I hope Katniss and Peeta aren't too OOC
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!
Tris POV
"Now close your eyes," squeals Valeria excitedly, she and Everex spent the last hour doing my make up and hair, getting me ready for the games. Luckily Portia had my hair done simply and it's pulled up in a curl updo with pieces falling out here and there, very much like you would find in Chicago. My make up makes my face very noticeable and while there's a ton of it you really can recognize me. I 'm standing with my eyes closed as the two girls help me into the black mockingjay dress. They decided not to turn it white, they didn't want it to look like a wedding dress after all. I don't know how much I like being their tool to add more rebellion but I might as well help them if I can. The dress is huge and black, very feathery too. Valeria takes my hand and I step into the heels, Portia usually wouldn't put me in these dangerous ones but I'm so short that they didn't have any other options. I don't really know what I'm going to do for my interview but I'm not afraid. Tobias and I have always had the upper hand although there are still some dangerous threats going in wit us. "Open you're eyes Tris!" Valeria is practically bursting with excitement and when I open my eyes I see why. The black looks amazing on me; it's definitely my color. I smile and it makes the picture look even better, I stand several inches taller so the dress actually looks like it's meant to fit. I blink and when I do the crazy long fake eyelashes flash with specks of lace at the end of them. "Its beautiful Portia, thank you." I breathe while wrapping my arms around her. She hugs me back and smiles, "You remind me so much of her Tris, you have the same spirit in you and you both want to do what's right." I smile, a little uncomfortably I might add because of all the lipstick I'm wearing. "Well I'm glad she doesn't mind that I'm wearing it." I say then an urgent knock on the door interrupts us. Valeria opens it to see an ecstatic and shocked Effie, "Oh Portia, they're here, they're here!" she shrieks and Portia looks shocked but keeps her excitement down to turn and talk to me, "Ok Tris, Katniss and Peeta are here," she begins seriously, "First of all they have both been through a lot so if they act a little peculiar or hostile, especially Katniss well mostly Katniss then don't take it the wrong way or anything, alright?" she says this seriously then a thought crosses my mind, "What about T- Four?" "He'll meet us there is that ok?" she asks and I reluctantly. I don't know why but I feel the need to see him but I'm also nervous about him seeing me in this dress never mind what with my fear landscape and all. Deep breathes; this is Tobias not a stranger or anything. "When are the interviews?" I ask. "8:00 so we have a half hour before we head down." She says and Valeria takes my hand in a comforting manner and we head down. Portia and Effie run ahead wanting a more private meeting with them, they must be close. I've never been close with anybody before Tobias but I can't even stay with him, being abnegation our families weren't really allowed to get to know each other so yes Tobias is about it. I brush my full skirt with my free hand and when we arrive at the entrance to the room Portia and Effie disappeared to we stop just barely in sight. I see a blonde boy about medium height with friendly blue eyes, not as beautiful as Tobias' though embracing Portia who is crying. He wears a friendly smile over her shoulder then he pulls away and starts to talk to her. Effie Is now chatting happily to a dark haired girl with grey eyes and olive skin. She's about the same height as Peeta but looks much less friendly, she finds a small smile to give to Effie and makes conversation with her then as Effie hugs her again she shuts her eyes tightly then when her eyes open they find mine. We stare for a second then she pulls away from Effie and says something quietly. Then I hear someone come next to me, Tobias. I look up at him and he's looking me up and down taking everything in like he did before the parade. His eyes find mine again and I reach my hand out a little, he takes it carefully fitting his long fingers with mine. He's wearing a black suit much like the one he wore to the parade only this time it's more formal. Our eyes meet but they don't stay for long because we both loom over at the boy with the bread and the girl on fire. "That's them huh?" he says softly. "Yep," I say simply because there not much else to say. Then he squeezes my hand as Portia beckons for us to come with her hand. I look at Tobias then back to the couple, Peeta's arm is now around Katniss' waist and they both wear nice clothes but neither of them looks like they belong in the capitol. I then realize another figure shaking hands with different people. He has similar blue eyes to Peeta's but much less innocent, he's most likely in his early 40s. He looks like he thinks this is all a big joke and when he sees us he cackles, "Look at them they look just like you two did," this earns him a glare from Katniss and an awkward stare from the two of us. 'Haymitch, Peeta, Katniss," Effie starts, Oh that's his name, "This is Tris and Four."
Katniss' Pov
Effie introduces us to the small blonde girl I saw earlier and I stare at her, she has icy blue grey eyes and a face full of make up which I remember being very uncomfortable, apparently she feels the same because she keeps making faces when she talks or wants to itch her nose or blinks, I smile a little. Haymitch is right, this time, she really is just like me, the tall handsome guy beside her looks much darker than any other guy I've ever seen especially compared to Peeta, he has a serious and intimidating face and looks much older than 18 while I can tell Tris usually struggles to look her age although she does now. Seeing the dress again reminds me so much of Cinna and the quarter quell and being 'pregnant' It breaks my heart a little but it will add a lot of hope to district 13 and everybody. I know the districts left them and they've been looking for help stopping the capitol, Peeta and I have tried a little to get them some help but even us victors don't have much say in it. Paylor effuses to help them so here we are at the 76th hunger games meeting two of the tributes that look like they're trying really hard to not be in love. Four has that determination to bring her home that both Peet and I had during the quarter quill and when Tris looks at him you can tell she's both conflicted and broken hearted. The others are all talking and I hear Haymitch mention something about "this year's star crossed lovers" and I see Tris biter her lip so hard I wince, it looks really painful and Four refuses to look at anyone then when everyone else starts to talk I see him to turn to her and brush her cheek with his hand and pull a loose curl behind her ear, he whispers something and she nods. He's much bigger than her and she has to reach up on her tiptoes to touch the stubble on his cheek before going back to the ground and they rejoin the conversation. I haven't really said anything and those two probably think I'm really rude so when I speak they look surprised even Peeta does probably because I asked him on the way here if I had to say anything to them and he of course assured me it was ok if I didn't want to. "Can I," I start shyly, "Can I talk to Tris?" I ask like a small child and Effie nods "of course," she says and wraps an arm around both Tris and I and takes us to a private room while Peeta and Four stare at us, I guess this is out of character for both of us. Once we enter the room I sit down and Tris follows in suit although she has trouble sitting in the dress. "Its kind of hard to sit in it," I say and she smiles, "Yeah, hard to walk in too." Her voice isn't judgmental or harsh but not frightened like some tribute's are. She seems mostly ok with the whole thing just not when it comes to Four. I smile a little and she does too. "So by the look on Four's face this is kind of out of character for you too." I say and she nods. "Yeah, can I ask you something?" she asks and I don't really want her to question me about anything to personal but I hesitantly nods. "How did you do it?" "What?" I ask, "How did you do it? Accept the fact that you and Peeta were going to have to say good bye?" she has tears in her eyes now. "Well," I start but I don't know what to say, Peeta always does the talking if it were him here he would lay it out perfectly but I don't know how to answer that. "You're asking the wrong person, Peeta was the one that had to watch his love go through this. I didn't really know I loved him until I almost lost him in the war although I had plenty of feelings for him that I wasn't quite certain of. But you really should talk to him," I tell her and I'm surprised by my honesty. I'm usually so hostile and uncomfortable around everybody I meet even Peeta sometimes. "I'm sorry it's just that the dread of meeting someone and maybe falling for them just so they can be ripped away is too much sometimes." She says quietly and even though I don't touch anybody, ever, I reach out to her and take her hand, she seems foreign to touch too but that makes me feel better and I look her in the eyes. "I know," Is all I say and glance at the wedding dress. "I was going to be forced to marry Peeta, by the capitol, in that dress," I say pointing to it, "We were close and even though I was sure I didn't love him back I didn't want to lose him. But now that I look back I think that it wasn't that I didn't love him but it was because I was scared to get married and have kids if the capitol was going to take them away but the same thing was happening, the capitol took everything away from me. They're the reason for all my misery, they already took everybody away and I was still trying to stop it from happening. So nothing was really holding me back and I know that it probably doesn't help any but I just wanted you to know that." I tell he and feel a couple tears fall but she just smiles. "Thank you," she mumbles. "Do you have a token?" I ask her, "No abnegation don't really have anything to keep with us." She says and I do something I never thought I'd do. I reach into my pocket and pull out my mockingjay pin. My head doctor suggested when we agreed to come after months of Plutarch's excessive nagging that I bring it but not show it off. Just keep it close, something to hold onto especially if I don't have Peeta at the moment. "Here," I hand it to her. 'My friend Madge gave this to me as a token and it's a symbol of rebellion. As long as you have it nothing will happen to you." I say and she embraces me. I stiffen but don't push her away, if Peeta could see me now! Making progress like this in one day! When we pull away we decide to go back out there although neither of want to. When Peeta sees me with tear stained cheeks he gives me a panicked look but I calm him down with a sad smile and return to his side. "Peeta could you," I start but I don't know how to ask him to help Tris or Four what am I supposed to say? 'Hey peeta you know how you felt before our games could you tell Tris about it?' or 'I need you to bring back the past and make them feel better' or 'could you talk to Four and Tris and tell them how to get over each other?' No that's stupid, but this is Peeta just tell him. Ugh why couldn't I have been better with words too? "Hmm?" he asks looking at me, "I uh, never mind." I look down ashamed but of course he doesn't buy it. "What is it?" he asks softly. "It's just that Tris wants to know how we well you got over me before the games." I mumble. "Katniss you know I was heartbroken, I could never get over you." He says. "No its just that I think they're both going through exactly what you went through, you know getting over being apart from the other during the first games and get them home like in the quarter quell, and I didn't know what to tell her." "Oh," Is all he says and looks over at Tris and suddenly his face changes, it's like he's remembering training from the first games, all he went through. He lets go of me and walks over to her and starts to talk to her. The have a good long conversation and I'm sure he's helping her a lot, I then see her hand, turning the pin over and over. Fingering it and by the look on her face she seems almost at peace, almost.
PEETA'S POV
I know exactly what Katniss means, I glance over at the little blonde girl who's stroking the mockingjay pin, I'm really proud of Katniss right now and although I want to stay close to her I know exactly what Tris is feeling and probably Four too. The way he looks at her and she doesn't notice is exactly like Katniss and I' relationship before our first games. I can't help but go over to talk to her. I don't really know how I did it; accept that we were going to be separated. I guess I didn't really but if I can help Tris I'll feel better. "Hi," wow that's all you can say? "Hey," she turns away from the pin to look up at me. "Are you ok?" I ask and she shrugs. "Yeah I was fine with the whole thing until he came along." She says gesturing to Four, she sounds really upset just like I did. "Yeah, I know it's like you're fine with dying but then you find something to live for and…" my voice trails off and she nods, "Exactly. I would have been fine with it but then after he gave me a taste of the life I've always wanted and gave me something to live for I just don't want to lose him and he's set on getting me home no exceptions. He told me that nothing is going to stop him from getting me and when he acts like the scary intimating Four you can tell he means it." She says and I totally understand, Four is exactly what I expected from a dauntless when they were explaining the factions to us earlier, he's the exact picture of dauntless there's no question. The only time he doesn't look like he's a serial killer is when he looks at her and I can tell he'll be ruthless to protect her; he'll stop at nothing for her. "Tris, you know how we both won right?" I say and I know it's risky and could get them killed but I can't help it. "Yeah pretending to be star crossed lovers right?" she says, "Yeah well I just wanted you to know that if you want to both go home add drama, maybe don't be 'lovers' but think about it. Do something that will make the audience want more of you two; make them beg the game-makers to save you. Just a suggestion." I say this very quietly and she smiles, "You're pretty rebellious aren't you?" she asks and I shrug, 'I did win two hunger games by cheating." She laughs. "Although Katniss is pretty rebellious herself." She laughs again. "Thank you Peeta." "Tris, Four they're announcing the scores," Effie trills and they rush over wanting to see how they did. The trainers appear and start with the district 13 tributes most average a 4 or 5 except two boys names Rory and Ian who both 9s. One littler 13 girl manages a 7, the factions don't do too well either, the candor tribute gets an 8and the Erudite boy gets a 9. The abnegation boy pulls a 6 and Lauren gets an 8 then Tris and Fours faces appear on the screen and Tris squeezes Four's hand nervously. A ten appears over both their faces and they smile. Once everybody's names are displayed Effie rushes them out the door to the interviews.
TRIS POV
We both pulled 10s? How is that possible? Me and the other tributes are all in line waiting for our interviews. I think about what Peeta told me, how do I create drama? I guess I could try to make Tobias jealous but I don't think that'd work. I mean we've already made good impressions so now it's just a matter of getting sponsors and a way for us to both go home. I had Portia keep the mockingjay pin for me to wear tomorrow. Talking to Peeta and Katniss really helped me, Tobias stands closely behind me, what is he thinking? I really don't know how he plans on getting us home.
The interviews go smoothly then it's our turn, we're last. I look back at Tobias before exiting slowly with an attendant. I walk onto the stage as a man with high lighter orange hair, eyebrows and lipstick and a pale face named Caesar introduces me to the crowd. He looks freakish just like the rest of the capitol people but less than some people I've seen. When I walk out the crowd is uncontrollable when they see the dress, so is Caesar. He takes my hand and helps me sit, Katniss was right it is hard to sit in. "You look lovely dear," he says and I smile as charmingly as I can, "thank you," I say. "Now Tris tell me, how has this experience been for you?" I think for a second, this has been both the best and worst thing that's ever happened to me, and it's all because of Tobias. "Well different and… exciting, that's for sure," I say. Real smooth, not! "You're killing us…. Tris tell me." He says and I laugh a little, "Well you see it's definitely different from my home in abnegation and I've met some amazing people that I'll remember forever." I try but I don't think this is going anywhere. "Well you have rocked our worlds too. Now tell us who those people are so we can recognize them." I can't tell them about Katniss and Peeta or Portia and I feel like I can't share Tobias with them, what do I say? "Well the other tributes have all made the situation that much better and my escort and prep team have been absolute dears." "I see, what's your opinion on the other tributes." "Well I'm afraid that it's a sad tale." I say with as much sorrow in my voice that I can muster. 'What happened dear," he says placing a hand on my arm sympathetically, "Well you see me and Four, the other dauntless tribute, bonded during our time here, he helped me train and one of the other tributes Al showed interest in me." I start and I have everybody's attention. "I however didn't feel the same and he was jealous of Four and I' close relationship. He, he committed suicide this week and told me that Four and I should be together." I force my eyes to go misty. Caesar makes a sympathetic, "My poor dear," but I don't stop there. "And now we can't ever be together and Al died for nothing." The crowd makes shouts of protest and sorrow. "That's extremely unfortunate." Caesar says, and the crowd cries. "You have all of our respects. But now I have one more question for you," he starts and I nod. "How far would you fo to keep the person you love? Don't answer its just something to think about." He says and I find a sad smile to give him. "Thank you," He stands and lifts our hands up, "Tris Prior everyone!" he calls to the crowd and I walk off the stage hoping Tobias got the message. Effie rushes over to me, "Is that really why Al-," she starts but I cut her off, 'No I just, I just needed something to fire up the crowd." I say then add, 'But he was jealous," "Is what you said about Four real?" she asks, 'I don't know." Is all I say before turning to the screen to watch Tobias' interview. They talk for a bit about training and dauntless about what he does there but the crowd is begging for details about us. 'So Four tell me, when did you decide that you and Tris were meant for each other?" he did get the message because his response is perfect, this might not all be true but I know that the feelings are and right now I'm doing whatever I can to help us in the arena. "Hmmm, well its hard to remember anything that happened before I met her. Really she changed everything; she gave me a reason to live. She made me see that there could be true goodness inside people." He says and the crowd seems extremely moved. "So…. Well when I first saw her I knew she was different and was going to change me but I never could have guessed how big an impact." He says and by now the crowd is completely out of control. "Four, Four what would you say to Al, right now." Caesar asks over the crowd. "I would say, 'I'm sorry' I would say that I'm sorry that his sacrifice was for nothing." He says quietly and the room erupts, "And tell me what your final wish would be." Caesar continues, "I want for Tris and I to live the life we could have had." He says even quieter pretending he's heart broken but of course he's still the intimidating Four, the odds are in his favor and everybody still fears him. Anybody with eyes can see the determination in his face when he talks about bringing me home. "I wish we could have you two up here now but I'm afraid time is almost up, may I ask one more question?" Caesar wraps up and Tobias nods looking u=intimidating again, "What do you want to say to the capitol right now?" he asks and I know he's looking for a rebellious answer to give everyone hope and he gets one, "I want to tell them that... Tris and I want to be together and I don't care if it gets me killed but that's going to happen." He says simply and Caesar stands with him and raises his hand up cheering his name. That went better than I thought, he walks off the stage and is surrounded by everybody congratulating him but I walk off. I wander around different halls still in the mockingjay dress, the feathers tickling my arms that graze my side. I hear footsteps approach and I don't have to turn around to know who it is. Tobias catches up and walks along side me, he doesn't say anything at first but he does eventually. "I never got to tell you this but you really look wonderful in that." He gestures to the black dress and I smile while still looking ahead. "Thank you, I was hoping by my interview you'd get the message." I say and he shrugs. 'I understand why you did it, I just hope it worked." "Yeah me too." I say. "What are we supposed to do now?" I ask and he thinks for a second. "I think there's a dinner with all the tributes and their teams (escorts, mentor, stylists etc.) In 2 hours. Do you have to go back to your room? Because if you want some well needed quiet can come to my room." He says and I feel a little panic not knowing where this could go after what happened during the interviews and remembering my fear landscape earlier I'm kind of scared about possibly being with him just to have him ripped away from me. But I don't want to go face anybody, none of the cameras or reporters or my team. Not Katniss or Peeta it's too much and I do want to be alone with Tobias so I nod and we walk to his room together.
A/N This chapter took me forever to write! I rewrote so many parts of it so if this is terrible I'm very sorry! R&R
