A Road Trip to Remember (Katniss and Peeta Story)

Part Three: Learning

Someone shakes me awake and I sit up in the car seat. At first, I think I'm in my car and I fell asleep here instead of getting a hotel. But instead I find myself being stared at by piercing blue eyes.

"Hey. You have been sleeping awhile."

"How long?" I ask.

"About an hour and a half." He says.

"Oh man. I hate sleeping late." I sigh.

"I figured. That's why I woke you up."

"Thank you." I say and he just nods. It's obvious that Peeta is a talker, but I usually get into a lot of personal stuff when I talk. And personal stuff means talking about family which will only upset me. But he is doing this for me so I feel like I owe him.

"So um, do you have any brothers or sisters?" I ask starting a conversation.

"I have two brothers. One is older than me one is younger. What about you?"

"I have one sister. She is younger than me." I say.

"What's her name?"

"Prim. Well, Primrose. Like the flower. But we call her Prim." I say.

"Aren't you named after a plant too?" He asks.

"Aren't you named after a type of bread?" I shoot back. Not mean, jokingly. He laughs a little.

"Pita bread is spelled P-I-T-A. My name is spelled P-E-E-T-A. It's different." He says.

"Your name still makes me hungry." I say.

"Are you hungry now?"

"A little." I admit.

"Do you want to stop somewhere or go through a drive thru?" He asks.

"Drive thru. It'll go faster."

"McDonalds?" He asks.

"Sounds good to me." I say and pull out my purse.

"Hey, put your money away. I got this" he says.

"What? No. You are driving me home the least I can do is pay for your lunch."

"It's okay. I can pay for it." He says.

"Peeta."

"Katniss." He mocks.

"I don't feel comfortable with that."

"We'll, think of it this way. You are doing me a favor. This is my moms credit card and we are fighting right now so I'm spending her money."

"If that's what you want I guess." We drive a little further until we get off and hit the drive thru. Thats when I realize we are already in Utah. We are making great timing. We get our food an we get back on the highway. We bother start eating and try to make small talk. When we are finished, I look over at him. He looks tired.

"Peeta, do you want me to drive?" I ask.

"No I'm fine."

"Peeta, you are going to fall asleep behind the wheel. Let me drive while you sleep. I promise to get us killed." I joke.

"Alright, but only for an hour okay?" He asks and I nod. He pulls over to the side of the road and we switch spots. I take off driving and he lays back just like I did. Within minutes he is snoring lightly and I know he must have been tired. I take his phone that he has been using a a GPS and I follow the directions. I like this truck. It's a 2012 dodge pickup and I must say, it's up to date. This had to of costed him a lot of money. If college works out and I get a good job maybe I will get me one of these. More like in my dreams. I go into the fast lane to pass a car and then right back over. I keep driving for another hour and I look over at Peeta who is still sleeping. I have no problem driving so I don't wake him up. He smiles in his sleep sometimes. After another 20 minutes though I start to shake him awake because if he is like me, he won't like to sleep late. He opens his eyes.

"Hey. Have a nice nap?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"You were smiling a lot. What were you dreaming about?" I ask.

"What? Oh um, nothing." He says.

"Oh come on." I complain.

"Just, gum drops and rainbows." He says.

"Whatever." I say. He sits up with a light chuckle.

"You want me to drive?" He asks.

"Don't trust me?"

"I do. I just figured you would want to sit back for awhile."

"I'm pretty rested." I say.

"You sure?" He asks.

"Yes." I snap.

"I just want you to be comfortable."

"Yeah, I'm just, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm just on the edge right now."

"You want to talk about it."

"No. Sorry."

"It's okay." He says and I follow the GPS on his phone which is telling me we are almost out of Colorado.

"We can switch when we get Nebraska. Sound good?" I ask.

"Sounds great." He says flashing a bright smile. I feel my mouth turn into a smile as well, but I quickly look away and back to the road. We quickly get to Nebraska and I sigh at having to sit in the passenger seat again, but I new to text Prim anyways. I pull out my phone when Peeta starts driving.

Me: hey sis!

Prim: hey! You are driving stop texting!

Me: actually, and I should have said this sooner, I got in a wreck. But I wasn't on the highway yet. Anyways my car is crushed and I'm on my way home with someone from the college.

Prim: a crash???? Are you okay???? Why didn't you call!! And who is driving you home???

Me: I'm fine dot worry. I know I'm sorry I should have. And there is this café at the college and so owners son is driving me. That's who I hit.

Prim: son??? As in a boy??? Katniss I'm calling you.

An she does. I hope this isn't to awkward with Peeta right there.

"Katniss I dot know how I feel about you driving across contry with a boy that you barely know" my mother says.

"We're you there one texting me mom?"

"We'll when you talked about the crash I took the phone."

"Mom it's okay. I will be there in a couple days. It's all okay. Now I need to go. I think we are going to find a hotel room soon." Wrong thing to say.

"Katniss Everdeen! Separate beds do you hear me?" She screams into my ear.

"Say it a little louder mom. I don't think they heard you in Africa." I snap and hang up the phone. I hear Peeta laughing.

"It's not funny." I say but I start laughing a little myself.

"Your right I'm sorry." He says.

"Okay it is." I ain't and we both laugh a little. I don't laugh a lot and when I do it's with Gale or Prim. So laughing with Peeta should feel foreign but it doesn't.

"We'll in case you didn't hear, our hotel beds to have separate beds." I say.

"I heard don't worry. We will get of at the next exit and find one." He says and I can see the exit from here. It is pretty dark out. We get off the highway and we get a room with two beds. It's not a crappy hotel, it's suitable to sleep in. Not the kind I usually have.

"How much do I owe you for the room?" I ask pulling out my purse.

"Nothing." He says.

"Come on Peeta."

"No. It's all taken care of. Just lay does and have a good nights rest okay?" He asks an I sigh.

"Okay, goodnight." I say and I lay on one of the beds. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light.