After The Games

Chapter Three

CHAPTER THREE

A cool breeze whooshes past the front door. The air is hot and the sun is blazing. I wrap my arm around Peeta's waist and lean into him. We walk together, following as Willow and Rye run and skip down the gravel road. The day is peaceful. Birds chirping, blue skies, sun shining. Perfect.

To my left I see dandelions nd daisies blooming in rows. When I look to my right I meet Peeta's eyes. He smiles at me which cause me not to smile back, but to kiss him.

"What was that for?" He asks.

"Nothing." I smile "Just, you."

He wraps his arms around me and kisses my forehead. "You're welcome" he laughs as we continue walking toward the school.

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On the way home Peeta and I stop for something to eat at the Hob. The Capitol rebuilt the Hob after the games. It's bigger now because we have people from all over Panem coming to visit. Twelve isn't as poor as it once was and the Capitol people have learnt to adapt to other districts but there are still those times when you see them in big hats or other bright 'Capitol clothes'. Each district has been given more money and supplies than they've ever had and everyone seems to be happy.

The smell of steaming minced beef fills the cool air, along with the smell of freshly baked bread. I can feel my mouth beginning to water. I'm so hungry. I can tell that Peeta's hungry aswell by the way that he's leading me towards the food. We find an empty table for two and order some lunch. Peeta orders some mince and rice, while I go for some chicken soup with a side of garlic bread for Peeta and I to share. Then we wait.

I catch a glimpse of something shining across from the other side of the room. It's a glass bottle reflecting the little bit of sunlight shining through a crack in the ceiling. From the darkness I see a hand move towards the bottle and eventually pick it up. I follow the movements of the bottle towards their face.

Haymitch.

I don't know how I didn't notice him before. He normally comes her on Saturdays not Mondays. He looks different. From what I can see, his facial hair on his chin is a lot more visible, almost fully covering his chin. His hair is longer and his fringe-like pieces fall to the side of his face, some bits close to covering his eyes. He takes a few gulps from the bottle then pulls a flask out from on his lap and pours some of the clear liquid from it, into his bottle.

It's probably morphling.

I watch Haymitch from afar. Watching his every move until something snaps me back to reality; the feeling of Peeta's hand on mine as he looks at me. It sends a nice chill down my spine. just from this one touch, it feels like he's touching every nerve in my body.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" I smile. I only lie because I don't want him to worry and in this case, what he doesn't know won't hurt him. There was something bugging me. Just the thought of Haymitch being here, looking like that, gives me the shivers. Something's obviously bugging him more than him bugging me, I can tell by the distraught and mysterious look on his face. Maybe he's just drunk. Of course he's drunk! He's almost always drunk these days, but what caused him to come to the Hob today?

Peeta circles the back of my hand with his thumb. I smile at him and he smiles back but my eyes seem to drift back to Haymitch who is still at his table. I watch him as he stands, holding the bottle with his right hand and using his left hand to push himself up from his seat.

"Katniss, what is it?" Peeta asks. He can tell that I'm distracted and he follows my my gaze to the drunk man in the corner.

"Haymitch" I reply with a curious and worried look on my face. We watch him walk to the exit on his left and I'm thinking about following him out; but I hesitate and decide to stay put.