Come Away To The Water

Chapter 4 : Bonds Forged

I sit by the window, watching as the fallen leaves swirl around on the ground. It's just becoming fall, so all the leaves have turned orange and dried up. I don't particularly like fall weather, but I have to admit it's pretty. I keep watching through the window, waiting for the one person I know is coming. Ever since that first visit, he's been back at my house everyday that I'm home to give me bread, and more recently make casual small talk. As if on cue, he appears, walking down the street in my direction. He always comes around six in the evening, right after the bakery closes, so I know when to expect him. He stops at Haymitchs house first and he steps inside for a minute, then comes back out. My heart starts beating faster as I realize in any second he'll be at my door. I'm not even sure why I'm so excited, we've barely even spoken to each other, but somehow even just his presence makes me feel so new. It's refreshing, for someone to look at me like I'm just a normal person, not broken or fragile like my mother and sister, or disgusting and dirty like others think I am. I hear his quiet knock and nearly jump out of my seat to get to the door. As soon as I open it, a smile lights up his face. "Good evening, Katniss." He greets me, in his usual friendly manner. "Good evening. How was everything at the bakery today?" I ask. I ask this every time now. "It went well. Thank you for asking. We had a lot more business than usual. There must be a lot of fall birthdays around here." I nod, unsure of how to respond. I've never been good at small talk, or any kind of talk at all really. "Okay, well, I guess I should be heading home now." He says, starting to leave. "Peeta, wait!" He turns around. "Yes?" He looks confused, and honestly I'm a little confused too. What I'm about to do, I've never done before. "Would you like to come in?" I try my best to sound casual, but I end up sounding a bit wounded. I can't help my voice cracking a little, showing how much I really want him to just stay a few more minutes. "Sure." He walks back up to the door and I hold it open for him, a little too eager.

We sit down at the dining room table together, side by side, and I realize I didn't think this through very well. I have no plan on what to do now that he's in here. Do I make more awkward small talk? Do I need to show him around or something? I decide to start out by using the manners my mother used when we had guests in our old home. "Would you like something to drink? We've got.... water?" I don't keep my kitchen very well stocked, but there's plenty of water from the tap. "Sure. Water's fine. We could cut up this bread too if you want." He suggests. "I'll get a knife." I hand him a knife and watch over his shoulder as he carefully and precisely cuts the bread into slices. I almost completely forgot about his water. I just get so easily distracted by him. I grab two glasses from the cabinet and fill them with water for us. Then I carry them back to the table and hand him one, then I sit down with mine. "Thanks." He smiles at me, talking a sip of his water. He pushes the bread over towards me and I take a slice. It's still warm and fresh, just the thought of it makes my mouth water. I bite into it, my teeth first hitting the crunchy crust and then the soft, fluffy middle. I take a drink of my water to wash it down with and I notice that the water isn't even cool, it's room temperature and tastes slightly stale. I instantly feel bad for not having something better to offer him, but Peeta doesn't seem to mind the water. He drinks it just like it's a normal glass of water. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who's easily bothered by things. "So..." I clear my throat, trying to think of something to say. "You've told me about working in the bakery. Is there anything else you like to do?" I reach for another piece of bread. "Well, as you know, I like baking, but I also like to draw and paint when I can. It's very difficult to get a hold of paint around here. Those are about my only hobbies though. Oh, and I did wrestling for a while." I smile at the last part, tugging on a memory deep in my brain of a younger version of Peeta wrestling at school. "I remember that from school." I say. "You do?" His eyes light up, probably thinking of all the other small moments we shared at school, before we had ever even spoken. "Of course. How could I forget?" He smiles again at my response. "So, what about you? Do you have any hobbies you want to share?" My palms start to sweat. I wasn't prepared for him to turn the questions around on me yet. I try to think of something suitable to tell him. I know my house is bugged, not that the president doesn't already know everything I've done, I still don't like admitting to it. "Not really. I used to like swimming when I was little." He raises his eyebrows. "Swimming?" It occurs to me he's probably only heard of swimming in school and he's certainly never done it himself. "Big bathtub." I smirk at him. "Oh, I see. So, what about now. You said when you were little." He questions. "I don't have much free time now." He nods, seeming to understand without much explanation. "That's understandable. With all your trips to the Capitol and everything." I swallow hard. "What about your family? You haven't told me about them." I quickly switch the subject away from the Capitol. "I have two brothers. And then there's my mom and dad, of course." He begins, starting to tell me everything he can think of about them. He tells me all about his family and I tell him about Prim and my mother, excluding any mention of my father. We continue telling funny stories about our siblings until it's time for him to leave.

I cross my ankles and lean back on Haymitch's couch, and he glares at me. "Don't get too comfortable if you fall asleep here again I swear I'll kick your ass out the door without a second thought." I roll my eyes at him. I know he really doesn't mind my visiting. "You're an annoying drunk." I mutter. "Oh yeah? You're one to talk." I ignore his comment and take the bottle of liquor right out of his hand and take a drink. I don't really need it right now, but it's become a habit. I pass the bottle back to him before he can get too angry over my taking it. "Haymitch, why does Peeta keep coming to my house?" I ask, genuinely curious. "Because he's nice, unlike you." That's not the answer I was looking for. I already knew that. "I know I just thought that maybe you said something to him." I prompt him to say more. "Why would I do that?" He asks, in his usual sarcastic tone. "I don't know." I answer honestly. "He likes you, sweetheart." He says, sounding as serious. "He might actually be the only person on this earth who actually likes you." He laughs. I stare into the fire, my brain going into overdrive. I suspected this of course, that he might like me, but it just doesn't make sense. Why would he like me? I suppose he could've heard more about what I do in the Capitol than what I originally thought. Maybe he's just looking for sex. That would make sense. The thought of that makes my heart ache. That can't be what this is, can it? Just another person who wants to use me, another person who wants to hurt me? The thought sends chills down my spine and makes me nauseous. I reach for the bottle again, this time for an entirely different reason.

A/N: I know Katniss and Peetas relationship is going really slow and that's kind of boring but I promise it'll pick up a little in the next few chapters. Comment if you liked it or if you didn't. I'd love to hear from you guys.