Yay, it's an update! Just a quick reminder for everyone that the gap between the last chapter and the one before it is two years, meaning that Summer is eighteen, Gale is 22(if my math was correct), and Katniss and Peeta are 20 (again, if I got my facts straight. I've been traveling this weekend so I'm disoriented and such right now). BIG BIG BIG CHAPTER!
The next morning, I wake to especially unpleasant feelings: nausea and dizziness. I'm taking deep breathes as a sit up, trying to push them away. My head feels heavy and I groan loudly as I let my entire body fall forward on the bed so that my face is where my feet should be.
"You alright?" I hear Gale call from out in the hallway. Of course he heard that. I swear, he hears so much it's insane.
"Nothing you can help me with, jerk," I call back.
Alright, so maybe I'm being a little unfair. I'm not really angry at Gale, per say. I'm just extremely discouraged by the choices he's made as of late. Besides, it's not all his fault. I knew what I was getting myself into. In fact, I'm pretty sure it was my idea. Was it? Actually… Wait.
Okay, so I don't really remember whose idea it was, but I'm pretty sure it was mine. He didn't have to go along with it though. He was probably less drunk than I was anyway – not that I actually remember that either – and he just shouldn't have let me drink.
"I'm going out to see my family. I'll be back in a few hours," Gale says tiredly. I huff to myself, but don't reply.
It's fifteen minutes before I can stand without using the bed for support; twenty before I can walk without worrying I'll throw up if I move. When I can finally walk, I go into the bathroom where I see the purplish bags under my eyes from the several hours of sleep this month that were lost to nightmares.
My entire life, I'd had maybe three or four nightmares that I actually considered terrifying. I mean, everyone has bad dreams, but I just didn't have frequent nightmares. Until this last June.
And I don't mean that kind of nightmares that make you wake up for a few minutes before you fall asleep peacefully. I mean, terrifying, kicking the wall beside your bed, screaming your lungs out, stay up all night hyperventilating kind of nightmares. It's the kind where even if you do fall asleep eventually, it just comes back to haunt you in the dark corners of your bedroom.
Right, so I've been having these terrible nightmares like every other night since last summer. It's pretty much gotten to the point where I've been going for nightly walks just to stay awake. Gale hates it because apparently there's "a lot more crime around here" than I think, and "I could get seriously hurt without proper lighting." So I walked.
Now, from the way I talk about Gale, some might get the idea that we never liked each other at all – which is not true. We were actually really good friends for the first year. But then we were both working so hard to pay all the bills, and things got weird.
I shake the past from my head as I slowly get dressed and brush my hair. By the time I'm out the front door and walking down the street, the unsettled stomach is settled, and I try to prepare myself to act like nothing is wron-
I smell bacon.
Yes, this is my first thought after I barge into Katniss's large house. I do feel guilty, I won't pretend I don't. My first thought should've been something like, I'm finally home, or something, but it wasn't.
"That you, Blondie?" I hear Peeta call. I walk into the kitchen grinning.
"You can't call someone Blondie if you're a Blondie too, Blondie," I laugh, plopping down in a seat across the island counter from him and the stove where the bacon is frying.
"Surprised you didn't come over some fifteen minutes ago with Gale. I thought you said you guys were friends," he says, flipping over a few of the strips of bacon.
"Would it be terribly imposing if I asked to stay here instead of going back to Two?" I ask in reply with frown. Peeta looks at me with a concerned face.
"Did something happen? Did he hurt you?" he starts asking. My eyes widen.
"No! Oh my goodness, no! Peeta, it's not like that," I hiss quickly. "I just… I don't think it's working out for me there. A-And Katniss is still recovering, and you look tired, and Haymitch is drinking like there's no tomorrow, and Gale is… very independent."
"You're always welcome here," is the calm response he gives me. I smile slightly at him in thanks. Peeta nods slowly, like he's still questioning my motives, but he nods nonetheless.
"Summer," I hear Katniss's quiet voice behind me. I turn around on the stool to see her bundled in a thick robe with her hair a sloppy and tangled braid. I smile, rushing towards her to give her a hug.
"You're supposed to be resting," Peeta tells Katniss from behind me. She grimaces, but hugs me back gratefully.
"I'm not an invalid," she replies swiftly.
"Not anymore," Peeta mutters to himself before I hear the loud sizzle of flipping bacon.
"How are you?" I ask Katniss, trying to distract myself from the enchanting aroma around me.
In response, she tiredly holds up her left hand. For an extremely brief moment I'm confused before I see the ring on her finger. In response, I scream loudly (okay, maybe a little too loudly, but this is pretty amazing news) and start hugging them both all over again.
"When did this happen?" I barely refrain from screeching. I shift my gaze to Peeta. "Why didn't you tell me?"
He grins at me. "I wanted to see your reaction, not just feel my eardrums bursting over the phone," he says as Katniss and I reclaim our seats at the counter.
"But… I don't get it. When did this… How did I not figure it out?"
"It was a few days before my fever broke," Katniss answers, looking down at her lap. There's a long silence before I change the subject awkwardly.
"Would it be weird if I just grabbed one of those strips of bacon, or do I have to wait ten more minutes?" I say, leaning forward and looking at the cooking bacon.
"If by weird, you mean painful because the frying pan is hot, then yes. Here, these pieces are done," Peeta replies, glancing at Katniss confusedly before slipping a few pieces of bacon onto a plate for me.
"So when's the wedding?" I ask with my mouth full. Mmm, this bacon is amazing. Is it usually this good? No, I don't think it is.
There's no reply for a few moments.
"Uh," Peeta says, "we're not going to start making any official or public plans until Katniss is a bit better."
"Oh," I say. Taking a breath and ask, "So where's Buttercup, my one true love?"
Peeta chuckles, and Katniss scowls to herself, but it's enough to lighten the topics. And suddenly we're talking about my life in District 2, the Capitol, the weather, and for a moment, I almost tell them what's happened, but I'm stopped by a vision of their judging faces. I know I'll have to tell them eventually but… Actually, why should I be the one to tell them? Gale should have to do it. It's just as much his fault as it is mine.
It's a little after four in the afternoon, when the three of us have moved into the den to continue our conversations, that there is a knock on the door. Peeta leaves to answer it and comes back with Gale.
"Hawthorne, can I talk to you in private for a minute?" I ask, looking up at the ceiling. When I look back at Gale he's giving me a partially amused look, but he nods. I lead him outside onto the front porch and turn to look at him with crossed arms.
"I'm going to tell them," I state. He sighs. "But I'm going to give you a choice. You can either go in there with me, and I'll try my best to make you seem like less of a jerk than you are. Or I can give you thirty minutes to leave Twelve and never have anything to do with this again. The only catch is that you can't come back later."
Gale looks down at the ground at groans, pinching his nose. "That's not fair," he mutters.
I squint at him in confusion. "What? I thought it seemed reasonable enough-"
"No, I mean what you're doing. You can go weeks making it so easy to be angry at you, and then you propose something like that, and suddenly I feel like an ass," he explains exasperatedly.
I laugh. "You are an ass. But they don't have to know you're the ass," I say quietly.
"Why would you do that for me?" he asks. I roll my eyes.
"You know why," I reply. We both frown slightly at each other before Gale nods, and gestures to the door.
"After you," he says. I tilt my head to the side.
"You're staying?" I ask softly. "Why?"
"Because I'm an ass," Gale replies. I smile.
"Yeah, well. So am I."
With that over, he and I return to the den where Peeta and Katniss sit in silence. Peeta looks at me suspiciously at first, but we're able to resume our easier conversations from before. Haymitch somehow drags himself over here and seems surprised to see me, saying that he thought I wasn't coming until next week. I laugh, but everyone else seems confused, if not angry.
Peeta cooks some kind of meat (who knows what it is) for dinner and everyone else has some goopy looking green vegetables on their plate. Peeta sits across from me, Katniss on his left, Gale on his right, just across from Haymitch who was unapologetically inhaling his food.
Throughout the meal, Gale and I take turns giving each other looks, asking if 'now's the right time,' before the other shakes their head in opposition. It's not until after my plate is empty and I begin feeling nauseous for the first time since I woke up that the need to tell them becomes almost urgent.
"I have something I need to tell you all," my mouth says before I can change my mind. Gale sets his fork down in discomfort but says nothing to stop me. Peeta and Katniss look worried- Peeta especially. He probably thinks I'm going to tell everyone my last name. Haymitch is squinting his eyes at me in confusion, and I wonder if he's actually still drunk from last night. And now that I think about it, he smells awful. I wonder when the last time he took a bath was.
"What is it?" Peeta asks cautiously. I see him glance at Gale with a bit of fear in his eyes. But he's worrying about the wrong person reacting badly.
"I'm pregnant."
Awwwww shiz. How does this one get explained? FIND OUT NEXT TIME AFTER YOU REVIEW! -_- Seriously people. I can see you reading this. I can. Now, you'd better review. Now. Please. I need to feed my family.