Chapter Ten
I realize that I can't breathe, so I pull away. She moves over and I move from the plastic chair to the bed and sit next to her. She leans her head on my shoulder and put my chin on her head. I wrap my arms around her shoulders and stay there comforting her. She looks up at me tiredly and I sink into the bed, lying down. She uses my arm as a pillow, and lies there, looking at the ceiling. I'm about to doze off when there's a soft knock at the door. I look to see the two nurses. They come in with medicine and more needles. She explains that the pills are numbing pills, so that she can take our blood for tests. I nod and Katniss shivers in my arms. I squeeze her tightly. "It'll be okay." I whisper kissing her cheek. She nods and holds her breath when they give me the pill. My arms go numb and I find myself using my un-numb hands to grab onto Katniss. I stick out my left arm and am shocked to see that the pill worked. I smile at Katniss. I decide to bring a little bit of humor in this so I say. "Whoa, I really can't feel my arms." This makes Katniss smile. She rests her head back on my chest; I use my unoccupied hand to brush back her hair. The needles are out of my arms, right when the numbing wears off. They round the bed and Katniss moves on my lap. I wrap my arms around her waist and rub her arm with my hand. She takes the pill and she squirms, uncomfortably to the both of us, finally settling down. She breathes deeply when the needles are injected to her thin arm. After a few seconds she puts her head on my shoulder. We stay tangled up in each other, until they come back an hour later with the results.
"Good news, Peeta, you are able to leave tonight… but Katniss we need you to stay overnight, so we can continue to give you your medicine. You had a little more critical condition involving your brain. But we will be able to clear that up by noon tomorrow. I'm sorry." says the main nurse, Meg.
"Yes ma'am." Katniss sighs. I tighten my grip on her. She looks at me. "You'll stay the night right?" she asks her voice cracking.
I nod. "Always." This makes her smile. She lifts her face and puts her nose against mine. She closes her eyes.
"I knew you would…you're sweet like that." She whispers. Her lips press against mine. I grasp her face in my hands and rub her cheeks with my thumb. She pulls away, wraps her arms around my neck, and dozes off to sleep. I lean back against the upright pillow and fall asleep.
Stirring wakes me up. Katniss sits upright in my lap looking out the door window. I follow her gaze to see Haymitch, Effie, Meg, and Cinna, staring into our room. Haymitch opens the door, and pads in the room with nothing but socks on. They all sit neatly on the empty bed and stare at us awkwardly for a while. "Can we help you guys?" asks Katniss.
Haymitch clears his throat. "One question…Peeta, you're staying with her, aren't you?" I nod and he mumbles. "Knew it."
"Knew what?" I ask.
"I knew that you wouldn't let, fire girl here, slip away from you." sighs Haymitch. Katniss squints at him and he smirks. I squint too, and he goes back to his serious face. I smile with satisfaction.
Effie sighs. "I guess you'll have to re-schedule the interviews for tomorrow, Cinna." Cinna nods but he's smiling at Katniss. I squeeze her tighter, letting Cinna know she isn't his. I respected Cinna, but I can't help but wonder what goes on between them before the events. Effie's face lights up. "Congratulations mentors! You had a victor! Ryan won!" My heart sinks. I think about Chloe and the cake decorating classes. She had a true gift for icing things. I used to think about hiring her as my helper…but not anymore. Katniss claps unenthusiastically. Effie clears her throat. "Well, that's all we were wondering. Come on Haymitch, let's leave these two alone." Effie and Haymitch leave. Cinna sighs and follows. Meg cuts my wristband off and tells me I'm checked out, but I'm still able to share the room with Katniss. I get into my clothes, grateful to have the thin robe gone. I pull on my khaki pants, and my green t-shirt and put the robe in the closet. I return to Katniss' bed and crawl back in. She lays her head on my chest and puts her feet up on the bed railing. She looks into my eyes and I feel my face go red, blushing. Her eyes have a quality that can make me feel something strongly. I can't place my mind on what she makes me feel, so I just trace her face. My fingers brush across her lips and I outline her eyes. I stroke her nose and I see her arms have chills on them. I offer her a spot under my blanket and she takes it. I stroke her hair as she watches the clock. It's 10 and getting dark. She yawns and I let her doze off in my arms. I whisper to her while she sleeps.
"I love you." The words pass and I hear a giggle. She wasn't asleep. Her eyes look into mine. I laugh. "I thought you were asleep." I whisper.
"No, I wanted to hear what you had to say." She admits.
"Well than…are you satisfied?" I say smartly. She sits up next to me and stares at me seriously. This goes on for a while. Suddenly she starts laughing.
"Yes…I am." She says politely. I kiss her nose and she lies back down.
"Don't worry…I'm done whispering." I laugh. We sleep the rest of the night, and when we wake up its 11 in the morning. There's about an hour left before we are allowed to leave. I think of the reason why she had to stay an extra night. I rub her temples. "Feeling okay?" I ask her.
"Yeah, way better now…thanks for staying with me." She says. I nod and she gets up.
"What's wrong?" I ask her.
"Nothing…just going to change out of this." She points to her robe. I nod. She returns wearing a blue shirt with her mockingjay pin on. She's wearing khaki pants also. She returns and I braid her hair for her. Once I'm done she looks in the mirror. "Wow, you're really good at braids." She says.
I shrug. "I used to braid little strands of dough for braid bread. I made it for my father's birthday one year." She smiles in the mirror, her eyes glinting in the sunlight through our window. She sees my awe over her and blushes. She raises her eyebrows, holds out her arms, and spins around and around. I laugh and she laughs even more. She stops, getting dizzy and I help her to the chair. We wait for the remaining 15 minutes and Meg releases Katniss. Her eyes instantly gain back their life and the real Katniss appears. We get in a car and it takes us back to the training center. We're anxious to get to our rooms, but when the elevator doors opens, prep teams, and our stylists swarm us. Instead of going into our rooms to get ready, we go into separate curtain walled rooms side by side. Once we get changed we are corralled outside of the curtains to hair booths. I see Katniss to my right and I smile at her. Her prep team is about to start her hair.
"Wait! Don't touch it! I want Peeta to do it. He's an amazing braider." She protests. The prep team pulls me up and thrusts me towards Katniss. I kiss her head and start brushing her hair. I braid her hair and swirl it into a tight bun on her head. I turn to the prep team and they clap and cheer for me. I smile and return to my chair. My hair is mildly spiked in the front. Once we finish hair and Katniss finishes makeup, we take off our aprons revealing our clothes. Katniss is wearing a sunset orange dress with red rime stones in a flame pattern from her waist up. I'm wearing an orange suit with flamed cuffs and collar. She twirls for me and I take her hand. We head across town to the interview stadium and we take a seat back stage. Once Cesar is announced he welcomes us out and the interview begins.
"Good evening Peeta and Katniss!" Cesar says enthusiastically.
"Hello." I say. Katniss smiles at Cesar greeting him silently.
"Well, let's just get right down to business." Cesar says seriously.
"That sounds good to us." Katniss says.
"Okay…Peeta, what were your thoughts about mentoring the first hunger games?" Cesar asks curiously.
"Well, I was skeptical on it because I've never been good with people-" I start, but Katniss interrupts.
"Oh please! You're good with me." She says hugging me. Cesar's hand dramatically flies to his mouth.
"Before you continue, Peeta let me ask. What do you think of the rumors about you and Katniss getting married? Possibly having children?" Cesar asks digging for a juicy answer. I decide to give it to him.
"Well, anything can happen right, Katniss?" I ask and she nods kissing my cheek…the audience awes and hoots. "And if we did, I would like children, but I'm worried too…because being a victor of the games…I learned a few things…Like if we ever did have kids, I would do anything to keep them from going into the games. I can't make any more risks on the ones I love." The crowd roars and stomping rumbles the stage.
Cesar turns to Katniss. "Your thoughts about the rumors, Katniss?"
"I agree with Peeta, anything can happen. I know if I ever do have children, I would let him do anything to keep them away from the arena. But for the whole marriage thing, all I can say is I'm all for it!" she says. The crowd goes crazy. Cesar laughs and congratulates us.
"Now, Peeta, what are your thoughts on the out coming victor?" asks Cesar.
"Well, I'm glad that our district had a winner, and I'm glad he took everyone's advice…but I wasn't able to watch it… Neither of us got to." I admit.
"Why not?" asks Cesar.
"We were hospitalized…" I say.
"How come?" asks Cesar. I look at Katniss and she sighs.
"Well Cesar. That is because the rumors are true. We got married after we returned home last games…and…I…" her voice trails off. I look at her desperate face. I inhale deeply.
"Surprise!" I call out. Katniss smiles at me. The crowd gasps. Cesar's eyes grow wide. The crowd breaks into applause for Katniss and I and the faint buzzer goes off. Our interview is done.