whisper to Haymitch. He knows what I mean. But he says nothing. Probably figures it wouldn't work or we wouldn't last long if it did. Which is probably the case. But if she goes, so do I.

Katniss' friend Madge, and the mayor's daughter, arrives and hands Katniss a small cardboard box. When her mother opens it, there are syringes filled with clear liquid. She injects one into Gale, and his face relaxes a bit. Of course, I ask what they are. "It's from the Capitol. Called Morphling".

I offer to stay after everyone eats, to comfort Katniss, or help her mother, or really, just do anything I can. But her mother sends me home, along with Haymitch. Outside, Haymitch attempts to bond with me. "You okay?"

"I guess. I'm not the one lying on that board in a ton of pain. And I'm not the one watching someone I love up on that board."

"What makes you so sure that's the case?" He says, and I know he means my implication that Katniss and Gale are more than friends.

"I don't know. Just a feeling." Haymitch stops, and then grabs my arm to stop me.

"You are the most selfless boy I've ever met. Willing to sacrifice your life for the girl you barely even knew."

"I felt like I'd known her all my life. I just didn't really.." He cuts me off.

"That's not the point. If you can do that, you can stop obsessing on Katniss and Gale and just be there for them. Anything you're feeling, Peeta, just put it on hold." He walks inside his house, leaving me standing in the snow.

I hate that Haymitch is right. Why is he always right? With as much as he drinks, how many brain cells does he even have left? He's a total ass sometimes, and almost never sober, but he is the wisest person I know. And I find that I respect him for that. Which I also can't stand.

It occurs to me that all this time I've been convincing myself that I was fine with being just friends, and that I'd have to be careful to not fall for her again. But then, do friends obsess over other opposite sex companions? Nope. Did I ever stop loving her? Or was I just blinded by my anger? I didn't fall for her again, no. I just never got back up the first time.

Regardless of my feelings, I will do whatever I can to be there for her and Gale. I can't force her to choose, and whose to say it will even be one of us? It might be someone else. Or it may never be anybody. Obsessing over who is in front, Gale or me, is selfish, and it only makes things worse. All I can do is let fate play out.

Walking up the sidewalk to my house, I tell myself over and over again that Gale will have her attention for awhile. And he is the one that needs it. I'll have to deal with it. And maybe I can make an attempt at getting to know Gale better. When I open my door, there she stands. My mother.

"Where the hell were you at dinner?"

"I had something else I had to take care of."

"What? That girl?"

"Not exactly. She.." but my mother cuts me off before I can tell her what happened in the square, assuming she'd even care.

"You really will put a girl before your own family?" This upsets me, and for the first time ever, I talk back to my mother.

"Why the hell not? You put your self-righteous friends above your family all the time! Do you think I like sitting there listening to you all just drone on and on about who is cheating on who, or who was caught stealing, or other crap that doesn't matter?"

She steps closer and I wince. But she doesn't hit me, not this time. "Get out of my house." I say. All I hear is a gasp. "If you can't get your priorities straight and be a mother for a change, you aren't welcome here." She stomps off. And I feel relieved. But I didn't sleep well.

I walk to her house in the morning with fresh bread that I baked just in case Gale woke up and was hungry. I set it on the counter, and then when I go to wake her up, I discover her hand and his, entwined like hers and mine once was. I can't pretend it isn't painful. But I can pretend not to notice. I shake her awake and tell her to go to sleep. I offer to watch Gale now. She begins to tell me that she's changed her mind about running, but I always knew she would. I told her that no explanation was necessary.

I left once I heard Katniss stirring, knowing she'd be up soon. I didn't really feel like talking. Still, an hour or so later, she calls me on the phone. She asks if I got home okay, but I live three houses down. I feel a slight flicker of joy when I think that maybe she called just to hear my voice, but then remind myself that isn't important right now. She asked about Haymitch, and I told her that he was drunk as usual, which he was when I was there twenty minutes ago. But he's breathing so, he's fine.

She tells me she needs to speak with us, and I know it's about the Capitol. She can't say anything over the phones, which, I'm sure are tapped. So we agree to meet after the storm is over.

In town, she and Haymitch and I walk, scanning the streets for Peacekeepers after nearly every word we say. Katniss tells us she wants to start an uprising. Not only is this suicide, but how would we even start? Haymitch laughs, and he ignores the topic. Instead, he starts telling her the wedding plans, and I do my best to ignore the conversation. I don't want to be involved in this right now. It's weird, after just seeing she and Gale..how they were. With their hands.

Before their conversation gets anywhere, we reach the center of town. It looks…horrible. It resembles District 11- the most harsh, most Capitol-controlled district in the country. You get a bad feeling just standing underneath the huge Panem flag, like you're a target. The Hob is gone. Katniss points out the smoke and Haymitch assures her that no one would be stupid enough to stay while it's being torched, to which she nods. He says something about going to the apothecary to get rubbing alcohol. "He can't drink that. He'll kill himself or at least go blind. I've got some white liqour stored at home." As much as Katniss and Haymitch pretend to hate each other, I know there is a good relationship going on with them. Haymitch could, in no way, replace her father, but he, in his own, very special way, does care about her and look out for her. And whether she admits it or not, she does the same for him. "Me too." I say, admitting I have some stashed too. It's not for Haymitch. It's for me, to sleep, now that I have to sleep alone. But that is irrelevant.

A/N: This chapter wasn't very fun to write, and probably not the best to read either, but it was a necessary filler. Stay tuned, the Quell comes next.