"oh no!!" i cry, as globs of mashed potatoes slide down the front of my favorite Beatles t-shirt. i wipe
gravy from my forearms while glaring balefully at the boy at fault—peeta mellark. otherwise known as "breadstick boy" to the rest of the school.
"oh crap, Sunsettia, im so sorry!!" peeta's blue eyes widen in remorse. i make the mistake of making eye contact with his sparkling blue orbs... the deep blue beckons me in... and i... i...
"Sunsettia?" peeta waves a perfect hand in front of my face, making me jump.
"oh! sorry," i reply, pushing some hair behind my ear absentmindedly. "gagnabit!" i curse as i examine the potatoey strands of dirty blonde hair.
a strong forearm fills my eyesight as Peeta takes a bit of my hair in his large hand and wipes the mashed potatoes away. "let me," he says, carefully picking the pieces of carrot off my shoulders and gently wiping gravy from my forehead. oh my gosh ohmygosh. is this really happening???? breadstick boy is wiping potatoes out of my eyes?
"now, for a more proper introduction," he says, dusting his hands off and grinning sweetly. a girl could fall in love with that grin. "i'm Peeta."
oh, i know. "I'm Sunsettia," i reply, badly covering my flushed cheeks, "but it sounds like you already knew that."
"oh." his strong cheekbones flush slightly, and my heart hammers thinking that i might be the cause of that exquisite peach tint. "i may have asked around about you."
my eyes widen. does this mean...? is he interested in me?
he takes a deep breath, as if he's nervous. is he going to ask me out??? me????
"I want you..." i hold my breath in anticipation. it feels as if the whole world has paused in suspense of breadstick boy's confession of love.
"I want you to be my fake girlfriend."
"YES!!!!" i scream, jumping up and down, before his words register in my mind. "wait, fake girlfriend?"
he smirks. "haha, you didn't think I wanted to date you, did you?" he throws his head back, laughing, and showing off his perfect jawline.
i frown. is it really that crazy of an idea for Peeta Mellark to date me?
"no!! of course I didn't think that. but why do you want a fake girlfriend?"
he rubs the nape of his neck and his muscular biceps strain against the tight sleeves of his tshirt. "Well... Im entering the breadstick making competition. and all competitors are required to have a sous chef and a date to the Garlic Bread Gala afterwards."
"why don't you just get a real girlfriend?" I ask. he was Peeta Mellark. breadstick Boy!! he could get any girl he wanted, couldn't he?
he shook his head firmly. "I don't date."
Interesting.
"i want you to be my fake girlfriend, Sunsettia, because you're just so... so..." he trails off, staring wistfully over my left shoulder.
Finish the sentence!!! I'm so what??
"So unassuming," he finishes. I deflate a bit. "No one will even notice you, which means people won't come after me for having a new girlfriend."
Was I really going to say yes to this? Sure, it's a bit insulting to be called "demeaning", but this is Peeta. He could call me butt ugly and it'd be a compliment just to be noticed by him.
"I'll do it."
