A/N: It's going to get better in this chapter guys. Sorry if this is too sudden but I hate the thought of them not being together! It will be a longer chapter though, obviously ;) Oh, and I'm really sorry, I forgot to say in the last chapter they'd decided to stay for the rest of the year because of the time they'd missed with Bella in the hospital, and that they'd really miss each other.
One last thing – there's a bit of drama in this, it might seem a bit OTT but it's the only thing I could think of to get them back together.
1 week later
Peeta POV
Katniss' hormonal changes are really starting to show now. One minute, she'll hate me and be throwing stuff around the room, and the next, she'll want more than just a kiss. We managed to import a couple more bags from the capitol; even though Annie still had three hundred, Katniss was eating a couple of bags a day.
I wake up one morning and Katniss is hovering over me. She looks at me with loving eyes, and then slaps me across the face, so hard you could probably hear the crack it made when her hand connected with my face. I flinch at her touch and hold my cheek, which is throbbing.
'What was that for?'
'Some girl rang up and asked to speak to you.'
'Which girl?'
She slaps me again, not as hard but loud enough to hear it, and hisses,
'Don't pretend you don't know.'
By now, we have another crowd at the door.
'Katniss…' Annie falters, and Johanna smirks at me. It's only when Katniss slaps me again and begins to yell that things start to happen. Haymitch, who has been drinking at the beach this entire holiday, barges through the door and yanks Katniss off me. She claws around, trying to get him off her. Annie ushers the kids off to school; since they know the way, they can walk now. The only reason they're in this house is because they come every morning before school, for breakfast. Johanna stands in the doorway, still smirking. And Gale and Delly are still fast asleep in the other house, with Anna and Lola. Katniss has barely talked to Gale in the past three months any way. Finally, Katniss calms down, after I've got ice for both my cheeks and Haymitch has whispered:
'Sweetheart, shut up, I'm not letting you go,' about 100 times. I guess she's exhausted.
'Peeta?' She whispers, looking up at me with wide eyes.
'Peeta, what happened? Why is your cheek red? Why is there a hand print? Who did this? Who hurt you?'
She looks genuinely worried, and I'm debating whether or not to tell her when Johanna pipes up.
'Oh, you slapped him three times,' she grins. I glare at her, and then my eyes flicker back to Katniss. She crumples to the ground and I immediately fall to the floor, holding her face up in my hands.
'Peeta… I'm sorry. I didn't mean too. It's just… Some Capitol girl called Stacy rang up and asked to speak to you last night, and I just… I guess I misunderstood. Why did she ring you though?'
'Stacy… she's the lady who sends your sugar cubes, Katniss.'
'But I don't like sugar cubes… Peeta, I want some sugar cubes. Not white ones. Brown ones, the fancy ones from the capitol. Please.'
I chuckle at her change of thought and go off to get her sugar cubes.
Finn POV
It's been one week exactly since Baylyn broke it off with me, and I'm hurting inside. Kevin told me to forget her, but I can't. That's the thing. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. Normally, girls will be forgotten in a day; but with Baylyn, I can't forget her, no matter how hard I try.
Her promise ring is still in my pocket, only today, I have an idea.
And I'm going to get Baylyn back. Whatever it takes.
Baylyn POV
I've been trying to avoid Finn as much as possible, but it's hard when he's the one directing us to his lessons. I still love him; I doubt I'll ever let him go. I'll try to move on, of course, but it's hard.
After two hours of math (in which me and Bella got sent out of the classroom about ten times because we were giggling too much), Finn told us we could go to the canteen, buy a snack, and then meet back by the hall to go to our first history lesson and Finn's school. Bella asks if I want her to get me something from the canteen, but I shake my head.
'No thanks Bella, I'm just going to the bathroom if that's OK,' I say. She nods and makes her way to the canteen, but as soon as I can no longer see her head I turn in the opposite direction of the bathroom and head to where Finn went.
I watch from behind a pillar as Finn walks up to a girl about my height, with blonde curls and big blue eyes. She's really quite pretty, and she reminds me a bit of Macy, Bella's best friend, except the eyes. He takes a box from his pocket and I gasp as I realise what it is. He opens in up and they talk a bit, before he hands her the box, as well as something else that I don't see, and kisses her cheek. He grins his signature grin and heads my way. I don't have time to hide before he sees me. His eyes widen.
'Baylyn?'
I try to stop a tear falling down my cheek as I run away. I don't even know why I'm crying – I knew he'd find another girl. I guess I just didn't think he'd give my promise ring to someone else so quickly. And I still miss him. In fact, I think… I still love him
I hear him curse and follow behind me but I dart in to the girls bathroom, Bella giving me a questioning look as I rush past her. I splash cold water on my face and stay in there for two minutes before leaving for history. Bella gives me a pitying look – Finn obviously told her what happened. Finn looks at me apologetically but I turn my head away from him.
'Uh, guys? Why am I not in your little mind reading group?' Bella and I chuckle at Kevin's words and Finn smirks.
'Oh, because you're not clever enough. Any way; to history we go!' Finn yells, spreading his arms like a superhero and pushing through the crowd. I have to try my hardest not to giggle; I can't let him think I've forgiven him. We follow after him, embarrassed, to history class. Finn takes his seat at the back of the class as a tall, thin lady in a black skirt and checked top walks in. Her hazel hair is in a tight bun and her mouth is set in a straight line… until she sees us.
'Ah, hello there!' she cries, a faint Scottish accent in her words and the corners of her mouth twitching in to a huge smile.
'My name is Mrs Hillston, but you can call me Mary. Finn, be a dear and introduce me to your friends – they all look oh so familiar!'
Finn grins at us, his eyes finding mine, and we stare into each other's eyes for a minute before I look away. I hear him sigh, and I find myself missing his breath on my lips so much there's a pain in my heart. I think back to the day I broke up with him and wonder if he felt as much pain from the break up as I did. And I knew I told myself not to look back… But sometimes, you have to be sure. And this time, I had made a huge mistake.
After Finn introduced us all, Mrs Hillston got on with the lesson… and then came the 'oh so exciting' part. The class got to interview us all. We each got put in a room and one person would come in, interview us, leave, and then another person would enter and do the same. When the five minute warning bell came, I was exhausted of questions like:
'How's your mum?'
'How's your dad?'
'Are they in District Four now?'
One interview stood out a bit more than the others…
Flashback
I sit in the chair at the front of the room, waiting for the next interviewer to come in. It was someone I knew as Holly Turner; she was one of the 'popular' girls who kept giving Bella and I weird looks in maths.
'Hello, Baylyn,' she said, with a monotonous voice.
'Hi.'
'So, I heard you are going out with Finn?' This was a new one.
'Was,' I correct her. She glares at me and continues chewing her gum.
'Well. Knock it off. He's mine, and I won't have some wannabe from District 12 standing in my way. And if you try to make a move, I'll kill you. I'm watching you.'
I search for a sign to show that she was joking, but see none. She was not kidding.
She gives me smirk and leaves.
End of Flashback
I just want to go home and relax in the outdoor pool, but it seems I have one more person. The door opens slowly and Finn's head pokes through the crack in the door. He breathes out a sigh of relief when he realises I'm still here, and walks through the door and closes it.
Then he takes the seat closest to me, and my heart's racing just at the sight of him. Some thing is really wrong with me. I'm lovesick.
Finn POV
'Hey, Bay-Bay,' I whisper.
'Hey, Finny,' she whispers back, and in those two words, I realise how upset she is. I see the hurt in her eyes and the small bags underneath them. I see how knotty her hair is. I see what I never noticed before – the strawberry shaped birthmark on her neck, the redness of her lips, the grey rim around her electric blue eyes.
'How've you been?' I ask her quietly.
'I've been better,' she replies softly. 'You?'
'Been better, I guess,' I admit with a shrug.
'Oh.'
'So, uh… how did your parents get to survive together?' I ask sarcastically. She chuckles softly.
'Oh, they pulled out some poisonous berries and threatened to commit suicide. You know, just something that happens every day,' she giggles. I see her eyes never leave my face, except when she finishes speaking and they fall back to her lap.
'Baylyn…' she snaps her head back up. 'I miss you.'
'I-I miss you too,' she sighs. She drops her head and her brown hair hangs in a curtain around her face. I lift her face up and she blushes. She's just leaning in to kiss me when she crumples in to my lap, blood pouring down her back and a knife sticking out. The last thing I see before I ring 999 is blonde curls bouncing out the door way.
Baylyn POV
I bounce in and out of nightmares for the next few days, and each time I wake up it's only for a minute, or two, if I'm lucky. Each time I notice something new about the hospital I'm in.
I notice the entirely green walls.
I notice the dolphins on the light above me.
I notice the blue chairs next to my bed, all but one of which are almost always empty.
I notice that I can't make out who is sat next to my bed.
I notice the searing pain in my lower back.
I notice I don't know why I'm here.
And one day, I notice my mum next to me, clutching my hand and wiping away silent tears. This is one of the days the odds have been in my favour, and I can stay awake for at least an hour. When these happened before, I'd lay facing the ceiling, studying the patterns, or I'd close my eyes and rest.
'Mum?' I croak. My voice is hoarse, but once I cough a bit its back to normal.
'Baylyn? Honey, are you awake? Can you hear me?'
'Yeah, I can hear you.'
I sit up, wincing at the pain, and swing my legs around gently to face. She hugs me, a bit too tight, and I cry out.
'Oh, sorry sweetie,' she lets go of me almost immediately, and I notice who's been sat next to me the entire time.
Finn.
Mum notices me looking at him and gives me a pitiful smile.
'He's been sat there the whole time. He refuses to leave. I'll give you two some time.'
I then notice something glinting in the light, just as mum is about to leave. It looks like… No. It's my promise ring, with a pearl on. A pearl, that looks just like the one dad gave mum in the 75th Hunger Games.
'Mum… can you-could you put that ring back?'
She gives me a knowing look, but puts it back all the same and stuffs the box back in his pocket before leaving.
'Finn. Finn,' I whisper. He doesn't budge.
'Finn!' I whisper louder. Still no movement.
I notice a bucket of water next to my bed, and, after pausing for a minute to think what the heck a bucket of water is doing next to my bed, I lift up the bucket (which is surprisingly light) and tip it over Finn, bucket and water. The bucket lands on his head and as he splutters, I have to try and stop myself from laughing. I throw myself down on the bed and pretend to be asleep, but Finn's no fool.
'Bay-Bay, I am so going to get you for that,' he chuckles, and as I squint my eyes open, I see him throw the bucket off his head and come towards me. He begins to tickle me, only lightly but because I'm so ticklish I throw my hand over my mouth so stop myself laughing. I let out what seems to be between a groan and a laugh, and it's really loud. Mum and a nurse come rushing in. Mum relaxes when she sees it's just me and Finn messing around. But the nurse cries out.
'No, no, no! Don't do that! You'll tear the stitches! Stop!'
Finn looks at me with immediate worry, but I smile at him, making sure he knows I'm not in any pain. The nurse checks me over, then leaves.
Peeta POV
I come up behind Katniss and wrap my arms around her swelling stomach as she exits Baylyn's hospital room. She's been so worried about our little girl lately. We stare in to Baylyn's room from the doorway.
'Hey, Finn… what happened to me? I don't remember anything,' she whispers.
Finn looks uncomfortable for a second, then he says:
'You were stabbed, Baylyn. Someone obviously didn't like you much,' he jokes.
'Really?'
'Yeah. And, Baylyn… I know this isn't the best time, but… I can't get you out of my mind. I really, really love you Baylyn. I'm sorry for what I did the other day, but please, forgive me?' He takes a ring box from his pocket and gives it to her.
'I know what you saw a few days ago upset you, but I did it for you. I wanted to make it really special. Bay-Bay, will you take me back?'
She opens the box and takes out a golden ring with a pearl on. I gasp.
'Katniss, is that…'
'No Peeta, relax, we're in District Four. There are a lot of pearls here.'
'They really love each other, don't they?'
'Yeah, I guess they do.' Katniss smiles sadly and shakes her head, then points to them.
They kiss, then Baylyn leans in to his neck and they hug.
And they remind me of us.
Me and Katniss.
