Author's Note: Hi everyone, I'm really sorry I didn't update yesterday! I'm just really busy right now, studying and stuff :( But, here's chapter 25, enjoy! Oh and by the way, I'm skipping 5 weeks, because nothing interesting is going to happen in those weeks anyway.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins is the owner of this amazing trilogy. This story is mine, although the characters are not.
Chapter 25
5 week later
Katniss' POV
My alarm clock goes off and I nearly jump out of bed. Today we were going to go to District 4, and I couldn't wait. But first, school. I have a long shower and put on a pair of shorts and a red tank top. I braid my hair again and then walk downstairs. I walk into the kitchen and make myself some breakfast. I then walk into the living room and sit next to Prim, opposite my mother. "Morning." I say. "Good morning Katniss." My mother says and smiles slightly.
"Prim, are you sure you'll be okay for a few days? I don't have to go to District 4, I can always stay here." I say with a worried voice. Prim just shakes her head. "Katniss, I'll be fine. Really. Anyway, Mom will be here most of the time. So it's not like I'll be on my own. You just have fun in District 4, and don't worry about me, okay?" She says and puts her hand on my shoulder. I sigh and nod. "Okay." I say. Prim smiles and walks out of the room.
I look at my mother. "You're going to stay here for those few days, aren't you?" I whisper. She nods. I nod as well and finish my breakfast. Before I walk out, I turn to my mother again. "Look after her. I mean, really look after her. Make sure she's safe and has her dinner on time, and goes to bed and stuff. Like a mother should anyway. Okay?" I say. My mother looks down and nods. I walk out and put my plate in the kitchen. I hear a car honk and I grab my bag.
Prim comes running down the stairs and gives me a big hug. "Have a great time in District 4. And when you come back, bring the sun with you!" She says and smiles. I chuckle. "Thanks, and I will." I say and give her a kiss on the top of her head. I then walk out and into Peeta's car. "Good morning." He says and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "Good morning." I say and smile. He starts the car and we ride to school.
"So, are you packed and ready for later?" He says and I nod. I had been packed for a few days now. "Me too." He says and grins. After a while we're at school and we wait for Madge. A few moments later she's running towards us. "We're going to District 4 later!" She yells and jumps around. Peeta and I laugh, she had been doing this every morning for five weeks now. We walk to our class and sit down.
The teacher starts talking and Madge hands me a note.
What if Gale isn't happy to see me?
I sigh and roll my eyes.
You're all he's been talking about in his letters. Believe me, he can't wait to see you. I write and give it back. She reads it and smiles.
The day goes by slowly, and it seems like every class is five hours long. It's very frustrating. When the final bell goes, Madge and I run to our locker. We put our books in our locker and then walk outside to Peeta's car, where he's already starting the engine. We both get in and ride to Madge's house. She picks up her bag and then we go to mine and Peeta's houses. Peeta parks the car. We quickly grab our bags and then walk towards the train station.
"In less than 4 hours we'll be in District 4!" Madge squeals. We walk to the train station. After a while we're there. We find our train and sit down. The train is nearly empty, as it's only 12 o'clock and most people are still at work or school. I sit down next to Peeta, and Madge sits down opposite us. After ten minutes the train starts riding. Madge pulls out a big make-up bag. She starts brushing her hair and putting on some mascara. Peeta rolls his eyes. "Madge, Gale fell in love with you when you had barely any make-up on. You don't need all that mascara and eyeshadow-stuff." He says.
Madge frowns and puts her hand down. "I suppose you're right." She murmurs and starts taking most of it off. After a while she puts the bag away. "We still have at least three hours." She then says. I nod. Three hours was quite a long time if you had nothing to do. Peeta sighs. "What if when I'm there, Gale realizes he actually doesn't like me and goes out with someone else?" Madge then asks.
I laugh and shake my head. "Madge, stop being silly." I say. She frowns and looks out of the window. "How about we play a game?" Peeta then says and grins. "Okay." Madge says. "Okay, so we all have to say as much things as we can about the other person. Everything you know about that person, you have to say. The one that knows most, wins." He says. "That's not fair, you know everything about me." I say. He shrugs. "Okay, I'll begin saying everything I know about you, Peeta." Madge says.
"You're name is Peeta Mellark. You're 16 years old. You have two brothers, Rye and Leo. You're father used to be a baker, and you can bake brilliantly as well. You can also paint. You have a car. You're dating Katniss Everdeen," She says and smiles at me, "You love her. You also have a good friend named Madge Undersee. You think she's amazing." She says and we laugh.
"Well, very well done Madge, but I think I know more." I say and grin. "Go on then." Madge says. I nod. "Okay, well, Peeta Mellark, 16 years old, blue eyes, two brothers, Rye and Leo, a father named Jonathan and a lovely mother." I say and he laughs. "Your dating me. You love me. Your honest, brave and sweet. Your favorite color is sunset orange. You always double-tie your shoelaces. You're a baker. You paint. You always sleep with your window open. And you never take sugar in your tea." I say.
Madge stares at me with her mouth slightly open. "Wow, Katniss. Have you been stalking him or something?" She says and laughs. Peeta brushes my cheek softly. He gives me a quick kiss. "Okay, I'll say what I know about Katniss. I think I'll beat you this time, Peeta. I've known her much longer than you." Madge says and grins.
"Katniss Everdeen. You're 16 years old, have a little sister named Prim, and a boyfriend named Peeta Mellark. You love him. You both make out a lot. You have an awesome friend named Madge, who you trust completely and tell all your secrets. You can hunt. Your other best friend before Peeta moved here was Gale Hawthorne. You love chocolate. And you hate Buttercup." She says.
I nod. "That's quite right Madge. Except for the 'awesome friend named Madge' bit." I say and grin. She puts out her tongue and smiles as well. Peeta turns to me, and puts my hands in between his. "Katniss Everdeen, 16 years old. You have a little sister named Primrose and a mother named Suzanne. You're dating some handsome guy named Peeta Mellark. You love him. He loves you. You can hunt. You've been hunting for 4 years. You're favorite color is green. You adore chocolate. You have a weird, crazy friend named Madge. You always put your hair in a braid. You're beautiful. You hate Buttercup. And you love making out with me." He says and grins. I laugh and give him a kiss on the cheek.
Madge slaps Peeta's arm. "I'm not weird!" She says and Peeta laughs. Then Peeta starts talking again. "Madge Undersee. 16 years old, the mayor's daughter. Has an entertainment-room in her mansion, along with a load of games, sauna and swimming pool. You love Gale Hawthorne, whom you are currently dating. You have two cool friends called Katniss and Peeta. Peeta is the coolest guy you know. You think he's amazing and dream of getting his autograph some day. You have a friend called Louis. And you love strawberries." He says and grins. We burst out laughing.
"Oh, yeah Peeta, you're the coolest guy I know." Madge says in between laughing. "I don't think I can actually add anything to that." I say. Peeta grins again. "Well, I think I win then." Peeta says. "Oh my god, you won, can I have your autograph?" Madge says and we all start laughing again.
We talk for another while. Then Madge goes to the bathroom. "Behave yourselves while I'm gone." She says and walks out. Peeta rolls his eyes and pulls me closer. He starts kissing me and I put my arms around his neck. He leans back and smiles. "We know quite a lot about each other, don't we?" He says. I nod. It was weird. I've only known him for nearly three months. He gives me one last kiss and then let's go, because Madge is walking back in.
She sits down and we all talk again. Ugh, the time was going by so slowly today. Like nobody actually wanted us to go to District 4. After what seemed like years, the train finally started slowing down. We all look out of the window and gasp. The first thing you saw was the beach. The sand was gold and the sea was a bright blue. There were a load of people in bikini's, and I suddenly realize I'm really warm. After another ten minutes we're at the train station and it finally stops. We walk towards the doors. Suddenly Madge stops and looks at me with a scared face.
"Madge, it'll be okay." I say and squeeze her hand. She nods and clears her throat. She then quickly adjusts her hair. "Ready?" Peeta asks. We nod and he opens the door. We walk out and I feel a wave of heat hitting me. I look around and see Finnick, Annie and Gale standing at the other side of the platform. "Hey, guys!" Peeta yells and waves. Finnick spots us and tells the others. Gale runs over to us and picks Madge up. He kisses her and I smile. Finnick and Annie walk over to us. "Katniss!" Annie squeals and gives me a tight hug. I chuckle. "Hi Annie." I say and she smiles. Then she goes over to Peeta.
I suddenly feel somebody picking me up. "Hi Katniss!" Finnick says and I laugh. He puts me down and I smile at him. "Hey Finnick." I say and he grins. I look over at Gale and Madge, and see they're in the exact same place and position, still kissing each other. I walk over to them and say hi. They both just ignore me. I clear my throat. "Hi Gale." I say loudly. He leans back and smiles at Madge. Then he turns around and sees me. "Hi Katniss!" He says and picks me up like Finnick did. He puts me down again and tucks some hair behind my ear. "How are you?" He asks. "Fine." I say and look at Madge. Her cheeks are dark red and she looks extremely happy.
Gale says hi to Peeta, and they give each other a quick hug. Then we walk towards the beach. Gale and Madge walk in front, holding each others hands. Peeta and Finnick are walking behind them, talking and laughing, and Annie and I are walking behind. "Don't you think they are just the cutest couple?" She says and smiles towards Gale and Madge. I nod. Annie chuckles. "Gale, Katniss think so too!" She yells. Gale turns around and smiles at me. He then walks on again, talking to Madge.
We walk for ten minutes. I then notice a gigantic house, right next to the beach. "My god, is that your house?" I yell. Gale turns around and smiles. "Yeah." He yells back. We walk in and Peeta, Madge and I gasp. The house was enormous. It had the highest ceiling I've ever seen, and a load of windows, which made the house look very bright and welcoming. The walls were a light blue, with big white pillars, and it had a wooden floor. "This is the most beautiful house I've ever seen." Peeta whispers. Gale smiles. "Thanks. You can put your bags here." He says and gestures towards the corner. He puts down Madge's bag, which he had been carrying for her.
We then all sit down around a big table and have some sandwiches. "So, for how long are you staying?" Finnick asks. "Four nights. We're leaving on Tuesday." Peeta says and I nod. "Great! Then we'll have time to do stuff!" Annie says. "Like what?" I ask. "Well, you just have to go to the beach. No one leaves District 4 without having been to the beach." Finnick says and Gale and Annie nod. "And there's an amusement park here." Annie says. I gasp. I thought they only had those in the capitol.
"Really?" Peeta asks. Annie nods and grins. "They just finished building it a few weeks ago. We can go later if you want?" She says and we all nod. We then finish our sandwiches. Rory, Gale's little brother walks in with a big bag. "Hi Katniss, Finnick, Annie." He says and stares at Peeta and Madge. He then grins at his brother and walks over to Madge. "Ah, you must be Madge." He says.
Gale looks at him with a worried face. Madge nods. "Nice to meet you, Madge. I'm Rory. Gale has told me all about you. He-" Gale runs up to him and puts his arm around his head, with his hand on Rory's mouth. Madge blushes and Gale does too. Rory wriggles out and runs to the other side of the room. "Whenever he's on the phone with you he always smiles and looks dreamy and stuff." He says and Gale runs after him. Rory runs around the table. "He loves-" Gale grabs him and puts his hand over his mouth again. "Goodbye, Rory. Have fun in District 5." He says and carries him to the living room. He then locks the door and walks back with his hand on the back of his neck.
Finnick, Annie, Peeta and I are just grinning like idiots. This was hysterical. Gale walks up to Madge and stands in front of her. "He, uh, yeah, um-" He blushes and stutters some things. Madge stands up and gives him a small kiss on the cheek. Gale's shoulders drop and Madge leans back. They both sit down again and we all laugh. Gale just smiles while he finishes his sandwich.
We all finish and stand up. "Amusement park?" Annie asks. We all nod and walk outside. I thought we were going to walk, but Gale walks into a garage behind the house. When he comes back, he's in a gigantic, black jeep with no roof and six seats. "Hop in." He says and grins. I raise my eyebrows and climb in. "Yeah, having a rich soon-to-be-stepfather has its benefits." He says and I chuckle. Gale sits in the drivers seat, and next to him sit Madge and Annie. In the back there's me, Finnick and Peeta in the middle.
We start driving and Peeta puts his arm on my shoulders. I lean my head on his shoulder and look at District 4 as it passes us by. It was beautiful. Compared to District 12, it was like heaven. It was really warm and sunny, and the whole place just looked... friendly. After about half an hour, Gale parks the car and we walk to a big entrance. Gale's about to pull out his wallet, but Finnick stops him.
"Let me." He says and winks. He walks up to one of the girls selling the tickets. "Hi Suzie." He says and leans against a wall. The girl turns around and gasps. "Hi Finnick! I can't believe you still know my name, we haven't been in the same classes for ages!" She says and looks at him with big eyes. I look at Annie and she rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I miss those times. Anyway, my friends and I we're wondering if we could get in-" She puts up her hand. "Of course. Here are six tickets. Have fun!" She says and looks at Finnick with a smile that would make anyone feel sick. "Thank you." He says and brushes her cheek. We all walk in and leave a sighing Suzie behind us.
"Works every time." Finnick says as Peeta gives him a high five. Annie slaps his arm softly but then smiles at him. We walk and I gasp. This was unreal. I had never, ever seen anything like it before. "What do you want to go on first?" Gale asks. Peeta points towards a big roller coaster. We walk to it and wait for a few minutes. Then it's our turn. I sit down next to Peeta, Finnick sits next to Annie and Gale sits next to Madge. I see Madge is a bit scared. But Gale grabs her hand and gives her a quick kiss. She relaxes and they sit down.
After a few moments the bars go down around our waist. Peeta grabs my hand and squeezes softly. The roller coaster starts moving and we're going up. We then just keep going up, and up, and up. After a while we can see miles away. We can even see Gale's neighborhood. The roller coaster stops going up and goes straight. Then it stops. "Is this supposed to happen?" Peeta asks. Finnick looks around and nods, grinning. Suddenly we're going down quickly and I scream. I squeeze Peeta's hand and I really feel like I'm flying. We make a few loops and turns, and after a few minutes we're back to where we started. The roller coaster stops and the bars go up. I look at Peeta and see him staring at our hands painfully. I realize I'm still squeezing Peeta's hand.
I let go and Peeta sighs of relief. He rubs his hand and I say sorry and give him a kiss. We all walk towards another few roller coasters and other things. After a few hours we sit down on a bench and have some fries. "How's your hand doing?" Finnick asks Peeta and I slap Finnicks arm. They all laugh and Peeta grins at me. "I didn't squeeze it that hard." I murmur. Peeta snorts. "You nearly broke every bone!" He says and everyone laughs again. I roll my eyes and finish my fries.
We all finish and Gale looks at a big clock at the entrance. "Okay, we have time for about one more ride. What are we going to go on?" He asks. Finnick points towards a tunnel saying 'The love boat'. Peeta and Gale grin and we walk towards it. We wait for a few minutes until its our turn. Three heart-shaped boats turn up, and we climb into them. We go into a dark tunnel, and suddenly I can't see anything anymore. I feel something tugging at my waist and I laugh. The boys were so silly. They actually made us all go into some boats just to make out. I shake my head and find Peeta's face with my hands. I kiss him and his hands linger on my waist.
I hear silence from the boat behind us, which means Gale and Madge were having a good time. Suddenly I hear Annie yell something. "Finnick, don't pretend you have to feel your way to my face!" She yells and we all laugh. After about ten long minutes of kissing, we see a light and we're out of the tunnel again. Peeta helps me out of the boat and Finnick and Annie are out too. We turn around and see Madge and Gale are still sitting there making out.
I sigh. "Madge." I say. She doesn't respond. "Gale." I say. He doesn't respond. I look at Peeta and see him grinning mischievously. He grabs his water bottle and pours it over their heads. They lean back and gasp. They're both soaking wet and we give Peeta a high five. "Peeta!" Madge yells. Gale helps Madge out of the boat and then turns to Peeta. "Mellark, you're dead." He says and runs towards Peeta. Peeta laughs and runs away. They run around a corner and we all laugh. We decide to walk back to the car, they'd come back eventually.
"So, you had a good ten minutes with Gale?" I ask Madge and she blushes. "Oh shut up Katniss." She says. Finnick and Annie chuckle. We hop into the car. After fifteen minutes Peeta and Gale both come back, and they're now both soaked. Peeta hops in the car and sits between Finnick and I. "I love you guys." He says and puts his arms around both of us. "Dude!" Finnick says and tries to push him away. We both get soaked as well, and I see Madge has made Annie wet too.
We ride back to Gale's house, looking like we all just came out of the shower, and park the car. It's already getting quite late, the moon was out already. We walk in and put our pajamas' on. Then Gale and Finnick walk over to us. "How many mattresses do we need?" Finnick asks. I shrug. "Three. Definitely three." Peeta says and grins at me mischievously. I laugh and roll my eyes. Then Peeta, Gale and Finnick go upstairs to retrieve the mattresses. "You're sleeping with Gale on one mattress." I whisper to Madge and she freezes. The boys come back down and put down the mattresses. We do our teeth and get ready for bed.
Then Peeta puts his hands around my waist. "Well, goodnight everyone." He says and pulls me onto the mattress. I laugh and sit down next to him. We all say goodnight and I see Madge sit down next to Gale shyly. He pulls her in for a kiss and then they lie down next to each other. Finnick puts his arms around Annie and they lie down next to each other as well. But, of course, Peeta pulls me on top of him. I roll my eyes again and give him a kiss. "Goodnight everyone." Gale says and puts off the light.
Peeta puts his arms around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head. "Goodnight, sweetheart." He whispers. I smile and lay my head down on his chest. I smell the salty air and softly hear the waves in the distance, and I fall asleep thinking of what a lovely place it is.
Author's Note: Hellooo, I'd like to thank everyone for the reviews. 257 already, like, wow. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. It will be some time tomorrow, Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm sorry if I don't update tomorrow, but I'm really busy. Thanks for reading the story, and don't forget to review! :)