Chapter Nine

Disclaimer - I don't own Hunger Games or any of its characters.

Thanks to gabytahijar, sintRizzie, HawthorneHope, TragedyIsTheKey, JoelHGlover00, MaidenAlice, veronique2, Guest, PeetaLover1116 and NicoFan-of-Apollo!

Thanks for reading/favoriting/following/reviewing you lot! It means tons to me!

:)

Set a week after the last chapter ended. Sorry if there are any typos, if you spot any, let me know!

Gale -

Katniss is sitting on the couch across of me. The two of us had been sitting here on the couch over at her house for some time. In silence.

This type of silence is awkward, like she wants to say something but can't. I don't know what to say either. Prim and Rory are upstairs petting Buttercup or something.

"So..." I break the silence slowly, drawing out my words, looking at Katniss. "Whats up?" Is all that I can think of to say.

Katniss fidgets uncomfortably, and it looks like she is debating whether or not to say the thing she wants to say.

"Um..." She stammers awkwardly, looking around the room as if it will help her. She bites her lip, thinking for a moment, "Does Rory like Prim?" She half whispers.

I blink in surprise, I wasn't expecting that question to come up. I think about my answer, remembering the times where Rory and Prim together. He seemed much more nicer and calmer around her. Sometimes I couldn't help but notice the gentle way he touched her sometimes, to get her attention. A gentle tap on her shoulder or a quick pat on her back. The way he looked at her as if she was a goddess.

Katniss is looking at me uncertainly, still waiting for an answer. I can tell that she is worried about my answer. I wonder why she is asking me this... Rory and Prim... Prim and Rory... Oh.

The answer hits me hard, Prim likes Rory. I am such an idiot, why didn't I realize sooner? It suddenly dawns on me that Katniss is worried for her sister right now. She doesn't want Prim to be hurt. She would hate for that to happen, under her watch.

"Uh..." I mumble, squirming uncomfortably under her intense gaze. I clear my throat roughly, "I think so."

Katniss's expression is a mixture of surprise, relief, and gratitude. "Good..." She breathes out, slowly. I can sense the enormous amount of pressure on her shoulders lift suddenly. Katniss looks at me. "Prim likes Rory, but she's afraid that he doesn't like her back." She announces.

I nod. "So, what are you going to do?" I question, interested in her answer. Katniss gives me a little smile as she relaxes back on her couch.

"I'm going to just tell Prim to wait and see if thats what she really wants. Also, I personally think that twelve is a too young to date and get into a serious relationship." She says, thoughtfully. "I don't want Prim to get hurt, or Rory for that matter." Her tone becomes serious.

I look at Katniss and I feel gratitude towards her for being my friend. I wish that I was more like her. Kinder, softer, and loving towards my siblings. I wish I could be as kind to them as Katniss is to Prim. Instead, I feel like an awkward and uncomfortable fool when I try to act that way towards them. I am not good with feelings, and I definitely not good at talking about them. I wish I was though.

"Thanks." I smile at her, genuinely happy and content.

Katniss gives me a weird look, but she nods and smiles back at me.

Peeta -

I miss Katniss.

I hope so hard against hope that I would somehow be able to travel back in time and stop those words from coming out of my mouth. Gosh, I seriously had only meant that I liked Katniss's name... Yet somehow, the meaning felt different to the both of us. I don't know how, but it just did. Like that even though we were just friends, I was sure that the both of us had felt something a friend shouldn't feel... An unfriendlike feeling friends shouldn't get, because then the thing wouldn't work... I don't know how to place it, but yeah.

Great, now I'm confused.

The walk back to the district had been awkward for the both of us. I didn't try talking to Katniss because I didn't want to push my luck.

Right now, though, I just want to see Katniss and apologize and make up with her.

I want to be with her. Even though we'd only hung out a couple of times, I felt really as if I was attached to her. Like I needed her. I did need her.

I wondered what she would do if I went to her house now. Would she talk to me again? I know I would have to apologize, but would she still talk to me after that? Or would she push me out of her life as if I had meant nothing to her?

I feel sad at the thought. I want to be her friend. I really do. I wanted to get to know her and have her learn things about me. I want her to be able to trust me. It would honestly make me the happiest person alive on the planet. Then again, that could not happen unless one of us did something about it. That meant that I had to do something.

Without another thought, I shoot off of my bed and onto my feet. I walk out of my room and down the staircase and enter the bakery where my father is trading with a customer. Holding up a hand in greeting, I smile a greeting and walk out of the building.

I feel nervousness claw at me as I walk towards the Seam. I begin forming my apology mentally, however I do not get far when suddenly someone crashes into me.

"Peeta! Where have you been?" Its Holden, his green eyes flashing with a twinge of impatience and immense surprise and glee.

Startled, I just stare at him. We've only really talked during the weekdays. On the weekends, I've been busy trying to think of ideas for Katniss and I to do. Once, I even thought about bring her to the bakery and teaching her to bake, but I had decided against that almost immediately. Mother would've killed me, claiming that 'No son of mine should be friends with someone as low as that!'.

Mother. I feel a little chill as I think about her. I mean, she doesn't hit me a whole ton, I am relieved by that. It was just that a few days ago, I was caught up thinking about Katniss and I accidently burnt a loaf of bread in the oven. Mother had been furious and hit me once with her rolling pin.

It had hurt so badly, but I forced myself to not cry and obediently take the burnt bread to feed the pigs. Only when I had tossed the loaf to the pigs, had I let the tears escape.

"Peeta?" Holden's voice brings me out of my thoughts. I look at him blankly, trying to remember what we were talking about.

"Oh." I bite my lip. "I've been busy."

Holden gives me skeptical look, but doesn't push it. "Alright then." The two of us are quiet now. I need to talk to Katniss right now, but I can't just ditch Holden. I think of an excuse I should make before Holden jumps in with a suggestion, "Now that you're out here, we should hang out!"

I force myself to plaster a smile onto my face. I guess my talk with Katniss will have to wait, I realize glumly.

"Great!" I manage to sound cheerful and excited, keeping the exasperation out of my tone. I realize how selfish I am being right now, after all, I haven't really been hanging out with my friends for a while.

Holden grins at me eagerly, and drags me along with him towards the town square, away from the Seam and Katniss.

The two of us talk for a while about cheerful, light hearted topics until Holden talks about something much more deeper.

"So, just a couple more months of school huh?" He asks, in a low, dispirited tone. I can immediately sense the underlying message.

He's right, just a couple more months of school, and a couple of weeks more after that and then the reaping will take place.

I feel dread claw at my stomach at the thought. The reaping is never an enjoyable occasion. Well, unless you are from the Capitol. They treat it like its nothing except a simple game. I feel angry at the thought. If I was ever selected to enter the games, I know I wouldn't stand a chance, but I wouldn't want to just be another piece of their games. I would want to be me, Peeta Mellark. A simple town boy from District 12. I didn't want to become anyone else. I wanted to still be the guy I was now.

"Yeah." I say. Holden looks downcast.

"I wish that somehow the Capitol would forget about the Games. I don't know how, but I just wish that they did and left us alone." He admits fiercely.

The two of us walk around the square in silence, until I break it.

"So, what do you want to do?" I look at him. "I mean, I will probably be busy tomorrow, so we better make today a good day, right?"

Holden brightens up and smiles. "Okay, lets go see our other friends. They missed you." Then he pauses and gives me a strange look. "What do you mean you won't be free tomorrow? Do you have a shift at the bakery or something? Homework?" He inquires.

"Yeah, I've got a shift. Also tons of homework. And I want to work on this one painting." I lie.

Tomorrow I'm going to talk to Katniss, and apologize. Hopefully she will accept my apology and we will be on speaking terms once more.

Holden nods slowly. "Okay." Then, he smiles once more and his green eyes sparkle. The two of us then set off on looking for our friends.

Katniss -

I am laughing along with Prim, Gale, and Rory. The four of us have been talking for a while, both Rory and Prim joking around and making Gale and I laugh. Its an odd sight to see either Gale and I laugh, so when we had burst out in laughter, both Rory and Prim had stared at us like we had just turned green and sprouted two more heads.

I haven't laughed this hard since... Peeta. That sobers me immediately. I stop laughing and think about him, the smile fading slowly from my face.

How was he doing? Was he okay? Immediately, I shake those thoughts out of my mind. Since when did I care about him? Secretly, though, I knew the answer. Ever since we had watched the sunset in the meadow, I knew that I felt something for him. What I felt for him though, I didn't know.

Peeta was an oddball, in my opinion. Despite having painted a portrait of me (without my consent) I thought he was alright. He was kind, definitely, as well as amusing and gentle. I could tell by the way that he had looked around the forest and at the meadow that he genuinely loved being there.

He understood why I liked being out there in forest even more than Gale. The only ever reason Gale wanted to go to the forest was just to hunt to feed his family, which isn't bad of course, but Peeta understood. He saw the forest and the meadow as a place of sanctuary from the games and the Capitol.

"Katniss? Are you alright?" Rory slaps my arm gently. Startled, I look at him in surprise, momentarily wondering how he's here in front of me and who he is.

"Um... Yeah, sorry." I stammer uncertainly, realizing that both Prim and Gale are looking at me uncertainly and in confusion.

"Really?" Gale presses.

I nod quickly, a little annoyed.

Gale doesn't look convinced and purses his lips as he looks me up and down, a crease in between his eyebrows. Prim is looking unconvinced as well.

"Are you sure?" Prim asks, concern apparent in her tone.

I sigh, trying to keep the annoyance out of it. "Yes, why is everyone asking me that?" I demand roughly, looking at Gale and Prim intensely. They both fidget nervously under my stare. They stay quiet. Aha, success! I think, rolling my eyes.

"Sorry." Both Gale and Prim say in unison, giving me a small sheepish smile. I can't help but smirk at how in sync they are with each other.

"Its okay." I look at Rory. "Any other funny stories you want to say?" He grins up at the three of us and immediately starts retelling another amusing story.

Rory uses his hand while he talks, which is quite a funny trait he has. I look at Prim through the corner of my eye and see that she is watching Rory's every move. I really need to talk to her about this.

Part of the reason I haven't talked to her yet is that I hadn't had the guts yet to ask Gale about Rory's opinion of Prim, until today. I had been afraid to pop the question to Gale because I was worried if Rory didn't like Prim, and what I would say to Prim about that.

Prim, I can see is looking at Rory with so much adoration that it makes me jealous. I don't think that I ever saw her look at me with that much adoration. I shake the thought out of my head.

"Prim? Can I talk to you?" The words just come out of my mouth, I had been expecting to have this talk later. Except the words had just come out of my mouth without my permission.

Prim looks surprised but nods slowly. The two of us stand up, and I lead her upstairs to the room we share.

The two of us sit on her bed and I fidget a little uncomfortably. Never in my life would I expect myself to be having this sort of chat about boys with Prim. Well, not this soon.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" She asks, looking confused. I manage a small, tight smile.

"Um..." I momentarily lose my train of thought, gaping at Prim. I am sure I must look like an idiot. I blink away my confusion and try to look confident.

"Rory." I head right onto the subject. Prim blinks, startled.

"Oh!" She blushes. "Well, you know you don't have to talk about this with me if you don't want to." She mumbles awkwardly. A red hot blush spreads across her cheeks.

I swallow roughly. "I want to." I say, with all the certainty I can muster.

Prim gives me a little smile. "Okay then."

The two of us sit there awkwardly. Me, trying to think of what to say. Prim, waiting for me to speak.

I clear my throat. "Okay, first things first. I want you to know that you shouldn't date Rory right away." When I see her slightly crestfallen look, I quickly continue. "Not because I would disapprove of you two, but I want you to know if thats what you really want. The two of you are really young, and I don't want either of you two to rush into this and get hurt in the end." I say sincerely.

Prim nods slowly, understanding where I'm going with this. Her brow furrows and she looks at me. "How do you know if Rory would date me though?"

I squirm a little under her gaze. "I asked Gale. He said that he thinks Rory likes you too." I answer honestly. Prim blushes.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

There is another awkward silence with the two of us just sitting side by side on a bed.

"Thank you." Prim says suddenly, standing up. She gives me a grateful smile filled with love. My heart warms at the sight.

I shrug, smiling back at Prim, "Its no big deal. I'll help you whenever and however I can." I tell her, sincere.

Prim gives me another beautiful smile. "I know. Thank you, Katniss." She leans up on her tippy toes and I instinctively lean down so she can peck me swiftly on the cheek.

She leaves the room but not before casting me another grateful glance.

I smile to myself, proud. "I think I did alright." I say softly to myself. I close my eyes and think of the oncoming changes Prim will go through. I don't know what changes exactly, but I do know that she'll be becoming more independent. My throat closes up at the thought. She won't look up to me then as she does now, I think, a little sourly.

I shake the thought out of my mind. I really am thinking selfishly now, huh?

I walk back down the really bad stairs and into the living room, where Prim and Rory are now on the ground roaring with laughter. Gale is fighting to keep a straight face as well, but when he sees me, his resolve breaks and a smile falls onto his face.

"Hey." He says as I sit down next to him. "What did you and Prim talk about?"

"Rory." I respond. Gale nods slowly.

"Okay. Did it go well?" He asks, rather unnecessarily.

I raise an eyebrow and point in Prim's direction with my eyes. Prim is currently laughing and rolling around on the ground along with Rory. "If it didn't, don't you think that she wouldn't be having this much fun as she is now?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

Gale looks at me sheepishly.

I look back at Rory and Prim, who had managed to get their laughter under control. I observe Rory, amused at how he keeps chuckling. "Does Rory usually laugh this much at home?"

Gale looks at Rory, amusement on his face as well. "No, I think he only laughs this much when he's with Prim."

I nod.

Gale turns over onto his side and looks at me straight in the eyes. Startled, my eyes widen. I raise an eyebrow.

"What?" I ask, quizzically.

Gale lets a small smile play on his lips and his eyes travel all over my face, until finally settling on my eyes. "Nothing. Just admiring the view." He jokes, smirking.

I roll my eyes and punch him in the shoulder, none too gently. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be hurt that much from it, instead he gives me flashes me an irritatingly cocky grin.

"You're blushing." He states, rather smugly.

I stare at him and I realize that he is right. Immediately, my face becomes even more redder at the realization. Gale chortles in amusement. I finally manage to vanquish the redness from my cheeks and I look at him in confusion.

"Why in such a good and flirty mood?" I demand. Gale snorts.

"Flirty?" He questions.

"You know what I'm talking about, Hawthorne."

Gale flashes me another agonizingly cocky grin. "Last names, huh, Everdeen? Not as scary as you think."

I glare at him.

Gale sighs and drops his attitude. "Fine," He holds up his hands in defeat. "No more comments."

There is a silence between the two of us. I can vaguely hear Rory and Prim talking to each other.

"Want to take a walk?" Gale suggests. I think about it and nod. I would like to get out of the house for a while. I'm also sure Rory and Prim will be alright without supervision. My mother would be back home soon from work, anyways.

"Sure." I reply. I look over at Rory and Prim. "We're going to take a walk, alright? You two stay here and just talk and stuff. Don't do anything dangerous." I add.

Rory rolls his eyes at me, playfully. "Do we ever?"

I just sigh. I look over at Prim and smile. "See you later, Prim."

Prim gives me a grin and waves as both Gale and I leave the room and exit out of my house.

"So, where to?" I ask Gale. He smiles.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go over to the meadow. With me. We could watch the sunset for a while. I mean, the sun will probably set in half an hour or so." Gale suggests.

I remember watching the sunset with Peeta. I've never actually watched the sunset with anyone besides my father before Peeta. I've never even seen it with Gale. I had offered him the chance once, but he turned it down.

I realize Gale is still waiting for my answer. I shake thoughts of Peeta out of my mind and I give him a nod. "Sure. Lets go."

Gale grins widely and the two of us set off on walking down the road of the Seam and towards the fence.

"So, anything new happen in school?" Gale asks. Surprised, I look at him. He doesn't really care about my studies. He doesn't even talk about school. I wonder whats gotten into him. As if he can read my thoughts, Gale smirks, "Yeah, I know. Lame subject. But, really, I want to know."

I shrug. "Nothing special. The usual, I guess. Gossip, break ups, new couples, the lot." I state, rather bored.

Gale snorts. "Lots of romantic drama then, huh?"

I smirk. "Yeah."

Gale pauses, as if debating to ask me something. Then, an unexpected question pops up. "Any romantic drama in your life, then?"

For some reason, as he says that, my mind jumps to Peeta. His smile, and his warm and caring bright blue eyes. Shocked, I force those images out of my mind and focus on the present. "No." I say, much more sharply than intended.

Gale looks a little offended at my tone, but he doesn't talk about it. The two of us continue walking towards the fence and I can see it from a distance. I subconsciously quicken my pace so I reach it much faster before. Gale jogs up to meet me, amusement glinting in his dark eyes.

"Eager, huh?"

I just shrug as I get down on my stomach and crawl through the gap. I stand up and dust myself off as Gale copies my actions easily.

The two of us stand in the forest, looking at each other for a second until Gale turns and leads the way towards the meadow. The two of us walk across the forest floor, none of us making a sound. This scene reminds me of me telling off Peeta since that he was walking far too loudly. A smile dares to tug at my lips.

"So..." Gale rubs the back of his neck, searching for a topic. I feel slightly amused. Usually, he didn't have this hard of a time talking to me right?

"Why are you having so much trouble talking to me now?" I blurt. Gale looks stunned at my question and is silent.

"What?" He finally asks, his voice high pitched and squeaky. My eyes widen and I can't help but snort at his tone. Gale clears his throat in embarrassment. "I'm not having trouble." He says defensively, his eyes narrowing.

I roll my eyes. "Whatever." I can see the meadow beginning to appear and without knowing it I begin sprinting towards it and throw myself on the grass on the spot I had sat in a week ago.

I hear Gale laugh at me as he sits down beside me. I immediately tense. Peeta had sat there a week ago as well. He had lain there beside me as well. The two of us had watched the sunset together in these spots. We'd gotten to know each other here.

For some reason. This was wrong. This felt wrong. Gale shouldn't be here next to me, I realized, my heart pounding. My throat started closing up. The worst part of this was that I didn't know why I was thinking this.

"Katniss? Are you alright?" Gale's concerned face enters my view. He sits in front of me, his eyes wide with concern and his brow furrowed with anxiety. He awkwardly waves a hand in front of my face. "You okay?"

I force myself to snap out of it. "Yes. I'm fine." I mutter. I ignore Gale's expression and just lie down on the grass, sourness filling me.

It seems as if whatever I do, I'll always end up thinking about him. Thats annoying. I scowl. Why can't I control what I think about now? Am I missing Peeta Mellark?

Is he missing me?

I knew the answer already. Yes, he was missing me. I knew that from the instant we had parted ways, he would miss me. I would have had to be blind to miss the massive amount of sadness in his eyes as well as regret. I knew what he regretted. Those three words that had come out of his mouth; 'I like Katniss'. Did I overreact to that? I wasn't sure.

"You know..." Gale's voice awakens me from my thoughts. I listen to him, he continues. "I should've watched the sunset with you long ago."

I roll onto my side and face Gale. Gale copies my movements so the two of us are facing each other. I see Gale's eyes roam over my face, his eyes a dark shade of grey it looks almost black. He bites his lower lip thoughtfully as his eyes finally come to rest on mine.

Then, after what seems like a lifetime, he slowly moves his face closer to mine and touches my lips with his.

Author's Note: Ahhh! Please don't kill me! I just had to do this for the story to continue well! I can't spoil anything for you but I will say one thing: Gale and Katniss will definitely not end up together! You probably knew that though... Once again, don't kill me! If you did... You would totally miss what Katniss would do next and PK's kiss!

Damn. Spoiler... xD

I am sorry if the chapter isn't so good. Basically this chapter, Prim and Katniss discussed Rory, Peeta misses Katniss, Gale is starting to put the 'moves' on Katniss, and Katniss is just realizing that she misses Peeta.

I am so happy that you guys take the time to click the follow and favorite and review button! It makes my day to know that you guys actually enjoy reading this :)

Review Responses:

HawthorneHope: I really liked the explanation of your penname! xD I think I understood what you were trying to say... I never knew Hawthorn (is that the correct spelling?) was a plant... Sorry if I sound super stupid and ignorant, I don't mean to offend you. I like that you like Peeta and Katniss's relationship, I think I am kind of struggling to portray their relationship well. I hope you found this chapter enjoyable! Thank you for reviewing :)

TragedyIsTheKey: Haha, I'm glad you find the Prory part cute, I was worried if you guys would find it random. I just wanted to add some Prim and Rory drama on the side. Haha, I am glad you liked the ending of the last chapter, to me it looked really choppy and rushed. I hope that you liked this chapter as well :)

JoelHGlover00: Haha, thanks for your very kind and awesome review! :D It made me happy reading it. I am happy you think I am a good writer, but I think that if you think I'm one of the best, you are very mistaken. xD If you want to look for an amazingly good HG fanfic and a brilliant Fanfiction Author read ArthursCamelot's Hunger Games rewrite if you haven't yet. Her writing is brilliant!

Thanks for reviewing, it made my day :)

MaidenAlice: Wow, I was kind of having a writer's block for this chapter until I got your review! You gave me the idea for Katniss to talk to Gale about Rory and Prim, so I at least had something to write about :) I am sorry if this chapter wasn't very good, I just wanted to show how much Peeta missed her and that Katniss is beginning to feel something for him too, but she doesn't know what.

Thanks for reviewing :)

veronique2: Whoa! You are honestly one of the best reviewers ever! Well, in my opinion, but I'm sure other people would agree ;-D I'm glad that you think that my way of Katniss and Peeta bonding is good, I think thats how they would build their relationship anyway.

I liked reading your rant about Gale and Peeta and Katniss, I think that I learned a lot more about the characters reading your review, so big thank you to you! :)

I promise you that Gale and Katniss will definitely not end up together or date, so don't worry about that. Instead, worry about what Katniss is going to do next chapter after Gale kissed her... Haha.

I honestly don't know how to reply to your review, but I just want to say thanks for your rant xD I really like reading your reviews because they are very thoughtful and good to read.

What is your mother tongue? If you don't mind me asking. I speak a couple of other languages besides English, I speak a little Swedish, and some French, which I'm currently learning. So far, I know the basics, I think. English is my main language though.

Once more, thanks for reviewing :)

Guest: Haha, its okay if reviews are long. I like reading long reviews, they are fun to read in my opinion. My inspiration for this story was this other HG fanfic called My First Date With Katniss Everdeen, I think. Its a really good story, so I think you should read it, its very well written.

I am happy you think the fanfic is good and that Peeta and Katniss's relationship is going decently :) Thanks for the review!

PeetaLover1116: Haha, I'm glad you loved the last chapter. I just hope you don't hate me after you had read the last part of the chapter...

Thanks for the review! :D

NicoFan-of-Apollo: I am glad you liked the Prim and Rory relationship as well as the fact that Katniss and Peeta are spending time together and learning more things about each other. Thanks for your review, it makes my day :)

Kpfan72491: Thanks :)

Thanks for reading/favoriting/following/reviewing you guys! It makes me so happy that you guys actually like reading this!

I am feeling really happy right now, so I guess I'll send you lot kisses and hugs - xoxo

See you...

That sounds totally stalkerish... Sorry...

Anyways, until next time! Take care!