Chapter 10

When I woke up in the late morning, Peeta was gone. For a moment, I wondered if I'd dreamt the whole thing, but the spot beside me still smelled like him and the glass of water was still on my nightstand.

I walked into the kitchen and found Madge making pancakes. A wide smile appeared on her face as she looked up at me.

"How did you sleep?" she asked. Before I could formulate a response she started again, "Peeta left about an hour ago. I told him he could stay and wait for you to get up, but I think he felt pretty awkward after an hour passed with no movement from you. You must've been really exhausted huh?" My face turned red, and she seemed to think that was my answer. "What did you guys do after you left?" she was getting excited as she poked my side.

I struggled to take in everything she'd just said. "Um, we just came back here and I fell asleep. That's all."

She narrowed her eyes at me, "Seriously?" I nodded. "Ugh, Katniss! You could've at least made out a little. You two are hopeless! Neither one of you will make the first move."

I was getting annoyed with her, "Madge, I was literally so hammered I couldn't even manage to get myself a glass of water without his help. I passed out, like, before my head hit the pillow…" I trailed off. Wait, no, that wasn't right… I was pretty sure I'd been resting my head on Peeta's chest.

Madge rolled her eyes. "Kat, I know you're all about this taking things slow and guarded method, but it's almost painful for the rest of us to watch you two. Please just consider making a move, I think he'd make you really happy."

I didn't feel like continuing this conversation, so I mumbled a "maybe." Before walking into the bathroom to take a shower. I was still wearing last night's clothes, which would've been suspicious if I hadn't slept in my own room. In this instance, it only made it obvious how incoherent I was last night.

Afterwards, I ate some of the pancakes Madge had made and settled down in my spot on the couch. We had a three-day weekend for Labor Day, so I didn't have anything pressing to do for my classes. When I looked at my phone there was a message from Peeta: Hope you're feeling better. I'm sorry, Johanna can be a bad influence – you don't have to listen to her.

So he'd heard her trying to make me finish the moonshine. I told him she didn't make me; I made that poor decision of my own. We texted back and forth for a while as I had the tv turned on to the daily Law and Order marathon. I drifted off for a little bit, and when I woke it was after 4. When I sat up and stretched, I picked my phone up from the floor where it had fallen, remember that I'd been talking to Peeta before I passed out.

Would you want to maybe hang out tonight? That was the last message from him. The time-stamp was over an hour earlier, and I felt bad that it probably seemed like I was ignoring him.

Sure, although I'm not really feeling up for much. You can come over if you want.

A little while later, there was a knock at the door, and I moved from my spot on the couch to answer it and let Peeta in. As we were saying our hellos, Madge emerged from her room, curious to see who the visitor was.

"Ohh," she grinned. "Hey, Peeta, what brings you here? Forget something this morning?" Ugh. Today was apparently one of those days where Madge felt like embarrassing me.

Peeta's face got a little red and he scratched the back of his neck. "Uhh, no, I just… came to hang out."

Madge skipped over and leapt onto the armrest. "Oooh, fun! So what're we gonna do? Order pizza? Watch a movie? Oh! Did you know Katniss makes amazing homemade kettle corn?"

It took effort to keep myself from punching her. What was she doing? Wasn't she just saying that morning how I should "make a move" or something? Why was she trying to third wheel?

Peeta's face grew redder as he sat down next to me, leaving about a foot of space between us. "Um, no, I didn't know that… and um, whatever you want to do is fine with me."

I took this as an excuse to leave the room and I went to the kitchen to heat up some oil and sugar for the kettle corn. When I came back, Madge was checking out for a pizza delivery on her phone. She had started a movie – The Help – with her laptop plugged into the TV.

I took my seat next to Peeta, scooting a little bit closer to him than before. As we watched and waited, the sun was going down and the apartment grew darker. Somehow I was tired again and found myself leaning on Peeta's shoulder, asleep, when a knock at the door woke me up.

Later, after the movie was over, the sun down, and the pizza eaten, Madge got up saying she was meeting up with Annie for yet another party. When she asked if we were going to join, I groaned. Peeta just looked at me, expecting me to decide for us.

"Madge, I'm really not feeling it tonight," I said.

"Okay," she said, glancing at me for a second. "What about you Peeta?"

Our eyes met for a moment before I looked away, a little embarrassed at the tone of Madge's voice. Peeta seemed to be deciding what was the right answer, when Madge's "make a move" request came to mind again.

"You can stay here with me," I said, looking back down as soon as I saw a smile forming on Madge's face. "I mean… if you want to." I tried to hide my embarrassment.

He smiled shyly. "Okay, sure," he said. He was only looking at me now.

A little while later, Madge was taking shots in the kitchen before waving to us with a wink and walking out the door. After she left, he and I were left sitting there in an awkward silence. After a few moments of this, Peeta suggested we watch something funny and uplifting. As we scrolled through the computer, he'd asked if I'd ever seen 21 Jump Street, feigning shock when I said no.

As we watched, I couldn't help but notice the tension between us. I had no idea what to do about it – well, that's a lie. I had some idea what to do about it… but there was no way I was taking that risk…

But then I did. I leaned over and set a pillow at the end of the couch and Peeta looked at me questioningly. "Lay down," I said, my voice very quiet. He looked unsure but did so, and I lowered myself on top of him, snuggled my head against his chest. He slowly wrapped his arms around me, and we lay there in a comfortable silence, just being close, as I dozed off. I don't know how much time had passed when Peeta's stirring woke me, but the movie was long over. I leaned up on my elbows, confused for a moment.

I blinked and realized our faces were inches apart, and Peeta had a sleepy grin on his face. It must've been the exhaustion messing with my head that made me lean forward and kiss him.

After a few stunned seconds, I felt him sigh and start to kiss me back. It was… completely new to me, and I found that I didn't want him to stop.

But my luck has never been that good. I heard someone shaking the doorknob and snapped up. I had the sense to shuffle back into a sitting position and Peeta sat up against the couch. No more than two seconds later, the door opened, with a giggly, sweaty Madge stumbling through.

"Heyyy guys," she slurred, rather loudly. She plopped down half on my lap, half on the couch next to me and my eyes were wide. She scooted off of me with a slurred apology before she strained her eyes to focus on me.

She burst into more giggles. "What?" I finally said.

She tried to speak through her laughter. "You have make-out hair," she finally got out. Instantly my hands reached up to touch my hair, and the braid was a little messy. We hadn't been making out really, had we?

As I tried to come through my hair a bit, Madge tried to stand back up, but fell back down twice before she could keep her balance. "I'll just l-leave you toooo it then!" she said before stumbling into her room.

I finally looked back over at Peeta. His hair was disheveled a bit as well, and he wore an embarrassed expression that I knew must mirror mine. I tried to think of something to break the silence, but as usual came up short.

"Um, so…" Peeta finally spoke. "I guess… um, I should probably head home. I mean… if you, um, do you want me to leave?" he stumbled on his words.

"No," I said a little too quickly. "I mean, I'm not kicking you out or anything, but if you're tired or whatever it's fine." That didn't even come close to what I was trying to say.

He nodded and slowly stood, stretching a little as I watched him. He walked to the door to put on his shoes and I stood up to follow him. He turned back to face me and I found I couldn't meet his eyes.

"Um, I'm… sorry about Madge," I said softly. How many times had I said I was going to kill her? Add one more to that tally.

He laughed a little, "It's okay." There was that palpable tension again. I was trying to think of what to do next when I felt Peeta's hand on my shoulder and froze.

It was like slow motion but at the same time happening too fast. I held my breath as he leaned down and closed my eyes. But he didn't kiss me.

Well, not on my mouth anyways; he left a gentle, lingering peck on my cheek before saying goodbye, almost in a whisper. I opened my eyes again to watch him leave and stood there for a few moments before going to check on Madge.

She was curled up in a heap on her bed, her phone lighting up in her hands, but otherwise looked unconscious.

"Madge?" I said, nudging her shoulder softly. Her eyes fluttered open and she struggled to adjust for a few seconds.

"Katniss," she said. "How was your evening? Weren't… um, where's P-Peeta?" she drawled.

I couldn't keep the heat from rising to my cheeks, but Madge was too drunk to notice. "He just left," I said. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. How about I bring you some water?" She nodded sleepily and I got her a glass from the kitchen before returning to rouse her again with a groan. She'd thank me later for this.

After I made sure Madge was hydrated and not about to get sick, I walked back to my room and collapsed on my bed only to discover that for the first time all day, I wasn't really tired. I tried to sort out the feelings rushing through me, but the only conclusion I came to was that I wished I weren't alone in this bed.

Hi! Thanks for all your reviews, they're very nice! There might be a few more chapters of college life still… the next part of the story involves something that happens when she goes home, so there's still some time before then for things to develop further. I don't want to give away what's coming, but I am worried how it will be received. Most people aren't aware of the struggles indigenous women face in this country as well as in Canada… but I think it offers a good real world parallel to the type of conflict Katniss faces in the books.

Anyways, I'm probably rambling. I really appreciate everyone who's been reading this story and giving feedback. I'm enjoying writing this! It's kind of my first real story, so I'm very happy you guys are liking it.

PS: I'm sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but it was just the best place to stop.