Roper's POV

I can't help but notice their distance.

The animosity that pulses in between, closing the gap with sly remarks, hidden sneers and a healthy dose of curious self-pity.

They're a million worlds apart, and yet—

Peeta talks about Katniss almost every day.

Does he realize? Nonchalant words turning into choked sobs, a hand over the face and then he's better again.

I watch him with Delly, I hear the remarks of the Mellark Bakery's patrons, I see the way Haymitch looks at Katniss and the way she returns his glances, I hear the whispered speculation.

Does anybody but Peeta remember the star-crossed lovers from District 12?

But of course, people change. This I know, mainly from Justin. Ever since Peeta came into the picture, Justin has been on his own. Often, I'm worried sick about the kid, and from time to time, I can't help but think that he's going to do something reckless, perhaps even just to get Delly's attention, but it's not my place so I keep quiet.

Like many other in District 12, happiness is only a daydream and a mask. Smiles are only ghosts of what was once the potential of happiness, or an alcohol-induced illusion.

And then there are those, oblivious, like Delly, so very much in love with her charming boyfriend. A bash for their six month anniversary. Rather exorbitant, one might say, but who am I to judge? Who am I to say that Peeta's…

Needy. Clingy. Heavily codependent.

Who am I to say that he's no longer that same, loveable boy from television?

People change. He's a man now, and that's not say that he doesn't own up to his title. He works hard in the bakery, so very hard, in fact, that it pains me to contemplate his effort.

And for what? A girl who has him on a leash? As a pet? Like an animal?

For a girl who pays her suffering brother no mind?

For a girl who pays reality no mind?

Let's face it, there's no way to avoid it:

Peeta loves Delly –and perhaps love is too strong of a word—

But Peeta loves Katniss more.

Forget town gossips and Capitol outcasts. The fact remains that there's a hole in Peeta's heart that Delly can never fit into.

That hole is shaped for Katniss.