A/N: I decided to post this chapter a few days early because I know I shocked you all with the pregnancy thing during the previous chapter. After such a shocking reveal, I decided to give you all the final chapter early! :-)

And to the guest reviewer 'In a Bad Mood', I'm not going to dain your review with a long response that expresses my true feelings over how hateful you've been because you're obviously quite cowardice, writing it as a guest instead of giving me an opportunity to respond and give my reasoning towards Katniss' pregnancy. If you don't like it then don't read it. I'm far from the first person to write teenage pregnancy on this site and I'm sure I definitely won't be the last. And saying that you're 'In a Bad Mood' and clearly stating that you're taking it out on me isn't an explanation towards how rude you've been. I'll be deleting your review because you haven't said anything remotely constructive. I can take criticism just fine but I won't stand for hate.

Sorry about that paragraph, guys. I just had to respond to a guest reviewer who clearly didn't like Katniss being pregnant. If any of the rest of you don't like it, I'm sorry but she is pregnant. As I've said before, it's something that teenagers do face and just because they don't like it doesn't mean it's going to go away. That's what I want to put across here. And not all of them are as lucky to have a boyfriend as understanding as Peeta.

To those who are still willing to read, however, enjoy the chapter! It's one of my favourites. And keep an eye out for the sequel 'Broken Winged Birds that Cannot Fly' that will be posted in a couple of weeks :P

I stay away from Facebook for a while. There are a lot of Homecoming photos. Pictures from the Game and such. There's even pictures of Glimmer and Gale-who got together again after Madge dumped Gale's ass-with their homecoming king and queen crowns on. I'll admit, it does get to me a little. I had been a shoe-in for queen but I have a feeling that Snow pulled my name from the ballot when he suspended me. Clove tried to make me feel better by saying Glimmer probably came second to me but Snow wouldn't let my name get called.

She, Johanna, Annie and Finch all came to see me before they went to the dance. I appreciated it but it made me feel extremely jealous. Just seeing them in their gorgeous dresses depressed me. Then having to wave them off while I stayed at home . . . It was just awful.

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

I shrug, tugging my blanket up to my chin and flicking the t.v off. "You have to go to work, mum. I'll be fine." Mum has to work the night shift but isn't keen on leaving me alone on what was supposed to be one of the most important nights of my life. Prim isn't even here; she's at a friend's house for the night.

"But Prim isn't here," says Mum with concern.

"It's okay. I'll be okay," I sigh.

Mum sits down on the sofa and gently touches my head. "Katniss, I know you've been down," she says. "Understandably too." I seal my lips shut and grumpily prop my face against my knee. "Life could be much worse though. I know it doesn't seem that way but you're surrounded by people who love you."

"Do you think dad would be disappointed in me?" I ask quietly.

Mum's eyes soften. She brushes my hair back from my face and sighs. "Oh, Katniss, of course not," she tells me. "Your father would be so, so proud of you. First of all for being so brave about your pregnancy. A lot of girls would have broken down and would already have been looking into abortion options."

"Well that was never an option for me," I grumble. I would never be able to live with myself if I aborted the baby. I would spend the rest of my life feeling like I committed murder. I understand that in particular circumstances why people would choose to do it but I just can't. I just . . . I just can't.

"Don't ever think that your father would be disappointed in you," Mum says firmly. "Your father would be extremely proud of you. The transition you've made this year alone is astonishing. It's been two months and yet you've changed yourself so much for the better."

Usually-and by usually I mean when I was an asshole-I would be glad for compliments. I'd reap them in with a self-satisfied grin and crave more. Now I'm sort of peevish about it. I shy away from Mum's praise, burying my face into my lap sheepishly. Mum pats my head and strokes my braid affectionately.

"You should call someone over," she says. "Anyone not at the dance?"

"Mum, it's the homecoming dance," I mutter sadly. "Everyone's there. Except Peeta . . ."

"Now that you're dating Peeta I don't know how I feel about you both being alone all night," Mum replies carefully.

I glance at her with a confused frown. "We won't do anything. Peeta's not like that."

"I know," says Mum, "but as your parent it's my job to protect you. I know that Peeta is a very respectable young man. I've been treating him alongside Paylor after all, and I've gotten to know him very well. However, if it ever came Primrose having a boy over the rules would be the same. I can't have her crying injustice when she gets to your age."

I shake my head. "My relationship with Peeta is going to go very slow. Can you honestly say that you can see Peeta letting me so much as take off his shirt at the moment?" I ask.

"He trusts you," Mum reminds me.

"Yeah but I have to be really careful," I remind her. "I'm not going to abuse that trust. Especially not just for sex. Besides, when we finally do it-whether it be next week or next year-I want it to be special for him. My first time was with Marvel and I'm still ashamed of it."

"Isn't this Marvel fella the baby's father?" Mum frowns.

"Yeah but Mum he's a dickhead," I say. "My first time was with a huge douchebag and it wasn't at all special. It was fast and stupid and with an idiot. I don't want that for Peeta. I know it will mean a lot to him when it does happen. I have to prove to him that I'm willing to make it that special for him. Because he deserves it . . ."

Mum smiles. "You see? Even now you're proving why we should be proud of you," she says. I'm surprised when she leans forward and hugs me. "Call Peeta over. I trust you."

"You trusted me before and look what happened," I whisper fearfully.

"Katniss," Mum says fixedly, "what have I told you time and time again? It wasn't your fault! All I ever wanted was for you to have sex safely and you did! You can't continually blame yourself for something that was completely out of your control!"

I want to believe Mum. I really, really do. I just can't shake the feeling that it's my fault for deciding to have sex with such a creep like Marvel Winters. I didn't even want to be with him that night. It was all a ploy to make Gale jealous. And that moment where I wanted to protect Peeta but failed miserably.

Mum kisses my cheek and says, "Call Peeta over. I don't want you alone tonight. It's not fair." She releases me from the hug and stands up. "You don't deserve it." When she reaches the door, she grabs the phone out of its landline charger and tosses it to me. "You're going to be fine, Katniss. We all are."

When she's gone, I only wait a millisecond before typing Peeta's number into the phone.

~xXx~

We've been experiencing atrocious weather recently. Just as Mum leaves, the rain starts. It slowly builds up over the next half an hour until the water is practically blasting the ground into dust. I worry about Peeta, who said he'd be over as soon as he could, but who also doesn't have a car and will have to walk across the District.

I worry about how I look. I've been in my pyjamas all week and quickly wash my hair over the shower cubicle. It's all a bit of a rush and I don't really have time to pick out a better outfit so I simply yank my best nightdress on (with a bra this time) and tie my wet hair back into its usual neat braid. While I'm fluttering around the living room and kitchen, worrying about Peeta and the rain, I think about the huge transition Mum talked about.

At the beginning of the year (aka two months ago) when Mr Abernathy told me that I had to get tutored by Peeta, I had been mortified. I embarrassed Peeta in front of his friends and the entire lunch hall just because I was so angry. I couldn't bear to call him by his first name, as if it would burn my tongue, so I called him Mellark instead. I hated the colour of his eyes just because I knew they were gorgeous and I didn't think it was fair. I would laugh about his weight and what he ate. I used him in a childish stalker plot that got him beat up constantly by Gale and robbed of any money he had. I pushed and prodded him and treated him like dirt ever since Freshman year.

Now I adore him. I will not abuse any of the help he provides me with any more. I will never embarrass him ever again. I use every and any opportunity to say his first name, maybe even more than that. His eyes are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'm going to help him beat his anorexia, not nurture it. I will not let Gale touch him ever again.

He means the world to me.

When Peeta does arrive, he's soaked through. He grins at me when I open the door, despite the fact he's sopping wet. "Oh god, come in," I say quickly, opening the door wider.

"Careful, it's raining out there," says Peeta.

I laugh. "Really? I didn't notice!" When I take his jacket from him, it's saturated with water that it practically unbalances me. "Didn't you have an umbrella or something?"

"The wind would have blown it right up anyway," Peeta shrugs. The rain has gone through his jacket and onto his clothes underneath.

"You're going to catch the cold if you stay in those wet clothes," I tell him. "Wait a second." I throw his jacket onto the radiator and lumber down to Mum and Dad's room which is at the bottom of the hall. I slide open their wardrobe and take one of Dad's old shirts off its hanger. When I come back to the living room, I hand it to Peeta. "Put that on."

"Should I be concerned over who owns this . . . ?" Peeta frowns.

I snort in amusement. "No, you fool, it's my dad's," I say.

Peeta looks at the shirt which I just handed him. "Katniss, I don't know if I should, since it's your dad's and all . . ."

"Peeta, trust me, if he were here right now, Dad would telling you to put it on too," I smile. I pat his wet shoulder teasingly. "Besides, I'm not going to catch your cold." I spin on my crutches and point down the hall. "The bathroom is the last door on the right. If you enter my parents' room at the very end you've gone too far."

While Peeta does this I suddenly realize that he may need pants too. I pass the bathroom on my way back to Mum and Dad's room and rap my knuckles against it. "I'm going to get you a pair of pyjama pants too." Heh, this is sort of turning into a pyjama party anyways. Good thing I dressed for it.

I find a pair of Dad's old pyjamas but they're huge. I fiddle with the tie at the waist and pull it as tight as it will go. When I return to the bathroom door, I don't hear anything on the other side. I knock again. "Everything okay in there?" No response. "Peeta?" When I touch the door handle I realize it's open. "Can I come in?" When I open the door only a tiny crack, it slams shut again so fast I jump backwards into Prim's door. Panic flushes through me. "Peeta, let me in or I'm going break the door down with my crutches!" Shit, what's he doing in there? Should I have just left him in his wet clothes? But he could have gotten sick! Has having to take his shirt off sparked something? He's not in front of me or anyone else. But then again it's become clear that his harshest critic is himself.

"Peeta!" I shout one last time.

Damn it.

I throw one crutch to the floor and lift the other up over my head like a dagger. It splinters the door on first impact and thankfully the hinges burst on the fourth smack. When I enter, I find him standing in front of the mirror in front of the sink, simply staring at himself in this transfixed manner. He's wearing my dad's shirt but it's too big for him. Literally so much so that it slipped right off his shoulders and has caught at his elbows.

"Hey," I say, wedging myself between the mirror and him. "Look at me. Stop looking at the mirror, look at me." I take his chin between my forefinger and thumb, moving his face down to me. His eyes are a shade darker and wide as saucers. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Why am I like this?" he asks back.

"Like what?" I ask back.

"Fucked up."

"You are not fucked up," I say firmly. I take the sleeves of dad's shirt and tug them up Peeta's shoulders, pinching it at the back and using my hair bauble to tie it tight. "Come on, get away from the mirror. I shouldn't have left you in here." I slip my hand into his and pull him away.

We walk together back to the living room. When we sit down, I take both his hands in mine and ask, "What's wrong? Has everything been okay?"

"I'm . . . I'm just . . . I've been a little off recently," Peeta mutters.

"How off?" I ask.

Peeta closes his eyes. "I think I'm relapsing, Katniss."

My heart sinks. I wrap my arms around his thin frame and bury my face into his neck. "Oh Peeta," I whisper fearfully. "Has something happened? You were doing so well. Has someone said something to you?"

"My mum hasn't been happy since I came back," Peeta tells me. "She's been more angry than usual. Been taking it out on me and Rye."

I grind my teeth together. "Has she been saying things to you, Peeta?"

"No . . ."

"Peeta"-

"Katniss," Peeta says back. "If I relapse, I'm going to go back to hospital. I want to go back as much as you want me to. But I can't help looking in the mirror and seeing this fat kid who thinks he has a chance of holding down a relationship."

"You can hold down a relationship, Peeta. I'm not going anywhere," I say. "Hospital or not. Relapse or not. I'm going to stay with you. I have complete faith in your recovery, whether it takes the rest of this year or the rest of your life. I intend to be there for you. Just . . . don't listen to your mother, if she does say anything to you."

"I'm damaged as hell, Katniss. You're better off being with someone who can look after you and not have it be the other way around," Peeta insists.

"We're going to look after each other, that's how relationships work," I contradict.

"I'm not worth the trouble."

I roll my eyes and squeeze my arms tight around his neck. "Do you think if you weren't worth it then I'd still be here? I don't fuck around anymore. You're worth all of my time."

"I don't want to go back to the hospital, Katniss." He sounds so scared it makes my heart lurch. I lean back and look him dead in the eyes, to show him how serious I am. The beautiful baby blue almost makes me lose my train of thought, threatens me to get lost in them, but I hold steady and firm.

"You are going to beat this," I say solidly. "Whether you have to go back to the hospital for a little bit or not. You just have to learn to control it and stop letting it control you." My hands slide up onto his shoulders, gripping them tight. Like if I don't he's going to disappear from right in front of me.

"I want to believe you," Peeta tells me. "I really, really do. But there's always this voice at the back of my head saying that you're just being nice. You just don't want to say to my face that I am fat and that I should be losing weight."

I clench my jaw. The idea of that irritable little bastard of a voice feeding Peeta lies makes my blood boil. "Well, why don't you believe this?" I push up and gently press my lips against his.

The only way I can describe kissing Peeta is like how a fire grows into an inferno. It starts of small. As a tiny spark in my gut that builds and builds and builds into this raging fire. There's only one way for that fire to be quenched and it's unfortunately the one thing I promised myself I wouldn't do until Peeta was ready. And I stand by that.

The hands on his shoulders move up to frame his face. I feel his own hands on my waist, holding tight as if he too believes I may disappear. His mouth is soft against mine and impossibly gentle. He is careful and loving in how he kisses me. It almost upsets me. I don't deserve any of this. Especially not his love and acceptance. I won't throw it away because what I have is precious. The only thing that matters besides my family is this man with me right now. And this moment. With both of us here. Together.

I lean back and heave myself up with the crutch that I didn't leave lying on the floor outside the bathroom. Peeta watches me with concern and I jerk my head to the left. "Come on," I say, taking his hand and giving him a tug of encouragement. Peeta gets up and supports me as I lumber to the space behind the sofa. The massive piece of floor where there's nothing but a direct passageway to my kitchen.

I leave my crutch against the back of the sofa and hold onto both of Peeta's arms, hoping he has the strength to support me. "Even though we can't go to the dance, it doesn't mean Snow can stop us from physically dancing," I say.

Peeta laughs. "Do you think you have the strength for it?" he asks.

"It's more a question of do you have the strength to support me?" I ask back.

Peeta steadies his grip on my hand and puts the other on my hip. I wind an arm around his waist and press my face against his chest. "Yeah, I think I've got it," he says quietly. We don't really move. That's sort of impossible with both our physical inabilities taken into account but even just standing here, with Peeta, holding him and having him hold me, is the best feeling in the world.

"We would have been an awesome king and queen," I say.

"You would have been queen but I doubt very highly that I would have been a king of any sort. Especially since my name wasn't even part of the ballot," Peeta replies.

"You don't need to have your name in the ballot," I answer defiantly. "You're my king."

Peeta smiles and presses his chin against the top of my head. I close my eyes and absorb his warmth. The way his thin body moves against mine, how his fingers threads so perfectly through mine, how he smells of cinnamon and musk, how even though he isn't strong enough to hold my entire weight or carry me like the other guys do he is my king and my boyfriend and my man. My smart, sexy, beautiful man. I absorb all of this because eventually this moment will end, even though I don't want it to, because nothing is infinite, not even the memories we will leave behind.

There's a knock on my door. It's so sudden that Peeta and I jump in surprise. I hadn't been expecting any visitors. Peeta reaches over and hands me my crutch and I answer the door.

Clove, Johanna, Annie and Finch stand on the doorstep, looking exactly the way they did when they had come to see me before the dance. Johanna bustles through first, the shawl which she used as a canopy over her head soaked through. "The dance sucks!" she declares. "It's all chock-a-block with jocks and cheerleaders dancing and snogging and just being boring, you know?"

Johanna spins around and almost bumps right into Peeta. Her eyes go wide and she immediately grabs him into a hug. "Oh god, you're back," she breathed.

Clove and Finch both run in to greet Peeta as well, trailing water from the rain and not seeming to care. I grin at how relieved and excited they are that he's out of hospital. He may not have an abundance of friends but the few Peeta had were genuine and that was all a person could ask for.

I notice that Annie hangs back. I limp closer to the door. Annie is notorious for being shy so I wonder if she's weary of just barging in. "You're welcome to come in," I tell her.

Annie bites her lip and brushes her hair back from her face nervously. My eyes catch her hand, which is reached behind her and holding onto something. She steps to the side and I realize its Finnick. Our eyes lock. Sea green on smoke grey. An understanding passes between us both. Finnick the jock and Katniss the cheerleader. We both know we were wrong. It took finding someone we deeply care about to realize this.

"Everdeen," Finnick says curtly.

"Odair," I reply.

Annie chews on her fingernails anxiously. I touch her shoulder and step aside from the door. "You're both welcome," I say.

Relief rushes through Annie and she lets go of Finnick to run to Peeta as well. She hugs him tight and joins the Q&A that has taken place in my hallway. Finnick shuts the front door so the heat doesn't get out and stands beside me. "You know that if you really love her you'll have to accept the consequences sooner and later," I tell him. "People will find out and you can't protect your reputation forever."

"I am fully aware of that," Finnick replies. I glance at his profile and realize, with a tug, that his eyes won't leave Annie for a second. "Your outburst in the cafeteria . . . the fact that you were so ready to accept what would come of you admitting that you were dating Mellark . . . it made me realize that I can't hide from this. I love Annie and I want the world to know that. I just fear what is going to come of it."

"Do you think Cato and Gale will turn away from you?"

"I know they will. And once they do, the rest of the team will. And once the rest of the team do, Snow will do the same." Finnick runs his fingers through his hair. "If Snow turns his back on me-like he did to you, Katniss-that's my future gone. Poof, just like that."

"I doubt it's that bad," I deny.

"Katniss, I need a football scholarship. If Snow decides that I'm a waste of space, he'll make sure that I get benched during the last game of the season. The game the scout will be attending," Finnick says glumly. "My future rests in the hands of a corrupt man."

I stare at my feet. At Peeta's signature which rests square in the middle of my cast. What would he say in this situation? I glance up at him. Finch is explaining in extreme detail how Marvel got caught spiking the punch by Mrs Lyme. The funny thing is actually that he got caught by Mrs Lyme in particular because if it had been Snow he probably would have let it slide. Peeta's laughing and so are the other girls. Clove has her arm around him, supporting his weight with her own because standing for too long with a body as weak as his is difficult.

"Peeta and I were going to try something," I tell Finnick. "When we both return to school next week. We want to try and rile the school up against Snow."

Finnick squints at me. "Do you think that would work?" he asks.

"I don't know," I admit. "But we can't be the only people unhappy with how the system has turned out. There has to be more. We just need to find and encourage them to speak up."

"How do you plan to do that?" asks Finnick.

I shrug. "I don't know yet. It would greatly help to have your support on our side," I tell him.

Finnick's eyes still haven't left Annie, who is standing beside Johanna fiddling with her fingers and laughing as Finch describes how Lyme was so angry that the vein in her forehead had a vein in its forehead. "I would do anything for her," he tells me. "If it will make Annie happier and may ultimately result in me being able to shout from the rooftops that I intend to marry her someday then I'm in."

I smile and nod. "You know, I think it's amazing that it took us so long to realize that something like this had to be done," I say.

Finnick sighs. "Tell me about it."

"But it's okay because now we know. Now we're willing to commit to becoming better people."

For the first time since he entered the house, Finnick looks at me. His eyes hold a deeper sadness I never noticed until now. The weight of a man who can't bear the idea of losing the girl he loves. I never would have saw it before now. Before I understood what it meant to love someone who everyone will judge me for. Now, however, I don't care. If the students of District High don't want me to date Peeta then they can stick it because it's none of their business.

"Come on," I say. "Let's go join the party."

Finnick smiles and hooks his arm into my spare one. He join the others in the hallway, who are still laughing at Finch's account of Marvel's Homecoming slip up. When we reach the ground, Finnick shakes Peeta's hand. "Hey man, you're looking good," he says.

"You're not looking too bad yourself," Peeta replies with a smile.

I glance at Annie, whose eyes are glistening with relieved tears. She gravitates to Finnick, who accepts her into a warm embrace. I find myself also moving towards Peeta naturally and he wraps his arm around my shoulders and gives me a warm squeeze. After Finch finishes her story, Johanna immediately jumps in, announcing that she also nicked Gale's homecoming crown.

When no one believes her, she produces it from her bag with an exaggerated, "Ta-da!"

My eyes zone in on the crown. "You didn't!" I still deny.

"I did!" Johanna says, waving the crown in my face.

"But how?!" Clove exclaims.

"Gale and Glimmer were committing the act of penetration in the backseat of Cato's car. Glimmer still had her silly frilly tiara on but Gale left his on the trunk of the car. I nicked it while Annie was in the bathroom," Johanna shrugs. She passes it to me and grins. I know what she wants me to do. And I'm more than happy to do it.

I turn in Peeta's arms and reverently put the crown on his head. "I told you that you were a king," I tease.

Peeta smiles and tips the crown up so it doesn't fall in his eyes. "Only if you're my queen," he answers.

I kiss him, not caring that we have company. When I pull away, everyone has started conversation again like Johanna hadn't announced that she stole Gale's crown. Because it just fits so naturally for us to have justice for once. For someone who actually deserves to have the crown to wear it.

As Clove begins to animate with Finch how Gale will react when he realizes that his crown is gone, my heart skips a beat in excitement.

A spark has been lit. The real question now is will it ignite?

A/N: So there it is! All done! However, the story is far from over. Keep an eye out for 'Broken Winged Birds that Cannot Fly', which should be posted at the start of August if everything goes to plan :-)

I have also made it clear that I won't stand for hate. If you don't like my stories, that's fine. If you do like it and just have a few criticisms, that's fine too. But if you post a review that isn't constructive in the slightest-and in guest review form so I can't explain why I have done particular things-your review will be deleted. No exceptions.

God, I don't want to end this story on such a grim note . . . I hope you all enjoyed It's a Jungle Out There and I hope to see familiar faces coming back for the sequel! :D