Ficlet, "Prom Season"
Prom Season
Katniss/Peeta, Gale/Madge | High School AU
1500 words
Also here
Prim looked up from her teen magazine and sighed dramatically. "I wish I was going to prom," she said, twirling her hair around one finger and gazing at Katniss.
"I'm sure you will, in about five years," Katniss replied absently, before turning back to her essay on The Scarlet Letter.
Prim huffed and Katniss shook her head. Where did that even come from? Did Prim even know anyone going to prom?
-----
"I just want you to be safe, sweetie," her mom said, and handed Katniss a small box.
"Uh, thanks?" Katniss took the box from her mother's hand, and looked down at it a moment later. When she realized what it was, she was so startled that she dropped it on the floor. "Mom!"
"It's important to protect yourselves every time," her mother said, stooping to pick up the package of condoms that had landed near her feet. "Even the first time, it's possible--"
"Mom, I'm not having this conversation--"
"Then take the box, and promise me you'll use them, and we don't have to discuss it again."
"Ugh, fine."
She stuffed the box into the back of her underwear drawer and tried to forget it was there. Why would her mom even think of that? Katniss wasn't dating anyone, much less having sex.
-----
Peeta Mellark was looking at her again, from across the lunchroom. All around him, the wrestling team was a hive of activity, pushing and laughing and shouting at one another, but Peeta sat perfectly still in the middle of the table and watched her. His blue eyes were bright from three tables away.
Katniss bit her lip and held his gaze. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster in her chest, and her cheeks growing hotter. He was gorgeous, with those blond curls and broad shoulders, and those soft lips she just wanted to--
"Hey, Catnip." Gale dropped into the seat next to her and took out his lunch. "Whatcha looking at?"
Katniss glanced back at the wrestling team's table, but Peeta's face was turned away now.
"Nothing," she said, and felt her stomach sink. Had she imagined the whole thing?
-----
"Darius asked me to prom today," Madge announced, as Katniss sliced open an embalmed frog on the table between them.
"You should probably look at the frog," Katniss said. "You know Coin's gonna put this on the test."
"Gross," Madge said, but leaned in anyway. "Is that its stomach?"
Katniss nodded. "So you told him no?"
"I said yes," Madge said, shrugging. "He's nice. We'll have fun."
Katniss set the scalpel down and looked up at Madge through her safety goggles. "He's nice," she echoed. "I thought you liked Gale."
Madge backed away so fast that she nearly fell off her stool. "I-- What do you-- That's not-- Why would you even-- What?"
Katniss just raised her eyebrows and waited. This sort of reaction was what made it obvious that Madge was interested in Gale. She couldn't even string together a simple sentence about him, and this girl was the co-captain of the debate team.
"Is there a problem, ladies?" Ms. Coin called from the front of the room, in a tone of voice that made it sound more like a command and less like a question.
"We're fine, thanks," Madge said, with a wide and totally fake-looking smile. Then she leaned close and hissed, "I'm pretty sure he's taken, Katniss."
Frowning, Katniss picked up the scalpel again and tried to consult the dissection manual. She thought she'd probably know if her best friend was dating someone. "He is?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah," Madge said. Her voice conveyed extreme skepticism. "By you?"
Katniss looked up, her eyes wide with horror.
Madge nodded and spoke slowly, as if she were explaining something to a moron. "You. Are. Dating. Gale Hawthorne."
Katniss shook her head. "No, I'm not," she said. Gale was her best friend, that was all. And even then, lately he'd been sharing the title with Madge pretty extensively.
"Are you sure?" Madge asked.
"Uh, yeah. I'm pretty sure I know what dating involves," Katniss said. There'd been that one time that Gale tried to kiss her, in freshman year, but then Katniss burst out laughing and Gale got the message pretty quickly. "And trust me, there's none of that happening."
"You hang out all the time."
"We hang out all the time," Katniss said, motioning between herself and Madge with one latex-gloved hand. "Are we dating? Do you want to go to prom with me?"
"Uh, no," Madge said firmly. "I want to cut up this frog and collect my A."
-----
"Why did you say that about prom?" Katniss asked her sister, as they stood side-by-side in the kitchen, washing and chopping vegetables.
"I wish I was old enough to go," Prim said with a sigh. "I bet it's beautiful."
"It's just another dance," Katniss said. "The only difference is that it's held downtown, instead of in the gym."
"Yeah, but it'll be so romantic." Prim stepped away from the counter and began waltzing around the kitchen with a bunch of carrots clutched to her chest. Katniss rolled her eyes.
"Did you think I was going, Little Duck?"
"Aren't you?" Prim's eyes were wide. "Did you have a fight with Gale?"
"No," Katniss said, in a voice that might have been louder than necessary. Prim flinched a little. "We did not have a fight, we are not dating, and we are not going to the damn prom."
Prim just looked at her with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry," Katniss said immediately. She couldn't stay angry for two minutes when Prim made that Bambi face. "Does everyone think we're dating?"
"Everyone," Prim confirmed, nodding. "I even heard Darius say that he'd ask you except that your boyfriend would kick his--"
"Everyone?" Katniss interrupted. "Even Mom?"
Prim made a face and nodded again. Ugh. At least that explained the condoms.
-----
It was four o'clock in the morning and Katniss couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, then drank a glass of water, then went to the bathroom, then put on a pair of socks and removed them ten minutes later when her feet were too hot.
"I'm pretty sure he's taken," Madge said.
"Everyone thinks you're dating," Prim said.
"I'd ask her to prom myself, but her boyfriend would kick my ass," Darius said, in her head.
Peeta Mellark's blue eyes watched her intently across the lunchroom, until Gale showed up. Then he looked away.
Katniss sat up straight in her bed. This was not good. Not even a little. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and opened up a new text.
You should ask Madge to prom, she sent to Gale.
Three minutes later, she got back a reply. WTF? no prom texts b4 dawn, loser.
Do it, she wrote back.
Sleep now, he replied.
-----
The next day at lunch, Katniss put her backpack on the bench beside her, so no one could sit there. She set her brown bag on the table and waited, looking around the room.
Peeta Mellark glanced up at her once, then frowned and looked away. Katniss propped her chin on her hands and didn't bother to hide the fact that she was watching him. Staring, really. The sunlight through the cafeteria windows caught his hair and gave the curls a golden glow. Soon enough he looked up at her again, and this time she gave him a wide, slow smile. She let herself think about all the things Prim had talked about, moonlight and romance and slow dancing and holding hands, and she tried to put all that into the smile, as if she could communicate telepathically across a crowded lunchroom.
Peeta blinked twice, and turned to look backward over his shoulder, as if there might have been someone standing behind him. Even when there was no one there, he didn't turn his face back to Katniss.
Katniss felt the first stirrings of doubt in her stomach, and pushed them away. Even if she was wrong about Peeta, there was no downside to this. Even if they'd been idiots about this, Gale and Madge deserved to be happy. Katniss could give them that. She waited.
The next five minutes passed with horrible slowness, as Katniss sat alone and at her lunch and Peeta ignored her. Or at least, he didn't look her way.
Halfway through her ham sandwich, Katniss heard the lunchroom go completely silent, followed by a murmur of surprise. When she looked up, she saw Madge and Gale, walking toward her with their arms around one another. The smile on Madge's face was so bright that it threatened to take over her entire face, and she walked as if there were springs on the bottoms of her shoes. Even Gale looked happier than Katniss had seen him in a long time.
Katniss knew that the smile on her own face reflected their happiness.
When she looked around the lunchroom, she found another face in the crowd that glowed with the same warmth. This time, Peeta Mellark did not turn away from her smile. Instead, he stood and walked closer.
Katniss/Peeta, Gale/Madge | High School AU
1500 words
Also here
Prim looked up from her teen magazine and sighed dramatically. "I wish I was going to prom," she said, twirling her hair around one finger and gazing at Katniss.
"I'm sure you will, in about five years," Katniss replied absently, before turning back to her essay on The Scarlet Letter.
Prim huffed and Katniss shook her head. Where did that even come from? Did Prim even know anyone going to prom?
-----
"I just want you to be safe, sweetie," her mom said, and handed Katniss a small box.
"Uh, thanks?" Katniss took the box from her mother's hand, and looked down at it a moment later. When she realized what it was, she was so startled that she dropped it on the floor. "Mom!"
"It's important to protect yourselves every time," her mother said, stooping to pick up the package of condoms that had landed near her feet. "Even the first time, it's possible--"
"Mom, I'm not having this conversation--"
"Then take the box, and promise me you'll use them, and we don't have to discuss it again."
"Ugh, fine."
She stuffed the box into the back of her underwear drawer and tried to forget it was there. Why would her mom even think of that? Katniss wasn't dating anyone, much less having sex.
-----
Peeta Mellark was looking at her again, from across the lunchroom. All around him, the wrestling team was a hive of activity, pushing and laughing and shouting at one another, but Peeta sat perfectly still in the middle of the table and watched her. His blue eyes were bright from three tables away.
Katniss bit her lip and held his gaze. She could feel her heart beating faster and faster in her chest, and her cheeks growing hotter. He was gorgeous, with those blond curls and broad shoulders, and those soft lips she just wanted to--
"Hey, Catnip." Gale dropped into the seat next to her and took out his lunch. "Whatcha looking at?"
Katniss glanced back at the wrestling team's table, but Peeta's face was turned away now.
"Nothing," she said, and felt her stomach sink. Had she imagined the whole thing?
-----
"Darius asked me to prom today," Madge announced, as Katniss sliced open an embalmed frog on the table between them.
"You should probably look at the frog," Katniss said. "You know Coin's gonna put this on the test."
"Gross," Madge said, but leaned in anyway. "Is that its stomach?"
Katniss nodded. "So you told him no?"
"I said yes," Madge said, shrugging. "He's nice. We'll have fun."
Katniss set the scalpel down and looked up at Madge through her safety goggles. "He's nice," she echoed. "I thought you liked Gale."
Madge backed away so fast that she nearly fell off her stool. "I-- What do you-- That's not-- Why would you even-- What?"
Katniss just raised her eyebrows and waited. This sort of reaction was what made it obvious that Madge was interested in Gale. She couldn't even string together a simple sentence about him, and this girl was the co-captain of the debate team.
"Is there a problem, ladies?" Ms. Coin called from the front of the room, in a tone of voice that made it sound more like a command and less like a question.
"We're fine, thanks," Madge said, with a wide and totally fake-looking smile. Then she leaned close and hissed, "I'm pretty sure he's taken, Katniss."
Frowning, Katniss picked up the scalpel again and tried to consult the dissection manual. She thought she'd probably know if her best friend was dating someone. "He is?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah," Madge said. Her voice conveyed extreme skepticism. "By you?"
Katniss looked up, her eyes wide with horror.
Madge nodded and spoke slowly, as if she were explaining something to a moron. "You. Are. Dating. Gale Hawthorne."
Katniss shook her head. "No, I'm not," she said. Gale was her best friend, that was all. And even then, lately he'd been sharing the title with Madge pretty extensively.
"Are you sure?" Madge asked.
"Uh, yeah. I'm pretty sure I know what dating involves," Katniss said. There'd been that one time that Gale tried to kiss her, in freshman year, but then Katniss burst out laughing and Gale got the message pretty quickly. "And trust me, there's none of that happening."
"You hang out all the time."
"We hang out all the time," Katniss said, motioning between herself and Madge with one latex-gloved hand. "Are we dating? Do you want to go to prom with me?"
"Uh, no," Madge said firmly. "I want to cut up this frog and collect my A."
-----
"Why did you say that about prom?" Katniss asked her sister, as they stood side-by-side in the kitchen, washing and chopping vegetables.
"I wish I was old enough to go," Prim said with a sigh. "I bet it's beautiful."
"It's just another dance," Katniss said. "The only difference is that it's held downtown, instead of in the gym."
"Yeah, but it'll be so romantic." Prim stepped away from the counter and began waltzing around the kitchen with a bunch of carrots clutched to her chest. Katniss rolled her eyes.
"Did you think I was going, Little Duck?"
"Aren't you?" Prim's eyes were wide. "Did you have a fight with Gale?"
"No," Katniss said, in a voice that might have been louder than necessary. Prim flinched a little. "We did not have a fight, we are not dating, and we are not going to the damn prom."
Prim just looked at her with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry," Katniss said immediately. She couldn't stay angry for two minutes when Prim made that Bambi face. "Does everyone think we're dating?"
"Everyone," Prim confirmed, nodding. "I even heard Darius say that he'd ask you except that your boyfriend would kick his--"
"Everyone?" Katniss interrupted. "Even Mom?"
Prim made a face and nodded again. Ugh. At least that explained the condoms.
-----
It was four o'clock in the morning and Katniss couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, then drank a glass of water, then went to the bathroom, then put on a pair of socks and removed them ten minutes later when her feet were too hot.
"I'm pretty sure he's taken," Madge said.
"Everyone thinks you're dating," Prim said.
"I'd ask her to prom myself, but her boyfriend would kick my ass," Darius said, in her head.
Peeta Mellark's blue eyes watched her intently across the lunchroom, until Gale showed up. Then he looked away.
Katniss sat up straight in her bed. This was not good. Not even a little. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and opened up a new text.
You should ask Madge to prom, she sent to Gale.
Three minutes later, she got back a reply. WTF? no prom texts b4 dawn, loser.
Do it, she wrote back.
Sleep now, he replied.
-----
The next day at lunch, Katniss put her backpack on the bench beside her, so no one could sit there. She set her brown bag on the table and waited, looking around the room.
Peeta Mellark glanced up at her once, then frowned and looked away. Katniss propped her chin on her hands and didn't bother to hide the fact that she was watching him. Staring, really. The sunlight through the cafeteria windows caught his hair and gave the curls a golden glow. Soon enough he looked up at her again, and this time she gave him a wide, slow smile. She let herself think about all the things Prim had talked about, moonlight and romance and slow dancing and holding hands, and she tried to put all that into the smile, as if she could communicate telepathically across a crowded lunchroom.
Peeta blinked twice, and turned to look backward over his shoulder, as if there might have been someone standing behind him. Even when there was no one there, he didn't turn his face back to Katniss.
Katniss felt the first stirrings of doubt in her stomach, and pushed them away. Even if she was wrong about Peeta, there was no downside to this. Even if they'd been idiots about this, Gale and Madge deserved to be happy. Katniss could give them that. She waited.
The next five minutes passed with horrible slowness, as Katniss sat alone and at her lunch and Peeta ignored her. Or at least, he didn't look her way.
Halfway through her ham sandwich, Katniss heard the lunchroom go completely silent, followed by a murmur of surprise. When she looked up, she saw Madge and Gale, walking toward her with their arms around one another. The smile on Madge's face was so bright that it threatened to take over her entire face, and she walked as if there were springs on the bottoms of her shoes. Even Gale looked happier than Katniss had seen him in a long time.
Katniss knew that the smile on her own face reflected their happiness.
When she looked around the lunchroom, she found another face in the crowd that glowed with the same warmth. This time, Peeta Mellark did not turn away from her smile. Instead, he stood and walked closer.