When Prim went on to request that what she was about to say stay between them, the soft smile on Peeta's face finally met his eyes and he nodded. "Just you and me," he agreed. As Prim continued, Peeta remembered how nearly inconsolable Katniss had been after reading that stupid book; the one that described Prim's death to Katniss before it was due to happen. Rather than say anything, Peeta just continued to listen, letting Prim get it out. His brow knit just slightly with confusion when she said she'd let he and Katniss down and Peeta shook his head. "No," he said and Peeta made it a point to look Prim in the eye, turning his body toward hers and putting his hands on her shoulders to force her to look back at him. "You haven't let anyone down, Prim. You've done the best you could do and sometimes you might not see it as good enough, because we're all our own worst critic." He paused and sighed. "You've never let me down, anyway," he insisted, should she attempt to point out that he didn't really know. His eyes shifted away from her just slightly as a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You make me mad sometimes," he admitted, looking back at her with a bit of amusement on his face before turning serious again, "but you've never let me down."
Letting go of her shoulders, Peeta drew his good knee up to his chest, wrapping his arms lazily around it. "I know what it feels like to take the weight of the world on your shoulders," he told her, looking away from her and out at nothing. "It's frustrating to feel so much responsibility and so little control." Peeta was referring to the Games; keeping Katniss alive. He was also referring to keeping an eye out for the Everdeen sisters here in Lawrence; remembering the responsibility to stay alive that he'd felt when he'd been locked in the crypt and the crushing sensation of being powerless to stop death creeping up on him. Peeta looked back at her, then. "And it hurts when it goes bad," he told her. "You're going to feel like that a lot here, Prim," he warned. "We don't get to control things in this place. There are limited opportunities to own a circumstance and manipulate it to the outcome you want or need, here. I'm not going to lie to you...it doesn't get easier the longer we're here; it gets harder," he went on. "It's worse when you feel like you have to hide that crushing disappointment because controlling how you affect others around you is the one thing you've got in Lawrence...but you don't have to hide from me. And if you don't want me to, I will never tell Katniss anything we talk about when she's not around. Stuff like this, I mean," he promised. "Okay?"