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captainseaweedbrains · 4 years ago

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The Dance of the Color Guard, Op. 64 Ch. 3

Everlark meets marching band meets enemies to friends to lovers.

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May

There wasn’t a single childhood memory Katniss could pull that didn’t involve Peeta Mellark. Try as she might to ever forget they were friends—and she tried her hardest to forget—it was next to impossible. Peeta and her were, once upon a time, inseparable. Glued at the hip. Her parents used to tease that only the moonlight could separate them and even then, in the summertime, Peeta spent many nights sleeping on the living room floor next to her, giggling as they watched movies and ate popcorn, Prim snoring beside them.

And then with her dad being an avid photographer, there were boxes of family albums documenting Katniss and Prim growing up throughout the years. From first steps to bath times together to dance and music recitals—her dad documented it all. “For future biographers,” he used to joke whenever Katniss would complain why they always had to take a picture of everything. She’d roll her eyes in response and just let him snap away. There was no stopping the man. Now she wished she could take back all her tweenage-angst and let him take as many photos as he wanted of her. But she didn’t know what she knew now. Thus was life.

On the rare occasion when he relented with the camera and accepted that she was not going to cooperate with any poses he suggested, Peeta was more than happy to step in and take her place, joking how his many admirers at school would kill for a candid photo of him. “It’s not candid if you’re posing, stupid,” she used to tell him, but he’d kindly tell her to shut her piehole and offer up suggestions on where to take the picture next, her dad eating Peeta’s enjoyment up with each click of the shutter.

Peeta was in a lot of her family photos. It was impossible to flip through any family album after Katniss had turned three and not find him. Due to his parents constantly working at their family bakery turned mini corporation, Peeta and his older brother Rye were often left to fend for themselves and from early morning until sundown, Rye would kick Peeta out of the house and lock the door. Rye’s dickish behavior was actually how the two met—Katniss hearing Peeta screaming across their yard, asking if he was dying because he was crying by his back door, fists slamming the glass.

“No,” he sniffed, rubbing his puffy red eyes. “My brudder—l-l-locked—me—o-o- ooout!” Peeta hiccupped, his hysteria growing with each syllable until he was back to crying for Rye to let him in.

“My daddy’s makin’ pancakes,” Katniss offered from her deck. “He makes them with funny faces and makes them sing. Want some?”

There probably should have been some type of introduction between them before Katniss invited this total stranger into her home, but when Peeta came in with her, her dad just smiled and told him to pull up a chair. Names were finally exchanged over gooey chocolate chip pancakes and they became instant friends.

After that, instead of crying when Rye would inevitably lock him out of his own home, Peeta would cross over to the Everdeen’s yard and walk on in, shouting out his greetings to whoever was in the kitchen at the time and seeing what she or her dad were up to for the day. There were countless memories of Katniss coming downstairs after playing with Prim and finding Peeta and her dad casually working together on the morning crossword puzzle at the kitchen table, or out in her mother’s garden doing yard work and chatting about everything and anything. He was always there, ready to hang out and see what she had in mind for them to do that day, and their photo albums showed it. Birthday parties, family dinners, sleepovers, holidays—there Peeta was, all smiles and dimples.

Peeta Mellark was a huge fixture in the Everdeen household until one day he just wasn’t. One day he was there, making her laugh so hard, milk came out her nose, and the next, he was gone and those boxes of happy family photos were just sad reminders of what used to be.

No dad.

No best friend.

It was fine. She was fine.

Except maybe she wasn’t? It annoyed her that Peeta could still dig under her skin like that, his words in the locker room playing on repeat in her mind. At least her nerves about tryouts had a chance to calm down between stressing about Abernathy’s mocking jabs about her playing and her annoyance at Peeta thinking her a heartless loner. So what if she preferred to do things alone? It meant she was independent, mature for her young age. Was that such a bad thing?

And what was up with accusing her of not being there for people? Not caring for them? Did she have to remind him that he made his choice and ditched her ? That the second her dad died, he split? Was he ever really her friend, or was he just using her to get to her dad because his dad wasn’t around? Katniss had been wondering that for years, but didn’t have the courage to ask because she just knew if she did, she’d start to cry and shout at him and maybe shove him a bit and he and his stupid friends would laugh and probably call her a psychopath bitch.

What a fucking hypocrite Peeta Mellark was, calling her heartless when he was guilty of so much worse.

The final bell rang at last, freeing everyone for the day. Katniss was so caught up in her anger over Peeta and Mr. Abernathy and really, just everyone at this point, that she almost forgot about the call sheet posting. Almost. As soon as Madge reminded her, asking if she wanted to walk over there with her and Gale, all those nerves resurfaced as they headed over to the band room. She kept discreetly wiping her sweaty palms on her jeans, preparing herself to be disappointed, to expect someone like Glimmer to get it, but please, whoever was listening up there, please let her have made captain. If this crappy hellish day could give her just one thing, let it be that.

“I can’t look,” Katniss panicked when she saw the neon pink sign taped to the window connecting to the band office, halting in her steps. “If I didn’t make captain, I don’t know what I’ll do. Punch something?”

Madge rolled her eyes and offered to check for her. “If Trinket didn’t make you captain, she clearly tripped in those heels and is suffering from some head trauma. Let’s see.” Her manicured finger scrolled down the long list of names until stopping on the Es. “Hm. Katniss, I don’t see your name on here at all.”

Her heart jolted. “What? That can’t be.” She wasn’t positive on being captain, but she was positive she’d at least make the team . Were the theatre and dance kids really that much better? She shoved Gale and Madge aside, looking for her name. Abrams...Banks...Carroll...Daly...Edwards...Evans... Everdeen! And there was an asterisk next to her name! She was captain of next season’s color guard!

“You asshole!” she laughed, shoving Madge in the shoulder. “I’m captain!” She couldn’t help the large smile stretching across her face. She was captain!

“You are!” Madge cheered, giving her a big tight hug. “Congratulations, Katniss! I’m so proud of you!”

“Totally not surprised,” Gale said, messing up her hair in a brotherly fashion. She shoved his hand away and gave a playful glare. “And what about my favorite guard member?” he asked, looking down at Madge. “Did you make it, too?”

Madge gave him a sweet smile and looked further down the list before pumping her fists in excitement. “I did! I made it! Take that Shelly Shoemon from 4th grade for saying I had the coordination skills of a cow!”

“Totally not surprised,” Gale said again, laughing as he pulled his girlfriend in for a kiss. They locked lips for a while before Katniss cleared her throat and suggested they get a room if they wanted to continue. The couple smiled, Madge’s freckled cheeks tinted pink, but broke apart, their hands remaining clasped together.

“Should we head over to Sae’s for burgers and ice cream to celebrate?” Gale suggested. “Thom just paid me for fixing his car, so I have the cash to spend.” Both girls happily agreed to his suggestion, excited to share the news with Sae, the diner’s owner and local grandmother to anyone under the age of 40. Good news didn’t feel real until sharing it with Sae.

“Katniss,” Miss Trinket shouted from somewhere in her office, “is that you?” Her head popped out the doorway, startling the three. “Excellent, dear! I’ve been waiting to speak with you about something. Come in! Come in!” Her hand motioned for her to follow.

“Oh.” Katniss looked over at Gale and Madge, unsure what to say. “Am I in trouble?”

Miss Trinket laughed. “No, not at all! I just need to discuss some color guard things with my new captain.” She sang the last word, putting great emphasis on the middle consonants, and glared behind her at, presumably, Mr. Abernathy who probably said something rude in a remark.

“Sure, yeah,” Katniss said, feeling a bit dumb. Of course Miss Trinket wanted to jump right into the thick of things. The woman was the Energizer Bunny on crack when it came to choreography and scheduling. Of course she’d want to talk to her captain about the game plan and how she expected they execute it. “I’m free to talk.” Miss Trinket smiled and stepped back in her office.

Katniss turned to Madge and Gale, wearing an apologetic smile . “I’ll meet you at Sae’s?” They nodded, not minding the wait, and wished her luck, telling her to text when she was leaving school.

*********

The first thing Katniss noticed amiss when stepping into the adjoined office was Peeta Mellark casually sitting there in front of Mr. Abernathy’s desk, flipping through a pile of sheet music. It wasn’t unusual for band students to volunteer time helping the surly man try to keep the band program organized, but it seemed a little late for a volunteer to still be in here. Abernathy and Trinket were a lot to take and only bearable in small, manageable doses. Most booked it the second the bell rang.

She paused in the doorway, unsure if she misunderstood Miss Trinket. She meant for them to talk now, right? So what was Peeta doing here?

“Ah, Katniss,” Miss Trinket said, sifting through a stack of notes, not noticing her hesitation. “Take a seat, please.” She motioned to the wooden chair in front of her desk.

Still unsure what was going on, Katniss gingerly sat down in the offered chair, her bag in her lap, and waited to see what exactly Miss Trinket wanted to talk about with Peeta still here. Guard stuff wasn’t technically private, but it’s not like it was riveting information either. Something didn’t feel right here.

Miss Trinket cleared her throat, catching Katniss’ attention from not looking at Peeta, and folded her hands on top of her desk with a bright, fluorescent smile. “Katniss, I want to be the first to congratulate you on a job well done. Your audition was truly inspiring. Honestly, I wish I could have taped it to show future guard members what true dedication looks like.” Katniss’ cheeks darkened at her director’s lavish compliments.

“Thank you, Miss Trinket,” she said quietly, feeling a tad uncomfortable being told this in front of Peeta and Mr. Abernathy. “I tried my hardest.”

“And it shows, dear. It truly shows.” The assistant director looked down at her notes, reading from one of the piles she was sifting through earlier, her long fingernails idly tapping the top metal surface in thought. “In fact,” she said, “I was so impressed with your audition, I’ve decided to make you a very prominent figure in this season’s show. The show’s leading star, as it were.”

“I’m—um. What?” And then Miss Trinket proceeded to happily explain her vision for how their band was going to tell the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet, with the occasional grunts from Mr. Abernathy here and there. She explained how she envisioned the houses being represented by the color guard and drumline, feuding together on the field as the music from the band crescendos to the climatic finish.

“Next to you, Katniss,” Miss Trinket said, holding up what looked like a handwritten list of names, “I haven’t quite decided who will play who for color guard, but we have time to iron out these details, dear. What concerns me is how long it is taking Boggs to decide who made it for drumline.” Her eyes slitted at Abernathy. “It seems someone forgot to pass along the deadline I imposed so we could avoid this exact problem.” Mr. Abernathy just gave a noncommittal shrug and continued flipping through the scorebook he was looking at. Miss Trinket rubbed at the corner of her eyes and gave Katniss an exasperated look before continuing on.

“It took some wheedling to get him to bend to my will, but I do believe many of our seasonal veterans are returning to drumline this year, Peeta being one of them.” She smiled warmly at the boy. For someone finding out good news, Peeta looked bored out of his mind sitting there, listening as Miss Trinket prattled on about visions and forbidden love and what this will mean for the band come competition season.

This all felt like a lot. Like a lot a lot.

“So let me get this straight,” Katniss said slowly, trying to process it all and not throw up like her stomach wanted. “You want me to be Juliet? Like the Juliet who falls in love and dies at the end? That Juliet?”

If it was at all possible, Miss Trinket’s smile grew, making Katniss feel even sicker. “The very one, my dear! Oh, Katniss, I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to have you as our Juliet. I’ve had my guesses who you’d play for a while now, since I decided we should do Romeo & Juliet a few months back, really.” Mr. Abernathy snorted at that but said nothing to contradict her. “But now, after seeing how much you’ve improved since last season? Truly inspiring! And with your tiny frame, I think we can finally bring air flips into the mix now! Wouldn’t that look amazing under stadium lights?”

Katniss really felt like she was going to be sick now. “You want me to be a spotlight guard?” Her voice sounded a bit squeaky to her ears. “But that’s—I’ve never been a spotlight guard before! Especially not something to that kind of scale. They’re, like, really important. Like judges judging them important.”

It was Peeta’s turn to laugh next to her, trying to cover it up with a cough when she turned to glare at him. Why was he here?

Katniss took a deep breath in to try and quiet the loud ringing noise suddenly blaring in her ears. She was clearly not making a first good impression as captain, but this was so unexpected! Miss Trinket had never had her be a spotlight before. Ever. It was one thing being captain, but this, having her performance carry the entire story? Yeah, no thanks.

“Are you sure you want it to be me?” she asked, her voice a lot calmer than she felt. “I was thinking you’d want someone like Madge—or Glimmer—for something this important. You’re always saying how swan-like Glimmer is on the field. Don’t you want Juliet to look like a swan?”

“Told you she wouldn’t be for it,” Peeta muttered next to her, a knowing smile on his face as he shook his head in amusement. Oh, he just thought he knew everything about her, didn’t he? Like he was some Katniss Everdeen expert.

“Why are you even here?” she finally asked him. “This clearly has nothing to do with you. Can’t you file music somewhere else?”

“Isn’t it a bit obvious why I’m here, Katniss?” he asked her incredulously, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. “I thought you were more observant than this.”

Before she could reply, Miss Trinket held her hands up. “Enough! Peeta, I’ll kindly ask you to please sit there quietly, as we discussed.” Discussed? When did they have time to discuss this? Then she remembered earlier. Miss Trinket needing to speak with Peeta, breaking up their argument. They were discussing her? Why did Peeta have to know that Miss Trinket wanted her as Juliet. She was clearly missing something obvious, like Peeta said, but her mind was shot. Barely able to process anything anymore as her anxiety kicked into gear.

“And, Katniss.” She looked up at the sound of her name. “Please keep an open mind about this. I understand to some, being a lead is scary, but trust me when I say, I have my absolute faith in you.

“Madge and Glimmer are talented girls, yes,” Miss Trinket explained, “but I’m afraid they are too tall for what I have in mind for choreography. You know how important these things can be. We need someone petite like you, Katniss. Someone Peeta can easily pick up and twirl without fear of dropping.” She motioned a manicured hand at Peeta, his face staring at her expectantly.

But Katniss’ brain was still running in circles. “Peeta’s not on guard. Why would he be picking me up?”

Miss Trinket’s patient smile looked strained now. “As I already told you,” she said slowly, surely believing Katniss dense now, “Guard and drumline will be representing the two houses. Guard will be Capulet and drumline Montague. Peeta’s on drumline, so naturally he’d be our star Montague.”

Her mind finally caught up to what everyone was suggesting. “Wait,” she said, sitting at the edge of her seat now. “If I’m Juliet and you’re saying he’s the star…” Her focus drifted to Peeta, who gave an amused, cocky wave, surely enjoying the multitude of emotions crossing her face in this moment. Her stomach dropped, this news hitting her harder than the spotlight one. “You’re Romeo?”

Instead of just answering with a simple yes/no like a normal person, or even some Ding! Ding! Ding! joke, Peeta lowered himself to the floor and responded in all his annoyingly obnoxious flair: “‘But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.’” He closed his eyes on the last word and reached for her hand, giving it a gentle kiss, his lips soft and warm against her now clammy skin. She swatted her hand away, tucking it around her bag for protection.

No. No, no, no. No!

This had to be a mistake. Her and Peeta Mellark? As Romeo and Juliet?

That was what Miss Trinket wanted to talk to him about, she realized. It wasn’t about her at all. She wanted to talk to him about being Romeo for the field show.

“I don’t understand,” Katniss said at last, when her stomach had finally recovered itself. “How can Peeta be Romeo when he’s going to be busy marching around with a snare drum? What about Finnick? He’s tall. Taller than Peeta, for sure. I’m sure he could just as easily lift me.”

Was she seriously that desperate to prefer the preening peacock Finnick Odair?

Yes, yes she was.

“Finnick will most likely play our Tybalt,” Miss Trinket remarked. “And as he is on guard, he will play a Capulet role.”

“What about gender bending the role?” Katniss suggested. “Who says Juliet has to be a girl? We are in the 21st century. And didn’t Shakespeare have men play the female roles, anyway? Let Finnick play Juliet to Peeta’s Romeo. He’d be perfect in the role.”

“Should I feel insulted that you don’t want to be my partner, Katniss?” Peeta innocently asked, enjoying this way too much. Her fists gripped her bag hard, her eyes deadly slits. People often told her how intimidating she looked, but Peeta didn’t even bat an eye. He was all smiles and dimples. If only looks could kill...

“Katniss,” Miss Trinket said curtly, snapping her attention back on the director, “I chose you as my next in command because I trust in your talent and know you are a driven young woman who people look up to. Now we both want the pleasure of seeing this band win first place at PSU, don’t we?”

“Yes, but—”

“And we will do what is necessary to move this band toward that goal, correct?”

“Of course, but—”

“But nothing, Everdeen,” Mr. Abernathy interjected at last, kicking his feet off the tall pile of sheet music laying by his desk. “You want to win?” He shook his hand at her, not needing a response. “Stupid question. Of course you do. I can see it all over your face. You’re too competitive to hide it. Well, to win you have to please the judges. Plain and simple. Judges like this kind of flair nonsense. So play our star-crossed lovers—”

“We’re not star-crossed lovers!” Katniss grit out, a bit harder than she intended, unable to look at Peeta as she said it. Not like it mattered. She could practically feel his amusement radiating off his person. “This won’t work, Mr. Abernathy. Don’t you want people who’ll get along? Peeta and I hate each other. We have for a really long time.”

“Who cares?” Mr. Abernathy asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation, his longish black hair falling in his face from the motion. “Pretend. Act like your lovesick classmates. I don’t care. It’s all a big show, anyway, and if pairing you two up wins us enough brownie points to win and shuts Trinket up for a year, then that’s what we’re going to do. Mellark’s already agreed to it and he’s never danced a day in his life. So now it’s your turn to be a good girl and agree to the plan, Everdeen. Got it?”

“Got it,” she muttered, slouching low in her chair. Of all the things she expected to hear today, pretending to be in love with Peeta Mellark was not one of them. This was definitely going to blow up in everyone’s faces, she was sure of it. Putting on a performance smile for judges was one thing, but acting like she was in love with Peeta was another. And then hoping he wouldn’t drop her when doing those stupid flips Miss Trinket mentioned? She was going to be in a body cast by the end of the season.

Peeta seemed to have dropped the amusement act at last, mirroring her sour mood as the two directors discussed extra one-on-one rehearsal time with Miss Trinket to better prepare Peeta since he had zero dance experience. Katniss tried to pay attention, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from glancing over at Peeta, wondering what he could possibly be thinking during all this. His jaw was clenched, she could tell, but he wasn’t looking at her or Trinket or even Abernathy. He was focusing on picking at a hole in his jeans, his eyebrows scrunched together. She understood the conflict—was feeling it herself—but he didn’t look mad. Just...troubled. Like something was said that he was having a hard time with.

Where to begin? Katniss thought bitterly, still unable to believe they were actually being forced to play Romeo and Juliet, like they were in some teenage drama or something.

“I know we have lots to work on, but just seeing the two of you together like this,” Miss Trinket said, motioning between them, “tells me I made the right decision. Look how adorable you two look! Pearls on a necklace! Didn’t I say that’s what they reminded me of, Haymitch?” She turned to Abernathy, who was now busy digging dirt from under his nails with his baton. Miss Trinket frowned before catching herself. “I did, I did! I said that earlier when I found you talking in the back.” She winked and oh god. Could they just go already?

********

It took another fifteen minutes of talking and goodbyes that were very much not goodbyes before they were truly free from the office. Katniss bolted out the side door as quickly as she could, cursing under her breath at how long she’d been in there. That took almost an hour! Madge and Gale were probably wondering what was taking so long. Or maybe not. It was Trinket, after all.

The parking lot was nearly empty now as she crossed it, digging around for her battered up phone to text. Hopefully they were still up for burgers because after that talk...yeah. She needed the greasiest burger available. Wait until she tells her friends she’s playing Juliet and that Peeta Mellark was her Romeo. They might not believe her, thinking it a practical joke and asking what Trinket really wanted. That’s how absurd this whole situation sounded.

“Katniss!” she heard her name called out. “Hey, wait up!” She turned and saw Peeta waving her down, his long legs quickly catching up to her. Part of her wanted to pretend she didn’t hear him and keep moving, her car just across the street from where she stood. It’d be a safer bet, too, moving along, because nothing good was ever said when she was upset. This afternoon being a prime example. But for some reason, she was curious what Peeta had to say about all this. She stopped at the street corner and pretended to check for traffic despite the road being empty of any moving vehicle.

“Damn,” he laughed, a bit breathless as he caught up next to her. “I forgot how fast your fight or flight response is.”

“I’m not fleeing,” she frowned, checking the street for real this time before crossing. She dug around the front pocket of her book bag, pulling out both her keys and phone. “School’s done and I’m going to Sae’s with Gale and Madge. You know, my friends.”

“I know who Gale and Madge are.”

“Just checking,” she stated cooly, flipping her braid over her shoulder, “since you practically accused me of having none earlier.”

He winced. “Yeah, not the finest thing I’ve ever said. I’m sorry about that.”

She shrugged. “It’s fine, Peeta.” It wasn’t, but if she kept telling herself that, maybe she’ll believe it. “We can’t all be Mr. Popular like you.”

“Right.” He looked back at the student parking lot where he parked. Unlike her family, his could afford the $350 the school charged for a parking space. “Listen, about what you said in there. About us hating each other.” Katniss raised an eyebrow, curious where this would lead. “I don’t...hate you.”

Well that was...unexpected. Was that why he looked so troubled in the meeting? Because she said they hated each other? She took a step back from him, realizing he was closer than she felt comfortable with, and waited for the rest of it. It didn’t sound like he was finished, like there was a big but hanging at the end of his sentence. What else did he want to say? But I still don’t really like you? But I think you’re annoying and working with you is going to suck? But I think you’re a bitch? Honestly, the list could go on about all the negative things Peeta could say about her, but he said nothing. He just looked down at his shoes and kicked at some loose pebbles in the street.

“Oh,” she said, unsure what else there was to say. “I guess that will make rehearsal easier.”

He nodded, a bit too jerky to look natural. “Yeah. I just—it’s important to me that you know that I don’t hate you. I’ve never hated you. Mad beyond belief? Yeah. Lots of times, actually. But never hate. I could never hate you, Katniss.”

“Oh,” she said again, dumbfounded. “Well, thanks, Peeta. I guess. That’s... Good to know.” And just because her sour mood couldn’t help itself, “I’ll be able to sleep happy tonight knowing you don’t hate me.” She made a face, instantly regretting her words, and yanked open her car door, needing to just leave. “Listen, I gotta go. Gale and Madge are already waiting for me and Trinket took forever rambling about how we’re pearl necklaces. They’re waiting for me.”

He didn’t say anything as she got in the car, the loud, embarrassing screech of her engine once on making any type of conversation near impossible to hold. He stepped away and gave a halfhearted wave, all bravado gone now, as she pulled away from the curb. By the time she thought to wave back, it was too late and her car was halfway down the street.

God, she really was a heartless bitch.

*******

It was only hours later—after returning home from drowning her frustrations in the thickest chocolate shake Sae could make and celebrating her good news with her mom and sister over pizza—did she allow herself to think about Peeta Mellark.

On a whim, she pulled the framed photo she kept of her and her dad off her nightstand and held it, her grip tightening as she studied the ridiculous faces they’re making at the camera. It was one of the last pictures they took together before his passing. She can’t remember what prompted them to make the faces, but she wished she could go back and make them again with him. To be with her dad for just one more day. One more hour, even. She’d do anything for that.

Katniss closed her eyes and hugged the frame close to her chest for a moment, trying to stop any tears from slipping past her tight emotional control. She was safe to cry in her room, but wanted to wait until she was in bed with the lights turned off before crying over this emotionally draining day.

When it felt like she had her emotions under control, Katniss used her longest fingernail to lift the tabs on the back of the frame and carefully took the picture out, unfolding the right-half of it to reveal a young curly-haired Peeta smiling up at her, her dad’s arm thrown over his shoulders.

She stared at the full photo for the longest time, remembering how mad she was at him for taking this one simple thing from her. She never minded Peeta being in her family photos before. She sometimes pulled him in for ones when her dad or mom shouted, “Picture time! Show us your pearly whites!” But that was when she still thought they’d have more time. Why wouldn’t there be more time? Dads weren’t supposed to die until you were old and had kids of your own. That’s how it was supposed to be. They weren’t supposed to die when you’re eleven and barely old enough to understand the cruelty of the world. The unfairness of it all.

Katniss barely remembered a time when it was just her and her dad. Alone. No Peeta. No Prim. Just Dad and her.

She didn’t even have a good photo of just the two of them.

Just boxes upon boxes of photos of him, her, and Peeta.

The magical trio.

The full photo didn’t bring up any past resentment this time, though. Instead, it reminded her how much fun the three of them used to have, bumming around town while Aunt Lulu watched Prim at her shop, singing along to the radio and playing Punch Buggy. Her dad always made it a point to include Peeta on any outing they made, even if it involved going to the grocery store. How disappointed Dad would be seeing us now, she thought, tracing over his face with her thumb. Her and Peeta not friends anymore.

But Peeta Mellark doesn’t hate her. Katniss didn’t understand why hearing that felt like a weight had lifted off her, but she felt lighter now, the more she thought about it. Like it was easier to breathe again.

“Peeta Mellark doesn’t hate me,” she whispered to the photo, the words tasting sweet on her tongue. A small smile pulled at her lips and she said it again. “He doesn’t hate me, Dad.”

Katniss didn’t understand why Peeta thought it was important she knew he didn’t hate her, but it was all her mind kept thinking of, and she was glad to hear it.

He didn’t hate her. He never had.

#Everlark fanfiction #The Hunger Games Fanfiction #The Hunger Games #Everlark #Everlark fanfic #My writing #The Dance of the Color Guard Op. 64 #I realized in the sneak peek I put ch 4 instead of 3 #because I forget prologue is different #*face palm*#I hope you enjoy!!#Like and reblog!#Let me know what you think!#Finally getting the ball ROLLING

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walkerismychoice · 7 years ago

Text

Betrayal (Damien X MC)

Book: Perfect Match

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 1946

Author’s Note: This part 4 in the series chronicling my head-cannon of Damien and MC’s relationship up to present day, explaining why they have never been more than friends. Parts of this were not fun to write. Be warned there is angst. Parts 1-3 are linked below.

Part 1: For Safety | Part 2: Man of the Hour | Part 3: Sticky Situation

Shit, shit, shit. What am I doing here? Damien had thought about what he would do for a couple days before deciding to try and give Kyle the chance to do the right thing. He set up a meeting with Kyle at his office, which had seemed like the best option at the time. But now as he sat outside Kyle’s office doors, overcome with nerves, this idea didn’t seem so great anymore.

Kyle opened the office door, “Damien, please come in. What can I do for you? I’m not sure what legal services I can offer unless you are planning on turning your private business into a corporation.”

Damien closed the door on his way through. “I’m actually here on more of a personal matter. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Is this about Kai?”

“In a way, yes. I have something to show you. Damien spread the photos from Mike across Kyle’s desk.”

Kyle studied the photos and his expression turned from confusion to recognition to anger in a matter of moments. “Where did you get these? Were you following me? I should have known you were one of those sleazy PIs. You have probably been sleeping with Kai behind my back this whole time. You sure as hell spend more time with her than I do. I’ve seen the way you look at each other. ”

“Hey don’t turn this around on me. You are the one caught with his pants down, so to speak. I am just a good friend to Kai, and as her friend, I’m giving you the chance to make things right and tell her what’s going on.”

“This is between me and Kai. Leave my office now. You are not welcome back again.”

“You can kick me out, but I’m warning you: You tell Kai or I will tell her myself.” Damien slammed the office door and didn’t look back.

=====

Two days later, Damien hadn’t heard anything from Kai or Nadia that would suggest Kyle had fessed up to Kai. He walked up to the ladies’ apartment for their standing Friday night “date.” He was afraid Kyle might show up today just to spite him.

“Hey Damien, come in. Kai is sorry she can’t be here tonight, but Kyle surprised her last minute and is taking her for a long weekend in St. Thomas.”

Fuck. Damien hoped he didn’t say that out loud. He looked down at his phone and there was a text from Kai 10 minutes ago:

Sorry I had to ditch. Kyle is taking me away for the weekend last minute, and I couldn’t say no! Try not to miss me too much!

“Damien, why do you look like your puppy just got run over by a truck?” Nadia questioned with concern. “I know Kai is your favorite, but we can still have fun.”

“No, no, it’s not that. Sorry Nadia. I am glad to see you. I just got a text about a case that is stressing me out,” he lied. Yes he was disappointed that Kai wouldn’t be there, but he was seriously worried about Kyle’s motives. Kyle could barely find an evening to spend with Kai lately, and now as soon as Damien confronted him about the cheating, he was whisking Kai away on a romantic getaway? He had a pit in his stomach that was growing in size.

“I have just the thing to cheer you up!” Nadia held up two romantic comedies. “It’s my turn to choose and Kai isn’t here to help you overrule me this time.”

Damien groaned. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

“Complain all you want Damien, but I know you secretly love these movies.”

Maybe Damien was a bit of a hopeless romantic deep down, but the last thing he needed right now was to watch anything that would make him imagine what kind of romance would be happening between Kyle and Kai in St. Thomas. He would just have to suffer in silence.

=====

“This view is amazing!” Kyle and Kai’s hotel room looked out over the ocean. Kai sat on the balcony enjoying a cup of coffee as she watched the sun rise. “You should come out here and see it.”

“Just give me a few minutes. I need to finish up some work emails.” Kyle shouted from inside the suite.

Typical. Kyle couldn’t even unplug for one weekend. This place was beautiful and would be super romantic, but Kai almost felt alone, even with Kyle right next to her.

Kyle emerged 10 minutes later, but the colorful sunrise has passed. “Okay, I’m yours for the rest of the day, I promise. Why don’t we spend the day relaxing on the beach? Then we can come back and rest up for a bit before dinner. I booked a reservation for Oceana at sunset. Both the food and the view are incredible.”

“Sounds like a good plan to me!” Kai was determined to try and give Kyle the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he really could devote a whole day to her.

As the day wore on, Kai was pleasantly surprised. She thought hell must have literally frozen over when Kyle left his phone in the room when they went to the beach. They were exhausted from lying in the sun all day, so they had a relaxing nap before getting ready for dinner. Kyle wore a suit and Kai put on a nice cocktail dress before heading to the restaurant.

“Seafood is normally not my favorite, but everything was delicious. How did you know about this place Kyle?”

“One of my colleagues recommended it. Speaking of work…”

“Hey, I thought you weren’t going to talk about work for the rest of the day,” Kai scolded

“Well this is important. I found out this morning that I made junior partner! That is what I was emailing about.”

“Really? I am so happy for you…and for us.”

“Regarding us, I have one more surprise.” At that moment, a waiter brought out what looked like a dessert tray with a cover over the top.

“Hmm, you got us a yummy dessert to share?” Kai opened the lid, but there was no dessert inside. Instead there was a small velvet covered box. “What is-“

Before Kai could finish, Kyle grabbed the box, opened it, and got down on one knee. “Kai Park, will you marry me?”

Kai was stunned to say the least. She was not ready for this question yet. They had been dating a couple years, but she had several doubts. At the same time, Kyle was everything on paper that she thought she wanted. They could build the type of life together that she dreamed of having since she was a child. She couldn’t turn that down. “Yes! Yes, I will marry you Kyle Turner.”

=====

Damien was finishing up reviewing a case when he got a text from Kai. She would be getting back this afternoon and wanted to meet him and Nadia at the local diner they frequented for dinner. She had something to tell them. Damien was afraid to guess what her news was. He had a feeling that no matter what, it wouldn’t be good for him.

Nadia was already in their favorite booth when Damien Arrived. “I came straight from work, so I haven’t seen Kai yet. I’m excited to hear about her trip!”

“Yeah, it should be interesting,” Damien mumbled.

Just then, Kai walked in with a beaming smile on her face. This somehow made Damien worry more about what Kai was here to say.

Kai sat down next to Nadia, and before anyone could get a word in, she enthusiastically held up her left hand. On her ring finger was a huge sparkling diamond ring. Much larger than anything Damien could ever afford.

“Oh my god Kai! Congratulations!” Nadia practically jumped off the bench seat as she turned to hug Kai. Damien knew that Nadia wasn’t Kyle’s biggest fan either, but that she would support whatever made Kai happy.

Kai turned to Damien with anticipation as he sat silently. He was trying to act like everything was fine, but the bewildered look on his face probably gave him away. “Oh, congratulations.”

“Damien is something wrong?” Kai asked.

“I’m sorry; it was just a really long day at work. Who’s hungry? I’m hungry. Let’s order.” Damien had actually lost his appetite but he wanted to change the subject fast.

Damien picked at his food and hardly said a word throughout dinner. He was kicking himself for trying to give Kyle a chance to come clean. Now things were so much worse. Why hadn’t he just gone to Kai right away?

Everyone paid their checks and Kai and Nadia put their coats on. Damien had to tell her. It was now or never. “Hey Kai, umm, there is something I wanted to talk to you about.”

“You barely said a word all night. Now you are ready to talk?” Kai questioned with a nervous laugh.

Yep, she noticed something was off. “Yes, could you please come back to my place for a little bit? I have something to show you.”

“Damien, I’m pretty tired and I have to work tomorrow. Can we do this another day?”

“Please Kai…there is something I think you need to know now before you make any more decisions.”

“Damien, I’m not sure what you could possibly mean, but fine. Let’s make this quick.”

=====

What is up with Damien? Kai wondered. If he had feelings for her and waited until now to do anything about it he was too late. It seemed really important to him to talk to her in private, so she agreed, but she was not looking forward to the conversation.

They were silence the whole cab ride to Damien’s house and on the way inside.

“Do you want any water, a glass of wine, anything?”

“No thank you Damien. I just want to know why you asked me here.”

“Okay, I guess we aren’t beating around the bush.” Damien walked over to his desk and pulled out a file folder. He placed some photos on the coffee table in front of the couch Kai was sitting on.

At first Kai didn’t notice who was in the photos, but then she realized it was Kyle and a woman…a woman that was most definitely not her. “What is this? How did you get these?” Kai asked with an accusatory tone.

“I had some suspicions that Kyle was cheating on you, so I hired a friend of mine to look into it.”

“How long have you known?”

“I just got the photos last week. I went to Kyle right away-“

“Wait, what? You went to Kyle first?” Kai’s head was swimming. She felt betrayed on multiple levels. “I don’t know if I’m more pissed off that you went to Kyle instead of me, or that you took it upon yourself to investigate this in the first place. I didn’t ask you to do this. It wasn’t your business!” Kai was shaking with anger.

“I was just trying to protect you Kai. If I had told you I just thought Kyle was cheating without having any proof, you probably wouldn’t have believed me and would have pushed me away then.”

“I can’t say how I would have reacted, but I don’t think I would have felt anywhere near as betrayed as I do now. I need some space Damien. Please don’t contact me. I’ll call you if and when I’m ready to talk.”

With that Kai walked out the door. She used every last bit of strength to make it back home before she completely fell apart.

#perfect match #playchoices #damien nazario #damien x mc #my fic

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lyralumina · 7 years ago

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ღ GIVE ME THE AZURESHIPPING

Who’s the first to wake up in the morning: Seto wakes up earlier than Anzu. He has to get to work early. He takes his work seriously but once Anzu has to go to ballet practice at a ridiculous hour in the morning, they wake up at the same time. They do not dilly dally in the morning, they do what they must do and get out the door and start their day and treat each new day brand new. Its not odd but, Seto and Anzu love seeing the morning sun rise. Seto gets a wonderful view of that from his office room and Anzu gets her view while she walks to her early morning ballet class.

Who’s the one to make breakfast: Anzu does, Seto just helps by setting the plates and all the silverware on the table and will sometimes help Anzu with some cooking. But yeah, Seto can cook eggs he can certainly help Anzu cook scrambled eggs.Seto can cook pretty well, he can cook just fine and he hardly ever burns anything.

Who’s the one to serve the other breakfast in bed:

Seto. Oh absolutely Seto. Seto likes to surprise his wife a lot and will do all the cooking. He will skip the eggs and bagels, he will bake her a nice breakfast fruit tart and some coffee. Seto is surprisingly a great baker and that’s probably from what Mokuba taught him when they were younger or even from his mother. Anzu appreciates it so much.

“ This all looks absolutely divine my love, thank you so much. “

Who would suggest a quickie in the morning before work:

No one honestly because they get up at totally different hours in the morning. The last thing Seto wants to do in the morning when he wakes up is have sex with Anzu, he has to get to work but if I had to pick someone, Anzu would.

Who suggests they both ditch work to lay around all day:

Anzu suggests it because Seto honestly looks like he needs days off but he protests to her that he cannot do so, he has a huge corporation to manage and a huge reputation to keep but Anzu would secretly peep on her husband when he wakes up, how he would grumble under his breath and look so dead, his blue eyes dimmed and not full of life. She hated seeing him like that and only once did Seto even notice her peeping at him and they talked for a few minutes about it and it hurt Anzu so much to know that she could not bring her husband to bed with her for just a few more hours of sleep.

Seto sighed as he cupped her warm, tear stained cheek, he looked into her eyes before pressing his forehead to hers. It earned Seto a small hiccup from his wife who was struggling to keep the tears in her eyes from escaping. They did escape, they rolled down her cheeks, they wet his hands but he did not care. he cared more about his wife more than some salt water. He closed his eyes,“ You worry to much about me my dear. Please, do not cry for me, I promise I will leave work early today to make up for all of this pain I must leave you today. “

- 🎶 Have you ever listened to Best of Wives and Best of Women from Hamilton? That song can sum this up pretty well. 🎶 -

Who chooses the movies:

Anzu. Seto is so used to his wife picking musicals and sappy girl flicks while Seto just wants to watch Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. When they do end up watching that they both compete against each other and try to find out/guess the ending to the story and whoever is right gets to pick what they will do for the next date night. Seto usually wins because he is just too damn good and Anzu gets so stubborn and Seto has to kiss her on her cheek to calm her down and she just ends up a flustered mess when he does that and she just whines as she hides her face in her hands.

Who initiates kissing during the moving, thus distracting the other from the movie all together:

Seto. Its always Seto but once Anzu tried doing so and they slammed their heads together because coincidently, Seto was about to do it to Anzu. Anzu laughed as her husband rubbed his forehead that was in slight pain.

Who orders lunch:

Anzu. She knows her own dietary needs as well as her husbands like the back of her hand. She knows what he likes and what he dislikes. She knows what seems too much or too little.

Who steals food from the others plate without asking:

No one. They eat less than the normal/average human would and it scares a lot of people and yes it raises concern but that is just who they are, if their body cannot handle excess food then why fill it with more junk? Often at times they both will just pick at their food like a bird or just eat slow, Seto is the slowest of the two though since he is just really picky with what he eats.

Who curls up next to the other and falls asleep due to a full tummy:

Anzu does this, Seto is usually up reading a book or on his laptop doing some work. Anzu is dead asleep and she tosses and turns quite a bit and Seto uses his peripherals to watch her.

Who distracts the other from trying to work at home:

Anzu. Like I stated before. She wishes for her husband to one day just set his pen down, to close his laptop and take a break. To let those tired eyes ease, to let those strained muscles relax. All she begs for him is to relax but it is so hard when all he knew from the beginning is to work till he cannot function anymore. She will beg her husband to set down his pen by placing her hand on his own and kiss her husband on the cheek and whisper into his ear to ease himself. That work can wait. This method always works. Seto cannot say no to her kindness really, her heart is too good and it’s like he doesn’t deserve her.

“ Please my love, Take a break. “ She whispered into her husband’s right ear in a soft and calm manner. She watched with those pristine blue eyes of hers as her husband slowly placed his black fountain pen down. She then smiled sweetly at that. Seto then removed her hand from his hand and sighed, his voice raspy. “ You win my dear. “

Who asks to go get ice cream like a five year old:

Anzu does. Strawberry and Mint chocolate chip is her favorite while Seto’s is Green tea (Matcha).

Who takes pictures of their partner eating ice cream:

Anzu does and she loves it when Seto actually does not notice her taking a picture because the vibe from the pictures when he is looking away is so serene and so mellow. It’s practically childlike and Anzu has some photos of this on her phone and she will show them to her husband once in awhile.

Who makes a sexual joke about the dripping ice cream on their partner’s face:

Seto does but only when he is drunk which takes a while for him to even get drunk because he drinks quite a lot before they married so his tolerance is quite high.

Who cooks dinner:

Anzu does. Anzu also does the grocery shopping since Seto is far too busy at work to even go grocery shopping. They both have strange diets as stated before, they eat so little and it’s for so many obvious reasons. Seto went through a vegan phase before he married but stopped doing so but he did get some healthy tips and habits out of it. For example he no longer drinks cow milk, he only drinks soy or almond milk. He will have meatless meals and substitute meat/poultry for tofu. Anzu has ditched eating white rice and instead eats brown rice or quinoa while her husband will eat white rice but it depends on what Anzu cooks that night. If there is no white rice then he is not having white rice, it’s as simple as that. They both hate extremely greasy foods and hate junk foods quite a lot. They only eat it if they now they can burn off the calories quite easily or if there is no other option. Seto is the picky eater of the two to be quite honest.

Who cleans up the kitchen afterwards:Anzu does. Its her mess so she cleans it up, she knows that Seto comes home quite exhausted from being at work all day. Last thing she wants to add to his plate is clean up work, if he wants to clean up then she will let him but its mostly her cleaning up.

Who stays up until 2 reading:

Seto does, Anzu is usually fast asleep. Seto only gets a few hours of sleep but it is the price he paid for being at the top and for owning such a grandiose corporation.

Who stares at their partner while their sleeping:Both do. It will usually be Seto as stated before since Anzu falls asleep before her husband but Anzu will do so and will sometimes smile sweetly at her husband who is fast asleep, lean in, and kiss his forehead and head back to sleep. She loves the man she married and nothing will ever change that.

Who kisses their partner while they sleep:

Both do, Anzu is stated up at the top but for Seto’s case, It is only when she is facing him and looks to be fast asleep, He will crane down and kiss her on her forehead or cheek. Only once did she giggle and it spooked Seto because, she should have been asleep but she was not and she opened her eyes. She then proceeded to kiss her husbands cheek and forehead so many times Seto actually let out a genuine laugh to her and it made her morning because it was 1AM by that time.

#sibbinthegivengibbon #yu-gi-oh!#azureshipping #Please come to me with anything AzureShipping I will love you forever💖

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