DISCLAIMER: All of the characters, plots, places, and everything else Hunger Games-related belongs to Suzanne Collins. I own none of it, and I am in no way associated with the Hunger Games franchise. No copyright infringement intended.

Katniss

Despite Gale's suggestion, I didn't go visit Peeta the day he got back. Or for the next week. I didn't want to bother him. He was still settling in. He wouldn't want to see me. I had no shortage of excuses. While they all may have been true, the nervous feeling in my stomach made me think it was more than that.

I didn't even know what I was supposed to talk about. Definitely not the Games. But what else was there? The weather? I could just picture that conversation.

"Hey Peeta! It's been really warm lately, don't you think?"

Ugh. I was hopeless.

I heard a small knock on the door and told Prim to come in.

"Hey Katniss! Are you ready?"

She had insisted that I teach her to braid her hair like mine today. I patted the spot on the bed in front of me and she obediently took her place.

"What are you doing today, little duck?"

The name made her giggle. "I don't know. Maybe go hang out with Rory."

I smiled. Prim and Rory had been spending a lot of time together lately. Gale seemed to be bothered by it, but I thought it was cute. I had been worried too at first, but it wasn't because of Rory. It was just weird to see my little sister blushing over a boy.

We continued braiding and re-braiding for about half an hour until she was satisfied with her progress. She stood up and examined her hair in the mirror again.

"What are you going to do today, Katniss?"

I answered, "I might go hunting."

Prim placed her hands on her hips, giving me an impatient look.

"What?" I asked.

She sat down in front of me again, facing me this time. "All you ever do besides go to school is hunt. You need to have some fun sometimes."

"Hunting is fun. Just not to you." I poked her stomach when I said that, making her laugh.

"Okay, fair enough. Just promise me that for today you will find something else to do."

I was about to argue when she suddenly jumped, causing the bed to shake. "I know what you can do!"

Amused by her excitement, I said, "What can I do?"

"You can go see Peeta Mellark!"

I stared at her in shock before narrowing my eyes. "Did Gale tell you to say that?"

"No, why would he do that? I thought he didn't like Peeta."

I guess I hadn't realized how observant Prim had been with me and Gale.

"It's complicated, Prim. Anyway, do you really think I should go see him?"

"Yes, Katniss, I do. He hasn't even left his house since he got back to 12. Haven't you noticed that he hasn't been at the bakery?"

I hadn't noticed. But after she said that, I realized that I didn't remember seeing him when I traded with his father. He used to almost always be at the counter when I came in. Usually, our eyes met for a brief second and then flitted away. Even with that limited and awkward interaction, I had grown accustomed to seeing him there.

"What good will it do for me to visit him?"

She looked as if she was speaking to a child. "He said he loves you. I'm not going to pretend to know why, but if that's true, then I think that he probably wants to see you."

She gave me the pleading look that she knows I have never been able to resist.

I sighed, "Fine. I'll go see him."

She squealed and hugged me. "I think you're making the right decision!"

"I hope so, Prim. If he orders me out of his house, it's your fault."

She laughed and said, "Trust me. He won't."

Content with her victory, she almost skipped out the door.

I called, "Have fun with Rory!"

Picturing the blush creeping up on her cheeks made me laugh. Only Prim could talk me into doing something I absolutely did not want to do and then leave me laughing.

I slipped on some shoes and walked slowly out the door. I had never been to Victor's Village before, but I knew how to get there. It only took me about twenty minutes to walk down the dirt road. I found myself standing before the large houses. They were much lavish than anything else in District 12. Each of the houses had a perfectly maintained garden in the front, filled with flowers of all kinds. Prim would love it, I thought.

"Hey, we got a visitor!"

I turned my head to see someone sitting on the porch of one of the houses. Haymitch Abernathy. There were bottles all over the porch and walkway, and the garden was a mess. I could even smell the alcohol in his hand from where I was standing.

I hesitantly approached him. I stopped at the bottom of the steps.

"You here to see me, sweetheart?"

Sweetheart? I scowled at him. "I'm here to see Peeta. Which house is his?"

He ignored my question, suddenly looking defensive. "Peeta, huh? And who are you?"

Impatiently, I said, "Katniss Everdeen. Now can you tell me where Peeta lives?"

He stared at me for a minute, and then recognition dawned on his face. "Oh, so you're the one that boy's madly in love with. You aren't nearly as endearing as he made you out to be."

I answered his statement with another glare. I was about to start walking off to find Peeta's house myself when he started talking again.

"Well, endearing or not, it's about time you showed up. His house is right over there."

I followed his finger to the third house on the left. Peeta's house.

"Thank you."

I started to walk off when I heard Haymitch yelling something.

"Katniss?"

I turned around again, really impatient now. "What?"

"I'm glad you came. Peeta could use a friend."

I just nodded and walked off in the direction Haymitch had pointed. Other than a light on in one of the rooms, there were no signs that the house was occupied. I carefully walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. I could feel my heart racing when I heard someone walking down the stairs.

Peeta

I fumbled down the stairs, not really watching where my feet were stepping. My eyes were focused on the door. Either someone had just knocked or I was going even crazier than I had realized.

It had been a week since I returned to District 12. My family helped me move in, but since then no one except for Haymitch had come to visit me. And he didn't bother knocking. He usually barged right in, drink in hand. That said, my list of possible visitors was a short one.

When I opened the door, the very last person I had ever expected to see was standing in front of me. Katniss Everdeen.

I cleared my throat, "Hello."

She fidgeted nervously, tugging at her braid. I think she looked over her shoulder to Haymitch's house. I didn't know why she would be worried about him though.

"Would you like to come in?"

She nodded and walked past me. I shut the door and gestured for her to sit down on the couch. She was looking around the house, seeming to be mesmerized by the size of it. I bet it was a lot bigger than her house in the Seam. I sat down in the chair across from her and stared at her for a minute, both of us sitting in silence. She was even more beautiful than I remembered. Finally she looked up at me.

"How have you been, Peeta?"

I almost laughed for the first time in months because of her attempt at small talk. "I've been better."

She looked down at her hands. "Sorry, stupid question."

"No, it's okay. I've been a little lonely, so it's nice to have some company."

Why was I telling her that? Sure, I've loved her for most of my life. But we've never exactly had a very close relationship. Or any relationship, for that matter.

She gave me a weak smile and said, "Peeta, I think that we need to talk."

"Right," I said.

She wanted to know why I had declared my love for her to all of Panem. I suppose I should have been expecting her visit.

She continued, "You said in the interview that you loved me. Is that true?"

The conversation felt all too familiar. This time, though, my brother had told me that he saw her holding hands with Gale. The reminder would have normally made me feel a pang of sadness, but I couldn't feel anything. I hadn't felt anything in a long time.

She was waiting for my response. I sighed. Even if she was with Gale, she deserved the truth. "Yes, it's true."

She looked as if she wished she would have never asked when she said, "Oh."

I hurriedly continued. "It is true, Katniss. But I also know that you are with Gale, and I would never expect you to feel anything for me."

Katniss jerked her head up. "I am not with Gale."

She looked just as shocked as I felt. "You're not? My brother said he saw you—"

I stopped, embarrassed. I doubt she wanted to hear that my brothers had been keeping tabs on her.

"He saw wrong. I'm not with Gale. I'm not with anyone."

Her indignant tone shocked me. Something told me that my brother had definitely not been wrong. Judging by the look on her face, however, I thought she was telling the truth about not being with him now.

"Okay, I believe you."

She seemed to be relieved. But her visit still didn't make sense.

"So why did you come here then, if it isn't because of Gale?"

I watched as the corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk. I couldn't imagine what she found funny about my question, but I wasn't going to ask. I wasn't sure that I wanted to know.

"I came here because I wanted to find out if you meant what you said."

I doubted that her entire reason for coming was to see if I meant what I said, especially when she knew I had no reason to make it up. But I decided to leave it alone.

There was still a question I wanted her to answer.

"Okay, I have a question too."

She looked up at me, curious.

I said, "I want to talk about that day in the bakery. When you left—"

"Peeta, don't!" Her outburst cut me off and caught me by surprise. I had been completely honest with her, and now she didn't even want to let me finish my sentence! Anger flared up in me.

"Why not? All of our tension goes back to that day, doesn't it? I just want some answers."

"I really don't want to talk about it. Can we please just forget that day ever happened?"

I studied her face for a minute. That's probably the best I was going to get from her.

"Okay, we won't talk about it. That's probably for the best anyways."

She made a sigh of relief. I actually grinned as I added, "For now."

She stared at me, giving me the same angry look I had seen before. I couldn't help but laugh. It sounded strange and unnatural, but it was the first time I had genuinely laughed in awhile.

She stood up and said, "I need to get back home."

I followed her to the door. Before she could leave, though, I stopped her. I couldn't let her walk out without knowing if I would ever see her again.

"So what exactly are we, Katniss?"

She stared at me thoughtfully. "We're friends."

Friends? Well, it was more than I had a right to expect. "So are you going to come back?"

She hesitated long enough to make me anxious. Finally, she said, "I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't, now would I?"

I smiled, relieved. "I guess not."

"Bye, Peeta."

I watched her walk down steps and out of the walkway.

"Bye, Katniss."