Katniss had had another tantrum; Peeta had gone after her. For Effie Trinket, that was just another day on the Victory Tour train. She squirmed awkwardly in her seat, adjusting her poofy skirt over her legs. Thank goodness for the noisy clatter of the train, or there would have been absolute silence. And if there was one thing that Effie couldn't stand, it was silence. That and unhappy people. No, she corrected herself, not all unhappy people, just most of them. She didn't hate Haymitch Abernathy. Although she didn't want to believe it, she had grown rather fond of the man; who was currently sitting across from her, inspecting his empty glass of whiskey. She observed him carefully, wondering what he was thinking. This was a habit she had developed sometime during the previous Hunger Games. She couldn't stand being around someone and not conversing with them, so she had tried to talk to Haymitch. It hasn't taken her a terribly long time to realize that he didn't want to be talked to, and not much longer to realize that Haymitch, well, to put it simply, didn't like her. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn't mutual. Effie found something attractive in his mysterious personality, something endearing underneath the layers of mental instability and alcoholism. She saw that, underneath his shell of cynical distain for life in general was a truly admirable man.
She hasn't realized that Haymitch had noticed her stare and had made eye contact with her.
"What are you lookin' at?" He asked in a rather unimpressed tone.
"N-nothing." Effie replied a bit too quickly, a faint blush dusting her powder-white cheeks.
She squirmed again, clearing her throat. She fiddled with the necklace she wore; one of her simpler ones, offered to her by her mother when she was younger. Effie remembered their many conversations about dating, and the countless rules that had been established. If she were to be in a relationship with Haymitch, she would be breaking an enormous amount of them; notably, the 'no alcoholics' and the 'no older men' ones. Not to mention the fact that Haymitch was not of the Capitol; and from District 12 none the less! But Effie's mother couldn't feel her daughter's emotions, or understand her daughter's attraction to this older alcoholic from District 12. In fact, said daughter wasn't even sure she understood her own feelings for Haymitch.
"Effie." his gruff voice shook her out of her train of thought.
"Yes?" she replied, shocked that he had initiated conversation.
"Why are you staring at me?"
She blushed again, mentally scolding herself for her carelessness.
"Oh, I apologize - I suppose I was... lost in thought..."
Haymitch went back to inspecting his glass. Effie sighed, deciding to attempt conversation.
"So, uh... are you... enjoying the victory tour?"
He set the glass down on the table, giving the woman an annoyed look. "No. I'm not."
She swallowed hard as she sensed Haymitch's fouler than usual mood."Why not? It's not like you get out very often anyway."
He sighed, now glaring at Effie. "Don't you think that would indicate that I don't like leaving my house?"
"Not necessarily, I mean, you could be staying in your house because you would like to leave, but you are unable -"
"Effie." Interrupted a very irritated Haymitch, "Would you please stop talking?"
She blushed yet again, rubbing her left forearm awkwardly. "Oh... sorry." she apologized.
Haymitch leaned forward onto the table and rested his head in his arms. Effie made sure to keep her gaze away from him, not wanting to annoy him further. She instead turned her attention to the window, watching the scenery whizz by faster than she could process it. She had always enjoyed riding in trains; the speed gave her a strange sense of power. Not to mention the Capitol trains always had absolutely fabulous decor. She remembered a particular train ride, from her home to the downtown Capitol. She was in her late teens, and she was with a handsome young man with pastel-blue coloured hair and a charming demeanour. They had gone to high school together, and he had asked her out on a date, claiming he had always had a crush on her. Effie agreed to go out with him. She had never gone on a date before, and she wanted to know what it was like. It would have been almost a fairy tale... If she had liked him back. She unceremoniously dumped him a few days later. But what she wouldn't give to replay that experience with Haymitch Abernathy... other than the dumping of course. She would love to see him smile, just for once, and to be happy, not because of alcohol, but because of her. She wondered: was it possible for them to be together? Could he ever have feelings for her?
"Effie," Haymitch started again, turning his face up to meet her eyes, "You're not that bad when you shut up."
She looked at him once again, smiling slightly. One day, she thought, one day.