Author's note: This idea came to me while watching Gilmore Girls. Yeah, you read that right. And maybe something I saw elsewhere. But I wanted to try to make this idea my own. Let me know what you think either here or on Tumblr (booksrockmyface).
Happy reading!
Just Friends
An Everlark AU
Chapter One
"Dad, can we talk?" Callie said as she came into the bakery.
Peeta looked up from the cake he was decorating. "Is it a girl thing? Like, should we call Annie?"
She chuckled and shook her head. "No." She pulled a piece of paper out if her pocket. "I want to learn archery."
"Archery?" He wiped frosting off his hands and took the paper. "Everdeen-Hawthorne Outdoor Day Camp." He read. "Why do you want to do this, Cal?"
"Because all my friends are. It's how they're spending their summer. It's all day, so I won't be here in your hair bored all day. And they don't just do archery. They do tracking and there's swimming and arts and crafts and all sorts of stuff."
"I think Finnick was talking about this." He looked over the flyer again.
"Finn's one of the people doing it. Please, Daddy?" She stuck out her lower lip and batted her eyes.
"Let me think about it."
She squealed. "I'm going to call Finn." She ran to the shop phone.
"Bakery phone for bakery business." He said.
"Five minutes, Dad?" She said.
He sighed. "I'm timing you." He tapped his watch and then washed his hands and went back to the cake.
"He said he'd think about it." She said happily. "He is? Then my dad will have to say yes." She looked to Peeta. "Dad, Finnick is doing swimming lessons and he's a lifeguard."
"Is Finnick there?" He asked, still concentrating on the swag of icing he was working on.
"Yes. Here." Callie pressed the phone to his ear and he kept working.
"Finnick?" He asked.
"The one and only." Finnick said. "Well, the older one, anyway. So your kid wants to go to the camp?"
"Yeah. Didn't you work at it last year?"
"I did. Every year since they started. Four years. Katniss and Gale do a good job with the kids. And they pick really good counselors. And it's fun. And I could bring her every day after signup so you don't have to worry about leaving the bakery at your busiest hour. But you have to be the one to sign her up and drop her off the first time. Then give them permission for me to bring her and stuff. They're really strict about that one. Katniss said her sister was at a camp that wasn't quite so good and they had a kid abducted. Freaked them all out."
"So you think it's a good idea?"
"Dude, I know you care about your daughter and you worry, but you need to let go of the apron strings just a little. And I'll be there. Annie even stops by quite a bit. So, no worries necessary. This is Finn's first year he can do it and he's pretty excited. They can stick together. I'll pull the necessary strings and get them put in the same groups."
Peeta sighed and looked at his daughter. He nodded. "Okay."
"Okay, I can do it?" Callie asked.
"Yeah." He chuckled. "She called on the bakery phone, so I need to clear the line. You guys are coming for supper, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it." Finnick said. "Talk to you later."
Peeta nodded toward the phone cradle and watched as his daughter hung it up. "Listen, Cal, this is the first big thing you get to do that isn't school-related, so I expect you to know what's accepted and what isn't. Okay?"
"I promise, Daddy." She smiled and kissed his cheek. "I'm going to the house."
"Will you get the hamburger out of the freezer? I'm making lasagna tonight."
"Sure thing." She practically skipped out the door.
Peeta watched her a moment and shook his head. So much like her mother.
Katniss crouched behind her son and adjusted his stance and hold on his bow. She stepped back and said, "Let 'er rip, kid."
Caleb let the arrow go. It hit the target and fell to the floor just like all the rest he'd shot that day. He groaned and dropped the bow. "I'm bad at this, Mama."
"You're not bad, baby, you just have to keep practicing. I wasn't good at first either. But your grandfather made me practice every day until I got better." She tapped him on the nose. "Try again."
Caleb turned to the target once more and took aim with the arrow his mother handed him. He looked over his shoulder at his mother and she adjusted his stance and hold once more before stepping back. He let the arrow go and it stuck in the outer edge of the target. He turned with a smile. "I did it!"
She lifted him up and spun him around. "You did!" She sat him down with a laugh. "Now, do it again."
He took his stance once more and waited for Katniss to fix any error in his posture. But she patted his back. He pulled the string back on the bow and let the arrow fly. It stuck in the opposite end of the target. He turned his radiant smile up to her and waited for her approval.
She chuckled. "One more and we'll call it a night." She ruffled Caleb's hair.
He picked up another arrow, took aim, and fired. It knocked the first arrow out of the target and both fell to the floor. He groaned again and looked up at his mother. "I suck, Mom."
"You do not suck." She stooped down in front of him. "You're six. And you just started learning. You need practice. Uncle Gale and I will work with you this summer at camp."
"None of my friends will be there." He complained.
"I know. But we're not allowed to have anyone under nine." She tapped his nose. "You're lucky, though. Do you know why?"
"Because I'm your son."
She lifted him up into her arms and spun him around. "You are. And I love you heaps and bunches." She kissed his cheek and put him down. "Let's go celebrate getting your first arrows in the target." She gave him a conspiratorial grin. "Ice cream for dinner?"
"Is it ice cream for dinner because you want to celebrate or because you don't feel like cooking?" He asked seriously.
"A little of both." She started gathering the arrows. "Plus, I'm the adult and I make the money and I get to say what we have for dinner." She held out her hand to him as she walked past. He grabbed hers and they walked out the door of the range together. Katniss paused to lock the door and then swung her son up onto her back and galloped with him to her car.
"Mama, will you tell me about my dad today?" Caleb asked as she sat him down to unlock the car.
She fumbled with her keys a moment until she found the right one. "His name is Cato. He wasn't very nice to me. I think he loved you once, but he never fought for you when we moved it with Aunt Prim and Uncle Gale. When you're older, if you want to try to meet him, I'll help you because he's your dad."
"Did you love him, Mom?" He climbed into the car.
"I did at first." She pulled the seatbelt down for him and let him buckle up. "But then he got mean."
Caleb was silent as he buckled his seatbelt.
"Does it make you sad?" Katniss asked.
He nodded.
"It makes me sad, too." She kissed his cheek. "Let's get some ice cream." Her phone rang as she slid behind the wheel. She fed it through the Bluetooth in the car and headed out. "Hello?"
"Hey, Catnip, what are you doing?" Gale asked.
"We're going for ice cream!" Caleb said from the back seat.
"Ice cream, huh? Have you had dinner yet?" Gale asked.
Katniss said, "No, we're just having ice cream for dinner. Caleb got two arrows in the target today and we decided it was cause for celebration."
"Right on!" Gale chuckled. "Want some pizza before the ice cream? Prim and I were about to order one and we decided we'd see if you guys wanted to join in."
"What do you think, Caleb?" Katniss asked.
"Pizza sounds awesome!" The boy said.
Katniss chuckled. "Okay, we'll be right over." She hung up and pointed her car toward her sister's house.