Hellooo! x

Thank you for all the faves/follows/reviews! I really appreciate you guys and your support! I wanted to let you guys know that even though I update fast now, I'm starting college in one month so I won't be able to update as fast as I'd like to. That's why I'm trying to get a lot of this story out now so you don't have to wait. I hope you guys understand because I honestly love you all. I would even find Peeta and have him read the story to you in a seductive voice if I could. But I can't. Because Katniss would be very jealous. Sorry. Enjoy!

The day seems to go by in a blur. When I leave History, I barely even think to look at Madge or say goodbye. I spend my gym class walking around the track with a quiet girl named Annie. We are both pretty lost in our own thoughts the entire time. Then, I have math class by myself. I don't really mind because it gives me some time to get my mind off of these horrible things. I focus on the worksheet in front of me instead and don't let my mind wander until the bell rings. By the time I make it to the lunch room, I am so worn out that I feel like I could collapse on one of the tables at any moment.

"Hey," Madge says as I sit down next to her. "You okay?"

"Fine," I mutter.

I can tell that she is still staring at me as I pull a small box of food out of my bag and put it on the table.

"Katniss, will you please just tell me what's going on?"

I look up at her to see that she is staring back at me with a firm look on her face. I sigh and look away from her. My eyes find his table a few rows away from ours to see that he was staring at me. He looks away as one of his friends starts talking to him.

"I don't know what to do," I say honestly without looking away from him.

"About what?" she asks as she picks at her food.

"Peeta." I finally look at her and sigh. "His parents hate me, and I know they're taking it out on him. I don't want him to get hurt, but I don't want to end this either."

It shocks me how honest I am being and how clearly I am speaking. It's almost as if I'm talking to myself and my friend is not sitting nearby and listening.

"Have you ever felt like you were stuck?" I ask rhetorically. "Like you're going to lose no matter what you do? And you start to wonder why you put yourself in such a fucked up situation to begin with."

"Why did you?" She asks quietly as if she's afraid that I'll snap.

"Because he liked me, and I liked him," I answer without hesitation as I stare at the wall. "I was twelve when we became friends. He told me that he liked me when I was thirteen, so we decided to go for it. I was fourteen the first time he kissed me, and I really think that changed everything. He always told me that as soon as we were eighteen, we could be together and go anywhere we wanted without our parents' permission. I wish I could go back and tell myself that it's not that easy. It never was."

"Wow," Madge whispers to herself.

I look at her, feeling like I've broken out of a trance. She stares at me with wide eyes.

"What?"

"Sorry." She shrugs. "I've never heard you talk like this before. He really brings out the best in you, eh?"

"Usually." I groan and rest my head in my hands. "That's why this is so difficult."

"I don't think it's difficult at all." She looks me in the eye and gives me a reassuring smile. "If you really like him, then it doesn't matter what other people think. The relationship will last as long as you both want and care about it."

"And I've never heard you talk like this either."

She giggles. "Well. Maybe there's just a lot you don't know about me!"

"I doubt that." For the first time all day, I smile at her and roll my eyes. "But I guess you are right."

She smiles and starts picking at her food again, but she doesn't say anything else on the matter. For the rest of the time we just keep eating and talking every now and then about anything else. When lunch ends, she smiles at me before walking to her class in the other direction. As I do everyday, I spend the rest of my classes waiting for English so that I can see Peeta again, even if I can't actually talk to him. When it comes time for English, I sit down behind Madge and she turns around to face me.

"Feeling a little better?" she asks seriously.

"Yeah. I think so." I give her the best smile I can manage.

"You look better." She smiles and nudges my hand with her elbow. "You got this, Katniss. And I'll help you whenever you need it."

"Thanks." Of course, I'm grateful for Madge being such a great friend, but I really want to change the subject and stop thinking about this. "So what did you think of the homework?"

"Oh my god!" She rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Total bullshit!"

I snort and listen to her as she starts ranting about the awful homework that apparently took her hours. Without even looking, I can tell that Peeta has walked in and that he is looking at me, but I don't look at him until the bell rings and our teacher tells us that it's time to start. Madge makes one last face at me before turning around to face the front of the room. As the teacher talks, I look to my right and our eyes lock with each other. He smiles a little, but I can't smile back. When he finally realizes this, he looks back down at his paper and I look at the window.

"Katniss."

I look up and see the teacher staring at me with the book Romeo & Juliet in her hand.

"Yes Ma'am?" I mutter.

"I assume that you completed the homework assignment of reading the next section of the play?" I nod tiredly. "Good. You stated earlier that you thought it was- in fact- wise for the lovers to meet secretly. However, what occurred in the last section that you read?"

"They died," I say bluntly, making a couple of the students giggle.

"Yes." She sighs and rolls her eyes. "They died. Ms. Everdeen, after reading this section, do you still stand by your opinion that it was wise for these lovers to meet against their parents' wishes?"

She stares at me with a smug expression because she knows that I'm about to change my mind. And honestly, I can't give her the satisfaction.

"Yes, I do."

A couple of students giggle again as she sighs tiredly.

"Alright, Katniss. Why was it wise?"

I look at him across the room, and I can tell that some people follow my gaze as his ears turn a light shade of pink. Because of what happened in lunch yesterday, everybody is looking either at me or Peeta curiously. Even Madge has turned around to see what is going on. It takes me a moment to find my words. When I do, I know how happy my response will make him. But I'm still debating if it is the right thing to say when the words come out of my mouth.

"What happened to them was bad. But it's not completely their fault. If their parents had listened and actually tried to tolerate each other, their kids wouldn't have felt like they had to go to such drastic measures. I think this story just goes to show how much hatred can really affect people."

I look up at my teacher to show her that I am done, and she hums quietly.

"Well that barely answered my question." I roll my eyes. "But good try, Ms. Everdeen. Now-"

"I have something to say."

My head whips to the side. Peeta's hand is in the air, and he is staring straight at the teacher.

"Yes, Peeta?" I can understand why she is confused. Peeta barely ever talks in this class.

"I agree with Katniss." And of course, more than a couple of eyes begin to watch me again. "I don't think this story was meant to show how impulsive or naive the youth can be. I think it was meant to show much of an impact the conflicts between adults can have on their children. And how the adults are completely oblivious to it until it's too late. If the families had forgiven each other, they wouldn't have lost their children in the first place. But they did, and I think that taught them a really valuable lesson."

"I-" She scoffs- still surprised that Peeta finally gave her a well thought out answer for the first time this year. "I think you're all missing the point!"

She starts to lecture us about the play, but I think that we've all stopped paying attention by this point. Madge discreetly passes me a note while the teacher isn't looking. It reads Umm.. What just happened? I bite my lip so that I don't laugh and lean forward until I'm right next to her head.

"No idea," I whisper.

For the rest of the class, we all sit there quietly as she passionately babbles on about the entire play from start to the section that we've read up to. The bell couldn't ring soon enough. I stand up immediately and pick up my bag as I wait for Madge. I look at him, and he looks at me longer than he usually does, but I know what that means. I look around to make sure nobody is watching before holding up seven fingers, and he nods and starts heading for the door. Madge and I leave the room shortly after him, and she tells me that she is going to get a ride from Gale again. She hugs me goodbye before hurrying to find his car, and I mentally remind myself to ask Gale what is going on between them.

When I get home, my mother barely talks to me again, but I don't exactly feel like talking to her either. And I know that Prim is at her friend's house for that project. She asked to sleep over so that they can completely finish the project. But Rue has slept over here before. I doubt that they'll get anything done considering they were giggling and whispering until 2 AM the last time they were supposed to "finish a project". I sit down at the table and start working on my homework since I have nothing else to do until seven. The thought of it makes me nervous. In just a few hours, Peeta will be here, and I have no idea what to say to him anymore. I don't know how I should feel about this. I don't know if I'm stupid for even letting this happen. But I know that he'll tell me I'm not. He'll tell me that we're right and he'll kiss me, and I'll be right back where I started. In a fool's paradise.

As soon as I finish my homework, I look at the clock and see that it is only four. I groan as I wish that time would move faster. But since it can't, I go upstairs and lay down in my bed to close my eyes and fall asleep. By the time I wake up, the house is quiet and I know that my mother has left for work. I look up at the clock and realize that it is almost seven o clock. I push myself out of bed and run my fingers through my hair as I walk downstairs. I hear a knock at the door, and I take a deep breath nervously. I try to relax as I open the door for him.

"Hey," he says. "Can I come in?"

I nod wordlessly and hold open the door so he can walk past me. After I close the door behind me, I turn around to face him. My eyes find the mark on his face first before they focus on his eyes. Sometimes I think that he's staring into me and he sees every thought that crosses my mind.

"Hey," I finally say. "Did you want to talk?"

"Yeah." He takes my hand and leads me to the sofa where we both sit down. "I'm a little worried actually."

"About what?"

"About you." He looks at me, and I look down as he squeezes my hand. "Katniss, I know that you're upset and scared. And I wanted to make sure..." He sighs, and I look up to see that his eyes are glassy again. "If you're having second thoughts about this- us- you need to tell me. I understand, and I don't want to keep you here if it's not where you want to be. But you have to tell me."

This time, he is the one that can't meet my eyes. He stares down at the ground, and I frown as something inside me starts to hurt.

"Peeta, what we're doing- it's just downright stupid, and I know it's wrong." He closes his eyes and sighs. "But I can't let you go." His eyes pop open, and he finally looks at me. "I've never been this happy with anyone outside my family before. I know I'm selfish, but I'm not willing to give that up. I guess I love you too much."

I sigh and turn to look at him. Instead I am greeted by his lips against mine. He runs his hand over my thigh and kisses my cheek.

"Maybe I'm selfish too," he whispers as he nips at my earlobe. I hold onto his shoulders and explore his muscles with my fingers. He pulls away and looks up at me with such a new softness in his eyes. "I love you too much to let you go."

"Then don't." He smiles at me as he brings his lips back to mine. "God, I knew this would happen."

"What?"

"Every time I'm worried about something, you make it seem like it's no big deal." I smirk as his smile widens. "And then you try to fucking seduce me."

"Is it working?"

He ducks his head to suck on my neck and I gasp at the feeling.

"I guess it is." He chuckles and wraps his arms around my waist.

"I just want you to relax," he says against my neck. "I want to make you forget."

"Please."

I hum quietly as he plants kisses all the way down my neck and to my collarbone. I tug lightly on his hair to bring him back up to me. His lips feel so perfect against mine that I almost start to feel dizzy as he kisses me. Our bodies are so close that our chests are pressed up against each other, and I realize that I love this closeness and affection more than I thought I did. I shudder as his hands roam my body. He always knows exactly how to touch me to make me melt in his arms. I tilt my head back when he returns his lips to my neck, and he uses the opportunity to take off my shirt.

Soon it all becomes a blur. It's unclear who is moaning or sighing or touching or kissing. Our clothes end up on the floor and we are only covered by the throw blanket on the couch. His lips and hands touch me everywhere, and I whimper and sigh as my hands roam over his body. Eventually he ends up on top of me, and he looks down at me.

"Ready?" he whispers.

"Yes." I sigh. "Please make love to me."

We both stare at each other and the dark color of his eyes stirs something inside me. I watch his face as he slowly pushes into me and groans. I clutch onto his shoulders and moan. I can tell that he is watching my face every second. Strangely, the thought turns me on more. He starts to move faster, and I look up at him to watch how tight the muscles in his arms are as he pushes himself into me over and over again. I watch his furrowed eyebrow and dark eyes and his panting mouth and swollen lips. I feel hotter every second as sweat starts to form on both of our bodies. Finally- when it becomes too much for me- my inner walls tighten and I moan his name. He groans as I tighten around him. My name comes from his lips in the most beautiful way as he reaches his peak and releases inside of me. He collapses on top of me, and we both lie there trying to catch our breath. After a minute or two passes, he moves over to lie next to me and I rest my head against his chest.

"I love you," he says as he plants a kiss on the top of my head. "I want you to know something."

"What?" I ask quietly.

He sighs and draws a pattern on my forearm with his finger.

"I think we're going to be okay." My eyes open as I realize what he is talking about. "Amor omnia vincit."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask as I look up at him.

"It means love conquers all." He smiles at me and pushes my hair out of my face. "If you hadn't dropped your Latin class for music, you would have known that!"

"Whatever." He chuckles. "I hope you're right."

"Katniss, I know I'm right." He smiles at me and kisses my forehead. "Everything's gonna be okay."

As we lay there, I realize that I was right. Every time I doubt myself or feel any kind of fear, he can make me forget it all so easily. But in times like this- as he kisses me and holds me against him- I think that that may not be such a bad thing.

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