Chapter 14

Peeta POV

I squinted my eyes against the early morning light, my pupils declining to adjust to the sun's glaring rays. It was probably because I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. My body refused to shut down after yesterday's revelation. When I heard Katniss call herself my girlfriend, I had to do a double take. She said it so calmly, so frankly, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. At first I thought she was saying it because of Haymitch, to explain the position that he caught us in. A part of me still believed that. But when I looked into her stormy eyes, I knew she spoke her heart. I hadn't been able to settle the butterflies in my stomach since.

Katniss Everdeen was my girlfriend. My girlfriend. I was hesitant to trust the words because, honestly, it was too good to be true. Nothing felt real and I wouldn't have been surprised if I woke up in a few minutes flicking crust away from my eyes and realizing it was all a dream. I was anxious for Katniss' arrival, both needing and dreading her appearance. She would either confirm yesterday's statement or repudiate it. I tried to convince myself that I would be fine with either decision as long as it was what she wanted, but I knew I'd be heartbroken if she came and told me she hadn't meant what she said. I was so nervous that my hands began to shake slightly. I wrung them together to fight the trembles.

I waited with bated breath until I finally saw her figure making its way around the corner and toward the high school, her braid swishing, as always, across her back. The sight of her relaxed me and I felt my face fall into an easy smile. I was unsure if I imagined Katniss quicken her pace when she spotted me, but before I knew it, she was standing a few feet in from of me, eyes shimmering and cheeks colored from the cool air.

"Hi," I said in a low voice.

"Hi," she breathed out.

We stood there for a few moments looking awkwardly at each other, silence enveloping us. It was perhaps the first time in my life where I could think of absolutely nothing to say. Panic bubbled in my chest threatening to spill over at any moment while I thought of how royally I was screwing things up already. However, before I had the opportunity to start spitting out shameful apologies, Katniss took a step forward and slyly slipped her elegant hand into my own. She squeezed my hand tightly and looked me straight in the eye.

"No regrets," she repeated her proclamation from yesterday.

I allowed a breath of relief to escape through my teeth. "No regrets," I echoed.

I pulled her to me to give her a small peck on the lips before she tugged me away to math class. I was grinning like an idiot, but I couldn't see a way to stop that. People in the halls were looking at Katniss and me again, but it didn't bother me. In fact, I welcomed it. I wanted everyone to see us together; I wanted everyone to see that Katniss was mine.

I, on the other hand, could see nothing but Katniss. My gaze never flickered from her face the entire day. I loved watching her long, lush eyelashes skim her cheeks when she lowered her eyes. I loved how she drummed her fingertips against the desk when she was bored in class and how she curled the end of her braid around a finger when she was deep in thought. Katniss caught me staring at her multiple times throughout the day and I simply smirked unashamedly back at her while she rolled her eyes. Though, she always gave me a smile in return. That expression warmed my heart more than anything else. I had never seen her smile so frequently before. It was only a reinforcement of how we belonged together.

It was two weeks later and my stomach was still unaware of how to settle down at the sight of Katniss. No matter how many times I said it to myself, out loud or in my head, no matter how many times she kissed me, my brain was unwilling to accept that Katniss was my girlfriend. That didn't stop me from enjoying it, though.

I had been driving Katniss to her job everyday after school because her usual ride, Gale, was still not speaking to her. Katniss, being her stubborn self, took a lot of convincing, but eventually she caved and began waiting for me by my car each afternoon.

This afternoon was no different. As I made my way to the senior parking lot, I spotted Katniss sitting casually on the hood of my car. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of her and the way the shining sun brought out the rarely seen red highlights of her hair. It took all I had not to sprint the last few yards that separated us.

"Hey you," she smiled when I was standing in front of her.

"Hey," I replied, slightly breathless as I leaned in for a deep kiss, allowing my body weight to be supported by the smooth surface of the car. Katniss pulled away after a few short seconds. She was not the biggest supporter of public displays of affection, but I often forgot this.

"I'm sorry" I apologized, reluctantly allowing some space between us.

"Don't be," she whispered, sweeping her thumb across my cheek. I suppressed a shiver as I looked at her, noting the longing planted in her eyes. I had noticed that, recently, Katniss had been more lenient with my lapses in self-control and waited a little longer before pulling away. It was as if she was starting to want me almost as much as I wanted her. Perhaps, before long, I would be allowed to kiss her in public without protests or hesitations from Katniss.

"You ready?" Katniss questioned, pulling me from my thoughts of possibilities.

"Of course," I answered, guiding her off the hood and toward the passenger side door. "We can't let you be late, now, can we?"

Katniss rolled her eyes as she slipped inside the car. I chuckled quietly as I headed for the driver's seat. That was the argument that eventually won the battle to allow me to drive her. Without me, it was literally impossible for Katniss to make it to her job on time, threatening her claim on the position. She was a tardiness away from being fired and I knew how much her family depended on her small income.

The car ride was pleasant and all too short, as it is everyday. Katniss leaned forward in her seat and played with my radio the entire time, frowning every time static reverberated out of the speakers.

"You have crappy reception," she complained as she fiddled some more with the dial.

"Hey," I said, patting the dashboard. "Don't be mean to my car. She tries really hard."

"Sorry," Katniss said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. "I didn't mean to offend her feelings. Oh! Neon Trees! Love them."

Katniss fell back into her seat with a smile on her face. Bending her knees so her feet could rest on the dashboard, hands beginning to tap along with the music, Katniss took a deep breath and started singing, her smooth and melodious voice filling and consuming the space. My heartbeat increased its pace, thumping right along with her remarkable voice as if its procession was directly tied to each harmonic note. That's what it felt like when she sang; as if she was the reason I was alive and if her voice died out my heart would die with it. I nearly crashed the car the first time I heard her sing, falling in love with her all over again.

I barely noticed when I pulled into the drive of the horse farm, dust flying up in my car's wake. After I stopped the car, Katniss pulled me toward her and sucked my lower lip into her mouth, biting down on it tenderly. When she heard my moan she smiled against my lips, eventually drawing back just enough to allow her to speak.

"Thanks for the ride. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You know," I began, "if you let me pick you up, you wouldn't have to wait until tomorrow."

"No," Katniss said, firmly. "You do too much for me. I can get home on my own."

"But Katniss, I want to – "

Katniss silenced me by towing me in for another kiss. "I owe you so much already. I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?"

I sighed while I straightened myself in my seat as Katniss exited the car. I knew I wasn't going to convince her because I had been trying everyday. Katniss had the strangest notion about owing people that I didn't quite understand. She tried to explain it to me, about how she didn't like to be indebted to people, but I thought she was being slightly pigheaded. I didn't know whether she thought I offered her a ride because I pitied her or I felt obligated to because I was her boyfriend, but neither of those reasons were true. She would be doing me a favor by accepting my offer. Any moment spent with her was something cherished.

I watched as Katniss disappeared into one of the stables before putting my car in reverse. Looking through my rearview mirror, I saw an intimidating figure reflected there, his tall frame passing behind my vehicle. Before I knew what I was doing, I threw the gear into park, hastily grabbed the keys out of the ignition, and hopped out of the drivers seat, tearing after the individual that was already yards away.

"Hawthorne!" I hollered. He didn't stop. If anything he increased the tempo at which his feet slammed into the dry earth. "Gale!"

He flinched at the sound of his name and paused, turning on his heels to face me. I caught up to him and he leaned against the shovel he was carrying, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. "Sorry, Bread Boy," Gale smirked. "I didn't hear you."

I frowned at his nickname for me, but I managed to keep any retaliations in check. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Katniss," I said, as if it wasn't obvious already.

"I'm sorry, Mellark. I'm in the middle of a shift right now and I'm kind of busy," Gale spat the exact words I spoke to him a month ago when he had come to see me. I noted the irony of our reversal of roles and if Gale was my friend, I'd probably laugh at his antics. But he wasn't, so I didn't. Instead I chose to plow on with my intended topic.

"You need to stop being a dick to her," I stated, crossing my arms over my chest.

Gale's eyes immediately darkened and the veins in his neck became more prominent. "You can't tell me what to do," he snarled, his voice laced with malice.

"Well someone has to," I argued, repressing the impulse to punch him. The guy really was an ass. I didn't get how Katniss was ever dating him. "Katniss deserves better than how you've been treating her."

Gale's eyes narrowed until they were practically slits. "You don't know anything."

"I know that you care enough about her to come see me after you broke up," I said, replaying that conversation in my head for the thousandth time. It took on a whole different meaning after Katniss showed up in the bakery. I almost felt guilty about getting so aggravated with Gale when, in hindsight, all he was actually doing was checking to make sure I'd take care of Katniss and treat her right. That's why it came as such a shock to me when Katniss told me Gale had been ignoring her, turning away when she tried to talk to him, pretending as if she wasn't there, making her feel like a ghost in her former life. Gale couldn't be that angry with Katniss if he had the strength to come and see me mere minutes after their breakup. In fact, I always wondered why he bothered. I would think that I'd be the last person he'd want to see at that moment. "You knew she was coming to see me that day, didn't you?"

Gale shrugged his shoulders, his arms barely moving an inch before they dropped down again. "I figured as much."

"Then why didn't you try to stop her?"

Gale let out an exasperated snort. "And how exactly would I've done that?" said Gale. He paused, looked away, and started pushing the shovel back and forth between his hands. "Besides, it – you and her – it would have happened eventually."

Suddenly, the feeling of guilt and shame engulfed me. Although Katniss never explained why or how they broke up, I always figured that my name had popped up somewhere in the conversation. I never meant to "steal" his girlfriend from him, but I'm sure that was what it felt like to Gale. "I didn't rush her. I didn't force her or anything," I said quickly, wanting him to understand. "You need to know that I gave her time to make her decision. We didn't get together the day you broke up."

It was only when Gale's face contorted into a scowl that I realized my words were of no comfort to him. There was no "better" way of losing someone you love. Katniss either left him for me or left him because she simply didn't want him. Either way sucks. No wonder he's been an ass. "

Gale's face was pained when he spoke again. "You make her happy," he forced out through gritted teeth. "I'm trying to be okay with it, I am. It's just…hard."

"I understand."

"It's just best if I'm not around her right now," Gale said, quietly. He looked up at me then and seemed to realize whom he was talking to. "And what's it to you, Mellark? I thought you'd be happy I'm staying away."

"Not if it hurts Katniss," I said, plainly. I'd do anything to make Katniss happy. I'd even gladly give her back to Gale if that was what she really wanted. Okay, maybe not gladly. "She misses you."

"She said that?" Gale raised his eyebrows. I didn't miss that familiar spark of hope in his eyes.

"Not directly, but she doesn't have to. You're her best friend." I knew how much Katniss missed Gale, even if she refused to talk about him much in front of me. I understood more of their history than I did originally. He wasn't just her boyfriend; he was her best friend. He'd been that for years. From what I gathered, he was the only person she could rely on since her father left. She needed his presence in her life. I could tell by the way her eyes clouded every time his name came up. I tried not to let it hurt my pride that I wasn't enough for her. After all, she needed my friendship when she was dating Gale. Now that I was her boyfriend, she needed her best friend back.

Gale remained unconvinced, so I tried again, remembering what Gale warned me against in our previous conversation. "She doesn't need any more people disappearing on her."

These words had an immediate effect on him. A deep cavern appeared between his eyebrows and his shoulders sagged forward. His nostrils flared and his knuckles tightened around the shaft of the shovel until they gleamed white. For a split second, I was jealous of how Gale shared something so personal with Katniss that still remained murky in my mind because she was not inclined to share it with me.

"I'm not going to," he said fiercely.

I nodded, not knowing what else to say. I had said all I needed to, so I turned around to make my way back to my car. I was already late for my shift at the bakery.

"I'd take her back, you know," Gale's voice called out to me. "If she wanted me, I'd take her back in a heartbeat."

I paused, but didn't even bother turning around. "I would say the same thing if I was in your position."

"Wrestling champion, huh?"

I looked over my shoulder and saw Gale's eyes appraising me.

Gale spoke slowly. "I could take you."

Gale's face was unyielding, his mouth pressed in a straight line. But there was a certain glint in his eyes that let me know he wasn't entirely serious. I smirked before continuing to my car while calling over my shoulder, "No, you couldn't."

Author's Notes: I know I promised a quicker update. It would've happened, but my computer crashed and I lost everything. It was extremely frustrating. Now I'm back on track.

So next chapter begins what I think is the second phase of the story. The first phase was about them getting together. The next phase is about the issues that they haven't shared with each other yet because their problems will start affecting them soon.

On a completely separate note, congrats to Johan Santana for pitching the first no hitter in NY Mets history the other day. So exciting!

Review! And I apologize for my computer being stupid.