Chapter Six
Disclaimer - I don't own Hunger Games or any of its characters.
Heads up - This chapter is kind of a filler so I apologize for that...
Peeta -
Nervously, I rubbed my hands together. Then, shaking slightly I knocked on the door.
It only took about three seconds until the door opened.
It wasn't who I expected to see. It was Gale Hawthorne.
I'd never actually spoken to him about anything else than trading but I didn't need to speak to him to know who he was.
He was Katniss's big and muscular best friend. A guy who was admired by tons of girls at our school, but apparently, he only had eyes for Katniss Everdeen.
I can't blame him for that.
"What do you want?" The words were said sharply, and in a low tone. Startled a little I took a step back.
Shaking myself to get a grip, I regained my composure and spoke. "Hey, I was wondering, is Katniss home?"
Gale's eyes met mine and they darkened instantly. I forced myself to stand my guard. Gods, he was terrifying.
"Why?" He interrogates me roughly. I flinch at his tone, then I silently scold myself for being such a wimp. I take a deep breath and keep my cool.
"I need to make an apology." I say those words sincerely.
"What did you do?" He demands roughly, shaking his fist in my face. I take a step back instantly.
"I..." I don't know what to say, all words have abandoned me.
"Gale?" Its a boy's voice. Both Gale and I look towards the source of the voice.
Its a mini Gale.
Well, not really. The only difference is their hair. The mini Gale has shaggy hair, while Gale has short hair, that barely goes past his neck.
"Yes, Rory?" Gale's voice has lost his threatening tone and instead its calm. Soothing even. But it still has its rough edge.
Rory scratches the back of his neck, a little nervously, while he surveys the situation between Gale and I.
"Nothing, I was just wondering what the noise was all about." Rory mumbles softly. When he looks at me, I see a little worry and sympathy in his eyes.
"Okay, sorry about that." Gale grumbles in return. "Go back inside and play with your brother and sister and Prim." He instructs, not harshly. Rory bobs his head quickly and turns around and walks back in the house, but not before casting another glance at the two of us.
Gale turns back to me and his eyes are dark once more. His lips set in a thin line.
"Mellark, Katniss is different. She's not herself." He watches me closely. "Tell me, what did you do to her?"
Even though his voice is low and threatening, I can sense the concern in his words. If I was in Gale's position, I would want to know what was wrong with Katniss. But yet, I didn't want to tell him. "Listen, Gale, I just want to talk to Katniss. I need to talk to her."
Gale bites his lip angrily and so hard that I wonder if it would start bleeding. There is a few seconds of silence, and finally he speaks up. "She's not here." Is all that he offers. Then, its silent once more.
I flush angrily with impatience, "Listen, just tell me where I can find Katniss or when she'll be back. I need to speak with her. Please."
Gale's face loses all emotion, but I can tell from his body language that he is still angry at me. "She's gone hunting. She's probably at the Hob. She'll be trading." Without another word, he turns around and slams the door in my face.
"... Thanks." I say, staring at the closed door. Then, I turn on my heels and start walking towards the Hob. Towards Katniss.
However, before I can take another step, someone calls my name.
"Peeta!" Even without looking, I can tell the speaker is Prim.
Turning around, a grin appears on my face. "Hello, Prim."
She rewards me with a beautiful smile. Then, it fades away as she begins speaking. "You are going to talk with Katniss, aren't you?" Her blue eyes fill with sympathy.
I nod, my grin also fading. "About that..." I swallow roughly. "How angry is she?"
Prim bites her lower lip, a trait I noticed Katniss also shared. There is a few seconds of silence, when Prim speaks up.
"She... She was angry when we left." She murmurs. "After that day, she didn't talk much."
I bite the inside of my cheek. "Oh. Not much hope for me, then, huh?" I ask her pathetically.
Prim gives me a look that is a turmoil of emotions. I can see, sadness, sympathy, worry, and many other emotions. Just her expression is the answer I need.
I sigh sadly, and shove my hands in my pockets. "Oh okay, then." I look back at her and force a smile on my face. "Thanks for the help, Prim."
Prim looks at me and nods. Then she also smiles, but I can tell its forced. "No problem, Peeta." She waves a little, then as I turn, she calls for me again.
Turning around once more I raise an eyebrow in confusion at her. "What is it?" I ask.
Prim pauses, then lets a smile take over her features - this time, its not forced. "Your paintings were very beautiful." She tells me.
I smile back in response and I wave goodbye as I turn to head to the Hob.
When I enter the building, everyone goes quiet when they see me. However, I am only looking at one person. Katniss Everdeen.
I count to three until she finally turns around and sees me. Her eyes widen slightly but her expression is totally blank.
After a few more seconds of silence, people start talking once more, but still cast me a few looks. Some of them are amused, and some of them are just confused. Probably because they hardly see a person from the town here.
Taking a deep breath, I begin walking. I see Katniss start talking to the vendor once more, I can tell by the way her mouth is moving that she is rushing. Rushing to get away from me, probably.
I am not so far from her now, probably just a few paces away. Suddenly, I am right beside her. She stops talking and I see her lips purse into a thin line.
"Hey." I murmur. Katniss doesn't look at me, then she continues to talking to the vendor once more, ignoring me quite easily. I feel slightly bothered by this but I don't let it get to me. I try once more, "Hi, Katniss."
She doesn't stop talking or pay me any attention. I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I open my eyes once more and put my hand over hers.
She shuts up and I hear her take a breath as well. Then she turns to look at me. I can tell by her eyes that she is mad. Very mad.
Trying to ignore the sparks I am getting from touching her hand, I speak up before Katniss can kill me. "Katniss, please believe me when I say this, but I am sorry. Really sorry. I never should have painted you in the first place. I realize that when you saw the painting that it creeped you out and I apologize for that."
I take my hand off of Katniss's while I watch her reaction carefully. I see conflicted emotions cross her face and I am glad that she is thinking my apology over instead of flipping me on my back.
A few more seconds later she just sighs and shrugs. "I don't want to deal with this now. I'm just here to get food for my family." She mutters, dryly.
I feel my heart fall, I was hoping so hard that she'd accept my apology and we'd be back on speaking terms once more. Cursing myself silently, I watch as Katniss and the vendor talk once more. I just stand there in silence and watch Katniss.
Finally, the two of them stop conversing and the vendor passes food over to Katniss in a pouch. Katniss nods in gratitude and hands the vendor a large squirrel in return.
Then, she begins walking out of the Hob. Without a word, I follow her. As soon as we are out of the Hob, she drags me over somewhere that we won't be disturbed. There are a few seconds of silence, when she finally speaks.
"Listen, I just want to know. Why?" She is looking at me, her grey eyes are sending me a clear message: No lies, just the truth.
Two different options enter my mind. The first one is, tell her the truth and that will probably - no, absolutely - eliminate all chances of ever establishing a friendship. Second, I can lie or dodge the question.
"What are you talking about?" I inquire, I feel shame burning inside of me. Despicably, I had chosen the second option. It made me want to slap myself a thousand times over.
Katniss avoids my gaze and I watch her lips purse into a thin line once more. "The painting." She says it like I am an idiot. She looks at me right in the eyes, I swallow roughly.
"Painting?" Gosh, I am so horrible. I am lying right now. And I have never lied in my life before.
Katniss lets out an impatient breath. "Of me. The painting of me."
I sigh inwardly. There really is no way out of this...
"Why what?" Okay, I dodged the question again. I know Katniss will probably think that I am super dense, but I really didn't want Katniss to hate me.
Katniss closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I can tell she's losing patience. Fast.
"Why did you paint me, of all people?" She asks, drawing out the question. There is confusion in her voice, as well as impatience.
I bite my lip. If I answer honestly, I will probably lose all chances of friendship with her. She'll never want to speak to me again. The only times we'll ever talk would probably be full of tension and awkwardness.
"Listen, Katniss..." I begin uncertainly, "Its hard to explain..."
Katniss shoots me a look. "We've got time, take all the time you need." She demands. I shift my weight from one side to the other.
Taking a deep breath, I decide what to do next. "Katniss, right now isn't a good time to explain. I just... Can we be friends?" I blurt out. Katniss's eyes widen in shock.
"What?" She recovers quickly, and her words are shot out in an aggressive manner.
I flinch at the violence in her tone. "I want to be friends with you, thats why I asked you to see my paintings in the first place. I wanted to do stuff with you." I say sincerely.
Katniss's eyes dart around, searching for an escape. I can tell she'd rather be doing anything else than have this conversation with me.
"Katniss?" I ask, my tone pleading. "I promise I'll explain when the time is right." I place a hand over my heart, catching her eye. "I promise." I repeat solemnly and honestly.
Katniss fidgets around uncomfortably. "I... uh..." She stammers uncertainly. I watch as she fiddles with her hands and bites her lower lip. "Peeta-"
I can tell a rejection is about to come and I quickly speak up before she can finish her sentence. "We can do anything. We can talk. We can walk around the town and the Seam. You can teach me how to use a bow. You can teach me a lot of things! Please, Katniss. I just want to be your friend."
Katniss purses her lips and looks at me, her expression full of uneasiness and tension.
Author's Note: Sorry for the lame ending, but next chapter will be like a skip in time. It will be set a week later. I don't know when the chapter will be out in but before two weeks pass, because I'll be busy.
I am sorry that the Gale part wasn't as good as it should've been, but I just wanted to show that deep down he is a good guy and just cares about Katniss. Prim seems a OOC in my opinion, not as sweet as she should've been. Rory's insertion was kind of random, but I just wanted another way to show Gale's soft side.
Happy New Year's everybody! :)
Review Responses:
PeetaLover1116: Ah, well, Peeta might just be able to get Katniss to forgive him... Thanks for reviewing :)
Ldyglfr62:Your prediction was close! He just didn't explain his feelings about Katniss to Katniss... I felt if I made Peeta say that to her it would kind of be rushing the story a little... I dunno. Thanks for reviewing!
JoelHGlover 00 (Guest): Your review was very nice, thank you! I don't plan on stopping the story, I am having fun writing it, but the only problem with me is that my writing isn't very good, especially when I try to get into the 'character's shoes'.
melverdeenforever219:Well, I hope I updated soon enough, so I hope I didn't disappoint you! Thanks for your review! Katniss was kind of a jerk... but she was just surprised and alarmed wasn't she? I dunno, lol. Poor Peeta
marycontrary82:I think this has been 3 days... I meant to upload yesterday but didn't have time... Sorry about that! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, its kind of a filler but I promise next chapter will have more interaction between Peeta and Katniss.
Thanks for reading!