"Wake up, beautiful." The voice says, directed to me as the owner places a delicate peck to my dry lips.
I moan and he chuckles.
I open my eyes to a squint to confirm who the boy is.
"Peeta." I whisper in a croak, smiling in relief to see him.
His arms sit either side of my small body, holding his own structure up. I glance at one his arms, observing the flexed muscles running up and down his tanned biceps.
"How did you sleep?" He questions, nuzzling his head into my neck and leaving a small trail of kisses up to my ear lobe.
My nose fills with Peeta's scent that smells like summer and spring mixed together in one magical pot.
I hum in pleasure at his touch, "It was great, no nightmares."
I feel his lips on my warm skin turn into a smile and he puffs a small laugh from his nose. "That's the best news to start the day," he says. And I blush a little.
"What do you want to do today?" He questions me, leaving my neck and looking into my tired orbs.
"Mm, wake up first." We both laugh at my sarcastic comment as he places a smiling kiss on my lips.
As he pulls back, I feel a bad churning in my stomach. Like a volcano had erupted in my tummy, creating endless rumbles and groans.
"Peeta. I don't feel too good." I tell him, rubbing my stomach soothingly.
His brows furrow and he lifts his body away from my hurting structure.
"What is it?" He asks, worried at my state.
I try to keep my calm, more for his sake than mine. He places a small bunch of hair behind my ear as I squeeze my eyes tight and run my hand over my face in pain.
Before anything else can happen, I feel something coming up my throat, I let out a hiccup and run to the bathroom as fast as I can. A burning sensation fills my mouth, just in time as I reach the bathroom to the left of Peeta's bed.
Bending down to the toilet, letting out the acidic-tasting vomit.
Peeta comes in after me, gathering my falling hair up in his hand and holding it out of my way.
I cough and splutter, spitting out every bit out of my mouth.
He grabs an elastic band and ties it around my hair quickly before leaving.
I slump down to the ground, sitting with my legs crossed. Gasping for air, I sniffle and small, painful tears escape my stinging eyes.
Peeta comes back with a damp cloth and a glass of water from the tap.
Wiping my mouth with the cloth and flushing my mouth out with the water and the tears stop.
With a small amount left, I gulp the cool liquid down. Feeling it run down into my stomach. Soothing the aching feeling.
He curses and smooths my hair back in the pony tail. "You okay?"
"I'm okay," I nod.
"Might have caught something." He comments.
I close my eyes, squeezing them closed to shut out the pain now in my head.
I open them as I feel strong hands wrap around my trembling body, picking me up.
Peeta carries me like I'm a bride, my legs in one hand and my upper-half in the other.
He carefully takes me back to his bed and places my body on top of the blanket.
"Still feeling on the bad side?" He asks me, genuinely conscious about my feelings.
"No, I feel a littleokay now that it's out of my system."
"You still need to rest. See how you feel soon."
"Okay." I agree, groggily.
He gives me a small peck on the forehead, gently rubbing his thumb on my temple before turning on his heels and leaving through the door.
I expect he's gone to complete a few things down in his bakery.
In the districts recovery, Peeta rebuilt and reopened his families bakery.
It's not much of a place to sell bread. But it still does it for him, anythings better than nothing to him. I think, to him, baking bread is a type of meditation of sorts. In his own way, it helps take his mind off of things and sets his head straight. Still recovering from the hijacking, baking his bread is something he remembers from his earliest memories and helps him keep in touch with his old self and find his centre of gravity again when he feels lost.
The district is still getting itself together after the bombings. Some resources we get from the Captiol, such as building materials. Other things are second-hand wreckage that survived the bombings. Every day, people keep themselves busy by tidying up the district. Picking up old wreckage, and they take it to a place they've set up by the fence of the woods. I've heard, anyways. Greasy Sae keeps me updated, letting me know it's always there for me to join them. They sort through wreckage, deciding what's useful and what is too far gone and goes to rubbish or is recycled. Another new system in place that commences next month in District 2 for materials to become recycled and remade with proper machinery.
We aren't all on our own though. District 13 helps us with money and the housing for citizens, as well as medical attention when needed. If anyone is sick, usually they are sent to Thirteen for medical help, but for more serious cases, a District 2 hovercraft is flown in and takes the person to their district. That goes for every district.
People from Thirteen also come in to keep busy too, constructing new homes, buildings, meeting areas. Some discuss and finalize plans and others are the hands-on who build the places with the material others are donating from the rubble.
I hear footsteps trail up the stairs, the thump on each and every step echoing around the house.
"Hey." He smiles at me.
"Hi."
"How are you feeling?" He asks as he places a damp cloth on my forehead, attempting to cool me down but honestly I don't feel a change. My head wasn't hot to begin with.
"I'm feeling fine." I tell him, pulling the cloth off of my forehead, sitting up to face him.
He sits down on the edge, nearly on my legs.
And I don't lie to him. I actually feel fine. My stomach has gone back to it's normal self as well as my head.
"I want to get up." I insist.
He agrees, knowing there's no use telling me otherwise, and holds my small hand in his as guidance as I stand up.
"Really Peeta, I'm okay."
He nods, leaving me to my own devices as I head for the bathroom.
Turning the hot water tap on in the wide bath, I quickly brush my teeth in the sink, awaiting the tub to fill up. The steam arising tells me it's hot enough, and I turn the cold tap on to neutralize the temperature.
I feel so grateful for the hot water, after defeating the Captiol, most of the districts homes were granted solar panels that collected sun radiation. As the buildings are gradually being built, our district is becoming more and more solar healthy with the
panels being added almost each day.
Rinsing my mouth from the minty toothpaste I then strip off Peeta's long, baggy shirt I wore to sleep last night and slip down my black panties. I hop into the warm water that's depth only reaches my mid-ankles and switch the tap back to hot.
I sink down to the bottom, my knees brought up nearly touching my chin and I wrap my arms tightly around my legs to my chest. I hum in pleasure, the soothing water making my skin tingle in delight.
After a while, I decided I've been in there long enough once my fingers and toes become shriveled in wrinkles. I've washed my hair, put bubbles on my face to make silly facial hair and laughed at myself, and washed off all signs of this mornings throwing up. Two matching pairs of cream bottles that are hair products were a recommendation of Cinna's and have since been an addition in the local grocers store. My prep team advise me to wash my hair with the stuff and Greasy Sae's look of disapproval when she sees the fowl state my unwashed hair is in, usually has me racing for the shower.
I walk back into Peeta's empty room, dripping a trail of warm water droplets in my tracks and carelessly choose an outfit for the most likely lazy day. Picking up a tight black pair of yoga pants, a baggy shirt of Peeta's and throwing them on.
I walk downstairs to find Peeta preparing dough for more batches of bread.
"Hi." I say, shyly.
"Hey." He replies, handing me a cheese bun.
I smile at the warm delicacy. My favorite.
"Feeling better?" He questions.
"Much, actually. I don't feel the slightest bit sick anymore." I smile, taking a bite of the bun.
"I'm glad, wonder what had you sick then"
I slump to the carpet in front of the lighted fire place. Reaching over to the woolen blanket Peeta's grandmother made and wrapping that around my body. His grandparents, Peeta tells me, are his dad's parents and were the loveliest people in 12. Both dying of old age when he was only young.
Peeta carries on working in the kitchen whilst I look through the family medicine book Peeta drew diagrams of.
"We should really update some more things in this book, Peeta."
He agrees by telling me I should go into the woods and hunt today.
I consider it, and come to a final decision of no.
Before I can tell Peeta what I think of that idea, there's a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." I tell Peeta, whilst he carries on with the baking.
I lightly jog to the door, feeling a little burst of energy and enthusiasm to do something.
With the turn of the golden door knob, the visitor is revealed behind the wooden door.
"Gale..."
"Hey." He replies.
"W-what are you doing here?"
"I told you I was coming to see you in the morning, did I not?"
Oh gosh. I completely forgot about last night.
Damnit.
I don't want to talk to him right now!
"Oh... Uh. Yeah." I stutter in reply.
"So? Still up for it?"
"Look, Gale. -I-I don't know about that..."
His face turns from such a bright, excitable expression to a disappointed emotion I almost feel as if I miss him and really do need his presence.
"C'mon, I'm only here 'till tomorrow."
And suddenly the picture of his new girlfriend surfaces to my mind, I'm not sure what she looks like exactly but the image in my mind tells me she's stunning. And as I stare at his face, his lips, all I can see is some pesky girl with her hands and mouth all over him. And a shiver is sent through my body. I have to stop shutting him out, I need to move on, don't I? Isn't that what Doctor Argulierus would suggest? Moving on or some term like that?
I let out a sigh before agreeing.
"I'll go tell Peeta, stay where you are."
I return with a thin coat, just incase the temperature decides to drop, it feels a bit chilly talking to Gale.
It's just Autumn, but slowly it's blossoming into the snowy, icey winter season.
I see my breath in the mid-day air as I breathe out through my mouth, still fascinated by the reaction.
"Where to?" I ask, distracted by the clouds of my breath.
"The woods? But not too far in?"
I didn't really mind where we were going, I knew we'd have to talk about some topics the both of us had been avoiding for months.
When we arrive the short distance, I take a quick glance at the stump that once was my childhood home before climbing over the non-electrical fence. If it weren't for the wild animals, this fence would be turned to scrap too.
"Been here much?" He asks me.
"No. Not really." Which isn't necessarily a lie, I haven't visited the woods regularly.
We walk a little further into the woods, I follow Gale to the place we always used to go to talk, or eat.
We walk across the rocky ground in a comfortable silence. Not really knowing what to say next.
Although, I had a million things I wanted to say. They just weren't appropriate. And I know that someday, maybe today at sometime, I was going to burst and let out all those things I've been hiding. I needed to know why he left me for a new district. Why he just ran away to forget me.
We reach our destination, the small hill we used to go almost everyday. We sit in the exact spot we did before the reaping the morning Prim was chosen.
We take a seat on the bright green grass, sitting next to each other with about half a metre between our bodies.
"How's district two?" I ask, searching in my rucksack for the two apples I threw from home before we left.
"Well, that's kind of why I came back to twelve."
*****************
A/N
Really hope it's going okay! Thankyou sooooo much for the readers! Don't forget to vote and comment it makes me happy to see feedback!!!