Hey guys! Sorry I've had such a busy week that I couldn't get this up until now. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave me a review and tell me ways I can make this story better.

Quote of the Chapter:

"I do. I need you." -Katniss

I wake up to a bright light shining in through the window. It must be close to noon and that means it's almost time to eat dinner with Haymitch. We've never had a meal together with just the two of us. I don't know what to expect.

I decide to eat some lunch and then do nothing with the rest of my day, so basically what I do everyday.

I've just sat back down on my chair when I realize how energized I am. I haven't slept like this since the day Peeta and I stayed on the Tributes Center's roof, before the Quell, before the war. That day seems like such a long time ago, even if I remember it like it happened yesterday. Peeta's hands in my hair, the relaxed feeling I had just laying there, alone, with Peeta, and the beautiful sunset that contained the gorgeous orange that Peeta claims to be his favorite color. Now I know why Peeta wanted to live in that moment forever. If only I had a time machine that could take me back to that day.

I didn't feel the fear of going into the arena or the anger at President Snow for making us go through another arena. I only felt contentment for being left alone all day, freedom from being told what to do, and protection from Peeta's presence. I felt as though Peeta would do everything in his power to make sure that nothing would hurt me, even if there was no physical threat, there's always the threat of losing something you love and care about. He was scared about losing me and I was scared about losing him.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Buttercup knocking an empty vase down.

"Stupid cat," I mutter as I go look for something to clean up the mess the cat has made.

I walk into the bathroom to get a towel and stop as I look at myself in the mirror. I am in no state to be going to anyone's house, even if it's just Haymitch. I go to look at the clock that came with the house and see that it says 3:30. I had sat down at 1:00. It's fascinating how long you can be trapped in your memories and not even know how long it's been.

I decide to go take a shower and then by the time I'm done getting ready I can head over to Haymitch's house.

It's been thirty minutes and I am finally ready to go eat dinner. I grab my shoes and walk over to Haymitch's house.

I just finished knocking on his door when I remember that he won't answer. I'm about to open the door and barge in when I hear the knob being turned and the door opening. I'm thinking that maybe it's Greasy Sae until I'm standing face to face with Haymitch.

"Hey sweetheart," he says as he opens the door wider to let me in.

"Hey," I say as I walk in and I'm preparing myself for my senses to kick in and when they do, they're assaulted, but in a good way. I actually think I walked into the wrong house when I see that you can actually see the rug on the floor of the living room. Instead of the rotted smell, there's the smell of someone cooking dinner. Probably Greasy Sae.

"Someone's been busy," I say as I turn around to see Haymitch.

"You don't think I actually did this, do you?" he replies before adding, "Sae helped me. She certainly does like taking care of us, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. I guess. Anyway, what's for dinner?" I say as we make our way to the dining room.

"You'll see. It should be done any minute now." Haymitch says as he walks out of the dining room and into the kitchen. I decide to go ahead and sit down at the table. The table has been made with three places set out. I guess Sae's going to stay for dinner. Good, I don't know what I would've talked about with just Haymitch here.

Haymitch walks out a second later holding a plate that contains a chicken that has been beautifully decorated with potatoes and gravy. He sets it on the table and takes his seat. I look up expecting Greasy Sae to come out of the kitchen with some bread, but instead I am met with Peeta's piercing blue eyes and my heart stops. We just stare at each other for a moment.

"I didn't think you would be here," I say, breaking eye contact.

"I could say the same thing," he replies.

"You didn't think I did this myself, did you?" Haymitch says.

"Of course not, but I thought it was Sae," I reply, slightly angered that he wouldn't tell me.

"When I heard voices, I thought it was Sae too," Peeta says, before adding, "Here's the bread," he says, setting the bread down before taking his spot at the table.

We are quiet as we get our food. I am just about to grab a piece of bread when my hand crashes into someone else's warm hand. I pull back immediately.

"Sorry," both Peeta and I say at the same time. I look up at Peeta to see him looking at me. Both of us look down and start messing with our hands.

"This is ridiculous," Haymitch says looking at both of us acting like people who don't even know each others names. "You two used to be so comfortable with each other. Now, you can't even touch each other's hands without becoming uncomfortable."

"We're not the same people we were when the war started," I say with a hint of disappointment, "you can't expect things to be the same as they were before. As much as I wish they could be, that's not how things work. We have to move on with our lives."

"You don't think I know that? I lost everything. I had nothing until you two came along. But I wasn't talking about being the same people as before, I was talking about trying to restore your relationship, or whatever it was, with each other. I'm not saying it's going to be the same, nothing ever is once it's changed, but we can come close to it." I stare at Haymitch, trying to think of something to say back to him, but honestly, I can't think of anything so I just look at my plate and start eating.

We continue eating in silence until all of us finish our plates.

"Would you guys like dessert?" Peeta asks before we could say anything.

"You made dessert?" I ask, looking up at him to see him looking back at me. His eyes dart to his hands in his lap and he has a slight blush to his cheeks. I pretend I don't see it so I can save him some embarrassment, but Haymitch has other plans.

"Is everything alright, boy? You look like someone hit you in the face." This only makes Peeta's blush deepen. I shoot a disapproving look to Haymitch and he smirks back at me.

"Uh, yeah. I made a few cupcakes. Let me go get them." Peeta says as he gets up and leaves the room, making a point of not looking at either of us. As soon as Peeta has left the room, Haymitch bursts into laughter.

"I can't believe you did that to him." I say as Haymitch's laughing dies down.

"What did you expect me to do? Leave him alone?"

"I was hoping."

Peeta walks back in before Haymitch can say anything. He is holding three plates with cupcakes on them. Haymitch snatches his from Peeta's hand and Peeta sets mine down in front of me. He sits down and I finally look down at my cupcake.

It's just a regular cupcake. Nothing spectacular about it, just a cupcake with a smooth layer of frosting. So why does it seem so special to me?

"That's your favorite color. Real or not real?" Peeta whispers to me and that's when I notice that the green frosting is the exact hue of my favorite color.

"Real. It reminds me of the woods, so that's why I like it." I reply to his question. I can practically hear the excitement in my voice as I answer. I'm excited because that means that if he can remember something as little as what my favorite color is, maybe he can remember other stuff. Bigger stuff. Stuff that didn't mean much to me then but mean the world to me now.

If you guys liked this please leave a review. Even if you didn't like it leave me a review and tell me what I can do to make it better. Anyways thanks for reading and I'll talk to you guys next time.

Quote Preview:

"He still loves you." -Haymitch