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“Hey!”Peeta’s head shot up at the sound of her voice. Her hair was braided back, per usual, and she had on the same worn out jacket that she had been wearing for the last three weeks.“What’s up, Catnip?” Gale leaned on the counter and smiled brightly – it was the same smile he had given to the red head earlier in the day when he had charmed her into giving him her number. Peeta wanted to punch him.“You ready to go? The movie starts soon.” She looked look down at her phone, a concerned look on her face.“Oh shit!” He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “I forgot to text you earlier, but I have to close tonight.”Peeta watched as Katniss tried not to show her disappointment. He looked at the clock – he only had ten more minutes on his shift. The thought of offering to go with her to the movies crossed his mind but he quickly shut it down.“You know Gale, I can close, no big deal,” Peeta offered.“Are you sure?” he asked.“Yeah, don’t want to disappoint the lady.” He motioned to Katniss.“Oh, Peeta, you don’t have to do that!” She hurried to say.“It’s okay, really. I got this.” Peeta nodded towards the door. “You guys have a movie to get to.” Gale clapped him hard on the back.“Thanks, Mellark!” he called as he ripped his apron off and threw it towards the back room. “I owe you!”“I’ll be right with you,” Peeta called to the figure he had seen walk up to the counter. He tried to sound as pleasant as he could, but it was 6 in the morning, the night shift had left almost all of the blenders dirty when they had gone home the night before, and he was the only one scheduled until 9am.“Take your time.” Her voice made him fumble, almost dropping the blenders, but he righted himself and deposited them all in the sink.“Hey – how are you?” he asked as he hurried back to the front.“Tired,” she sighed leaned against the counter. “Nobody else this morning?”“Not much traffic on a Sunday morning on a college campus.” He motioned around to the very empty student union.“True.” She smiled. “You ready for midterms?”“Not in the slightest, how about you?” he asked, leaning on the counter as well.“Nope!” She shook her head, the end of her wet braid slipping off her shoulder and the smell of her shampoo filled his nose. “Oh, by the way, thank you for taking Gale’s shift the other week…I had been dying to go to the movies!” At the mention of his co-worker, Peeta cleared his throat and straightened up.“Of course.” He pulled the rag out of the front of his apron and ran it over the top of the counter. “No big deal…so, uh, what can I get you?”“Cato! Switch!” Peeta said as he came back to the sink; he was tired listening to Gale flirt with all the sorority girls while Katniss was studying in the lobby, barely 30 feet away.“Damn, who pissed in your expresso?” Cato asked, drying his hands on a towel.Peeta ignored him and started on the dishes. He knew it was only a short reprieve as Cato’s shift was ending in a half hour, but it was better than nothing.
The rush had cleared out of the student union over an hour ago and Gale had offered to work on the tedious job of bagging the cookies and muffins. Peeta had spent much of that time trying to ignore Katniss’s subtle hair flicks and stretches as she continued to study – the counters had never looked so clean.“What can I get you?” Peeta automatically asked as a girl walked up to the counter.“Is Gale working today?”“Madge! Hey!” Gale called as he walked up front. He leaned on the counter, a smug smile on his face.Peeta fumed silently as Gale and the girl flirted, Katniss sitting a few feet away, oblivious to her boyfriend’s actions. After a few minutes the girl left and Peeta couldn’t keep his mouth shut any longer.“What is wrong with you?” his asked, his voice straining from his frustration.“Woah, what?” Gale held his hands up in front of him, unsure where Peeta’s anger was coming from.“Your girlfriend has been sitting in the lobby all afternoon and you have been flirting with girls right in front of her!” Peeta did his best to keep his voice low, but when Gale started to laugh, he thought he was going to lose it. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”“Katniss is not my girlfriend!” Gale finally managed to say. “Is that why you have been a dick lately? You thought I was trying to cheat on her?” Peeta was dumbfounded and didn’t know what to say. “I mean, we tried dating a couple of years ago, but she just didn’t feel the same way I did.” Gale leaned back on the counter, looking at Katniss. “Relationships don’t work with one sided feelings, you know?”“I’m sorry, dude. I just assumed.” Peeta busied himself with rearranging the pasty cabinet, trying to hide his embarrassment. “I should have asked.”“Naw, it’s alright.” Gale straightened up. “You know, as much as I hate the idea of her dating somebody, I think she likes you.” Peeta fumbled and dropped the muffins he was rearranging. “And I know you like her…you should ask her out, she deserves a good guy.”Peeta closed the pasty cabinet and looked over at Katniss.“Why don’t I finish up your shift? I owe you from a few weeks ago.” Gale nodded his head in her direction. “She doesn’t have plans tonight.”“Are you sure?” he asked tentatively. Gale shrugged.“She told me this morning.”Peeta gave him a quizzical look.“I meant about covering closing.”“I know.” Gale shoved Peeta away from the counter. “Better hurry.” He nodded back towards Katniss who was packing up her stuff.“Thanks.” Peeta pulled off his apron and grabbed his backpack from the back. By the time he was in the lobby Katniss was walking out of the student union. “Hey!” He huffed as he jogged to catch her.“Hey!” She smiled as he fell into step beside her.“What are you doing tonight?” he asked before he could talk himself out of it.“Oh…” it was dark out but Peeta could see the blush run across her cheeks. “Umm, nothing.” She stopped walking. “What did you have in mind?”“You want to grab a pizza?”“Definitely.”