Just Another Games....

Chapter Three

I turned to Peeta, horrified. As a victor, you were supposed to be safe forever, live and die peacefully with your wealth. Never have to worry about going into the Games again. His face was ashen, mouth a gap. I put my arm around him and led him to the couch. After he sat down, I went to go get him some water.

I came back and saw Peeta had put his face in his hands and was quietly sobbing to himself. I set the water on the table in front of the couch and sat down next to him. I put my arm around him again and gave him a weird half-hug thing.

"Its okay Peeta, Haymitch could just as easily go in as you. You will be fine. You did it once and now you can do it again. Its okay. Its fine." I repeated that, and after a while, I realized that there was very little hope. There would be 11 other victors, and 24 tributes. Two from 12. They could be Peeta's friends...

I looked up. Outside, it was dark. I ran into the kitchen and looked at the clock. It was 9:38. I ran back into the living room and shook Peeta. "Yeah?" He looked at me, then the window. He jumped up. "What?! We weren't sitting here all day were we? How is that possible? We would have had to pee, or been hungry..."

Once he said pee, I think we both realized we needed to go ASAP. "Down the hall  next door on your right. I will use the one upstairs." I ran into the bathroom and sat on the toilet. The bathroom was very nice. Ours was...I won't explain its that bad. I washed my hands and went back into the living rom. Peeta came in a few seconds later.

"I should go, my mom and Prim are probably worried. I really am sorry about that." It was really awkward, I didn't really know what to do. I didn't want to leave him here to deal with this alone, but Prim would probably worry.

"Before you go, I know you probably wasted a lot of time being here with me, let me give you some food to take home. Its the best I can do. Or some money, or something." He didn't wait for an answer. He walked into the kitchen and started grabbing simple things like bread and non-rotten vegetables.

"Peeta, you don't need to do this. You have done enough already, what with the bread both earlier and before..." I trailed off.

"Katniss, that bread I gave to you whenever ago was repaid when you came to say goodbye. That hope you gave me pushed me to survive. And come home. We are even. So now, since you came here and now helping me through this, its the least I could do." He put everything in a nice leather bag, and handed it to me. "Do you want me to walk with you?" He mumbled that while looking at the floor. I barely heard him.

I smiled. "I don't want to make you go out of your way. If you want you can stay here and chill." I didn't really care, but I thought it would be weird if people saw me leaving later at night after spending the whole day here, but who cares. Keep your head up.

He looked at me, trying to read my face. I kept it blank. "Do you not have emotions?" He asked. I could tell he was having a hard time. I laughed.

"No, but you need to learn to hide your emotions. So, I guess I will be going?" I took a step back, leaving my bag on the counter next to Peeta, hoping he would get the hint. He grabbed the bag and headed for the door.

"Yeah come on." I smiled and followed him, feeling light and giddy. We walked outside and it was perfect. It was dark, but you could still see, barely. It wasn't cold, but wasn't hot. Peeta swung the bag over his shoulder and we headed off. It was a long walk form the Victors Village to town, then from town to the Seam.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, the only sound our footsteps on the sidewalk. It was kind of nice, knowing Peeta was next to me and not really having to worry about all the hunting I could have done today. I wish I could do this everyday. Tomorrow was Sunday. My day with Gale. I wonder how he would react if he knew what has been going on recently.

We continued on for another thirty seconds before I felt Peeta slide his hand into mine. I again stared at our intertwined fingers and wondered what this all meant. If Peeta was going back into the Games, then we might not have enough time to see what this is. Tomorrow is  Reaping Day, so this was the last time we might ever see each other.  

I looked up at Peeta and smiled. He was about 6 inches taller then me. That didn't bother either of us though when he leaned down to kiss me.

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

I woke up the next morning, thinking about last night. After we kissed he walked me to the bakery, we kissed for a little bit longer then I walked home, with a bag full of meat, bread, fruits, and vegetables. I smiled, inside of course, all the way home. I got up and out of bed, and put on my hunting boots and dad's hunting jacket. Our dad died in a mining accident  when I was 11. Not long after Peeta gave me the bread.

I went to the fence, listened to see if it was on or not, it might be for a few minutes every 3 hours, and shimmied under the fence. I got my bow from a crevice in a tree, and my arrows from a hollow decayed log. I made the trek up to our rock and saw Gale sitting there.

I sat down next to him and took some berries from the nearby bushes. I never did eat last night when I got home, just put the food away and hid the bag somewhere I wouldn't even tell Gale. I keep anything important there, not food or anything, but little thinks like a heart shaped rock or something I found that was cool.

"Hey Gale, have you checked the snares yet?" I didn't like sitting here, we usually always would talk as soon as the other one got here. He shook his head.

"No, I was going to but then I decided that facing you here would be better then at some random place in the forest. This is a special place, so this is where I should tell you." He stood up, and pulled me up with him. We were standing about a foot apart, and he whispered, "Katniss, I think I love you."