(I hope the explanation above makes sense) ;D
Now, on with Sparks…
After dropping Prim off at home, I head straight for the forest. I want to talk to Gale. I want to know why he didn't come to me and ask for the truth, instead of believing rumours. By fighting with Peeta he's made this whole situation worse, I'm sure.
As I slide under the gap in the fence, I think about how Peeta is getting on. I hope that his father or brothers will hold back his mother so he can explain. Simply the thought of him being hurt makes me shudder. I feel slightly reassured at the thought of Peeta having his father with him. Mr Mellark is the complete opposite of his witch-like wife. I'm sure he'll keep his son safe. To be honest, I don't know that much about Peeta's older brothers. I know that the oldest is called Fenton and the middle brother is called Rye and that they were all champions in the wrestling competitions, but otherwise, I know nothing about them.
I find my bow and arrows and sling them over my back, walking over the dry forest floor to our usual meeting place over looking the valley. Gale is already there, his shoulders hunched over as he picks at his hunting boots. He's needed new ones for a couple of months now, but refuses to tell his mother about it. He always puts his family first.
"Hi." I say quietly, standing beside him.
"Are you mad at me?" He says, not looking up at me.
"I don't know." I tell him. "I suppose I am."
"Well, I'm sorry." Gale says.
"Why didn't you just ask me?" I demand, sitting down beside him with a huff.
"I don't know."
"You believed what everyone else was gossiping about! You believe lies! And rumours!" I'm trying to keep calm. Obviously it isn't working.
"I'm sorry!"
"You're sorry?" I exclaim. "Oh, well, that makes it all better, doesn't it!"
"Catnip-"
"You fought Peeta! In front of all those people!"
"Catnip! Stop yelling!" Gale shouts.
"Okay, sorry. Tell me why you didn't come to me!" Gale looks up at me, his nose and right eye swollen. He takes a deep breath and throws his hands up in the air.
"I know that I shouldn't have fought Mellark, and believed the people who talked, but I've been under a lot of pressure lately."
"What kind of pressure?" I ask.
"It's Posy, she isn't doing well in the heat." Gale looks out at the valley. "I'm just worried about her Catnip. And I guess that while I was freaking out about that, I just didn't know how to handle it when I heard the rumours."
"Oh, Gale. I'm sorry." I say, looking at my friend.
"Don't worry. I'm sorry for fighting with Mellark."
"I'll get something from my mother for Posy."
"You will?" Gale asks, his face brightening. I nod. "Thanks Catnip." I smile at my friend and he grins back. "I've got some apples. Do you want some?"
"Sure." I say. Gale rummages through his bag and pulls out two red apples, handing one to me and taking the other for himself. We sit in silence, gazing out over the valley, the rocky outcrop providing us from much needed shade from the blazing sun. After we finish eating, I stretch out and lay down on my back, my arms behind my head, lifting to the sound of the trees, mockingjays and Gale eating his apple. It's these kinds of moments that I love. Where Gale and I can just forget about the struggles of everyday life and relax in the woods.
"So, when did you and Mellark start?" Gale asks. I sigh. 'Way to ruin the moment Gale.' I think to myself. I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath.
"Peeta and I aren't together. We're just friends."
"What happened today?" Gale persists. "You know, when you two skipped school." He adds.
"Well, we went to his house and-" Gale's eyes widen. "And we tried to figure out who started the rumours."
"And?"
"And he showed me around but then his mother came home."
"That witch?" Gale exclaims.
"Yep, so we had to hide in a cupboard and at the top of the stairs before sneaking out the back. It turns out that Peeta's neighbour saw me with Peeta and 'assumed' that I was pregnant."
"When were you at Mellark's house?" Gale asks. I freeze. Now what do I say?
"I was just buying some bread." I say, looking down.
"Oh." Gale says. He knows that I'm not telling the entire truth. "Why is everyone saying that he saved you from Cray?"
"It's not what it sounds like." I say.
"You didn't go to him did you?" Gale asks, his eyes widening even further.
"No, I didn't. It was-"
"It was what?" Gale asks, standing up in exasperation. "He didn't hurt you did he? I swear, if he's hurt you I'll, I'll…"
"Sit down!" I say, pulling him down by his arm. "He didn't hurt me at all!"
"What were you doing with him then?"
"Nothing!" I insist. "I just couldn't sleep so I took a walk and he grabbed me."
"Oh, lucky you."
"What?" I exclaim.
"Wasn't it convenient that Dough Boy was there to save you?" Gale says, raising one eyebrow.
"Yes, actually, it was. What is your problem?"
"My problem is that Dough Boy is acting like the super hero in this whole thing. He's just using you Catnip."
"He's getting yelled at too!" I say, staring at my friend in anger. "His mother beats him for not doing the slightest thing right! And you have the guts to tell him his mother doesn't beat him enough? Who do you think you are?" Gale stares at me, his mouth open in shock. "He's probably getting screamed at by that witch at this very moment! He has to explain this whole situation to her and you've made it worse by fighting with him! Just keep out of it Gale!" I exhale; my sudden outburst has taken both Gale and me by surprise.
"Woah. Okay." Gale says.
"Just get off my back, alright?"
"Jeez, fine." Gale says. I narrow my eyes at him and stand.
"Why do you care so much anyway?" I snap, walking away from him under the shade of the trees. I hear Gale walking after me and climb up the nearest tree, swinging my legs over a thick branch.
"Catnip?" Gale calls, walking towards the tree I'm hiding in. "Wait, I'm sorry." He says. I keep silent. I'm still annoyed with him. Gale stops walking. He's directly below me, but doesn't know I'm there. "I just don't want you to be hurt again." He says quietly. I frown. He said that almost to himself. Maybe he didn't want me to hear it?
He continues walking and jump down from the tree, creeping over the ground towards my friend. I wait until I'm just behind him before shouting out. He jumps back, to the side of the faint trail, and throws his apple core at me when he sees me clutching at my stomach as I laugh.
"I'm sorry… For yelling at you... And running… And hiding…. And scaring you." I gasp between bursts of laughter. He glares at me.
"I'm gonna get you back." He insists, trying to keep a straight face.
"Yeah, whatever." I say, grinning wildly.
"You have an unfair advantage." Gale half-whines, crossing his arms.
"And what is that?" I ask, straightening up and chucking the apple core back at him. "My excellent hunting skills, my silent footsteps?" I say.
"No, you aren't carrying kills."
"You've caught something already?"
"Duh." Gale says, pulling two rabbits from the bag on his back. "You took ages to get here."
"I'm the better hunter. I have a bow."
"I have snares. I can leave these out and they'll catch something, without me having to put in too much work."
"Are you forgetting the fact that once your snares have caught something, it's practically a free meal for any of the other animals in this forest." I point out.
"Touché." Gale replies.
We hunt for a few hours, the trees keeping the sun off out backs. I catch three rabbits, a squirrel and a turkey. Gale catches two more rabbits.
"I'm glad that it's nearly the end of summer." I say. "It's too hot for the animals to be out."
"At least we caught something." Gale says. I shrug. We walk out of the forest, I hide my bow and arrows in the hollow tree and we slide under the gap in the fence back into the meadow. The grass is like straw, the golden blades crunching under out boots. There are few flowers in the meadow; this heat wave has destroyed this beautiful place, which is usually in full bloom at this time of year.
Gale and I head straight for the Hob. The Hob is District 12's black market, located in a warehouse that used to hold coal. But since the Capitol has found that loading the coal straight onto trains was more efficient, it was abandoned. Now it is a bustling market, filled with stores selling legal (and illegal) items. Greasy Sae buys the turkey and one of Gale's rabbits, and then we head to my house, deciding to keep the rest of our catch to ourselves. No one else will buy the animals we've caught. There isn't much meat on them. They'd rather spend their money on something else.
If I were alone, I would have gone to the bakery and traded a rabbit or a squirrel with the baker. But since that seems like a sensitive subject between Gale and me, I decide to go tomorrow instead.
"Gale!" Prim says as we walk into my house.
"Hi Prim." Gale says, smiling at my sister.
"Is Mum up yet?" I ask. Prim shakes her head. "Have you got anything for Posy? She isn't handling the heat well." I explain.
"What are her symptoms?" Prim asks Gale.
"Um, she wont eat, or drink. And she has a fever." Gale says. I stare at him. He didn't say that to me. Posy's condition is more serious than I thought.
"I'll be right back." Prim says, leaving her schoolwork on the kitchen table and dashing into our bedroom. I can hear her talking to my mother and the bed creaking. To my surprise, my mother walks into the room, straightening her clothes and hair.
"She's up?" I whisper to Prim.
"I asked her and she suddenly got all eager." Prim shrugs, frowning at me. I sigh.
"This will bring her fever down." My mother says, rummaging through the wooden cupboards and handing Gale a small bottle. "And if you boil these with some water, and make her drink it, it should make her more compliant when it comes to eating."
"Okay, thanks Mrs Everdeen." Gale says, smiling gratefully and putting the bottle and bag of herbs into his bag.
"Posy will be fine, don't worry. Just keep her hydrated and in the shade as best as you can." Gale nods. I walk with him to the front door and he smiles at me.
"Tell your mother that we're grateful." Gale tells me. I nod. "I'm sorry for yelling at you." He adds.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you." I say. He laughs.
"I'll see you tomorrow." He says, walking away.
"See ya." I say. Gale walks away, kicking up dust from the path. "Do you want something to eat Mum?" I ask, walking back into the house. Prim has returned to her schoolwork and my mother is standing at the kitchen table, tapping her fingers on the wooden surface.
"I'll cook today." She says quietly.
"Are you sure?" I ask.
"Of course. Help your sister with her work Katniss." She replies, pulling a rabbit from my bag. I smile slightly and sit beside Prim.
"How long is Mum gonna be back?" Prim asks me.
"I'm not sure." I tell her. Prim flashes me a half-smile and looks back down at her work. I feel a pang of guilt in my stomach. It's nice when my mother isn't in her grief filled state, where she would just stay in bed all day and completely abandon Prim and I. But as the old saying proclaims, all good things come to an end. I just wish that this didn't. I wish that we had a mother who would help us and care for us. Be a proper mother.
Prim has had to grow up too fast, and despite my efforts to protect her, I know that she knows that our mother isn't okay. She knows that we have to fend for ourselves.
The next day…The following day I wake early. It's Friday, and that means that it's the end of the school week. No more school for two days. Two days of lazing in the woods. I can't wait.
Our mother cooks breakfast and even joins in with our conversations. She waves at us as we walk away to school.
"Hopefully she'll be like this for longer than before." Prim says.
"Fingers crossed." I say, looking down at her. She smiles up at me. Once we reach the school gates, Prim runs off to meet her friends and I find Madge sitting under an old oak tree, her golden hair shining.
"Hey Katniss!" She greets me.
"Hey." I say back to her, sitting down in the grass.
"I think that you'll have an easier day today. Aaron dumped Marlene for Scarlet last night, so Marlene and Scarlet had a huge argument and Scarlet slapped Marlene and got suspended." Madge says, all in one breath.
"And that all happened last night?" I ask. Madge nods. "But I thought Aaron and Marlene have only been going out for a day or something?"
"I know." Madge says, her eyes shining. "Which is why everyone is talking about it. Their attention is on something else."
"Good." I say. Madge grins at me.
"Have you spoken to Peeta yet?" She asks.
"No, I haven't seen him." I say, looking around the playground to see if Peeta is playing football with his friends. I admit, it's hard to tell some of the Merchant kids apart with them all having blue eyes and blonde hair, but I can tell whether Peeta is there or not from his eyes. They are shockingly blue. The kind of blue that pulls you in and makes you feel like you could stare at them forever, never to come out. My shoulders slump when I realise that Peeta is nowhere to be found.
"Is he here?" Madge asks.
"I don't think so. I can't see him." I reply.
"Maybe he's just running late today." Madge offers. I smile slightly at her, but in the pit of my stomach, I fear for Peeta. He was going to explain to his mother last night. What if she's beaten him so badly he can't come to school? Surely his father or brothers, at least, would have stuck up for him?
"Do any of his brothers go to school till?" I ask Madge.
"I think Rye does." Madge says. "But Fenton is old enough to work at the bakery now. He might be getting married actually, I can't remember." I stand and begin to walk away. "Katniss?" Madge calls, getting up and running after me. "Where are you going?"
"I want to find… Rye." I say. "I want to ask him if he knows where Peeta is."
"Rye doesn't go to school in the mornings. He works at the bakery." Madge explains.
"When does he normally get here?" I ask.
"I'm not sure." Madge says. I groan in frustration. "Calm down Katniss."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can. I'm sure Peeta is fine." Madge says, taking my arm.
"Where are we going?"
"To class." Madge says, giving me an odd look.
"Oh." I say.
Madge is thankfully in my first class. She sits with me and we chat throughout the lesson. No one asks about Peeta and me, and I begin to relax. But by the time my second lesson rolls around, a lesson that Peeta is meant to be in, I realise that not everyone has forgotten.
"How the baby?" Bron asks me, leaning back on two of his chair legs.
"You know that there isn't a baby. It's a rumour." I say to him.
"There isn't a baby? What happened?" Bron asks, bringing his hand up to his mouth in mock horror.
"There never was a baby." I say stubbornly. "There never was and never will be."
"Okay, calm down." Bron says. He turns away. I sigh.
Madge is in my next two classes, the ones in between first break and lunch. We sit at the back of the class, by the open window, and continue our conversation from the first lesson. I laugh along at jokes with Madge, but my mind is occupied with something else.
"Cheer up Katniss." Madge says.
"I can't. I'm worried Madge. He wasn't in second lesson, he wasn't to be found at break and I haven't seen him in the corridors." I look at my friend, my eyes wide.
"I'm sure he's fine." Madge says, but this time she too seems to be doubting herself.
"But what if he isn't?" I ask.
"Then you'll find him." Madge says.
At lunchtime, I spend the hour walking around the school, searching for Peeta. And then, at the end of the day, I ask Gale to take Prim home along with his siblings.
"What's wrong Katniss?" Gale asks me.
"Peeta wasn't here today." I say. "I'm going to find him." Gale's face contorts into a grimace. "I have to find him Gale. Sorry." I smile ruefully at him.
"I'll tell Prim that you're talking to a teacher or something." Gale says.
"Thanks." I say. I stand by the front gates of the school, looking out for Peeta's older brother. I recognise him from my visits to the bakery, and make my way throw the crowd of students flooding out of the school. "Rye!" I shout, following him and his group of friends. I should feel nervous, facing an eighteen-year-old guy and his group of friends. But then again, Gale is seventeen. How different can it be?
"Rye!" I shout again, when he continues walking, slapping his friends on the back and laughing. He turns and sees me, his eyebrows knotting together. He looks like Peeta. The only difference is Peeta's eyes are a darker blue.
"What do you want?" He asks.
"Is that the girl your kid brother knocked up?" One of Rye's friends asks.
"Like he'd have the guts to do that." Another laughs, causing the other's to snigger.
"Come on Everdeen. What is it?" Rye asks me, completely ignoring his friends.
"Where's Peeta?" I ask. "I've been looking for him all day."
"Why do you care? You're the one who ruined his reputation." Rye says. His friends begin to gather round, staring down at me.
"I'm sorry about all this, but I just want to see him." I say. Rye frowns.
"Why?"
"I'm worried about him." I say, lowering my voice. Rye seems to understand me and pulls me away from the group.
"Look. He told me that he doesn't want to speak to you. He doesn't want to see you."
"He wouldn't say that." I say, refusing to believe what Rye is telling me.
"He would." Rye counteracts. "Now, if I were you, I would stay away from him. Stay away from us. Don't get involved." And with that he walks away.
"Tell him I said hi!" I shout after him. He looks back at me but doesn't acknowledge me.
I run back home. Where is Peeta? Would he really say that he didn't want to see or speak to me? I shake my head. Surely he wouldn't. My mind is plagued with thoughts of Peeta. Has his mother beaten him so badly that he can't walk? Maybe he's run away? But where would he run to? He would be found after some time. District 12 would be searched. I can't imagine where he would go.
'Peeta. Where are you?' I think to myself.
'Peeta. Do really hate me?'
'Peeta. I love you.'
Okay, okay. I know it's a short chapter, and that I updated REALLY late. I'm so very sorry! But, I will be writing during my holiday, and I'm in the process of writing another story, which I'll probably be posting when I get back! SO that means you'll probably have two long chapters posted on the same day when I get home! Okay, see you soon! Lot of love and cookies and stuff… :D