Are you gonna go back to school?" Katniss asked. Peeta let out a deep sigh.
"I don't want to. But I should. I can get away with missing one class," Peeta said. It would kill him to walk away. He wanted to stay with her. "But I can skip wrestling practice today if you want,"
"I don't want you to get in trouble," he smiled. It gave him butterflies in his stomach knowing that she cared.
"It'll be fine. My coach really likes me," he joked. All of a sudden, the front door was thrown open, and Finnick jumped out and held his arms out wide.
"I have the best idea for dinner. Pizza!" Finnick said excitedly. Katniss picked her head up and they both stared at him. "I know, none of you heard it. But you're gonna love it. We've eaten it in the Capitol. But we need a lot of dough. And a baker to cook it!" Finnick said. Katniss looked back and Peeta, and they both couldn't help but smile at Finnick's excitement.
"Well, I guess I'll be staying for dinner," Peeta chuckled. Katniss' smile met her eyes, and he wanted to lean forward and kiss her so badly. But not with an audience.
"If you go over to the bakery, you can talk with my dad and go pick it up later. You just have to explain to him what a…" he wasn't sure about the word.
"Pizza!" Finnick said, licking his lips. Peeta laughed.
"Right. You'll just have to explain it so he knows what kind of dough to make for you," Finnick jumped from side to side.
"I can do that,"
"What exactly is pizza?" Katniss asked. Finnick put his hand over his heart.
"Ah. It kills me to know you've never heard of it. But it's a surprise. And I guarantee you all will love it. I'm going into town to get all the ingredients I need. You're in for a really magnificent treat tonight kids!" They chuckled at him.
"I should head back now. But I'll see you after school," she nodded her head and got up to walk to the door. Finnick opened the door and held out his arms for her. She rolled her eye and turned back to Peeta and waved and then went inside.
"I'll walk with you," Finnick said. They got out of the Victors Village and he blew hot air on his hands. Peeta laughed.
"It's not even that cold yet," Peeta laughed.
"I live in the sunshine remember? All year round! This is freezing to me,"
"What are you gonna do when it snows?"
"You know, even on my Victory Tour, and going with Annie on hers, it's been freezing in a few Districts, but it's never snowed," Peeta eyes widened, and he laughed.
"Oh man. You're gonna die when you see it. It can be a lot of fun sometimes. And it's really pretty when it's snowing, and when it first stops. Before everyone starts shoveling it to make paths, and it starts turning black from dirt and coal dust. And before everyone's walking through it. It's a nice little period where it's pure white. It's peaceful," Peeta said. Finnick nudged him.
"I'm sold. You should be a writer!" Finnick joked. Peeta laughed and shook his head.
"Naah. I love baking,"
"Speaking of love," Finnick said and wiggles his eyebrows. Peeta blushes and groans and Finnick just laughs and nudges him again. "Man oh man. You got I bad for this girl. You gotta ask her out already," Finnick said.
"I can't do that Finnick. It's not the appropriate time at all. She was just crying on your porch,"
"I didn't say right this second. When she's in a better mood. You just have to though," Finnick said. Peeta looked away.
"What if she doesn't want me to?" Peeta asked softly. Finnick burst out laughing and it made Peeta spin around.
"Are you absolutely serious?" Finnick asked. The look on Peeta's face must have told Finnick, that he was serious, because he doubled over in laughter.
"This isn't funny Finnick," he told him. It wasn't the right time to ask Katniss out. And what if Katniss didn't see him like that? What if she only saw him as nothing more than a friend? It would kill him.
Finnick stood up, trying not to keep laughing but he was struggling. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry," he said and wiped at his eyes. He cleared his throat and stood up. "Listen. I get it. It's scary asking a girl out. I don't know Katniss well at all. But Haymitch and Gale know her, and they seem to think that Katniss likes you to," Finnick told him. That couldn't be true. Katniss had never talked to him before. He raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm serious. Don't give me that skeptical look. I know what I'm talking about," Finnick told him. Peeta let out a sigh and kept walking. "So, you're right. Asking Katniss out with now isn't the best idea. But! And it's a big but. Ask her out. Soon," he told him and squeezed his shoulders.
"Gale was just saying to me and Haymitch that he's never seen Katniss even talk to a guy before. That when she's with you, she acts different. And from what I've seen at school, she likes you. She doesn't know how to express it, because Haymitch thinks she terrible with some human emotions. But Gale says she just has a really hard time trusting people," Finnick said. They walked for a minute.
"You should really talk to Gale. He knows her really well. And you may have a better understanding of who she really is," Finnick said.
Peeta wondered if all that was true. If she liked him back. His nervous energy was back. Not the nervousness like from earlier today. He was nervous about being around Katniss. He went through every detail in his mind about Katniss and their past interactions.
She went to him for safety and held on to him all night. She didn't even want him to stay in the bed next to her. She clung to him, and she let him undress her. She wanted him to go with her to her house and tell her mom. She didn't want him to even leave.
No one could convince her to drink tea with some sleeping syrup in it, take a shower, or sleep. But she listened to him. She held on to him and even slept with her head in his lap.
She told him that he should have asked to be her friend. She said she liked having him around, and he didn't crowd her. She wanted him to sit next to her at lunch. She wrote a note back and forth to him one day. She thanked him for being there. She held on to him today and they just sat there with her head on his shoulder. She said she liked that he was like a furnace. She cared about if he'd get in trouble coming back, and she smiled when he said he would.
Were all these moments really signs that she did have feelings for him that were more than just friendship? Peeta with nervous energy was an understatement.
He made it in time for his third period class, and he didn't hear a word the teacher said. He didn't even hear the bell ring. One of his friends, Barren, hit his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts.
"What's with you today?" Barren asked. Peeta shook his head and grabbed his bookbag.
"I've just got a lot on my mind," Peeta said as they walked out of class and started heading to the cafeteria.
"So, you eating with us today? Or gonna go slumming it again," barren joked. Peeta cringed. He hated when people from town talked about anyone from the Seam like that. Especially Katniss.
"I'm not slumming it. I enjoy sitting with them. It's quieter," Peeta said, looking pointedly at Barren, who just laughed.
"Ok, ok. So, I'm loud at lunch. Shoot me. But you gotta admit, I'm a lot of fun," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. Peeta snorted and Barren shook Peeta's shoulders. They got their usual table, with some of their friends already there. "The prodigal son has returned," Barren said, holding his arms out, putting Peeta on display as he sat down.
"Cut it out," Peeta said. His friend Aiden, who had been his friend as far back as he could remember, started cheering. Pendalyn Lott was sitting at their table today. He always tried to find the good in people, but he really couldn't find it in her. She was just so mean. Her and her little pal, Lanalynn. He couldn't stand it sometimes.
"Well, well, well. Peeta Mellark. Long time no see," Pendalyn flirted. Peeta just smiled and pulled his lunch out of his bag. He always tried to avoid her. Even his brothers did. She wanted the three of them. More specifically, she wanted in their pants! And his mother wanted one of them to marry her. He shuddered at the thought.
Madge was walking by, and he turned and grabbed her hand. "Hey. Katniss isn't here today. Wanna sit with us?" He asked. Madge looked over at everyone. He knew from Katniss, that Madge liked sitting with Katniss because they both enjoyed sometimes just sitting in silence. They liked the peace and quiet.
Madge hesitated and then nodded her head. "Thanks," she said as she sat next to him.
"No problem," he smiled at her.
"Do you know where she is?" Madge asked.
"Wow. They Mayors daughter sitting with us. First Peeta comes back, and now Madge is gracing us with her presence," Pendalyn said, and smiled
Madge just looked over at Peeta. "I'm glad you sat with us," Peeta said. Madge smiled. Pendalyn rolled her eyes and went back to her conversation.
"Do you know where she is?" Madge whispered. Peeta nodded his head.
"She's ok," Peeta assured her. She smiled and nodded her head. Peeta and Madge stayed out of the conversation, but Pendalyn and two of her friends were laughing about something and kept eyeing Peeta and Madge. He hated the cattiness that some of the girls had.
"So, Madge. I hear your dad got you a spot on the show. Who's gonna be your first date?" Pendalyn asked in mock interest. Madge remained calm.
"My dad didn't ask. I was asked. And I don't know who my date will be for Friday, just like none of us know until Friday morning," she said monotonously.
"Are they really getting you a whole bunch of new clothes and do a whole makeover on you?" Pendalyn asked. Madge still didn't react.
"I'm not sure. But I assume they would. If I get a whole new wardrobe, I'll have to make room in my closet. So, I'll let you have first dibs on the mayors daughters old clothes," she said flatly. Pendalyn's mouth fell open, as did Peeta's. The rest of the table laughed.
"Excuse me. But I do NOT wear hand me down clothes!" Pendalyn said. Her face was red. Madge wasn't even bothered as she bit into her sandwich. Peeta covered his mouth to hide his smile. Pendalyn narrowed her eyes at Peeta.
"So Peeta, where's Katniss today?" Pendalyn asked and smiled. Peeta tried to stay composed. He didn't like where this was going. He didn't want to hear whatever nasty thing was going to come out of Pendalyn's mouth.
"She's not feeling well," he said and bit into his apple. He couldn't even taste it, worrying about what Pendalyn was gonna say.
"Did her boyfriend beat her up again?" Pendalyn asked. The other girls laughed.
"Did whose boyfriend beat them up?" Delly asked as she sat down. Pendalyn rolled her eyes.
"Katniss Everdeen," Pendalyn said. Delly's mouth fell open. "Did you see her a few weeks ago wearing her boyfriend's sweatshirt and trying to cover up the bruises," Pendalyn said.
"You don't know what you're talking about. The guy that she's always with isn't even her boyfriend. Gale's her best friend. And he'd never hurt her. So maybe you should keep your mouth shut about things you know nothing about," Peeta said as he started throwing his stuff back into his book bag.
"I'm just saying Peeta, it's pretty obvious he hits her," she snickered. Madge stood up as well.
"I think I'd rather sit alone then sit with you," Madge said. Delly started getting up, and to Peeta's surprise, so did his friend Aiden.
"That stuff isn't funny Pendalyn," Aiden said. Peeta spun around and walked to a different table and slammed his stuff down. Madge, Delly and then Aiden followed him and sat with him. "What is her problem with Katniss? Her and Lanalynn talk about her non-stop," Aiden said and scrubbed his face.
"You didn't have to follow," Peeta told him. Aiden shook his head.
"I can't stand them lately. They're just too much lately. This Marriage Initiative crap has them so involved in getting the better guys and squashing all the other girls in their wake. Lanalynn won't leave me alone," Aiden and Peeta had talked about Pendalyn and Lanalynn quite a few times growing up. The girls never seemed to take no for an answer.
And to talk about Gale hitting Katniss…he didn't want that rumor getting started. He hoped it wasn't a rumor going around. Just something Pendalyn said today. That would be terrible for Gale, who would never hurt anyone.
He thought of something Katniss said. How this was Bones fault, but she was the one being punished. She was completely one hundred percent right. She was the one who was paying for his actions. Her family, Gale's family. And if rumors started flying about Gale beating Katniss…God, he didn't know what he was gonna do.
"Someone has a crush," Gale whispered in her ear. Katniss moved her head away. Gale laughed as he hopped over her onto the bed. He grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels. "Want me to find some romance movie for you so you can dream about Peeta and you?" Gale joked. She rolled her eyes and punched his thigh.
"Shut up Gale. Just put something on. Just don't put something on that has people singing. I can't stand when they're singing," she grumbled as she moved her pillow around to get a better look at the tv and get comfortable.
"Even if they're singing about love?" Gale joked. Katniss sat up.
"What is your problem? Just find something on tv. You're giving me a headache," she said and laid her head back down. Gale laughed and kept flipping channels.
"Mr. Mellark looked awfully worried about you today," Gale said. Katniss ignored him. "I mean, he walks you to school now. He walks to your classes with you. He sits with you at lunch. Has he held your hand yet?" he asked.
"WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Katniss yelled at him as she sat up and punched him in the chest.
"Katniss!" her mother called up to her.
"Uh oh. No cussing," Gale said and shook his finger. She rolled her eyes and plopped back down on her pillow. Gale settled on some movie that they had no clue what was going on.
"Is that girl blue?" Katniss asked. Gale tilted his head. They both jumped back.
"Well, she was blue. Now she's blonde," Gale said. The girl transformed again. "Oh no, she's blue again. How does she do that? She's goes back and forth between looking normal, and then all blue," Gale asked.
"What are you watching?" Katniss asked. Gale pressed a button.
"X-Men?" he said, looking at her. He shrugged. "Some really old movie. Long before Panem was around. I watched one of these movies with Haymitch before. The guy had long blonde hair and a giant hammer. And he was like the God of Lightening or something," Gale said. Katniss shook her head.
"Are you talking about those Superhero movies that Haymitch likes to watch?" Katniss asked. Gale chuckled and nodded his head.
"Yeah. I wish Haymitch didn't always break his tv. Remember we were watching that Strange Thing show with the monsters that their heads opened up like flowers?" Gale asked. Katniss rolled her eyes.
"We got a few episodes in, and fucking Haymitch broke his tv. By the time Effie got him a new one, we couldn't even find the show again,"
"Language!" Gale joked, mimicking the father on the show. Making Katniss laugh. Gale sat back and they watched the movie for a while.
"You like being around him, don't you?" Gale asked. He looked down and saw that Katniss' eyes were glued to the tv. "It's ok you know. I know you never wanted to get married. I know you never wanted to have any type of feelings towards a guy. But it's ok to have feelings for someone Katniss. And you may be one of the lucky ones to get someone that you have feelings for," Katniss wouldn't say a word. Gale let her stay silent though. She needed to figure it all out on her own.
Peeta was all too happy to leave school. He got right out of there and went back to Finnick's house. He'd stay for a few hours and pretend he was at wrestling practice, and then go help clean up the bakery and prep for the next morning.
When he knocked, he heard someone yell for him to come in. "Hey perfect timing. I just got back with the dough from your dad. He's amazing by the way," Finnick said.
"Hey grumpy pants. Loverboys here," Haymitch called down from the couch. Hazelle went over and smacked him.
"Sorry. He's a little drunk," Finnick chuckled and led Peeta to the kitchen. "Ok. What I need is you to get the dough to spread on these pans that your father gave me. He said spin them in the air to get a perfect circle. And then, we're gonna put this sauce on top that Emily and Hazelle have been cooking up, per my instructions, and not sneaking a taste of," he said, pointing his fingers at them. Both women were giggling like schoolgirls. Finnick O'dair was a charmer, that's for sure. It made Peeta smile.
"And we've grated the cheese. We even mixed in some cheese that Prim made from Lady's milk. And were gonna put that on top of the sauce. Then I have some different toppings for the pizzas. We'll cook em in the oven, and voila. We have pizza!" Finnick said, excided. Peeta laughed.
"Well ok then. Let me just wash my hands and we'll get started," Peeta said. After his hands were washed, he got right to work with one of the dough balls that his father had made. He started rolling it and then flipping it in the air and then got it to land perfectly on the circle pan.
"That's perfect! That's exactly what I wanted," Finnick said.
"GIVE IT BACK RORY!" they heard Posy yell.
"IT'S MINE!" Vick screamed.
"NO, IT'S NOT! YOU GIVE IT BACK TO ME!" Posy screamed.
"IT DOESN'T BELONG TO EITHER OF YOU! I HAD IT FIRST!" Rory yelled. Then there was a loud noise. The adults went running upstairs while Peeta went back to work on the second dough ball.
"Hey," Katniss said, startling him. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.
"Hey. How are you?" he asked. Katniss came over and stood next to him.
"I'm ok," Katniss said.
"Did you get any sleep?" he asked her. She shook her head.
"Me and Gale just watched these stupid movies that were before Panem's time," Katniss said.
"That sounds kinda cool," Peeta said as she started rolling the dough.
"Yeah, if Haymitch ever stops breaking his tv's, you'll have to come over sometime and watch a movie. That is, if you can stand the smell," Katniss joked. Peeta chuckled and then started spinning and flipping the dough in the air. Then he tossed it onto the pan perfectly again.
"That is so cool. Have you ever done that before?" Katniss asked. Peeta shook his head.
"No. But I just kinda pieced together what Finnick wanted me to do by what he described. He said that sauce is supposed to go on top of this with some cheese and bake in the oven," Peeta said. Katniss grabbed a spoon and dipped it into the pot on the stove and brought it up to her mouth to blow on it. "Finnick said no one could try it yet. He wouldn't even let your mom or Mrs. Hawthorne," he warned her. Katniss rolled her eyes and waved her hand.
Peeta watched in slow motion as she blew on the spoon and then opened her mouth and licked the sauce off the spoon. Her eyes widened. "Is it um…what's it taste like?" he asked, shaking his head. What he wouldn't give to be that spoon.
"Oh my God, you have to try it," she said as she put the spoon back in the pot and brought it up to her mouth and started blowing on it again, and then brought the spoon over to his mouth. Was he really going to put a spoon in his mouth, that had literally just been in her mouth?
He opened his mouth, and she pushed the spoon inside. His eyes widened and she pulled the spoon back. "Oh my God," he said. She nodded her head.
"What is this? This is going on the pizza?" Katniss asked. It was so nice to watch her like this. So excited because of food. He wasn't used to seeing Katniss like this. She had gotten upset with him when he tried to share his lunch with her. Katniss took another taste and shared some again with him before she threw the spoon in the sink as Finnick came back down into the kitchen with Gale.
"They're called Mutants. They have some genetic thing inside them that does something weird to all of them. Professor X can hear people's thoughts and can control them. The blue chick is Mystique and she's a shape shifter. Then the other blue guy is the Beast. He's just massively strong and used some of Mystique's blood in an experiment to make himself normal and ended up turning himself blue. And Magneto can control magnets," Finnick said. Gale looked over at Katniss.
"There's a bunch of X-Men movies Finnick says. And the guy with the hammer. Thor. They're all connected somehow," Gale said as he sat on the counter.
"What are you guys talking about?" Peeta asked.
"It's these movies on tv. Apparently, we were watching one of the X-Men movies, and Gale is particularly fond of Thor. The God of hammers or lighting," Katniss said.
"God of Thunder!" Gale corrected her. Katniss rolled his eyes. Finnick clapped Peeta on the back
"These look perfect Peeta. Ok I'm thinking four of these can fit in the oven at one time. And there's plenty of sauce," Finnick said as he grabbed the large spoon and stirred the sauce. Katniss sat at the table and watched as Peeta made all the pizza dough then started putting them together and put them in the oven.
"I can't wait till it's done," Peeta told her as he sat down next to her at the table. She smiled at him, and he could feel the butterflies overcrowding his stomach.
"Yeah, me to. He ordered some soda a few weeks ago. So, we get to drink that tonight," Katniss said.
"What's soda?" He asked. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Something that HAS to be drank when you're eating pizza," she chuckled. He laughed right along with her. They got the other pizzas ready, so when the four that were in the oven were ready, he just threw the others in to cook.
Finnick took them and cut them and dished them out to everyone. "Alright, it's hot. So, blow on it and then take a bite of the best thing you'll ever put in your mouth," Finnick said. Peeta bit into his first slice of pizza and Finnick was right. It was amazing. No one was left disappointed, except having to wait for the rest to cook.
Peeta made ten pizzas all together, and they barely cooled before they were gone. Peeta had accidentally brushed his hand against Katniss' hand a few times and they'd both smile and blush. They had to sit close together at the table to make sure everyone had enough room to sit.
He was getting more comfortable being with Katniss and her family the more time she spent with them. They were laughing and having fun, minus the siblings that were fighting over the silliest things. It made Peeta chuckle. But it didn't matter what had just happened the night before. She had an amazing support system and it made Peeta happy. She was gonna be ok because her family were amazing.
He watched the time though. He had to leave when his wrestling practice was ending. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to," Katniss whispered to him. She had caught him looking at the clock.
"No. I want to stay. But my mom will…" he trailed off and she nodded her head.
"Your mother would kill you if she knew you're hanging out with kids from the Seam," Katniss said sadly. He looked around to see who was paying attention.
"Can we go back out on the front porch?" He asked her. She nodded her head, and they snuck out the front door and sat on the steps. "I hope you know that I don't care if you're from the Seam. You do know that, right?" He asked her. She nodded her head but kept her eyes down to her lap. He scooted closer to her until their legs were touching, and she looked up.
"I don't care where you live. It's never once bothered me. And I hope that you don't care if I'm from Town," he told her. She shook her head.
"No. I wouldn't care about something like that," she said. He dramatically pretended to be relieved and wiped fake sweat off his forehead, making her roll her eyes and laugh. He stared at her for a moment.
"You should laugh more often. You have a really beautiful laugh," he told her before he could stop himself. Her face turned beet red, and she looked forward. "I um…I do have to be careful though. If my mom finds out, I don't want her saying I can't see you or anything. Because I love spending time with you and I'd hate for her to ruin that," Peeta rambled. She looked over and smiled.
"I had a really nice day. When I wasn't in school," Peeta told her. She nodded her head.
"Yeah, I had a nice day when you weren't in school either," she said. He looked down at her lips. Should he just do it? Should he just lean in and kiss her. She's looking at him like she's waiting for him to. He should just do it. So, he leaned in, but then jumped as they heard screaming inside.
"I'M GONNA RIP YOUR DOLL IN HALF!" They heard Vick scream.
"Oh my God what is wrong with them today?" Katniss said. She looked back at Peeta. "They fight sometimes, but never like this," Katniss said as she heard someone hit the front door and then running up the stairs. Peeta just laughed.
"I better get going. Will I see you tomorrow?" Peeta asked. She smiled and nodded her head.
"Yeah. Haymitch paid off a Peacekeeper to say we all had food poisoning. So, we're all better tomorrow," she said sarcastically as she stood up with Peeta following her. He stood there awkwardly for a minute.
"You gonna be ok tonight?" Peeta asked. Katniss nodded her head.
"Yeah. We're safe in the Victors houses. And it's a much bigger bed. Rory will have a harder time kicking me and Gale," she chuckled. He nodded his head.
"Well, that's good," he said. Why was it so awkward right now? Oh right, maybe because you were just staring at her lips and almost kissed her.
"Thank you for coming back. I really like having you around," Katniss admitted. He smiled widely.
"I like hanging around. I'll see you tomorrow," he said and squeezed her forearm and walked away.
Peeta tried to get all his work done that morning before school. But it wouldn't be enough time to get to the Victor's Village. He'd just have to wait till he saw her in class.
He just couldn't stop thinking about her. Every spare second, she was all he thought about. He thought before they started talking that he had it bad. It was nothing compared to now. Now he had things to think about. Like the sound of her laugh. Or the way her face relaxed when she talked about being in the woods.
"Why are you making cheese buns?" Ryee asked that next morning. Peeta shrugged.
"No reason," Peeta said and started putting some in a brown bag. Rye and Wheet eyed each other and then shook their heads. Peeta ran out of there before they could say anything else. Peeta waited for Katniss to walk with Prim and Rory to drop them off at school. Her and Finnick were walking together when she saw Peeta and smiled.
"Hey. Good morning," he said. He handed her the bag. "You should eat it now. It's still warm," Peeta said. She opened the bag and peaked in, her eyes widened with excitement, and she reached in a pulled out a still hot cheese bun.
"Oh my gosh thank you," she said. She went to pull it towards her mouth, but Finnick grabbed her wrist and bit into it. Katniss mouth dropped to the floor.
"Mmm. These are amazing," Finnick said. Katniss yanked her hand away.
"They're for me not, not you," she snapped at him, holding her arm away from him.
"Geez Peeta. Why have you not made these for me?" Finnick asked. Peeta scratched the back of his head. He leaned forward to take another bite and Katniss shoved him.
"Get away from me before I bite you," she warned him. Finnick held up his hands on mock surrender.
"Fine then. If I had my Trident, you'd be singing a different tune. I'm a Victor," he told her, like she was slow. She stared at him, bored. He looked back over at Peeta. "Me being a Victor is supposed to be intimidating for people. But not her," Finnick said. He patted Peeta on the shoulders and started walking away.
"I'll expect some of those for my breakfast tomorrow kid," Finnick called out to Peeta. He just laughed and shook his head. Katniss rolled his eyes.
"Rude," she grumbled. But then she bit into the cheese bun, and she closed her eyes and moaned softly. Her mood instantly changed. "These are so good. Thank you," she said and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention.
"You don't have to do that though you know. I'm sure if your mom found out- "
"It's really not a big deal. Besides, I like doing that for you," he told her. She smiled at him and took another bite and put it back in the paper bag.
"Thank you," she said and started walking with him into school.
"Get kicked last night?" Katniss looked at him for a second and then chuckled.
"Rory's really wild. He thrashed around. Gale shoved him off the bed at one point because he was practically laying on top of Gale. Then they got into a fight at 3 in the morning," Katniss said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Peeta laughed.
"Yeah, they were pretty amusing yesterday," Peeta commented, meaning all the fighting.
"It was just one of those days. Posy was even irritating Gale on purpose last night after you left. And then Gale started arguing with Vick. I'm so glad it's just me and Prim with no brothers," Katniss said. Peeta laughed.
"My dad sometimes has to get in the middle of us wrestling. He's even said that he wished he had more girls. Especially after all three of us were going at it one day, and Rye elbowed my dad right in the eye," Peeta said. Katniss mouth fell open and then she started laughing.
"Oh my god. That's terrible. What were you guys fighting about?" She asked. Peeta stopped and stood still. Katniss stopped and waited for him.
"Wow. I don't even remember," he said, making Katniss laugh again. He shook his head and focused back on her and started walking again, he joined in the laughter. "It had to of been something stupid. It usually is. I'm usually in the middle of their fights though,"
"Why are you in the middle?"
"Oh, because they're always against each other, and having me on their side tips the scales in the other one's favor. They're usually fighting because Rye steals something of Wheet's or rats him out about something. Or teases him. Basically, Rye starts 99.99 percent of all the fights in our house,"
They got to her classroom and stopped outside the door. "Well, um…I guess I'll see you at lunch then" Peeta said. She nodded her head.
"I'll see you later," she said and turned and walked into her class. He had to rush down the hall to make it to his next class and sat next to Aiden. Aiden leaned across his desk to talk to Peeta.
"You might wanna warn Katniss. Pendalyn is being super nasty today, making bets if she's gonna come in with a bruised face again," Aiden whispered to her. Peeta narrowed his eyes at him.
"Are you serious?" He hissed. Aiden nodded his head. "Why is she even going after Katniss. She doesn't even bother with Pendalyn," Peeta huffed.
"Because you show Katniss more attention than you show her. Duh," Aiden said and sat back in his desk.
Peeta couldn't stand that. Pendalyn had always been a little to…clingy and forward towards Peeta and his brothers. But going after Katniss because he liked her was completely unacceptable. Katniss had enough to deal with, with Bones then to have to worry about Pendalyn's witch hunt.
Katniss hadn't noticed anything was going on because she was always good at ignoring people. But it wasn't until Mr. Vallen's class that she walked in and heard the snickering. Katniss glanced up for a split second and saw Pendalyn and Lanalynn staring at her. She rolled her eyes and walked to the other side of class and sat in her seat.
Pendalyn was sitting on her desk and swung her legs around to face Katniss. "We didn't think you'd show up to school today," Pendalyn said. Katniss eyed her suspiciously. Madge rushed in with Delly to sit in their seats and just eyed Pendalyn. "So. What kept you out yesterday?" She asked. Katniss pinched the bridge of her nose as more of their class came in and started sitting down.
"I'm touched that you care so much about my health. My family and I had food poisoning," she said and pulled out her notebook.
"I have a great story to tell you," Madge hissed at her, getting Katniss' attention. Katniss looked at her oddly.
"Yeah, it's really funny," Delly added. Katniss looked between them.
"So, what was it that gave you food poisoning?" Lanalynn asked loudly. Katniss looked over at them.
"Why do you care? I wasn't throwing up on you, so it really didn't affect you," Katniss said dryly, causing a few kids to snicker. Pendalyn whispered into Lanalynn's ear. Katniss shook her head and turned back to her backpack and searched for her pen.
"Well, I mean, it's just really hard to get food poisoning when no one in the Seam eats," Lanalynn joked. The room became eerily quiet. That was when Peeta walked in. Everyone was at a standstill. Peeta watched as Katniss just squinted her eyes and leaned forward. Pendalyn and Lanalynn just looked at each other and back to her.
"Why are you just staring?" Pendalyn asked.
"Well, my mom was saying how you keep coming back for that cream to put on your lip," Katniss said ominously and then looked back down at her desk. Everyone was quiet, just waiting for Katniss to drop the bomb. Peeta took careful steps to sit down in his seat. No one dared to say a word. But the girls couldn't contain herself.
"Why would I need a cream?" Pendalyn demanded. Katniss looked up innocently at her. Then she looked around, making eye contact with a few of the boys from town. "What are you looking at?" She demanded.
"I'm just wondering if you told all of them. They should probably come and see my mom and get checked out," Katniss said. Pendalyn crossed her arms.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Pendalyn demanded. Katniss rolled her eyes and dug her fingers into her eyes.
"God do you really need someone to do it for you? Fine. You all should be checked out for STDs because whoever's she's been using her mouth on probably has whatever my mother is treating her for," Katniss said. The room erupted in screams. "You're welcome," she said and went back down to her book.
"I DO NOT HAVE AN STD!" Pendalyn screamed as Mr. Vallen walked in and stopped abruptly.
"I don't even wanna know what that's about. Sit down guys," Mr. Vallen said.
"I thought maybe the whole food poisoning excuse was a lie. I thought your boyfriend had beat you up again," Pendalyn said. Everyone stared at her.
"What did you say?" Katniss hissed as she stood up. She caught sight of Bones then, sitting in his chair looking smug. She choked on the air in her throat, but no one noticed because Mr. Vallen dropped a book, and everyone jumped.
"I don't know what your problem is, but get the hell out of my class, right now!" Mr. Vallen yelled at her.
"Mr. Vallen did you just hear what she said to me?" Pendalyn squeaked out.
"Pendalyn has STDs," Janston cheered, making some kids laugh.
"That's enough!" He yelled. Katniss sat down and started shaking. Peeta leaned over and grabbed her hand and squeezed.
"I'm sorry," he told her while Mr. Vallen yelled at Pendalyn who finally stormed out of the classroom. It was out. The rumor of Katniss getting hit by her boyfriend, by Gale. It was out. What was going to happen? Was Gale going to actually get accused? Would he get into trouble for only ever trying to protect Katniss?
Katniss looked clammy and her palms were sweating. She was having a hard time breathing. He shook her hands roughly and she looked over at him. Her eyes started filling with tears. Oh God, she was gonna lose it right in class.
Madge eyed the two of them and then raised her hand. "Mr. Vallen. Katniss still isn't feeling good from yesterday. Can I take her to the bathroom?" She asked. Thank God for Madge.
"Yep. Just don't barf in the classroom Everdeen. Or I'm making you clean it all up," he joked. Madge stood up and yanked Katniss out of the room before anything else could be said or done.
Peeta was sick to his stomach with worry. You can't just go around accusing men of beating their wives or kids up. Women don't admit to being beaten because then they're forced to take their children to the group home and the moms can't get them back until they've been issued a new house. Which takes forever because it's not a priority. The wives sometimes have nowhere else to go, so they stay with the husband, but the kids aren't allowed to come back.
And if it's actually proven that you've hit someone? You end up on the whipping post or in the stockades. Depending on the severity of it. Everyone knows. You can't get a job anywhere. Oh God, he thought he was gonna be sick. Gale couldn't be the one that was accused of hitting her. His life would be ruined. But enough people in the Seam knew him. They knew he'd never hurt Katniss. And they knew that Gale wasn't even her boyfriend. He looked around and locked eyes with Bones. He was smiling. This was just making his day. Someone else was having the blame put on them for why Katniss had been beaten up. He hated Bones. This, not reacting to Bones thing was getting more and more difficult as he sat in this stupid class. He was not seeing the logic of it anymore. Why couldn't he just go over there and rip his head off his shoulders?
"You ok?" Aiden whispered over to him. Peeta shook his head. Delly turned around.
"Maybe someone should go check on them," Delly whispered. Peeta shook his head. There was no logical reason for anyone else to go check on Katniss. Madge was with her. Even though Mr. Vallen knew what was going on, he couldn't just let everyone go to check on her.
Madge came back in then and went up to Mr. Vallen. "She's not feeling all that great, so she's laying down in Mr. Abernathy's office," Madge told him. Then she looked over at Peeta quickly. "Mr. O'dair told me to ask you to send Peeta down to his office for their session," she said. She smiled at Peeta.
"Peeta, you can take off. And take Katniss' things and drop them off at Haymitch's office," Mr. Vallen said. He wasn't stupid. Mr. Vallen knew exactly how that happened.
Madge put Katniss' things back in her backpack and handed them to Peeta. He rushed down the hall and knocked on Haymitch's door. He opened it and saw Katniss standing in the middle of the office. Her face was red, and her fists were tightly clenched. He pushed the door open further and saw Haymitch and Finnick with her.
"Hey kid. Shut the door," Haymitch said. He came in and shut the door and put their backpacks down.
"Are you ok?" He asked Katniss. Her face was bright red in anger.
"Do you know what just happened this morning?" Finnick asked Peeta. Peeta gulped.
"Pendalyn Lott kinda has it out for Katniss," he said. Katniss crossed her arms and shook her head. "She's been talking about the bruises that Katniss had," he told them.
"Why does it matter. I've seen plenty of kids with bruises on their faces," Finnick says, holding his hand out to Peeta for when his mom hits him and leaves a bruise. It's a common thing in 12.
Peeta blushed and fidgeted around. "Pendalyn likes me and my brothers. And she um…" he tried to avoid looking at any of them. "She's jealous that I've been spending so much time with Katniss," she said, looking at the floor. There was a pause and then Haymitch and Finnick burst out laughing, cause Peeta to look back up.
"This isn't funny," Katniss told them.
"Yes, it is. This little bitch doesn't like that she's not the girl, that does anything for Peeta," Peeta was mortified. This was starting to feel like when he went to Katniss' house and told her that Gale was cheating on her.
"Rejection sucks," Finnick laughed. Katniss slammed her hand on the desk, causing all three of them to jump.
"Everyone is going to assume she's talking about Gale," Katniss snapped at them. He cleared his throat and ran his hands through hair. He felt terrible. She shouldn't be going through this. No one should be talking about why Katniss had bruises on her face. And Gale's the one who protected her. He shouldn't be blamed. All because he didn't like Pendalyn. This entire situation with Pendalyn made him extremely uncomfortable.
And the kicker about it. His mother wanted either him or one of his brothers to marry her. He couldn't ever imagine being tied to her for the rest of his life. It actually was depressing to think about.
"Nothing's going to happen to Gale. Let her run her mouth. Everyone in the Seam knows him. And he sells to the Peacekeepers. And the Mayor. Gale's not in any danger. So let her run her mouth," Haymitch told her. She plopped down on the couch and covered her face in frustration.
"His name better not come up. It shouldn't come up," she said and then took her hands away. "He shouldn't be punished for something someone else did. Him and our families have had to turn our lives upside down because of him. It's not right," Katniss said and covered her face again. But not in frustration this time.
Peeta looked over at Haymitch and he nodded his head towards her. Peeta walked over and sat down next to her and rubbed her back. "I'm tired of living like this. I shouldn't have to be humiliated because he attacked me," she pulled her hands away again.
"She's the one that whores around. And I should be ashamed?" She demanded.
"Yeeeeah. Pointing that out in front of the whole class probably wasn't the best idea sweetheart," Haymitch chuckled.
"Oh, I'm not gonna apologize. Not when it comes to her. If she's gonna come at me with that bullshit, then I'm gonna spit it back right on her face," he had never once seen Katniss this angry before. He didn't know how to navigate this. He didn't know how to comfort her. Luckily, he didn't have to figure it out now, because Haymitch knew her much better.
"She's gonna retaliate," Haymitch told her.
"I don't care. I'll give it right back,"
"You might make it worse for him though," Finnick said, pointing to Peeta. She looked over at him and her face softened.
"You don't need to worry about me,"
"Yeah, but weren't you telling me that your mom even said she wants either you or one of your brothers to marry her?" Peeta eyed Katniss who turned and looked at her hands. He couldn't read her face and see what her reaction was to that. Was she sad? Did she ever care?
"She could take it further and get your mom involved," Finnick said. Katniss hid her face in her hands once again.
"Really. Don't worry about me. I can handle whatever she throws at me," Peeta said and reached up and rubbed her back again. The last thing Peeta wanted was for Katniss to get stressed out about him being involved in her life. In any capacity.
"I think maybe you just try and stay out of Pendalyn's way," Haymitch suggested. Katniss snapped her head up.
"I DO stay out of her way. I stay out of everyone's way. I'm not just gonna ignore her if she's gonna start talking about Gale hitting me. I can ignore plenty of things Haymitch. But not that," Katniss said. Haymitch huffed and sat back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I know," he said. He scrubbed his face and then sat back up. "Listen. Just don't get all crazy off your rocker all right? I'll handle it," Haymitch told her. Katniss just nodded her head.
"Ok. So, what I originally came in here for. I have this Seam kid who's a pain in my ass," Finnick told Haymitch, grabbing his computer and showing Haymitch. Peeta nudged her.
"Are you ok?" She asked softly. She shook her head.
"I'm so angry," she hissed. He let out a deep breath. He was at a loss for words. She had every right to be angry. All of this just seemed to be getting worse. And Katniss had done nothing wrong.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. She looked over at him.
"You don't have to be. I'm not mad at you. So, if you're blaming yourself for Pendalyn you can stop that right now. She's always been a bitch to me," she said and rubbed her forehead. Well. I guess he couldn't blame himself. He still did, no matter what she said.
They stayed in the office until the bell rang. "You cooled down enough to head to lunch?" Haymitch asked. Katniss nodded her head and the two of them stood up and left his office.
"I wish there was something I could do," Peeta told her. Katniss nodded her head.
"I'm just gonna go to the bathroom. I'll meet you in the cafeteria though," she said sadly.
"Are you sure?" He asked, looking at everyone in the halls.
"Yes, I'll be fine," she said and smiled sadly at him. He nodded his head and went to lunch.
Katniss sat in the bathroom for a minute just breathing. She was the one that was attacked. And what happened? She wasn't allowed to go anywhere by herself anymore. She couldn't even sleep in her own bed at the moment. Or by herself. She had to be talked about because Bones left bruises. And live in constant fear that he was gonna find her alone and hurt her. She banged her hand on the wall. She hated her life at the moment.
She stormed out of the bathroom and before she realized it, she was pushed up against the door. Her eyes widened. Bones!
"Long time no see Everdeen," Bones said.
"Get away from me," she said and went to shove him, but he grabbed her hands.
"I've been waiting to get you alone. You've been surrounded by Hawthorne, and Mellark and a whole bunch of other guys from the Seam. You're really getting around, aren't you?" He asked.
"Get the hell off of me or I'll scream," she told him. He chuckled.
"I don't like you with a whole bunch of guys. Are you putting out for them? Did one of them already pop your cherry?" He asked. She opened her mouth to scream but he covered it. "None of them can you have you. You know this right. I've already told you. You're mine," he said and started reaching for the door that she was leaning on.
"Will you two stop making out and get to your classes!" Someone yelled down the hall. It was some Capitol Counselor who was stupid enough to believe that they were kissing. It was enough of a distraction though, and she shoved Bones and went running down the hall and into the cafeteria. She stopped and looked around and saw where Peeta was sitting. He was waiting by himself for her. He took one look at her, and his body went rigid. He stood up and went running over to her.
"What happened?" He asked. Her eyes darted all around.
"He was waiting when I got out of the bathroom," she panted. She couldn't lose it here, in the cafeteria.
"Damnit. I knew I shouldn't have left you," he said as he ran his hand through his hair. He looked all around, looking to see if Bones was here. Neither of them saw him. Katniss was shaking and he went to wrap his arms around her, but she stepped back. It caught Peeta off guard.
"Please don't. Not here…" she trailed off and looked around. Was she embarrassed by him? He cleared his throat.
"Come over and sit down then," he said uncomfortable. She nodded and followed him, and they sat down next to each other. He moved his seat away to give her space after her rejection, but she moved her chair as close as she could next to him. He didn't understand her reaction.
"I can't have anyone touch me. I'll lose it here. And I refuse to lose it in the middle of school," she whispered. The pain in his chest left. She wasn't embarrassed. Not by him. God, he really was a baby sometimes. She just didn't want to become emotional in front of everyone.
He nodded his head. "I understand. It's gonna be ok. I won't let anything happen. I'll walk you to all your classes today. And I'll walk you home," Peeta told her. He reached under the table and ran the back of his hand against hers, trying to comfort her. "Did he hurt you?" He asked. She picked her hands up and rubbed her wrists.
"He didn't get enough time. Some stupid Capitol twit scared him off. I shoved him away and ran in here," she put her head in her hands. He went to go rub her back but then stopped. She didn't want to be physically comforted right now. "I can't believe he just did that," Katniss whispered.
He looked up and saw Bones walk into the cafeteria. He looked around and stopped when he saw Katniss and narrowed his eyes at her. Peeta clenched his fists so hard her knew his fingernails were drawing blood. How was this guy so untouchable? How was he able to get away with sneaking around, undetected and try to hurt Katniss? How was this possible? Bones looked right at Peeta and then smirked and walked in to sit with his friends.
"God I wanna kill him," he said, digging his fingers into his eyeballs. He had to force himself to stay in his seat. He couldn't go after Bones. Haymitch warned him that it would only make things worse. But how much worse can they get?
They stayed quiet through the rest of lunch. She kept her head in her hands the entire time. There was nothing he could say or do to provide any type of comfort. He was at a loss. It hit him in the face that even though yes, they were getting to know each other, but he still didn't know her very well. He didn't even know how to be her friend at the moment.
The bell rang and he walked her to class. "I'll rush out of my next class. Just wait here for me," he told her. She crossed her arms.
"I'm so sick of this," she whispered. He felt helpless.
"I know. I don't know what else to say," he told her. He put his head down. "I wish I could say something to make it all go away," she let out a deep breath.
"I know…thank you. For being there for me," she said. He looked up at smile.
"There's nowhere in the world I'd rather be Katniss," he said honestly, making her blush and look away. She had a habit of blushing. Heck, so did he when it came to her. "Just, hang out until I come to walk with you," he said. She nodded her head and walked into class.
Peeta spun around and walked back to Haymitch's office and knocked before opening the door. Haymitch sat up from napping at his desk. He wondered what it was it was like for the kids that were his. How much did he actually work?
"He cornered her again," Peeta said once he shut the door. Haymitch sat up.
"What happened?"
"She went to the bathroom and came out and he was waiting for her," Peeta said. Haymitch took a pencil holder and threw it at the wall.
"Fucking little prick. I hate him and his whole fucking family. They're all a bunch of psychopaths. His father was the same way. His brothers. All the guys in that damn family," Haymitch was practically pulling his hair out.
"I should have waited outside the bathroom. I'm an idiot. But I thought since the cafeteria was right around the corner, she'd be fine. God I'm so stupid. This is all my fault," Peeta plopped down on the couch.
"No, it's not boy. She shouldn't have to have bodyguards twenty-four hours a day. Just like it wasn't Gale's fault the night that fucker attacked her. It's that fucking kids fault and no one else's," Haymitch said. It didn't matter what Haymitch said. He should have waited outside the bathroom for her. He felt so guilty for not waiting for her. He wouldn't be making that mistake again.
He not only walked with her in the halls, but he walked her home. Or, to the Victor's Village he should say. "Thanks for walking me home Peeta," she said as Prim and Rory walked inside.
"You're welcome. I hate to cut this short, but I have to get to the Bakery. Finnick's walking you again tomorrow, right?" He asked. Katniss nodded.
He ran as fast as he could back home. But the damage was already done. He was already late. And he got smacked right in the face when he got home. His mother hated when he was late. But he didn't care. It was better than letting Katniss walk home by herself and something happening to her. Making sure Katniss was safe was worth his mom hitting him.
"Why were you late?" Wheet whispered. Peeta was washing his hands and looked over his shoulder to see where his mom was.
"I was walking Katniss back to Finnick's house. Bones cornered her in the hall today when no one was around. And I wanted to make sure she got home," Peeta said as he turned the water off and started drying off his hands and grabbed his apron.
"Just be careful. You can't walk her to and from school every day. And you can't keep skipping wrestling practice," Wheet warned him. Peeta nodded his head. He knew all that.
Katniss did notice the small bruise the next day. She touched it and asked what happened. He said he ran into the door, and he could tell she knew that it was a lie. She knew exactly what happened.
Bones didn't get close to Katniss again. And the new windows and doors came in for the Everdeen and Hawthorne's houses. They started with Katniss's house first and had trouble sizing everything, and it took longer than expected. But they finally got everything installed.
Peeta could see how happy Katniss was. Everyone wants to be in their own home. In their own bed.
Peeta walked up to Katniss and Madge in the hall. He could see Bones behind Katniss, but she hadn't seen him. Peeta walked right up to the girls. "Hey, are you happy to be back home?" He asked cheerfully. It startled Katniss a little.
"Um. Yes. It's amazing," Katniss said, a little unsure about why he asked if like that.
"Must be really cool that any time you open the door or your windows the alarm goes off," Peeta said. Katniss furrowed her eyebrows at him. "It's cool that when it's set at night, it's really loud. The neighbors can hear it. And it doesn't run on electricity, so you don't have to worry about it shutting off. I bet the Hawthorne's are excited theirs are being installed now too," Peeta said enthusiastically. Bones glared at him.
"Why are you talking so loud?" She snapped. Bones pushed away from the lockers and stomped away. Well, now Bones knew. There was no way he was sneaking back into the Everdeen's house.
"I didn't even see him there. Did you know he was there that whole time?" Madge asked Peeta. He nodded his head. Katniss was leaning her shoulder against her locker and pushed away and turned around, and then turned back to them.
"See who?" She asked.
"Bones," Peeta said simply. Katniss just stared at him. "He knows that he can't get into your house now," Peeta said seriously. Madge smiled brightly.
"Our big hero. Always coming to Katniss' rescue," Madge chuckled. Katniss smiled at him. Well, he was trying.
The Harvest Festival was two weeks away, and Peeta was getting more and more nervous. He wanted to invite Katniss to go with him, but he didn't know how. Would she even want to go with him? Did she only see him as a friend? Would this ruin their friendship?
It was Friday morning, and they shared their first class together. The teacher passed out their envelops and he hated looking in his every week. He hated having to go on 'dates' with girls that he just…they didn't…they weren't Katniss.
He let out a big sigh and opened the envelope and pulled the piece of paper out. His mouth fell open.
Katniss Everdeen
He looked over at her and she hadn't even bothered to open hers yet. He cleared his throat and nodded his head towards it on her desk when she looked at him. She rolled her eyes and picked it up. He turned back around. He didn't want to watch her reaction when she opened it. God, what if she hated it? What if she was pissed off that she was stuck with him for the night.
He wasn't even listening to the teacher. He was sweating from nerves and had to keep fanning himself. Why was it so hot in here? He looked around. No one else was hot. The heat wasn't on, and it was cold outside. So, it was him. It was all him and his stupid nerves over his stupid crush for Katniss. He wanted to turn around. He needed to turn around. But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. God, he acted like such a girl. Just turn around!
He turned his head to see her looking down at her book. She must have been waiting for him to turn back around because she looked up at their teacher and then reached forward and handed him a piece of paper. He turned back around and unfolded it.
I expect Effie to fall, or rip her dress, or her wig to fall off on my first night back to these dances from hell!
He turned back around and smiled brightly at her. He wrote something and handed it back to her.
Yes ma'am! I'll see what I can do. Maybe Haymitch can spill his drink on her.
It was the biggest relief to know that Katniss wasn't mad that they were going together…and then he realized it. Him and Katniss were going to be going to the dance together tonight. He was going to be dancing at least four dances with her. He was going to be sitting with her all night. They'd be asking each other a bunch of questions. Oh God!
He could barely get through school today. How was he supposed to go back home and work in the Bakery and act like it was no big deal that he was going to the dance with Katniss Everdeen?
"How about I pick you up and we'll walk together," Peeta said. Katniss nodded her head.
"All right. I'll see you then," Katniss said and started walking off to pick up Prim with Hezar. He practically skipped home. Nothing was going to ruin his mood today. He was going to get to spend hours with Katniss tonight!
"Why are you in such a good mood?" Rye asked when he came downstairs from his break. Peeta had already started washing some dishes.
"It's just a nice day is all," Peeta said as he started whistling to himself as he washed the dishes that had been piling up.
"What's with him?" Wheet chuckled as he came out of the cooler with a cake.
"It's a nice day," Rye joked. Peeta ignored them. He was going to the dance with Katniss Everdeen. Nothing could ruin his day.
"So, who are you going to the dance with tonight?" He heard his mother ask. Well, it was time to face the music. He cleared his throat and prepared himself for the blow to the head.
"Katniss Everdeen," he said. He jumped out of the way when his mother lunged at him.
"NONE OF MY SONS WILL GO TO THE DANCE WITH THAT EVERDEEN GIRL!"
"Oh my god," Rye said and walked to the other side of the kitchen and crossed his arms. Getting right out of the fight. The long table was separating Peeta and his mother.
"What's going on here?" His father asked as he came running from the front.
"You're not going to the dance with that Seam trash. No one in this house will ever go out with one of those girls," his mother seethed.
"With which girls?" His father asked.
"Those damn Everdeen women," Rye joked. Wheet shoved him and hissed at him to shut up.
"Over my dead body will he go to that school tonight and dance with her," his mother said.
"They've already danced together. Effie made them," Rye said. Wheet hit him and Peeta covered his face. His mother took a bowl and threw it at Peeta's face. Luckily, he blocked it.
"YOU WILL NOT GO NEAR ANYONE IN THAT FAMILY! EVERDEEN WOMEN WILL ENTER THIS FAMILY OVER MY DEAD BODY!"
"DOREEN!" His father screamed. Everyone stared at him. No one has ever heard his father scream like that. Peeta didn't think he was capable of screaming that loud. "We have been over this. He goes to the dance with who he's assigned to. And we don't get to choose. If he's assigned with Katniss, then he will follow the rules, and there will be no more arguing about it. Or punishing him. He's going to the dance tonight with Katniss and I won't hear another word about it. Get back out up front or go upstairs. But get out of this kitchen and leave Peeta alone!" His father told her.
Everyone's mouths had fallen open. His father had never been that forceful with his mother. Never in his life would he imagine that his father would ever put her in her place.
His mother went to say something, but his father slammed his hand down on the table. "I mean it Doreen. That's enough. Peeta won't be getting into any trouble with the Capitol because you demand that he be married to a merchant girl. The Capitol is the one running this. And it may not happen. All three of the boys might marry girls from the Seam and it won't matter as long as my boys are happy. I refuse to let Peeta get into trouble and be sent to the Capitol for 'reeducating'. Now let it be!" He ordered her.
She threw the rolling pin at him and barely missed his head. She stormed upstairs and they heard two doors slam shut.
Peeta and his brothers just stared at their father. He had never raised his voice like that. He had never been so firm with their mother. He didn't even know his father's voice could even go that loud.
"What do you think she's gonna do when she finds out Peet's been in love with one of the Everdeen girls since he was five?" Rye asked out loud. One would assume his brother was making another ill-timed joke. But one look at his face and you knew it wasn't that at all. He was genuinely afraid of his mother's reaction.
"I'm not gonna let your mother ruin this for any of you. If you have a chance to be with the person that you want…" his father trailed off. If he got one of his sons to marry the person that they wanted, then he'd take it and not let anything stand on their way. Including his wife. Especially his wife.
"Thank you," Peeta whispered. His father smiled at him.
"I'm serious Peeta. I don't know how the next two years are going to play out until you graduate and have to get married. But if there's even a small chance that you could marry her, then nothing can get in your way. I won't let her ruin this for you. It would be my biggest failure in my life if she sabotaged this," his father shakily said. Peeta didn't realize how much this meant to his father. Sure, he knew his father loved him and wanted him to be happy. That was a given. But his father was invested so intensely in his happiness. His dad wanted him to be with Katniss. It was overwhelming.
"So, who did you get stuck going to the dance with?" Rory asked as he plopped down on the couch. Katniss was cleaning up some of Vick and Posy's toys for Hazelle. She turned her head before Rory could see the blush that she felt creeping up her neck.
"Peeta," she said. It was quiet for a minute and then Rory laughed. Katniss looked up at him. "Why are you laughing?" She asked. Rory turned around.
"Hey mom! Come here!" He called for Hazelle. She came out of Prim's room a moment later and shut the door.
"Oh, please don't wake Posy up. She's had a runny nose today and she's tired," Hazelle said as she walked over.
"Guess who Katniss got paired up with tonight," Rory said. Hazelle looked to Katniss, but she couldn't meet Hazelle's eyes. "Peeta," Rory sang. Katniss threw Posy's doll at him, making him laugh. Katniss stood up.
"You can clean up your brothers and sisters' things," Katniss snapped and went into the kitchen where her mom was making dinner. "Need help?" She asked.
"Sure. Chop those carrots," her mom said. She washed her hands and started cutting. Hazelle came into the kitchen.
"So. Peeta's your date tonight," Hazelle said. Both her and her mom looked at Katniss. God, she could feel the heat coming off her face. It was burning. She hated blushing.
"Peeta's a really nice young man," her mom said. Katniss nodded her head.
"I know," she agreed.
"I wouldn't mind seeing him around more often," her mother said without looking at her. She liked having Peeta around. She felt different when he was around. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about this now. Not with her mom and Hazelle standing right next to her.
"I'm sure he would be around more if he didn't have to work such long hours at the Bakery," she told them as she moved and grabbed more carrots.
"He does work really hard at the Bakery," Hazelle commented. She could feel her mother and Hazelle eyeing each other over her head, but she refused to look up.
"Is he going to be picking you up tonight?" Her mom asked. She waited until she was finished cutting all the carrots and went over to the sink and washed her hands before she spoke with them.
"You two are very obvious in trying to get me to talk about boys. Not subtle in any way," she said and walked to her room. She heard them snickering in the kitchen as she shut the door. She laid down in her bed.
How did she really feel about being around Peeta? Could she actually think about that now, while she was alone in her room? She didn't have to look up and see her mom or Rory or anyone else.
She liked the relationship that she and Peeta had started to form. He made her smile when she'd see him waiting for so he could walk with her. It gave her the biggest butterflies. And whenever he'd smile at her, she could feel herself blush. She couldn't stand that, to get all girly and blush just because a boy was smiling at her. But it was Peeta. He was different.
She loved when he'd start talking to her. It didn't matter what he was talking about. Sometimes a silly story about something that happened with his brothers. But she loved listening to him.
She felt…peaceful when he was around. Sometimes she could get so angry about life in District 12. Everyone starving, the Hunger Games. The Marriage Initiative…but when Peeta was around, it was like she could calm down. She didn't have to be so angry. It didn't make any of these things stop or magically go away. But she could just settle. She could see good things…like him.
He was unfailingly kind. And generous…and she felt safe around him. She thought back to the night Bones attacked her. She instantly thought of Peeta. She knew he would protect her. She barely knew him and ran to him. She let her guard down and let him take control. She let him undress her and hold her and she shared a bed with him. She tried to hide the blush on her face from her own bedroom. Which, he had sat in already!
God, she had slept in Peeta Mellark's bed! But she wasn't thinking like that at the time. It was about safety…and she felt safe with him. She sat up and stared out her brand-new window. She hadn't felt safe like that since she was a little girl. Sure, Haymitch and Gale made her feel safe. It was a given. But it was some kind of security that her father had given her, and she lost it the moment her dad died. All the comforting in the world from Gale and Haymitch couldn't give her that back…but that night in Peeta's bedroom…she felt it.
She covered her mouth in shock. What did these feelings mean?
"Alright now son. Let's take a look at you," Rye said as he pulled Peeta to stand up in front of him. "My sons all grown up. Going out on his first date!" He laughed. Peeta pushed him.
"This isn't a real date. It's a Capitol date. There's a huge difference," Peeta argued. As much as he wanted to, he'd never count this as a first date. He's already done this with some girls this year. Even though he was more than happy to be there with Katniss…he wouldn't consider this a date. Because it was Capitol made. No, they'd have to have a different first date. Hopefully.
"But still. We just need to go over a few things. First of all. Protection. Do you have any-"Peeta shoved him.
"Will you shut up!" He demanded. Him and Wheet just laughed.
"Awe come on Peet, I wanna make sure my boys first time will truly be memorable," Rye laughed.
"Will you let him be," his father said as he walked in with some half full trays to pack away for the night.
"He's nervous enough as it is. Do you need to pee first before you go pick her up?" Wheet chuckled. Peeta glared at him.
"Peeta," his father said. Peeta looked at him. "Just be yourself. And have fun," he said kindly. He smiled at his father.
"Thanks," he said and walked out of the Bakery. He walked through town and over to the flower shop. Sure, it wasn't an actual date that wasn't forced by the Capitol, but it still didn't mean he couldn't do something date like. He picked out one flower. A large Orange Sunflower.
Aiden's family always grew them this time of year. It was one of their most profitable flowers. Because of the seeds. People could eat them. He hoped Katniss liked the orange one. Maybe he should have gotten the yellow one. Most sunflowers are yellow, but he loved the color orange. And it was different. And Katniss was different. Maybe he should go back and get a yellow one.
He shook his head. That was stupid. He nervously walked to Katniss' house and knocked on the door. Prim opened it and smiled. He heard a beeping as the door opened. "Hi Peeta. Katniss is almost ready. Come on in," she said as she opened the door wider for him to walk in. He liked hearing another beep as the door shut. It helped ease his mind when it was just going to be the three Everdeen women again.
"His Mrs. Everdeen. Mrs. Hawthorne," he said and smiled as he walked in.
"Peeta, I've told you. Call me Emily," Katniss' mother said.
"And call me Hazelle," Peeta chuckled and nodded his head.
"I'll try and remember that" he said.
"Oh Peeta. That's such a pretty flower. Is that for Katniss?" Prim asked as she examined it without touching it.
"Um yes. I got it for her," he looked over at Emily and Hazelle as they covered their smiles with their hands. How embarrassing.
"Oh, Katniss look what Peeta got for you," prim said as Katniss came out of her bedroom. She took his breath away. She rarely wore her hair down, and tonight it was cascading it soft waves. She always wore it in a braid. She walked up to him, and he smiled.
"Yes. I stopped and got this for you. I hope you like it," he said, holding out the large sunflower to her.
"Thank you. I like the orange ones better than the yellow ones. You always see the yellow ones everywhere," she said, and he let out a sigh of relief. His call on the orange sunflower was spot on. Thank God! She held it up to her nose and smiled.
"Here let me take that," Emily said as she held her hand out for it and had a vase in the other hand. Katniss gave her the flower and her mom brought it into her room. The room was silent as they stared at each other.
"Um, do you wanna go?" He asked. She nodded her head.
"Will you bring back some cookies?" Prim asked. Katniss kissed the top of her head.
"Anything for you, Little Duck," she said. Peeta went to open the door when Gale walked in from work. He stopped and looked at them.
"Awe. Are you guys going out on your first date?" Gale asked and smiled. "I mean, it's kinda rude you know. Not asking her boyfriend if you can take my girlfriend to the-"Katniss stepped forward and shoved him aside.
"Fuck off!" She hissed. Loud enough for him and Gale to hear her. He laughed loudly as she stomped out the front door, with Peeta following her.
"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" He called out to her. She just held up her arm and flicked him off without looking back. Peeta could still hear Gale laughing as they rounded the corner.
"I'm sorry. He's such an asshole," Katniss grumbled and rolled her eyes.
"It's ok. I kinda figured I'd be getting tortured about that sooner or later. I guess he gave me a break before he started making fun of me," Peeta said, running his hand through his hair.
"Just ignore him. I do. He's so annoying sometimes. When I was born, he was only two, but my dad and his dad drilled into his head that he was gonna be my older brother and he always had to protect me and take care of me like I was his little sister. And he interpreted that as, annoy the hell out of Katniss until the day he dies," Katniss complained. Peeta laughed. She looked over at him and rolled her eyes.
"I still can't believe everyone in town thinks that we're together. I just never knew it. Even Madge thought we were," Katniss said, shaking her head.
"She did?" Peeta asked. Katniss nodded her head. "That makes me feel better. Not entirely though. After I made a complete fool out of myself," he chuckled nervously.
"I thought you were kidding at first. I was so confused," she chuckled. They never did get a chance to talk about what happened when he came to her house to tell her Gale had cheated on her. The next day she had been attacked by Bones and it was the furthest thing on their minds. "I do have a question though. It's really been…not bothering me. But I just have to know," Peeta looked at her.
"What is it?"
"Why did Rye think I was pregnant?" Peeta cringed, while Katniss just smiled.
"God, I feel so humiliated for listening to him," he groaned.
"As you should," she laughed. "But I'm dying to know why he got this into his head,"
"He's an idiot that's why," he told her making her laugh more. She had just a beautiful laugh, but he had to shake his head before he became distracted by it. "You um…you hadn't been coming to the bakery to make any trades," Peeta said. Katniss tilted her head.
"Gale said that you hadn't been feeling well. For a while," he told her. Her face softened a little. "My dad would always ask where you were. We can tell when you don't shoot the squirrel because you hit the squirrel through the eye every time. You never miss with your arrow," Peeta said.
It took him a moment to realize Katniss had stopped walking. He turned and took a few steps back to her. "What's wrong?" He asked. He looked around. Was Bones around?"
"How did you know that?" She whispered.
"How did I know what?"
"That I use a bow?" She asked. She looked like she was about to cry. What just happened? How had he upset her? What did he do to upset her?
"I…well. The day you shot your first squirrel. Your dad came to the Bakery to trade. And he showed my dad. And you were all excited and they made a big deal about you shooting your first squirrel with your bow and arrow," he said. She just stared at him.
"You remember that?" She asked him. Her voice barely a whisper. She wasn't angry, like he thought she was. She was emotional. He smiled at her.
"Yeah. Of course, I do. You were really happy. We were 7 years old…I remember so many things about you Katniss," he told her. They just looked at each other.
"My dad made me that bow. I still have it. It's too little for me now. I use his," she whispered and put her head down. He took a step closer to her. He couldn't imagine what it felt like to lose a parent. He squeezed her arm.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. I thought we were working on embarrassing me for making a fool out of myself," he said gently to her, making her laugh. She wiped at her face before she picked it back up. He could tell that she had wiped a tear away before he saw it.
"Yeah, we were," she said and started walking again. "So, keep going. Why did Rye think I was pregnant?" Peeta laughed.
"Well, he thought since Gale kept saying you weren't feeling good, that that meant you had morning sickness. So, he kinda got it in my head that you could be pregnant," Peeta said sheepishly. How humiliating. Katniss laughed again. "It's completely stupid. I know that now. But I just couldn't really think logically about it. I was so angry at Gale because I thought he was cheating on you, and he acted just so nice and acted like he cared. And if he got you pregnant, then who was to say that he didn't get other girls pregnant," he covered his face with his hands.
"God just hearing it loud sounds worse," Peeta said, making Katniss chuckle. He looked back over at her. "I'm glad you can laugh at my absolute mortification,"
"I just…man. I didn't see that coming," she chuckled.
"Imagine my surprise when you told me I was wrong. I was waiting for Gale to beat me up, not laugh at me," Peeta said. Making Katniss laugh again.
"Well, you don't have to worry. Gale and I will never see each other like that…he told me that he would find me someone good to marry. And if he couldn't, then he'd just marry me himself," Katniss said. Peeta gulped. "I hate that idea more than anything. It would ruin us. We'd never be the same. We wouldn't be Katniss and Gale anymore," she whispered sadly. He felt bad for her then. And for Gale. They'd get married and then lose each other. Married, but alone, and missing each other.
"Gale told me that he talked with his mom and Rory, and then my mom. Rory said he'd marry Prim," Katniss said quietly. Peeta looked at her sad face.
"Rory's a good kid. He'd take care of her, that's for sure. He's like Gale," Peeta said. Katniss smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, I agree…I just want her to find someone who makes her happy though. If it's Rory, then I'm all for it. But if it's someone else who loves her, and she loves back…that's what I want for her. I don't want her to just settle because the Capitol made her," she said angrily but then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She shook her head and kept going.
"I get that," he understood it because that's what he wanted for himself.
"Well…thank you," she said suddenly
"For what?"
"For being the only person brave enough to tell me that I was being cheated on," Peeta smiled at her, and she looked forward. "Everyone else was just perfectly fine in letting me go about my day while Gale made out with a bunch of different girls behind my back," she chuckled.
"Bastard," he gasped, making her laugh harder. After a moment she cleared her throat.
"So, thank you for telling me, "She said. He nodded his head.
When they got to the dance it was grander than usual. They instantly knew why. The cameras were there now.
"Can we stay as far away from the cameras as possible?" Katniss asked.
"You read my mind," Peeta said dryly. As they got closer, they saw Madge and she went right up to them.
"Will you guys please stay with me tonight? The cameras are gonna follow me and Aiden around because he's my date. And I don't want to be alone," Madge asked. Katniss and Peeta looked dreadfully at each other.
"Of course, we will," Peeta said and smiled. Madge let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you," she breathed.
"So much for that idea," Katniss grumbled. Peeta chuckled and put his hand on the small of her back and walked inside with her. He felt Katniss shiver. He leaned closer to her.
"Are you cold?" He whispered. She shivered again and shook her head. "Are you sure? You can wear my jacket," he offered. She smiled and shook her head.
"No, I'm ok," she said. They followed Madge over to the table where Aiden was waiting. Delly came bouncing over with her date for the night, which happened to be Janston.
"I'm sorry about the cameras," Madge said sadly.
"They're gonna be following me to," Aiden said, picking at the lint on his pants.
"Well, it could be a lot worse. At least they're not following you as much as the seniors," Delly said as she squeezed Madge's arm and pointed to the cameras surrounding some seniors on the dance floor.
"Wanna go get something to eat?" Peeta asked. She nodded her head, and they shook off the camera to get in line.
"Did they ask to follow you around?" Katniss asked.
"They asked Finnick. He kinda pointed them to someone else. They'll probably come back around to me though Finnick said," he told her. They grabbed their food and made their way back to the table. Peeta was looking over his questionnaire and started filling some things out.
"You know, some of these just are so…they aren't questions for District 12. What is your dates favorite tv show and movie?" He read out loud. He looked around. "I mean, I know you watched some things because of Haymitch. But no one sits around and has something that they like to watch. Our tv is only on to watch the Games or any Mandatory Viewing," Peeta said. Most people in the Seam didn't have a tv. Some of them had projectors, but that was it.
"What was that show and movie you were talking about with Gale?" Peeta asked.
"Stranger Things. It's a show. And then Gale was talking about Thor," Katniss said. Peeta nodded and wrote it down. He wrote something else. "You just making up answers for me?" She chuckled.
"Huh?" He asked. And then looked up. "Oh. No. They asked for your favorite color. It's green," he said.
"How…how did you know that?" She asked. He smiled sheepishly.
"Um, well…it's like I said. I remember pretty much everything you say. I've heard you telling Prim," Peeta said. Katniss bit her lip.
"What's yours?" She asked.
"Orange,"
"Like Effie's hair?" She asked sarcastically. Peeta chuckled.
"No. More like a sunset. Muted," he told her. She nodded her head.
"Do you like watching the sunset?" She asked.
"Yeah. I love to actually. The sky is full of so many beautiful colors. I'd love to just sit there every night and draw the sky. It'll be a different color every night," he told her. She leaned her chin into her hand.
"I've seen you doodling before. Do you like to draw?" Katniss smiled as his eyes lit up.
"Yes. I love to draw. Especially painting. I just, never get the opportunity to," he said. She took a questionnaire and turned it over.
"Will you draw me something?" She asked. His palms started to sweat.
"Um, yeah. Sure," he pulled the paper closer and put the pencil to his lip. He thought of the sunflower that he gave her, but then thought of something better. Katniss watched him as he concentrated, focusing on the masterpiece that only he could see at the moment. His tongue sticking out slightly as he worked.
A few songs had gone by before Peeta sat up and shakily handed it to her. Katniss took it from him and stared at it. "You won't remember this. But it was the day after- "
"You burnt the bread," she whispered. Peeta's eyes widened, and she looked up. "Those were dandelions," Katniss whispered. Peeta smiled. Peeta had drawn the day after he threw her the burnt bread. After school she had bent over and picked up the first dandelion of the season and just stared at it, and she smiled. He remembered that day so vividly and had drawn that moment before. He had stared at it so many times, that drawing it now was easy.
"It's beautiful," she whispered. She was in awe and looked back at him. "Can I keep this," nothing could ever ruin this moment for him. Ever!
"Yeah. It's yours. You asked for it," he chuckled. She laughed and nodded her head. She covered her mouth as she stared at it. He couldn't help himself and tucked some hair behind her ear and she looked at him. "Sorry," he breathed. She shook her head and placed the drawing back down on the table.
"Thank you," she whispered. He looked behind him and then back at her.
"Wanna dance?" he asked. She smiled and rolled her eyes as she let him lead her onto the dance floor. She let Peeta wrap one arm around her waist and hold her other hand to his chest. They were required to dance together four times…but four times came and went. They didn't even need to talk. They did a little bit, but they just enjoyed swaying to the music. They didn't even notice that poor Madge had been abandoned, nor did they notice that the cameras were on them a little bit. It was just the two of them.
Peeta looked at the clock. "Hey, we should finish up our questionnaire's and then I can walk you home. They probably got one more song left before they call in quits for the night," Peeta said.
"Yeah, I forgot about that," she chuckled. They went back and filled out their questionnaires and dropped them off. Katniss stole some sandwiches and cookies, and grabbed Peeta's drawing, and they slowly made their way back to her house.
"This was the first dandelion that Spring," Katniss said as she stared down at the paper. Peeta watched her face. "It gave me hope, that everything would start to get better for us," she said and then chuckled softly. "Every time I ever seen a dandelion, I have always thought of you," she admitted. She looked up and smiled softly at him.
"You have no idea the hell that my family was going through," she whispered. Peeta wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
"Because your dad died," he said. She nodded her head. "I'm so sorry Katniss," he said. She let out a deep breath.
"It was a long time ago. I don't wanna talk about it right now. It's just…seeing this brings that all back," she says, looking down at his drawing of her picking up that dandelion.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up old wounds," he whispered. But she shook her head.
"No. I look at this and…I don't know. I can see hope. I had it right there…it's nice be reminded of that," she said. She leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked back to her house. They walked slowly, but it was still too quick. He walked her up to her porch, and they just looked at each other. "Thank you for tonight. Everything was…kinda perfect. The sunflower. The drawing. Thank you," she said and smiled.
"I'm sorry Effie didn't fall or break something," Peeta said, making Katniss laugh.
"It's all right. There's always next week," she said wistfully.
"Can I…ask you something?" he asked nervously. It was now or never. His heart sped up and his body went icy hot.
"Yeah. Of course," she said.
"In two weeks. The Harvest Festival that's coming up…would you maybe want to go there…meet me there. I mean, would you wanna go with me?" he babbled. Oh God. That was terrible. He should have practiced asking her out.
"You mean, go together…like a date? A real one?" she asked. Oh God, she didn't want to go with him.
"Um…yeah. I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I completely understand if- "
"Yeah," she said. Peeta stopped talking. He stopped breathing.
"What?" he asked. She laughed at him.
"Yes. I'd like to go with you to the Harvest Festival," she said.
"Like a date? Like a real one?" he asked. She covered her mouth when she laughed again.
"I could have sworn I just asked you that," she laughed. He shook his head.
"Yeah, you did. Yes. A real date. The night of the Harvest Festival," Peeta said. He looked around. "Ok. So, I guess I'll just see you then," he said and turned to walk away, but then turned back to her. "No. I'll see you at school first. On Monday. I'll see you at school on Monday," he said. Katniss nodded her head. Peeta turned and walked off the porch and turned his head. Katniss smiled and went into her house.
"She said yes," he whispered. He couldn't help it, he jumped like an idiot and turned and started walking home. Katniss said yes to a date. They were going out on an actual, real date in two weeks. For years he had been dreaming about going on a date with Katniss. And now, in two weeks, he'd be on one!
He practically skipped the whole way home. Had the best dreams that night.
Across town and in the Seam, Katniss was staring at the picture that Peeta drew for her as she fell asleep.
The next day was back to normal. Working in the Bakery like any typical Saturday. But Peeta didn't feel normal. Everything was changing for Peeta. He actually had a relationship with Katniss now. Something he never thought was possible. It was friendship right now. But they were going on a date in two weeks. Could it turn into something more?
"I had to work the booth last year. It's my turn. You're working it Rye," Wheet said.
"But I have a date this year. I didn't have a date last year. I just went to the festival with my friends," Rye argued.
"I don't care if you have a date. You shouldn't have made plans when it's my turn. I'm not working the booth this year. You are," Wheet told him.
"Dad will you please make him work it. I have a date. This is a good thing for one of your boys to have a date," Rye argued.
"That's total crap. You shouldn't have made plans when you knew it was your year to work the booth. I'm not backing down to you," Wheet said.
"Actually," Peeta spoke up. All three of them looked at him. "It's my turn to not have to work the booth," he said. Rye and Wheet's mouths fell open. "I get stuck working it every year. I've never gotten to enjoy the Harvest Festival. So…I'm calling in my get out working the booth card, this year. Because…I have a date," Peeta said. Their eyes widened, and his father smiled.
"Don't even tell me you asked her?" Ryee asked. Peeta smiled. "No fucking way," Rye said. Wheet smacked his arm.
"I asked Katniss to go to the Harvest Festival with me. And she said yes. So…dad?" Peeta asked. They all looked at their dad.
"You heard your brother. It's his turn to have the night off," his father said. He walked over and patted Wheet and Rye's shoulders. "You both can join me and your mother in the booth this year. Peeta's owed a few nights off," his dad said.
"Katniss! How was the dance last night?" Prim asked excitedly when Katniss woke up.
"It was just a dance Prim. Those things aren't fun. It's the Capitol's way of torturing us," Katniss grumbled.
"But Peeta brought you a flower. Like a real date," Prim said. She was all about romance.
"Peeta's just…really kind in that way. It still doesn't make those dances any less torturous," she lied to her little sister. Being with Peeta at the dance made it a million times better.
"It really is a beautiful flower," Hazelle said as she walked by. "Kids come on. We've gotta make the rounds to collect the wash," she called out.
"Who drew that picture of you?" Rory asked as he came out of Katniss' bedroom. She whipped her head over and glared at him, stopping in his tracks. Prim's eyes lit up.
"Someone drew a picture of you?" Prim asked and went running into her room.
"Thanks a lot," Katniss grumbled, and she smacked the back of his head when he walked by.
"I was just asking a question," Rory complained. Prim came out a moment later with the paper, and Katniss took it.
"Will you be careful with that? It's not to run around with," she said and put it back on her dresser.
"Someone has a cruuuuuuush," she heard Rory sing out.
The next two weeks were nerve wracking for both Peeta and Katniss. They were so shy in front of each other, both thinking about their upcoming date. Peeta did something unexpected that first morning, waiting out front of the school for her. "Hey. I um…I have something for you," he whispered. He handed her a folded piece of paper and she unfolded it. Her eyes widened.
He drew her and Prim looking inside the Bakery window at the cakes. Every morning he'd hand her a new drawing. Sometimes it was of her. Sometimes it was of Prim. Or Lady, or even Prim's stupid cat Buttercup. Once it was her house in the Seam. Another was a funny picture of Haymitch. She loved seeing what he drew for her the night before. One morning he had only drawn her name. "I was up really late doing my homework, and just had time to do this this morning," but Katniss didn't care. She loved everything that he gave her.
Even at the two dances, Peeta went with two different girls from the Seam, and Katniss went with two different boys from the Seam, that Haymitch picked out himself. He walked her home that night from the dance and stopped on the porch.
"So um…you're coming with your family, right?" Peeta asked. She nodded her head. "Ok. How about I just meet you by the Cornucopia," Peeta said. They always had a replica of the one's that were in the Games, and he hated it. But it was a common meeting spot for everyone. The center of the festival.
"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow night," she said. He nodded his head.
He was so nervous that day. He helped his family prepare for the Harvest Festival. They always had special treats those nights. But this year, since the Capitol had some of their own stuck in District 12, they sent over some extra goodies. One thing being pumpkin! Peeta snuck a taste of the pumpkin pie they were making, and it was to die for.
They decided not to tell his mother that Peeta was the one that got to enjoy the festival this year. She would ask too many questions. So, at the last minute, Wheet and Peeta were going to make the switch. His mom thought it was Wheet's turn this year, and that Peeta, as he did every year, would be working the booth.
"You nervous?" his father asked him when he came out of his bedroom.
"Um…no…yes…so much," Peeta said, running his hands through his hair.
"Just be yourself," his dad said and patted his shoulder. They went and set up the booth and Wheet nodded it at him, and Peeta grabbed a paper bag he set aside and slipped out of their booth and went to the cornucopia to wait. He smiled when he saw her. Katniss was with her family, and the Hawthorne's. She had on a black coat…and an orange scarf that he hadn't ever seen before. And her hair was down again. She made eye contact with him and smiled. She turned to her mom and said something and then hugged Prim and waved them off. Then they walked towards each other.
"Hi." Peeta said.
"Hi,"
"You look beautiful," she blushed wildly.
"Thank you," he reached forward and touched her scarf. "It's my mom's. She's had it since she was a teenager," Katniss said.
"Well, it's really pretty on you," he told her. She sucked in her bottom lip and blushed. "Why don't we go get some apple cider. The cold kind. I have something for you that we got to bake this year as a special treat," he told her. Her eyes lit up.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's a surprise. Come on," he said and held out his hand. She looked at him and then reached out her own hand for him to take and interlock their fingers together. He felt his body heat up, starting from his hand and shoot out through his whole body. God, if anyone could hear his thoughts right now, they'd think he was crazy. But he just honestly didn't care. He was on a date with Katniss Everdeen, and he was holding Katniss Everdeen's hand!
"Prim wants to put in a request for your artist skills," Katniss said as they stood in line, still holding hands!
"Oh yeah? What would she like me to draw?" he asked.
"She said she wants a portrait of Buttercup," Katniss said, gagging. Peeta burst out laughing. "She wants a drawing of that stupid cat," she grumbled.
"Hey, I liked the cat. He's nice to me," Peeta laughed.
"He's two faced. Don't come crying to me when he bites you. I'm gonna just tell you I told you so," she grumbled and looked away. "I hate that cat," she complained.
"Well, I can do that for her. I'll try and work on it for a Christmas present for her," Peeta said. Katniss smiled at him.
"Can we go look around at the different booths after I get to eat whatever surprise you have in that bag?" she asked, licking her lips. He laughed and held the bag more firmly.
"Yeah of course. I was walking by a couple of booths and the smells coming from them…I just need to try whatever they're selling!" Peeta joked. He had to let go of her hand once they got their drinks, and they walked around a little while until they got to the outer side of the festival and sat on a hay barrel. Sitting very close to each other.
"Ok. Close your eyes!" he said. She raised her eyebrows at him, and he laughed. "Come on, just do it. Trust me," he said. She tilted her head and then nodded and closed her eyes. He opened the bag and took out his treat and pushed the spoon into it. "Ok, open up," he whispered. She opened her mouth, and he pushed the spoon into her mouth.
Her eyes widened and she moaned. "Oh my God. What is that?" she asked. He laughed.
"Pumpkin pie," he said. She shook her head.
"Pumpkins? We don't have pumpkins here," she said.
"I know. The Capitol sent it to us. Do you like it?" he asked.
"Like it? I love it," she said. He held some more out for her and she closed her eyes and moaned. "This is the best pie I've ever eaten in my life," he loved watching the excitement on her face. It was contagious. She ended up eating the whole thing.
"Was it really that good?" He laughed.
"Yeah, don't you…" realization dawned on her. "Oh no. You didn't get to try it did you?" Laughs. "Oh God Peeta why didn't you have a bite?"
"Because I brought it for you,"
"But we could have shared. Gosh that's so embarrassing," Peeta laughed again.
"Don't worry about it. My dad always saves a few pieces of stuff like this for me and my brothers," he told her. She looked at him sadly. "I'm serious. I'll try it tonight. This piece was for you," he said and crumbled everything together and tossed it in a nearby trash bin. He looked back at her and chuckled.
"You have a little bit on your lip," he said. She took her hand and wiped at the wrong side. "No, the other side," she wiped at the other side and missed and chuckled.
He reached his hand up and wiped the piece of pumpkin pie off with his thumb and stopped. His breath caught in his throat as he and Katniss locked eyes. The smiles fell from their lips, and he moved closer to her. He cupped her cheek, and he leaned his head down and their lips met.
Her lips were so soft. Was this real? Was this even happening?
Katniss felt her breath leave her body. The air just left her lungs. His lips soft but slightly chapped. Her body felt warm all over and her lips felt tingly. Her ears were ringing. This was her first kiss. Her only kiss. A kiss that she had said she never wanted. But wow oh wow did she change her mind.
She felt Peeta pick his other hand up and cup her other cheek. He tilted his head and pulled on her top lip, and then pulled on her bottom lip. She felt his tongue licking her lips and she couldn't help the sigh that left her mouth. She grabbed onto his waist to steady herself, even though she was sitting.
She felt him pull away slightly and they just stared at each other. She finally took that opportunity to catch her breath. To fill her lungs back with air. She felt his hands move down her neck and his thumbs caress her cheeks. He rested his forehead against hers.
"Wow," he breathed. She chuckled slightly. "I've been waiting a long time to do that," he could feel her face heat up and heard her gulp.
"You have?" She breathed out. He chuckled and pulled away and let her face go. She was still holding onto his waist, and he didn't mind one bit.
"Yes. I've dreamt about kissing you since I was five years old," her face was red as a tomato. "Was it ok?" He asked, nervous. She nodded her head.
"Yes," she whispered. God, he had just kissed Katniss Everdeen. It was his first kiss. And he kissed the girl he had been dreaming about for 11 years.
"Do you wanna start hitting the booths?" He asked. She smiled and nodded her head. They stood up and he reached over and linked their hands again.
It was a magical night. Katniss felt silly for feeling so girly. But this date was nothing she could have ever imagined. She didn't know why she had thought she wouldn't want this feeling. That she wouldn't want to kiss someone. Because she had just experienced her first kiss, and all she could think about was when she'd experience her second kiss. She was already addicted.
"Oh, Prim would love this," Katniss said as she leaned forward and grabbed a raggedy doll. "She has one that my dad got her. This would be perfect for Christmas," she said. She picked it up and ran her hand over the dolls head.
"It's cute," he commented. Peeta watched as she stared at it. He wondered what she was thinking. He wanted to ask, but he figured she'd tell him if she wanted him to know. She shook her head and walked over to the girl behind the counter to pay for it. He took her hand as they walked away. He wondered if her father had gotten her a doll like that.
After they went through all the booths, Katniss excused herself to go to the restroom, and he snuck over to that booth and purchased a doll for her. He hid it inside his jacket pocket.
He rushed back over before she knew he was gone. "How about we dance?" He suggested. She nodded her head and walked over to where there was a makeshift dance floor. He reached over and took her waist. He went to take her hand, but she surprised him. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
Most people didn't dance like that. Boyfriends a girlfriends danced like that. Husbands and wives danced like that. People in relationships. But in no ways shape or form would he ever complain. He just pulled her closer.
They danced two slow songs together, and then the music picked up to a fast song. He and Katniss laughed through the song, as Peeta stepped on her feet a few times. "I'm so sorry," he laughed.
The night had died down, and Peeta walked her home. Hands still linked together. He got to her porch, and they just looked at each other. "I had a wonderful time with you tonight," she told him.
"Yeah?" he asked. She nodded her head. "I had an amazing night with you to," he told her. He stepped closer to her. "Katniss can I…can I kiss you good night?" he asked. She smiled and nodded her head. This kiss lasted a little longer this time. With one hand on her waist, and on hand tangled in her hair. Their tongues touched briefly, sending an electric shock through both of their bodies.
"You taste like pumpkin," he chuckled when he pulled back. She touched her lips and chuckled. He leaned back in and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you Monday at school," he told her. She smiled and nodded her head. He waited for her to go into her house and shut the door and heard her set the alarm from the other side.
It was such a perfect night. He couldn't wait to see her again. Would he kiss her again the second that he saw her? He knew he'd want to. Tonight, was everything he had ever wanted. Nothing could ruin it…but then something did. He felt himself being shoved to the ground.
He barely had time to turn onto his back before a fist came flying at his face. But he dodged it. It was Bones. "GET OFF OF ME!" Peeta yelled.
"You think you can just take what I want huh Mellark? You think you can touch her, and kiss her? She's mine. And you can't fucking have her," he said. He held his collar and went to try and punch him again, but Bones didn't realize how strong Peeta was. He was on the wrestling team. This was a classic move. He easily overthrew Bones and turned them around to where he was on top.
"She's not yours. She'll never be yours. You're a sick human being, and I won't ever let you near her again," he pulled back and punched Bones right in the face. "You stay away from her," he went to punch again, but felt his arm being yanked back. He screamed loudly, feeling it pop out of socket. One of Bone's lackies had come up behind him. Bone scrambled up, and was about to punch Peeta, but they heard someone yelling.
"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Someone yelled. Bones and his friend took off running, and two people ran up to Peeta.
"Are you ok kid?" the man asked. Peeta was holding his shoulder. The pain was shooting through his whole body.
"My arm. They pulled it out of socket," Peeta groaned.
"Peeta?" someone asked. He looked up and realized it was Hezar.
"Come on. We'll take you to Mrs. Everdeen's," who he assumed was Hezar's father started helping him up.
"No, I can't go there. It'll scare Katniss and Prim," he groaned. The pain was unbearable.
"Come with me. Hezar, go get Mrs. Everdeen. But don't tell her it's Peeta," his dad said. Hezar nodded and all three of them took off. His dad brought him to their house. It looked similar to Katniss' house. Small, and run down. He sat Peeta down and gave him some water. A moment later, Hezar and Mrs. Everdeen came in, and she gasped.
"Peeta?" she asked and ran up to him. "What happened?" she asked.
"Bones and his friend attacked me. His friend pulled my arm out of socket," he hissed.
"Alright. Let me check to make sure," she said. He groaned and squeezed the table as she moved around his arm. "You're right…Do you have anything for him to bite onto? And maybe a towel or a big shirt to make a sling out of," Emily asked.
"Of course," Hezar's dad said. He went and grabbed a shirt, and a wooden spoon. Emily put the spoon in front of his mouth.
"Bite down on this," she said. She looked back. "Can you stand in front of him and hold him up. This is going to hurt," she said. Peeta grabbed onto Hezar's dad. "I'm going to count to 3. 1…2-"she pulled and pushed it back into his socket and he screamed over the wooden brush, waking up Hezar's mom and sister.
"You didn't count to 3," he screamed.
"I'm sorry," she said as she made a sling. "It's going to hurt for a few days. I don't want you doing anything with it. And I want to see you every day. Put ice on it tonight. Do you have any sleeping syrup at home?" she asked. He nodded his head.
"We can take him home," Hezar said.
"Thank you," he panted out to all of them. "Please don't…tell Katniss. I don't…want her…to be scared," he could barely breathe.
"I won't…try and get him home before he passes out," she told them. He barely remembered the walk home. They practically carried him.
"Back door," he whispered. They went around the Bakery and knocked. Peeta's father opened it. He must have been waiting up for Peeta.
"Oh God. What happened?" he asked frantically as they carried Peeta inside and sat him on the chair.
"He was attacked in the Seam," Hezar's father told his.
"It was Bones," Hezar said.
"Holy crap. What happened to Peeta?" Rye asked as he and Wheet came downstairs.
"Mrs. Everdeen said to keep ice on it. And give him some sleeping syrup. And she wants to see him tomorrow," Hezar's father said.
"Thank you. So much," his dad said and went over and grabbed a bag. There was three loaves of bread and he handed them to Hezar's father. "Thank you for taking care of my son," his dad said. They nodded and left.
"Let's get him upstairs," his father said as he grabbed a couple of ice packs and towels. They carefully maneuvered him upstairs and helped take off his jacket, shoes and jeans and laid him down. His father gave him sleeping syrup, and he was out.
The next day Peeta woke up groggy. He hated sleeping syrup. He went to move and groaned from the pain in his shoulder. The night before came back to him. Bones had attacked him, and his friend attacked him from behind, yanking his shoulder out of socket. Ruining his perfect night with Katniss.
His ice packs were cold, which meant they had been changing them out through the night. He looked at his clock. It was 2:00 in the afternoon. He struggled to stand up and went to the bathroom, with difficulty and then went downstairs.
"Peeta. You should be in bed," his father said as he came over to him.
"Get him out of here. He's useless. Stupid boy getting into a wrestling match with your brothers," Peeta looked over at his brothers who were both sporting bruises on their faces. They took the heat for why Peeta's arm was dislocated.
"Doreen, please just leave him alone," his father said.
"I will do no such thing. This useless thing decided to go against his brothers, who he's never won against, and stupidly gets his arm dislocated, rendering him useless to us. I can't stand to even look at you. Get out of my sight," she said and threw a bowl at him. Peeta turned his body, so it hit him in his side.
His father ushered him upstairs. "Why don't you just go to Mrs. Everdeen and let her check you out. Just give her time to calm down.
"Does she ever?" Peeta grumbled as his dad helped him get dressed.
"She will. Don't worry. Do you think you can make it over there?" He asked. Peeta nodded his head. His father packed some bread and treats in a large paper bag and sent him on his way. He first knocked on Hezar's door and gave his father back the T-shirt, and then knocked on Katniss' door. Her mother answered and ushered him in.
"How are you feeling?" Emily asked as she guided him to the table. He plopped the large back on it and then sat down. He shrugged his good shoulder.
"Not the best,"
"Have you taken anything for the pain?" She asked. He shook his head. "Well, I've mixed something together that might help. You can bring it home with you,"
"Peeta?" He turned around and Katniss walked in the front door. She was smiling and then her eyes locked on his arm and her face fell. She shut the door and rushed over. "What happened to your arm?" She asked.
"I was wrestling with my brothers last night when I got home. I hurt my shoulder. Your moms taking care of me," he said and smiled at her mom. He hated lying to Katniss, but he knew it would only upset her and make things worse. Katniss sat next to him.
"Does it hurt?" She asked. He shook his head, pretending it didn't, but in reality, it really did.
"Not too bad," he said. He looked over at Emily and she rolled her eyes and smiled. "My dad sent over some stuff. As a thank you for taking care of me," he said.
"He didn't have to do that," Emily said. She came over and helped him out of his jacket and took his shirt off and started examining his arm. Katniss looked away once his shirt came off, and he could tell the side of her face that she was blushing. He tried not to, but he groaned loudly when she moved his arm, snapping Katniss' head back to look at him.
"Doesn't hurt huh," her mom said softly. Smiling. He looked over at Katniss and let out a deep breath.
"Ok so it hurts a lot," he admitted. Emily chuckled and Katniss reached over and squeezed his hand and smiled at him. He could easily ignore the pain in his shoulder now because all her could feel was Katniss' hand, squeezing his. All he wanted to do was lean forward and kiss her senseless. But not with her mother right there.
"I'm a little worried about the swelling. Did you have ice on it last night?" She asked. He nodded his head. "We'll I'm gonna put some of the balm I made. It won't take all the pain away, but it'll numb the area. And then keep some ice on it," she said. There was a knock on the door and Katniss got up to answer it. It was someone from the Seam.
"Mrs. Everdeen. My son is throwing up real bad. Been doing it all night. Can you spare some time to come see him?" He asked. She nodded her head.
"Of course. Katniss, could you help Peeta?" She asked. Katniss stiffened and her mom went and put on her boots and jacket and grabbed her medical bag and was off.
"Does that happen a lot?" He asked. She nodded her head.
"Yeah, all the time. Twice last night. Sometimes my mom's gone all day or night," she said.
"That must be hard," he said. He shivered. It was cold in there.
"Oh. You're cold," she said and stood up, grabbing the balm her mom made. She walked over to him and looked at his shoulder.
"If it's too awkward I can try and do it," he said, holding his hand out for it. She shook her head.
"No, it's ok. You won't be able to reach some of the spots," he nodded his head and watched her as she slowly put her hand in the little container and then brought her hand to his shoulder and wiped some down in the front near his collarbone. He felt the menthol on his skin. She wiped a little more on the back.
"Can you stand up?" She whispered. He nodded his head and stood up. She started gently rubbing the balm into the back of his shoulder. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief. It did help with the pain. "Am I rubbing too hard?" She asked. Dirty thoughts entered his mind of Katniss rubbing something…hard.
"No. It's good," he gruffly said. Now would not be the time to get a hard on. He'd for sure scare her off. He tried thinking of something else. Anything else. But her soft hands were gently rubbing his neck now. Her hands were chasing away any pure thoughts. And then she came around to face him. They locked eyes and both of them were breathing heavy. She rubbed the balm into the front of shoulder, hitting his pecks has she rubbed up and down.
"Does it feel ok?" She asked. He chuckled.
"Yes. If you keep going, I won't be able to stop myself from kissing you," he said before he could stop himself. Her eyes widened and her hand stopped moving. That was too forward. He shouldn't have said that. But before he could apologize, she started moving her hand again, except her hand was covering more of his peck.
He started breathing heavier and stared lustfully at her. He couldn't help it. He leaned down and kissed her. Harder than the night before. He bit her lip and pulled it into his mouth, causing her to moan. It only encouraged him, and he pulled her close to him and licked her lips.
She wrapped both her arms around his neck and tangled one of her hands in his hair, while he used only one arm as well. He licked her lips, asking for entrance, and she opened her mouth slightly and he gently pushed his tongue passed her lips and touched hers.
He wasn't sure who moaned, maybe it was both of them. But the second their tongues touched, it was like a spark ignited and it was spreading. Fire was spreading through both their bodies.
When he eventually pulled back for air, they were both panting. Lips swollen and red. There was no doubt what they were doing. "Wow," he panted. She chuckled and rested her forehead against his.
"Yeah. Wow," she chuckled.
"I could get used to kissing you," he said. She pulled back and stared at him. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say. Maybe she didn't see this going further. She was thinking too hard about what she wanted to say. Maybe she was trying to think about letting him down easy.
"Me to," she said. He smiled and leaned forward and kissed her again. They heard the door open and pulled away from each other.
"Buttercup my poor baby. It's too cold for you to be out here for so long," Prim said as she carried her cat in like a baby. Peeta had sat back down in the chair and Katniss was screwing the lid back on the container. Prim looked over and saw them.
"Peeta what happened?" She asked as she saw the balm on his shoulder.
"Your mom mixed something for the pain in my shoulder. I dislocated it last night," he said. Prim came right over and started examining his shoulder. Not even bothered by the fact that he didn't have a shirt on. But Katniss told him that Prim wanted to be a Healer when she got older. So that didn't surprise him.
"You should put that on whenever you're on a lot of pain. Unfortunately, the only thing to really make the pain go away is morphling," Prim said.
"It's ok. I can manage," Peeta told her. Katniss came over and grabbed his shirt.
"I'll help you put it back on," Katniss said. He stood up and she got his arm gently through his shirt. And then she tied his sling back around him.
"Thank you," he whispered. Trying to breathe through the pain of jostling his arm.
"Why don't you sit on the couch. We don't have an ice pack, but I can get some towels under the cold water. I'll freeze a couple outside," Katniss said. Spending the afternoon with Katniss taking care of him. Sold.
"Thank you," he said and leaned forward and kissed her cheek, making her blush. Prim didn't notice. She was busy looking into the bag of bakery goods.
He sat on the couch and laid his head back. He was so tired. Sleeping syrup always made him groggy the next day. He could understand why Katniss was so upset when they wanted her to take it. Because you can't wake yourself up. Not that he needed or wanted to. But, if he was having a nightmare, he'd want to wake himself up to.
"Why don't you lay back," he opened his eyes when he heard her voice. He did as she said, and she had a towel rolled and placed it around his shoulder. He could slightly feel the cold towel underneath the thin one.
"You can go to sleep if you want," she told him.
"Ok," not that he needed the encouragement.
It was about an hour later that her mom came home and saw Peeta on the couch. "He's out cold," Katniss chuckled.
"Poor guy," her mom said as she set her bag down.
"Is his arm gonna be ok?" She asked.
"Well, I'm a little worried about the swelling. But it's not too bad. I just want him to keep an eye on it…but that's hard when he's sleeping," she said, eyeing him on the couch.
Peeta slept till almost 7:00 that day. They changed out his towels, and her mom said the swelling hadn't changed. He was groggy when he woke up, and he forgot where he was for a minute.
"Hey. It's ok. You're at my house," Katniss whispered. Peeta closed his eyes and nodded his head but then hissed and grabbed his shoulder. "Are you in a lot of pain?" Katniss asked. He nodded his head.
"We can put more the balm on you," her mom said. Peeta let Katniss help stand him up, and then her mother helped him out of his sling and shirt. It felt better when Katniss was rubbing the balm into his skin, but he could see her looking uncomfortable as his mom did. He hoped it was for a good reason though.
"Thank you so much for helping me today," he told Emily as she tied the sling.
"You're welcome. If you have time before school tomorrow, let me check you out. Otherwise just stop her after school," she told him. He nodded his head.
"I will. I may be able to in the morning," he said. He stood up from the table, a little woozy. He hadn't eaten anything today, but he just wasn't hungry. "I should probably head back home now," he said. Katniss grabbed his jacket and helped him into it, zipping it up without putting his arm through.
"Katniss why don't you walk him home," Emily said.
"Ok," she said. Music to his ears. He wanted more time with her. He's been here for hours and just slept. She was putting her boots on and smiled at him. She grabbed the balm for him, and they were off.
"You should eat something when you get home," she told him. He let out a huge yawn and then shook his head to wake up.
"I'm not really all that hungry. I think I just wanna crash in bed again," he said. He felt Katniss rub his back up and down and he smiled at her.
"Thank you for taking care of my today," he told her.
"I didn't really do much. You slept most the day…but you've taken care of me. I'm glad I could return the kindness you showed me," she said. He stopped and looked at her. He reached forward and tucked some hair behind her hair.
"Katniss…I'll always take care of you," he told her. They looked at each other for a moment and then Katniss jumped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, being careful of his shoulder.
"I don't know how I would have gotten past the last couple of months without you…I didn't know you're the one I needed," he squeezed her tighter to him and buried his nose in her neck. He could tell she had been in the woods that morning because she smelled like outside.
To hear Katniss say these words to him…God, he was in love with her. He'd never be the same. She was letting him into her life the way he had always dreamed. She needed him. He didn't think she realized it, but he needed her as well.
She stayed in his arms for a minute and pulled back. He kissed her lips softly again and then they started walking again. "You should put this on before you go to sleep tonight," Katniss said as she handed him the container when they got to the back door to the Bakery.
"Thank you," he said. They both just stood there. He didn't want to leave. He was at her house all afternoon but was asleep. He didn't get to spend any time with her.
"I'll see you at school tomorrow," she said. He turned to look in the window to see if anyone was around and turned back and kissed her.
"Good night," he said.
"Good night," he turned and went inside the Bakery.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE?" His mother demanded when he walked in. Peeta was too stunned to speak.
"Doreen stop it," his father said.
"We're one person short until his arm get better. Everyone has to pick up the extra slack because of him. I don't want him back in this house until he's back to work," his mother said. Peeta's eyes widened.
"Where's he supposed to go?" Rye asked. His mother threw a large metal spoon at him.
"This doesn't concern you," she turned back to Peeta. "I want you out of this house until you can work again. Get your stuff and leave. I don't care where the hell you go, but you leave this house right now. And do not come back!" She screamed at him. His father took his good shoulder and guided him up the stairs.
"Has she been like this all day?" Peeta asked. His father didn't answer. He saw that his own father's lip was cut. She must have hit him too.
"She'll cool down. Do you think you could stay at one of your friend's houses?" His father asked pitifully as they got to his room.
"I'll go ask Aiden. I'm sure his parents won't mind. Or the Cartwright's," Peeta said sadly as he pulled out his duffel bag.
"I'll bring over some bread wherever you stay…Peeta," he said. His father was at a loss for words.
"She'll calm down if I'm not around. I'll be ok dad. I promise," he said as he started grabbing his stuff. His dad went and grabbed his things from the bathroom and took over packing his stuff and brought it downstairs. His mom wasn't in the kitchen anymore.
"Dad, you can't let him leave. It's not fair," Wheet said. His father looked so distraught.
"It's ok. She'll calm down if I'm not here," Peeta said. He just kept telling himself that. He couldn't even believe his own mother was kicking him out of the house. So what if she thought it was because they were horsing around. That's no reason to make him leave.
"This is bull shit," Rye said.
"It's ok. I'm gonna be fine," Peeta said. No, he wasn't. But he'd just have to be. He had no other choice. He took his duffel from his dad.
"Tell me tomorrow where you're staying. I'll bring something by," his dad said and hugged him. "I'm sorry," he choked out. Peeta shook his head and pulled back.
"I'll really be ok. I promise. Please don't get upset. My arm will be fine in a few days," Peeta said. His father opened the door for him, and he walked out. He didn't want to look back. He heard the back door shut and just stopped. How could his mother do that him? He was hurt. Mothers are supposed to take care of their children when they're sick or hurt. It was what all parents were supposed to do.
"Peeta?" He startled as he looked up and saw Katniss.
"What…what are you doing back here?" Peeta asked. Katniss stared at his duffel bag. "You heard her, didn't you?" She nodded her head. Of course she heard it. His mother was only screaming.
"It's ok. Aiden's house is just around the corner," he said. Katniss leaned forward and took the duffel bag off his shoulders and swung it up on her own. "What are you doing?"
"Your mom said she didn't care where you stayed," she said and smiled.
"I don't want to impose. You have so many people in the house,"
"No. Haymitch got their windows and doors all set with the alarms. They went back home last week," she said. He looked at her skeptically. "I promise Peeta. My mom will be ok with this," she said. The Bakery door opened, and Rye came out but then stopped short.
"Oh. I was gonna catch up to you. Dad gave you the ice packs," Rye said, handing Peeta the bag. He looked between the two of them. "So, are you staying with the Everdeen's?" Rye asked. Oh God, he was about to humiliate Peeta.
"My mom will be ok with that," Katniss said. Rye smiled.
"Man. You go on one date and already you get sleepovers," Rye said and put his hand on Peeta's shoulder. "The student has surpassed the master," Rye said. Peeta shoved his hand off his shoulder and took Katniss' elbow and walked away.
