Never Be Mine

By: Michelle Rose Landau

Summary: The only way she'll notice me, the only way I'll know she's interested either way, is if I just talk to her...Love, sex, marriage, and family in 12.

Genre: Romance/AU; there's still Hunger Games, but Katniss and Peeta won't be Tributes.

Pairing(s)/Characters: eventual Peeta/Katniss, Gale/Katniss, Gale/Madge, OC/Tributes

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games series. They are the sole creative property of Suzanne Collins.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows! They are much appreciated. Enjoy.

~seven~

I look around, standing stock still as I take in all of the people on the dance floor and sitting at the tables. The whole school is here, and I feel more out of place than usual.

Madge looks at me, peeved.

"What're you waiting for?" She asks me. "Get out there, find a boy, and dance! You are not wasting my good work, Katniss Everdeen!"

I never realized that Madge could be so pushy up until a few hours ago.

Madge dragged me into the girls' locker room, forced me to shower using her expensive, perfumed soap, then she did my hair, my makeup, and she gave me one of her dresses that she'd never worn.

Normally, I just go to the festival as is.

I'm not much for beauty...I don't really think about my appearance all the time. Too many other things to worry about. Merchant girls can afford to think about being pretty.

In the Seam, pretty doesn't mean a damn thing.

But, I have to admit, it feels good. I haven't looked like this in a long time, and I'm kind of okay with being wanted.

A guy comes up to me.

"Hey...Katniss, right?"

"Uh huh," I answer curtly.

"Do you want to-"

"Nuh uh," I say just as bitchy as I can manage.

He frowns and moves on to the next girl.

"Katniss, how do you expect to get set with that attitude?"

I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest.

"Is that all you Merchants think about? I don't want to get set," I say defensively. "I'm never getting married or having kids. Ever."

Madge sighs and tilts her head to the side.

"You shouldn't say never," she warns. "Who knows...you might just meet the man of your dreams tonight. Life is funny that way."

"Yeah, well then life's got a messed up sense of humor," I grouse.

"Look at you, Catnip," Gale smiles as he approaches me with Prim. "You clean up good."

I smile, and I gently shove his shoulder.

"Well, you have Madge to thank for that," I laugh.

"You look really nice," Prim compliments.

"Well, thank you, Little Duck," I say. "Are you going to dance? I saw a lot of boys falling all over themselves just to dance with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I assure. "Go on."

Prim takes off to where the little kids are.

Madge takes Gale's hand.

"Dance with me?" She asks.

"Sure," Gale nods, then they go on the dance floor. "Next one's with you, Catnip."

"I don't dance," I remind him.

"Well, you will tonight, stubborn ass," Gale chuckles as Madge tugs him onto the dance floor.

I go over to a table and sit down.

I watch as Gale and Madge dance together.

When I see them together like this, I kind of think that they just may be good for each other. Of course, Mayor Undersee would never allow it to get further than this, which is unfortunate.

The way I feel about Gale is becoming a little more complicated these days, when it used to be so simple.

Simple, until Peeta stumbled into my emotions, that is. He came along with those damned cookies, and his damned crush, and those sweet eyes...

He's a good guy.

He's got a good heart.

He's very handsome.

That much I've admitted to myself before. The thing that bothers me the most is that he's so obviously interested in me, and I don't understand why.

I mean, I kind of do, but...what does he see in me?

Besides, he's been going with Zulee-Mae Holdren for the last few weeks. He seems happy with her...but I don't see her with him tonight. Did they break up?

I need to stop thinking about it. About him. I don't like these thoughts and feelings. I feel shallow and stupid, like a Merchant girl. Merchant girls have the time to think about shallow bullshit like that.

I look around, and I see Prim dancing with a boy, and she's blushing and smiling. She's so adorable, my Little Duck. She spots me, and she waves at me excitedly.

I wave back, feeling happiness bubble up within me.

I tug at my dress to try and bring it a little over my knees. I feel so uncomfortable showing this much of my body. It's weird. I'm usually dressed for the woods and I'm more comfortable in my dad's jacket. I should have brought it with me.

Out of my periphery, I see Peeta approaching me, and I nibble at my bottom lip, hoping that I don't look as squirmy and uncomfortable as I feel.

God, this is embarrassing...

How am I supposed to stop thinking about him if he keeps showing up?

The boy is everywhere. We're in every damn class at school, he watches me walk home everyday, he gave me bread and saved my life once, he carried Prim so delicately, he gave us cookies...

I feel indebted to him, and he knows it.

What the hell does he want?

I have no idea what I'm going to say as I walk toward Katniss.

She's nibbling at her bottom lip, and tugging at her dress as she tries to pretend that I'm not walking towards her.

We're both pathetically socially awkward around each other.

I wipe my suddenly sweaty palms off on my pants. This is crazy, my palms have never sweat in my entire life. Usually, when I'm nervous, my gut swirls and makes me feel like I'm going to puke.

Tonight, it's damned sweaty palms and if I have a hope of not grossing her out as well as obviously freaking her out, they need to stay dry.

I'm suddenly in front of her, and she's looking up at me, her hands clamping her dress to her knees. Her face is unreadable, aside from the pink blush in her cheeks. Her eyes are beautiful in this light, and her lips are pink and shiny with gloss, making them look even more pillowy and soft.

She smells good, too. Like lavender.

God...

I clear my throat.

"Hey," I manage.

"Hi," she says over the music rather timidly.

The band announces the next song, and everyone lines up.

"Do you want to dance this one with me?" I ask.

Katniss shakes her head.

"I don't dance," she replies.

"Doesn't mean that you can't," I quip with a grin.

She looks at me, letting my offer, and my hand, hang for seconds on end.

"Do you want to dance?" I ask again, more patiently than I hoped.

Katniss is so damn stubborn.

And I like that about her.

Finally, she consents, and she slips her hand into mine. She gets up, tugging at her dress with her other hand.

She's too beautiful to be this self-conscious.

I take her onto the dance floor, and we join the line.

Guys and girls stand across from each other, then the girls ruffle their dresses and dance up to the guys, circle them, then they join hands, and then they dance around after that.

It's a quick dance, and it takes you all around the dance floor.

After a few turns, we're both smiling and laughing. She's a great dancer, and we both have a good time.

Once the song ends, we're both a little out of breath, and she's flushed in her cheeks and chest. Her face is glowing and she's got a genuine smile on her face.

We release our hands, and then we applaud the band.

"Thank you," the lead member says.

After a few moments, they begin to play a slower song, and its sound is rich, deep, and romantic. You can hear the vibration of the strings in the violins, every strum of the guitars and banjos.

Katniss and I face each other, and she nibbles at her bottom lip again.

"You want to dance this one?" I ask, and she nods.

"Okay," she says.

We step closer to each other, then I take her hand in mine, and my arm winds around to her back and my suddenly trembling hand lands on the small of her back.

Katniss starts a little, then she slowly puts a hand on my shoulder.

My heart is beating in my throat, and I swallow down the hard beats as I look into her eyes. Her eyes flit around, trying to avoid mine.

"Where's your girl?" Katniss asks. "Zulee-Mae?"

"She's got a stomach flu," I explain. "She can't make it all weekend."

She nods. "I hope she's okay."

"Me too," I say.

We dance in silence for a moment, then I speak again.

"Um, thank you for the berries and canvases," I say.

Katniss looks past me over my shoulder.

Her silence is a little off-putting, and it makes me nervous and our dance awkward.

"Say something," I whisper quietly into her ear.

I may have imagined it, but I think she trembled when I whispered to her.

"I'm not good at saying something," she frowns slightly, shaking her head.

"I don't know, that sounded like you said something to me," I joke, and she rolls her eyes.

I chuckle at her response.

"Words aren't exactly my thing," she shrugs. "It's actions that matter...that sometimes say everything..."

She looks up into my eyes.

"I gave you berries and canvases because you gave me cookies and well-wishes."

I nod, then I slowly spin her, then draw her back to me and gently tilt her as the song ends.

We straighten back up, and everyone is clapping and whistling around us.

We just stand still, closer than we were before the dance. Our hands are still joined, her hand is resting on my shoulder, and my hand is still at the small of her back.

My eyes travel from her face, down the milky, fragrant column of her neck, down over her chest, which flushes pink.

Shit, I need to look at her face before I seem like an asshole...again.

My eyes immediately meet hers again and she is blushing, and I can tell that she'd been doing the same thing.

"Hey Catnip."

Gale is suddenly by her, and he looks at me like I've committed a heinous crime. To him, I have.

We part, and I shove my hands into my pockets.

"Thanks for the dances," I say, and she nods.

"Want to dance?" Gale asks her.

"Um, I'm pretty wiped out," she says. "I'm going to go get some food. But I think you owe Prim a dance."

"Okay," Gale chuckles.

He gives me another steely glance before he heads over to the little kids to dance with Prim.

Katniss looks at me for a moment, then she turns and heads to the booths.

Against my will, my eyes appraise her. That dress is doing wonders for her shape. She's got a nice waist...a nice, shapely backside, too. Her legs are amazing, toned, probably from trekking through the woods all the time.

Her walk is nice, too.

I know he's watching me walk away.

My hand involuntarily tugs at my dress in the back as he does so, and I might be crazy, but I think I hear him laugh a little.