Here's Chapter 2! Not giving away any spoilers about it, but it's good.
Thresh POV
Ever since Fire Girl and I won the Games, I started getting this jittery feeling every time I'm around her. I know exactly what it's supposed to mean, but how come I didn't feel this earlier? Anyways, this afternoon we found out that Rue was still alive, and that somehow, her "death" brought about a spark that ignited the idea of a rebellion against the Capitol. I was all for it as soon as I heard the words "capitol" and "rebel." However, seeing Rue alive today was a rather interesting situation. I still have yet to know exactly how she got here, and exactly how Cinna managed to find her before I did. I heard a little knock at the door, so I left my thoughts alone and went to answer the door. I found Rue standing there, appearing quite eager to come in. I let her in, and this was the first thing to come out of her mouth.
"Thresh, do you think it'll work?" My guess was that she was referring to the whole Lavender thing.
"Sure it will, kiddo," I replied as assuring as possible. "The Capitol can't kill you, because you're, and I quote, 'sneaky, fast, and the hardest to catch'," I added, mocking her pre-Games interview angle, complete with the high-pitched voice and me furiously batting my eyelashes. She laughed and rolled her eyes at my imitation. She went into one of her own, however, and you'll never guess who it was of.
"I'm Thresh. I'm stony, stoic, and deadly quiet," she said in a deep voice, and I must admit, it's sort of funny. We both burst out laughing in nothing flat.
"I'm curious to know two things. One, whose idea was it to dress you up as a Capitol kid? And two, how did Cinna find you?" I asked, seriously wanting to know. Rue explains to me how she snuck off a Capitol hovercraft into the District 12 building, and tried to lay low, not to much avail.
"Well, it was my idea to pretend to be from the Capitol, so as not to bring up suspicion. Cinna found me admiring Katniss' Girl on Fire dress. My arena boots were what got me caught," she admitted a bit sheepishly. I'm not even asking where she found the outfit, but it was probably sheer luck, knowing Rue. But having those boots there, adding to how she was the smallest one in the Games, was what gave her away so easily to Cinna.
"Rookie mistake, little girl. You have to dress the part if you're gonna act the part," I told her. What I still can't get through my head was how Katniss didn't see the truth until Rue was practically flinging it in her face. The instant I saw "Lavender," I noticed two things off the bat. One, she looked like she could possibly be Cinna's daughter. Two, I'd recognize the big golden-brown eyes anywhere. I was going to tell Katniss in the first place, but it was obvious that Rue wanted her to see it for herself. It was for Rue that I kept my mouth shut, and I let her keep her cover. Until Katniss (Fire Girl, whatever) finally saw it. After a while, Rue asks if she can spend the night in my room, and I can't refuse. It's like she dissolves your defenses with those eyes, which is why I'm shocked that she didn't win the Games just by cute-ing everyone to death. She crawls in the bed with me, and within five minutes, she's knocked out in my arms. I keep her tucked in, and I'm asleep ten minutes later.
I woke up the next morning to find both Katniss and Cinna looking dead at Rue and I, Katniss wearing a huge smirk on her face. My tongue wasn't quite up to operating in sync with my brain so I could come up with a decent lie as to why Rue is in here. Lucky for me, Rue was wide awake and made up some excuse about a nightmare she'd had, so she came to me, like she had the night before the Games. They bought it, we dismissed the matter, and we all got dressed. On the way to breakfast, Cinna and I made up a cover story for Rue. "Lavender" was Cinna's niece that he'd been asked to keep an eye on, so he'd had to bring her with him. It was a plausible excuse, and all we had to do was get it past Haymitch and Effie. As we entered, the first words we all heard was,
"Who is she?"
All eyes fell on Cinna. The girls didn't know about the cover, so the hope was slightly etched on both of their faces that we'd come up with something.
" This is my niece, Lavender. I had to keep her for a few weeks while her parents are away on business," Cinna replied. I gotta admit, he keeps very cool under pressure, and lies like a pro. Without another word concerning Lavender, we ate our huge Capitol breakfast in peace. I mentally commended Rue for pulling off her little act, especially in front of Effie, who I'd thought would be the first one to say that something about Lavender was a bit off for a Capitol kid. But Rue is quite the little actress.
After finishing breakfast, Katniss went with Effie for her coaching on the interview, while I went to Cinna for mine. Rue, or should I say Lavender, was right beside me. All that Cinna and I talked about was my approach, which wasn't to be much different from last time. But then, Cinna asked me a question that threw me for a spinner.
"Do you like Katniss?" he asked me. Well, yes, but I didn't want him to know that. Unfortunately, Cinna is one of the few people I can't lie to that easily.
"Um, no…" I answered, trying my hardest to convincingly deny it. With that stupid blush creeping up my face at the thought of Katniss, and that ghost of a smirk sitting on his face, it was obvious he didn't believe me. Hey, I wouldn't believe me either.
"Taking that as a yes. You could, if you want to, add this into your interview. Keep it a little bit mysterious, and let the audience put two and two together. Let's practice your interview. Lavender, come here for a sec," Cinna said, motioning Rue to come over, probably so I could get a feel of how it would be with Katniss on my side. He instructed her to answer how she figured Katniss might. Knew it.
"Tonight with us we have Thresh Cliff and Katniss Everdeen, victors of the Hunger Games. Blah, blah, blah, all that crazy banter he does," Cinna said, making us hold back laughter.
"So Thresh, how'd you feel when you and Katniss won the Games?" Cinna, asked, getting somewhat into character. Think Thresh. Short answers, stony attitude, and a lover. Challenge, but not impossible.
"Good," I answered indifferently, knowing full well that this would be how I'd answer Caesar.
"Only GOOD?" Cinna pushed. So he wanted more; I'll try it.
"Great, I guess," I answered sullenly, seeming altogether bored with the interview. Good.
"Okay. Katniss, how did you feel when you and Thresh won the Games?" Cinna asked Rue.
"I felt happy to keep my promise to my sister Prim, and I felt pleased that I won with him," she replied, the happiness in her voice subtle, but very much there. So she was hinting in to our "lovers" thing. Naturally, she'd know what I felt for Katniss- it's Rue, and Rue doesn't miss these things. But I still pretended to throw her a questioning look, and the look in her eyes said, "Well, you couldn't have been more obvious with it."
"Ah, Ms. Everdeen! But what about Peeta?" Cinna asked, figuring his name would more than likely come up in the interview.
"I guess that after Peeta was killed, Thresh sort-of comforted me, and it was stronger with him than it had ever been with Peeta," Rue replies, mocking Katniss perfectly.
"Thresh? How do you feel about the Girl on Fire?" Cinna asked me, an almost gossipy feel to his voice. I almost laughed, but I pulled myself together for the answer.
"I love her," I replied, short and straight to the point. Cinna pretended to relish in it, like he didn't even know. Yep, Cinna can act.
"Okay, I'm liking the interview so far, but you and Katniss are going to need more than words to sway the audience. Show them how in love you are. Hold hands, stolen glances, and maybe even a couple kisses wouldn't hurt," Cinna said by way of advice. I knew he'd make me practice with Rue, and the holding hands and stolen glances, I could do. But kissing Rue? That would be... kissing my little sister...yeah.
"Fine, let's practice. But we're saving the kissing for last," Rue stated, voicing my thoughts. So over the next hour, we practiced flirting through the interview while keeping both angles intact. When Rue mentions Peeta's death, I hold her hand to comfort her through it. Lastly, we practiced kissing. I gave Rue her first kiss and her first make-out session. It was awkward, kissing a twelve-year-old, but by the third kiss, I got used to the weird feeling. But she did NOT hold back. She gave me everything she figured Katniss would, and then some.
I heard Katniss coming down the hall, so I whispered to Rue, asking if she could distract Cinna long enough to give Katniss and I some privacy. She agreed, giggling girlishly in my ear at the sight of love, and then she told Cinna about something she wanted him to see. She led him out of the room to wherever she was going, and not a second before Katniss walked through the door.
"Hi, Thresh. I came to talk to you about something. Effie suggested that we do a lover's angle, but I wanted your opinion on it," Katniss said, and I knew that it was now or never.
"That's good with me, but I wouldn't…I wouldn't be acting," I told her. Then I did it. Yup. I closed the gap between us and kissed her. In an instant, she started kissing back. We were fully making out when I heard Rue and Cinna making "ooh" and "ah" sounds at the door. I looked at them and smiled, then Katniss spotted them and smirked.
"So, the lover's angle it is," I said to Katniss, and she admitted her feelings for me.
"Thresh, I-I love you, I can't hide it anymore, I just can't," Katniss whispered into my ear. I kissed her on the lips and murmured sweet nothings into her ear to tell her that I felt the same way. (Ironically enough, Rue's kissing guesstimates were dead on.) Rue and Cinna closed the door, but I knew they were eavesdropping on us. Wouldn't have felt right without that, though. By nightfall we reached District 12.