A/N: a know a few people are worried that Katniss is just going to run straight to Peeta now her relationship with Cato is over. I want to assure people that she will not be seeking Peeta out. They will begin reconnecting but it will not be with the intention of getting back together.

Thanks to my Beta, LavendarVanilla, who stopsme repeating myself and getting too bogged down with Katniss's inner monologue. Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Last night proved to be one of the most difficult nights of my life. There were no tears. We had just crawled into my bed together and wrapped our arms around each other for the last time. Nothing was said as we barely fell asleep, too scared about what had to happen when the sun came up.

We are still silent as we approach the local bus stop. Our footsteps slow as we draw nearer, neither of us wanting to reach the destination. As soon as Cato gets on that bus our relationship is over.

We both come to a stop as we reach the bus shelter. I blink away the threat of a tear and turn round to look at him. Cato gives me a sad smile as he stuffs his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

"The bus should be here in five minutes," I tell him.

Cato bobs his head up and down.

"Well at least that means we can't drag this goodbye out," he says.

I bow my head and nod sadly in agreement. I was supposed to leave with him today and go back to the safety of New York. But I can't now. Not yet.

Cato is going back to New York today to start sorting things out at our apartment. I'll need to find a new place to live and he has said he will start separating our things as soon as he gets back. I'll follow him a week later, pick up my essentials and crash at my friend's apartment until I can find something more permanent.

Silence falls between us again. Anxiety over him leaving fills my chest before Cato finally clears his throat to say something.

"I wish things were different. I wish I wanted the same things as you. You are the only girl I have ever loved," he states simply.

I give him a sad smile. I wish that too. But I have experienced too much to know that wishes don't always come true.

"You've been my best friend. I hadn't had a friend like you since I left here," I reply.

Cato smiles at me again before pausing briefly and pulling me in for a hug. I let out a loud sigh as I instantly wrap my arms around him and bury my head into his chest. We both squeeze each other tight as I inhale his musky scent for one last time.

Eventually we are forced to break away by the sound of the rattling bus coming down the street. We reluctantly part as we turn to face the approaching bus. I can't deny the inevitable any longer.

Out of the corner of my eye I catch Peeta coming out of the bakery to load something into his truck. He spots both Cato and I standing by the bus stop and frowns when he sees our solemn faces. For some reason his appearance makes my heart ache even more. I am transported back to the last time I had to leave the man I love. It is ironic that both times occurred at this bus stop.

Cato catches me staring at Peeta and his face drops even further. He sighs as if he is accepting some realisation. I turn back round to look at him and he gives me another sad smile.

"I'm sorry it's ending like this. I really thought you were it for me," he says.

He then turns to look across the road at Peeta, who is still staring at us confused. Cato only looks at him for a moment before turning back round to face me.

"You should talk to Peeta once I'm gone. You don't even realise how much you stare at him," he says.

His words jolt me out of my funk. What would I have to talk about with Peeta? What the hell is Cato trying to imply? Cato sees my confused look and just smiles and shakes his head.

"You'll figure it out," he says as the rickety old bus comes to a stop.

Cato bends down to lift up his bag before straightening up and leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on my forehead.

"I hope you find some happiness," he says as he pulls away.

I give him a forced smile before the bus door opens and the bus driver asks if we are hopping on. I look down at the large diamond ring on my left hand and twirl the band round my finger for a few moments, taking one last look at it before stopping and tugging it off my finger. I present it to Cato and he looks at it pained.

"Thank you for exploring the world with me," I say as I give the ring back to him.

Cato gives me a weak smile as he reluctantly accepts the ring off me. We share one last lingering look before Cato turns and jumps up the steps.

I watch him as he makes his way along the bus and finds a seat near the window. He smiles and gives me a small wave as the bus stays idle for a moment before eventually the doors close and it pulls off into the street. I watch the bus trundle away until it turns a corner and goes out of sight.

Slowly I turn back around and prepare myself for a slow walk back to my parents' house. But I see Peeta still standing watching me confused from across the street. I stop when I see him and we stare at each other for a moment before Peeta decides to make the shortjog across the street.

I should move. Cato's words about Peeta still ring in my head and I really don't want to have to confront them but I find my feet glued to the spot.

Peeta comes to a stop in front of me with a look of concern across his face. His eyes scan my face for an explanation. He shakes his head as if trying to figure out what he has just seen.

"Is everything okay? I thought y'all were supposed to go back to New York today," he says.

I let out an awkward laugh as I avert my eyes to avoid his penetrating stare.

"There's been a slight change of plans. We broke up. I'm staying an extra week so Cato can get things sorted in New York," I say.

There is surprise in his eyes when I divulge this but it soon turns to sympathy as he looks genuinely sorry over this piece of news.

"Oh, Katniss, I'm sorry," he replies.

"Thanks. It turns out we had very different visions of our future," I say.

Peeta smiles at me sadly and doesn't push me to explain further.

"It's always hard when you want different things," he replies.

His eyes are locked on to mine and I know he is talking from previous experience. He was hurt because I didn't want to stay and start a family in Panem. Our marriage fell apart because he didn't want to come with me to see the world.

I sigh and shrug my shoulders.

"It's okay. Sometimes things don't work out how you think they would," I say.

Peeta smiles and nods his head.

"Yeah. I can relate to that," he says.

We share a small smile as we both think about how neither of our lives are how we imagined at sixteen. Real life always throws up unexpected diversions and reroutes.

"Do you want to come into the bakery? I have some cheese buns that might cheer you up," Peeta says.

I laugh before looking at the ground and shaking my head.

"No. Thank you. I just need to be by myself for a little while," I say.

Peeta nods his head in understanding as he shoves his hands in his jean pockets.

"Okay. But find someone that you can talk to. No one should hurt alone," he says.

"I'll keep that in mind," I reply.

A short silence falls between us as neither of us know how to end the conversation. Eventually I turn to him with a thankful smile before I turn to leave.

"I'll maybe see you around," I say.

Peeta nods his head in agreement as I turn around to start the walk back to my parents' house.

The house is empty when I get in. My parents are unaware of our break-up, thinking I've decided to stay an extra week while Cato goes back to New York. I just need some time to process it all myself before I tell them.

I trudge up to my old bedroom and sigh as I close the door behind me. All the emotions I have been trying to keep at bay in an effort to stay strong suddenly come rushing to the fore and I let out a choked sob. I rub a hand across my chest as the pain in my heart begins to radiate and I collapse on the bed. As I turn my head to try and hide my tears I see one of my scrap books on the night stand. It is the most recent one from our trip to Italy.

I let out a shuddering breath as I reach out a hand to grab it. The book falls open to a page of a photo of me and Cato sharing an ice-cream together. On the other side is the flower I pressed from that perfect afternoon we spent in the park in Rome. We had been so content then. We thought we had our whole lives together. Who would have thought that less than two months later we would be broken up?

The tears begin to stream down my face as I flick through page after page of memory with him. He took me to all the places I wanted to see. He helped me achieve my dream of exploring the world. I have already had to go through the pain of losing my best friend once before. How am I supposed to do it again?

I pull the scrap book closer to my chest and clutch it close to me as I let the sobs overtake me and allow myself to grieve for the man who took me on so many adventures.

My tears dry and I am left contemplating what I am going to do with my life now. My whole path has been changed overnight and I am at a loss of what to do next.

I am broken out of my funk by a gentle knocking on the door. I turn to look at the small alarm clock beside me and am shocked to see three hours have passed since I came back here and collapsed onto the bed.

I sniff loudly as I pull myself up into a sitting position and roughly wipe away the tear tracks on my cheeks. I stop by the mirror on my way out to survey my appearance. It is obvious I have been crying. My eyes are red rimmed and my cheeks all blotchy. My hair is a bunch of fly aways as it threatens to fall out of my braid. I sigh at the sight but can't summon the energy to fix my appearance further.

Slowly I trudge down the staircase and open the door. I am pleasantly surprised to find Carolyn standing on the other side holding a small box. She gives me a sad sympathetic smile and the sight of it is almost enough to make me burst into tears again. Once upon a time this woman was a second mother to me and I suddenly realise that in the absence of my mom her comforting arms and soothing words are exactly what I need right now.

"Hi…" I say but my voice wobbles at the end.

Carolyn sighs sadly and immediately pulls me in for a warm hug. My arms automatically wrap around her and I let her rub soothing circles on my back.

I don't know how long we stand there but I savour the feeling of comfort she brings to me. She still smells the same. Of bread, flour and rosemary. It brings me back to a time when I was a child and the only things that could upset me was being refused an extra serving of dessert. Real life is so much more complicated than that.

Eventually we pull away and Carolyn tucks a strand of hair behind my ear before lifting up the box for me to see.

"I brought you some cheese buns. I thought you might need some comfort food," she says.

I let out a watery laugh as I accept the box off her and turn to lead her into the living room. We sit on two faded chairs and I place the buns on the small coffee table.

"Your son already offered me some this morning," I say as I tuck my feet up underneath me.

Carolyn smiles at me.

"I think he made extra this morning because of you. He told me that Cato has left," she says.

I nod my head as I stare at the box in front of me. Of course Peeta would find a way to feed me my favourite food. He knows that I can't talk to him about this but he sent the one person in this town who won't pity me for what happened this morning.

"Peeta didn't tell me what happened but after the conversation I witnessed yesterday I think I can figure it out. I'm so sorry, Katniss, for bringing the topic up. I didn't realise it was a sensitive issue between y'all," Carolyn says.

I give her a weak smile as I shake my head. It is not Carolyn's fault that Cato and I broke up. How could she have known our opinions of children and family life differed so much?

"I didn't realise it was one either. I guess it's a good thing it was brought up now, before we got married or god forbid I fell pregnant. Things would have only been a hundred times more painful then," I reply.

I look down at my hands and pick at my nails. I've already married one man that didn't want the same things as me. I couldn't have done it again.

"You never talked about it?" Carolyn asks.

I sigh and shake my head before bringing my head back up to look at her.

"I realised this morning that I didn't want to find out. As soon as Peeta and I started dating I knew exactly how my life was going to play out. Married by the time we were twenty-one. Parents by the time we were twenty-five. Live in Panem forever and forever. Everyone had certain expectations of us and I hated that my life had been planned out for me. I liked not knowing where things were going with Cato and not being constrained by other people's expectations. I guess I was scared of finding out the truth. That the second man I fell in love with would turn out like the first and want very different things from me," I admit.

Carolyn smiles at my sympathetically and reaches across to give my hand a comforting squeeze.

"You did a very brave things last night. Not many couples can admit that they want different things and accept that means having to part ways," she says.

I smile at her gratefully. It is a relief to hear someone praise me for my decision. It reaffirms that I have made the right one.

The sound of the door opening breaks our small moment and my mom comes bustling in with lots of shopping bags. She turns to see Carolyn and I sitting closely together in the living room and I can tell the sight of it surprises her a little. But then she catches sight of my red eyes and knows there is something bigger happening. She puts the shopping bags down carefully and takes a few tentative steps towards me.

"Katniss, honey, what's wrong?" Mom asks.

"Cato and I broke up, Mom," I say.

Sadness fills my mother's eyes and she immediately rushes forward to wrap me in a hug. For once she doesn't say anything and I let her hold me. Carolyn gives me another sympathetic smile as I look over my mom's shoulder and I am glad that after everything that has happened these two women are still here for when I need them.

Later I phone Madge and Gale to arrange a dinner invitation tonight. I need a distraction after this morning.

The Hawthornes gladly receive my self-imposed invitation and I accept my mom's offer to take round one of her pecan pies for dessert.

Mom fusses over me as I leave, fixing my hair and making sure it doesn't look like I have been crying as I try to get out of the door. I smile at her in thanks for her efforts to comfort me. It's nice to know she will be here when I get back this evening.

I set off as the sun is low in the sky and the fresh air does wonders to my mood after being cooped up all day. I jump into my dad's car and roll all the windows down so I can feel the wind in my hair as I make my way to the Hawthrones' farm.

Madge opens the door to me with a sympathetic smile and pulls me in for a hug before I even get a chance to say hello.

"I know you won't want to talk about it but I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I thought things were going to work out between you two" she says.

I smile at her as we pull away. Gale, who has been hovering in the background, picks Noah off the ground and carries him over to his wife. He smiles at me sadly as he wraps a hand around Madge's waist and her hand goes to rub the small swell of her stomach. Noah rests his head against his father's shoulder as he sucks his thumb and I get a stab of pain in my chest. It is a little hard to see them all looking like the perfect family after what happened with Cato. It's what I wanted with him in a couple of years. For the first time since I got back I am a little jealous of them and the life they have created.

But I shake those thoughts out of my head. I didn't come here to dwell on my failed relationship. I came to get a distraction from it and I know these two will not pity me for my broken relationship.

"Thank you. But I didn't come here to talk about Cato. I'm happy to just hear all about you," I say.

Madge smiles at me warmly.

"Of course we can. We can talk about the fact Gale has just taken up knitting," Madge says turning to her husband with a cheeky smile.

I turn to Gale, one eyebrow raised in surprise, as he turns to Madge with a scowl.

"I thought we'd agreed to keep that a secret otherwise I am going to tell everyone what you really like to do with the shower head," he replies.

Madge blushes and playfully swats Gale on the shoulder.

"We have guests, Gale!" she exclaims.

Gale just shrugs his shoulders with a small smile playing on his lips. I let out a small chuckle as both of them stare at each other challengingly.

"Your secrets are safe with me, guys," I say with a smile. "But, Gale, what in the world made you start knitting?"

Gale turns to me and gives me a small shrug of the shoulder.

"Mom was always getting me to hold the yarn for her whenever I went round. One day I thought I'd give it a try," he replies.

I shake my head in disbelief. This is exactly what I need tonight. To be able to laugh at and with my friends and remember that just because I lost Cato doesn't mean that I am alone in the world.

I follow them both into their house and Madge busies herself in the kitchen as Gale and I entertain Noah in the living room. We play with his toy farm animals until Gale decides it is time for his bed and allows me to read his son a story.

I come back down the stairs a bit solemn. Snuggling close to Noah has made me realise how much I want a child in my life. I thought Cato and I were only a couple of years away from that. I still love travelling but I am getting to the point in my life where I want to slow down a bit. I still want to visit places but I am happier now to have smaller adventures. But I might never get the chance.

Madge is serving up dinner when I get back down and my stomach grumbles loudly as it smells her chicken pot pie. Gale laughs at the sound as he takes a seat at the head of the table.

"I've never seen a girl who eats so much food. I can't believe you are not the size of a cow!" he laughs.

I thump him as I walk past to take my seat next to him. Gale lets out a small noise of discomfort as he rubs the place where I hit but he still gives me a cheeky grin.

"Compared to what you eat, I'm tiny," I say as I lay my napkin across my knee.

Madge shakes her head at us both as she takes Gale's plate to start spooning food onto it.

"It's disgusting watching you both eat," she says.

Gale and I turn to each other with a grin. Our love of food is one of the many things we have in common.

"You guys have to come to New York so I can take you out for dinner. There is this Spanish place that I would literally cut off my right arm to eat the tapas there," I say.

"Only if you're paying," Gale replies with a cheeky wink.

I shake my head at him

"You're such a cheapskate," I say.

Gale's grin broadens and then there is a knock at the door. Madge puts down the plate she is serving before wiping her hand on her apron and going to answer it. A few seconds later Peeta comes walking into the room carrying some sort of work tool.

My eyes widen in surprised when I see him. He's wearing ripped jeans and a sleeveless plaid shirt that shows of the definition in his arms. I hadn't expected to see him here tonight and suddenly Cato's words about talking to him flood into my head. He seems surprised to see me too and I blush and duck my head when he catches me staring at him.

He coughs slightly before turning to face Gale.

"Here's that power drill you were wanting, Gale. I thought I'd drop it back on my way home," he says.

I hear the scrape of a chair as Gale gets up hastily to accept the tool off Peeta. He and Madge give each other a nervous look, both unsure how Peeta and I will react being in the same room. We have been frustratingly inconsistent since I have arrived back.

"Thanks, man. Ours cut out on us and I need it to fix some panelling in the barn," Gale says.

An awkward silence falls around the room as no one really knows what to say now. It makes me sad that things have come to this. There was a time when the four of us were inseparable. The room was always filled with laughter and happiness as we teased and joked with each other.

I pull my head back up to look at Peeta and he flashes me a small smile.

"Hi, Katniss," he says

An unexpected surge of warmth rushes through my body and there is a skip in my heartbeat.

"Hi," I reply. I pause for a short moment. "Why don't you join us for dinner? Madge has made plenty."

Peeta raises his eyebrow in surprise. Both Madge and Gale look at each other in shock. A dinner invitation is the last thing any of them expected from me. But I don't want things to be awkward between us anymore. We were all friends once. We can try to be friends again.

Peeta looks at me carefully trying to figure out if I am being genuine. He searches my face for many moments and I give him a small reassuring smile. This relaxes him and he turns to Madge asking for her permission. She just shrugs her shoulder and pulls out another plate.

"I've got enough food to feed the five hundred. But you better be quick if you're going to get any before Katniss and Gale inhale it all," she says.

Both Gale and I scowl at each her and Peeta stuffs his hands in his pocket with a smile. Madge offers him a drink, which he accepts, before she goes back into the kitchen and Peeta comes over to take a seat next to me.

"Thanks for inviting me," he says.

I smile back at him.

"You're welcome. There's even some of my mom's pecan pie for dessert," I reply.

Peeta smile widens.

"Now I'm real glad that I agreed to stay," he says.

We share a warm smile before Madge comes back through with Peeta's drink and we all tuck into her delicious dinner.

"Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot about that! What compelled you to dress up as the Backstreet Boys and perform at the school talent show?" I say as I clutch my sides with laughter.

We sit round the messy dining table, plates scraped clean and crumbs littering the floor. The last two hours have been filled with laughter and gentle teasing as we all reminisce about our days in high school. There are so many fond memories I have pushed to the side and forgotten about all together. It feels good to remember them now and completely forget all that happened with Cato today. This is part of my life he never touched.

Currently we are reminiscing about the school talent show the year Gale was a senior. He along with Darius, Peeta and Thom put on a rather tragic performance of a Backstreet Boys medley.

"Don't look at me," Peeta says putting his hands up. "I was just the young and impressionable sophomore that got dragged into it by my supposedly older and cooler friends."

We all laugh as Gale huffs in the corner. He puts his arms across his chest defensively as we continue to tease him.

"The best part was when you tried to do the splits,Gale, and your pants ripped! Why weren't you wearing underwear?" I ask.

Gale blushes as we all recall how he flashed almost the entire town. Madge laughs and shakes her head at her husband.

"You gave Greasy Sae a real view. She still squeezes your ass and gives you a wink every time we go into the diner. She certainly appreciated the performance," Madge says with a cheeky grin.

Gale sighs and shakes his head.

"Okay. Y'all make fun of me. But I'm not the only one who has done embarrassing things. Remember Madge when you tried to dye your hair and it turned green? Or the time Peeta bruised his balls from going bare back riding? And don't even get me started on the time Catnip got drunk and almost ended up in Mr and Mrs Mellark's room instead of Peeta's" Gale exclaims.

We all blush as Gale reminds us of some of our most embarrassing incidents. The one thing about having friends like these is that you know that all the teasing comes from a place of love.

"Yeah, we all know it is not worth having embarrassing moments if you don't have friends to remind you about them later," Peeta says with a smile as he leans back in his chair.

I turn to give him a smile and he grins back at me in return.

I have been surprised just how easy things have fallen back between us tonight. There has been no awkwardness as we relived good past memories. For the first time since I came back I haven't had to second guess his actions or worry about what Cato might think. I've been able to relax around him tonight and enjoy a pleasant evening.

A comfortable silence falls around the table and we nurse our full bellies and bask in the fond memories of our youth.

Gale eventually clears his throat and pushes his chair back to stand up.

"I suppose I better get the washing up started. Got to be up early on the farm tomorrow," he says as he scratches his belly.

I immediately push my chair back too as I start to gather in all the dirty plates.

"I'll do it," I say. "You guys provided the meal. It seems only fair I do the washing up."

Peeta also pushes back his chair and begins helping me stack the plates and cutlery.

"I'll help. I didn't even provide a dessert," he says.

I turn to him with a grateful smile as Gale takes a seat again and pulls Madge close to him. She smiles at him sleepily as she rests a head against his shoulder and he begins running his fingers through the strands of her blonde hair.

"Thanks. I think I'm too full to move anyway," Madge says as she tries to stifle a yawn.

Peeta and I smile back at her as we finish gathering the plates and take them through to the kitchen.

We get to work silently as we both slot into the long forgotten roles of me being the washer while Peeta dries. I am struck by a strong sense of déjà vu. How many nights did we stand side by side just like this?

We don't say anything to each other as we quietly stick to our respective tasks. I peek a look at Peeta out of the corner of my eye and see him concentrating on drying the plate in his hand. I study his face for a few moments noting the changes in him. There are a couple of lines around his eyes now and a few more bits of stubble on his chin but he is still incredibly youthful looking. His eyelashes are still long and pale and I am still amazed that they don't tangle together when he blinks.

He turns to place the dry plate back in the cupboard and I see the muscles in his back move as he twists round. A strange fluttering appears in my stomach and I blush and look back down at the glass I am cleaning, embarrassed that I stood staring at him.

There is a moment more of silence before Peeta clears his throat to speak.

"It's nice hearing you talk about your travels. You actually did it. Got out and saw the world. It sounds like it has been one big adventure since you left here," he says.

I turn to look at him and give him a small smile. I talked a little at the start of the evening about some of my travels. Gale and Madge had seemed fascinated by all the exotic places I had been but Peeta had stayed oddly quiet. He never understood my fascination of exploring the world.

"Yeah. It has been a lot of fun. I've seen some amazing places," I reply.

Peeta smiles knowingly at me as he takes the glass off me and begins drying.

"You're definitely a proactive person. You needed to get out and see it all. I'm happy enough just seeing it in a book," he says.

"But you can't marvel at the sheer scale and design of Machu Picchu or appreciate the vibrancy of the Great Barrier Reef in a book. There is something special at seeing these places up close. You feel part of something and you feel linked to every other person that has made the journey to see the same things as you," I reply passionately.

A smile spreads across Peeta's face and he looks at me fondly.

"Well when you put it like that, it makes me almost want to go. You've become a lot more eloquent since you left. I didn't know you could make a mini speech like that," he says.

I grin back at him as I get another dish to wash.

"It couldn't get any worse than that American literature talk in senior year. I'll never get over puking over Mr Stenson's shoes," I reply.

Peeta chuckles lightly as he puts another glass away. I smile too. We fought so much just before I left, I forgot just how easy it is to talk to him when we put our bitterness aside and don't have to worry about Cato's feelings.

"What about you? What have you been up to the last few years? And don't tell me you spend all your time in the bakery," I ask.

Peeta chuckles again as he continues to dry plates.

"I do spend a lot of time in the bakery," he says.

I turn to him with a raised eyebrow and he laughs again.

"But apart from that I still ride. I babysit my nieces and nephews. Drink with Darius at the weekends. Just the usual small town stuff," he says.

I nod my head and am a little disappointed that he has told me nothing that I couldn't have guessed myself. I don't want to believe that is all he wants to do with his life.

"Oh and I paint now. Even managed to sell some in the city a few months back," he says.

This surprises me and I turn back round to look at him. He always used to love doodling in school textbooks and our house was littered with small scraps of paper with his drawings on them but he never pursued it as a serious hobby.

"Really? How did you get into that?" I ask curious to find out more.

"Madge gave me some paints one Christmas. I got pretty addicted. At one point you could barely move in my house due to all the canvases," he says.

I smile at the thought. When Peeta finds something he is passionate about he goes all in. I can clearly imagine him bent over an easel, paint streaked across his face and his eyes narrowed in concentration.

"You always loved doodling. I got told off at school because my textbooks had been covered in your drawings," I say.

Peeta chuckles again.

"It's just another creative outlet. While you need to be always seeking out adventure I need something that allows all my creative thinking to come out," he says.

I nod my head in understanding.

"What do you paint?" I ask.

Peeta shrugs his shoulders.

"Anything really. Any image that captures my imagination. It can be a person, a random object left lying on the table or the way a flower blows in the breeze. I'm still working on a rainbow. They come and go so quickly that I can never quite capture it," he says.

I stand listening to him in amazement. It doesn't surprise me that he is a painter now. He can paint pictures just as beautifully with his words.

Peeta looks off in the distance as if pondering the exact colours to use in a rainbow before he shakes his head and looks back at me. I smile back and a moment of peace falls between us.

I feel a prickle of heat trickle up my neck and my heart seems to thump louder. I don't understand these reactions that are occurring in my body but I know I will be sad to say goodbye to Peeta when we leave tonight.

Eventually I cough and turn back to the sink. We still have a couple of dishes to wash and I am sure Peeta will want to get home soon so he can get some sleep before he has to get up early for the bakery tomorrow.

"I'd like to see them. Would you let me?" I ask.

I'm a little nervous as the words leave my mouth. Paintings can be very personal and he may not want to share them with me. But curiosity gets the best of me. I like to think I know Peeta well enough to know his paintings will be remarkable.

He stands looking at me for a moment before a smile spreads across his face.

"Sure. You can come by one evening. I might even cook you dinner," he says with a smile.

My stomach rumbles at the thought. It still remembers how well Peeta used to feed me.

"As long as I'm not intruding," I say.

Peeta smiles sweetly back at me again.

"No matter what I have said in the past you're never an intrusion in my life. I'd like to think we could be friends again," he says.

My heart does a skip again at the sincerity of his words.

"I'd like to be friends again too. I look forward to seeing your paintings," I say.

Peeta's grin widens and I smile back again before turning and washing the final plate. Neither of us say anything as we finish the last of the dishes.

After the dishes are done we say a small goodbye to Gale and Madge and I agree to meet up with them later in the week. Peeta and I walk down the steps in silence as we go up to our cars. We linger at the front of the house as I am unsure of how to say goodbye to him. Peeta stuffs his hands in his pockets and scuffs a rock with the toe of his boot. He seems to be at just as a loss as well.

"It was fun tonight. Reminded me the good things in Panem," I say.

Peeta pulls his head back up to look at me.

"Yeah. I forgot just how much fun the four of us can have," he says.

I nod my head in agreement. A silence falls between us again. I don't know what has made me so reluctant to get into my car. Peeta smiles at me again and takes a step towards me. I freeze, unsure about what he is going to do. But he just places a warm hand on my forearm and looks in my eyes.

"I really do want to be friends with you again, Katniss," he says softly.

The heat from where his hand is touching my skin burns through me and he holds my gaze just long enough for my heartbeat to pick up. But just as quickly as he touched me, he is gone, pulling away and walking towards his truck. I am left standing at the front of the house as I watch him wave to me as he drives off.

Slowly I seem to come to my senses and get into my dad's car. The last half hour has thrown me completely. I haven't felt like this in almost ten years. An as I drive off I realise I haven't thought about Cato once since Peeta arrived tonight.