Peeta's Story- The Hunger Games

Chapter 47

very short. too busy. not proofread. thanks for reading

x amanda

ps there are italics so if you're on your ipod or phone, you probably won't see them. it's basically a dream sequence

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An hour passes by easily, hazily, and I catch myself drifting off to sleep every ten minutes or so. Soon, the smell of cooked meat fills the air, and although my stomach feels surprisingly full, my tongue still waters at the aroma. I try to catch Katniss's eye once or twice, but the whole long hour, she resolutely avoids my glance.

I can't help but feel fidgety and insecure. What does this all mean? She's slipping out of my grasp, and I am utterly helpless.

“Hey Peeta?” she says quietly after a long stretch of silence.

My heart flutters and I look up. “Yeah?”

“Can you put out the flame while I pack the food up?”

My heart sinks to my stomach as I get up and move towards the fire, feeling weighed down and utterly defeated. It has been too long without a loving glance or caring words from her, and I begin to doubt my sanity. Was our love, our passionate kisses, just a mere figment of my imagination, or did it really happen? I barely notice the fire dying as I throw rocks over it, my mind reeling in confusion. I can hardly separate dreams from reality anymore and I wonder idly if those loving caresses that I keep reliving over and over actually happened.

When I'm finally done, I turn around to see Katniss's intense gaze burning into my back. Without speaking a word, she hands me a rabbit leg and turns around, her hair swishing in a full circle, gesturing to me to follow her. She slips into the forest quietly and I try to slip in just as easily as she did. However, luck is not on my side right now, and I manage to crack a couple of twigs, creating a loud snapping sound that causes Katniss to turn around and roll her eyes at me.

“So, where to?” I ask curiously.

She looks around, frowning. “I was thinking we could hide in a tree or something.” She points to a tree about twenty meters away with a branch close to the ground. If my leg were completely healed, it would have been easy enough to climb it, but quite honestly, I'm too tired to make the effort.

“Can't we go back to the cave?” I ask, trying my best not to sound too whiny.

She sighs, a faraway look in her eyes. Guiltily, I open my mouth to tell her that I could try climbing the tree, but she cuts me off, taking my chin in her hands and giving me a quick peck on the lips. “Sure, let's go back to the cave.”

I don't respond because my head is still reeling. Just the slightest touch from her sends my brain into a frenzy, and I'm sure that I'm flushed right now. It takes all my self control not to whip her around and kiss her again, but I somehow manage to trudge back to the cave behind her without touching her again.

Before stopping at the cave, we fill up our canteens with water and wordlessly enter the cave to find it in the same state we left it in. Carefully, I adjust the branches on the outside to disguise ourselves and start a fire for warmth while Katniss watches me pensively. When I'm finally done, I straighten up and clear my throat, jerking her out of her stupor. She hastily gets up and looks at me awkwardly. “Uh, I'll get the food out,” she says before rummaging through our stuff.

I nod, suddenly too tired, and sit down, resting my head in a nook in the wall of the cave. The warmth of the fire washes over me, making me even more drowsy. My eyelids feel heavier and heavier and I curl up into a ball comfortably.

And suddenly, I'm no longer in the cave, with the fire flickering off the walls. I'm in the countryside- somewhere I don't ever remember being, but subconsciously I realize that I'm out of the gates of District 12. The sun shines through a hole in the trees and I wake up blearily, rubbing my eyes and stretching my sore neck. I realize I have been dozing off on a rock.

A tinkling laugh sounds behind me and I turn around to see who it is. Katniss appears from behind a tree, her face unscathed and radiant. She has her hair let down and it flows freely to her waist in soft, cascading waves, and although she's wearing her hunting clothes, I can't help but marvel at her beauty.

“You fell asleep,” she smiles, her eyes twinkling.

“Sorry,” I mutter before looking around again. “Where are we?”

She comes to sit by me, a faraway look in her eyes. She holds my hand. “Safe.”

I lie back down again, resting my head in her lap, suddenly tired. “Sing to me,” I murmur, but she's gone quiet. I look up curiously to see what's wrong and follow her gaze to a lone figure standing in the woods. Gale. He's all grown up and handsome now, the perfect picture of a dark, brooding man.

I feel like I'm going to hyperventilate as I look into Katniss's cloudy eyes. “Don't leave me,” I whisper, feeling suddenly frail and fragile.

She turns her eyes upon me and smiles. “I won't.” She strokes my cheek gently. “Go to sleep, Peeta.”

I close my eyes, savoring her touch. The last thing I remember is the sound of her sweet voice singing myself to sleep.