We rode up a crystal elevator to the 12th floor (for the 12th District). The only thing I could focus on was Peeta, and I kept asking myself: Do I actually love him?
I couldn't stop looking at his face. The curve of his jaw, the sparkle in his eyes, his curls freeing themselves from the gel used to hold them back.
Why couldn't I stop looking at him?
If I didn't actually love him, then why did I get so happy whenever I saw his face now? If I didn't actually love him, then why did I kiss him? It wasn't for the crowd, I could care less what they think. But, luckily, the kiss was not what everyone was talking about. They were only talking about the costumes.
"Well, you two were stunning! Even over District 2! I have never had a team do so well. And I have been talking you up all day, making sure you get sponsors!" Effie spouted happily.
I had a feeling her life was so sheltered, because she didn't seem to understand that we were going to die.
I went to my bedroom and took a shower. It was more luxurious than the one we had at home. Then I was called to dinner.
"You looked beautiful," Portia told me.
"Thank you. Peeta didn't look too bad himself, thanks to you," I said with a smile. We laughed and ate dinner. Soon, Peeta walked in, followed promptly by Haymitch. I ate my dinner silently, only responding with a 'thank you' to compliments. I was reaching for the jug of water when one of the servers reached for it and poured me a glass themselves.
"I could do it myself," I told the server. I looked up, and realized I recognize her.
"Is everything okay Ivy?" Peeta asked. I moved my gaze towards him and then back at the server.
"I know you," I told the server. She was a redheaded girl with large eyes that were permanently filled with sorrow. I knew her.
"You can't possibly know an Avox!" Effie laughed.
"What's an Avox?" I asked. The girl I knew I had seen before nodded her head, excusing herself.
"A traitor to Panem. A mute. Her tongue got cut off because of her treason. You can't talk to them without it being an order," Haymitch explained quickly and with no emotion. I could tell he thinks it was wrong to torture people so.
"Delly Cartwright," Peeta said suddenly.
"What?" I turned to him with confusion written all over my face.
"She reminded me of Delly, from back home. Something about the hair," Peeta said like it's no big deal. I looked shocked; she looked nothing like Delly. Then I realized he was covering for me.
"Or the eyes," I said, gesturing nonchalantly to my own eyes.
He had saved me, and I knew I would pay for it later. I looked over at Haymitch, and he was smiling to himself. He must have known that she looked nothing like Delly as well. But why was he laughing?
We walked into a different room after we finished dinner to review the opening ceremonies that took place earlier.
One district that stood out to me is 1. They had jeweled tunics on and looked stunning. But I noticed none of the other districts' tributes were holding hands. Until District 12. Until Peeta and me.
"You looked great Girl on Fire," Cinna said. I smiled. I sort of liked that name.
"Whose idea was it to hold hands?" Haymitch asked.
"Cinna," Peeta said.
Then, where no one could see, he held my hand again. Well, not exactly hold, he more just brushed his hand against mine for a brief second so that it may not have even been real. But if it was, I wondered why he did. He loved Katniss.
"It was a nice touch," Effie agreed, taking a sip of champagne. When our faces were on the big screen, I noticed again they were on me and not Peeta. I decided to point this out in an inconspicuous way.
"You looked amazing, Peeta," I said. He smiled.
"The only reason we had any time on the screen was because of you." He was smiling. Haymitch was smiling. Effie was smiling. He had just said one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to me. And all I felt was anger.
"No, it wasn't," I said.
"Ivy, stop doing that. You know very well you were stunning out there," Peeta laughed.
"What are you saying? You looked better than I did," I said, not wanting to take a compliment.
"Well, then why were you on the screen?" he asked, smirking. I growled at him.
"It doesn't matter, because you are still going to get all the sponsors after the scoring and the interviews," I said.
"And why is that?" he asked, still smirking at me. He thought he had won, and that made me more determined to be right.
"You connect with the crowd more than I can. You are the person that can make me shut up and listen to you because of your voice. The crowd doesn't want a weak girl like me. They want a man like you who can stick up for himself," I said.
Then I walked to my room, ignoring Effie's calls for me to return. I didn't care. If Peeta was going to underestimate himself, I was not going to give him anytime to preach about it to me.