My heart pounds inside my chest. I open my mouth to speak, but the words don't come out. I can feel myself blushing, my ears turning red from the surprise and now the embarrassment of being speechless. I don't need this and turn to leave.

"No, don't go." Peeta says. I turn around again, my eyes fixed on Greasy Sae. "I was about to leave anyway. See you later." He says to Greasy.

His eyes don't even acknowledge my presence as he walks past me and leaves. "He didn't even look at me." I think. "Well, isn't that what you wanted?" A pang of yearning and guilt shots through me. I swallow hard and sit at the table.

"Are you hungry?" Sae asks.

"Very" I answer not looking at her.

"Still mad at the boy?" Asks Greasy, as she puts rabbit stew and bread on the table.

"I don't want to talk about it." I say looking intently at the stew, avoiding her gaze.

"Fair enough." She says, and goes back to her cooking.

I eat in silence, neither of us talking. Minutes go by and my throat closes. I'm hungry, but have no desire to eat. "He ignored me." I think as I try to swallow a piece of bread. I'm annoyed with myself. "Why do I even care?" I'm done eating, my appetite is completely gone. I walk to the sink and wash my dish.

"Thanks for everything." I tell Greasy as I dry my hands on a kitchen towel.

"Are you coming over for supper?" She asks looking at me over her shoulder.

I hesitate. "I…I'll call you first." I say, still not sure of what I actually plan to do.

She nods and goes back to her cooking. "Oh, could you give this to Haymitch?" She hands me a pot with warm stew and several rolls inside a bowl.

"Sure. No problem." I take the food and leave.

Once outside I immediately worry about Peeta being over there. "What if she sent me because he will be there? Why didn't she ask Peeta?" I even think about turning back and telling her I can't take this to Haymitch's. "You are paranoid. Stop it." I take a deep breath and walk to his house.

Once on his front door I balance the pot and bowl in one hand and knock on the door with the other. No answer. "Haymitch!" I yell. Still no answer, I turn the doorknob and open the door. No surprise there. I go inside and straight to the kitchen. Haymitch is asleep at the table and holding a bottle of liquor. No surprise there either.

There's no one else in the house and I feel relieved. I take the bottle and put it on the counter, away from him, then shake him.

"Haymitch wake up. Haymitch!" I have no patience for this.

He sits up straight and apparently the sunlight in the kitchen is too much for him. He puts his head in his hands and grunts. I try not to laugh as I get his food ready.

"Hey sweetheart. It's so good to see you" he says sarcastically. I roll my eyes.

"Greasy Sae sent you rabbit stew. Here, eat something." I say putting the food in front of him. We stay there, in silence, as he eats and comes back to the world of the living. I get up to fetch him a glass of water, and it seems he is now alive enough to start talking.

"I hear there's trouble in paradise."

"What?" I put the water on the table. He grimaces. The way he looks at it, it might as well be poison.

"Peeta was here yesterday." He eats a mouthful of stew and raises his eyebrows looking at me.

I sit down and try to remain calm, expressionless. "And what did he tell you?"

"Oh not much, he didn't want to give me any details." This peaks my interest and Haymitch notices it. "Surprised? Come on sweetheart. You know Peeta is a gentleman."

I snort.

He looks at me, almost offended. "You know he is. However…"

"What?" I say exasperated, unable to hide my emotions any longer.

"He did say he screwed up." He looks at me, waiting for my reaction.

"Well, he is right." I say sounding very self-righteous.

Haymitch puts down his spoon, crosses his arms and looks at me. "Somehow I have a hard time believing it was his fault." He says, serious.

Anger shots through and I hit the table with my fist, tiny drops of water splash onto the wood. "Come on Haymitch! He tells you he screws up and it happens to be my fault? You don't even know what the hell happened!" I scream at him.

"Calm down sweetheart. I never said it was your fault." He smiles at me. I fell for it and feel embarrassed now.

"Well are you going to tell me?" He asks going back to his food.

"I won't give you any details either" I protest.

"Oh just tell me the gist of it. Go ahead." He mumbles through a mouthful of stew.

I don't know when exactly I decided talking to Haymitch about matters of the heart was a good idea, but the truth is I need to talk to someone and Haymicth knows me well, and he knows Peeta too. This does nothing to help my embarrassment, nor makes things easier. I've never been good with words.

I swallow hard and open my mouth. "I told him I loved him." The words come out in a rush.

"And?" He asks unimpressed.

"He thought I was drunk." I say, not looking at him. I can feel the color rising in my face.

Haymitch stays quiet, probably thinking about how bizarre this sounds.

"Did he tell you exactly that? With those exacts words?" I look at him confused. "It doesn't sound like Peeta at all." He says shaking his head.

"No?" I don't understand where he is going with this. "He mentioned how I…I had been drinking."

"Well, were you?" Haymitch asks with interest.

"I…I drank a little, but I wasn't drunk!" I say annoyed.

"So the boy made a mistake."

"He said other things too." I add. "Such as?" Haymitch raises his eyebrows, urging me to talk.

"He implied I used him."

"Wouldn't be the first time" Haymitch says quietly. His answer shocks me and I feel somewhat betrayed. Just like Greasy Sae, he too takes Peeta's side.

I get up from the table and walk to the door. "Oh comeback! Come on, sit down."

I stop at the door. "Do you want me to lie to you?" He asks.

I go back to the kitchen and sit at the table again, not looking at Haymitch.

"I'll be honest with you sweetheart and you won't like it, but that's why you're here, right?"

I take a deep breath, my eyes fix on the table.

"You are mad at him because he felt you used him and didn't believe you when you told him you loved him." I listen to Haymitch, not saying a word.

"This is Peeta we're talking about. The boy has been in love with you for God knows how long and has been waiting for you for just as long, and you are mad at him because he doesn't believe you? Even you can't be that thick headed sweetheart."

I look at him.

"You are smarter than that." He adds. This falls on me like bucket of icy water, but I don't say anything.

"And you are so ready to cut him off and toss him aside just because he made a mistake? Because he is confused?" I swallow hard.

"Do you really blame him for that? He waits for my answer.

"Of course you don't. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here listening to me."

I shoot him a furious look. Anger consumes me and this time I get up from the table with every intention of leaving.

"You know what sweetheart?" I stop and listen, my back to him. "You think that boy will wait for you forever, and he probably will. I wish he wouldn't though."

I turn back and glare at him.

"I told you before, you could live a hundred lifetimes and don't deserve him."

His words cut through me like a knife, but I don't say anything, and leave.

No work today, so I had time to write this ;) Once again, thanks for all the reviews and for adding my story to your favorites. This is my first fan fiction ever (and the first time people read something I wrote) and your feedback means the world to me. Let me know what you think. Chapter 8 coming soon!