Hey guys! Thank you all for the reviews! You have no idea how much it means to me that you all like the story! I'm sorry to say that this part if a bit slow, but I feel that it's neccessary! I don't want to rush into the romance yet. I need to build it up! :P I hope you all like it! :D x

Haymitch

Waking up with a hangover was never fun; no matter how many times Haymitch did it. It didn't get any easier. And the only way he could think of to remedy it was more alcohol. He knew it was self-destructive, but what the hell? He deserved to suffer.

He got up, grabbed the empty cup and bottle from his table, and went outside. The kitchen was empty, no Avoxes in sight.

He grabbed some more liquor and walked into the living room.

There, he was confronted with a strange sight. Effie was slouched on the sofa, still in her going-to-bed look, as she put it. She must have slept here overnight.

The television was still on, but blank. He wondered what she was watching. But that would have to wait.

Before he knew what he was doing, the liquor glass was on the table, and Effie was cradled in his arms. As he walked her back to her room, he marvelled at how light she was. He wasn't getting any fitter, so it must have been her weight, or lack of it.

It was probably all that Capitol crap that weighed her down in the first place.

Haymitch winced when he walked into her room. God, it was worse than he had imagined. Already, it had been decked out with pink fluffy fabric, a luxurious bed, and a crystal chandelier that probably cost more than what it would take to keep the entire of District Twelve out of starvation.

He pushed down the feeling of anger at Effie, and at the Capitol, and set her down on her bed, tucking her up like a child. In sleep, she did look like a child, a pretty child at that.

Suddenly, the mask was broken as her face contorted in fear. Little moans escaped her mouth.

"No... don't..."

Haymitch sat on the bed next to her, watching as she had her nightmare. Was this what he looked like? Did he shout? God, he hoped not.

When she started shouting and flailing, Haymitch shook her gently.

"Effie. Eff!"

Her eyes shot open, and stared up at him wildly.

"It's okay, princess. You're back to your pretty Capitol now. What were you dreaming about anyway, someone stealing your shoes?" He got up and started to walk out of the room, knowing that she'd want some privacy.

"Wait, Haymitch!" Effie called to his back.

"Princess?" He turned back to her. She was sitting up, leaning towards him, as if she had something to tell him.

"For starters, please don't call me that." Her prissy, Capitol accent was back, going on about her manners. Haymitch could feel his ears starting to bleed in the anticipation of another Effie lecture.

"I also... I..." Her face showed a serious conflict, like she was debating on whether to tell him something.

"Hurry up about it sweetheart, we have parties to attend, and you need to put your face on." He teased, more out of spite than anything else. Why was she so annoying?

Her face screwed up in indignation.

"Well?" He pressed, and then sighed and walked out. He had no time for this. He had to make himself look presentable. And by presentable, brush his fingers through his hair and wear a reasonably clean monkey suit.

Effie

She stared after him, anger bubbling inside her. Why was he so annoying?

She had been trying to tell him that she knew what he had been through, and he had completely snubbed her.

Sighing, she set about getting herself ready for the victory party for Annie Cresta. This was her first victory party as an escort, and she needed to look her best.

An hour later, and she was almost ready. Her hair was washed and hidden under a pale pink wig, she was dressed in a tight pink strapless dress that came down to above the knee, her nails were pink, and she was planning to wear bright pink heels. Now all she had to do was put on her make up.

Packing white foundation and powder onto her face came first. Then pink eye shadow and pink false lashes. Then lipstick in the same shade of pink as her hair. Everything had to match perfectly; she would not clash at the most important party of her life.

However, something was eating at her. And she knew perfectly well what, or who, it was.

She needed to talk to him. To tell him that she was here for him.

He despised her because she didn't know what he was going through, and had been through. Well, she did, so that made it okay, right? He could be friendly towards her now, because she understood, and could help him.

She just had to find a way to break it to him that she'd watched his Games again. From what she knew of Victors, they avoided any mention or glimpse of their Games. It obviously brought back too many bad memories.

She looked at herself in the mirror, assessing every little inch of her body. She wanted perfection. This was her night, the night that she impressed the world of the Hunger Games with who she was, the new rising star in the Capitol. And then, hopefully, she'd be promoted to a Career district. Not that she wouldn't leave without fixing Haymitch first.

She picked up her back, which had all the essentials in it, and walked to the living room.

Haymitch was there, sitting on the sofa.

"Ready?" She asked, hoping that he looked presentable.

He stood up and turned to face her.

Both of their eyes grew wide as they took each other in.

He was... stunning. The years had been kind to him, what with all the alcohol. His hair was carelessly styled in a way that looked sexy, his face was clean shaven, and he was wearing a dark blue suit.

"Wow." She muttered, and then righted herself. "Well, let's go. I see you can clean up nicely, Haymitch. I will keep that in mind for future years."

"Great, just smashing. I look forward to wearing this damn monkey suit more often."

The smell of liquor on his breath was evident as they walked towards the elevator.

"Please, Haymitch, for the love of the Capitol, please don't do anything stupid tonight. This is my introduction into the Hunger Games crowd, and I don't want to be humiliated by you."

Haymitch's eyes narrowed. "Oh yes, we wouldn't want the reputation of Effie Trinket being marred by her drunken partner's crazy antics, would we? Don't worry about me, sweetheart, I have friends to keep me sane."

By friends, she knew that he meant Chaff and that only increased her fears. Chaff was almost as bad a drunk as Haymitch was, so the pair of them together could only spell trouble.

"Please, please, don't get drunk with Chaff! You'll both just ruin everything."

"You know what, Effie? Shut up. I can do what I want; you're not my mother, nor my wife, so stop telling me what to do. I can get drunk if I want to." He stared ahead of him as the elevator door opened and their car waited for them.

Effie walked in front of him with purpose, trying to ignore the burning hatred that she could feel directed at her. Now wouldn't be a good time to tell him. After the party, that would be good.

Haymitch

Why on earth did he agree to come here? What possessed him to say "yes, Effie, I'll come with you"?

Only Chaff was keeping him sane. The wild, unpredictable, time bomb that was his District 11 companion was the only person in the world that didn't either annoy him or show up in his nightmares.

"C'mon, Mitch, it's not so bad here. There's free booze." Chaff held his glass up to emphasize his point.

"I can get free booze back at the apartment. There, I only have to worry about one snooty, prissy Capitol freak, not hundreds!" He snarls, looking around the room in disdain, his eyes hurting from the mix of gaudy colours and styles of the Capitol citizens.

Suddenly, his eyes land on a pair of long, slender legs. He follows them up and lands his gaze on a Capitol face. Then he realises that it's Effie that he's staring at, talking to a group of Capitol people. There, right beside her, is Head Gamemaker, Holden McKee, with his bright green hair and lips. He hates the sight of him, especially as McKee has his arm around Effie's shoulders.

Jealousy springs through Haymitch's body before he could stop it. Why was he jealous of that pompous murderer? Because he had his arm around Effie, who was even more pompous than he was? No, that wasn't true. Effie cared. He had to remind himself of that. Effie cared.

But right now, as she was flouncing in front of the most despicable crowd of people in the entire of Panem, it was hard to see her good side. Except from her obvious good looks in that dress. It makes a difference from the puffy-sleeved suits that she insists on wearing.

"One snooty, prissy Capitol freak? I presume you mean your escort, the one you keep eyeing up. I must admit, Mitch, she does look very hot in that dress. Mind if I take my chances with her?" He winked, and Haymitch had to summon all of his control to keep from slapping that promiscuous expression off his face.

Chaff laughed at Haymitch's expression. "I take it she's your territory then. My apologies." He held his glass and stump up and laughed more at the anger on Haymitch's face.

"She's not my anything! Why would I want to get with her? And why would she settle for a drunken slob like me? Or you? Besides, we both have baggage. The Princess doesn't want to be lugged down by that." His eyes found her again, watching as her face creased up with laughter.

"Yep, baggage." Chaff agreed.

Effie

Holden McKee, Head Gamemaker, was one of the most influential people in the Capitol. Effie had been in his company for at least an hour, and she seemed to impress him. He had his arm draped around her, and kept commenting on how beautiful she looked.

It was hard not to blush when such a powerful man was complimenting you so much. Effie loved it, maybe if he liked her so much, he'd pull some strings to get her promoted.

However, as much as she tried, she couldn't take her mind away from Haymitch and what she'd seen last night. Part of her wanted to comfort him, but there was another part of her that wanted to keep it a secret. Because if she tried to be there for him, she'd reveal her feelings. And then, who knows how he would react? He would probably reject her in some horrible way, which would reduce her to tears. So maybe she wouldn't tell him.

Her eyes flickered over to him every few minutes. He was by the bar with Chaff, looking like he would rather be anywhere else than here. She felt sorry for him, a bit. Surrounded by people he despised. She should probably take him home now, before he showed them up.

Suddenly, the escort from District Two, Betany Lyle scurried up to her. She was about a head shorter than Effie, with yellow skin and wig. Her attitude was like her attire, sunny.

"Hey Effie!" She squealed.

"Hi, Betany." Effie replied.

"I just wanted to invite you to the escort after party. Since you're new, you wouldn't have known about it. It's a small gathering, without the Victors or the rabble." She gestured over to Haymitch, Chaff, and the other Victors and Capitol men slouching by the bar.

"You can get rid of Abernathy for a while and come with me!" She giggled.

Conflict welled up inside her. She wanted to take Haymitch home and talk to him. On the other hand, this was her first after party, and she should probably go. She wanted to make the best impression possible on the Hunger Games crowd, and getting the reputation of "party pooper" wasn't the best way to start.

"Of course I'll come! I'd be delighted!" She laughed.

"Great! I'll come find you when we set off, so don't run off!" With a wave, Betany flounced off.

"First after party, eh? Have fun." Holden whispered into her ear, squeezing her derrière.

Effie squealed and giggled, trying to decide whether she liked what he was doing, or whether it bothered her.

"Come see me afterwards, or tomorrow. I want to see you again. Alone, this time. Without your Victor scowling at me like he wants to kill me." He whispered again, with a little laugh.

Effie whirled and found, indeed, that Haymitch was glaring daggers at Holden. What was he doing? Trying to ruin her chance to be popular?

"Excuse me, I'll just go and deal with him." She laughed, disentangling herself from Holden's grasp.

She sees Haymitch's gaze drop as she walks over to him, and can see the faint blush that creeps across his cheeks at being caught.

"Could you please not glare at Holden, Haymitch?" She asks, slamming her hands on the table beside him.

"Wasn't glaring." He muttered.

"You were! I could see it, and so could he!" She leant over so he was looking right at her. It was a technique she had learnt when dealing with her sister, Fiona's, children.

"Fine. I was. But I didn't like what he was doing."

He must mean Holden touching her bum.

"He's allowed to do that. And he's allowed to do it without you breathing down his neck!" She sighed, wanting nothing more than to leave him.

"Look, sorry, okay? I'll let that murderer treat you like his next fling. Happy?" He growled, downing another glass of liquor in one go.

"Stop that. He's not a murderer."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. A small defence of her new friend probably seemed like the worst thing for a Victor to hear. Because Holden McKee was a murderer. As Head Gamemaker, it was his job. To murder children.

Haymitch slammed the glass down with such a force that it shattered in his hand. Blood sprang to the surface, running over the pieces of broken glass.

Effie screamed and called for help. The Avoxes managed to help her get it all patched up, and all the blood cleaned up. Chaff did nothing but make jokes about Haymitch's inability to hold a glass, but Effie could see that there was resentment in his eyes as well.

By that time, Betany was waiting for her to go to the party.

"I have to go now, Haymitch. I'm sorry." She murmured as she mopped up the last bit of blood and gave the cloth to the Avox.

"Right. Going to your fancy party. Leaving me all alone. Thanks, sweetheart. Much appreciated."

She could see the anger in his grey eyes, and tried to back track.

"Haymitch..."

"No, I see how it is. Off you go. Your face might melt off if you don't spend your night in the company of the Capitol's finest. Which, on second thoughts, might be an improvement."

He waved her off, and anger burst through her. How rude!

"Fine. I'll see you later. Get home okay." She picked up her bag and joined Betany.

"Not that you'd care if I didn't!" She heard Haymitch call after her.

His words hurt her. How could he think that she didn't care? She cared! She just had a reputation to uphold, that was all. She would talk to him later, if he wasn't passed out.

Stupid Effie, caring about her reputation! But that's Effie, I suppose!
Hope you all liked it! Stay tuned for the next chapter! :D x