Work Text:
"Why do they all take high school debate so seriously?" Peeta asks. He nods his head towards Glimmer, who’s currently practicing her killer smile in a mirror.
Katniss watches him suspiciously. He's always hanging out with the kids who take it the most seriously, the ones that call it their career, instead of what it is: a stupid high school activity that everyone's using to get into college.
Not that Katniss can judge. That's the only reason she's here. Joining the debate team is a sacrifice on many levels. There’s the speaking in public, which she really hates, but also allowing her coach, Effie, to pluck her eyebrows because it opens up her face, and judges like that. Plus, she has given up her Saturdays at the Hob. She's not great at line cooking, but Sae likes her work spirit, and people come in regardless of Katniss’s questionable food. Plus. she has to socialize with these people, which is really the worst part.
She realizes a little too late that he's addressing her, so she replies. "I assume you're here for the glory." Which is probably true. Being a wrestling champ isn't enough, apparently.
He actually laughs at that. "What glory? You think we're high up on the totem pole here?" He gestures around the practice room, where the D12 debaters have practice. "This place is run by football stars and prom queens."
"You're a big deal. I saw your championship wrestling match last year. The student body carried you out on their shoulders, and now you want to pretend you're unpopular?" She finds the whole thing ludicrous, almost as weird as this high school royalty talking to her.
But he doesn't even comment on that; ignores her implication and stares at her, eyes wide. "You went to my match?"
She grabs the end of her braid, acts like that’s what’s important, all so she doesn’t have to look at him. “Well, yeah. It was a big deal, and Gale wanted to go.”
“Oh,” he says, and he scratches the back of his neck. “I could see how your boyfriend would be into sports.”
“My boyfriend?” That’s a laugh. Gale’s her best friend, and one of the most important people in the world, but not her boyfriend. He’s off at the local junior college, dating Madge and being in ROTC. All those pop cans the two of them used to shoot with their air rifles is paying off for him, though she’s a little sad he’s moving in higher circles and has less time for her. Now when the two of them hang out, she’s subjected to endless discussions about what Beetee said about this weapon report or that bomb design. “He’s not.”
“I just assumed.”
“You assumed wrong.” Katniss sneaks a peek at her watch. This has to be the longest conversation the two of them have had, despite going to school together since kindergarten. She turns to go, because she has stuff to do. Important stuff, like avoid Haymitch, their mentor.
“Wait!” Peeta says, and he grabs her hand. She stares in amazement that he’d be so bold. He looks slightly startled too, and she notices that over his shoulder, from the podium, Cinna’s giving them a thumbs up.
You’re on fire! he mouths across the room, and at that, Katniss yanks her hand away from Peeta, afraid someone has noticed them. As she looks around, though, everyone’s pretty engrossed in their phones and/or notecards. She’s entirely relieved.
“Stay,” Peeta says. “I don’t want to have to spend another practice just, like, hanging out with Cato and Clove.”
“You hang out with them all the time,” she says.
“Only because I have to. Because his mom is dating my dad.”
Mrs. Mellark’s abuse had been an open secret in Panem, until she’d taken off, leaving Mr. Mellark to raise three kids on his own. Still, it never occurred to Katniss that Mr. Mellark was dating again. She sort of assumed all single parents were like her own. Mrs. Everdeen was on a cacophony of pills, and was mostly fine, but every so often, there were bad days, days where their mother was practically comatose from depression, when Katniss had to be responsible for Prim, the house, and everything. The idea of her dating again was a joke, really.
“That’s... neat,” she said.
“Oh, it isn’t. Cato’s a real dick,” Peeta said.
Katniss doesn’t mean to laugh, but she does. “What happened to your excellent elocution?” Peeta was debate team-famous for his persuasive abilities. It’s why D12 was doing so well, and why they had several trophies this year even though it had been over two decades since their team last won anything. Katniss enjoyed watching him speak, and she’s pleased she’s never had to go against him in competition. Hearing him speak so casually, when she generally only ever saw him in debate-mode, made him seem so much more human. She smiles. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one with the silver tongue?”
Peeta gives her a crooked grin. “Want to find out?”
She blushes. It’s definitely time to hide. She slips out of the practice room quickly, intending to put as much distance between her and Peeta as she can.
“Wait! I did have a question though,” Peeta calls down the hall. Katniss stops, despite how much she wants to find Rue and hide in the rafters with her, rather than to finish out practice today or deal with this boy. Though... it may be another eleven years before the two of them talk again, so she returns to him out of sheer curiosity.
She decides not to speak, though, so she raises an eyebrow and waits.
“So, I’m on the prom-planning committee,” he starts, and of course he is on the prom-planning committee. “And we’re doing the fashion show again this year to raise money.”
“That lame thing?” she asks without thinking.
Luckily, Peeta laughs at that too, like she’s made a joke. He doesn’t know that she and Madge sometimes make fun of it during lunches or, that they both agree the only thing dumber than prom is the fashion show the popular kids put on for the parents. Gale skipped out on his senior prom last year, opting instead to play lazer tag with a bunch of other Seam kids, like Thom and Bristol. Those kids couldn’t have afforded to go anyway, not when the Merchant kids were renting limos and buying dresses from the Capitol. Katniss, then just a sophomore, couldn’t have gone to prom even if she wanted to, but lazer tag had been way better anyway. Her aim was, as ever, excellent. “Oh, it’s completely lame, but we have to raise money somehow. It’s mostly just a game, anyway, to get into college. You know,” he continued casually, but she heard just the littlest hitch in his voice. “We have to get someone to model with us, each of us have to go in pairs, since there’s a certain number of outfits. I was wondering if you wanted to model with me, you know. It’s really easy, just show up and walk and maybe talk a little at the end of the runway.”
Katniss is horrified at the thought. She hates being the center of attention and usually goes to great lengths to avoid it.
She’s about to bolt when Peeta uses that silver tongue of his. He looks her dead in the eyes and says, “You can say that you were on the prom committee, then, and it’ll look good for colleges.”
Damnit, that guy is always helping her, without asking. He was the reason she was even on the debate team, having suggested it to Effie when that fox-faced redhead dropped out. Katniss’d gotten the invitation saying another student suggested her, and therefore she didn’t have to try out. Effie had been frustrated when they first started working together, as prepared speeches of any sort made Katniss sound robotic. It was only when she threw down the note cards that her coach declared that Katniss had something to work with; not talent, but presence, at least. Even after the training and the eyebrows, Katniss couldn’t figure out why people thought she should ever get beyond the first round, but she’d actually turned out ok at it.
Then last week, her coach let it slip that Katniss was nominated for the team by Peeta, who’d lied and said that she’d given a brilliant speech in chemistry class.
“It would really be a help,” he says, and she realizes this will pay him back, and she can stop feeling like she owes him, a feeling she hates.
He continues anyway, clearly expecting her to run. “And Cinna will picking out the clothes, so you don’t have to worry about that, and Portia will be on hair and makeup, so that’s all taken care of.”
Cinna seals the deal. He’d helped her when Effie had bawled Katniss out for looking, in her words, “like a welfare recipient” in her old suit. Cinna had taken her shopping at second-hand stores, and rather than just grabbing any old thing, he made her look at the stitching and the labels and they’d come away from the store with Katniss feeling like she looked good. Not that she cared, but it got Effie off her back, which was reason enough to love Cinna.
“Ok,” she says.
“Ok? Ok. Great! Well, good. I’ll talk to you?” He looks at her, a strange hope in his big blue eyes.
“Sure, Peeta,” she says.
He smiles at her, rakes a hand through his curly blonde hair. “You know, Katniss we’ve gone to school together since kindergarten, and I don’t think you’ve ever said my name that entire time. It’s nice, I like it.”
He continues. “Really, it cuts down on the general glaring you usually do.”
She glares at him, and he laughs. She can’t help it; his laugh is infectious, and she laughs too.
“Anyway, thanks. It’s not until the end of the month. But maybe I’ll see you before that...?” he asks, clearly a little nervous.
“You know where I’ll be every Saturday, and most afternoons, for the rest of the season,” she answers, nodding before going off to find Rue.
Though she tries to run straight for the theatre, she can't help but sneak another peek at Peeta.
And finds he's still looking at her.