Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story so far. I really do appreciate it. I think I got one review for the last chapter after I revised it. I REALLY need some reviews, it inspires me to update quicker and write longer chapters. :) So…
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, the state of Texas, or the song 'Drunk on You' by Luke Bryan, I also do not own Kip Moore, Justin Moore, Eric Church or any of their songs, or the channel CMT. So I pretty much own my idea and an imagination oh and Volt, Kaylee, and Patrick's personality. Anyways…
Hope you all enjoy this chapter and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. :) And read the AN at the bottom for why I haven't updated lately.
CHAPTER 8: Drunk on You
~Cotton wood fallin' like snow in July
Sunset, riverside, 4 wheel drives
And a tail light circle
Roll down the windows turn it on up
Pour a little crown in a dixie cup
Get the party, started
Girl you make my speakers go BOOM BOOM
Dancin' on the tailgate in the full moon
That kinda thing makes a man go mmm mmm
You're lookin' so good in what's left of those blue
Jeans
Drip of honey on the money make it gotta be
The best buzz I'm ever gonna find
Hey I'm a little drunk on you
And high on summertime
If you aint a 10 you're a 9.9
Tippin' n' spillin' that home made wine
On your tied up T-shirt
Every little kiss is drivin' me wild
Thrown little cherry bombs into my fire
Good god all mighty
Girl you make my speakers go BOOM BOOM
Dancin' on the tailgate in a full moon
That kinda thing makes a man go mmm mmm
You're lookin' so good in what's left of those blue
Jeans
Drip of honey on the money make it gotta be
The best buzz I'm ever gonna find
Hey, I'm a little drunk on you
And high on summertime
So let's slip on out where it's a little bit darker
And when it gets a little bit hotter
We'll take it off all out in the water
Girl you make my speakers go BOOM BOOM
Dancin' on the tailgate in a full moon
That kinda thing makes a man go mmm mmm
You're lookin' so good in what's left of those blue
Jeans
Drip of honey on the money make it gotta be,
The best buzz I'm ever gonna find
Hey I'm a little drunk on you
And high on summertime~
I wake up still wrapped in Peeta's warm embrace as he snores lightly. I chuckle and flick his forehead; he jumps and ends up falling off the bed, landing unceremoniously on his ass. I laugh and Peeta scowls but his attitude changes when he sees just how close to the edge I'm laying. I don't have any time to scoot over before Peeta jumps on the bed, sending me flying into the air and then to the floor. As I get up off the floor I smile seductively at him as I flip him off. He laughs and gets up, wrapping his arms around my waist and giving me a long, lingering kiss. Our kiss is interrupted by my Uncle knocking on the bedroom door and informing us about the breakfast his chef made. I huff in annoyance; I just want to spend the day with Peeta. Peeta chuckles and grabs my hand, pulling me down the stairs and into the dining room. The dining room table is filled with sparkling crystal containers containing just about every food imaginable. We both fill up our plates and eat the food quickly, so we can help ourselves to seconds or in Peeta's case thirds.
When we finally finish stuffing our faces we go upstairs to change into our bathing suits and some light, beach like clothes and head down towards the pier. The beach is packed with families and couples. I spot a guy a ways down the beach that looks identical to Marvel. No, Marvel is dead; it's not him. We continue walking and as we get closer I see the guy from before, he is identical and I mean absolutely identical to Marvel. I speed up my pace as I walk towards the guy.
When I'm right behind him I speak up, "Marvel?" The guy turns around and looks at me with wide eyes.
"Katniss, what are you doing here in California so early?" He asks, after he recollects his thoughts. Peeta is standing slightly behind me so Marvel addresses him too. "Peeta, I see you and Katniss are finally together when did that happen?"
Peeta and I both speak in unison, "Right before graduation, everybody who was there knows that. You weren't there were you?"
He shakes his head and signals for the girl he was walking with earlier to come over. Once she makes her way over to us Marvel speaks again, "Guys I want you to meet someone very special; this is my wife, Delly. We ran off to Cali to get married write after I finished finals. How was Volt's party though?"
Peeta and I congratulate him, but its hard to think straight. Marvel was supposed to be dead but instead he is standing here as alive as ever… with his wife. I'm the one who decides to answer, "there was a lot of drama; you haven't heard anything about it?" He shakes his head no so I continue, "my father, well my biological father went on a revenge rampage and shot several people at the party. Peeta and I were both injured as were Thresh, Gale, and Johanna. Several bodies were found with severe damage to their faces, they were pretty much unrecognizable. They were declared dead on sight; Glimmer, Finch, Dalton and… and… you."
He looks completely dumbfounded by the news, " I was declared dead? As in my parents think I'm dead, my whole family, everyone thinks I'm dead." He starts to shake and Delly puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry Marvel, now that you know are you going to go back and tell everyone what happened?" Peeta asks quietly.
Marvel was still shaking when he answered, "I think I have to. Delly, looks like we're taking a trip to Texas. Well, Katniss…Peeta we better be going, thank you for informing me I hope we'll see you again." With that he walks of, his hand clasped tightly in Delly's. Peeta and I share a look that pretty much shouts, 'what the hell just happened.' It sends us into a fit of laughter that I'm sure can be heard by everyone on the beach.
After spending another hour acting like children on the beach we returned to my Uncle's house and began counting down the hours until the concert. Around noon my uncle came home with some lunch from one of the local pizza places. We all sat around the dining room table, eating slice after slice of greasy cheese pizza. After I make my way through about three slices my uncle clears his throat. "Katniss, Peeta… I know you were excited about the floor seats I got you for the concert but I was wondering how you would feel about, wait for it… backstage passes." My uncle says as he pulls out two laminated backstage passes, complete with an Eric Church lanyard. For a second I am a completely different person as I jump up and give my uncle a bone crushing hug while I scream in excitement. My uncle and Peeta laugh at my sudden enthusiasm. Once I calm down my uncle speaks again, "now I know this may be too much but I thought of this is sort of a graduation gift so I have also rented the two of you a stretch limo for the night." This time it's Peeta who pulls my uncle into a hug. We both thank him repeatedly as we finish up our lunch. Once we finally finish our food, Peeta suggests that we start to get ready since the limo is arriving to the house at four and it is already two o'clock. I shove Peeta's overly heavy suitcase into his arms and push him out the door of the room to get ready. I lock the door behind him and chuckle as he curses me under his breath.
I quickly strip off my clothes from the beach and jump into the shower. I wash my body with the candy apple body soap my uncle had put in the shower and then shampoo and condition my hair with a citrusy smelling bed head™ shampoo and conditioner combo. When I finished I turned off the water and stepped out smelling like a candy shop. I mentally laughed at myself for the combination of scents, but hey everyone likes candy. After I had dried off, I went through my suitcase searching for a nice outfit. Jeans and a t-shirt seemed too simple but a clubbing dress or even a sun dress seemed too over the top. Finally after staring at my clothes for 20 minutes I decide on a pair of blue skinny jeans, a black strapless, ruffled shirt and pulled on my black cowboy boots. I grabbed my bag and exited down the room to head down to the living room where I know Peeta would be sitting.
Sure enough when I get downstairs Peeta is sitting on the couch, wearing worn out blue jeans, a tight fitting white shirt with a plaid shirt over it and his old brown cowboy boots and writing in his sketchbook. I sit down next to him and lean in closely to see what he's writing. On the piece of paper is a drawing of me and next to it a list of random things about me. I can't cook without listening to country music, I hate the color pink, I love working with special education kids, my younger sister means the world to me, I get jealous easily, I have been doing archery since sixth grade. Everything Peeta has written down are pointless, true statements. I take his sketchbook and his pencil and add another bullet point, I love Peeta Mellark. I hand him back the book with a smile, and we spend the next half hour making out on the couch.
When my uncle's assistant Effie arrives followed by the limo driver, Peeta and I thank my unlce one last time before we load into the limo. The limo driver explains where everything is and tells us about the privacy window. Apparently we are in a newer model that includes sound proof interior and has special black-out shades that you can pull down to cover every window including the small class window between the driver's area and the seating area. I scowl as I realize my uncle probably did this on purpose, because in his mind we're all just horny teenagers. Okay so we are all horny teenagers but really…aren't uncles supposed to condemn that kind of activity. Once we start moving I snap out of my thoughts and turn to Peeta who has a smug look on his face. I have a feeling Peeta had something to do with this limo… that sneaky little bastard.
The drive to the concert venue is two hours so we arrive there at around six. We thank the limo driver and tell him, we will page him when the concert ends. The concert is set to start at eight o'clock and those limited few with backstage passes are allowed in at 6:30pm. I had found out that for this specific concert only 10 V.I.P. Backstage passes were for sale meaning we get a longer amount of time with the opening acts, and Eric. We make our way to the V.I.P entrance and the usher scans our passes and then has a security guard lead us to an area backstage with leather couches and drinks of all kinds. Peeta and I sit next to each other avoiding the alcoholic beverages surrounding us. Within minutes Kip Moore and Justin Moore enter the room and greet the few people that are sitting in here. We get a chance to talk to them and get autographs, but because of the short amount of time we have it is rushed. As they're walking out security guards all walk in and behind them is Eric Church… with a beer in his hand. We get more time to talk to him and I of course force Peeta to take at least 20 pictures of me with him and I do the same for him. Eventually we are told our time is up and we need to make our way to our seats.
We go to our seats right as the concert is starting. The music blares through the speakers as I sing along to the music. The words of 'Springsteen', 'Drink in My Hand', and 'Homeboy' are floating around the venue as people around us drink themselves into an oblivion. The concert is coming to close when I feel my phone buzz against my hip. I ignore it and continue to watch the end of the concert. My phone buzzes again and again, until I finally decide to answer it figuring it must be important. I take my phone out of my pocket and walk quickly towards the nearest exit as Peeta trails slightly behind me. I look down at the screen and see Johanna's caller ID shining brightly. I answer the call, talking as loud as my strained voice allows.
Johanna's frantic voice fills my ears, "Katniss, It's Gale he got worse. He was doing better and recovering so well but something happened. I- I don't know what to do. Hazelle said that you should come home as soon as you can… I just don't know what to think about all-. "
"Johanna, calm down. Just breathe it will be okay. Peeta and I will head back, I'll see if I can get tickets to come back tonight. Do they have him on life support again?" I ask, my words calm but rushed.
Johanna takes a deep breath, "Yea, it happened today. It just all happened so fast, the doctors said he might not even make it through the night. Katniss, I can't lose him… especially not now."
I rack my brain for reasons coming up with nothing, "Why? Johanna what aren't you telling me?"
Nothing prepares me for what comes out of Johanna's mouth next, "well we're having… a… uh… baby."
My scream echoes through the deserted hallway, "You're fucking pregnant? You were drinking though at the party, and uh… Johanna why didn't you tell me sooner!"
She stutters and I can hear her voice break as she tries to hold back tears,"I just found out, I was going to tell Gale today… he always wanted a family, and now we were finally going to become one and… now everything is falling apart. I love him so much, he's like a drug and now I could lose him."
It's Peeta who speaks this time, "You listen to me, Katniss and I will be there for you no matter what. We will be there to pick up the pieces or watch them all come together. Just promise me something."
"What?" Johanna questions.
"Don't give up… on Gale, on happiness, on that baby. You are one of the strongest people I know and you will make it through. Now, Katniss and I have to go if we're going to make it back anytime soon. We will see you soon okay? Stay strong, we love you." Peeta says, his voice unwavering. I hear a muffled love you too from the other end before Peeta ends the call and leads me towards the limo.
On the ride home, neither of us speaks but instead we comfort each other with kisses and unspoken promises. We make good use of the special 'all privacy' limo despite the sadness that now surrounds us. When we arrive back at the house, our clothes are already back on and fixed but Peeta's hair is messed up and I know mine is a tangled mess. My uncle doesn't question us and for that I'm glad instead he hands us two first class tickets back to Texas; a flight that is set to leave in two hours. He had his assistant, Effie, pack up our things so that the limo driver could escort us to the airport. We say rushed goodbyes and promise to see him soon when we arrive for college as we load back into the limo, praying that Gale pulls through.
Our flight lands in Texas in the early morning; Haymitch is there to pick us up. We make it to the hospital in record time and my heart begins to beat faster as we near Gale's room. For all I know this might be the last time I see him alive. When I go into the room, I see Johanna tightly gripping Gale's left hand and Hazelle sitting on his right, her eyes puffy and red.
Hazelle's voice is raspy when she speaks, "He made it through the night. The doctor's found that the bullet that what shot into his chest was coated in a weird type of poison, known as Tracker Jacker Venom. The poison spreads slowly through the body, until into enters the veins and then it sends the victim into Cardiac Arrest. A poison control specialist was brought in and they were able to extract the venom from his body just in time."
"So he's going to live?" I ask softly, afraid of the answer.
She clears her throat, "The doctors said he is expected to make a full recovery. He's lucky that they caught it right when they did. Five more minutes and he would have been dead instantly." I cry into Peeta's chest, a mixture of happy tears and tears of relief stain his sunset orange shirt. Johanna comes over to us, leaning in so that the three of us are hugging. She seems so relieved that I hug her tighter. We only let go when we hear Gale shift in his bed. Hazelle gasps and Johanna runs back over to him, Peeta and I trailing behind her. He continues to move stretching out his legs and arms, but his eyes remain closed.
When his eyes do open, he looks right at Johanna. His eyes are filled with hope and love as he stares at her. His voice is hoarse when he speaks to Johanna but it still radiates happiness, "We're having a baby."
Johanna laughs, "We sure are Gorgeous. Guess you're not getting' rid of me any time soon."
Gale is drifting back off to sleep but he manages a few more words, "I'll never leave you, I love you Jo, more than you will ever know."
After Gale fell asleep Peeta and I left deciding to spend the night at his house. When we get there we change into PJs and Peeta turns on the TV, changing the channel to CMT. I drift off to sleep happily, listening to Peeta to singing 'Drunk on You'. His voice soothes me to sleep, I'm a little drunk on you, and high on summertime.
ABOUT MARVEL'S RETURN: I GOT TO MEET JACK QUAID AND DAYO OKENIYI AND JACK WAS REALLY DOWN TO EART AND REALLY NICE SO I FELT BAD FOR KILLING OFF HIS CHARACTER. iT DOESNT REALLY CHANGE THE STORY BUT I WANTED TO DO IT SO I DID. HAHA. ANYWAYS ENOUGH RANTING ABOUT MY FAMOUS PEOPLE MEETING AND IDEAS...
I feel bad for how long it took me to update. I just didn't really get any reviews so I didn't have any inspiration to write. Along with that, I have been having a lot of issues lately and I'm trying to find a way of finishing school early or transferring to finish up my degree. I can't handle what is going on in my life right now and writing is my outlet so I hope to have more inspiration and story ideas. The main reason I did not update was that I got dizzy while rehearsing for something on stage. I ended up falling backwards and giving myself a moderate concussion and a possible hair line fracture in my arm. I have been in and out of doctor's offices and I have to be constantly monitored in case there is any problems so I haven't really had time to update. I hope this chapter lives up to everyone's standards.
I hope to receive some reviews, and I will try and update soon. Thank you for your support.
Love y'all. –THGgoddess4ever