I'm not sure if I can do this, but if I don't, my brother will kick the shit out of me. I spot Katniss in math class, as always sitting in the back where she thinks no one notices her. She's talking to her friend Madge, smiling about something. I love seeing her smile; I don't catch it enough times during the day. She turns her dark head at just the right moment, catching me watching her, again. I wonder what she thinks of me. She leans over to Madge, asking her something that has to do with me because Madge takes to looking at me too. I sit down quickly, embarrassed that I was caught, again, but this time she has someone near her to talk to about me. That's kind of good, right?

I hear them laughing, which can't be good and 'accidentally' drop my notebook, risking a glance their way. Katniss is watching me this time and I give her a smile, the best one I can muster. She shakes her head and laughs some more. I wish I was close enough to hear what they're saying, but I sit a row over and a few seats ahead of her. Had I been smarter in the beginning of the year, I would have sat next to her or in front of her where I could have heard everything. We still have some time before class actually starts, so I shake my head and get up, walking towards them. They both stop talking and look at me.

"Hi Katniss." Is all I can manage to get out? Really, I've been rehearsing this very moment in my head for days, if not weeks, well technically years. My voice sounds higher than it is, considering it finished changing something like two years ago.

She just smiles, suppressing a laugh. "Afternoon Peeta."

She does know my name. Of course she knows my name; we've been going to the same school since kindergarten. I take a breath, calm myself. Get this over with quick, like a band-aid. "So, ummm, are you…a…you going to the dance?"

"You mean the homecoming dance?" She asks me, her gray eyes beaming with some kind of lightness. She looks at Madge, who just shrugs then looks back up at me.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I know its next week and all, and you might already have a date…" I ramble, shoving my hands in my pockets so I don't have them flaying about.

Katniss just shakes her head, her hand going to her braid and playing with the end of it. "No, I don't have a date. I hadn't really planned on going."

"Oh, oh, okay." I'm just about to turn around and go back to my seat when she asks,

"Why did you want to know?" Her voice sounds curious and lovely.

I take another deep breath in; I really need to just ask her. "Well, I was wondering if you would go with me, be my date?"

She smiles and looks at Madge again. I don't understand why girls do that, why they can't just answer without getting their friends' opinions on everything. Katniss shrugs, "Sure, why not? I've never been to homecoming and Madge has been bugging me to go to some dance for the last two years."

"Really? I mean, you've never been to any of the school dances?" I'm not sure why this surprises me, she isn't really involved with school in any way other than to be here.

She laughs, "No, never really cared about it, but maybe you'll convince me otherwise."

I smile back at her, nodding with stupid enthusiasm. "Maybe. Umm, we'll talk after class, get into more detail?"

She takes a breath in, "No, I have to get my sister. But if you're working at the bakery tonight, I can come in, if that's okay?"

She knows where I work too? Holy crap, I didn't even think she knew I was alive, well, maybe alive, but not that she noticed me enough to know that. I calm myself down again, this time pinching my leg through my jean pocket. Crap, that's going to leave a mark, "Yeah, sure, I'll be there til about nine."

"Okay, then I'll see you later." She tells me just as the teacher walks in and I have to go to my seat. For the rest of the class, I sneak peeks at her more often than usual and every time, she just shakes her head at me, smiles, and points to the front of the class.

When the bell rings, the last class of the day done, I pack up my stuff as slowly as I can, hoping to talk to her some more. She does slow down as she passes my desk and says, "I'll see you later, Peeta."

I smile up at her, thrilled that she's talking to me. I try to keep my voice calm, try to get all of the images that were playing in my head during class out so I can appear normal. "Okay, see you later."

I go to my locker and as I'm bending over to put the books I need to take home in my bag, my locker slams shut. I already know who it is and should really have known better than to have my back to where he comes from his last class of the day.

"Did you do it?" My older brother, Bran, asks as begins punching my shoulder. He's much worse now that our older brother went off to college this year.

I knock his fist away and reopen my locker, "Yes and quit hitting me."

"Holy crap! You actually spoke to her?! That's only been years in the waiting!" He practically yells, gathering a few stares from others milling around the hallway.

"Will you shut up! I said I would do it today and I did, so leave me alone." I hiss at him. I grab the last book I need and shove it in my bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

Bran punches me in the arm hard and runs off, "See you at the car, Peety!"

I just shake my head at him and make my way out to the school's parking lot. The ride to our family's bakery is loud with the radio on and Bran attempting to sing along unsuccessfully. I grab an apron and my homework as I head to the front of the store.

"Oh good, you boys are here." Our mom greets us as I take my place near the register and Bran starts checking the inventory. "Peeta, there's an order for Saturday afternoon, a girl's tenth birthday. She has requested unicorns and fairies."

She hands me the yellow order slip and I look at it. Lucky me, there's even a picture of the kind of fairies she wants. Since it's only Tuesday, I don't have to actually make the cake until tomorrow and start drawing out the unicorn and fairies. I usually so all the decorations, unless we get too many orders, and then my father joins in. But as it's only the beginning of October too, we won't get much in the way of cake. Plenty of cookies and cupcakes for the upcoming Halloween parties, but not whole cakes usually. This is my favorite part of my job, decorating. The best part next to that is seeing the customers' faces when they see what they ordered in frosting and fondant.

I do the sketch quickly and get my mom's nod of approval before I start on my homework. I run the register while trying to answer questions about the civil war. Yep, that's my life. Every time the door opens and our little bell dings, my head pops up because of course I'm hoping that Katniss has come in. My brother keeps making sly comments and my mom tells him to quit bothering me, although I don't know that she actually knows what's going on. Finally, about an hour to closing, the door dings again and when I look up, I see a very tired Katniss walk in.

"Hi." She says, even her voice sounds sleepy. Maybe she was asleep or something?

"Hi." I stand up from my stool and go up to the cookie section. "Want something? It's on the house." I say with a wink. I don't know that where that confidence came from but her full pink lips widen into a smile.

She walks up to the counter and looks into the glass. Looking up at me with her gray eyes, she bites her lip and then asks, "Any cookie?"

I nod with a smile, hoping that my brother doesn't decide to come out from the backroom any time in the next few minutes.

"Which one's the best? In your opinion?" She questions, looking between the oatmeal raisin and the double chocolate chip.

"Well, it depends. When I'm doing homework, I like double chocolate ones. Umm, when I'm hungry for a snack, chocolate chip is always a favorite, but for breakfast I usually grab a couple oatmeal raisins because it'll hold me over until lunch." I'm going over what I like, not what she might like, but then she interrupts,

"Yes, but which is the best?" Her eyes have turned into a stormy gray and I don't know if that means she's annoyed or what, but they are beautiful nonetheless.

No one has ever asked which one I like, so I have to look at our selection of about ten different cookies that we make every single day. "Ummm, honestly, I like the peanut butter the best."

"Then I'll have one of those, please." Katniss responds standing straight and she starts playing with the end of her braid again.

I get a piece of tissue paper and grab the prettiest one, which also happens to be the biggest and hand it over to her. Our fingers graze each other's and instantly begin to feel a tingling sensation through my whole body. I'm pretty sure she feels it too because her eyes go wide all of a sudden and she pulls her hand away quickly. I lean against the counter and watch as she takes a bite of the cookie. I'm not disappointed when the smile spreads across her face for the second time tonight.

"So, who makes these?" She asks once she's swallowed her bite. I go to the small fridge we have for our own personal drinks and food and grab some milk. I pour her some in a small plastic cup and hand it over. "Thanks."

I just nod and answer her, "My dad makes them in morning on the weekdays and I make them on the weekends. It gives him a break."

Katniss continues to nibble on the cookie, nodding and enjoying. "So, what else do you do, besides hand out cookies to girls?"

"Only special girls." I say quietly, as I motion for her to sit at one of the four little tables we have for customers. I come out from behind the counter; we normally don't get anyone in after six anyway. I sit down across from her and start rubbing my fingers together in nervousness.

"What's so special about me?" Her voice isn't so tired anymore and even her face seems more awake. "Why'd you ask me to the dance anyway?"

I wasn't expecting that at all. "Umm, which one do you want me to answer first?"

She smiles and shakes her head, "Whichever one you can."

I nod my head, figuring out which one would be easier to answer. But as I'm all for honesty, why not the first one. "Well, let's just say that I've liked you for a long time and finally got enough guts to ask you to a dance."

"Oookay. So, your guts held you back?" She teases me, smiling. I could look at her for hours if she smiled at me like that all the time.

"Well, yeah. It's stupid, I know, but I've seen you with Hawthorne and thought you two were together until my brother told me otherwise."

"Gale? God no! He's like the brother I never had and because of him, I'm glad I don't have one." She admits, frowning. "So, because you saw me hanging out with Gale, you didn't ask me out sooner?"

"I didn't know that I could." I tell her honestly, shrugging. I start to draw out random designs on the table, another nervous habit. I watch my fingers instead of looking at her when I start to explain more. "I kept seeing you with him after your dad died and just figured I shouldn't bother you."

"Oh." Is all she says in response. "Well, truth be told, he was just easier to hang out with because his dad died a couple of years before mine, we've known each other's families for…..well, forever."

I nod, still not looking at her, drawing phantom pictures on the table. "Him and Madge, I take it?"

She snorts and I have to look at her to understand this revelation. Shaking her dark-haired head, "Madge and I have been friends since the fifth grade; she won't let me not be her friend."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, after my dad died, I didn't feel like hanging out with anyone, especially Madge because she's a pretty happy person and it was annoying. But she calmed down and got me talking about it. But up until now, she's never convinced me as to why I should go to a school dance, much less homecoming." Katniss explains and then she grabs my hand, "Are you nervous about me being here?"

I give her a shy smile, "Like I said I've liked you for a long time."

She shrugs again and shakes her head, "And you finally beat your guts into asking me out? Cute."

"You know, I should start cleaning up, but you can stay here if you want, talk to me while I do it." I tell her as I get up to go back behind the counter. "Why'd you come over here so late anyway?"

"My mom had to work til 7. I watch Prim and had to make dinner for all of us." She says matter-of-factly. She stands up too and for a second I'm afraid that she is going to leave. When she leans herself across the counter, I breathe a sigh of relief. She laughs, "Afraid I was going to go so soon? Not a chance, the only time I'm out of the house, I plan on staying out for longer than half an hour."

"Oh, okay. I take it you finished your homework then?" I mock her as I pack up my book bag first and then get to covering all of the cookies in plastic wrap. "Could you do me a favor and lock the front door? I should have done it about fifteen minutes ago."

She nods and quickly flips the lock and turns the little sign hanging in the window to 'Closed'. "So, you're here every day after school?"

"Well, unless I'm sick, but yeah, every day we come here and we're here all weekend. Well, actually, no, I do have wrestling season in November." I remember as I start packing away the Danishes and pastries.

"That's right; you are all on the team, aren't you?"

"Well, not Jack, since he's at college and all." Bran says, coming out of the storeroom. I wonder how long he's been back there, listening to us, and probably laughing. "So, you must be the Katniss Peeta's been talking about forever. Finally got up enough guts to ask you out, did he?"

She gives him a glowing smile, "And I can see he is nothing like you, so I made the right choice, didn't I?"

I stifle a laugh and Katniss gives me a wink. Bran doesn't let up though, "Huh, smartass are we? That's fine, he'll need you around. I'm done in back, what else needs to be done up here?"

"Just covering up stuff and then we can leave. I'll be walking Katniss home though." I answer him as he just watches Katniss.

"Fine, I'll lock up the register and you should be done by then?" He tells me as he walks past me and punches me in the arm. I hate him sometimes.

Katniss waits until Bran leaves and then looks at me, "Why do you let him do that?"

"What, punch me? If you hadn't noticed, he's a bit bigger than me." I admit, covering up the last of today's freshly baked cookies. We sold a lot so Dad will be busy tomorrow, but that's better than not selling any.

"Yeah, but didn't you almost beat him last year at a match?"

"You saw that?" I can't believe she'd pay attention to that at all.

"Peeta, you aren't the only one who's been watching."