Chapter 11: Taking Chances

(Peeta's POV)


After the bonfire, Peeta returned to his cabin with the rest of his bunkmates. Wiress was nice enough, but she was definitely not the person he thought he would be spending the evening talking to. Upon their return to the cabin, his mood had turned rather sour at the fact that he had not gotten to see Katniss. He looked around the room with wide eyes, unwilling to even attempt sleep. Thom was still on the front porch making out with Johanna, Gale was slurring his words, and Finnick was striding around in his underwear singing at the top of his lungs. Needless to say, the cheap vodka had gone over quite well with his friends. He hadn't had any – he wanted to be completely sober in case Wiress, the girl Glimmer had practically shoved at him, fell into the fire. The tall, leggy girl had been glued to his side the entire night as she chugged the cheap 'jungle juice' as Finnick called it and told him loud stories about college. She was nice enough but he had really only listened to her to be polite. By the time the fire died down, he was more than ready to call it a night.

Flopping down on his bed, he scrubbed his hands through his hair and tried to clear his racing mind.

The only thing he could concentrate on was Katniss and how she looked that night. Never before had he ever met a girl who made the whole 'simple' look seem so effortless. Katniss didn't need makeup or hair products or other girly crap to look completely and utterly gorgeous. He had barely been able to take his eyes off of her. They were supposed to meet up that night, but Finnick deciding they should have another bonfire had completely thrown a wrench into that plan. What would he have done, marched up and asked her 'just to talk?' Surely Cato and Glimmer would have a field day with that whole scenario. He could tell by the look on Katniss' face that morning at breakfast she wasn't pleased with all the gossiping going around. Peeta had considered pulling Katniss aside as the group had made their way back to the cabins, but she was in the middle of Rue and Jackie and he didn't want to make a scene. One thing she had made clear was that she didn't want anyone to know about their kiss. Pulling her to the side to talk to her would have looked suspicious.

She had sat across the fire with Gale, talking quietly for almost an hour. Then, she had moved on and talked with Rue and Jackie the rest of the night. For some weird reason she had been giving him strange looks whenever he managed to catch her eye. She had almost looked angry. He wanted to smile or give her a nod or a wink or something, but that was tough to do with Wiress hanging on his every word…and him.

Oh God.

He jumped up suddenly, his heart pounding. Of course that would explain Katniss' expression. Wiress had been hanging on him all night, flirting and touching him, and Katniss had seen. Katniss thought he liked Wiress.

"Fuck me," he growled. Cursing at his own stupidity, he brushed past Gale who was softly snoring on his bunk with his arm over his face.

"Where you…goin?" he slurred softly, uncovering one eye. Peeta paused, thinking quickly.

"Just for a walk. Get some air. I think I drank too much," he lied. "Tell the guys, okay?"

Gale made a snorting noise under his breath as he sighed deeply. Finnick was now singing loudly from the shower, and Thom was still missing in action. No one else seemed to be paying any attention to him, so he knew he had to take his chances. It was now or never, and he wasn't going to hesitate.

Hesitation was what made him pay in the past.

Peeta slipped his shoes back on and quietly left the bunk after grabbing a zip up sweatshirt. He could hear Johanna giggling and the tell-tail sounds of a heavy make out session from one side of the cabin, so he quietly snuck around the opposite way. When he was in the clear, he quietly took off jogging in the direction of the girls' cabins. The night was cooler in temperature than the previous nights had been, and he was glad he grabbed a jacket. The moon shone through the trees as he snuck up towards the cabin where Katniss was. The lights were still on and he could see a few people moving around.

He paused, trying to think of what to do next. He couldn't just knock on the door and ask to talk to her, could he? They weren't allowed cell phones or electronic devices, or else he would have texted her to come out.

Texting with a girl only works if you have the balls to ask for her number. Which you wouldn't have, his pessimistic side argued. He groaned and paced back and forth under the window a few times as he tried to decide what to do. By chance, he happened to look up. With great delight, he saw Katniss move to the bunk closest to the door and sit down. He could just barely see the top of her head over the windowsill. e ha

He knew he had to get her attention before someone noticed him lurking out near the bushes, but how? Looking around, he spied a few small pebbles and decided to take a chance. He picked them up and tossed the first one at the pane closest to Katniss. The tiny noise made her turn her head, but she soon went back to whatever she was doing. The second 'clink' on her window made her stand up and look. He gave her a nervous smile as she peered out at him through the glass. She gazed back at him with a look of pure surprise and then panic before dashing out the door. He heard her soft footfalls as she hurried down the steps and over to the side of the cabin where they were out of sight. His grin faded when he saw the stormy look on her face.

"Katniss, I-"

"Are you crazy?" she hissed, grabbing his arm and ducking further behind the cabin.

Peeta tried not to laugh as he pulled his arm from her tight grasp. "No, I just….the bonfire got in the way of our…meeting, and I um…wanted to make up for it."

"Someone could have seen you!" she gasped. "I saw what Jackie went through, and….I would die. I would just be mortified," she gasped.

"I know, relax. Just chill out, no one saw me leave. I saw the way you look at breakfast when Cato was talking and….trust me, I don't want to be the center of his attentions either. This is our little secret."

Peeta looked her up and down as she stood in the cool night air, glancing around nervously. She wore a thin gray t-shirt, a pair of sleeping shorts, and was barefoot. She was also coincidently bra-less. He tried not to let his gaze linger at the way her hardened tips stood out against the thin, worn fabric. Clearing his throat, he shrugged.

"I was careful. I snuck out; no one even noticed I left."

"Good. What do you want? She asked sharply. He paused, a bit taken aback with her tone.

"Well I didn't want you to think I ditched you. I would have met up with you if everyone hadn't planned the bonfire, but…I figured if we were the only two missing then it would look...bad."

"It would have looked very bad," she agreed, nervously glancing back at the cabin. "What did you need?"

He stared at her, surprised. "I….I wanted to talk to you. About last night."

Katniss watched him carefully, her eyes scanning him over. "What about it?" she asked nervously.

Peeta gaped at her. "Well for starters….you…you kissed me."

"And?"

He snorted. "Well….I wasn't ready for it."

Katniss bit her lip and gave him another scowl. "I….I didn't plan it. I just did it."

"Well…why?" he stammered, taking a step closer.

Katniss backed up a step, her eyes guarded. "I just…"

"You just what?"

Katniss stared at him with her steely eyes, her expression confused. "Yeah…I mean, I know I did I just…it didn't mean anything."

He raised an eyebrow at her skeptically as he tried not to grin. "Do you always go around kissing random guys?"

He could tell his question threw her off by the way she stuttered and blushed. "What? No, I…what?"

Peeta laughed, holding up his hand. His skin made contact with her arm, and he let it linger. "I'm not complaining, Katniss. I kinda wish more hot girls would go around grabbing me and kissing me."

"I didn't…I…." she buried her face in her hand, heaving an exasperated sigh. Glancing down at his hand on her arm, she slowly slid away until it fell back down to his side. . "I didn't mean to just…grab you like that. I didn't mean to do it at all, actually. I'm sorry."

"Katniss, like I said I….I didn't mind."

Peeta wasn't sure what else to do or say other than to just be as forward as possible. He didn't want to play games, and he certainly didn't come to her cabin that night to beat around the bush. Too many times he had stalled and lost the girl because he had put himself in the friend zone. He wanted to be friends with Katniss, but also much more. He had a chance and he had to take it.

Katniss crossed her arms and gave him the petulant scowl that he was quickly becoming so fond of. He realized it wasn't done to scare him – that was the face she made while she figured something out. With her past, she had every reason to have a hard time trusting people, and he knew that he couldn't push her too far. However, he didn't want to get caught in the place he always did with girls because he couldn't make a move.

"Um…say something?" he pleaded. As much as he wanted to be assertive, it was also tough to not get a little freaked out by her silence. He had a massive crush on her and it was unsettling for her to just stare at him like she was.

"I….I don't know what to say. I threw myself at you in a moment of….I don't know," she finally said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I was….kinda hoping you do it again, to be completely honest," he laughed. "Do you have a lot of moments like that? If so, um…can I be present for them, just in case?" he joked.

Katniss raised her chin and crossed her arms around her chest tighter. "Didn't seem that way tonight."

Peeta frowned. "You mean….you mean because I was talking to Glimmer's friend?"

Katniss' silence confirmed his fears.

"Listen, Katniss, I was just talking to her to be nice. Glimmer pushed her at me, and…and I panicked. I was just talking to her, nothing more than that. I mean….I didn't want to be talking to her."

Katniss raised an eyebrow as she stared at him in silence. Peeta heaved a sigh and sucked it up. It was time to grow a pair.

"I wanted to be talking to you. But based on the horrified looks you keep giving Jackie today, I assumed you didn't want to give me any attention in public, which I totally get. Cato is….well, he's pretty much your stereotypical, loud, obnoxious jerk and…I don't blame you for wanting to stay off his radar. But….but at least give me a chance. So many times I get written off so fast by girls and…..I don't want to do that with you."

"You do?"

He nodded. "All the time. I'm the friend. The sidekick. That's all. I promise you, Wiress throwing herself at me in front of you tonight was like….I duno, the universe's way of playing a sick joke on me. Trust me, I….I don't know. But I don't like her. Like that, I mean, she's nice, just…"

Katniss looked down at the ground, kicking her toe in the dirt. "You really don't like that girl?"

"Wiress? She's nice, but…she's not my type."

"What is your type?" Katniss asked softly, her voice barely audible.

Peeta stared at her, digging her toe in the dirt, shivering slightly as the crickets chirped. "Are you going to make me say it?"

She glanced up at him with hopeful eyes and he couldn't refuse. "Fine then….um…we're not in grade school anymore, I...I like you, okay?"

She stared at him, her face showing her clear surprise. "You do?"

"Yes, I do. I like you, not Glimmer's giggly friend. You."

Katniss smiled softly at first, then bigger. He nodded in confirmation, and she shivered lightly again. His eyes fell to where they shouldn't as he noticed how chilly she really was. "Here, take this," he said, shrugging out of his sweatshirt. He put it around her shoulders before she could protest. He didn't need to be caught gaping at her nipples through her shirt when she had barely just forgiven him for talking to Wiress all night.

"Now will you say something?"

Katniss opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She smiled shyly, biting the corner of her lip. "I think I might like you too. I mean….I might let myself like you."

"Please do," he added quietly, reaching forward. Gently, he took her hand in his and wove their fingers together. She stared down at their hands and chewed her lip again before dropping it. He was about to protest when she flung herself at him for the second time.

"I was jealous," she whispered, her voice raspy. It turned something inside of him that he didn't much mind.

This time he was a little more prepared for the welcomed assault on his mouth. Katniss' lips were warm and soft against his, and he could feel her slightly shaky hands on his shoulders. He smiled against her teeth and laughed, reaching up to put his hands on her cheeks. They seemed to sizzle against her cool skin as they kissed, Peeta's brain ceasing to function. Katniss let out a soft moan and melted against his body, curling her frame against his.

It was safe to say he was officially out of the friend zone.

Peeta slid a hand down to cup the back of her neck, pulling her in even closer. Katniss leaned into his arms, her mouth opening slightly. Taking it as an invitation, he summoned up his courage and slid his tongue against her lower lip. He heard her sigh softly and touch her tongue to his when they heard a throat clearing behind them.

Katniss gasped and Peeta groaned as they broke apart, turning to see who their intruder was. His eyes widened when he realized it was definitely someone he didn't expect.


Uh oh. Who do you think it is? Guesses?

If you haven't already, please check out my other Katniss/Peeta fic 'Not in Our Favor'. It's based off of 'The Vow' (don't worry, it differs from it if you hated the movie/book or didn't see it).

I love you all for the continued support and pimpage! You guys rock! Keep them coming : )