We dance and drink overpriced shots for hours. Joanna and I have set into a rhythm of dirty dance moves in the eye line of a certain handsome blond. At first, he didn't want to dance. He seemed perfectly content with sitting back in the booth and drinking crown and coke.

Then, I saw a pretty blonde girl with big curls and even bigger breasts approach him. I couldn't see her face to try and read her lips, but I did see Peeta smile at whatever she had said. She leaned in and drank the rest of his drink through a tiny straw, but she kept her eyes on his the enter time.

I was instantly jealous. I knew I was. Everything about Peeta Mellark made me feel new things. I never cared about other girls having boyfriends. I never cared about having one myself. I didn't want one. I didn't need a man.

But I need Peeta.

My heart shatters when she reaches out her hand. It's completely broken when he accepts it. I stop dancing when I see her lead him to the dance floor. Tears sprang to my eyes when I see her grind up against him. He just smirks and looks as if he is enjoying himself.

The room is on fire, and I need air. I excuse myself from Joanna and tell her I need another drink. "Hurry back" is her only reply. Clearly, she hasn't see nwhat I've seen.

I decide to make my way over to the bar anyways. Its far enough away from the dancing to avoid seeing Peeta and the girl. Lucky for me, there's an empty barstool. I take it and slump a little as I lean on the bar. My spunk and determination from earlier is gone. I've failed.

The bartender is cute but older with dazzling blue eyes. "What's wrong, darling?"

I sigh and slump a little more. "The guy I want is with another girl..." It seems like the easiest explanation I can give.

The man's eyes widened a bit before checking me out. "Well, he's an idiot because you're on fire in that dress."

I laugh and start to reply when I hear another deep voice say, "I agree." Spinning around, I spot the voice.

"Gale Hawthorne. Is that really you?" I ask in amazement because my eyes can't believe it.

"In the flesh," he says and blushes a bit. I still have that effect on him.

I haven't seen Gale Hawthorne since our sophomore year. I had many classes with him since we had the same major. He had tried to ask me out a few times, but I knew that we never amount to anything because I was smarter than Gale. I got better grades, and it bothered him. A lot.

"Small world," I say with a smile because I'm genuinely glad to see someone I know. Perhaps he can get my plan back on track. Using Gale for one night doesn't sound like a bad idea.

"It must be. How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to congratulate you yet," he says sounding genuine, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

I freeze. I haven't told anyone about my latest achievement despite it being a public matter. The College of Arts and Sciences posted about it in their monthly bulletin, and I am set to receive a special award before graduation. Still, the idea of my friends overhearing this conversation makes my heart skip a beat.

"I-I," I can't help but stuffer out until I decide to say, "Thank you."

Gale opens his mouth and says, "Katniss, is everything alright?"

No, wait! My drunken brain takes a second to realize that Gale's mouth was open, but the voice belonged to another. Glancing over Gale's shoulder, I see Peeta with a thin line of sweat on his forehead. His eyes are flickering between me and Gale, who is standing a lot closer than I remember.

"No way, it's Peeta Mellark," Gale practically gushes as he sees who has interrupted us. "You're a legend at IU."

Peeta gives him a polite smile and asks, "You wrestle?"

"No, just a fan of the sport," Gale says nonchalantly. "How do you know Katniss?"

Peeta smiles at me in a wicked way. "She's my roommate."

I roll my eyes at the implication and quickly add, "He's Rye's brother."

"No way," Gale says with wide eyes, slowly, he makes the connection. "Rye Mellark. I guess I should have known."

Peeta just laughs. "Yes, apparently my little brother likes to keep my identity unknown." His words remind me of a time when I didn't know Rye's brother was the infamous Peeta.

"I've been trying to get Katniss to go out with me for years now," Gale blurts out, and my mouth drops in horror. "Think you could help me out with that?"

"Oh, really?" Peeta asks with an amused smile on his lips. He gives me a curious look, and I want to slap it off of his face. He doesn't have the right to joke with me anymore.

Nevertheless, I rush to say, "I told him-"

"Yeah, yeah. School's important," Gale interrupts me and rolls his grey eyes. "You've already won the Fowler Ridge contract, what more could you want?"

"Fowler Ridge?" Peeta asks while I feel my heart stop beating. I didn't want him to know at all. I especially didn't want him to find out from someone else, especially not Gale.

"It's the largest windmill farm in Indiana. Only a select few get to intern there the summer before their senior year. One person gets the job offer. This year, it was Katniss."

"It's not a big deal," I add with a blush. I beg the floor to swallow me whole as I avoid Peeta's gaze.

Gale groans, "It is a big deal in environmentalism, Katniss." He sounds like a sore loser. One that is even more upset that the one he lost to doesn't even care about the prize. I care, but there has been a lot of other things on my mind. I'm not even sure I'll make it to summer at this point.

I need to get away from Gale. "Yeah, well that's this summer. Right now, it's Peeta's birthday, so we're gonna go celebrate that," I say as I push past him and grab Peeta's hand. He doesn't resist.

I take a couple of steps away and wait for Peeta to join me. When he does, he's giving me a bewildered look. "Katniss, why didn't you tell me about the contract? Does Rye know?"

I'm confused by this tone. Who does he think he is? My boyfriend? He's made it pretty clear that he's not. "None of them do..." I trail off, not feeling like having this conversation at the moment.

"Why not?"

I shrug. "I'm not sure I want to take it." It's almost four hours away from the university while my friends are all staying local. They're the only family I have now, and I'm not sure that I'm ready to start over again.

"Why not?" He asks again.

I narrow my eyes at him. This conversation is exasperating, and he is the last person I want to have it with. "Peeta! Do we have to do this right now? And why do you care?"

"I always care, Katniss," he says softly. His eyes are full of concern for me, and it's annoying that he can care one minute and not the next.

I scoff as loudly as I can and yell. "Right. That's why you cared so much when I gave you my virginity!"

"I was-"

"You what?!" A voice behind Peeta bellows. Peeta turns, and I see that the voice is coming from Rye. He stands there with his mouth wide open, his eyes bulging from their sockets. I've never seen him look so mad before.

"Rye, we can explain," Peeta says calmly.

"Explain what? That my brother's fucking my roommate. What the fuck?" He howls and looks around at all of our friends to back him up. They're all gathered to see the commotion, but they avoid his heated gaze. "Wait... did you all know? Did everyone know except for me?"

Peeta tries again. "We were going to tell you if-"

But Rye cuts him off. "God damn it, Peeta. I'm not a child. You don't have to treat me like a child." Then, he turns and walks away. Peeta places a hand on his shoulder to stop him, but it's an instant mistake. Rye turns swiftly and punches him in the jaw. It's not enough to knock the mound of flesh that is Peeta over, but it's enough to make him angry. He lunges at Rye.

"Stop it! Stop it!" I shriek over and over as they begin to brawl. Finnick tries to break up the fight, but the brothers are enraged. I'm yelling, pleading so loud that I can't make out what the other girls are saying, but I know that they are desperate for the scene to end.

The bartender with dazzling eyes pulls Rye away while Finnick holds Peeta back. Then, the bartender tells us all to leave and to not come back. Outside the club, Finnick and Annie tend to Peeta while Joanna inspects a cut above Rye's left eyebrow. Madge and I stay back and watch, unsure of our places in these two men's lives.

"The last bus leaves for Bloomington at midnight," a man tauntingly whispers in my ear. My nostrils flare as I realize who it is. As swift as Rye, I turn around and punch Gale in the nose. I'm satisfied when I see a stream of red blood flow from his nose and all over his white t shirt.

My pride is ruined at the sight. I'm no longer standing outside a bougie club. I'm sixteen in a cold, dark morgue. I can see the words "Katniss's biggest fans" written on it.

"Katniss! Katniss!" I snap out of my haze and see that Gale is gone. Madge is calling out to me, shaking me to listen to her. My hand is clawing at my throat, and I'm breathing like I've ran a marathon. I stop immediately and don't know how long I've been in my episode. My last episode was in the summer, and it lasted for hours.

When I finally look at her, her face is full of concern. When I turn around to look at our friend group, I see a similar look on all of their faces. The fight forgotten, the wounds still fresh but not requiring immediate care. All of their eyes are on me. "Are you okay?" Madge asks me.

"I want to go home," I whisper in a small voice and know that I sound like a child. I look down at the knuckle that injured Gale's nose. It's radiating pain and will be bruised tomorrow, but it will otherwise be fine.

"The hotel is-"

I cut her off. "No, I'm going home," I say louder. I look back up at our friends. "I've caused enough problems here tonight." Then I turn and walk towards the local campus, the opposite direction of our hotel. The number of blocks I must walk is in the double digits. I can't do it in heels, but I can call an Uber once I'm far enough away.

"Katniss!" Rye call out to me. It sounds more like a whine than a plea. It only causes me to walk faster.

I hear footsteps approaching me at a quickly, but I don't look back or slow down. They can't make me stay. For the second time in my life, I close my heart off to people I once considered to be my family.

"Katniss," I hear Peeta say right behind me. A hand lands on my shoulder, and I contemplate punching a second person tonight. But I don't. I stand there with my eyes closed, my breathing controlled. In and out. In and out.

"What?" I ask through gritted teeth when I am finally able to speak.

"Don't go," he says in a pleading voice. Without a second thought, I shake his hand off me and continue walking. I don't know what I wanted him to say, but that wasn't it. The man always knows what to say. Words never fail him like they fail me, but all he could mutter was two words. It's a pound of salt in my wounds.

A few seconds later, I hear heels clicking behind me. Madge's blonde hair appears beside me. "I hope you don't mind if I tag along," she says before sniffling. I don't have to glance over to know that she's been crying.

"I didn't mean for it to happen," I say and begin to cry. I couldn't stop the tears even if I wanted to.

Madge puts an arm around me. "I didn't expect for him to react like that. Rye, I mean. He told me I had nothing to worry about, especially when it came to you."

I have to look at her now. "There was nothing between me and Rye. Ever," I say while trying to hide my disgust. The last few months have proven that we are more like brother and sister than secret lovers.

"I know, Katniss," she says quietly. "But he liked you."