Chapter 11: When I Paint My Masterpiece

Peeta POV:

Adrenaline was still coursing through my body by the time I reached home. What an adventure! If Katniss's mother had caught us in bed together, what would she have done? The thought has my heart beating out of my chest; I take a few breaths to calm myself. Deciding that the best way to relax is to paint I walk to my studio.

The room was originally designed as an office, but I had made some changes to turn it into an art studio. There was a large table pushed against the wall with various sketches strewn all over it. My paints, chalks, and other art supplies were neatly organized in a cabinet on one side of the table. There were two stools and three smaller tables in the room, and I had two unfinished paintings sitting on separate easels in the center of the room. I went over to one of them. It was a particularly horrific piece depicting the wolf mutts from the games. I moved to the other, it was Foxface, the way she'd looked in death. I couldn't bare to look at either of them for more than a few seconds. Not now, not after last night. I grabbed both of the unfinished canvases and stuck them in the closet.

I wanted to paint something beautiful. I moved over to the cabinet and grabbed a new canvas and a few of my sketching tools and organized them around one easel. Then, I sat on my stool, staring at the white background. I wanted to paint Katniss. I had made sketches of her many times but was always too afraid to paint her. Today though, I was confident. I can paint Katniss. I ran all the different possibilities in my head. I searched my memory for the best moment, something that could depict my feelings. My mind latched onto one particular moment from last night.

I sketched for hours, trying to get all the angles and curves exactly right. Normally, the art flowed out, it was easy to sketch and paint. But everything was different with Katniss, I hesitated over every line. As I struggled with my pencils, trying to get every detail from my memory on to the page, the day flowed by. I drowned in the act. By the time I resurfaced, it was lunch time. My stomach was begging for sustenance. I dropped my pencils and got up. I was about to go to the kitchen when the doorbell rang.

I felt my heartbeat quicken. I practically ran to the door and pulled it open. I couldn't help the flood of disappointment that filled me. Why had I been expecting Katniss? It was Prim. Putting a smile on my face, I greeted her. She smiled and handed me the empty tray from last night. "Thanks for the cookies, Peeta. They were amazing," she remarked.

"You're welcome," I replied. She waved and bounced back to her house. I closed the door and had walked less than two steps before the bell rang again. There was no expectation this time as I opened the door. My heart stopped in my chest seeing Katniss. She was here, finally. I didn't know I had been waiting for her. But by now, I guess I should have realized that I'm always waiting for her.

I let her in through the door. She's not wearing her hunting gear. I close the door behind her and turn to face her. "Hi," I croak. She turns to me and opens her mouth, but before she can say anything my stomach growls loudly. Katniss gets an amused look on her face and I groan. "Sorry, I haven't had lunch yet," I explain.

"It's okay," she giggles. The sound is music to my ears, and I can't help but smile at her. "Why don't we go grab something to eat together, at the Hob?" Katniss asks.

"Yeah," I agree, "Just let me go change." She nods in response. I rush up the stairs taking two at a time. Once in my room, I pull out one of my newer shirts and a pair of jeans. I change as quickly as possible. I also brush my teeth and comb my hair. I hope Katniss doesn't think I'm a slob. After, I check myself in the mirror, making sure I look my best, I walk back down.

Once there, I see Katniss sitting comfortably on one of the sofas. She gets up at my arrival. She stands beside me as I pull on my shoes. Then we walk out into the breeze. I instinctively take her warm hand in mine. She doesn't pull her hand away.

As we are walking, "It's going to rain," Katniss declares. I look up at the sky, there are no clouds in sight. I'm sure my face betrays my confusion as I look at her. "I can smell it," she insists. I shrug in response; she can smell rain? I feel a smile pull at my lips. Katniss stops, pulling her hand from mine. "You don't believe me," she accuses. I can't help but laugh. Katniss's face morphs into an angry scowl. I can tell she's about to walk away.

Grabbing he hand, I say, "Look at the sky, Katniss, there are no clouds." She looks up. There's a slight frown on her face.

"I know it's going to rain, you'll see," she stresses.

Usually, I would back down, but for some reason today I feel a playfulness rise in myself. "Alright, Katniss, if it rains today, I'll listen to everything you say for the rest of the week, but if it doesn't you have to do something for me," I announce. Katniss always wants to be right I know she'll agree to the wager.

"What?" she asks.

"That you'll find out when it doesn't rain," I reply.

She has a glint in her eyes as she responds, "No I won't because it will rain."

"Yeah, sure, can we go eat now? I'm starving," I tease.

We walk hand in hand to the Hob. So many things have changed since the games. I used to think the Hob was a terrifying place before the games. I feel a pleasant warmth in my stomach at the realization that this place used to be a foreign land to me, a place I knew Katniss was comfortable in, but was too afraid to enter. The games changed a lot for me and Katniss, but this is the first that seems good. Now, the Hob just seems normal. I recognize a lot of the people who work and shop here, and I wave to everyone I know. Some people do a double-take when they see that I'm with Katniss. Some eyes even follow us as we walk around. It's the first time we've been here together.

"You come to the Hob?" Katniss questions.

"Yeah, I like it here, the people are nice," I reply.

She smiles at me. We take a seat on one of the benches near Greasy Sae's shop. We eat the meal with enthusiasm. Me and Katniss talk far more than we eat. It takes us a long time to finish, but we laugh a lot. As we're getting up to go, I say to her, "This is the first time we've gone out on a date."

She giggles at my statement, "I guess it is."