The Hunger Games – From Peeta Mellark's point of view.

Chapter 6

Sorry that it took so long for me to update everything. I really am sorry. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and the next one should be up soon.

Disclaimer I own nothing all characters and story go to the respective owners.

The ground grew smaller and smaller the higher that we rose in the elevator. I couldn't stop myself from looking about in glee as we rose, looking at the Capitol that stretched into the distance on every side, throwing specks of light though the sky. My costume shines because of the fabric that they used to make it. Portia looks at me, watching me looking out the window in wonder,

"Its beautiful is it not?" she asks

"Yeah" I say with all the wonder I am feeling leaking into my voice.

"Peeta I just wanted to say that…" She begins but the doors are opening and Haymitch is there, well not in front of us but we can both easily hear his voice from another room down the hall.

"I don't care what she said just do it" he hollers

"Effie told him and all the servers that he wasn't allowed to drink while you were in the Capitol" Portia whisper's to me "He has been shouting about it since we got here and trying to get them to bring him a drink"

"Can't they just do it?" I ask

"No but you might want to consider asking them if they could otherwise he will be a complete disaster for the whole games, if he had something to drink he might want to help you more than if he didn't" Portia says back with a small smile, playing across her face.

"Come let me show you to your room"

That day with the bread keeps replaying over and over inside my head. I think about the look of hope on her face when she got it and how it made me feel. I try to think about what I could do in the arena and the interview that could help Katniss more, gain her more sponsor's to help her through the games. I try and think of everything that I could do to try and make sure that she wins. My mind comes to only one conclusion but I refuse to let the plan fully form until I have talked to the Haymitch and the stylists about it in case it's the wrong thing to do.

I hear a commotion in the corridor outside and know that Effie and Katniss must be here now and that if I want to talk to them all then this is my only chance to do so. Sighing I step out the shower and find something to wear. A dark blue top and black trousers. Something that doesn't stand out that much.

I open the door carefully looking up and down the corridor to see if anyone is there. A low murmur of voices float down from the end of the hall that leads to the sitting room, so I head on that direction. On my way I pass a read haired girl dressed in white,

"Hey do you work here?" I ask her. I don't get a reply but she nods her head once fast and looks at the floor.

"Could you please get Haymitch a drink I think that it would do him a lot of good if he was to have one" She looks alarmed at the thought of disobeying an order, I smile showing that I mean her no harm and that I am not going to force her to do anything that she doesn't want to do

"Just think about it ok" I say softly with a smile and carry on towards that voices that I heard.

I step out onto the balcony, looking in wonder at the city. Portia, Cinna, Haymitch and Effie are all there talking about the opening ceremonies and how we were a huge hit in them.

"Ah Peeta. What do you want?" Haymitch barks when he notices me,

"Want to talk to you" I say coldly back to him, not letting my feelings show in my voice.

"Oh ok then talk away" Haymitch says turning back towards the skyline.

"Go get a drink Haymitch" I snap at him in exasperation

"Can't" Haymitch says laughing at the look on my face.

"Go try" I sap again

Haymitch gives me a long hard look and slouched off in the general direction of the dining room and I guess his own room.

"What is it Peeta?" Effie says in her silly high pitched voice, that I am getting used to fast.

"I want to talk about…well what I want is to…I want to talk about Katniss" I finally get out of after, several minutes of trying to get the words out.

"Well I would say its about time you talked to us about her" Says Effie looking at her watch.

"Wait. You know what I am going to do. I though only Haymitch and Portia and Cinna knew"
"Well of course I knew how could I not, Haymitch told me about what you said. And I thought that it was so brave so courageous t that you are willing to do anything for her, that I had to get involved and help you."

Am I lost for word's, stand there is shock for what seems like forever before I manage to stutter out a thank you.

"Not at all Peeta, it seems that we have all taken a liking to that young lady and the more help people want to give her, even if that means that you don't get any but if you are willing to do that then we can try our best to get her home to her family for you" Cinna says in is even voice that lacks the silly high pitched Capitol accent that everyone else has.

Looking into his eyes I know that he is telling the truth and that everything he says he means, from the bottom of his heart.

"I am willing, I will do anything to make sure she lives and goes home" I tell him looking straight into his eyes when saying it.

Cinna just nods his head and looks back over the city, still glowing faintly in the dying sunlight.

"Go to the roof" he says in undertone "Talk to here there no one will here you there. Go through the door at the end of the hall, it will take you up there," He says, then goes back to looking at the city like he never said anything.

Effie bustles out saying that she is going to get Katniss foe dinner and that we should start thinking about sitting round the table. I see Katniss relax somewhat when she sees that Cinna and Portia are going to be here as well as I know that she doesn't get along with Haymitch by himself. I try smiling at her a little to show her that I am on her side but she doesn't see or ignores me if she did.

I tune out most of what they are talking about, its mostly about how we presented ourselves at the opening ceremony and what we are going to do at the interviews. It's not until about half way through the meal that I really come back into focus. A young girl has just put a cake on the table, Katniss gasps and I can see why, the cake is on fire. She voices the thought that was going through my head as well.
"What makes it burn? Is it alcohol?, Oh" Katniss exclaimed when she =looked up at the girls face.

I see the panic that passes through Cinna and Haymitch's face at this point, that Katniss might ruin all the support that she is building from the public if they find out that she knows this girl.

"How could you know her Katniss" Says Effie sharply to her "She's an Avox"
"A what?" Katniss asks with a blank look

"She had her tongue cut out so she can't talk. She did something to upset the Capitol so they stopped her from talking" Haymitch explains quietly to her while the girl stands there looking at the floor trying to ignore what they are saying.

"Yeah" I say wildly "She looks like Delly. You know Delly Cartwright. From back home" I see Katniss stare at me for a second when I say this but then I see her look of relief when she thinks through what I said quickly,

"Oh yeah. It's her hair, I thought that it looked the same" Katniss says jumping on the suggestion even though this girl looks nothing like Delly but, it's a lie that might just stop everyone from worrying about it. They could put it down to stress and excitement about the games.

I glance at Haymitch during this conversation, and see that his face shows what I know already that he knows that it was a lie. That he knows what I did to stop everyone from worrying, I shake my head a little to show that it is not open for discussion and he nods in agreement and lets it drop.

After dinner we all go to watch this opening ceremonies being replayed on the TV. I don't really watch none of the others make an impact on me, apart from the ones that did when I saw the reapings being replayed.

Haymitch is the one that brings up the hand holding.

"Who thought of it?" he asks with half a glance at me.

"Cinna's" says Portia saving me from having to answer and from having to have that conversation with Katniss about why I wanted to hold her hand.

"Good, great bit of rebellion there" Haymitch says chuckling.

"Ok so tomorrow is training, come down here and I will tell you what I want you to do, now get out of here while we talk. " Haymitch waving his hand in a dismissive way, telling us we can go.

Getting to Katniss's room I lean against the doorway not stopping her from getting in but making sure that I have her attention, making sure that she listens to me. I see though that she won't talk here,

"Come see the roof" I say "Cinna showed me, come on" I start of down the hall looking back to make sure that she is following me, after a moment of hesitation she does and we head up to the roof. I know that she understood that by going up there no one will hear us and that's why she agreed to come with me otherwise it wouldn't happen she wouldn't have come with me.

Reaching the roof I stop and stare for a moment, though I said that the view was great I never thought that I would be this good. I notice something at the side of the roof, a bird flying then a small, zapping sound from where it tried to cross the into the roof.

"Come see this, I asked if we were allowed up here and Cinna says that we can't fall of because of this" I hold my hand out to where I saw the bird flying and again here the zapping sound and I jerk my hand back. "There is a force field around here stops us from falling to our death"

Katniss laughs "So concerned about us being safe" I see that she still doesn't think that we should be up here that she still thinks that we are being watched.

"Over here, there's a garden with chimes, sort of hard to hear though because they are loud."

When we get there I turn to look at her, waiting for her to start to tell why she knows that girl.

Katniss tells me, she tells me everything about how she and Gale where out hunting and they saw the hover craft and the boy and girl running from it. I listen without interrupting once letting her tell me everything without stopping, About how they did nothing to try and help them.

"Did they see you?" is all I ask when she is done

"I don't know" Katniss says, "we were hiding" I can tell that she is lying though but I don't press her for anymore as I know that she won't tell me anymore now.

I notice that she is shivering and take of my jacket to give it to her. She recoils a little but lets me put it around her.

"They came from the Capitol" I ask as I button it at her neck.

"Yeah." Katniss whispers.

"Why were they running do you think?"

"Don't know, they had everything here why would they leave"

"I would leave" I say loudly but I know now that it was too loud that if someone was watching or listening they would have heard me,

"I would now but they won't let me, also the food is great you can't say it's not" I say forcing a laugh and a smile on to my face to hide what I just said.

I see her surprise that I am able to turn the conversation around so that if anyone did here then they would just think that I was scared about the upcoming games.

"Come on, it's getting cold again, we should go back inside"

Once inside I decide to ask her something else.

"Gale. He was the one that carried your sister away during the reaping"

"Yeah" Katniss says her guard up again "Do you know him?"
"Not really, all the girls talk about him though, I just thought that he was you cousin or something, you look a lot like each other"

"No, were not family" Katniss says with a small smile.

I nod not letting my feelings show on my face.

"He come to say goodbye to you"

"Yes, so did your father, he gave me some cookies" She says. She is trying to stay friendly but her tone has turned a little icy because of these questions.

Raising me eyebrows my face still unreadable I say "He likes you and you sister. I think he wishes that he had a daughter not three boys in the house."

We walk in silence down the stairs both lost in thought until we get to her door

"He knew your mother" I say suddenly

"Yeah they both grew up in town." She gives me back my jacket "See you tomorrow then"

"See you" I say, and walk off back towards my room.

I fall in to an uneasy sleep, trying to think of the best way to tell Haymitch what I plan on doing, to try and help Katniss win the games.