I left the party as quickly as psibble. I couldn't believe Peeta ahad shown up with Clove of all people. He had been there when she was teasing us – he had said to ignore her. Now what was he doing?

I stormed out the door, leaving gale and the others behind. It was chilly out and I wish I had brought a jacket. I walked down the street, irritated with everything.

"Katniss!" came a yell – it was peeta. Are you kidding me?

I walked faster, having no interested in talking to peeta. He was the last person I wanted to speak to. Ugh.

"Katniss!" he called again.

"Kleave me alone!" I yelled back, not turning my head. I could hear him jogging to catch up with me.

"No, katniss, listen, you said you were taking care of prim-"

"So that means you can go out with Clove?"

"You were going out with Gale!" he snapped and I stopped walking and turned to face him.

"Gale is my friend, peeta! I'm not dating him!"

Peeta crossed his arms, "Except you decideed to see him over me. You blew off our date for him."

"You – you odn't get it peeta," I said, tired, "you won't get it, okay? Just forget it, forget knowing me and hanging out with me and the possibility of a date, it just won't work okay?"

"What do you mean, katniss?"

"I mean it won't work, peeta! What are you not getting? It just won't work." I stoemed off, leaving him alone.

The next day at school after I helped prim to her class, I was trying to get my things together before englohs class.

"Hey Catnip." I looked up from my locker to see Gale leaning against the lockers, his arm crossed.

"Hey." I said.

"You took off last night after Peeta."

"I can't stand Clove." I said stubbornly, holding my books in my hand.

"You said you wanted to tell me something last night?"

oh yeah, that, I thought, was a bad idea, in hindsight. My thigh throbbed at the mere thought of sharing my pain with Gale in the hallways of school.

"Nothing. I twas nice."

Gale cocked his head to the side and reached out for my hand, I flinched and pulled back, "Okay, Catnip. But if you change your mind, i'm here."

"Thanks." I said stiffly.

I walked to english class where Glimmer tried to trip me when I walked in, cackling with Clove. I dat down behind them and tried to ignore them when Clove started to talk.

"Yeah, I went out with peeta. I thought he was into katniss but no way, he said that she is boring as hell and -"

I tuned her out. If peeta said those things, he was a jerk, but my guess was he had said nothing and clove was just making things up.

Art class things were akward. I saw peeta but he didn't look at me. Part of me wanted to explain – I wasn't deserving of someone who had such love and compassion for things. I bately deserved prim. But I couldnt speak. I sat down away from him and tried to focus on the lesson. My own sketch of the woods had gotten a C. Drawing wasnt my best part. As I glanced over at peeta, all I could think was Gale understood me the most while Peeta just wanted to.