"That's ridiculous! You just can't put those two colors together!"

"I know! That's what I told her."

"Well, you know, it might not be that bad if you just add in a little yellow..."

I idly listened to Gloria, Laffy and Dellie gossip as they fitted me, pulling at different parts of my clothes for what seemed like no reason whatsoever. I trusted them, though. Somehow they had managed to create clothes that fitted me perfectly - where they got the measurements, I don't want to know - and although they had followed Crym's designs, they had done a remarkably good job in a small amount of time. Of course, they could have had it pre-made before I even arrived, but by the way they had been talking, this had been a recent creation.

A creation it was, too. When it had just been a bundle of fabric, I hadn't thought much of it. But now that I saw it in full, or at least on me, I had to give them some credit; it definitely looked amazing. I had expected a tight, uncomfortable suit of some kind. Not a black button-down that, when the light hit it, faintly glinted with flame designs. Or a burning red tie with the same fire pattern, except much clearer. Only my simple black shoes lacked some fiery feature - even the legs on my pants had the same glinting design the shirt did. What really got me, though, was the two feathers they had glued to the cuffs of my shirt. Crimson red, with a splash of white. They reminded me of something, maybe a bird or it's feather I had seen back home, but I couldn't figure out what.

"Yes!" I heard the door open behind me, and Crym's recognizable footsteps as she ran over to us. Almost immediately the three others around me stepped back, allowing the superior Stylist to see me in full. "Yes, yes, yes! This is perfect!" She stood in front of me, looking over my body for what felt the the thousandth time today. She pulled my collar out a little, and I twitched. She smirked at me, "So, has he been behaving for you three? No nasty words, physical violence?"

"Nope," The others replied in unison, much to my relief. Not that I had been nasty or anything. Maybe a bit reluctant, but for the most part, I had let them get on with whatever they were doing.

"Brilliant," She patted my head, as though praising a dog, although for me she had to get on her tip-toes to do so. "You're going to need to work on that attitude of yours, if you want the crowds to like you."

"What attitude?"

"The attitude you used when you knocked the eyeliner pen out of my hand. Or when you back-chatted Ms. Oh-so-perfect Finkel back in District Twelve." I looked at her, surprised. I hadn't thought they would know about that. In fact, I hadn't expected the Capitol to broadcast it - after all, it was a clear breach of rules. Don't challenge the government. Still, it had been live, so I suppose they hadn't had a choice.

"Yes, we do know about that," She said, while waving off Dellie, Laffy and Gloria. The three exited quietly, but shot me excited grins and reassuring thumbs ups' behind Crym's back. I shot them a small smile back, before returning my attention to my Stylist, who had suddenly gotten very close. "I also happen to know who you are, Finnick Everdeen."

"But didn't you already-"

"Not like that, dumbass! Your history," My stomach dropped when she said that, heart beat growing louder. "Your parents - Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen. I'm not an idiot, Finnick. I do know my history."

"Look," I growled, the defensive side I had developed after the Overthrow kicking in, "I know you're supposed to prepare me for this, but can you please leave my parents out of it? They're gone. Done."

"But they're not," She retorted, eyes serious, "They're not done. No matter what happens to them, what has happened to them, they're still war heroes. The government may try to hide them, but they're still there, written in the history books. Everdeen and Mellark, Katniss and Peeta."

"I said leave them out of it!"

"But they're not going to leave them out of it, are they?!" Both our voices had grown in volume now, and I felt anger beginning to bubble beneath my skin. "Your sister. She's Primrose, isn't she? Primrose Mellark. She's the one who started this, made you live the life you have. Made you, and many others, suffer. And let me tell you this, Finnick: She knows it. So there is no way in hell she's going to leave that out of the Games, when it's possibly your biggest weakness." I opened my mouth to spit something back, but I couldn't. She was right. It was just like Gaia had said: She knew what to expect from me, what my weaknesses were. She knew me, plain and simple. In order to beat her, I had to do what she didn't expect.

Crym stepped back, gesturing at me with her hands. "Alright, Finnick," She said, as though nothing had happened, "You're about as ready as you'll ever be." Sighing, she rubbed a hand through her spikes, then looked at me through her fingers. "Well, what are you waiting for?! Go out and hit 'em, boy! Not literally, though."

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I felt like I should say something. "Thanks, Crym," I blurted out, eventually.

She smirked, "No problem."

"And thank Gloria, Dellie and Laffy, too."

"I will."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Turning, I walked toward the first door I had come through, reaching for the handle. I knew that the moment I stepped out of there, my life would change forever. For better or for worse, I wasn't sure. It could be either. For a moment, I considered running, but I knew that would be foolish. There were way too many people around, and besides, even if I did run, I had no idea where to go. The blind-folding thing was a good idea.

I took a deep breath, opened the door, and stepped out into my new life.