There's not much witchiness in this chapter, but don't worry, it's on its way! I'm really looking forward to the next couple chapters and what they may hold;) Potions and magic may or may not have a part in the near future... Enjoy chapter 7!

(Katniss POV)

While Peeta was playing pool with Finnick, I talked to Annie, who, it seemed, was not aware of the situation.

"I'm so glad Peeta has someone to care about - he's had such poor luck with dating these past few years." She tells me, sipping her drink slowly. I look at her.

"He hasn't told me much about his previous relationships, what happened?"

"Well, there was the one girl who left him at the altar about a year and a half ago." She shook her head, "That was rough. After that one was out of the picture, the next girl ended up being lesbian, so that wasn't great, and he caught the most recent one cheating on him with one of his college buddies. I feel so bad for the man."

I didn't know what to say to that - I just assumed Peeta kept going from girl to girl to girl, but apparently he'd had a difficult couple of years. I curse myself for calling him a player.

"That's awful," I finally say, at a loss for what else I could bring up.

"But that's the past now, he has you. And I can tell he really likes you-" She winks at me. I smile.

"Really? Why do you say that?" I probe.

"He won't stop talking about you, he absolutely lights up when someone mentions you and the way he looks at you..." She sighed with a smile. "Young love is so precious."

I almost start laughing. Peeta doesn't love me, that's for sure.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." I say honestly, "And I have had such an amazing time with him - he's really just the best." I'm only kind of lying, Peeta is fun to hang out with most of the time, and of all the guys I've dated, he is the best. He's the only one, but by default, that makes him the best.

"I'm happy to hear that as well." She says, smiling. "Can I get you another drink?" She gestures to the beverage I'd just finished. I politely decline, and we head into the den to find Peeta and Finnick.

xXx

"What were you and Annie talking about?" Peeta asks me on the car ride home. I shrug.

"Mostly about the recent news, I don't know. We were just kind of small talking." I lie. I have a lot to reevaluate with Peeta - specifically him being an entirely different person than who I thought he was. "What were you and Finnick talking about?"

"Sports, mostly. He's been following a few teams for his job recently, so he was talking about that."

I sense that Peeta is also not telling the truth, but neither one of us is going to divulge what we heard. So the game goes.

"So it sounds like neither one of us had meaningful conversations, then." I say, looking at my nails. Peeta glances over at me.

"Yeah, I guess not." We don't speak for a bit. "We could have one now, though." He suggests hesitantly.

"Okay. What do you wanna talk about?" I ask him. He shrugs.

"I don't know, what do you and I have in common?"

"Let's see, I'm a witch, you're just a normal dude. I have a cat, you don't have pets. I have a sister, you have two brothers. Both my parents are dead, both your parents are living. What am I missing?"

"Well, that was nice and depressing, thanks for that."

"We don't have a lot in common. We both sing, I guess, so there's that."

"That's true..." He gets a little pink, "I remember hearing you sing when we were kids. You're really good."

"Peeta Mellark, did you just compliment me?" I ask, looking at him. I all but forget the stupid bet we made

"Yeah, I guess. I like hearing you sing." He said earnestly, looking at me. I give him a small, shy smile back. I don't know where we stand at this point. We're not actively antagonizing each other, we're not quite friends... what's in between those two?

He pulls up in front of my house and jumps out to get my door again. I let him, taking the hand he offers me as he helps me out. He walks me to my door and I don't open it right away.

"Are you going to kiss me goodnight?" I ask him. That was a part of our agreement, right? He looks surprised.

"I didn't think you'd want me to."

"Well, I'm asking you to, aren't I?" I point out, adjusting his jacket collar to give my hands something to do.

"In that case..."

His hands went to my neck, cradling it as he leaned in. I tilted my face up and closed my eyes, letting my lips part slightly. When his lips touched mine, a soft warmth spread through me, and I leaned into him. This is nice. Peeta Mellark is a good kisser.

And, apparently, a good person? More thought would have to be devoted to that later.

Our lips parted, and Peeta leaned in again to give me a soft peck, making me smile.

"You're a bit of a sap, Peeta Mellark." I tell him.

"Yeah, well, one of us has to be." He sighs to himself, pulling me close for a warm hug. I wrap my arms around him and rest my head on his chest, hearing his heart beat quickly under my ear.

"Thanks for volunteering." I tease, and feel his soft snort.

"Goodnight, Katniss Everdeen." He says, kissing the top of my head and releasing me.

"Goodnight, Peeta." I say, opening my door and backing inside my castle. Peeta smiled as he took a couple steps backward, then turned to walk to his car.

I smiled, closing the door behind me and leaning against it. Buttercup cleared his throat.

"Have a nice evening?"

"Yeah, I did." I say, still smiling.

"You lose the bet yet?" He prods. The smile drops from my lips and I look at him.

"Fuck, I forgot about that part..."

xXx

(Annie's POV)

"So, what were you and Katniss talking about so seriously up here?" My husband asks, coming out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in hand. I put my book down and smile at him.

"Just giving her some necessary background about cousin Peeta."

Finn raises his eyebrows, wordlessly asking for more detail. I sigh.

"Remember when Peeta said Katniss called him a player? It's because he's been with 3 different girls in the last year and a half, and that's how that comes across. So I told her what happened with them."

"And?"

My husband knows me too well.

"I may have given her the standard 'he really likes you, he can't shut up about you, he lights up when he hears your name' all that. She's more likely to let her guard down if she thinks he already has." I reason. He shakes his head, smiling.

"You're a sneaky one, Annie Odair. I would've never thought of that." He goes into the bathroom to rinse his mouth, then rejoins me in bed, turning the lights out.

"I'm going to get Katniss to fall in love with Peeta; or rather, see that she already is. They deserve to be happy together, and everyone knows he's been smitten with her since 2nd grade." I tell him, snuggling into his side. Finn smiles at me in the dim light, wrapping his arms around me.

"They're probably making out in front of her house right now." He says, kissing my hair. I smile and agree.

Another chapter done! Please leave me a review, you don't need an account to post one. How do you like Finn and Annie getting on board with the bet? I like the idea of Annie being chaotic good and doing her own thing. Let me know if you want any other characters to make an appearance as well!