Chapter 26: No Contest

(Peeta's POV)

After dinner, Peeta knew he had some time to kill before he would be able to meet with Katniss, so he decided to make his way up to the main building on the camp to do a few things. The Lodge was located in the middle of camp and held the offices, nurse's station, and phones. He had decided to call his father to fill him in on his summer so far. He answered on the first ring.

"Peet!"

Peeta grinned at the sound of his dad's voice. "Dad!"

"How's it going up there son?"

Peeta grinned into the phone as he listened to his father. He could almost hear him smiling; Mr. Mellark was known for always having a smile on his face.

"Good, good, man, it's so good to hear your voice. Camp is amazing," he said happily. "What are you guys up to?"

His father laughed heartily on the other end of the phone. "Just cooking some dinner up, you know. Trying to get your mother to loosen up and have some wine with me. Missing all you damn kids," he said sarcastically.

Peeta laughed. "Whatever, you're enjoying the empty house, you can say it."

He and his father laughed and talked for a few more minutes. Peeta told him all about the camp, his campers, and some of his new friends. However, he had saved the most interesting topic for last.

"I met someone up here."

"You did? I hope she's at least in junior high son," he dad joked.

"Dad! She's a counselor too – she's my age."

"Well you met her, that's good. Have you talked to her?"

Peeta blushed as he thought of how much he had done with Katniss. "Um, yeah. Of course. She's great; um….she's actually my girlfriend."

Peeta's father whistled. "Well, that's something. Did you bake a cake and ask her, or?"

"Shut up," he laughed, "No, I just…we met, and hit it off, and she's just…amazing. She's gorgeous. She goes to State and…." He trailed off, unable to find the right words to describe Katniss. She was just everything to him, plain and simple.

"Son, you sound happy. I'm really glad you've found a girl. It's high time. You deserve it, kid. Do we get to meet her?"

"Well, I don't know. Soon. I mean…I want to keep seeing her this fall, if she'll agree to it."

"She'd be silly not to. I'm so glad for you Peet, really, you have no idea."

After gushing a little more to his father, he hung up the phone and walked happily out of the Lodge. He spied Rue and Thresh sitting in the gazebo nearby with Prim and another girl from Katniss' bunk. Rue happily waved him over.

"Hey," he called out, shuffling through the grass. Prim eyed him mischievously as he straddled the picnic bench next to her. "What's up Prim?"

"Nothing," she said softly, giving him a shy smile. Peeta watched as her hands went back to weaving two pieces of brightly colored cord together to form an intricate pattern. "Just making bracelets."

Peeta nodded, giving Katniss' little sister his best smile. Prim was important to Katniss; she had made that very clear. He wanted to do anything he could to win over the little sister of the girl he was involved with. His gaze shifted to Thresh, whose large fingers were stumbling along and trying to copy Rue as he wove two strands of pink and purple together. Peeta raised his eyebrows as Thresh gave him a sheepish look.

"I got little sisters," he mumbled, looking down. Rue elbowed his side and giggled under her breath as she wove her own bracelet. Occasionally she would reach over and correct something Thresh did, and he would study the way her wispy hands moved the cords. Peeta suddenly found himself wondering how their walks had been going. They seemed flirty, but not overly so. Prim looked up and watched as the two of them interacted with each other, but said nothing.

"I'm going to teach this in class tomorrow…figured I'd better master it," Rue explained.

"Can I make one?" Peeta asked, eying the basket full of supplies. He caught Prim's eye again and she smiled.

"Sure. I can show you," Rue offered politely, pushing over the basket of materials over.

"You should make her one," Prim whispered. Rue looked up, but quickly turned her attention back down to her work.

"Who?" he joked. Prim's blue eyes sparkled.

Peeta selected a light blue cord and held it beside a darker blue, trying to decide what would look better against Katniss' tan arm. After selecting the dark blue, he listened intently as Rue instructed him. Thresh watched her talk with interest as she showed them how to first weave them, then add charms before finishing.

"Can I use this?" Peeta asked, pulling out an arrow. Rue nodded, biting her lip to keep from grinning. Peeta knew he was being a little bold – of course someone observant like Rue would know what he was doing, but he simply didn't care.

"That's pretty," Prim observed as he tied the arrow charm to the cord. The tiny, pewter colored arrow had little loops at each end so that he could tie the arrow in the middle. Once finished, he held it up and grinned. It was perfect. He could hardly wait to give it to Katniss.

"She'll like that," Prim whispered.

"Who?" he laughed.

She shook her head and continued with her work as he stood up.

"Thanks Rue. I appreciate it. I'm um….well, I'm off," he chuckled, shoving his project into his pocket. They called out their goodbyes as he quickly made his way back to his cabin. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he made his way toward Katniss' cabin. She was just making her way down the steps when he walked up. She glanced up, clearly surprised to see him standing there.

"Oh, um…hi," she breathed, flashing him a smile. Her hair was in a loose, messy braid instead of her normal tight one, with a few tendrils of hair escaping from the sides. He licked his lips and smiled back at her.

"Hey. Ready for that walk?"

She nodded, heading down the steps and jumping off the last two. He grinned at her and laced his fingers with hers. "You seem happy."

Katniss sighed deeply as they walked down the path, the setting sun shining through the trees. "I am."

"Does it have to do with you asking me out in front of everyone at lunch?"

She smiled smugly. "Perhaps."

Peeta grinned at her sideways as they walked, watching as she blushed.

"Whatever, I was tired of Glimmer and her dumb friend."

"Wiress?"

"Right," she agreed flatly. "She was flirting with you, and…I was jealous. I don't want anyone touching your goods but me," she muttered under her breath.

Peeta laughed and boldly kissed her cheek. Katniss grinned and looked around only slightly nervously before they continued their walk. "Do you care that I asked you out in front of everyone?"

He shook his head. "No. Not at all, I told you. I meant what I said about it being your decision, but I'm glad you did it, yeah."

"Okay. You looked like your eyes were gonna pop out of your head when I said it."

"It's just…I wasn't expecting it. What will Prim say?"

Katniss smiled to herself and swung her hands between them. "She thinks I should bone the cupcake boy."

Peeta laughed. "I concur, Miss Everdeen. I concur."

They walked down the path toward the lake in silence, agreeing without words to walk around the perimeter. Capitol Lake, as it was named, stretched about a mile wide and two miles long. It sat at the base of the tree-covered mountain where Camp Panem was located. The scenic view was lined with tall trees and pines, making it look like something off a postcard. It made Peeta almost never want to leave. Even though he had to spend most of his time working with the kids, his days were flying by. Normally that pleased him, since most of his summers were spent working in the hot, crowded bakery his family owned. However, this summer was so much different. He spent the days hanging out with a bunch of awesome kids, and his nights with Katniss. Instead of excitement for the upcoming school year, all he felt was dread. Even though their schools weren't more than an hour's drive apart, they would still be separated.

He didn't want summer to ever end.

They walked hand in hand down the dirt path the lined the edge of the lake in compatible silence. Peeta would occasionally glance at her side profile as they moved slowly along, admiring his girlfriend's features. He still couldn't believe he had managed to snag a girl like Katniss.

What would happen at the end of the summer? Would they go their separate ways? They had touched on the subject, but nothing serious had been brought up. This was no summer fling for Peeta; he knew he had true feelings for Katniss. When he realistically compared the way he had felt about Cassie to the way he felt about Katniss, it was no contest. Katniss won every time, hands down. For the first time, he felt like he didn't have to work to impress her. Cassy was always about what he could do for her or what he could offer; he was constantly trying to keep up with what she thought he should be. Where Cassy wanted him to be more or do more, Katniss seemed thrilled with something as simple as a cupcake.

"What are you thinking?" she wondered aloud as they walked.

"Just that I don't want summer to ever end," he answered honestly. He glanced up at the trees as the sun cast a dull glow in the underside of the leaves. The crickets were just starting to chirp, and every few seconds he could spy a lightning bug.

Katniss kicked at a rock and nodded. "Me either. I don't miss school."

"Me either, for the first time ever. School was always something I looked forward too. Vacations were always boring. But now….not I don't want to go back as much as I used to."

"Summer seemed like it was going to be so long and just…drag on forever. I feel like I just got here and it's already halfway over."

"I know, he replied nervously, and swallowed. "Will you come visit me at school this fall?"

She paused, pulling him to a stop. Her dark eyes were suddenly sad. The grey color now reflected that of storm clouds. "Peeta…"

His stomach dropped. He had heard that tone before. That long, drawn out way to say his name was only used when bad news was coming. News he didn't like or want. She stared at the ground in front of them, chewing her bottom lip.

"What is it?"

She squeezed his hand in hers and let her eyes flick up to meet his. "Summer won't last forever."

I want to thank you all for your support this past week. I had a rough time of things, and so many of you reached out to me on here and on Twitter to say some kind words. It meant the world to me! What an awesome fandom of readers and writers! You are all wonderful, and I adore your support.

I'll be back soon with part II of this chapter! : )