~Sketching Out Our Love~
~Chapter 1~
Hello everyone! Thanks for all the amazing reviews! You inspire me with your comments, and that's what keeps me going. I truly appreciate your support.
Many of you were concerned about the absence of some of the characters so far. I can promise that they will all show up in the next couple of chapters, if not in this one. The first was just a prologue to give a backstory, so please don't get worried.
Enjoy!
***Peeta (2 Months Later) ***
"Prim, hurry up!" I yelled up the stairs in the general direction of Prim's room. I heard a muffled yell from Prim's room, and I sighed. How long does it take to get ready anyways?
"Peeta, dear, calm down. It's her first day of high school, so of course she's taking a little while longer than usual." My mother said with a sympathetic smile.
I leaned against the stair railing, and swung my keys in a wide arc as I waited. "Why do I have to drive her anyways?" I muttered under my breath so Mother wouldn't hear.
Mother heard me anyways. "Because I have to work today, and your father is busy." She retorted in a clipped voice. I know that she really meant is that Dad didn't care about Prim or me in the slightest. I haven't had a normal conversation with my dad since I made the football team freshman year.
"Peeta, I'm ready!" Prim sang as she swiped some lip gloss on her lips before checking her appearance in the mirror one last time. Her blonde hair was curled, and her blue eyes shone with the aid of some sparkly eye shadow. I'd always thought of Prim as beautiful, though, whether she had make-up on or not.
An overwhelming urge to protect her came over me. I guess it was just my big brother side coming out.
"Prim, you look beautiful, now come on." I said to her with a smile as I tried to shake the protective feeling.
"Thanks, Peet," She replied with a mocking smirk. I just rolled my eyes, and headed out to our front door. I gave Mother a quick, one-armed hug, and held the door open for Prim.
"You got everything, Prim?" I asked as we strode out to my car.
"Yeah, I think so," She replied. I didn't miss the look of apprehension that passed across her delicate features, though.
I slung my backpack into the backseat, and Prim did the same with hers. She sat in the passenger seat, while I sat in front of the wheel and started the engine. Once we were on the road, Prim turned to me with an anxious look and turned the radio down a bit.
"Prim, what was that for?" I asked in an annoyed tone. The top song on the charts had just come on. I made a move to turn it back up, but Prim blocked my hand. I reluctantly put my fingers back on the wheel with an irritated glance at her.
"Peeta, I'm kind of scared," She told me shakily, fidgeting with her fingers nervously as she stared out the window.
I forgot my former annoyance with her and gaped at her for a couple of seconds. Bubbly, sociable, outgoing Prim was scared? I don't think I've heard her say she was scared of anything, besides the spider she found in her room yesteday. "There's nothing to be scared of, Prim." I told her as I made a turn and entered the freeway.
"What if they don't like me?" She asked in such a soft whisper that I almost didn't hear her.
My heart went out for her. She looked so vulnerable in this moment as she stared at me with her big blue eyes. I searched for the right words to reassure her. "Prim, everyone loves you." I began. It was true, everyone adored Prim. "You're going to make lots of friends, and you'll love high school."
"I guess." She answered in a skeptically optimistic tone of voice.
She turned the radio back up, and I clasped her hand briefly. "You'll be fine, Prim." I stated to her with a sincere smile.
She tentatively returned the grin. "I wish Rye was as nice as you, Peet," She said wistfully.
My hands froze on the wheel for a moment. Rye was our older brother, and he was very much like my father in all respects. He was very curt, and didn't value family enough. They were both businessmen at heart. I don't think I've seen Rye without a suit and tie for three years. "He'll come around eventually, Prim." I said, trying to convince myself as much as her.
"I hope so." She murmured softly. I turned into Central High School's parking lot, and parked in parking spot number 52, which was my parking spot.
Prim eased the door open shakily, and peered out hesitantly before stepping out. "Peeta, it's so big!" She exclaimed as her eyes took in the vast brown buildings of her new school.
"It needs to be big, Prim-Prim," I replied with a smile. "There are 4,000 students in this school!"
I immediately knew that this was the wrong thing to say. Prim gave me a look of pure terror, and nervously slipped her backpack on and played with the straps obsessively.
"I didn't mean it that way, Prim." I added hastily. I took her small hand, and we crossed the street and entered the main school building.
Prim looked around curiously, eyeing the metal lockers, large rooms, and the huge cafeteria off to the side. "Wow, Peeta, this is so cool!" She exclaimed in such a loud voice that several passing students stared at her curiously.
"Prim, do you need help finding your locker?" I asked her as I flipped mine open. She just stood beside me and watched me stuff all my books inside.
"I think I'll be fine, Peet." She said, looking around her and smiling hesitantly at a thin, dark-skinned girl who also looked like a freshman as she walked by.
"Ok, go ahead, Prim," I told her with a reassuring smile. "Do you need anything else?"
"Ok, Peeta, you can loosen up on the protective big brother thing! I'm fine, seriously!" She said in a slightly annoyed voice. I could tell she wasn't serious, though, because she smiled at me and shook her head.
She turned around, and took a small step forward. She looked so scared that she might as well be stepping on the moon. I turned back to my already chaotic locker, to find that Prim had instantly turned back to face me.
I could see the nerves on her face, and she came back up to me, and whispered, "Peeta, if I don't find anywhere to sit at lunch, can I please sit by you?" She gave me the puppy dog eyes that I could never resist, and I exhaled in defeat.
"Of course, Prim-Prim," I told her wearily. "Just look for the table with all the big senior football players."
Even though I don't really want to be there, and I hardly belong there anyways.
"Thanks, Peeta!" She breathed out in relief, and bounded away in search of her locker. I watched her for a moment, and turned back to close my locker. It's not like it will stay clean anyway, so what's the point?
I wondered where my girlfriend was. Usually, she would find me seconds after I stepped foot in school. Her capability of finding me so effortlessly is creepy. Sometimes, I could swear that the girl has a tracker implanted in me.
Maybe she decided to break up with me.
No, that's too much to hope for.
"Peeeeeeetttaaaaaaaaaa!" A high-pitched, girly voice exclaimed in a loud scream. I didn't even need to turn around to know who was shouting my name.
Speak of the devil.
She launched herself into my arms, and I almost buckled under her weight. I wasn't expecting her, and my shoulder crashed into my locker painfully. That will definitely leave a bruise. I steadied myself, and managed to hold Glimmer's slender frame in my arms easily.
"Peeta! Oh my gosh, I missed you so much!" She screamed in my ear. I winced at the loud noise, and picked some of her blonde hair out of my mouth. It smelled terrible, and I coughed slightly. Who buys tropical fruit smelling shampoo anyways?
"You texted me until midnight yesterday, and I saw you the day before," I reminded her once I could talk again. "How did you miss me so fast?"
"Peeta! You do not talk to your girlfriend like that!" She huffed angrily as she glared at me with her green eyes. She linked her arm through mine, and I mechanically put an arm around her waist.
I can't believe that I once thought this girl was beautiful. It had taken me three months to get up the nerve to ask her out sophomore year, and we've been inseparable since then. Glimmer has hung on to me like a wasp.
And now, she's the one in charge in this relationship. I couldn't break up with her if I tried.
Glimmer seemed to relax now that my arm was around her, so I steered us both over to the "popular" table. The only reason I ended up at this table is because of football, because I know that Cato can't stand me. And as far as things went in Central High, Cato was the boss.
Sure enough, Cato gave me a curt nod once Glimmer and I reached his table. His ice blue eyes ran over my muscular frame, and he snickered at me. "You in the football team again this year, Mellark?" He asked in his deep voice.
I smiled at Cato, trying to break the invisible tension, and flexed my arms a little. "Of course, Cato. Who else would be your linebacker?"
To anyone viewing our conversation, it would look like we got along just fine. But I knew better. During our sophomore year, I had done the unthinkable. I had challenged Cato, and I'd surprisingly won.
Cato and I had both liked Glimmer sophomore year. But I asked Glimmer out first, and Cato has detested me ever since. I made him look like a fool, and no one does that without initiating Cato's rage.
Even with all that, I couldn't understand why Cato had held a grudge against me all these years. He had Clove now, and they are just as inseparable as Glimmer and me. But I think they are actually truly affectionate towards each other, unlike me and Glimmer. I'd expected him to move on, but Cato isn't the forgiving type.
Glimmer started to chatter on about meaningless crap with her equally conceited, popular friends. I heard snippets of their conversation. "OMG, I was like so embarrassed, because he was so hot!" Glimmer said enthusiastically.
Wait, hold on? I'm her boyfriend, and she can talk about stuff like that in front of me?
I turned away from Glimmer's mind-numbing exchange, and found myself face to face with Marvel. He was actually the only person out of my whole group of so-called friends that I could actually stand being around for any length of time.
"Hey, Peeta, how are you?" Marvel asked with a smile. I smiled back at him, and gave some stupid reply that I didn't remember after it left my mouth. We easily settled into a light conversation about the latest Xbox game, and I made a mental note to pick up several of the games Marvel had recommended this weekend.
This conversation effectively wasted the last couple minutes until the bell rang. I edged away from the table, hoping that Glimmer had forgotten about me and would let me walk off to class alone.
No such luck, because Glimmer said goodbye to her friends quickly and made a beeline for me. "Peeta, what's your first class?" She purred at me while batting her long eyelashes.
I swallowed my disgust. "English, babe." I responded cheerily, as I forced a smile on my face.
My whole life was practically a lie. Forced smile, forced affections, forced everything.
"Oh, Peeta, me too!" She exclaimed happily. I brushed some of her blonde hair off her perfectly pore- less skin, and she blushed lightly under my fingers. It was so easy to placate Glimmer, she was practically brainless. All I have to do was flirt with her, which was in her case, very easy to do.
It turns out that Glimmer and I have every single class, besides weights, together this semester. While I had weights fifth hour, she had dance. I tried to focus on the bright side. At least I can get away from her for one class period.
Who was I kidding? There was no silver lining. I was stuck with a group of friends that I secretly despised, playing a sport I hated, and stuck with a girlfriend that I didn't want.
Just my luck. I could tell that this was going to be a very long year.
I headed over to the English room with Glimmer, to find it blocked because our whole class was standing at the door. Glimmer used this as an opportunity to flirt with me. She chattered on with me about her new blonde lowlights in her hair, and how they really complimented her skin tone. I zoned out, and wondered when I will actually meet someone who I can actually relate to. High school was all about appearances.
I came out of my musing with a start, and realized that Glimmer was looking at me expectantly, as if she had just asked a question. I hastily smiled at her, and said, "Yes, Glimmer, you look absolutely gorgeous." I gave her a light kiss on her smooth cheek.
Glimmer beamed at me, and I smiled back at her. I couldn't believe that someone could be that self-obsessed and dumb, but Glimmer had lived up to my expectations. It made the task of being her boyfriend very easy though, because the response to everything she asked me was "You are so pretty, Glimmer."
She ran her perfectly manicured glittering fingers over my chest, and made her way up to my neck. I leaned in for a quick kiss, and Glimmer said, "You're so lucky to have me, Peeta baby."
This is what I meant about Glimmer being the most self-obsessed person on Earth. Who in their right mind says that anyways?
The class began to move inside the classroom, and Glimmer and I walked in behind Cato and his girlfriend Clove.
A strict-looking woman with graying hair and large spectacles glared at us as she put us in assigned seating. Glimmer whimpered about how unfair it was that we had to sit in assigned seating like little second graders. "I want to sit next to you, baby!" She moaned sadly. Her normally bright green eyes looked at me sadly, and she pouted at me.
"It's ok, Glimmer," I attempted to reassure her. Honestly, I hope we sit on opposite sides of the room. "I'm sure we will end up sitting close to each other." I ruffled her blonde hair playfully, and she giggled.
The teacher locked her cold brown eyes on Glimmer and I, and she barked at me. "Boy!" I looked at her questioningly, and she beckoned at me with a talon-like hand. "Yes, you! Over there!" She pointed at the seat all the way at the back of the room, in the corner by the window.
I pretended to give Glimmer a miserable face, but on the inside, I was ecstatic. I was going to sit all the way at the back of the room, hopefully where Glimmer can't bother me.
I took the seat at the back of the classroom, slung my backpack down on the ground, and watched as my class was sorted into their desks. I knew everyone here, which didn't surprise me. We hardly ever got new students.
I was very pleased when our teacher put Glimmer all the way at the other side of the room, as far from me as possible. I felt a twinge of happiness go through me, and I relaxed in my plastic chair until my head rested on the edge of the seat. I closed my eyes, and tilted my face towards the sunlight filtering into the room.
I was shaken out of my relaxed state by a loud snicker, and I unwillingly opened one of my eyes to find out who had interrupted my peace.
I opened my mouth to tell the person to shut up, but to my dismay, I saw that Cato was sitting right in front of me. The words died in my throat, and I gave him a tentative smile instead, which he didn't return.
Well, this was going to be an interesting class to wake up to every morning.
Instead of attempting to start a conversation with Cato, I pretended to be immersed in what our teacher was rambling on about. I found out that her name was Ms. McCrain, and I instantly felt a strong dislike towards her. I was usually one for looking at the bright side of people, but this woman didn't seem to have a bright side.
Ms. McCrain's rambling was interrupted by the opening of the door. An olive-skinned girl with dark hair and a scowl walked in, slammed the door, and handed a late slip to Ms. McCrain.
McCrain narrowed her hawk-like eyes at the girl, and asked, "So, why are you so late?"
The girl rolled her eyes at McCrain, and replied, "I slept in."
The class gaped at the brunette in shock, and I heard whispers spread through the room like wildfire. "I can't believe she said that to a teacher!" The girl looked around at the stunned faces of the class carelessly, and stood in front of McCrain looking bored.
I found my respect for this snobbish girl rise. McCrain, on the other hand, didn't seem so impressed. She narrowed her eyes even further at the slender girl, and said, "Please take a seat at the back, next to Mr. Mellark."
I could practically see McCrain breathing fire, and in spite of myself, I smiled. This girl had a serious attitude problem.
Well, at least she isn't trying to be someone she isn't, like you are. A voice at the back of my head responded.
I ignored the voice, and turned my attention towards the front of the room again.
The girl glared at McCrain for a second longer, spun gracefully on her feet, and headed towards the seat right next to me.
As she got closer, I realized what a striking color her eyes were. They were a silvery grey color, and they were by far her most prominent feature. They looked strangely beautiful against her olive toned skin and dark hair. She wore a pair of jeans and a fitted green shirt, and her dark hair was in a pretty French braid. She was, in an exotic way, gorgeous. She was a welcome change from Glimmer's blonde hair, green eyes, and artificially tanned skin.
I heard a low whistle of appreciation coming from Cato as the girl finally reached her seat.
She sat down next to me with a huff, and Cato immediately turned around in his seat to give her a wide smile. "Hi, gorgeous, I'm Cato." He said to her in a light purr.
The girl glared at Cato. "And why should I care?" She whispered in a sharp voice. She organized her backpack on the floor, and took out a pencil and a notebook.
I knew that she had gone a step too far, though. No one talked to Cato that way, unless they really wanted a punch in the face.
"You are talking to the varsity football captain here." He replied coolly as his icy eyes roamed over the girl's face and chest.
"Oh, scary." The girl replied in a stinging voice.
Cato turned back to face forward in his seat, but his body remained tense. The girl flipped open her notebook, and started to take notes on McCrain's lecture, completely ignoring me and Cato. I opened my book as well, but instead of taking notes, I started sketching.
The class went by agonizingly slowly. After ten minutes, I had completed a full sketch of the sunset. I had been trying to draw an accurate sunset for months now, but I always had difficulty with them. I couldn't seem to capture the majestic feel attributed to the setting sun.
I crumbled the paper with a sigh of defeat, and stuffed the crumbled up paper at the bottom of my backpack.
I chanced a look over at the girl sitting next to me, and saw that she was still taking notes. I peered down at her notebook, and saw that she had actually stopped taking notes long ago. The last line was about poetry, which McCrain had talked about ten minutes ago.
She seemed to be sketching out initials in the corner of the page. I squinted, trying to make out the letters she was tracing.
GH.
The girl suddenly noticed my eyes on her paper, and she hastily covered up the initial with her hand. But it was too late, I'd already seen, and she knew it.
"Who's GH?" I asked her curiously. I stared at her dark, straight hair, and her beautiful skin tone. She turned to face me, and her grey eyes met mine. For a second, I felt my heart stop.
"Nobody," She muttered, turning back to her paper and taking notes on McCrain's lecture. I saw that her cheeks had a red tint to them though, and she gave me a sideways glance when she thought I wasn't looking.
I pointedly avoided her, closed my eyes and reclined in my chair as far as I could go for the rest of the period.
The bell rang, and I gratefully collected my stuff up and stuffed them in my backpack. I was just hoisting my backpack on when Glimmer came skipping over to me.
Great. I had actually managed to forget about her for about half an hour too.
"OH, Peeta, that was terrible!" She screamed as she flung her arms around me. I embraced her back, and chanced a look back at my new desk partner. She was looking at Glimmer with a small hint of amusement in her eyes.
Before leaving, I gave the girl a small smile. She glared at me, and I turned away from her.
She'll have to talk to me eventually, I figured.
Putting the girl out of my mind, I towed Glimmer out of the room, and we headed to Math together.
"Peeta, did you see that girl?" Glimmer asked me in amazement, turning her bright green eyes at me.
"Yeah, she sat right by me." I said in a neutral tone. I didn't want to go making fun of the girl, or spread any rumors about her. She just seemed like the kind of girl Glimmer would love to gossip about.
"She's really something." Glimmer muttered as she grabbed her Math book out of her locker.
For the first time, I completely agreed with Glimmer.
I was disappointed that our Math teacher didn't put us in assigned seating. So of course I ended up sitting right next to Glimmer. And what was worse, the new girl from my English class wasn't in my Math class.
I felt a twinge of sadness when I realized that I hadn't even asked for her name.
School was dull and uneventful until fourth period. Glimmer sat next to me in third period also, which just served to make me even more miserable.
As I was walking to fourth class, I saw Prim walking through the hallway with the small, dark girl she had smiled at earlier. Prim waved at me, and mouthed Where's the airhead?
I laughed despite my abysmal mood. Prim hated Glimmer as much as I did. Whenever I brought her to our house, Prim always did something to enrage Glimmer. Last week, she had "accidently" spilled lemonade down Glimmer's Juicy shirt. Glimmer was enraged, and I found myself laughing instead of rebuking Prim.
Prim had been convincing me to break up with her for months now.
Fixing her makeup, I mouthed at Prim. Prim laughed in incredulity, and turned to her friend, no doubt to tell her how stupid and shallow Glimmer was.
I found that I didn't mind at all. Actually, the thought made me laugh.
I entered the Science room, and found that the brunette was in this class as well. The teacher was arranging us in seats, and I stood as close as I could to the new girl. I could smell a calming lavender scent coming off of her, and I breathed in deeply. This was so much better than Glimmer's Chanel perfume.
"Hi, what's your name?" I asked her once I was standing beside her.
She disregarded me, but I kept poking her arm until she finally had to turn and face me. "I don't have one." She muttered without meeting my eyes.
"Of course you do," I said while I rolled my eyes and laughed. This girl needed to smile a bit. And I swore that someday, I would make that girl smile.
"Stop talking to me, Popular Boy," She finally said, glaring at me.
I recoiled. She might as well have called me every nasty name she could think of and I still wouldn't have reacted as badly.
I didn't want to be seen as some shallow popular boy. I didn't want this girl to think of me like that, because that's not who I am.
But that's who she saw standing in front of her. A despicable, arrogant, easily forgettable blonde boy. I chided myself for ever wanting Cato's friendship.
If anyone has ever needed new friends, it would be me.
"Katniss Everdeen!" The teacher yelled, effectively jerking me out of my thoughts.
The girl beside me started as well, and walked towards the seat that the teacher had pointed at.
Haha, so much for not having a name.
"Peeta Mellark!" The teacher read my name off of her clipboard, and I stepped forward. She pointed at the seat directly in front of Katniss.
I sat down, and turned right around to Katniss. I would talk to this girl, and have a normal conversation with her, if it's the last thing I ever do
"So, Katniss," I said, savoring her name on my lips. "So much for not having a name, huh?"
"Whatever, shut up." She muttered to me. She brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, and tucked it behind her ears.
"Manners, sweetheart," I replied in an authoritative voice. "So, who's GH?"
When I didn't get an answer from her, I put up my hands in mock defeat. "Fine, I give up!" I moaned, trying to soften her up.
She took my words to heart, though, and pointedly ignored me. I honestly didn't know whether I should be laughing or complaining about her silence.
The teacher called for silence, and Katniss turned around. I eyed her perfectly done braid, and tried to follow the strands of hair down to the bottom. It was perfect, and I easily got caught up in her braid.
She had personality, and fire. Unlike Glimmer, who was every inch the stereotyped blonde cheerleader.
I tried to get Katniss to turn around several times during the period. I didn't know if she couldn't hear me or if she was ignoring me. Knowing Katniss, it would most likely be the latter.
What is wrong with you, Peeta? Can you not talk to a girl besides Glimmer and not get her to ignore you?
I hope this chapter answered some of your questions from the prologue.
Please leave a review, and let me know what you think! I love all reviews, they inspire me to write and keep going.
Next Chapter: Katniss POV.