Together, Always || An After Mockingjay Everlark Fanfiction

Chapter 14

"Peeta? I was wondering if you maybe would like to come to the forest with me? You don't have to or anything." My voice fades out and I stare at the ground.
"Sounds good. When would you like to go?"
I mentally sigh in relief and part my gaze from the carpet. "In 15 minutes maybe? Is that okay?"
"Sure."
I stare at him for a while and then realise I should go get ready. Right now I am still in my pyjamas and my hair is in a tangled mess on my neck. I blush and run upstairs.

Why do I always have to make a fool of myself! I sigh as I hop into the shower and scrub myself clean. I finish and dry myself quickly and pull on some black pants, a green top and my fathers hunting boots. I pull my fathers hunting jacket over my outfit and look into the mirror. Something is missing.

I spend a long time brushing out the mats in my uneven hair. By the time my hair is silky and smooth again I'm worried that the fifteen minutes have passed already and Peeta is waiting for me. I pull my hair into a quick braid down my back and look into the mirror again. Better.

Peeta is waiting for me on the couch when I'm finished. He has changed into a green T-shirt with a thick black hoodie and jeans. He smiles at me as I walk downstairs.
"Ready?" he asks.

We walk out of the house and into the morning winter air. I pull my jacket over my chest to shield me from the cold. The soft brown leather feels soothing on my skin. It reminds me of my father and my family but not in a way that makes me break down and cry. A way that makes me smile. We are just reaching the meadow when I catch Peeta staring at me and smiling. He quickly looks at the ground and so do I.

"This meadow is beautiful," he sighs. A few tufts of grass and the odd dandelion poke out from the layers of frost and snow covering the ground.
"I know. I used to come here all the time with...' I stop dead and Peeta almost runs into the back of me. I regain my composure and keep walking. I mustn't cry now. We keep walking in silence until we reach the fence. Or at least where it used to be. Now the fence is lying on the ground in tangles of chords and overgrown grass. At first I'm confused but then I remember Gale telling me about pushing it down when he and a group of others fled from the bombings of our district. I make sure that I don't touch a single wire as I walk through as if each is alive with buzzing electricity that could electrocute me at the slightest touch. Of course this isn't really necessary, but Peeta notices my caution and copies me but in a much louder manner. I have to stifle a laugh. I don't think I'll be catching much game today.

We wind through the trees together until we get to where my bow and arrow are hidden. I pull them from their hiding spot in a tree trunk and sling the arrows over my back. I hand another set to Peeta but anxiety comes over his face and he waves them away. "Maybe next time. I think I'll just watch you do it for today."

I stash them back in the trunk, slightly confused by Peeta's response. We resume our journey through the woods in search for fresh game to wonder onto our path. It's slightly annoying having Peeta as a hunting partner. His steps are quite heavy and every single leaf and twig seems to find its way under his feet. I know it's not his fault and probably more mine. After all it's my fault he has to wear a prosthetic.

I remember Gale's steps. They were so quiet that most of the time you couldn't even hear them which is quite useful for a hunter. I feel an aching in my chest at the thought of Gale. I miss him. He was such a great friend to me when I needed it but now I don't know where we stand. I can't accept that her death is his fault but I steal feel uneasy about him. He reminds me too much of her and her death. I wish I could forget it and be friends but she means... meant so much to me. I could never forget her. Plus he lives in 2 now. We are as far away from each other as we can possibly get.

I start to notice Peeta acting strange. Every time I pull out my bow and arrow after hearing a rustle in the bushes surrounding us, he turns away to watch something behind us. At first I think he is looking for the game that made the noise to help me find it. My next theory is that he is covering my back, watching for attackers while I shoot, so used to being in the games. It dawns on me what the reason has to really be. He could be trying to stop a flashback. The sight of me stringing an arrow and poising to shoot would surely bring back memories from the Capitol's high jacking, I bet I appeared a lot in his hallucinations positioned like this. I shouldn't have brung him with me! I should have thought of this!
"I think we should go back," I say, dropping my shooting pose as soon as I realise it's affecting him.
"What? Why would we do that?"
I don't know how to answer. I look at him, trying to communicate with my facial expressions something that I'm too scared to say out loud. He stares back, a look of confusion on his face. Then comprehension dawns on his features as he realised that I must have noticed his strange behaviour. He shakes his head.
"I'll be fine Katniss, don't worry about me. I've got it under control. Let's keep going."

After a few minutes of walking through the forest we manage to find a squirell leaping across the forest floor. I shoot it without hesitation. This might be the only thing I will catch today. I use this as an excuse to stop as I am exhausted. I haven't travelled this far in ages and my body is to weak to go much further. We find a flat rock next to a bush of blueberries. We rest here, chewing on the sweet berries until we are both rested enough to continue on. Where else can I take Peeta? I could take him to the hut in the middle of the forest. But it reminds me too much of Gale. Maybe another time. I could take him to the stream where Gale and I used to catch fish all of the time. But this also reminds me too much of Gale. I could take him to the lake. But that was a secret spot for me and my father and I don't think I'm quite ready to share that with anyone else yet, even Peeta. I sigh and decide that we should go back home instead. We are both exhausted anyway and the chilling winter wind is starting to bite into my skin. On the way back I manage to shoot another squirel and a reasonably large Turkey. We rest again and I skin the game. I make sure to sit facing away from Peeta so he doesn't see me bringing the knife to the animals skin.

"How are you so - okay with this?" he asks when I finish with a grimace on his face.
"I guess I'm used to it." I reply and it's true, I am. I have spent years hunting to feed my family. I was desperate at the time and would do anything to keep us from starvation. I ignored the bad and gruesome parts of hunting for years and now I'm so used to it that I don't even think about it. Peeta on the other hand has spent his childhood without that desperation. He might not have had it that good at home but he was a lot better off than I was when it came to food. At least he knew that he was going to have food on the table for breakfast lunch and dinner. But I had a good, strong relationship with my family which unfortunately Peeta didn't have. Sometimes that matters more than food.

The trees start to thin as we reach the edge of the forest and I see that it has gotten quite dark. I'm absolutely exhausted by the time we reach the fence. My feet ache with every step and my legs start to wobble like jelly. They fall under me but before I hit the earth Peeta catches me. I cringe and I feel my cheeks burn a hot scarlet colour as he pulls me back up to my feet.
"Sorry um thanks." I stammer. I catch myself in a staring contest with the dirt. I straighten my jacket and we head back to our home. Before we reach my place we go to Haymitch's first. We knock once and let ourselves in.

Surprise, surprise. We find him sprawled out on the couch in a drunken stupor. He sits up at our arrival and stares us down. Normally I would be annoyed at Haymitch for being drunk all the time but I'm not sure I care anymore. We all have our different ways of dealing with this hell. I hunt. Peeta bakes or paints. And Haymitch drinks.
"Hi sweetheart, Peeta," his eyes dart from us to the bloody game bag strung over my shoulder. "Been hunting I see?"
"Yes," I reply, "We were wondering if you wanted some."
I clear the shattered glass bottles from the bench and wipe the puddles of alcohol away with a filthy tea towel I find. I place the squirrel there as Peeta helps Haymitch into a more comfortable position and props him up on a pillow. We are just turning to leave when Haymitch asks a question that leaves me cringing. "So are you two.. You know."
"What Haymitch," I reply annoyedly.
"Are you to.. Like a thing yet?"
I roll my eyes and Peeta covers the side of his face next to me and whispers jokingly, " I'm working on that." He winks at Haymitch and I laugh and give him a playful punch on the arm.

But inside I feel uneasy. Was that a joke or was he serious. What did he mean by that?

Hey guys! Hope you liked this chapter and once again, please feel free to give me feedback or correct any mistakes I make.

(Warning: the next part is cheesy! Sorry) I know I only started on watt pad about a month ago but I'd like to say thank you for reading this so far! I have really enjoyed writing this story and I really hope you like them too.

Happy New Year's Eve!! One more day of 2014 - I can't believe it! I hope you had a good year and I wish you all the best for the next.

💕~everlarkeverlark~💕