I received two very enthusiastic anonymous reviews that just made me jump up from I was sitting and get started on this chapter. I hope you all enjoy!

And I would also like to that you all for the reviews and story alerts.

Disclaimer - I don't own Hunger Games.

It baffles Katniss Everdeen how the Mellark family can comsume all these breads and carbs and not seem to gain any weight. Peeta is so fit, so muscular. Mrs. Everdeen is so tiny, but seems to eat so many blueberry muffins everyday. Mr. Everdeen has a slight belly but that's only from his excessive comsumption of alcohol over the years. He's not an alcoholic, but he does enjoy his fine share of wines from all over the district.

Katniss has gained exactly seven pounds since she has been working for the family. She promises herself that she won't have another delicious pastry from the bakery for the rest of the summer. And if Peeta forces her to take some goodies home, she will simply give it to Primrose. This promise is proving to be extremely difficult as Peeta ices cupcakes. These aren't just any homemade ones, they are the fancy ones- with rich vanilla icing that is creamy but thick at the same time. The thought makes her mouth water.

Peeta looks at her carefully. They have not really talked since the day in his bedroom. It has been a little tense.

"Would you…like one?" He tries to keep the amused expression off his face, but he can't help it. She glaring at the cupcakes as if she's about to attack them.

"No!" She snaps all too quickly, as if he offended her.

He eyes her skeptically. "Okay."

He knows something is wrong. She's unnecessarily and unusually quiet for the rest of the day, silently eating her sandwich at lunch and declining any kind of bread that Peeta throws her way.

"You love this stuff, what's going on?" Peeta's eyebrows knit in concern as he saunters over across the table from her and places a cheesebun in front of the two of them. He notices the way she eyeballs it and then snaps her eyes back to his.

"I'm getting fat!" she cries.

Peeta gives her a look that is similar to the look he would give her if she grew three heads. He chuckles a little bit until the serious look on her face seems unwavering. "Oh, you're serious."

She gives him an annoyed look. This is why she was skeptical as to telling him about her inner dilemma; he doesn't take it seriously. Then again, he's a guy. Madge would have understood this perfectly and would have given clear instructions on what to properly eat and what exercises would work out best. But, no. Peeta just has to be a guy.

"Katniss, you're not fat," he tries to reassure her. "Eat the cheesebun."

She stares holes into his forehead, as if he had just told her in walk into an open flame. She thinks about how great the melted mozzarella cheese on toasted swirl of bun would taste in her mouth, but she swallows those hungry thoughts down and refuses.

"Eat it."

"No."

"Katniss, eat the dang cheeseb-"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

Peeta irritation was showing through.

Katniss declares, "Real friends don't make you eat cheesebuns." Peeta stares at her with a small smile on his face.

There's that word again, friends. She despises that word. It seems like such an understatement when she's referring to Peeta. Friends is something she could use to describe Madge, Finnick, and Annie because she trusts them, but she finds herself thinking of Peeta on a completely alternate level, much different than Madge, Annie, and Finnick. She settles with the thought that the word "friend" does not settle right in her stomach. She feels like there should be more. They promised each other to be friends, but she can't just deny her uncomfortable and odd feelings.

Her thoughts drift back to the other day. Friends definitely don't do that.

"Katniss, you're not fat and no where near fat. You're absolutely stunning and beautiful."

And friends definitely don't say things like that. Finnick is her guy friend but he would never tell her what Peeta just told her. On the inside, she panics and feels as if her internal organs are boiling up and threatening to spill out of her belly button. But, she puts up that front that she mastered years ago, and snaps back wittingly. "Oh, no. You're absolutely stunning and gorgeous." This shifts the conversation from serious to playful.

Peeta smirks and flicks his hair out of his eyes. Katniss decides that she loves his eyes. "I know, I know. You totally want me."

This conversation drifted from serious and odd complimenting to outright flirting. She thinks back to yesterday. She hates the fact that she has been thinking about this so often. But in his bedroom, she felt so incredibly safe, so wanted. She kind of wants to go back up there again and just stay there.

She rolls her eyes and ignores the warm feeling in her belly. "You wish."

He quivers his mouth to the left, as if to saying something else, but he chooses against it.

"We should…hangout. You know, outside of working hours," he suggests, with a heart melting smile.

Once again, the boy has heart heart in her throat and her brain turning into jelly. He softly brazes her skin on accident and it feels numb. She bites the inside of her cheek to keep the blush from rising. She absolutely cannot deny these feelings any longer or else she's going to simply explode.

Maybe Madge and Annie are right. What if she does have a thing for Peeta Mellark? Would that be so bad? They have totally different friends. What would people think? Then again, she has never been one to care what other people thought because she isn't afraid to show them right then and there, that she can't beat the crap out of them. Would he care?

Wait, she's getting her hopes up. They had been friends for so long. And they just started talking again, he probably wouldn't even think about her in that way. After all, it's only Katniss Everdeen. Ask anyone in school, and they would never be able to see her dating anyone, ever.

Her stony expression softens a bit. "Yeah, I would actually like that." It doesn't surprise her that she's telling the truth.

It's Sunday afternoon. The two are both off, but neither of them want to seem like they are excited about today. Katniss agreed to meet at the Mellark house for 3pm promptly. She hung around the house with her little sister, Primrose, for the majority of the day. Her parents know that her and Peeta are friends again, but she makes sure she doesn't tell them the extent of their friendship.

It seems so odd, showing up in her work place for something other than work. The bakery is closed, but she walks right in anyway, hearing the family chime of the bell dincating that someone has walked through the door.

No one is in the lobby though. Or the back. So she walks up the stairs. No one if home except Peeta, of course. ;/:?

He straightening up his room, concentrating thoroughly on trying to even out the way his comforter flows off the side, so they both evenly match. The sight is comical because his expression says it's the most puzzling thing he has ever come across.

"Hey," she says, her way of announcing that she's in the room.

His head snaps up and a dazzling smile is instantly lifted.

"You cleaned your room, I'm impressed." She carefully makes her way in through the doorway and sits down at his desk, swiveling the spinney chair to face him. It amazes her how comfortable she feels in this room, after so many years.

"Yeah, well the other day I wasn't exactly expecting company." He gave her a grin and plopped down on his bed.

An uncomfortable silence floated throughout the room. Now that they are actually hanging out, neither of them know exactly what to do. They both know they can't go into town in public, the gossip that surround District 12 is terrible and if one person knows, the whole district will. Katniss isn't exactly one for gossip, but her family has been the topic of discussion on more than one occasion.

"Stickers," she mumbles. "Your stickers are gone."

Confusion is apparent on his features until his gaze floats to where hers is. She's looking at his desk, where hundreds, maybe even thousands, of stickers used to be. Most of them were basketball or baseball stickers. Some Pokemon. Secretly, Katniss threw in some Barbie ones to make her mark.

She was about to ask, but he answered for her before she ahd the chance to. "I got that new desk in sixth grade, as a birthday present." Hearing the words, birthday present, sends Katniss into a flashback from when they were fourteen. It was Peeta's birthday and the bakery hit hard times the months surrounding. The Everdeen family received an early bonus check from the Capitol for her father working in the coalmines. She bought him a necklace for his birthday. It was nothing extravagant by any means, just a silver chain with his birthstone places throughout a beautiful design. She snuck it into his locker on his birthday and he wore it for the following years. The chain grew too tight, so he eventually to stop wearing it. She figures he probably threw it out buy now. There's no way he kept it for this long. He doesn't even know who gave it to him.

"And you're TV," she states, matter-of-factly.

"Hey! I'm sure your room has changed a lot too," he smiles brightly at her, shifting on his bed to where he is sitting up and facing her. "I'm sure that Barbie doll house isn't in there anymore."

And he's right, the doll house isn't there anymore. The day she punched Delly was the day she ran straight home and threw out thing that was childish.

Katniss's phone started wildly vibrating in her pocket. She knew that this meant Annie, Madge, and Finnick decided to start a group message, but she ignores it and put her cell phone on Peeta's desk. He narrows his eyes at the vibrations. "You're popular today. Your boyfriend must be looking for you." He smirks at her shocked expression, because they both know that Katniss has never been anywhere near getting into a relationship.

Her thoughts drifted to boyfriends and Peeta. Peeta is actually the closest thing that comes to anything near a relationship. But at the the same time, he doesn't. Nothing concerning Peeta makes a whole lot of sense at the moment, but she's still trying to figure it out.

She ignores his boyfriend comment, however. But she decides that she wants to get closer to him. The space from the chair to his bed is excruciating and she can't handle it.

She scoots her chair closed to him and Peeta's eyes widen a little in surprise. Katniss racks her brain for an excuse as to why she just did that. "Sorry, I couldn't really hear you." But Peeta knows good damn well that Katniss could hear him perfectly fine. He doesn't protest, however. He just gives her a lazy lop-sided smile.

"If you wanted to be closer to me, all you had to do was say so. No need to make up excuses," he whispers that last sentence and moves his face closer to hers. He seems to be enjoying the way her blush deepens and she can't seem to take her eyes off his lips.

She suddenly realizes that he's trying to get her to crack. He likes making her stumble on her words like this, so she decides to take charge. A smirk plays on her lips. She moves from her position on the computer chair and moves to his lap, straddling his legs and making her face inches apart from his. The smirk vanishes from his face, and suddenly the tables have turned. Because now, she is the one that's making him stumble over his words.

"Is this close enough for you?" she whispers in his ear. She hears him swallow loudly. His heartbeat drastically changes. Even though Katniss puts up a cool and smooth face, she's frantic on the inside. There's nothing in this world that could calm her down now. She's scared. Scared because this has never happened before. Scared because if someone found out about the position they were in, they would think the worst of her. But Peeta isn't one to kiss and tell. She trusts him with everything in her soul. This is the same Peeta that taught her how to ride a bicycle, baked thousands of batches of cookies with, and grew up with. He never changed. And strangely, she feels like she has always wanted this. She feels so entirely terrified, but comfortable at the same time because she knows this is right.

And then, their lips touch. Her heart goes into her throat. The feel of his lips on hers is indescribeable. It starts off with them simply just grazing each other's lips. But then, they actually connect. He takes on full control and regains his composure, slightly part her mouth to allow him entry. Their grip tightens on each other. Her hands find themselves in his hair and his find their way to the small of her back. They're bodies are very still, trying to adjust to the shift in the room.

They come up for air. Both gasping, not really getting a hold of what just occurred.

She presses her palm to his chest. "Your heart is beating really fast."

He does the same. "So is yours." They laugh together, red cheeks and all, and continue to kiss until they absolutely cannot kiss any longer.