Written for @michbigbagofweird for @fandomforoz.
“I thought I’d check with you about the holidays,” he said. “Are you planning to go home over winter break?”
“I wasn’t aware I needed to clear my visits home with you. Were you hoping to avoid me or something?”
Peeta rolled his eyes and leaned his hip against the side of her worktable. He studied her for several seconds before finally answering. When he did, his voice dripped with sarcasm.
“What I wouldn’t give for the approval of the magnanimous Katniss Everdeen, but no. I was actually going to be nice and see if you wanted to either ride with me or split the gas if you’d prefer to drive, but never mind. I forgot you only want me around when it’s convenient for you.”
Chastised, she fiddled with her pen and mumbled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”
Written for @michbigbagofweird for @fandomforoz.
“How did I not know this?” Katniss cried, completely flustered.
“Because you’ve avoided every speck of my existence when you aren’t telling me off?” he answered, his tone flat. “Like I said, good to know you really weren’t aware of anything having to do with me. Can I get past you? I have another class.”
“I do, too. Where are you going?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Social Welfare Policy with Heavensbee.”
She swallowed hard. “That’s where I’m going.”
“I’ll be sure to stay out of your way.”
“Peeta,” she said and reached out to touch him lightly on the forearm.
“Please don’t. You’ve made it very clear where you stand,” he said wearily. “I can’t deal with the whiplash. Don’t pretend like we can be friends again.”
Written for @michbigbagofweird for @fandomforoz.
“Is that all, or was there more to this absolutely horrific day you’ve barely managed to survive.”
“I saw him,” she admitted, quietly.
“Who?”
Katniss glared at her roommate. Madge was supposed to know what it meant when she said, “him,” but it seemed she’d forgotten Katniss’ story about her contentious rivalry with the smug golden boy from her hometown.
“Him!” she hissed and waved her hand to indicate Madge should keep thinking. “Mr. Premature.”
“Early ejaculation prom date dude?”
“Well, that’s one way to put it,” Katniss chuckled. “I like to call him Eager Beaver Peeta, but okay.”
Well, hell. I went on a writing bender today, apparently. Nine days ahead after writing 6359 words today. I did not see that coming. I’m going to hit 50,000 tomorrow.
Today/since the last post:
Completed Everlark Holiday Bingo Square 1
Completed Comfortember Prompt 19
Completed Comfortember Prompt 20
Completed 96% of Stucky Bingo First Kiss Square
Completed 20% of EFE Prompt 6
Completed 42% of EFE Prompt 7
Completed 4% of Always Rivals, Chapter 4 for Fandom for Oz
Completed 47% of Marvel Trumps Hate, Auction 2
Previously
Completed Bucky Barnes Bingo, part 3
Completed Bucky Barnes Goes to College
Completed Prompt 7 for Seasons of Everlark
Completed Prompt 2 for Seasons of Everlark
Completed Special Request for Seasons of Everlark
Completed Peeta Mellark, CEO, Chapter 2
Completed November Prompt 2 for Seasons of Everlark
Completed Bucky Barnes Bingo, part 4
Completed Bucky Barnes Bingo, part 5
Completed Bucky Barnes Bingo, part 6
Completed Special Request for Seasons of Everlark
Completed Stucky Bingo Marking Square
Completed Always Rivals, Chapter 2 for Fandom for Oz
Completed of Stucky Election AU
Completed Always Rivals, Chapter 3 for Fandom for Oz
Hey! One of your fics, Forever Rivals, was a part of Stumped Sunday. The link they gave was the first chapter (which was your F4lls submission). Any chance you continued it? It’s quite good.
Hi! Thanks for the ask. I’m so glad you enjoyed Always Rivals. Sadly, I haven’t continued it yet. I have it outlined and the chapters all planned out, but I’ve gotten caught up in other projects. However, I will finish it–hopefully, this fall. I hope you’ll check back with me after @mores2sl is over. I’ll have a better idea of when I can finish it then.
Always Rivals is the first portion of a multi-part series that will post during the first few months of 2015 and follows Katniss Everdeen and her academic rival Peeta Mellark through high school, college, and beyond. Many thanks to myusernamehere and jennagill for their beta skills and baronesskika and court81981 for brainstorming sessions regarding content and form. Also, a much deserved thank you to fandom4lls for creating an opportunity for fanfic authors to contribute to such a worthy cause.
Static echoed throughout Haymitch Abernathy’s classroom as the students struggled to finish their exams before the period ended. Katniss Everdeen finished her last answer and set down her pen to listen to the announcement that was sure to follow.
As Vice Principal Thread’s voice boomed through the halls of the school, Katniss’ eyes drifted to the front of the room where her blond and blue-eyed classmate sat. Peeta Mellark’s brow creased in concentration as he scrawled an answer in his deft script. Katniss knew from attending school with him since kindergarten that his handwriting was remarkably neat and almost artistic for a boy.
With a sigh of relief and a faint smile of satisfaction, Peeta scanned the exam sheets a final time and placed his pen neatly at the top of his desk. His sharp blue eyes met hers briefly as he glanced at the clock in the back of the classroom, and he offered her a sweet half-smile. Katniss rolled her eyes and looked away to fix her stare on the speaker above the chalkboard from which Thread’s voice continued to drone.
None of the announcements were important. She’d heard every one of them a million times during her tenure at Coriolanus Snow High School, but the Vice Principal seemed to gain an inordinate amount of satisfaction from hearing his own voice at the end of every school day. She couldn’t wait for the next three weeks to pass so she’d never have to hear his voice again.
But more than that, she looked forward to never seeing Peeta Mellark again if she could help it. He’d been her nemesis since the first day of school thirteen years prior, and she’d grown tired of living in his shadow.
It wasn’t so much that Peeta deserved her wrath or the significant amount of distaste she felt for him. In fact, he didn’t deserve it at all. He’d only ever been nice to her—kind, considerate, helpful, and a million other complimentary adjectives that infuriated her more than anything. Peeta was nice to a fault—smart, popular, compassionate, and worst of all, her biggest supporter despite her best efforts to shoo him away.
On the first day of kindergarten, he’d smiled shyly at her when they spied each other for the first time across the schoolyard, but Katniss was wary of people who looked like him. He practically sparkled in his clothes that reeked of newness. His wavy hair fell in a soft frame around his face, resembling a halo. Her own mother had the same coloring, but her clothing was drab and fit for a miner’s wife. Katniss’ attire reflected her family’s impoverished state as well, so she was cautious about allowing much contact between herself and those who were considered “better” than her.
The problem was that Peeta didn’t seem to understand those parameters. He didn’t view her any differently than he viewed himself, despite their obvious dissimilarity in socio-economic status. Whenever he'd had a chance to interact with her, he'd done so (albeit shyly), and his kindness had started to grate on her nerves.
When the class bully, Cato, pulled her skirt over her head and shoved her into a mud puddle in second grade, Peeta had helped her up and chastised her classmates for laughing at her before reporting Cato to the teacher.
Each year on her birthday, which fell near the end of the school year, he brought her something special from his dad’s bakery. The gesture rankled her, even though she knew it was unfair. He was simply being nice, but the other kids noticed and teased her about his obvious devotion to her. It didn’t seem to matter if she reciprocated or not. He became her unofficial champion and protector so subtly and intrinsically that no one teased her about anything but him.
Her father was killed in a mine explosion the year she turned twelve, when she and her little sister Prim needed him the most. Her entire world changed then, with the exception of Peeta. He remained steadfast during the crisis, bringing her homework every day during the time her mother allowed her to stay home from school and mourn. With the homework, he brought with him a simple brand of compassion that eased her devastation just a little more each day. His presence at her father's funeral made her eyes water with as many tears as saying goodbye to her beloved dad did. Peeta was the only one of her classmates who bothered to make an appearance.
During middle school, she’d managed to bury some of her pride and be civil to him. They’d even maintained a friendly rivalry once it became clear that they both wanted to succeed as much as possible. Peeta was remarkably talented in art, and she in music, but the core classes were where they both shone as academic successes. By the time they reached high school, it was clear they’d be duking it out for valedictorian and salutatorian spots as well as the scholarships that went along with them. Both of them needed the monetary support if they were to attend college, but Katniss unquestionably needed it more.
Katniss shook herself out of her reverie at the sound of her name leaving Thread’s lips.
“Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, please report to the counselor’s office at this time. I repeat, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, please report to the counselor’s office at this time.”
Katniss cursed under her breath as Mr. Abernathy smirked, and a few of their classmates twittered with laughter. Peeta’s ears tinged pink, and his head hung low as he flexed his hands into nervous fists before turning in his seat and glancing at her with a raised eyebrow.
Someone released a quiet wolf whistle before their teacher grunted, “That’s enough. No talking during exams,” and the class returned to a silent state.
“Katniss, Peeta, turn in your tests if you’re both done and get going.”
Katniss sighed heavily and pushed herself away from her desk, stalking past Peeta to Mr. Abernathy’s desk. Peeta stood aside politely, and his gentlemanly gesture caused her to roll her eyes again.
He’d been just that chivalrous the previous spring when he’d sweet-talked her into being his date to their junior prom, and that had ended in an unmitigated disaster.
Again, it wasn’t really his fault. During their junior year, Peeta and she had settled into an easy camaraderie. Their schedules were mostly the same, and their GPAs were so similar that it seemed silly not to help each other out. Her grades had improved to almost perfect with his help, and his had as well. They drilled each other for the ACT and SAT until they both scored as high as could be expected.
Katniss grew so comfortable with him that she let down her guard, and that’s when he’d made his move.
During their last study session for the ACT, Peeta cleared his throat shyly and closed his book. She knew he had something to say, so she waited patiently. Peeta didn’t respond well to pushiness, so she sat quietly in expectation.
After thirty seconds of painful silence, Peeta stammered, “Uh… Katniss… so, I, uh…” He stopped to gulp down his panic and started again. “Well, I thought maybe… if you aren’t going with anyone else… uh… well, maybe—do you think you might want to go to prom together?”
Katniss had sat in stunned silence for several minutes and studied him. He kept his eyes cast downward to his lap and picked at a hangnail while his face flushed a deep red. It must have taken a lot of guts to ask her to be his date after the vehement dislike she’d thrown at him for the past decade. When he pressed his lips together to stop them from quivering, her heart ached at the sweetness of this boy who’d tried to break through her wall for so many years.
The problem was that she didn’t want to go to prom, with him or anyone. It was a waste of time, a waste of money, and waste of her self-respect. She couldn’t understand why so many people made it such a big deal when it wasn’t, and she didn’t want to contribute to the group mentality that prom was anything more than an overhyped dance.
But then he raised his head to look at her and the wistfulness and hope reflected in his eyes drove her pride from her.
“Please?” he said so softly she barely heard him.
A ping shot through her stomach at his vulnerability, and she answered with a hesitant “yes” before she could stop herself. Relief and pure joy washed over his face when she accepted, and she knew she couldn’t renege without ruining the precarious friendship and study relationship they’d struggled to build over the last few months.
As a result, three weeks later, she found herself wearing a dress with too much poof and way more organza, tulle, and lace than she thought existed in the world. When she opened the door to greet him, she gasped at the sight of his broad shoulders covered in his black suit jacket and the way his hair angled away from his face so that his eyes pierced hers with their intensity. Even his cheekbones stood out more prominently than she remembered.
She couldn’t think of the last time anybody had looked so gorgeous, and it was clear he felt the same about her. His eyes sparkled with adoration as he took in her dress and her carefully braided hair. Her mother had spent hours getting it just right as she fidgeted and twitched in her chair.
Peeta brought her a wrist corsage of wild primrose that made her throat ache at his thoughtfulness. It was no secret that she adored her sister. While most of her classmates fought with their siblings like cats and dogs, she thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Prim. Peeta didn’t question it. Instead, he often invited Prim along to their study sessions and gave her a treat from the bakery while they worked through their homework together.
Peeta’s plans for prom were perfect, so she knew on that night and still knew to this day that what happened wasn’t really his fault. However, she had been so humiliated that she couldn’t quite get past the anger she had misdirected toward him.
Prom started out as many other dances did. No one danced, and everyone stood awkwardly around the edge of the room waiting for someone else to make the first move. Finally, a couple of over-eager underclassmen dragged their dates from the junior class onto the floor. After a couple of songs, Peeta extended his hand to her and asked her for a dance.
It was a slow song, and she allowed him to pull her into his strong arms and against his solid body as they swayed to the music in the dimly lit room. She relaxed slightly as they moved together—until she felt something poking into her upper thigh. Confused, she pulled back to ask him what he had in his pocket.
His face flushed red, and he stammered, “N-nothing,” before pulling away to hold her several inches from his body.
It was then she realized what had happened, and her mouth hung open in shocked disgust.
“You have a boner on the dance floor?” she blurted much louder than she should have. A few couples turned their heads in her direction and snickered. Peeta’s face blushed darker red still, and he dropped his hands from her entirely.
He held his palms up and backed away a couple of feet. “I’m sorry,” he offered. “It was a natural reaction.”
She shook her head and walked back to the edge of the room to perch on a chair there. Peeta followed her slowly, his head down in humiliation, and sat next to her.
“Can’t you control yourself, Peeta?” she spit in exasperation. “We barely even like each other. So it’s not like we’re going to end up in some cheap hotel room together, fumbling around until we lose our virginity with uncomfortable sex, you getting off in ten seconds and me left wondering what was such a big deal.”
Anger and hurt colored his face, and he clenched his jaw. “I can control myself Katniss, but you might want to open your eyes at some point because I do like you. I have for ages, and I wasn’t going to do anything you didn’t want to do. I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt you.”
Katniss was sure nothing could have been more of a shock. She knew Peeta liked her, but to really like her? To like her so much that his body reacted without any prompting from her, that he’d put up with her being a jerk to him for so many years, that he’d swallowed his pride to ask her out when she’d seen him as little more than an unwanted and unwelcome rival…
It was those thoughts that resulted in her giving into her own budding curiosity about sex after the prom ended.
The night itself had been so awkward, she was sure he thought she was having a miserable time, but she wasn’t. Instead, she spent the remainder of the night trying to figure out what she would do if Peeta presented her with an opportunity to explore things with him physically. By the time the DJ announced the last song of the night, Katniss wanted to leave but not because she wasn’t having any fun. It was because she was curious about what it would feel like to have Peeta’s mouth on hers, the weight of his muscular frame pressed on top of her as his strong hands weaved through her braid, causing loose strands to fall in waves upon her shoulders.
When he asked if she was ready to go, she bit her lip and nodded before practically running to the car. Why hadn’t she considered this before? Once his erection pressed into her on the dance floor, she couldn’t stop the thoughts circulating in her mind, those of Peeta slipping inside her with his eyes closed in determination and sweat beading his forehead. The juncture between her legs practically dripped with arousal, and she needed to know what he felt like without the barrier of cloth between him and her hand.
Peeta, however, had other ideas. He drove her home and parked in front of her house before she realized what he was doing. Dismayed, she looked at him and asked, “What are we doing here?”
He looked at her in confusion and answered carefully, “I thought the night was over. You were so quiet all evening, I assumed you didn’t want to spend any more time with me.” He sounded defeated, and she really couldn’t blame him. She hadn’t been very nice to him.
“But,” she started before blushing such a deep red that it matched the deep orange red of her dress. “I—I thought—I mean…don’t you want to go somewhere? Somewhere private maybe?”
Peeta’s head jerked upward so fast, she feared he’d break his neck. Disbelief flickered in his eyes, and he gaped at her repeatedly in an attempt to decide whether or not she was serious.
“Are you sure?” he practically whispered.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she nodded sharply and returned her gaze to the windshield. She sat stiffly, scared senseless, but with so much anticipation that her hands shook in her lap.
Peeta pulled the car into a deserted grove of trees that was located off a wooded road a few miles from town and released a huge gust of air.
With his eyes fixed on the trees surrounding the car, he asked tentatively, “Are you sure about this, Katniss? You said earlier tonight that you barely even like me. This seems… well, it seems like a one-eighty if you’re…you know.”
She didn’t look at him. She only nodded again and said with a shaky voice, “I’m sure.”
Peeta leaned toward her and tilted her face towards his. He moved closer, and his warm breath caused the hair to stand up on her arms.
“Katniss,” he whispered in awe before brushing his lips against hers.
Waves of warmth rushed through her body as his mouth caressed hers, and she remembered now in embarrassment the way she’d practically attacked him. She turned and threw her arms around him, putting him in a lip lock that caused him to grunt in surprise. She slipped her hand down to his crotch and grabbed him through his pants so hard that he jumped, and her cheeks burned in humiliation when she recalled that it had been her who pulled them into the backseat when he reacted to her. The shift from front to back was also probably why they missed the flash of headlights that flickered across the car. They had been much too preoccupied with each other.
Peeta seemed to try to slow things down, but she was insistent. She reached behind her to unzip her dress, and his mouth found her nipples without hesitation. She arched into him and pulled at his fly until she managed to free his cock and jerk it a few times. She was wild and out of control. Peeta croaked, “Katniss, slow down,” as she pulled his mouth to hers and bit his bottom lip while jacking him off.
A moan of pleasure emitted through Peeta’s chest, and his breath caught before he groaned in supplication. His body tensed and pulsed as he spilled into her hand, spurting thick, sticky streams up her arm and all over the skirt of her prom dress.
She shrieked in surprise, and his face froze in horror. “Oh god, Katniss…” he sputtered before he fell silent.
Katniss lifted her arm and watched a glob of moisture drip from it and onto her dress. She knew he was humiliated, but so was she, and what happened next only served to make it worse.
They both jumped in shock when a hand slapped against the outside of the car’s window. A rush of profanity followed as Peeta’s mother screamed at both of them at the top of her lungs. Peeta fumbled to tuck himself back into his pants and tug her dress over her breasts, but there wasn’t anything to do about the residue from Peeta’s orgasm except to wipe the rest of it on her skirt.
“WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING? You filthy girl! What are you doing tempting my son this way?!” his mother screeched as she flung the door open and pulled Peeta from the car by his hair.
Peeta tried to placate her and calm her down, all the while attempting to apologize to Katniss, but nothing could save the situation from being awkward. Katniss found out later that Peeta’s mother had followed them from the dance to check up on their post-prom activities. Not only was it a gross invasion of Peeta’s privacy, but it was creepy to Katniss. When Peeta made an effort to apologize again later, she didn’t want to hear it. Nothing could erase the abject degradation she felt at pushing Peeta so fast that he prematurely ejaculated on her arm right as his mother caught them together in the back seat.
After prom, Katniss avoided Peeta liked the plague, and after a few weeks, Peeta gave up trying to approach her. It helped that school ended only a few days after that and they didn’t have to see each other again until the beginning of their senior year.
She missed him, she admitted to herself when she spent hours slogging through AP biology homework and wrote a ten page term paper on Shakespeare. Her grades didn’t suffer though, and Peeta respected her distance. He continued to show her he was open to her approaches, but she refused to cross the line. Her mortification was simply too much to hurdle.
Back in the present in the hallway of Coriolanus Snow High, with her long-time rival following behind her at a safe distance, Katniss strode purposefully toward the counselor’s office. Peeta hurried to keep up with her and attempted to break the ice.
“What do you think Thread wants?” he asked, his voice matter-of-fact but with a hint of curiosity.
She snapped at him, “Nothing. We’re going to see the counselor, remember?”
“Well, yeah, Katniss. I just meant—”
“I know what you meant,” she barked at him, and he fell silent.
She rounded the corner and put her hand on the door of the counselor’s office when Peeta reached out and covered her hand with his. She jerked to a stop and whipped her head to look at him with eyes that flashed with anger.
“Don’t touch me!” she almost yelled.
His voice was gentle, soothing, as he pled, “Katniss, come on. It’s been a year. We’re going to graduate in a few weeks, and we’ll never see each other again. Can we please bury the hatchet?”
“I don’t want to bury the hatchet,” she sputtered. “Get out of my way.”
Peeta stepped back and allowed her to pull open the door to Mrs. Trinket’s office. Effie Trinket, the school counselor, looked up and took in Katniss’ flushed face and Peeta’s chagrined expression. Without blinking an eye, she waved them forward.
“Come in, come in, children. It’s a big, big, big day! I have some scholarship information for you both and news about your class rank. We have to get ready for graduation,” she tittered.
Katniss swallowed her irritation and sat down to hear what the counselor had to say about her future. She’d struggled for thirteen years to escape from this town and go to college so that she could make a better life for herself and her sister. She’d toiled side by side with Peeta in an attempt to make it through her junior year without letting her GPA slip. She’d worked three times as hard her senior year to keep those grades without his help. Pretty soon Peeta wouldn’t matter. Nothing would matter except the opportunity to get out and help make her and Prim’s lives better.
Peeta and she both sat anxiously in their chairs and faced Mrs. Trinket. She fiddled with her hair for a few minutes and pushed the brightly colored curls from her face as she juggled papers.
“Now, children,” she started, and Katniss rolled her eyes at being addressed as an infantile. “I know you’ve both driven yourselves very, very, very hard, and I’m thrilled to be able to give you such good news.”
She smiled warmly at them, but Katniss wanted nothing more than to hear the results. “What’s the news?” she cried, unable to control herself. Peeta chuckled at her impatience, which earned a look of disgust from her and an indulgent smile from the counselor.
“Patience, dear, patience!” she clucked and tapped a stack of papers together. “You’ll be happy to know that you are practically tied in class rank and GPA. Peeta has the edge because of an A+ he got in art his freshman year, so congratulations!”
Katniss’ stomach dropped at the information. She thought they were tied. She knew she had no hope of beating him out this last semester, so he’d won if that were true. She dropped her gaze to her lap and twisted her hands together. She needed the extra scholarship money the top position would get her. There were only a few hundred dollars in difference between valedictorian and salutatorian, but every single one of them mattered to her. Peeta’s family wasn’t much better off financially. They did all right, she knew, but not enough that he could make it through college without help.
“Congratulations,” she muttered in attempt to be gracious.
“Thanks,” he responded softly. She knew he could tell how upset she was.
“Now, Katniss, there’s good news for you both. Don’t look so glum.”
Katniss fixed her eyes on the counselor and willed her to reveal the information she needed to hear.
“You’ve both been such good students and ambassadors for the school that Panem State University has taken note. For the first time ever, PSU has decided to grant both of you full-ride scholarships.”
A wide smile broke across her face, and Katniss felt her heart lurch in joy. “Really?” she squealed. She’d never squealed before in her life, but this occasion seemed to call for it.
“Really,” Mrs. Trinket said with a deliberate nod. “You’re both headed to the same college in the fall—unless you want to turn down the Tribute Scholarship. By the way, no one has ever done that. No one. The Tribute scholarship is… well, it’s the most prestigious scholarship in the nation.”
Katniss almost leapt for joy until she realized what the words meant. With trepidation she looked at Peeta, who sat stoically in his chair. When he turned to face her, his eyes locked with hers, and she bristled at his voice.
“Well, I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other over the next few years.” His voice was measured, and she could tell he was working hard to hide any hint of relief, irritation, or happiness.
“I guess so,” she reluctantly agreed.
When they were out in the hall, Peeta turned to her and said, “Classmates, friends, rivals, tributes… I’ll just add it to my list of words to describe you.”
Katniss couldn’t shake her feeling of dread as she realized he would be around for at least another four years of her life—but there was also something comforting when he winked at her with his blue eyes. Despite their rivalry, Peeta had always been there for her, and she didn’t want to admit that made her feel better about the next step in her life.
“Always rivals,” she said firmly as she headed to her locker. She just wanted to go home and share the good news with her sister rather than dwell on another four years of close proximity to Peeta.
