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I feel a chill breeze down my bareback. I reach out, extending my hand only for it to land on nothing. I had expected it to fall on Peeta Mellark’s chest, but he wasn’t there. I sit up and look around our room. His pajama pants are nowhere to be seen. A few months back, we had decided that it would be easier if we claimed one of our houses as our own. It didn’t make sense that we would go back and forth between each other’s homes especially when we spend every minute together, when we weren’t either at the bakery or in the woods. It wasn’t a hard decision really, gradually some of my stuff ended up at his place. First it started out with my game bag, then it turned into some of my boots finding place next to his at his door. When my washing machine was in repair, I would go to Peeta’s and some of my shirts got folded in with his, my pills and ointments in his medicine cabinet, once Buttercup started leaving dead birds on Peeta’s doorstep it was basically a done deal.
Peeta, as kind and generous as he is, offered to give up his home. I think he didn’t want to part me from Prim’s belongings, but what he doesn’t know is how much that room haunts me. Since I’ve returned to 12, I haven’t gone near her room. I spoke with Dr. Aurelius about moving in with Peeta and he said that I could treat it as a method to find closure. I am not leaving her behind because I choose to go live with Peeta in his house, I am coming to terms with it as he put it. It definitely wasn’t easy and took much longer than it should have. But after a series of tears, nights sitting in my closet, and cheese buns as motivation to come out of my darkness, I managed to put all her belongings in a beautiful chest Peeta fashioned for me. It sits in our living room, in a corner, it doesn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, it surprisingly gives me peace. It’s as if she’s never left. I think it gives Buttercup peace too, one of his favorite places to nap. Besides, it was a lot easier to move all my things than to bring all of Peeta’s art supplies over, and slowly more and more families are coming to live in 12. Prim’s room shouldn’t have to go to waste, she spent a lot of time making sure it was cozy. She would be glad to hear that another little girl or boy gets to enjoy it.
It would also seem rather selfish to assume that only Peeta, Haymitch, and I were going to be the only inhabitants in Victor’s Village. It’s not even called that anymore, it’s just the Village now. There are other good homes here and they even began to construct neighborhoods all along and beyond the route up to the Village. Slowly but surely, families began to occupy some of the homes. A few of the district’s doctors, teachers, community center administers have moved in. I think one or two of the houses were even converted in housing for students. At the start of this year, District 12 opened a community academy for those students who wish to continue their studies after high school. It’s much smaller than a university but serves a similar purpose. Since 12 is one of the first districts to open one up, some people have moved here just for that. They even offer certificates in place of high school diplomas for those who never got to finish. Peeta and I considered enrolling in that course but thought it would be best to hold off on it for a year or two.
Except, there is one house that remained unoccupied for a long time until very recently. I usually met up with Peeta when he’s leaving the bakery so we can walk up together. On our way home, we found a couple of movers working on the house.
We haven’t gotten sight of whoever moved into that house yet though.
I pluck Peeta’s shirt from the night off the floor before and put it on. As I make my way down the hall, I think of every possible place Peeta could be. It’s his day off at the bakery, so I know he didn’t leave to go there. I peek in his art studio and I only find the mess from the night before. Sometimes I lay in there with Buttercup and Charlie, Peeta’s service dog, and watch him paint. It is the only time Buttercup is allowed in his studio. Charlie knows how to behave. I happened to doze off before Peeta finished and he thought it would be funny to painting on my face. I found it funny when I smeared clay all over his. That’s how the Art War started, paint and clay being thrown back and forth around the room and it ended when Buttercup started screeching because we weren’t giving him attention anymore.
Stupid cat.
I may my way down into the kitchen and there I see him. It’s an odd sight really. He has his knees all up on the counter, he even took off his prosthetic to do it and he’s peering out the window, Buttercup cuddled up in his arms like a baby against his bare chest. Charlie is by Peeta’s prosthetic. Go figures.
“Peeta, what are you doing?” I ask as I slowly walk to the counter.
Peeta shushes me.
I raise my eyebrows up at him and turn to Charlie, did he really just shush me?
“No, Peeta seriously what are you looking at?” I try not to roll my eyes.
“Ha! I knew it! I’m a genius!” Peeta shouts.
“What Peeta? What did you know?”
Now I really am getting annoying.
He gestures to me to climb the counter, “come on Katniss, you don’t want to miss it!”
I clamber up the countertop and look at the window, “Focus on Haymitch’s window, the one closest to the back of his house” he whispers.
I squint my eyes and then I catch it: there’s a woman trying to jump out his window.
“Who the hell is that and why is she jumping out of his window?” I whisper back. The woman managed to get out and not until she steals one last kiss from Haymitch. She scurries to the back of his house and I guessing to her own.
Haymitch Abernathy has a girlfriend?
“Who do you think and why do you think, Katniss?” Peeta can’t stop giggling.
I just stare back at him, confused as ever.
He pauses his giggle-fest for a moment and switches over to Serious Peeta, “That’s Effie Trinket” he whispers before going back to giggling his life away.
Effie? She’s back in District 12?
“How do you know?”
Peeta says as he’s putting his prosthetic leg back on, “Because, the other day one of the academy kids stopped by the bakery for lunch and they had mentioned that our new neighbor is this eccentric lady from the Capitol. I couldn’t understand why someone from the Capitol would move to 12, but I wanted to be a good neighbor so I stopped by to drop off some housewarming cookies but there was no answer,” he shrugs his shoulder and hops over the counter, “later that day, I went to Haymitch’s to drop off his liquor. When I walked in, I had heard some shuffling around, and he was being an extra dismissive that day. And it definitely looked a bit cleaner.”
“I still don’t get how you know its Effie?” I say as I adjust myself to take a seat on the counter.
Peeta situates himself between my legs, “You haven’t let me get to the good part yet. When I was walking out of his door, I heard a woman say,” he places his hands around my sides and speaks in a clipped Capitol accent, “‘Do you think he noticed there was someone else here?’”
He gives me a pointed look.
I wrap my arms around his neck, “I still don’t get how you’ve connected it to Effie Trinket, how many eccentric women who are from the Capitol speak like her? And besides, she didn’t look like Effie.”
Peeta presses a kiss onto my lips, “because how many eccentric women who are from the Capitol who speak like her would be willing to move to all the way to luxurious District 12, spending their days and nights with handsome ole’ Haymitch Abernathy?” he arches his eyebrow, “and besides its post-war Panem Katniss, based off what I saw in the Capitol the last time I was there—crazy fashion isn’t all the rage anymore. It’s still a bit odd, yeah but definitely not like before.”
I can’t help but chuckle at it all, “So Effie moved all the way to District 12 and didn’t tell us?”
Peeta releases me and heads over to the pantry, “I don’t blame her” he calls out, “imagine how absolutely scandalous it would be if everyone found out Haymitch the drunk found himself a girlfriend in the former escort to District 12.”
There is still something that doesn’t sit right with me, “if Effie came to 12 for Haymitch, why would she rent out a whole house when she supposedly spends most of her time at his?”
Peeta tilts his head to the side, “Katniss, have you seen his house? Just because it doesn’t smell like vomit anymore, it doesn’t mean it isn’t a total mess.”
He’s got me there.
+++
The next morning, I am leaned up against the counter, my head drooping as I fight the urge to go back asleep. The sun isn’t even out and Peeta doesn’t even have the early shift today at the bakery. So why he woke me up and told me to get dressed beats me.
“Come on Katniss, we don’t want to be late!” Peeta calls.
I push myself off the counter and slouch my shoulders, “what are we doing, Peeta? And why are we awake? I thought the reason you let Hans have the opening prep shift was because he has classes midday and so you can get more sleep.”
Peeta wraps his arm around my shoulders as we walk out the door and holds me tight, “we are going to visit some old friends”, he jostles me gently.
I rub more of my eyes with my knuckles, “old friends? Peeta, we don’t have old friends at least not in this District.”
“Oh shush, we’re going to drop off some cookies with Haymitch and Effie,” Peeta says, guiding us to Haymitch’s doorstep.
“At 5 o’clock in the morning?” I growl.
Peeta playfully berates me, telling me that it wouldn’t be very neighborly of us not to present our old friend and new neighbor some cookies. It wouldn’t neighborly of Peeta. I, for one, have hardly ever been the neighborly type these days.
Once we reach Haymitch’s doorstep, Peeta puts on a faux grave face, “should we just walk in or knock?”
I roll my eyes, “we’ll probably get an earful and a knife swung at us regardless, might as make it fun and catch them, if there even is a them, off guard.”
Peeta offers me a small smile and reaches out his hand, “Together?”
I return the sentiment and take his hand into mine, “Together.”
+++
As we make our way upstairs in Haymitch’s house, Peeta was right. It doesn’t smell like sick anymore and it is definitely a bit cleaner, but I still don’t blame Effie for getting a whole other house.
“Are you sure it was a good idea to come here so early in the morning?” I whisper.
“Yeah, we don’t want to miss them.”
Once we are walking down Haymitch’s hallway, I realize something, “Peeta, what if we walk in on them, you know…”
Peeta seems to catch on to what I am alluding because I start to see a subtly pink tint on his cheeks. Since is when Peeta Mellark so modest?
He takes a deep breath as we stand in front of the master bedroom, “I guess we’ll just have to find out.”
I smirk at him, gripping the doorknob, deciding if Haymitch does decide to throw a knife, better at me than a Peeta…even though it was his idea.
With a swift push of the door, Peeta and I are inside his room and we are greeted with a sight.
Poor Peeta, he almost dropped his plate of cookies. I don’t know what more shocking sight is, a bare-chested Effie Trinket in the arms of Haymitch Abernathy or an Effie Trinket without her wig on. The bedsheets were barely covering their bodies and left little to the imagination.
It wasn’t the door opening that woke them up, rather us closing it. As soon as Peeta put the cookies on the chest at the foot of Haymitch’s bed and I closed the door shut, we heard a gasp and a shriek.
I think Peeta is so scared that we may get caught that he actually threw me over his shoulders and raced back to our house. If he didn’t have such a firm grip on my lower back, I think I would have fallen over.
Once we are inside our house, much to Buttercup’s and Charlie’s dismay, Peeta shoos them away and tosses me onto the couch, places a throw blanket behind him and plops down on top of me.
“Pretend we are sleeping,” he says as he nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck.
It hadn’t been five minutes when we hear Haymitch and presumably Effie barge into our home.
I hear his heavy footsteps and petite ones following, reach the living room.
“Get the hell up!” he barks.
I know if I speak, I will start laughing and give it away.
Peeta rubs his eyes and grumbles as he moves to straddle my middle, “Well good morning to you.”
“I know you two have never minded a room, but that doesn’t the same goes for me!”
“Whatever do you mean, Haymitch?”
Even with his faux raspy voice, I can tell he’s fighting the urge to start giggling.
“What makes you two think you can come to my house unannounced?”
I decide it’s time to sit up and say something. With my best fake yawn, I ask, “What are you talking about? We haven’t been to your house.”
“Yeah, Katniss and I fell asleep here last night watching Plutarch’s new drama series, Panem Academy,” he gestures the television screen, “Have you seen it? I personally think, Ecstasy, is better show. However, I think that’s because we are a bit older than the intended demographic for Panem Academy, don’t you think Katniss?
Before I have a chance to respond, Effie beats me to it. “I actually adore Panem Academy. Those lead actors, Amadeus Murena and Sebastian Tills, are quite the hot throbs now. Peeta, you may have some competition now!” she added, demurely.
Haymitch sends an icy glare Effie’s way before returning to the both of us, “If you two didn’t come into my house then who left these in my room!” He presents us a cookie.
I meet his eyes, “Maybe it was a cookie fairy, Haymitch. Stranger things have happened.” Making an obvious reference to Haymitch and Effie.
He grumps a few curse words before grabbing Effie’s hand and turns to go sulk back to his house. Basically, confirming that he and Effie were at least somewhat an item.
Before they disappear to through the doorway, Peeta calls out with one of his award-winning smiles, “Hey Effie! We can finish watching Panem Academy after dinner tonight! Haymitch knows the usual time, don’t be a stranger!”
Haymitch tells us to go to hell as he slams our front door shut.
Peeta and I fall into a laughing fit as I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down with me.