CHAPTER 2. CHANCES.

Hi Peeta!

I'm sorry for not being able to answer sooner, it's been a busy couple of weeks. It was great getting to know a bit more about your writing process. Nevertheless, there are some other details I'd like to know regarding the article. If it's alright with you, I was wondering, could I maybe give you a call to talk more about this? Let me know if that's ok, I'll leave you my number as well, just in case (…)

Katniss sat at work, trying not to overthink her predicament, which was an almost impossible task, all things considered. She gave a final reread at the message on her screen. After adding some of her personal info so she didn't come off as a stalker, Katniss finally hit send, figuring it was time she got this over with.

She'd be lucky if Peeta Mellark answered back – she would get the date thing off Annie's shoulders, not to mention that it would be the perfect way to show Madge and Gale that she was over her grudge and they could all move on –, though Katniss had no hope in it.

If he did, though, Peeta Mellark would be her savior.

"What'ya frowning at Everdeen?" Rue's cheerful voice rang.

"That's just how her face is," Cinna said teasingly.

"Oh, shut up, it's not a girl's duty to smile all the time," Johanna interjected.

Immediately, a smile fought its way across her lips and the frown disappeared from Katniss' face.

One of the best things about her life in Chicago was, definitely, her coworkers.

Work-wise, moving was the best decision Katniss had ever made. She earned more, did exactly what she liked, and worked with some of the greatest people ever.

It would all be perfect if only she got to see her family and old friends more often.

"Annie's getting married," the brunette sighed, "I forgot to tell you guys."

"Ohhh, she's such a lucky girl, Finnick's a hottie," Rue giggled.

Cinna immediately brought up an Instagram picture of Finnick and Annie and showed it around. Katniss also got a look at the photo, it showed them having a picnic somewhere outdoors and looking a lot in love.

"Though they look a bit young for marriage," he added.

"There's no age for love," Rue said with a small smile, always a romantic.

"Love doesn't exist," Katniss stated with a shrug, "it's just a lie they feed people to maintain the traditional moral values."

Rue rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.

"Well said, sister," piped in Johanna approvingly, "it's just an idea they use to keep us always looking for something we will never have. That way we don't have time to notice what really matters!"

"Here they go again," Cinna said letting out a dramatic sigh.

"Will you have a date?" Rue asked curiously, changing the topic.

"Yeah," Katniss answered vaguely, "I probably have to since I'm a bridesmaid and all that."

"Who are you taking?"

"Why didn't you tell us?!"

"Uh, well-"

Cinna raised a sharp eyebrow, "-are you secretly dating someone?"

"What? No, I'm not!"

Johanna, Cinna and Rue shared a look.

Just as they began another round of questioning, their boss, Haymitch Abernathy, appeared.

Katniss had never been happier to see the grumpy man.

Haymitch took his time walking around the room and checking on each of them, asking a few questions about their projects and giving a few recommendations. By the time he got to her, Katniss was already fully focused on the task at hand again. As she explained Haymitch the details of her work, Katniss took a bit of pride in the fact that he didn't seem to be frowning at her every word. It was great accomplishment, actually.

"It's looking good Everdeen, I hope we can get to see it fully sketched out by the time you leave for that event of yours."

Since it was a Friday, it was a sort of unspoken tradition for everyone to hang out after work. It was their way to relieve themselves of the stress of the week and spend some time outside the office.

It was only about 6:30 in the afternoon but, that day, they decided to spend their evening in a bar.

It had been Johanna's idea and no one complained. It suited Katniss just fine because she really, really needed a drink.

Their favorite place to go in such moments was a relatively new place located at the eastern side of town. The bar was called District 13 and had a modern feeling to it. The appeal of it was that, as it was not as known yet, it wasn't uncomfortably loud and crowded like other places were on Friday nights.

They took their place at their usual booth, which was empty when they arrived.

"So Blight finally moved out," Johanna informed them loudly as she unceremoniously threw herself on the booth. "I really need to get thrashed tonight."

Blight had been Johanna's roommate - partner? - for over five years. Everyone knew that they were in some sort of unlabeled romantic relationship. It was evident by the way Blight was always staring at Johanna, and by the way she teased and flirted with him. It was also evident by the way Johanna acted grumpy whenever anyone teased her about her romantic life.

"What? How did this happen?" Cinna asked and motioned towards the waiter.

"I don't even fucking know!" Johanna exclaimed, slamming her fist on the wooden table.

"When did you guys even start having problems?" Rue asked, the worried frown looking out of place in her sweet face.

The waiter finally came and asked for their orders.

"Three rounds of whiskey shots," Katniss said before anyone else could even think.

Rue and Cinna turned to look at her in surprise, Katniss was usually very moderated and careful when she drank.

She pretended not to notice.

Everyone fell into an expectant silence. It would be an understatement to say that Johanna and Blight's breakup was unexpected, especially considering that it was Blight who walked away.

Luckily, in record time, the waiter returned with their drinks.

"Let me know if you need anything else," the waiter said, winking in Katniss' general direction.

They all grabbed their drinks.

Johanna and Katniss gulped theirs down within seconds.

"We were alright one month and the next he was just pressuring me into labeling things and being serious and, shit, it freaked me out," Johanna commented as grabbed another shot from the tray. "He knows I don't do that kind of shit. He probably grew tired of me or something and it was his way to communicate it."

Rue's brown eyes were full of sympathy. "It's gonna be alright Jo."

"Of course it is!" Johanna huffed, "I just wish he would have been upfront about wanting to break up with me instead of saying so much nonsense!"

"I'm not sure you're getting the big picture her-" Cinna began.

Another empty shot glass was slammed on the table.

"Like hell I am!"

"Hey, guys?" Katniss said, readying herself to contain Johanna.

"Wanna play something?" Rue asked a bit too enthusiastically.

Cinna gave her an affectionate smile.

"What are we? 16?" Johanna asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, let's do it," Katniss added with a tight smile. "I'm bored".

"So, truth or dare?" Cinna asked smiling mischievously, wiggling his perfectly shaped brown eyebrows.

"God, I need to be drunk for this shit," Johanna said, already taking a sip of her third shot.

"Hey you!" she called to the waiter, "four Cuba Libres for the soon-to-be drunkest table."

Katniss threw her head back in laughter over some stupid thing Cinna said and that, for the life of her, she couldn't remember.

At some point of the evening, their conversation had turned into mindless babbling and loud giggling. Katniss knew she was at that dangerous point between tipsy and really drunk, though that knowledge elicited no bell to go off in her head like it usually would.

"Katniss, let's go to the bathroom?" Rue asked, already standing up.

"Ok," she answered, somehow managing to walk out of their booth without stumbling over her own feet.

As they made her way through the mildly crowded place, Katniss felt a vibration in her purse.

Ping

Feeling like she was in slow motion, Katniss pulled on the zipper and tried to open her purse. It was a difficult task to try and do it with only her left hand, since Rue was currently pulling her by her other arm.

Somehow, fishing her phone out of her purse was turning out to be a real challenge.

Brrr Brrr Brrr

Rue pulled her around a corner and, suddenly, there was lot less noise. They were in some sort of hallway.

Katniss finally managed to grab her phone and look at the screen.

An unknown number was calling her.

"Hello," she said, vaguely aware that she was out of breath.

"Hi?" a male voice asked, "Is this Katniss Everdeen?"

Rue motioned to the bathroom and mouthed "be right back" at her before heading further into the hall.

"Uh, hello?" Katniss said, her brain buzzing from the alcohol and the distraction of her friend leaving.

"I'm Peeta Mellark," he said, the hesitation clear in his voice. "Maybe I typed the wrong number?"

Katniss Everdeen. That was her name, wasn't it?

"No! Yes! No! I mean, I'm Katniss!"

A deep chuckle on the other side of the line.

"Hi, Katniss," Peeta Mellark said, "I'm calling because you wanted to ask a few more questions about the article I wrote. Is now a good time for that? If not, it's totally fine and you could call me back la-"

"-no, no, it's a great time! I'm having a great time!" Katniss exclaimed, "I thought you'd never answer my creepy inbox".

He laughed at that.

"It was intriguing actually, to have someone be so interested in my writing".

"Well, it is great writing! Though, what I wanted to know is... could I somehow get in touch with one of the people you interviewed?" Katniss asked.

It could be her over sensitized imagination, but she felt as if more than a few seconds passed without an answer.

"One of my closest friends is getting married and I am a bridesmaid so I need to go, but my former friend with benefits – is that what the kids call that sort of thing nowadays? – will be there and, ugh, it's bound to be awkward and I really, really need a date so I don't look like the lonely 26 year old that I actually am".

She could hear some shuffling on the other side of the line.

Had she blown it already? Had she actually managed to make someone see her as the pathetic, lonely loser she was in just a few minutes?

"Ok. I can actually help you out with that," he said. Katniss could still hear some shuffling on his side.

"Really?"

"Yeah," he answered, "tell you what, I'll talk to some people and maybe you could call me tomorrow afternoon?"

"That sounds great! Thanks a lot!"

Her mouth tasted sour and her tongue felt dry and itchy.

"Ugh," Katniss pried her eyes open slowly, glancing at the soft pink walls for a minute, and moved her right hand around trying to find her phone.

She was laying on Rue's bed but she was currently alone in the bedroom. What Katniss could hear though, were the faint sounds of television and, occasionally, some garbled words and laughter.

The brunette took her time shifting around and sitting up.

She noticed her purse on the small chair in the corner of the room and lunged towards it.

Her head ached at the sudden movement and she had to sit back down on the bed for a minute before trying to make a grab for her bag again. Her stomach didn't take it well either. Yep, she'd probably thrown up last night.

First, she grabbed her phone. It was a miracle it hadn't died yet. Katniss blinked at the screen, noticing it was already late in the afternoon. Woah.

Katniss walked out of the bedroom and into the living room. Rue and Johanna were sprawled on the couches looking every bit as hungover as she felt.

"Sleeping beauty is up!" Rue said with that musical voice of hers.

"More like hangover beauty," Johanna laughed.

"Rue, I swear you should audition to be a new Disney princess or something," Katniss said with a sincere smile, she couldn't manage to be sarcastic to her sweet friend.

"C'mere Katniss, we're having cereal for lunch," Johanna said, patting the seat in the couch next to her.

Despite feeling a bit weak and dirty, her stomach churned at the mention of food. Like it always did.

"I'll go clean up first. Can I borrow some clothes?"

"Sure," Rue answered, not taking her eyes off the TV.

After she rinsed her mouth and face, Katniss was faced with the challenge of finding something of Rue's that could actually fit her. It wasn't as if she was a tall person by any standards, but her friend was rather tiny.

She finally settled with a large shirt and some sweats.

Feeling quite comfortable, Katniss grabbed her phone and headed to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and some cereal. Then, Katniss settled on the comfy one-person couch on the corner and tried to understand the action movie Rue and Johanna were immersed in.

It was a failed attempt.

After about half an hour of not understanding why the main character apparently killed his own son, Katniss gave up and began scrolling through the notifications on her screen.

Something caught her eye. It was an email from Peeta Mellark from yesterday night. Frowning, Katniss opened the email. He thanked her again for her interest and wondered if it would be ok to call her right now (then?).

Oh.

Vague memories floated to her mind. Her embarrassing introduction, her unhelpful mouth, her drunken confession.

Oh, just great.

Hadn't she agreed to call him back today? She glanced at the time 4:21 pm.

Standing up and returning to Rue's bedroom for some privacy, Katniss searched her call log and, sure enough, an unknown number appeared first on the list. Without giving herself any time for hesitation, she pressed it.

It rang two times.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Mellark? Hi! This is Katniss Everdeen from last night."

"Hi Katniss, I'm glad you called," he said. "Please call me Peeta."

He sounded like a nice guy.

"I have good news for you. I did ask my acquaintances to help you and one of them said he'd do it."

"Did he? That's great!" Katniss said, relief washing over her and making her want to laugh.

"Yeah, I obviously couldn't give him any more details but he said right now is the perfect time, since he's gonna be out of the country at the end of the month and won't be back until the end of the year. Apparently, it's a job thin-"

He continued talking but Katniss wasn't paying attention anymore. She'd messed up.

"I could give you his contact right now if you want."

The wedding was set to be in May.

It was early April.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize I never told you the actual date of the wedding!" Katniss said, feeling like a total moron. Of course, this sort of thing would happen to her.

"It's in six weeks," she added dejectedly.

There was a brief silence as he processed this information.

"That sucks," he said sounding sincere.

Katniss began thinking a mile per second, trying to figure something out.

"Isn't there anyone else who is free for a week in May?"

"Uh, well, everyone else told me they were booked up until October or November," Peeta answered.

"What will I do now?" Katniss asked rhetorically, too crushed to even bother to keep her thoughts from coming out of her mouth.

"Katniss? It will be alright," Peeta Mellark said reassuringly, "We can figure something out."

Why was he being so nice? Without being able to help it, Katniss let out a small, defeated sigh.

"Maybe you know someone and they know someone and maybe we coul-"

"-what day is it in May again?" he interrupted her.

She stopped for a minute and thought about it. Were five days enough?

"The wedding is the 15th but I have to be there earlier," she answered, "maybe travel there the 10th."

It was silent for a minute and Katniss had to look at her phone to check whether the call had dropped.

"Uh, well… I could do it."

"Huh?"

"I could go with you, I mean," Peeta Mellark sounded nervous for the first time. "I've never done this sort of thing before bu-"

"-you? What?" Katniss asked, dumbfounded.

"Is that a yes?" he asked, giving a nervous laugh.

"What? Of course! I mean, it's a yes! Thank you so much, you have literally just saved my life!" she exclaimed, not truly quite believing it herself, "I'm so owing you big time. I mean, I'll pay you of course but I'll still ow-"

He laughed at her giddiness and the only word she could come up with to describe the sound was warm.

"I have to go now," Peeta said and she could hear some shuffling on his side of the line, "text me the details?"

"Sure! Thanks again!"

"Later."

The call ended and, as if on cue, her phone died a few seconds later due to low battery.

As Katniss reemerged in the living room and searched for a spot to charge her phone, she realized she didn't even know what Peeta Mellark looked like. And she'd have to pretend to be dating him!

The enormity of what she'd just done hit her like a ton of bricks.

Taking a big breath, she realized she couldn't care less. She really couldn't care at all if he was an old, horrible man (truly unlikely since he sounded like a nice person, but who knew?).

She had to face one problem at a time and, today, she'd had her fair share of problem-solving.