Chapter 6-

Its because of Haymitch that I'm doing this, I think. Its because he's so damn stubborn and that he's usually (and grudgingly) right most of the time that I am trudging up my stairs to my room to 'change into something nice'.

I quickly take off my clothes from earlier, casting aside the tank top and pants in the corner before reaching into my closet and perusing through the racks.

Cinna had created clothes that I had never even seen before, all just for me. He had placed them all into a Capitol train for safekeeping and they had all been transferred to my Victor's Village house during the Quell. I caressed the soft satin of a pale blue above-the-knee dress wistfully. He was also gone, because of me. My only confidant and friend from the Capitol that I could trust with my life. The only one who knew exactly what he was doing and suffered the consequences without complaint.

I push all that away. Haymitch was waiting downstairs and I didn't want him to come up impatiently to find me naked and still trying to figure out what to wear.

I decide on a knee-length dark green dress with a golden-brown sash around the waist. Its casual, but still elegant. Elegant enough for your reunion, I think, grimacing. It had been a whole month since Peeta departed District 13 up until he arrived in 12 earlier today. What would I even say to him?

I miss you. I can't bear the thought of you hurt. I don't want you to be alone ever. When we're together-

I pause. What about when we're together? I pull the dress on over my head, washing up in the bathroom quickly before heading downstairs to meet Haymitch. He smirks when I reach the bottom of the steps, my hair still down, but brushed. "You clean up well, sweetheart." I roll my eyes in response, but sit on the couch gingerly.

"Haymitch." I hesitate, not sure what exactly I'm about to ask of my mentor, but he doesn't seem bothered as he scrounges around my kitchen for ice and a glass.

"Hm?" He says.

"Do you think Peeta is completely better now?" I bite my lip.

"You mean, is there any trace of Tracker Jacker venom that may want to strangle your neck and rip your guts out?" I glare at him as he pours himself a small drink from his silver flask. "Honestly, I don't know, sweetheart. He just got back today and I didn't have a very nice conversation with him after your departure."

I clench my jaw, resisting the urge to punch him. "I don't want to trigger anything," I explain irritably. "You know just as well as I do-"

"How bad it gets. I know, sweetheart. You don't have to remind me." He empties his glass in one long pull. "But there's no way to really know for sure until we get ourselves over there for a nice supper so let's be on our way."

Peeta lives in the house right next to mine so the walk over is really less than a minute. But the whole way, I'm dragging my heels, dreading what may or may not happen.

Haymitch notices and sneers, amused, "You know, its okay if you are nervous, but just wait until I'm out of the house til you two jump each other." I'm horrified, yet somehow not surprised he says this.

The walk is brief since Peeta lives in the house next to mine. Haymitch holds back and gestures to the door. I grimace, then walk up the steps and raise a fist to knock. My mouth feels dry. I forge on.

I knock three times. Haymitch's smirk burns into the back of my neck, but I ignore it. It only makes it worse to let him know how embarrassed and nervous I am.

The door opens after a few moments and Peeta pokes his head out, eyes widening when he spots me. "Hey, I didn't know you were coming over."

An elbow to my rib from Haymitch jerks me out of staring at his face where I had been hypnotized by his angular jaw and deep blue eyes-

"Hi, Peeta." My voice cracks in the middle of my greeting, but a grin breaks out on his face. The door opens a little wider. "Come on in, dinner is almost ready," Peeta says.

Haymitch pushes past me rudely, mumbling something about 'taking forever from staring', leaving me with Peeta at the door. I take a moment to look at him closer. He lost the muscle he had put on back at 13 when they had him train to join our squad. He still has wide shoulders, yet his eyes look tired as his gaze meets mine. It surprises me that he looks almost as exhausted as I feel. His hair has grown out, but it suits him. He runs a hand through it nervously.

"You look pretty tonight."

I blush, dropping my gaze and slipping past him at the door. "Thanks," I say, barely louder than a whisper. He moves to close the door behind us when his fingers accidentally brush mine.

I feel it again. That spark. The curiosity. The one that I only felt when we kissed in the cave and on the beach in the Quell.

And with it came the lust.

Peeta must've felt it too because his gasp is audible. He recoils immediately, muttering something about how he left the bread in the oven, and hurries away.

Even after he disappears into the kitchen, I feel the spot on my hand pulsing with a warm glow. A spark.