A/N - Wrote this chapter twice, but I think this one may be short but is really going more in the direction that I want it to.

Chapter 4

Anger, red hot searing anger was what she felt leaving the washroom. Marvel hadn't changed, he was a liar, with her he was great, but without her he felt free to so whatever he wanted.

As she came out into the dining area where her friends were still seated at their table. She saw Marvel sitting with their group of friends, and some of them, Peeta being one of them, were heading out.

"Hey," she called out to Peeta. "Are you going home? Can I get a ride with you?" Katniss asked.

"Uh, yeah." He looked to Marvel. "If that's ok with you."

She really did not want Marvel to drive her home, Madge was one of her friends who still sitting and clearly not ready to leave yet, she and Johanna had only just gotten their food. Marvel, thankfully, also did not look like he wanted to leave.

"Is something wrong Katniss? I can take you home myself." Marvel began hesitantly.

Katniss smiled sweetly, seething inside, "It's my mom," she lied, "she just called, she wants me home, like, now. Its fine, you stay. Peeta just lives a few blocks from me right?" She looked to Peeta for confirmation.

"Yeah, it's fine with me."

Marvel said goodbye to Katniss, gave her a kiss, which made her stomach do a little flip in disgust after just finding out he'd most likely been with Glimmer again. The thought that this time she hadn't been there to interrupt, and she really didn't know how far they'd gone, ugh, it made her sick just to think of it.

She and Peeta walked out to his car, he opened the door for her and she got in. She was feeling angry and rebellious, when Peeta got into the driver seat she looked into his eyes and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to her for a reckless kiss. He didn't hesitate; he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her as close to his body as he could, even with the manual gear shift between them. She needed to feel wanted, not as someone's second choice as she clearly was with Marvel. They made no attempt to hide want they were doing, but the car was parked facing the street, not the restaurant, so the odds of someone not seeing them were in their favour. When they pulled apart they were both breathless and exhilarated.

Still holding her Peeta raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "How did you find out about them?"

"You knew?" Katniss questioned, it sometimes seemed like he could read her like an open book.

He let her go, started the car and drove away before answering her question. "They didn't exactly hide anything. She was at the beach house, she was all over him. When he was with us guys he would brag that you were so loyal you would just keep forgiving him even if you ever did find out." He looked at her with real empathy in his eyes, "I'm sorry, but in this crowd it seems that other people tend to know your secrets before you know them yourself."

She looked out the window, deep in thought. "It's ok," she looked at him. "Is that why you offered this?" She indicated between the two of them.

"I couldn't let him play you for a fool. What he's doing to you is crazy," he looked away from the road of a quick moment to stroke her cheek gently with the back of his hand. "He's got you, and he's not willing to let you go. I've been waiting months for my chance to be with you. At this point, I'm willing to be with you anyway I can."

They drove the rest of the way to her house in comfortable silence until they reached her house. She invited him in and they went to the den where Haymitch was inspecting one of the windows. Since he had moved in he was always finding things around the house that needed some handy work done to it.

"What are you looking at?" Peeta asked and went to the window to look out into the front yard.

"I'm not looking out the window, I'm checking out this broken latch. The lock is broken." Haymitch explained.

"Hey, don't fix that lock, that's how we get in the house when one of us forgets our keys." Katniss cried. "More than likely it'll be Prim who needs it; I don't want her stranded outside."

"Or there'll be some stranger inside with her who broke in because of this window." Haymitch replied.

"That window faces the street, a neighbour would see an intruder enter and call the police, besides that's been broken for years we've never been broken into." Katniss reasoned.

Haymitch smirked at her. "It's getting fixed, and it's a school night, you two have a half hour." He said as sternly as he could before he left. With Haymitch safely gone, and when Katniss was sure he wasn't going to eavesdrop this time, she turned to Peeta.

"So when are you going to break things off with him?" He asked

Katniss cleared her throat and looked at her feet. "I wasn't planning on breaking things off with him."

"What, after what he did to you?" He asked incredulously.

"Well I basically declared war on Glimmer tonight, I told her I wouldn't give him up just so he could go and be with her. Katniss shook her head, "Besides, I'm guilty this time too." She looked into Peeta's eyes. "I'm not going to say anything to him about us, or what we did unless he comes clean about Glimmer." Katniss assured him.

"So what's the plan?"

"I don't know… there is no plan. I guess I just have to stay with him, I mean, it's not like he broke up with me to be with her. Is it really so bad if I stay with him so he can't? It's obviously not a big deal to him." Katniss reasoned.

Peeta sighed and paced the room, running his hand through his perfectly tousled hair. "It is that bad if it means you are going to be miserable." He stopped pacing the room, walked to Katniss and tilted her chin to look into her sad grey eyes, he seemed conflicted. Peeta with the magic for smooth talk was at a loss for words, she tried to figure out what he was trying to say, but failed, and in the end he gave her a light gentle kiss and said, "If you're ever looking to take a break from putting yourself through torture just to get back at them and have some fun for a while, I'm always here for you. Always." He gave her a reassuring smile and just before he left he turned and looked to Katniss and said "You know Kat, if it weren't for Gale scaring the life out of me as a kid, I would have never stopped chasing you."

Katniss got ready for bed and fell into a fitful sleep, thinking nonstop about the revelations that were made to her that evening, and also worried about the next day at school. She woke determined to do exactly what she told Glimmer she would do. Katniss wanted a new look for herself, to be the exact opposite of how Glimmer would be dressed, she wanted to look as rebellious as she felt, and she wanted no similarity to the crowd that she had been hanging out with. She wanted to look dangerous, she dressed in her knee high black boots, a sleeveless soft orange coloured dress that reminded her of a sunset and only came down mid-thigh, she'd owned this dress for years but had barely worn it because she'd actually bought it freshman year to try to get Peeta's attention. While she hadn't gotten any wider he had grown several inches and hadn't had the courage to wear such a short dress to school. She completed the look with a thin gold belt and her leather jacket over top. She added a little more dark makeup to her eyes than she normally wore, and her hair, which she usually braided back, was let loose and wavy.

Madge usually drove her to school loved her new look and gave her seal of approval. They arrived at school and parked in the senior's area where many of their friends had already arrived. Katniss saw that her outfit was indeed completely different from what Glimmer wore. Glimmer looked great in anything, and was wearing a pink dress with heals. Both girls equally pretty, but Katniss' was definitely her own style and stood out from the others. Marvel and Peeta were had been standing together talking when they spotted her. Both of their mouths dropped open at the sight of her. Katniss looked over at Glimmer and the two girls glared at each other.

Marvel ran over and hugged her around her waist, picking her up and spinning her in a circle. Katniss laughed Marvel kissed her deeply in front of everyone. When the school bell rang they broke apart, she felt triumphant when she saw Glimmer flip her hair in annoyance, but what really pleased her oddly enough was seeing the way Peeta could not take his eyes off of her. She and her friends compared their class schedules, she found that most of her friends were in most of her classes, especially her homeroom English class. When school began they went to their class as normal where Marvel was able to choose his seat directly beside her. During their lunch period Glimmer pointed out the fact that she and Marvel were the only two who shared a business class and that they could sit near each other and exchange notes or be partners for projects together, and of course Katniss wouldn't mind right? To which Katniss kissed Marvel and agreed that it was not going to be a problem at all, even though she was seething inside at the thought.

When she and Marvel parted ways and she watched as Glimmer walked beside him on their way to their class. She stood for a moment fuming until Peeta stepped next to her. She looked at him and he had his winning smile on his face.

"Chemistry with Dr. Beetee? I'll totally side beside you and you know, be your partner for projects and stuff" Peeta said over enthusiastically, mimicking Glimmer's comments from earlier. Katniss laughed, rolled her eyes, and gave him a playful punch in the chest as the two headed for their class. "I have an idea for a game," Peeta said.

"Oh, what's that?" Katniss asked, glad that Peeta was able to lighten her mood.

The second bell indicating that class would start was due to go off any minute, so the halls were practically empty. Peeta did a quick check over his shoulder then threw open a door that she hadn't really even noticed was there and pushed her inside. It was the world's smallest maintenance closet, barely big enough for the two of them, and was filled with generic janitor cleaners and tools. Everything happened so fast and she was taken by surprise, Peeta was kissing her, she put her hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"The game is, every time they get to be alone together, we get to be alone together." Peeta said with a playful smile. "Welcome to the Mellark make out closet, handed down to be from my brothers before me, and only costs me some free bread and pasties to the janitorial staff every Friday. The lock has been broken for years, but they never fix it as long as I can keep them on my good side."

"Wow, I feel so special, a closet where you have made out with every other girl in this school? How will we ever keep people from catching on to our secret?" Katniss replied, heavy on the sarcasm. "Besides, they are not alone together like this." She indicated between the two of them before leaving the closet. Peeta followed after her quickly. "People probably watch that door like a hawk waiting to see who you have in there next." She remarked. They went to their class and sat in the last two remaining seats in the class that were one in front of the other, Peeta taking the one directly in front of hers. The rest of the school day finished out without any more incidents. She met up with her friends near their cars in the parking lot after school where they hung out for a while before going their separate ways home.

Marvel drove Katniss home, she asked how his day had gone. She played good girlfriend and did not lead on that she knew what had happened between him and Glimmer. She kissed him dutifully when he dropped her off, she hoped she hid her resentment well, and with a smile and wave she went into the house.

She spent some time with Prim, asking how her first day of school had gone, when her mother came home she stayed and played the happy daughter and answered all of her questions. Katniss was still working on breaking down the walls of resentment within her for all the years of responsibility her mother had thrust upon her.

Katniss was finding it hard to concentrate, her mind kept drifting to Marvel and the hurt that he had caused her, and wondered if he would be hurt to find out about her and Peeta, she had a flash of a thought that she hoped that he did because he deserved to hurt. Her mother picked up on her mood and asked if there was anything she wanted to talk about. Katniss told her that she just thought she needed to go for a walk, she left the house, once again happy for a chance to clear her mind. Being out in the fresh outdoors was one of the things Katniss loved best, and district 12 was one of the least urban of the districts. It was lush with forests and parks and the streets, and the yards of homes were lined with mature trees. She walked until she found herself in the small merchant village which held many small businesses like the butchers, Greasy Sae's Diner, small clothing stores, and of course Mellark's Bakery. Katniss went inside, knowing that Peeta was more than likely working inside. He often helped to close the bakery after school, they kept short hours during the week, closing just before dinner as most of the shops in the merchant quarter, the traffic picked up here on the weekends when people would come from other districts or even the Capital, Mellark's bakery was known city wide for having the best bread, pastries, and cakes. This kept the Mellark's one of the wealthiest families in the district, which is how the Mellark's were able to afford designer clothing and expensive cars and excellent college educations for their sons. It was we'll known that Mrs. Mellark liked to flaunt their wealth, so her sons got the best of everything for all to see.

Upon hearing the familiar bell that chimed when the door opened Peeta came out from the back of the bakery. She smiled widely at him, he didn't look like his normal put together self as he did at school. His hair had evidence of a light dusting of flour, he wore his white Mellark's Bakery t-shirt, which nicely showed off his biceps. He looked just like a normal teenager, and he looked somewhat off guard to see Katniss on the other side of the bakery counter.

"What? Girls don't visit you at work often?" Katniss teased. "This isn't the first time I've seen you at work before."

"I know, it's just..." He shook his head at a loss for words again. She noticed this happened a lot around her, and wondered if other girls had this effect on him.

"You said anytime I needed to have some fun to come looking for you." She flirted. Peeta nodded his head and silently handed her a cheese bun. "Did you know these are my favourite?" She asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's what you normally order. This isn't the first time I've noticed you come in on my shift you know." Peeta flirted back.

While Katniss blushed a little, thinking of all the times she had eagerly volunteered to pick up the baked goods her mother needed or bringing Prim just to look at the cakes that were so beautifully decorated.

Finally she got the nerve up to ask if he would want to come to her house after dinner so they could help each other do their homework. They arranged the time, exchanged phone numbers for texting each other, and after a few more minutes of innocent flirting she left and when home in a significantly better mood. She had a nice family dinner and received some teasing from Haymitch and Prim when she told them who would be coming to help her do homework.

When Peeta did arrive he was polite, and again brought treats for her family and talked to them before heading to the den with Katniss. She enjoyed the time they spent together, and considering it was the first day of school it really didn't take much time at all to get through their homework. When they finished Peeta packed up his books and looked at her seriously. "Katniss, I don't know what you are trying to do to me, but you are driving me crazy." He pointed to generally all of her, she hadn't really thought about it, but being in the comfort of her own home, she had removed her boots and jacket. She was wearing only the short sleeveless dress that she had put on earlier, which she had to admit, showed off her curves and legs nicely and left little to the imagination.

She smiled at Peeta, and wondered how far her dangerous and rebellious attitude would take her. She made a decision then to quickly straddle his legs and she was pretty much sitting on him, looking directly in the eyes. "What if that's what I was going for? What if I want to drive you crazy Mellark?" She asked and kissed him passionately. He held his hands gently on her waist. It occurred to her then that this was the most intimate she had ever been with any guy, even Marvel. Their relationship was largely public, kisses always in front of others, opportunities alone only came only when they were in his car together, she was constantly thinking of how their relationship would be perceived by others. She did not need to consider this with Peeta, this was for the two of them alone, she could allow herself to be as free as she wanted to be with him. He had been the one to say after all that this was just for fun.

She pulled away from the kiss and smiled at him, both a little breathless. Peeta shook his head like he didn't know what had just happened, but was also grinning from ear to ear.

"Are you sure you'll be ok with this? Just for fun?" She asked.

"Oh, I'm completely ok with this," he indicated to the position she currently had him in. "And I think I'm well known for 'only having fun'." Peeta teased referring to his reputation around school. "Are you ok with this? I don't mind playing as a piece in your games Katniss, but you've never really done anything like this before. Are you sure you can play the game? You're dealing with pros here Kat, me and the others, well, we've been at this for years. We know how to not get hurt." Peeta explained somewhat worriedly.

"Ok, I think we can do this. As long as no one gets hurt." Katniss began, "I'll stay with Marvel, and when things get too hard or he makes me too angry, I'll call you."

"It's pretty awesome to be the guy who gets all the benefits." Peeta laughed, kissing her again. "ok, no one gets hurt, and we can still have some fun."

"Sweetheart, it looks you're done studying for the night." Haymitch's voice caused the two teenagers to jump apart quickly. "Why don't you send the boy home." Haymitch showed no signs of leaving until Peeta was gone, so Peeta gathered his things, said goodnight to Katniss and Haymitch and left.

Later as Katniss was getting ready for bed she reflected on the turn of events in her life over the past 24 hours. She thought she had rebuilt a solid relationship, but it turned out she had been fooled. Now with Peeta she felt like she at the very least had some power, she would not be the innocent girlfriend, ignorant to her boyfriend's indiscretions. She didn't have to feel bad about Peeta either because he played this game so well, and he didn't mind the sneaking around. Being with Peeta would be easy, in a way, he was everything she needed right now. No attachments, just harmless fun, a good partner for the game.