Johanna and Katniss exchanged glares at each other whenever they saw each other. Johanna's were mocking – "I bet you still wish you could have me!" – and Katniss' were an indignant reply – "Ha, like you don't feel the same way about me!" It was like a game, almost. A silent contest where neither wanted to give in to the other, to admit that, yes, they did want her. The wordlessly agreed terms seemed to be that whoever was the first to speak to the other would lose. They were both stubborn and proud enough to have dragged the dispute out over a couple of weeks now.

It was almost ironic, because nothing screamed "I like you" quite like a vehement refusal to admit it.

Johanna had managed to miss that fact because she was actually finding the game a lot of fun. Silently getting on Katniss' nerves was becoming one of her favourite pastimes, whether it was through purposefully bumping into her in the corridors or just smirking at her whenever she got the chance.

She was also determined to be the winner.

That was why, when she spotted Katniss getting the books out of her locker one day in a room that was otherwise empty, Johanna decided to stride right up to her and tap her on the shoulder. She was hoping she'd surprise Katniss into speaking before she could turn around and see who it was - but she didn't fall into the trap.

Instead, she just turned and looked at Johanna, both un-amused and unimpressed.

In response, Johanna shrugged in a "it was worth a shot" sort of way.

Katniss rolled her eyes and returned her attention to packing her rucksack. Johanna had a plan, however. She was going to stay here, she was going to annoy her, and she was going to keep on doing so until Katniss finally gave in.

So, she positioned herself a little closer behind Katniss, and placed a finger on her shoulder. She felt the girl's muscles tense a little. Slowly, she traced a route along the fabric of her jumper, towards her neck, patiently awaiting a reaction. She could see Katniss clench her jaw, but to Johanna's curiosity, there was no other movement to make note of. No attempts to brush Johanna hand off, or to move away even though there was nothing keeping her here.

Or maybe there was.

The tip of Johanna's index finger had reached the edge of Katniss' jumper, and leisurely but deliberately, she moved it onto the skin of her neck. Still Katniss remained motionless. Johanna, now a little more tentative, trailed her finger upwards, accidentally finding Katniss' pulse point in the process. Whatever Katniss was thinking right now, her heart sure was beating fast. Was it fear, or was it something else?

It was only then that Johanna realised her own pulse wasn't exactly going at a steady speed either. She frowned. Somewhere along the line, she'd completely lost track of what she was actually trying to do. What had her plan been again?

But she didn't have a chance to feel perplexed for long because then Katniss suddenly span around and wrapped her arms around the older girl, bringing her in for a kiss.

It was pretty similar to their first kiss in that there was nothing gentle about it. Johanna's mind was yelling that this was not what was supposed to be happening, but she couldn't pull herself away. They were both a little out of breath and red in the cheeks when it ended.

"Does that mean I won?" Johanna asked after a pause.

Katniss tilted her head and said with a smile, "No, because now I've won. You spoke first."

"But you kissed me," Johanna stated.

"The terms were that we couldn't speak to each other," Katniss countered matter-of-factly.

Johanna crossed her arms. "We never specified that. It's obvious that a kiss wins out on talking."

"Just admit that you lost."

"Never," Johanna said forcefully.

"You're ridiculous, you know that? It's obvious that you lost, and it's also obvious that you like me."

Johanna shrugged. "But you like me too."

"Unfortunately," replied Katniss. It was said teasingly, and Johanna caught herself smiling in response.

"Like you could find anyone better than me," she said with a small grin.

"Is that another challenge?"

"No," Johanna replied hastily. "It's obviously true, so it would be a waste of both your time and my time."

Katniss arched an eyebrow. "Why your time?"

"Because it's time you could be spending with me." The words had come out too quickly for Johanna to stop them, or reword them, and now they were hanging there awkwardly between them. Damnit, she thought. Why doesn't life have an undo button?

Meanwhile, Katniss' eyes widened a little, but then they settled into an amused look. "You make it sound like you're jealous at the thought of me with someone else."

Johanna snorted in response, reinforcing her walls again. "How?" she asked disparagingly. "It only seems like that to you because that's what you want it to seem like."

"And because it's true," said Katniss.

"Except it's not."

"I find that hard to believe."

Johanna glowered. "Let's get something clear – when I implied that I liked you, what I meant was that I liked kissing you. There's a difference." She punctuated her words sharply. "You, as a person? Well – you kind of get on my nerves."

Katniss couldn't help herself from laughing. "You're a terrible liar," she said.

"Or maybe I'm telling the truth," retorted Johanna crossly.

"If you could just put your pride aside for one second, we could actually have a conversation that wasn't an argument," Katniss sighed. "Look, Johanna – I like you, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I don't understand why you can't do the same. It's not like it would catch me by surprise."

Johanna didn't like where this was going. She had her reasons for not wanting to open up. She was Johanna Mason, after all, and Johanna Mason didn't have crushes. Johanna Mason didn't want relationships. Johanna Mason knew better.

"I – I can't," she said.

Katniss frowned. "You can't what?" she asked, concerned.

"I can't."

Then she broke away, readjusting her bag on her shoulder, and she walked out of the locker room without a goodbye. It seemed to be how so many of their conversations ended.

"Jeez, Finnick, don't you get tired of all those girls following you around?"

The golden boy was almost constantly surrounded by people. However, they scattered whenever they saw Johanna headed their way.

Finnick shrugged. "Don't you get tired of only having me to talk to, as brilliant as I am?" People always found their friendship bizarre – there was Finnick, who was practically on good terms with everyone, and then there was Johanna.

She nudged Finnick playfully. "You'd be hurt if I left you."

"I would be," Finnick said truthfully.

"Because you think I'm awesome."

"I do."

"And I'm not just here for your pretty face."

This resulted in a frown. "Johanna," Finnick said, sounding confused, "Where exactly are you headed with this?"

"I don't really know," Johanna mused dismissively. "You know I'm more of an 'act first, think later' sort of person."

"Yeah," said Finnick with a nod, "but it's rare you start saying things that make no sense."

"Well, if you're worried that I've lost my mind, I haven't," Johanna assured. "Not yet, anyway," she added jokingly.

Finnick smiled. "That's a relief. I don't want you becoming a mad axe murderer."

"You'd be first on my hit list," Johanna said light-heartedly. "But anyway, are you free tonight? Do you want to go see a film or something?"

"Sure," he said almost immediately. "Homework can wait." Then he paused and thought for a second. "Am I allowed to ask why?"

Johanna had already prepared an evasive reply. "I just need to take my mind off some things for a while. Sit back, relax, and all that."

A look of mild concern crossed Finnick's picture-perfect features. "Is this about that thing you refuse to tell me about? Because you can trust me, Johanna. You know you can."

"Yeah, so I'm trusting you to stop asking me about it." She sounded a little harsher than she had intended to. She did trust Finnick, but honestly, she was embarrassed to tell him the truth. It was why she kept being so defensive about it.

Finnick wasn't perturbed though. "All right," he sighed. He knew better than to push Johanna. "Meet me out front after lessons."

AN: I have an ending in mind for this now, so there'll probably only be one more part. Maybe two.