Chapter 10: Win or Lose

Disclaimer: I don't own THG.

Katniss:

I feel content. I feel nearly whole for the first time since Gale. I can say his name without anger. I can begin to look back at our happy memories and think of how that was all worth living. Still, sometimes I find myself wondering if Gale and I could have made more, had he not made that mistake.

No matter. Today, I am ready to celebrate with Peeta. I don't know how I'll ever thank him for all he's done, but this is how I'll start. Effie says that me being at the show will provide a boost to his career. Should be easy.

"Katniss!" Peeta is already there, talking with some potential buyers. He approaches me and there's another man following.

"This is Thresh, he owns The Rock."

I smile and shake his hand. Thresh is a large man, built like an ox. Despite his intimidating size, there is a lightness that surrounds him. He's one of those guys that are worth knowing better before judging.

"Hey, I'm Katniss. Peeta's girlfriend." I admit, I had to practice saying that word in front of a mirror. Its almost natural now.

"So I've heard. Man, Peeta how'd you get this lucky?" Thresh laughs heartily.

"It just happened." Peeta says. I smile and take his arm.

"He's an awesome guy, Thresh. I've known for so long and one day I thought, why not? And I don't regret making the choice to be with him."

"Ugh! Stop before I die from romance overload!"

Its Johanna who makes the complaint.

"Hey you two!" She says. "And other guy. I'm Jo."

Peeta and I share a glance. We both expect Thresh to have a heart attack.

"I'm Peeta's boss, Thresh." He says that to sound impressive but Jo knows what that means.

"Oh, the fan! Peeta, I see why you couldn't tell me what he looked like. Words cannot sum this up." She winks at Thresh and he manages to keep it together. Johanna clearly likes Thresh from a superficial stand point.

"So Thresh, you wanna come hang out with me?" He can't refuse. I hope Johanna takes it easy.

"You're not getting him back tonight." I tell Peeta.

"I didn't think so. He'll be fine. I might even get a raise for this!" He jokes. "I thought I'd invite everyone. I got to pick who was on guest list."

Everyone as in my friends. And they came. Of course they did, they saw the picture of us in the paper. They heard about us dating and they're here to see it with their own eyes.

Peeta and I talk to some random people. He sells some paintings. I think they're a hit because so many people compliment the color blends and brush techniques. The most popular one is a painting of the sunset. It has multiple bids.

We're asked to pose for some pictures and I don't mind. Effie was right when she said we looked good together. The pictures will help spread the word about our relationship.

After a bit of what I'll call schmoozing, we come across Annie and Finnick admiring one of the paintings.

"Peeta, these are really lovely. We bought this one with the coral reefs. We'll put it in Finn's room." Annie and Finnick and their never ending love for the ocean.

"Thanks. I thought you might like that one." Peeta says. Its the best one there according to them.

"Hey, congrats you two." Finnick says."Guess this means we'll be seeing you around more often, Peeta."

Annie hugs me. "You look so happy, Kat. He really makes you happy."

I nod and smile. You can see joy? Hm. No one ever said that to me when I was with Gale.

Next, we run into Clove and Cato. I'm pretty sure they're trying to intimidate the other buyers.

"Kat, you have to convince Peeta to pick our bid for the sunset painting." Clove says.

"I keep telling her it goes to the highest bidder." Cato rolls his eyes. "Peeta, how did you know it matched the exact color of the chairs in our dining room?" Clove glares at Cato because she knows he doesn't care about the chairs.

"You're gonna have to keep bidding, Clove." Peeta says. "But if I get a choice, I'll let you have it."

"That's nice of you, Peeta." She smiles. "And good for you, getting together. Now we have to help Jo find her guy."

"She doesn't need help. She's already working on it." I can see Johanna and Thresh laughing at some guy wearing an ugly yellow suit. It could happen.

The event goes well. I don't mean to be arrogant, but the fact that I'm with Peeta draws attention. The camera's keep flashing and we keep smiling. Peeta and I hold hands and sometimes, he'll put his arm around my waist. It doesn't feel uncomfortable, but I don't try to figure out why. There might be a part of my mind that knows, but I'll let it hide there.

By the end of the night, Finnick and Annie take home three paintings. Johanna and Thresh vanish, they didn't stay for the whole thing. And Clove gets her sunset for the dinning room. Everyone wins.

Peeta and I stop for some final pictures, these are for the newspaper articles. Finally, something that won't focus on me, they'll be about Peeta's paintings. But there's always one person that makes the night unforgettable.

"Katniss, over here! Over here!" Flash.

"Give us a kiss, you guys! Come on!" I don't hesitate, I just do it.

Peeta:

Regardless of my new found success, I keep working at the bar. Its relaxing, something mundane. Normality, especially since Katniss and I went public, is something I treasure.

I'm not surprised to see Johanna Mason at the bar tonight. She and Thresh are keeping in touch. She's all he can talk about.

"Hey, Mellark. Got a beer?" I get one for her.

"Thresh isn't here tonight."

She takes a drink. "I know. I came to talk to you."

"About?"

"What did Kantiss say to make you agree to all this?" She gets right to the point.

"Agree to what? We ran into each other and-"

"Nope. Not buying it." She takes another drink form her beer. "You two met here, at this bar. She did not know you before that."

No use denying it. "I'm supposed to help her get away from the bar fiasco. Everyone kept saying that she broke up with her fiance because of me."

"And you two are pretending to be a couple? That really doesn't do any good."

"That's not how it was supposed to work. It was supposed to be that I was her friend and we were just catching up. The whole thing with her fiance was unrelated."

"You know about Gale? She told you?" Johanna asks.

Gale. I know more than they would think, I've been waiting for someone to bring him up.

"Sort of. She was drunk."

Johanna smirks. "Yup, that's her. She must trust you a lot. To ask such a huge favor. And you want nothing in return."

She has it all figured out, but she wants to hear me confess.

"Its a trade. I stop the rumors, she promotes my paintings."

She laughs and finishes her beer. "That was the initial deal. But I know this whole thing got out of control. That's how it works around here. I'm observant. You agreed to be her 'boyfriend' not because of the free promos, but because you care for her. You could have walked away, people knew you as the bar guy. They would have bought the paintings simply because you were involved."

"That's not it at all." This I won't confess. Not to Johanna and not to Katniss.

"Don't deny it, Mellark. We all know its true, I'm the only one that's saying it. Annie and Clove, they want her to get over Gale. Finnick and Cato, they're gonna let you replace him. If you screw up, they'll get you back. But me, I'll go ahead and warn you. Katniss thinks of this as nothing more than a plan. She is done with relationships. You're the only one losing here."

Johanna is right. I have feelings for Katniss. I would like for her to return them someday, but Gale has almost made her immune to such emotions. Her friends don't mind that she's digging herself out of this hole. They'll deal with me while they have to, but when I'm gone, it won't make a difference to them. But I'll be left without Katniss.

"Mellark, Katniss isn't doing this intentionally. She does want to help you out with your career, but she doesn't get that this is going to leave a mark."

"How was she with Gale?" I have to ask. How did the do so much damage to the woman he was going to marry?

"She loved him. Loves him, I should say. They met when she was in trouble. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he put her together again. The girl was a mess."

That sounds just like Gale Hawthorne. Some people never change.

I can't tell you all how excited I am for you to find out how Peeta knows Gale. At the moment, we don't know much about Gale or Peeta. This is centering around Katniss. We'll have more on them soon. Anyway, I really hope y'all are liking this fic. I love writing it. Leave me some reviews! If you have any guesses as to how they know each other feel free to share. Thank you so much for reading :)