A/N- Heyo! This chapter is set a little after the first one. Enjoy!

I fix my hair over my shoulder like I do very often. I take a deep breath and enter the bakery. The bell chimes.

"Hi, Peet-," I am cut off by a terrible sight that makes my blood boil. Turns out Peeta has some…company.

"Hi, Madge," Peeta says, obviously unaware of my discomfort. The girl with the blonde hair like mine glares at me. Peeta doesn't see this, though. She made sure of that.

"Who's this," I ask, trying to appear cheerful.

"This is Cassidy. She's in my history class," Peeta explains. Does he not notice that she's all over him? She's twirling her hair and leaning over the counter to get closer to him. Who does this girl think she is?

"Hi," Cassidy mutters, clearly not wanting me here. Well, too bad. I'm not going anywhere until she leaves.

"Hello, Cassidy," I say as politely as I can.

"Cassidy, this is Madge, my friend." Ouch, that hurt more than I expected it to. I try not to let it show. Cassidy smirks at my expression.

"Oh, I know you. You're the mayor's daughter, right," she asks brightly. I see right through it, though. I think it was supposed to be an offensive comment, but I try to act as if it isn't.

"Yes I am." Can her skirt get any shorter? Can her top get any lower?

"I'm the jeweler's daughter," she says proudly. Who cares?

"Oh." Peeta seems to be sensing the awkward energy. Now he notices? "How are you, Peeta," I ask while walking up to the counter. I try to ignore the hateful glares from Cassidy.

"I'm good. How are you?"

"I'm doing great," I say while twirling my hair like her. Cassidy looks infuriated. I lean over the counter, too, just to make her madder. It works.

"Can I get some bread, please, Peeta," Cassidy asks, trying to turn the attention back to her.

"Sure," he says as he begins to saunter to the back of the bakery. Cassidy grabs his hand before he gets out of her reach.

"Thank you," she says as she releases his hand. What was that? Was that supposed to make me jealous? It worked.

When Peeta is out of sight, I glare at her. She raises her eyebrows with an amused expression. What the…

"You better back off. Peeta's going to ask me out any day now, princess," Cassidy whispers. Princess? Undersee? Where are people coming up with these nicknames?

"Just 'cause you stalk the boy doesn't mean he'll ask you out," I mutter.

"Look who's talking," she hisses. That makes me fall silent.

Peeta appears from behind the bakery and gives her a warm loaf of Mellark bread. She smiles and gives him some coins.

"It's not that much," Peeta says once he counts the coins. He tries to give it back to her, but she refuses.

"Then you'll just have to make it up to me," she replies with a mischievous grin. Peeta gulps. Come on. That's not fair.

"Bye, Peeta," she says while she leaves the bakery. The petite bell rings.

I wait for Peeta to do something, but he doesn't. I decide to interrupt the silence. "Can I have some bread, please?"

"Yeah," he says as he rushes to the back. He looks…conflicted. I smile to myself. He doesn't like Cassidy as much as she thinks he does.

He comes back with another warm loaf of bread.

"Thanks," I say as I give him some coins. I purposely give him some extra. He hands me the loaf.

"Seriously, bread doesn't cost this much."

"Then you'll just have to make it up to me," I say while I bat my eyelashes. His eyes go wide.

"I'm kidding," I say with a laugh. I wish I wasn't…

"Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were serious," he says with a chuckle. Why? What's so wrong with us getting together! Uh, this boy is so infuriating!

"What's up with that girl anyway," I ask, deliberately trying to change the subject.

"I don't know," he says. He sounds desperate. "She shows up all the time! I don't like her that way. I don't know how to tell her! I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I don't want her to get the wrong idea, either! Ugh!"

"Oh, Peeta, she definitely has the wrong idea."

"What?"

"She pretty much told me to back off 'cause you're going to ask her out any day now," I reply with a laugh. She's not the only one with that hope…

"Oh," he moans while he puts his head in his hands. I pat his back comfortingly.

"Don't worry! You can tell her while you 'make it up to her.' I'm sure she'll understand."

"Really?"

"Heck no. She's head over heels for you," I say with a giggle.
"Please, Madge, I really don't know what to do."

"Don't look at me! I've never dealt with this kind of stuff."

He removes his head from his hands and I remove my head from his back. "Come on! You're a girl! What should I do?"

"Tell her straight up. Tell me when you're going to do it, too. I want to see her face."

"I don't want to hurt her feelings…"

"Trust me, Peeta, you're being too nice. She doesn't deserve your kindness." She doesn't deserve it at all.

"I guess I should."

"Yeah, you should."

"Yeah."

"I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to be there. I really do want to see her face."

"Why?"

She's trying to steal you from me! You may not know it now, but we're meant for each other. I love you. "I don't know. I don't like her very much." Nice, Madge. You could've ended the confusion right there. You could've told him right there, but you didn't. Dang, I'm thinking in third person again.

"Yeah, she's not a very likable person." This gets a laugh out of both of us.

"I don't know why," I say sarcastically. I know why. She comes in and tries to steal Peeta away from me!

"What do you want to do Sunday?" What? What?! Is that a date?!

"What," I ask, getting a little excited.

"I have to make it up to you," he states. Okay, what does that mean?

"Okay…"

"We'll do something fun together on Sunday."

"Oh." Is that a date? Please say it's a date!

"As friends of course," he responds, seeing my confusion.

"Oh, okay," I say, trying to remain upbeat. He doesn't notice.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Surprise me," I say as I clutch the bread closer to me. I was so close to getting a date with Peeta. So close yet so far…

"I have to get going. See you Sunday?" I head for the door before I hear his answer. I don't know why I'm so worked up over this, but I am. Stupid teenage hormones.

"Bye," he says to my retreating figure. His voice sounds confused at my sudden mood change. Why can't he just understand?

The bell rings as I scurry out the door.

"Friends," I mutter under my breath. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. "My boyfriend," I whisper. Much better. That's what he'll be after Sunday.

A/N-I hope you liked it! Review, please!