I wake with a start as I hear a loud clattering downstairs. I sit up quickly making my head swim and then it starts pounding. Oooooowww. My memory steadily comes back to me. I felt sick, I went to the bakery, Peeta brought me home, and….

Oh my god. I'm such an idiot.

I put my hands to my head, mostly out of embarrassment, but also to keep my head from actually splitting open. I can't breathe out my nose. I try to sniff, but it doesn't help. My throat is on fire. I hear someone whistling downstairs. It's not anyone in my family, that's for sure. Is Peeta still here?

I walk quietly down the stairs, taking my time in order to stay balanced. I walk to the kitchen, but I stay hidden behind the wall next to the entryway.

Peeta stops whistling and starts to sing, "If I told you things I did before, told you how I used to be, would you go along with someone like me?" He starts mumbling words, occasionally adding in a word he knows. He then resorts to whistling the tune he was before I came down.

I can't help but laugh. I try to do so quietly, but it quickly turns into a coughing fit. His whistling stops abruptly, and before I know it, he is at my side with his hand on my back.

"Katniss, what are you doing out of bed?" he asks, still wearing that concerned expression that I want to remove from his face so badly.

"How long was I out?" I ask, completely ignoring his question. My voice sounds gravelly. I probably won't have one tomorrow.

"A couple of hours. I thought I'd come down here and make you some soup or something." That explains the clattering. Our pans are rarely ever touched, and they are definitely not put away neatly.

"My mom's not here?"

He looks around as if expecting her to pop out of a wall. "Not that I know of." She must be working overtime and forgot to tell me.

I sigh and walk into the kitchen. I take a seat at the kitchen table and rest my head in my hands. I sense movement, but I don't look up. After a few minutes, I hear water boiling. Peeta places a cup in front of me and begins pouring the boiling water into it. He says, "Let this steep for a couple of minutes, and it should be fine to drink." He hustles to the pantry and returns quickly. He sets a bottle of honey by my cup. I didn't even know we had honey. "It will make your throat feel better."

He goes back to doing whatever it was he was doing before I interrupted (minus the singing, of course). I try to think past my headache. What was I thinking earlier? I just let him manhandle me without any objection. If Gale did that, I would have seriously injured him. Why did I do that?

It felt good. That's why. It felt good to be in his embrace. It was warm, steady. I didn't want to be anywhere else. Actually, I wouldn't mind it right now…

Stop it.

This stops now. We are going to have to put up some boundaries because this isn't how friends act with one another. Gale and I don't act this way together. It's not right.

"Here you are," Peeta says, startling me from my thoughts. He places a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of me. "I would have made it from scratch, but you didn't have the ingredients. Canned can still be pretty good, though."

I get angry at his statement, even thought I realize it's irrational. I mock him silently. Meh, I'm Peeta. I make food from scratch because I'm Peeta. I'm so awesome and perfect and handsome and…

I choke on my first bite of soup. Even my thoughts are starting to betraying me.

I manage to get my second bite down without any trouble. Peeta is sitting across from me, but I avoid his eyes. I can feel them on me. I can sense his annoying concern.

"Thank you, Peeta," I say without looking at him.

"It's no problem. I called my dad, and he told me it wasn't a big deal. We weren't very busy."

"Are you ever? I don't think I've ever seen a person in there." He looks momentarily hurt, but quickly rebounds. I realize too late that what I said was actually very rude.

"We do most of our business during breakfast. Also, we do a lot of wedding cakes and stuff like that."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude," I say as quickly as possible, wanting to slap myself.

"You're fine! It's true. There aren't many opportunities at other jobs for you to sit down and talk with your friends about school projects."

Silence falls between us. I feel uncomfortable. He doesn't speak again until I am finished with my soup. "Are you ready to go back to bed?"

I nod. I feel a little better than before. I start to clean up my dishes, but he shoos me away. "Don't worry about it," he says.

I start toward the steps, and he follows me. I turn to tell him that this is completely unnecessary and that I can handle it, but when he places his hand on my back and urges me forward, I decide now is not the time. He lets me go into my room alone so that I can change into pajamas. I undo my braid and open the door. He walks in, "I think it would be a good idea if we…"

I start climbing into bed. I look at him, and his eyes are wide. I start to blush under his gaze. "What?"

"...If we took your temperature."

"We don't have a thermometer."

"Aha. No worries. My hands can detect a temperature better than any thermometer."

"Is that so?"

"It's true. I have a gift." I have my doubts, but I'll let him try if it makes him feel better. He sits down next to me, and looks at me for a moment.

"Well?" I ask, deciding it's been too long.

"I don't think I've ever seen you wear your hair down. It looks beautiful."

I feel myself blush, and then I'm hit with a wave of anger.

"Peeta, stop saying things like that…"

His hand is on my forehead. He then slides it down to my cheek and leaves it there for a while. "You're on fire." He gets up abruptly and walks to my bathroom. I miss his touch.

He comes back and hands me two white pills and a glass of water from my nightstand that he must have left there earlier. I take them and lay back down. I just get around to closing my eyes when he places a cool wash cloth on my head. My eyes fly open. What is he doing? I need to tell him to stop. We look into each other's eyes while he continues pressing the wash cloth on my forehead and cheeks. After a while I ask, "What are you doing?"

"Shh. Relax. I just want to bring down your temperature. I can't leave you here alone like this."

"I'll be fine."

"Pfft. Yeah. Says the girl that nearly passed out in the driveway. I'm so glad I was here. You could have been laying outside in the cold all night."

"Well, I'm sure I could have made it into the house without you carrying me."

"You didn't seem to mind at the time." It is impossible for me to deny it. I melted into his arms completely, and I never wanted to leave. "Like I said before, Katniss, there's nothing wrong with getting help. It's okay to ask for it, and it's okay to admit that you need it." Slowly, he grabs my hand and gently caresses it with his thumb while continuing to move the wash cloth around my face. It reminds me of the time he grabbed my hand in the bakery. It feels the same. Electric. Every word he says and every gentle touch chips away my resolve bit by bit. Maybe a friendship with Peeta is just different from my friendship with Gale. I've never had many friends, so what do I know about what they do with each other? Maybe this is Peeta's definition. I don't really understand, but I can at least give Peeta some respect and try not to overthink it.

"Thank you. I appreciate it." Finally, he smiles. I was worried I would never see it again. I start to doze off. I feel comfortable and warm. I hear commotion downstairs. Mom and Prim.

"I think I should be going now. I'll let them know you're up here. Just get some rest." He raises my hand to his lips and gives it a gentle kiss. I want to protest, but I don't have the energy. I wish he could stay with me forever. "Goodnight."

Author's Note: Hello! I hope you're well. I wanted you guys to know that the song that Peeta is singing is called "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John. Also, is there a wonderful person out there who is willing to make me a cover image? If you would like to, just PM me. I am no good at that sort of thing. I think this story should have a picture associated with it.

I will have another update soon. You guys are awesome! Please continue to review/follow/fave! Tell me what you think. This wouldn't be nearly as fun without your feedback.

Thank you so much!

Lacey