Teach Me
A/N: Here's chapter 3 - I'm skipping the week to Friday- the day they meet up after school.
Chapter 3 - "What if the kid you used to bully was your only hope to survive?"
Standing outside my school locker, I nervously wait for Katniss to make an appearance- she said we'd meet up Friday after school and today is Friday. The last couple of days have been awkward between us, as talking to someone you don't know about maths is actually difficult for me. I struggle to communicate with people, especially Katniss. I've done all the work set and completed it, but I'm still struggling in maths as there are so many areas to cover and methods to remember. Katniss and I, have been texting but texting is like saying something without the awkward input into the speech, you can also think before you text, so you can't say anything stupid or embarrassing. Mind you, the texts we send each other are just things like: 'how are you?', 'Can't wait', 'See you at school' and 'hello'. Which is probably our longest conversation in general. I'm socially awkward Peeta, what more do you expect?
Today has been a pretty boring day, as it's Katniss's first week she doesn't have a timetable of lessons- but hopefully she gets her timetable on Monday- hopefully she's in some of my classes- but hopefully- not in any classes with Cato. Yesterday, Cato pushed me into a puddle of rain water after school, the mud covered my sleeves of my t-shirt and the mud grazed my knees, staining the silky fabric. Cato likes to call me a girl because baking and drawing is seem to be a girly activity for 'men' to do, instead of 'Peeta' he calls me 'Rita' pronounced 'Reeta', embarrassing, I know.
My eyes catch the vision of Katniss's braid, she quickly jogs over to me and gives me a slight wave on her way towards me, her cheeks are a light red color and her breathing is heavy. "Hey Peeta, sorry I'm late, Snow was just giving me my timetable for Monday." She smiles, she got her timetable early, good. I can use that as a conversation starter later on in the day. "I-It's O-ok, do you have anywhere specific you want to go?" I question as her smile because immaculately wide.
"Take me to your favorite place."
After a silent walk to my 'favorite place' her face beams with joy as we have reached my destination, the blossom trees make an archway for people to walk through and the green field is empty but also bursting into life. The birds high up in the trees make a melody as sweet as a baby in a cradle, a couple walk down the side path hand-in-hand. The forest is in the background as the different kinds of flowers circle the wonderful wildlife and Katniss is standing right next to me, I can hear her feet shuffling next to me as her mouth lets out a small 'wow', I'm glad she appreciates the outdoors as much as I do. When I can, I try to spend as much time here as possible because admiring the scene in different seasons is truly an amazing experience, I always bring my sketchbook here, to draw the different scenery's.
I dump my bag on the floor and motion for Katniss to sit down, I sit on the crunching grass with my legs sprawled out in front of me. Breathing in the fresh air and exhaling loudly, I withdraw my sketchbook and flick it to a blank page- almost forgetting Katniss is next to me- I then close the book in embarrassment. "Hey, those were really good, let me see." She says curiously. "Please". I sign involuntarily as I pass her the book, she takes the sketchbook with both hand carefully. Every time she turns the page she either lets out an 'awe' or a 'wow', my drawings are usually of birds and flowers but lately I have been trying to draw people because I'm always open to trying new things when it comes to drawing. "These are really good, Peeta." She pauses. "Have you ever considered yourself being a pro-fession-al?" She looks dazedly, and hands me the book back happily, I just let her share an important part of my life.
"I really like drawing, but um, my mother wants me to stick to d-decorating cakes." I laugh nervously as I put my hand on the ground and lean back into the sun that is draping over our faces. Our fingers touch for a second but I instinctively pull away and pick up my pencil as a distraction. Sketching out the blossom trees, I capture Katniss in the sketch too, I draw her face shape carefully and then her long, braid. Katniss continues to lie on the grass with her head resting on her bag and her eyes closed. as the sun glares down on her, leaving a golden colored tint to her smooth skin. "I wish I could stay here forever." She smiles as she remains with her eyes closed and her body lying on the grass.
"We c-could come here d-daily, if you want?" I suggest as her face lights up, shifting her body upright- she stares into my eyes and smiles. She nods and lays down again, she hasn't cought on my drawing yet, but she will do soon.
A couple minutes pass and I'm finished with my sketch, the blossom trees are sitting behind the laying Katniss and her eyes firmly shut as the grass peaks up around her outline. I clear my throat but I suddenly get an urge to bury myself in a hole- too late. Katniss looks at me with confused eyes as I rip a page out of my sketch book, the pink on the blossom tree contrasts well with her brown, silky hair. I hand her the picture and speak up "Here, you wanted to stay here forever, b-but this is t-the best I could d-do, as well as coming here d-daily."
"You shouldn't have!" She beams "This is absolutely amazing" before I could say thank you her warms arms fling around my neck, embracing me into a warm hug, I place my pencil on the floor and cautiously place my hand on the small of her back, the hug lasts for about 5 seconds before her body warmth leaves my body. Warily, the corners of my mouth make the biggest grin, I never get any affection from anyone but there's a first for everything and I shared it with Katniss. The spark in my stomach goes off in flames as the swirling sensation still buzzes around, why do I have the feeling I want to hug her again?
"Hey Katniss, c-can I s-see your timetable?" I wonder if she has any classes with me, or the same lunch break. Katniss rummages through her school bag and picks out her timetable, I peer over her shoulder while she skims the timetable with her eyes. "We have, art, science, home ec and lunch break together." I smile as she smiles back, would she even want to sit next to me?
"I'll look forward to seeing you in those classes." She says happily.
Katniss stands up and brushes the grass off her trouser, she slings her bag behind her back and offers me a hand. Warily, I take her hand and the blood underneath my skin hits my cheeks, she pulls me up (I'm doing most the work) and we begin walking out of the park. "I had a really nice time today, I'll text you when I'm home and I'll see you soon." She says.
"T-thanks, for c-coming, I guess. Bye!" I stand there as she walks off in the opposite direction, her hips sway with the whispers of the trees and then she's out of my vision.
Cautiously, I open the bakery door to see Rye covered in flour and stains of egg wiped on his apron. The bell sounds on the door and Rye's head whips around, he's wearing a bright smile as he see's me enter. "Hey bro, what are you grinning at?" He says to me as his floury hands tousle my blonde hair, leaving splodges of flour in my hair. "Nothing." I say, thinking back to when Katniss was hugging me in her arms. Her warms arms.
"Do you mind helping me sweep the floor? If I don't do it, mother will go all ape shit on my ass." He asks in a rude manner, brotherly like manner. I grab one of the brooms and sweep the bakery floor, collecting a pile of dirty flour and frosting from the cakes. A vibration continuously goes off in my pocket, I place the broom down and pull out my tatty phone, it's from Katniss, I smile and I haven't even read the message yet. 'Just got home, will text you later. X' I run my fingers over the text and reply with a simple 'Ok, me too. X' and I continue sweeping the floor with a proud smile still stuck to my face.
After dinner I head back into my room and empty my school bag, I place my sketch book in one of my private drawers. If my mother saw my drawings she would throw them away in an instant and probably ground me for the rest of my entire life. I throw off all my clothing and jump into the soothing shower, the drops run down my face as I wash the locks of my hair and rub the body wash over my warm body causing my skin to shiver as I continue to pick all the flour out of my hair.
Once I've taken a shower I jump into a pair of boxers and a white t-shirt, I place my watch on the side table and grab my phone from my pocket, '1 Message', getting messages was a whole new experience for me, like gaining a new friend.
'What you up to?X" Katniss texted me a couple minutes ago, I tap into my phone and quickly hit send saying 'Just had a shower, you?X" shortly after I gain yet another text from Katniss, this times it reads: 'Ah, I'm just un-packing some of my things. X"
I like how easy a conversation is through texting, it's so much simpler than trying to think of saying something from the spot. 'Well, I'm off to sleep. Goodnight, will talk to you tomorrow or something. X' Unforgettably I promised Rye that I would help him and his band set up for a gig tomorrow afternoon, he really wants this gig to go well and I'll happily help my brother even though he can be a douche to me sometimes. I glance at the last message Katniss sent me it just said 'Goodnight, sleep tight X'. I put my phone down into the side table and quickly fell into a humble sleep, I'm glad it's not school tomorrow but sad that I don't get to see Katniss.
A/N: I tried making this chapter longer, succeed or fail lol? Did you like there texting sesh, or the amazing park? Sorry for any mistakes, I didn't get a chance to read through it. Anyway, leave a review and what not. Have a great day! Bye!x