It started off as a loose sketch, as a way to pass the time given the slow flow of customers we were having today. But slowly it started to become something else; the sketch gained a braid, a smile, tanned skin, scrubs and before I knew it, I had drawn Katniss. I didn't even notice it happening; the pencil just traveled freely through the paper, creating more and more details.

When I finally stopped sketching and looked at what I drew I was taken aback by it. My first instinct was to throw it away or to erase the whole thing, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It looked way too much like her, and how she looked when I first saw her. It reminded me of how beautiful her smile was, and how I really needed to stop thinking about her goddamit. It had become a common thing - it didn't matter what I was doing or what I was thinking about, somehow she always made an appearance in mind, smiling, laughing, helping me with the leg brace, removing my pants… But the real question was why? Why couldn't I get Katniss out of my head?

I decided to fold the paper and hide it away in my pocket, and just as I did so the bell on top of the door ringed, signaling a new customer.

"How's it hangin' boy?" a familiar voice asked.

Haymitch walked lazily to the counter, dressed in his out-of-work clothes, trailed by a girl I faintly recognized, but couldn't exactly remember from where.

"Haymitch, hey! I'm doing okay. What brings you here?"

He leaned against the counter and focused his gaze on the cake display and grumbled, "What? Can't a man crave some pastries without being judged?"

"Sure." I laughed. "What can I get you then?"

"Get me something with some fillin' inside."

"Alright. Who is your friend?" I asked while placing some éclairs in the take out bag.

"Er' name is Kelly." He said as she stepped up from behind him and looked at me somewhat sheepishly.

I froze realizing where I knew her from. Although the memories from that night were a little foggy, and it was hard to see through the smoked it was clearly her, asking for help, frightened and fearing for her life. Seeing her now, knowing that she was alive and well and that I helped get out of that burning building, made me feel extremely happy. It made me realize that even though I got hurt in the process, if I was to repeat the same situation I wouldn't change a thing. Because that's what firefighters do - they save people, no matter the cost.

"H-hi Peeta." She greeted, staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Hi Kelly. It's great to see you. You look well," I greeted.

She nodded, with her gaze still fixed on the floor. "I wouldn't be if it weren't for you though." Finally she raised her eyes to look at me and they were filled with so much admiration I was dumbfounded for a second.

"Thank you so much for saving my life Peeta." She added.

"You don't need to thank me Kelly. I was just doing my job." Although the words I spoke were true and sincere, she still looked ashamed, as if she had done some unthinkable thing and she deserved to be punished. Her postured sagged even more when she noticed my crutches resting against the chair in front of the register.

"Yeah. But because of me you can't do your job anymore." She whispered, her voice trembling a bit.

I looked at Haymitch for help but he just shrugged and grabbed the take out bag, shoving an éclair in his mouth.

"I'm so so so sorry Peeta," She blurted suddenly. "It's all my fault, what happened to you, the warehouse, everything! If only I hadn't-"

"Hey now, don't go there." I interrupted her, letting my hand come to rest on top of her fidgeting one that was sprawled on the counter. She froze for a second and bowed her head, her shoulders slumped and I could hear her sniffling softly.

"What happened to me wasn't your fault. No one blames you for what happened and you shouldn't either. Sometimes our actions have consequences that are beyond our control, but even so, no good is going to come of you beating yourself over it. I'm okay, you're okay, your friends are okay, and that's all that matters."

"Yeah." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded. When she finally raised her head to look at me, her damp eyes had a cheerful glint in them. "You're right. I'm sorry for being such a pain I just… I don't know." She chuckled sheepishly.

"You were definitely not a pain, I'm really glad you stopped by." I replied, smiling.

"I went to the fire station and asked Haymitch to call me if he ever came to visit." She added, her cheeks lightly tinged with pink.

"Girl seemed really anxious 'bout it so I thought why the hell not?" Haymitch added after he devoured the last of the éclairs.

"Well, now that you know where to find me, feel free to come by any time."

"S-sure. But I, um, have to head home now. I'm still kind of grounded. It was good to see you Peeta. And thank you so much Haymitch." She smiled to the both of us, already making her way to the exit.

We waved and watched her leave. Once she had disappeared down the street Haymitch retrieved a flask from the pocket of his pants and took a generous sip. He looked somewhat relieved after he placed the flask on his pocket once again, as if something had been tormenting him all this time and the only thing that could ease it off was the amber liquid that the flask contained. But I knew better than to comment on it, so instead I asked how things were going in the firestation.

"Well for starters, this new kid came in, his name is Marvel, and boy, if you thought Cato was bad wait until you see this one." He scoffed.

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing is wrong with him exactly. He is decent when it comes to the job, but he has an attitude problem that only some good ol' smacking will fix. And somehow he became Cato's very own personal lap dog. Speaking of which he's now paired up with Thom."

"Oh no. No good will come from that! They hate each other's guts!" I exclaimed. "Who had that brilliant idea?"

"Don't look at me! It came from the boss herself. She thought it would help their relationship if they worked together and depended on each other."

"And is how is that working?" I asked with a smirk.

"They only threatened to kill the other six times, so I guess so far so good." Haymitch chuckled.

"What about Cato and Clove?"

He snorted. "Those two? They are like two cats in heat, although since people have been complaining for a while, Effie has been extremely careful when making the schedules so they aren't called in on the same day. She also decided to make Thresh the Commander in Chief's assistant. And boy, am I grateful for that! He makes my job of Commander so easy! But he is doing such a good job I'm starting to fear for my position." He chuckled.

Haymitch left a little after that, wishing me good luck and asking me to pass by the firehouse one of these days, saying the crew missed me and were wondering how I was. I promised I would pay them a visit as soon as I was off the crutches.

We only had a couple of customers after that and Dad decided we could close earlier today. I agreed in a heartbeat, longing to just sit on the couch and do nothing, accompanied by some pizza and a beer. But my plans were cut short when my phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hey there Peet. How's it going?"

"Finnick hi. I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm great! But I'm missing my best friend, so how about we go catch up in a bar later?"

"I, um, I'm not sure. I still can't drive so…"

"It's not a problem; I'll pick you up at 8. See ya!"

"Wait no! Finnick-"

Ah crap. It's not that I didn't want to hang out with Finnick; I wanted to hang out with him, but it was the prospect of having to go out in public that I wasn't so fond of. Ever since I got injured the only time I left the house was to go the hospital, so to say that my social skills were currently lacking was a big understatement.

Almost everyone that has known me since my teen years would describe me as a charming social butterfly. In truth I was one, but only because I found that charming the pants off everyone around me was the best way to remedy my social anxiety. Being a chubby kid and having a mother whose terms of endearment included "piggy" and "fudgy the whale" did that to you I guess. So I was more than happy to stay secluded, hidden away in the bakery, not having to waste my energy trying to make conversation. But ultimately I knew it would not last long.

Resigning myself to the fact that Finnick wouldn't take no for an answer no matter what I said, I bid farewell to the couch and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. While the water coursed through my body I had to fight away the fleeting images of Katniss that roamed my mind. Easier said than done.

As I lathered myself up with soap I accidentally grazed my cock, hissing through my teeth as it hardened. It was already at half mast, no matter how much I tried the fight the images of Katniss that kept popping up, they began to invade my mind. But no matter what, I wasn't going to repeat the incident from last week, no matter how much I ached to release myself. So I turned the water to the coldest possible and tried to think about something else and ended up reciting a snickerdoodle recipe in my head.

It did the trick.

As soon as all the soap washed away and disappeared down the drain I stepped out of the shower, put my leg brace on and wrapped a towel on my middle.

When I passed by the living room to go to my room I noticed that dad was dozing off in the couch and that he didn't even bother changing from his work clothes. I thought about waking him up and ushering him to his bed, but decided against it knowing that he would only deny that he was sleeping and run off to the kitchen to make dinner.

I got dressed quickly, throwing on a pair of jeans and grey t-shirt that I brought with me when Rye drove to my place last week. As much as I missed my apartment I had to admit that these weeks that I spent in dad's house were not so bad, especially since mom isn't here.

When I went back to the living room dad was already awake and shuffling through TV channels while nursing a beer.

"Going somewhere kiddo?" he asked when he saw me approaching the couch.

"Uh, yeah, Finnick wanted to hang out so…" I said plopping down on the couch next to him.

"Ah that's good. You didn't go out once since you've been here. It's nice to see you getting back out there." He said, patting my leg.

"I don't really feel like going though."

He shot me a concerned look. "Why not?

"I don't know, I'd just rather stay at home watching TV on the couch." At this he started laughing and shaking his head. "What?" I asked defensively.

"Nothing!" he sighed, "You just sound a hell a lot like me! And I'm middle aged!"

"So?"

"Ah c'mon Peet. You're young! Go out with your friends, have some fun! You will have plenty of time to stay at home glued to the couch when you're older."

And as if on cue my phone started vibrating in my pocket and someone was honking outside. I sighed and got out of the couch while dad smiled happily at me. Once I reached the door I heard him call out, "Have fun!"

"Sure thing!" I replied, already making my way out the door.

Finnick was in his car on the other side of the street, when he saw me he honked three times with a wide grin and I found myself grinning back. As I approached the car I could faintly hear the melody of 'Hooked on a Feeling' blaring through the air. Finnick opened the door for me and I sat down, sighing as I did so. He turned the music down and twisted in his seat to face me, his face split by a shit eating grin.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked.

"What makes you think I'm happy?" He asked, his grin growing impossibly wider.

"Well, for starters, you are listening to 'Hooked on a Feeling', that's like your go-to song when you're happy." He chuckled a little and nodded his agreement. I continued, "And secondly you won't stop smiling."

"Okay you got me." He chuckled. "Would you believe me if I told you it's because we are hanging out?"

I snorted. "No."

He laughed again and threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright don't believe me! Let's just drop the subject shall we? You ready for an awesome time?"

"Where are you going anyway? You didn't give me a chance to ask on the phone." Or to deny the invitation.

"Just Sae's."

"Alright. Let's go then."

…

Sae's was a small hole in the wall dive bar that Finnick and I used to go to during college, and now we had a habit of going coming here whenever we wanted to hang out somewhere with a homey atmosphere and cheap drinks. But tonight I think Finnick brought us here solely for my benefit. And I couldn't be more thankful.

The bar was dimly lit by a row of lamps that casted a yellow glow that reflected on the worn leather booths, and empty save for a couple of middle aged men bantering, one of them almost falling off the stools in front of the bar station. We sat down in our usual booth, next to window that overlooked the street and gave us a faint view of the city skyline.

Sae saw us from her spot behind the bar, smiled and made her way to our booth. Sae was not much older than 60, and from what I knew she had no kids and lived alone. And maybe for that reason she treated Finnick and I with extra care, seeing we were the youngest clients she had.

"Hey boys! Haven't seen ya in a while."

"Hey Sae, yeah we have been busy." Finnick said pointing at my crutches.

"Peeta! What happened?"she gasped.

"Minor work injury." I shrugged.

"Oh dear. Are you okay though?"

"Yeah. Don't worry Sae, I'm going to be here for a long time." I chuckled.

"Well I hope both of you do!" she laughed and ruffled both of our heads. "What can I get you boys tonight then?"

I looked at Finnick, and he shrugged. "The usual." He said.

Sae nodded and went to get our drinks. Finnick leaned back and sighed contently resting his hands behind his back, a slight smirk on his face.

"You look extremely content with yourself." I noted. "May I ask why?"

"Why, the answer is quite simple Peeta," he said in a mocking tone, "I look content, because I am content."

Before I could ask anything else Sae was placing our drinks on the table. I smiled and thanked her. She nodded, told us to enjoy ourselves and made her way back behind the bar.

Finnick raised his beer bottle at me and I did the same, clinging my bottle against his.

"Cheers!" he smirked.

"Cheers." I mumbled back, taking a swing from my drink, letting the cold amber liquid slid down my throat with a mild tingle.

"Peeta, I have to be honest with you," he said after a moment, his face suddenly etched into an intent expression. "I didn't call you out tonight just because I wanted to hang out."

"Yeah," I snorted, "No shit." He laughed a little, and his face became somewhat apologetic. "Why did you call me then?"

"I called you because we have been friend for as long as I can remember and I wanted you to be the first to know."

"Know what?"

"I'm thinking, and am almost sure; I'm going to ask Annie to marry me!" He beamed.

"Shit, Finn! That's great!" I laughed. "When did you decide this?"

"A few days before your, uh, accident. And I have been holding myself to wait to tell you until you felt better, but I just couldn't wait anymore because I really need your advice."

"My advice on what?"

"On whether you think I should do it, or if I'm rushing into to things. You know me Peeta, I have a tendency of getting overly excited about things and making hasty decisions. I really don't want to fuck this up."

I tried to suppress my laughter by taking another dip of my beer but ended up laughing harder and spitting it out.

"What just happened?" Finnick asked startled.

"Oh man, you don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"What you did on our first college party?"

"I don't remember shit from that party. What did I do?"

"Well it was the longest you and Annie had been separated from each other and you wanted to forget it for a while so you drank. A lot. So about halfway through the party you came rushing to me saying we had to leave because you did something bad. I took you back to your room and asked what happened. You said that you were flirting with this chick all night and then when she leaned in to kiss you, you realized it wasn't Annie. I swear you almost went berserk just talking about it. You started crying and saying that if when you finished college you and Annie were still together you would marry her as soon as possible."

Finnick stared at me with a blank expression for a while, taking in the newfound information. "I-I said that?"

"Yeah." I chuckled at his dumbfounded expression. "Don't know what took you so long."

"So… You are saying I should marry her?"

"No. I'm saying you should run with a stripper and a start new life gambling in Vegas - Of course I'm saying you should marry her, Finn! You've been practically married since high school anyway." I deadpanned.

"That's sorta true." He chuckled.

"You and me both know that there is no one else besides Annie that can deal with your shit."

"Well… There's you." He smirked.

"Yeah. But you won't see me marrying you any time soon."

Finnick laughed louder this time, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Peeta Mellark, you truly know what to say to convince a man. Which is why I am here by declaring you my best man. And note that I am not asking you because you have no choice."

"If I had a choice it wouldn't be Finnick Odair asking me now would it?"

"No, it would not."

He raised his beer one more time and we toasted to the new chapter that was about to begin. We toasted to his life and to our friendship.

…

I got home somewhat around three am, the alcohol in me making the stairs seem three times as long. By the time I got to the top floor I was panting and sweat had started to form on my brow.

Dad was nowhere to be seen, probably dozing off in his room until it was time to get up and prepare the bakery for another days work.

I tried my best to keep quiet as I made my way to my room but both the floorboards and my crutches weren't helping me much. When I got to my room and closed the door behind me I sighed in relief. After sitting down on my bed I tossed the crutches to the floor and stripped down to my boxers and laid down. I thought about going to the bathroom and brushing my teeth but it just didn't seem worth getting back up. So I closed my eyes and started to drift slowly to sleep.

Until a thought hit me making me startle. Tomorrow I had physical therapy.

Happy New Year everyone! I wish that 2015 is good to you in ways that 2014 was not and that you succeed in your ventures throughout the year.

I would like to apologize once more for the delay in this chapter, I have no excuses seeing as I have been in holidays since July, and also for the lack of everlark in said chapter. But, I promise that next chapter will have everlark interaction (though not the kind you expect yet) and I will try to make an effort to update more often.

As always I would like to thank my lovely beta Gabby (peetaseverdeen on tumblr) for always urging me forward when I felt like quitting and for doing such a great work.

If there is anything you would like to say to me just PM or visit me on tumblr, I'm herfathersbow. Reviews are always greatly appreciated!

Have a fantastic year!