Fate, or Something Like It
This is a major AU taking place in the current time. Katniss is in her 3rd year of college when she meets Peeta and goes on a journey to find true love. Everlark
DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hunger Games, no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 11: A New Beginning
Peeta's POV:
The day after the whole 'Katniss being in my bed' debacle, I had to take my statistics midterm. Yeah, that's right, in class with Katniss.
I didn't know what to say to her. I was in love with her, totally crazy about her, but for some reason she kept on shutting me down.
I swore that she felt the same, that she felt something for me. I just hoped that I could get her to come around.
I took my midterm as quickly as possible, wanting to finish before Katniss so I could catch her after class. Most of the questions were easy for me to figure out so I was out of there in no time.
I sat on the bench outside of the classroom and tried to ignore the odd looks I got from each of my classmates as they exited the class.
I sat there for fifteen minutes, nervously waiting for Katniss. I wasn't even sure what I wanted to say to her, but I really hoped that she would at least listen to me.
The door creaked open again and Katniss stepped out. She saw me sitting there and stopped cold. "Peeta."
I got up. "Katniss, please let me talk to you."
She sighed deeply, but nodded. "Okay, but not here."
"Want to go to the park to talk?"
She looked up at me with sad gray eyes. "Sure, let's go."
The park was only a block away from campus, so we walked there and then decided to sit on the swings.
I didn't know where to begin. I wanted to tell her so many things, but my mind could not seem to form the correct words.
Instead, I watched as she shuffled her feet and twisted slightly on her swing. "Peeta? What did you want to talk about?"
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Did you break things off with Cato?"
Katniss flinched. "I am refusing to even acknowledge him as a human being right now, so I'd go with yes."
I was relieved to hear that. "Good."
She turned and faced me, anger flashing in her eyes. "Is this where you tell me 'I told you so'?"
I frowned. "No, I don't care about being right, I'm just glad you are okay."
Katniss looked back down on the ground again. "Oh."
"I kinda feel responsible in a way..."
"What? Why?"
I shrugged. "I should have warned him to stay away from you, or done something...I don't know."
She gave me a small smile. "Hey, it's not your fault. I was just naive and stupid. Plus, you did do something...you saved me from him."
I stood up quickly. "You're not stupid Katniss."
She followed my lead and stood before me. "Peeta? Can I ask you something?"
Something in the tone of her voice told me that she was going to ask something important. I steadied myself for whatever was to come. "Anything."
"You said before that you had...you had...umm, feelings for me."
"Yes."
Katniss bowed her head. "Do you...uh, still have those feelings? Or have I completely ruined everything?"
My heart, which I feared had broken into a million pieces after she left me yesterday, began to beat faster and faster. I inhaled deeply and smiled, before tipping her head up so that I could look into her eyes. "Katniss, what I feel for you is something I have never felt with anyone before. All I can think about is you. I know you probably don't feel the same, and I understand, but I just can't seem to get over you."
She looked at me, seemingly searching my soul for any traces of deceit. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she smiled. "What I feel is complicated. It's like there is something unbreakable between us. I'm drawn to you like no one else. I'm not very good at expressing my feelings, and I'm even worse with trusting people completely with my heart. However, I feel like if there is anyone that I can trust, it's you Peeta."
I felt my heart soar at her words and the meaning behind them. She did have feelings for me. I had a second chance and I sure as hell wasn't going to waste it. I opened my mouth to speak, but she placed her index finger across my lips just like she had the day before.
"Let's take it slow, okay? I can't rush into anything, look where it got me last time."
I nodded, completely understanding why she needed to take things slow. "I understand. We can take it slow, get to know each other all over again. So how about a date? Something casual like dinner? Can we start with that?"
She grinned, and I swear it was the best thing I had seen in a long time. "Yes."
Katniss' POV:
I couldn't stop smiling on my way home from the park. I had fully intended to keep Peeta at a safe distance, so as not to fracture my heart. However, when I saw him waiting for me after class and heard what he had to say about how he felt for me, I knew that I had to give him another chance.
Peeta was so different from most guys our age. He was kind, thoughtful, intelligent, and an all around good guy. He was the sweetness that I thought I needed in order to counteract my bitterness. That's why I decided to let him take me out.
I still wanted to take things slow with him. Rushing things with Cato was a catastrophe that I never wanted to repeat again. I wanted to give Peeta and me a chance to work, a chance to let something amazing blossom.
Peeta took me out to dinner the very next evening. Madge had been over the moon when I had told her about what had happened, so of course she insisted on dressing me up again.
I somehow convinced her to tone it down a bit though. Instead of the little black dress and five inch heels she wanted me to wear, I talked her down to me wearing nice black slacks and a dark green blouse. I also decided to wear minimal makeup to go with my outfit.
Peeta arrived at exactly five, and when I got sight of him, I almost drooled on the carpet.
He looked amazing. He had dark khakis on with a blue shirt that fit so well across his chest muscles. He had even put some gel in his hair, amping up his sex appeal even more.
Damn, that man was sure making it hard for me to take things slow!
"Katniss, you look breathtaking."
"I have to say, you clean up pretty nice yourself."
Peeta chuckled and then presented me with a red carnation.
"Thank you. It's beautiful." I gently inhaled the sweet fragrance of the flower before giving it to Madge to take care of for me.
"Now, don't be out all night you two!" Madge winked at us before closing the door to the apartment.
Peeta was the perfect gentlemen throughout our date. He held open every door for me, pulled out my chair at the restaurant, and insisted on paying for my meal.
We talked a lot during our dinner together. He told me about his parents and the bakery that they owned, and how he had two older brothers who now lived in different states.
I told him about my sister Prim and how close we were. I also mentioned what had happened between me and Gale back in high school.
I had to assure Peeta over and over again that he didn't have to find Gale and beat the shit out of him, that it was all in the past.
When we were heading back home, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted to forget the 'taking it slow' rule and suggest that we go back to his place for a while. Not necessarily to go too far, but just to get some of the sexual tension between us resolved.
I had originally noticed the tension when he had picked me up, and after how well our date had went and how good he looked that night, I wanted nothing more than to relieve it in some way.
"I don't want this night to end."
"Same here, but as much as I would like to take you home with me, I think we both know that it would be better if we waited."
He was right, I would just have to dream about him tonight instead.
Peeta walked me to my door and hesitated. "Can I give you a goodnight kiss?"
I nodded. "Okay."
He smiled before bending down and kissing me gently. The kiss ignited the same inferno that I had felt the first time he had kissed me. I wanted more. I quickly pulled him closer by his shirt collar and attempted to deepen the kiss by flicking my tongue across his lips.
That had more than the desired effect. Not only did Peeta allow my tongue to dance with his own, he also wrapped his arms around me and pulled me as close as possible.
He carefully sucked on my lower lip, so I gently bit his. He let out a moan that I swear could have woken up the neighbors.
He broke away and planted another soft kiss to my lips before pulling away from me a bit.
We were both out of breath, struggling to find air. "Katniss...I...umm, wow."
I laughed lightly. "Wow indeed."
"Can I call you tomorrow?"
I smiled. "Of course. Thanks for the great night."
He gave me one last sexy smile before leaving. "No, thank you."
A/N: Not sure how I feel about this chapter. Moving too fast? Too slow? Anyway, please let me know what you thought either way. :)
