Without My Love (Rewriting as Afire Love)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Peeta's POV

I walk around town. It was normal. Everyone smiles or waves or says hi. Today was one of those days where everyone felt like a big family. Sharing a big meal with another family, having a big laugh with friends. Should I return to my friends? Try to live a normal life? Or bringing some along with me to fight this war too much to handle with friendships?

I decide to spend time with my old pals. Dally, he was oldest out of the whole gang. I laugh, gang, what cheesy kids we were. Continuing, Steve was second youngest. Both of them were in my plan. They volunteered. I said nothing about it. Kye was second oldest, out of seven boys. Marco was stuck in the middle with Johnny younger and Erin older, than him. Then me last, being born in December.

I was almost to the school yard when someone jumped on my back. I almost fell over but the person on my back flipped over me and landed straight on his feet. Dally. I laugh and clap.

"So, old mate. What's up?" he says.

"Why so nonchalant? Shouldn't you be in school?" I ask, leaving against the brick wall of some building.

"Shouldn't you be in?" Dally pokes. Leaning too.

"I think it's you who needs the schooling." I snap.

"Well, well, well. Look what lover boy brought back with him from the arena." Dally says. "Evil!" he wiggled his fingers, trying to be scary.

I roll my eyes and start to walk past him. He follows behind me.

"What was it like, baker boy?" he pushes. Dally could talk, and talk, and talk, and talk. Teachers hate him, girls love him. It's a win-lose situation, being with Dally. "Was it scary?"

"Sort of." I say. Even though Dally is older than me by almost a year, I've always felt like I over powered him. I'm not sure how, but I always have. "If you call teenagers craving human blood and killing everyone for fun scary? Then, yes. It was very scary."

"Well, someone got moody after the games." He says crossing his arms like a child. I shake my head and continue for the school. I sit on the top of a picnic table outside the building where some kids like to talk at. Dally accompanies me and we bend our knees to step in the seat.

I guess Dally understands, somehow, that the games hurt me. In just one way. What he says, was so surprising. "I'm sorry. I know you really loved Katniss. I'm sorry I bugged you so much about it. I should've volunteered for you. I would've saved her and told her about-"

"No. Just, shut up Dally. I don't want to talk about it." I say, jumping off the table. My bad leg burns after. I walk around in a circle and try to wait for the guys to come running out of school. I didn't want to hear Dally's ideas. What happened, happened. He couldn't change anything. He's a bit too late to be sorry. To want to change things. It's too late.

The school bell rings and Dally jumps off the table and slips his hands in his pocket. I stand looking opposite of the school. I should really stop dazing off, the next thing I knew, another one of my idiotic friends was on my back again. This time, I fell to the floor. I rolled from under Kye and grab a hand stuck out for me.

"Sorry, bro. Forgot about your leg." Kye says.

"You're not the only one." I say. Looking at Dally. He shrugs and jumps on Erin. "Let's go hang out, like old times."

*

The bon-fire rose up to the dark sky after a long day of running around and recking stuff. The ally was full of boxes and wore out stuff people throw out here. We all sat on a box or two, messing around. Like I predicted, Dally and Steve convinced Erin, Kye, Marco, and Johnny to enter the plan of war. Now was the time to discuss the matters.

"What's up with this." Erin leans in close to the fire and says quietly. "War."

"Yeah, everyone's been talkin' about it. What's the plan?" Marco pushes.

I lean back a little and think. How do I start. 'I'm planning a war to override the Capitol because they killed the love of my life."?

"I want to stop The Hunger Games. End them. All." I say. "That's my plan."

They all nod.

"I'm in. The games are shit. We don't need them." Kye says.

"Yeah, they just be killin' off little kids for fun." Dally says.

"It ain't no fun for us!" Erin exclaims. I wait to listen to reasons why we are starting this war. These guys, so stupid but so determined to win.

"And them little kids have futures. I mean, look at Peeta." Steve points to me. "He was such a good boy, now look. Lover boy is bad boy now!"

They all laugh. "Okay, okay." I say. "Let's cut off this fire and go have some more fun."

"Yeah!" they all scream and pump their fists in the air.

We step out the fire and make a run through the empty ally, like we used to ever night. I slow when I hear a scream. Steve and everyone don't expect me to stop and they all dog pile onto my back. I groan and they all get off and help me up. I shake off all the dirt from my clothes and start at the square.

We arrive breathless, me last. The darkness of the night leaves us with little to see. I make out two figures in white, Peacekeepers. And another, looks like a boy.

We walked closer, and closer. I cursed under my breath and started running when I figured out who it was.

This chapter was sooo easy. Finally. I have trouble writing this one. I have two more stories i will be writing. Let me finish this one and I'll post one at a time. I don't want to deal with too much. c:

~Jez