One week. One week until I get married to the man I love. Johanna and Annie are over and are working with the prep team to make a bridesmaid dress. I was helping the prep team make the dresses since they know nothing about hem. Johanna was yelling at Flauvis about something, or she just likes to hear her own voice. Annie starts walking over to me in her beautiful, fitted, light green dress.

“Where’s Alin?” I ask.

“He’s with my mom, but just a question. Why did you pick Johanna to be the maid of honor?” she asks.

“Because I thought that you’d be busy with the baby.” We laugh.

“Hey, can I see your vow.”

“My what?”

“The thing you write about how much you love Peeta and why you are marrying him and you will tell it to Peeta in front of everyone at your wedding.”

“I haven’t written it. I didn’t even know I had to write one. I’ve never been to a wedding in my life, except for yours.”

“I’ll help. The more you love the person the easier it will be. It has to be short, sweet, but mainly touching.”

“Well then this should only take a couple minutes.” She was right, a few minutes later I had a page on why I love Peeta. I thought my vow was perfect. It has everything from when we met to when I realized I loved him, to now.

“Thanks for telling me about the vow. I would’ve looked like a complete fool at my wedding if he wrote one and I didn’t.”

“No problem, and I was honestly shocked when I found out that you and Peeta were getting married.”

“What do you mean that you were shocked?”

“It’s just that after Peeta got hijacked I thought your relationship with him was going to end and that a relationship with Gale was going to begin.”

“Well when you love someone as much as I love Peeta you will stay with him know matter what happens in life. I mean if you were in my situation with the highjacking with Finnick, wouldn’t you stick with him?” She nods her head.

“That’s how I felt about Peeta.” Johanna walks over.

“What’d I miss?” she asks.

“Nothing, Annie just helped me write my vow,” I say.

“Why couldn’t I help?”

“Because you were too busy yelling at my prep team because there was a wrinkle in the dress that I made you.”

“Oh, right.” The prep team flies back to The Capitol, Annie goes back to Four, and Johanna decides to stay in our basement without an invitation, but she said that she wouldn’t bother us unless she needs food. I walk over to the bakery. Peeta was slicing bread. I come up behind him and put my arms around his stomach and put my head on his back. He turns around and gives me a kiss on my forehead and puts his arms around my waist.

“How’s it going?” he asks.

“Good, just finished the bridesmaids fitting and Annie helped me with my vow. Peeta you’re going to love my vow, it’s everything we’ve ever been through together,” I say.

“I bet you you’ll love mine more. It was my feeling for you before we were together, when we were pretending to be together, and now when we are together. But I have to warn you, it’s pretty long.”

“Annie said that I had to try to keep mine short, or else mine would be pretty long to.” He smiles and gives me a kiss.

“Well I’m sure we both did amazing on our vows.” He gives me a hug. I put my arms around his neck. We walk home hand in hand, eat dinner and get ready for bed. When we were getting ready in the bathroom Peeta keeps asking me questions about the wedding but he keeps repeating one question.

“Are you nervous?

“Why would I be nervous?” I ask.

“Well you are getting married to the most hansom guy in Panem in just six days.”

“I’m not marrying Gale.” He gives me a smirk then laughs.

“I was talking about me.”

“Peeta this is the sixth time you’ve asked me that question,” I say laughing.

“I mean seriously, are you nervous at all?”

“I’m not nervous because there is nothing to be nervous about. I am getting married to the love of my life and I’m going to spend the rest of my life with you. Why would I be nervous about being in love with you?”

“I just thought you’d be nervous. But one thing I can tell you is that I am a nervous wreck about this.”

“Why are you so nervous?”

“Well for one thing I thought I would never even talk to you hence marry you. Also I’m afraid that I’ll mess up in the ceremony by saying something wrong.” I go up and hug him.

“Don’t be nervous, or afraid. Everything will go by smoothly. And if you mess up it will just be something to remember when we look back at our wedding.” I give him a kiss on his cheek. “Everything will be fine.”

“I know, but can we go to bed?”

“Sure, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” When I come in the room Peeta is already snoring. When I get into the bed I try to be as motionless as possible. When I lay down Peeta scares the daylights out of me by putting his arm around me. I just did a little gasp then lay down next to him. I turn around so I can see his face. He gives me a kiss and starts to stoke my hair. He doesn’t stop stroking my hair until I fall asleep. I would know because his hand was on my head when I woke up. The next day Peeta was off but he wanted to go to the bakery because he said that he had a surprise for me. Right before we walk in he told me to close my eyes. When we get in he told me to open them. When I opened them I saw cake ingredients. He saw that I had a confused look on my face.

“I thought that we should make our wedding cake.” I stand there motionless. He starts to walk over to me when I run into his arms.

“What’s that for?”

“I just am honored to make a cake with the best baker in Panem,” I say sarcastically. He raises his eyebrows.

“No, it’s just I’m excited that we both get to make our wedding cake,” I say. He grabs me by my waist and hugs me. I wrap my arms around his neck.

“So, I’m the best baker in Panem?”

“You’re pretty good baker but you’re a better fiancé.” He gives me a kiss.

“Hopefully I’ll be an even better husband.” I laugh a little. “So what kind of cake do you want?”

“Well what’s your favorite cake?”

“I like red velvet and marble. But I want to know what your favorite cake is because I was thinking maybe we could split the cake. Half the cake is my favorite and half is your favorite.”

“I’ve never had a slice of cake in my life.”

“You didn’t even eat the one at Finnick and Annie’s wedding?”

“No, every time I even caught a glimpse of it I would almost cry because I knew you hated me.” I lock my arms around him a little tighter. I start to get the memories of when he hated me.

“Katniss, you know I’ll never hate you.”

“I know.”

“Well I’ll go get you a couple of popular wedding cake flavors and you tell me which you like best.” I nod my head. “I’ll never hate you.” He gives me a kiss on the forehead. Then he leaves to go get wedding cake samples. I know Peeta will never hate me, and I know that he will always love me. But when I remembered that he hated me it just made me think. He got flashbacks about when he was hijacked and they still happen after two years. They’re not as common as they used to be but they still happen. And I’m just afraid that he won’t get out of the flashback and he’ll hate me again. I know he won’t, but my nightmares. I have to put a smile on my face because he’s back with a whole tray of cake samples. He sets it down on the counter and sits down and I sit down on the counter.

“Where did you get all of that?”

“Well I was anxious to make our cake but I wanted to make it with you, so to occupy myself I made samples.”

“Okay, what flavors do you have,” I say while giggling.

“Not funny.” It is funny but I don’t say that. I just smile.

“Anyways. The flavors I have are red velvet, marble, chocolate, and vanilla,” he says. So he gives me each flavor. They are all delicious.

“What is the flavor you’re putting in the cake?”

“I was going to do red velvet.”

“I was thinking marble for me.”

“Okay, next I need to know what shape of cake you want, and remember it can’t be too big because we only have about fourteen to fifteen people coming.”

“Why don’t we just do a simple rectangle?”

“That’s fine with me. Last order of business what kind of decorations do you want.”

“Why don’t you pick?”

“Because it’s your day.”

“It’s our day.” He smiles. The cake turned out amazing, even though most of the mix ended up on each other’s faces, on the walls, or on the ceiling. With the very little mix left over we have another fight with it. Then Peeta grabs some flour and pours it all over my head. I grab some eggs and crack it over his head. We are now at war. We start running around the bakery throwing eggs and flour and each other. Eventually he catches me and throws the rest of the eggs at me. I yell I surrender then drop to the ground. He lays down next to me and starts to kiss my neck where he knows I’m ticklish. I yell at him to stop but he doesn’t care. I eventually get up and run back to our house. He chases me all the way there. I run up into our room and run into the bathroom. He chases me up there and shuts the door behind him.

“I need to take a shower,” I say pushing him out the door.

“Fine, I’ll use the shower in the guest room. But before I leave,” he says gently pushing me up against the wall. Then he passionately kisses me, the kiss that makes me want another. By the time I’m out of the shower Peeta was already back at the bakery and he left me a note that said not to come. He said it was going to be a surprise. When he got home he said that I would love it. It must be pretty good because he didn’t come home for five hours after I got out of the shower. After he got home I put on my pajamas Peeta walks into the bathroom. I braid my hair down my back and he begins to brush his teeth. Once he’s done he begins to talk.

“Katniss,” he says in a glum voice.

“Yeah, is there something wrong?” I ask.

“I’m starting to get nervous again.” I go up and give him a hug. I wrap my arms around him and start to run my fingers through his hair. He wraps his arms around my waist. His warmth gives my body a rush of enjoyment.

“You know there is nothing to be nervous about,” I say in a caring voice. I kiss him on the cheek.

“Everything will be fine.”

“I’m so glad you’re mine.”

“And I’m glad you’re mine.” He leans out and gives me a kiss.

“I’m exhausted can we go to bed?” We get in bed and Peeta begins to rub my back and doesn’t stop until he thinks I fall asleep. I begin to look back when Peeta hated me. I thought of it for so long that it became a nightmare when I fell asleep. I wake up drenched in sweat in tears. I try to be as quiet as possible to not wake Peeta but even though he seems like deep sleeper he is a really light sleeper. The slightest movement could wake him up. But I leaned up and it woke him.

“What’s wrong?” he asks in a tired tone.

“Nothing Peeta, just go back to sleep.” He leans over and turns on his lamp. Then he puts his arm around me.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s stupid just go back to sleep,” I say laying down. He pulls me back up.

“Was it a nightmare?” he asks.

“Yeah, but I know it won’t ever happen.” He pulls me closer and kisses my head.

“We can tell each other anything no matter how stupid, you know that right?”

“Well it wasn’t stupid, it’s just remember when we were talking at the bakery about how you used to hate me, and that’s why I wouldn’t eat the cake.” He nods his head.

“Well I dreamed that you were the runaway groom because you had a flashback in the middle of the ceremony. After I found you, you said that you hated me and that you never wanted to see me again. That everything was a huge misunderstanding.”

“Katniss we covered this at the bakery. I’ll never hate you. Even if I am in a really strong flashback I will always love you.”

“I know that’s why I said it was stupid.”

“It wasn’t stupid. You’re just worried that I’ll leave you because of what a monster did. If you got hijacked by Snow and still had flashbacks I would get worried that you’ll leave me. But you have to know that you will always have a place in my heart in my heart.” I nod my head. He gives me a kiss then leans over and turns off his light.

“I love you.”

“I love you to.”

“Plus I will be the first to tell you that I will never get hijacked again.” I smile because I know he’s right.

Four days can fly by so quickly. It feels like just yesterday Peeta said he was nervous and right now the prep team is doing my makeup because my wedding starts in a couple hours. Flauvis said that he just had to go and get some hair products and he was going to try to do the braid that my mom did. Once he leaves Octavia and Veina do some touch ups then they leave to. So I’m left in a room all by myself. I wish Peeta was here so he could hold my hand because I’m very anxious, not nervous, anxious. Then the door opens and I was expecting it to be Flauvis or Gale but it wasn’t either of them. It was the person that I love. The person that I feel stupid yelling at. The person that was never there for me but loved me to pieces. My mom. I try not to make eye contact with her.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“I am here for you,” she says.

“Nothing else?”

“Nothing else.” I get up out of my chair and run into her arms.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Me too.”

“Could you still do my hair and walk me down the aisle? It would really mean the world for me and Peeta.”

“I would be honored.” Flauvis walks back in and sees my hair in the braid that he was going to attempt to do. Then he sees my mom and backs out of the room and closes the door. My mom is wearing the same dress as Johanna and Annie but hers is a darker green. She helps me get into my dress and starts to cry and she says that I look beautiful. She invites in Johanna and Annie. They both become waterfalls when they see me and both give me a hug. Johanna whispers in my ear

“You are a lucky girl, and this is the best decision that you will ever make in your life. But I still think you should’ve chosen Gale,” says Johanna. I laugh a little.

“Thank you,” I say. My mom leaves and comes back with orange bouquets and my white and orange bouquet. She hands the bouquets to us and my mom and Johanna leave so it’s just Annie and I.

“You nervous?” she asks.

“I am going to tell you the same exact thing I told Peeta. I’m not nervous nor will I be nervous. I will have butterflies but why would I be nervous to marry the man I love and be with him forever,” I say.

“That’s great. I was nervous when I got married to Fin. I will never take off the wedding ring he gave me because I’m never going to get married again because I’ll never love anyone like I loved Fin. Anyways I had butterflies too but once you kiss him and you know that you’re married and you know that you will spend your life with him until the day you die, all of the butterflies just go away,” she said.

“Thank you,” I say.

“I’ll see you out there,” she says. Once she leaves I do start to get nervous. I wait in my room for an hour. After an hour my mom comes into the room and said that we were going to start in ten minutes. My mom came in and told me that the temperature outside was perfect and that the meadow looks beautiful. The lake is perfect, and Beetee had a surprise. Beetee has a surprise, it will either be something really weird or something pretty cool. She also said that Peeta is a nervous wreck. He had to sit down and drink a glass of water.

“Is Peeta really doing that bad?” I ask.

“Yeah, he said he wanted you. But then he said that seeing the bride in her wedding dress before the marriage brings bad luck. But also said that he felt sick to the stomach because he has a lot of butterflies in his stomach,” she says. I really feel bad for him. I hope he is doing better now that it is closer to starting. He kept saying how nervous he was but I didn’t know it would get this bad. I should’ve asked him why he was so nervous. I know he loves me, but why does he have to be like this. I’ve never seen this side of him. I get an idea.

“Do you have a pen and paper?” I ask.

“There is some on the table,” she said. I decided since he wants me but he can’t see the bride before the marriage I’ll write him a note.

Peeta,

I love you with my entire heart and there is nothing to be nervous about. You said I was the best thing that has ever happened to you and that I was the love of your life. So why would you be nervous for marrying the love of your life? I’m not nervous to marry mine. I’m excited and anxious. Just think about what there is to be nervous about. Our lives will most likely be exactly the same as they were when we were dating and engaged, just after this I can call you my husband and you can call me your wife. And just think, the next time we kiss we will be married!

Love, Katniss

“Mom, give this to Peeta quick there is only five minutes until the wedding,” I say. My mom runs out of the room with the note. About three minutes later my mom comes in. She said Peeta is feeling much better and he is at the end of the aisle waiting for you. Johanna and Gale are on their way down the aisle. Annie will go after them, then it’s us. Gale is here, in my wedding. I thought I would never see him again. This really is the best day ever and I’m not even married yet.

“Where are we starting?” I ask.

“Gale got here early and built a beautiful thick archway right before the aisle starts, so all we have to do is stay hidden before we get there,” she says. We start to walk over to the thick archway. I can’t believe Gale built these beautiful thick archways, dressed in white with green and sunset orange ribbons wrapping them, topped off with white roses at the top just for mine and Peeta’s wedding? He doesn’t even like Peeta. But Gale isn’t the jealous type either. We go hide behind the thick archway’s posts. Annie just went through the archway. I look around the corner and I see Peeta at the end of the aisle with a smile on his face. There is a white aisle and a small arch with white and orange roses enlaced in it above Peeta and Haymitch’s head. I can see Caesar with his bright orange hair. Everyone rises and some girl starts to play a popular song used in the Capitol for their weddings on the piano. It looks like Madge’s old piano. I think the girl playing the piano is Claudia because she is the only person that I don’t really know here. My mom walks out into the middle of the archway. Peeta’s face lights up. My mom and I interlock arms. We begin to walk down the aisle. I don’t know if I saw this right but I think I saw Gale crying. And he never cries. We get to the end of the aisle. My mom gives me a kiss on the cheek and hands me over to Peeta. Everyone sits. Peeta whispers in my ear I knew she would come. And I have never seen you so beautiful in my life. Then Haymitch begins to speak.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the marriage between Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.” Then Haymitch went on about how marriage began and how the universe did everything in its power for us to meet and get married, even if it meant that we had to be a part of sickening games. “Now I’ve been told that you both wrote vows so I’ll leave it to you guys,” he says. Peeta gives me a nod telling me that I can go first. Johanna hands me my vow and I begin.