The Night Train | EVERLARK

Night Four | It was never going to be enough.

NIGHT FOUR

Peeta may not have known everything, but he knew when Katniss Everdeen was upset.

It had started as soon Peeta had woken up, it was their last stop in the tour before the grand finale in the Capitol. The victors were ending their tour by visiting District 1.

Peeta had awoken that morning with nothing but pure elation in his stomach at the realisation that maybe it wasn't all entirely fake, and that maybe his love for the girl on fire wasn't completely ridiculous anymore.

The first alarm bell should have been Katniss' absence in the bed, with only her scent of pine and the soap from the Capitol's showers leaving any trace of her behind. However, forever the optimist, Peeta presumed Katniss had gone for an early breakfast, never one to miss out on a much-needed meal.

So after dressing in his newest ridiculous outfit provided by Portia, Peeta felt a pep in his prosthetic as he walked into the dining car of the train.

"There you are! Thank heavens, please tell me you know where Katniss is?" Effie asked as soon as he entered the space, buzzing around him like a nervous peacock, her newest blue wig only emphasising the ridiculousness of her fashion sense.

"What do you mean?" Peeta asked, looking around the room and not seeing Katniss tucking into her regular breakfast of rolls and hot chocolate. "I thought she was with you?"

This answer clearly provided no relief for Effie as she only became more hyper, her overlined eyes popping out from her head.

"Haymitch, you told me that they were together last night!" Effie accused, turning around and bringing Peeta's attention to their mentor, who was looking especially hungover as he sat at the breakfast table, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead.

"Well... you saw them disappear together," Haymitch replied, shrugging his shoulders and nursing a cup of hot sweet tea in his shaky hands.

Peeta felt a wave of embarrassment as he confessed, stammering in a way that was completely unlike himself, "well we did spend the night together but... I mean I don't mean spent but..."

"Was she not there this morning?" Effie interrupted, unperturbed by Peeta's flustered state.

Peeta shook his head in reply, causing Effie to erupt in worries, and fly out of the room in a flurry.

Unsure of himself, Peeta simply let his legs carry him over to the table, sitting across from Haymitch, his mind racing as he wondered where Katniss was, and what had happened between hours of them falling asleep in each other's arms, and him waking up alone.

Peeta constantly felt as if he was going to spend his entire life trying to solve the puzzle that was Katniss Everdeen.

"You two better not have done something stupid last night," Haymitch had asked, breaking Peeta's self-deprecating thoughts.

A fresh wave of shame filled Peeta as he realised that the two were clearly not allowed any privacy, even without the cameras.

"No, nothing to that extent," Peeta confessed, reminiscing on one extremely cringy conversation between Haymitch and himself earlier that year. They had discussed the use of things like protection and Haymitch warned him that there were to be no Mellark babies running around on his watch.

Peeta had found it comical at the time, as after the Games and before The Tour, Katniss wasn't even going near him. Let alone touching him. But now, in the cold light of the morning, after Katniss had all but requested Peeta to drop his towel, it wasn't as funny anymore.