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You love me. Real or not real?" I tell him, "Real. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay Remember, we're madly in love, so it's all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games You dont forget the face of the person who was your last hope. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and live in it forever. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire Deep in the meadow, hidden far away A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray Forget your woes and let your troubles lay And when it's morning again, they'll wash away Here it's safe, here it's warm Here the daisies guard you from every harm Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true Here is the place where I love you. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games You know, you could live a thousand lifetimes and not deserve him. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire I don't want to lose the boy with the bread. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games You're still trying to protect me. Real or not real," he whispers. "Real," I answer. "Because that's what you and I do, protect each other. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay My nightmares are usually about losing you. I'm okay once I realize you're here. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay Fire is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us! Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay And then he gives me a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness that unexpected warmth rushes through me. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games I realize only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire I must have loved you a lot. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay Kind people have a way of working their way inside me and rooting there. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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I clench his hands to the point of pain. "Stay with me." His pupils contract to pinpoints, dialate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy. "Always," he murmurs. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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There are much worse games to play. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

tags: katniss, mockingjay 1809 likes

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Some walks you have to take alone. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

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We had to save you because you're the mockingjay, Katniss," says Plutarch. "While you live, the revolution lives. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: katniss-everdeen, the-hunger-games 1713 likes

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Rue, who when you ask her what she loves most in the world, replies, of all things, Music. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Sometimes when I'm alone, I take the pearl from where it lives in my pocket and try to remember the boy with the bread, the strong arms that warded off nightmares on the train, the kisses in the arena. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: katniss, love, mockingjay, peeta, romance 1618 likes

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Technically, I am unarmed. But no one should ever underestimate the harm that fingernails can do. Especially if the target is unprepared. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: catching-fire, collins, humor, katniss 1583 likes

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Are you, are you coming to the tree? Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me. Strange things did happen here. No stranger would let it be if we met up At midnight in the hanging tree. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: mockingjay 1549 likes

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At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead.The hard thing is finding the courage to do it. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: katniss-everdeen, suzanne-collins, thoughtful 1511 likes

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I don't want you forgetting how different our circumstaces are. If you die, and I live, there's no life for me at all back in District Twelve. You're my whole life." Peeta says. "I would never be happy again. It's

different for you. I'm not saying it wouldn't be hard. But there are other people who'd make your life worth living." "No one really needs me," he says, and there's no selfpity in his voice. It's true his family doesn't need him. They will mourn him, as will a handfull of friends. But they will get on.... I realise only one person will be damaged beyond repair if Peeta dies. Me. "I do," I say. "I need you. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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Gale is mine. I am his. Anything else is unthinkable. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: suzanne-collins 1420 likes

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I really can't think about kissing when I've got a rebellion to incite. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: humor, rebellion 1384 likes

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Here's some advice. Stay alive. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: advice, haymitch-abernathy 1347 likes

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I drag myself out of nightmares each morning and find there's no relief in waking. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: mockingjay 1302 likes

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So I only say, "So what should we do with our last few days?" "I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you," Peeta replies. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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Sometimes, when I clean a kill, I feed Buttercup the entrails. He has stopped hissing at me. Entrails. No hissing. This is the closest we will ever come to love. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don't want him to die. And it's not about the sponsors. And it's not about what will happen when we get home. And it's not just that I don't want to be alone. It's him. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Youre not leaving me here alone, I say. Because if he dies, Ill never go home, not really. Ill spend the rest of my life in this arena, trying to think my way out. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Because when he sings...even the birds stop to listen. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: music 1203 likes

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We star-crossed lovers of District 12, who suffered so much and enjoyed so little the rewards of our victory, do not seek our fans' favor, grace them with our smiles, or catch their kisses. We are unforgiving. And I love it. Getting to be myself at last. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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I think....you still have no idea. The effect you can have. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: peeta, self-awareness, self-image 1190 likes

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We could do it, you know." "What?" "Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: life, love, survival, ya, young-adult 1110 likes

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They're already taking my future! They can't have the things that mattered to me in the past! Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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I guess this is a bad time to mention I hung a dummy and painted Seneca Crane's name on it... Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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I raise my left arm and twist my neck down to rip off the pill on my sleeve. Instead my teeth sink into flesh. I yank my head back in confusion to find myself looking into Peetas eyes, only now they hold my gaze. Blood runs from the teeth marks on the hand he clamped over my nightlock. Let me go! I snarl at him, trying to wrest my arm from his grasp. I cant, he says. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: hunger-games, katniss, mockingjay, peeta, suzanne-collins 1084 likes

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But because two can play at this game, I stand on tiptoe and kiss his cheek. Right on his bruise. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: awesome, game, kiss 1083 likes

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Aim higher in case you fall short. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: aspirations, goals, inspirational 1077 likes

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You have a... remarkable memory." "I remember everything about you. You're the one who wasn't paying attention. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: katniss, love, peeta 1040 likes

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Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where they strung up a man they say murdered three. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree. Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where the dead man called out for his love to flee. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree. Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where I told you to run, so we'd both be free. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree Are you, are you Coming to the tree Wear a necklace of rope, side by side with me. Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight in the hanging tree. Suzanne Collins
tags: love, mockingjay, song, suicide 1037 likes

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Closing my eyes doesn't help. Fire burns brighter in the darkness. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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Katniss. I remember about the bread. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

tags: katniss, memory, mockingjay, peeta 978 likes

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That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: fire, life, loss 971 likes

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The cat that Prim got hates me, I think partly because I tried to drown it. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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She's not here," I tell him. Buttercup hisses again. "She's not here. You can hiss all you like. You won't find Prim." At her name, he perks up. Raises his flattened ears. Begins to meow hopefully. "Get out!" He dodges the pillow I throw at him. "Go away! There's nothing left for you here!" I start to shake, furious with him. "She's not coming back! She's never ever coming back here again!" I grab another pillow and get to my feet to improve my aim. Out of nowhere, the tears begin to pour down my cheeks. "She's dead, you stupid cat. She's dead. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: bereavement, death, loss 910 likes

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I'm so sorry," I whisper. I lean forward and kiss him. His eyelashes flutter and he looks at me through a haze of opiates. "Hey, Catnip." "Hey, Gale," I say. "Thought you'd be gone by now," He says. My choices are simple. I can die like a quarry in the woods or I can die here beside Gale. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here and cause all kinds of trouble." "Me, too," Gale says. He just manages a smile before the drugs pull him back under. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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So that's who Finnick loves, I think. Not his string of fancy lovers in the Capitol. But a poor, mad girl back home. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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No. Now, shut up and eat your pears. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: humor, katniss, peeta 881 likes

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I knew you'd kiss me." "How?" I say. Because I didn't know myself. "Because I am in pain," He say's. "That's the only way I get your attention. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: affection, suffering 870 likes

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Oh, and I suppose the apples ate the cheese. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: sarcasm 869 likes

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Oh, Peeta, Don't make me sorry I restarted your heart. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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There's a chance that the old Peeta, the one who loves you, is still inside. Trying to get back to you. Don't give up on him. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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But collective thinking is usually short-lived. We're fickle, stupid beings with poor memories and a great gift for self-destruction. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: democracy, humanity, public-opinion 851 likes

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Well, I don't have much competition here." "You don't have much competition anywhere. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: compliments 834 likes

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Katniss," Gale says softly. I recognize that voice. It's the same one he uses to approach wounded animals before he delivers a deathblow. I Instinctively raise my hand to block his words but he catches it and holds on tightly. Don't," I whisper. But Gale is not one to keep secrets from me. Katniss, There is no District Twelve. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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They'll either want to kill you, kiss you, or be you. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: envy, mockingjay, the-hunger-games 820 likes

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What about Gale?" "He's not a bad kisser either," I say shortly. "And it was okay with both of us? You kissing the other?" He asks. "No. It wasn't okay with either of you. But I wasn't asking your permission," I tell him. Peeta laughs again, coldly, dismissively. "Well, you're a piece of work, aren't you? Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: kissing, love-triangle 819 likes

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Look, if you wanted to be babied you should have asked Peeta. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: humor 805 likes

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The idea of being strong for someone else having never entered their heads, I find myself in the position of having to console them. Since I'm the person going in to be slaughtered, this is somewhat annoying. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: death, gallows-humor, humor, pique 801 likes

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It must be very fragile, if a handful of berries can bring it down. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire

tags: public-opinion 770 likes

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That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I'm free to act as desperately as I wish. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: desperation 762 likes

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At a few minutes before four, Peeta turns to me again. "Your favorite colour . . . it's green?" "That's right." Then I think of something to add. "And yours is orange." "Orange?" He seems unconvinced. "Not bright orange. But soft. Like the sunset," I say. "At least, that's what you told me once." "Oh." He closes his eyes briefly, maybe trying to conjure up that sunset, then nods his head. "Thank you." But more words tumble out. "You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces." Then I dive into my tent before I do something stupid like cry. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: katniss, katniss-and-peeta, peeta, peeta-mellark 749 likes

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I turn and put my lips close to Peeta's and drop my eyelids in imitation... "He offered me sugar and wanted to know all my secrets," I say in my best seductive voice. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: flirting, seduction 746 likes

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Finnick!" Something between a shriek and a cry of joy. A lovely if somewhat bedraggled young woman-dark tangled hair, sea green eyes--runs toward us in nothing but a sheet. "Finnick!" And suddenly, it's as if there's no one in the world but these two, crashing through space to reach each other. They collide, enfold, lose their balance, and slam against a wall, where they stay. Clinging into one being. Indivisible. A pang of jealousy hits me. Not for either Finnick or Annie but for their certainty. No one seeing them could doubt their love. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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I realize, for the first time, how very lonely I've been in the arena. How comforting the presence of another human being can be. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: amity, companionship, loneliness 733 likes

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Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true, here is the place where I love you. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Well, I knew that goat would be a little gold mine," I say. Yes, of course I was referring to that, not the lasting joy you gave your sister you love so much you took her place in the reaping," says Peeta drily. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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My name is Katniss Everdeen. I am seventeen years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. I escaped. The Capitol hates me........ Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: introduction, katniss-everdeen, mockingjay, the-hunger-games 709 likes

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If I could grow wings, I could fly. Only people can't grow wings," he say's. "Real or not real?" "Real," I say. "But people don't need wings to survive." "Mockingjays do. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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I just want to spend every possible minute of the rest of my life with you. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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I roll my eyes. "So when did I become so special? When they carted me off to the Capitol?" "No, about six months before that. Right after New Year's. We were in the Hob, eating some slop of Greasy Sae's. And Darius was teasing you about trading a rabbit for one of his kisses. And I realized...I minded. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: jealousy, sweet-talk 694 likes

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All right, so give me some idea of what you can do," says Haymitch. I cant do anything," says Peeta, "unless you count baking bread." Sorry, I dont. Katniss. I already know youre handy with a knife, says Haymitch. Not really. But I can hunt, I say. With a bow and arrow. And youre good? asks Haymitch. I have to think about it. Ive been putting food on the table for four years. Thats no small task. Im not as good as my father was, but hed had more practice. Ive better aim than Gale, but Ive had more practice. Hes a genius with traps and snares. Im all right, I say. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: self-assessment, talents 690 likes

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Now he's [Cinna] arranging things around my living room: Clothing, fabrics, and sketchbooks with designs he's drawn. I pick one up and examine one of the dresses I supposedly created. You know, I think I show a lot of promise," I say. Get dressed, you worthless thing. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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It's lovely. If only you could frost someone to death." "Don't be so superior. You can never tell what you will find in the arena. Say it's a gigantic cake- Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: humor

666 likes

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Deep in the meadow, under the willow a bed of grass, a soft green pillow lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes and when again they open, the sun will rise. Hear it's safe, here it's warm hear the daisies guard you from every harm hear your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true hear is the place where i love you. Deep in the meadow, hidden far away a clock of leaves, a moonbeam ray forget your woes and let your troubles lay and when again it's morning, they'll wash away. Hear it's safe, hears its' warm hear the daises guard you from every harm Hear your dreams are sweet and tomorrow bring them true hear is the place where i love you. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: kindlehighlight 662 likes

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But I have to confess, I'm glad you two had at least a few months of happiness together." I'm not glad," says Peeta. "I wish we had waited until the whole thing was done officially." This takes even Caesar aback. "Surely even a brief time is better than no time?" Maybe I'd think that, too, Caesar," says Peeta bitterly, "If it weren't for the baby. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: heart-stopping, love 651 likes

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Peeta opens his mouth for the first bite without hesitation. He swallows, then frowns slightly. "They're very sweet." "Yes they're sugar berries. My mother makes jam from them. Haven't you've ever had them before?" I say, poking the next spoonful in his mouth. "No," he says, almost puzzled. "But they taste familiar. Sugar berries?" "Well, you can't get them in the market much, they only grow wild," I say. Another mouthful goes down. Just one more to go. "They're sweet as syrup," he says, taking the last spoonful. "Syrup." His eyes widen as he realizes the truth. I clamp my hand over his mouth and nose hard, forcing him to swallow instead of spit. He tries to make himself vomit the stuff up, but it's too late, he's already losing consciousness. Even as he fades away, I can see in his eyes what I've done is unforgiveable. I sit back on my heels and look at him with a mixture of sadness and satisfaction. A stray berry stains his chin and I wipe it away. "Who can't lie, Peeta?" I say, even though he can't hear me. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: fantasy, fiction 648 likes

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Only I keep wishing I could think of a way...to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: hunger-games-peeta 632 likes

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Remember, girl on fire, he says, I'm still betting on you. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: cinna 632 likes

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Oh, my dear Miss Everdeen. I thought we had an agreement not to lie to each other. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: president-snow 631 likes

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Katniss....he's still trying to keep you alive. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

tags: gale 625 likes

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He became my confidante, someone with whom I could share thoughts I could never voice...In exchange, he trusted me with his. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Want a sugar cube?" he asks in his old seductive voice. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: finnick 601 likes

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For there to be betrayal, there would have to have been trust first. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: betrayal, katniss, peeta, relationships, the-hunger-games, trust 597 likes

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Why not? It's true. My best hope is to not disgrace myself and..." He hesitates. And what?" I say. I don't know how to say it exactly. Only... I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?" he asks. I shake my head. How could he die as anyone but himself? "I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not." I bite my lip feeling inferior. While I've been ruminating on the availability of trees, Peeta has been struggling with how to maintain his identity. His purity of self. "Do you mean you won't kill anyone?" I ask. No, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll kill just like everybody else. I can't go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games," says Peeta. But you're not," I say. "None of us are. That's how the Games work." Okay, but within that frame work, there's still you, there's still me," he insists. "Don't you see?" A little, Only... no offense, but who cares, Peeta?" I say. I do. I mean what else am I allowed to care about at this point?" he asks angrily. He's locked those blue

eyes on mine now, demanding an answer. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: grace, identity 596 likes

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No, it happened. And right when your song ended, I knew - just like your mother - I was a goner,' Peeta says. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Is that why you hate me?" I ask. "Partly," She admits. "Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you're a little hard to swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn't an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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It's a long shot, it's suicide maybe, but I do the only thing I can think of. I lean in and kiss Peeta full on the mouth. His whole body starts shuddering, but I keep my lips pressed to his until I have to come up for air. My hands slide up his wrists to clasp his. "Don't let him take you from me." Peeta's panting hard as he fights the nightmares raging his head. "No. I don't want to. . ." I clench his hands to the point of pain. "Stay with me." His pupils contract to pinpoints, dilate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy. "Always," he murmurs. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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I know what blood poisoning is, Katniss," says Peeta. "Even if my mother isn't a healer." I'm jolted back in time, to another wound, another set of bandages. "You said that same thing to me in the first Hunger Games. Real or not real?" "Real," he says. "And you risked your life getting the medicine that saved me?" "Real." I shrug. "You were the reason I was alive to do it. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: katniss, mockingjay, peeta 555 likes

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I can only form one clear thought. This is no place for a girl on fire. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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Yes, I whisper. The red blinking light on one of the cameras catches my eye. I know Im being recorded. Yes, I say more forcefully. Everyone is drawing away from meGale, Cressida, the insects giving me the stage. But I stay focused on the red light. I want to tell the rebels that I am alive. That Im right here in District Eight, where the Capitol has just bombed a hospital full of unarmed men, women, and children. There will be no survivors. The shock Ive been feeling begins to give way to fury. I want to tell people that if you think for one second the Capitol will treat us fairly if theres a cease-fire, youre deluding yourself. Because you know who they are and what they do. My hands go out automatically, as if to indicate the whole horror around me. This is what they do! And we must fight back! Im moving in toward the camera now, carried forward by my rage. President Snow says hes sending us a message? Well, I have one for him. You can torture us and bomb us and burn our districts to the

ground, but do you see that? One of the cameras follows as I point to the planes burning on the roof of the warehouse across from us. The Capitol seal on a wing glows clearly through the flames. Fire is catching! I am shouting now, determined that he will not miss a word. And if we burn, you burn with us! Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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Oh, that I do know...Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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It's impossible to be the Mockingjay. Impossible to complete even this one sentence. Because now I know that everything I say will be directly taken out on Peeta. Result in his torture. But not his death, no, nothing so merciful as that. Snow will ensure that his life is much more worse than death. "Cut," I hear Cressida say quietly. "What's wrong with her?" Plutarch says under his breath. "She's figured out how Snow's using Peeta," says Finnick. There's something like a collective sigh of regret from that semicircle of people spread out before me. Because I know this now. Because there will never be a way for me to not know this again. Because, beyond the military disadvantage losing a entails, I am broken. Several sets of arms would embrace me. But in the end, the only person I truly want to comfort me is Haymitch, because he loves Peeta, too. I reach out for him and say something like his name and he's there, holding me and patting my back. "It's okay. It'll be okay, sweetheart." He sits me on a length of broken marble pillar and keeps an arm around me while I sob. "I can't do this anymore," I say. "I know," he says. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: hunger-games 527 likes

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I want to do something, right here, right now, to shame them, to make them accountable, to show the Capitol that whatever they do or force us to do there is a part of every tribute they can't own. That Rue was more than a piece in their Games. And so am I. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Whose is it, do you think?" I say finally. "No telling," says Finnick. "Why don't we let Peeta claim it, since he died today? Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: catching-fire 517 likes

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I'll tell them how I survive it. I'll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in things because I'm afraid it could be taken away. That's when I make a list in my head of every act of goodness I've seen someone do. It's like a game. Repetative. Even a little tedious after more than twenty

years. But there are much worse games to play. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: katniss, mockingjay, peeta 513 likes

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Delly lost her temper at Peeta over how he treated you. She got very squeaky. It was like someone stabbing a mouse with a fork repeatedly. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: rage, simile 512 likes

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All those months of taking it for granted that Peeta thought I was wonderful are over. Finally, he can see me for who I really am. Violent. Distrustful. Manipulative. Deadly. And I hate him for it. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: katniss, mockingjay, peeta, the-hunger-games 495 likes

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Real or not real? Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

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Peeta, you were supposed to wake me after a couple of hours," I say. "For what? Nothing's going on here," he says. "Besides, I like watching you sleep. You don't scowl. Improves your looks a lot." This, of course, brings on a scowl that makes him grin. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: hunger-games, katniss-everdeen, peeta-mellark 483 likes

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I have been keeping track of the boy with the bread. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
481 likes

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I'm more than just a piece in their Games. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: peeta-mellark, suzanne-collins, the-hunger-games 477 likes

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My mother says healers are born, not made. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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What's going on down there, Katniss? Have they all joined hands? Taken a vow of nonviolence? Tossed the weapons in the sea in defiance of the Capitol?' Finnick asks. No,' I say. No,' Finnick repeats. 'Because whatever happened in the past is in the past. And no one in this arena was a victor by chance.' He eyes Peeta for a moment. 'Except maybe Peeta. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
467 likes

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I had to do that. At least once. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire

tags: gale, katniss, kiss 461 likes

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She has no idea. The effect she can have. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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You're not afraid I'll kill you tonight?" "Like I couldn't take you. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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What about you?" "Not a clue. I keep wishing I could bake a cake or something. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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My spirit. This is a new thought. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it suggests I'm a fighter. In a sort of brave way. It's not as if I'm never friendly. Okay, maybe I don't go around loving everybody I meet, maybe my smiles are hard to come by, but i do care for some people. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: care, friendly, hunger-games, katniss-everdeen, smile, spirit, suzanne-collins, thought 440 likes

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Peeta and I had adjoining cells in the capitol. We're very familiar with each other's screams. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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I go to the saltwater and wash off the blood, trying to decide which I hate more, pain or itching. Fed up, I stomp back onto the beach, turn my face upward and snap, "Hey, Haymitch, if you're not too drunk, we could use a little something for our skin." It's almost funny how quickly the parachute appears above me. I reach up and the tube lands squarely in my open hand. "About time" I say, but I can't keep the scowl on my face. Haymitch. What I wouldn't give for five minutes of conversation with him. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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So after, when he whispers," You love me. Real or not real?" I tell him, "Real. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: katniss-everdeen, peeta-mellark 430 likes

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Because I can count on my fingers the number of sunsets I have left, and I don't want to miss any of them. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire

tags: hunger-games, katniss, life-and-death, sunsets 413 likes

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But Mockingjays were never a weapon," said Madge. "Theyre just songbirds. Right? "Yeah, I guess so, I said, But its not true. A mockingbird is just a songbird. A mockingjay is a creature the capitol never intended to exist. They hadnt counted on the highly controlled jabberjay having the brains to adapt to the wiled, to thrive in a new form. They hadnt anticipated its will to live. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: hunger-games 411 likes

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As we ride the elevator Gale finally says You're still angry. And you're still not sorry, I reply. "I will stand by what I said. Do you want me to lie about it? he asks. No, I want you to rethink it and come up with the right opinion, I tell him. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: kindlehighlight 410 likes

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I don't care if you got knocked up. I can still rip your throat out Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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Don't let him take you from me. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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You're alive," I whisper, pressing my palms against my cheeks, feeling the smile that's so wide it must look like a grimace. Peeta's alive. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: katniss, mockingjay, peeta 392 likes

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You're punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't have a fully loaded weapon next to you round the clock. But I think it's time you flipped this little scenario in your head. If you'd been taken by the Capitol, and hijacked, and then tried to kill Peeta, is this the way he would be treating you?" demands Haymitch. I fall silent. It isn't. It isn't how he would be treating me at all. He would be trying to get me back at any cost. Not shutting me out, abandoning me, greeting me with hostility at every turn. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: haymitch, katniss, mockingjay, peeta 388 likes

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While I was waiting...I ate your lunch. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

tags: haymitch, mockingjay 387 likes

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I'm not their slave," the man mutters. "I am," I say. "That's why I killed Cato... and he killed Thresh... and he killed Clove... and she tried to kill me. It just goes around and around, and who wins? Not us. Not the districts. Always the capitol. But I'm tired of being a piece in their games. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

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If I feel ragged, my prep team seems in worse condition, knocking back coffee and sharing brightly colored little pills. As far as I can tell, they never get up before noon unless there's some sort of national emergency, like my leg hair. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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But his arms are there to comfort me, and eventually his lips. On the night I feel that thing again, the hunger that overtook me on the beach, I know this would have happened anyway. That what I need to survive is not Gale's fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that. So after, when he whispers, "You love me. Real or not real?" I tell him "Real. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its children's lives to settle its differences. You can spin it any way you like... But in the end, who does it benefit? No one. The truth is, it benefits no one to live in a world where these things happen Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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Oh, the fun we two have together. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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Fine. Somebody else can arrange to get the stupid goat knocked up. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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Fine. I'll train. But I'm going to the stinking capitol if I have to kill a crew and fly there myself." Says Johanna. "Probably best not to bring that up in training," I say. "But it's nice to know I'll have a ride. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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As the alcohol overcomes my mind, I hear the glass bottle shatter on the floor. This seems appropriate since I have obviously lost my grip on everything. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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May the odds be ever in your favor! Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: benediction 348 likes

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Remembering from last year how Haymitch's gifts are often timed to send a message, I make a note to myself. Be friends with Finnick. You'll get food. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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No problem," Gale replies. "I wake up ten times a night anyway." "To make sure Katniss is still here?" asks Peeta. "Something like that,"... "That was funny, what Tigris said. About no one knowing what to do with her." "Well, WE never have,"... "She loves you, you know," says Peeta. "She as good as told me after they whipped you." "Don't believe it,"Gale answers. "The way she kissed you in the Quarter Quell...well she never kissed me like that." "It was just part of the show," Peeta tells him, although there's an edge of doubt in his voice. "No, you won her over. Gave up everything for her. Maybe that's the only way to convince her you love her." There's a long pause. "I should have volunteered to take your place in the first Games. Protected her then." "You couldn't," says Peeta. "She'd never have forgiven you. You had to take care of her family. They matter more to her than her life." ... "I wonder how she'll make up her mind." "Oh, that I do know." I can just catch Gale's last words through the layer of fur. "Katniss will pick whoever she thinks she can't survive without Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: gale, gale-vs-peeta, hunger-games, katniss, mockingjay, peeta, romance 336 likes

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So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, every bird outside the windows fell silent...and right when your song ended, I knew - just like your mother - I was a goner. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: peeta-mellark 335 likes

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Then he smiles as if he'd be happy to lie there and gaze at me forever. Suzanne Collins
tags: hunger-games 334 likes

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I no longer feel allegiance to these monsters called human beings, despise being one myself. I think that Peeta was onto something about us destroying one another and letting some decent species take over. Because something is significantly wrong with a creature that sacrifices its childrens lives to settle its differences. You can spin it any way you like. Snow thought the Hunger Games were an efficient means of control. Coin thought the parachutes would expedite the war. But in the end, who does it benefit? No one. The truth is, it benefits no one to live in a world where these things happen. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: humanity, politics, truth, war 331 likes

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I noticed just about every girl, but none of them made a lasting impression but you. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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It sends out a very clear message: "Mess with us and we'll do something worse than kill you. We'll kill your children. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: intimidation, threat 324 likes

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Stay with me. Always. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

tags: hunger-games, katniss, mockingjay, peeta, romance 324 likes

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He looks down at his legs as if noticing his outfit for the first time. Then he whips off his hospital gown, leaving him in just his underwear. "Why? Do you find this" - he strikes a ridiculously provocative pose "distracting? Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
tags: finnick, katniss-everdeen, mockingjay, the-hunger-games 324 likes

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You're punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control. Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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Ladies and gentlemen....." His voice is quiet, but mine rings through the room. "Let the Seventy-sixth Hunger Games begin! Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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You've got to go through it to get to the end of it. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
tags: catching-fire, greasy-sae, suzanne-collins, the-hunger-games 321 likes

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I swear if you cry, I'll kill you here and now.' Cinna just smiles. 'Had a damp morning?' 'You could wring me out.' I reply Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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If you appeal to the crowd, either by being humorous or brutal or eccentric, you gain favor. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Beetee is still messing round the tree, doing I don't know what. At one point he snaps off a sliver of bark, joins us, and throws it against the force field. It bounces back and lands on the ground, glowing. In a few moments it returns to its original color. "Well, that explains a lot," says Beetee. I look at Peeta and can't help biting my lip to keep from laughing since it explains absolutely nothing to anyone but Beetee. Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire
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Peeta, I say lightly. You said at the interview youd had a crush on me forever. When did forever start? Oh, lets see. I guess the first day of school. We were five. You had on a red plaid dress and your hair... it was in two braids instead of one. My father pointed you out when we were waiting to line up, Peeta says. Your father? Why? I ask.

He said, See that little girl? I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner, Peeta says. What? Youre making that up! I exclaim. No, true story, Peeta says. And I said, A coal miner? Why did she want a coal miner if she couldve had you? And he said, Because when he sings... even the birds stop to listen. Thats true. They do. I mean, they did, I say. Im stunned and surprisingly moved, thinking of the baker telling this to Peeta. It strikes me that my own reluctance to sing, my own dismissal of music might not really be that I think its a waste of time. It might be because it reminds me too much of my father. So that day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Your hand shot right up in the air. She stood you up on a stool and had you sing it for us. And I swear, every bird outside the windows fell silent, Peeta says. Oh, please, I say, laughing. No, it happened. And right when your song ended, I knewjust like your motherI was a goner, Peeta says. Then for the next eleven years, I tried to work up the nerve to talk to you. Without success, I add. Without success. So, in a way, my name being drawn in the reaping was a real piece of luck, says Peeta. For a moment, Im almost foolishly happy and then confusion sweeps over me. Because were supposed to be making up this stuff, playing at being in love not actually being in love. But Peetas story has a ring of truth to it. That part about my father and the birds. And I did sing the first day of school, although I dont remember the song. And that red plaid dress... there was one, a hand-me-down to Prim that got washed to rags after my fathers death. It would explain another thing, too. Why Peeta took a beating to give me the bread on that awful hollow day. So, if those details are true... could it all be true? You have a... remarkable memory, I say haltingly. I remember everything about you, says Peeta, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Youre the one who wasnt paying attention. I am now, I say. Well, I dont have much competition here, he says. I want to draw away, to close those shutters again, but I know I cant. Its as if I can hear Haymitch whispering in my ear, Say it! Say it! I swallow hard and get the words out. You dont have much competition anywhere. And this time, its me who leans in. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
tags: cave, katniss, peeta, romance 311 likes

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This is the first kiss that we're both fully aware of. Neither of us hobbled by sickness or pain or simply unconscious. Our lips neither burning with fever or icy cold. This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another. Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games
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Even though I don't ask, Plutarch gives me cheerful updates on the phone like "Good news, Katniss! I think we've almost got him convinced you're not a mutt!" Or "Today he was allowed to feed himself pudding! Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay
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