Disclaimer - I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters. All credit goes to Suzanne Collins.
A/N - I'm on half term for two weeks so I'll have more time to write & upload. Don't forget to review. Your feedback & suggestions means everything to me. Thank you so much
The rest of the week went by peacefully enough and by the time it was Friday, I managed to forget about the whole Peeta situation. The finale school bell rang and I'm thankful that I don't have to listen to another sentence from Mrs. Amherst's mouth. I make a beeline for the door and maneuver through the maze of students and navigate myself down the hallway to the nearest exit.
When I walk outside and am instantly greeted by the sun's warm rays. I squint my eyes and bridge my hand over my forehead to block the sun's powerful rays. I blink my eyes, adjusting to the light change and continue walking to the usual spindly tree.
Once I reach the tree I prop my heavy bag onto the ground and sit down. I twist a blade of grass, letting it slip delicately through my fingers. It's the simplest thing that nature has to offer which brings a smile upon my face. I keep my eyes on the ground, watching the small ladybug climb up the blade of grass.
I'm too absorbed in watching nature's beauty that I don't even hear the sound of footsteps approaching, until the sole of shoes crunch down onto the blade of grass. I avert my eyes from the ground and am greeted by a pair of brown boots. My gaze travels up from the shoes until I can see his face. His blue eyes staring hard down at me.
I hastily stand up and swing my bag over my shoulder. He just continues to stare at me. It truly felt like he was cutting through me. "Why do you keep staring at me like that?" I ask coldly breaking the awkward silence.
"Like what?" he asks puzzled, looking me directly in the eye.
"Like that!" I point out.
A confused expression etched across his face while he arched his eyebrows. "Like what?" he repeats.
"Like—ugh, never mind." I fix the strap of my bag that has now twisted. "What are you doing here anyway?" I ask with an annoyed huff. "I don't recall you having any younger siblings," I stated crossing my arms across my chest.
He scratched the back of his neck nervously with a slight shy smile on his face. "I just wanted to thank you for the squirrel," he says genuinely.
Why was he thanking me? He's never done that before. "No need to thank me, it was a simple trade," I say brushing past the subject.
Thankfully the school bell rang and the awkward tension was broken. I turn around and see the kids running out in glee that another week is over. I see Prim walking towards us with a radiant smile plastered across her face. The minute she reaches us I enclose my hand protectively within her smaller one.
"Hey Katniss," she greets me in her usual exuberant fashion. "Who's your friend?" she asks curiously.
Before I can speak he cuts me off. "Peeta Mellark and you must be Primrose Everdeen" he extends his hand and she smiles sweetly before giving it a quick shake.
How did he know her name? I don't recall telling him anything about her.
"Hi Peeta," she smiles widely. "Everyone calls me Prim," she clarifies.
"Well it's very nice to meet you Prim," he says smiling warmly at her.
"Well its time to go home Prim. I'm sure you have a lot of school work to do," I say firmly but calmly.
She smiles and nods her head in agreement. "Nice to meet you Peeta," she waves with her free hand before we both walk out of the school grounds till we're out of his sight.
Once we reach home, Prim immediately dives into questions. "Why was he talking to you?" she asked curiously. "I don't think I've seen you with him around school."
"That's because we're not—" I stop cutting the slice of bread from the loaf. Were we friends? We have never spoken to each other up until that point. But I won't ever be able to forget that interaction we had five years ago, without which I wouldn't be here right now.
"We're not really friends, more like acquaintances. You know the people you see around school but you don't get to know them, but you know who they are." I tell her before I continue to cut the slice of bread and then spread some cheese onto it.
"Ohhh," she nods her head in understanding. "So what did he say?" she asks taking a small bite of her snack.
"He just thanked me for the squirrel I traded the other day," I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly as I wash my hands.
"He doesn't look like he's from the Seam," she points out. "He's got hair like Charlotte."
"That's because he's not. Now little duck, I'm going to go hunt for a few so you better start on that homework of yours," I smile cheekily as I place a light kiss on her forehead.
"Isn't Gale helping his brothers today?" she questions. "Rory said he was going to be helping with that."
I nod my head at remembering what he told me yesterday. "Yes, but there's always time for hunting," I say before going upstairs and changing into my hunting gear.
I slip through the weak point in the fence and enter the woods. I go to retrieve my bow and arrow from the hollow log when the hunting sensation and drive within me disappears all of a sudden. I decide to head down to the lake where I learnt how to swim. Even though it's quite a walk, its still nice and warm outside so I don't mind the hike.
I reach the lake a couple of minutes later and its completely untouched. I haven't been down in this part of the woods in so long; I missed the sweet smell of dandelions and lily pads. The hot sun beamed down onto the stream that gave it an iridescent glow, making it shine like little gems.
I sit on my knees on the soft grass and dip my hand into the stream. It still feels the same cold as it did when I came here with my father. Like nothings changed. I decide to lie down onto the ground for a few minutes and stare up at the cloudless sky.
The sun's rays manage to make my eyelids feel heavy. I turn my head to the left where I'm faced with a single dandelion and the face of Peeta is imprinted on my mind when my eyelids close.
I wake up a couple hours later to the sound of a drip of water, followed by another and then another. My eyes open and adjust to the setting that I'm in.
The sun's already set and grey clouds fill the once blue sky. It's raining and I fell asleep for god knows how long.
I quickly get up when the rain starts to pour down heavier. I run back towards the fence, my boots squishing in the mud along the way.
Once I reach the fence I lean in close again to hear if the sound of the electricity has been turned on. Are my ears deceiving me? I can hear the whirring hum and I immediately take a step back. This can't be happening, I think. The fence is alive with electricity.