"Please join me in congratulating our Victor, Peeta Mellark!" Mayor Undersee announces as I walk off the train. Katniss had insisted I be the first to deboard alone so that I would get my moment in the sun. I was unsure, Snow was clear that he wanted us to be seen together, but did that start before or after the Victory tour?
Either way, she pushes me forward, hanging back and only following after Haymitch has exited too. She stays near the back of the stage, beaming, her eyes scanning the crowd and the square around us, her first glimpse of the district. I can't help but wonder if she likes it.
I know people have noticed her, with her pristine clothing and the way her eyes light up just being here, she sticks out like a sore thumb. But they're so focused on the Mayor and the shipment of food coming in that it steals their attention away.
While everyone is busy collecting their extra ration of food for the month, I'm finally free to see my family. But before I can reach them, I'm tackled from the side.
"You did it, man!" Gale laughs. It's rare that I get to see him like this. "I knew you'd do it."
"Yeah right," I tease back. "You thought I'd fall off that damn platform and blow myself up!"
He snorts. "Yeah well, aren't you glad you didn't? You're a Victor now. Hope you don't think you're too good for us."
"Never," I grin back, and for a moment, it feels like everything is how it was before the games.
"Congratulations, Peeta," Madge says, leaning into Gale. He throws his arm around her shoulders and a few people around us stare, but the two of them don't seem to mind.
"Thanks. And thanks for the pin. I guess it was a good luck charm," I say. "I, uh, must have misplaced it after…"
"I have it!" Katniss appears next to me and I close my eyes in anticipation of the inevitable. It was too late to back out now and I would forever be entwined with her.
She holds out the gold pin. "It was still on your clothes from the arena. Cinna made sure it would get back to you."
"Thank you," I say, taking the pin to hand back to Madge.
"No, you keep it. I gave it to you," she says, but she doesn't take her eyes off of Katniss.
"Are these your friends, Peeta?" Katniss asks, resting her hands on my arm. Gale doesn't miss the action and he narrows his eyes in suspicion.
I clear my throat. "This is Gale and Madge," I gesture to each of them.
"It's so wonderful to meet Peeta's friends!" She says, her voice getting higher in her eagerness. She sticks out her hand. "Hi, I'm Katniss."
Madge, being the friendlier of the two, eagerly shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you Katniss."
Katniss smiles even wider. "I love your dress. And your hair. It's kind of like Peeta's."
"Like corn?" I can't stop the words from slipping. It's what she said to me the first time we met.
Katniss' brows raise in surprise. She blinks once, twice, then a small smile graces her face. "Yes," she nods, turning back to Madge. "Like corn."
Madge looks between the two of us like she doesn't know whether that's a compliment. "Thank you, I think. Your dress is really pretty," she looks down at Katniss' dress in awe. I think she's been wearing the same one since she boarded the train since she didn't bring anything with her but she hasn't complained once.
"Do you want it?" Katniss is completely serious. She would give Madge her dress right now if she asked. Silly girl.
"Oh, no," Madge quickly says. "It's just I've only ever seen something similar in the Capitol." Of course, Katniss' dress is much more simple than anything in the Capitol, it was still leaps and bounds above what we could make here. Madge was considered one of the wealthiest in the district and even her dress looked plain in comparison.
"It is," Gale mutters. He stares at Katniss' hand like it might bite him, gingerly taking it in his. "Where are you from?"
"The Capitol," Katniss says. Gale drops her hand in an instant, wiping his on his pant leg. It doesn't deter the girl next to me though, and I want to slap my friend for being so rude.
"What's a Capitol girl doing all the way out here?" Madge asks. "Surely Peeta couldn't have been worth the whole trip here."
"He definitely was," Katniss frowns. I shouldn't be taken back by how quick she is to defend me but I am. "But I wanted to see your district. My grandfather said it was okay."
"And who would that be?" Gale asks, slowly.
"Cornelius Snow," she says. I can practically see both of them turn white, but Katniss doesn't seem to notice the fear Snow's name alone puts in us.
"You're President Snow's granddaughter?" Gale says. The look he gives me is nothing short of disapproving. "And he's okay with you hanging out with Peeta?"
"He encouraged it. She's staying until the Victory tour," I tell him. Katniss squeezes my arm and looks up at me with her wide eyes.
I can see the questions in Gale's eyes. Why would Snow let his granddaughter stay in Twelve of all places? Would it even be safe for her? Is she here to watch us?
"By the way, I loved your interview during the games, Gale!" Katniss says, her eyes twinkling. "Peeta is so very lucky to have a friend like you."
Gale's brows furrow and he looks like he doesn't really know what to do with himself. He's never been great with compliments. "Obviously," he says, his tone snarkier than appropriate, and I see the brightness dim just slightly in Katniss' eyes but that smile just doesn't budge. It now hits me how perfectly practiced it must be for her to be able to hide her true emotions so well.
"I should see my family," I say, wanting to get Katniss away from Gale before he says something hurtful, or worse, incriminating.
"Yeah, I'll catch you later," Gale says, his words directed entirely at me. He stalks off without even acknowledging Katniss.
"Don't mind him. He's not very well mannered," Madge assured Katniss. "It was nice to meet you."
Katniss surprises Madge by giving her a hug. "You as well!" Madge waves me goodbye, with another glance at Katniss before following after Gale.
"Shall we see your family?" Katniss says. I offer her my arm and head back in the direction I saw them earlier. I was more nervous to see my family than to have Katniss meet them. What would my mother think of me now?
"My son!" Dad is the first to greet me, pulling into a tight hug. I can hear the smile in his voice and when he pulls back, there are tears in his eyes. Me returning was truly a shock to him and he looks to be in disbelief. Katniss steps to the side, letting me have some time with my family.
"Alright, Peet!" Rye jumps on my back and I try to fight him off. He just laughs, ruffling my hair as Graham pats my shoulder. "They even gave you a shiny new leg!" I was getting better at walking with the prosthetic but it still looked like I had a limp. The doctors in the Capitol said it would go away eventually.
"Never thought we'd have a Victor in the family," Graham says, but instead of the teasing tone I expected, there's a hint of pride in his voice and my chest swells.
I finally look at my mother, and my dad and brothers are watching her expectantly. She just gives me a tight smile and nod, stepping forward. I think she might give me a hug, but she just leans close, awkwardly gripping my shoulders for a second before letting go.
I hear a light sniffling and I look over to catch Katniss wiping a tear. "What's wrong?"
She shakes her head, wiping her cheeks. "I'm just so happy for you!"
My dad, still the kindest man I've ever met, tilts his head to the side. "Who is this?"
Even if she wasn't in the public eye much, or at all, her manners are impeccable and Katniss confidently steps forward. "Hello, Mr. Mellark. I'm Katniss Snow. It's a pleasure to meet you." She curtsies and he smiles, amused. Nobody in twelve would do that.
And I have to give him credit. At hearing her surname, he doesn't even flinch. "The pleasure is mine, Miss Snow."
"Katniss, please," she says, adorably scrunching her nose. Wait, what? "Being addressed by Snow makes me feel as old as my grandfather."
My father throws his head back with a hearty laugh, only making Katniss smile wider.
"You're President Snow's granddaughter? That must suck," Rye says, and my father stops laughing immediately. He's an idiot.
"Rye Mellark!" My mother scolds, but she doesn't slap his arm or head like I had expected her to. "Do not be rude to an important guest," she all but growls. I can tell she's trying to keep her temper down. "I'm so sorry about my son. I thought we had raised him better."
"I just meant that she probably has to follow a bunch of stuffy rules and stuff. Geez, why is everyone freaking out so much?"
Maybe because insulting the President of Panem could quite literally end in disaster for our family.
Katniss' musical laugh breaks the tension. "No, it's quite alright. It is a lot of, how did you word it? 'Following stuffy rules and stuff?'" She quotes, laughing again.
Rye, always one to love any sort of attention, flails his arms in her direction. "See! Little Katniss here can take a joke. Unlike the rest of you!" He casually throws his arms around her shoulder like they've known each other for years. "I like her. She's nice to me," he says with a pointed look at the rest of us. Katniss looks positively elated at the small praise from Rye and my stomach churns. Jealousy? No, it can't be. It must just be concern for my moron of a brother getting close to Snow's granddaughter.
"You are just as charming as in your interviews. Must be a family trait," she says, glancing at me.
"Course it is," Rye says, not budging his arm from around her shoulders. I want to rip it off. "Although, I'm a special case of charming."
"Oh, he's special, all right. I wouldn't call what he has charming," Graham says, referring to Rye. "More like he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. It's nice to meet you," Graham nods, less hostile than Gale but not nearly as welcoming as our father. His eyes lock on the cuff on my wrist. "New look?"
Rye grips my arm , bringing it up to examine the large seal. "Where'd you get that? It's gaudy."
I smirk. He really never learns. Keeps things entertaining though. "Katniss gave it to me."
His eyes widen and he backtracks. "Gaudy is district Twelve speak for cool."
I roll my eyes. "It's not." I didn't need him trying to manipulate poor Katniss.
"Well it's my speak for cool," he corrects. "Man, I wish I had one."
Graham snorts, and Dad puts a hand over his mouth to hide his laugh, but Katniss' doesn't catch Rye's attempt to cover up in her innocence.
"Oh, I can make you one," she says.
"No, it's okay!" Rye says, quickly changing the subject. "Hey, is anyone hungry?"
In all the time I spent trying to avoid Katniss on the train by feigning tiredness, I forgot to find out what her plan was once she was here. Snow had told me to take care of her but did that mean she would be staying with us?
Dad seems to also be thinking similar things because he's the one that asks, "Katniss, where will you be staying?"
Her cheeks turn pink again. "Oh. Well, I didn't really think that far ahead. I suppose I could ask Haymitch-"
"Nonsense!" We're all surprised when my mother is the one to speak up. "Peeta is more than happy to have you stay with him, right dear?" The term of endearment from her is foreign to my ears. What's even more foreign is the smile on her face as she looks at Katniss.
"Sure," I frown. "But I don't think there's enough room at our house," I point out.
"Peet, they've moved all your stuff to the Victor Village," Graham tells me gently. "Just yours."
Oh. I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me that I wouldn't be moving back to the bakery after I got back. And it shouldn't have been a surprise that none of them would be coming with me.
"But I'm sure Katniss would be more comfortable there. There's more room for the two of you," my mother says.
"Can we at least have dinner with Peet? We just got him back," Rye asks. "And Katniss too, of course," he winks and Katniss giggles.
"Should I tell Delly she's got some competition?" Graham teases.
"Nah. Delly will love her too," Rye says confidently. "She's always talking about wanting to hang out with more girls and shit."
"Language!" Our mother chastises. "We didn't prepare anything suitable for dinner. I'm not sure what's available at the butchers at this hour." Her panic and apologetic look towards Katniss is completely new to us.
"Please don't worry about it," Katniss assures my mother with a smile. "I'm happy with whatever you have available. I'm sorry, I don't mean to cause any trouble. I know it was last minute."
"It's no trouble at all!" My mother says, returning the smile, although hers is fake. Rye and Graham look like they don't recognize the woman next to us. "Come, dear. It's getting dark soon and I don't want any of us catching colds." She gently takes Katniss' elbow, pulling her away from Rye and leading her towards the path into town.
"Wow. That girl even got Mom pretending she's not a b-"
"Rye." Dad's voice warns, walking ahead of us to join the pair.
"Or maybe she recognizes her own," Graham says.
"Katniss isn't like Snow," I say. I shouldn't be defending her.
"Well that's obvious," Rye says. "No, I think even Mom can't be mean to Katniss," he concludes. "That would be like kicking a baby bunny."
"Did you just compare the President's granddaughter to a rabbit?" Graham laughs.
I watch from behind as my mother fusses over Katniss and my brothers joke with each other. Not even half an hour has passed and Katniss has easily wormed her way into my family. I'd be jealous of the way my mother so easily accepted her, but she never hid the fact that she always wanted a girl. At least, that's what she said I was supposed to be. Apparently, three boys was too much.
Now that she's met my friends and family, I was sure our lives would forever be intertwined and there would be nothing I could do about it.