Hey all! This is going to be a shorter chapter, as I haven't had much time to write, but I wanted to still upload something for you all! Most of you seem to like Talia, but after what goes down in this chapter, you won't like her at all! Just remember, it's not her fault! :P
This is a more Haymitch-oriented chapter as I need to set up Talia's story, and Effie doesn't come into contact with her that much.
I hope you enjoy! Please review! :D

Haymitch

I was in such a hurry that I overtook Cecelia. She needed me.

When I got to Eight's apartment, I burst into what I assumed was Talia's room, and found her sitting on her bed, head in her hands, sobbing. Her body was slick with sweat, and her hair was ruffled. As soon as she saw me, she launched herself up at me, arms wide. I caught her and held her as she sobbed into my chest.

"It's okay. It's okay, sweetheart, I'm here." I held her tight, running my hand over her back in circles. Emotion stirred within me, an emotion that hadn't been felt for a while. Sorrow.

It ripped at my heart, and I had to squash it down.

This was what I had felt like after my family was murdered. My mother, Ronan, and Nadyah. I had felt the weight of the world crashing down upon me, and felt like nothing could remedy the pain. This was how Talia felt now, I just knew it. She had lost two people that she truly cared about, one as a brother, one as a lover. Nothing could remedy that pain. She would live for the rest of her life, knowing that her actions led to their deaths, as I had.

I knew that I had to do something to help her.

She pulled away from me, gave a small sniff, and then her eyes flickered up to meet mine. Her emerald eyes were shiny with tears, which gave them a real beauty. Something else stirred within me. I was looking into the face of pure innocence. All I wanted to do was shield her from the corruption and hatred of the world that we lived in. She had already been hurt enough by the Capitol; I wanted to make sure that no more harm could come to her. Just as I had wanted to protect Effie from the one who hurt her.

Apart from this time, it was more intense. Talia hadn't been hurt by just one person, but an entire city. That city that cried out for her blood, and for her sorrow. They relished in it. I wanted to protect her from all of that.

"Sorry. I woke you up." She muttered, wiping away stray tears.

"It's alright. I never sleep well, so you weren't interrupting anything." I pulled a strand of her hair away from her face and held it between my fingers. She had such beautiful hair. Nadyah had beautiful hair too.

No, stop it. I tried to put Nadyah out of my mind, and let the strand of hair go. Talia watched it fall, and smiled up at me.

"Are you alright now?" I asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

Her face dropped, and she looked to the side. "Not really."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" I knew Effie would hate me for this, but I knew how different someone else being with you made to the nightmares. The days where I had slept with Effie in the same bed had been virtually nightmare free, apart from the one time where I almost killed her with my knife after a particularly horrible nightmare.

Her eyes met mine again, and she nodded.

"Okay, get in then."

She curled down under the covers, and I joined her. It felt a little bit weird, what with the colossal age gap between us, but after we had settled down into a position; me lying on my back with her curled around me and her head on my chest, I got used to it. I knew that this was for her own good, not for mine.

She fell asleep almost immediately, letting out a long sigh. I, on the other hand, lay there, thinking about her. How the world had been so unkind to her. I must have been one of her only salvations right now. After she went home, she'd be okay. Not back to the way she was, but alright. It was just the Capitol, and the memories, that harmed her.

Suddenly, the dull ache in my throat reminded me that I hadn't drunk in a while. But I couldn't get up to get a drink, as I'd wake Talia. So I stayed there and tried to go to sleep.

The dreams came tonight, despite my earlier thoughts that sharing a bed with someone would help.

The same faces reappeared; even Effie was there tonight.

But so was Talia. Beaten and bloody; being kicked around by Peacekeepers and Capitol citizens alike. Being forced into sexual acts with different high up Capitol people, including Head Gamemaker, Holden McKee.

The thought of that made me shoot up out of my dream. Of course, why had I missed that?

Talia was young, beautiful, and available. She had been the subject of love from two people; she was desirable.

She would have to perform the same role as Finnick. The thought of that repulsed me.

Talia stirred in my arms, and her eyes fluttered open.

"Haymitch?" She mumbled.

"It's okay, sweetheart. I was just getting up to get a drink." It was a good enough excuse.

I detached myself from her, and walked out to the dining room.

On the way back, with a bottle of wine in hand, I thought about what would happen to her. She would become the Capitol's newest plaything. Used by men and women alike. She would be paraded around like a doll, and have to do it for the sake of her family. I downed a few gulps of the wine to help me get away from all my feelings.

God, what is it with women and me lately? First Effie gives me feelings, and now Talia ramping it up? What was I going to do?

I found her lying there, fast asleep again. A small smile crossed my lips. She was beautiful. But her greatest test was yet to come, and she didn't even know it.

I would be here to help her through it. Whatever the cost.

Effie

My alarm went off predictably early, and I groaned. It was too early, even for me. But my mother's voice rang out in my head.

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a woman healthy, wealth and wise, Effie. Never forget that!" She would trill at me when I decided to sleep in an extra five minutes.

So, with my mother's voice in my head, I got up and started getting ready, my mind thoroughly preoccupied.

Had Haymitch come back after visiting Talia? Or had he stayed over with her? I prayed that he hadn't stayed with her, as all sorts of thoughts filled my head. But I tried to push them out of my head, and got dressed in my prettiest suit/skirt combo.

On my way to the breakfast table, I stopped by Haymitch's room and poked my head around the door. To my absolute horror, he wasn't there. The duvet was messy, as it had been last night when the two of us had got up to see Cecelia. Haymitch must have stayed with her.

A part of me wanted to run down to District Eight's apartment and wrench him from her grasp, but another part of me was scared of what I might see if I went there.

I started to busy myself with the day ahead. Today was the mentor and escort interviews, and then the Victor interview. I prayed that Haymitch would behave better than last year, but then again, his rage last year had brought us together.

Switching on the television, I saw the recap of the Games, and Talia's reaction to the recap last night. I watched her closely. She was beautiful. A part of me envied her natural beauty, as I looked horrific without my makeup. Haymitch said that I was beautiful, but I always felt naked without layers of white foundation and my eye shadow. My mother had drilled it into me that a Capitol woman never left the house without makeup on. It was a tragedy if she did.

But for women in the Districts, going natural was the normal thing. How funny we must look to them.

As the morning wore on, Haymitch still didn't come back. I could guess where he was. Either in Eight's apartment, or taking Talia around the Victor's Square to get her acquainted with the Victors. Could I go down there and try to talk to him?

A thought hit me, and I ran into my room.

I was going to do something that, I hoped, would make Haymitch notice me.

Haymitch

"Finnick!" I called.

Finnick Odair turned slowly away from the Capitol woman who he was flirting with, and gave me a super-star grin. He said something to the woman and left her, taking his place beside Talia and I at a standing table.

"Abernathy. It's nice of you to grace the Square for once." He grinned at me, and then spotted Talia.

"Ah, and this must be our newest addition, am I right?" Finnick asked, looking between the two of us.

"Yes. Finnick, this is Talia Crosshatch. Talia, this strapping but pompous young man is..."

"Finnick Odair. I know." Talia cut me off, and held out her hand to Finnick. He accepted it, and they shook hands, smiling at each other.

I saw for a moment how similar they were to each other. Both with red hair and green eyes. They could be siblings. But they also could be a sweet couple. A little flare of jealousy sprung through me before I even knew what I was doing.

I had introduced Talia to many Victors, including Chaff, Seeder, Beetee, Wiress, and Mags. I had barely managed to pull Finnick away from his many admirers to be introduced.

"Where's Annie?" I asked, hoping that the answer wasn't too bad. It would be nice for Talia to know someone around her own age. Finnick was 20, but that was still a little bit too old for her.

"Ah, she's back in Four. She's still not quite... right after what happened." Finnick looked down, sorrow pulling at his features. He really did love that girl.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she'll get better."

"I'm working on it. But enough of that. Talia, shall I introduce you to some more people? I'm afraid to say this, but I'm far more popular than Haymitch and can get you acquainted a lot faster." He grinned at her again, and she giggled.

"Alright, that's enough of that. Finnick, I need to talk to you about something." I murmured at him.

"Yes?"

"About her." I mumbled, looking at her. I hadn't told Talia about my theory. But Finnick knew all about this particular subject, and if she was called to...perform, then Finnick could help her.

He obviously realised what I was thinking of by my expression. His eyes widened, and he nodded.

"Ah. Well, that particular subject is a little sensitive to be speaking about in such a public space. Later?" He looked at Talia, who looked plain confused.

"Later. In Eight's apartment. If that's okay with you, of course." I addressed the last part to Talia, who said that she didn't mind. She looked ready to ask me what we were talking about, but we were cut off by Mags coming into the conversation. Mags seemed to like Talia, and Talia was cordial and amiable to her. Finnick excused himself to go back to his admirer. He couldn't be seen to be away from the Capitol women for too long, it could put his family and Annie in danger.

I listened, half-heartedly, to the conversation happening next to me. I was thinking about Talia. What if Snow wanted to sell her to one of those hideous men? Flickerman, McKee, Leech? She was so pure and innocent. That experience would ruin her, I could tell. Could she handle it? I wasn't so sure.

The thought of her sleeping with a man who could potentially hurt her filled me with rage. Especially if it was her first time. I wasn't sure, that question would have to be posed later, but what if it was? Then they would hurt her even more.

However, I was distracted from my thoughts when I saw a group of women enter the room. I immediately recognised two of them, Nika Hemsworth and Laylah Monroe, the escorts for Four and Eight.

Then, as they dispersed, my eyes settled on a rather sparkly dress. It was a pink cocktail dress with sequins. It fit snugly, and accentuated the woman's curves. I looked up to the face of the woman wearing it, and my heart nearly stopped.

It was Effie.

She looked gorgeous. Her hair was in a wig, as usual, but this wig wasn't curly and puffy, it was a deep pink wig that fell past her shoulders in waves. It looked like her real hair, just pink. She still had her horrible makeup on, but the foundation was a more natural shade, not white, and her eyes were her natural blue colour, not dyed by those contacts.

Arousal crept through me, and I looked away quickly. How embarrassing.

"Excuse me, ladies." I patted Talia on the back, and then moved to the bar. I needed a drink, and fast.

I realised, that in my time spent with Talia, I hadn't drunk all that much. I didn't have much time to drink when I was with her, apart from that first time I met her. My thoughts were more preoccupied with helping her, rather than helping myself. Which was good. She seemed to make me a better person.

Effie, on the other hand, had just reduced me to a quivering alcoholic with withdrawal symptoms. Great.

I ordered two glasses of whiskey, downed the first in one go, and then paid for both. When I walked back over to Talia, my eyes landed on Effie again.

She was draped over Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker's second-in-command. They were talking, and every once in a while, Effie would laugh in a very cute way that I'd only seen her do a couple of times with me. He leant over and whispered something into her ear, and she howled with laughter, clutching her mouth with her hands to staunch the flow.

The jealousy was there again. They looked so... chummy. Like they'd known each other for a while. Knowing Effie, however, they probably had.

Her bright blue eyes flashed over to me. She saw that I was watching her, and gave a small smile. Then, she saw where I was walking to, and her face hardened. She was still jealous. I had no idea why, it wasn't as if I was in love with Talia. Think of the age gap.

I returned to Talia and Mags, who were still in an animated conversation. Suddenly, Finnick joined us.

"I only have ten free minutes today, shall we talk now?"

"Fine. Come on, Talia." I let her say goodbye to Mags, downed my drink, and then the three of us left the Square.

Once we were alone in Talia's apartment, I got a bottle of strong wine, knowing that this was going to be hard.

"What is going on?" She asked, looking between me and Finnick. Finnick made a gesture that told me that I was to speak first.

"Finnick and I think that President Snow is going to ask something of you. Something big." I started, tentatively.

"Like?" Worry crossed her features, and she was right to be worried.

"Like selling yourself. Your body. To men of the Capitol." Finnick butted in. I couldn't help glaring at him; it was a big bomb to drop on her. But I suppose it was better telling her straight out than prolonging it.

Her eyes widened. "You mean... I have to have sex with Capitol men?" She stammered.

I nodded in the affirmative.

"But... but I... and what if I refuse?" She composed herself, and tried to seem confident. I could see right through it though.

"Then he'll kill everyone you love. It's as simple as that." I said straight.

Finnick moved over to her. "Look. I refused once, last year. I stayed in District Four when Snow wanted me in the Capitol. As punishment, my best friend and love was thrown into the Games."

Talia's eyes widened even more. "Annie Cresta?"

"Yes. It's a miracle that she survived. But as you know, even if they do survive, they don't come out the same. Snow may do that to your family, or your friends, if you refuse."

I heard her light gasps, and saw tears form in her eyes. "So, I have no choice?"

"No." Finnick said.

"Will they be... gentle?" She asked, and I mentally groaned. I knew what was coming.

"Not often. Maybe one in ten will be, but Capitol men aren't known for their gentle lovemaking."

Oh Finnick, the voice of experience. A small chuckle formed in my throat, but this wasn't the right time, so I pushed it down.

"Here's a serious question for you." He said. "Have you ever had sex before?"

Talia lifted her head and shook it. I groaned out loud. This was what I had feared.

"I was waiting for someone special, you know?" She said, looking at me. "But they'll hurt me, won't they?"

"As you're a virgin, then yes, the first few times will hurt. Like I said, Capitol men aren't known for being gentle."

Tears dribbled down her cheeks. "I don't want to be hurt more." She whispered.

Suddenly, an idea formed in my head.

"Finnick! You could do it." I blurted out. Finnick got the idea, though, despite my inarticulate form.

Finnick looked at Talia and asked, "Would that be okay? I'd be gentle. I know how to make it hurt less."

Talia looked at him, and I knew that she was deliberating. Being offered sex with Finnick Odair was a rare thing.

But suddenly, her face hardened. "No."

I shot up from the sofa, walking over to put my hands on her shoulders. "What? He'll help you."

"I don't trust him. I haven't known him that long." She whispered to me.

"Well, you haven't known anyone in the Capitol that long! The only people you have known for a while are back in Eight."

But suddenly, looking at the expression on her face, I knew what was coming. The way her eyes screamed that she had formed trust in only one man here.

"I've known you for a while. I trust you." She said, slowly.

I pulled away from her and walked to the window. She wanted me to be the one? This was taking it too far.

"Please, Haymitch! You're the only one here that I trust." She pleaded with me.

Everything inside of me screamed to tell her no. But there was a part of me that said that I would be helping her. And I had said that I wanted to protect her. This would be an act of protection. She wouldn't be hurt as much.

I turned to look at Finnick. He was watching me carefully, seeing what I would do.

"If she trusts you, then you're the one." He said simply. "I have to go; I've got an appointment in five minutes. Good luck, babe." He kissed Talia on the cheek and then left. I could tell that Talia was uncomfortable with that.

My conscience warred with my heart. I couldn't sleep with her. Effie would never forgive me! I didn't want to ruin that relationship. However, Talia needed me. She could be badly hurt by a Capitol man, and then never forgive me for not helping her.

"Haymitch?" She whispered behind me. That whisper, filled with sorrow and pleas, was enough to seal my decision.

I turned to face her, fuelled with my resolve. "Fine. I'll do it."

"Oh!" She gasped, and then ran into my arms. "Thank you." She sobbed.

I held her close to me, knowing that soon enough, I would have to fulfil my promise.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Peacekeepers let themselves in. Talia and I barely had time to disentangle ourselves before their arrival.

"Miss Crosshatch, President Snow would like to speak to you." One of the Peacekeepers said in a low voice. I felt Talia start shaking next to me.

"Okay." I stammered.

"Go on." I said. "I'll see you later." I pushed her towards the Peacekeepers, who led her out of the room.

It looked like I was going to have to fulfil my promise a lot sooner than expected.

Oops. Sorry guys! Hayffie isn't going so well at the moment!
I have a question for you guys. Do you want the Haylia sex scene, or should I just gloss it over? I've never written a lemon before, so I'm not sure how it will turn out! But let me know if you want it, and then maybe somewhere later in the story I'll put in a Hayffie lemon, just to make you guys feel better! :P
I hope you liked it, please review! :D