The day has quickly slipped by. I'm still so shocked my mother is here that I keep looking over at her every five minutes. I know why she doesn't want to live in 12 anymore, the pain is too much. Too many lost loved ones. Not just father and Prim, but the rest of her parents and siblings as well. she still loved them, despite being disowned for marrying a coal miner. So for her to have set foot in 12 again astounds me.

Peeta walks up behind me. Light from the setting sun is pouring through the windows, causing him to cast a large, dark shadow over me. "Katniss, can I talk with you for a minute?" he whispers into my ear. "In the kitchen?" I get up and follow him. Nothing seems to be predictable today. Not in the ordinary way at least. What does Peeta want to talk with me about that it has to be in private?

He shuts the door behind us. Turning to face me, he runs his fingers through his hair, like he's trying to figure out how to put his words. Since when does Peeta have a hard time knowing what to say? I look at him expectantly. His eyes shift from me to the floor, from the floor to the ceiling, never remaining in one spot for more than a few seconds. He's clenching and unclenching his fists, and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. I haven't seen him this agitated in almost a year. What could have possibly happened? "Peeta?" I'm hesitant to find out what's set him so on edge. Not only am I unsure I want to know what has ruined Peeta's good mood, but I'm concerned as well. Should he bring up his heart and respiration rate much more, he could quite possibly trigger a flashback, which wouldn't be the greatest way to end the day.

Peeta sighed. "Katniss...someone's here to see you. I didn't really invite them because I figured it would upset you. I am not letting them in unless you okay it. I will personally escort them to the train station should you not want them here." Someone is here. Peeta doesn't want them here, or doesn't think it will make me happy anyway. Who...Gale. It must be Gale.

Trembling, I shut my eyes. No! Why do I have to face my demons now? My heart screams he started playing by Snow's rule book when he designed a bomb that would kill medics. He wanted to condemn people to death in the Nut, bury them alive. My sister is now dead due to a bomb he designed. How can he care anymore? However, my brain tells me he was manipulated like me, just a piece in yet another game, but this one to bring down the Capitol. How could he have known Coin would use a design she had supposedly rejected? Can I really blame him for doing everything he could to try and destroy a government that held the blame for every hardship his family, and every other family in Panem, had gone through? Gale had always been the bitter, fiery one. Calculating, snaring, and killing. He'd done it for years. Why would he see it differently when made a soldier of District 13. Killing is the job of a soldier.

I snap my eyes open. Avoiding him isn't going to change what has happened in the past. Seeing Gale could help me forgive him. Maybe he's been hurting as much as I was this past year. Peeta's watching me. He's trying to decipher what's going through my mind, but his body is tense. I take a deep breath, I need to be calm. The last thing I need is to have to deal with Gale at my door along with a highjacking relapse. "Go ahead. Let him in." I try to make my voice even, without making it flat. Peeta's right when he says I'm a horrendous liar. "You're sure about this?" I nod slowly. "Yes Peeta. I'm sure. Let Gale come in."

A/N: originally, i was going to ignore the highjacking, make peeta perfectly fine, but ya know, after reading an exceptional fanfic that described Peeta and Katniss' healing after they go back to 12, I really came to appreciate the highjacking. I'm not kidding, and I thought I'd never say that. I actual liked the end of Mockingjay after reading that fanfic!