Phoenix : A Continuation of the Hunger Games

Chapter 12:

in the middle of dinner that night,Lendsi gets a confused look on her face. "Lendsi, whats wrong, Sweetie?" i ask. she frowns.

"Why is Lucy's Dad on that list?"  my eyes widen and i almost spit out my food.

"who's Lucy? and who is her Dad?" i ask catiously.

"Mr. Hawthorne. Lucy is my new best friend. i'm lucky i'm going to school and i already have 2 friends!" she says bouncing in her chair.

"Mr. Hawthorne? is he herre in 12?" i ask angrily. i see Peeta growing worried.

"yeah. they're new! they moved into the seam a eek ago!" she says.

"and how did you meet Lucy?" Peeta asks.

"she said she knew who i was and then we went to her house." she says.

"when was this?" i ask frustrated.

"today. while you and Daddy were in the woods. Hayitch said i could go." she says. i growl.

"did Haymitch hear the word Hawthorne?" i state loudly.she nervously shakes her head no. "here. why dont you invite Lucy and her family over tomorrow for lunch." i say. Peeta's eyes widen. he leans over and whispers in my ear

"Katniss! what if he has it out for you still? your gonna welcome him into our house?"

"look. hes on my turf and i have a bow. he's as good as dead." i whisper back.

"fine but please. dont let him hurt you again." he says.

"Peeta. that was 5 yeas ago. im sure hes probably long over me! he has a kid! which most likey means he has a wife." i say matter-of-factly.

"fine but have your hunting knife in the drawer for easy access just in case." he say protectivley.

"but Peeta. we've never had any violence around the kids! i guess once they all get here we can send all the kids up to the twins' bedroom." i say.

" but what if that just leaves me you and Gale? that would be an awkward moment." he says worriedly." i take a deep breath.

"i guess we'll figure that out when they get here." i slump down and Peeta wraps his arm around me and kisses my cheek. we break from our secret whisper conversation and look back at  the kids. "kids. shouldnt you go to bed, you have your first day of school in the morning." i say motioning to the stairs with my fork.

"Yes, Mommy! but what should i use as an interesting act about myself? they always ask that!" Lendsi says.

"well you can start with who your parents ae, that will grab attention!" Peeta says, rubbing my back.

"i can say i have a twin!" Luke squeals. those two are inseperable! just like their parents are most of the time.

"thats perfect! now go to bed. i'l tuck you in in a minute." they run off hand in hand upstairs. we have a great family. "those two are so cute." i say.

"not as cute as their mother." Peeta says kissing my nose."are you ready for tomorrow?" he asks. i sigh and look at him.

"i guess so. but being in a room with parents that we grew up with will be a little awkward." i say.

"Katniss... most of them will be older than us. we're only 23 and we have two 5 year olds. most parents will be in their 30's." he says. hmm. that will be sort of weird. but no matter how old we are we still always draw attention.

"alright i gotta go put the twins to be i'll be back." i say walking out of the kitchen.

"ok. i'll start the dishes." i nod and go upstairs.

the kids are sitting in their beds waiting for me. they already have their pajamas on and brushed their teeth without me having to make them.

"tell us a story, Mommy!" Luke says crawling onto one of my legs. Lendsi comes and takes over the other and i wrap my arms around them.

i take a deep breath and search my mind for one. "okay.........lets see. here. once there was a girl with long brown hair and gray eyes. she lived in the Seam and she was about 11 years old. she was sad though!" Luke and Lendsi frown at that. "she was having a horrible day and she hadnt had anything to eat. she was starving and she was slipping away. she was resorting to the worst of things and started digging in the trash cans behind the bakery in town. the merchants hated this. so when the bakers wife came and saw her she shooed her away and told her never to come back. the girl was so hungry she couldnt move and she just slumped against a tree in the rain. the bakers son saw the girl and knew he was always in ove with her and couldnt bear to see her die. he walked to the ovens and tossed 2 loaves in the flame, charringg the edges. he did it on purpose but only he knew that. his mother saw it and hit him in the face really hard. he was told to throw it to the pigs, but when his mother left. he threw it to the girl, saving her life from hunger. 7 years later they got married and had two wonderful children. the end!" i hope they dont pick up on that being me and Peeta. of course they dont.

"i think the brown haired girl should be the fairy princess!" Lendsi says.

"yeah! and the mom is the evil witch!" Luke adds.

"and dont forget the boy is the handsome prince." she says. i laugh at their twist to the story.

"sure whatever you say! alright now, go to sleep." i say. they burrow under the covers and i tuck each of them in and kiss their forehead. they giggle and close their eyes as i turn off the light and go downstairs to help Peeta clean up.

"hey. apparently i'm a fairy princess and you're prince charming..." i say laughing and grabbing a plate off the table.

"ehat? they change one of your stories again?" he asks.

"yup. the one about the bread too!" i say turning on the faucet.Peeta laughs and kisses my cheek.  "i'm dead tired, i'm going up." i say. putting the dishes away.

"yeah. me too. i'll be up in a minute." he wraps his arms around my waist from behind and i kiss him before heading up the stairs.

i throw on a nightgown and flop into bed, pulling the covers up around me. i'm almost out when Peeta walks in. he jumps in to bed on the other side, and pulls me into his arms. he kisses the top of my head and all i make out is "night." before i drift off.