Thanks to everyone that reviewed last chapter. You are awesome! Despite the schoolwork, I still managed to finish this chapter. Hope you like this!
Chapter 6
Sunday passed by very quickly and before I know it, it's Monday and I am headed to meet Merrick. I walk down the path with a picnic basket in my hand—his picnic basket. I can't help but be a little annoyed at the fact that he left it at my front door before walking home. I told him we were fine. Prim found it the next day and squealed with joy upon opening it. It's not like I'd ever deny her food so I let her keep the nonperishable items. I plan on having a talk with him when I get to the tree.
I see Merrick has made it there before me with an annoyed expression on his face. I'm not sure why he's feeling this way. If anyone should be feeling that way, it's me. I decide it's best not to mention anything about the basket. He'd probably take whatever he was feeling out on me. I place the basket on the ground and sit next to him.
"You look awfully bothered." I tell him.
"Yes I am." he admits.
"What is it?" I inquire, thinking that maybe I could help him out.
"Katniss you've never tried anything with any Peacekeepers, have you?" he finally asks. I have no idea what he means by this statement.
"What do you mean?"
"Some of the younger Peacekeepers here, they told me some things…about what happens here. Even suggested that I try it sometime." he says with disgust.
"What things?" I ask turning my body around so I'm facing him now.
"That they pay girls to sleep with them…and do other things too." he says in a hushed voice, as if he was ashamed in just mentioning it.
"No. Never." I say as I shake my head. I feel a little offended that he'd even think I'd do something like that.
"I just don't know how anyone could do that." he says shaking his head.
"The girls or the Peacekeepers?" I wonder out loud.
"Both."
"People will do some pretty desperate things to get by." I tell him. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am, that I know how to hunt. Others have to rely on less desirable methods to survive.
"I know, but that…it shouldn't happen."
"There are good and bad people in this world, Merrick. Just be glad that you are ones of the good ones." I tell him, realizing I sound like my mother when I say that statement. He still looks a little discouraged as he sits there and continues to think. I know I need to think of something to cheer him up, because that is what friends do. I get his attention before saying, "Race you to the high branch." I climb to the first branch, hoping that he'll actually participate. I look down and see he's already gaining on me. He quickly passes me and beats me with a several seconds to spare.
"You've gotten slower." he says when I finally reach the branch.
"No, you've just gotten faster." I correct him. I'm sure if I had all that training, I'd be faster too.
We spend the day in the tree, talking and catching up on the time we spent apart from each other. I leave out any stories about hunting, still unsure about what he'd think of me if he knew what I did. I talk about Prim and much she's grown up. I share funny stories that I have held onto throughout the years. I know how much he likes to laugh and I must admit that I enjoy the sound of his laughter. Our conversation turns serious when tells me about his friends in District 2. He talks about how they changed over the years, how they long to be a part of The Hunger Games, and how they feel about the other districts in Panem. It's quite upsetting to hear. My stomach then lets out a growl that's loud enough for him to hear.
"Are you hungry?" he asks me. I nod. There's no point in denying it.
"You don't happen to have any snacks do you?"
"I thought you didn't want my food anymore." he says in a playful way.
"Snacks are fine, just not baskets full of food." I say in the same tone. A smile appears on his face. "Lucky for you my sister found it first."
"Good." he says pleased with himself. "We could go to my house, show you my new place."
"Won't your mother be home?" I ask as we start to descend from the tree. I know she doesn't work.
"No, both of my parents are away on vacation at some fancy resort in District 4. They always go away for a week after Reaping Day." I was starting to see the perks of being a Peacekeeper. Comfortable life, children safe from the Reaping, vacation; it sounded nice.
"Do all Peacekeepers get to go on vacation?" I ask him, wanting to know more.
"You have to be at a certain rank to get it." he replies. We make our way to town and then to Peacekeeper Village. We walk along the back path to avoid any of the other residents. His new house is just a few doors down from the one he stayed at last time he was here. We enter through the back of the house and he leads me to the kitchen. He opens the fridge door.
"What are you in the mood for?" he asks me. I stand beside him and peer into the fully stocked fridge. There is so much there, I don't know what to choose.
"I don't know."
"I'll make us something." he says. I sit down the kitchen table as he grabs some things from the fridge and the pantry. He joins me in a few minutes with a small platter filled with crackers, fruit, and a few types of cheeses that I've never seen before. When we are finished eating, he gives me a tour of the house. In the living room, I notice a table that is full of framed photos. I walk over and peruse the collection. I find one of Merrick that was taken around the age he was when I first met him, sitting on the edge of a fountain. I pick up the frame and smile thinking back to that time.
"What are you looking at?" Merrick asks as he looks over my shoulder. "That feels like such a long time ago."
"Because it was."
"That one was taken here, you know."
"Yes, I noticed the fountain."
"Whenever I see this photo, I always wished you were in it." he murmurs to me.
"Why?" I asked.
"You're my friend and it's your district. It just would have been nice if you were there too."
"Yes I guess it would have been." I reply as I set the frame back in its place. He then continues the tour, showing me every room in the house, saving his bedroom for last. It is a large room with navy blue walls, hardwood floors and a large bookcase built into the wall. He even has his own bathroom connected to his room. I walk over to the bookcase and run my fingers across the spines of the books that occupy it.
"Are these all yours?" I ask him in wonder.
"No, they came with the house." he answers. I nod my head in understanding.
"I see you haven't set up your blanket fort yet."
"I outgrew those a long time ago, Katniss." he says with a laugh.
"Oh right." I say slightly blushing in embarrassment. Fifteen-year-old boys don't do things like that.
"I was thinking—if you want to—maybe you could spend the night tonight." I am taken by surprise about his request.
"What like a sleepover?" I ask with a raised brow.
"Yes, it's lonely being in this big house all by myself. I could make you dinner. We could watch the Opening Ceremonies together."
"Oh yeah, that's tonight." I say scrunching my mouth to the side.
"So what do you say?"
"Sure. I have to go home first to get some things and let my mother know where I'll be."
"Where are you going to tell her?" he asks me with curiosity.
"I don't know yet."
"Go now and I'll start cooking." he says. He leads me to the back door and lets me out. I quickly make my way through Peacekeeper Village and through town. I think about the fact that I've never been to a sleepover. I'm not even sure that girls and guys are supposed to have sleepovers together. Gale and I have never had one before. I try to think of something to bring to wear at night. I don't own any sort of pajamas or nightgowns. In the summer, I usually just sleep in a tank top and my underwear but that isn't appropriate for this situation, even if he is just a friend. Maybe my mother will have something for me.
I find my mother in the kitchen when I arrive home, peeling a few potatoes.
"I'm spending the night at a friend's house tonight. We are going to watch the Opening Ceremony together." I say to her, hoping she'll allow it.
"Which friend?" she asks me.
"Madge Undersee." I blurt out without thinking. I wonder if my mother will believe that I'm actually going to a sleepover at the Mayor's house. I've talked about Madge before to my mother a few times so she knows that we are friends.
"Yes, you may go." she responds.
"Do you have anything I could wear to sleep in?" I ask with hope.
"Let's see." she says, stopping her task and leading me to her bedroom. She opens the trunk at the foot of her bed that contains the clothing of her former life, when she was a merchant girl. She sifts through the content until she finds something that might work. Except that it won't work, not at all. She lays out the shorts and top on the bed. They look like their made of silk or something like it with lace details. She must see the apprehension on my face.
"This is what girls in town wear Katniss. I'm sure Madge has pajamas just like these." she insists.
"You don't have anything else?"
"No this is it."
"Ok, thanks mom." I say as I fold the pieces and take them with me. I place them in my bag, not sure if I'll actually wear them or not. Maybe I'll just sleep in my clothes. I haven't decided yet. I also pack an outfit for tomorrow and then I am on my way.
I let myself in and can smell an amazing aroma mingling with the air around me. I walk into the kitchen and find Merrick at the stove, hard at work.
"Smells good."
"Oh, hey, I didn't hear you come in." he pauses for a few seconds to wrap an arm around me in a hug. "It will be ready in a few minutes."
"I'll set the table." I offer. It takes me a while to find where everything is but eventually the table is set. He plates the food and then brings them to the table, serving me first. He returns with a pitcher of water and then sits across from me. I take a bite and it tastes just as good as it smells.
"This is amazing. Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"The servants at home taught me." he tells me. He must be really rich if his parents can afford to keep people that just cook for them.
"Well they taught you well."
"So what did you tell your mother?" he asks, obviously interested in what I'd have to say.
"I told her I was staying with the Mayor's daughter." His laugh booms through the kitchen.
"And what did she say?"
"She believed me. We are kind of friends…in school at least. I don't think she'd invite me to her house but she's nice." I tell him.
"What would she have done if you had told her you were staying here tonight?" he asks hypothetically.
"I wouldn't be here." I say. "My parents always told me to stay away from here, that it wasn't safe. And they definitely wouldn't let me spend the night at a boy's house."
"Why not, we're just friends?"
"It doesn't matter."
"I'm not going to try anything with you if that's what she's worried about." he says, laughing again.
"But some guys might. If you had a daughter my age and she wanted to spend the night at a boy's house, would you let her?" I ask him, putting it into perspective.
"No way." he retorts.
"See." I say as I raise my eyebrows. After dinner is through, I thank him for the meal and then help him wash the pots and pans. We then go into the living room and turn on the TV. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith are chatting away about the pool of tributes and speculating what each district might be wearing tonight. I always hate watching the Games but at least this isn't so bad. No one is dying yet. Merrick leaves the room and returns with a blanket for each of us. I stand up to wrap it around myself before sitting down again.
"I know what our costumes will be this year…coalminers, same as always." I say with spite.
"Yeah, they are pretty bad." he admits. He knows there is no argument against it.
"Last year they just smeared their bodies with coal dust."
"I remember that. None of the costumes are that good really." he says trying to cheer me up. It's not true though. Some of them are spectacular. Those are the tributes that get the sponsors and make it to the end. The chariots start to appear on the screen one by one. District 2 looks good this year. Their bodies are painted to look like marble and they are draped in togas. With their good look and perfect sculpted muscles, they look like classic sculptures. District 4 looks good as well with outfits made of scales that shimmer in the light. District 12 is last. I was right. They are coalminers wearing hats with lights, carrying picks and have coal dust smeared haphazardly on their arms and face.
I turn to Merrick who has been quiet the whole time and find him to be as white as a sheet.
"What is it?" I ask with concern.
"The male tribute…I know him. He's my friend." he said in shock. "I didn't watching the Reaping for the District 2. I had no idea." I turn my body towards him and take him in my arms. He's not crying or anything. In fact, I think he's still in denial. After a few minutes, he started to talk again. "I don't understand what happened. We agreed that we wouldn't put our names in the bowl, ever. What happened Katniss?" he asked with panic in his voice.
"I don't know." I said quietly. He shrugs me off before grabbing the remote. He's frantically pressing buttons, weaving through the menus on the screen until he pulls up the District 2 reaping. The girls name is drawn first but a volunteer steps up. Then it's time for the boys. The escort reaches into the bowl and picks out a name, his friend's name. There are no volunteers. As the boy walks to the stage, putting on a brave face.
"There must have been some sort of mistake." Merrick says as he stares blankly at the screen. He then bends forward, covering his face with his hands as he lets out a long breath.
"I can go…if you want to be alone." I say to him. It's a lot to deal with, having your friend being sent into a death-match.
"No. I want you stay."
"Let's get ready for bed." I say as I take his hand. We walk to the staircase. He pauses there while I grab my bag and we walk up together. I don't know what to say to him to make him feel better. I then ask him a question that comes to mind.
"Do you think he can win?" I say once he's sitting down.
"Yes, maybe." he says. "He's ranked high at school."
"He could make it out of there, Merrick. Just try to think of that in the mean time." I say. He nods.
"You can get changed in the bathroom first." he tells me. He is done talking about the Games. Nervousness grows within me as I remember about what my mother gave me to wear. I stand in place, fidgeting nervously. He looks at me, with a quizzical brow. "What is it?"
"My mom gave me some pajamas to wear."
"Yeah so?"
"They're just…not…me." I say. I spark catches in his eye and he now smiling.
"Let's see them." I take the shorts and top out of my bag and throw them at him. He holds each piece up one by one. "Have you tried them on yet?"
"No." I admit.
"I think you should." he says.
"No way." I retort. I immediately regret even showing them to him.
"How do you know if they are not you if you haven't even given them a try." he asks. I remain silent. "Just try them on. If you don't like them, I'll give you something to wear." For some reason, I know Merrick won't stop until I put them on. I grab them from him and march to the bathroom. I strip off my clothes until I'm down to my underwear and put on the pajamas. I look in the mirror and it just feels wrong. I am a hunter. I am not pretty. I don't wear delicate things. I don't like how much of my shoulders are showing. I then get the idea to undo my braid and arrange my hair so I feel a little more covered up.
"How's it going in there?" I hear Merrick ask as he knocks on the door.
"Horribly."
"Let me see." My heart begins to accelerate. It's one thing to try it on. It's a whole other thing to have him see me, standing his in bedroom scantily clad. I walk over to the door but don't open it.
"Why do you want to see?" I ask him.
"Because I think you are overreacting." he says. I'm offended by his comment. I'm genuinely panicked and he thinks I'm acting like a silly little girl.
"Fine, I'll come out." I huff. I open the door stand there as his eyes scan my body.
"You look nice." he tells me. I'm sure this is more of that Merrick politeness that he always gives me.
"I don't like it." I say as I tug on my shorts. They are too short. I watch him walk to his closet and pull something off a hanger.
"Put this on." he says as handing me whatever he brought me. I close the door to the bathroom and remove my top before putting on what he gave me. It is white button up shirt, but it's more like a dress on me. I roll up each sleeve a few times until the cuffs reach my elbows. I collect my clothes before exiting the room.
"Better?" he asks as he waits for me on his bed. He must have changed while he was waiting for me because he is now in a pair of dark, plaid pajama pants and a white cotton undershirt.
"Yes, thank you."
"What side do you want?" he asks me. A new rush of anxiousness courses through me when I realize we are going to be sleeping in the same bed. I've never slept in the same bed as another boy and even though he is just my friend, I still can't fight this feeling. I don't let it show though.
"The left side." I say. I walk to the side of the bed and pull back the covers before getting in. He turns off his light and joins me. Before I know it, we are both lying under the covers in the same bed. I try to leave as much room behind us as I can without getting to close to the edge.
"Merrick, how long are you here for?" I ask. We haven't discussed this yet.
"The end of the summer." he answers. I smile when I hear him say this. It's so much longer than we had last time.
"We're going to have the best summer Katniss." he says. I look over at him and watch as his smile quickly fades. I know exactly what's on his mind.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask, offering to listen. He gives me a hesitant look. Maybe he just doesn't know where to begin. "What's his name?"
"Galen." he tells me. I find it funny that his best friend's name resembles the name of my own best friend. What are the odds?
"How long have you known him?"
"Since we were six. He's like a brother really."
"I hope he wins." I tell him. I don't really know what else to say.
"Me too. You'll watch the Game with me this year, won't you? I think I'm going to need someone get me through it."
"Whenever you need me, I'll be there."
"Thanks Katniss. You're the best."
"Goodnight Merrick."
"Goodnight." he says before closing his eyes. I don't close mine. Instead, I think about his predicament. I think about what I would do if they had called out Gale's name and he was forced to fight in the Games. I don't think I'd be able to handle it. I look over to his sleeping frame. The stress and sorrow is no longer present in his face. My eyes move south and watch his chest slowly rise and fall at an even pace. I can even see the traces of his muscles through the fitted fabric of his shirt. I reach out, lightly tracing the contours of his body. When my fingers reach his chest, I feel him gently stir from his sleep.
"Katniss?" he whispers in a sleepy haze.
"Shh, go back to sleep." I whisper back to him as I cup his cheek with my hand. He gives me a soft smile before he drifts back to sleep. I feel something stir inside my body I have never felt before. I'm not really sure what it is or what it means. Maybe I just need some sleep. I lay back and close my eyes, taking a deep breath before I feel myself falling asleep.
Progress is being made! Hope you liked those Katniss/Merrick moments. Is there any one in particular that you liked? Also, what do you think about Merrick's friend being in the Games?