Hey guys! I'm back with chapter 3 of Catching Fire: Retold. I finished my summer essay so I should be able to write this chapter and possibly chapter 4 before school starts this Wednesday. Before we get on with this chapter, I just wanted to say thank you for all the kind reviews you've been leaving, it means a lot to me! Enjoy the chapter! :)
Katniss POV:
It was the day after Katniss' and Peeta's meeting with President Snow and they were just about to board the train that would take them back to District Twelve. Katniss hadn't spoken to Peeta after they had gotten back to their quarters in the Training Center. They'd yelled at each other on the way there, or more appropriately, Katniss had yelled at Peeta. She'd barely gotten sleep that night, Peeta's words from their walk back home haunting her while she laid in bed, not to mention the predicament they were in was causing her to stress. She couldn't help but feel guilty, having yelled at Peeta like that. He hadn't deserved it. Even though it was him who had claimed that Katniss was pregnant, he couldn't have known that President Snow would actually cancel the Quarter Quell. But, of course, that is exactly what she'd accused him of.
The Avox had been waiting outside the room when they opened the door. She was obviously meant to take them back to the Training Center. Instead, Katniss had pushed her aside angrily while still dragging Peeta by the arm. The Avox had tried to follow them, but Katniss had yelled at them to go away and mind their own business. It had taken them an hour to just find the front door without the Avox, Katniss dragging Peeta the entire way. He never tried to pull his arm away, instead he just let himself be dragged. When they did get outside, however, Peeta immediately begun trying to wrench his arm free of her gasp.
"Katniss..." She had stopped to look at him when he'd started speaking. "Can you let me go now?"
Maybe it was the gentleness in his voice or the way he'd look at her with such sincerity, but Katniss had just snapped. She'd wrenched her hand away from his arm and screamed at him. "How could you, Peeta?! This is all your fault! If you didn't say anything, we wouldn't be in this mess right now!" He had just looked at her with sad eyes... and that had only made her angrier. "Stop trying to play the victim right now! This is your doing! Is it because you're so madly in love with me that you had to go and ruin my life?!"
Peeta had gone pale when she said that. He hadn't gotten angry, however. He'd just said: "No, it's not like that, Katniss. I was just so desperate for a way out of the Quarter Quell that I'd said the first thing that came to mind. I'm so, so, sorry."
"Well, you should be!" She'd stormed away from him after that, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the night on a random street in the Capitol. She had managed to find her way home after that, but Peeta hadn't come up the elevator for another 3 hours, whether he had been upset and went for a walk or just lost, Katniss didn't know.
Katniss wished he had gotten angry at her. She wished he had screamed at her and called her nasty things. She deserved it, having said those nasty things to him. Getting on the train, Katniss immediately headed for one of the bedrooms, content with just laying in bed during the entire ride. She would've made it too, if Peeta hadn't intercepted her outside of the door.
"Katniss." He grabbed her by the arm gently. "We need to talk."
"If you're mad at me because of last night, just say it." She didn't turn around to face him, instead she just stared at the door in front of her.
"Angry? Why would I be angry at you?" He spun her around, so now they were facing each other. He then let go of her arm, letting his own fall to his side. "Everything you said last night was true, Katniss-"
"No, it wasn't." Katniss interrupted him. "You couldn't have known Snow was going to cancel the Games."
"But I knew it was a possibility and I did it anyway." Peeta's blue eyes were full of shame and remorse and Katniss hated it.
"Peeta, what I said last night was cruel. Even if it is your fault, which it's not, I should have never said those things to you." She grabbed his hand. "We're in this together, you and me. No matter who said what, we're a team."
He smiled softly at her and Katniss felt her heart contract in her chest. The fact that he could smile at a time like this amazed her. "We're always gonna be a team, Katniss. Always."
Katniss couldn't help but smile at him when he said that. "So, are we okay then?"
"Of course we are." Peeta squeezed her hand. She squeezed back.
Katniss remembered that he had wanted to talk about something. "What did you want to talk about, then?"
His smile vanished. "Oh, right. I wanted to talk about what we were going to do about all of..." He made a gesture with his hands. "...this."
She frowned at him. "Right. Maybe we should go find a more private place to talk about this."
Peeta POV:
They were sitting on a couch at the back of the train, not saying anything. Katniss had been staring at the window for a while now and Peeta hadn't wanted to pull her out of her daydreams. They'd probably been sitting there in silence for 30 minutes when she said something. It wasn't what he had thought she would say, but he wasn't sure what he had been expecting anyway.
"If Snow even lays a finger on Prim, I'll kill him, Peeta."
He didn't know what to say to that, to be honest. So he just nodded, hoping she would say something else so he wouldn't have to say anything at all. It was at least another 5 minutes before she spoke again.
"But, I never wanted to have kids." She looked at him then, her face sad-looking. "I never even wanted to get married."
After she'd said that, Peeta had managed to find his words. "I know, Katniss. Its terrible that we get put into these situations, that we have to make these decisions."
Katniss shook her head. "You think?" Her voice sounded angry. Not at him, he thought, but at Snow. "And all this for what? Some stupid berries? If I had known that this would happen, I would've just swallowed them."
He sighed. "We can't change what's already happened, Katniss. We can only move forward."
"I know, Peeta.." Katniss looked like she was going to cry. She wouldn't, though, because she was stronger than that. Peeta had always admired that about Katniss, that she had the strength to keep it together during the toughest times. "..but, which way is the way forward? If we give Snow what he wants, we'll never be free. But if we don't, Prim, Gale, all of them will suffer because of us."
"I don't know, Katniss." Peeta could feel his frustration growing. He pushed it down, now wasn't the time to get upset about things they couldn't control. "But, I do know this: this is your decision to make. Even though Snow has threatened to hurt our families, it is still completely up to you whether or not we go through with this. It's not up to Haymitch or Effie or Cinna. It's not even up to me. No matter what way you choose, I will always stand by your side. And, if you need more time, then I'll wait. Katniss, I will always wait for you."
"Thank you, Peeta." Katniss said. "...I- I think I've decided, though."
"Already?" Peeta was astonished, he thought she would've wanted more time. "I thought you would've wanted to think things through a little."
Katniss shrugged. "I think if I have more time, I'll keep doubting myself and then I'll never decide."
Peeta nodded. "Okay, well.. what do you want to do?"
"I think we should give Snow what he wants." Peeta sucked in a breath. "I know, I know.. we'll be giving up our freedom, but... I'd never forgive myself if he hurt Prim. If doing this means she's safe, then it's worth it. For her, it will always be worth it."
"Are you sure, Katniss?"
"I'm sure, Peeta." She said it with such finality that he knew better not to question her.
"Alright, then." He brought his hand up to her cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb. "Let's do this, then."
Well, that's all for this chapter, everyone! This one was also short, so... But, I didn't want to jam-pack too much into one chapter and make it very lengthy. Besides, this is a good place to leave off for now... *smirks* Heheheh...