Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games. The characters belong to Suzanne Collins.

By the time I walk into the house, I have convinced myself that I made a mistake. There is no way this is going to work out. I know that he pretty much asked me to homecoming, but I still feel like this can't be real, that he likes me enough to spend more time with me outside of school. When we decided to be friends, I never imagined myself here. I thought we would just talk at school and acknowledge each other in the hallway. I never anticipated him coming to my home or hanging out outside of school after the bonfire.

I find Prim alone in the living room. She says hello but continues watching the reality show shit she loves so much. I sit down next to her and place the box containing her cupcake on her lap. She tears her eyes from the television and gasps. "Yay!" She opens the box and takes a huge bite. "Oh muh gud. Soooo goob!" she says with a full mouth.

When she finally looks at me, her smile fades and her chewing slows. She swallows, "Katniss, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." I get up to leave.

"Bullshit," she says under her breath.

"PRIMROSE EVERDEEN!"

"What? You say it all the time," she shrugs.

I can't come up with a good argument for her to refrain from saying it. "It's just weird hearing it come from your mouth."

"Sorry, I just know that something is on your mind. I want to hear about it. I'm not a child anymore, okay? I can handle it."

I return to sitting next to her. "You'll always be my baby sister," I say as I reach to play with one of her braids.

"Please tell me. I don't like seeing you upset."

I sigh. I could tell her a bit I guess. "You know that Peeta and I have been friends since I went to the bonfire, right?"

Her face brightens. I've got her attention. She nods vigorously.

"Well, he was upset earlier today, so I tried to make up for all of the times he has helped me out by being a good friend. He ended up asking me to homecoming."

Prim's mouth drops. After a few moments, she composes herself enough to ask, "He did?! What did you say?!"

"I told him no." Prim's awe turns to anger. Words are beginning to form on her lips. I interrupt, "BUT, I agreed to go somewhere else with him."

Her smile returns. "Where are you going?" she asks.

"I don't know. I told him to choose."

"Oh my god, Katniss, you are going to have so much fun."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"What do you mean?"

"I never thought our friendship would come to this." Her face tells me to continue. I've avoided telling her things that are too personal for so long. I gulp and say, "I feel like I can't be what he wants me to be."

Prim huffs, "Katniss, you guys are friends. Part of being friends is accepting the other person for who they are. Peeta isn't expecting you to be anyone other than you!"

"I'm just not sure I can do it. I feel like I've already screwed it up by asking him to do something else other than go to homecoming."

"But he agreed to go with you! I think what he cared about was going with you, not the actual homecoming."

I'm surprised that she is actually making me feel better. I decide to ask what has been bothering me most since she seems to be so good at this. "Prim, did I...am I going on a date?"

She smirks, "I think so."

I rest my elbows on my knees and let my head fall to my hands. That's what I thought. How did this happen?

"Isn't this a good thing? It's about time you started!"

"I don't know if I feel that way about him, though! Isn't this like…leading him on or something?"

"Katniss, it's only a date. You might actually have fun. If you don't, we will worry about it later. Look at me." I lift my head from my hands to look at her. "You are allowed to have fun, you know? Stop worrying. There are some really terrible things in the world, but there are also really good things. It would be a shame to miss them. What if this is something good that you want? If you never try, then you'll never know."

I stare at her in disbelief. All of what she said was so cliche, but it sounded beautiful coming from her mouth. It amazes me even more that it is making me feel better. She is growing up. I pull her into a hug. "I love you," I say.

"I love you, too."

I let go of her and ask, "Where did you learn all of this stuff?"

"Romcoms," she says, as if it were obvious.

I smile. "You're cut off," I say reaching for the remote. She snatches it just before I get to it.

"No! I helped, didn't I?"

I chuckle and pat her shoulder, "I think so."

As the next couple of weeks fly by and the date (ugh) draws closer, I develop more insecurities. If this is a date, then aren't I supposed to look nice? I'm not very pretty. Where are we going? What if he takes me somewhere that's terrible, and I have to try and deal with it? What if he's a creep? That's impossible, right? What if he tries to kiss me? What if I accidentally say something mean and offend him? I'm such an asshole sometimes.

I feel like I am suffocating.

The upside of this situation is that I require something to distract myself so that I don't actually suffocate. Since I was much farther behind Peeta on our psoriasis project, I decided that this is how I will occupy my mind. We met on Thursday, since his mom wouldn't be there, and at this meeting it is clear that we are nearly finished. I told Peeta that I would work on putting our two halves of the report together, and he could finish our visual aide. We are making excellent time, seeing as we still have a little over a month before it's due.

My cold seems to have cleared up nicely. Peeta swears that it's the dandelion tea that made my recovery so speedy. He is so optimistic. Sometimes, I wish I could see the world through his eyes.

The day before our date, I am seriously freaking out. I am rummaging through my closet for something to wear while Gale lays on my bed. He is talking about how wonderful his homecoming with Madge is going to be. "I was planning on taking her out to dinner beforehand. Someplace really nice. Then we will go to homecoming, and I will be the perfect gentleman. Then maybe, if she's up to it, we can go back to my house and…"

"Gale…stop now. Please."

"Sorry, I got carried away."

"I'm glad you got her to go with you. I really am." I asked him last week how he pulled off his elaborate proposal, and he didn't really give me a straight answer. He said that he had connections, and that someone owed him or something like that. I think he just flirted with Ms. Trinket and got his way. It's obvious she finds him attractive.

"So what are you doing with Mellark? I really can't believe you are doing this, but if that's what you want." There is a bit of an edge to his voice that I don't understand.

"I told you. He asked me to homecoming. I couldn't reject him like that after all he's done for me."

"Well, you could have. You like him, don't you?"

He is adding to my frustrations. I try to keep from raising my voice. "I don't know, okay? I know that I care about his feelings. He has been great to me, so I will do what I can to make him happy."

"Sounds like a yes to me."

"Whatever. Are you going to help me decide what I'm wearing? Thats why you're here, isn't it?"

He starts sifting through the clothing strewn about the room. He picks up a black tank top and a cardigan. "Here," he says, "Wear this and some jeans. It will look hot in a librarian kind of way. It will be a nice change from your normal clothes anyway. At least the boy will be able to see a bit of cleavage." I punch him hard in the arm.

"Hey, if you are going to date, you might as well do it right. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, Gale. I am going out with him tomorrow. End of story."

Gale sighs, "Alright. Wear that. It will be fine."

"Thank you. Have fun tomorrow. Take a picture or something. I hope you have the night of your dreams," I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

He flashes me a smile. "Oh, I will." He winks at me as he walks out my door. Gross. I hope Madge gives him a hard time.

It's going to happen. I'm sure of it. I am going to puke.

I have never been more anxious in my life. I try to remember what Prim said to me the other day. I wish she were here right now. She could distract me, or if she had it in her, give me some more advice.

I pull my hair out of my usual braid. I decide to put it back into a braid after a moment. I don't want to look like I gave this any thought; it would be too obvious.

I hear a knock on the front door, and I nearly jump out of my skin. He's here.

I race down the steps. When I get to the bottom, I begin to walk slowly and try to steady my breathing. When I place my hand on the door knob, I can feel my cheeks burning. I take in a deep breath and open the door.

Peeta. I try to keep my mouth closed as I take in the sight of him. He is wearing jeans and a green shirt with white pinstripes. His hair is slightly messy, but in a way that I assume is fashionable. He looks great. He smells even better. He smells clean, like the breeze in the spring, but I can still smell the cinnamon. If he were smiling any wider, his face would break.

"Hi," he says.

"Hey," I say but it's barely audible. I step aside to let him in the house. He walks in and takes a look around.

"You really do have a beautiful home. I don't think I ever told you that."

"Thank you." I'm standing behind him, shifting awkwardly as he looks around. Suddenly, he turns around to face me. He hands me a box from the bakery.

"I was gonna get you flowers or chocolates, but you didn't seem like that type of girl. I hope those are okay. I knew you liked those, at least." They are cheese buns. Of course, they are okay.

"Good call, Mellark," I say with a laugh. I go into the kitchen and place them on the counter. "Am I dressed okay for wherever we are going?"

"Perfect."

We make our way to the car. He plays the gentleman and opens my door for me, even thought it is completely unnecessary. He refuses to tell me where we're going as he pulls out of my driveway.

"If I guess, will you tell me if I'm right?"

"Yes, because the odds of you guessing are slim to none," he grins.

"Whatever. There's barely anything to do in this town. Dinner and a movie?"

"Ha! So wrong."

I can tell that we are headed for the outskirts of town where there is even more nothing. My curiosity grows.

"Are you taking me into the next county where there is no dancing ban?"

He laughs, "Wow, Katniss Everdeen has some jokes! That's good, but no. We aren't going that far."

We reach the outskirts of town where it's mostly empty fields by this time of year. He pulls into a long driveway that I wouldn't have noticed otherwise. I start to get slightly creeped out that he is taking me to a place so isolated when I see a sign up ahead: Sae's Pumpkin Patch.

"Have you ever been here?"

"Uhh, no."

"What?! Now I know I made the right decision to bring you here."

We make it to a parking lot where there are a surprising number of cars which sets me more at ease. He parks and then turns to me. He says, "Okay, so do you like pumpkin?"

"I'm not really sure what you mean?"

"You know, like pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, anything?"

"I'm not sure I've ever had any of those things."

"Wait, you're telling me that you've never had a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving?"

I shake my head. I don't think it's appropriate to go into the whole mom thing. We probably had it when my dad was alive, but I was more focused on the other foods than I was dessert.

His mouth drops open, and his eyes go wide. "That is changing today! You don't know what you're missing!" He rushes out of the car to open my door. I roll my eyes, but I let him do it.

He offers his hand to me. I accept, and he pulls me out of my seat. I try to let go, but he keeps a firm grip on my hand and starts tugging me along toward the pumpkin patch.

"I can't believe this," I hear him mutter. I must admit that his frustration at the situation, whether feigned or honest, is really…adorable. I shake this thought from my head as he starts talking to me.

"Alright, here's the plan. You and I are both going to pick out a pumpkin, and then we are going to take them back to the bakery and use them to make something of your choice."

Oh. This isn't what I thought he would choose to do at all, but I'm far from disappointed. I nod and say, "Okay."

He continues to hold my hand and leads me toward a group of smaller pumpkins. I wouldn't say that I am used to the sensation that his touch seems to spark inside of me, but I am starting to enjoy it. "These are the pumpkins we can choose from. You can't use the big jack-o-lantern kind because they don't cook well; they are stringy and gross." He drops my hand and we go off in search of the perfect pumpkins. I don't really know what the criteria are for a good pumpkin, but I try my best to find one that looks healthy and plump. After about five minutes, I decide that one of them looks adequate. When I look up to find Peeta, I see that he is standing there, with a pumpkin in hand, smirking at me.

"I'm glad you are taking this seriously. That looks like a really good one."

I start to blush. How long was he watching me do this? We take a long walk to the stand where we pay for the pumpkins. Peeta also asks for a jar of apple butter, which is another thing I have never tried before. I hope that he lets me try some.

As we are walking toward the car he says, "I planned on taking you through the corn maze, but I think that this is much more pressing."

The corn maze? He is so strange. He seems like that hopeless romantic type that would try and make everything perfect by buying me flowers and taking me to an expensive restaurant. It's so different, so normal.

He asks me about Gale on our way to the bakery. I tell him that I don't know what Gale is doing, but I'm sure whatever he is doing is ridiculous. I tell him about the conversation that Gale and I had yesterday, where he would not stop talking about Madge and how annoying it was. I left out the obvious frustration Gale had with me going out with him.

Luckily, Peeta and I are alone in the bakery. I would hate to see his mother's reaction if she saw me beyond to counter or if she found out we were in here after hours, but it didn't seem to faze him. Peeta washed the pumpkins and put them in the oven to bake. Because of my indecisiveness, he suggested that we make pumpkin bread because his family's recipe is "the best in the world". I'm pretty sure every family says that about their recipes, but I believe him if the cheese buns he makes are any indication of the value of his family's recipes.

He has me mix up some of the ingredients while he prepares the baked pumpkin to go into the mix. "This is probably the easiest recipes on the planet," he assures me, but I lost track of what he was doing long ago. I've been trying my best to follow his instructions. Hopefully, with me helping, it actually turns out well.

Peeta treats me to a pizza at his favorite table as the bread bakes. He asks, "Remind me again how you've gone your entire life without having pumpkin anything."

I sigh and shake my head. "It's kind of a long story."

"We've got time," he looks at the time across the room, "About 20 minutes to be exact, but if it takes longer I'll still be willing to listen."

I look into his blue eyes. His beautiful, blue eyes. In them, I see honesty. I see integrity. I see warmth. There is no trace of pity, only a sincere desire to listen to what I have to say. What I see frightens me but comforts me simultaneously.

"Uhh…we can talk about something else. It's nothing." I look down at the table.

He places his hand on mine. I slowly bring my eyes up to meet his. "You can tell me, you know? I can tell this is painful for you, and I'm sorry I brought it up, but sometimes it feels good just to say it out loud."

I'm annoyed with myself, but for now I decide to tell him. I hate how soft I've been lately. I begin telling him about my mother and how she got after my dad died. She became cold and distant. I would try to tell her something, and she wouldn't even acknowledge that she heard me. It was like talking to a brick wall. She left Prim and I to our own devices. I had to make sure that we all got fed and that the house wasn't a wreck. She eventually got better and started working again, but she has never been the same.

"I remember one day, I came home from school and she asked me if I missed my father. When I responded, I guess I wasn't convincing enough for her. She scoffed at me and said, 'You don't even know what love is.'" I can feel my eyes threatening tears. The timer dings. Peeta looks to me and then to the timer. I nod telling him to go. I feel his hand part with mine. I had no idea he was still holding it.

I hear him clattering around in the back. He races back to me and returns his hand to where it was before.

"I can't believe I talked for that long."

"Me too," he says with I smile, "I don't think I've ever heard you say so much at once."

I laugh, probably too hard, but it's true.

"So that's why. We never really did holidays after my father died."

He nods, "Well, that's all about to change. Today." He pulls me up from my chair and leads me to the back room. I can tell the bread is still very hot, but he slices it with ease. He breaks the steaming piece of pumpkin bread in half and takes a bite of one. He inhales deeply and his eyes roll back. He swallows his bite and says, "You're going to love this."

He walks closer to me and raises the other half to my mouth. You would have to be blind if you didn't see the intimacy of the gesture. I hesitantly lean forward and take the piece of pumpkin bread into my mouth. I feel his finger tips on my lips for a moment and try to pretend I didn't notice.

The pumpkin bread is the best thing I have ever tasted. Ever. Okay, maybe not better than cheese buns, but they are definitely tied for first. It's spicy, yet sweet. I can't believe I have never tried something like this. "Mmmmmm, so good," I say. I make a motion for him to give me the other bite. He raises the bite to my mouth. I look into his eyes, and without hesitation, take the second bite into my mouth. I can see his cheeks are red, and I can feel that mine probably match.

As I swallow my second bite, I say, "You know, I didn't expect this at all."

He clears his throat. "What did you expect?"

"Some grand gesture. Some cliche, over the top scheme. To be fair, that's all I've ever seen. Look at who I'm friends with."

He smiles and nods. "Is that what you wanted?" he asks, taking a step even closer to me.

I shake my head, "No. This is great. It's so...simple." I have to look up to meet his eyes. He is so close to me I can almost feel him, like my body already knows what it would feel like to have him pressed against me.

His smile is still wide. I begin to tremble. "See? It doesn't have to be complicated to be good." Suddenly, his lips are on mine. After the initial shock, I begin to meet his kiss with equal fervor. I've never done this before, but it feels so natural. My hands run up his chest, over his shoulders and into his hair. He moans into my mouth as he deepens the kiss.

With our mouths still attached, my eyes widen in realization. I have to pull away forcefully to break the kiss. Both of us are panting. His cheeks are read and his hair is standing on end. He looks confused. I imagine because I look horrified.

What am I doing?

I back away. "I can't do this." I start toward the back door so that I can escape. I need to get away. Now. As I exit, I start to jog away, but it quickly turns into a run.

"Katniss!" I hear Peeta shout.

When I stop running, it takes me a moment to recognize where I am. I am probably three minutes from home. I am drenched with sweat, and I'm shaking. I sit down in the grass next to the side walk and try to catch my breath. I realize I am crying. I try to tell myself that this didn't happen.

Author's Note: Oh, Katniss. Katniss, Katniss, Katniss. I'm sure you were like "FINALLY!" and then she crushed your dreams.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It was a long one (at least for me). I apologize for the Footloose joke, but I can't seem to avoid them. Is there anyone out there that finds Footloose as hilarious as I do? I don't really understand my fascination with it.

What will happen between Peeta and Katniss? What do you think Gale is doing at homecoming? Please review and let me know your thoughts!

As always, you guys are amazing! Thank you for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing!