Katniss was in a panic. Peeta wasn't at the coffee shop for his usual shift on Thursday, and then again when she stopped by early Sunday morning on her way to teach her archery class at the Y. It was like he dropped off the face of the earth. She wished she had asked for his cell number when they met at the art gallery earlier in the week, then she could text him and ask if everything was okay. Her mind raced with a thousand horrible possibilities of why he wasn't at the coffee shop and she practically worried a hole through her bottom lip contemplating what might have happened.

On Wednesday she stopped by the coffee shop, even though she never came by on Wednesdays, on the off chance that his schedule had changed, but still he wasn't there. Finally she couldn't take it any longer; when he wasn't there Thursday evening during his normal shift, she worked up the courage to question another barista. "Where's Peeta?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"He took a leave of absence," the cute brunette with the pixie cut responded. "But he'll be back in a month or so.

"Oh," Katniss tried to hide the disappointment she felt. "I only wondered because I like the way he makes my drink," she clarified, in case the pretty barista thought she cared. But the brunette gave her a quizzical look anyway, before turning to make her drink, which turned out to be way too sweet, the way it always was when Peeta wasn't there to make it.

...

"Peeta!" she found herself raising her voice to call out to him when she saw him ahead of her on the sidewalk near the student center on campus a week later. He turned, and when he spotted her his face broke into his trademark grin. She jogged a little to catch up to him, and then suddenly felt very self conscious about yelling for him and then running after him and stood panting on the sidewalk wondering what to say now.

"You weren't in the coffee shop. I like the way you make my tea," she blurted dumbly.

He laughed, and she remembered how much she loved the sound of his laughter. "No one else can make your tea?" he teased, and then laughed again when he noticed her bottom lip poking out in a pout as she shook her head back and forth in a 'no.'

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you," he said. "I meant to get your number, when we met at the art gallery, and then I thought you might come in to the coffee shop the next day, but I must have missed you."

"Oh," she said and suddenly all her worry seemed so silly and pointless. "Well, when will you be back?"

"In about a month," he explained. "I'm doing an internship and the hours don't work well with my job at the coffee shop. But I'm not quitting permanently, don't worry."

"I wasn't worried," she said, perturbed now that he had made her anxious for the past two weeks. Why should she care anyway? It wasn't like they were anything more than acquaintances. She felt silly and she scowled at him.

"Okayyy," he dragged the word out, most likely confused by her change in demeanor. "Well, do you want to trade numbers now? Just in case?"

"In case of what?" she asked, unable to control the sharp tone that crept into her voice. She didn't like the tight feeling in her chest and all she wanted to do now was run away, away from these confusing feelings that she had whenever he was near her.

He tilted his head and pressed his lips together, clearly deciding how to respond. "That's okay, Katniss," he finally said. "I'll see you around, okay?" His smile was back but it was diminished now. She felt her heart beating erratically in her chest.

She made an exasperated sound, but not for the reason he assumed, and then she thrust her phone toward him. "Put your number in," she commanded, and she watched as he tried unsuccessfully to control the grin that overtook his face. When he was finished and handed her phone back, she immediately pressed call so that he would have her number as well.

"Ok then, I'll see you," she said and turned on her heel before he could respond. She needed to get far away from him, and fast. There was something about the way Peeta Mellark made her feel that she did not understand, and she wasn't sure she even wanted to know what that meant.