Maybe It Can Be Real

Chapter 12

ALL RIGHTS GO TO SUZANNE COLLINS. I OWN NOTHING.

ENDING OF LAST CHAPTER:

"Katniss, there's no possible way for you to forgive me. I'm so sorry. I wanted to make sure you woke up before I left. I-I'm going to go now," he says. He gets up and caresses my cheek. Before he can walk away, I grab his hand.

"Please stay. I need you," I say in a raspy tone. "Remember?"

****

Peeta doesn't say anything back to me. He looks away, squeezing his eyelids shut. He takes a deep breath and looks at me with tears glistening in his eyes still.

"I can't, Katniss. I'm really sorry," he says softly. Tears start to form in my eyes as well. He can't leave! He's my rock, my rope, the one person who can keep me tied together.

"I'm not a very good rope if I can't keep you myself from hurting you," he says.

Oops. I didn't mean to say that aloud, but I'm glad he heard it. I'll say anything to make him stay. A thought makes its way into my mind, and I know it will hurt, but it might just make him stay.

"What happened to 'always'?", I ask him. Peeta closes his eyes again when he hears this. A tear trails down his face. A small sob escapes my mouth, so I cover my mouth with my hand.

"I can't stay. I'm sorry. Maybe we can fix this later, but for now I don't want to hurt you. I love you, Katniss," Peeta says and starts walking away.

A feeling of dread washes over me. I put a shaky hand to my mouth in a daze. His footsteps go down the stairs and out the door.

Tears spill out of my eyes. I scramble out of my bed and chase after him. Stars cloud my vision, but I ignore them. Once outside and in the yard, I grab his wrist and turn him around.

"Peeta," I whisper. I can't form any more words, so instead I kiss him. He kisses me back gently, then pulls away. Surprisingly, words start to tumble out of my mouth.

"You can't leave! I will fall apart if you go! Even worse than before. I don-don't want to go back to that! I don't know what will hap-happen", I say quietly as I look down.

I quickly look back up at Peeta with tears still running down my face, "I love you with all of my heart, mi-mind, soul, and body. Our past hasn't been the best, but isn't now ok-okay? We've got nothing to worry about. Just each other is all that m-matters."

That wasn't a very good 'speech', so I hope it sways Peeta. It needs to be good if I'm going to get him to stay. I rest my forehead on his, savoring his touch in case I failed.

"I guess I can't break the always - especially after that," he whispers to me, his breath tickling my face since we're so close.

Tears of joy now fill my eyes. I smile and laugh, relief flooding through me. I know it was only a short time, but it felt like days and days. I kiss him again, just harder this time. He kisses me back just as hard.

My stomach rumbles, effectively ruining the kiss. Well, not ruining it. There's no such thing as a 'ruined kiss' when it comes to Peeta. Stopping the kiss it a better way to say it.

I continue to smile and ask Peeta if we can go get something to eat. In response, Peeta pulls me up the porch steps and into the kitchen. He starts making me something to eat, but at first he lacks his usual cheerfulness. Deeper into the preparation, Peeta acts more like himself, though.

Cooking is a good way to take his mind off of what happened, hopefully for a long time. I, for one, don't want to think about it anymore.

As usual, I'm watching Peeta cook. It calms me; he is so sure of what he needs to do. A few minutes later Peeta brings over a bowl of stew. I thank him and take a bite. It only takes about three minutes for me to devour the entire bowl.

Peeta hasn't said a word, so I glance up at him. He's not eating; he's just sitting there staring into space. I put my spoon down and wave my hand in front of his face while saying, "Earth to Peeta. Are you in there?"

He shakes his head a little then smiles. "Sorry I was just thinking."

"About what?", I question.

"You," he states simply. I blush and ask, "What were you thinking about me?"

"Everything. The way you laugh, your smile, your kiss." I smile at his words. "Also how I stupidly almost walked away from your life earlier. How I hurt you," he says sadly. My smile fades at that.

"Don't feel bad about that - you couldn't control it." Next, I start to quote what Peeta said earlier. It burned into my brain, leaving a mark that will stay for a long time. "The past is in the past. The future holds new and amazing things that we can't fathom quite yet. It has great surprises for us. Just relax and enjoy your time now. Okay?", I ask while staring into his eyes.

He looks at me with a shocked expression. "You remembered that?", he asks.

"Of course. That meant a lot to me," I say while laughing just a little. "Of course I did," I repeat faintly. We must have the same thought; we get up at the same time and hug the other tightly.

His arms wrap around my waist and sway slightly. I realize he is dancing, so I wrap my arms around his neck and dance with him.

Everything around us dissolves into another world. All I see is me and him. I can hear music playing delicately in the back of my mind. I close my eyes and lay my cheek on his chest. He lays his cheek onto my head.

We stay in this position, circling back and forth, for an hour. Somehow, we ended up dancing in my room. Somehow, we got up the stairs without realizing it. Somehow, I got him to stay.

After a while I look up at him. My hands slide up and gently rest on the side of his face. I bring his face down to mine and kiss him. I don't know how long, but I don't care.

Our foreheads are resting against each other with closed eyes. My fingers tenderly run along the edge of his lips.

"So I guess this means you're going to stay?", I ask almost inaudibly.

"Does this answer your question?", he asks, then leans down and kisses me. A kiss that promises many things; ones that mean the world to me. Neither of us have to speak again to know those promises.

I smile up at him and nod. Again, I kiss him. It feels so good. We start to dance again. It's only for a little, though. I yawn, so Peeta turns the light off and brings me into bed.

"I love you," we say simultaneously. We grin and kiss each other again. I lay so I'm practically on top of him. He doesn't seem to mind.

As I drift away, one thought keeps me here: I almost lost my boy with the bread.

But I got him to stay. I somehow did it with a kiss and a pathetic speech. It worked. I don't care how pathetic it was, I got him to stay with me. And I know he's not leaving.

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

Hey guys! How are you?

Thanks so much for reading! It means a lot to me. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing for you!

Thanks a million for 735 reads!

Don't forget to vote, comment, and share this story!

Until next time!

Shoot straight and be brave my fellow lovelies,
Weezabeth <3