In the middle of the night I wake up suddenly. I roll over, expecting to find Peeta. Instead, the bed is empty. I sit up and rub my eyes. I look at the clock. 2:30. It's the middle of the night, where on earth could Peeta be?
I stuff my feet into my slippers and get up to check the rest of the room, to try and find where Peeta is, but I can't find him anywhere. I'm starting to panic. Where is Peeta, why did he leave without telling me? My heart is racing, and I try to calm myself down.
My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am in the Capitol. Peeta is in the Capitol. Peeta went to sleep next to me. He isn't there. He isn't anywhere. I can't find him. Where did he go?
I try and continue deep breathing, like I used to when I would have a panic attack, but now it only makes me feel lightheaded.
Panicked, I tell myself that he probably just went down to the lobby for something, or he went for a walk. I shake my head and climb back under the covers. I toss and turn for 15 minutes, but Peeta still doesn't return. I decide to call Haymitch. He answers on the third ring.
"What do you want Katniss, it's 3 o' clock in the morning"
"Where's Peeta?"
"Isn't he with you?"
"No, he's not. I don't know where he went" I can feel my heart start to race again "I was sleeping, and I woke up, and I just, I just don't know where he went. Haymitch where did he go?"
"Katniss, don't move, I'm coming" he says and hangs up. Minutes later, I hear a knock on the door.
"Open up sweetheart, it's me" Haymitch says.
I unlock the door and let him in. He searches our room, the bathroom, and the kitchen, but he can't find Peeta anywhere either.
"Did he wake you up before he left? Maybe he left a note or something..." he says, searching on the dresser for a piece of paper.
"I just woke up and he was, he was-" I sit down on the bed and curl my knees up to my chest. "He wasn't there. Haymitch, what if they took him again, Haymitch what if they took him again?" I start to panic, and Haymitch grabs my wrist and tells me to calm down, when the door opens and Peeta walks into the room.
I jump up and throw my arms around his neck. "Hi, why aren't you sleeping?" he asks me as he hugs me back. I don't let go. "I woke up and you were gone" I say into his chest.
"I just needed to go for a walk. I had a nightmare and-"
"Why didn't you wake me?" I demand, finally letting go of his neck, and taking his hands instead.
"You were sleeping, I didn't want to disturb you-"
"DISTURBING ME IS BETTER THAN LEAVING ME AND NOT TELLING ME WHERE YOU'RE GOING" I yell at him, but Haymitch interjects before I can get any louder.
"Peeta, that wasn't smart. Next time, wake her, or leave a note. That way, we can all sleep, and I don't get a phone call telling me that you're missing again. Goodnight. I'll see you two later" He says and slams the door behind him.
"Why did you call Haymitch?" Peeta asks incredulously. "I just left the room for a minute, you were sleeping"
"Well when I woke up, you were gone. Peeta, I didn't know what to think, I thought-I was worried that-"
"That what Katniss?" He steps closer to me
"That they would take you away from me again" I whisper and look at the floor, embarrassed.
"Katniss?" Peeta looks me in the eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything Peeta" I tell him
"Can I kiss you?" I stand there for a moment, shocked at the words that have come out of Peeta's mouth.
I don't even bother answering, I just grab the sides of his face with my hands, and lean his mouth so it's almost touching mine.
"Always" I whisper, before leaning in and kissing him slowly. He kisses me back.
Kissing Peeta feels so natural. Suddenly, I'm back in the arena, on the beach, where we had our last kiss like this. Where we weren't preforming for the cameras, where we weren't trying to win a war or convince an entire country of our love for each other. Just us.
He finally pulls away and says, "I love you Katniss" I smile at him and take his hand. We climb back under the sheets, and before I drift off back to sleep, I whisper "I love you too Peeta."
When I wake up again, it's light outside. I reach out for Peeta and this time he's there, but he's still sleeping. I quietly get up and head to the bathroom to shower.
I turn the knob and soon steam fills the bathroom. I undress and climb under the stream of water. It burns my skin, but I don't mind.
I wash my hair with shampoo that smells like coconut, and use a pouf to wash the rest of my body with a soap that has little pieces of glitter sprinkled throughout. It seems like something Effie would enjoy.
Once I'm finished, I stand under the water for a while, thinking about what happened last night between Peeta and I.
My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am in the Capitol with Peeta. Peeta is sleeping. Peeta and I kissed last night. I realized I missed kissing Peeta. I want to kiss Peeta again...
My daily ritual of sorting out what is real and what is not real in my mind is interrupted when the bathroom door swings open. I peak my head out from behind the shower curtain, but it's just Peeta.
"Good morning" I say, and it startles him. I guess he was half sleeping when he wandered in here.
"God Katniss, I-Katniss" he says as he squeezes his eyes shut and covers them with his hands for good measure.
"I didn't realize you were in here. I'll wait-"
"Just hand me my towel" I say and reach my hand out. He hands it to me, I wrap it around myself, and pull back the curtain.
He starts to brush his teeth as I walk past him towards the door. I stand behind him and smile, and he says something that sounds like "That's a nice look", but it's a bit hard to understand him with his toothbrush in his mouth.
I'm just finishing getting dressed when he emerges from the bathroom. I'm dressed in a pair of black jeans with a fitted top that's almost white, but not quite.
"You look nice" Peeta says.
"Yeah, thank Effie. She's the one who put me in it" I find the pants restricting and uncomfortable. But I know we're probably doing some sort of interview today, and we have to be camera ready.
"Is Caesar still here in the Capitol?" I ask Peeta, and he shrugs.
"Not sure. Last time I saw him was the day they beat me senseless for warning you about the attack on 13" He pauses "I did tell you about that? Real or not real?"
"Real. You saved lots of people. We had a few extra minutes to evacuate because of your warning. Coin didn't think you were being serious, but Haymitch and I convinced her otherwise. She didn't really like to listen to us"
"Good thing she's not in charge anymore" Peeta says as he stands up. I laugh, because we both know what happened to Coin.
"Want to go get something to eat?" He asks
I nod my head and take his hand. As we stand in the elevator, I glance at him to see if he's going to mention what happened last night, but he doesn't. So I decide not to mention it either.
We get to the dining room, and Peeta grabs some toast with jam, and I just eat a banana. I usually don't even eat breakfast when I'm home.
Haymitch and Effie join us soon after. Effie briefs Peeta and I on what we're expected to do during the interviews. Effie's talking about how I have to remember to sit up straight, when Haymitch interrupts her.
"Just be yourselves. You two don't have to act for the cameras anymore. Just do what feels right. Answer honestly, but thoughtfully. You aren't trying to win any sponsors this time around, you both know that."
"So, you want us to just act natural?" Peeta asks
"That's exactly what I want" Haymitch tells us.
We finish eating and get into the car that will take us to the building where the interviews will be conducted. As we ride, I hold Peeta's hand.
Within minutes, the car pulls up to a tall white building.
"Remember, just be yourselves" Haymitch reminds us
He helps Effie out of the car, and then me.
As we walk towards the front doors, Peeta looks at me and says "You ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be" I tell him.
Hand in hand, we walk through the front doors. We're greeted by a sea of flashing cameras. I shut my eyes and try to block out the reporters yelling our names. "Katniss! Peeta! Katniss!" they shout, closing in on us until I feel like I can no longer breathe.
"Back off" Haymitch hisses as he pushes them away with his arm.
They continue to close in on us, and when one grabs my shoulder and attempts to shove a camera in my face, Haymitch puts his fist through the lens, which causes Effie to start tittering about how "this isn't very festive", which is typical.
I cling to Peeta as we're corralled into an elevator, one that will supposedly take us to the interview space. The four of us stand in silence, until the doors open and we're joined by Johanna.
"Are you going to strip this time?" Haymitch asks her, and Effie hits him on the chest
"Why on earth would you ask such a-" but Johanna silences her.
"Last time we were on an elevator...I put on a little show. But I can't do that now, because I'm not dressed like a tree, because my stylist is dead" she says with a sarcastic grin.
Haymitch laughs, and Effie turns bright red. Peeta looks at me and grins. I grin back. I remember how freaked out I was by all of the tributes at the Quell.
The doors open again, and Johanna steps off.
"I'll see you later" she says to all of us, and walks away.
The doors open to reveal a wide open room, with windows on three walls, and a mirror on the fourth. In the corner sits Ceasar, who is dressed in a lime green suit, which matches his lime green hair.
"Apparently he was pardoned" Peeta whispers to me as we approach him
"Peeta! Katniss! How is my favorite couple doing?" He asks and flashes his unnaturally white teeth.
"Uh, we're good Ceasar. We're really good" Peeta says, and looks at me.
"When do we start?" I ask, and Ceasar leads us over to a couch. We sit down, and the red light above the camera begins to blink.
Ceasar turns to the camera.
"Gooooodddddddd afternoon Panem! I'm here today with two very special guests, everyone's favorite, Katniss and-" A look of shock spreads across Ceasar's face as I hear a crash behind me. One of the glass windows is shattered, and glass shards are scattered everywhere. I turn around and see a little black rectangle sitting on the floor. My heart stops and I lunge for Peeta before I can even recognize what it is.
Everything happens at once. Haymitch yells "DUCK" as the bomb explodes, sending Peeta flying across the room from me. I yell his name, and try to get to him, but I can't move. I'm trapped.