I'm sat on the beach, my feet buried in the sand with my hands cupping a plastic cup filled with water. Although I haven't been sick since this morning, I don't trust my stomach and am left eating little snacks and sipping small gulps of water, while everyone else drinks wine. Instead I occupy myself with admiring the sun as it sets in the horizon, out at sea. It's a beautiful scene with the orange sun streaking a rainbow of colours across the sky - something I can imagine Peeta painting, if he's not having too much fun at the party.

Finn is having the best time ever, which means that Peeta is too. But I start to feel a bit tired, my lack of sleep the night before catching up on me so I take a step back from the party and catch my breath. The night still isn't over and I don't want to spoil Peeta's fun by going home early.

But my absence is noticed and soon Peeta is leaving the party and making his way through the sand towards me. "Are you feeling ok?" he asks me softly, falling onto the sand beside me with a worried expression on his face that makes me feel guilty. "You don't feel sick again, do you?"

"I'm fine Peeta," I say, trying to convince him. I reach over and run my fingers down his cheek, smiling lazily. "Just a bit tired that's all."

"Do you want to head back to the house? You didn't sleep well last night," he replies, replicating my caress with one of his own down my cheek and then neck, all the way to my waist, before pulling me closer to his body and the instant warmth that comes with it.

Instinctively, I lean into his chest and surround myself in his warmth. "I'm ok, honestly," I assure him. "Besides, I don't want to miss the fireworks."

"Speaking on fireworks, Johanna sure surprised me with her new girlfriend," Peeta says casually, and when I look up at him, I see that his eyes are on the party, where Johanna and Sophy are in each other's arms. "Did you ever suspect anything?" he asks, returning his gaze to me.

I shake my head; Johanna probably has many secrets that I don't know about. Sophy is just another one on the list. "She'll always be a mystery!" I say, shrugging my shoulders and leaning closer to him. "But she does seem happy."

"I think it's about time she got some happiness in her life. She deserves at least that," Peeta murmurs softly, burying his face in my hair.

From the party, I can hear the calls that indicate the fireworks are about to happen. I fold my hand into Peeta's and squeeze it tight, looking up expectantly to the sky. Behind me, I feel Peeta kiss my hair, resting his chin on top of my head.

All of a sudden, there's a squealing whistle piercing through the air, making me jump back into Peeta's lap. A small rocket goes whizzing up into the sky, flying higher and higher until the whistling dies down, only to be replaced by a deafening boom as light exploded into the sky in a shower of colour.

Peeta's hand grips mine tighter, whilst my jaw falls open at how amazing the explosion is. As the sparks fall from the sky and another rocket is sent squealing through the air, I feel Peeta squeezing me tighter, snapping me out of my amazed trance. I look back at Peeta and see a glazed look in his eyes, instantly panicking.

"Oh no," I mouth, flipping up onto my knees so I'm facing him and looking him right in the eye. I feel so stupid that I forgot about this because even after all these years, the tortures President Snow ordered still affect him. "Peeta," I call out, gripping his cheeks.

I can feel my eyes fill up with water as he makes no indication that he heard me. Instead, I know he is reliving what he went through, just as another firework goes off behind me and the party erupts into cheering. The loud boom seems to bring Peeta back for a second, the glazed look gone from his eyes.

"Go Katniss," he cries, before he disappears within himself and pushes me back onto the sand.

This has only happened once before, when Peeta has managed to break through the flashback and fight with it for control over himself. It can get a bit dangerous, as I have learnt the hard way when he accidently punched me, so I quickly get to my feet and hurry back to the party in search of Johanna.

She's curled up next to Sophy, just like I had just been with Peeta, staring up at the fireworks I'm ignoring. "Johanna," I say a little breathlessly. "Can you go and see Peeta? He's having a fit because of the fireworks."

"Of course," Johanna says, taking me back slightly as she kisses Sophy fully on the lips and climbs to her feet. She collects her sandals and then heads over to where Peeta is sitting.

It's a bit awkward between Sophy and me. Years later and I'm still no good at making friends. But thankfully I'm spared from any conversation by Beetee's timely interruption. He only asks what's happened before I fling myself into his arms, tears streaming down my face and sobs breaking out in my chest. I hear Sophy explain briefly what I told Johanna and then Beetee's soft hands are rubbing themselves up and down my back soothingly.

"I'm so sorry," I sniffle, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "I didn't mean to make this about me."

Beetee lets out a little laugh, pulling back from my embrace. "It's perfectly fine," she says softly. "I should of thought of how the fireworks would affect everyone. I'm the one who's sorry."

"There's nothing to apologise for," I say quickly, not wanting poor Beetee to feel like he's to blame for this. "Peeta would have hated himself if he'd been one of the reasons for not making Finn's birthday the best."

Above them both, there is an echoing boom as the final firework showers the sky in an array of colourful sparks. All around them is cheering.

As I clap along with the rest of the party and watch the tiny red spark fizzle out of existence, I feel myself beginning to yawn and cover my mouth with my hand. The night of bad dreams and the activeness of the day has taken its toll on me and I feel exhausted, which is unusual because I'm usually not.

"You should go back to the house and maybe get some sleep," Beetee suggests kindly, looking up at her in his wheelchair with his wise and warm eyes hidden behind his glasses. "I'll tell Peeta when he comes round."

"Are you sure?" I ask, not wanting to bail on Finn's birthday. I know when Peeta finds out I've gone back, he'll immediately leave, even when I want him to stay to make the most of his time with Finn.

Beetee simply nods, his eyes shining with years of wisdom. "I'll tell Peeta where you've gone," he says, knotting his hands together in his lap. "Just go back to the house and have an early night."

"I guess," I reply in a small voice, twirling my braid between my fingers. "But tell Peeta that I'll be fine by myself. He doesn't have to leave Finn to come and see me." With Beetee's assurance, I give him a quick kiss on the cheek and walk up the beach, leaving the lights of the party in the background. By the time I get back to Annie's house, I'm thoroughly exhausted and I fall asleep still wearing my clothes from that day.

####

My eyes flash open in sheer panic.

Sweat clings to my skin as I sit bolt upright in bed, looking desperately from side to side for some grip on reality – something to pull me back from the terrifying nightmare I was just in. At my side is Peeta, staying warily back for some reason, with eyes warm with concern. I gulp hard and let out a deep breath, flinging myself into his arms.

Peeta's my rock, my reality, my life.

"Do you feel any better?" he asks after a few silent minutes of us embracing. He peers down at me, using his soft touch to pull the hair away from my face. His smile warms me up and pulls a weak one of my own to my lips.

But something in my stomach instantly drops and I can feel something rising in my throat. As fast as I can, I jump out of my bed and run out of the room, across the hall to the bathroom, my hand clamped over my hand. Once through the door, the content of my stomach empties itself into the toilet in quite a violent and disgusting manner.

"Oh Katniss!" I hear Peeta gasp behind me. The next thing I know, hands are pulling the hair from my face and rubbing soothing circles on my back.

When I think everything is over, I flush the toilet and rinse my mouth out with some water. Turning around, I see Peeta leaning against the door frame, his hands raking through his messy hair. "I'm fine now," I say quietly, stepping closer to him. "I think I just ate something funny, that's all."

Peeta immediately wraps his arms around me and tucks my head underneath his chin. "I don't think it's that," he replies softly, running his hands down my hair. "I think it's something else. Something worse."

As he kisses the top of my head and leads me back to our bed, I can't help but think Peeta is right.

Author's Note: Hello strangers. I'm so sorry for not updating this story sooner. A lot has changed in my life and I'm slowly trying to adjust to it all.

But I thought I had to post something because I went to the midnight showing of Catching Fire and I absolutely loved it! Everything was so perfect and I am still so shocked at how good it was. Let me know what you thought of it with a little review, along with any comments you have on the story.

Can you guess what's going to happen next?