"Good morning Sunshine," Peeta whispers quietly, kissing the top of my head.

"Hmm," I mumble. "That's cute."

I stretch out over the length of the mattress, trying to avoid hitting his body in any way. My bones give out with a satisfying crack that echoes in the nearly silent room. The air conditioner hums lightly, the base line for the rhythmic notes of the Peeta's heart monitor.

"How do you think of all these little names?" My voice is still laced with sleep when I ask; I can't help but think I sound like a small child.

Peeta chuckles beside me.

"I don't really have to think of them, they just kind of happen."

"Oh, you're such a romantic." I tease.

"Is that a bad thing?"

I roll further into him and place my chin on top of my linked hands.

"No," I tell him. "It was merely an observation."

He reaches up and tucks escaped tendrils of hair behind my ear.

"How did you sleep?"

"Really well," I lie. "What about you?"

"Then why don't I believe you?" He asks, his blue eyes searching my face.

I laugh.

"It took a while for me to fall asleep, but I'm okay. I feel like I slept better than I actually did." I smile.

He frowns, a crease forming between his pale eyebrows.

"You should have woken me up."

I shrug.

"I quite liked having you asleep next to me…"

"You did?"

"Yeah," I tell him. "You kept pulling me closer and mumbling. It was actually quite sweet."

He blushes slightly, pink rising in the apples of his cheeks.

"What was I saying?"

"I don't know. Your words were incoherent."

"Did you swallow a dictionary in your sleep or something?" He laughs.

"Dreaming about me, Mellark?" I tease, ignoring his question.

"That is none of your business, Everdeen. Dreams are people's private property." He says his tone very matter of fact.

I laugh, "You're being very protective over your dreams. Do you have something to hide?"

He shakes his head.

"Then why don't I believe you?" I copy, earning a large roll of the eyes.

"Shut up, you."

"Make me."

"I would, but you're too far away."

I laugh again.

"So how do feeling this morning?"

"I'm a little better, a little worse."

"Oh," I reply. "How is it possible to feel better and worse at the same time?"

"I've had no pain relief in hours so everything hurts, but my heads a lot clearer."

I push myself up slightly and lazily let my lips brush against his. He sighs against me.

"Well, what about now?"

"A little better, but I don't think you kissed me long enough for the full healing effect."

"Is this you asking for more kisses?"

He nods, looking up through his long eyelashes and flashing the puppy-dog eyes in my direction.

"After all, I am in hospital practically fighting for my life!"

I laugh silently, shaking my head with a thick smile.

"You are honestly so stupid."

I pull my hair out of the now messy bun and let it fall around us in a knotted curtain. Leaning down, I support my weight beside his neck and press my lips to his. His tongue brushes against my lower lip and smiling, I deepen the kiss. He pulls me closer to him; one hand on the small of my back, the other at the nape of my neck.

We kiss for a long while. It's neither passionate nor placid; it's just nice, almost comforting. Over time, I can feel the background noise fade into nothingness, until it's just me and him.

Peeta lets out a sudden yelp, piercing my created silence.

I pull away from him quickly and search his face with wide eyes: it's set in a full grimace. His own eyes are sown shut and the deep breaths that fill his lungs are taken through gritted teeth.

"Oh my god," I whisper. "Baby, I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't you." He tries to smile his words - but fails.

I gently detangle myself from him and leap down from the bed. Peers groans under his breath.

"I'll go and get someone who can take the pain away." I say gently, taking the time to stroke a hand down the side of his pain ridden face.

He turns it into me and sighs against my palm.

"Don't leave, I'll be fine."

"You're in pain…"

"It'll pass." He breathes loosely.

I shake my head.

"Let me get someone."

"Katniss-"

"Just let me help you!"

"-come back,"

Knowing full well we'll just go around in circles, I push the red button that the nurse pointed out the previous day. The alarm sounds immediately, screaming as the red light dances through the heavy air.

"What did you do?" Peeta almost laughs, twisting slightly on the bed.

I take hold of his hand and give his fingers a squeeze.

"That's what the button is there for."

"It's meant for major distress, not just summoning people." He tells me, though I know part of him is trying not to smile.

I kiss his forehead.

"Just shut up. I doubt they're going to throw me out for it."

"I'd like to see them try to, if I'm really honest."

I'm just about to reply when two nurses push open the doors: a man and aw oman. The male wears a purple pinafore that matches his bright lipstick. He stands tall and thin, looking more alien than human. The woman wears a white dress, her pump legs sticking out beneath it. Her skin looks almost pea-green and I can't help but think that she seems extremely ill – I really don't understand fashion.

"You pressed the button, Peeta?" The woman asks.

"No, she did." He tells her, nodding in my direction.

They both look at me blankly.

"He's in pain and won't do anything about it." I shrug, not feeling an ounce of guilt.

The young man walks to the edge of Peeta's bed and checks the clip board attached to it.

"1800: last administrated was 50mg of codine, with 80mg of brufen."

"Copy." The green girl replies.

"You do seem to be in a lot of pain," he frowns. "Does it hurt to breathe?"

Peeta shakes his head slightly. Either the pain is beginning to settle down or he is getting better at hiding it, because his face is no longer etched with a grimace. He flinches when he inhales though.

"I'll take that as a yes." The male nurse laughs. "I'd advice re-administration of the above drugs, maybe alongside Baclofen…"

"I hate baclofen, isn't there anything else?"

"What is Baclofen?" I ask, looking from face to face.

"It's an intense muscle relaxant. It should ease all the pain but it'll make him incredibly tired."

"Did you ever have sleep syrup when you were little, Katniss?" Peeta asks me, sounding a little more like his usual.

I nod. It makes your bones feel like lead and you're trapped inside a heavy sleep, unable to move.

"It's like that," he continues. "But it's a hell of a lot stronger."

I frown.

"So there isn't anything else?" I ask the nurses, squeezing Peeta's fingers again.

"Not that would be suitable, no."

I notice that the woman has already injected two of the three drugs into his bloodstream.

"Fine," Peeta resigns.

"It'll take around 10 minutes to take full effect."

With one final injection and a polite nod of the head, they both leave.

"So this will send you to sleep?" I ask Peeta finally.

"Depends how much they gave me, but it always has done in the past." He tells me. "I'm sorry…"

"What are you sorry for?"

"-Going to sleep, when you've just woken up."

I laugh.

"I don't mind."

"Well I do."

"Why?" I ask, perching on the edge of the bed.

"Because now I can't talk to you, I seem to always be sleeping."

"I'll still be here when you wake up Peeta."

"But ever since I woke up, we haven't had much time to ourselves. There's constantly been something."

"That something is normally us kissing." I point out, raising an eyebrow. "Are you really complaining?"

"No." He says quickly. "Not one bit. But I'd still like to spend some time with you."

"Are you asking me on a hospital date?" I joke. "How romantic."

Peeta yawns and he smiles sadly. My heart twists painfully in my chest.

I reach down and kiss him once.

"How about when you're asleep, I'll go and get some more food, feed the mutts, check on Prim. I can bring back whatever you want, okay?"

"But-"

"We'll actually have a date, if that's what you'd like."

"Yeah, I'd actually like that." He says. "Did you call me Baby before?"

"I might have done." I mumble, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. "It just slipped out."

He grins at me.

"Don't laugh at me…" I complain.

"I'm not laughing at you. It's just that you've only ever called me Peeta in the past, or Mellark."

"Well they are both your names."

He smiles.

"I liked it."

"Well I'm not very good at being a girlfriend, things like that don't really come naturally to me."

"I think you're a lot better than you think you are." He tells me gently, playing with my fingers.

I shake my head.

"I'm really not. We've already had one fight and we've only been together a week."

"I thought we weren't talking about that…" He frowns. "And we've already established that it was down to both of us."

"It wasn't though, was it Peeta?"

"Kat," he sighs mid yawn. "Stop blaming yourself for it. I'm not expecting anything from you, its fine."

"What do you mean by that?" I ask slowly.

My whole body tenses up, though I try my best to hide it. He shrugs.

"This is your first relationship; I'm not expecting you to get everything right first time around. We're both going to make mistakes and we need to accept that."

"Oh." I say quietly. "But you haven't made a mistake yet."

Sleep must be tugging behind his eyelids, for he takes longer and longer to respond each time. His movements turn sluggish.

"I have made some mistakes-"

I twist on the bed and cut him off with a kiss. A noise of surprise escapes his lips as he sighs against me, a small smile tugging on the corners of his mouth.

"I'm sorry. I know that we aren't supposed to be talking about it." I tell him, leaning back from him. "But for the record, you didn't make a mistake."

"But I-"

I shake my head.

"-No… When I said that I wanted to forget it ever happened, I didn't mean what you told me Peeta. I just wanted us to forget the fact I stormed out, that's all."

"But you completely freaked out over it and-"

I kiss him again.

"I don't want to forget it." I say firmly. "I like that you've already fallen for me. It means you have to forgive me next time I screw this up."

"Well I wouldn't make it a goal or anything." He laughs.

"Stop fighting the drugs Peeta and let yourself sleep."

"Can you promise that you'll be safe out there? I don't want anyone coming after you…"

"I promise. I'll call Gale and see if he can drive me around, it's too far for me to walk anyway."

He smiles despite his exhaustion.

"Do you have to leave now, or can you stay until I'm asleep?"

A smile breaks out onto my face of its own accord: like sunshine from behind a cloud. In this moment, Peeta seems so innocent and child-like, that I just want to wrap him up and tell him everything will be okay.

"I'll stay for as long as you want me to."

"Thank you." He whispers, letting his head sink into the pillows.

One by one, his muscles relax and his breathing becomes regular. If it weren't for his grip on my hand, I would think he was fast asleep.

At some point, the radio at the nurses' station must have been turned on, for soft melodies sound from behind the doors. Though it's very faint, I recognise the melody almost immediately: my father would sing it to me when I was sick or simply refused to sleep.

Before I know it, I'm singing under my breath.

Birds are leaving over here,
I saw them sail away.
They looked just like little saint's,
Little one.

I feel the grip on my hand falter for a moment.

I heard myself whisper your name.
I was asleep in a dream,
Then you woke me up
Little sun.

I push one of Peeta's blond curls off his forehead, letting my fingers linger at the base of his neck.

The way you look at me now.
These lights that used to shine,
I've been blowing them out
Little one.

Well I remember those few nights,
When the sky stared right back at us.
Felt so small standing next to you
Little moon.

By the time the song has ended, Peeta is fast asleep. His hand is limp in my own, an almost dead weight. I cringe slightly: unlike with regular sleep, his being is incredibly still and I can't help but think of him in the almost-coma all those hours ago.

Keeping hold of his hand, I reach for my phone and dial Gale's number.

"Catnip," He answers on the first ring.

"Hey Gale, are you free today? I need a favour."

"Yeah I'm free."

"Can you drive me around? I need to do a thousand different things and it's too far for me to walk."

"Yeah, that's fine. Is Peeta still in hospital?"

"Yeah, I take it Madge told you?"

"Of course she did." He laughs. "You know what she's like."

"So will you drive me around?"

"Yeah, I'll text you when I'm outside the hospital."

"Thanks Gale."

He hangs up, never one for words.

While on my phone, I text Prim.

KATNISS: Prim, are you free today?

PRIM: I'm sleeping at Rue's later on, but I'm free for most of the day. Why?

KATNISS: I'm going to the diner later on, want to come? I'll buy you some lunch.

PRIM: Okay, sure. Is everything okay?"

KATNISS: Yes and no.

PRIM: OMG, are you pregnant?

I laugh into the heavy air and role my eyes.

KATNISS: No, I am defiantly NOT pregnant Prim.

PRIM: That's good then, I guess. If Gale is driving you around, can you pick me up?

KATNISS: We'll pick you up around 2, is that okay? Also, can you make sure that Mom hasn't stolen Dad's guitar back off me please.

PRIM: I've already hidden it from her, don't worry. I'll bring it out.

KATNISS: Okay, see you then.

I turn to Peeta's unconscious form and twist his unmoving fingers with my own. Looking down at him, I find myself admiring the tiny details: the small freckle on his collarbone; the tiny kink in the cartilage of his ear. When I reach our intertwined fingers, I pause.

Peeta has tiny scars all over his hands, which I've seen maybe thousands of times. But in this fluorescent lighting, I can see that they travel all the way up his forearms. The higher up they go, the longer and deeper they seem to be. I trace them lightly with my fingertips and wonder why I've never noticed them before… I make a mental note to ask Peeta when he wakes up.

The more I look at his steady being, the more I actually see. Purple circles are beginning to form under his closed eyes, shadows slightly more pronounced beneath his cheekbones. I hold my hand up over his face trying to figure out if they're from the lighting above – they're not. The small area of upper arm I can see from beneath his tshirt is swollen, a rainbow of bruises. I spot the edge of a big post-op plaster that sits over the bone.

I frown. "Why didn't I notice that before?" I think to myself. "They must have stitched him up and I didn't notice."

Unaware of how much time has passed; I jump when the phone begins to vibrate on the bed. I try to silence it before it disturbs Peeta's sleep but he seems too far gone – too many drugs in his system. Gale's outside already.

I leap off the metal bed and roll up the bottom of Peeta's shirt to make myself more respectable. Before leaving I pull the thin comforter up to his shoulder and kiss his cheek gently.

"Sleep well, you." I whisper.


"Hey Catnip," Gale says, as I hurl myself into his car.

It's a nice vehicle: a silver hatchback with white leather interiors. I don't care for cars much, but even I must admit it's very swanky.

"Hey."

"Are you okay? You look awful."

I open the sun shield and look at myself in the small mirror. He's right: I look a complete mess.

"I haven't slept much recently, but I'm okay. Really,"

"Okay, so how is your mystery boyfriend?" He teases, pulling out of the parking space.

"He's not exactly a mystery." I point out. "But he's doing okay. They had to give him Baclofen though because the pain got too bad."

"Baclofen, man that's rough… Did they at least find out why?"

I pause.

Gale has been one of my main confidants since I was born: he knows everything about me… I find the words rising in my throat like bile, so I force myself to swallow them painfully. I don't want Gale, Madge or even Jo to end up like Peeta.

"They don't really know." I tell him, slowly. "They found something in his blood, or maybe his levels were out, I'm not sure. Either way, they've just assumed it was an allergic reaction. But because he fell to the floor, he has quite a few injuries."

"That doesn't make sense though…" Gale points out. "If he just collapsed, why would he have so many injuries? It's not like he fell down the stairs – did he?"

"No, I found him on the kitchen floor."

"Hmm…" He sounds. "Where would you like me to drive you first?"

"Peeta's house first please; I need to feed the dogs and get him some more clothes to wear."

"Where is it?"

"I'll direct you. Just follow this road for a while."

"And where else do you need to go?"

"I need to go to: my house, Prim's and then to the diner."

"I'm just your little shofar today, aren't I?"

I laugh and rest my head against the cool glass of the window.

"You know I appreciate it."

"Yeah, I know." He tells me. "So, tell me about Peeta then. Do you think I could take him out?"

"Next right." I say, mid laugh.

"I'm serious. If it came to a confrontation between Peeta and me: who would win?"

"You can't expect me to answer that!"

"Well why not?" He protests.

"Because he's my boyfriend, but you're like an annoying older brother."

"Answer the question."

"You'd definitely both come out worse for wear." I decide, smiling. "It's the next left, then second right."

"So tell me about him. What's he like?"

"I think you've been around Madge too long, you've turned into a real gossip." I observe, running my fingers through my knotted hair.

"Yes, but unlike the girls I won't squeal or dance about."

"That's a real shame. I'd love to see you do a happy dance."

"Get me really drunk and we'll see about that."

"Okay, so what do you want to know about him?"

"Well, what's he like?"

I smile as I try to piece together a sentence to describe Peeta.

"He's a very kind person; very sweet and gentle. It sounds kind of weird, but he understands a lot. Most of his family died in a car accident just over a year ago, so he never pushes things with my Dad – or with anything, really."

"He must be a hell of a guy to put up with you."

"Hey!" I protest, hitting his arm.

"Am I on the right road?" Gale asks suddenly, looking around from side to side.

We've just reached Peeta's driveway.

"Yeah. He lives on private property."

"Woah," Gale breathes when the house comes into view. "Holy shit."

"Yeah," I laugh. "Tell me about it."

"So when you described your boyfriend to me, you just happened to skip out the fact he is rich? Kat, good score."

"I'm not with him for his money, Gale!" I say hotly.

"No, but with your background it must be nice to have that security."

"I don't really care about security. I'd be dating Peeta even if he had 3 cents to his name."

Looking over at him, I catch the smirk on his lips.

"What?" I scowl.

"Just think about what you just said for a moment."

"What about it?" I repeat, dumbly.

"I'm not telling you, think about it yourself."

"That's hardly fair Gale, you can't say something like that and then just not explain it." I argue.

"Forget it Catnip." He resigns, pulling to a stop before Peeta's front door.

I hesitate for a second; my hand perched on the plastic door handle. Unmoving, I force myself to think over my words. "I'd be dating Peeta even if he had 3 cents to his name." Even after a good few minutes of thinking, I have no idea what Gale was hinting at.

"I still don't know what you're getting at."

"I said forget it," He sighs. "Go and get Peeta's stuff. I'll wait here."

"But I want to know…"

"You're a smart kid, you'll figure it out eventually."

"Ugh." I protest, throwing open the door and slamming it shut behind me.

I walk quickly up the stone steps and let myself into the unlocked house. Immediately, three pairs of paws start jumping up at my bare legs.

"You guys, stop." I laugh, falling off balance.

Crouching down, I let them jump all over me and tickle them all behind the ears. They must be incredibly lonely, with no exercise, stuck in the house without Peeta. I make a mental note to talk to Peeta about walking them.

I walk through into the large kitchen and quickly fill the bowls with kibble. The water bowl is still full and looks relatively fresh and so I decide to leave it be. They seem uninterested in the food which makes me frown.

"You miss Peeta don't you?"

Their ears perk up at the mention of his name, tails hitting each other rapidly.

"Sorry guys, you'll have to wait for him to come home."

All three of them stare at me blankly. Sighing, I walk back over to what I assume is the 'dog cupboard' and rummage around. I find a selection of toys: balls, tug ropes and even a few chewed stuffed rabbits. They're all filthy, covered in mud from previous walks. Even so, it's some form of entertainment for them.

At the sight of them, they perk up again and start running around in circles. Max, Cody and Oscar jump around the floor as if it were made of lava. Smiling, I lead them up the stairs and towards the roof; they follow excitedly.

As we walk through Peeta's bedroom, Oscar stops and sniffs the bedding while looking at me expectedly.

"I know you miss him," I coo to the baby of the pack. "He'll be home soon."

I scoop him up in my left arm and carry him up the stairs into the summers' air. Oscar nuzzles his snout into my chest. The others follow, snaking around my feet.

With one quick squeeze, I place Oscar gently back on the floor and lob two of the rabbits to the far side of the roof. Max and Cody make a run for them, falling over their own feet as they move. Probably knowing he can't yet outrun them, Oscar eyes the rope in my hands.

"You want it?" I tease, dangling it above his head.

He barks in answer.

Laughing, I bring it low enough for him to catch the end in his mouth and we begin to wrestle with it. I find myself surprised as to how strong the small animal is and I genuinely have to try to keep hold of it – I fail after only 10 seconds.

He plays with it smugly for a while, shaking his head from side to side. He places it back at my feet, ready to go again.

"Okay fine," I tell him. "One more game."

Max and Cody seem content throwing the rabbits for themselves and chasing their own tails. After one more tug of war with Oscar, I skid the chew rope across the length of the floor and quickly race back into Peeta's bedroom unnoticed.

Just like I did the day previous, I collect some clothes from the ash coloured draws. I bundle up pairs of sweatpants, a couple of t-shirts and even two jumpers. The hospital fails to maintain a constant temperature, I've noticed. One minute it will be incredibly warm and the next you can barely feel your toes.

With one final glance around the room, I run back down the stairs and out of the house.

The drive from Peeta's house was a quite one; Gale's face set in his usual frown. When he mounts the curb outside my shared house, I finally turn to him.

"What's up?" I sigh, twisting in my seat.

"You're hiding something from me and I can't work out what it is." He says bluntly.

Blunt is Gale's style. He doesn't dance around the point: he will tell you what he thinks with little to no remorse. It's one of the reasons why we became friends.

"Well if you knew what it was, I wouldn't be hiding anything." I point out.

"So you admit you're hiding something?"

"I'm not hiding anything from you Gale…" I lie.

"Do you not trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, you're my best friend!"

"Then why won't you talk to me?"

"I'm trying to keep you safe!" I shout.

He falls quiet.

"You're trying to keep me safe from what?"

"If I could tell you, I would…"

"I can take care of myself Katniss. I don't need you protecting me."

"Can you stop being so stubborn and just trust me? I'll tell you eventually."

"What has Peeta gotten you into?" He asks sternly.

"Peeta hasn't gotten me into anything." I argue. "This has nothing to do with him."

"Then tell me what it is!"

"I can't!"

"Fine." He spits. "Go and get changed."

With a huff: I jump out of the car, slam the door and storm into my house.


I stand in the shower for a very long time, partly just to spite him. The warm fall of water is soothing, like standing in the rain after weeks of nothing but dryness.

Leaning against the wall, water dripping down the length of my hair, I think about everything: Peeta; Gale; Prim; the Capitol. I'm pretty sure that any emotionally sound person would break down in tears, like in the movies: there is always one 'crushing scene' where the protagonist breaks down in tears in the shower or bath, just so nobody else will notice. Instead I just stand under the water, trying to wash all the bad luck off my body.

The water splutters slightly above me, pulling me from my downward spiral. Attempting to silence my thoughts and ignore anything past an hour into the future, I focus on washing the hospital smell from my hair and Peeta's blood from my finger nails. It takes more work than I realised.

I leave the shower and don't bother drying myself properly. Throwing the mostly dry towel into the wash basket outside the door, I quickly put on a pair of cotton shorts and a faded Bob Dylan shirt. I lace up a pair of donated converse and fling some clean underwear, socks, toothbrush and face wipes into an stretched out carrier bag.

Tying my hair into a braid as I move, I jog down the peeling stairs and out of the door. Gale gives me a pointed look on arrival.

"Do you actually realise how long you were, or was it just to spite me?" He asks me, tilting his head to the side.

"Not today Gale, please." I say, putting on my seatbelt. "I'm sorry for being, well me."

I whined down the window beside me and shove my hand out into the sunshine; light dances through my fingers.

"It's okay Catnip, I really shouldn't have acted the way I did. I mean, you're going through a lot and I know that if it was important you would talk to me. Something you have to deal with alone, right?"

I try to sallow the guilt his words make me feel. I did used to go to him for everything and I can't help but feel like we have drifted apart over the past few years. Then again, I guess neither of us are as dependent on each other as we used to be.

The thoughts make my heart sink in my chest.

"Are you okay? You look like you've swallowed a lemon." He laughs.

"Yeah, I guess Im okay. Sorry I haven't payed much attention to our friendship recently, I guess I wanted to get away from all your lovey-dovey talk."

"It's okay, I was pretty wrapped up in my own stuff anyway. But I didn't realise it bothered you so much, why didn't you say anything?"

"It wasn't necessarily that it bothered me Gale, I just always assumed that you wanted you space and time to be a couple." I tell him. "It also used to make me feel quite alone… I guess I never realised quite how lonely I was."

"Well ask Johanna, we're not nearly as bad as we used to me."

"Oh yeah, then what about all that in the diner the other day?" I laugh, making stupid kissy faces at him.

His face turns a pale shade of pink, but still he laughs.

"That was an anniversary, it's different."

"In what way is it different?" I ask, slightly curious.

"You come to me when you've been with Peeta a month, or 3, or 6, or a year and you can tell me.."

Turning my face to the open window, I smile at the thought of having a real anniversary with Peeta. The reaction shocks me slightly, considering it was only 24 hours ago I stormed out of his house. I try not to dwell on it.

"So how's life being engaged?" I ask, trying to change the topic.

"For me, it isn't very different."

"What do mean, 'for you'?"

"Well you know Madge, she's been dreaming of her perfect wedding since she was little. And she is going to get it, even if it kills me. She knows what she wants and so she wants to plan it." He tells me. "I think she feel guilty from time to time and asks for my opinion, but you know me Catnip, since when have I cared about table cloths or wine glasses?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you haven't." I laugh.

"Exactly!" He smiles. "So long as I get to help pick the rings and I get to chose my suit, she can plan her little heart out."

"Do you really want a big white wedding though?" I ask him after a moment of silence.

"I want to make her happy, no matter what I want. It wouldn't make much difference to me if we had the big wedding or got married at the court house on a Tuesday, but that's love." He tells me. "And I have you to veto her bad decisions for me."

"Using her own maid of honour to get what you want, nice!" I tease, rolling my eyes at him.

"Someone has to reel in her spending and rather you than me. I enjoy living."

"Up," I complain. "That is so like you."

"Oh shut up and get your sister."


Within an hour, we're all sat in a both at Trinkets: Prim, Gale, Madge and myself. I ordered a selection of food to take with me into the hospital, alongside a meal for Prim. Polite conversation flows between the four of us, focusing mainly on the engagement. I remain mostly silent. Every once in a while, Madge shoots me a pointed look. I give her a questioning glance.

"I'm going to get some drinks." She announces. "Come help me, Katniss?"

"Um, sure. If you want."

We both rise from the table and begin to walk towards the bar. I glance back to see Gale with his arm around Prim's small shoulders - he's always been like a big brother to her.

"What's up?" I ask, leaning against the side of the bar.

"So when did you realise you loved Peeta?" She asks.

"What?" I splutter. "I don't love Peeta."

"Please! It's written all over your face!"

"It is not!" I protest.

"Yes, yes it is! Your eyes light up, you blush when his name is mentioned, you're actually hopeful and genuinely listening about the wedding. Just admit it, you love Peeta!"

We enter a showdown of stares, neither of us blinking. I scowl at her, earning a knowing smile.

"And what if I did?"

"I KNEW IT!" Madge shouts loudly.

A few customers look up a at us in confusion and I blush deeply. The warmth of it spreads from my chest up into my hairline like wildfire; I hide behind my hair.

"What's the big deal?" I sigh, refusing to look up in fear of being stated at.

"So you do love him?"

"I think so," I resign. "I'm still not completely sure what love is, but I'm pretty sure it's that."

Madge smiles sadly.

"Only pretty sure?"

I hesitate slightly, glancing in her direction. When she leans over and puts my hand over my own, I shake my head slightly.

"Do you want my personal opinion on it all?" She prods.

"Sure," I mumble.

"I think you do love Peeta. I knew something was different when he first came to the diner the day of the storm. In all the years I have known you, you've never ever looked a guy up and down – you barely ever look at them in general. Then he came along and you held his gaze and blushed and everything was different. You went on a date. Everyone here, staff and regulars, we're all thinking 'Peeta had actually got Katniss Everdeen to go on a date!'. Then everything started changing: you'd talk, smile and laugh; you came home with your fathers guitar; you're relationship with your sister got a little better. I just think that you're a little scared to be like your mother. You've seen the consequences of loving whole-heartedly and don't want that to happen to you. So how ever much you don't necessarily want to love Peeta you do: you're just scared to admit it."

I remain silent for a long time; the words are like large waves crashing over rocks. For a while I can hear nothing else but the echo of Madge's wise words.

"So," I begin. "How do I tell him?"

"Now that is down to you." She smiles, squeezing my hand.

WILL SHE TELL HIM? AHH THE FEELS! Please let me know what you think, next chapter soon!