Prim, my mother, and Gale come to say goodbye to me. Prim is extremely teary and makes me promise to try and win. I tell her I will, and I also tell her to go across the hall and thank Katniss for the cookie. It's the least I could do. I sternly tell my mother that she can't tune out like she did when my father died, and she promises she won't. Gale tells me he knows I'll win, but I know I won't. How could I win, knowing that that would mean Katniss was dead?

After that, the only person who comes to say goodbye is Katniss's father, the baker. He sits in silence for the most part, but just as he turns to leave, he tells me he'll keep an eye on Prim, make sure she's eating. I could almost hug him, but I just shake his hand and express my gratitude.

All too soon, Peacekeepers come to collect me. I leave my room in the Justice Building and I follow behind Katniss and her pair of Peacekeepers. We're loaded into a car with Effie Trinket and she goes on and on about the train ride and the Capitol and food. I tune her out and focus on taking in District 12 for the last time. When we arrive at the train station, Katniss, Effie, and I are ushered onto the train. The photographers try to stop us and ask us questions, mainly about how we held hands while walking into the Justice Building, but Peacekeepers push us forward. The very second the door slips closed behind us, the train takes off at nearly two-hundred miles per hour. We barely feel a thing.

Effie leaves Katniss and I alone in the lounge car – she goes looking for Haymitch Abernathy, our mentor. He's a notorious drunk; I don't expect any help from him. Mentors are supposed to mentor, obviously, but line up sponsors for tributes in the arena, too. Without sponsors, you're as good as dead. But, I'm as good as dead, anyway. Katniss and I sit in silence for a long moment. "Katniss," I say softly.

She turns to look at me. Her serious facade vanishes almost immediately. Her beautiful gray eyes are full of fear and she looks like she's fighting back tears. "Peeta, I . . ."

I nod. "I know," I say.

She looks at me sadly. I want to assuage her fear in any way I can, so I try and make a joke. "Are we still on for tomorrow afternoon?"

She flashes a tiny smile. "How are we going to go on a date in a train?"

I laugh. "I don't know. We can make it work. We may as well get in all the time we can – I don't think you and I are going to last." My feeble attempt at another joke doesn't get the same reaction as the first.

"Don't say that," she snaps.

"I'm sorry," I reply quickly. "I just . . . it's easier to joke about it than to actually accept it."

"Maybe we can run away," she says quickly. "When the train stops for fuel, we can run off. We can live in the woods – I know you can hunt and –"

"Katniss, listen to yourself," I say. "This is the Capitol. We have no way out. I wish there was another way, I really do."

She looks like she's near tears again. "This is so unfair!" she cries in anguish.

I sigh. "It sucks. I know."

"Why couldn't you have asked me out a year ago?" she says. "Do you even know how long I've wanted you to –" She pauses and flushes bright red.

"What?" I ask in disbelief.

"I've liked you forever," she whispers.

Despite everything, I break into a huge grin. "I've liked you forever. Longer than forever."

She turns to look at me, but she doesn't look happy. "Why didn't either of us say something sooner? In three weeks, we'll both be dead."

Twenty seconds of courage, I think to myself. "Three weeks is a long time, Katniss," I murmur. I lean over in my chair and press my lips to hers extremely softly. Her lips are soft and taste like cinnamon. I don't want to push my luck, so I pull away, but remain close to her.

"It's not that long," she says mischievously. She brings her lips back to mine but the kiss is much deeper. I put my hands on her waist and pull her into my lap. She was right – three weeks isn't that long. We should take advantage of every second . . . and I wouldn't mind spending every second of the rest of my life doing exactly this. Her hands entangle themselves in my hair and I run my tongue along her bottom lip and she opens her mouth readily. Just as our tongues collide, the car door slides open and Effie and Haymitch walk back in. Katniss jumps off my lap and our lips part with a sloppy 'smack', but not before Effie and Haymitch see us. Effie makes a disapproving grunt but Haymitch just squints his eyes and begins to laugh.

"Uncouth, dirty, disgusting," Effie mutters, but Haymitch shushes her.

"Are you two an item?" he asks.

Katniss, who was now seated in her chair, as far from me as possible, looks at me. I shrug. Making out in the lounge car on the way to the Hunger Games doesn't necessarily make us a couple. But, I nod at Haymitch anyway.

He grins broadly. "For how long?"

"Um," I say, embarrassed. "Today."

Haymitch laughs again. "I can work with this. Effie, we can work with this."

"Nasty, ill-mannered, vulgar," she's still muttering.

Haymitch rolls his eyes. "Dinner isn't for a few hours," he says. "Your boarding cars are six cars down, right next to each other. Which is probably extremely convenient, if you know what I mean."

Katniss makes a sound of contempt and I just roll my eyes. Katniss gets up first – I follow her in silence down to our boarding cars. One is labeled 'Female'. The other is labeled 'Male'. I look to Katniss, but she's staring at the floor.

"I think I'm going to clean up," she mutters. She turns to walk into her boarding car, but I grab her wrist.

"Katniss," I say softly, pulling her back against me and planting my hands on her waist. "Why the sudden change in attitude?"

"That was embarrassing," she murmurs.

I grin. "It was kind of funny, too. Just a little bit, maybe."

She smiles softly. "Kind of."

I lean forward hesitantly and place my lips on hers. "Do you still want to clean up?" I ask, our lips partially connected.

She shakes her head. "We only have three weeks to be with each other," she whispers.

I return her soft smile. "I want to spend as much of the rest of my life as I possibly can with you," I whisper back.

She grins shyly and I pull her into my bedroom.

I try to brush The Hunger Games out of my mind, but I know that I have a serious decision to make. Do I do all I can to protect the girl I love, or do I try and keep the promise I made to my sister?

I shake the thought when Katniss brings her lips to mine. I have two weeks to figure out my strategy. Right now, I just want to focus on the lips of the girl I love.