Here is the next chapter. I try to post at least one a day, but who knows, maybe on some days there will be more than one and, on others, maybe none at all.

(Note: Sorry about all my grammar/spelling mistakes that are probably going to be scattered all over this story. I try my best to catch as many as possible, but I tend to miss a lot.)

3

I woke up the next morning in the same daze I seemed to have been in since Buttercup came back. I wasn't sad, so to speak, anymore. But, I definitely wasn't healed either. I curled up tighter under the covers of my bed. Hiding from the rest of my house. I felt so alone at this moment. The house was too big, too quiet, too empty. I needed someone or something to distract me. Before there was Prim and my mother, or I could go hunting with Gale. I can't do that anymore. Too many horrid memories and too many dead. I needed someone here with me. I immediately think of Peeta, but quickly shoot down that though. I would never ask him for that. He was just barely turning back into the old Peeta. He needs to find himself before he can ever find me.

I go downstairs, and find the box where my most prized possessions are held. My father's hunting jacket, the plant book, my parents' wedding photo, the spile from Haymitch, and the locket are all left untouched. I open the locket and look at the pictures. My mother, Prim, and Gale were all smiling up at me. Tears were brought to my eyes when I looked at Prim's smiling picture, but I quickly brushed them away. No more tears, I told myself. I then looked at Gale. I wanted to grab the picture from its slot and tear it to shreds, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It would be like tearing something more than just Gale from my life. I put the locket around my neck, picked up the box with the rest of my stuff, and bring it upstairs. I open one of the many empty drawers in my room. I start to pass the time by placing all the objects perfectly in the drawer. When I was finally content with my work, I closed it. I felt a pang of want for the pearl. The pearl that Peeta gave me. The pearl that represented the last of the happiest moments between us. The pearl that I lost sometime between my sister's bombing and the shooting of Coin. It will never be seen again.

I push the thought away. It was just another one to add to the ever-growing list of unhappy thoughts. The thoughts that I would never think of again.

I walked downstairs again, wanting to know where Greasy Sae was. I needed human interaction. I needed to talk to someone. As if my thoughts conjured her, I heard the front door open. "Hello?" I called out. My voice was sore, and it was the loudest sound I had made in months.

The footsteps walking down the hall didn't sound like Greasy Sae's. They seemed quicker, but still very loud. I knew almost immediately who it was. A second later my thoughts were confirmed, as Peeta walked around the corner into the room. We stared at each other for a couple of seconds. He was holding some more bread. Why was he here, I was wondering.

"I told Greasy Sae that I would bring you breakfast today. It seemed right that we should talk, since we are trying to be friend and all, right?" he said, seeming to be answering my thoughts. Peeta. He still could read my mind, even though he may not realize it.

"Umm… sure," I replied quietly.

We walked into the kitchen. He sat at one end of the table, while I sat at the other. He was slowly cutting the bread again. I observed him, trying to memorize all of his movements. Like this was the last of him I would ever see so I had to remember it all. Maybe it was. Who knew? He handed me a piece of bread, and we silently ate.

I couldn't remember us ever being this quiet or having nothing to say to each other. But then again, this was one of the only truly calm moments in our lives. We now did not have a reason to talk. Only the want to be friends. Madge then came to my mind. Sweet Madge. She was the only other person on this Earth that I talked to for no other reason than just to be friends. Even Gale, I started talking to because I was trying to get food. I was at a loss for words, now. I always was better on my own. But now being alone seemed scary, and I needed friends.

"Greasy Sae said that they are going to try to rebuild District 12," Peeta then said. "She was just notified that the first wave of people are supposedly coming within the next two weeks."

This brought my attention back to the present. They were going to rebuild District 12? It seemed like an insane idea, but then again, to so many people this was home. This is where their lives have been for forever, and if I know nothing else, then I know that coming back to what you are used to is way easier than trying to let it go. "Are they going to reopen the mines, then?" I asked. I realize that I was hoping with all my might that he would say no. I was terrified of those mines, and I would bet my life that so many others did too. I think the way my father died is the worst way to go. Worse than being shot, worse than being drowned. Being in a place where there was no light, no chance to escape, and dying there. The was the worst.

"No," he said. And I gave a sigh of relief. "She mentioned something about planting food and medicine. I am not really sure of all the details."

Thinking about the mines and being underground seemed to make the house grow smaller. Were the walls always so close? And I could swear that the ceiling was getting closer. I couldn't breathe for a second. "Let's go!" I exclaimed. "I need to get out of this house! Go see the sun!" I was having a mini panic attack in my kitchen, right in front of Peeta, but I didn't care.

Peeta's face changed from indifference to surprise to worry in under a minute. I guess he thought that the rebuilding of 12 would be a safe topic between the two of us. "It's ok," I heard him say in a soothing voice. "Let's go." He gestured for me to follow him, and headed towards the door. The second I felt the cool air and sunshine on my face, I could breathe again. I wasn't trapped or alone.

Peeta's face is still worried. He is standing there, a bit awkwardly, not knowing what to do, not knowing what brought on the panic attack. I instantly feel apologetic. "I'm sorry. The mines just bring bad memories." Along with everything else, I added in my head. "I feel a claustrophobic most of the time, these days." I didn't also admit that when I don't feel claustrophobic, I feel afraid to be alone. His face was still dark as he asked me, "Real or Not Real? Your father died in a mining accident."

I winced slightly at the question. He turned away from me, already knowing my answer. "I am sorry," he whispered. We both stood in silence for the next couple of seconds. I heard birds in the distance and smiled. At least some life was here. District 12 was not completely deserted. Plus, there would be more. People were coming. Life will be better. I told myself over and over again, in my head. Life will be better.

Peeta and I both soundlessly agreed to start walking. "Real or Not Real?" I heard him say. "I gave you that locket, during our second Hunger Games."

I looked down at the locket that I completely forgot I was wearing. "Real. You gave it to me to try to convince me to stay alive in the arena. To go home to those that I love."

"But that didn't convince you, didn't it? You were still willing to lose your life, so I could stay alive."

I nodded my head at him. That night seemed ages ago. I wanted him to live so badly, because I could never think of the alternative. I could never think about him dying, and me trying to live on without him. That was another night that I knew, without a doubt, that I needed him. That night on the beach, I felt that thing. The second out of the two times I had ever felt it. I felt something more for Peeta, a hunger for him.

"That night, even though I thought I was going to die, was one of the happiest of my life," I admit. I then feel the blood rush to my cheeks. He smiled. It wasn't one of those huge, ear-to-ear smiles he used to give me, but it made me blush more all the same.

"I think they used that one against me a lot," he then said. I knew he was referring to the hijacking and the Capitol. "I think it was one of the happiest for me, too. I remember a lot of struggling to keep the tracker jacker venom from tampering with it, now. It took them longer than most memories for them to really change it. I still can't quite remember the details, though the sparkles seem to be leaving it."

I held the locket in the palm of my hand for a second longer, thinking about how much struggle and pain they must have put Peeta through. I remember when I got attacked by only a couple of tracker jackers, and shuttered. Instead, I looked down at my hands, trying to avoid his gaze, and ran through that night that was so long ago.

"We took the first watch of the night. We were sitting on the beach, when you told me that it was no use pretending that Haymitch didn't make a promise with the both of us to keep the other alive. At the time we didn't know that he had bigger plans. You were telling me about how there was nothing left for you here, except for me, and that I would move on. You gave me the locket, trying to remind me of what I had back home," I paused to check his expression for just a second. His face seemed to be masked. I continued. "I told you that I wouldn't be able to go on without you. You tried to disagree, but instead I…" I finished trailing off.

"You kissed me," he finished, still showing no expression. I nodded, trying my hardest no to look at him. "Thank you," I heard him say. "I think that made things a lot clearer."

"No problem," I replied, chancing another glance at his expression. The old Peeta seemed to flash across his face for a second, but I knew that was huge progress. I knew him better than anybody else on this Earth. Maybe, I survived to help him. They say that everything happens for a reason. Maybe this was the reason. I was going to help Peeta, I told myself. And we walked on.

So, tell me what you think. Hopefully you like it:)