Hey guys! I was so excited when people responded to this story, so thank you for that!

By the way, I changed some stuff in chapter one. It's some major stuff relating to the plot line, so I suggest that if you want to, please go back and read it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.

I'm assaulted when I step out of my car.

Finnick's arm comes around my neck, and he's being trailed by Marvel and Cato, both who are grinning jubilantly. After he drags me close into something like a hug- a strictly guy hug- Finnick shoves me away in his joking manner and exclaims, "It's time, guys! This is gonna be our year!"

Marvel hoots, and he and Cato exchange fist bumps.

You'd think that a bunch of academic-wary boys would be less excited about the first day of school, but they're not. Football players and ladies' men: they're always confident when it comes to anything.

Finnick then takes off in a sprint, racing Marvel to get to the gate, where Clove, Glimmer, and Madge are waiting for us there. Cato and I keep to walking, however, and I only have one guess as to why that is.

My guess is proved to be correct as Cato casually says, "You ready for this bet?"

The only thing I can do is smirk slightly and reply, "Are you?"

Cato laughs and slings an arm around my neck just as Finnick did earlier. "This is going to be great. I can't wait until Everdeen finds out; she's going to want to kill you."

What a great friend, am I right?

"She's going to love me," I correct him. "She won't want to kill me."

Cato snorts. "You're pretty sure about yourself."

"Who wouldn't be?" I say casually, trying to make it seem like it's going to be the easiest thing in the world, both to calm myself down and to make it seem like Cato's made a mistake by making this bet with me. "She's a loser. She'll be thrilled I'm even paying attention to her."

Cato laughs again, but this time lightly. "Okay, man. I'll take your word for it." He's not smirking while he says this, though, and I know he's feeling a little unsure about having his fun with me failing this bet.

Meanwhile, I'm feeling guilty about it already. I've called Katniss Everdeen a loser, and I don't ever want to be that asshole of a guy who actually believes bullshit like that. I don't even consider myself popular here; why should people like Katniss be called losers?

We reach the others, and while Clove hurriedly goes to hug Cato and flirt all she wants, I go to stand by Madge, who hugs me in her dainty, careful way before she gives me a sweet smile.

"It's so good to see you, Peeta," she says gratefully, and I translate this to mean she has had a bad time standing alone with Clove and Glimmer. I don't blame her; after what they said about her yesterday, I'm not sure about those girls anymore.

"It's good to see you, too," I reply. "Did you get that hangover you wanted?"

Madge flushes, saying, "No, I did not."

"Pity," I reply, but my face breaks into a smile, and soon she's smiling too.

"What about you? Did you get yours?" she teases.

I'm about to reply, but Finnick comes over to us and interrupts our conversation.

"Someone save me," he says dramatically. "They're playing kissy face and I'm the odd one out." Madge and I both laugh somewhat uneasily and realize that Finnick's only acting this way because Cato and Clove are talking while Glimmer and Marvel talk as well.

"You and Peeta could always do the same," Madge teases, a twinkle of mischief in her eye.

I'm pretty sure I make a disgusted face as I exclaim, "Madge!"

Finnick gasps dramatically. "Are you saying I'm not pretty enough, Mellark? Well, screw you!"

All three of us end up dissolving into comfortable laughter.

BRIIIIIIIING.

The bell rings suddenly, loud, shrill, and clear. Madge looks at me. I look at Finnick. Finnick looks to Marvel. Marvel looks to Glimmer. Glimmer looks to Clove. Clove looks to Cato.

It's with a superior tone that Cato says, "Let's go."

There's no question that Cato's the ringleader here. He thinks he's the most popular guy in school, and maybe he's right. Either way, we're all pretty much brainwashed to follow him, which is probably why I agreed to take the bet in the first place.

We're entering the gates, being pushed up against a crowd of teenagers. Cato reacts rudely, shoving people left and right, so we just follow the path he clears. When we enter the school building, people part to clear a way down the hallway for us. It could almost be a montage, the way we walk down the hall.

Cato's tossing his backpack over his shoulder, grinning. Marvel's got his hands in his pockets and is looking casual. Finnick's winking and saluting everyone, but mostly girls. Clove tosses her hair and smirks. Glimmer's slower than the rest of us- in both mind and pace- but she still makes up for it as she smiles flirtatiously as she walks. I settle for a normal walk here, just nodding at the occasional person. Madge, I notice, walks stiffly.

"You okay?" I whisper, and she stiffens a little more.

"Yeah," she says quickly, relaxing just the slightest. Her eyes scan the crowd, and she's about to say something else, but her mouth opens and closes and she just says as an afterthought, "Thanks for asking."

I hesitate. "Madge, if something's bothering you-"

"No, I'm good." A beat. "Really."

I decide to let it pass, so I reluctantly say, "Okay."

We reach our lockers, which are all in the same hall. We've already looked at each other's schedules, so I know that I have first period with Finnick, third with Cato, and fourth with Clove. I don't have any classes with Madge, though, which is a bummer.

"You ready, Peeta?" Finnick asks as he yanks on his backpack somewhat begrudgingly.

"As I'll ever be," I reply, to which Finnick scoffs at.

He knows that I'm actually good at school, and usually that would get me a punch in the arm and a wistful line about being better than the rest of us. It's true that I don't have to try to do well in school, but I don't think I'm better than anyone. If they'd put their minds to it, all my friends could do as well as I usually do.

"Our first class is English," Finnick says glumly as we walk to the classroom. "I hate it."

I don't. I actually like English a lot, but I don't tell him that.

Instead I settle to say, "I'm sure you'll do great this year, Finn."

Finnick grunts in response.

We get seats next to each other, and luckily we're not reassigned for alphabetical order or anything. Even if we were, there'd be no shortage of good company; this class is full of good-looking girls, and Finnick's noticed this, because he doesn't seem uneasy about english class anymore.

By the time the first boring introductory hour is over, Finnick and I have to part ways. I sit through my next class- history- next to a brunette girl who introduces herself to me and spends the rest of the time trying to be coy by doing things like dropping her pencil so I pick it up for her. Seriously, what does she think this is, a rom-com movie?

By third period- Anatomy- I'm tired and I want to go home, but of course the morning's only begun. Luckily, after third period, I have lunch, and then one more period before I get to go home. My first two classes seem easy enough, but I'm more worried that I'll have no classes with Katniss, which would make my bet harder. I didn't have any with her freshman or sophmore year, so I'm hanging on to the hope I'll get a class with her this year.

I meet Cato outside the Anatomy classroom, which is where we have third period together. He's leaning against the wall when I find him, talking to a leggy blond while flashing his smirk that for some reason seems to get him girls. He lifts his head coolly to see me, and he keeps his smirk on as he says, "Hey, man."

"Hey," I echo, and we do a quick handshake sort of thing, which we end it with a first bump. The leggy blond is then pulled away by a friend, which leaves me and Cato by ourselves. Since Cato's smirking- and that means he's amused by something- I take this as an opportunity to ask, "What's up?"

Cato's still smirking as he tells me, "Looks who's here."

I turn and notice Katniss Everdeen standing not far from us. She's looking down at the ground, not talking to anyone around her. Her face is blank minus the scowl that covers her lips, and she most definitely doesn't look happy.

"Yo, Everdeen," calls Cato suddenly, and my heart speeds up in a panic when she looks our way. She doesn't say anything; instead, she stares at Cato coolly, her eyes fixated on him coldly. Cato smirks at her and then says a simple, "Hi."

"Hi," she says just as coldly as her eyes look before she turns away.

Cato's smirk turns into a wide grin, and he looks at me unabashedly and says, "Good luck with that, bro. I don't think you can pull it off with someone like her."

I try to mirror his smirk. "We'll see."

The teacher opens the door then, so Cato doesn't answer. When all the students have squeezed in, the teacher starts the class by saying, "As you know, this is an Anatomy class. If anyone shouldn't be here, leave now." Someone hastily leaves. "Alright. I'll have ask you all to pair off into lab partners."

Cato looks towards me, but I lean to him and whisper, "I'm going to ask Katniss."

Cato smirks. "Okay, dude. Good luck- you'll need it." He turns to go find the leggy blond, leaving me alone as other students go to find their own partners. A few girls seem to be looking my way, so I quickly make my way to Katniss, who has her arms crossed over her chest and stands alone.

"Hey," I say when I reach her. "Want to be my partner?"

Katniss's grey eyes flicker to me, and she frowns the slightest, her eyebrows furrowing and the smooth skin of her forehead wrinkling. She almost seems to weigh the idea in her mind as she doesn't speak right away, but after a few seconds she says a curt, "No."

I falter slightly, feeling more nervous than ever, but I cover it up and ask, "Why not?"

Katniss purses her lips. "You're Cato's friend, aren't you? Go with him."

She's dodging the subject. I can see it in her eyes. She's looking at me in something like terror, but not quite; I can't find the word to describe it. I decide to try to flirt then, just to ease the tension- well, if I can manage to learn how to to flirt in the next few seconds, that is.

"I'd rather have you," I reply lightly, which is my failed attempt of flirting. "You're prettier."

"I bet Cato would be upset if he heard that," Katniss says dryly.

Not the reaction I was expecting. Not even a smile? I'm losing my touch...if I ever had one.

"Well, I think everyone else doesn't stand a chance against you," I say, smiling.

Katniss doesn't say anything else after that; she just turns away on the heel of her black boots. She doesn't even move away, or walk away. No, she just turns as to not speak to me anymore, crossing her arms and scowling as usual.

"Hey, wait," I say, surprised.

"What?" Katniss asks, exasperated slightly as she turns to look at me. "I already said no."

I'm feeling kind of awkward now. I've never really had a girl say no before.

Katniss looks almost irritated by now. Maybe she still thinks I'm making fun of her. Before I can assure her that I'm not, and maybe ask her if she'll be my partner again, the teacher beats me to it.

"Good, everyone's paired off," the teacher says, interrupting the exchange between Katniss and me. Well, at least I now have Katniss as my lab partner, even if she looks disappointed to be with me right now.

We take a seat at a table, across from a pair of girls. The table's large and square, with four chairs tucked into it. Katniss moves to sit down stiffly, but I make sure to pull out her chair for her before she does. When I do, she eyes me in what can only be suspicion before she actually sits down.

The action puts me to ease. That's a gentlemanly act, right? And what girl doesn't like a gentleman? I mean, it's no award winner move, but it's a start, even if it's a somewhat bad one.

The teacher starts droning on about something, but I turn to look at Katniss. She either doesn't notice or pretends not to, because she doesn't look over to me; instead, she takes out a notebook and a pencil to start taking notes about whatever the teacher's talking about.

I sit back and watch her. Her fingers move fast, and though her face displays her confusion with the subject being discussed, she keeps writing, never pausing to ask a question. When she writes, she makes this almost irritated face that makes me laugh a little, though the laugh escapes even when it's not supposed to.

"What?" Katniss looks at me now, her tone almost defensive.

"Nothing," I reply, trying to keep a straight face, but I want to laugh again. It's so...strange, being with her. I've never been bad with strangers, but somehow, this girl seems untouchable. So as I try to compensate for my laugh, I make a bigger fool of myself and ask, "Do you have a pencil I can borrow?"

Her brow furrows. "Maybe...I don't know." She doesn't move for her backpack, though, and instead she keeps staring, maybe trying to figure out why I'm acting like this.

I'm pretty sure that my face gets a little red. "Uh- you know what, I think I might have one."

She frowns, but she doesn't answer.

When the bell rings, Katniss is the first one out of there. I linger behind and notice she's left behind her pencil in her haste. It's an ordinary pencil, nothing that would be missed, but I see it as a chance, so I pocket it and catch up with Cato, who is leaving.

"How'd it go?" Cato asks casually.

"Good," I reply, even if that isn't adequate grammer.

Cato looks at me. "Seriously, dude, how'd it go?"

I hesitate. "She's going to come around."

"Don't be so sure there," Cato snickers, and he looks happier than he was seconds before. I don't get his deal. If I win this bet, nothing will happen to him. It'll just prove he was wrong- which, when you think about it, is a pretty big deal to him.

"You shouldn't be so sure, either," I say quickly. "I'm going to do this."

Cato smirks. "We'll see."

We walk together to the cafeteria. Cato's talking about how hot some of the girls this year have gotten, but I barely hear him- I'm trying to look for Katniss. Lunch is the perfect time to get to know her (or get her to warm up to me at least).

"Cato! Peeta!" Clove calls our names when we enter the cafeteria. She's snagged us a good table- one that's far enough to get away from the cafeteria food smell, but still close enough so people will be able to notice us. She's seated with a whole bunch of other people, including Finnick, Glimmer, and Marvel, but also other jocks and cheerleaders. Madge, I notice, isn't there.

So we sit down.

I'm seated between Glimmer and another girl- a senior- whose name is Enobaria. I'm content with not speaking to her, but Enobaria goes ahead and ruins our peace- or my peace- as she says, "You're Peeta, right?"

"Yeah," I answer. "And you're Enobaria."

Enobaria laughs lightly. "You're too cute."

Cute? Is that supposed to be an insult or something?

"We"- Enobaria gestures to a tall, built boy across from her that I recognize as Brutus, a guy on the football team- "heard about your bet. That takes some balls; Katniss Everdeen is a freak."

"Oh," is all I can say. "I didn't think Cato would tell anyone."

Enobaria laughs again, but this time her laugh is meaner. "Are you kidding? Who wouldn't you tell? This kind of bet is so stupidly impossible that it's going to be awesome to watch you crash and burn."

Well, thanks for the encouragement.

"Give the guy a break," Brutus pipes in. "He can do this."

Enobaria snorts. "You willing to put money on that, loser?"

"Oh, I would," Brutus replies, grinning a sick smile.

"Wait," I interject, "I don't really want people betting on me..."

"Hey, who wants in on some gambling?" Enobaria asks loudly.

So I sit there and let the scene unfold around me.

Finnick bets I can do it.

Cato, of course, bets that I can't.

Clove backs up Cato.

Marvel bets that I can't.

Glimmer bets that I can.

Good to know which friends I can count on and which ones I can't.

"I'm going to get lunch," I declare as several people argue over whether or not I can get Katniss Everdeen to date me. Of course I don't actually want the shit that the cafeteria serves, but I do want to get away from everyone else.

Finnick notices, and he winks and says, "Liar. You just want to find Katniss."

Well, now that you've said it, I kind of have to, don't I?

His words bring many stares. Enobaria then says, "Really? You're going to do this?"

Her words are almost offending, but I wave it off as I scoff, "Of course I am. C'mon, guys, give me some credit here. I can get any girl I want in here, and Katniss Everdeen is no exception."

There's some laughter, but many others look towards me in respect. So I know how I have to do this, then- I have to play it off as an overly confident asshole, and then maybe I can get through this with my reputation intact.

"Well, there she is," Cato says, gesturing to where Katniss has taken a seat at an empty table. He smirks his signature smirk before he adds, "Go get her, lover boy."

I make my way over to her, trying to be confident. Do I even look attractive today-? I hope I do. I mean, the brunette in first period seemed to like me, so I should hope that I look okay...

I hover awkwardly before her table, my hands in my pockets. My palms are getting sweaty, but I try to ignore that. She doesn't look up from her lap, where she's holding a phone, so I clear my throat and wait. It works; she looks up, brushing a stray piece of dark brown hair that's escaped the braid she usually has.

"Hi," I say lamely.

"Hi," she echoes, furrowing her brow slightly. "Is there something you need?"

I fish her pencil out of my pocket. "You- left this behind."

She looks at me quizzically. "It's just a pencil."

"Yeah...but it's your pencil," I say. "Can I sit down?"

She hesitates, and the confusion's heavily outlined in her eyes, but she says a quiet, "Sure."

I can't stop myself- I grin. Maybe this won't be so hard after all...

...Then I realize I'm thinking like an asshole, so I stop thinking like that.

Suddenly my brain is left with empty thoughts. I have no idea what to say to Katniss, and by the look on her face, she doesn't know what to say, either. In fact, she's probably curious as to why I'm here.

"So," I say, "how about that weather?"

She doesn't smile. Not even a little one. "The weather's okay."

I nod. "So...Katniss. Your name...it's interesting." I offer this kind of awkwardly, so it's no surprise to me when Katniss stares at me a little weirdly.

A beat, and then she says, "I know."

Awkward silence ensues before I say, "How are you liking your classes so far?"

Katniss is silent for a second, but there's the ghost of an emotion lingering over her face when I look at her, and I realize she's upset. Before I can say anything, she beats me to it as she blurts out, "Why are you here?"

That catches me off guard, but I say as smoothly as I muster, "I want to get to know you."

"No, you don't. No one ever does," she says sharply, almost daring me to counter her words.

"Well, I'm not everyone else," I say.

Her grey eyes, which are as sharp as steel, flicker to my face and stay there a few seconds before she says, "Yes, you are. And you've got all your friends and money to prove it."

She stands up and leaves me confused.

I'm like everyone else because I have friends? Because I'm rich? I stare after Katniss Everdeen in slight shock, wondering just why she's so upset, and what I can do to make her warm up to me.

Even if it'll take me all of one month, I'm going to get Katniss to go out with me.

I repeat this to myself in my head, over and over again, as I rejoin my friends at our table. I want to assure myself that I can do this, and that I don't care about Katniss's feelings, and that she's just going to have to live with the fact that I have friends, and she doesn't, and that I'm rich and she's not.

But I can't assure myself. I'm not sure I can do this, I really don't want to hurt Katniss's feelings, and I don't like the fact that she doesn't have friends and that she hates me because I'm rich and like everyone else.

My stomach gets a weird cold feeling as I think all this.

Fuck you, life- why do you have to be so difficult?

"He's going to lose," says Enobaria when she sees me.

"No, he's going to win," Glimmer cuts in, and everyone starts arguing again.

I let them argue over my social life as if I don't give a fuck, and maybe I don't. I'm looking around the cafeteria by now, trying to make myself find Katniss, even if my stomach still feels sick. I want, more than anything, to call off this bet, but I can't; I'm a fucking coward, and that's not going to change anytime soon.

I finally find Katniss, and she's sitting next to a boy that looks as if he could be her brother. She's actually smiling at him, and he's smiling back, and they look comfortable in a way I know she'd never be with me.

I know I'm a total asshole when the first thing I think is this is going to make the bet harder.

Thank you all for reading! Big thanks to those who reviewed last chapter:

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