Katniss and the Rebels
Chapter 24: His Mockingbird
AN: Hope you enjoy! Please R&R
Thanks to the new followers, favourites and reviewers (especially RageHer0 who always makes me smile)
Katniss POV
*Text alert*
From Peeta Mellark: Thanks for coming out last night. I had a great time, I hope you enjoyed it and hope I didn't over step anything.
From Katniss Everdeen: No problem, thanks for inviting me. I had a wonderful time and don't worry about it. You didn't.
From Peeta Mellark: Would you like to do it again sometime soon?
From Katniss Everdeen: The date or the kissing?
From Peeta Mellark: I meant the date but sure the kissing too.
From Katniss Everdeen: Yes.
From Peeta Mellark: Okay, great!
From Katniss Everdeen: Sorry, I have to go, Gale's about to arrive any minute now.
From Peeta Mellark: Oh no problem, call you later?
From Katniss Everdeen: Yeah, sounds great. I'll talk to you later, bye Peeta!
From Peeta Mellark: Bye Katniss đź’–
Ignoring the grin that unconsciously spreads across my face, I quickly brush my hair, put it into a loose braid and walk downstairs.
Thinking about last night caused goose bumps to appear up and down my arms.
I couldn't sleep last night, my mind replaying that final moment again and again, fretting over whether kissing Peeta was the right thing to do or not.
For some reason I never regretted it though, even when I worried over whether or not he hated me for doing it. I couldn't regret it.
I kissed one boy before. It was at some stupid party Gale had dragged me to.
From what I can remember he was a year older than me and we were all playing one of those ridiculous kissing games. A game Gale of course forced me to play because he had a crush on one of the older girls and he couldn't possibly play alone.
That boy wasn't anything like Peeta though.
The only thing I regretted was not kissing Peeta longer.
I had been too afraid, it was a simple, chaste kiss on the lips but still it was…really good.
Anyway.
Less thinking about kissing.
More thinking about telling Gale…about the kissing.
Well about the date anyway.
Now that I know it was a date.
At least I'm pretty sure it was a date.
Crushes and relationships are extremely confusing.
There's two sharp knocks on the door and I'm grateful for the sudden noise to distract me from the voices in my head.
Hurrying towards the front door, I open it to reveal Gale standing over me.
"Hey Gale" I smile nervously at him.
His eyes search mine for a moment before he asks,
"Can we go somewhere?"
Catching me by surprise I raise my eyebrows and step back before hurriedly nodding,
"Yeah-yes of course."
A brief look of relief flashes over his face and his shoulders relax.
I grab my jacket from the bannister, yell at Prim that I'd be home soon and walk out the door, shutting it behind me.
"Do you want to go anywhere specific?" I ask gently, regarding the crease in his eyes and the frown in his brows.
"Our spot?"
I nod and touch his arm gently, "Yeah, our spot."
The sound of our boots crunching the multi-coloured leaves echo through the silent forest as we make our way to our spot.
A rather large rock by the entrance to the woods became our spot when Gale and I were twelve. It's just something that happened all of a sudden. Whenever one of us were late, the other would sit on that mossy, grey rock and wait.
The rock is just large enough for both of us to sit on without being too uncomfortable so it surprises me when I sit, Gale chooses to stand instead.
I tilt my head back and take him in. His expression would be unreadable to anybody else but I've known him too long. The hard line of his lips and his intense, focused gaze unsettles me.
Multiple worries run through my mind as I silently wait for him to begin.
It takes five or ten minutes for him to start speaking but once he starts he can't seem to stop.
"We aren't the typical best friend duo, me and you. We don't really…talk about stuff. We always just kind of…know what the other is thinking and what the other wants. And I mean that's great! I love that but…with this I think we need to just talk about it a bit and then we can get over it, move on and never discuss it again."
Before I can ask what 'this' is, Gale takes a shaky breath and begins again.
"If you want to continue going out with Mellark it's completely cool with me. He's a good guy and if you makes you happy then great. So if…if I'm okay with you dating Mellark then I'm hoping you'd be okay with me being friends with or maybe dating someone like M-Peeta. Someone like Peeta…"
From the way his eyes flit away from mine I suspect he expects my reaction to be livid and over dramatic. Which after my recent actions I cannot blame him for. Instead I smile a bit, raise an eyebrow and ask,
"Are we talking about Madge here?"
Gale sighs, "Not necessarily. I mean she's great and all but I just want to know you'd be okay with me being friends with her or more or with anybody else because I know for a while I wasn't sure if I would be with you and Peeta."
I nod, "Yeah, I'm okay with it."
"Yeah?"
"Yup, date whoever you want to. Just…please don't let it be one of the careers. That's where I draw the line and might stage an intervention."
Gale grins widely and his shoulders relax, "Duly noted."
"So is there someone you have in mind?" I ask, standing up and crossing my arms, grinning.
"No."
"Really?"
"Absolutley not."
"Okay."
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"Not particularly." I smirk, "But if you aren't ready to tell me who then I won't push you."
"Well look who's growing up and acting all mature." Gale teases and I stick my tongue out at him,
"That's not likely. Now do you want to go for a walk or something or head back?"
"A walk sounds good."
I unfold my arms, "Great well let's go then."
The last thing he says to me before we head into the mystical woods is,
"Do you think Peeta will give us a discount on trades now that you two are dating?"
To which I reply with nothing more than an elbow to his ribs.
My phone rings at half six that evening.
I don't let it get to the third ring before I grab it roughly and pick it up.
"Hello?" I whisper
"Hey Katniss" My face breaks out into a grin at the sound of Peeta's soft voice through my phone, "Is it a good time? I can call back later if-"
"No! No it's fine, we just had dinner, it's okay."
"Oh okay"
A moment of silence passed as I searched my blank brain for anything to say,
"So em how are you?" Great. Real original. Well done Katniss.
"Good thanks and you?"
"Yeah, I'm good." I reply, shutting my bedroom door and sitting on the end of my bed, grinning.
"What did you do today?"
Had a deep meaningful conversation with Gale about relationships
"Not much, I went on a walk with Gale that's about it, you?"
"Homework and I worked in the bakery for a few hours."
"Many customers today?"
"Yeah a few, there was this one elderly woman-"
And for the next two hours we talk. Peeta tells me about the little old lady who came in to the bakery, on the verge of tears as she placed an order for her granddaughter's wedding cake. I told him about the deer that Gale and I spotted today in the woods. Both of us comfortably avoiding the 'so what are we?' conversation as we know it would be tremendously awkward.
"Hey, I better go, Prim needs my help with her maths homework."
"Oh" I bite my lip in attempt to stop the smile at the trace of disappointment in his voice, "Sure, tell her I say hello."
Oh Prim would have a field day of teasing if I did that, "Yeah sure I will" I lie "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Bye Katniss"
"See you Peeta."
Monday
Peeta POV
A permanent smile has been etched on my face ever since Friday night and unsurprisingly it doesn't waver by the time I'm strolling through the dusty, mouldy hallways of my beloved school.
Finnick is already leaning against my locker, waiting for me with a massive grin on his face too.
"Well if it isn't loverboy!"
Rolling my eyes I push Finnick gently off my locker and open it, "Morning to you too Finnick."
"How are you? How's the girlfriend? Tell me everything!"
Why Finnick Odair acts more like a teenage girl than his girlfriend is beyond me.
"I'm good, tired. I don't know if she's my girlfriend, we haven't talked about that yet but the last time I talked to her she was good."
"Did you see her this morning?"
"No I literally just came into school, give me a bit of a break."
"Well you'll see her soon enough, first class is double Home Ec. your favourite!"
"Haha very funny." I remark but I cannot deny the clench in my stomach at the thought of seeing her so soon. How will she act? What will she say? Will she act like my girlfriend?
Will she ignore me?
No certainly not I mean she was the one who kissed me after all. Plus we talked over the weekend too.
The grin reappears on my face at the memory of our kiss but I hide it from my friend by shoving my books in my bag and gently shutting my locker.
"Speaking of Home Ec. actually we have to have the project done by next week right?" Finnick asks, his eyes serious and eyebrows pulled together.
"Next week? Oh damn yeah."
"You and Everdeen a bit distracted doing your project together?"
"Nah we've got most of it done, we just have to do a practise run and then we should be good to go."
Finnick wiggles his light brown eyebrows, "That should be fuuun."
"Oh shut up, what about you and Madge?"
Finnick nods and smiles, "Yeah, we're doing a nationality theme thing. I'm not gonna tell you what country we are doing. But the food is gonna be very tasty."
"Once you let me have some I don't care."
"Not a chance" Finnick smirks.
Before I can reply with my own sarcastic retort the bell rings and my stomach does a back-flip.
Finnick pats my shoulder gently, "Come on. It'll all be fine. Trust me."
I nod and we walk (at an admittedly slightly quicker pace than normal) to our first class.
She's already sitting in her seat by the time I get there.
Her back is facing me and her brown hair is tied in a tight braid that trails down her back and stops halfway. She is wearing a clip to pull back that small strand of hair that always falls in front of her face.
The clip is a pretty, white bird which catches in the sun when she tilts her head to the left.
I swallow and make my way over to her.
Madge's seat is empty as we both have a mutual understanding to swap seats to work with our partners.
Katniss startles at the sound of my bag being dropped on the floor and I smile bashfully before sitting beside her murmuring an apology.
"Oh, hi" Katniss smiles and I resist the urge to grin widely and kiss her again.
"Hey" I reply but it comes out more of a whisper of awe.
Unfortunately Ms. Trinket arrives just after me so we are forced to endure a half hour lecture about how far behind most of us are on our projects and how she will be checking them all to make sure they are up to her standards.
Of course I paid full attention to her and I certainly looked at her the whole time and not at Katniss's bare neck as more was revealed than usual today due to a looser top and her hair not being pulled to the side.
When Ms. Trinket finally allowed us to talk amongst ourselves all Katniss and I had to do was set a day for us to practise cooking our meals to which we decided Wednesday suited us both.
We still had another half an hour left. I wanted to ask her how she felt about Friday night, whether I over stepped the mark. If she regretted what happened outside her house when the date was over and the stars were out.
Everytime I tried it felt like something was caught in my throat, stopping me from speaking. I lift my eyes to look at Katniss who is biting her lip and staring at my desk. At least I'm not the only one who's nervous.
I want to ask her something, anything but she stops me,
"Peeta, you draw right?"
I blink twice, certain I had misheard her.
"W-what?" Great, girls love a guy with a stutter.
Katniss smiles anxiously, "I've seen your doodles? The ones you draw during classes? They're really good."
"Oh…wow em thank you" I pray to any or all the gods there are that she didn't see the ones that look remarkably like her or the evil monsters that look coincidently like Gale Hawthorne.
"Could you draw something for me?"
My heart stutters, "Wh-what? Now?"
Katniss smiles genuinely, "If you could, just something small. You don't have to give it to me. I just…like watching you draw. Plus we've got at least another 20 minutes left in class."
She likes watching me draw.
Which means she has actually seen me drawing. She didn't just look at what I was drawing, she looked at me drawing.
And she liked it.
I'm pretty sure my heart rate just doubled.
"Yeah, sure." I dig out a crumpled notebook in my bag and search to find a clean page.
Katniss shifts her chair closer to mine and I can't stop my breath from catching.
"Anything in particular you'd like?" I ask quietly, keeping my eyes firmly on the page.
I know if I turn and look at her our faces would be too close and I wouldn't be able to restrain myself from doing something Ms. Trinket would certainly deem 'inappropriate'.
From the corner of my eye I watch Katniss shake her head and when she speaks, I shiver as I hadn't registered how close she was until I felt her breath on my ear,
"Surprise me."
Katniss POV
Peeta Mellark surprises me with his unwavering dedication to the drawing.
I sit beside him and watch over his shoulder as the picture slowly takes shape.
I notice less of what the drawing actually is however and instead I let my eyes drift from his focused, large, strong hands up his arms, which were visible due to his t-shirt and I could see the light blonde hairs that trail there. Next are his strong, well developed shoulders, his neck and then the side of his face.
His jaw is set in concentration and there's a set gaze in his blue eyes pierce the page.
I'm aware how much of a fool I much look to my classmates, practically drooling in awe of this teenage boy, doodling in the middle of class.
Thankfully I can't bring myself to care.
There is little more than five minutes to go when Peetas hand stops moving.
I watch as his dusty blonde eyebrows draw together as his eyes flit back and forth from the page, calculating whether or not he wished to change anything.
Turning in his chair, he turns his body to face mine and I unconsciously push further into my seat than where I had been joyfully sitting on the edge watching him at work.
Peeta half smiles and I think I catch his hand twitch but I don't notice it again.
I smile in what I hope appears as reassuring but is mostly just my excitement.
"Done." His eyes meet mine and my grin widens
"Brilliant, can I see?"
I'm in perfect eye line of the page but for now I prefer looking at him.
Peeta looks at said page and nods.
Following his gaze my breath catches as I see what he has drawn.
It's a bird, a mockingbird.
My father had a special love for those. I'd recognise one anywhere.
He has shaded the beautiful creature black and her wings are spread wide in flight.
She's stunning.
"Oh Peeta…"
"I…I took inspiration from your one."
I frown in confusion and he quickly points to my hair and mutters, "Your eh..your hair clip."
Blushing at my stupidity, I look away from him and focus more on the wondrous animal he drew,
"I love it…it's so good Peeta, honestly. It looks really like one."
Now it's Peeta's cheeks that flame scarlet and I ignore the flitter in my stomach that recognises it was me who caused it.
"Oh…em thanks. It's just quick, it would be better with more time….I'm glad you like it."
"No…no it's perfect." I insist, my eyes meeting his again.
This time neither one of us breaks eye contact.
Memories of Friday night run through my brain and I try to remember where we are.
I'm pretty sure he likes me. It's shocking and I have no idea why he would.
But he didn't run away screaming when I kissed him, granted I didn't give him much chance but still. He's kept in contact with me ever since that night and he doesn't look disgusted whenever I look at him.
Plus he took my hand in his first so.
The spell of a million questions, hopes and memories scattered in my mind are broken by the sound of Peeta's soft voice hesitantly saying my name.
I refocus on his face, his eyes are wide and his mouth is just barely open. When I open my mouth to respond he swallows but before I can say anything the sound of the bell rings.
Peeta's face falls and I'm sure mine looks just as devastated.
As we pack up our things I curse myself for not paying attention, if I had maybe he would have said whatever he had been so eager to say sooner. Whether it be good or bad I still desire to hear it.
Peeta takes a minute longer than me to pack up but I intentionally linger after Madge has left so I can walk him out.
His scarred, faded, wooden desk is now clear except for the drawing of my mockingbird. He slings his bag over his back and hands me the page.
"Here" He smiles "It's yours."
"Are…are you sure." Guilt fills my stomach "You can keep it if you want, I didn't mean to be greedy or-"
"Keep it Katniss." Peeta laughs "I drew it for you. I want you to have it."
I bite my lip in an attempt to hide my grin but it doesn't work.
Taking the page I thank him and together we walk out of the classroom and go our separate ways.
It isn't until I'm sitting down in my next class when I look at the drawing again.
He's added something that wasn't there before.
In the right corner in large scrawled writing it reads,
"Will you be my girlfriend?"
Walking into English class with my head held high, I walk past Peeta Mellark and drop a tiny, torn piece of paper onto his desk.
Sitting in my seat I quickly distract myself with my copy of 'Romeo and Juliet' in attempt to calm the ball of nerves, excitement and fear in my stomach.
But from the corner of my eye I see him opening the piece of paper slowly and reading the one word on it.
"Yes"
AN: That's it for another day! Please favourite, follow and review.
Thanks for reading!
- xTeam Mockingjayx