Run. I run from Peeta's house as fast as I can. I still don't know if he was awake or if it was just my imagination, but I didn't feel like staying there to find out. I guess all the confidence from last night is gone.
I get inside my house and close the door behind me; close my eyes and breathe deep.
"Good morning lass." Greets me Greasy Sae from the kitchen.
I look at her, my eyes wide in surprise, and I notice a smirk on her face. "Oh…OH"
"I…I…" the words refuse to come out. I need to think fast.
"I was just checking on him" I have a feeling she doesn't believe me.
Greasy Sae laughs and I feel my cheeks burning. I sit at table, speechless once more.
"You don't need to explain yourself to me girl" She says in a sweet voice. I swallow hard.
"I…I just don't want you to think the wrong thing" I say shyly. She laughs again.
"Girl, spending your life being sad and alone would be the wrong thing"
I look at her. "Is that what you want?" She asks.
I shake my head.
"Then there's nothing wrong with checking on that boy" She winks at me.
"I…" I don't know what to say.
"You and that boy, it was just a matter of time." She sits with me and holds my hand.
"You share things that no one else can understand. You can help heal each other."
"He loves you" she says, her tone is serious now.
I look at her, the words sinking in. Peeta loves me and he's let everyone know about it. He is not afraid of what he feels. I'm not like Peeta, but I am more than willing to learn from him. Maybe this is part of healing.
"I love him too" I say, listening to the words as they come out. They sound like the most natural thing in the world.
Greasy Sae smiles "I know." She says and I blink. 'How?"
"But the important question here is, does he know?"
I shake my head again. I'm not telling her everything that happened in the last couple of days. No way.
"Then you'll have to work on that. He deserves to know."
"I know. I'm working on it" I answer and smile at her. It's true. Maybe not right this second, but I'm definitely working on it.
After breakfast, I take a shower and change into my hunting outfit. It feels like I wore that green dress for a week.
On my way to the woods I start working on my plan. How do I gain Peeta's trust back? How do we become friends again? It's not like I am an expert when it comes to making friends, but at least Peeta and I were friends; maybe that will make things easier.
My birthday "confession" did not go as I planned, and the last thing I want to do is scare him again. After everything that happened I need to start small; take it slow. I may not feel as confident as I did last night, but I'm determined to get Peeta back, and I have the perfect plan; sort of: squirrels.
I catch about 7 of them. Part of me thinks it's completely ridiculous to catch squirrels for Peeta, but, he likes them. I'm counting on him understanding that I caught something he liked because I want to be his friend again…and more than a friend, but I will come later. The squirrels will be a token of my good intentions; I hope he sees it that way.
I also get some birds and a couple of rabbits for Greasy Sae. My game bag is full, so I decide to go back home, but first, I stop at Sae's house.
I knock on the door. "Who is it?" she screams.
I answer her and she tells me to come in. Once inside, I show her my haul and tell her all about my idea.
"How should I do this? Do I give the squirrels to you and you give them to him?" I ask.
She rolls her eyes. "Don't be a coward girl."
"Maybe he is not home right now, not that I have any idea where he could be, but maybe later you can knock on his door and give him the meat. Tell him it's a gift, and you want to make up."
I bite my lip. Things are more complicated than that. Greasy Sae has no idea.
"I don't know. I'm not ready to talk to him without making a fool myself. Maybe I'll just leave them on his doorstep." I grab my game bag and walk to the door. "See you later" I say as I open the door.
"Katniss!" yells Greasy Sae.
"If you decide to leave them on his doorstep, make sure to leave them inside the game bag." She says and winks at me.
"Why?" I ask.
"Just trust me on this girl."
I walk outside thinking why should I leave the game bag. If I do, then Peeta will have to return…it…oh.
He'll have to go to my house to return the game bag. That means I'll have to talk to him, but that needs to happen sooner or later. At least I can prepare myself…maybe.
Peeta's house doesn't look as intimidating now. I think about what I did last night; getting inside his house in the middle of the night to wake him up and tell him I loved him...what was I thinking? Talk about not scaring him off. I was lucky. Who knows how things would have turned out if had woken up…
I walk up to his doorstep and think about knocking on the door. What I told Greasy Sae was true, I'm not ready to talk to Peeta face to face, not after last night. Knocking is out of the question.
Maybe I should just place the game bag right by the door and leave, but what if he's not home? Greasy Sae didn't know if he was. What if he is home, but doesn't come outside for the rest of the day? What if a dog sniffs the squirrels and takes the game bag? "Why do I complicate things so much?"
I place the game bag on the floor, right in front of Peeta's door. This is the easiest way. I leave and hope everything goes according to plan.
As I get closer to home, I notice a red bundle on my own doorstep. I stand in front of it and take it so I can inspect it. Red cloth, a basket and a smell the makes my mouth water; freshly baked cheese buns.
My heart pounds. I stand up and look around, but see no one. "Peeta was here. He left these here!" I think. Why? Why leave this here? He did this before and "oh."
It hits me; these are more than just cheese buns. This is a token of good intentions.
A smile spreads across my face. It seems Peeta has a plan of his own.
Chapter 10 Peeta's POV
I get up from bed and just stand there, not knowing what to do next. After a while, I go to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face. "Well, that was useless" Yeah, splashing cold water on my face will magically solve this whole mess with Katniss and put her back in my arms by dinner time. I grunt, because really, what else can I do?
Brushing my teeth seems like the next logical step, so I do that while I think about what I'll do today.
"Bake" simple enough. I really need a plan, but for now, all I have is baking.
It will give me some time to either, think nonstop about Katniss or distract me for a while. "That's it" I'll bake some bread, then I'll sell it at the Hob. Maybe I should go and check out the bakery. I've neglected the place long enough. Even better, I'll bring some bread and tea for the workers.
It really sounds like a good plan, a boring plan that has nothing to do with Katniss, but it will buy me some time.
I look through the pantry and decide to bake several loaves of raisin bread, cinnamon rolls and some cheese buns…hmm cheese buns…what if?
"No" I tell myself firmly, and remember the basket I left outside Katniss's door; and how she completely ignored them, so no cheese buns. Although…things are different now, they are! She said it herself; she was mad at me, but not anymore.
"YES" I'll bake the cheese buns, and leave them at her door. It's a small gesture, maybe even an insignificant one, but I want her to know that I'm not giving up on her, or at least let her know that I'm thinking about her.
The whole "plan", as boring as it sounds, makes me excited. I can feel this could be the start of something great. "It's just bread" a part of me thinks, but the other part it's not convinced. Just bread? I don't think so. Katniss loves cheese buns, she loves me and I love her. This is perfect. I've never been so happy about baking.
After a couple of hours, everything is done. I pack all the bread and the tea so I can take it to town. Then, I place the cheese buns in a basket and cover them with clothe, just like I did last time.
I tap my fingers on the counter, thinking about how I should go about this. Do I leave them on her door step like last time or give them to her in person? Door step; it's safer that way. I won't have a chance to do anything stupid. But I don't even know if she's home. Should I call her? "No" I answer myself, so I call Greasy Sae instead.
"Hey Sae, it's me. Um do you happen to know if Katniss is home?" I ask.
"Why? Do you want to talk to her? See her?"
I panic. "Oh no no I…I just wanted to give her some bread, well not give it to her, I can just leave it by her door." The whole this sounds awkward and before she has time to answer, our conversation is cut short. "Give me a second. There's someone at the door."
"Who is it?" She screams and waits for an answer. "Come in"
"She is here. Whatever you are going to do, do it fast" she whispers and hangs up.
Oh crap. I really didn't want to do this in a rush, but at least I already had it all packed. I grab everything, including Katniss's basket, and leave.
My heart races. I run to her house and leave the cheese buns on her door step, then get away as fast as I can. "Move. Move. Move." I urge myself and walk a little faster as I pass Greasy Sae's house.
I'm finally away from the Victor's Village and on my way to town. There's a huge grin on my face and I bet the people who see me probably think I'm insane, but I don't care. I know today is gonna change everything, I can feel it.
Maybe it won't happen tomorrow or the day after that, but I know I'm getting Katniss back.
The angst is over! I know this is kind of a slow chapter, but I feel like something like this needed to happen before they get back together for good. The next couple of chapters will be about that. Thanks again for everything! All the wonderful reviews, adding the story to your favorites and all the alerts; they mean more than you can imagine. Even if I don't reply to all your reviews I DO read them all on my phone (mostly at work lol) Thanks again and get ready for the romance (and eventual smuttiness) that's coming. Finally! :D