Ok, I am truly sorry this took so long! Its just Ireland is currently having some crazy sort of heatstroke (ok, 30 degrees - but thats like SPAIN for us!) and I am on summer holidays so you can imagine...its insane! People are going mad and wearing shorts... IN IRELAND!!!!! :D
ANYWAY! Here is just a short chapter that I threw together in like fifteen minutes so its probably crap! (Sorry!) But its only a bit of a filler, nothing major... (the next chapter will be wild!)
Oh! Also, you are probably all getting seriously annoyed with the changing of POVs thing so I just wanted to let you know that I have now covered all POVs that I will be using (I think!) so I will be alternating between them but not in the same order as they are in now... but if anyone would like to request a POV that I havent used, feel free, Im open minded!
Thanks so much to all who reviewed!! It means a lot! Thanks especially to Montague Disciple who faithfully reviews every chapter and to gethsemane342 for all that helpful advice!
So thanks so much for reading and please review with your thoughts/opinions!
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Chapter Five - Peeta.
There she was.
I felt a painful twist in my gut at the sight of her. But not a twist of hate. No. Despite everything, all the lies, the planning, the acting...
I still loved her.
Thats what hurt the most. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldnt turn it off, couldnt turn away, couldnt let her go. No matter how much she wanted me to. So I had just planned on avoiding her and hoping that with time and seperation, those feelings would fade.
But there she was. Everywhere. All the time. And then here. Leading our generation into an age of freedom and happiness.
Typical.
She just had to be a do gooder. I stared up at her from where I sat in the back row of the clearing in which the secret meeting was being held.
The meeting about a rebellion.
I almost laughed when I realised what she and... Gale... were proposing. That the children start a rebellion this time. No more adults. No more safety nets. That it was time we fought our own battle, suffered our own consequences... And I realised that as she spoke, she was convincing me and everyone else that this would work.
Seeing the look in her eyes and the passion in her voice, I truly did believe what she was saying. Even though I didnt want to.
"It is time to fight back!" she hollered and the words rang through my head.
She was right. It was about time we took a stand.
I looked up to see Gale smiling encouragingly at her as her gaze flickered from him to the crowd.
Blood boiled under my skin when I saw him standing at her right hand side. He was her safety net, her best friend.
He was her everything I would never be.
But where was he at the reaping? Where was he when she faced death over and over again. If I had been in his position, If I hadnt been chosen, I would have stepped up. I would have volunteered to sacrafice my life in order to keep her safe. He could have done it. Its not that good of plan that he wouldnt think of it.
But he just watched, as she stood against all odds, from the comfort of his home. On the telly.
He wasnt there for her when it really mattered. Why couldnt she see that?
"We will fight in justice and in honour..." she bellowed and I found myself nodding with some of the others.
"For our families, for our friends, for our lovers..." I felt a familiar twang in my heart as I noticed the sad look in her eyes as she scanned the crowd.
Then her eyes flitted back to Gale before she continued and I felt heat rise in my veins, anger pulsing throughout me.
"We will fight..." she continued.
Yes. Yes we will fight.
I will fight.
Fight for her.
"It is time to fight back!" she shouted one more time.
And I felt like she was talking to me. If Gale could fight for her then so could I.
"Whos with me?," she finished by asking.
Silence. Dead silence.
Everyone was all for freedom when it didnt mean that their lives were on the line. But agreeing to this meant putting yourself at risk.
Didnt they realise we were already in danger? The Capitol were picking us off one by one.
Or should I say by the two dozens?
There was a roaring of silence in my ears. Katniss shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. She glanced down at Gale at whispered something. He smiled. But when she looked back at the crowd, I wasnt watching her.
I was watching him.
And I saw something in his face, some sort of guilt or shame or fear.
I wasnt quite sure.
But it was there. And I had a feeling that he was keeping something from Katniss.
I had to stop him from hurting her.
My head was screaming all sorts of profanities at me as I tensed my muscles and slowly stood up.
I heard Madges head snap up to stare at me and as if she wanted to protect me, she reached up and clutched my hand in hers from where she sat. It was strange how familiar and comforting that gesture was to me.
Some kid beside us nudged his friend whilst keeping his gaze on me.
I swallowed and said in as steady a voice as I could manage "I am."
My voice echoed back to me in the void of silence.
A breath of a heartbeat passed and then I heard...
"Peeta?," her voice came in a deathly whisper but it carried down to me and wrapped me in its embrace.
The light in the clearing was dim since the boy beside us had turned off his torch so I stepped carefully towards her, untill I could see her face clearly. She looked at me as if I were a ghost. She jumped lightly off of the boulder, onto the ground. She took a few steps forward and then she was just an arms lenght away from me.
I could have done it. I could have reached forward and pulled her into my arms.
But she didnt want me to and I was painfully aware of Gales steady gaze on us.
"Peeta," she said again, only this time it wasnt a question.
And that was all I needed.
I was already filling the gap between us when she threw herself into my arms. I held on tightly, loving the familiar feeling of her in my arms, remembering what it felt like to kiss her.
And then I did.
Right there in front of Gale and Madge and every child in the Disrict, I pressed my lips firmly to hers and felt an electric shock run through me when I felt her move her lips with mine, kissing me back subtly. I clutched her face to mine, then reluctantly let her go. I smiled down at her, hoping to see the old Katniss.
But she looked at me through troubled eyes, awkward and uncomfortable. She swiftly stepped out of my arms.
"I missed you," I muttered and she nodded nochalantly.
She cleared her throat, shame burning in her eyes and I wished I could smooth the creases from her brow "So... so you're in?".
"Yeah," I nodded, keeping up with her unspoken rule of light-heartedness, when inside I was smouldering like dark coals, "I think I am."
"Me too," called a soft voice from the back and I saw Madge stand up to join me.
"Madge..." I grimaced up at her "Are you sure you-"
"I'm a big girl, Peeta," she said curtly, cutting me off "I can take care of myself". I opened my mouth to apologise or to try to talk her out of her decision, I'm not sure which but when I looked at her again, she winked and grinned. I smiled back, still unsure but I knew she wouldnt let anyone tell her what to do.
Katniss frowned, glancing from me to Madge and back to me again, but all she said was "Good."
The boy beside Madge stood up also and Gale said "Reed" in a warning voice. Which was when I realised the boy was Gales brother. He was the image of his older brother with the same strong build, the same grey eyes and dark hair, but his hair was slightly longer and shaggier and his eyes held a strange youthful yet wise glint of excitement and cheekiness. Reed grinned but stayed standing. He pulled his friend up too, to the small boys surprise and I almost laughed at the shocked expression on his face. One by one, they stood up, nearly everyone willing to put their lives on the line for freedom.
If we didnt fight for what mattered, what would we fight for.
Some stayed sitting, some left. But I wasn't angry or annoyed by this. If we forced them to fight when they didnt want to, we would be no better than the Capitol. No.
We would fight, as Katniss had said, in justice and honour.
"Im sorry Katniss," I heard a boy from the year below us murmer frantically "My little sister is only four years old....I just... I cant risk it."
She smiled reassuringly and told him it was ok. She thanked him for coming and wished his sister well. He thanked her afew times, before scrambling off into the darkness of the forest that reflected the District. She stared after him as if she were wishing she could follow.
I knew she was thinking of Prim.
When it all settled down, she looked around the fairly large group that we had assembled. I couldnt count the heads but I knew that even though this was a big group, it was nowhere near enough. We would need more allys if we wanted to overthrow the Capitol. Cunning allys. We would need the help of the other districts. I didnt think that would be an easy task to accomplish. But I was willing to try.
"Ok," she said, rubbing her hands together. Her eyes blazed and in that moment, she truly was the girl on fire. I knew then, that if I had never been chosen, if we had never even met, that Katniss would have won the games regardless... Because there is one thing that the Capitol doesnt seem to understand about her.
You dont mess with Katniss Everdeen and get away with it.
And she wouldnt let them get away with murdering people in her "honour". I knew by tone in her voice and the ghost of a smirk on her face. She had something up her sleeve. I stood to her left and Gale hovered over her right shoulder. I avoided looking at him. He was always close by, when she was.
I wondered if it would always be that way.
"Ok, lets talk about the plan..."
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read and if you are about to review I seriously LOVE you!!! (Please review :( !!) I have the next chapter done already so I will be updating soon! But I like to get a few reviews per chapter so please review!! :D
ARRRGGHHH! Peeta, Gale... Gale, Peeta!!!!!!!!!! WHY???? Lol
A/N - Has anyone else noticed how the number of HG fics has slowly been rising?? YES! It is seriously unrecognised brilliance! I honestly think it is better than twilight... it just has to get more publicity!! Hmmmmmm....
