Finding the Missing Piece: Book 2

Chapter Eighty-Nine

Katniss POV- (A few days later)

"Why are you so beautiful?" Peeta's deep voice knocks me from my thoughts.

Usually, I just dismiss this question with an 'I love you' but for some stupid reason, today, I don't.

I let out a tired laugh, "I'm not." I tell him.

Peeta sits up on the couch beside me and I sit up too, "Why don't you think you're beautiful?" Peeta asks.

I shrug my shoulders, "I don't know, I'm just not." I tell him.

Peeta closes his eyes, as if to be thinking.

"Is it because I don't tell you enough?" He asks me curiously.

I place my hand on his chest, "Peeta, you tell me more than enough. It's just I don't feel it, I know you think I am but I don't see it all the time." I tell him truthfully.

Peeta lifts his hand up and it rests on mine, "Why? You are the most beautiful girl on this earth. You are stunning." Peeta says, truly wanting to make me believe.

I know Peeta thinks I'm like this super model, beautiful, perfect goddess, but I'm not.

I just stay quiet as Peeta stares into my eyes.

"You give me an honest answer when I say this..." I start and he nods.

"Why are you so beautiful?" I ask him, knowing his answer.

Peeta just smirks and rolls his eyes, "I'm not."

"Not true, but why don't you think so?" I ask.

"Because I'm a guy for one thing, being beautiful isn't manly." He teases me.

The last thing Peeta is worried about is being manly, at least when it comes to things like sensitivity and kindness.

"I'm serious. If you don't want me to say 'beautiful' then I'll say 'handsome'." I tell him, unfazed by his joke.

"I don't feel like it, I guess." He shrugs.

"Exactly. Peeta, I think you are the most beautiful human in this world. More beautiful and kinder than anyone I've ever met, but you don't feel like it." I explain.

I see something cross his face, realization.

Peeta frowns and squeezes my palm, "I guess I understand. I'm sorry, I just wish you could see yourself through my eyes."

"Don't be sorry. And sometimes, I wish I could to but I can't. I love when you call me beautiful because I actually believe it sometimes, but I just wanted you to see what I meant. I don't see myself through your eyes and you don't see yourself through mine or anyone else's."

"I know what you mean. I'm sorry, I always push you for an answer. I guess I never really realized that you don't see yourself the way I do." He tells me.

"It's okay. But I'm a girl, Peeta. I'm never going to look in the mirror and be 100% confident in how I look. There is always going to be something wrong to me no matter what it is. Don't feel bad." I explain.

"I'm sorry, Katniss. It just upsets me that you still don't have that confidence. You're better than you were but it's like all these years I could've been helping you build it and I haven't." He says.

"Peeta, that's so not true. When I met you, I instantly felt so much more better about myself. No one had ever made me feel like that before. I started being more confident in myself. I actually started wearing the daring clothes in my closet instead of just t-shirt and jeans all the time. I don't want to make it sound like I thought I should look better for you. I just felt like if you loved me that much in simple things, just imagine how much you would love me in these clothes that made me feel amazing, but I was too scared to wear them." I admit to him, not really explaining it well because I don't know how to explain it myself, but I think he gets it a little bit.

Peeta frowns, "But that makes it sound like you feel you need to be prettier for me, you don't. You are the most beautiful girl, whether your wear makeup or didn't even brush your hair. I fell in love with that simple girl and you should never feel like you have to look fixed up for me."

I take a deep breath, obviously getting worked up by this, "Peeta, stop. What I'm trying to get across to you is that you make me feel beautiful, whether I want to admit it or not but I also don't have an answer as to why you feel that way."

Peeta doesn't speak, I guess the cats got his tongue or that just shut him up.

Eventually he goes on without any more words of it.

"What would you like for dinner?" Peeta comes back in the living room after about an hour.

I shrug, "I don't care." I say truthfully.

Peeta just shrugs and walks out, icily.

He's upset with me for earlier but he'll get over it.

I was just trying to make a point.

I roll my eyes and continue watching the television show I started watching minutes before.

About an hour or so later, Peeta comes into the living room with two plates full of food. He sets one of the plates in my hand and takes a seat next to me on the couch.

We never eat in here.

"What?" I ask him, confused.

"Nothing." Peeta says, turning his head towards the tv.

I shrug my shoulders and begin eating.

A few minutes later, Peeta speaks up with a mouth full of food, "Are you mad?" He asks.

"No." I tell him simply.

I thought he was mad.

"You're sure?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm sure." I assure him.

"You're positive?" Peeta asks.

The smirk he's giving me tells me he's just messing with me.

I can't help but smile back at him but try to say with a serious tone, "Yes! I'm not mad, but I will be if you don't stop asking me if I'm mad." I say with a laugh.

"So, you're sure you're not mad?" He asks and I playfully punch his arm.

"No, I'm not mad. Stop." I say, actually getting a little annoyed with him.

Peeta just laughs at me, "And she said she's not mad... haha." He teases.

"I love you, Peeta Mellark, but you are a brat. Are you sure that you're not the one that's mad?" I ask him.

Peeta leans over and puts his chin on my shoulder and stares up at me, "But I'm your brat and no."

I can't help but to laugh at him.

Sometimes Peeta is ridiculous.

I lean over and kiss his forehead, "Eat your food." I say, sounding like a mother telling her child to sit and eat.

"Woah, see, that's how I know you'd be a great mom one day." He says, continuing to chow down.

"Whatever. I'm not even sure about that right now." I admit to him.

Here we go.