I look down for a while so the cameras can't see my blush. I look up at the monitor and I see Katniss face, mouth hanging open in shock. She looks down and the cameras turn back to me.
"Oh, that is a piece of bad luck," says Caesar, giving his head a sad shake.
"It's not good," I agree.
"Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard not to fall for that young lady," says Caesar. "She didn't know?"
"Not until now," I reply.
I look at the monitor and see that Katniss is blushing.
"Wouldn't you love to pull her back out here and get a response?" Caesar asks the crowd. They go wild, cheering and yelling. "Sadly, rules are rules, and Katniss Everdeen's time has been spent. Well, best of luck to you, Peeta Mellark, and I think I speak for all of Panem when I say our hearts go with yours."
I get up from my seat and hug Caesar. The applause is deafening. Haymitch was right; I did blow everyone out of the water.
When the crowd manages to settle down, I somehow manage to say, "Thank you," and head back to my seat. The anthem plays and the tributes file back in to the training centre. We get on the elevators and I'm in one with the careers.
"What was that?" asks Clove, arms crossed with a smirk on her face.
"My mentor told me it was the best way to get me sponsors. Little does he know that I'll be sharing whatever I get with you instead of her," I reply, trying to copy Clove's smirk. She accepts the answer and backs off.
"What about the 11 she got? You told us she was useless!" roars Cato.
"I thought she was! The only things that she told me she could do were tie knots, make snares and climb trees. She must have been hiding what she was really talented at. Don't worry, I never told her what I'm good at," I say.
"Okay, 12. We'll let it slide this time. Wait, what are you good at?" says Marvel.
"I'm strong, I'm pretty good with a mace and I'm good at camouflage. I'm pretty decent at hand-to-hand combat and I've used every weapon in training," I answer.
The elevator stops on floor one.
"See you tomorrow, 12," says Marvel.
"See you tomorrow, Peeta," says Glimmer.
There is an awkward silence in the elevator before it stops at floor two.
"See ya, 12," says Clove.
"Bye," Cato grunts.
The elevator ride goes quickly. I get out of my elevator and step into the room. Katniss enters seconds later.
I turn and Katniss slams her hands into my chest, the force sending me backwards and into an urn which breaks and makes my hand bleed.
"What was that for?" I ask.
"You had no right! No right to go saying those things about me!" she yells.
The elevator doors open and Cinna, Portia, Effie and Haymitch walk in.
"What's going on?" says Effie. She seems a little bit panicked. "Did you fall?"
"After she shoved me," I say. Effie and Cinna come and help me up.
Haymitch turns to Katniss. "Shoved him?"
"This was your idea, wasn't it? Turning me into some kind of fool in front of the entire country?" she asks.
"It was my idea," I say, wincing as I pull shards of urn out of my hand. "Haymitch just helped me with it."
"Yes, Haymitch is very helpful. To you!" she says.
"You are a fool," says Haymitch, a look of disgust on his face. "Do you think he hurt you? That boy just gave you something you could never achieve on your own."
"He made me look weak!" she yells.
"He made you look desirable! And let's face it; you can use all of the help you can get in that department. You were about as romantic as a pile of dirt until he said he wanted you. Now they all do. You're all they're talking about. The star-crossed lovers from District 12!" says Haymitch.
"But we're not star-crossed lovers!" replies Katniss.
Haymitch grabs her by her shoulders and pins her up against the wall. "Who cares? It's all a big show. It's all how you're perceived. The most I could say about you after your interview was that you were nice enough, although that in itself was a small miracle. Now, I can say you're a heartbreaker. Oh, oh, oh, how the boys back home fall longingly at your feet. Which do you think will get you more sponsors?"
Katniss is silent, but shoves Haymitch's hands off her shoulders and steps away from him.
Cinna comes over and puts his hand around Katniss. "He's right, Katniss."
"I should've been told, so I didn't look so stupid," says Katniss.
"No, your reaction was perfect. If you'd known, it wouldn't have read as real," says Portia.
"She's just worried about her boyfriend," I say. I toss away a bit of urn covered in blood.
Her cheeks turn red and she says, "I don't have a boyfriend."
"Whatever," I say. "But I bet he's smart enough to know a bluff when he sees it. Besides, you didn't say you loved me. So what does it matter?"
She seems to settle down a bit after that.
"After he said he loved me, do you think I could be in love with him, too?" she asks quietly.
"I did," says Portia. "The way you avoided looking at the cameras, the blush."
The others agree.
"You're golden, sweetheart. You're going to have sponsors lined up around the block," says Haymitch.
Gee, thanks Haymitch. Way to boost my confidence, too.
"I'm sorry I shoved you," she says.
"Doesn't matter," I reply. "Although it's technically illegal."
"Are your hands okay?" she asks.
"They'll be alright," I say.
We fall silent. I can smell dinner.
"Come on, let's eat," says Haymitch.
We start to move in to the dining room when my hands start bleeding heavily. Portia says she thinks it's best if we go get them patched up before I eat.
We go into a special room with a lot of medical equipment. Portia pulls out some anti-infection medication and gives it to me. She then rubs some cream on my hand and it stops bleeding. She puts another layer on and the scars go down. One more layer and my hands are healed.
She bandages them for good measure and we head back to the dining room.
After dinner, we watch the replay of the interviews. I see Katniss' interview in full, and Haymitch was right. She didn't really grab your attention.
For the duration of my interview I become fascinated with my couch pillow and don't look up until I hear the anthem.
Effie takes Katniss and I by the hand and, her eyes filled with real tears, wishes us well. She thanks us for being the best tributes it has ever been her privilege to sponsor. Then, being Effie, she says, "I wouldn't be at all surprised if I finally get promoted to a decent District next year!"
Then she kisses us on the cheek and hurries out.
Haymitch crosses his arms and gives us both a look-over.
"Any final words of advice?" I ask.
"When the gong sounds, get out of there. You're neither of you up to the blood bath at the Cornucopia. Just clear out, put as much distance between yourselves and the others, and find a source of water," he says. "Got it?"
"And after that?" Katniss asks.
"Stay alive," says Haymitch. This time, unlike on the train, no one laughs.
What else is there to say, really?
I go to my room and take a long shower, managing to get all of the gloop and glitter off of me. I hop into bed, but sleep doesn't come. It's understandable, though, under the circumstances.
At about 10 o'clock I realise that there isn't any point in trying to sleep anymore, so I go up to the roof. My head is clear there.
I think about the arena. Will it be a desert? A volcanic mountain? A wetland? There are endless possibilities.
I'm also thinking about the chance that I will have to kill Katniss. A small chance, but still a chance.
Katniss is a few metres away when I spot her.
"You should be getting some sleep," Katniss says.
I jump, but I don't turn to face her. I shake my head.
"I didn't want to miss the party. It's for us, after all," I say.
"Are there costumes?" asks Katniss.
"Who could tell?" I answer. "With all the crazy clothes they wear here. Couldn't sleep either?"
"Couldn't turn my mind off," she says.
"Thinking about your family?" I ask.
"No," she says. "All I can do is wonder about tomorrow. Which is pointless, of course." She pauses for a while. "I really am sorry about your hands."
"It doesn't matter, Katniss. I've never been a contender in these Games anyway," I say.
"That's no way to be thinking," she says.
"Why not? It's true. My best hope is not to disgrace myself and…" I say. I hesitate.
"And what?" Katniss says.
"I don't know how to say it exactly. Only… I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?" I ask.
She shakes her head.
"I don't want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I'm not."
Katniss bites her lip. It's quite cute, something that a child would do.
"Do you mean you won't kill anyone?" she asks.
"No, when the time comes, I'm sure I'll kill just like everybody else. I can't go down without a fight. Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to… to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games," I say.
"But you're not," Katniss says. "None of us are. That's how the Games work."
"Okay, but within the framework, there's still you, there's still me," I say. "Don't you see?"
"A little. Only… no offense, but who cares, Peeta?" she says.
I'm getting frustrated now. Can't she see? That I want to be different? That I want to die with my dignity intact, with my sense of self the same? Doesn't she see that she's the reason I'm going to die?
"I do. I mean, what else am I allowed to care about at this point?" I ask. I am shaking with anger at this point.
She steps back and says, "Care about what Haymitch said. About staying alive."
I smile at her, in a sad and mocking way. "Okay. Thanks for the tip, sweetheart," I say.
She looks like she's just been slapped in the face.
"Look, if you want to spend the last few hours of your life planning your noble death in the arena, that's your choice. I want to spend mine in District 12," she says.
"Wouldn't surprise me if you do," I say. "Give my mother my best when you make it back, will you?"
"Count on it," she replies, her eyes blazing. She really is the Girl on Fire.
I stay on the roof for about ten more minutes before heading to my room. A conversation with her is pretty draining.
Somehow, after many hours, I finally manage to fall asleep.