Troubled One

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Peeta asked, glancing out of the window as Finnick drove them further and further away from District 12.

"Home of the drunkards," Finnick joked. "District 1."

Peeta's eyes almost jumped out of his head as he widened them and whipped around to look at Finnick. District 1? It's hours away. They would have to pass three different districts – District 6, District 5 and District 9. And why would District 1 be home of the drunkards anyway? That place would probably be located somewhere in District 12, everyone knew that.

"Take a joke, Peet," Finnick punched him in the shoulder. "Chill, okay? Stop worrying too much. You're starting to sound like my grandma Mags."

Peeta rubbed the spot where Finnick had punched him as it slightly ached and glared deeply at Finnick even though he didn't mean the glare at all. He and Finnick had been best friends forever, they were ride or dies, so neither of them ever had the heart to truly get mad at each other.

"I didn't even say anything," Peeta gritted his teeth. "You're a nuisance, Finn."

"A fun one."

"That doesn't make any sense."

***
When Finnick pulled up, they circled the lot for what seemed like hours. Peeta's joints were already in pain after being forced to sit in Finnick's car as they drove 3 hours from District 12 to 1 just for some beer which they had access to in their own district. Finnick was never getting away with this. Peeta swore to himself quietly that he was going to take Finnick to that art museum he'd been wanting to go to in District 4 and see how Finnick liked being pushed around for a change.

Finally, after finding their parking spot, Peeta was the first to leave the car. He stretched, yawning at the same time. Finnick locked up the car and they walked over to the pub, which was called 'The Hob'. Peeta had no idea what it meant, but it didn't sound very appealing. Finnick pushed open the door and they entered. Peeta immediately sniffed out the smell of alcohol. It seemed stuffy since the pub was packed.

"Maybe we should've just gone to the District 12 one. Look at how full it is." Peeta stated.

"Nah, the District 12 one would be just as full," Finnick replied. "The Hob's popular."

"I'm sure." Peeta muttered under his breath sarcastically as Finnick dragged him to the bar.

Finnick ordered beer for both of them, and settled down on the stools, watching the people in the pub try to find seats and navigate around each other due to its capacity. After the beer was served, Finnick took a huge gulp, and Peeta wrinkled his nose at it.

"Come on, princess," Finnick teased. "Scared of beer?"

Peeta looked up sharply at Finnick. He knew that Peeta hated beer, and Peeta wasn't sure if he remembered, but those wordsnwere similar to the words Katniss had said to him the first time they had drunk beer together. Katniss was all for it, but Peeta wasn't that into it. He didn't really like beer, and all of his friends teased him for it, saying he was upperclass, including Katniss.

"Try it, Mellark," Johanna laughed, pushing the pint of beer towards Peeta. "Promise you'll like it."

"I've tried it before, believe it or not," Peeta replied, eyeing the beer. "And I hated it."

"Aw, you're missing out." Annie said, taking a sip of her own drink.

"Come on, Peet," Katniss persuaded, hooking her arm around his. "Don't be a little princess. Are you scared of beer?"

A look of realization dawned on Finnick's face as he put his beer down slowly and leaned forward so Peeta could hear him over the loud chattering in the pub. His face had softened, it looked almost comforting. He reached over and patted Peeta's shoulder.

"Listen, Peet, I didn't mean to bring up any memories. Tonight was meant for you and me to catch up," Finnick said. "Bro to bro. I'm here for you. Let's just get drunk and throw up in each other's faces."

Peeta wrinkled his nose harder at the last sentence but immediately put a smile upon his face to show Finnick his gratefulness. He nodded.

"Thanks, Finn," he replied. "Let's get drunk."

***
Peeta was drunk. He wasn't completely wasted but he wasn't slightly buzzed either. He was right in between. He and Finnick were sitting on the same stools they were on since they had arrived about two hours ago. Finnick wasn't as drunk as Peeta was, matter of fact, he was barely drunk. He had drunk one pint of beer, but Peeta had drank a lot of alcohol; literally so many different types of alcohol he couldn't even count on his fingers. Well, he couldn't anyway, because he was so drunk.

"Bro, you're mental," Finnick laughed. "I have to go take a leak. Be right back. Don't do anything stupid!"

Peeta pushed Finnick off the stool. "Go take your piss."

Finnick chuckled and shook his head, pushing past the crowd and entering the toilets. Peeta leaned back, resting his elbows on the bar and scanned the pub. His eyes weren't able to focus and he had blurred vision due to the alcohol he had consumed. His eyes went to the door when he heard the little bell taped to the door tinkle, and he wasn't sure what he saw was right.

Cato Ludwig strolled into The Hob, hands tucked into his navy green colored pants. It didn't seem like he had noticed Peeta as he disappeared into the crowd. Peeta leaned forward, trying to locate Cato. Finally, Cato appeared from the crowd and exited the pub through the back door, and Peeta was curious. Where the hell was he headed to? Why the hell did he enter and then exit? Peeta hopped off the stool, practically forgetting that Finnick was still in the pub.

He followed the trail that Cato had made and pushed open the exit door. He spotted Cato walking very quickly towards the woods that was located just behind The Hob. Peeta assumed it was some sort of border. Maybe if you crossed over, you could head to some other district. Because Peeta was more than buzzed, he couldn't really walk or see straight, but somehow he was determined. He stumbled on, following Cato as he ducked through low trees and vines and kept looking over his shoulder as if he was trying to make sure no one followed him.

Eventually, Cato stopped, and so did Peeta. He grabbed onto a tree to steady himself, but he was so drunk he kept losing balance. His eyes couldn't focus either, so he wasn't sure if what he saw was an illusion or whether it was real.

Cato was standing in the woods, opposite a petite looking girl who was wearing a red coat, black leggings and black heels, similar to Peeta's friend, Red Coat. It was of course topped off with the blonde hair spilling out of the hood of the coat.

Peeta blinked hard, but nothing was going to help his vision clear. Just as he was about to move forward, Cato turned back, and Peeta had no choice. Even in his drunken stupor, he knew he couldn't make a noise, so he stood by the tree and tried to listen for Cato's heavy footsteps. He waited for the sound to disappear before stumbling off to find his way out.

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