Author's Note; Hey guys, I'm trying to write as much as possible but am running out of steam. Please read and review, tell me any suggestions you have and keep reading :)
Disclaimer; I do not own any of these characters etc etc
Katniss' P.O.V
"Katniss can you come back here and give me a hand" Rooba calls from the back room. It's finally the weekend now after a long week of school and putting up with mother and watching Prim getting ever close to her. Mum will be leaving in a couple of days so she's taking Prim out to District 4 for the weekend, the District that has the most beautiful beaches and blue seas. She said that I was welcome to come but I swiftly rejected the offer saying I needed to work, which is true but also provides the perfect excuse for me not to have to be stuck with her for the weekend. I get up from the stool behind the till and walk round to the little doorway leading to the back. Normally Gale would be manning the till but he isn't working today so I have to instead, I don't mind doing it, it's just I'm not really a people person so this is the worst place I could be.
"What do you want me to do?" I ask Rooba eager to do something that wont let my mind wander.
"Can you get these out in the front please?" She says sliding over a tray of assorted meat cuttings to me. I pick up the tray, a bit disappointed about the simplicity of the task given to me, I'd much rather be out hunting the meat than making I look pretty in the long display cases at the front of the till but I do it anyway. I carry the tray back through to the front and set it down on top of the counter, behind the case. I pick up the long metal tongs and start placing the meat in vertical lines in the case, positioning them so that the customers can get the best view of them. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I stop what I'm doing, put the tongs down and slide my phone out from my jeans pocket.
What are you up to? It's from Peeta, I haven't spoken to him in a little while considering all the drama with my mum showing up, i've been a bit busy.
I'm just at work arranging meats actually, what about you? I quickly type back. I put my phone back in my pocket and reach for the tongs again but my phone goes off almost immediately before I do. I unlock it and read
I wan't to come see you, is it busy there? Peeta's never asked to come to my work place before. I don't think Rooba will mind seeing as though there is nobody here anyway, as long as he buys something.
Nope, it's pretty dull here, you can come as long as you buy something :P I text back, leaning against the case now.
Deal. Is the only word that flashes on my screen after but it makes me smile nevertheless. I finish off placing the meats in the case, close it and carry the tray back to Rooba.
"Thanks dear." She says as she takes the tray back off me. Just as she does I hear the tinkling of the bell over the front door of the shop and I walk back through, wiping my hands on my apron. He's standing there, his hands in his jean pockets and wearing a shirt with the top bottons undone.
"You look fancy." I say and get his attention from the meat cuts.
"Yeah, well, I have a date so I'm dressing to impress." He says, walking over to the till more where I'm standing behind the counter.
"Oh, right... Who with?" I say quietly, guessing what the answer's going to be.
"Rooba?" He calls out. Hang on, what? Did he just say Rooba? She peeks her head out of the doorway and smiles at Peeta. What the hell is going on?
"Can I still take her?" He asks smiling. I'm still lost.
"Yes, sure kiddo." She replies disappearing into the back again.
"Erm what was that about?" I ask trying to clear the confusion racing around in my head. He is walking round the counter and over to me. He puts his hands behind my back and starts untying the bow that is keeping it tight around me. He is looking straight into my eyes and I'm drowning in that familiar saphire sea. After he is finished untying the apron, he reaches up and pulls it over my head and sets it on the counter.
"So are you impressed?" He asks as he tucks a stray strand of hair behind my ear which fell from him pulling my apron over my head.
"Pardon?" I reply still a bit confnused.
"Do I look good enough for you?" He chuckles as he see's the realisation dawn on my face.
"You mean...?" I mutter out.
"Katniss Everdeen, will you be my date for today?" He hands me a small rose from behind him which I didn't realise he was hiding there.
"That was very, very cheesy." I laugh "But I would love to." A big grin appears on his face and he takes my hand and leads me out of the shop.
Peeta's P.O.V
That was honestly a stab in the dark, I didn't actually think she'd agree to it. I thought she'd say something like she's too busy and I'd hand her the rose and leave but the fact that she is leaving with me makes me swell with joy.
"So what are we doing?" She asks looking up at me as we walk out of the shop and into the town. Our hands still joined together. I'm worried that I'm so nervous I'm going to get sweaty hands and she'll cringe away from me when she notices but I try and play it cool.
"That Katniss is a suprise and you'll just have to wait." I smirk at her. I know she must hate not being in control but this is my time to prove to her what she means to me so my job to make sure it all goes perfectly. I lead her down the cobbly street and I pull her into a little restaurant that I found when we first moved here.
"Oh Peeta, I'm not dressed well enough for this.." She says looking around nervously. I'm glad to know it's not just me that's nevous. I continue to lead her to the back of the restaurant, to a table which is set up with a candle in the middle and roses in a vase. She's right, I am cheesy. I somewhat reluctantly let go of her hand and pull her chair out for her to sit down. She laughs again at this but doesn't reject the offering and sits down and I tuck her chair in for her. I go round to the otherside and sit in my own chair.
"You look beautiful Katniss. You look even better than me and I spent ages picking out my outfit." I reasure her in a sarcastic tone. Again, she is laughing.
"What's so funny?" I kind of laugh myself. Leaning forward, resting my chin on my hands to look at her.
"I don't really know. You just kind of have this effect on me." She says with a smile. If only she knew the effect she had on me.
"I missed talking to you this week, you seemed really distant.." I honestly say to her. Her face immediatley changes at the words and I immediatley wish I hadn't said it. I'm pushing her too quick.
"Sorry, I didnt mean to come on strong. It's just..." I say sitting a bit further back, trying to give her any room she needs.
"No, it's not that." she interupts. "I've just had a tough week.." She says looking down at her hands. I hate myself for bringing up whatever she had on her mind and making her feel like this.
"Do you want to talk about it...?" I ask cautiously.
"It's just my mother.." She says hesitantly, her eyes still staying on her hands.
"Did you have an argument or something? Me and my mum never get on." I say confident I may be able to help her with this.
"Not exactly. My mum isn't like other mums..." she hesitates before she continues and I listen intently "She hasn't really been around much since my father died. She left me to look after my little sister Prim and I can't forgive her for abanoning her like that. Prim is the sweetest girl in the world and she deserved more of a childhood than just having me, no matter how much pain she was in. We all felt the same pain when father died, we were all close to him.." She finishes. I can see the pain in her eyes as she's talking about her mother and that makes me feel it too.
"Prim..? I recognize that name.." I think hard about where the name has propped up. "Oh yeah! Is she the little girl with blonde hair which is normally in two plaits?" I ask her.
"Yes, that sounds like Prim. You know her?" She asks me, looking slightly confused.
"Yes, she comes into the bakery sometimes to look at the cakes and she likes chatting with me. If you brought her up, you've done a great job Katniss, she's a lovely little girl. I don't mean to intrude but don't you think you're being a bit hard on your mother. I mean, she came back didn't she? Maybe she left for a better reason, like her grief may effect her parenting so she left to avoid it..?" She finally looks up at me and I can tell she is thinking about something.
"Can we talk about something else please?" She whispers and that's when I know she is at her limit so I swiftly change the topic to lighten the mood. The afternoon went on really well with us chatting the whole time, easily finding points of discussion and the whole time I couldn't take my eyes off of her. The way she would blush and look down if I complimented her, how she would trace patterns on the table cloth when talking and how the candle light flickered in her eyes. We ate our meals, both having spaghetti bolognese. I know, very cheesy. After I paid the bill, after her continous offering of her paying her half and me repeatedly declining and telling her I invited her out so I'm paying, we walk out of the restaurant. As we step outside she wriggles her hand into mine which sends waves of tingles up my arm and I squeeze her hand and look over to her. I think I might love this girl. No girl has made this much of an impact on me. Ever. I walk her back to her house as time has flown by and it's now half past five and I need to head off home. We approach her door and I lessen my speed, wanting to spend more time with her. As we stop I pull her to face me.
"Katniss, I really like you.." I say looking her straight in the eyes, even though my mind is telling me to look down. But I want to see her reaction to my words. She looks up at me, studying my face.
"I want you to be my girlfriend.." This is when I look down. But something warm stops me. Her hand is cradling my cheek and raising my head back up to her, the spot instantly burns with heat. My eyes return to hers and I see she is smiling.
"Ok." Her smile largens and I can't help myself. I pull her closer to me and reach up to hold her face in my hands. I rub my thumb up and down her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin. I lean down so my lips meet hers and kiss her harder than before, overwhelmed with joy. My eyes flutter shut at the sensation rushing through me at her lips touch. Her arms rest on my shoulders and her hands grasp my neck. I wish I could stay in this moment forever but I can't and I release her from my grip. As I pull away I see her eyes flutter open aswell.
"Can I see you tomorrow?" I ask eagerly.
"Of course." She smiles at me, kisses me one more time and walks into her house. I turn away and begin making my way to my own house, a huge grin never leaving my face. She's mine. She wants to be mine. Katniss Everdeen is my girlfriend...