Chapter 54

he def just calls it a crush

and Katniss turns it into...

next Haymitch 'yes and's her thought by calling them lovers

and then I assumed Katniss would be the next to say 'love' again but instead it's Peeta saying this...

Sense & Sensibility (1995) Dir Ang Lee

“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 shoe laces. ”

in reality, katniss was throwing next-level mixed-signals (think... risking your life for a boy *twice* and then saying it wasn't like that).

because this poor child was being so manhandled by the adults in her life that she wasn't given space to think about what she was feeling. and not to mention that all of these confusing feelings emerged as she actively being hunted in a child murder game.

and then peeta is left like, "i'm sorry, what?" *insert elle woods gif i can't find* because he is very confused. about WHAT IS REAL AND NOT REAL. so much that he eventually just comes to the conclusion that none of it mattered romantically and that katniss doesn't like him like that and he should just focus on being friends because he has to be a part of her life because they are intertwine for life. and he will go insane without her.