a/n Heya, this is my first Hunger Games fanfiction. I decided to have a Haymitch one because I've always had a soft spot for him ;) So here it is, I hope you enjoy and please review.
Chapter 1. Tour of tortures… here I come!
Sometimes if you want something really badly … you can have it. But you have to actually believe that you want it to receive it. That's what my father used to tell me – every night before I went to sleep. I told Prim it on the day of her very first reaping.
The day when her single name was selected from thousands of others.
The day I volunteered to die.
"But you didn't die did you?" Haymitch had urged. Maybe I didn't die physically. But Haymitch knew well enough, that being the surviving tribute isn't winning.
It means your entire life is over.
I'd never really understood what it meant – I only properly deciphered it when I grabbed that handful of poisonous berries alongside Peeta Mellark. Preparing to commit the unthinkable. Beat the capitol.
All those people, Glimmer, Cato, Thresh, foxface and … Rue. The list goes on. But I now have to endure meeting the families of the lost on the victory tour, and for the first time ever, another tribute has to too. Peeta, the one who everyone believes I am passionately in love with. I don't know how I really felt about him during our time together within the Hunger Games. But he did – It wasn't pretence for him, he really did have feelings for me. But I just don't know who to understand – who to believe anymore. That's what the games do to you, trust is out of the question when it comes to being the winner. Especially as I, Katniss Everdeen, 'the girl on fire', who now has apparently defied the capitol - was in big trouble. The same Katniss Everdeen who just found out she had to marry Peeta Mellark in order to keep her family alive.
I was trudging back down to our new home in the Victor village. I'd escaped for some peace after Haymitch informed me of my fate. And what's worse, the victory tour starts later on today and I have to 'pretend' to be in love with Peeta once again. But I didn't know if it was pretence now – I wasn't sure what it was anymore. But ever since I'd received the sinister phone call from President Snow this morning, it looked like I was going to have to try and be even more in love. Even I couldn't work that one out.
When I arrived home, the house was in total chaos. My mother was flying from room to room cooking food, arranging flowers. I caught a glimpse of Prim's hair and blouse flying past. I groaned when I entered my bedroom to find my eccentric prep team armed with things that looked like weapons – to prepare my body. I looked around for Cinna, without result.
"Where's…" I began.
"He'll arrive later." Interrupted Octavia. The only person I actually wanted… wasn't here. Fantastic.
After a few hours had heaved past – my prep team pronounced me 'decent'. I was released, and I began to wander aimlessly around the house. 'Hurry up Cinna' I thought impatiently. As if on cue, he emerged from the anarchy of people. I flung my arms around him.
"Hey sweets." He whispered.
"I've missed you Cinna. A lot." I said breathlessly.
"I've missed you too. I've brought YOUR designs for your talent." He replied.
"Thanks Cinna, it means a lot you know." He swatted me with his hands. He dragged me into my bedroom, which had been transformed into a gallery. My breath caught when I saw the designs.
"Cinna these really are magic. They're stunning, bewildering, radiant…"
"Zip the lip Katniss. Now listen, you need to memorize every detail of YOUR designs." With that, he began to talk me through every single one of the designs. When he finished, he ushered me over to Effie Trinket, a vague smile twitching on his lips.
"Katniss, Katniss, Katniss!" Exclaimed Effie dramatically. I rolled my eyes.
"Hey Effie." She pecked me on both cheeks.
"We have a big, big, big, big, big, big, BIG day ahead of us, and I just need to run over the schedule ok? So it starts with you and Peeta and then…" I groaned, and began to zone out. My eyes caught sight of a figure staring intently in my directions, I focused on the person. To my surprise, it was Haymitch. He was clutching his liquor bottle, which was nothing special. What really stunned me was the look on his face. The intensity of his stare. I dropped my eyes abruptly. I'd never seen Haymitch look like that before. It was quite un-nerving, yet slightly alluring at the same time.
When Effie finally brought her speech to a close, she handed me back over to Cinna, who dressed me up in a with a spectacular sequin dress. But I wasn't bothered about the dress; I just couldn't get Haymitch's piercing green eyes out of my head. Time passed, and I was just about to step out the door when someone's body heat brushed against mine.
"Go get them sweetheart."
a/n Ok so how was that? I know it's short, but the chapters will lengthen when I start getting properly into the fanfiction. And yes I made Haymitch's eyes green! I've always found green an interesting eye colour. I hope you enjoyed and please review, because I love reading opinions and… I'll update faster ;)
~Verity~
Ps. Oh and sorry about the awful chapter name but I couldn't think of anything else!