Exposed.
xxx
Effie was due back any moment and Haymitch was sweating. Had she seen it yet or not? the 'it' being the article recently written about the pair of them, in the Capitol news paper.
'Top Television personality Effie Trinket in steamy love affair with drunkard mentor and district 12 victor, Haymitch Abernathy.'
The cheesy headline was followed by pap shot of the two, kissing in the window of the penthouse. Busted. Effie was going to kill him. Worse, he feared this would be the end of them.
Their affair had evolved from a drunken fumble in an elevator, after one of the capitols parties, a few months ago. The initial party had been dull, so to entertain themselves, Haymitch and a group of his friends had challenged Effie and a group of hers, to a drinking game. The pair had battled it out all evening with Effie matching Haymitch drink for drink, until they were the only pair left able to stand. He'd kissed her in the elevator as soon as they had been alone and she'd kissed him back and from there, it had started.
Fumbles in corners and stolen kisses in shadows. The first time they had fallen in to bed together had been after an argument and the sex had been amazing. He was hooked, she was hooked, and their affair had been a crazy one ever since.
The only thing that they had promised one another, was secrecy. A 'Tell no one' policy. She swore it was to save their jobs, but she was a capitol star, her entire reputation, her dignity was on the line. If any of her friends or colleagues found out she'd been shacking up with the drunken mentor from her district, she'd be ridiculed. The poorest district too. No, Effie would be mortified if they were caught, which is why he was sweating. The door to the pent house flew open and in she waltzed.
Knowing he was about to lose her made him realise just how much he had fallen for the woman. He had. He'd fallen, hard. Now, it was all going to end.
She avoided his gaze.
"Effie…"
"We're done! Its over! I'm furious!"
He swallowed hard as she stamped her foot angrily, tears forming in her eyes.
"I worked so hard to keep it quiet!" She continued "and then they go and…ugh! I'm so angry I could kill someone!"
He swallowed again
"So this means…"
"Over! Done! Finished!" She shrieked. "What were we thinking? going down that road…"
"So you regret it then?" He asked sheepishly. He slid his hands into his pockets and looked at his feet.
"Regret it? I more than regret it! It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, our life! This is a disaster! Everyone is laughing at us!"
Her hand came up to her mouth and then she broke.
The need to hold her was overwhelming but, it was quite obvious, he was not welcome on that train any more.
He watched her for a moment, as she paced up and down, sobbing into her hands. First, he felt regret. It was he who had kissed her in front of that window, as she had been admiring the skyline. He who had caught her looking out and saw how the moonlight made her skin glow. He who had not been able to keep his hands off her, despite her weak attempts at batting him away.
He should have shut those blinds. Damnit.
But then, his regret turned to annoyance. He wasn't the only one kissing that night, sure she'd said no at first but she was the one who had backed him up against that window, she was the one who had leapt up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist, she was the one who had begged him to take her, there and then.
"So, what do we do?" His tone was a little more bitter. Had this affair meant nothing? So, they'd been caught? all that had changed was that, their feelings for one another, had been broadcast…if there were any feelings, on her side, at all.
"What do we do?" She repeated. "What can we do? nothing. It's over, lets just leave it at that. Ugh! My whole day has been ruined!"
"Your whole day?" Haymitch felt his blood boiling "Your whole day!? OK! Well, what about my day! it didn't just happen to you!"
Effie was shocked at the sudden raise of his voice
"I know, I'm sorry, I meant the both of us"
"No you didn't!" He yelled, throwing the paper to the ground "You think of no one but yourself! You're selfish, you know that?!"
"Haymitch, what is the matter with you?" She asked a little worried
"You! You're the matter with me! Don't you know I'm in love with you!"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted them. Great, now she knew, Haymitch had a weakness and it was her.
She stood before him, wide eyed and bewildered
"You…You love me? You're in love with me?"
"Yes!" He spat and flopped down onto the couch. "Of course I am, you stupid woman!" He combed a hand through his hair in frustration. "It wasn't difficult" He continued. Effie had slowly stalked over to the couch and sat beside him. He shifted away from her slightly.
"How long have you-"
"A while, the first time we…Oh what does it matter" Haymitch huffed. Effie rested a hand on his arm but he pushed it away
"What does it matter?" She asked, looking a little hurt "Of course it matters, you love me. That matters."
"Yeah I guess it just makes it harder for you huh?" He jested, but Effie was confused
"Harder? To do what?"
"End this, us! I know you Trinket. You feel sorry for me. You'll try to fix me, before you walk out"
"Walk out? Haymitch, what are you talking about?" She crossed her arms across her chest, now she was becoming a little frustrated.
Haymitch bent down and picked up the news paper before shoving it into her hands
"The article, its out, we're out. We're over"
Effie unfolded the news paper and looked at the article.
"I tried you know, I went down there, to the printing house, tried to get them to retract it but they wouldn't, I tried to fix it, I tried, for you. Why did I bother huh? If that's how you feel. I meant nothing, I mean nothing to you"
"That's what you think?" she asked.
"Effie! you just said it! We're over! You regret everything, I've made you a laughing stock" Haymitch was just down right angry now, he felt like he'd been made a fool of. He stood up to get away from her and began to pace up and down.
"You know what? Fine, whatever, I meant nothing to you, that's you're problem. But I know who I am, I know where I come from and I fell in love with you and I'm not ashamed. So there. I said it. Why are you smiling? Is this funny? Am I a joke to you now?"
She shook her head, barely containing a giggle. She threw the news paper down onto the coffee table.
"You thought I was talking about this, didn't you?" She pointed at the picture and another fit of giggles attacked her.
"Well, yeah…our affair, its out, you wanted to keep it a secret, didn't you?"
She smiled up at him "Well, yes, but only for this reason. Gossip, I can't stand it, not because I'm ashamed, Haymitch."
He shifted awkwardly on his feet.
"But…you said-"
"I know what I said, you adorable man!" She stood before him, beaming. "I was talking about Tetra!"
"Our stylist?" Haymitch questioned, confused as hell.
"Yes! Tetra! She sold out on us! She got drunk at a party and told all of our Ideas, for next years games, to Zia from district 2! I had to fire her. Can you believe it? Our stylist for over 6 years and she goes and does that?, I knew we should't have gone down that road, her designs were good but, I knew she was flaky. God knows what else she told them, maybe she's been doing it since she started, well, I had to tell her it was over. She's gone. Hiring her was the biggest mistake we ever made!"
It all clicked. Her words, her frustration, it all fell into place. She wasn't talking about her and him, she was talking about their stupid stylist.
"So the article…you knew?"
"Of course I knew, I was on my way to fire Tetra when I saw it on the news stand. It cheered me up a little actually"
"It did?"
"Of course!. We don't have to hide it anymore, who cares about a little media" She announced. Softening at his relived expression. She cupped his face in her hands and placed a gentle kiss at his lips "So people know… I don't care, let them gossip. Finally, I can tell the whole of Panem that I, Euphemia Trinket, am in love with Haymitch Abernathy"
She grinned, sheepishly and a blush crept onto her cheeks as he registered her words.
"You're…You're in love with me too?" He asked, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her closer
"Of course I am, you stupid man. It wasn't difficult"