Catching Fire (Katniss loves Peeta)

Chapter 27

Catching Fire belongs to Suzanne Collins. I do own baby Mellark and Katniss loving Peeta. This is fanfiction, none of it is what happened in the actual book. In other words, this is fake.

Chapter 27

While the president glares at me someone comes behind me and honestly I am not sure if they sedate me or physically knock me out, but all of a sudden my vision goes dark and I'm out.

***
"Mrs. Everdeen. Or should I say Mellark?" When I awake I'm in the presidents office. I must have seen it two or three times in broadcasts before. Where is everyone? Or am I the only person in this, what do you call it, meeting? What is this? Why am I here? Where is Peeta?

"Where's Peeta?" I ask through my scratchy voice, somehow he can understand me. Snow sits back in his chair and smiles at me.

"Ah, she speaks." I stare at him with my eyebrows raised, my question still hanging in the air. Snow smiles again. I try to glare at him, but I am not sure it works out since I'm groggy.

"So considerate of you to ask about your husband." He does not even answer my question, the ass. By the way, he says husband he does not think Peeta and I are married either. Dumbass.

I want Peeta here. Oh my I am in the President's office. What is happening? I was in the hunger games. I was in the hunger games, but now I'm in the presidents office. The arena came down. The arena came down... That's never happened before, I don't think that was supposed to happen.

"The arena," is all I say, but from his reaction, I can tell he knows what I mean.

"Your friend Finnick blew out the arena. Have you heard of District thirteen Katniss?" Who hasn't heard of District thirteen? We learn about it in school, everyone knows right? What makes him think Finnick and I are friends? He stuck us in an arena to kill each other, we are not actually friends.

"Yes, it was a district, then it was bombed to the ground. Now it's nothing." Snow shakes his head at my response. I am right, I have to be, that is the best summary of the weeks-long lesson ever. Maybe I should be the new teacher, save kids the week in about two seconds.

"No, District thirteen was bombed on the surface. There are people there alive. They just went in the underground tunnels." I consider that Snow is lying to me, but he would not have much gain. I don't think he really would have anything to gain, maybe me being confused, but I don't think that's much of again. I'm confused all the time anyway.

"So they are all alive? Just underground?" I ask him. I have so many questions, and I don't think he wants me asking a bunch of them all at once. Probably not any at all in reality.

"Not all of them are alive. A lot of people did die, just not all." Snow answers my question. I fiddle with the cuffs around my hands nervously.

"That's who tried to break you out and who got your friends out. Finnick Odair was part of that group, and he is currently in thirteen." Snow explains with a look on his face I've never seen before, defeat.

"You were luckily taken by the Capital, not District 13. Very lucky Mrs. Mellark." Snow days my last name like its a dangerous weapon.

He still doesn't know, after all this time he still will not believe anything we say. Okay, for some things he may have a reason, but he has no reason not to buy us on the whole marriage thing. Snow believes whatever he wants to think and that is that. I must have been making a face or something because he stares at me all of a sudden as I've just killed someone he liked.

"Take her to her cell!" Snow barks orders at the guard or servant, whatever they call them here. He isn't really either though, with a small gun holster on his waist and a navy outfit. The person I don't know about isn't tall or particularly muscular either, so he's probably not a soldier or guard. I really don't know what he is. He leads me down the hall and to a spiral staircase behind a door hidden in the wall. Somehow I know this leads to the dungeon.

It takes forever to get there, I really think I might pass out by the time we get to the floor. The room is full of prison cells. The further I'm escorted, the more people start to come to the door carved into the cells to look. The victors that were with me, they are here, as prisoners too. Prisoner. I have yet to see the face I am searching for the most, Peeta's. I'm escorted a few more cells down, and I finally see him. Peeta is in the cell across from me. As soon as he realizes it is me he practically runs towards the door, his eyes trailing me. Yay, we are jail mates. We are all prisoners by Snow.

As sad as it is, I am happy I'm here with Peeta. That he's safe because I don't know what I'd do if he weren't. I would probably lose my head, it's so wrong I'm glad he is a prisoner too. The guard, security, servant, guy that I still don't know about, puts me in the cell across from Peeta and slams the door.

As soon as he's gone the room breaks out in a chorus of noise. Everyone knows each other.

"Hi, jail mate," I tell Peeta, sitting next to the door. Somehow he manages to roll his eyes at me despite the current circumstance.

"Hi, Katniss, nice to finally see you." Is he being sarcastic? Did everyone else wake up long ago? I raise my eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean? I woke up ten minutes ago." He looks shocked then looks over to the cell next to me. I look over to and Johanna, the worlds best stripper is sitting next to the door as well. Looking through the bars, it seems everyone is doing the same and talking to their neighbors. I think they put us in alphabetical order, again.

"We woke up yesterday, we think, no telling how long it's been since the arena," Johanna informs me with a shrug of indifference. Why was I the only one that was different?

"I was called into his office. Was everyone else?" I ask hoping for a yes. The last thing I need is Snow trying to torture me after kidnapping me and send me into the Hunger Games twice.

They look at each other with a look of confusion then back to me with a look of fright. There is my answer. No, I have been singled out from the other prisoners.

"Oh." I mumble as I look to the ground. After five or ten minutes of explaining what Snow told me, which is pretty much nothing they didn't know, guards come back and take Peeta. Everyone falls silent as soon as the guards walk in and take Peeta's arms and lead him out. Peeta smiles a small smile at me before they escort him out. What are they going to do to him? They can't torture him, they wouldn't do that would they. It's Snow, yeah they would. The logical part of my brain reminds me.

I pull my legs up to my chest and take deep breaths, trying to stop freaking out.

"He loves you, you know. We have been awake for maybe a day, ten minutes with you down in this fucking place, and Peeta wouldn't shut up about you while you were gone." Johanna complains rolling her eyes about five times during the small conversation. I nod, not really knowing what to say to that. Especially with her annoyed attitude.

It's a while, and I don't know how long, until Peeta gets back. My jail mates fall silent once again when he's brought back, the guards throw him in his cell and slam the door. He looks different, like someone just broke his heart over and over again. What did Snow do or tell him? He couldn't have been gone that long could he? Peeta sits down at the door and looks at me and I know something is wrong. Wrong, is putting it light he looks like his world just exploded.

"Peeta, please tell me." I practically beg, I hate not knowing. His gorgeous blue eyes meet mine, and suddenly they look so much more aged. Peeta looks so weak for once, like everything is finally taking its toll on him. I look over at Johanna and even she looks worried, Johanna Mason. Johanna Mason looks worried, hell is about to fall through the cracks in the ceiling.

"Katniss, there is no District 12." Peeta finally tells me after taking a long sigh.

Hi! Thank you for reading, the whole story. It feels so odd to say that! (Well type) I actually finished it.. The new story will be up when I finish a few chapters of it. I will probably post the title in another chapter of this story, so if you get a chapter update, that's what it will be. It may be a while, I was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome a week ago and am struggling to get used to my medicine.
Thank you!

-KD Howell