Real or not real? (everlark)

7

That night, my lasagna sits uneasily in my stomach. The train rocks back and forth and the fancy food threatens to come back up. The heat of our bed kills me, and I can feel my temperature slowly rising. Worried, Peeta insists on taking care of me.
But even with the cold rag upon my head, and Peeta's comforting touch, I feel sick. And at 1 in the morning, I bolt awake and rush to the bathroom.
All of my dinner comes up, and it tastes horrible. Shaking, I grab a wet rag and wipe my face. I pull myself to my feet, tired. I turn on the faucet, and leave the water on cold. I rinse my hand and wipe down my face. I brush the nasty taste from my mouth, and when I'm done, I sink to the ground.
I lay my head down on the cold tile floor. My cheek presses against it, and the coolness of it feels like a relief. I don't even bother trying to get off the floor.

"Peeta?" I ask, walking out from the bathroom. "Peeta, where did you go?"
I see a lump on the bed, and it looks just like Peeta. I creep forward, a smile on my face. I stand over the mess of blankets, and turn him over.
"Found you!" I say, but it's not him. It really is just a pile of blankets. I sit on the bed, and put my face in my hands. Where is he???
Just then, there is a fierce pounding on the door. I get to my feet and approach the door. I look out the peephole to see Peeta's face, and I grin. He's here.
"Peeta I was so worried, I couldn't find-" I say as I open the door, but then I stop. He looks up at me, his eyes red and blood shot. He looks angry, and the look he gives me is pure hatred. I look at him, scared. No, no no no. This is Peeta, he wouldn't hurt me. Right?
But then he lunges at me, his hands wrapping around my throat. I gasp, and he slams me backwards, unto the wall, screaming at me.
"MUTT! YOURE A MUTT! YOU DESERVE TO DIE, YOU VISCOUS-"

"Katniss!" Peeta's voice yells from a distance. "Katniss, shh it was only a dream!" And his voice seems closer. I open my eyes to find myself in the bathroom, with him standing above me. A part of my head throbs as I sit up.
"Why does my head hurt?" I ask, rubbing it. He helps me to my feet, and I feel slightly dizzy at first, and the light blue bathroom spins slightly, but then stops.
"You were thrashing around on the floor and hit your head on the toilet." Peeta says and I smile. We walk into the hedroom, and he sits down next to me on the bed. I press my back into the wall and shove my toes only under the covers.
"So. Do you wanna tell me what your dream was about?" He asks, pulling his legs up to him. It looks odd, considering that he only has one complete leg. I glance at his prosthetic, which leans against the wall beside us. I grimace, remembering how this was all my fault.
"Katniss?"
I fiddle with one of our blankets. The train rocks slowly, and as I glance out our window, I notice that its still very dark outside. Probably the middle of the night.
"Wanna talk on the roof instead?" He asks, and I nod, feeling releived. The fresh air of the rooftop is exactly what I need. We climb the ladder, onto the roof. I expect to see homes and lights zooming by, but instead I see that we are moving at a slower, steady pace. The wind is not fierce, and so we settle onto the roof, and get comfortable. And as I predicted, as soon as I open my mouth, the words come rushing out like a storm and I can't stop them. Peeta sits amd listens until I'm finished.
When my reencountering is finished, Peeta sits there for a moment, not making eye contact with me. He plays with the fabric of his robe, rubbing his thumbs over the soft fluffy fabric. Eventually, he speaks, and his voice cracks slightly.
"Does..... does this mean that you're afraid of me?" He asks, and I look at him, shocked. Afraid? Of Peeta? I was slightly before, but now...
"What do you mean, you were before?"
"Did I say that out loud?" I ask, and he smirks.
"Yes. Now answer the question." He says and I sigh.
"When we were first called as tributes to the games, and we were riding to the capitol, I was surprised. You'd always been so nice to me, and it shocked me. I was scared you were just being nice to me so that you could kill me in the games." I said, and he looks even more shocked than I had before. Emotion swallows his face as he hears my answer.
"Katniss. Why-"
"Thats not important right now. Dont get off subject. Why do you think I would be afraid of you now?" I ask him, and he scratches the back of his neck and scrunching his face together in an odd expression before answering me.
"Your dream. It was about you getting attacked by the hijacked me. Does that mean you don't fully trust me or something? That you're afraid I will go crazy and lash out, and choke you?" He asks me, pain shadowing his eyes.
"No! No, Peeta no. Why would you think that? I've given you my heart, my trust, all of it. I swear on Buttercup that I trust you completely." I say, and he smiles a little at my responce.
"Swear to Buttercup?" He asks, and looks as if he's holding back laughter.
"Buttercup is slowly making his way to the top of my priorities list." I say in playful defense, and Peeta laughs. I notice the ache in the top of my back, and I stretch out against the sleek and shiny rooftop of the train, gazing up at the stars. Peeta does the same, and he scoots closer to me, putting his arm underneath my head.
"The sky is beautiful tonight." I tell him, and he nods. The stars twinkle against the sky, shining down at us. Like someone spilt silver glitter onto a black table cloth.
"There's something else out here that's even more beautiful than the stars." Peeta says to me, and my heart elates with happiness. I know his answer.
"And what would that be?" I ask knowingly. I close my eyes and wait for his husky voice to answer "you", as it always does. But it doesnt, and instead he says something I never expected.
"Me." He says and I laugh out loud and I can practically feel his happy, white smile.
"Oh yes. You are very beautiful. We should enter you in a beauty pagent." I tell him, still snorting from laughter.
"Nah, I don't want to lower all of those other girls self esteem." He says, and I laugh even harder, rolling to face him. He simply chuckles at his joke.
"And besides," He continues in more seriousness." I dont know if I'm beautiful enough for that yet."
I squint at him. "No, I think you'd be fine. Slap a little hot pink lipstick and blush on and you've got first place in the bag." I tell him, and then start laughing all over again at the idea of Peeta with hot pink lipstick.
And in that moment, I felt truly happy. None of the memories of the past or sadness to weigh my now elated heart down.

Hey my wonderful readers! Thanks so much if you've stuck with my story so far, and I have some promising plans for future chapters.....
Comment and vote feedback on my story please, and I'll catch you all later!
-Skyzone