A/N: Sorry for the lack of Peeta in the last chapter! And I'm so so so so so so sorry for not updating for one freaking year! Things have been crazy and I haven't been working on anything fanfic-ish, but I'm here now and hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently!

Your reviews are wonderful, thanks for all your support!

Some of you might be wondering where this story will be going, and how is it possible that Katniss will end up with Peeta if he's already dead, but I can't answer it. I'm not gonna spoil all the fun! So for now, enjoy the story aaaand keep wondering :)

Disclaimer: Nope, THG, as well as the songs in this chapter and every other chapter, are not mine.

Recap:

Katniss met with Gale and they had a fight because she assumed that Gale hated her now that she was a victor. They hadn't seen each other for weeks even though she visited his family almost everyday whenever he was working in the mines.

Peeta "visited" her not long after Gale left from their fight that day, and Katniss slowly accepted his death and she tried to get used to seeing him even though he was dead.

Meanwhile, Katniss bonded with Madge and they spent a lot of time together, but they never talked about anything that involved Gale and/or the games. She took Madge to the Seam one day and had a short talk about The Capitol and Haymitch's games. Madge ended up bringing Katniss into her house and they watched Haymitch's games together.

From the first time we heard this
We were quick to believe
That light on the surface was dark underneath
Knew enough to be nervous but we just couldn't quick

Stay around
Tell me that we're better off now
Wait it out
Tell me that we're better off now

"Better Off Now" - Trent Dabbs

Madge has to look away when the candy-pink bird stabs its mouth into her aunt's neck repeatedly. She still looks away when Haymitch comes to find her covered in blood and slowly dying.

Without a word, he takes her hand and holds it as she coughs blood, as her eyelids slowly closed. He still has her hand in his when the cannon finally fires, and for a moment he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before finally letting go and walks away to let the hovercraft take her body.

Haymitch looks so young on the TV, so different than he does now. He has the typical Seam looks, dark hair and gray eyes, and the look of survivor on his face. He has this determined look on his face, a strong will to win and go home. And he's confident. He's sure that he's gonna win. He has proven his confidence in his interview.

And then it's down to two. Him and a girl with an axe.

While Haymitch looks like a true fighter, everything in this girl screams murderer. Scars and wounds are all over her body, but the look of thirst of blood is still evident in her eyes. The way she looks at Haymitch is dangerous, like she's already imagining chopping his body off into pieces. Like she already has everything planned to leap onto the boy and end him in a merciless death.

But he barely flinches. He just looks at her with a blank expression on his face, which a while later changes into a challenging look. A fight is surely to be expected, but they are both strong. The fight feels forever, like it'll never end. And when they're both finally drained out of energy, Haymitch simply falls onto his knees, weaponless, blood dripping all over his body. He lets the girl throw her axe at him, and lets the weapon fly past him and into the cliff, barely missing his head by a few inches without a fight, as if he already knew that her aim wouldn't be as good as it had been before—so why bother wasting his energy by dodging?

And his face remains emotionless as the axe flies back magically, embedding itself right into the unexpecting girl's head, killing her in an instant.

Madge turns off the TV after that, not wanting to continue with the crowning ceremony and the Victory Tour. We've had enough for a night.

"So that's why," I murmur quietly. "The Gamemakers were mad because Haymitch used the force field as a weapon."

Madge nods beside me. "And he got punished."

Then we both just sit in silence, our thoughts filling our own heads. Until I glance at the clock on the wall and realize that it's way late already. I tell Madge, "I think I'll go home now."

"Yeah, you should," Madge says, walking me to the front door. "Be careful, Katniss. See you tomorrow."

I nod. "See you tomorrow."

The walk to Victor's Village is, of course, so quiet. Most people are already asleep, though you can still faintly hear the noise from the small bar in town. I can see some men lurking in the shadows, alcohol in hand, doing whatever drunks do when they're wasted. But I know for sure they won't do anything to me. Sober or not, they know not to mess with me, Katniss Everdeen, the most recent victor of the Hunger Games, an expert with bow and arrows. Touch me and you'll find an arrow embedded into your head.

When I get home, both my mom and Prim are already asleep. I lock the door and go upstairs to my room quietly. Fortunately, my footsteps are as silent as always, so I have no problem walking to my room without waking up anyone.

"Hey, Katniss," Peeta says as I close the door, making me jump in surprise.

"Gosh, you startled me," I whisper, putting a hand on my chest. I fake a glare and he just grins sheepishly at me.

"You should really get used to this, Katniss," he lightly says, plopping himself down on one side of my bed.

I walk over to the opposite side of my wide, king-sized bed and lie down across it so that my head is near Peeta's backside, staring up at the ceiling. I study the light, dimly shining above me, but enough to help me see the whole room completely. It's been weeks but I still find it mesmerizing in some ways; living in the town, having these kinds of luxuries. When I was in the Seam, nights were dark unless you stayed outside under the stars and the moonlight. But now, it almost feels like the moon's here. But it's not. And frankly, I don't know which one I like better. The moon or the artificial light.

"So," Peeta starts and I dart my gaze onto his. "Where have you been?"

I shrug. "Just hanging out with Madge."

"That so?" he asks, and I nod. "What did you guys do?"

He looks down over his shoulder at me as I give him a small smirk. "Girl stuff."

Peeta makes a face. "No details, please."

A small, yet genuine laugh bubbles out from my lips. "I'm kidding. I took her to the Seam and we helped the Hawthornes," I say lightly, and then add in a murmur. "I think they like her."

I avoid Peeta's eyes but I still can feel the curious gaze he's set on me. "That's good, right?"

"We haven't talked," I blurt out. "Me and Gale, I mean."

He nods slowly. "I know. I'm sorry about that. He's… he has no right to act like… this."

"Mm-hm," I hum. "But I feel like… Gale and Madge have been sneaking around, you know? His mother didn't seem so surprised that Madge came over and his sister really… loved her."

He shifts himself so now we're both lying across my bed, somehow our heads side-to-side. "That upsets you," he states, not asks.

"It's just weird. Gale used to really, strongly dislike her and now it seems like…" I weakly half-shrug. "It's like they're hiding something from me and it just bothers me."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, you're also sneaking around behind their backs. With me," he says slyly.

I roll my eyes. "Sure, Peeta. Sure." I sigh and turn my head to face him, only to blink in shock because he's also turning his head to my side and I didn't realize that we're lying so close that our noses almost touch… if they could touch at all. "Uh," I clear my throat and face the ceiling. "We watched Haymitch's games earlier."

"You did?" he sounds surprised. "How was it? I've never seen it before."

"Mm-hm, and I know why now," I say lowly, remembering Madge's warning about the hidden bugs. "Haymitch played dirty during the final battle."

He makes a small sound, letting me know that he's listening intently.

"Did you know that there was a high cliff in one side of the arena? It's protected by this kind of magnetic force or something so that you can't jump off and kill yourself, because the force will only bounce you back. And it will bounce everything that falls off that cliff."

"Okay," he shakes his head in understanding, but the question lies behind his tone. And then?

"Haymitch fought a career tribute during the end. They fought near that cliff. It was so bloody and violent… It was almost worse than seeing Cato…" I choke up and shake my head. "She—the career tribute—had an axe that she didn't use until the very last minute of the games. Haymitch kneeled very close the cliff, facing the career when she threw that axe toward him. But he didn't move."

"The axe didn't hit him?"

"No. Haymitch just let it flew past his ear and let it fall off the cliff."

Silence engulfs both of us, and I wait as the gears turn inside Peeta's head. "It falls off… and bounces back like a boomerang, right?"

I nod. "And it hit the career right into her head. She didn't see it coming."

"Haymitch wasn't supposed to take advantage of that force—hell, I bet he wasn't even supposed to know about it," Peeta exclaimed in wonder. "So that's why we never saw it on TV? Because we aren't supposed to know about it too?"

"I guess so," I say, still in my low tone. "The way I see it… it's almost as if it was an act of rebellion from Haymitch. Like he was mocking the Gamemakers, mocking everyone. He didn't need a weapon to win against a career tribute, to win against the Capitol. Their fire… is what burned themselves in the end."

"You are indeed a girl on fire, Miss Everdeen," Snow says. "But I shall make sure that the fire you've caught is not going to burn the rest of us."

But Snow was dead wrong.

"I never caught any fire, Peeta," I whisper in realization. "I only fueled the fire they've already started, and that's what get them so mad. Because I just did what Haymitch had done. I acted and spoke against them."

I sit up. "The words I said in the interviews… the way I got The Capitol people's sympathy from how upset I was over your death…" I shake my head. "I'm playing with their fire right now."

In one second, Peeta is sitting right next to me. I don't know how he could do that so quickly, and I don't want to know. Yet. My mind is somewhere far, far away from any of Peeta's… ghostly abilities.

"Then play harder," Peeta's soft but firm tone gets me to look at him. "Don't stop the fire. Don't let it die with me."

I play with the tip of my arrow, letting it pierce through the skin of my pointer finger and draw blood. But I hardly feel the pain, almost as if it was so insignificant. I've dealt with worse pain in my life—physical and emotional pain, and a teeny tiny little cut isn't going to hurt me.

I pinch the tip of my finger with my thumb, looking from any kind of pain that can make me flinch but finding none. Red blood runs freely down my finger, and I wipe it onto the large rock I'm sitting on. With the sleeve of my jacket, I clean my blood on the arrow. Then I stand up, load the arrow on my bow, and point it toward a random direction.

I close my eyes, take a slow and deep breath, and let it shoot through the wind.

Walking over the distance, I find my arrow lodged into an eye of a squirrel, and it only makes my chest feel tight. I can never deliver this to Mr. Mellark, not anymore. Not with this fear and shame weighing down my shoulder. I may have already accepted the fact that Peeta is dead and now talking to me as a ghost, but that doesn't mean that I'm anywhere ready to face his flesh and blood.

I'm too ashamed to look at the Mellarks in the eye.

"That's a brilliant shot."

I expected the voice to be Peeta's, but to my surprise, it was Gale's. I turn around so fast that I wonder how I don't get a whiplash, and find a pair of steel grey eyes watching me. Gale takes a step forward hesitantly and carefully, as if he's afraid to approach me, and it makes me scoff.

"No need to be scared of me. I'm not going to lodge an arrow into your chest," I say this in a cold, nonchalant tone but my words crack in the end. I let the bow fall onto the ground and abandon the dead squirrel.

Frustration crosses over Gale's tired face and he sighs. "It's not that, Katniss. I just—I don't know how to face you after what you said to me." He picks his words carefully, afraid that he will touch a sensitive spot. "Why are you mad at me?"

Why am I mad at him? Truthfully? I don't know. I guess it's just that after I came back from all the tears and blood I had to face in the arena, I expected everyone in this district to treat me like dirt. Like how Mrs. Mellark treated me. And it just angered me how Gale didn't hate me after what I've done because I already accepted—or thought that I accepted—his undying hatred for me. But he doesn't hate me. Why doesn't he hate me?

Maybe Gale was right. Maybe I need to get over myself because I haven't.

"You've changed. I know that. But to me, you're still my Catnip."

"That's what you don't get, Gale." I shake my head at him. "I'm not the same Catnip anymore. I need you to accept that."

"Look, no matter what happened, no matter what you think, I'll still be here. Maybe not as often as I'd like to be, but I'm not going anywhere, okay? I don't even care if you live in the town now—maybe it bothered me at first but I learned how to get over it—I'm still Gale and you're still Catnip, and that's all that matters."

It sounds so simple and so easy hearing those words from his mouth, but I'm not going to fool myself. Gale doesn't know anything—and I don't plan on telling him anytime soon—from Snow's subtle threat to my traumatized and mentally screwed up self and to the danger that me and my family is facing right now after what I've done.

But to humor him, I nod. "Okay."

A smile lights up Gale's face, and I smile back because it's been so long since I had last seen him smiling so genuinely. I let him walk over and scoop me into his embrace, and my arm cling tight onto his waist. I need all the physical reassurance I can get since I can't seek it from Peeta or anyone else.

My throat closes up at that thought. I miss him.

"I miss you," Gale murmurs into my head, and guilt creeps into my chest. I'm hugging this man, my best friend, and I'm thinking about Peeta instead. I don't know what to think of that.

"I know. I miss you too."

Slowly, Gale peels himself off of me, but one hand stays on my waist while the other lies gently over my cheeks. His fingers brush the hair on the side of my face, and his gaze is locked on my eyes. I find myself unable to look away, unable to think straight of what to say or do. I stand frozen, arms staying limply on my sides, while Gale's eyes pierced into mine.

"Katniss, I—" he cuts himself as a troubled expression crosses his face. After a few short seconds of silence, he gently grabs my face with both hands and plants his lips on mine. It starts out slow and I'm too shocked to respond, but the kiss gets deeper and deeper and I kiss him back without thinking.

That's when the sight of Peeta's blue eyes flashes into my mind, and I feel like I've just been struck by lightning.

I pull away as fast as I can, and I stare wide-eyed at Gale. He's breathing hard, and his face is a mix of a thousand different expressions that I can't even bother to read. Without a word, I run away after grabbing my bow.

My name echoes through the forest but it doesn't stop me from running away. I stop to leave my bow and arrows in its hiding place, but I waste no time before continuing to run back to my house.

Why did he kiss me?

What did he mean by that kiss?

What am I supposed to think right now?

The sight of big, bulky men standing on my doorstep makes me slow down. Who are these men?

"Katniss," Mom walks out of the door and grip my wrist once I reach the porch. "Someone's here to see you," she says, a wobbly smile on her face, but her eyes shine with fear.

"Okay," I say with a nod. "Who is it?"

Mom ignores my question and just leads me to the living room in silence. "I'll be in the kitchen," she whispers shakily, leaving me standing.

And that's when the smell of blood reach my nostrils, and my gaze falls onto the sight of a man, sitting on one of the loveseats silently, with a sneer on his face.

"Come sit, Miss Everdeen," President Snow says with a hint of a hiss in his voice, gesturing the loveseat across him, and I shiver involuntarily.

I take a deep breath, and sit down, my gaze never leaving his.

A/N: don't you guys just love cliffhangers? *smirks evilly* Don't forget to leave me some reviews, alright? :)

Anyway… guys, I've been working on some novels in this website called Wattpad… and I would really love it if you guys could check it out :D

Here's the link to my profile: www wattpad com / user / penpaperguitar . Check out my stories and tell me what you think ;)

Catch you guys later in the next chapter!