For the next week, I'm working so hard recording songs and doing talk shows and photo shoots. Johanna decided she doesn't want to be in movies, she wants to be in a band. So now she's in my band.
I drag myself to the front door at three in the morning. I slam it behind me and eye the stairs. "Damn you, Peeta!" I moan, dropping to my knees. I pass out from sleep deprivation.
…..s…
I wake nestled in my bed, not Peeta's. I stare at the ceiling for a long time, thinking.
I may not have been raised with love, but I was raised in a family where you don't live with a boy unless you're married.
I'm practically shaming my family. I was only living with Peeta to get money to get a house for Johanna and I.
I have enough money to get a house bigger than Peeta's. So I'm moving out.
I throw my covers off and drag myself downstairs.
"So…are you going to tell me what I did last night before you passed out?" Peeta asks when I walk into the kitchen.
"You don't have a fucking elevator." I groan. He laughs.
"Well my apologies." He says. Johanna is sitting on the counter. It's only us here. I get out the milk and a glass and fill it.
"I'm moving out." I announce. Both Johanna and Peeta's eyes snap onto mine.
"So am I then, too, I guess." Johanna says.
"Why?" Peeta asks. Johanna looks between the two of us and then walks away.
"Because…" I trail off. I don't want to tell him I'm not moving in with him till we're married. That's going to pressure him. "You said we could move in with you until we got enough money to get a house of our own. I have enough money to buy three of your twenty five million dollar house."
"But…" he struggles to find words, which isn't often. "You don't have to. I don't want you to go."
"Well…" I sigh.
"What's the real reason?" he demands.
"I don't want to tell you…"
"So now you're keeping secrets from me?" he demands. We've never once gotten into a fight, not even when we were fifteen.
"No, but-"
"But what, Katniss?" he demands.
"But I don't want to tell you." I mumble.
"Why?" he's upset.
"Because-"
"Because why?"
"Can I finish a damn sentence without you interrupting me?" I snap. He sighs.
"I'm sorry." He whispers.
"Because I don't want to tell you. It's going to make you pressured and I'm not going to let that happen." I reply.
"I'm not going to be pressured!"
"Yeah you will, Peeta." I walk past him, but he grabs my arm to stop me, making me drop my glass of milk. It shatters on the floor and cuts my foot.
"Shit, I'm sorry. I wouldn't hurt you purposely-"
"I know you wouldn't." I snap. I clean up the mess and he helps me.
"Please just tell me." he begs.
"No! I'm not telling you! I'll tell you some other day!"
"Why won't you tell me! It's not healthy to keep secrets from people!"
"I'm not keeping secrets."
"Yes you are. If you weren't, you would tell me."
"Whatever Peeta," I walk out of the kitchen and back to my bedroom, making sure that he hears the door slam. Johanna walks right into my room and locks the door behind herself.
"What the fuck? Did he fucking cut you?" she asks, livid.
"Of course not. He grabbed my arm and I dropped my glass and it cut my foot." I walk into the bathroom and she follows me.
"So whats the real reason?" she asks.
"I was raised in a family where you don't live with a guy till your married. If I tell him, he'll get pressured into marrying me and I don't want him to be. I want it to be real, not because he wants me around whevener he pleases."
"Oh…I can see why you didn't tell him. So where are we moving?" she asks.
"I haven't got a clue. I've got to work. I have to be at the Esquire photo shoot in like an hour and if I'm late Haymitch'll kill me. And then after that I have to go to GQ for another photo shoot and then I have to go to the studio to record more songs." I start pulling off clothes as I start the shower.
"I don't see why he's so damn angry." She says. "It's not a fucking secret. How the hell is he supposed to know if he's going to be pressured when he doesn't even know what it is? I don't know, I just think it's real retarted." She says. I get in the shower.
"I do too, but he doesn't understand unless I actually tell him. And I'm not fucking telling him because I don't want him to be pressured." I admit. Johanna's been making tons of money because now that she's in the band with me, Haymitch, Jo and I split every cent three ways with Warner Bros.
PEETA'S POV
I supposed I was sort of a jerk to her. She doesn't have to tell me everything. I just really don't want her to move. I'm going to miss waking up with her in my arms. I'm going to miss her, that's all. This house is huge for one person.
KATNISS'S POV
"I'll just go with you to the photo shoots because I have to be with you at the recording studio." Johanna says.
"Alright," I reply as I pull my wet hear back in a braid and pull on a bra and tee shirt and then a pair of jeans and a jacket and vans. Then I pull everything off and pull on black skinny jeans, a black belt, a sea foam green three quarter sleeve shirt and a white scarf and then I braid back my hair, pull on leather boots, grab my purse backpack and white sunglasses. Johanna goes and changes and I get last minute things. She joins me in my bedroom and we go downstairs together.
Now I'm in a bad mood and not in the mood for paparazzi or anything.
"Where are you going?" Peeta demands.
"Work," I reply shortly before walking out of the house.
…s…
For the next six hours, I go through skimpy bathing suits, soaking wet at the first photo shoot, and then the second, I'm in my bra and underwear the whole time staring off into space with the fans or something blowing back my hair. Haymitch and Johanna admit that the pictures look sexy. Look up "Jennifer Lawrence esquire and then Jennifer Lawrence GQ" and you'll see the photos.
By the time we get to the recording studio, I'm exhausted. I record a song and head back home. Johanna and Peeta have to force me to eat dinner, and I half drag myself up the stairs, but eventually, I just lay down.
"Katniss, what are you doing?" Peeta asks.
I try to say "I'm so tired" but the words don't come out properly and they get all jumbled up. He picks me up and carries me to my bedroom.
"Before you fall asleep…" he begins, sitting down next to me. "I love you. I'm really sorry for being rude earlier. I love you."
"I love you too," I mumble. He opens his mouth to say something, but I can't hold my eyes open anymore. The moment they're closed, I'm asleep.
…a…
He must have fallen asleep next to me. I have to pee so badly and I'm all sweaty. I maneuver myself out of his arms and walk into the bathroom, stripping naked and going to that bathroom and then just getting in the shower. Halfway through, he walks right into the bathroom and joins me in the shower.
"What are you doing?" I ask, surprised. He grins.
"Oh baby, I think you know."
….s….
Today I'm on Jimmy Kimmel. I'm going to announce a new album. I'm so exhausted when Cinna rouses me and forces me downstairs to eat something. Nobody is awake yet. He drives for me, stopping at the store to get me an energy drink. By the time we're at the studio, I'm wide awake. He gives me a skintight sunset orange dress and pulls my hair into a ponytail. Haymitch starts instructing me on what to do as Cinna does a bit of makeup on my face and gives me some white heels that I am bound to fall over in.
I wait patiently, and when I'm announced, I walk out onto the stage, smiling and waving. Jimmy Kimmel hugs me and kisses my cheek like every person in the talk shows. People are screaming. We sit down and I cross my legs and patiently wait.
"So…you know, I've been dying to meet you. I met your boyfriend after he wrote the song "Springsteen" and he's really lovely. I met him again just recently, like two days ago, actually." He says.
"Yeah…he's…amazing…" I'm trying not to gush.
"You two are quite hilarious together. I mean, did we all see that video of you two at the store with Peeta's band and your bed friend? I mean, you signed some guys chest and then drew all over him. And kissed him with that staining lipstick!" he shows a picture, and we all start laughing. "I mean…did you even manage to get that off?"
"It took a really, really long time. But yes, we got it off. He had to lay for…I don't know, a few hours, I think. We doused him in hand sanitizer and washed it away with cotton balls. We had to use makeup remover for the lipstick." I laugh.
"Wow…and he wasn't even angry? Not even a little bit?" he asks.
"No…not really. He doesn't really get mad at me that easily."
"Have you guys fought before?" he questions.
I hardly count yesterday as a fight, it was more like a frustrating conversation.
"No…not really…"
"Well…you just has a birthday this past week, didn't you? Your twenty one now!" he says. People cheer again, and I smile.
"Yeah…" I laugh.
"Have you had your first drink?" he asks.
"No…I've been so busy…sorry if I'm talking really fast, I'm really hyper." I say, my leg beginning to bounce.
"Your hyper?" he asks.
"Yes! I'm so tired and my uncle gave me an energy drink on the way here and when I'm tired I get so hyper and I laugh a lot." I giggle and he laughs.
"Why are you tired?" he asks.
"Well I've been working for the past week…so…" I trail off.
"Oh, I see. So we've got a little question game. We're going to ask you some questions about yourself. The world is in love with you and we hardly know a thing about you!" he exclaims. "And after that, we're going to see just how much you know your boyfriend."
"Alright…" I rub my hands together and everyone starts laughing.
"What's up with that?" he asks with a smirk, imitating me.
"I'm the most competitive person you'll ever meet…it's like a disease or something." I smile.
"I see…okay…we have eight questions about you and then…I don't even remember about how many about Peeta." He says.
"Alright." I say.
"First question…what is your favorite color?"
"Forest green," I reply.
"Okay…do you have any siblings?" he asks.
"One…a little sister, her name is Primrose Everdeen." I reply. "She's sixteen."
"Where did you grow up?"
"Springsteen, New Jersey."
"What is the wildest thing you've ever done?"
"The wildest thing? God…I don't know…well, there was this one time, when I snuck out of the house when I was…god, I think I was Prim's age. Yeah, I was sixteen. I snuck out and went skinny dipping in a lake with a ton of my friends. It was so awkward and uncomfortable." People burst out laughing and I just grin.
"Okay…your best friend?"
"Johanna Mason. I've known her since before I can remember."
"Right…favorite food?"
"Oh! Peeta's cheese buns! They're the best."
"Cheese buns? That sounds revolting."
"It's incredible. He makes the buns with a dough that he makes without the box and then he fills the inside with cheese as it cooks and outs cheese on the outside. If you eat them right away, the cheese is melted and gooey and incredible…"
"Okay, that sounds amazing now!"
"Yeah…they're incredible."
"Your tattoos. When did you get them? What's the story for that?"
"Well…after Peeta and I got back together…Johanna and I snuck out of the house and went to a tattoo parlor at three in the morning and I got a tattoo."
"Alright, who is this girl?" A photo of Prim and I at the lake by my house in Jersey that I went skinny dipping in pops up on the screen. That's when I told her Mom and Dad we're getting divorced. We're both in bikinis, and you can see in my eyes that I'm concerned and listening intently to what she's saying.
I smile, "That's my sister," I reply.
"Wow…" he trails off. "Okay, that's all eight. After this break, we're going to see just how well Katniss knows her boyfriend and then Katniss is going to announce her big news!"
We chat for a while and then he cuts off. "And we're back with Katniss Everdeen!" Jimmy exclaims. "Alright, we've got questions about Peeta for you, Katniss. We have all the answers from him, so let's see…let's start off easy. What's his favorite color?"
"Sunset orange, like this exactly." I point to my dress.
"Correct," he says. Points pop up on the screen. I have five.
"Okay…name every single person in his immediate family. From parents to aunts and uncles and grandparents." He says.
I suck in a long breath.
"Um…okay…his two brothers, Rye and Graham Mellark. His parents, Renee Mellark and Phillip Mellark…" I have to think back to that Thanksgiving I spent with him family when I was seventeen. "Okay…Aunt Athena and Uncle Carl, and then Aunt Peg and Uncle Frank. Then there's Rachel, his cousin, Sara, his cousin, Megan, his cousin, Nicole, his cousin, Aaron, his cousin, Ron, his cousin…" I think for a long time.
"Do you give up?" he asks.
"No, I just haven't seen them since I was seventeen so it takes a while for me to remember." I reply. "Nana and Pa, who's names are Susan and Tom, then Grandma and Grandpa, who are Lydia and Jackson, Uncle Kevin and Aunt Matilda. That's it."
He sighs. I bite my lip, racking my brain for anyone else. "Katniss…your w…" he trails off. People start to boo. "Way too good at this." I breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thank god, I thought you were going to say wrong."
"Okay…how many girlfriends has Peeta had in the past? Who was is first kiss and how did it happen? Who was his first time and how did it happen and how long did he date the girls, you included. And I want the dates they started dating and the dates they stopped." He says. "And how old he was,"
"Okay…he's had two. His first girlfriend was Delly Cartwright. He was thirteen. They started dating on March first and stopped March fifth…same year, 2006. Then I was this second girlfriend. We were fifteen; we started dating May tenth of 2008 and stopped on…" I clear my throat as waves of memories overcome me. "We stopped on June eighteenth of 2011. I was his first kiss, it was on July forth…we were watching the fireworks and he just turned to me and kissed me. I was this first time…we um…" my cheeks heat up and my face goes bright red. People in the audience laugh, "When we were fifteen, his parents and my parents let us go camping together in the forest by my house and…we…had sex…"
"My god, did you guys use protection?" he asks.
"Yes! We did! I think he planned it because he had one…" I clear my throat again. "A condom in his pocket…he swears he didn't but I don't believe him."
"You got all of that right." He says. "Let's get a bit raunchy here." He grins.
"Oh god," I moan.
"Oh don't worry, we're going to do this to him when we get him on the show again." he grins. I grin back. "When was the last time you two had sex and who was in charge, and where did it happen? We made him answer these backstage two days ago. His face was brighter than yours is right now." He says.
"Um…he probably told you on Sunday in the hot tub, but it was actually last night…on Sunday I was…in charge and last night it was kind of whoever." I mumble.
"Last night?" he repeats.
"Yes…I couldn't sleep so I got in the shower and he uh…followed me and I asked 'what are you doing?' and he said 'I think you know'." Everyone starts laughing.
"What is his favorite song?" he asks.
"A thousand years…the one that I sing. He makes me listen to it in the car. It's…uncomfortable." I laugh. "And sometimes he blasts it throughout the house…"
"Okay…this he didn't tell us…how did he get the tattoo?" he asks.
I start laughing and everyone gives me an amused expression. "Okay…when we were seventeen, at three in the morning, he woke me up by throwing rocks at my window, begged me to jump off the roof. He caught me and he took me to the tattoo parlor that his friend owned and got the tattoo. That's what made our breakup a billion times harder because on the way there I was like 'what if we break up' and he said 'we won't. do you love me?' and I said 'more than anything' and he said 'and I love you. why would we ever break up?'."
"Wow…okay, that's all the questions. So…whats your big announcement?" he asks.
"On May third I'm releasing an album."
…..1…..
I drive myself home and Cinna goes somewhere with Haymitch. I stop and do all my Christmas shopping, and on the way home, I see this huge mansion as I take a different route, and it's so amazing that I fall in love with it and I actually pull over and peer into the gate.
And then I call Peeta.
"Hey babe," he says.
"Hey…is Johanna there?" I ask.
'Yeah, why?" he asks.
"Can you and her come meet me somewhere?" I ask.
"Sure babe, why though?" he asks.
"I think I found a house…" I trail off.
"Alright, what's the address?" he asks.
"I don't know…I think it's the Le Belvedere Mansion." I reply. "Wait, I see the address. It's 630 Nimes Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90077."
"Um…okay." He hangs up. I move my car and wait. After fourty five minutes, Peeta's car parks behind mine, and him and Jo get out, gaping at the mansion.
"Holy shit." Johanna says. "That gate is open."
"We're not going to break into the property." I reply. Peeta walks over to the for sale sign and picks up a brochure.
"Shit," he says. "It's eighty five million."
"So? Johanna and I put together can do that."
"She's right," Johanna says.
"There is a French-inspired chateau, which is nice because your entire family is from France and your French. It took more than a thousand workers to build, the living room has three thousdan square feet of entertaining space, the dining room fits 22 people easily, the kitchen is hand finished and has a pizza oven, there is a wine cellar that holds five thousand bottles, it says the bathroom transport you to Europe, there are three family suites in the house with their own bathrooms, there is a huge office that leads out to a balcony, there is professional security and TV monitoring syysten throughout the property and house, and-holy shit!" he gasps.
"What?" Jo and I exclaim together.
"The screening room fits 60n people and is larger than some movie theaters, there is seven water fountains and four have sculptures in the center, a seventy foot infinity edge pool that overlooks the entire city, there are eight rose gardens and a 280 degree of the city from the property, there is room for a hundred guests to dine in the courtyard, and there is a ballroom that fits up to two hundred and fifty people!" he's shocked. "And there's an elevator, 19 fireplaces in and out and a 12 person spa!"
"Oh my god, I'm calling the guy!" Johanna gasps, whipping out her phone and dialing the number on the page.
When the dude pulls up, he looks completely overjoyed and shocked to see that, not only is someone finally looking to get his house, but there are three celebrities. Johanna is considered a celebrity now.
"I'm have happy you're looking at this house. It's been on the market for way to long and I lowered the price as low as I possibly can trying to get it to sell." He walks through the gate and waits for us. "It would come furnished, by the way." He leads up past one of the fountains which is in the middle of the giant driveway.
There is a chandelier right above our heads that is amazing and stunning.
There is three floors and he takes us all around the house, showing us everything and anywhere, every nook and cranny.
"I'll just…be downstairs in the kitchen." He walks away. We're left outside by the pool. It's glass and at the end it sits right at the end of a cliff. If I was in the pool and broke the glass, the water would go gushing down Beverly Hills and take everyone in the pool with it.
"I want this house." Johanna says desperately. "Katniss, I am begging you-"
"I want it too." I reply.
"Seriously?" she asks.
"Yes," I answer. "But we're having Christmas this year here. We can invite your entire family, and yours, and mine, and everyone from the band."
"I'm in." Johanna says.
"Let's do this." I grin.