CHAPTER 26
OCTOBER
It was true. Katniss's face had gone obviously red and by the looks on everyone's faces, she'd gone extremely red. The only three people who weren't throwing out remarks were Madge, Peeta and Gale. Madge was sitting on Katniss's left and gave her a quiet look of sympathy as if she could sense just how embarrassed her friend was. Peeta sat on her right and he too was just as quiet. He kept his eyes to the floor and hardly looked anyone in the eye for fear that they'd see that he too was glowing red in the face. Gale was silent as well and all he could do was keep his razor sharp glare on Peeta as he waited furiously for Katniss to reveal the truth...the truth that he already knew the answer to.
"She definitely wants it!" said Glimmer, with the same excitement.
"Come on, Katniss," said Marvel, sounding impatient while he tapped his fingers against the floor. "We're waiting..."
Katniss knew she couldn't lie to them. She couldn't, especially not when she was sitting there with her cheeks so clearly red. How could she possibly begin to tell them what they knew would be an out and out lie? No, she had to go with what Marvel had demanded and that was the truth.
"Yes!" she blurted out and anyone could hear the embarrassment in her voice, as it was nearly impossible to miss. "I wanna have sex with him. But not right now! Okay? Later on! Probably not for at least five years from now. Maybe even ten. Happy now?"
"Knew it!" Johanna whistled.
"And actually, I don't wanna have sex with him," she said thoughtfully. "One day I'd like to make love with him."
"What's the difference?" Johanna asked with a shrug. "Sex? Making love? Same thing."
"No it's not," Katniss argued. "Sex is just casual and happens with any two people but making love is between two people that are in love. They care about each other and wouldn't want to be with anyone else in the world. That's the difference."
You're right sweetheart, thought Peeta in agreement. And one day, I would absolutely love to make love with you...but that's not for a long time. That's something we have to save till we're both completely ready. Let's stick with kissing for now, since you and I both seem to enjoy doing that.
"So if it's true," said Cato with a grin. "Does that mean we get to see some action?"
"I already told you I don't want to rightnow," Katniss told him. "We just started going out!"
Peeta had been silent up till now, but he couldn't let them embarrass his Katniss any more than necessary, so he spoke up and made sure to sound bold.
"No," said Peeta firmly. "If you want some action, then yougo make it happen yourself."
"Can't expect that from them, Cato," Johanna explained to him. "They both agreed that they want to take things slow. The most you'd be lucky to see from them is a bit of kissing."
"But where's the fun in that?" he asked.
"Really," Glimmer added.
"Not everyone wants to rush right into sex, guys," Madge threw in. "Maybe some of you guys don't mind it, but that's not the same for everyone."
"Yeah, but still," said Glimmer. "Maybe if they just—"
"Okay, guys," said Peeta, interrupting. He was desperate to get off the topic and could hardly imagine how embarrassed Katniss was feeling, so the least he could do was get them off the conversation entirely. It didn't help that he was pretty embarrassed himself. "Mind if we move onto the next person?"
"Alright," said Glimmer. "That'd be you, Katniss. It's your turn."
"Okay," said Katniss. "Guess there's only two people left to go: Madge and Peeta."
"Pick me," said Madge. "I'm curious to see what you'd get me to do."
"You it is then," said Katniss. "Truth or dare?"
"Let's get back to the dares," Madge suggested.
"Now I just gotta come up with a dare," she said, running ideas through in her head. "I got one. I'd like you to lick Marvel's ear. And if you want, get a bit bolder and stick your tongue right in his ear."
Madge smiled, shaking her head and said, "Thanks for that, Kat."
"Don't mention it, Madge," said Katniss with the smallest of a smile.
"Make sure to lick his ear real good," said Johanna. "Get right in there."
Madge didn't respond to this. She was too busy rolling the idea around in her head that she had to lick a guy's ear and shove her tongue inside it. That was pretty much all that was on her mind right then. It was when she had her head right next to Marvel's ear that she was suddenly feeling a sense of boldness. All she had to do was lick his ear and her dare would be done. It was as simple as that.
Without second-guessing it, she started swirling her tongue all along Marvel's ear. While she did so, Marvel kept laughing under his breath because of how much it tickled, but Madge didn't stop. If anything, she grew bolder and eventually went ahead and shoved her tongue inside. When she pulled it out, she heard everyone clapping and she gave a little smile and a wink.
"I did alright, didn't I?" she asked.
"Not bad," Johanna commented. "Probably could have done better myself, but not bad."
"And now onto the last poor contestant," said Johanna and gave Peeta another one of her sly grins. "Mr. Mellark. This should be interesting."
"Please, Madge," he said and with a light chuckle, added, "Don't be toohard on me, alright?
"We'll see," said Madge, and then asked him, "Truth or dare?"
"I'll go with dare," said Peeta.
"Dare it is," said Madge. "Okay, Peeta. I hope you don't find this too harsh, but I'd like you to eat mustard, ketchup, mayo, relish, lemon juice, tomato sauce and milk all in a bowl. Sound appetizing enough?"
Peeta made a face that everyone burst out laughing at, and said honestly, "That's just gross."
"But it's the dare," Madge told him. "You gonna do it?"
"Sure I am," said Peeta quickly. He then put his arm around Katniss's shoulder and said, "Better wish me luck, sweetheart. This could end badly. Let's hope I make it through this."
"Good luck," she said and planted a quick kiss on his lips. "Show them who's boss."
"Thanks," he whispered with a smile.
When Glimmer led Madge into the kitchen to get the disgusting snack ready, Peeta wondered what his reaction would be to the nasty creation. Would he puke? Would he start coughing like Marvel had done when he'd swallowed the pepper? Would it leave a truly foul taste on his tongue? Or would he somehow be able to swallow the stuff without doing any of those things?
When the bowl was finally brought to him and he looked inside, all the others watched closely and eagerly to see what Peeta would think. He simply raised a brow and glanced at each of them while saying, "This couldn't be any grosser."
"Go on, Peeta," smiled Madge. "Eat her up."
"All in good time, Madge, all in good time," he said calmly, his eyes still focused on the bowl. "Just preparing myself."
"Come on man," said Cato encouragingly. "Just think of it as cake. Frosting, sprinkles, all that good stuff."
"This looks nothing like cake!" said Peeta with a frown, for his mind was now wishing more than ever that his dare had been to scoff down the world's most delicious cake. "It looks more like...goo. Really disgusting goo that shouldn't get eaten, period."
Soon, all of them were chanting and whooping for him to eat it and went on saying, "Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!" Katniss kept her eyes on him quietly and was secretly telling him, "Come on, Peeta! You got this!" As if he could actually hear her, Peeta gave her a little wink and brought the bowl up to his lips. He opened his mouth wide and hesitating for not even a second...he dropped the gooey stuff into his mouth.
"That a boy!" Cato hooted, and at once started laughing.
"Not bad indeed," Johanna observed.
When Peeta had swallowed the entire bowl, he dropped it on the floor and wiped his mouth clean with his sleeve and smiled in victory.
"Ta-da!" he exclaimed.
"Bravo, bravo!" said Madge, clapping. "A job well done."
"Thanks, Madge," said Peeta.
"Feeling anything yet?" asked Marvel. "Upset stomach? Gonna puke? Gotta hit the bathroom?"
"Actually no," said Peeta truthfully. "I feel totally fine. But it was still extremely disgusting, that's for sure."
"Well, that's the end of round one then!" Glimmer announced, and then said with excitement, "Onto the next round!"
The second round – which required the players to come up with the most random truths and dares they could think of – proved just as hilariously funny as the first.
Peeta started off by picking Glimmer and when she chose truth, Peeta asked her, "What's your worst fear?" Her answer came instantly as, "Being alone for the rest of my life and never finding a guy." This earned a good amount of laughter because everyone present knew how guy-crazy Glimmer was and it made perfect sense that her biggest fear would be not having a guy in her life.
Glimmer then picked on Clove, who asked for truth. The question she got was, "What do you prefer? Underwear or no underwear?" Clove's response was, "Definitely without." She told them it felt so much nicer walking around without wearing the stuff and emphasized how nice it felt being a little nude.
When Clove came up with a truth for Gale, it was, "What's your favourite thing about your body?" He surprised everyone by responding with, "eyes." He went on saying how his eyes could be incredibly haunting and persuasive and that he could say so much just with his eyes. Peeta understood this all too well and as if to confirm, he saw the eyes of the hawk once more locked on him. It gave a deafening screech while reaching its razor talons out to swipe at Peeta's face and if the whole event weren't occurring in Peeta's mind, his head would have been ripped to shreds. But just like every other, this was an illusion meant to trouble him and shove him into a realm where he felt alone and defenceless. All too quickly, the grey eyes of Hawthorne returned and the black creature with the snapping beak and killer claws was once more out of sight.
This is gonna be a long day, was all Peeta could think. It seemed despite his efforts at calming down and accepting that there was nothing to worry about with Gale, his mind just wouldn't leave him alone.
When Cato's turn came around, Gale made sure to give the crowd an interesting show and dared his victim to passionately kiss a stuffed animal for twenty-five seconds. When a large teddy bear had been brought out and handed to Cato, he just stared at the thing with no expression. They were all holding their breaths while waiting for the show to begin and then...Cato crashed his lips onto the fuzzy toy. He made sure to rub his hands all over it as if he were caressing a person and even let out loud, satisfied moans which only made them all laugh that much harder.
"That's right Cato!" said Johanna with a grin. "You give it to that bear!"
"Feels good, doesn't it?" asked Marvel, and burst out laughing yet again.
When the twenty-five seconds were up, Cato separated from the bear and turned to them with a victorious smirk while telling them, "And that my friends is how it's done."
The dare Cato picked out for Marvel was certainly an interesting one. He told Marvel, "Your dare is this: go down in the splits as far as you can."
Marvel just laughed as if the idea were ridiculous and then asked, "You're kidding right?"
"Nope," said Cato.
"The splits?" said Marvel.
"The splits," said Cato with a smile.
"Alright, let's see it Marvel!" Johanna demanded.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he grumbled.
It was clear that Marvel hated the thought of having to do the splits, but he definitely wasn't going to be called a coward so he sucked it up as best as he could. He stood up and slowly, very slowly...started lowering himself to the ground. The look on his face was priceless and it was all anyone in the crowd could do to keep from pointing and roaring with laughter. But Marvel kept on going and he actually got pretty far before he let out a quick gasp and had to get back up. All in all, he'd done fairly well considering how hard of a thing it was for a guy to successfully do the splits.
"Good effort Marvel," Johanna told him. "But you could have done better."
"It's good enough," he shot back. "Now let's see. How about you Johanna? Truth or dare?"
Johanna picked dare and Marvel looked directly at her while saying, "Here it is then: suck your thumb and cry like a baby for one minute."
"Like a baby, is it?"
"Come on, Johanna!" said Cato. "Show us watcha got."
"Oh, you wanna see, huh?" she said. "Watch and learn then Cato."
So Johanna went ahead and stuck her finger right in her mouth and instantly transformed from the sixteen-year-old teen to a year old baby screaming its head off. She cried and went on whining about how she missed her mommy and that right there earned applause from the group. She even rocked back and forth and the image of her doing this was almost too funny to handle. When she was finished, all she gave was a little bow before choosing her victim, which was Madge.
"Truth or dare, Madge?"
"Let's go with dare," she answered.
"Okay, lick the floor," said Johanna bluntly.
"I'd loveto," said Madge sarcastically.
Watching Madge run her tongue along the wooden floor was certainly funny, and proved even funnier when she started wiping off her tongue with her finger. It was when she glanced at Peeta that a sly grin crossed her face.
"Peeta!" she exclaimed. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare," said Peeta.
"Dare it is then. Let's have somebody in this room read some of your texts...to Katniss. How about you Cato? I'm sure you'd love to read them?"
"Sure would," said Cato. He walked over to Peeta who dug into his pocket and handed Cato his phone.
"Be nice and loud," said Johanna. "I wanna be able to hear."
Cato cleared his throat and quickly began browsing through Peeta's texts.
"Hi sweetheart," he said, and an amused smile was forming on his lips. "I miss you right now. How's class?"
"Keep goin', keep goin'," said Johanna.
"I brought in some cupcakes for you," said Cato. "I think you'll like them. I made sure to use extra frosting and even put the little sprinkles on them that you like."
"Awww," said Johanna. "That's too adorable." She then muttered under her breath jokingly, "Think I'm gonna puke."
After Cato had gone through a few more texts, he gave Peeta his phone back and took his place next to Marvel and Glimmer.
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Peeta said to Cato.
"A little," he lied, but Peeta could tell by the small grin that he'd definitely gotten a laugh out of it.
"Looks like it's my turn now," said Peeta, and he turned to Katniss and asked, "Mind if I pick you, sweetheart?"
"Go for it," she smiled.
"Alright," said Peeta. "Truth or dare?"
"Dare."
"I want you to call the Hob and put in an order for ten free pizzas."
"This should be good," commented Madge.
Glimmer came over and handed Katniss the phone while making sure that it was on speaker. Peeta kept his smile on her and watched her with eagerness as she slowly started dialling the number. She brought the phone up to her ear and waited for someone to answer. As always, it was Greasy Sae that picked up.
"Hi, you've reached the Hob. How can I help you?"
"Hi, it's Katniss. I uh...I'd like to put in an order."
"Sure thing, dear. What will it be? The usual for you?"
"No, something else. Can I uh...can I get ten free pizzas?"
There was a brief pause before Greasy Sae said, "Ten free pizzas I can get for you but no way am I handing those out for free, dear."
"Please?" she asked sweetly.
"Sorry, Katniss," said Greasy Sae firmly. "But I've got other customers waiting, and I'm not one to keep customers waiting. Good-bye."
Katniss put the phone down and when she raised her head to look at the others, they instantly broke out laughing.
"Nice one," said Cato.
"Sucks though," Johanna threw in with a huff. "I was kind of hoping we'd get those ten free pizzas."
"Yeah, that wouldn't happen," Katniss chuckled.
"Nicely done sweetheart," praised Peeta.
"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" she asked him.
"It was amusing," he admitted with a smile. "Especially when you said please. You sounded so sweet. If I didn't know you, I'd say you sounded just like a little girl that wanted a pony for Christmas."
He gave a small chuckle, but then immediately grabbed onto his shoulder and let out a surprised, "Ow!" He hadn't expected Katniss to lean over and give him a light punch, but there was no expression of annoyance or anger on her face, only a tiny grin.
"What was that for?" asked Peeta innocently, rubbing his shoulder.
"I didn't ask for a pony, Peeta," said Katniss, amused by the confused look on his face. "I asked for ten pizzas."
With a smile, he said, "Ah, that's right. It was pizzas you asked for. Not a pony. Sorry, sweetheart. Guess I wasn't paying attention."
"And now for the third and final round," Glimmer declared. "Enough with the gross and random...let's get sexual!" She then scanned the group for a few moments, and her wandering eyes fell on Clove.
"Clove! You're the lucky pick. Truth or dare?"
"Do you really need to ask?" said Clove. "Dare."
"Well here it is then," said Glimmer. "I dare you to suckon Cato's tongue."
"Wow, first Johanna makes me lick peanut butter off his toes," Clove commented. "And now you're getting me to suck his tongue. Can't even imagine what's next."
Glimmer shrugged her shoulders and said innocently, "What can I say? We like picking on you. Now get that tongue in his mouth, missy."
"She's all yours, Clove," said Cato. "And don't worry...this'll taste much better than my smelly old toes. Promise."
"Yeah, we'll see," was all Clove said before she took Cato's tongue into her mouth. There was no denying that it was much nicer licking a warm, wet tongue than it was peanut butter that had been wedged between a guy's smelly old feet. This went on for about a minute before she pulled away and Cato gave her the tiniest wink.
"You loved that," he told her.
"You loved it," she corrected with a grin. She then turned her attention to Gale and barked, "Hawthorne! You're up next. Truth or dare?"
"Give me a dare," he demanded boldly.
"You asked," said Clove. "Alright. Give me your sexiest and most passionatemoan. And when I say sexy and passionate...I mean sexy and passionate."
"Sexy and passionate, huh?" said Gale. "How's this for sexy and passionate?"
And he went ahead and presented what was undoubtedly a moan of passion and sexiness. When the sound reached Peeta's ears, it hit him that he was most likely thinking of and imagining himself with Katniss while producing that moan. He was probably picturing her pressed up against him while she pleased him and in return, he pleasured her. Just as quickly, the moan ended and before he gave a smile in victory, Peeta saw the eyes change once again into those of the hawk and a howling screech escaped its mouth.
Stay calm, thought Peeta. Your mind's just messing with you and wanting you to think that he's picturing Katniss, when he might not even be doing that. And besides...it's only a dare.
"Sexy and passionate enough for ya, Clove?" asked Gale when he'd finished.
"Not bad," she told him, shrugging. "I'm impressed."
"You should be," said Gale. "Alrighty then, who's next? Cato, how about you? Truth or dare?"
"Give me a dare," said Cato.
"You'll like this," said Gale with a smile. "I want you to go into another room with somebody else, pretend to be having sex with them and be extremely verbal about it. But if you want to go a bit further than just pretend then by all means do so."
"Oh, is that all?" challenged Cato, grinning. "Sure. So who'd like to go with me?"
"I'll go," said Johanna quickly. She got up and took her place next to Cato. She then looked to Glimmer and said, "Sorry, Glim. Bet you really wanted this, didn't you? I can see the disappointment written all over your face. Let me guess? You're sobbing on the inside, aren't you?"
"Not really," said Glimmer. She chuckled and added, "It'll be way funnier hearing you two in there."
"Oh, just wait," said Johanna slyly. "We're gonna bereal loud. Might even wake up a few neighbours. And if we do, just tell them it's nothing. Tell them it's all part of a dream and they're really sleeping."
"Yeah, they're really gonna fall for that," laughed Madge. "You two better not go waking up the neighbours or else you'll have a real problem on your hands."
"Maybe," said Johanna. "But that doesn't change the fact that I intend on being loud. Silence just isn't an option for me."
"Can hardly wait," said Marvel eagerly.
Johanna took Cato by the hand and led him into one of the other rooms and shut the door and made sure to lock it. Since no one could actually seethem, none of them knew just what exactly these two would be doing. Would they get naked? Would they go so far as to actually do some pleasuring? All they could do was listen and wonder what Johanna and Cato were doing behind that closed door...whether it was real orjust pretend. And just as Johanna had said, they were more than loud.
"Ahh, yes!" she moaned out, the pleasure showing in her voice. "Cato!"
He responded with a deep groan and went on shouting her name, over and over. It seemed like the moaning and groaning was endless, as if these two were really enjoying themselves. But what the others didn't know was whether or not they were in fact doing stuff, or if it was all an act and all part of the dare.
It was when they came out of the room without an ounce of sweat on their body that the group knew it had indeed been an act...but a remarkably good one.
"Wow," said Marvel. "For a second I thought you guys actually did it."
"Nah," said Johanna. "But it was pretty believable, wasn't it?"
"Very," said Glimmer. "You even almost had me convinced."
"And now onto the next one," said Cato. "How about you, Marvel? Truth or dare?"
"I'll go with truth."
"Let's see. If you could make out with anyone in this room, who would it be?"
"Hmm," he said, and gave it a quick thought. "I'd say Glimmer."
She gave him a little wink and asked, "Oh, you would, would you?"
"Sure," said Marvel and returned her wink. "Alright, let's keep this moving. You're up next, Johanna. Truth or dare?"
"Dare," was her answer.
"Okay," said Marvel. "Kiss anyone of your choice for one minute on the lips."
"Awesome," said Johanna. "And I know just who to pick." She made her way over to Gale and kneeled down in front of him with a grin.
"Hello Gale."
"Hey, Johanna," said Gale and gave her an inviting smile. "Nice of you to drop in."
"Anytime, Hawthorne," she said.
"Then what are you waiting for?" he asked and leaned in closer while opening his mouth just slightly. "Kiss me."
Johanna wrapped her long arms around Gale's neck and brought her lips crashing onto his. He held her firmly by the waist as the two brushed their lips against one another. All Peeta could think of while watching them kiss was that Gale was probably imagining that Johanna was Katniss. It wasn't that he truly wanted to kiss Johanna...it was that he wanted to kiss someone and pretend that it was Katniss. For a second he could have sworn that the guy turned and looked at him and in the screeching voice of the hawk, said, "She's gonna be mine soon enough you little baker. Just wait and see."
It's nothing, Peeta, he told himself calmly while ignoring what he thought he was feeling. He's not thinking of Katniss at all. Your mind's just acting up again. Just gotta ignore it.
When the two separated after the long minute, Gale put on a fake smile and said, "What a lovely kisser you are Johanna."
But what if that's not what you mean? thought Peeta. What if you wanted that kiss to be with Katniss?
As if Gale could read his every thought, he snapped his head in Peeta's direction and locked his eyes on him as he morphed once more into the vicious bird. As usual, the vision lasted only a few seconds but it felt like a lifetime for Peeta.
"Why don't you keep your mouth shut, Bread Boy?"it hissedin that same deep, guttural voice. "Or do I gotta come over there and rip your little tongue out?The image of the hawk then vanished and once again in its place was Hawthorne.
"And my turn again," said Johanna. "Let's go with you Madge. Truth or dare?"
Madge thought for a moment, and then answered with, "Truth."
"Tell me this then," said Johanna. "If you had to marry a teacher in the school, who would you pick and why?"
Madge gave some consideration to this question and said finally, "Mr. Odair. He's just so dreamy."
"No surprise there," said Glimmer. "The guy's a hottie. I mean...those sea green eyes, bronze hair, amazing body. He's gorgeous. What's not to like?"
"Can't argue with that," said Clove. "Definitely the best lookin' teacher in the school. And teaches one of the best subjects, too."
"Yeah?" said Cato. "And who's the best lookin' student in the school?"
"Not you," said Clove with a smirk.
"Nice one Clove," he shot back. "But that's a lie. I know you're crazy about me. I see the way you look at me with those puppy eyes."
"You wish," she scoffed.
"I don't wish," said Cato with a playful grin. "I know."
"Okay, enough!" said Madge, laughing. "We get it. Clove's either crazy about him or she's not—"
"I'm not," she confirmed flatly. "Now let's get off this topic before I land a punch to his head."
"Ouch..." said Cato, and slid a bit closer towards Marvel while whispering, "Keeping my distance from that one."
"Not a bad idea."
"Right," said Madge. "Well it's my turn now and I'd like to go if you're all okay with that."
"Sorry, Madge," said Cato, giving Clove another playful smirk. "We'll behave. I just don't want to get punched in the head."
"Thank you," said Madge. "Guess Peeta and Katniss are last to go again. I think I'll pick Katniss again this time. Now Kat, I know you two said you wanted to take it slow and all but mind if I speed things up just a little?"
"Depends what you mean by speeding things up," said Katniss.
"Okay, truth or dare?" asked Madge.
"You probably want me to pick dare and I've come this far so I might as well go with dare."
"You brave girl," smiled Madge. "Here's your dare Katniss: I want you to take Peeta's shirt off and use your tongue to pleasure him. I know, I know. That's really mean of me but we're all here to have some fun, right? And I know you wanna take things slow and all but...mind if we spice things up a little? Just a little?"
"Ooh, niceone, Madge," said Johanna with an impressed whistle. "Gettin' bold aren't we?"
"A little," Madge admitted.
"Shouldn't be a problem for you, Katniss," said Cato. "You didadmit to wanting to have sex with him, right? This'll be nothing."
"I didn't mean right now though!" Katniss reminded him quickly. "I meant years down the road. Later...not for a long, long time."
"Exactly," said Cato with a shrug. "This'll be nothing compared to that. Piece of cake."
"Way to go, Cato," said Gale with a slight grumble while shaking his head.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You said cake," Gale told him, raising a brow. "And guess who's hungry now?"
"Oh, sorry," said Cato, and then said with an amused laugh, "Didn't mean to get people's stomachs growling. Anyway, back to Katniss. You know it'll be easy, right? Just a little work of the tongue, not too much and not too little. Easy."
"Yeah, but not for her," Marvel threw in. "The two wanted to take things slow, remember? This is kind of a big step from kissing to suddenly licking his chest and—"
"Okay, okay!" said Katniss, frustrated with everyone's remarks. "I'll do it!"
It wasn't so much that she minded them teasing her since she knew they were all just goofing around but it wasjust a bitannoying. She was already nervous enough to have to remove Peeta's shirt especiallywhen she'd never even seen him half naked before. She knew Marvel was right when saying that this was a big step from the simple, innocent kissing they'd been starting out with. This was a whole different game.
But she knew it wasn't thatbig of a deal, or that's what she tried to convince herself of anyway. All she had to do was remove his shirt and move her tongue around a bit on his chest. Simple as that. Could have been a lot worse. Knowing what these guys were like, they could have dared her to go down even further and use her tongue in other, far more private places. She was just starting to lift Peeta's shirt up when he put his hand over hers, stopping her.
And I do love him, she thought, thinking it over. He'd do anything to make me happy if I asked him to, so he deserves to have a bit of pleasure himself.
"Katniss," he said quietly, "You don't have to do this if you'd rather not. You can always say no if it's not something you're comfortable with."
"Aw, come on Peeta!" Johanna cajoled. "It's just a bit of tongue work. No biggie."
"Yeah, but I don't want her doing it if it makes her uncomfortable," said Peeta seriously. "I know Truth or Dare can be fun and it is, but not when people feel uncomfortable."
"No, it's...it's okay," she told him. She looked up and met his gaze and as Peeta studied her expression, he got the feeling that maybe she didwant this. She looked nervous, there was no denying that, but maybe the nerves had more to do with the fact that so many people were around. If she and Peeta were alone, it would just be them and no one else around, but this was different.
"You sure?" he asked, not dropping her gaze.
"Positive," said Katniss, and then said chuckling lightly, "Just gotta pretend it's me and you."
"Good luck with that," was all Johanna had to say.
"Here's some advice!" Cato offered. "Think of his chest as one big ice-cream cone."
"Wow, Cato," said Marvel and began laughing uncontrollably. "Great advice."
"Not bad if I do say so myself," said Cato with a pleased smile. "Not bad at all. And speaking of ice-cream, she can even pick a flavour. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry...whatever flavour she can use to best describe Peeta."
"Best advice she'll probably get," said Johanna.
"Probably," Cato agreed. "Good luck with the flavour thing though Katniss. Should be interesting to see what you pick."
Katniss ignored her and kept her eyes only on Peeta. He made sure to give her an encouraging, loving smile as she slowly began to lift his shirt up. He then raised his arms and she pulled it up and over his head before tossing it on the floor. Peeta's chest was now completely exposed. He got down onto his knees so he now sat kneeling in front of her.
Katniss noticed Johanna whistling and Glimmer eyeing him adoringly and was quick to snap while looking back at them, "Don't even go there."
"Relax, Katniss!" said Johanna laughing. "Take a joke. We're only kidding. I've got my eyes on someone else anyway."
"Same with me," said Glimmer. "We just like teasing you, that's all. But we'll stop."
Katniss turned her attention back to Peeta and his now bare chest. After giving him a quick up and down look, there was only one word she could think of right then to use to describe Peeta Mellark and that was whole being and everything about him was just incredibly beautiful – his spirit, his kind, gentle personality and his body. Peeta was just amazing and as she sat there in front of him, any thoughts or fears or doubts about this dare were gone entirely. She didn't care about the others teasing or watching them because all she wanted was to bring pleasure to this amazing boy.
When she first brought her tongue onto Peeta's chest, he was dangerously close to crying out. But he was able to contain it and focus on the simple joy of being with the girl he loved. She ran her tongue over his smooth, bare chest and when she became a little bolder and flicked her tongue across one of his nipples, he couldn't hold back the sudden gasp escaping him. Being an especially sensitive person, this felt all too incredible for Peeta and it was a feeling he wish could go on for hours.
This caused a good deal of excited laughter amongst the crowd.
"Ya like that, don't ya, Peeta?" said Johanna. "Well if you think that's good, then you should have listened to me when I said you'd loveto just—"
"Oh, shut up, Johanna," said Madge, giving her a light shove. "Leave them alone, will ya? Quit teasing and go pick on somebody else. Can't you see they're busy?"
"But they're such fun to pick on," she said with a mischievous smile.
"But so are Cato and Clove," Marvel pointed out.
"Can't argue with that," Johanna agreed.
After a few minutes of running her tongue along Peeta's chest, she handed him his shirt back with a smile. He smiled in return and put his shirt on. That was when his eyes widened and a second smile crossed his lips when he told her, "Uh-oh...your turn now."
"Sure is," she said. "And you're the only one left to pick. Which means I get to pick you."
"You didn't tell us what flavour you picked Katniss!" said Cato quickly, an eager expression crossing his face. "And don't be shy because we all know you picked one."
Katniss thought for only a moment before answering, "Vanilla. There, happy?"
"No," said Johanna. "Details please. What made you pick vanilla?"
Katniss sighed and said, "Vanilla's sweet and Peeta tastes kind of sweet too. That good enough for you?"
Cato, Johanna and Marvel exchanged looks, and then all chirped, "Yup."
She then returned her attention to Peeta and, "Alright, mister. Your turn."
"Go for it," said Peeta.
"Okay," said Katniss. "Truth or dare?"
"How about we end this game with one final dare?" he offered, and then added with enthusiasm, "The dare to end all dares?"
"Ooh, dramatic," commented Madge.
"Can hardly wait," said Marvel.
"Sounds good to me," said Katniss. "Alright, Peeta, here's your dare." What she said next to him though wasn't exactly something Peeta would have foreseen. He even had to repeat the words in his head to confirm that he wasn't really dreaming and just imagining that he'd heard them. I'd like you to French kiss me."
Cato whistled and remarked excitedly, "Getting bold, aren't we Everdeen?"
"Didn't expect that," said Johanna. "From anyone else, yeah. But not from Katniss."
Peeta took a step closer to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and asked softly, "You sure about this, sweetheart? I know I said the dare to end all dares but we don't have to go this far. If you'd rather not, we don't have to."
"Same answer as before," she said confidently while meeting his gaze. "Positive."
"Really?" he asked with obvious surprise.
All she gave him was a nod.
Peeta couldn't help but smile. He absolutely loved this girl and just as she'd wanted minutes ago, all he wanted right then was to give her pleasure. While their friends sat watching and whispering, it was like they'd gone invisible and could no longer be seen or heard by Peeta and Katniss. It was like the two had entered a special world only for them where all that mattered was being with each other. Peeta caressed her cheek gently and gazed into her eyes with such love and adoration that Katniss felt like she was melting. It was then that their faces were only inches apart and leaning in even closer...their lips met. Like all the kisses they'd shared so far, this proved just as warm and passionate and gave them fluttering butterflies that refused to be still.
It was when Katniss slowly opened her mouth that she felt a new and amazingly wonderful sensation – and that was Peeta's tongue coming into contact with her own. It was warm, wet and the feeling of her own tongue sliding against it was an entirely new experience...and she liked it. Because it was their first time performing a French kiss, their movements were a bit awkward and clumsy at first but after a few attempts that all changed when their tongues created a dance all on their own.
When they separated, Johanna started applauding and said, "Great show, guys."
"Held my attention," said Cato.
"And mine," Marvel added.
"Well, that's the end of the show," said Katniss. "Glad you enjoyed it but that's all the truth or dare for tonight."
"It wasquite a show, wasn't it?" said Peeta, wrapping an arm around her.
"It was," she agreed. "I don't know about you but I think I've had my fun with truth or dare for a while."
"Couldn't agree more," said Peeta.
Just as the night was coming to an end and the nine of them were preparing to head back home, Peeta took a moment to quickly head down the hall to use the bathroom. It was heading back down the hall and re-entering the living room that he ran into...Gale.
It was the first time that night the two ended up standing in front of the other with nobody else around. Katniss, Glimmer and the rest were all at the front door laughing and still chatting about the number of dares they'd just successfully completed. Gale, however, had clearly left them because of something on his mind and Peeta had a pretty good idea as to what it concerned.
Before he had time to speak though, Gale opened up first.
"Hey, Peeta." Yeah, yeah. Stand there like an idiot and stare at me like I'm the last person you'd expect to see. You're too obvious, Peeta. But this should be simple enough, so let's not waste too much time.
"Hi," said Peeta, doing his best to appear calm. He's not mad, is he? Because I know it probably wasn't fun for him to have to watch Katniss and me together but...but he agreed to come. If he knew it would have bothered him, he definitely would have stayed home.
"Look, I...I just wanted to talk to you about what I said to you," said Gale and surprisingly, he sounded much calmer than Peeta had ever remembered him sounding. "Back in September, I mean. I know it's kind of a long time ago and I probably should have come to you earlier but I wasn't really thinking straight. I had a lot going through my head but then I thought about it and I realized what a jerk I was. Not the best word to use, I know. I said some pretty nasty things to you. I know I was mad and upset and all but I shouldn't have been like that. You don't treat a person like that just because you're jealous."
After a long pause, Peeta asked quietly, "What are you saying? Do you mean you're okay with Katniss and I being together, or are you—"
"No I am," he said reassuringly, and took a seat on one of the couches. That's it, Hawthorne. Calm, in control, and everything else falls right into place. One step at a time. "Took me a while to wrap my head around it but I'm okay now. I just felt bad about what I said to you. Didn't matter that I was mad and jealous as hell. No one deserves to be treated like that. It wasn't till I put myself in your shoes that I really saw what a jerk I was. Telling you to be back off, stay away from her and that you weren't good for her...I shouldn't have said that."
He stared up at Peeta and told him truthfully, "I'm sorry."
Peeta went on staring at him for a solid minute, before than stating somewhat numbly, "Well that's good to hear. To be honest, I was uh...really nervous about what you'd think of it all. I know you've known Katniss a lot longer than I have so I wasn't really sure how you'd react to us being together, with you being her best friend."
"I can't lie, it was hard at first," Gale admitted, still in that same composed voice. "Watching the girl you've loved for four years start falling for another guy isn't exactly easy. Definitely takes time to get used to and wrap your head around. But then I thought about what might happen if I kept on acting the way I've been acting and only one thing hit me. All the anger I've been putting on Katniss would have eventually driven her away from me. She doesn't deserve to be yelled at just because she's given her heart to someone else, and the fact that I'm one of her best friends, it...it just really upset me. I can't stand the thought of losing her and treating you like crap definitely isn't going to make things better for anyone."
Peeta nodded and said quietly, "I know you mean a lot to her, and I just didn't want for us to have to go on fighting over things, and constantly arguing over who should be with her. I guess all I ever really wanted was for us to at least get along and not act like enemies. I just didn't want you to be someone I'd end up fighting with everyday. And to be honest, I've kind of been jealous of you before I even officially met Katniss. I've seen how close you guys are and no one can doubt that you're best friends. But just because I felt jealous towards you didn't mean I wanted to fight with you. And I wouldn't want you and Katniss to start fighting either, not when you've been friends for so long. I'd hate to think your guys' friendship would fall apart just because you and I couldn't sit down and talk about things."
"No, me neither," Gale agreed, and then added, "Especially since Katniss deserves better. I don't think she'd like to see us fighting and snapping at each other's throats. It makes sense that you and I would be jealous of each other seeing how we both feel about her but what's fighting gonna accomplish? It's just gonna make everyone miserable."
After running Gale's words over repeatedly in his head, Peeta asked, "So you're really okay with everything then?"
"I am," Gale confirmed. "Don't worry, Peeta. You love Katniss, you've loved her for way longer than I have and if there's anyone that deserves to be with her...it's you."
"But you've known her for—"
"Yeah, but not as long as you," Gale reminded him. "True, Katniss and I have been friends for four years but I haven't been in love with her since I was a kid. How long did you say you've loved her? Eleven years? That's a crazy amount of time to be in love with someone, Peeta. And the more I think about it, the more I think maybe you two really are meant for each other. Maybe you two are meant to be together in that sense and maybe Katniss and I are meant to remain best friends?"
"And you don't mind being her best friend?"
"No way!" said Gale, and even let a small laugh escape him. "No, she and I have so much fun together that all I really care about is not losing her. I think that's what scared me from the beginning. I don't think it was so much winning her over and keeping her from you – it was more that I feared she'd leave my side once she got with you. But then I thought long and hard about it and I knew that wouldn't happen. You two seem good together, and as long as you guys are happy, and Katniss and I are happy...then that's all that matters."
Peeta gave a small smile and said with relief, "So you and I are okay then?"
Gale reached up, gave Peeta a small handshake and assured him, "We're okay." Sure we are. And that's a promise, Mellark. No way you and I could ever be friends but why should you and I have to be enemies? Why not just accept what is and be alright with that?
"Katniss will be happy about this," Peeta pointed out, and felt greatly relieved that he and Gale wouldn't have to be constantly swimming in a sea of jealousy. He knew the two likely wouldn't become friends and develop a bond but as long as they weren't at each other's throats, then that was the important thing.
"She will," said Gale. "And that's something you and I can both feel happy about."
Though Peeta hadn't anticipated to be approached by Gale and given an apology, it was definitely something that helped put him at ease. To think he'd no longer have to worry about Gale giving both himself and Katniss a hard time would reduce any possible fears he had of the two ever ending up in serious, violent fights. All he had planned for that day was playing a few rounds of Truth or Dare while sharing some laughs with his friends. Sitting down with Gale was the last thing he'd expected to happen but after hearing what the guy had said, he was extremely glad they'd had this conversation.
As he was about to leave and go join Katniss, he heard Gale calling, "Peeta?"
He turned around, looked at Gale and asked, "Yeah?"
"I know I already said this but...I really am sorry for how I acted."
"It's okay," was Peeta's answer. In a more sincere tone, he asked, "No hard feelings?"
"No hard feelings," said Gale, and there wasn't a trace of hatred or resentment in his voice.
When Peeta turned and made his way out of the room, Gale watched him with unblinking eyes and had to struggle just to keep from laughing. He figured crawling under Peeta's skin would be easy enough, but he hadn't known how truly simple of a task it would be. A few apologizes here and there, some confessing of feeling bitter and envy and he'd all but succeeded. It was clear the pieces of the puzzle were indeed falling into place, and he could hardly wait for the day when they were at last in place.
Just gotta be patient, Gale reminded himself, who was now getting up to go rejoin Katniss and the others. Good things come to those who wait...and I'm more than willing to wait.
After Glimmer had thanked everyone for coming and said her goodbyes, Cato got in his car and was joined by Marvel, Clove and Gale while Glimmer hopped in hers along with Madge, Johanna, Katniss and Peeta. She first dropped Johanna off, then Madge, Katniss and then finally Peeta.
That night, Peeta was once again paid a visit by the envious hawk. It had first appeared as none other than Hawthorne but had quickly taken the shape of the monster bird. This time, its screech was louder than ever and its talons seemed shaper than usual. It was like they'd grown twice their normal size and its wings were like massive blankets that hovered over him while trying to seize him in their grasp. All Peeta could do was run and try to escape from the furious hawk but it never grew tired and never stopped howling. It only had one thing on its mind and that was to rip Peeta Mellark apart.
"You're dead you little boy!" it screamed, hot on his trail. "Nothing but dead!"
Suddenly, he found himself tripping and falling fast first on the cold ground beneath him. The impact knocked the air right out of his lungs and he feared there'd b no way of him getting back up onto his feet. He barely had time to turn around and see the horrific sight that was fast approaching him – an opened beak that could tear at his eyes, outstretched claws that would rip open his skin like paper and eyes that were alive with boiling hatred.
All he remembered hearing was one last chilling screech of: dead you little boy!
Peeta awoke with a start and when he put his hand on his forehead, he realized he was sweating. That was no surprise. Whenever the hawk came to invade his dreams he normally woke up breathing hard, panting and with sweat on his face. But like always, he was relieved at knowing that it was only a nightmare. It was only a nightmare and a thing of his mind and nothing else. The hawk was all but a horror in his nightmares.
This shouldn't be happening though, and he felt more confused than he'd ever recalled feeling. After having spoken with Gale himself and realizing the two had both reached an agreement of being okay with things, it made no sense to be visited by such dreams. He's okay with remaining best friends with her so...so why is this happening?
There was only one thing that could offer an explanation as to why it was still occurring.
"Is it...is it because I don't really trust him?" he wondered, speaking quietly under his breath. "Is that it? Is it just too hard to believe we can really not go on fighting? Can I not accept that he can really be okay with things?"
It was the only thing running through his head that seemed to make sense. He didn't like it, and he hoped it really wasn't the case, but it was all that made sense right then.
"Maybe it's too soon," he offered, staring up at the dark, blank ceiling. Considering that he and Gale had spoken just hours ago, it certainly seemed plausible. "Maybe after a few weeks or even a few days, the dreams will stop and things will be normal again. I'm sure they'll stop eventually but maybe it's too soon? I'm sure after seeing Katniss with Gale for a while, I'll finally realize the truth...and that's he's done feeling bitter and anger."
As he rolled onto his side and glanced out his bedroom window, he thought: Just give it some time, Peeta. Nightmares don't go on forever and sooner or later, they'll stop and you'll never have to worry about them again. Just ignore them, keep telling yourself they're only dreams and before you know it...you'll stop having them.
A few days later, Katniss was just about finished with math class when out of the blue she started feeling hungry. She wasn't normally one to get hungry during class but there was no mistaking the gurgling coming from her stomach, and with only ten minutes left of class, she figured she wouldn't miss much, especially when she knew already what had been assigned for homework. So she quietly excused herself and walked down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. She planned to be quick and get something simple like a muffin and a bottle of water before heading to her next class.
She was just about to enter the cafeteria when she noticed something.
It was so shocking and puzzling that for a second she thought she was dreaming. It certainly felt dreamlike and nothing like reality. There was no way she'd ever, not in a million years imagine seeing what her eyes were telling her right then. But it was clear as day what she was staring at. It wasn't a hallucination or some figment of her imagination; it was all but real. There was only one way to confirm what she was seeing. She had to get a closer look, as that was the only way she'd truly be able to confirm if what her eyes were suggesting to her was real.
So without a word, she silently made her way forward. She kept stealing quick glances at the two people to ensure neither of them caught sight of her. But they were too busy smiling and laughing at one another to notice. She managed to make her way down to the center portion of the cafeteria and as quietly as she could, she leaned her back against the wall and slid herself down. The two people were sitting just above her but there was no way they'd see her unless they leaned over and looked down to their left which she hoped they wouldn't or else she wouldn't know how to explain herself if they guessed she'd been eavesdropping. But right then she didn't even care. She was too furious and confused to be bothered.
She kept her ears open and listened in on the conversation between the two people above her.
"I can't even tell you what you mean to me," the guy said with the greatest of affection, and all the warmth and love came pouring out of his voice. "If I had all the time in the world to write the longest poem or write the longest letter, that still wouldn't be enough. All I can say is that I love you like nobody else. You're like the jewel in my crown, the sun in my sky and the beating in my heart. You are my world...and my love."
He then went on with just as much affection, "For you, I'd climb the highest mountain and fight the strongest winds. I'd swim across the biggest ocean and fight the freezing cold. I'd venture across the endless desert and fight the scorching, blistering heat. The strength of the wind, the coldness of the water and the fire of the heat would in no way stop me from reaching you. They could try, but none of them would succeed at keeping me from you."
Katniss had had enough. She was on the verge of losing it entirely and if she didn't let him know just what she was feeling and the pain she was experiencing then she knew she would lose it. It was when she'd walked up and stopped right in front of them that her face grew hard as stone. Without even realizing it, her hands had clenched into fists and her grey eyes became an even darker shade of grey. Her body became frozen still and it was all she could do not to scream out to all those in the school.
Because what she'd seen while approaching them was the guy gently pulling the girl's hand towards his mouth and planting a sweet, light kiss on top of it. The girl had given a smile and the guy gave a smile in return and that was when Katniss felt the building, burning fire increasing inside her. She couldn't accept this. There was no way that she could accept what her eyes were telling her. There was no way she could accept any of it – the two laughing, him confessing his love for her, him kissing her hand and giving her that loving gaze that he'd given to her so many times. It was unacceptable and beyond painful and made her want to wake up in her bed and feel relieved that it was all but a frightening dream...but it wasn't.
What made it so agonizingly painful was that what she was seeing was Peeta Mellark...with another girl.