A/N- Another chapter has been written and posted quickly, so yay.

I have come to realise that after this, there will only be about 4 chaps left... which is both good and bad, I suppose. What I've planned for part 3 shall be an exciting end to this Mellark story, hehe. And I can't wait to write and post it for you all, so the last few chaps in this part will be posted up quite quickly after another! I'm going to completely dedicate my spare time to writing for the next few days x

Oh, and I'm still not the owner of The Hunger Games, I only own Zinny, Ethan and Queenie x

The next week passes; nothing much happens. The atmosphere at home got more and more tense each day, people started to talk less, people started to smile less. Even I got caught in the sullen wave of things. Everything and everyone seems so quiet now; the sound of dust moving across the floor could even be heard. It's as if the sky has placed a giant grey cloud over the house, and everyone underneath has been rained on.

Now we're all sat around the dinner table, no-one even trying to make conversation. Just sitting in states of silence, watching the hands on the clock tick by. We're not usually this quiet at meal times, we've at least talked about the weather or how pretty the flower pots are. But tonight, nothing. Zilch. Nada.

"Who's ready for my famous rabbit stew?" Mother asks, attempting to lighten the dull atmosphere.

"I certainly am, Mrs Mellark" Ethan says, rubbing his hands together. "I've heard a lot about this stew"

Mother smiles warmly at him and I feel grateful that he's here. Grateful that he's trying.

The large pot of stew is placed in the middle of the table. The smell of thick, rich gravy like sauce wafts up from the pot. Without further hesitation, I spoon myself a portion of stew and tuck in. The meat practically melts in my mouth and I'm tempted to have seconds. I'd forgotten how great this stew was. No wonder everyone calls it her famous rabbit stew. It's delicious.

Half an hour later, we've all had seconds and are full to the brim of warm stew. We sit, digesting, when Mother taps her knife on the side of her glass.

"I would just like to say a few words, if you don't mind" She says, looking round at everyone.

"No, you go ahead" Father says.

She clears her throat and begins to speak again. "Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for being here tonight. Family is the most important thing in life and I'm so grateful to have you all with me in this hard time. This time a few months ago, I thought that I might not ever see my daughter sitting, eating with me. But she is here and that makes me so, so proud of her"

I blush slightly as everyone turns to look at me.

"To Zinny" Ethan raises his glass.

"To Zinny" Everyone else repeats, lifting their glasses too.

"Thanks" I mumble, feeling awkward.

Mother coughs again and we all turn back to look at her.

"Secondly, I would like to thank my brilliant husband for all the support he's given me this past year. I would never have gotten through it without him"

We all give a small toast to Father and he grins with pleasure. He's not often thanked enough, I think.

"Also, I would like to welcome Ethan to the family with open arms" Mother says, smiling over to Ethan. "I know how much he has helped and looked after Zinny when she wasn't with us, and I know he cares about her so much. I can tell he's a good boy"

"It's a pleasure, Mrs Mellark" Ethan says, taking hold of my hand. "Zinny is a very special girl"

Despite the awkwardness inside, I manage to force out a smile. I just hope it looks real enough...

"I don't want to drag on all night, but I do want to thank my three sons. Flynn and Freddie; I couldn't have wished for better sons that you two. Every time I've needed help, you've both been there and I'm very proud of you too" Mother starts again.

"And last, but definitely not least, Peeta. Words cannot describe how proud I am of you. It's just so incredible that you're here with us. Last year, I honestly thought I would never see you again, but here you are and that makes me the happiest, most proud mother in the whole world. You're the perfect son for me and..." Tears start to well up in her eyes. "And, I...I... I love you..."

Peeta stands up and walks over to Mother. He puts his arms around her and I can see tears trickling down his face too. Seeing that pulls at my heartstrings as well, and it's not long before I'm crying with them.

My knuckles knock against the door once more, even harder than last time. And the time before, and the time before that. All in all, I've been here for about 10 minutes, just waiting to get inside. Yet again, there is no answer to my knocking.

I knock again, so frustrated that I almost punch a hole in the wood. I know he's in there.

"Haymitch!" I yell at the door. "Stop ignoring me!"

I wait for a moment, seeing whether he'll respond to that instead. But, no, he doesn't.

"Haymitch! I know you're in there!" I shout, banging my fist on the door.

And again, no reply.

This is really starting to get on my nerves now. He's really playing with my anger now, almost tipping me off the edge.

"HAYMITCH ABERNATHY OPEN THIS DOOR OR SO GOD HELP YOU!" I scream.

"I don't believe in a god!" A voice shouts from somewhere inside the house.

Ha. I knew he was in there.

"YOU SHOULD, CUZ YOU'RE GONNA NEED SOME HELP WHEN I BREAK DOWN THIS DOOR!"

"You wouldn't. You couldn't" He sneers from behind the walls.

"I CAN AND I WILL!" I protest, my fists clenched.

"Yeah, sure whatever. Of course you will, cuz you're so tough that you got stage fright in the middle of an interview"

"IT WASN'T STAGE FRIGHT!"

"Whatever you say..."

Yup. Whatever I say.

And I say, lets kick down this door and give old Abernathy a piece of my mind.

I take a few steps back, then pelt towards the door. I throw my body weight into the door and it crashes open, the hinges ripped from the frame and hanging useless on the door.

As I dust myself down, I glare at Haymitch, who returns the look with a horrified expression. Ha, that'll teach him...

"Who says I can't, eh?" I walk over to him.

"Calm it sunshine. I was just teasing you. I never thought you would kick the door in" Haymitch says.

"Don't sunshine me. Anyways, I'm not here for an argument"

"Coulda fooled me..."

"Shut up. I'm here to talk about Peeta, like I've been trying to do for the past week, except you've never been in"

"I've had business to attend to"

"You, business?"

"Yeah. Me, business"

"Whatever. Right, we need to talk about Peeta" I say, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

Haymitch does the same and sits opposite me, reaching out for a bottle of whisky.

"Can't you do anything without a drink?" I say, moving the bottle out of his reach. "I need you sober for this, ok?"

"Fine" He sighs. "What is it you want to say then?"

"Peeta can't go into the arena. Not again. There is no way he'll survive, especially against the other Victors. He only just scraped by last year, and that was with help"

"I know and I agree with you. Me and Katniss have been discussing this. She wants Peeta safe as much as you do. And we've tried everything to change his mind, but he's so set on the idea about being there for Katniss"

"Well I've tried too and the same happened..."

"He won't change his mind, Zinny"

I stand up.

"Fine, then we'll change it for him"

"What do you mean?"

"If he's reaped, then you volunteer. That way he won't be able to stop you"

"Yeah, but if I'm reaped then he'll volunteer and I won't be able to stop him"

"Great..." I collapse into a seat, feeling defeated. "So there's nothing we can do. He's gonna die"

There's a moment of silence.

"He won't die" Haymitch states.

"Don't say that, you know there's no way possible that he can win this"

"He won't win the Games, but he won't die"

"That's not possible, idiot"

"It is if you have a plan"

I sigh, pulling out the grips and letting my hair fall loose down my shoulders and back. It seems to formal coiled up like that, and besides, I want to be myself this year. Especially this year.

Well, if I'm going to be myself then I'd better start stripping off the layers of false pretences. Starting with my face, I stand in front of the sink and twist the tap. Cold gushes of water flow out from the tap, collecting in my cupped hands. I bring them up to my face and splash the clear liquid all over my face, washing off the makeup. As I pat my face dry with a soft towel, I look into the steamed mirror. I'm starting to look more like myself, with all the makeup removed from my skin and my hair left flowing comfortably.

Giving my hair a quick comb over, I straighten my dress and go downstairs. It seems that everyone was waiting for me, so I quickly apologise and we leave the house.

Walking down the road, we don't say much. No-one knows what to say really. Mother gave me a strange look when I came downstairs, probably disapproving with the whole removing makeup and hair releasing thing. She didn't say anything, but she didn't have to. I know what she's thinking; about how she wished I took more pride in my appearance and all that girly stuff. But it's not like don't care about what I look like, I just feel more comfortable in my own skin. Being myself. That's what I want everyone to see when they look at me. Not a girl hiding behind chemicals, pretending to be someone people expect her to be. Just to see me as me. No-one else.

As we get nearer to the main square, we pass small groups of people heading there too. It's not compulsory for them to come, but most people want to show their support. I would appreciate their attendance, if they weren't staring at me so much! Everyone we pass turns to look at me, as if I'm some foreign alien from outer space. Most of them just glance away when I stare back, but a few of them give me dirty looks and whisper to their neighbours. They could at least do it behind my back, not directly in my view. Although, it hasn't got to me as much as I thought it would. I don't seem to react, or even care. I know that they're just not worth it.

Ethan notices the staring too, and I receive a gentle hand squeeze. I return it with a weak smile, starting to feel nervous. I know I shouldn't feel so anxious, we've got a well thought out plan, but some doubt still lingers in my mind. What if the Capitol have already found out? They could do whatever they want to Peeta once he's left the safety of District 12...

"You ok?" Ethan whispers to me as we're directed to a marked off area.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I reply. "Thanks"

"You seem a little on edge"

"Well, what do you expect? I'm hardly gonna be little miss enthusiasm" I say, not intending to sound bitter.

The look on Ethan's face implies that he did take that comment bitterly, as he doesn't say anything in return.

"Oh, Ethan, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just feeling a little nervous, that's all" I quickly recover myself.

"I know, it's ok. I'd be the same" He smiles, assuring me.

Would he?

There's no time for anymore small conversation, as the anthem begins to play and Effie Trinket totters across the stage, still wearing ridiculously high shoes. Once the intro is over, Effie starts talking about the excitement of the Quell and blah, blah, blah. Why doesn't she understand that no-one gives a shit?

"Ok, now is the time to select our courageous female tribute from our existing pool of victors!" She announces, walking over one of the two glass bowls.

There's really no point in her slow, dramatic finger movements as she stands over the bowl. There's only one slip of paper in there anyway, and everyone knows who it's going to be.

"Katniss Everdeen" Effie finally says, plucking out the only slip. "Now, let's move on to the boys"

She walks over to the other bowl, which is almost as pitiful as the first, bearing only two slips. Two names. Haymitch and Peeta. Peeta and Haymitch. Haymitch or Peeta. Peeta or Haymitch.

"Haymitch Abernathy" Effie announces, reading the chosen slip.

But before Haymitch can get to the stage, there's a shout from the crowd. It's Peeta, volunteering. Just as I predicted.

Peeta walks up to the stage and stands next to Effie. She raises both their arms and calls out their names to the crowd. For a second, it seems like deja vu and I have to pinch myself to make sure it is real. Sadly, it is real and there is no turning back now. Peeta is definitely going into the arena and whether he comes out again all depends on the plan.

I catch Haymitch's eye for a moment and he winks at me. The plan is on.

A/N- Ok, I hope I got Haymitch roughly right...

Well, hope you liked that installment and chapter 12 shall be coming up soon! Don't forget to review and keep reading!

Thanks, FireflyLlama x