Hey Everyone, I know I said that I was changing my update day to Thursday...but I am unable to tomorrow (bad timing I know). I made this chapter a little longer because I won't be able to send out previews till Tuesday. I REALLY CAN'T THANK YOU ALL FOR THE READS/REVIEWS/FAVORITES/FOLLOWS! You guys are literally the best readers around! I will shut up now so you can get to today's chapter! I love you guys! Hehehe :)
And I'm pretty surprised by what I see…
"Hi Peeta." I can't help the single laugh that escapes my lips when I see Peeta at my doorstep with safety goggles on. He gives me his signature Peeta smile and walks in tugging in several bags of tools behind him. His blue eyes are bright and shining brighter than last night.
"Ready to get the rest of these horrible hardwood floors out of your living room?"
"Past ready."
"Well then let's get started." I sit down on the floor next to Peeta while he selects what tool he's going to attempt to use to get the flooring up. If I didn't know any better I'd swear that he didn't have a clue as to what he was doing. I pull out a couple larger crowbars and hand one to him with a smirk.
"So…I was thinking I'd help you out today…if that's alright." I raise an eyebrow to mock what I see as his cluelessness in the department of tools.
"Yeah…that'd be great. Thanks. But if you don't mind…can you do me a favor?"
"Sure." I immediately regret saying yes before hearing what he wanted me to promise. I bite the inside of my cheek and look around the room. Peeta extends his hand and I see him holding out a pair of safety goggles identical to his. I crack and a smile escapes, I slowly take the goggles and pull them on.
"Can't have you losing one of those beautiful silver eyes…"
"Peeta…you're blind if you-" Peeta puts his finger to my lips.
"I'm entitled to an opinion. You don't always have to fight back Katniss…" He half smiles and before my cheeks can turn completely red I look down and get my bearings.
"Let's start on the floor…"
"Alright."
Me and Peeta work in silence for little while. I can't take the silence, and I have come to realize Peeta isn't going to push me and be the one to break the silence.
"How long do you think the project will take?"
"Already tired of me in your house huh?"
"No…I was-just-I-I mean…"
"With you working by my side…I'm thinking no longer than a couple weeks."
"Thank you for helping me with this." I smile shyly and look at me feet.
"I'm glad I can help."
We have a few conversations throughout the whole day, with Annie's help for the first half, but most of the time I try to fight the weird feeling in the bottom of my stomach and stay focused on the floors and not cutting myself with the wood chips flying everywhere. Annie leaves half way through the day to look around twelve, and it honestly makes me nervous being here with Peeta alone, now who will break the awkward silence?
By four in the afternoon I am exhausted. I am panting and my arms feel weak after not using them for so long. After the entire day of tearing up floors my arms are guaranteed to be sore tomorrow.
"Peeta…I'm tired, can we stop for today?" I watch Peeta pull up one last plank of wood. I stop and take a look around and realize we have finished tearing up the entire living room. I break out in a smile to see the hard flooring vanish. Peeta stands up and smiles down at me.
"Just let me haul the wood out of here and I can be out of your hair for the rest of the day."
"You know it's not like that…it's just, I'm just tired Peeta.."
"You can go lie down and I'll haul the wood out and tell you when I'm done."
I nod and walk back to my bedroom and flop onto the bed. I feel like I have just closed my eyes when I hear a knock on my bedroom door.
"Hey Katniss…the wood is gone. I'm leaving now. But I did bring you some food I baked this morning before I came over." He gently smiles and waits by the door way. I look down at the bag and it reads:
Bonfire tonight? My house? Six-ish?
I give him a half smile and give a slight nod. Peeta waves "See you tonight." I hear the door click shut and I can't help the feeling I get in my stomach. After a whole day of holding in this feeling I'm ready to just let it run its course. I pull open the bag and eat the cookies Peeta brought me. All of a sudden I hear yet another knock at the door. Did Peeta forget something? I swing the door open while I swallow my last bite of cookie, I find myself almost choke on it when I see who is at the door…
"Plutarch?"
"There's my beautiful Mockingjay!"
My eyes are open so wide they feel like they just might pop out of my head at any moment. The last of the cookie seems to be lodged in my throat and I begin coughing what sounds like my lung out. My face heats up from the last of air, the mush that was my cookie sits on Plutarch's black shiny capital shoe. I look up and wipe my mouth, he shakes his head in utter disgust, and he must want something since he does not seem to be angry about his shoe.
"Sorry."
"It's quite alright Katniss dear…" He grabs my shoulders and pulls me into something between a hug and a squeezing me until I can't breathe. I ease back and look into his light brown eyes and search for the lie beneath them. Knowing Plutarch there has to be some kind of angle, as to why he left his large home in the capital.
"What do you want from me Plutarch?" He sighs out and flits his eyes around.
"Why does there have to be something in it for me when I simply want to come and see my favorite star crossed lovers?"
"No Plutarch. We won't do an interview."
"But Mockingjay—I mean Katniss. Would it not be better for me to do it than the paparazzi?"
"You hire some of the paparazzi, for your little magazine."
"Okay…but I can keep them off your backs if you just do an interview or two with me."
"No way. I refuse." I shut the door without another word to Plutarch and walk into my living room and throw myself onto the couch and kick my feet up.
"Come on Katniss! Open up!"
"Not going to happen!" It takes about an hour before either of us speaks out.
"I guess I'll just have to go talk to Peeta and Haymitch."
I jump to my feet. The last thing we need is the ever so perfect Peeta running his mouth and agreeing to some insane interview with me and Haymitch. By the time I open the door and look around I see Plutarch walking up Peeta's front steps. I run out barefoot and I reach his porch as Peeta answers the door. I am bent over trying to catch my breath. I hold my hand up and breathe out a few words. "Don't. Agree. To. Anything." Peeta grabs the hand I extended and pulls me into his house and into a chair. "How's my favorite crazy, mixed up, hijacked half of the star crossed lovers?" Plutarch laughs at his own joke and turns a little pink in his cheeks. Peeta's jaw clenches, he snaps his head around to Plutarch and jerks his arm towards the door.
"Plutarch, out. Now!"
"Aw come now bread boy calm it down. I was just kidding."
"First off, don't ever call me that again. Second off, did you not hear me when I told you to get your ass out of my house?" Plutarch is taken back by the unexpected fire from Peeta. He stumbles backwards and shuts the door behind him. Peeta's eyes soften when they turn back to me and he just holds my hand.
"Tell me what happened…"
I nod and proceed to tell Peeta about Plutarch's request for an interview. Peeta's eyes fill with pure anger.
Not venom, but just plain anger.
"I can't believe he thinks we'd just…hop back into the spotlight like that." Peeta's fists tighten. I rest my hands on them and they slowly release the pressure.
"I know…Peeta. You won't agree to an interview without me…will you?"
"I'd never do that. After all if I gave them an interview it doesn't mean they'd leave you alone. It'd just make them hunger for the whole star crossed lovers act." I nod and stare down at my feet.
"I never want to do another interview, with Ceaser, with Plutarch. With anyone, or for anyone in the capital…"
"Me either."
"Thanks for backing me up Peeta."
"Hey we started this thing of the star crossed lovers together. We're going to end it together."
I feel my mouth gape open ever so slightly, and I resist the urge of blushing that creeps up on me. The tugging of the smile is almost impossible for me to control but I catch it just in time. Peeta closes his eyes and lets out a soundless laugh and gives me a toothless smile.
"I-I'm-sorry…I didn't mean we were together in that way or anything... I just meant-" He opens his eyes at me and looks up at me from the floor. I go out on a limb and kiss his forehead quickly.
"It's alright. I know exactly what you meant." I give a quick half smile and stand up to my feet.
"Well I guess that's enough drama for the "star crossed lovers" for one day." Peeta rises to his feet and scratches the back of his head in embarrassment over his last comment. "I think so too. I guess I'll see you tomorrow and we'll start tearing up the hardwood floors in your hallways." Peeta walks me to the door, I take one step out into the brisk wind and clouds threatening yet another round of snow. Peeta waves goodbye and sets his hand on the edge of his door to close it.
"So, does that mean I'm uninvited to the bonfire tonight?" His eyes widen in horror.
"I'm sorry Katniss, I thought you wouldn't want to after Plutarch coming by."
"Aw come on. Since when have I let Plutarch keep me from something I want to do?"
Peeta smiles brightly down at me, this time it's me that waves goodbye. I start walking back home, and decide to keep walking over to Haymitch's. Haymitch's porch was removed long ago after he fell down it and cut his own drunken face. I walk up the long pathway and knock on the door with force hoping he's not too drunk to open the door. I hear someone fumble to turn the door knob. Great, I have drunk Haymitch again.
The door creaks open and I'm greeted by that same ugly goose face that is Bernard. I let out a squeak of a squeal and jump back several feet. Haymitch comes to the door soon after and scoops up Bernard. "Good girl Dudley." Haymitch throws the goose back into the depths of his house and motions for me to follow him inside. I tuck the stray strand of hair behind my ear, control my shaking legs and follow Haymitch into his house. I'm not surprised by the strong smell of liquor radiating from his house. I decide to stop breathing through my nose, I walk into the living room and instead of the normal mess I'm used to I am greeted by something completely different. I take a look around the room and realize it's not shirts that are covering the room.
Its geese.
Not just Bernard or the one Haymitch called Dudley. It's at least twenty of them.
"What is this Haymitch?!"
"What? You mean all the geese?"
"No Haymitch I mean the water ring on the coffee table." I shoot him a sarcastic glare and he sends one straight back to me.
"You can't be serious that you got these just for that devil of a goose, Bernard."
"Oh course not. Maybe I enjoy their company…" I shake my head in dismay and roll my eyes. Someone has spiraled downhill majorly since the war.
"What even brings you to my house?" He shoots me a half annoyed, half confused look and picks up two of the geese by their feet and hold them upside down. "Don't Bernard and Dudley make a lovely couple?" Okay he's definitely still the same drunk I've always known. Maybe a little less bitter.
"Haymitch…how do you even know which one is Bernard anymore?...They all look the same."
"I think I know my own children." Okay he's lost it. More than me and Peeta combined. One of the stupid geese won't stop pecking me. I look down at it and see a small scar on the beak and I kick it a few feet away.
"Umm Haymitch. I found Bernard. The little idiot tried to bite."
"My lord, you're right!" Haymitch tosses the male goose he had been holding and strokes Bernard.
"I just came here to make sure you don't sign any of us up with an interview with Plutarch. Okay?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Now if you're just going to sit here kicking my geese you may leave now."
Bernard makes one more bite at my ankle and stare at this goose. "I'll still cook you." I shut the door behind me and hear Haymitch let out happy drunk laughs as he jumps around with his geese. I guess we all have our way of dealing. But I know I'll never resort to geese. Terrible creatures they are. I fall onto my couch in relief that I was able to be rid of Plutarch so easily. I doze off to sleep for a few hours.
By the time I wake up it's going on fifteen till six. I run back to the bathroom and shower off the sweat from the last round of nightmares and pull on a long sleeve solid grey shirt, and some jeans. I throw on a red scarf as I begin to think of how cold the air was with the sun up earlier. I braid my hair back sloppily and look at myself in the mirror. I look dreadful with the black bags under my eyes, but I walk out into my backyard and head for Peeta's I see him bent over trying to start a fire and I crouch down beside him and smile at him. "Here let the girl on fire, give it a go." I take the match and the fire ignites as soon as it touches the wood. Peeta chuckles at his own ignorance, and pulls out a blanket for us to sit on.
"You look beautiful as always."
"Ha ha ha. Let's stop lying." I sit closer to Peeta then I had originally intended on, but the warmth of his body seems warmer than the fire itself. We sit in an awkward silence for a while before Peeta breaks it.
"I saw you head over to Haymitch's. How is he doing, I haven't seen him in a while."
"He's good only half drunk. But…he has found at least twenty more geese friends…"
"More than just Bernard?!"
"A ton more."
"Wow…but hey, at least he found a way to distract himself."
"I guess so…"
"I brought out some food I made." He motions towards a basket a few feet behind us. I reach back for it happily and open it to find a lot of the same food from our cave feast. I pull out the rolls that are still warm and hold them one in my hands for a few seconds before devouring it.
"Glad to see you got your appetite back."
"Your food always makes me hungry."
"Well that's a good thing isn't it?"
"Well depends, are we talking about my stomach getting filled or me getting fat?" He raises an eyebrow at me and I realize I don't have that excuse anymore. Since the war ended I have lost fifteen pounds, and honestly I look pretty sickly on a day to day basis.
"Right…I need to eat more."
Me and Peeta finish the food over about an hour's time. I decided I was going to pace myself so I wouldn't puke it all up. Even though Peeta offered to make the food for me, all over again. I feel exhausted after having a full stomach, I end up falling asleep with my head resting on Peeta's shoulder. He keeps his arm around me for what he says is warmth…but we both know it's feelings on his part. On my part…I haven't the slightest idea. I nap without nay nightmares and when I wake up I find Peeta staring down at my face.
"Sorry… I wasn't watching you the whole time…"
"Of course you weren't. How long was I asleep?"
"Four hours…"
"Why did you let me sleep so long? I thought we were going to hang out. Not me napping like always."
"You didn't have any nightmares like when we shared a room in the second games. I couldn't bring myself to disturb that." Did I really not have any nightmares? I let out a light laugh and pull myself to my feet.
"I better get back home Peeta…"
"Alright. Thanks for coming over here."
I smile groggily in response, my eyes wander and I realize all the hardwood floors from my house has vanished from the pile in Peeta's yard. "Peeta…was our bonfire my living room floor?" Peeta lets out his endearingly loud laugh and throws his head back.
"I thought you'd like that."
"I do…" I let out a couple seconds of laughs and contain it quickly.
"Don't do that…be shy about your smile and laugh. It's beautiful. Just like you."
I blush again only proving Peeta's point further. I feel something nudge my legs with force and I stumble into Peeta's arms. We look up at each other for only a moment and I shy away. I kick that stupid goose, Dudley, Bernard. Who or whatever it is; and breathe out in embarassment.
"I'll see you in the morning Peeta."
"Alright. See you then…"
I watch Peeta go into his house and I begin to head back to mine. I smile at the ground, I look up to start to start on the pathway of my house, and something bright flashes in my eyes.
"Smile Mockingjay!"…
Hey Guys! What did you think about today's chapter? Hate it? Love it? Let me know! I'd love to hear everybody's thoughts on the direction I'm taking this story! Don't forget to review for your preview of next week's chapter! I can honestly say I enjoyed writing this chapter, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it hahaha :) I am looking forward to talking to you guys soon! Stay lovely and wonderful! Till next time my dears!
~Freezethemoment