The Hunger Games - I'm Still Burning

Chapter 5

"Peeta come on!" I shout, throwing the armfuls of camping gear I have onto the ground and running towards the lake.

The scorching sun rains down on my back, locking me in a halo of it's heated rays. The greenery on the trees provides little shade and the trek we took here has me sweating profusely. I don't remember the last time District twelve had a summer this hot.

I clamber up the large rock that over looks the lake, feeling my inner five-year-old coming out. I fling off my flimsy shoes and dive into the shimmering water still fully clothed. As soon as my head goes under, the world around me fades. All the noises ebb into a quiet hum. There is only me and the water, nothing else. The coolness is refreshing on my sunburnt skin. I don't break the surface until my lungs are burning and craving the oxygen that the air above me holds.

"Katniss," Peeta calls, letting out a sigh. He's stood at the edge of the lake, his cheeks red and his hair sticking to his forehead. "Don't do that, I didn't think you were going to come back up."

I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at him. We didn't want to go anywhere fancy for a honeymoon, I didn't really want to go anywhere at all but Peeta was insistent that we had to do something. Going to another District was out of the question, I couldn't bring myself to get on another train and Peeta was too afraid he'd have another flashback on one, so we decided on coming here and camping for a couple of days.

"Are you coming in?" I ask him, pushing my wet tendrils of hair away from my face.

He looks at the water sceptically then back at me.

"I think you've forgotten that I can't actually swim," he says.

"It's fine, I'll teach you. Come on," I say, splashing the water in his direction.

"Alright, alright!" he laughs. He climbs up the same rock that I did and comes to a stand still at the top. He kicks off his shoes and strips off his t-shirt. I can't help but stare at the muscles on his stomach as they glisten with the sweat from his exertion. His scars look almost silver when the natural light hits them. He doesn't move, just hops from one foot to the other, like he's waiting for something.

"Some time today would be good," I shout up.

"What if I sink?" he asks.

"You won't sink!" I laugh.

He still shows no signs that he's going to jump.

"Do you want me to jump with you?" I finally ask.

"Yes I think that would be helpful," he says.

I laugh as I pull myself out of the water. He can fight mutts and walk through the booby-trapped streets of the Capitol but he can't jump into a lake? Sometimes he's hard to figure out. The rock is sharp and scratches my now bare feet as I haul myself up. My dress clings to my body making the whole task a lot harder than it needs to be. When I reach the top, Peeta isn't there.

"Peeta?"

I check over the side to see if he has summoned up the courage and jumped by himself. But apart from a family of ducks, the water is empty.

"Peet-"

"Argghhhhh!"

I scream as he appears out of no where, trapping me in his arms and propelling us off of the rock and down headfirst into the water.

When I float back to the surface, he's laying on his back and laughing.

"You scared the life out of me!" I shout, punching him on the chest. This only forces more laughter out of him. I jump on top of him, pushing his body back under.