Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Sparks Igniting
"It's almost over," I think to myself as I wait next to my mother and Gale, "the worst part is over," That's what I keep reminding myself.
I look over at Gale; he watched a lot of the Games with us. It really helped having him there. At times, his quiet intensity, like now, made me even more anxious, but he was always kind, gentle, and helpful to us. Even though it was always Katniss who brought us food, we never went a day without some parcel of food during the Games. Sometimes, I think of what promises must have been made in that room where we prepared to say goodbye. She had promised me she would try to come back. And now she has. But, who else saw her that day? Gale, certainly. It wouldn't surprise me if he had made her a promise to watch out for us. If so, he was true to his word. Of course he was. He loves Katniss just as much as we do, you could tell by his silent fury, sometimes annoyed mumblings to himself once she caught up with Peeta, and even before, his quiet exasperations for something she should have been, but wasn't doing. Yes, he loved her. But, who doesn't? The girl on fire, that's what they're calling her now. And we've said Gale is our cousin. And everyone thinks she's in love with Peeta. No, it's not over. There's still the Victory Tour, where all these feelings and more are likely to be brought blazing to the surface. But, the hardest part is over.
The train pulls in to the station and it's all I can do to hold back, let the cameras finish their job. Probably some of it will be with us, but I don't care. There she is, holding Peeta's hand as she gets out. I spare a glance at Gale. His face has gone tight. I think about trying to help, but decide he's best left to himself. There, now. Peeta's headed over to his father.
"Katniss!" I yell as I run over to her.
"Prim," she whispers, pulling me tight and keeping me there, saying my name again, "Prim."
Whether or not Gale needed, or simply wanted, to give us a minute, only now does he come up with our mother.
But, Katniss doesn't know about the lie on our part, and before they can have more than one second of a glance, mother embraces her, whispering, *"Your cousins can hardly wait to see you!" I saw her look over at Gale, taking a second to understand.
"'Bought time you came home, Katniss," Gale says, embracing her once. But, you can see the tension between them, which Gale manages to pass off as relief that she's home. I hope he doesn't hold the Games against her. She just did what she had to do to come home, to keep her promise to me.
Then the cameras pull Katniss and Peeta back together once more and ask a couple questions about what we think of the two lovebirds. I see Gale slip off, exasperated and hurt, and I catch the briefest look of pain on my sister's face as she sees him leave. My mother answers, though, **"Peeta is the very model of what a young man should be, but my daughter's not old enough to have any boyfriend at all." He smiled at that, as did most of the crowd, some snickering, and some mentioning playfully that someone was in trouble. I'm glad they asked mother first, because her response saves me from answering the same question.
Finally, though, the cameras are done. Katniss is really home again. When the cameras are gone, I can tell she's still upset about Gale. I don't know what to do to help her with that. So, I say, "Come on. Bet you're ready to get back somewhere you know." That brings a smile to her face and she lets me lead her and mother home.
"Prim, why don't you go check where Katniss is? I have a few things to tell her," I hear mother tell me.
I look at my mother, confused. If Katniss isn't doing errands, she's probably in the woods, and there's something off in her tone.
"Prim! Now!"
Taken aback, I hurry out. I know she knows where Katniss is, but she also seems to want me out of the house. I'm not sure why, but decide to listen to her. If there's one good thing that's come of Katniss being in the Games, the cameras have animated my mother, a little. I decided to go out to our old house. Buttercup likes to hang out there a lot and it takes a lot of convincing from me to get him into the new house. So, I accept that he likes our old home better and just go visit him a lot. It's better that he's happy.
But, just as I'm about to turn out of sight of our new house, which is definitely nicer than our old one, but missing in some things that we called home, like no automatic lights and hot water. It hadn't made living easy, but it was something we had come to deal with. But, I'm almost out of sight when I see someone else come up. Someone who doesn't belong here. I scamper around the corner, further out of sight, but still where I can see. Now I understand why mother wanted me out. What does President Snow what now? Something about the Victory Tour? I frown, I hope so, but, why do I feel like it's more than that? He couldn't have been happy about the berries Katniss used in the arena. But, she's a victor now. That means we're all safe now. The whole world loves her and Peeta and even her family. What can he do? It's probably just something about the Tour.
When I get back, Katniss is home and President Snow is gone. Both she and mother seem surprised by Snow's visit, but I can't tell what else my sister may feel. My mother looks relieved, though, so, good. I don't have much time to worry anyway, because shortly after I hear a scuffle outside and can't help but smile. I think to go upstairs and give my sister a head's up, but they're inside by the time the thought has fully formed. Her prep team has just arrived, early, and is already heading up to her room. I think it's funny, how bright and dyed they are and how they are so worried solely about how my sister looks. It's not that they don't make her look amazing, they do, it's just I know she doesn't like it, and neither does Gale.
However, it's been sort of fun, too, because for the tour Katniss needed a talent, something she does now that she's supposed to have so much free time. Her greatest talent is hunting, but they can't know that she does that when it's illegal. She can sing, too, she used to sing to me when I was little and she sang to that little girl in the arena, her ally, Rue. But, neither she nor I really wanted to turn that into something she flaunted in front of the Capitol. So Effie, our district escort who had led Katniss and Peeta off after the reaping, but is essentially as ridiculous to me as her prep tem, sent over a bunch of stuff for her to try. Trying to help, and looking for something new to do, I gave them a shot, too. Turns out I was good at flower arranging, the flute, and cooking. Katniss, didn't though, and I think sometimes it annoyed her as much as it pleased her to see me happy. I think cooking was my favorite. Flower arranging was just too simple and the flute, while pretty, is too much work to keep at. Cooking, though, was fun and useful. But, Katniss finally decided to call her stylist, Cinna. I love what he designs for my sister. They're so pretty! And, somehow, I think she likes them, too. Though, again, Gale has mixed feelings about it.
I got to get all dressed up, too, today, since they'll also be interviews, but I watch Katniss as she comes out all done up and give her an encouraging smile. She returns it, but has to meet with Cinna for some final details on "her" talent, so pretty. But, soon, she's concentrating on the cameras. I know she hates them. That, I can understand. When, they're on, you don't get a second to yourself and she had to live with them for months. I'm only in front of them for interviews, and while I love getting dressed up, I hate the interviews. This is our life, not a show. I smile as she runs to Peeta in the snow. They really are cute together. I just hope she knows what she's doing.
Gale, mother, and I, watch the Victory Tour together in silence. Gale's still annoyed about Peeta and we all are just ready for this to finally be over. Soon enough, she's home again and I fully relax. Our nightmare is finally over and she is home safe.
AN: * Direct quote from Catching Fire by Suzzane Collins, pg.12. Do not own this quote.
**Direct quote from Catching Fire by Suzzane Collins, pg.32. Do not own this quote.