Peeta and I got a letter in the mail a few days ago from the Capitol. It was an invitation to their place for a New Year's party. I look down at the fancy parchment with the gold embellishments a little leery. I enjoy spending time with Haymitch and Effie's calmed down quite a bit, she's not nearly as annoying and eccentric as she was when I'd first met her, but going to the Capitol wasn't something I was exactly looking forward to. In the end though, the promise of seeing our old friends outweighed the distaste for the hassle of traveling to the Capitol.

They got to the apartment just as the party had begun. There were dozens of people crowded into the space together laughing and drinking, all waiting for the clock to strike midnight. It took them twenty minutes just to find Haymitch and Effie at the front of the colorful crowd. They were standing in front of a big television screen which displayed a close-up of the huge clock on the Justice Building.

"Haymitch! Effie!" Peeta greeted them enthusiastically, scooping each of them into a hug.

"Why hello Peeta!" Effie squealed, "And dear, sweet Katniss!" She wrapped her arms around me in greeting.

Haymitch gave me a thumbs-up for a greeting then grinned, pulling me into a friendly hug, "Good to see you again sweetheart."

Effie waved a young man with a tray over to us and made each of us take a glass of sparkling clear liquid. "It's champagne," Haymitch explained.

"You two are going to kiss each other when the clock strikes aren't you?" Effie asked, bubbling as much as the beverage in her hand.

We exchange a slightly confused look, and she explains how kissing at midnight on New Year's eve is a sort of tradition that they have in the capitol. She wraps her arm around Haymitch's and gives him a weird grin, "Haymitch is going to be my midnight kiss."

The corner of Haymitch's mouth twitches up into a half smile. I almost want to puke. Peeta's giving them some sappy smile and I resist rolling my eyes, "What kind of a tradition is that?"

Effie looks a little flustered as she tries to come up with an explanation, but can't and just shrugs her shoulders. A couple of other guests get the attention of their hosts and Peeta and I are left standing awkwardly in a sea of people. We head outside to the balcony where there is a little more room to stand, but there are still a good number of guests out here as well.

There's a commotion inside and the energy level of the party escalates as people slowly begin to countdown the last minute of the year.

10, 9, 8…

People all around the room start to pair up together as they keep counting down and their voices swell with excitement as it nears the end.

7, 6, 5, 4…

Peeta and I turn our gaze up to the sky to see the firework show that will begin in…

3, 2, 1…

An explosion of color ignites the sky. The people on the balcony are illuminated in the brilliant colors of the fireworks. I take a peek around and to my surprise everyone is kissing even, Haymitch and Effie inside are locked together in a kiss. He even picks her up and spins her around once, setting her back down gently on the floor. They're both smiling like idiots. I think I can feel the champagne threatening to make a reappearance.

Peeta laughs lightly at my expression, and takes my hand, "You wouldn't be against a kiss right now would you?"

"No," I say, "I just don't see the point in making such a big deal…" He silences me, pressing his lips tenderly against mine.

"Happy New Year, Katniss."