I wake up on my messy bed, only waking up because of Johanna's endless poking.
"Get up, Brainless!"
I blink a few times to clear my foggy eyes, and then the memory of last night floods into my brain.
Oh no.
Why was I so stupid? That obviously never happened, it was a nightmare. Delly is too nice to do anything of the sort, and I know that Peeta would never leave me.
But maybe my own idiocy has driven him away.
I have to apologize, and hopefully, make it up to him.
"Johanna, what time is it?" I ask.
"It's breakfast, so get off your lazy ass and change!" Johanna answers.
I quickly change into my clothes, which lie in a pile at the foot of my bed.
I head down to the cafeteria, where many people are already seated. It's hard to spot Peeta in this sea of grey. I look all around me but have no success. With a sigh, I walk towards the short line of people still waiting for their food.
As I walk, I finally see a mop of blond hair that can only belong to Peeta. He's in a conversation with Delly and a few other merchants, smiling and laughing, but his blue eyes do not match the rest of his face. His eyes are worn and tired, hollow, and sad. This was probably the result of my stupid outburst last night. Delly is sitting across from him, glancing at Thom every few minutes from across the cafeteria.
For a moment, I see Peeta's eyes flick towards me. Then Peeta clenches his jaw, stands up abruptly, and drops off his tray, leaving the cafeteria. I quickly follow. Not wanting to cause a scene, I don't shout his name. Peeta's heavy tread makes it easy to track him, but he is moving quickly. I round the corner which Peeta has disappeared behind and see the door to a compartment close. It's his, probably.
I press my ear to the door and hear soft sobs coming out from inside. My poor Peeta. Why did he have to suffer so much? He never deserved this.
I turn the knob and find that the door is locked. Tentatively, I knock on the door, and Peeta's tear stricken face answers a few minutes later. Impulsively, I cup his face with my hands and crash my lips onto his. I pull away when I can't ignore the need for oxygen. He's still standing there, unresponsive and still as a statue, so I take the opportunity to talk.
"Peeta...last night was just me being stupid. I was stuck in my nightmare, I couldn't tell the difference between reality and dreams. It's just... ugh, I'm terrible with words... I can't sleep properly without you with me. I need you, I meant what I said in the Quarter Quell. I really meant nothing of what I said last night. I don't want you to leave." I say. "Stay with me?"
Oh, that was horrible. It makes me sound like I own him, that I'm just using him again. I really want to leave right now, but something keeps me rooted to the spot. All I can do is wait for Peeta's response.
Peeta's eyes brighten, and for a moment, just a moment, I see the old Peeta, the Peeta that hadn't gone through all the pain and suffering, the Games, the heartbreak, or anything brought on by the Capitol. I just see Peeta. He smiles before finally answering.
"Always."
"Good, because I'm always going to be near you, whether you like it or not," I say playfully.
Peeta chuckles softly, and in an instant, he wraps his arms around me and kisses me fiercely. My lips move with his easily, and the moment his tongue sweeps across the seam of my lips, I let him enter. Our tongues clash and slide against each other, and I let out a moan, making Peeta laugh into our kiss. When we finally pull away, Peeta's voice is husky.
"Just so you know, that sound you make is hot." He says, grinning. This is... strange, to say the least. It's is the dirtiest thing Peeta has ever said. I just blush and say nothing. "Did you have breakfast yet?"
The answer is no. I haven't eaten, but I'm not hungry right now. Okay, maybe I am. But that's a hunger of an entirely different kind. So I just smile and say one word.
"Yeah."
"Okay, good. I think we're supposed to be in training next, but we still have a few minutes." Peeta says. "Should we get a head start, then?" I want to say no, but Peeta intertwines his fingers with mine, making warmth shoot up my body from the place where his skin is in contact with my own, and at that moment I feel as though I can never let go.
Peeta opens the door and I lead him to the Block, where my team is waiting for me. I haven't been here yet, I guess I had just ignored it and was let off because I was still "mentally disoriented". I'm in squad 451, and Peeta, it seems, was assigned that group too. Funnily enough, my camera crew is a part of squad 451, as are Finnick and Gale. Finnick says that the other squads have nicknamed us the "Star Squad".
Gale and I haven't spoken since yesterday, but I know that all he was saying was wrong. I watch as he sends a glare to mine and Peeta's joined hands, then looks back at Boggs, his face wiped of any anger, or any- well, any anything. I kiss Peeta's cheek and go to my spot, where Boggs is eyeing Peeta.
"Soldier Mellark, feeling fine?" asks Boggs. Peeta smiles politely.
"I'm doing well, actually, but the doctors say I shouldn't be overexerting myself for about a week or so." He replies. Peeta joins his spot in the semi-circle that we are standing in front of Boggs and Jackson. He's placed right next to Gale. Oh, great. I see Gale's cold eyes, how his pupils dilate and retract for a moment, and then go dark, his gaze focused on me. I don't like the way he's staring at me, so I divert my gaze to Peeta. I'm uncomfortable, and it must reflect on my face because Peeta is looking at me with concern.
The rest of training goes well, and I manage to avoid Gale, who is doing his best to avoid me, too.
After, Peeta and I decide to ditch the rest of the stuff we're supposed to be doing and visit Johanna. She greets us with nicknames.
"Hey brainless, you brought bread boy with you?" Johanna asks. Bread boy? That's new, she must use that for Peeta. "You had a good day, I guess?" she indicates Peeta's smiling face.
"Yeah, whatever Johanna, just shut up," I say.
"Hey, Jo." Peeta greets her.
"Hey, bread boy." She says back. Johanna looks at me, her face looking as if she were trying to explain something to a five-year-old. "He and I had adjoining cells in the Capitol. Don't go all cray-cray on him because he's talking to me." She says sarcastically. "Oh, yes, I heard your little one-sided shouting match in the middle of the night." Peeta's face goes a very deep shade of red. Of course, he didn't know Johanna was in there, and he meant the words he said for me and me alone.
"Sorry, Jo, I'll just sleep in Peeta's compartment," I say. "If that's okay with you?" I turn to Peeta. He stares at me with those dazzling blue eyes.
"YES- yeah, yeah, of course, Katniss," he says, trying to play it cool. I giggle- what? Since when do I giggle? What the hell is happening?
...
Peeta and I get closer and closer as the weeks pass by. I've gotten into the habit of sleeping with only one of his t-shirts and underwear on, while he doesn't even wear a shirt to bed, just a pair of pants.
One morning Peeta and I sleep in, so we hurry to get ready, even though we barely follow our schedules anyway. Still, it feels like there's something we have to do.
We walk out of the compartment. Peeta covers my hand with his own and we just stand there, both smiling shyly and staring at each other. A loud sound of throat clearing is what snaps me out of my trance and I see Prim. I wonder why she's not working in the hospital right now.
"I didn't mean to... interrupt anything, but Katniss, you have to see this! Katniss, come on!" Prim says, tugging on my hand.
I laugh. "Okay, Little Duck, calm down."
Prim still pulls on my hand. "But Katniss, it's really important!"
"And what is that?" I ask, intrigued.
"Katniss... Dad is alive."