Sorry for the spelling mistakes, my keyboard is a frozen dinosaur. I was going to use like text lingo but I don't text like that, so I didn't know how to do it, so yeah. Follow me on Tumblr tributeforthewolfpack I'm super close to my goal! Tell me what y'all think!

Unknown number: hi it's Peeta. I got your number from Madge.

I look at my phone at lunch and see Peeta's text message and a smile creeps up on my face.

"Sexts are to be read aloud," Johanna says. "It's an unwritten company policy."

"It's not a sext, it's Peeta."

"Oh now you really have to read it. What does the Lover Boy want?"

"Lover Boy?"

"Even The Three Blind Mice could see how hard he was crushing on you at your welcome back to civilization Saturday," she deadpans.

"Peeta wasn't crushing on me. God, have you been talking to Gale?" I haven't spoken to Gale myself since that night. I've been giving him the silent treatment like a child.

"No, but hearing that Gale has said the same thing means that it's true. So spill."

I look at Johanna; her dark, shoulder length hair is tied back with a brightly colored scarf, her red reading glasses dangle off the collar of her tight shirt and the black nail polish she's sporting is starting to chip. If you passed her on the street, your first thought of Johanna would be a cross between a no good punk and a hippy, not genius scientist that spends most of her days looking at plant-based microorganisms under a microscope. The only thing that gives her away is the white lab coat and the name badge.

"There is nothing to spill. Peeta and I ran into each other at the supermarket Friday night and we caught up then again at The Hob," I say without much enthusiasm while my thumbs twiddle over the touch screen.

"You hung out with him Friday night?"

"Yeah, he made me pasta."

Johanna quirks her eyebrow at me in a very unimpressed way. "What kind of pasta?"

"The white sauced kind," I deadpan.

"Studies show that ten out of ten guys that make white sauced pasta have middle school crushes on whoever they make it for."

My face scrunches with a mixture of confusion and worry for Johanna's thought process. "Peeta has three kids and owns a bakery. I don't think he has time for middle school crushes. We're just friends."

"You weren't friends with him before, why are you all the sudden best friends now?"

"I don't know Jo," I snap. "He's just nice and doesn't remind me of what I left behind."

Johanna doesn't seem the least bit put back at my anger towards her. I should be concerned seeing that she's my boss, but that thought didn't cross my mind when I yelled. "Whatever, just know that I'm going to tell you I told you so when I'm sitting in the first row at your wedding."

"We went from middle school crushes to weddings? What's next, are you going to tell me that I'm going to pop out a few of his kids as well?" Johanna laughs but nods her head. "You're wrong, I don't even want kids, or to get married."

Johanna shrugs her shoulders and takes a large bite of a red apple affectively ending the conversation. I think about waiting until I'm alone to text Peeta back but that would signal that would make me look suspicious to Johanna and I don't want that. I quickly add Peeta into my contacts before texting him back.

Katniss: Hey! Sorry today's my first day of work and didn't see your text until I got to lunch.

Peeta: I figured. I wondered if you'd let me cook dinner for you tonight. Show you life outside of the frozen food aisle.

My face heats up and I have to remind myself that Johanna is currently watching me, waiting for me to do something that will prove her theory correct. It's not correct though. Johanna is wrong. Peeta has no feelings for me nor I for him. We don't really even know each other.

Katniss: How can I say no to a Peeta Mellark come cooked meal?

Peeta: You can't. (:

Peeta: Bran will be at a sleep over so it's just the little ones and they'll be in bed by 7:30, so come over then?

Katniss: Send me your address and I'll be there.

Peeta: Above bakery. Use the Alley door. See you then.

I quickly put my phone away and toss out the crust from my peanut butter and jelly sandwich and banana peel before giving Johanna a sideways glace. She's smirking at me as if she already knows that Peeta is making me dinner again tonight. I try to make my face emotionless as I leave the break room and head for the lab to clean some of the beakers and slides Johanna and I used earlier today.

I loose myself in the notes Johanna has me write down. I don't want my mind to wander to Peeta, but it does. I get this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach when images of Peeta flit through my mind. I tell myself that I'm just not used to having friends, and I'm nervous how socially interacting with people other than my family. I stayed to myself while going to school in the Capitol because the kids were too ungrateful and mean. I remember one girl, Glimmer, called social services on her parents because they didn't get her the right type of car for her sixteenth birthday. It's hard to image anyone with good intentions nowadays. No, the nerves have nothing to do with Peeta's mess of golden waves, bright blue eyes, or his hint of dimples in both of his cheeks.

I got off at five, giving me just enough time to come home and get ready to go to the bakery. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to wear. I decide to go for a comfortable casual look; printed knit shorts with a loose black tee shirt and a pair of flip flops. I clasp a necklace that Prim got me for my birthday one wear, a simple 'k' pendant, around my neck after I braid my long hair, that's still slightly damp from the shower behind my back and bring the tail over my left shoulder. I do nothing to my face other than putting lotion on it and add cherry flavored chapstick, I don't own any make up other than mascara and it's not needed tonight.

It's nearing a quarter past seven by the time I grab my purse and exit my apartment. It doesn't take fifteen minutes to get across town at this time in the evening, but I was always taught that it's better to arrive early than it is to arrive late.

I park behind the white minivan with the Mellark Bakery logo on the side in the alley. The door Peeta told me to use leads to a steep set of stairs and another door with green paint flecking off around the brass doorknob. I give a timid knock. Peeta said that his two younger kids would be sleeping and I don't want the one to wake them.

I'm just about to knock again, a bit louder this time, when Peeta's smiling appeared in the doorframe.

"Hi," he says excitedly. "You look nice."

Peeta opens the door further and lets me enter the apartment. It's an open floor plan in the main living area. The kitchen and living room spill into one with a small kitchenette tucked into the corner, next to the large window. I'm immediately hit by the smell of something savory and mouthwatering. On cue my stomach growls and I hear Peeta chuckle behind me. I look around, it's apparent that kids live here. Toys are tucked away in the corners and under tables as if Peeta tried to do some organizing and cleaning but it couldn't get to all of it, finger painted pictures line the walls next to school pictures and family photos. I examine one of the three kids together. You can clearly tell that all of them resemble Peeta in one way or another.

"Bran will be nine in December. Sage is four and Jack just turned two," Peeta says from behind me when he sees the picture I'm looking at.

"Bran doesn't look like he's turning nine."

"He doesn't act like it either. I swear he's the smartest person I've ever met. Not just book smart either. I wouldn't be able to raise Sage and Jack while running the bakery without his help."

"Selfless, like his father," I compliment.

"I don't know about that. I think I'm a pretty selfish person. But I guess you can't be too selfish and have kids."

I laugh. "You don't know my mother then. She's the selfish person I know."

Peeta can sense my hostility towards my mom and doesn't push the subject. Instead he gives me a light smile and tells me that dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I follow Peeta into the kitchen area and clearly see different pots on the stove and the oven light on, illuminating some sort of rolls.

"Red or white?" Peeta holds up two bottles of wine.

"I'm not much of a wine drinker so whatever you prefer."

Peeta smiles and puts both bottles back from where he got them and turned to the fridge to produce two bottles of beer. I copy his smile as he cracks the amber bottle open and hands it to me.

"Thanks," I say before taking a gulp. "Can I help with anything?"

"You can tell me about your day at work."

Before I can stop myself I'm diving into how I spent today in the lab with Johanna, looking at different plants and microorganisms under the microscopes but hopefully later in the week I'll be able to go out into the field and collect more samples. I don't stop talking until Peeta has served both me and himself a bowl of steaming lamb stew over a bed of rice and fresh cheese buns.

"This is the best thing I've ever had," I say in between mouthfuls.

"You should try my cheesecake then."

"Did you make it?" I ask eagerly.

Peeta shakes his head no. "But I will the next time I make dinner for you."

"Next time?" I quirk my eyebrow.

"If you'd like."

"Guarantee cheesecake as the main course and I'm yours," I joke.

Peeta smiles and we continue on with our meal. It's hands down the best thing I've ever eaten. I've never had lamb before because in the Capitol it's too expensive whereas here, it's a more common meat. I remember the cheese buns from my childhood. It easily transports me back to the time where my father would take me to the bakery on some Saturday nights to buy the half priced goods that wouldn't be fresh come Monday morning. Peeta's father would always slip in an extra cheese bun for me to enjoy on the way home and they quickly became my favorite.

I insist on helping Peeta with the dishes even though he protests the entire time and once we're done the clock reads almost nine. Peeta's got to get up early tomorrow morning and do all of the prep work for the bakery and watch over Sage and Jack since Bran is at a friend's, so I was surprised when Peeta asked if I wanted to watch a movie.

"Depends, are you going to make me watch sappy shit, or am I going to get to see things blow up?"

"I rented that new movie with Gloss Simmons and his sister in it, it's supposed to be a good action movie."

"Cashmere was a year older than me at Capitol; we were in the same lunch period."

Peeta raises his eyebrows. "Was she a bitch, she seems like a bitch?"

"She was, but not the worst there was. This girl Glimmer was a nightmare. Take all Capitol stereotypes and blow them out of the water and you have Glimmer."

"That must have sucked not growing up with normal people."

I look at Peeta with a stunned expression. He's the first person to view it the way that I do. Whenever I tell anyone else that I moved from the outmost lying district to the Capitol, they think it's the greatest thing ever. They think I'm lucky and should enjoy every bit of the glitz and the glam that the Capitol has to offer.

"Thank you," I tell him.

"For what?"

"For automatically understanding without me even having to tell you how horrible it really was."

Peeta shrugs and instead of putting on the movie with the Simmons siblings, he puts on a classic. I've seen it a few dozen times and so has Peeta according to the fact that he's not paying attention to the screen. I ask him about his day, since we've only talked about him, and he tells me about an upset customer he had today with a cake order. Peeta then goes on to talk about the crazy hours he has to work until he can find someone to replace Rue. I considered offering my services for weekends but figured I'd be do more harm than good, seeing as I have only microwaving skills and suck at customer service.

Towards the end of the movie I heard a small rustling sound coming from the hallway. I look back and see a little girl with large, frizzy curls in a pink nightgown rubbing her eyes.

"Peeta, someone's awake," I whisper lightly to him.

Peeta immediately looks back and jumps off the couch to scoop his daughter up in his arms. "What's wrong Sagie?"

"The mutts were chasing me again," Sage says in a small voice.

"Oh no, did you tell them to go away?"

She nods her head up and down, sending her blonde locks into her face. "Can I stay out here with you?"

"I have a friend over right now, remember?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you go lay back down and I'll make you some hot chocolate."

While Peeta's back is turned making Sage's hot chocolate, instead of traveling back into her room, Sage climbs up on the couch beside me.

"Hi," she says shyly. "I'm Sage Mellark."

"Hi Sage Mellark, I'm Katniss Everdeen."

Without thinking I reach forward and brush a lock of honey hair behind her ear; Sage smiles brightly and scoots a bit closer. I look up at Peeta who's now watching with a perplexed look on his face.

"Why can't you sleep?" I ask Sage.

"The mutts in my dreams scare me."

"Oh, I used to get bad dreams when I was your age too."

"Do you now?"

"Sometimes," I shrug. "But whenever I have a bad dream, I sing a song that my dad used to sing to me whenever I got scared then I sang to my sister when she got scared."

"Will you sing it to me?"

I pause before saying, "Sure."

"Deep in the meadow, under the willow
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
And when you awake, the sun will rise."

Sage had taken it upon herself to crawl into my lap and tuck herself into my arm before I finished the first verse. I repeated the song over and over again in Sage's ear softly until her breathing even out into slow, deep breaths. I tear my eyes from the sleeping child to Peeta who is still grounded in the kitchen with a small smile on his face and awe shining in his eyes.