Hellooo! x

Sorry again for taking such a long time to update. I've been using all of my writing time on school papers. :( So sorry if this chapter seems a little choppy because I was trying to get it done so fast while I still had time. I hope you guys like it anyway! :P Enjoy!

It feels so horribly surreal to be sitting here with Peeta. In my house. At our kitchen table. With my family in the next room. While I'm still simply trying to comprehend all of this, Peeta is focused on the papers and books in front of us, as though this is just something that happens everyday. His concentration doesn't break even when Haymitch shouts at the television or Effie angrily tells him to be quiet. Not even when I reach for his hand to make sure this is actually happening. He rubs the back of my hand with his thumb, still without looking away from the papers.

"Peeta..." He finally looks up at me expectantly. "How is this not weird to you?"

He chuckles and leans back in his chair, abandoning the paper in his other hand.

"It is weird to me, but I'm too happy to care... I don't care if we have an entire project to finish. The fact that I'm sitting in your kitchen, and your mother isn't threatening my life is just fantastic."

"Right." He smiles at me, as I let out a snort. "I guess we should probably do something so that she doesn't change her mind."

"Well, I don't know what we could do." He sighs and picks up the paper describing the different options for the project. "You don't seem to like any of these choices."

"I'm sorry, but they're all pretty corny." I roll my eyes. "I mean, come on. Who's going to make a quilt of all the different scenes?"

"Fine. How about-"

"No drawing, unless you want to do the entire project by yourself."

"That knocks out the first three." He sighs. "We could write a song and perform it for the class."

"Not a chance." I shudder at the thought of singing in front of so many people. "You know I don't sing in front of anyone."

"Except me." He grins at me even when I roll my eyes at him. "We could act out a scene of the play for our class."

"Are there any options on there that aren't completely demeaning?"

"Well, the last option is to make a memory book for Romeo and Juliet." He looks at me and shrugs. "That one doesn't sound too bad."

He stares at me waiting to see if I will accept or reject this decision, but I just smile at him. Peeta and I would know better than anyone in that class how to make a memory book for Romeo and Juliet. The first half of their memories nearly mirror ours. We know which memories are the most important because we lived such similar memories. The idea seems better and better every second that I think about it. Finally, I realize that he is waiting for an answer. Instead of speaking, I lean into him and gently kiss him.

"That sounds perfect."

The smile on his face is enough to show me that he understands. He squeezes my hand before looking down at the paper, letting me see the light blush spreading from his ears to his cheeks.

"Good." I bite my lip to keep myself from laughing at the stupid grin on his face. "I guess we have our project then."

I hear footsteps approaching from the next room before I have a chance to say anything more. I almost pull my hand away from his, but he holds onto it like he's trying to remind me that this is actually allowed now. Of course, his hand twitches when my mother walks through the doorway and her eyes skim the table before looking up at us.

"How's the project going?" She asks as she pulls on a jacket to cover her uniform. "Getting a lot of work done?"

"Yes." I gesture towards one of the papers as if she's actually going to look. "We finally decided what our project is gonna be. We're gonna make a memory book."

"A memory book?" I try to ignore how anxious she looks. "Well, that's great... That's a great idea. I'm sure you'll do great. Anyway, I better get going. Aunt Effie and Uncle Haymitch are in the living room if you need anything."

"Okay." I look at her curiously when she just stands there for a couple of seconds. "Have fun at work."

"Absolutely... Peeta?" He looks up at her nervously, and she clears her throat. "The bread you brought over was very good. Did you make it yourself?"

"I did. Thank you, Mrs. Everdeen."

"Right. I'll be back later."

Peeta stays completely frozen as my mother's footsteps become quieter and quieter until we finally hear the front door close. As soon as the door closes, he lets out a deep breath and his shoulders slump. It's not until he does this that I realize how tense he was this entire time.

"Peeta!" I snort as he rests his head in his hand. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know. Every time she looks at me, I'm afraid that she's going to change her mind and chase me out with a broom or something."

"Only your mom would do that," I say without thinking.

Luckily, this does make him smile. He takes a deep breath before finally forcing himself to pick up one of the papers and start writing.

"I guess we should get back to work."

I nod reluctantly and rest my head on his shoulder as he reads the instructions aloud. It's pretty simple. All we have to do is pick out the memories that are significant to the story, put them into the book in order, and then make the book look pretty and well put together. Because I cannot help with any of the illustrations, Peeta says that I can pick out the memories and write them down in the book. He insists that my handwriting is "beautiful", even though I'm convinced that a toddler could probably write better than me. So Peeta draws multiple pictures of Romeo and Juliet in significant moments, such as the moment they met and the moment that Romeo came to Juliet's window. While he is doing this, I write down each of the memories on separate papers as neatly as I can. As we work, we talk quietly about anything that we can think of, both of us just enjoying each other's presence.

"It's so weird how similar all of this is," Peeta says out of nowhere as he sketches a picture of Juliet talking to Romeo from her window. "When you really think about it..."

"At least we never tried to kill ourselves."

"Wow." He smirks and looks up at me. "You always know what to say."

"Shut up. You know what I meant." He chuckles as he places each of his pictures under the written memory. "When is your mom expecting you to come back?"

"Six." He looks at the clock on the wall. "Soon. I managed to convince her that Finnick needed three hours of tutoring. It wasn't much of a stretch since she's always thought that he's not exactly the brightest bulb."

"You should probably get going anyway," I say even though I really don't want him to leave. "We already have most of it done, and I don't want you to get in trouble."

"You're right... I wish you weren't though." He sighs and stands up, collecting the papers into one pile and putting them into his book bag. "I'll finish this later and get a book for it."

"Sounds perfect."

He smiles as I walk ahead of him to show him the door. As soon as we walk into the living room area, Effie and Haymitch both look up at us. Effie stands up and grins at him while Haymitch stays sprawled out on the couch. I try my hardest not to roll my eyes as Effie hurries toward us to shake Peeta's hand.

"It was so wonderful to meet you, Peter!"

"It's actually Peeta. Um..." He glances at me and shrugs. "You know, it doesn't really matter."

"You baked that bread, didn't you?" Haymitch slurs from his spot on the couch. "He can make bread like that. The boy's okay with me."

"That means a lot, Haymitch. Some nights, I would pace the floor, just wondering if you would approve of him and-"

"Oh save it, Sweetheart," he mutters as he returns his attention to the television.

I bite back a smirk as I look at the disapproving look on Effie's face. She shakes her head and whispers "manners" before returning her attention to Peeta. When she has finally finished saying goodbye to him, I lead him to the front door and follow him outside.

"Well, that was fun," he says when I close the door behind us. "You have a very interesting family."

"Wait until you get to meet Prim. She's been dying to talk to you."

"I can't wait."

"Good." I wrap my arms around his neck, and his arms automatically encircle my waist. "I wish you could stay longer."

"So do I." He pecks my forehead. "But a few hours is better than nothing, right?"

"I guess. You should probably go before you're late."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiles as I pull him toward me. "I love you."

"Love you," I murmur before our lips meet.

I feel him smile against me, and my heart races at the feeling. I'm not sure how long we stand there kissing each other, but I still feel like he pulls away too soon. When he finally gets me to let go, I cannot help but feel a little uncomfortable. The warmth of his body against mine disappears as I watch him walk away. I try to remind myself that I'll see him tomorrow, and tomorrow is not as far away as it feels. When I walk back inside, I ignore Haymitch's snarky comments and Effie's stern reminders to have manners especially when there are guests in the house. Once they have finished their short lectures, I walk upstairs to my room.

As I am finishing up some of my homework, Prim texts me to tell me that Rue's parents will be dropping her off soon. I smile to myself, knowing that she'll want to hear all about today. I text her back before replacing my phone on the desk and returning my attention to my homework. A few minutes later, my phone goes off again. I expect it to be Prim, but I'm not quite sure what more she needs to tell me. I pick it up and smile when I see that it is from Peeta. But that smile disappears when I read the three words that make me freeze in fear.

She found out.

Sorry to end on a cliffhanger, but I guess that'll make you guys look forward to the next chapter even more. Maybe? :P Please review to tell me what you think - I love hearing your opinion!