PEETA POV

Katniss and I finish the breakfast that took me half the morning to make. She seemed to have enjoyed it, which is good.

I look at Katniss, looking beautiful in a green and white blouse and black pants. I look at my own attire, myself in a green shirt and also tan pants. Suddenly I feel foolish trying to dress up to impress this girl in front of me.

Katniss sees me looking at myself and asks, "What was with the outfit anyway? Isn't it kind of dressy for breakfast?"

I shrug, as if it's no big deal trying to pick out an outfit and fifteen minutes. "Just thought I'd impress you, that's all." I pause. "Wait, green is your favorite color, right?"

Katniss smiles. "Yes. And I know orange is yours."

"Well, at least that's what you told me." I smile, seeing Katniss laugh. Looks like today will be a great day.

Katniss and I finish cleaning up, when she mentions a name I really don't want to hear right now. "Hey, do you think we could go visit James? I want to see how he spends his day."

I sigh, without realizing it. "What is it?" Katniss asks.

"Nothing." I say quickly. "I think it's a great idea. I'm a little curious too." This isn't a lie. I actually want to see what this so called James does here in District 12.

"Okay, great. Thanks, Peeta." She kisses me on the cheek, which satisfies my insecurities. For now, at least.

Later, Katniss and I are walking to the town center. I changed into more casual clothes, jeans and a white t-shirt. Katniss is still in her same pretty clothes, I notice.

Katniss isn't sure where exactly James lives, so we're just going to the place she ran into him. When we get there, Katniss suggests we go into the store that she remembered James was coming out of. Sure enough, when we get inside, James is behind the counter, arranging merchandise. He looks up, face brightening when he sees Katniss.

Eyes on her, he says, "Hey, I didn't think I'd see you here." Then, as if noticing me for the first time, he says, "Oh, and hey Peeta. Nice to see you again, too." Is it just me, or does he sound less enthusiastic. I just shrug it off.

Katniss says, "So do you own this place?" She looks around, and so do I. It's a small shop, with a bunch of things like rice, grain, to paper and pencils. Pretty much everything you might need is in here.

"Nah, I just work here." James says. "Trying to support myself. I could use the money." I look over at Katniss to see a guilty look on her face. She probably feels bad that she has so much money to waste, while James has almost nothing. He notices her expression, and smiles sadly. "Don't," he says. "I am perfectly happy the way I am."

Just then, someone enters the store. A cute, brown haired girl comes in. She looks around our age, with blue eyes. When she sees James, her whole face lights up, and she walks over to him by the counter. "Hey, James!" she says.

He smiles warmly at her, tearing his eyes away from Katniss. "Hey, Thia. How may I help you?" The blonde girl giggles. I look at Katniss again, remembering how she giggled the night before. It's an extremely rare thing, coming from her. This thought brings a smile to my face.

"What?" ask Katniss.

"Nothing," I say. "I was just remembering how you giggled last night." She blushes, remembering that moment also.

"I really did, huh?" she shoves me slightly. "Idiot."

"What did I do?" I ask seriously.

Katniss can't help but smile. "For making me act all girly, like her." She gestures at the blonde, flirting with James.

"You're not like that. Nope, not at all."

"Yeah, I can usually control myself." I look at Katniss, surprised.

"Control yourself?"

She blushes, looking down. She says softly, "Peeta, you don't know the effect you have on people."

I smile, and remember how I said that very thing to her before our first Games, and she didn't believe me back then. Now, things are different. I lean down and aim to kiss Katniss on her mouth, but she turns her head, so that I kissed her cheek instead. She pushes me away.

"Not in public!" she whisper shouts, looking around.

I laugh, and say, "I couldn't care less who sees us." She doesn't catch the double meaning in my words.

Katniss changes the subject. "They would make a cute couple. He needs someone after what he's been through."

I give her a sidelong glance.

"What?" she asks.

"Nothing." She obviously doesn't believe me. "Okay, fine. I was just thinking that, well, you seem sort of attached to someone who you've know for barely twenty four hours now." I shrug, as if I don't really care, but I really do.

Katniss looks like she honestly doesn't know how to respond. It takes her a couple of seconds to respond. "Well, it's like I told you. There's just no pressure with him. It's comfortable being around him, I guess."

We watch James smile as he talks to Thia. At least he's not looking at Katniss.

As if he could read my mind, James remembers us. "Hey, Katniss! Sorry, I forgot to introduce you to my friend Thia. She's been my friend ever since I moved here."

Katniss and I walk over. "Hey, Thia." I greet her.

"Hi," she says shyly.

"Hi, Thia." says Katniss. Katniss smiles at her. Thia doesn't say anything. She is in shock, seeming to recognize exactly who she's meeting.

"Katniss Everdeen?" she says, as if not believing Katniss is actually alive and well. Then she turns to me. "And Peeta Mellark?" Thia blushes, and her look describes nothing but star struck.

James says, "I bumped into Katniss yesterday, and we immediately became friends. It's like fate, us bumping into each other." James' voice is bright, and hopeful. Embarassingly, it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.

At the word fate, Thia seems to snap out of her faze. She looks atJames, looking alarmed. "Fate?" Her voice is small, and I wonder if James sees how much this girl adores him. Probably not, he's too busy looking at Katniss.

"Huh?" he asks, looking away from Katniss' face. Thia shakes her head, as if not to worry about it, but I know she knows she has competition.

Thia looks at Katniss, all trace of adoration and worship gone. She scrutinizes Katniss from head to toe. I scoot a little closer to Katniss, just in case Thia decides to attack. You never know. The things you do for love.

James, of course, went back to staring at Katniss. Katniss looks a little, or should I say a lot, uncomfortable. She scratches the back of her head, and looks at me. I know what she wants, so I save her from the awkwardness by saying, "Um, Katniss, weren't you supposed to be going hunting today? I think Greasy Sae asked for some more game the other day."

Katniss catches on immediately. "Oh yes! Thanks Peeta, I almost forgot." She turns to James, ignoring Thia's intense staring. "Sorry, James, but the woods are calling out to me."

James, disappointed says, "Aw, so soon? You just got here."

"Yeah, I have things to do. I'll stop by another time, kay?" James cheers up again at the news, and smiles, showing his teeth. This guy is really optimistic.

He gives Katniss a wave as we walk towards the door, and looking at her, says, "See you guys later." I guess that was his way of saying bye to me too. Thia waves stiffly, and with every step we take away, she seems to relax a bit. When we are walking out the door, we hear her say, "So James, I was wondering if maybe for lunch we could…"

As soon as we leave the store, I grab Katniss' hand. Katniss says, "That was weird."

I laugh, "Yes, it was." I squeeze her hand. "So, what now?"

Katniss pulls me toward the Victor's Village. "Now, we go to the house and change. Then, I teach you how to hunt like a man. And then maybe, you'll reach my level. I doubt it, though."

I laugh again. Here we go.

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