'"Remember who the real enemy is.' On the 20th November 2015, the war will change everyone, including Haymitch."
~ For Haymitch ~
"Congratulations." The first word I ever heard come from his mouth. Congratulations on what? I thought to myself. Congratulations that I'd be forced to kill or be killed live on television?
"Where's the ice?" he asked, his greasy hair covering his face in curtains. I remember watching him stagger across the room, slumping down onto a small sofa in front of me. He kicked his feet up on the coffee table, stretching out his musty toes. He wasn't prepared at all. I could tell that Peeta thought so too. His whole act. His presence. It wasn't a surprise when I heard what came from him moments later.
"I'm here for the refreshments."
I remember slamming a knife in between his hand, just centimeters close from injuring him. It was the first time he really saw the fire in me. He stared at me, startled, yanking out the knife and getting irritated.
"You really want to know how you stay alive? You get people to like you!" he snapped, carefully spreading marmalade across his toast. "Oh, not what you were expecting? When you're in the middle of the Games, and you're starving, some water, some food, even some matches could mean the difference between life and death. And those things only come from sponsors, and to get sponsors, you need people to like you! Right now, sweetheart, you're not off to a real good start."
Before my rage completely erupted, we were fortunate enough to be distracted by the gigantic scope of the Capitol through the train windows. I never really liked Haymitch. Never really appreciated his help. At least not until after the Games. After the blueberries. By then, everything had changed.
"You don't get it, do you? You're never getting off this train! This tour don't end when you go back home to District 12. Every year, they're going to draw you back into the public eye, exposing your romance to the world. This act can never drop!"
He helped me stay close to Peeta in the toughest of times. Being forced back into the Games wasn't easy, but we both had one goal set; to save Peeta. But we couldn't. We couldn't save him.
"I volunteer as tribute."
I remember walking through the doorway in the hovercraft after the Games. Seeing Haymitch with his smug looking face only ticked me. "Good morning, sweetheart," he teased, a grin across his face. It's not until he told me the truth about Peeta that I finally let loose.
"You son of a bitch!" I yelled, smacking him straight across the face. "You promised me you'd save him! You're a liar!" By then, the syringe had let its juices flow into my neck and through my veins. "You're a liar! You're.."
I remember seeing him in District 13 for the first time. "And that is how a revolution dies," he taunted, targetting my performance in the propos. "Katniss."
"Haymitch."
But I couldn't keep running. I couldn't keep hiding from him. I just had to accept the fact. Accept the fact that he was going nowhere. He was here to stay. And for good reasoning. Without him, I would have had no one. Who would have been there for me when I saw the roses? Who would have been there for me after my chat with Snow?
He helped me through it all, whether I liked it or not. And whether I liked it or not, I couldn't hold myself back from him. He was always there as a guardian. His drinking days in the Victors' Village were over. He cleaned up his act - not only for himself, but for me - and realized the main target.
"Remember who the real enemy is."
Snow.
Author's Note:
Hello! I just wanted to say that all these 'Author's Note' things will be copy and pasted in each of these 'For The Mockingjay' oneshots. Yes, they will all be the same. If you're really confused by this, let me explain:
As you all know, the beautiful and amazing Hunger Games movie franchise will finally come to an end on November 20th. As a major fan of the series, I have decided to write as many oneshots 'for' the characters as I can to celebrate what it has achieved.
These stories will try and focus on the heart and soul of the characters, digging deep into their most special memories. I will try to do as many as I can. This is quite possibly one of the most craziest things I have attempted on this website, but whatever. The Hunger Games is too special for me to just treat as a sad ending... It must end in style, and I will help it end in style in my own way!
We all have one enemy, and that's President Snow! He corrupts everyone and everything! He turns the best of us against each other! Stop killing for him!
Tonight, turn your weapons to the Capitol. Turn your weapons to Snow!