Peeta's Story- The Hunger Games

Chapter 35

Katniss steps outside of the cave swiftly, not turning around to look at me. I hear the soft whistling of the wind through the trees, a sound that soothes me.

My face is still burning from Katniss's touch. My lips feel on fire, tingling, mirroring the confusion I feel inside. I thought she didn't have feelings for me, that I was the unrequited lover, but the events of the past few minutes have proved otherwise. Slowly, I reach my hands up to my lips and touch them, staring into the fire and thinking intently.

I sigh and smile, turning around in my sleeping bag. Now, if I die, I will have at least died a happy man, departing this world with the memory of the girl I love. I close my eyes, giving in to my pounding headache and wait for death to take me.

Barely a few seconds have passed before I am roused awake by Katniss's voice. "I've got chicken broth!" she sings happily, showing me a small bowl she holds in her left hand. With her right, she digs around in her backpack before coming up with a small ladle. I idly wonder where she got the soup from.

"Here," she says, holding out a spoonful of soup to my lips. I press them shut tightly and shake my head violently, like a little child. "Please?" she asks quietly, fluttering her eyelashes innocently. This time I am not caught off guard by her flirting, and I fixate my eyes on a spot above her head so I won't give in to her pleading. Quite honestly, the normally enticing aroma of chicken broth just smells nauseating to me right now. "Peeta," she breathes breathlessly. I finally turn to look in her eyes at the sad tone her voice has taken, surprised to see the sadness and vulnerability in her eyes. "You're already really sick. If you don't eat anything, you're going to die."

I turn my back to her, staring blankly at the cave wall. "I'm going to die anyway."

"Nonsense," she snaps, her tone suddenly cold. "Did you think I saved you so you could be pessimistic?"

I sigh. She's right. I slowly take the handle of the ladle and choke down the spoonful of soup she gives me, then purse my lips at her. "No more."

"You have to finish the bowl."

I pout at her, groaning. "That wasn't part of the deal!"

A mischievous look suddenly crosses her face and she smiles, placing the bowl of soup down by her. "It's only for your good, you know." she whispers, her face inches from mine. Her finger trails down my cheek and I stare dumbly at her. She leans over slowly, teasing me with her lips almost touching mine, until she finally kisses me softly.

"Okay." I whisper back, looking deep into her eyes. Inwardly I groan. Great, she's found my weak spot.

After a few more kisses, I finally finish the soup. Though it scalds my throat and makes me want to vomit, I must admit that my head feels clearer and I can think better. Now that I'm full, I feel my eyelids drooping in drowsiness.

"Goodnight," Katniss says, brushing the hair out of my eyes. She bends down and kisses my forehead.

"Night," I mumble sleepily, a stupid smile forming on my face. I for one know I'll have good dreams tonight.

*

I wake up in the morning feeling much more refreshed, stretching and smiling. For the first time in what seems like months, I wake up feeling content, not disturbed. "Morning, sunshine!" I say loudly, pushing myself up into a full sitting position. My headache is mostly gone, and the clothes I am wearing are stifling, so I take off the first layer of my sweater.

When I receive no response, I look around worriedly. Katniss is nowhere to be seen. "Katniss?" I ask uncertainly. The remains of the fire are still glowing, casting an eerie light on the cave. Outside, the sun has just risen, seeping through the thick morning fog and creating the hazy look of being in a fairytale. I snort. How ironic. This is no fairytale. Looking around me, I see the bowl the chicken broth was in, filled with water. Next to it are two damp rags and a container of fever-reducing pills. I realize that Katniss must've been up all night trying to take care of me. For some inexplicable reason, I feel a sad pang in my chest at the thought of her caring.

Where is she? She has left no indication of where or when she has left and I suddenly feel scared for her, remembering Cato and Clove prowling around in the middle of the night. I should have warned her about all their hunting habits. What if they have her? I scramble up, pawing aside the vines that surround the entrance of the cave. It feels like something has pieced my inner thigh and I double up in pain, finally getting up again and making my way cautiously to the entrance. As I prepare to crawl out, a shadow appears over me, and I look up, fearing the worst.

Katniss glares at me, frowning, and throws the roots she is holding on the ground. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I came to find you," I say sheepishly, crawling back to the walls of the cave and trying to sink into the shadows. "I was worried Cato and Clove got you. They hunt in the middle of the night."

"Really?" she turns around, worried. "Well, good thing I'm quiet," she sighs and goes back to rummaging through her bag. As she walks up to me, she asks "How do you feel?", then sits down, legs crossed, right by my side.

"So much better," I reply, sighing rather dreamily. "I've got you here, and everything is good," I reach up to cup her face in my hand, and she lowers her eyes, refusing to look at me. She finally takes a deep breath and looks up at me, a confused expression in her eyes. Slowly, she reaches her arm up and touches my face, her hand feeling cool against my hot skin. I feel my breath catch and my heart thumps loudly and quickly. Unable to express my love for her, I just close my eyes and savor her touch for a second before taking her hand and bringing it up to my lips.

She giggles, but has a vacant look in her eyes as she says, "Here, eat something." She pushes some berries and groosling towards me and I wrinkle my nose. Just the sight of this makes my stomach flip. She sees my expression and groans, rolling her eyes. "No more kisses for you until you eat something."

She's got me now. I sigh and push her lightly off my lap, bending over to get the bowl of berries and forcing them into my mouth. They taste bland and I want to gag, but I mindlessly force down mouthful after mouthful until my stomach starts feeling queasy. When she hands me the groosling, I shake my head at it and she shrugs. "At least you ate something."

Suddenly, I notice the bags under her eyes, deep purple, like they are bruised. Her face is a bit ruddy and her eyes are red. Though she tries to keep them open, her eyelids flutter every once in awhile. "You didn't sleep," I say stupidly, stating the obvious.

"I'm fine," she says, looking away to hide her expression. I roll my eyes. She is so stubborn. The drowsiness is apparent on her face.

"Just go to sleep. You won't be able to stay awake forever, and I'll watch the entrance for you," I say, stroking her hair. She opens her mouth, as if about to argue, but closes it and snuggles in closer to me, her head in my lap. I continue stroking her hair, staring at her flawlessness, as she falls asleep peacefully.

--

hey guys! sorry, i know this isn't my best...but i'm kinda caught up in a book right now.,. nothing left to lose is SOOOO GOOOD i'm addicted. it's a bit.... pg13... but still, it's AMAZING! hopefully i'll finish it tomorrow or the day after and then i can get back to writing awesomesauce! so yeah.. oopsie daisies, sorry! hopefully this is at least okay -_- and i'll get to reading all those stories that you guys want me to, just give me some time :)

you know, if you want you can vote/comment hahaha

xox amanda