Hey! So with the Hunger Games movie coming up, and two new friends entering the fandom, I've been thinking about the characters a lot. And one of them was Haymitch. Drunk, antisocial, drunk, snarky, drunk Haymitch. Not sure if this is any good... Guess you're going to have to tell me all about it in the reviews.
Disclaimer: Last time I checked my name was ********* ****** not Suzanne Collins or David Suzuki. Tell me if I'm wrong. That would make my day.
My Girl
"My mother and younger brother. My girl. They were all dead two weeks after I was crowned victor. Because of that stunt I pulled with the force field."
-Haymitch, Mockingjay, page 172
"No one's got nothing on that girl," Greasy Sae muttered angrily, dumping what she was today calling beef stew in bowls for them all, as the girl in question walked away from the counter.
"'Cept for Haymitch here." Someone teased. Haymitch got a slap in the back from Jan Hawthorne. Haymitch grinned slyly.
"She's like the Capitol's train, that girl. She can't be stopped by anybody when she puts her mind to something she cares about, not that anybody would try." He said.
"You've tried."
"Never said I was a smart one." Laughter along the soup counter broke out. The name was Via Forth. A sweet faced girl with a beautiful appearance, but a scowl and an attitude that could scare off an army. But not Haymitch. Haymitch just loved her.
And she loved him too. She was soft with his around. But not soft enough for people to mistake Via Forth for someone else, like, Maysilee Donnor or the quiet girl always around her.
"Sae, you got any real meat?" Someone down the row asked.
"Not today, gentlemen. One of you needs to get out there and find me something if you want me to keep feeding you." She said.
"You think I like this?" Chase, the Everdeen kid said raising a wrist wrapped in a bandage. "I would definitely find you something worth eating, Sae. And berries. For flavour or whatever you want to call it- those cranberries, what do you say, Sae?"
"I keep thinking one day you'll get lost in those woods, going out as far as you go."
"Then so many people would come here to celebrate, Sae'd run out of food right then and go out of business." Jan Hawthorne teased.
There was laughing amongst the group but nobody really meant it. Nobody really disliked Everdeen in any way, his life was as hard as the rest of theirs and he always came out smiling.
"I gotta go. Make it better next time, Sae." Haymitch said, getting up and pushing his empty bowl down the table. Sae collected it under the 'oooh', waving a wooden spoon with something hanging off at him. Haymitch didn't want it to fly off and land on him, so he made air fast.
It was already night time. Dark and quiet outside of the Hob. Except for one person moving back towards her home. Haymitch grinned and snuck up to her, taking large quiet steps until he grabbed her from behind.
She shrieked in surprise and then she started laughing. Haymitch picked her up, as easily as if she was a rag doll and held her in his arms.
"I hadn't seen my girl in a while," Haymitch said. She kissed him.
"You know I love you, and I love this, but for crying out loud, put me down!" She said. "I thought you were a Peacemaker or something; then things would've gotten ugly for me."
"I'd never let a Peacemaker get to you," he told her, the tips of their noses touching.
"Well aren't you sweet," Via said, landing her lips on top of his. The kiss probably lasted a while before they broke it, but Haymitch didn't care, it was still too short for his liking.
"Back to the putting me down?"
"Right," Haymitch said, letting her go.
"Thank you," she said once her feet touched ground. "So what are you doing up so late?"
"In the Hob, with a few guys." Haymitch said. "Best way to pretend that there is no Quell tomorrow." Via made a face and tilted her chin up, like whenever she expected a fight.
"You know, I don't like this. My parents told me about the last Quarter Quell last night, and my God, it wasn't pretty."
"Via Forth, scared?" Haymitch played dumbfound and she hit the back of her hand to his chest.
"And you're telling me you aren't?" Via interrogated. One of her hips cocked, her dark hair falling from the pin holding it up (it was too small for all the hair she had, but it was the only thing she had), round eyebrows arched over her brown eyes, long strands of bangs pushed to the sides of her face… She was gorgeous, and she was the only one Haymitch couldn't lie to.
"Yeah, I am." He said. "Why do you think I was eating the marinated squirrel 'stew' in there? To make it go away. See, in there, I don't remember that I'm 16, you're 16, the guys are 16, none of that. It's just... us."
Via was having one of those soft moments that you did not mess up for a million dollars. She got to her toes and kissed Haymitch on the lips.
"You're going to be okay." She said.
"You're going to be okay." Haymitch said.
"We're going to be okay," She said lacing her fingers around his.
Via was wearing a creamy dress with white ribbons around the waist and round, low collar. She looked beautiful, but she was shaking like a leaf.
"Mitch…" She said the second she saw him. He tried to smile at her.
"I guess I lied about being okay last night," he said.
"Sure as hell you did!" Via said. Next thing either of them knew; they were in each other's arms. "And I'm only going to forgive you if you win it."
"Via, that would be something you tell Jan or Chase. You know; one of the guys who might have a chance."
"Weapons aren't all metal," she said. "Use your head."
"I was planning on it."
"Then make it good!" She said. She took the clip out of her hair and snapped it shut on the sleeve of his shirt.
"There," she said. "That's your token. Take it in."
"You take it too," Haymitch said. "Be nice to the Peacekeepers, shut your mouth around them."
"Why would I do that?" Via said. Haymitch pulled her closer to him by the waist.
"That's my girl." He said with a smile.
The second the doctors stopped freaking out over his stomach, Haymitch grabbed one's arm.
"When do I get to go home?" He asked. He was out of the games. He had lived. He could go home now.
"When you're okay. You're in quite a rush." The doctor said. Haymitch shrugged.
"My girl's waiting."
She was waiting for him when he stepped off the train and into the District 12. They were cheering, and cheering for him with that particular this-is-distrcit-12;-it-all-sucks-so-when-something-happens-it-happens feel to it. He still felt a thick bandage around his torso, he walked with forearm crutches, but it didn't knock the wind out of him one bit when Via ran into him, arms closing around his neck.
Or maybe he was too busy kissing her to notice.
"My goodness," his mom said looking at the big house. The ceiling was higher than the rooms of their old house had been wide. There was more furniture in a room then there had been in their whole house. More colours than in a rainbow. Haymitch, having spent time in the Capitol, wasn't one bit surprised that such treasure was simply waiting there while people around it starved and died.
Go figure.
8 year old Tristan was jumping up and down in excitement. He ran from one end to another, touching the furniture, the lamps, the smooth stones that made the fireplace…
"Tristan don't break anything!" Jade Abernathy said, snapping out of her daze.
"Mom, don't worry." Haymitch said, putting down the bag he'd insisted on carrying even with crutches.
"It's ours now." He told her. "We'll live well."
When the kids got out of class was when Haymitch's day really started. He got over the nightmares and insomnia in the morning, and goofed off and acted his age for the rest of the afternoon, and/or night. That had been the case for the last 2 weeks since he'd gotten back from the Games, and Haymitch wasn't really feeling like he should chagne it. He'd either get caught by Everdeen, Hawthorne and the other guys, or Via would come out with quick strides and he'd jump at her going 'boo!' to try and scare her and spend the rest of the afternoon with her. Helping with her homework, or kissing, or anything else.
"Hey Haymitch!" Chase said. Jan appeared on the other side of Haymitch, sandwiching him between the two, Reggie and Halle walking alongside as well.
"So what was Mr Victor up to today?" Jan teased. "Posing for the media? Sleeping in? Knitting?"
"Shut up Hawthorne, we all know you're just jealous." Reggie said.
"It's actually pretty boring without you. Did you guys see Via?" He asked looking over his shoulder as people were coming out of school.
"Nope," Halle said. "We thought she was with you."
"Maybe she was helping her Mom at the seemstress again." Chase suggested.
"Yeah; that's the day. When Via Forth decides to sit down and sew." Jan said.
"Maybe," Haymitch admitted. "So what was that old Jabberjay nest you guys found while I was gone?"
They heard a shrill shrieking sound as they came back from the baker's, Hawthorne having successfully charmed the baker's daughter into sacrificing the old bread that was left unsold by sunset.
"What was that?" Reggie asked.
But Haymitch had heard enough screaming to know that you had to react quickly when you heard it, and Clay and Jan were illegal hunters; they knew that already.
They rounded the corner and saw a girl leaning on top of another, pushing down her chest with her hands laced together.
CPR, Haymitch thought.
Jan moved next to the girl -Rochelle Burns, he recognised. She was the one that had screamed most likely. Jan took over for her. Haymitch was frozen in shock.
Blood. Blood was pooling around the body. Blood. Like Maysilee Donnor. Or Purgio Tennis from district 1. Or Shelly Grace from 4. Or, or, or, or…
Chase froze in shock too, but it wasn't because of the blood.
He grabbed Haymitch's arm and spun him around, walking him away.
"Common Hay, let's go, out of here, let's find a-"
"No, Jan will get tired," Haymitch said, snapping back to focus. "We can, we've got to… I'll take over for him."
"Hay- don't!"
But Haymitch only stopped running when he saw Jan holding blood soaked hands up from the body, telling them that it was too late.
The body…
The body…
This wasn't just Shelly from 4 or Purgio from 1.
This was Via from 12.
Someone had come to pick up Via's body and Chase and Jan had forced Haymitch to stay put, the other two running to get parents. Haymitch had cried. He didn't care about people seeing him cry anymore, because fighting to the death and coming home victor and finding your girl… dead… That was enough to make anyone a crier, 'anyone' applying to humans who felt things. Like relief, joy, a sense of normal, and then having mourn, sorrow and disbelief round the corner in a triple attack.
He was sitting with his back to a brick building that his brain couldn't place, feeling the world inside out and the compass points inversed. How could anything be the same, how could anything be normal, now that Via was dead?
Haymitch could only think one thing straight; the wound was a bullet wound, the bullet having exploded on impact to make more blood.
Nobody in district 12 had guns like that. They'd have to come from another district. Or a place that had all the districts wrapped around its finger.
It clicked in his mind, and the mess of a person Haymitch was morphing into jumped to his feet.
"Mom! Tristan!" He yelled. Everyone looked at him, but only Chase and Jan followed him.
Only Chase and Jan were there when he saw the two other bodies.
24 years later...
Plutarch talked, Haymitch listened. He was thinking about wine most of the time, how much easier it would be to ignore this guy if he had it, and how at least this guy wasn't worst than Effie Trinket.
"A way to avenge losses..."
Haymitch snapped out of his thoughts.
"Wait- what did you say?"
"I said we needed full cooperation and secrety from the involved-"
"No, no, after that." Haymitch said.
"It would be a way to avenge losses. Make the Capitol know that Panem is not on a leesh and that our dead are not forgotten. That they cannot touch us."
"Yeah..." Haynitch said. His voice turned to a snarl. "They should've stayed away from my girl."