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Cameras buzzed around Gale and I as we were let out of the cars to board the train. I kept my head high and by back straight, attempting to walk confidently and proud. Even though I was terrified I knew I had to put on a show for the cameras to make up for Gale and I hugging on stage.

Once I was inside the train, I was seated at a table full of food next to Gale. This was the first time I had seen Gale since the reaping. We didn't speak, we just sat down and tried not to look at each other. Effie came into the room buzzing, 'oh you two are going to be the talk of the Capitol. How exciting this year's games will be.'

Gale grunted and looked down at the table in front of him. A rough voice came from behind us, 'don't mind her. She's a royal pain in the ass but she is harmless.' Effie huffed as Gale and I turned to see a gruff drunken man stumbling into the dinning cart.

'This,' Effie said sounding slightly disgusted, 'is your mentor, Haymitch.'

He bumbled his way to the table and then clunked down into a chair. 'Thanks doll. Well you two look like you've been starved. Dig in.'

Gale and I hesitated for a moment. I looked from the food to him and then we both began to grab food and shove it into our mouths. Effie shrieked, 'WHAT are you doing?'

'Eating,' I said in between chewing.

'Uh, no manners at all,' she said turning her gaze away.

I stopped for a moment and picked up the fork and knife and awkwardly attempted to use them. Looking over at Gale I noticed he was doing the same thing. Giggling I look back at Effie and Haymitch who are looking at us with eyebrows raised.

'Friends eh?' Haymitch threw at us, 'what you two gonna do about that? They're no room for that where you're going.'

I swallow my food down hard. I had been hoping to avoid this topic at least till the end of the meal. By the look on Gale's face I could tell he was thinking the same thing. Neither of us say a word, we just look back down at our food and continue awkwardly attempting to use the utensils. Between the sounds of eating I can see Effie dramatically whipping tears off of her face and mouthing, 'how tragic.' Haymitch rolled his eyes at her and then puked all over the floor of the train. Then he passed out on the table in front of us. I couldn't help but think how hopeless we were to have him as a mentor, not that we would have much hope otherwise.

Effie nearly fainted, 'oh you are the most disturbing person. I am going to go and get someone to clean this up.'


The capitol was the most lavish place I had ever seen. Everywhere you looked was dense with colour, smells and sounds. It was almost too much to take in. I was glad to have only experienced it for the brief moments we were driving through it. Not that the floor Gale and I were placed on was much better. There was strange art hung on all of the walls. Everything from the art to the furniture was made in the strangest colours. I had never seen anything like them in my life. The bed that I was given to sleep on was so big, it felt lonely and empty. We had only been there one afternoon and I already felt as though I missed my home in the seam.

The only thing I was happy about was the excessive amount of food we had access to. Any time I was even the slightest bit hungry I could eat. I had never known anything like this in my life.

We all met for dinner to talk about training strategies.

'Haymitch is… feeling a bit under the weather. He will not be joining us until later,' Effie informed us as we sat down. 'So, first things first, do you two want to be trained together or separately?'

Gale and I looked at each other. This was a complicated question. Deciding on this felt as though it was deciding what we were going to be doing in the games. Would we work together or would we work separately? This was not something that we had discussed yet. Before Gale could speak I decided to tell Effie the truth, 'I think that is something Gale and I need some time to talk about.'

Effie nodded her head slowly, 'okay. That limits the amount of things that we need to talk about. Tomorrow will be the opening ceremonies. In the morning you will meet with a team of people who will help you look… more presentable. Then you will meet your stylist who will dress you and you will be shown off for all to see. It is one of my favourite parts of the games. Then in the afternoon you will start your training classes. Haymitch and I suggest that you focus on skills that you do not know. You don't want to give away your best skills to the other tributes and it could be a good opportunity to learn new things. Do you have any questions?'

Gale stood up from his chair and said, 'can I go to bed?'

'Haymitch hasn't come in yet,' Effie said sadly.

'He is probably sleeping off his hangover from yesterday and I doubt the drunk has anything important to say anyways.'

Just then Haymitch coughed from behind Gale and I, 'I did survive the games you know.'

'Then you might as well start telling us how instead of drinking yourself to death,' Gale spat at him and then stormed out of the room.

'What about you girlie? Gonna follow your boyfriend?'

I stood up and went to exit the room. As I walked by Haymitch I stopped and stood next to him. As I looked him in the eyes I said, 'he's right we really could use your help. Our families depend on at least one of us returning.'

With that I left and chased after Gale.

I found him storming down the hallway to his room, 'Gale, we should be nicer to him. He could help us a lot.'

'He could but he is not going to.'

'We still have to try to get him to.'

'We? So does that mean we are working as a team?'

There it was the question I did not want to think about, 'well… I- I don't know. I mean no. How can we? We should just go into that arena run in the opposite direction and never look back. Hope that it's not the two of us standing next to each other at the end.'

'Katniss this is fucked up. I can't do this without you.'

'I know Gale but we also can't be the last two people.'

'We should have ran. We could have done it, we could have started a new life free from all this crap.'

'You know that never would have worked.'

'I know,' he paused for a moment, 'let's just work together. One of us has to win this thing for our families sakes. They need us Katniss. They need at least one of us to come out of this thing. Let's just work together and figure the rest out later.'

The idea was tempting. Too tempting. I began to get enraged. How could Gale put me in this position. He knew how hard this was for both of us. Why couldn't he just accept that we could not work together, 'we can't.'

I turned on my heel and stormed off to my room closing the door behind me. I couldn't handle anymore of Gale's idealistic talk. Running away. Starting a new life. Working together. This was classic Gale. He needed to accept that this was our reality. I tossed myself into my bed and under my blankets. Hot tears began to pour down my face as I began to shake with anger. In my grief I almost missed the sound of the door creaking open. Footsteps quietly walked closer and closer to my bed. I felt the weight of a body sitting on the bed.

'Katniss?' Gale asked as he climbed under the blankets with you, 'you are right. We can't work together.'

He wrapped his arms around me, 'I'm sorry Katniss. I really am.'

'It's okay,' I said grabbing onto his arm, 'it's not your fault. But Gale, you know one of us has to win for our families, right? Promise me that if don't make it that you will. Please take care of them.'

'I promise.'

We lay there in the big capitol bed feeling safe and warm for just that night.