Love Me Or Hate Me (Everlark)

Somewhere Only We Know

         I, in the end, decided it's best to have my hair braided. Not the best time to get hair in you face when you're trying to shoot an arrow. I pulled on my fathers hunting jacket and headed down stairs passing my old room...I've been avoiding it since we first moved back. I unlock it with the only key, slowly twisting the door nob. Inside, the empty room still has burn marks, the carpet burned black from its once purple color. I guess now's as good a time as any to explain how my room was burned....

Honk! Honk!

"Peeta." I whisper, pulling the door closed and locking it before running down to the driveway where he's waiting in Finn's car. I quirk an eyebrow at him. "Why are you in Finn's car?" He smiles nervously. Peeta? Nervous? What world have I stepped into??

"I wanted to make some effort since is like our first date." He replies opening my door for me. I froze, cheeks flushing as I realized her was right. It was our first date...but who goes hunting as a date? It's not the best place for talking....well there is that meadow. 

"Uh...yeah." I mutter getting after an awkward pause I had with the door standing open. He closes it for me then rushes to the drivers side. As he starts to drive, I feel my phone vibrate. I open it to see a text from Annie

Annie: Finnick just asked me out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I blink at how many exclamation marks she used before smiling. Good for her.

"See you got a new phone." Peeta mutters, smirking at me, his eyes still on the road. I grin.

"Yeah, funny enough, flip phones dont have Instagram so. I begged my mom for an I-phone till she caved out of being tired. Works every time. I mean I don't do that all the time but...." Believe it or not...I keep talking about that for about 2 more minutes, making Peeta's smirk widen.

"I thought I was nervous." He comment shaking his head. I flush a bit, damnit, why do I talk so much when I'm nervous? 

"I havent really been on a date before." I mutter, folding my hands on my lap, looking at his face as the sun makes his hair look like gold and his eyes sparkle. His face broad, gorgeous, with long blond eyelashes I hadn't noticed till now. I wonder how they don't get all tangled together when he blinks. 

"Enjoying the view?" His normal smirk darkens as he glances at me. I blush again and turn away, pretending that the radio is more interesting as I look through stations. The song Everybody Loves Me by OneRepublic come on and I jump in my seat, singing along. I notice as it starts playing to the chorus, Peeta joins in. His voice is rougher than mine, but it's still so amazing. I pull my I-phone out and tape him as we both sing the song. God I love him. Wait what? My eyes widen as I admit it inside. Well..don't I? Do I? Of course you do, you moron. I know! "Hey what are you doing? Are you taping me!?" I realize then that the song had ended and that now he's trying to grab the phone, making us swerve. 

"Watch the road!" I stop the camera on my phone and save the video, hiding my phone in my pocket. 

"Why would you film me singing?" He asks, looking frustrated. 

"Because you have an amazing voice." I say this is a duh tone of voice. He glares at me. Okay not the best start to our first date. "I think so anyway." I mutter, looking at the radio again. The song Say When by The Fray starts playing. I hum to the beat not knowing the words well. Peeta on the other hand sings it all in key. I think I start staring at him again in what must look like I'm starstruck. 

"Sing with meee," He whines suddenly like a little boy. I giggle a bit and sing along to Clocks by Coldplay with him. Soon we arrive at the meadow, or close to it on the dirt road. Just as I'm about to exit the car, the song that came on next made me freeze and look deeply into Peeta's eyes. Somewhere Only We Know. In that moment I think of the cabin deep in the woods by a beautiful lake right by it that my father used to take me to all the time when I was little, a place just for us. A place only we knew. But now he's gone. And until now, I've had no one to share it with. 

"I want to show you something." I murmur as the song ends. He nods, his face intense as if he understand how important this is to me. I climb out the car walking around to the trunk and getting my bow and arrows, pulling them on. "I'll hunt a bit as we go." I explain. 

"Cant wait to see you use those things." He states, a childish smile on his face. "It's so awesome that my girlfriend can shoot arrows like a pro." I feel a warmth in my heart when he calls me that. As we start to walk into to the trees, it becomes painfully clear I wont be able to shoot anything if he keeps trailing so close to me. His footsteps are loud, well in the quiet of the forest they are. And I swear he is stepping on every dead leaf we pass. 

"It would help your girlfriend find something to shoot if you walked a bit further back from me." I finally sigh out after about a good ten minutes of it. I hear his smirk.

"Well sor-ry. I'll back off." I turn to see him letting me get a good twenty steps away before following slowly behind again, his hands in his pockets. I smile at him and get to hunting.

After a good hour, I've shot 3 squirrels, a few birds just for fun, and an owl. All through the eye. "I cant believe you shot them all so easily. I mean, wow. You're really good at that." I grin a bit, flushing. 

"Thanks." I put the kills somewhere for them to decay and start for my cabin, holding Peeta's hand. I'm holding Peeta Mellark's hand! I'm so fangirling inside right now. After about fifteen more minutes, we reach it, pausing to let Peeta look around. The lake, crystalline, reflects the sun above making it shimmer with brilliance. The grass here is actually greener than in the city even though it's fall. The cabin a stone, one story room with a fireplace, chairs, and a twin bed in the corner. 

"Wow." Peeta finally says, getting an eyeful of the beauty in front of him. 

"I used to come here all the time with my dad when I was younger." I whisper. I squeeze his hand so that he looks at me, wonder in his eyes. "Now it's our place." A dazzling all teeth, all American Boy smile spreads on his face as I say this. He hugs me to him, tight.

"I love you." He whispers in my hair. I don't even hesitate.

"I love you too." Because I do. As much as it scares me to, I do.

"Can I ask you something....you don't have to answer." I nod in reply. "What happened to your dad?" I freeze, I haven't told anyone about that. No one. Only Prim and my mom know, because they were there. I could feel the tears fill my eyes. 

"I.." I start to say. Should I?

Should she? That's up to you. Love ya!

E.J.