The room is small but cosy with a few little sofas each with one or two people in them. There are four women in the room including Effie, who is the only one I know and as they all turn to look at us I try and force a smile.
"Sorry for taking so long everyone." Mary says smiling around the room at everyone in the room. "Everyone this is Katniss, Katniss this is everyone." Mary says with a wide smile.
I am introduced first to a set of stunning red headed twins who smile at me identically.
"Katniss this is Holly and Ivy." She points to each of the twins in turn and I try to notice any difference in them but as far as I can see they are identical down to the last freckle.
"Hi." I say with a little wave and they smile widely.
They wave back at me and welcome me with a perfectly synchronised "Hello Katniss." Mary notices my embarrassment and puts her hand on my lower back reassuringly.
"This is Effie as you well know. Just in case you are unclear Effie is my families organiser. We would be lost with out her and we definitely would not be on schedule for the wedding. She is a real life saver." Mary says and she gives Effie a smile and she waves her down.
"I am just doing my job dear." Effie says with a proud little smile.
"Yeah I know Effie. " I say giving her a little smile, which she returns. The last woman in the room walks over to me with a smile on her plump face.
"Katniss this is my mother." Mary says wrapping her arms around her mothers shoulders.
"It is really nice to meet you Mrs Mason, thank you for letting me stay here." I am thankful for Peeta telling me Mary's surname, which would have been awkward when meeting her family if I hadn't known.
"Oh please call me Suzanne and it is our pleasure having you here. Both Al and Mary didn't stop talking about you when they got back after Christmas." Suzanne says and I blush.
"Thank you as well for my train ticket it was really to kind." I add quickly before I forget to ever mention it.
"You are welcome, we wanted the whole family here." She says patting my arm.
"Talking of family, mum where is Johanna?" Mary asks and as if it was planned the doors swing open loudly slamming against the walls and a tall dark haired girl steps into the room her dark eyes scanning the room and landing on me. Her lips curl into a smile and I look away from her.
"Alright bitches, are we all ready to get shit faced?" She says and I stare at Mary who rolls her eyes but smiles. I can immediately see why Rye thinks she is a "peach".
"Katniss this is my big sister Johanna." Mary says and Johanna strides over towards me and I stare at her. I look her over her eyes are almost black made harsher by the dark make up she wears, her hair cut is short and very angular making her face look more pointed and for lack of a better word, scarier.
"Call me Jo." She says and she looks me over again and I imagine a wolf going in for the kill. "What the hell kind of name is Katniss?" She asks.
"Johanna!" Suzanne says but Johanna doesn't take her eyes off me so I keep mine focused on her.
"It is the name of a plant." I say and she snorts, that really gets my back up and I talk before I realise what I am doing. "Have you been punched in the face or do you normally look like that?" I ask and I hear gasps. Johanna stares at me her dark eyes narrowed. I am totally embarrassed by what I said and am about to apologise but then she suddenly laughs.
"Ha, I like her." Johanna says and she walks over to the little round table in the middle of the room and scoops up two glasses that are filled with some sparkling orange juice. She quickly drinks them down and smacks her lips in appreciation then lets out a loud and to be honest quite impressive burp.
"I am so sorry about my daughter. We did raise her to be a lady." Suzanne says looking embarrassed and I shake my head and give her a little smile.
"Do not apologise on my behalf mother." Johanna says and Mary quickly steps between the two of them with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.
"Don't you dare start on each other today or I swear I will go all Bridezilla on all of your asses!" Mary says threateningly and Johanna raises her hands up in surrender and scoops up another drink.
"Sorry dear." Suzanne says looking embarrassed. Effie clears her throat and we all look at her.
"The bus is here if you are all ready to go?" She says brushing over the near family argument with a wave of her hands and a big smile. Effie ushers us through the house where I hear loud male laughter, I stop briefly to see if I can see Peeta. I am rewarded with him peering around the corner and his face breaking into a gorgeous smile when he sees me. I return the smile and wave before I am shoved forwards.
"Move it along brainless." Johanna says and I lose sight of Peeta and huff as I follow the other out and down the steps where a black mini bus sits waiting for us. I look around me before I step into the cooled bus and frown as I sit down and look out at the beautiful blue sky. I wish that I was going out into the woods today with the guys to climb things and shoot. Sounds like great fun. "Don't you just wish you had a set of balls? I could really be doing with shooting at some things today instead of getting my hair torn out by the root, you know what I mean?" Johanna says as she sits next to me and fastens her seatbelt.
"Yeah I know what you mean." I say and her eyes widen in surprise.
"Hmm, maybe I have misjudged you brainless." She says and I roll my eyes and look out of the window and watch as we drive off towards the day of hairs being torn out and god knows what else. I hear Johanna chuckle and apparently I intrigued her because fifteen minutes into the journey she rounds on me and starts to question me.
"So you can shoot?" She asks staring at me.
"Not a gun no."
"Well what then?" She scoffs.
"Bow and arrow. I use it to hunt, they are quiet so they are the best." I say and she raises her eyebrows and turns in her seat.
"You hunt?" She asks sounding unconvinced.
"Yep. I do it to feed my family and my friends."
"So what are you poor?" She asks and I stare at her angrily, god she is nosy!
"We get by." I say through my teeth. She continues to stare at me for a moment like she is considering me, looking completely unfazed but my hostile tone.
"Good for you brainless." She says and my eyes widen her response shocking me.
"Thank you, I guess." I say still not sure if she is being serious, she is very hard to read. She laughs and I frown at her.
"I am serious, it is nice to see s girl who can look after herself and who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, its refreshing." She says with a hint of a real smile. "Not like this lot if they get a bit of dirt on them they would squeal about it. Its pathetic." She whispers I give her a little smile.
"You hunt then?" I ask intrigued now. She sits up straight and she looks away from me and her shoulders sag slightly.
"I used to." She says in a quiet voice. I can tell she doesn't want to talk about it so I don't push the matter. I also see the walls being built up around her and all hint of that real smile I got a moment ago is gone and she is back to wearing her guarded look. "So you are fucking Al's brother the curly haired one?" She asks her tone harsh and really shocking me.
"I… um…" Wow blunt.
"Don't be such a little prude, just a simple yes or no will suffice." She says looking up from her chewed nails right into my eyes; the hostility is well and truly back. I am baffled into why she is acting like this that I don't respond quickly enough so she goes on. "I mean if you aren't then I wouldn't mind having a go…"
"NO!" I yell and the whole bus falls silent and turns to look at me, Johanna smiles at me the same irritating smile she did when she first saw me. "Sorry." I mutter and everyone turns round frowning a little, Mary looks at me her eyes asking if I am ok and I nod.
"So you aren't fucking him." She asks quieter as the others conversations have quietened. I turn and stare at her.
"I am. He is mine!" I say angrily in a hushed voice and her lips twitch.
"He is yours?" She says with a chuckle.
"Yes he is mine." I emphasise trying to get it through her thick skull, god she is pissing me off.
"Fair enough. Shame Effie got her talons into Rye before I got here, I wouldn't mind a piece of that either." I stare at her and shake my head and my eyes catch a glint of silver on her finger and I look down. On her left hand there is a silver band and when she sees me looking at it she moves her hand out of my eyesight and turns away from me and becomes silent.
As we sit in some welcomed silence I get a good chance to look at some of the scenery. There is not much to see other than little towns and endless looking forests of trees, quite a lot of which I have never seen. I should get some samples for my plant book. The smell of the trees here is very overwhelming, the smell of pine in constantly in the air and as we start to drive through a thick forest it gets to strong and I have to open the window to have a bit of fresh air to breathe.
The bus finally pulls up outside a huge wooden cabin and we all file out after Effie who steps carefully through the soft forest floor careful not to get her sky high heels stuck in the mud, god knows what possessed her to where them all the way out here but something tells me she doesn't go anywhere with out them. I shake my head as she loses her footing and nearly falls just as she reaches the stairs. She giggles good-naturedly but I can see the hint of a blush through her layres of make up. I look again at the building as I climb the wooden steps and smile.
"I am beginning to notice a theme here." I say and I hear Mary laugh and she puts her arm over my shoulder.
"Yeah we do have a bit of a thing here for wood." Mary says and I smile and she pulls me into the cabin. "I hope Jo was behaving herself in the bus." She asks and I nod.
"Nothing I couldn't handle."
"Good, she is lovely really she had just had a rough time recently, she doesn't mean what she says, not really." Mary says and I nod.
"It's fine, really." I say reassuringly and Mary smiles. I really didn't want to have to tell Mary about what Johanna said and I really didn't want to tell her I thought her sister was a bitch so I will just play nice.
"Thank you." Mary says and I can see that maybe she knows what I actually think and is grateful that I am not telling her what I actually think.
"Bridal party under the name of Mason." Effie chirps to the pointed face girl at the reception desk. With her prominent nose and her bright red hair I think instantly of a fox and I smile.
"Ah yes we have a reservation here for seven?" Foxface asks and Effie frowns.
"No it was actually just for six, I booked it myself I remember." Effie says consulting a load of paper that fills her diary.
"Seven is correct." Suzanne says and Effie stares at her.
"You didn't think you were going to be left out did you Effie?" Mary says with a smile and Effie just blinks at her looking confused.
"I didn't expect… there is still so much to do!" Effie says looking a little frantic and I cannot help but chuckle at how utterly shocked she looks. Rabbit in the headlights comes to mind.
"It is being seen too. Portia and Cinna are dealing with everything today." Suzanne says and Effie chokes back a sob.
"Thank you." She squeaks.
"You have worked the hardest to get all this sorted in time you deserve a day off." Mary says and Effie rushes to hug her.
"So…" Foxface says looking around us all, "Is that a reservation for seven then?" Effie sniffs and wipes her eyes on a pink frilly handkerchief and straightens up.
"Yes, thank you seven." She says her voice clear and professional now trying to make up for her little breakdown. Foxface smiles and she leads us through the back into a huge changing room where we are each handed a pile of towels, a fluffy white bathrobe, some soft cotton pants a t-shirt and a bathing suit along with a pair of soft soled shoes. I stare down at the haul and Mary slides over to me.
"You get to keep this stuff she says and I run my hand over one of the towels and think how much Prim will love getting this. Most of our towels are a little threadbare and this will be a nice gift, I will make an effort to not use it while I am here.
"Ok for you ladies who have not been here we have a range of treatments from facials to waxing, massaging to hot stones. We have a large swimming pool and a fully equipped gym, which you have full access to and there will be trainers there to help you with any of the equipment. You are free to use whatever facilities we have here if you are unsure about anything please just ask. " Foxface says with a wide smile. "Is there anything I can get you ladies at the moment?"
"Yeah champagne and keep it coming red." Johanna says Holly and Ivy glare at her but Foxface just smiles and leaves the room.
"Be nice Jo or you will get thrown out." Mary warns and Johanna rolls her eyes and starts stripping off right in front of me. I avert my eyes to find the others in various states of undress and I feel my treacherous face redden. Unsure of where to look I pick a spot at my toes and I hear Johanna snort and my eyes dart to her, I try desperately to not notice she is completely naked in front of me but I cannot choose what I see. She stands with her hands on her hips and stares at me.
"You better strip you cant go in the pool with all those layers on." She says and I automatically stand up not wanting to make more of a fool of myself as I have already. I start pulling off my clothes and when I get down to my underwear I get start to get self conscious. I am not ashamed of my body, in fact I like it but I just don't want to show it to everyone. Unlike Johanna who seems to like being naked or it just really doesn't bother her. I however just get embarrassed, unless it is with Peeta. Being naked around Peeta only means good things and looking at Peeta naked is something I could do it all day. I wrap a towel around myself and continue to undress under that.
"Prude." Johanna mutters as she passes me and I frown and pull on my black bathing suit. It fits me great and I follow her and the other into the pool area. The smell of chemical burns my nose and I wrinkle my nose at it. I have heard that public pool had to be treated with chemicals to keep them clean and I decide right way that I hate the smell. It is nothing compared to the sweet earthy smell of my lake. I miss it. I cannot wait to get home and swim in there and teach Peeta, that will be fun. I will not pass up the chance to swim in here though I have never had the chance to swim in a public pool before and despite the smell it looks cool and inviting.
"Do you swim?" Mary asks from my side she looks like she had asked me before.
"I…"
"If you don't it is ok, I could teach you or you can just join the others in the Jacuzzi." She says hurriedly.
"Mary, I can swim." I say with a smile and she lets out a big breath.
"Oh thank god. I felt really bad there for a moment. I forgot to ask about that."
"It's ok. I am going to do a few lengths if that is ok?" I ask and Mary nods enthusiastically.
"Sure, sure we will be up there when you are done."
"Ok see you in a bit." I say and Mary walks off towards the other who are climbing into the circular foaming pool at the end. I roll my braid into a messy bun and dip my toe in the water and I am surprised to find it is warm. I smile as I stretch and quickly dive in. the water is lovely, there is a taste of chemicals in the water to but it isn't as bad as the smell. I kick off from the edge and lose myself in my strokes and breathing.
I keep pushing on until my stomach starts to rumble and I realise that I have not eaten yet this morning. I climb out and see the others are still in the Jacuzzi and I head over to them.
"… I think I will have the waxing done next I really just want to get it over and done with." Mary says as I near and she smiles at me as I eye the bubbling foaming water suspiciously. "Come in Katniss it is lovely really." I climb up the little steps and descend into the bubbles and sit down. They instantly relax me and I smile.
'Nice isn't it?" Effie asks me and I feel my eye widen as I look at her. She looks so drastically different that I almost don't recognise her. Every inch of make up has been removed from her face and her hair no longer is shocking pink but a light pretty blonde that reminds me of Prim's, making me think she must wear a wig. She looks so stunning all natural.
"Yeah it is great." I say eventually and without the makeup you can clearly see Effie blush and I am embarrassed for staring at her.
"You are quite the swimmer. I didn't thing there was much in the way of lakes or rivers in Twelve." Suzanne says and I smile.
"There are plenty." I say and I stare around the group who look like they want to hear more about twelve. "There are quite a few in the woods that I go to, they um…" I look around the group of women who are basically strangers but decide I trust them enough to tell them about my rule breaking. "Well basically they are all outside our borders." I say a little more quietly so you can just hear me over the bubbling water. There are a few gasps and I look around at ther reactions. Holly and Ivy stare at me with wide eyes, Mary has a knowing little smile, Effie has gone pale and Suzanne clutched her heart. Johanna looks at me again with that little smile that tells me she is impressed and I smile back at her.
"We have a little law breaker in out midst." Johanna says still smiling and I feel myself redden.
"You actually go outside your borders?" Effie asks in a whisper and like she has never heard something so outrageous in her life.
"Yes every Sunday when I can. My father used to take me before he died he taught me all about edible plants and how to hunt. That is where I learned to swim. I go now with my best friend Gale and we hunt together to feed our families." There is another gasp from Effie and Suzanne this time.
"My dear that cannot be safe." She says sounding like a mother now, I smile at her.
"I never go on my own I always have Gale or Peeta with me." I say and Suzanne shakes her head in disbelief.
"She does it for her family mum." Mary emphasises. "I am sure if she didn't have to she wouldn't do it." Mary says and I nod in agreement although both she in I knows I still would but for the good of Effie and Suzanne I nod my head in agreement.
"You are a very brave young lady Katniss." Suzanne says and I give her a little smile.
"Not really, I just need to do it. Anyway rabbits and squirrels are not really that scary." I joke and everyone laughs and even Effie manages a little smile.
I finally give into my hunger and ask Mary if there is anywhere that I can get something to eat as she heads for her first treatment.
"Oh god sorry Katniss you haven't eaten yet have you?' She asks and I shake my head. "Sorry, ok if you just go and ask one of the members of the staff they will bring you what ever you want."
"Really?"
"Yes really, it is all paid for so go nuts." Mary says as she walks towards the door that says 'Waxing.'
"Good luck." I say and she turns and smiles nervously at me.
"Thanks, I am going to need it!" She says as the door closes.
I find one of the white shirted workers and ask them if I could possibly have some pancakes and they nod happily and show me towards a little dining room where I am served tea and the girl rushes off to place my order. I sit sipping my tea in my big fluffy bathrobe and watch as Holly and Ivy walk towards me.
"May we sit with you?" One of them asks, I am not sure which one I am still to find a difference in them, I nod and smile unable to speak through my mouthful of hot tea.
"So are you looking forward to the wedding?" I ask as soon as I have swallowed my mouthful. They both smile at me and nod. They transfix me as they talk and finish off each other's sentences. They move in sync and it looks like looking into a mirror when they move together. They tell me about the engagement party and how they hired a stripper much to Mary and Al's horror. This makes me laugh as they imitate the face Al pulled when the stripper turned his attention from Mary to him instead. They describe their identical bridesmaids dresses to me and I laugh loudly and it startles them a little.
"Just to make it more difficult for everyone to tell you two apart." I say and they laugh.
"Yes that is just how we like it. Just so you know I am Ivy. Holly is the one with the mole on her neck." Ivy says and I look at Holly who moves her hair out of the way to show me the small mole on her neck and I nod with a smile.
"Good to know." I say and I smile as my pancakes arrive and I scarf them down and sigh happily when my stomach is full.
"Were you hungry?" Holy says smiling widely.
"Yeah I didn't get a chance to eat before we left this morning." I say and she laughs.
"They did look good." Ivy says looking slightly envious.
"They were but they are not as good as my Peeta's." I say proudly
"Your boyfriend cooks?" Holly and Ivy ask together and I smile.
"Yes he is a great cook, he and his dad own a bakery, it will be his as soon as he finishes school. He is going to take over the business for his dad." I say and Holly and Ivy smile at me looking quite impressed.
"Well aren't you lucky?" Holly says.
"There are not enough men like that around, you had better keep a close eye on him." Ivy says and I nod Johanna and Mary come into the room both grimacing a little.
"I know." I say as I look at Johanna and think of how she spoke about Peeta earlier.
"That was torture!" Mary says as she sits down slowly. Johanna just sits and locks eyes with me.
"What are we talking about?" Johanna asks eyeing me still but speaking to us all.
"We are talking dresses." I say quickly and Holly and Ivy stare at me but Mary picks up that conversation straight away talking about her fitting tomorrow and how she hopes her skin stops throbbing before that. Johanna takes her eyes off me and smiles at Mary.
"Doubt it sis, you might puff up like a balloon." She says dramatically and I sigh happy with my distraction.
Throughout the day I get my nails and toenails painted a dark evergreen colour that will match my dress. I have my skin buffed and cleaned within an inch of its life. My eyebrows are attacked again and I am talked into getting my legs waxed which I immediately regret but grit my teeth and stick it out. After that ordeal I allow myself a glass of wine at lunch. We have a delicious grilled chicken breast salad and potatoes. After lunch I am taken to get my hair treated and after a twenty minute lecture about my split ends it is creamed and wrapped in a plastic wrap to let it soak in. After that I am ushered towards the massage room where I am instructed to take my bathing suit off and lie face down on the table with the towel over my butt. After I protest about getting naked the masseuse just glares at me and taps her foot and I give in and do as she asks. I place my face in the little hole not sure what to expect and after a few moments of feeling uncomfortable I relax into Octavia's ministrations of my muscles and sigh contently. I drift in and out of sleep a few times and when Octavia is done with the massage she helps me sit up and I smile at her lazily.
"Thank you so much." I say and she smiles at me and hands me my soft cotton trousers, t-shirt and shoes.
"You are very welcome darling. Now off you go to Falvius he will be waiting for you." Octavia shoos me out of her room as soon as I am dressed and I leave with another thank you.
"Ah here she is. How was it having your massage cherry popped?" Johanna says from one of the salon chairs.
"Amazing." I say ignoring her crass comment and plopping down in the seat in front of one of the hair washing sinks Flavius pulls out for me.
"Octavia has some talented hands." She says and I just nod in agreement. Flavius spends a long time washing my hair and conditioning it over and over, not that I mind it feels great. I cant help but think of when Peeta washed my hair for me in the bath and I smile.
"Good day dreams." Flavius says with a little smile and I blush.
"Yes." I say and he smiles widely and winks at me. No more is said on the subject and he doesn't probe which I appreciate, he only discusses my hair and how lovely it is when it is looked after. I nod in agreement and close my eyes as tiredness creeps over me again. I manage to get in "don't cut it short" in before I drift off.
"Katniss? Wake up we need to start heading off." Effie says and I sit up straight. "Come on that's it, we have a big big night tonight."
"Ok I am up." I say as I stand and stretch. I look at myself in the mirror and gasp. My hair is free flowing and has gorgeous waves that fall through it.
"Do you like it?" Flavius asks his hands clasped together looking hopeful.
"It is lovely, thank you. Who did my make up?" I ask touching my cheek I spot a slight girl wave in the mirror and I smile at her.
"Her name is Vienia." Flavius says in a whisper and I turn to the young woman.
"Thank you it looks lovely." I say and the woman blushes and nods.
"Come." Effie says and I follow her and realise I must look ridiculous in my lounge wear with this lovely hair and perfect make up and thinking of how much of a waste it is having it all done makes me laugh. Effie looks at me questioningly I shake my head.
"It's nothing." I say and she smiles and I notice her hair and make up have been done too she looks normal. Not anything like the slightly out of this world version of herself I knew before. "You look really pretty." I say as I get into the bus. She blinks at me and I smile. She blushes as she gets in after me and mutters a quick thank you before she sits down and buckles herself in.
I fall asleep again on the bus home the exhaustion of the trip to Seven the eventful evening Peeta and I shared and today weighing heavy on me. I start awake at the bus stops outside the Mason's and yawn.
"Morning sleepy head." Mary says smiling widely at me. "We weren't sure if we would have to carry you into the house or not."
"Sorry I am just exhausted." I say and Mary chuckles at me as if I was stating the obvious. I get out of the bus and stretch.
"Well I hope you are rested because today is not over." Mary says her eyes shining with excitement.
"What have you got planned?" I ask sounding a little apprehensive. She smiles and takes my hand and pulls me along.
"How do you feel about dancing?" She asks and I groan.
The club is loud and I can hardly hear myself think. I am standing at the bar basically holding myself up as I try to get used to these silly high heeled shoes that Johanna kindly let me borrow. If I didn't know any better I would say she was trying to kill me with the shoes. I keep nervously pulling at the bottom of my skirt as we wait for the bar man to serve us.
"Katniss relax you look great." Mary says and I give her a small smile.
"It feels like my butt is hanging out." I moan. I know it isn't of course I chose the longest skirt in Mary's wardrobe and it covers me right down to the knees and in comparison to some of the "skirts" in this place mine is practically full length. It is just I don't normally have my legs on display unless it is for Peeta and it makes me feel exposed and a little uncomfortable.
"Katniss you are fine." Mary says as she gives me an apologetic look. "You are hating this aren't you?"
"No I... it's just that I don't normally go out in clubs. Or at all really."
"Do you want to go home? I can have Mitchell come and get you if you want?" Mary says and I seriously consider it for a moment and then I hear Prim in my head and her cross little face crosses my vision. "Katniss just relax and enjoy yourself!" She says to me and I smile and look at Mary who is looking concerned.
"No I am ok Mary." I say with a smile.
"Brainless what do you want to drink?" Johanna says from Mary's other side.
"Surprise me." I say and Mary arches her eyebrow at me and I smile. "I might not get the chance to come back here again." I say and Mary frowns but nods her head.
"Just be careful." She says and Johanna grins widely.
"That's the spirit." She says and she orders some drinks, she turns and hands me a cold bottle of beer and a small glass of amber liquid. "Drink this one first," She says holding up her identical small glass, "then drink the beer." I nod and Mary looks at me.
"Are you sure?" She asks and I nod.
"Sure."
"She is fine Mary. She is a big girl if she can take down squirrels she can handle a little drink." Johanna says and I glare at her. Holly and Ivy join us and Johanna holds up her glass. "Here is to my baby sister and her impending monogamy and misery." Johanna says smiling and Mary laughs.
"Cheers." We all say and we drink. As the amber liquid passes my lips my eyes widen at the taste and the burning on my tongue I swallow and cough.
"Now drink the beer." Johanna says and I take a long drink of the cold beer. it doesn't taste great but is definitely soothes the burn from the other drink. I wipe my mouth and breathe heavily.
"That was disgusting!" I say and Johanna smiles.
"It is am acquired taste." She says smiling. "Do you want another?" She asks and I notice a warmth spreading through me and I nod.
"Sure why not?" I say and Johanna puts her arm over my shoulders and pulls me towards the bar.
"Behave!" Mary says warningly toJohanna as Holly and Ivy drag her towards the dance floor.
"Yes mum." Johanna says with an eye roll.
Some time later I stint ting with Johanna at a little round table and she looks bored as she look around the club. "So how come you are not dancing?" I ask as I sip on my fourth beer.
"Someone has to babysit." She says glancing at me and then back out onto the dance floor.
"Great job you are doing. What with getting me drunk and all that." I say and she looks at me again and smiles.
"You want to dance?" She asks rising her eyebrow at me and I stand up.
"Sure." I say and I drag Johanna out onto the dance floor. I turn and she bumps into me and I stumble back into a tall man who catches me by the arms.
"Steady there doll." He says and I straighten up.
"Sorry about that, my friend bumped into me." I say straightening my skirt he laughs and I realise he is still holding my arm so I pull it free of his grip. "Thanks for catching me."
"Any time doll." He says and I give him a quick smile and turn back to Johanna who smiles at me.
"He was hot." She says and I shrug.
"I never noticed." I say and she frowns at me.
"Are you blind or something? He was smoking hot."
"Not interested." I say with a shrug and she scoffs.
"You won't mind if I have a crack at him then?" Johanna says and I shake my head and she pushes past me and walks over to him with a big smile on her face. She taps him on the shoulder and he turns to look at her and smiles. This is apparently all she need and she pulls him towards her and kisses him. He stills for a moment but when she doesn't let him go he relaxes and starts to grab he back. I stare at them in disbelief for a moment and shake my head before I turn to look for Mary and the others. I see them dancing together and I make my way over, when Mary sees me she rushes over and hugs me. She is clearly very drunk.
"Hey are you having fun?" She asks loudly in my ear and I nod. "Dance with me." She says as she spins me around and I laugh as she pulls me towards her.
We dance until my feet are throbbing and we grab a few bottles of water and find a few seats at the back of the club.
"Thank you for inviting me out. It is nice to spend some time with girls." I say and Mary smiles and takes my hand.
"It has been my pleasure. I bet it is a bit tiresome hanging out with boys all the time."
"Yeah sometimes. Most of the time it is great and I do have Madge and Prim but Madge is all baby brained at the moment and Prim is too young to talk about things with you know?" I say and Mary nods. "It is just nice to be able to relax."
"I get what you mean, well I am glad you are enjoying yourself." She looks out into the crowd and I do to. I see Holly and Ivy dancing with a man each and we scan for Johanna but she is nowhere to be seen and neither is the guy she was kissing.
"Where is Jo?" I ask scanning the crowd again to see if my drunk eyes might have missed her.
"Bathrooms." Mary says in a tight voice and I look at her with my eyebrows raised.
"Oh, is she um... with that guy?" I ask and Mary nods with her lips in a tight disapproving line. "I thought she was married." I say and Mary stiffens slightly.
"She is, well she was married. Her husband Seeder died in an accident." Mary says and I gasp slightly.
"Oh god, I'm sorry I didn't know. I shouldn't have said anything. It is none of my business." I splutter and Mary squeezes my hand.
"It is ok, I should have told you to be honest. I know my sister seems a bit erm... intense and she might use other men to forget but she is good. She doesn't trust people easily and Seeder was her whole life and now he is gone she is a little lost. It is killing me to see her like this, you should have seen her before she was so happy. I have tried talking to her about it and she just brushes me off every time telling me she is ok. I think this is just her way of coping. If you can call this coping." Mary says and I swallow hard as a lump rises in my throat. "Please don't judge her on what she is like now. She is not really this bad, she is still rude and crude but she is a good person. In fact she is the best person I know and I look up to her. She is just a little off track just now."
"Ok." I say not really sure what else to say.
"Thank you Katniss. I think she likes you though." Mary says and I laugh.
"I don't know about that." I say and Mary just smiles.
"She hasn't hit you yet, so that's a good sign." Mary says with a chuckle and I laugh she stands up and pulls me with her. "Come on let's get some more dancing done before we have to leave." I roll my eyes and my feet begin to throb instantly.
After twenty more minutes of painful dancing Johanna pushes her way through the crowd with a big smile and pulling the guy behind her.
"Guys this is Cash." She says and we wave at him and he gives us a smile and I snicker when I noticed his ruffed up hair, that is quite the opposite of the slicked back style he wore earlier. "So we are going to head out, Holly and Ivy are ready to go."
"Sure we are ready to go anyway our feet are killing us." Mary says and I nod.
"Awesome, we will meet you outside then." Johanna says and she drags Cash behind her as she leaves.
"What sort of name is Cash?" I ask Mary who giggles as we reach Holly and Ivy who are waiting for us at the exit.
"Where did your dance partners go? You were looking pretty cosy." Mary asks them and they both shrug.
"Oh we sent them on their merry way." Ivy says smiling and waving her hand.
After a long wait for Mitchell to pick us up and many apologies from him we are finally on our way back to the Masons and I couldn't be more pleased. My feet are killing me and I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. I try my best and focus on the conversation Mary and Mitchell are having.
"People are just stupid. Drink driving is so not worth the danger." Mitchell says angrily and Mary nods in agreement.
"I hope no one was hurt." Mary says and Mitchell grunts.
"It didn't look good. The wreck was a mess." He says his tome solemn.
"That is sad." Mary says and she sighs. "Are the boys back yet?" She asks changing the subject, Mitchell laughs.
"Yes they got back just as I was about to leave for you ladies." He says and Mary smiles.
"How were they and be honest Mitchell?" She says and I see his eyes crease as he smiles.
"They were fine a little bruised and dirty but in relatively high spirits." He says.
"So they are drunk is that what you are trying to say?" Mary asks with a laugh and Mitchell just gives a little shrug and continues to smile.
"They were all in the kitchen when I left, they may still be up." Mitchell says and I smile hoping Peeta is still up. Peeta drunk that I have to see for myself.
"I hope mum of Effie managed to get them to bed, especially Al we have lots to do tomorrow." Mary says biting her lip.
"I doubt that your mum did go in but your father passed me with her slung over his shoulder." Mitchell says and Mary groans. There is a sucking sound from behind me as Johanna's lips leave Cash's.
"Ugh Mitchell we did not need to know that, that's gross!" She complains sliding off of Cash's lap and folding her arms. " Sorry the moment is ruined." She adds as Cash tries to kiss her again. I hear him groan and I chuckle to myself.
Finally. We get back to the Mason's and I smile as I climb out of the car. Only a few more yards to walk in these damn shoes and then they are coming off. I think as I walk slowly across the gravel and as I reach the steps I yank them off and put my burning feet to the cool marble groan and smile. The door is thrown open and Al smiles down at all of us.
"Hello girls did you have a good night?" He asks as he makes his way to Mary. He doesn't wait for an answer before he is kissing her. "Come for a walk with me?" He asks and she smiles widely and nods before turning to us.
"Thanks for today guys, I had a great time." Mary says and Al takes her hand and pulls her into the darkness.
"Well as much as I would love to stay and chat…" Johanna says sarcastically and she drags a slightly dazed looking Cash into the house. I see him look around with an impressed look and then he is whipped around a corner and they are gone. Holly, Ivy and I follow them in and I close the door behind me.
"Good night Katniss." They say together and the wave as the go in the opposite direction to where my room is, they must be in another wing of the house. I stare around the cavernous hallway and I climb the stairs quickly my feet slapping off the wooden floor. As I near my room I notice I am smiling widely and I attribute that to the fact I will be seeing Peeta in a few seconds. I reach a familiar looking hallway and walk over to the door which I really hope is mine and Peeta's room. I open the door a crack and peek in and smile again when I see Peeta sitting up on the bed with a scetch pad on his knees a pencil in his hand and a slight crease between his eyebrows. It is the look he wears when he is concentrating. I open the door fully and he looks up and smiles widely erasing the crease and making his eyes shine.
"Hey." He says setting the pad and pencil down on the bedside table. I close the door behind me and lock it. He smiles and his eye brow quirks up and I laugh.
"Hey." I say and he opens his arms to me and I crawl up the bed and straight into his arms.
"I missed you today." He says nuzzling into my hair.
"I missed tou too. Did you have a good day?"
"Yeah it was great. You would have loved it. I am pretty sore though." He sats stretching. "How was your day?"
"It was actually really good." I say and he looks down at me looking unconvinced and I laugh. "No really I had a good time it was nice to be pampered."
"That's good I am glad you enjoyed it."
"Yeah it was great and everyone was really nice, well maybe with the exception of Johanna." I say and Peeta frowns.
"What was she doing?" He asks and I sit up.
"I don't know she just seemed a little hostile or whatever I don't think she likes me to much." I say Peeta chuckles and I frown at him.
"I am sure that's not true."
"Honestly she kept calling me a prude and saying things to make me uncomfortable. When I said I hunted she looked impressed and stuff but then she started going on about…" I pause and look down at the covers.
"About?" Peeta asks and I look up at him.
"She was talking about how she was sorry to see Effie had got her claws into Rye before she got here, her words not mine." I say and Peeta's eyes widen slightly. "That was after saying she liked you." I add and his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline.
"Really?" He asks sounding shocked. "She actually said that to you?"
"Well she put it differently." I say and I feel myself blushing.
"How did she put it?" Peeta asks and I sigh.
"She asked if I was… if I was fucking you." I say and Peeta laughs loudly and I slap his arm.
"Wow she's um, direct." Peeta says still trying to stifle a laugh.
"Yeah a bit." I say trying not to smile.
"So what did you say?" He asks and I roll my eyes.
"Well I told her the truth I said yes I was and that you were mine." I say and Peeta smiles widely.
"Yours eh?" He says and I smile and shove him slightly.
"Yes mine!" I say and he grins.
"I like that." He says and I roll my eyes. "How was the club? Did you have to beat of men with a stick?"
"It was fine and no I didn't some guy called me doll face and caught me from falling but he is currently in Johanna's bed." I say and Peeta snorts.
"Wow she moves on quickly." He says and I wonder if he means from her husband of if he is he jokingly saying she moved quickly from him. I don't want to tell him about Johanna's husband if he doesn't already know so I leave it alone.
"Any way thanks for the warning about the club." I say with narrowed eyes and he smiles at me apologetically.
"You didn't enjoy it?" He asks with a smile.
"No it was fine I had fun. My feet are killing me and I actually got drunk." I say and Peeta's eyes widen
"You did?" He says sounding shocked.
"Yes I did." I say and he grins. "It tasted gross and I won't be doing it again in a hurry but after a few my taste buds died and I couldn't taste it any more."
"Well, well Katniss Everdeen the party animal. I am not going to have another Haymitch to worry about am I?" He says with a smile.
"Oh shut up, I know you were drinking too. No amount of tooth paste can cover it up." I say as I get out of bed and look for something to wear to sleep.
"Who told you?" He asks watching me as I undress.
"Mitchell." I say as I pull of my top.
"The traitor!" Peeta huffs and throws me one of his t-shirts. "I hoped that brushing my teeth would have covered it." He says mischievously and I laugh as I pull the t-shirt over my head.
"I am going to do my teeth. Be right back."
"Be quick." Peeta says pulling off his t-shirt and throwing it to the ground I smile at him and rush into the bathroom. I quickly brush my teeth making my mouth taste a million times better. I decide to have a quick shower so I tie my hair up and quickly wash. I dry off and pull Peeta's t-shirt over my head again and breathe in his scent. I am smiling as I leave the bathroom and I lock eyes with Peeta who is lying on his side with his head propped on his hand.
"I love your new haircut." He says smiling at me.
"Thanks." I say as I look over him greedily. He looks delicious all sprawled out on the bed before me in his blue boxers and his pale skin smooth and tight against his generous muscles. All I can think in my head is MINE! I leap into the bed push him onto his back and straddle his hips. I lean forward and brush my lips along his jaw towards his ear and he grabs my hips and I smile against his ear. "So about that rain cheque?" I say as I nibble his ear making him groan. "I would really like to cash it in." He hums in agreement. "I have been thinking about you all day and ever since Johanna said she wanted you I just wanted to show everyone…" I nip his neck and his hips thrust up and he moans, "…that you are mine." I say and I look down at him and his eyes flutter open and he is breathing heavily.
"Only yours." He says and I lean down and kiss him he growls and flips us over and he crashes his lips to mine. "God I love you." He sighs and I giggle and he cuts me off with his lips.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I have to thank you to SheWolf412 for making it clear to me that sometimes it is not clear when a lot of time has lapsed and I have put little markers in for you guys to make it a little easier to read and to make it more flowing.
Thank you all for the support I would love to know what you think as always. Thank you!