Chapter 9: Publicity Stunt

Disclaimer: I don't own THG.


Katniss:

I hate that nothing seems to work out for me at the moment. I've been keeping up with tabloids and there's nothing good in them. Honestly, I should have seen this coming.

"You're not saying anything,Katniss." Effie has just summarized the problem. Me and Peeta Mellark, all over the tabloids. They're putting headlines that are just crazy. Our plan didn't help, it only made their suspicions spiral out of control.

"What do you want me to say? This is terrible!" Haymitch doesn't bother to disagree with me in that.

"Well, its your fault, dear. Who dragged the boy to Babies R US? Anyway, we can fix it." Effie says.

"How?" I ask. "You want me to be seen with Peeta some more? Is that going to help?" I yell.

Effie fixes her hair, ignoring my outburst. "We're going to handle this gracefully, Katniss."

"Haymitch, fire her!"

He shrugs. "I already paid her."

I plop down in a chair and cross my arms angrily. I look like a child, but I don't care.

"Haymitch and I already talked about this, Katniss. We think it might be a good idea to just give them what they want."

I can't. They want me and Peeta, as in the couple. I don't. I want to be alone. I don't need another person in my life. I'm not ready. I'm not sure I'll ever want someone else, I'll keep my memories with Gale.

"No. I'm going to promote Plutarch's movie and then I'm taking a vacation."

Haymitch comes over to me. "Sweetheart, I'm not saying you can't do that, but think about it. You have this Plutarch film. Its going to be amazing. And you just got that email from Harvey Weinstein and he wants you to be the lead in his next movie. Are you going to put all that on hold?"

I don't want to. This scandal has become a gold mine, only because Peeta distracts from the truth. If they knew I called of the wedding because Gale cheated...it would be so much worse. They focus on the fairytale romance, not the real life betrayal.

I want this success. I left my old life to get here. I used to tell Prim that I'd be huge and now, I can be. For her. For my dad. Even for my mom, wherever she is.

"Does it have to be a romance? Can we just not comment on this?"

"You have to say something. You keep quiet, and they'll keep speculating." Effie tells us. I don't want to hear her.

"It draws more attention if you're sneaking around." She adds.

"We aren't sneaking around." I say. "We have lunch, I go to that bar. I invited him to my house for dinner with everyone else. They have pictures, its not a secret."

"Everything's a secret to the press. They like it." Haymitch says.

"Ugh!" I put my head in my arms. I can't make this decision alone. It involves two people. Me and Peeta.

"I have to talk to Peeta about."

Effie is back to her peppy self. "I thought you might say that!" She pulls a fancy envelope out of her bag and lets me have it. "I got him into an art show. That's the invite."

Its for next Saturday at the Luxe Museum. The invite has a list of the artists who will be selling their work. Peeta Mellark is printed on there.

"Does he know?"

"The owner said he'd call him." Effie assures me.

I'm relieved that she finally got something done for him. It was what was promised. Though now, I think Peeta deserves this. Not only is his work fantastic, but he's an all around great guy. Good people deserve good things in life, right?

"I'll talk to him about this improved plan." I say moodily. "I'm not going on without him agreeing."

Haymitch gives me an odd look and Effie claps her hands together. What am I doing?

"Be quick. If you decide to go on with the plan, this is where you go public." Oh Effie, you've got it all mapped out.


Peeta:

Its hard to tell if this is a dream or a reality. Did the owner of the Luxe just call to tell me that he wants to feature my work? Yeah. He did.

"Here." Katniss walks right in the second I open my door. Weird how in two months we can be that comfortable around each other. I never thought it'd happen. She's given me an expensive looking envelope. Its the invite to the art show and my name is printed on it.

"Congrats, Peeta. You earned it." She says with a small smile.

"I should be thanking you. Or Effie Trinket, whatever works." I can't believe she kept her word. I thought maybe she'd just forget.

"Not just yet." Katniss says. "Have you been keeping up with the news?"

I'm not gonna lie, I haven't. But if she's bringing it up, then something is wrong. "How bad is it?"

She presses her lips together. "Pretty bad. Apparently we've been dating for weeks now. And we may or may not be planning to elope in Italy. Also, I'm pregnant."

She wants to make it sound like she's amused, but she's angry about it. It's the worst that could happen. Katniss wants to move on from the focus on her love life, but Hollywood's been holding on to it ever since the night at the bar.

"Peeta, it isn't necessarily a bad thing." She says. "I've been getting a lot of attention because of it. That means I'm popular, people want to know about it. So I get more scripts, more roles. Its not fun,but I want this. Do you get me? Its like what you want with your art career. Recognition."

That's only part of what I want. I do want people to know my name, but I want them to really appreciate my paintings. I put a lot of work into them. Does she not want to be known for her talent? Why is she letting herself be known for her personal life? I think it may be because right now she doesn't have a choice.

"You want to keep this up, then." I know that's why she's here today.

"I talked to Effie, she thinks we can make a smooth transition into this. I made it clear that I won't do anything unless you agree to go on. It's huge, I know."

I don't respond, because I don't know what to say. I owe her for what she did for my art. Its a big deal. Katniss isn't a stranger any more, she's a real friend. I want to help, but I can't make that kind of commitment.

"Hey, I get it if you don't want anymore of this craziness. If everyone thinks we're dating, it'll get weirder. Either way, I want you to know that I still support you're work. I'll be at the art show because that's what I do for my friends. I'm there." She smiles, her nicest smile. And its real.

How did I ever run into this woman? This all happened because of her misfortune. But she's done so much good for me. Everything that's happened since I met her has only made my life better.

"I'll do it."

"You don't have to." She says.

"But you need this. Besides, it won't be forever. Don't you people stage relationships all the time?"

She laughs. "We do, but that's with other celebrities. This is harder but, we can draw less negative attention your way."

"Cool. Then, there isn't much of a problem." I say. It would only be for a little while.

"There may be something I'm leaving out. I don't want people to ask you about this before you hear it from me."

"I know about Gale Hawthorne." People will ask her new 'boyfriend' about him. They'll want to know why they broke up.

She sighs. "I thought so. I'm a terrible drunk. You know, the first time I got drunk I tried to shoot a bow. I was at a friends house, back in West Virginia, and just grabbed a bow and shot. The arrow got my foot because I forgot to lift the bow and aim."

We laugh at her unfortunate story. When we're back to being serious she asks what I know. I tell her that she told me about how she found him with her wedding planner.

"I did tell you. Hm." She doesn't show any emotion. "Okay, so you still wanna do this with me?"

I want to ask her if she's ready. Gale is on her mind. I want to know if she's pushing herself into this because she thinks I can make her forget. That stings. And I realize, I care for her. I've invested a lot of time in trying to help her. In meeting her friends and dealing with the spotlight. If this works, it'll stop being me and Katniss. I have to admit, I don't want that. What I want is what she is forced to pretend. We'll be a happy couple, but its temporary. She'll be the one who pulls away when I'm no longer needed.I say yes to the plan anyway, because at the end of the day, I want her to be okay. Its worth it, because I get to see her smile some more.

I walk her down to her car, I think some people know she visits and I don't want any trouble. I don't exactly live in the safest part of town.

"I'm really sorry I dragged you into this." And before she leaves, she gives me a hug. The picture is on Young Hollywood Magazine the very next day. No going back.


This Katniss can't shoot a bow. And from here on, Katniss and Peeta are a 'couple'. Next chapter, the art show. Please review! Thank you :)