Got a ton more story alerts and reviews! I just want to say to all of you, thank you so much for putting me on your alerts or spending a bit of your time to review! I try to respond to reviews as much as I can, but if I don't, please don't take it personally. I am super deep in homework with break coming, so I will try my best to respond. It is awesome though, all of your support! I have people all around the world reading, and over a thousand hits. Totally want to cry with happiness(': So, I have already seen the Hunger Games movie twice! How about you guys? Tell me in a review! Alright, I'll shut up now. Here is Chapter Seven!

KPOV

I tap my foot impatiently at the willow tree after school, waiting for Prim. She runs out the doors, and into my arms. I laugh out loud.

"Hey little duck! How was class?"

"Great! Katniss, can Rory come over today? You haven't listened to me or him since that night…" I cringe at the memory, but nod. She squeals and hugs me again, and all I can do is chuckle. She turns 13 in a few weeks, and it scares me how quickly she's growing up.

"Let's go home." I say, twining my fingers in hers. I see her glance over, and Rory look nervously back. She nods, and he smiles. Suddenly, there is a third to our walking party.

"Uh, hi Katniss." Rory mumbles, and I look at him.

"Hi Rory. How was school?" He smiles again, looking relieved that I didn't yell at him.

"Good. What about you? Anything fun with Peeta?" I smile, and nod slightly.

"We're hanging out next Monday." Prim jumps.

"It's about time! You never hung out with him after the last time, which concerns me..." I never told Prim about what had happened, I had decided it was just safer to stay quiet.

"We've been busy. The project and hunting, plus his baking schedule." I lie smoothly, and she nods. When we near the Meadow, I stop. "Let's talk here, alright?" They both nod, and we all slump into a patch over purple pansies.

"How long?" I ask, looking Prim in the eyes.

"Two months, three weeks and five days." She mumbles, going red slightly.

"Prim! You didn't tell me for that long?" I shout.

"You would have acted just like you are now! And told me not a chance in hell!" She yells back, and grabs Rory's hand. "We're together, whether you like it or not. I'm not a little kid anymore Katniss, I'm almost thirteen."

I stare at her in shock, my mouth gaping slightly at her. Finally after a few minutes, I nod. The one trait Prim got from me was being stubborn, so I know I won't win if she's set on this. She smiles at me.

"Good. I'm going home now, with Rory. We have to finish our English project. Go hunt." She stands, Rory following.

I abruptly stand and grab Rory, pulling him over. I crouch to his level, and whisper in his ear, "You hurt her, and you meet my arrow personally." He gulps, and nods. I smile, and shove him towards Prim.

I slink under the fence, pull out my bow and arrows, and jog to my meeting spot with Gale. He arrives a few minutes later, smiling.

"Hey Catnip."

"Hi. Listen, I can't hunt on Monday again. I'm…busy." I try to carefully say, but he still gets an annoyed look.

"That's fine. I guess. Finishing up the Trig project I assume?" Thank you Gale, for the perfect excuse.

"Yeah, the teacher says we messed up the last step. I don't want Peeta to fail, so we're fixing it. Let's hunt." I try to change the subject, and load my bow.

We end up bringing down a good amount of game. When we split the game, I end up with four squirrels, two rabbits, eight fish, and a wild dog. I sell the wild dog to Sae, earning a good handful of coins. I decide to take the squirrels to the Mellark's. I stroll to the bakery, and peer in a window before entering, to make sure the witch isn't there. When I pull the door open, the bell dings and I see Peeta look up.

"Hey you." He says, smiling.

"Want some squirrel?" I ask, holding up the four of them by the tails.

He laughs, "Yeah sure. So, cheese buns, plain, or grain?"

"Cheese buns. Definitely cheese buns!" I smile, and watch him bag nine of them. Then he tosses me an extra over the counter.

"I know it's extra, but you have no idea how grateful my dad and I are for the fresh meat." I smile, and take a bite.

"So good." I moan. He smiles and slides the bag on the counter, and I hand him the squirrels. He puts them in a spare bag, and throws them on the kitchen counter.

"What are you up to this weekend?" He asks, and leans on the counter next to me.

"Nothing. Probably just going to spend the day hunting tomorrow. Sunday is wide open though. What about you?"

"Baking a cake all weekend. My parent's anniversary is Sunday, so they will be gone that day. I don't know why, it isn't like they'll celebrate. But anyways, my brothers asked for me to cover for them so they could go on dates." He shrugs, but smiles. "At least Monday will be fun!" He winks at me, and I giggle. Where the hell did that come from Katniss? Giggling? Really?

"Well, we could hang out tomorrow too. I could sit and hang around while you work on the cake." He gets excited.

"Really? You'd come over?" I laugh and punch his shoulder playfully.

"Of course! Anything for my best friend!" We laugh, but he quiets down.

"Isn't Gale your best friend?" He whispers.

"Well, he was. He hasn't really acted like one lately." I whisper back. He smiles sadly. A crash comes from the back door.

"PEETA! WHY ISN'T YOUR ASS BACK HERE BAKING BREAD?" He gulps, and I grab the bag. Before he knows what happens, I kiss him on the cheek quickly, and whisper a good bye until Sunday, then slink out the front door. I can hear his mom still when I leave. "YOU LAZY OAF! YOU BETTER DAMN WELL HAVE A GOOD REASON FOR NOT BAKING!" A crack sounds off when he doesn't answer, and I wince. I peer into the window to see a welt forming across his cheek, his eye already bruising. I wince again, and catch his eye. He looks like he's in a lot of pain, and I mouth to him, MEADOW, MIDNIGHT.

He nods, and is mom starts yelling again. I run back to the seam, barreling into the door. My mom looks up, and catches my expression. "I need something for a black eye and welt cream." I say, and she nods. She sets them on the counter and I thank her. I sit on the couch, and fidget until midnight rolls around. Hold on Peeta, I keep repeating in my head. His mom slapping him repeats in my mind over and over, and every time makes me wince more.

God, don't you just hate the witch too? Poor Peeta! Review!