Stay with me..

3

I spend the next hour or so trying to make sense of this blonde boy in the corner
What was it he said to me in the glass room? Always? Yeah that's right..
But what does it mean?
Right now Peeta is just a name for me, a boy with a name, nothing else..
I decide, if he's not asleep, to talk to him again....
I clear my throat "Peeta?"
"Hmm" he grunts
"Are you awake?"
"I am now" he smiles for a split second and then he loses it, realising that I won't smile back "What's wrong?"
"Um" I start "can you..um..help me"
"With what" he answers
"Uh everything..I guess"
"Ok" Peeta says "What do you wanna know"
"Who am I?" I splurt out
Peeta looks shocked but he still answers my question
"Well your name is Katniss Everdeen, but you know that right?"
I nod
"Ok" he continues "Your 17"
17? What am I doing in jail at 17!
"And you hate the president, whose name is Snow, and you live in Panem"
"I know that" I interrupt
"Well tell me what you do know then so we save time" Peeta says
"Well I know my name, my age thanks to you, I know I live in Panem in District 12, but I'm starting to guess this isn't District 12"
Peeta nods "Yeah sadly this isn't 12, this is the Capitol, you know where that is?"
I nod
"I remember that I hate it" I say "but I don't remember why?"
"Well" Peeta sighs "that's a lot to explain"
I stare at Peeta hoping the he will catch on that I want him to continue
And he does
"So first of all" he begins "do you know what The Hunger Games is?"
I think for a split second but nothing rings a bell so I slightly shake my head in response
"SERIOUSLY?" Peeta exclaims "You don't remember?"
"No.." I answer "not a thing"
"Oh my god Katniss.." Peeta whispers "I knew it was bad but I didn't think you wouldn't remember The Hunger Games..."
He looks into my eyes
His are flooded with tears and he is biting his lip
"I'm-I'm ok.." I say, and I suddenly feel the urge to crawl over and give him a hug
But I don't
Peeta just nods and says "Katniss I'm sort of glad you don't remember it so I'm just going to tell you this and nothing more for today, you remember your sister Prim?"
Prim...Primrose....Yes yes I do remember her! I wonder where she is now?
"Yes" I say
"Well Snow, the Capitol, killed her..and your father...and my family, so trust me when I say you hate him! You hate Snow and the Capitol with all you damm heart! And don't believe a word they say Katniss, I know it's confusing but I am your friend, I am not evil ok?"

Snow killed my sister?!?
I take a minute to answer Peeta and when I do it's only a near nod of the head, my mouth feels as dry as a desert but I feel like I could burst into tears at any moment
"Katniss?" Peeta whispers his voice full of pity
"Y-yeah" I say my voice sounding like it could break at any moment
"Are you ok? Did I go to far?" He answers
I shake my head "H-how long ago...did sh-she uh..."
"About a month and a half ago...I'm sorry Katniss...."
I nod in response
There's a long silence and then I let out a small sob, and then another, and another, until I'm fully crying
I don't remember Prim fully but I do still remember her small innocent face and her long blonde braids down her back...I just don't remember her death..or why she died
There's a certain sting in my chest that makes me want to barge out and kill Snow right now...but there's always the possibility that Peeta could be lying?
He wouldn't lie....would he?
I place my face in my hands and continue to sob...trying to make sense of my new unknown life
Peeta crawls over beside me brushing off my shoulder
"Katniss," he says and then grabs my right hand forcing me to look up
"Is this ok?" He asks nodding to our hands
I look into his blue ocean eyes and something tells me it is ok, that he was my boyfriend, so I nod
Peeta smiles at me and then returns his gaze with the ceiling
I sit my back right onto the wall and shuffle closer to him, but still not close enough that I feel I should, but I don't move again
For a long time we just sat there, holding hands, no words spoken, only inside our own thoughts
I felt the slightest hint of peace, as fleeting as it was, and tried to enjoy it for however long it might last.....

***

About an hour or so later Peeta and I finally unlocked our hands and started to talk
Peeta was preparing me for my next "torture" he called it, telling my that I hate Snow and the Capitol several times a minute
Finally I had enough
"Peeta?" I interrupt "Can we talk about something else?"
"Yeah sure what?" He answers
"Um what were we like?" I say not really being clear about what I meant
"Us?" He asks "What do you mean?"
"Like you know how you said that we were a..um...thing? What were we like?"
"Oh, well it was a bit tragic" he laughs "but I guess it was worth it"
"What do you mean?" I ask confused by it being tragic
"Well it wasn't just me who liked you" he continues "there was Gale too"
Peeta burrows his eyebrows after saying Gale
Gale? Hmm?
"Wait?! I remember him!" I exclaim
The harder I think the more memory's of Gale flood in, including a....kissing one?!
"Maybe a little to well.." I say, still having the image in my mind
"Oh" Peeta says sounding somewhat sad "What do you remember about him?"
"What he looks like, that he lives in 12 and uh" I hesitate before the last memory "kissing him..."
"Damit!" Peeta exclaims "How come you don't remember us kissing!"
Peeta crosses his arms and pulls the biggest sulk I've probably ever seen in my life
I almost laugh, but I hold myself not to because I know it will just tick him off
And then his statement registerers
"Wait?! We kissed?!" I say
"Yeah" Peeta grunts "on several occasions" he finally washes the frown from his face and replaces it with a wide smile "and you even said yesterday that I did it better that Gale" his smile is so smug that I have to laugh
"Oh really?" I smile
"Yes!" He laughs
I feel the something again in my chest that pulls me towards him, but I reject, I just keep smiling, so much that it must look freaky
"You ok?" Peeta finally asks
I nod and stop smiling
"So enough about Gale, PLEASE tell me about us" I continue "I want to see if it sets off something that I remember you"
"Ok" Peeta starts "well we first met when we were little, you were about 12 and your father just died and you and your family were starving, so I burned the bread I was baking on purpose so that I could give it to you" Peeta stops, as if remembering that day "you-you were beautiful even when you were starving!" He laughs and continues his story "but I had a crush on you since forever, and then when we were 16 your sister and I got reaped for the Hunger Games but you volunteered to take your sisters place instead, thus became the story of the star crossed lovers of district 12, it was and act at the start for the cameras so that we could stay alive but when you broke you ankle after the Games I really felt that it was real, that our love was real, and you finally felt the same way when we entered the Quarter Quell, especially when I hit the force field, I never saw you care so much about me in your whole life, but then at the end of the Quell you got saved by 13 after you blew up the force field and I got taken by the Capitol, I thought I'd never see you again"
"And what happened after that?" I ask, feeling like a child listening to their father reading
"A lot...." Peeta says "Lets just say it didn't end well.."
Peeta bites his lip "Because as you can see we are locked up in a cell.."
I sense that Peeta has enough said so I don't answer him
Instead I just try to make sense of the new story's he just planted in my head
As I lay down on my back something clicks and I see him, I see Peeta in my memory's, I see him throwing me the bread!
It's pouring rain and I'm sitting at a tree in a pile of dirt
Peeta throws me the bread and holds my gaze for several seconds and then there's a shout from indoors and he leaves, back inside the door, leaving me alone with the very special loaf of bread
I jolt up ready to tell Peeta but just as I open my mouth to speak, I freeze
My limbs go numb and I can't speak
"Katniss?" Peeta asks anxiously
Suddenly my breaths turn short and I start to choke on air
I grab my throat and try to stop
But I can't
In the corner of my blurry vision I see Peeta rush over to my side and shake my shoulders like mad, calling my name over and over
"KATNISS!" He screams
But he's to late
Everything turns black....