The Girl With The Silver Eyes

Chapter 7

Katniss

I walk into school Friday and get the same looks I've been getting all week. Glares from the girls, whistles from the boys. The cold shoulder from Peeta. It's amazing how far appearance goes at this school. Now that I'm actually dressing like girl, I'm not just a ghost passing through the halls. They actually look at me. It's weird. I didn't think I'd like it this much.

I go to my locker and get my things for first period. I start to walk when I bump into someone and drop my things. And just my luck, it was Peeta.

"Sorry," I say as I pick up my things. I try to walk away but he grabs my arm.

"Can we talk?" he asks.

"Now you want to talk to me?" I say. "I understand maybe being uncomfortable around me Monday, but you've been really cold all week."

"It's not like you ever have a moment by yourself," he says. "Not dressed the way you are."

"And how is that?" I ask him. "Do my looks suddenly matter to you? I'm not yours Peeta. You don't control how I dress and who I hang around. And if you try, I don't know that I can even be friends with you."

"I'm not," he says. "I just want to talk."

"I have plans tonight," I reply. "Maybe I'll see you Saturday."

"Why not now?" he asks.

"Because its my turn to give you the cold shoulder," I say and walk into my first class, leaving Peeta with a hurt look on his face. And what he doesn't see is how much it hurt me to do it too. But he needs to learn that he can't treat me like I'm invisible and then just get to talk to me like nothing happened.

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Tara rides over with me to Glimmer's beach house since I don't know where it is. And just as I thought, Tara is as genuinely friendly as Glimmer. She directs me to the road that leads to the beach.

"So you and the Lover Boy huh?" she says.

"Yeah, I don't really want to talk about that right now," I say.

"That's okay," she says. "Maybe later."

"I don't think so," I say.

"You'd be surprised what comes out when three girls get to talking," she says. "We'll laugh and cry and you know that you want to spill. You just need to relax a little. You'll feel better."

"Whatever," I say as I park in Glimmer's drive. She comes out to greet us and suggests we take advantage of the sunshine and warm water. So I go to change and find that I'm not entirely comfortable in the bikini Glimmer made me buy. Its dark green and it covers everything, but I still feel really exposed. I wrap my towel around my waist and walk out back. Glimmer has a radio playing and I walk down the dock and dangle my feet in the water. I hear someone walk up behind me and next thing I know, Glimmer is sitting beside me.

"Why so glum?" she asks. I don't even look at her. "You need to forget about him right now. You two are at a stand still right now, but you'll get through it. If you two belong together, then you will eventually be together. But right now, you need to put him at the back of your mind. Just have some fun with me and Tara tonight and let lose."

"I don't really know how to have fun," I say.

"Well, tonight you're gonna learn," she says. Suddenly I hear rapid footsteps and look back just in time to see Tara coming at me and she pushes me into the water. I stand up and glare at both of them, who are giggling before smirking and pulling them both in after me. They squeal and we all laugh as we play like children in the water. Glimmer orders Chinese food and we eat it by the fire in our Pjs after taking showers.

"I'm gonna be a bridesmaid," Tara says eventually, breaking the silence.

"Really?" Glimmer asks. "For who?"

"My cousin, Finnick, is getting married," she says. "Annie doesn't have a lot of close friends, so she asked me."

"That's sounds fun," Glimmer says and then looks at me. "Have you ever been in a wedding?"

"When I was four I was my aunt's flower girl," I say.

"That's nice," she says. "You going to Homecoming in a few weeks."

"No," I say. "I don't really do that."

"You can hang with us," Tara says.

"As a fifth wheel," I say. "What are we kidding? Glimmer has Marvel and you have Trace. You wouldn't have any fun with me hanging around."

"Well maybe if you let a certain blonde haired baker take you, you wouldn't be feeling that way," Glimmer says.

"If she doesn't want to go, don't force her," Tara says. Glimmer smiles at me.

"I'm not forcing her," she says. "I'm just suggesting, should Peeta ask her, she should go."

"And why is that Glimmer?" I ask her.

"Because he'll treat you right," she says. "Plus, it's like a supervised date, so it's not like you two can do anything that dirty. That's for after Prom." Tara hits her shoulder at that and I feel my cheeks turn red.

"So you're still trying to play matchmaker?" I ask.

"I can honestly say neither of you are particularly happy about it," she says. "He doesn't like the extra attention you've been getting since you started actually dressing like you're proud of how you look. He's jelly."

"He wanted to talk to me today," I say. "I turned him down."

"Why?" they both ask.

"Because he hasn't even tried to talk to me all week and then he wants to talk a whole week after the fact," I say. "He should know that I'm still his friend."

"But he doesn't want to be friends," Tara says.

"He wants to be loved," Glimmer adds.

"But I can't," I say. "At least not yet."

"Then you two need to talk," Glimmer says. "Take things slow. You're sixteen. There's no rush. Maybe we can hang with the guys later."

"What? Tonight?" I ask.

"Why not?" Tara says picking up Glimmer's phone and handing it to her. "The night, like us, is still young."

"No," I say as Glimmer starts dialing. "No way, no how."

"Too late sweet cheeks," Glimmer says. "I'm doing this for your sake. Its gonna be lots of fun." She holds the phone up to her ear as someone answers. "Hey baby, Get the boys together." She shoots a smirk at me. "And make sure Peeta comes. We're having a party!"