Katniss sits beside me during week 2 of our class, as directed by Ms. Trinket. The first hour and a half is a lecture. The last half an hour is for us to get to know our partners, and I can't wait.

"So…" I say trailing off. Katniss just raises an eyebrow in my direction. "Maybe we should start over. I'm Peeta Mellark."

A ghost of a smile crosses her perfect lips. "Katniss Everdeen. I'm a senior studying environmental law."

I'm grinning like a fool even though it's a pretty standard introduction. "I'm studying communications… looks like we're going to become pretty good friends over the next fourteen weeks."

Katniss's scowl returns. "I'm not very good at making friends. I'm pretty shy and just trying to graduate at this point."

I want to punch whoever made her feel this way. "Well, Katniss. The trick to being friends is talking about the deep stuff?"

"The deep stuff?" She asks with raised eyebrows. I think I might even see a bit of a blush on her tanned cheeks.

"Yes," I nod and give her my signature smile. "What's your favorite color?"

She smiles and stifles a laugh. "Well now you've crossed the line." I laugh too. "Green," she answers. I knew it.

"Orange," I tell her simply.

"Like that girl's hair?" She asks with a disgusted look on her face. I follow her finger to a girl sitting on the other side of the room. It's obviously dyed, but she looks like a caution cone. I want to gag.

I rush to explain myself so she doesn't think I am a freak. "No, no. A softer orange… like the sunset. It's hard to explain," I say because it's true. Even I haven't perfected the color with my paints. I also don't want to reveal my true passion- art. That's something I hold close to me and only me.

Katniss's face relaxes. "I can picture it," she says softly and with no judgment. My heart flips at her expression, but I do my best to ignore it. The last thing I need is to developers feelings for a random girl at the end of my senior year. Who knows what her aspirations in life are.

"Annie is the most amazing girl I've ever met," Finnick says as he plops down on the couch beside me.

Gale sits across from us in an arm chair and raises an eyebrow at the man. "Really?" He doesn't say it, but he implies what we're both thinking. Annie is so... normal looking. She's got basic red hair and is tiny. She looks timid, unsure of herself.

Finnick rolls his eyes. "I've dated the Glimmers and Cashmeres of the world. They're shallow, talk too much, only care about material things. Annie... she's different. She's kind, sweet, and shy. She's not trying to jump me, you know?"

"You sound like you're in love," I joke.

Finnick stays quiet. His eyes bore holes into the ground.

"Holy shit," Gale whispers, but it's loud enough for all of us to hear.

"Holy shit," I repeat louder. "You're in love?"

I never thought I'd see the day that THE Finnick Odair fell in love. I always thought he'd be a bachelor. Fucking his way from town to town.

"You've barely known her for two weeks," Gale says while laughing and shaking his head.

"They're just something about her..." he says trailing off, and he's serious.

I understand what he means. There's something about Katniss Everdeen that intrigues me. I want to know more about her- no, everything about her. I want to break that tough exterior shell and kiss that scowl right off her-

Holy shit.

I shake my head and clear that thought. I am not- will not- fall in love my senior year of college. I will not get distracted. It's a silly bet, but I see the fascination with girls that don't fall to our feet. The battle is half the fun, and guys like us aren't used to it.

But I can't shake my earlier encounter with Katniss.

Katniss is quiet and mostly answers when I ask her a direct question. Short and to the point. She avoids eye contact most of the time and doodles in her notebook with a black pen. Every now and again, I get her to smile, and it feels like no I've found another piece in the world's hardest puzzle.

We're joking about my family's bakery when she stops laughing. Her face goes blank, and her eyebrows knit together. She looks at me, really looks at me. She studies my face like she's searching for something.

"What?" I ask, suddenly feeling self-conscious. That doesn't happen very often, but there's something about her gaze that makes me falter.

"I've heard a lot about you..." she says trailing off.

"And?" I ask, hoping that she's not about to call me a self-righteous asshole. I've done some risqué things in college.

"And you're nothing like I expected."

I'm thrown off. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I don't mean it in a cocky way. I just want to know what she's thinking.

"Good, I think," she says and bites her bottom lip. "You had a thing with my roommate freshman year. Johanna Mason."

I have no idea who Johanna Mason is.

I wasn't always like this. In high school, I was a sweet and innocent guy. I was the captain of the wrestling team, and I could get any girl that I wanted. But I didn't. It wasn't until I came to college that I discovered the urge to have everything I ever wanted. Not in a sleepy way, but I didn't see the sense in denying myself of things I wanted. Things that wanted me.

I joined my frat, made new friends, and found the boost in confidence that I needed. Maybe it was too much confidence.

But deep down, I'm still me. I still seek the simple pleasure of going to art galleries, painting a fresh canvas, and perfecting my family's bakery's cheese bun recipe. I still call my father on Sunday afternoons, and I hold open doors for everyone I meet.

There's a part of me that is still down to Earth. I'm still the kind and caring Peeta that I always was. I could talk your ear off if you'd let me. Then, there's another part of me. It's like a person that I put on in college. I'm a player, and I know it. Girls throw themselves at me, and I let them. Why not have fun while I still can? Adulthood is coming faster and faster.

But as I sit here with Katniss Everdeen, I struggle with who I want to be. Maybe she sees that. Maybe she sees right through me. The real me.

Maybe I want her to know the real me.

"Oh," is all I say.

She shakes her head and lets out a cold laugh. "Jo was a strange girl. She didn't fall head over heels for you or anything. Actually, I don't think she ever mentioned you besides that one time. She said 'I've had the Great Peeta Mellark.'"

I blush. Freshman year was... interesting to say the least. Hazing wasn't what I expected it to be, but it paved the way for the persona and luck that I have now.

"I'm sorry," I say awkwardly and scratch the back of my neck. I wish she's just drop it.

She looks at me like I'm one of the Seven Wonders of the World. "I thought you'd be shallow and sleazy."

"I can't say that I'm sorry to disappoint."

"Yeah," she says with a sigh. "I guess I'm relieved. I thought I was going to have to spend the entire semester fighting off your advances."

I just laugh because I can't answer. I can't make any promises.

We exchange email addresses and phone numbers in case our project needs extra time outside of the classroom. By the time the class ends, I'm grinning like a fool. Katniss Everdeen is one hell of a woman.