I Love You To The Moon And Back

Chapter 53: Happy Birthday

Katniss P.O.V. 

I spin the bottle and it lands on Annie. But just as my hand leaves the bottle, Peeta starts kissing my shoulder. I look at him. 'You really hate me, don't you', I say smirking. He looks up and smiles devilishly. 'No, I love you', he says and he continues. I know that the kissing isn't good for his lip, but I guess he doesn't care. 

'Kat!' Finnick snaps at me. I quickly turn my head to look at him. He's just laughing. 'What task do you have for Annie?' he asks, still laughing. I look at Annie. She took dare. Okay, Katniss, concentrate. Just ignore the feeling you have right now because of Peeta. Think. 

'Eh...', I start. Annie can't hold her laugh now too. 'What?' I ask. She just laughs harder. 'Look at your face! You can't concentrate at all!' she yells. I roll my eyes. I have a dare for her. 
'I dare you to let Finnick do the exact same thing with you, as Peeta is doing with me. Let's see if you can concentrate then', I say smirking. She starts to blush and Finnick just laughs harder. 
'Oh, Kitty, I love you', he says, between his laughs. He stops laughing and takes place behind Annie. He starts to kiss her neck too, and she soon closes her eyes. 'Told you', I say quietly. 'Good one', Peeta whispers in my ear. I smile.

'Okay, are we just gonna sit here and wait until those two are gonna have sex here?' Johanna asks. That makes me laugh. Johanna and her offensive comments. I love it. 
'No, we're not', I say. 'Then end this game now', she says. I nod. 'Game over!' I yell. Annie opens her eyes and sighs deeply. 'Thank God, it would become awkward if it would go on for a long time', she says. I laugh. I look at Peeta, who is still kissing my neck, and touching my waist. 

'Game's over, Peeta', I say. He chuckles. 'I know', he says, pressing a soft kiss on my collarbone. I place my hand under his chin and lift his head up. 'Stop it, I can't handle it anymore', I say smiling. He smiles too and I step out of his lap. But just as I want to stand up, I'm pulled back to him. 
'Who said you could leave?' he asks. I giggle and place a kiss on his cheek. 'I did', I say and I stand up. 

We all eat some cake, dance a little and have lots of fun. At 4 o'clock, I'm getting really tired and I sit down on a cahir and watch my friends have fun. I see Finnick doing his ''kind'' of dance, and Annie just laughs. I see Peeta showing Amy some of his drawings. She really likes it. She smiles at him and he smiles back. Weirldy enough, I don't feel jealous at all. I have the feeling that I can trust Amy. 
Just then, Gale comes and sits next to me. 
'Hey, Catnip', he says smiling. I look at him. I don't feel comfortable with him calling me that, but I'm not gonna mention it, not today. 
'Hi', I just say. He sighs. 'It gets a little monotonous, but I'm so sorry. I should've never punched Peeta like that', he says. I look down at my hands. 'I'm just jealous. I see the way you look at him, and I just wished you would look at me the same way', he confesses. I look up at him again. 'Gale, I love you too', I say, but he shakes his head. He looks me right in the eye, and shakes his head again. 

'No, Katniss. Not like the way you love him', he says. I know he's right. I don't love anyone the way I love Peeta. And I think I never will. 
'We've been friends for so long, why didn't you tell me sooner?' I ask. He looks down now. 'I guess I didn't dare to. I wanted to, and I was going to, but just then he came. I wanted to spend my Senior Year with you as a couple, but when he came into class, I saw the way you looked at him, and I knew I missed my chance', he says. I feel my cheeks heat up. Was it that obvious? Annie saw it, but she knows me the best...

'But you didn't know that he would like me, why didn't you tell me anyway?' I ask. He chuckles as if I just asked the stupidest question ever. 'Who could not like you? And by the way, I just knew. Everyone saw the sparkles between you two fly around when you looked at eachother', he says. I look up, turn my head to look at Peeta, at the other side of the garden. He looks at us, but doesn't come over. Amy stands next to him, talking. She probably reassures him that there's nothing between me and Gale. 
'I'm sorry', I say quietly, looking down again. Gale shakes his head. 'No, I need to apologize. I'm so sorry for kissing you, and for fighting with Peeta. I just messed up', he says. I look at him and try to smile. 
'So, what now?' I ask. He shrugs. 'I just really hope that I can be your friend again', he says. I nod and smile a little more. 'Sure, but just friends, okay?' I say, to reassure him. He nods. Finally he smiles. 
'I guess I'm friendzoned then?' he asks. That makes me laugh. 

Then Peeta walks over to us and sits down at my other side. 'Hello', he says, as if he didn't watched us. I smile at him.
'I guess I'm gonna go now', Gale says, standing up. 'You don't have to', Peeta says. I'm surprised by that. Gale smiles at me once more, and then walks out. I sigh and lean back against Peeta, his arms wrapping around me. The handrail a little uncomfortable in my back, but it's worth it.
'What was that about?' Peeta asks. I close my eyes. 'He apologized. And he told me how he felt, and why he was acting like that', I answer. Peeta lets go of me and turns me around. 'And why was that?' I smile at him. 
'He told me that he wanted to tell me about his feelings at the beginning of Senior Year, but when you came in, he knew he lost his chance', I say, quoting Gale. Peeta smiles. 'And he said that he knew he didn't have a chance because everyone saw that we liked eachother', I continue. He smiles even more, and blushes a little. 
'Why was he so sure?' he asks. I lean my forehead against his. 'Because he saw the way I looked at you, and the way you looked at me. He said that there were sparks flying around when we talked to eachother.' He kisses my nose softly. 'I thought I was the only one seeing them', he jokes. I smile. He looks up and looks me right in the eye. I could get lost in that beautiful blue colour in just one second. 

'I love you', he says. I smile brightly. 'I love you too', I say. Then he presses his lips onto mine. He deepens the kiss, but I'm pulled away by someone. 
'Hello? Are we gonna make out or are we gonna party?' Finnick asks. I laughas my cheeks heat up and I stand up. I start dancing with the others and we laugh a lot. 

Around seven, the others say goodbye and leave. 'We'll see you soon!' Annie says. I nod. 'Later, Brainless', Johanna comments. I roll my eyes smiling. Her stupid nickname for me... 
'Don't have too much fun', Finnick says. I laugh. 'Yeah, Finnick. Like that's even possible in a hospital', I say, knowing what he means. He shrugs. 'If you really want, it could be anywhere', he says. I want to slap him, but he jumps away just in time. Peeta just laughs. 'Bye, I'll visit tomorrow', Amy says. I nod. 'It was nice to have you here', I say, hugging her. She smiles and she leaves too. I turn around to face Peeta. God, I can't even describe my love for this boy. 

'Wanna see the stars?' he says, pointing above his head. I lay my head in my neck and see all the little lights above us. 'It's gorgeous', I say. Peeta looks down on me, he hasn't even looked up once. 
'Why aren't you looking at it? It's really beautiful' I say, blushing a little. 'Because I know for sure it's not as beautiful as you', he whispers. I roll my eyes. 'You're so cheesy', I say, smiling. He smiles too. 

'But, I am really tired now', I say, yawning. Peeta smiles mysteriously and before I know it, he has lifted me up bridal style and he's carrying me back to my room. 'Peeta, I'm not that tired. I can walk for myself', I say. He chuckles. 'I'm carrying you anyway', he says. I roll my eyes and lay my head on his shoulder. 

When we reach my room, he places me in bed carefully and crawls in besides me. Then the doctor walks in. 'Hello, mrs. Everdeen. How was your party?' he asks. I smile. 'Really good', I say. He smiles. 

'Well, I have some good news. A sort of birthday present, I think', he says. I frown. 

'You can go home tomorrow', he says. I frown even more, letting his words sink in. 

'I can go home?' I ask. He nods. I smile. 'Thank you so much', I say. He smiles and then leaves. I turn to Peeta. 'We can go home!' I say, trying to convince myself it's real. He smiles and hugs me. Now my life with Peeta can really start. I'll be living with him, without being scared that my mother will find out. I can see Prim! I'll be going to school like a normal teenager. I close my eyes and snuggle up to Peeta. 

'This is a dream, real or not real?' I ask. I hear him chuckle. 'Not real. You're really going home', he says. I smile and fall asleep thinking about tomorrow. 

*************

Yay! Katniss is going home! 
And who else had butterflies when Gale told Katniss about her and Peeta? I felt the love! 
What do you want to read next? 
Love, -xxx-