Okay guys! Here is another chapter for you all! I really hope you enjoy and are awake for this update (the last one was at two thirty three in the morning and I think only Mikey was up...) Please enjoy! Also, they released tribute posters for Casmere, Gloss, Enobaria, Wiress, Beetee, Mags, Finnick *squeaks... because my squeals sound like squeaks*, Johanna *squeak*, Katniss and Peeta!
Mikey Jacquez: You deserved it! Just wait... Poor Annie :( and I love his American voice so much! I'm glad you liked it and you are amazing too!
Catching Fireflies: I feel awful for putting her through that... It is sad for me to write... Glad you liked!
MiaBelles: Glad you liked! Thanks :)
TARDISRose: Aww thank you! And don't we all?
Alexandra Jackson rocks Hades: Glad you liked and have sweet dreams! :)
Anarchy Girl: I'm glad you liked! I feel bad for her too...
Cinna's Bird: Wish granted! Thanks so much!
TheWomanWhoCodesAndWrites: I will keep that in mind! Thanks for that :) I'll be sure to add that in. I love Prim so much... Thanks!
RunnergirlI: Lol yeah... I am back! (I'll be gone again next week though and have no chance of updating... more on that later though :/ )
MahoganyMagic12: Glad you thought so! It was fun to write :)
pumpkinking5: Yeah! They'll get together soon :) It was more scary because it was one of those flashback nightmares... Glad you liked!
MewWinx96: Yay Everlark! I have a shank you can borrow :) I am so in love with Finnick... Lol it's fine! It's longer than the reviews I usually give. I'm so bad at writing reviews...
SparksFly'SkyHigh: Aww I'm so sorry :( I'm glad you liked the quack! That was my middle sisters first word... Make one for Annie and Finnick if you want. Maybe a water type team?
MeaganOneDirection: Glad I got some emotion... :3 Aww yay! Don't hurt yourself with the jumping though...
Addicted2-Your-Story: Glad you liked! I honestly dread writing Katniss... I am so bad at it but I'm glad you liked the character choices!
Guest: He does! It's so cool! I actually imagined anchor... not trident, oddly enough...
Chapter 17- An Orgasm or Two
Johanna *dedicated to Cinna's Bird for idea!*
The bell signaling the end of the school day rings, but no one leaves the sanctuary of the theater. If anything, more people enter, peering through the open stage doors, wonder why the heck we are still up here. "Guys, we are going to block the beginning of the show today so I am going to need Cato and Marvel to work out their scenes in the choir room while everyone else stays in here. I will look at the work the two of you did at the end of rehearsals. We are going to block Lovely Ladies."
I can feel the smile creep to my face. I was told I was going to be allowed in this scene, even though I am already a lead. She wants bodies. Katniss and Annie are allowed in this scene as well. "I want boys on stage left and girls on stage right!" Clove calls. She is probably the most brilliant stage manager we have ever had. She loves doing it and actually knows what she is doing. Gigi, our theater teacher and the director of this show, is letting Clove direct this scene and is going to make changes after she sees it. Clove wanted to direct something for a project she is working on, and Gigi was more than happy to let her help.
"Everyone, I am going to assign you to a partner. There are more girls than boys, so if you don't get a dance partner, don't be offended. I have a plan for you." She looks at us all like we are animals in a zoo or furniture in a new home. She wants to make the prettiest picture. "Annie, your dance partner will be Finnick. I do not want to see PDA in this scene unless I say so." Annie starts to blush as she makes her way stage left to be with Finnick. Everyone is letting out some sort of laughter. "Katniss, you are going to be with Gale. You will also be wearing a wig as Cosette, so you are blonde like Glimmer and Prim. You will not wear that wig during this scene." Katniss nods and heads over to Gale. Clove is obviously going by looks and not by real life couples because I wasn't paired with him. Finch was paired with Peeta, Thresh is paired with Madge Undersee, a boy named Beetee is paired with Delly Cartwright and finally, Gloss, who is unfortunately in the show, is paired with his sister.
Clove looks around and sees that a girl names Wiress, a flighty fellow senior who is good friends with Beetee, and myself haven't been given partners. Clove smiles. "You two are going to be upstage right." She looks around. "Boys, all of you are going to be backstage left, except Thresh. Thresh, you come center stage. Glimmer, you are going to sell the necklace to Thresh." Thresh nods and perches center stage.
Wiress then raises her hand, to get Clove's attention. "Clove, what are Jo and I?"
Clove smiles. "Wiress, I dub thee Crone. Enjoy the part. You get all of Glimmers luscious locks. Jo, since we have to do a wig change on stage with the blocking I have you are going to be the one 'cutting' Glimmers hair. In reality, we will have a wig with extensions. You are going to pretend to cut Glimmer's hair with some fake scissors we will get you, while the other hand is pulling out the extensions." I nod. Seems simple enough. Shame I cannot actually cut Glimmer's hair. It's like it is too perfect. I have no reason to want to cut her hair though. She is nothing but nice to me.
Clove keeps giving everyone instructions. Once we all have our basic blocking down we are given a thirty minute break. Gale is standing next to the door to the classroom waiting for me. He takes me in his arms and kisses me. Everyone knows we're going out. No point in hiding it. "I have some money. Finnick said he wanted to make a drink run. Are you in?"
I nod. "That always sounds great." I go into the classroom where Finnick and Annie are waiting. "Are Katniss and Peeta not coming?"
Finnick shakes his head. "Gigi wanted to work a scene with them. They gave some money to Annie to get them drinks. We're also getting Gigi an ice tea."
I nod. "Sounds great."
We hop into the van parked just outside and make our way over to our favorite drive in drink place and Finnick looks at all of us. "What do you guys want?"
Annie pipes up first. "Katniss wanted a diet coke and Peeta wanted a raspberry sprite."
Finnick kisses the tip of her nose, because he is already leaning close. "What do you want?"
"I'm out of money. I'm good."
Finnick rolls his eyes. "I'm ordering you a cherry slush then. That's what you always get anyway and I'm paying for you, so don't object." I roll my eyes at the disgustingly cute way the two act. "What do you guys want?"
Gale shrugs. "Strawberry Limeade." He keeps it pretty simple, I guess.
"What about you, Jo?" Finn asks, his green eyes planted firmly on me.
"I'll have an Orgasm." Annie, who was sipping on a bottle of water she had, started to choke. Gale looks at m stunned and Finnick is trying to not laugh.
"Did I hear you right?" He is stuttering over his words with laughter.
"Yeah. I want an Orgasm. Glimmer told me about it and it sounds delicious." Awkward silence. "It's a drink they have here and here only." I pass him up my money and Gale does the same, his face no longer straight faced and is about to turn red from laughing so hard. Annie is letting out little giggles in the front seat. I don't see what is so terribly funny about it. Orgasm is a normal term I hear every day, sometimes even multiple times a day.
Finnick presses the button to order. "Welcome to Sonic. What can I get for you?" The bored sounding girl on the intercom asks.
"I'll have a blue ocean water, a cherry slush, a diet coke, a raspberry sprite, a sweet tea, a strawberry limeade and an," he pauses for a moment to catch his breath, "an Orgasm."
"Would you like a blue coconut or pineapple Orgasm?" The girl asks not breaking a beat, making my companions look all the more uncomfortable.
I decide I'll be the one to say and roll down my window. "I'll have both!" The girl repeats our order and tells us our price. When the window is rolled up I start cracking up. "You guys took that way to seriously! It's just a drink!"
Finnick is laughing almost as much as me. He laughs when he gets uncomfortable. "A drink called an Orgasm! I mean, who came up with that?"
Annie is suppressing giggles as well. "Jo, can I try your drink, or does it have soda in it?"
I shrug. "I'm not entirely sure what it has. If it has soda in it, I'll tell you. You can choose if you want to have it from there." This girl is taking her no soda thing too seriously. She used to have a Dr. Pepper IV.
We get our drinks and head out, everyone just staring at me while I'm enjoying my Orgasms.
Peeta
I cannot help but not cry as I step off the stage. The song is incredibly moving. Gigi, after seeing the work Cato and Marvel did, wanted to see me perform Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, the saddest song I've ever heard. Everyone is actually touched by my impromptu performance, so I guess that means it's good.
We ended rehearsal with my singing and we were all dismissed. Finnick is waving all of us down center stage. When he has us all, Jo being the last to arrive, he opens his mouth. "Ready to go?"
I nod, as does everyone else. Finnick leads the pack, Annie's hand in his with Johanna and Gale behind them. I'm following and Katniss is giving me looks. I wonder if it because she likes me, or if it is her trying to figure out how to tell me she isn't interested. I really hope for the former.
When we get to the hall dividing us from our van, I catch a glimpse of Coin and my heart pounds a million an hour. I haven't told anyone what I overheard. Coin is plotting with Snow against Graceland. I'll have to tell them sooner or later. I'm going to tell them, but only them, when we get back home. I'll suggest we have a picnic on the beach for a great job first rehearsal thing and I'll tell everyone what I heard there. "What do you think, Peeta?"
I look around wildly. "Huh?"
Katniss rolls her eyes, but has a smile on her face. "We're going to out to eat for supper. Sound good?"
I shrug. "Why don't we order a dessert too, we can eat that on the beach and celebrate a well done rehearsal."
"Heck yeah!" Finnick yells in the van, his voice amplified in the small space. "That sounds awesome."
Jo speaks up. "You'll do anything if it means you can get into a body of water!" Finnick rolls his eyes while driving. "Annie will too."
She shakes her head. "Not true! I like swimming pools and beaches and rivers but lakes freak me out. You can be on the very edge of the lake and you will not be able to sense the bottom at all and you don't know what is under you and it freaks me out."
Gale looks at her confused. "In the ocean, that is even more so, and with sharks."
Annie shakes her head. "The fish in the ocean are all pretty and it's not like I'm going to get attacked by a shark. A catfish might mistake my toes for food though and it terrifies me." All of us, but Finnick, are suppressing giggles. "I know it makes no sense, but it terrifies me."
We pull into the parking lot of a seafood joint, meaning Finnick or Annie probably picked out where we are going. Finnick pulls a smiling and blushing Annie in for a hug. "It makes perfect sense to me." Johanna pretends to vomit once again.
We all order our drinks and get our food in record time. The last one to finish eating is Annie, who is typically the first done, and Finnick is having to break open the rest of her crab legs for her. I take the opportunity to order us a dessert. "What is everyone in the mood for?"
Everyone shrugs. Katniss pipes up. "Red Velvet cake is always delicious."
"Everyone alright with that?" Everyone nods and we order the cake to go, as well as a remaining cluster of crab legs Annie is unable to eat. We pay with a credit card Haymitch gave to Finnick for us to use on occasions like this, and head back.
Finnick and Annie book it upstairs to put on their swimsuits while Johanna and Gale gather up drinks, leaving Katniss and I in charge of getting a blanket. I can feel myself becoming tenser as I wait for the moment to announce who is working with Snow and what it means for our future. "Are you okay, Peeta?"
I nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."
We go back to looking for the beach blanket in silence. The air is filled with silence in between us, but it isn't awkward. When I finally find it, she looks up at me. "I do like you." I'm dumbstruck. "I wouldn't mind kissing you again sometime."
I smile. "Well, you won't have to wait too long." I lean in to kiss her but she backs away.
"I'm sorry; this is all so different to me. Can you tell me what you like about me? Why me? There are so many others." Her gray eyes are flooded with confusion, happiness and fear.
I put the blanket down and put her hands in mine. "You are a survivor. You faced the worst and came out on top, conquering it and saved Prim in the process. You care about those you love the most and everything else is second. You are seldom afraid and when you are, you look danger in the eye and spit on it, letting yourself become truly who you are. You can always bring a smile to my face, whether you are here or not. I might just be thinking about you and I still cannot believe how someone so perfect can be here and has the pleasure of being my friend." I pause and look into her perfect eyes. "I really, truly, and honestly, really like you."
Katniss has the corners of her mouth turned up into a smile. I let myself become closer to her, like she is a magnet pulling me in, and I take one of her hands in mine, allowing myself to be overwhelmed by how soft they are. I place a kiss on her lips and let the scent of her consume me. She smells like the shampoo she uses, a children's shampoo that smells like strawberries. I can feel how soft her black hair is as I run my hand that escaped hers through it. I can smell her favorite Bath and Body Works lotion, body wash and body spray, Twilight Woods, and cannot help but be enchanted. When I finally pull away I am breathless that the most perfect girl I know is interested in me.
We walk out onto the beach; I am carrying the blanket and she is holding the cake. I wouldn't tell anyone we kissed, twice. If we decide to start dating and tell our roommates, I would let her tell me when we could. Nothing sooner than what she wants.
So the drink Jo was drinking... a real drink a bunch of girls got on a church trip a couple years ago at a Sonic in town... I have no idea what's in it... I just kinda rolled with it. If y'all have any drink ideas for this drink, please leave a review with it! I'll make this a sort of mini contest... best drink I will post the recipe on this story and my profile page! Sound good! I'll find other judges besides myself because I will not be able to have the drinks that include soda because I am currently not drinking soft drinks, but everyone I know is! I'll post the results in a few chapters or so.
Thanks to: MeaganOneDirection, MiaBelles, Mikey Jacquez, Natura Nature, SecretsandSugarCubes, SibunaChika1227, StarBright18, StayAlways, axes tridents and snares, Anarchy Girl, Catching Fireflies, TARDISRose, Alexandra Jackson rocks Hades, Kyranoel, Fire Kitty 12, MewWinx96, babymcflurry, ThaliaFairbain, cutegirlems, Y.O.L.O So do it right, lole12312, Cinna's Bird, MahoganyMagic12, Random person in wonderland, RiderArya103, SparksFly'SkyHigh, Addicted2-Your-Story, AnotherDawnLikeOurFlag, TurtleThompson, messygreenroom, PerfectionIsFlawed, come burn with me, hyllia14, Lizzie6410, Steven Garrett, Kirihito Mai, RunnergirlI, hungergamesgirl999, UntilTheCannonSounds, Yasie, Purplespartan, HungerGamesAddict3, Amitytribute, DomiHearts1497, likelife, sarah. , ExplodingAaron, gomez-girl, 1DandBobsyouruncle, Wolfie-V, nolengthoftime98 and Naanal for adding this to their favorite.
Thanks to my 73 followers as well! You are all amazing! Thanks so much!