A/N: HEYYY GUYSSSS. It's CookieCruncher! So we kinda shared in this chapter, and it's all because I know more in Texas Hold 'Em Poker than Nameless. Or… well… at least I know how to play it… in Facebook. If you know poker, correct me. If you don't, you don't necessarily have to learn. But the plot of this poker game is REAL important, so read it whether you like it or not.

A/N: HEYYY GUYSSSS. Nah, I'm just trying to annoy my co-author :P I don't know why I'm having this 70s vibe. I'm listening to some Bee Gees and I cant help but boogie(nice word) to the tune. I mean I literally sing with all the falsetto and stuff. Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk, I'm woman's man. No time to talk! =)) Anyway, enough of this. Don't skip the Poker Part, trust me, when CookieCruncher sent this part to me, I had my blood racing, literally. I was like, "Oh sweet suspense!" =)) So please take your time and enjoy the game. The first part of this chapter is kinda creepy sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me.

By the way, during the first part of this chapter, I want you to listen to this while reading =) (go and delete that space)

youtube watch?v=MiWV2KseKeo&feature=relmfu

Open it in another tab.

CHAPTER 10

Of Weird Dreams, Armani Suits and Royal Flushes

"Come on, you slowpoke!" she laughed dragging him towards the golden fields of barley. They ran, leaving a trail of broken stalks behind them. She constantly looked back playfully, daring him to follow her. And follow her he did.

"Hurry up, Peeta!" she teased as she disappeared behind a rather thick area of the field. He can only detect her white beret bobbing above the stalks until she vanished truly. Peeta was hesitant to dive in after her, who knows if there's no going back? Her faint giggles caressed his ear from every direction. And he turned wildly, trying tread blindly towards every sound.

"Follow me."

"Hurry up, Peeta."

"I'm over here."

"Come and catch me."

He ran in search of her. She can't be gone. He has to find her again. He has to hold her in his arms. He was desparate. And her vexes were driving him mad with desire. Where was she? The stalks were scarring his flesh, it seared painfully. But he has to find her. She has to be here somewhere.

"Ring-a-round a rosy, a pocket full of posies…."

He heard a childish whisper singing a rather familiar tune. He had goosebumps.

The ground beneath him began to shake and the dirt flew up into the air, blinding him. There was a big gaping dark hole in the ground threatening to engulf him whole. He coughed as he choked on the dust.

"ashes, ashes…"

He was sinking. The hole in the ground was sucking him in.

"We all fall…"

He was seeing the last specks of sunlight. Dirt. I wasn't what Peeta wanted his last thoughts to be about. But it will have to do.

A blood-curdling scream ended the innocent chant.

"DOOOWWWNNN!"

He fell and fell and fell into an infinite pit of darkness. There is no light. There is no hope. There is no peace. Only darkness in it's black throne.

He felt no impact. He just realized that he has breached the end because he could stand up.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on ends. He breathed out mist, why was it so cold here? Peeta wasn't very sure on where he was. He knows that he was in a pitch black room and he can't see anything resorting to groping the air that ran stagnant and stale. He can hear his footsteps echo eerily as the hard walls reflect the sound. He couldn't seem to find his voice to cry out to any unfortunate soul who was in a similar situation such as his.

The detected something not a meter away. It was light, a dim light. It was on the ground, in the middle of the room. He surged forward to the little ray of hope he had to seeing anything and maybe escaping.

But he slipped. On something that was currently unidentified until he picked up the white light.

But it wasn't light. It was a white…beret?

And it was caked in blood. He slipped on blood. The whole floor was littered with puddles of blood.

Terrified, Peeta dropped the now glowing blood-stained cloth and ran to wherever direction his feet took him. There were no walls in this room, it expanded and expanded into endless oblivion. He had to find a door. A way to get out of this place.

His feet burned and his knees were about to give way. He knew it was stupid, but he can't resist the temptation of looking behind his back.

It was still there, a mere foot away from him. The white bloody beret. It was as if he never ran.

It was there on the ground. Peeta's blood ran cold. The beret seemed to have a life in its own. Like it had beady little eyes staring at him.

His musings were confirmed when a white- gloved hand poked from underneath the white beret. Then an arm, then a whole torso and eventually, it emerged fully in a sickening way, like it was crawling menacingly. It hovered on the ground. It towered Peeta who was looking up to it in pure horror.

It was a wedding gown.

It was a bloody wedding gown.

And Peeta's nightmare came to life as Katniss materialized into it. She looked horrifyingly breath-taking in the gown. It was a scary kind of beautiful. She stared at him with wide unfocused eyes. Then she smiled.

"You are cordially invited Peeta."

"NOOO!"

"I'm sorry, sir? No pillow?"

Peeta jostled out of his seat. He whipped his head around frantically in search of any traces of a bloody white beret or a stalk of barley. But he found none, instead, he found a rather pretty redheaded flight attendant staring at him worriedly.

"Ahem, would you like a pillow, sir?"

He was in a plane on the way to Australia. Peeta clutched at his heart, breathing heavily. He was so relieved, he thought he was going to die at the hands of the woman he loves. It was dark outside, signaling nighttime, it was also dark inside, signaling sleeping passengers that would love to be woken by a bygone ex-drug addict. The "seatbelt off" glowed dimly above his head.

"Would you like a pillow, sir?" she cleared her throat.

Peeta looked at her, confused. She was pushing a cart overflowing with pillows. Peeta finally realized that she was offering him the service he paid for. "Oh, yes…please." He stuttered.

She reached over to the pile of white pillows and adrenaline coursed through Peeta's veins.

"No!" he yelled. "Shh!" an old woman grumpily scolded him. He was gripping at the attendant's wrist and she was more than shocked to slap him across the face. "Sorry." He muttered letting her go.

"No pillow?" she shakily said.

"Yes pillow. No white pillow. Can I have that… yellow one?"

The flight attendant reached underneath a large pile and wrestled the not white pillow. Turns out it was engraved with the face of a duck, the thing was designed for littler, less mature passengers. And Peeta fit right into the category.

The flight attendant gave him an even more worried look and hurried away as he timidly took the embarrassing thing in his arms.

He sighed. It was better than the white ones.

The little brat beside him cackled evilly. Peeta threw him a glare and hugged his pillow even more. He was grateful that the brat's mother was asleep. The brat gave him one last evil look and chuckled as the brat turned his back muttering a word a kid his age should never say unless he wanted the taste of soap in his mouth:

"Pussy."

A ding was heard when Peeta boarded off the elevator to level 36. He strode down the luxurious hallway looking for his room.

"3825…3825…AH! 3825!" he excitedly paralleled his card and the configuration key confirmed it. The lock clicked with a familiar beep.

It was beautiful. Modern yet traditional. Exquisite yet simple. White yet not terrifying. Peeta shuddered as memories from last night clouded his mind. He dutifully pushed away the thoughts and scanned his Corner King room. It was spacious, had a great view and had a King sized bed. The bathroom was wonderful, it had a large tub and a rain shower. The room had a flat screen right up front of his bed and a fire place just below it. It covered a part of the wall but the rest was clear glass, overlooking the breath-taking view of the city below. He walked closer the glass panels and childishly looked down

He sighed and pocketed his hands. He missed this. The life of the rich and famous.

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out, Kris was calling.

"Hey Bigshot, miss me?"

Peeta chuckled. "What's with the nicknames, Blood-sucking insect?"

"Shit, man. You almost gave me a heart attack when you said blood-sucking. I thought you were gonna call me a motherfucking sparkling fairy. Anyway, I've got BIG news, and by BIG I mean as big as my bad ass d-"

"Don't say it. It gives me nightmares." Peeta countered. He's had enough of his share nightmares in quite a while.

"Nice try, I was gonna say doorbell. Seriously, it's huge. It has this knocker thing like in the crappy small-budget horror movies. I got it off e-bay with just-"

"Ranting like a woman, Kris. Like a woman." Peeta rolled his eyes. He picked up a black MnM in a bowl and popped it into his mouth. Charged to room service.

"Paramount wants you like crazy! Their contacting me every single secon- er… could you hold on a minute?"

Peeta heard him put the phone down. It sounded like he was answering another phone. He felt a twinge of pity for his manager. While Peeta was out, he was still working his ass off. He sounded really frustrated tot the other person at the other side of the phone.

"How many times have you called me today? No, it's more than the fucking salary that you and I receive combined. Yes, I'm telling him now. Yes, I'll try to get him early. No, not tomorrow, you idiot, he just landed on the other side of the world! Yeah, bye."

Peeta heard him put down the other phone and pick up the one he was on.

"See, I told you the bastards keep bugging me. They want you, they want you bad."

Peeta bit his lip at this. If there was one thing, the moment you sign a contract, the movies will keep on coming and coming until you rot with fatigue.

"And bad is good. You know what the movie is?"

Peeta kept quiet. Anticipating the answer.

"Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back"

"Who'll I be, A Wookie?" Peeta scoffed at the idea. The era of movie series were over for him. Signing a contract to movie series means growing up with it. They won't let you go until it's finished. Look what happened to poor Daniel Radcliffe, it's been 20 years and he's still that little boy from under the cupboard that defeated the Dark Lord. Sometimes, when the character is so iconic, the actor that played that character will get stuck forever to that character and will never be another man. Not even himself.

Examples:

Leonardo DiCaprio will always be Jack Dawson

Elijah Wood will always be Frodo Baggins

Daniel Radcliffe will always by Harry Potter

Robert Downey Jr. will always by Ironman

Johnny Depp will always be (Captain) Jack Sparrow

Orlando Bloom will always be Legolas

Keanu Reeves will always be Neo

Angelina Jolie will always be Lara Croft

Harrison Ford will always by Indiana Jones

Chuck Norris will always be Chuck Norris

MORGAN FREEMAN WILL ALWAYS BE GOD

It was what every actor's worst nightmare. When the series ends, so will you.

"That's really great, Kris. But I think I'll pass."

"What! No, baby! These are the big boys you're playing with now. The last installment of Star Wars broke the records! 16 Academies and counting! And I know you wanna have your hands around a golden naked man on a pedestal. This'll shoot you're career up to the A listers! You cannot miss something like Star Wars . It's like… ultimate boyhood fantasy fulfillment. You'll die happy with the Force. Trust me, Peeta. I will slice you're Jedi ass if you do not-"

He left him to hang. Peeta sighed and dropped his iPone on the bed. It bounced happily until it settled between two pillows.

No stress yet. He's in Australia. He wants to have fun.

His phone rang again. He groaned and tried to dull out the annoying tone of his ring tone. He tried busying himself with the fridge.

"Hmm… Cola or Pepsi?" and the battle begins.

Cola has 9 mg of sodium while Pepsi has 2mg but this has 27 g of total fat… he has to stay in figure. Do they charge Cola more than Pepsi? Well global stocks did go down by 1.3 % this year…

Fuck this shit, he'll drink both.

His finally stopped. He sighed and picked it up.

1 Missed Call: Katniss

He almost dropped it. He shakily called her. "Hey, answering phones not your thing?" she chuckled. Oh sweet Jesus, her voice is so intoxicating. He's not obsessed, right. Totally

"Hey Kat! I'm really really really sorry! I thought that you were someone else! I'm really sorry, I thought tha-"

"Hey, chill. It's okay. We just wanted to show you around for a bit, now that you're here. Wanna go to the Crown Casino Plaza? I heard they have intense Poker games. I wanna try it out for myself." she chirped.

Casino, eh? He's up for some risks.

"Sure, Kat. Get your game on." he smirked as he rummaged through the closet looking for my best suit. Armani, no. Burberry, no. Gucci, no. Where is my lucky suit?

"Oh yeah, and Peeta. Suit up." He could hear her smile through the receiver.

He put his phone down. A night out then. He smirked. There you are.

Crown Casino was, as Disney would say. Shiny, shimmering, splendid.

A band was playing smooth jazz at the background. Men in suits and women in nightgowns. They all had that "I'm filthy rich" look. And Peeta fit right in. He had his Valentino Garavani suit and his Dolce & Gabbana tie. He had his hair slicked back and fixed. He caught his reflection in one of the glass panels that illuminated the floor. Damn, he looks like a million bucks. He definitely missed this. Goodbye high days and drunken nights. He looked around for a familiar set of luminescent gray eyes.

"Ring-a-round a rosy…"

Peeta whipped his head around. No, bad thoughts bad thoughts bad thoughts.

"Is looking like a pussy." She continued. Peeta realized who it was.

He saw Kat behind him, leaning in playfully with her right hand on her hip. She was gorgeous; he drank in every single angle and curve in her luscious body. She had on a figure hugging, strapless crème-toned Versace nightgown. Her hair was loosely yet elegantly piled up on her crown. She leaned on her other foot and the dress revealed a pair or jet black Jimmy Choos. She looked up at him and he was mesmerized.

"Who you calling a pussy? This is my best suit." He smirked playfully. She raised a brow and inched forward. She was dangerously close and Peeta was slowly losing his composure. She softly brushed his collar with her fingers, eyes heavily lidded, she looked up. "Hmm… Newman?"

"Correct you are." He simpers.

"I'm impressed. Armani went out last season. Didn't know you were an avid fan of fashion." She moved even closer, if Peeta thought it even possible. Red light! Red light! We are now approaching ground zero!

"Well, sometimes, football just lacks…excitement."

She laughed. Goddamn she looks sexy.

"There you are, luv!" Gale came. "Oh! Hey, mate. Nice to see you again. You came a little early. Mum's not even fussing yet." He laughed good-heartedly and shook his hand firmly.

Peeta studied Gale. Oh great. Yves Saint Laurent suit. My Newman is floored.

"Garavani," said Gale, noticing Peeta. "Nice." He complimented.

Oh yeah, like yours isn't a hundred times better.

They small talked for a while until Kat said.

"I'm bored."

"Luv, how can you be bored in a casino? This is a night of fun!" Gale raised his glass and Peeta followed. "True story." Haha.

"More like a night of standing by as you listen to men go on for thirty minutes with nothing but cars." She rolled her eyes and scanned the whole place.

"How do you think we feel when you talk about make-up?" Peeta said. Gale nodded in consent. Peeta felt so… intelligent right now. A decent conversation with a wine glass at hand in a $6000 dollar suit. Ah, he felt like a sir.

"Let's play poker!" Kat exclaimed. She pointed to a poker table where several people were playing.

"Yeah! I miss playing real time. Facebook ain't the same as real poker." Peeta says.

"Come on, let's get the night started!" Kat laughs and tugs on Gale's arm who was now being dragged along. Poor man.

They sat at a table with three other people. There was a man in a bowler hat. Definitely not fashion-wise. Bowler hats have been out for 80 years. There was a middle-aged blonde woman who exposes too much of her cleavage. She had a large fur thingy draped on her shoulders. She looked scary, to Peeta though. She looks like she's trying to keep up with the years, resorting to looking like a slut. Then there was a young lad about the age of 22 or so. He was all excited and jittery. New money they say. Peeta was kind of reminded of Titanic's Jack Dawson. Well, too bad for him, he won't be getting tickets anytime soon.

Gale sat down opposite Peeta. He looked nervous. New timer eh? This'll be easy.

"How about you, luv?" he told Kat, who was prowling like a wild cat behind him. "Oh no, you look like new meat, so I'll just be here, coaching you." She purred. Peeta smirked inwardly, game on.

The dealer laid it down.

Peeta glared at the flop lying down on the middle of the table. How was he supposed to win this round if he's got a pair of 10's? It's enough, if he wins a full house. But damn it, the flop contained a 2, a 4 and a 9. Yes, Peetaua Ryan Hutcherson is a tough player in poker, but he was wise just the same. "Check," he muttered, knocking on the table. "Call." Gale said as he followed Katniss's orders. Katniss smirked, separating the chips in front of the pile they had. Gale looked at the cards in his hands. Call what? He asked in his thoughts. "Call." The man with the bowler hat shakily stacked the chips in front of him. "Fold." The blond woman sighed in defeat. "Call." The young man grinned.

Peeta peeked from under his eyelashes at the couple before him. Kat was leaning down, whispering instructions to Gale who was looking like a sitting duck during hunting season. He was pawing at a chip. Kat was the complete opposite. She had her eyes squinted, sizing up her opponents. She leaned down again and whispered to Gale. She was laying down battle plans.

The dealer placed another card beside the flop, looking at the expectant faces of the players.

Just fantastic. Peeta groaned mentally. A 3. If Gale, or anyone else, had a 5 and a 6, they'd already go on a straight flush. "Raise." Peeta said in determination, placing his $70 bet. Kat gave him a confused look. It quickly vanished, replaced by a game face. She determinedly narrowed her eyes at him. "Raise. Gale, get those." Kat ordered firmly without taking her heated gaze off of Peeta, Gale obediently did so. Peeta did not know if it was him or just his ego but he thought he just heard Gale whisper "I have no idea what I'm doing". He chuckled. Peeta could sense Katniss was heating up. Gale placed their bet. $100.

Oh, you have got to be kidding me,

Peeta gave a little laugh to go with his thoughts. "Fold." Bowler-hat man slunk back in his seat. "Call." Blondie said, intently focused on her cards. "Fold." the lad made a face and leaned on his chair. The dealer turned the fourth street into a river as she put the last card onto the deck. A 10.

"Shit." Peeta cursed under his breath and remembering his grandfather's quote on poker: When in doubt, bluff and act cool. Once mastered, you can trick everyone with just a 2 and a 3. So learn from the best and run circles around them.

"HA!" Kat jumped in joy. Peeta hid his smirk, and told the dealer, "Raise.". Peeta placed in $250 while Kat stopped bouncing like a maniac. "What?" she almost shrieked. "You know what? Fine! Raise!" Kat grabbed $300 from their stack and slammed her fist down on the table. Gale jumped in his seat at his fiancée's sudden move. "Fold." The remaining player frowned. "Well, once again, I bet." Peeta calmly added $90 on his stack. "Raise." Kat said curtly, adding $55 to hers. She trained a hard gaze towards Peeta and Peeta felt something hard in return. Thank Heavens this is poker. The dealer placed all their bets in the pot and motioned for Gale and Peeta to show their cards.

Peeta showed his 10's and peered at Gale's. It was a 2 and a 9. They could've won with a two pair, but Peeta's three of a kind outshined them. Kat got the second pot worth $400. But Peeta did a happy dance as the dealer gave him his $1500 pot. "You bluffed!" Kat accused. Peeta shrugged and grinned.

A man sat on the far side of the table sat beside the young lad. He had a trench coat on, which was too inappropriate for a casino like this. He tipped his fedora lower, putting his chips on the table. Everyone looked suspiciously at him (maybe for the reason that he looked like a fucking rapist-slash-creep), but the dealer paid no attention as she started another round. She passed two cards each and Kat's mind was already reeling at the possible combinations their card could have. Two 10's… coincidence?

Peeta was immersed in his cards, too. A king of hearts and a queen of diamonds. He could work with that. He looked at the man with the bowler hat. The oldie seemed disappointed at his set, but the young man bit his lip and the blond pressed her lips into a thin line. He looked at the trench-coat dude. So far, his fedora cast a dark shadow over his face, but Peeta was sure he saw a ghost of a smile come up. They placed their bets once again and everyone checked… except for the creep. "Call." he said, putting his first bet. This man's confidence is high as fuck, Peeta was more than sure he would beat this creep.

The dealer laid out the flop.

A ten of spades, a nine of clover and a nine of spades. So far no luck.

"Call." Peeta said as he eyed everyone for a second. Kat whispered something to Gale's ear and Peeta envied him for that moment. "Uh, call." Gale said monotonously, gingerly putting their chips. "Yes, that's right, call." She hissed like a snake. Kat smiled sweetly… a little too sweetly… and sent the Cheshire cat smile to Peeta's direction. Okay, he had to admit it; Kat was freaking him out now. Talk about taking this seriously. "Fold." Bowler-hat hid his cards. As expected. "Call." Blondie chirped. "Call." The lad mimicked.

"Bet." The creep said in a low voice, stacking a small tower of multi-colored chips. This was one challenging man. No, Peeta wouldn't lose a bet to some pedophile-looking stranger. The dealer made a turn, and added another card.

A queen of spades.

Shit shit shit. This could be his chance! Peeta now had a high pair. Two queens! But as he looked at the deck and his cards, there was one more chance… If the dealer pulled a jack by some miracle… the he'd have a STRAIGHT FLUSH! Kat shrugged at the deck as Peeta excitedly said, "Call.".

"Call." Gale said nonchalantly, piling up their chips. Kat nodded in approval. Okay, these two were being too formal. "Fold." Blondie set her cards down. "Call." The young man eagerly pushed his chips in front. Peeta stared at the man, waiting for him to fold. "Call." He said more clearly, tilting his face up a bit. Now Peeta could see the lower half of his face.

He looked like he could be attractive, with a clean-shaved jaw and a long nose. But Peeta wanted to see this dude's eyes. Or rather the whole face. To see who he really is.

Peeta anticipated for the dealer to pull out the last card and he held his breath.

A jack of spades.

THERE.

That did Peeta.

"All in." Peeta confidently pushed his whole stack slowly. "…and…" he added. "And?" Gale looked at him. "A day off with Kat." Peeta smirked. "WHAT?" Gale backed away. He was about to reach for Kat who, in an exited daze, clipped his arm to the back of his head. "Sure! All in!" ("Ow,ow,ow, luv. It hurts Ow.") Kat laughed and pushed their chips, too. "What? Wha…? No!" Gale protested. "What? You chickening out?" Peeta looked up at him, smirk still plastered on his face. "Gale, come on, if he wins, it'll be one day. Just one day." Kat proudly flipped Gale's cards and showed it to them.

Two tens. That gives them a Full House. But of course…

"Prepare yourself for a day worthwhile, Kat." Peeta winked, wagging his eyebrows and faced his cards to the couple. Kat looked at it and at the deck, and back again. She was fuming for a short moment until she accepted defeat gracefully. "Fine, bring it." Kat tilted her chin up. "Kat…" Gale groaned. He wasn't too happy about this. Katniss rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me," the creepy man cleared his throat. The trio looked at him, surprised. "But I think I win." He pushed his cards to them. An ace of spades and a king of spades… Peeta looked back and forth at the cards presented and the deck.

A royal flush.

"I believe you owe me a date?" the man bent down and got Katniss's hand. He kissed it gently and looked up, giving a knowing smile.

"Finnick!"

We are terribly sorry for the late update guys! School's just started and it's already hell week. :( We'll update tomorrow, promise!