Real - An Everlark Fanfiction

- Chapter Nine -

I get up and offer him my hand. He gladly takes it. When we're both fully upright, he takes me into his arms. It's the best feeling in the world.

I get jolted back to reality when I hear Flynn adorably scream, "yay!" Everyone laughs, especially Annie. Everyone except my mother, who has a tear running down her face. It must be so weird to see your child growing up. Promising their complete love and devotion to someone else. My mother should be happy, though. She knows Peeta, and she knows he's an amazing person. Maybe they're tears of joy. I don't know. And then I realize. Her husband died, an it was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. She stopped taking care of her children for years. She doesn't want me to go through that experience. Though I do fear this happening, Peeta's not going anywhere. I remind myself that he survived two Hunger Games. There are no more dangers. No more worries. I smile at her, letting her know its okay. That I'm okay.

"May I introduce to you: Mr. Mellark and his fiancé Ms. Everdeen," Haymitch slurs, giving me a hard pat on the back. I've been through a lot worse, but this still hurts. I give him a look but he ignores it. I turn back to Peeta. He's the only one that I care about right now. He's smiling at Haymitch and his eyes are lit up. He must really love the idea of me being his fiancé.

And then I notice Johanna. Walking towards us. For the first time in my life, I see her smile. And its not the strange, twisted smile that Peeta and I are used to. She's actually happy for us.

"Congratulations," she says, hugging me, forcing me to break away from Peeta. I'm not extremely happy about this, but I stay positive. Johanna is not the cold-blooded creature that she used to be. She's changed since the last time I've seen her. And I hug her back.

"So this is why you came to District 12," I whisper in her ear.

"Yeah. It's not all about you, Katniss," she smirks, gently letting me go. I walk back into the warm grasp of Peeta, and notice Madge's smile practically ripping free from her face. She's not one to get very exited, but I know she's going through some tough times with her father being ill. This must be the happiest thing that's happened to her in a while.

A strange feeling overwhelms me, and I hear a faint but familiar laughing sound. It's Prim.

"Where did that come from," I ask Peeta. When I say this, he tenses up.

"Hear what?" he says. He's worried. I can feel his grip tighten.

"Nothing," I say quietly. But I know I heard Prim. I know she's here. In spirit, anyway. This is the first time that I've felt her standing right beside me. Heard her youthful voice. When my father died, I always felt him with me. I still do. I guess Prim has more productive things to do in heaven than stick by me all the time. Friends to make. Children to save. But she's here now. And that's all that matters.

"I love you," I hear someone whisper. Is it Prim? No. It's Peeta. The love of my life. The man that I will marry. I look at my ring, smile, and press my lips against his.

~•~

"Goodbye," I say, clinging to Annie, watching the train roll in.

"We'll be back, Katniss. For the wedding." She says, and I let go. I kneel down to Flynn.

"Tell Buttercup I say hello," I smile. He nods, obviously understanding, and waddles back to his mom, hiding in her long dress. I'm glad they kept the cat's name. Prim would have wanted them to.

"I'll see you soon," Annie says, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. I turn to Johanna.

"Will I be seeing you soon, too?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"We'll see," she smirks, winking. I hug her goodbye and watch her and Annie board the train arm in arm. And then I turn to my mother.

"Goodbye," is all we say to each other. Will she come to the wedding? I don't know. But I don't ask. That's up to her. I'll be fine either way, I guess. She boards the train, and doesn't look back. I have a strong feeling that she won't show up. She won't want to see her daughter committed to anything, let alone a husband. At least I saw her today.

The train takes off, with most of my loved ones on it. It's sad, seeing them all leave. But I know I have Peeta. And I know most of them will come back for my wedding. I cozy up into Peeta's arms, and immediately feel warmth.

"Thank you," I say, looking into his bright blue eyes, "For everything."

"Thank you," he responds. "For agreeing to marry me." I look back at the train, now smaller than my hand.

"It wasn't a very hard decision," I say. And its the truth. It was easier than when I volunteered for Prim at the reaping, and that was practically second nature to me.

We say our goodbyes to Madge, Haymitch, Mayor Undersee, and everyone else from District 12. It was nice seeing them all together again. Even though it was only for a little while. I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot more time with all of them.

When we get back to the house, Peeta tells me that there's another surprise waiting for me.

"A present," he says, leading me to the dining room. He's already surprised me enough today! What more could he have up his sleeve?

On the table lies a medium sized box. It's white with shimmering gold ribbon. It reminds me exactly of my ring. He must have known that I would see this after he proposed.

I carefully open the gift, not wanting to rip anything. Underneath the paper is another paining. I know it's one of his works because at first glance, the beautiful colors put me in a trance. I open the present further and I know what the picture's of. Our wedding. And it's the most gorgeous wedding I've ever seen. It's in the forest- in a clearing. The trees tower over us. I'm walking down the aisle in an astonishing dress, towards Peeta. I recognize everyone in the seats. Everyone that I love. Some are not even with us today. In the front row is my mother, father, Prim, and Rue. Behind them sits Johanna, Annie, Flynn, Finnick, and Mags. Others are scattered around, but everyone is looking towards me.

"Peeta!" I say, gasping. "It's so beautiful!"

"I painted it the day your sister died." He says, taking my hand. "There was just so much sadness at the time and I wanted to be reminded of something happy, so I thought of you. And me. Together."

"Peeta, I-" he cuts me off.

"I told myself that I wouldn't give this to you until we were planning on getting married. And now we are. So here it is. Happy birthday."

With all this excitement, I totally forgot that today was my birthday. I'm 20 years old now. It's been 3 years since Peeta painted this- and he saved it. Over all this time. For me. Am I worth that much to him?

"Thank you," I say, giving his hand a squeeze. And I feel like I've been saying those words way more than I'm used to.

"Any time," he says smiling. "Come on, let's get some rest. In the morning, we've got a wedding to plan!"

I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to vote, comment, and follow me! Thank you!

-Melanie 🦁