Mockingjay: Peeta's Story

Six

The few days that followed the broadcast battle were some of the worst. I think I only slept a good twenty minutes throughout both days. They tortured me with the black liquid, which burned its' way through my limbs, and they beat me through the long hours of the night. 

I only saw Snow a few times through the force-field, watching over me with an angry, yet satisfied sneer as they destroyed what was left of me. I felt flashes of pain in my eyes as the liquid tore its' way through, every flash accompanied by a memory of Katniss, talking, hunting, planning. 

They finally let me go a few hours ago, throwing me into my cell and leaving me in the darkness. I have to fight the urge not to fall asleep, sitting up and clutching my head as flickers of the broadcast race behind my eyelids. Katniss went to the bakery, my home, to get directly to me. To get in my head and make me join her and her ridiculous cause. My pulse rises each time she looks at me, into the camera with her Seam grey eyes.

"Peeta? Are you awake?" Johanna pulls me from my thoughts, her voice sounding worried and tired.

"Yeah, I'm awake."

"Okay... Just worried about you. You were almost gone for three days Peeta, what did they do to you?" I sigh.

"They made me give a filmed speech in the square about the districts and the war." I pause, pulling in a painful breath. "Our broadcast kept getting cut off by them, by District 13," I can hear her chuckle lightly through the wall as I continue. My neck twitches and I feel my hands start to tremor... "Propaganda videos were flashing on the screens and it turned into total chaos. Snow fought it for a little while before asking me to give a closing statement to her, so I warned them about the bombing." 

"Then they tortured you..." She grows silent, not saying anything else and leaving me in the darkness. Soon sleep approaches, pulling me into its' tidal wave and drowning me in darkness.

~~~~~~~

"Katniss," I pause, looking at her beside me. "I don't know what kind of deals you made with Haymitch, but he made me promises too. So let's not pretend we don't know what's going on." She looks down at her hands guiltily, playing with the sand in her fingers. 

I pull the locket over my head, holding it in my hands before opening the sides. My eyes scan over the pictures of Primrose, Gale and Mrs. Everdeen before I set it in Katniss's hands. She sucks in a harsh breath as she looks down at the pictures.

"Katniss, if you die, and I live, I'd have nothing. There's nothing or no one left I care about." I say.

"Peeta..." She whispers, looking up at me from the medallion. 

"It's different for you. Your family needs you. I'm disposable to mine." She looks back down at the locket, rubbing her thumb over Primrose's picture. "You have to live, for them." She sighs, closing her fist around the locket and looking back into my eyes. 

"But what about you?" She says. Her voice is tinged with worry, a side you almost never see from Katniss. I smile sadly, turning back to face her.

"Nobody needs me." I state simply. I see something flicker behind her grey eyes as she pieces my words together in her head, giving me a small smile accompanied by a short nod.

"I do. I need you." Her voice is firm. I pull in a breath, about to object and argue with her, but she leans towards me, pressing her rough, dry lips to me. She pulls them away, but not far enough, as she rests her forehead on mine. I hesitate only a few seconds before cupping her cheeks and pulling her back to me. I crash my lips against hers, and they move together almost perfectly.