Disclaimer: I do not own THG. I do not profit from what I write.
A/N: I hope that the movement in time is easy to figure out. Pretty much at the beginning of the chapter it is summer and by the end it's the beginning of autumn.
The drive to the airport was surprisingly silent. Peeta knew that Katniss was beyond excited to be picking up Prim for a week long stay. However, she was interestingly mum on the subject. He was really looking forward to meeting Katniss' sister. The devotion and love that Katniss had for her sister was evident in the reverent way she spoke of her. The two girls communicated via text message every single day and he knew that if Katniss was preoccupied on the computer or her phone then it was Prim she was talking too.
He was shocked when Katniss asked him to accompany her to the airport to pick up the fifteen year old. Peeta had just assumed that his girlfriend would want to spend some alone time with her sister before he got to meet Prim in person. It felt like a big deal that Katniss was allowing him this much access to her sister. He suddenly felt self conscious about meeting Prim. She would be the first of the Everdeen clan, not counting Gale, which he would get to meet.
"What's going on in your gorgeous head?" Katniss' voice interrupted Peeta's internal debate.
Peeta reached over and gave her knee a gentle squeeze, "I just realized that meeting Prim is kind of a big deal, isn't it?" He gazed directly at Katniss and tried to gauge what she was thinking.
"Um, yeah it is." She paused and weighed her words carefully before proceeding. The more time Katniss spent with Peeta the more capable she became at determining his moods based on how his eye color shifted. Right now they were a stormy blue that bordered on gray, he was concerned. "At first I thought that maybe we would meet up with you for a meal or two but then I realized that I was being selfish."
Peeta frowned as he tried to decipher what Katniss meant, "Selfish? Sorry, I'm not following."
Katniss rolled her eyes, not sarcastically but pensively, and blew air between her lips as she worked through how to communicate what she wanted to say. "I guess I didn't want to share. You and Prim are my two favorite people. Both of you guys are so amazing that I did not want to share either of you with anyone…even each other."
"Are you afraid that she won't like me?" Peeta became nervous as he suddenly realized just how big of a deal Prim's visit was.
"Impossible. She already loves you because I love you. Every time I talk to her she asks about you. Just like how you always ask about her."
"Funny, isn't it?" Peeta muses out loud.
This time when Katniss rolled her eyes it was intentionally sarcastic, "Okay, I'll bite. What's funny, Peeta?"
"The fact that you accused me of loving blondes so much but you're the one with a baby sister, best friend, and boyfriend that all have blonde hair." Peeta reached over and tugged on the end of Katniss' braid playfully, "I think the bias is all yours Miss Everdeen."
Katniss crossed her arms over her chest and pretended to be angry, "Ha. Ha. Ha. You are hilarious Peeta." She laughed before dropping her arms and leaning over, her mouth inches from Peeta's ear and purred, "You know when you call me Miss Everdeen it makes me want to play teacher with you."
Peeta's face flushed at Katniss' forward statement. He was at a loss for words and said the first thing that popped into his mind. "Ah, what a dirty mind you have." Peeta ran his hand up Katniss' thigh and let it his fingers skim the inseam of her shorts. "I think I could be talked into playing a game of naughty teacher."
A soft moan escaped Katniss' lips and she reached down and stilled Peeta's exploring finger tips. "Play nice, Mellark. My baby sister will soon be joining us and as much as I want to we don't have time for this."
Peeta moved his hand back to rest on Katniss' knee before raising an eyebrow in her direction. "Now, remind me again how long Prim is going to be here."
Prim's week in Knoxville passed quickly and Katniss watched in awe as Peeta effortlessly wooed Prim. When she first arrived, her talkative baby sister was rendered completely speechless in Peeta's presence. She carefully studied and watched Peeta for a few hours before her initial shyness disappeared and was replaced by exuberance. Peeta adored the blonde girl and had spent her trip indulging her every whim. They held detailed discussions about the mean girls at school, he gave her advice about Rory, and spoiled her with every bakery treat his father had available.
On the morning of her departure, Katniss found Prim stuffing dirty clothes and toiletries into her suitcase. "I'm going to miss you so much." She stated while squeezing her baby sister's shoulder. "I can't believe a week has already passed."
"I know." Prim whined. "Oklahoma is going to seem soooo boring now! Seriously, you guys are so lucky here."
Katniss laughed, "I don't know about lucky. School is hard work. You just like spending time with Peeta." She teased her sister, "I'm starting to think you like him more than me."
"Hogwash, Katniss, hogwash! I still love you the most." Prim asserted before questioning her sister, "You know why I like Peeta so much?"
Katniss pretended to consider Prim's question very seriously before throwing her hands in the air and stating, "Because he is hotter than a Jonas brother? Or, is it because he is fattening you up like Christmas ham? Maybe because he listens to you babble about Rory and I don't?"
"Oh, you think you are so clever." Prim responded to Katniss' ribbing. "I'm not even going to tell you now!" The petite blonde stuck her tongue out. "Oh, and the Jonas brothers are so yesterday Katniss. Seriously?"
"Sorry sis, I forgot you had the Bieber Fever now." Katniss wrapped her arms around Prim's mid section, pinned her arms to her sides and started tickling mercilessly. "Stop growing up on me." Katniss demanded as she continued tickling.
The two girls fell to the floor in a fit of giggles trying to catch their breath. Katniss was still lying on her back, looking at the ceiling when Prim interrupted her train of thought. "You're different, you know?" The blonde girl propped herself up on her elbows so she could look at her big sister. "That's not a bad thing. The different is a good different."
Prim's statement stunned Katniss, "I'm the same Prim. Just because I'm here and you are there doesn't mean we are different."
"I don't mean that our relationship is different. I mean you are different." Prim paused collecting her thoughts. "It's him. It's Peeta. I like him so much because of the way that he has helped you."
Katniss sat up quickly, "You are right, Little Duck. Peeta is very special. But, I'm not any different."
"Yes you are. You smile more and when you are with him you are so much more relaxed. Love is a really becoming look on you Katniss. It's a good thing."
"I do love him, Prim." Katniss face flushed red at her sister's intuition. "But, please don't tell mom and dad. They'll want to meet him and I think dad will be so disappointed I've moved on from Gale."
Prim reached out and took her sister's hand in hers, "We kept it a secret over Christmas break and I can keep it now. It'll be hard though, now that I actually know him and see what he has done for you."
It was a blistering hot September afternoon but despite being drenched in sweat, chills wracked Peeta's muscular frame. To the world and most football fans, the first non conference game was a necessary evil to work the kinks out until conference play. For Peeta, it was something huge. It would be his first official game as the head quarterback for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. He had continually proved himself in practice and even though he was only a sophomore he had risen in the ranks as a team leader. The roar of the stadium was nothing compared to the blur of thoughts and nerves flying through Peeta's brain. Somewhere in the crowd was the girl he loved. Her quiet strength and determination motivated him when his body ached and the pain in his knee was unbearable. With her presence, Katniss had motivated him to be the best that he could at everything.
Katniss and Madge were pushing through the throng of people after the game when she realized her phone was buzzing in her pocket. She pulled her phone out and noticed a text message from Prim glaring back at her from the home screen. "Warning! Mom, Dad, the HAWTHORNES, and half of Seam all saw. You are dead." Immediately, images of everything that Katniss had done at college that would be embarrassing for her parents to find out popped in her brain.
Madge noticed her friend's sudden change in behavior. "Katniss, is everything ok?" She questioned with genuine concern.
"Uh, I'm not sure." Katniss frowned as she stared at the phone, not even raising her eyes to meet Madge's, "I've got to call Prim."
Concern evident on her face, Madge nodded. "Yeah go ahead. We have quite a walk ahead of us anyway."
The phone rang once before Prim picked up, "You are dead meat!" Prim exclaimed not even bothering to greet her sister. "Like road kill left on the side of the road after an Indian summer dead meat."
Katniss was confused and a little disgusted after her sister's descriptive analogy. "Prim, what are you talking about?"
"It would have been nice to have some warning." Prim's words blurred together as she excitably yelled into the phone. "Geez, I mean I know how you and Peeta are when you are together. I spent that whole week in Knoxville pretending not to get grossed out by how handsy you guys are." Katniss felt her stomach start to churn; whatever Prim was talking about was not good. "I thought you weren't ready to go public but then you went and did that? What were you thinking?
The walk back to their house was almost over and Katniss was just as confused as when she first called Prim. "What did we do? I'm so confused."
"Gale, fuh-freaking-flipped his shit." Prim paused long enough for Katniss to realize that whatever was going on was worse than she could have imagined. "Hazelle had to take him to the ER because Mom is pretty sure he broke some knuckles on the sheet rock he punched. Dad was not happy at all he started griping about how he sent you there for an education not to be seduced by an overly sexed Adonis. He actually said that, Kat, he said 'overly sexed Adonis.'" Prim laughed into the phone. "It was hilarious. Can you imagine someone calling Peeta that?"
Katniss and Madge had arrived at their house and Katniss quickly sat on the couch, "PRIMROSE EVERDEEN, tell me what you're talking about right now." Madge had been walking to her bedroom but upon hearing Katniss yell into her phone she decided to stick around and find out what the commotion as all about.
Prim sighed, exasperated with her sister for not catching on. "I'm talking about your appearance on UT's promo video."
"My what?" Katniss was clueless as to what Prim was talking about.
"Let me start from the beginning. You know the watch parties that Seam holds for all the OSU and OU games?" Prim had begun to calm down and was now easier for Katniss to understand over the line.
"Yeah, of course."
"Well, Dad, Mr. Hawthorne, and several other guys pitched in and bought the season ticket package on the satellite so we could watch the Tennessee games too since you go there." Realization was beginning to dawn on Katniss. Her parents had somehow figured out about Peeta from watching him play.
"The first half was good and every time Peeta's face was on the TV I kept it cool. I silently cheered for him, even though it was super tough." Katniss was relieved that Prim wasn't the one who gave them away.
Prim prattled on. "Then at half time the UT promo video played. You know where they show students in the laboratory, students eating lunch on blankets in front of the library, students going to games, etcetra, etcetra to try and lure people into going to their school."
Katniss realized she was holding her breath and exhaled loudly. "I know what you're talking about."
"You should have warned me that you were the star of UT's video this year!"
"Why? Did they catch me planting? Was I in the horticulture lab or something?" Katniss didn't think that Gale would punch a wall if the camera caught her planting flowers but it did not hurt to hope.
"Nope. You and Peeta were smooching…with tongues…on the football field." Prim drew the statement out enunciating the word 'tongues' making it sound like a dirty word.
The world seemed to crash down around Katniss. The kiss after the spring scrimmage was coming back to haunt her in the worst possible way. "Oh. Fuck."
"Yeah. Oh fudge is right." Prim's tone was deadly serious. "Mom will be calling you soon as she gets dad calmed down. I just wanted to warn you."
Katniss dropped her face into her hands. "Thank you, Little Duck."
"No problem, sis. The good news is sounds like we are making a family trip to see you very soon."
Sorry for the delay in update! I'm having trouble finding motivation. If you have a favorite song that reminds you of college, Katniss & Peeta, or anything that you think would help me stay motivated please let me know and I'll add it to my writing play list for this story.
I wanted to thank everyone that has checked out my newest story 'First Speech.' I know a lot of you have been reading it and waiting for an update here.
Thank you so much for your continued support with alerts and awesome reviews! Let me know what you think! :)