I do not own The Hunger Games

Chapter Fifteen- Who I can't survive without

(Katniss)

I'm walking down a road. It's been a really long road and I'm tired and ready to go home. I can hear screaming on all sides. I don't recognize any of them, but I do know that I caused them that pain. I can see a fork in the road up a head. I approach it and I suddenly feel torn, because I don't know which way to go. The road on my left leads into beautiful woods and I can feel the game practically swarming through the brush. The path on my right is made of smooth, grey stone. It looks like it leads straight into the sunset. The longer I stare at it the better I feel. The weariness from my journey begins to shed. I see dandelions and primroses blooming in the distance. So without further hesitation I take off running down the stone path. I don't even look back at the woods. All the screams have stopped and my head is echoing laughter, mockingjays, and my dad humming in the breeze. The sun is nearly gone and it's getting darker by the second. I lay down right off the pathway on a bed of grass. I pick a dandelion and hold right by my heart. As I drift to sleep a voice whispers in my ear, "Goodbye Catnip."

"Goodbye Gale." I whisper back while my eyes slide shut.

I wake up in my room back in district twelve. I'm a little disoriented. I thought I was in a meadow…it was so beautiful.

"Where's my dandelion?" I whisper. Then my gut clenches, but before I can freeze I think of all those random acts of kindness I've seen.

It takes only minutes for me to get up and move myself to the shower. My dream rushes back to me. Last night was the first time in a really long time I didn't have a nightmare. But I'm sure it meant something, I just don't know what. The dandelions had obviously connected to Peeta, but why had I said goodbye to Gale? Why had Gale said goodbye to me?

I remember seeing his face last night. At first it was good to see him, it was good to know he was okay, but then I saw my sister on fire. All I could think about was that it was Gale's fault. He did that to her. I tried not to think like that, but I couldn't help it. I remember lying down to go to sleep; I let Peeta leave because I needed time to let go. I needed to be alone to say goodbye to Gale, and to our friendship. I needed time for closure.

I get out, dry my hair and dress in a simple red shirt and jeans. I head downstairs where I hear Peeta thrumming away in the kitchen.

"I was just about to come check on you." Peeta says kissing me on the cheek. "Here, have some breakfast."

We eat quickly and silently.

"I'm going hunting, but not for long." I tell him.

"I'm going to get some painting stuff, and check on the bakery."

I put my hunting boots on and head out the door. It's a hot summer morning. About the same time the games would be ending, which in a way they have. There is no one left to kill, the hunger games are over. My victory tour has begun.

The fence around district 12 is gone, so I can walk straight into the woods. I grab my bow and arrows from behind the tree and begin the hunt.

I scale a tree and sit on a branch, shooting random rabbits or squirrels I see. I lose track of time, and before I know it the sun is higher in the sky.

I jump down and retrieve all my arrows from the prey's eyes. I fill my game bag and head back to town. I first stop at the butchers, making sure he has enough to stay in business. Then I head to Greasy Sae's, she takes three rabbits and two squirrels. She tells me she is working on setting up an actual soup shop; I give her another rabbit and tell her she needs to get cooking then. The last place I go to is a new building that has been rebuilt from the remains of the justice building. It is a large single room with massive windows and bunk beds all along one wall. There is also a large kitchen, but the rest is just open space with a few tables. It is the new, completely legal hob dedicated to making district twelve a better place.

If you don't have a home yet, you can sleep here.

There is always someone cooking something and all the food is free.

And lastly it is a place of trade, although I just bring my game and dump some on a table for people to pick up and put the rest in the kitchen.

I think I would like the place better if it was a place that could make Prim and my mom's life better.

I head back to Victor's Village. I stop by to see Haymitch who is passed out on the couch. I clean up a little, put a blanket over him, and replace that vodka in the bottle beside him with water.

I walk inside my house and wash the sweat of my face and chug a glass of ice-cold water.

"Peeta?" I yell.

"In here!" His voice echoes from the study.

"Again?" I hate it when he's in there. I feel like president snow is going to take him again. President Snow is dead, I tell myself.

Peeta walks out into the kitchen, he has paint all over his face hands, and clothes.

"I've been painting." He says.

"Really?" I say sarcastically.

He laughs, "Very funny. Well I'm going to go take a shower. There is some stew on the stove."

"Yum." I say. He kisses my check and heads upstairs.

I eat some stew and clean up the kitchen. I still hear the water running, so I decide to see what Peeta's been up too.

The study sends blood-curdling chills up my spine; I can almost hear Snow say, I have a problem, Miss Everdeen, a problem that began the moment you pulled out those poisonous berries in the arena. I almost turn away and flee the room but something makes me stay.

The place looks entirely different. The desk has been moved up against the wall and it has paints and brushes all over it. There are paintings everywhere, some that I've seen before. There are paintings from the games, paintings from the victory tour, and paintings from the quarter quell. The most horrifying are the paintings from the times Peeta was being hijacked.

One is a cell, a cold dark metal cell. Another is a hospital room but right next to the patient's bed is a tray of shots containing a yellow liquid. Others are peacekeepers dragging people into rooms, others are torture chambers.

I look way from those quickly, as my stomach twists in knots.

The paintings that are still on stands are of different, happier things. The picture of Prim and I walking home, a picture of me sleeping, a picture of what the bakery will look like when it's done, and a picture of Callie hugging my legs.

I stare at them all for a long time, entranced by their beauty.

"Katniss?" Peeta calls, I'm about to leave when he walks in. "There you are."

He wraps his arms around my waist, "I'm sorry," he whispers. "I know these are hard to look at."

"Not these." I say pointing to the new ones. "These are my favorite."

"I'm glad you like them."

Before he can interrupt or leave, I press my lips to his. It's a short kiss, but it holds a big message. I have said goodbye to Gale. I pull away and he locks his eyes quick, and freezes for a minute.

He "comes out of it" shortly and locks eyes with me. He kisses me quickly on more time, as if to say, I understand.

The rest of the day passes quickly. We read bits of our book and talk about silly stories of the kinds of pictures Peeta and Delly used to draw.

We eat diner and I shower again because I had sweated a lot out in the woods. I climb in bed and Peeta heads upstairs.

"Are you tired?" He asks.

"Mmm, yeah." I answer.

He climbs into bed and pulls me close to him, "Then go to sleep."

"Goodnight." I say back.

"Night." He whispers, kissing my forehead.

Okay, THANK YOU FOR READING, please review! Alright, I hope you understood the dream and why Katniss closed everything with Gale, if you didn't please message me and I will explain. I wasn't sure how to get it across but I did my best. Sorry if this was choppy but I wanted to get it up today. I'll post the next chapter this weekend. PLEASE read my Haymicth story if you liked the part about him and Adeline. Remember to please review!