~Sketching Out Our Love~

~Chapter 6~

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for everything! I know I say that every chapter, but you guys are EPIC. I seriously couldn't ask for better readers!

Also, this is my last week of summer vacation. That means I have school all morning, and dance three days a week after school for three hours. My writing time is really going to be cut in half. If I don't update every week, I apologize. But I will try to! Also, if I don't read one of my favorite/alerted stories the very second it is updated, I apologize. I promise I will get to it. :)

A big huge "Thank You!" goes out to my wonderful Beta, Milanpia. She did an amazing job with this chapter!

So… do you want me to stop droning on with this Author's Note so you can actually read the new chapter?

Yes, you do. So, start reading.

Enjoy!

~Katniss POV~

"What do you think of me?"

I don't know what possessed me to ask him that. The words just tumbled out of my mouth, and I couldn't take them back after I'd uttered them, as much as I wished I could.

Peeta stared at me for a long time. The look he gave me wasn't angry, or even embarrassed or awkward. He just looked merely thoughtful, and his face took on an intense quality. His golden eyebrows knitted together, and his usually welcoming blue eyes resembled ice chips. His full lips were pressed together, and for a moment, I wondered what it would feel like to kiss them.

But I banished the thought quickly from my mind. I couldn't afford to think like that. It wouldn't do me any good in the long run.

But I couldn't lie to myself anymore. There was no doubt about the fact that Peeta Mellark turned me on… As embarrassing as it sounds, no one had ever made me feel this way, besides Gale. But Gale was dead, lying under the earth of a graveyard in San Diego.

I took a bite of the cinnamon roll. At first, I had resolved not to eat it. But, like all of my promises where Peeta was concerned, I ended up breaking it.

Damn him.

There was something so endearing about those tousled blonde curls of his, and the slightly childlike quality of his face. If anyone had told me I would have fallen for a sentimental blonde-haired blue-eyed boy, I would've scoffed at the very idea in their face.

"Peeta?" I prompted him gently.

"Tell me if this makes sense, Ok?" Peeta ran his hand through the already messed-up locks, and I grinned. I loved it when he did that. But then again, everything about Peeta was loveable.

"Ok, tell me." I replied, smiling at him in encouragement.

"You're like a painting." He began, looking up at me with those wide azure blue eyes.

"How so?" I enquired. I was genuinely curious to see where he would take this metaphor.

"Well, pictures can have layers." Peeta explained. "You can paint something completely different over the first layer, and you won't even know it's there."

I was no artist, so I was confused. "Please explain this to the artistically challenged girl in normal English, please." I complained drily. Peeta cracked a grin, and I found myself smiling along with him.

Damn him. I never smiled. Even around Gale, my smiles had been sparse. And now, I couldn't stop.

"I'm sorry." Peeta blushed, and I felt my heart squeeze pleasurably.

"Continue." I drawled lazily, taking the last bite of that amazing cinnamon roll.

"Well, you're like a picture, because you have layers. You've painted a layer over yourself, and I can't see the real Katniss." Peeta paused to take a breath. "But sometimes, I can see the real you. The paint starts to wear off around the edges."

I froze in shock, and I could feel the cinnamon roll get stuck somewhere in my throat. For the third time in less than five minutes, I cursed Peeta.

I choked on the stupid cinnamon roll, and I could feel my eyes watering. My heaving coughs refused to subside, and I could feel myself gasp for a lungful of air. After several long seconds, Peeta seemed to be genuinely concerned for my life. He ran to get a glass of water, and if I wasn't coughing my lungs up, I would laugh.

He is such a gentleman.

Peeta forced the cool glass of water into my hands, and his hands made their way to my back. After several long minutes of Peeta rubbing my back, and me having a near-death experience, I calmed down enough to force some water down my throat. Peeta retreated to his chair, looking thoroughly embarrassed. His cheeks were red, and the blush extended all the way to his ears.

"Are you alright?" Peeta asked me cautiously. "I can get you more water, if you want."

"No, I'm fine." I managed to croak out in a hoarse voice. It sounded like I hadn't used my voice for days. "Thanks for nearly killing me."

"Sorry." Peeta looked so genuinely sorry that I just had to laugh. His blue eyes were wide, and his lips were parted into a hopeful smile.

"It's fine." I grumbled, thoroughly annoyed that he made me so gushy and emotional.

"Did you not like my metaphor?" Peeta looked disappointed. "I thought it was pretty good!"

"It was too good." I replied emphatically. "You read me like book."

"Artistic insights." He replied proudly. His voices suddenly dropped several octaves, and he whispers, "Unfortunately, I think that is true. Do you have any secrets worth my time?"

"Ughh... Not really." I reply. "Seductive doesn't work for you."

Peeta laughs, and his voice returns to normal. "Thanks for bursting my ego."

"It was overinflated." I quipped back, thoroughly enjoying teasing him.

"Ok, I'll give you that." He coincides. "But seriously, tell me. Why do you hide things from me? Am I not trusted?"

"I'm trying to trust you." I whispered. "I promise I'll tell you someday… But not yet."

"Fair enough." Peeta grins, and I feel myself like him ten times more. He doesn't push. Peeta knows that when I'm ready, I'll tell him. It takes a huge level of trust to do that.

"Thank you." I put as much sincerity and gratitude as I can into the words.

"Let's get you home, what do you say?" Peeta stands, and throws both of our plates out.

We walk out together, and I get into his car. I fumble around with the radio, and the dial stops on a fluffy romance song. This normally isn't my type of music, so I'm surprised when my hand pauses on the dial.

I won't give up on us
Even if the skies get rough
I'm giving you all my love
I'm still looking up
Still looking up.

I won't give up on us (no I'm not giving up)
God knows I'm tough enough (I am tough, I am loved)
We've got a lot to learn (we're alive, we are loved)
God knows we're worth it (and we're worth it)

"I didn't peg you as the romance type." Peeta commented lightly as he made his way out of the parking lot.

"I'm not." I replied. "But I just feel like it today."

"Does it have anything to do with me?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I couldn't help but laugh. He was so full of himself. "No. Sorry to crush you."

Of course it does. It has everything to do with you.

"Ok, Miss Romance." Peeta chuckled a little, but turned serious. "I don't know where you live. Where do I go?"

For the rest of the car ride, I didn't make any small conversation with him. I just gave him once sentence instructions on how to get me home. Peeta looked a little crushed at my sudden lack of chatter, but he didn't comment.

Finally, we arrived in front of the apartment complex where my mother and I lived. Peeta pulled into a parking, but hesitated. "Would you like me to walk you up?" He questioned politely.

"I know how to get to my own house, Peeta Mellark!" I screeched, trying to open my door, but it was locked.

"My first dates never go well." Peeta reflected in a melancholy tone. "Glimmer managed to kiss me for thirty minutes straight. Not a good memory."

"Date?! Who told you this was a date?!" I glared at Peeta. "Damn you, Peeta, open the door!"

Peeta complied, and flicked the lock switch. I didn't hesitate before opening the door, getting out, and slamming the door as hard as I could.

I made to walk away, but Peeta rolled the window down. "Easy, tiger." Peeta snickered. "Don't forget your backpack."

I glared at him, furious that he had put one over me. Nevertheless, I opened the backseat door, and slung my backpack over my shoulder. I walked away, doing a spectacular job at ignoring his chortling laughter.

"It can't hurt to ask if I can have a kiss, right?" Peeta asked in an innocent tone once I was about five feet away.

I turned around and gave him the middle finger. Peeta just continued to chuckle harder than ever. I turned away from him, and walked away before I could do something stupid like start laughing along with him.

By the time I reached the elevators, my anger for him had already evaporated into thin air. It was simply impossible to stay mad at Peeta for any length of time.

I hated him for the fact that he had made me fall for him.

I wondered if he knew that I was falling for him. Somehow, I knew that he was very aware of the fact.

Hi.

My phone lit up blindingly with that one-worded message first thing the next morning… Of course it was sent from Peeta. As hard as I tried to ignore it, my heart was fluttering a little bit in my chest. I debated responding or not.

But I ended up responding, of course. Just because it was Peeta, and I found that I couldn't ignore Peeta.

Hi.

His response was so fast that I wondered if he didn't have it already typed out and waiting for me to respond.

What are you doing?

Me: Getting ready for school.

Boring. Can I come over?

Me: No, you can't.

Technically, I could. I know the way and all.

Me: I won't let you in.

We'll see about that. See you in 20 minutes.

Me: What? No, don't come!

See you soon.

I slumped back in bed. This morning definitely wasn't getting off to a great start. What had I deserved to see Peeta before eight in the morning anyways? He was just too bouncy and cheerful to be around so early.

Now that I think about it, Peeta only served to complicate my life. I wasn't even sure about what I felt for him! One minute I was certain I hated him, and the next I wanted to kiss him.

My feelings for Gale had never been this complicated. I knew what I felt for Gale, and I'd never wavered. I loved him, but definitely not in the same way I felt about Peeta. Living without Gale had gotten easier, but living without Peeta seemed unimaginable.

I pulled a light blue shirt on, with a pair of jeans. I felt like Peeta would like the blue hue of my shirt. Then I froze, and wondered when I had begun to dress to impress Peeta.

The bell rang right as I finished my breakfast, which consisted of yogurt and a granola bar. As I went to open the door, I caught myself looking in the mirror and adjusting my hair. When I realized what I was doing, I messed it back up.

Something was very, very wrong with me today. I was so scared of myself that I just wanted to curl back in bed so I couldn't humiliate myself.

I opened the door an inch and peeked out through the small crevice. Before I could even make out Peeta's muscular build, a head of blonde hair crashed through the door and gave me a bone-crunching hug.

I staggered against the doorframe, and struggled to get a lungful of air. I looked down at my attacker, and saw medium length blonde hair, and a pink sweater. Peeta stood at the door, grinning apologetically at me.

"Umm… Hi" I began cautiously, and extricated myself from the girl's hold so I could breathe properly.

"Oh, Katniss, it's so great to finally meet you!" The girl exclaimed. "Peeta, don't just stand there! Go say hi!"

Peeta rolled his eyes at the blonde girl, but smiled all the same. "Katniss, this is my sister, Prim."

I had assumed that much, but I nodded politely. "Hey, Prim. How are you?"

"Great! I can't believe I'm finally meeting you!" Prim looked up at me with her huge sky-blue orbs, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Nice meeting you too, Prim." I replied politely.

"Come on, Katniss, we don't want to be late!" Prim skipped back to Peeta's car like an overgrown Kindergartener.

"What's with her?" I asked Peeta in a low mutter as we followed Prim to the car.

"She's super-excited that Glimmer and I broke up, and she thinks you're the reason we broke up." Peeta explained in a low voice. "She thinks you're some kind of hero now."

"Oh… I wasn't expecting that." I replied truthfully.

"I know, right?" Peeta gave me a crooked grin, and went to the passenger seat, where he promptly kicked Prim out. "Prim, Katniss gets to sit there!"

Prim haughtily got out of the front seat, and stalked to the back seat. "Fine, let your girlfriend sit in the front!"

Peeta turned so red that I would laugh if I wasn't concerned about him having a stroke or something along those lines. Even his ears were red.

In that moment, I discovered that embarrassed Peeta is a very hotPeeta.

"Come here, Katniss." Peeta threw Prim's pink backpack somewhere in the back of the car. Judging by the muffled scream from inside, I assumed he'd hit Prim.

I cautiously entered Peeta's car, and closed the door. Prim sat sulking in the back, her backpack in her lap. "Sorry, Prim." I apologized.

"It's alright. But you better go out with him to make up for it." She snickered.

All I could do was gape at her. Thankfully, Peeta got in at that moment, saving me from responding. "Here, I brought you something." He handed me a white bag, still warm and deliciously smelling.

"Thanks, what is it?" I asked as I pulled the warm bread out of the bag.

"It's my specialty in the bakery. It's called the cheesy bun." He watched me expectantly as I took my first bite.

"Well, do you like it?" Peeta asked excitedly, looking at me like an eager child.

I simply nodded in response. This cheesy bun was so good that I didn't want to waste time talking. I officially decided it was my new favorite food in the world.

"Ok, that's good." Peeta looked crestfallen at my lack of praise, and I suddenly felt bad.

"No, it's great! I love cheesy buns!" I exclaimed hurriedly as I finished the last of the bread.

"You aren't just saying that?" Peeta asked curiously. "It's ok if you don't."

"No, I do like them! I'm sorry for not answering!" I was so angry with myself now, that I felt like I might burst into tears for no reason.

"Hey, Katniss, I was just joking." Peeta laughed, and I felt my cheeks heat up.

Now, this is embarrassing. I should have stayed in bed.

I stayed silent for the rest of the ride, my hands folded on top of my backpack. I watched Peeta from the corner of my eyes, and tried to pretend that I had no feelings for him.

But I couldn't lie to myself, unfortunately.

Thankfully, the car ride wasn't very long. Prim immediately leaped out of the car once Peeta had parked. "Bye, Katniss! Nice meeting you!" She gave another hug, and then bounded off to find her friends.

"She really likes you." Peeta remarked as we made our way to my locker.

"I like her." I announced unexpectedly as I pulled out my English book. I threw the book down at the bottom of my bag, making sure to crease a few of the pages in the process.

"Prim's my best friend and sister." Peeta explained. "I know it sounds stupid, but she is the kindest person I know."

"I wish I could have a sister." I remarked wistfully.

Peeta and I headed to his locker next. Glimmer and a bunch of her friends stood nearby, and Peeta stiffened as we walked past them.

Glimmer caught me by the hand as we walked past. "How's your boyfriend, Kaitlin?" Glimmer sneered.

It's Katniss.

I refused to answer her, though. I knew she was just trying to work me up, and cause trouble, but it took all of my self-restraint to continue walking forward calmly. Glimmer's echoing laughs followed me, and I felt a cold shiver run up my spine.

I had a bad feeling about Glimmer. She didn't seem like the type of person who backed down easily.

"Don't worry about Glimmer." Peeta sighed in defeat. "She's just upset."

"You always think the best of people." I marveled at the forgiving qualities that Peeta possessed.

"I hate to accuse people." Peeta explained. He turned to face me, and I realized how close beside me he stood. Our faces were barely an inch apart, and our thighs brushed against each other. I became aware of my pounding heartbeat and the slight lightheadedness I felt.

His hand cautiously drifted my hair, and he stroked one of the strands of my dark hair "You left your hair down today." Peeta whispered as he played with the locks gently.

Suddenly, the world shrank down to just us. Time seemed to stop as we stared into each other's eyes. I was so afraid of what would happen, but also excited.

I didn't push him away, because at that point, I didn't know if I even physically could. I felt trapped in those sapphire blue eyes of his, and all I could do was stare. His gentle hand brushed down my hair, reaching my jawline. I got tired of the foreplay much more quickly than he did. I pulled myself up on the tips of my toes, and stroked his chin with the tips of my fingers. It was perfectly smooth; he had obviously shaved this morning.

His lips suddenly replaced his hands. He had pressed his lip to my cheek very unexpectedly, so I involuntarily gasped when his lips made contact with my skin. It felt like he was blazing a trail of fire down my face, but it also felt icy at the same time. Small bursts of electricity traveled down to the tips of my toes. My heart did a somersault in my chest, and I tried to press my lips to his.

"It's an innocent kiss." Peeta murmured into my cheek.

"Screw your innocence." I gasped out. "Kiss me already."

A hunger, unlike all other hungers I've ever felt, had overtaken me. I needed him to kiss me now, and I didn't care about the repercussions that would surely follow afterwards.

Peeta didn't need to be told twice. He gently cupped my face in his hands, and kissed me. I became aware of the fact that my eyes were closed, so I opened them to find Peeta's blue ones an inch from mine. His lips were feathery light on my own.

Peeta kissed me like he was giving me everything. Gale's kisses had been more violent and passionate, like he had been claiming me.

I opened my mouth slightly, and let my tongue flick across his lips, begging for entrance. To my disappointment, Peeta pushed me away, and I immediately felt the loss of contact. My legs felt like jelly, and I leaned against the row of lockers so I wouldn't topple right over.

Gale's kisses never felt like this.

This made me question if I'd ever loved Gale in the first place. I mean, I know I loved him, but like a brother. My love for Gale had been born out of sorrow. He was someone to lean on during the hardest time of my life.

The way I felt about Peeta was different. This romance love was completely foreign to me.

Now, I was so confused about my feelings for both Gale and Peeta. I tried to compare Gale and Peeta, and what I felt for each of them. But for some reason, Gale and Peeta didn't co-exist very well in my mind.

My brain was still trying to remember how to properly function, but I was still faint. My heart was pounding so fast I was afraid it would leap right out of my chest.

Stupid Katniss! Why did you let him kiss you?

The ecstasy of the kiss faded away into thin air, and was replaced with white hot anger. I was furious that I had let him kiss me, and now he would know I had feelings for him.

"Wow." Peeta groaned. "That was amazing."

"It didn't happen." I snapped. "Never mention it again."

Peeta stared at me in disbelief. "Don't you dare deny it, Katniss. I felt that."

"I didn't feel anything." I glared at him. "It didn't happen."

Peeta looked crushed, but I didn't cave in. There was no way I was telling him the truth. The simple truth was that this had gotten out of control. And I needed to stay away from Peeta, or I'd be in serious trouble.

I turned away from him, and walked to the girl's bathroom on shaky legs. My whole body was shaking in a mixture of rage and shock. As much as I hated to admit it, that kiss was out of this world.

I tripped on someone's foot. I turned to apologize, and found myself face to face with Glimmer.

Great. Like I need this right now.

"Well, look at you." She sneered. Her green eyes were glistening with pure delight. I knew she had seen the kiss. "You'll have to pay for that."

I yanked my arm out of her grasp, and turned on my heel. The bell rang for first period, so I abandoned the prospect of going to the bathroom, and stalked off to class.

I was so furious with Peeta that I scooted my chair as far as I could from him. Deep down, I knew it wasn't his fault. He had tried to stop, but I had made him kiss me. But it was easier to place the blame on his shoulders, because then I can hide from the truth. The truth that I am hopelessly, undeniably infatuated with Peeta.

I took diligent notes in English that day, and didn't look in Peeta's direction once. I was very proud of my self-restraint, until was starting to think it would be very easy to stop liking Peeta. I scanned the three pages of notes I had written on Shakespeare that day, tuning out McCrane for the time being.

"You will be working on a project with your desk partners on Shakespearean plays." McCrane announced in a proud tone, as if she enjoyed torturing us. "It will be due in two months, right before Thanksgiving Break. It will count as fifteen percent of your grade."

Wait, what? What did she just say? I thought in horror.

I stared at McCrane with a slackened jaw, as wave after wave of dismay rolled through me. If McCrane had just announced my death sentence, I would have been less surprised.

Ironically, this could be my death sentence. I thought wryly.

"No in-class work will be allowed." McCrane continued. "All of this must be done outside of class. Here is the rubric." She passed a thick collection of stapled papers to everyone. "You get the rest of the period to work."

I stared at the stack of papers in horror. It wasn't the fact that we had a project that was bothering me as much as the fact that I had to do it with Peeta.

"So…" Peeta began awkwardly. "Let's read the directions, shall we?"

I shrugged, and began to read the rubric silently to myself. "Well, I thought we could read out loud." Peeta elaborated hesitantly. "I'll start, alright?"

I shrugged again, and let him begin reading, as I followed along with him.

It was a terrible project, full of time-consuming, dull work. We had to read one of Shakespeare's plays, and do a full report on it. Then we had to present the whole thing to the class in two months.

All I could focus on was how much time I would have to spend with Peeta to complete this stupid project.

In this moment, I had never hated anyone as much as I hated McCrane. Now I had to spend time with Peeta, whether I wanted to or not.

"Romeo and Juliet." McCrane announced as she got to Peeta and mine's desks.

"What?" I asked stupidly, staring at her in utter confusion.

"That's the play you two will report on." McCrane announced in her piercing voice.

Great, we get the tragic love story. This is going to be interesting.

"Can we switch partners?" I asked rudely. I saw hurt flash across Peeta's face, but I didn't care.

"No, you can't." McCrane answered. Peeta's eyes lit up a little at her denial.

The bell rang, and I leaped out of my chair as quickly as I could.

"Katniss, look, I'm sorry." Peeta sighed. "Please don't ignore me."

"You should be." I responded harshly, even though I knew he had nothing to apologize for. It was completely my fault. I glared at him coldly, and left him standing there looking utterly lost and dejected.

It took every ounce of resolve I had to not leave school that day. I dragged myself to all my classes obediently, even though I had considered just leaving several times.

The bell finally rang to signal the end of the day, and I dragged myself to my locker in slow-motion. All I could think about was the fact that I had kissed Peeta Mellark. All the horror (and ecstasy) of kissing him had been reverberating in my brain all day. And then add on the fact that I had lashed out at him for absolutely no reason. My head felt like it had been hit by a two-ton brick.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost managed to not see the scene in front of me, and crash into a whole gathering of people. From what I could see, they were mostly seniors, gathered around where my locker was at. They were all whispering, and giggling in gleeful whispers.

I pushed my way to the front; trying to see what was going on. But the crowd was so large that I couldn't see. I stood on my tiptoes, and saw two people in a tight embrace right in front of my locker.

They were both blonde, and from what I could see, tall. The boy, whoever it was, was pushed up against the locker, and the girl was wrapped in his strong, muscular arms.

And then, when I saw those arms, I immediately knew who it was. There was no mistaking those arms, or the gorgeous blonde girl that they held tightly to his muscular chest.

My heart seemed to stop for a long moment, and my blood ran cold. My knees buckled, and I thought I heard a snicker coming from behind me that sounded like Clove.

The boy suddenly looked past the girl's blonde locks, and saw me standing right at the front. His cerulean blue eyes met mine, and I saw the frantic horror of someone who had been caught doing something very wrong reflected in his eyes.

I remembered those soft, full lips pressed against mine just a couple short hours ago, and how much I enjoyed it. My still-fragile heart shattered into a million pieces, like broken glass.

This was the exact reason I hadn't allowed myself to fall for Peeta. There's a danger to loving somebody too much. I saw that firsthand, with Mother.

Because when you trust someone with your heart, they always end up breaking it.

Peeta was kissing Glimmer right by my locker.

A lot happens in this chapter. I'm sorry about that. After this chapter, the story really starts to move forward much more quickly.

The kiss… There will be more of them, but not for a while.

It's mid-September in this chapter, in case you were wondering.

"I Won't Give Up" is sung by Jason Mraz. I do not own the lyrics.

Please review! I know people are reading, so I want you all to review! How else will I know that you guys like/dislike this story? :)

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See you all on Friday, and don't forget to review! I read every single one of them, I promise. So don't think your review doesn't matter to me. :)