They were unraveling the wire, leading it from the big tree down to the central lake. Katniss was uneasy. She wished that she could say it was because she was dead meat if, by some cruel mistake, the lightning struck now. She wished she could say it was because of her unwilling separation from Peeta. She wished she could say it was just because the Careers could be watching them, right now, hidden somewhere in the vegetation with their weapons poised to kill.

But none of those things were what was bothering her.

Simply, it was Johanna. The victor from District 7, with her uneven hair and her blazing eyes and her jaunty smirk. Katniss hadn't wanted to end up alone with her - the hidden reason to her earlier reluctance to leave Peeta behind - but that was where she found herself now. She was trying to keep her mind on the task at hand, but her thoughts insisted on straying towards mental images of the girl from Seven - in particular, ones from the first time they'd met.

And then she found herself walking into a low branch. To her relief, she managed to keep her balance. Not so fortunately, Johanna had noticed, and she was now laughing.

"Are you actually looking where you're going?" she chuckled.

"Of course," replied Katniss curtly. "I just got... distracted. That's all."

"By what?" Johanna questioned.

Katniss failed to understand how this girl could get on her nerves, and yet be so...alluring, somehow. She was somewhat reluctant to trust her still, but that doubt was often overpowered by another feeling that felt utterly out of place.

She swallowed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said. "And anyway, we should be quiet."

Johanna's eyes flickered with curiosity, but she didn't speak again, leading Katniss to believe she'd successfully ended that unwelcome conversation. Relieved, she continued to walk, keeping careful watch for obstacles now, and unraveling the wire behind her as smoothly as she could. Only a few seconds after, though, she heard - no - she felt Johanna whisper directly into her ear: "Tell me anyway." Soft. Sensual.

Shivers travelled down all through Katniss' body, a reaction she couldn't control, in the same way she couldn't control the way her pulse was speeding up in response to Johanna's proximity. They were still walking, but now her ally's arm would brush against hers as they advanced. Every time it did, Katniss' breath would catch.

"Come on," Johanna whispered again, dissatisfied by Katniss' determination to not reply. "You hardly seem like someone who's nervous of being judged. What could possibly-"

"It was you, all right?" Katniss spat. The words were out of her lips before she could stop them.

Johanna's brown eyes widened, just for a moment, but then her expression relaxed into a satisfied smirk that made the bottom of Katniss' stomach disappear.

"Me?" the girl said, slowly, teasingly.

"Look, can we just-"

But the rest of her words were trapped by a pair of lips softly leaning in to meet her own.

It was over in a heartbeat - and one of Katniss', with her racing pulse, at that. Now they were both stood, motionless, heads turned towards one another. The annoyed frown on Katniss' face had faded, having melted into something much more gentle. The arrogant smile on Johanna's contained the slightest trace of anxiety.

That too, however, was soon to vanish. Everything was silent as Katniss, unable to resist, slowly leaned forward again. It was a tentative movement, but as soon as their lips touched again, all doubts were cast aside, as was the coil of wire. They pressed in against each other, hands in each other's hair, tongues slipping past teeth. It was like nothing Katniss had ever experienced before. Her body felt alive. Her nerve endings were on fire whilst her mind was exploding with the extravagant fireworks of the Capitol.

When they eventually withdrew, they were both out of breath. Johanna's darkened eyes never broke contact with Katniss'. Both were daring the other to be the first to speak.

"The cameras," Katniss whispered finally.

Johanna rolled her eyes, stepping forward to close to distance between the two of them again. "Fuck the cameras," she said.