The Snowing Embers

2

I sit in the parlor, reading another of the stale books that my mother gave to me, my legs crossed and hand set under my chin. The pale pink dress my mother made Delly stuff me into pinches my ribs and makes it hard to lay back and be comfortable. Not that I could with the prospect of "entertaining"  a gentleman caller I foolishly invited to tea. God, what was I thinking. That stupid man looking at me like a kicked puppy when I rejected him and then apologizing for bothering me? God, I actually fell for that. He's probably just trying to win me over like any other dashing young man with too much money.

"Miss Everdeen, Master Mellark is here for tea," Delly says and I look up. I sigh and look back  down at my book. 

"Show him in I guess," I say softly and she nods, standing aside as Mr. Mellark, I mean Peeta, walks in and sits down next to me. 

"She seems nice," He says and I sigh.

"She's paid to be hospitable," I say. "Though you're right, she is a nice girl." 

"You look nice," he says and I just continue reading

"Thank you," I say, turning the page of my book. The grandfather clock in the corner ticks away at the awkward silence, chopping at the air that could honestly be cut with a knife. It's tense and severe, and honestly a lot worse than I expected.

"What are you reading?" Peeta says and I sigh.

"I don't remember," I say. "Something frivolous my mother stuck in the library." 

"Then why are you reading it?" He asks. I shrug and he sighs. "Katniss, are you going to ignore me all day?"

"I'm not ignoring you," I say. "I simply am not speaking to you for the pleasure of hearing my own voice. There is noting for me to say at the moment, so I don't feel the need to speak to you."

"Wasn't the point of this to get to know you?" he asks and I roll my eyes.

"No, the point of this was to get my mother of my back for a while," I say. "I really don't care what you do. As long as we are locked in this room for an hour or so, say once a week, she will leave me alone." 

"So that's what this is," he says and I nod. 

"That's all this is, Peeta," I say. "There's no reason for me to assume otherwise and I don't intend to mislead you about any of it. I am simply exhausted by my mother constantly bringing men in this house trying to woo me into becoming their lives."

"Then why invite me to tea?" He asks and I sigh, rolling my eyes again.

"Because I assumed you'd have the common courtesy to not press the issue, considering you apologized to me for invading my space," I say. "Clearly, I was wrong, but I might as well go with it at this point."

"So you don't like me?" Peeta asks and I close my book.

"It's nothing personal," I say, "I just have no interest in marrying anyone, not just you." He nods and sits back.

"Well then, maybe I have better things to do than sit here with your sour attitude all day," He says and I look over at him.

"What, did you really expect, based on my enthusiasm yesterday that this was me fluttering my eyelashes and hopelessly falling in love with you so I could be your cute little wife?" I ask.

"No, but I was at least expecting that you would be hospitable to me," he says and I sigh.

"Look, I'm trying to just get through this. If you expected more, than clearly you were misinformed about the kind of stock the Everdeen's have available not that their daughter has come of age. But I'm not that cookie cutter little woman that the finishing school tried and failed to make me," I say. He chuckles.