AN: It's kind of weird how this update started. XD I just finished reading Catching Fire, and I noticed how the cliffhanger in the end annoyed me so much I wanted the third book to arrive right away. So I was thinking, damn, my readers are probably annoyed with me as well, and it's gonna be quicker to supply an update than a whole novel like Suzanne Collins so might as well update. XD

"Well then, tell me." Katniss replied, lifting her eyes to him in anticipation.

For once, Peeta found himself at a loss for words. No doubt, words always came flowing through him easily, but telling Katniss one of the things he vowed not to tell her for the rest of his life was more of embarrassing than hard.

"You really wanna know?" he asked, hoping she would say no and forget about it. He knew though, that she wouldn't. Not Katniss.

"Well, you did bring it up. Might as well tell me."

Peeta sighed deeply before continuing. "Promise not to laugh?"

"No."

"Oh come on, Katniss."

"Fine! I'll try. Happy?"

Peeta chuckled, as he imagined Katniss biting her lip to stop from laughing. Unbeknownst to her, she did this quite a lot, and he liked it, despite himself. "Damn it Katniss, it's hard to concentrate when you're probing me like that with the staring."

"Well, you're going to have to get used to it. I would pull out a recorder if I wanted to you know."

"Okay, okay. I give." Peeta replied, holding his hands above while shaking his head. "Let's backtrack to two years ago, when we were both fourteen."

"Come on, man. It's just a harmless dare bowl. You just get a slip of paper, and do the dare. It's that easy." Mikey guffawed, slapping me on the shoulder. Easy for him. That guy would take a dare any day. More than once I've been to crowds at school gathered when he did something particularly nuts, like streak around the block for example. This has only succeeded in increasing the pressure for me to not act like a scaredy cat.

With my group of friends watching my every move like hawks, I felt exposed somehow. Having not even chosen a single slip of paper from the empty fish bowl didn't help at all with my sudden claustrophobia. So, I did what I had to do. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and took the darn paper.

In it was written in hurried handwriting, Mikey's most probably were the words, "Talk to someone you've never talked to that you liked."

It would've even said, "Eat elephant poo". I could've even preffered that. Of course I didn't want to give in. The only person I told that I've had the longest crush on Katniss Everdeen was my best friend, who was unfortunately Mikey Strong. The guy has been trying to get me to talk to her for the longest time since I told him, and with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I knew he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity like this. After all, wasn't he the smoothest guy in our year? Getting me to smooth up as well would definitely boost his status even further, not like he needed any more boosting in my opinion.

Like I also expected, wolf calls and cheers echoed across the room. Of course, none of these people actually knew who the secret was. Only Mikey who was triumphantly smirking beside me. I decided right then and there that I didn't want to look like a coward. Sure, I would let him win this round. But I would let him win on my own terms.

"Okay, Strong. You're on." I replied in what I hoped to be a confident answer. More wolf calls assumed. "But, I'm gonna have two conditions."

Raising his eyebrows, Mikey replied, his voice testy. "Well, if you're so sure Mr. Confident, then let me hear your terms loud and clear."

Not surprisingly, a few ears inched closer to where Mikey and I sat.

"Condition one, I'm going to have to write a Valentine's Day letter to her and deliver it personally."

At this point, some girls actually sighed, so I knew Mikey was keen on accepting. "So that's condition one, and the other?" he replied, still on the testy and unsure side.

"Condition two, I'm not going to tell her who I am. It will be signed, anonymous."

The crowd booed. Some guys nodded, but I could see what they wanted was direct and to the point. No anonymous drama. Of course, I wouldn't allow it.

"Hey hey! Quiet people! I've got a single condition of my own." Mikey bellowed after waving his hands to silence the students.

"My condition is, you have to tell her after. The time and date is entirely up to you. I'm already giving you a luxury here, so you better shake my hand on this one." He replied, making the crowd give silent chuckles. Luxury was beyond comprehension in District Twelve, so I must admit his joke was well placed.

"You have a deal, man." I replied finally, and as our hands were secured, the cheers enveloped again. At that point, even when I bluntly decided to give in to his deal, the concept of telling Katniss Everdeen I've liked her since we were little was beyond my doing.

I remembered staying up one night, trying to fathom even a single sentence beyond "Dear Katniss". I've heard people say in the past that through writing, one can pour their hearts out better than words. Well, to be honest, either through my tongue or through my pen, I thought I've got as much chance to have a decent talk with Katniss as a baby winning the Hunger Games.

So I decided to use very little of my own words. Thinking of song that used to be popular when my grandparents were teens, I proceeded to write some of it down. When I finally read it, it precisely said whatever I felt in a single stanza. The letter read:

Dear Katniss,

Where is your boy tonight?

I hope he is a gentleman.

Maybe he won't find out what I know.

You were the last good thing about this part of town.

I took this out of a really old song from Fall Out Boy from one of the CDs my grandparents left lying around. Hope you like it. It says exactly what I feel. Happy Valentine's Day.

Anonymous.

It took a while for Katniss to process everything Peeta said. Sure she was very comfortable huddled with his arms around her in front of a warming fire, but even the ease of the environment couldn't mask her shock. Once he finished, she stared at him in a profound yet pleasantly surprised way, and this led to Peeta being confused as well. For once, he didn't know if he played his cards right with dumping all this on her in one night.

"Damn it. Now you must be horrified." Peeta laughed, brushing a strand of hair from her face.

"Oh my God… Peeta… it…. You wrote that?" Katniss' reply came out, stuttery.

"You expected something better I know."

Katniss shook her head. "No Peeta. You don't understand. That was the only Valentine's Day card I ever received!"

Now it was Peeta's turn to be shocked. "But… surely…. Gale maybe…"

"No, he never did." she replied, shaking her head again. "His… feelings for me are quite new. But really Peeta, that….letter….was….so sweet that…. I kept it."

Her attention was now focused on fiddling her fingers and trying to prevent the blush in her face from spreading further. "I…dug around for hours in my dad's room trying to find the CD where that song was….. when I found it….. I…."

Her nervous laughter only succeeded in making Peeta all the more curious. "You did what?"

"I actually hugged the CD player. I loved the song so much." She said, looking up at him again, smiling. Peeta remembered the times he actually caught a genuine smile on her face, and he could only count them with one hand. He smiled right back as he was glad this moment was one of the few times he saw her smile. Really smile.

"So now, what are you gonna do now that you know it's me?"

"I'll just have to fill in the blanks myself." Katniss said softly as Peeta recognized that she used his own words.

As they quietly kissed, they both realized one thing. They could fool the Capitol. They could fool the cameras with their acting. They could fool the audience even. But they couldn't fool themselves and what they felt.

Would you give me one more minute?

The story's far from finished

We could fill in all the pages.

I'm feeling sick

Girl you're so contagious

-Contagious by Boys Like Girls

AN: Fluffy ending, out. XD Hope you liked that ending guys. Oh, and who do you guys think should play Katniss and Peeta in the Hunger Games movie? My pick for Peeta is Kellan Lutz. I've seen pictures of him blonde, and it works! My pick for Katniss maybe is…. JoJo. I know it sounds weird here, but I've seen a pic of her with dark brown hair, and it may not be black, but she's the closest to Katniss I know in celebrities. Plus, she's got the olive skin look, the singing, and the acting down pat, so no problemo. Tell me what you guys think! ;) Oh, and don't forget to review the story of course. XD