Chapter 12
AN: Sorry for the delay, again (apologizing for this is becoming as commonplace as saying I don't own the HG at this point...). I got smacked hard with writer's block on this chapter but luckily finishing it gave me the momentum to start chapter 13. So...that's good at least. More thanks to everyone who's still reading this!
"You really showed that wall who was boss, didn't you, Boy?"
Peeta clenched his jaw and inspected his hand as Haymitch stood next to him. Based on the stinging pain and tint of his knuckles, he was sure he at least fractured a few bones. It wasn't anything he hadn't experienced before but the physical pain couldn't compare with the way every fiber of his being was still being twisted and shattered into a million pieces. The hole on the other side of the hall mocked him and he slammed his head back, not caring about the welt he was sure would be forming any second now.
"Beating yourself up isn't going to make any of this go away, you know," Haymitch commented, taking a long swig from his flask. "And it's not going to make you feel any better."
"And your coping skill is so damn healthy." Peeta's voice was still shaking from an anger he fought against for most of his life.
"Not in the long run but I'll feel a hell of a lot better tomorrow than you will." Haymitch snorted loudly and slid down the wall beside Peeta, offering his flask. Peeta accepted it and let the harsh liquor burn his throat as it slid down. "Who are you really mad at? Because we both know it's not her."
"Why shouldn't I be mad at her? She lied to me, she helped break up a marriage, and she didn't even care. If I'm not mad then what am I suppose to feel about her?"
"You make it sound so simple." Haymitch shrugged. "Are love affairs ever really that simple?"
"I wouldn't know, having never been a cheater myself."
"Hmph." He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "I wouldn't have pegged you to be so judgmental."
Peeta groaned and slammed his head back again. He did know who he was mad at, which just increased his anger.
"So what is this all about?" Katniss demanded as they met up with Effie and Haymitch. The two were huddled together, heads nearly touching, speaking so quietly neither Peeta nor Katniss could overhear anything.
Haymitch lifted his head. "Right, now that you're both here, I guess we can get started. Eff, do you want..." he put his hand softly on her shoulder but she just shook her head. Peeta nearly didn't recognize the woman. Rather than her flamboyant clothing and hairstyle, her hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail and her face was clear of makeup. If the air wasn't so thick with tension, he would have complimented on her; she really was a beautiful woman in her natural skin.
"It's come to our attention that he has a press conference scheduled. And secured a spot to premier his new single on the Caesar Flickerman show."
"So?" Peeta asked. "Wasn't that the deal with Katniss too?"
"Sort of. He's been having some problems getting any air on the show since both his and Katniss' singles are set to be released at the same time and she's the bigger guest. But when Effie found out he got the spot, she knew his manager had to have something to persuade Flickerman. We had no idea just how much of a something they've got up their sleeve."
"Which is?" Katniss asked.
"You may want to sit down for this, Katniss," Effie said quietly. It seemed hard to believe that this was the woman who was screaming and throwing things twenty minutes ago.
For the first time, Katniss seemed nervous, sitting on the edge of a chair, grasping tightly onto Peeta's hand.
Effie took a deep breath. "I heard some rumors and did some digging."
"And some arm twisting. Really, it was a thing of beauty," Haymitch added. He immediately returned to his flask when Katniss cocked a questioning eyebrow at him.
Effie brushed him off. "Apparently Coin sent over a copy of what his press conference would entail, a story so big it'll blow everyone else out of the water." She handed a sheet of paper to Katniss and Peeta. "He's going to 'honestly address the rumors surrounding the band. And his personal life.'"
Katniss' eyes scanned the paper and she paled in front of their eyes. A single, hazard gasp escaped her lips as she hunched over. Peeta rubbed her back and leaned down.
"Katniss, you ok? What's wrong?" He looked up frantically at Effie and Haymitch. They both were painfully watching the girl who was now dry heaving. "Haymitch? What does that mean?"
"It means he's coming clean about everything."
"Everything?" Katniss asked through labored breathing.
Effie sighed. "I'm afraid so. It appears as though his new persona is about how much he's changed, that the band was a toxic space for him and he wasn't really himself."
"And throw everyone under the bus in the process," Haymitch snorted.
"Oh, Peeta. What did you do?" Delly finally asked, handing him a bag of ice. She pushed his shoulders back onto her couch and squatted down to inspect his hand. She turned it over, forcing his fingers open and running her fingers gingerly over his bruised knuckles. When he showed up a few days ago, he was a drunk mess, mumbling incoherently and asking about a place to stay. She sat on the couch with him until he fell asleep and the worry lines on his face disappeared. He was still asleep when she went into work the next morning and never answered her calls when she tried to check in. The pain in his eyes was enough to tell her not to push him, when he was ready, he'd tell her. It took a few days before he finally accepted the icepack and broke his silence.
He laughed darkly. "I fought a wall. I think it won." He let out a sharp hiss when she moved his fingers and she sighed.
"This isn't funny, Peet. Have you been to a doctor?" She knew he hadn't which his response confirmed.
Shaking his head, he flipped an empty pill bottle on the coffee table. "Haymitch gave these to me. And enough alcohol to help me forget. Didn't work, though," he added sadly.
"You would have thought you had learned your lesson about not going to the doctor when these things happen." Her voice was soft but strong, same as it always was when she went into 'mother hen' mode.
"What things? It's not like I make it a habit of punching walls," he snapped.
"No, but remember when you broke your leg and the doctors had to rebreak it just to set it correctly because it took your mother so long to get it looked at? You walked with a limp for nearly six months."
"I don't think I broke anything. This isn't the worst thing I've had to recover from."
She slapped his leg. "I'm taking you to the hospital. Get up." They were silent on the car ride to the emergency room, neither one knowing just what needed to be said or heard. She opened her mouth a few times but seemed to think better of it. He rested his head against the cool window, watching the city lights of L.A. flash by.
Delly held his good hand as the middle-aged nurse fit him for his splint. "Minor fractures," she told him with a smile, as though it was the best news he could hear. "We'll do a follow-up in a week to check for tenderness and numbness and re-evaluate then for how long you'll need to keep that on. Keep that hand still and I'll be back in a little while with your splint." She gave him a wink as she closed the curtain to the make-shift room behind her.
He laid his head back on the bed and closed his eyes. "I'm glad you're here, Delly." He gave her hand a squeeze that she returned.
"That's what friends are for. I assume the shit hit the fan?"
He groaned. "I don't know what even happened. I'm an idiot, Delly. I lost my temper and probably ruined everything."
The nurse peeked her head in a few minutes later. "Mr. Mellark?"
"Is the splint ready? That was fast," Delly said.
"No, not yet. Um, actually, you have a visitor. We don't normally allow people back here but..." The nurse answered hesitantly.
When they arrived at the ER that evening, she was the first nurse they saw. And when he told her he punched through a wall, she looked him up and down and called off the other nurses. "The things you boys do for love. My boy, Thresh, he's just like you - quiet, unassuming, but you get between him and his and that's a whole 'nother story. So who's the girl?"
"There's no girl," he mumbled.
She clicked her tongue. "There's always a girl." She looked up at Delly who rolled her eyes at her friend's stubbornness.
"I'll see her."
The nurse nodded and motioned for someone to step forward, into the room.
"Hi, Peeta," Katniss said quietly, actively avoiding looking at him. She was fidgety, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"I'm going to go get some coffee," Delly said, sliding off the hospital bed. "You want anything, Peeta?"
"No, thanks, Delly."
She kissed the side of his head. "Ok. I won't be too long." She sent an accepting nod to the nurse who excused herself. Delly stopped next to Katniss, still staring at her shoes. "Katniss, would you like anything?"
Katniss snapped her head up, surprised to see Delly smiling. She shook her head, wondering why this girl was being so nice to her when she had no reason to be.
Delly started to walk out but backtracked and placed her hand on Katniss' shoulder. "Talk to him. He'll listen." She gave the other girl's shoulder a slight squeeze before exiting the room.
"Is she always like that?" Katniss asked.
"Unfortunately. It's her best and worst feature. Despite everything she's been through, she sees good in everyone. Even when no one else does."
Her face involuntarily twitched as she realized what he was implying. "How's your hand?"
He held it up even though she wasn't looking at him. "It's seen better days."
"Is it broken?"
"Boxer's fracture. A few weeks in a splint and it'll be good as new."
She nodded and fell silent again, biting her lower lip "I would have come sooner but Haymitch said you needed some space. From me. "
He kept his eyes on her and she finally looked up at him. Even from across the room, he could see her grey eyes no longer held any kind of flame or life like he had grown accustomed to seeing.
"You have every right to hate me." Her voice wavered as she spoke. "You should hate me. What I did was unforgivable and stupid and-"
"I don't."
"You don't?"
He took a deep breath. "I wanted to be mad at you, I still do, but I'm not. And I don't hate you."
"Why not?"
"Because love tends to make people do things they may not do otherwise. You're not a bad person, Katniss, you were just blinded."
Haymitch flipped the television off after the press conference. "Effie's going to talk to Finnick and Johanna's people to try to get a united front. This is a setback, not the end of the world."
"I should talk to Leevy."
"What? No. No, Katniss you should not." Effie spoke up. "You need to keep a distance from both of them. We may still be able to spin this in our favor if we play our cards right."
"Gale just told the world that I tempted him into cheating on his wife! That I was 'sexual napalm' and he couldn't control himself when we were together. He called me a nymphet!" Katniss cried. "Everyone is going to think I'm a home wrecker."
Effie and Haymitch exchanged the same looks. They knew she was right, it was rare for the mistress to fully recover from a scandal like this. Gale, himself, had a difficult road but since he was the one who announced it, he had some control over how the story was presented. And he played his part well, enough pain in his eyes and hesitation in his voice to show his remorse, but strength through his words. He promised to be better to his wife, he apologized for all the embarrassment he caused to those he loved, he asked for support from his former band-mates.
"I'm surprised Snow hasn't fired him yet," Katniss said.
Haymitch shook his head. "It's going to cause enough buzz about him and his album that Snow must anticipate it'll boost sales. You, on the other hand, need the right response and fast, or - "
"Or I'm screwed," she finished.
"You and your family. He'll collect what he believes is his one way or another, you know that."
"So what do we do?"
They pulled up to the small house on the edge of town and Katniss checked the address Haymitch slipped her earlier. She glanced nervously at the house, then down to her hands in her lap.
Peeta gave them a reassuring squeeze. "You can do this."
"Effie would kill me if she knew I was here."
"That's not new."
She tried to smirk but couldn't. "Do you think being honest will make me feel better?"
"Doesn't really matter what I think," he answered. "Do you?"
She groaned. "Honestly? No. I don't know if I'll ever feel better about this."
"Eventually you will."
"She's going to be so mad."
"Yeah." He gave her a half smile. "But you'd be surprised at who her anger really is directed towards."
His words were simple but she found immediate comfort in them. Taking another deep breath, she nodded. "Do you want to come with me?"
"I think this is something you need to do on your own. But I'll be right here if you need anything." He leaned over and let his lips graze her cheek. "You can do this, Katniss."
Despite his confidence in her, her feet felt like concrete as she trudged up the steps to Leevy's temporary home. The lights were on throughout the house and there were two figures moving around within. 'Shit!' She hadn't considered Gale being there. His car wasn't out front but he could have gotten a ride here. She debated internally and resolved to return to the car, unable to face both of them, when she heard the front door open.
"Katniss?"
She turned back to the house. "Hi, Leevy."
Leevy was leaning in the doorway. "What, uh, what are doing..."
"Leev? Who's outside?" Another woman stood behind Leevy. The two women looked almost identical so Katniss assumed she was the sister she heard Gale fume about.
"This is Katniss," Leevy answered.
The other woman narrowed her eyes and Katniss suddenly knew what a deer must feel like through the scope of a hunter's rifle. She was skiddish and the flight aspect of her brain was starting to take control of her body. "What is she doing here?" The woman sneered. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here right now, you worthless piece of shi-"
"Polly, there are some boxes in the bedroom that need to be unpacked. Do you mind working on those for me?" Leevy interrupted, her soft voice soothing the air. Her sister huffed but stomped back inside, throwing Katniss one more glare over her shoulder. Once she was out of view, Leevy turned back to Katniss. "Why are you here, Katniss?"
"I, I wanted, to talk to you." She answered, stumbling over her words. She grimaced as she said them because even in her head they sounded ridiculous. "About..."
"I know what about." Leevy answered curtly.
Katniss hung her head. "I feel terrible."
"You should."
"I do. I, a part of me always did. I know it doesn't make sense and I doubt it ever will. But, I loved him. I thought he loved me back. He told me he did, he told me all the time that he was going to leave you because you two weren't happy together."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better? To know that he told you he wasn't happy with me? That he loved you?"
"No, it's just-"
"Just what?" Katniss finally looked up at Leevy, at the tears that she was fighting back with all her might. "I know we weren't ever really friends, but I trusted you, Katniss. You were the only one I thought would tell me the truth. I knew there would be temptations, I knew we were having problems but I didn't, for one second, think you would be that girl. And for two years, Katniss? Two years you lied to my face when I confided in you things that I had just started to accept thinking about being possibilities? You are selfish, Katniss Everdeen. You're a selfish human being. That's why you're here, isn't it? To make yourself feel better, to wipe your own slate clean." She scoffed. "Just like him. Except neither of you ever thought about how it would make me feel. How embarrassed I am because I'm the idiot who married him. Who was too, too stupid to see what was right in front of her!"
By this point, tears were pouring down Leevy's face. Katniss didn't know if she was yelling at her anymore or yelling just to let it all out. "I was warned, you know, before the wedding, before he proposed even, that he wasn't going to be faithful. I should have known when I caught him the first time! But he promised that he loved me and he messed up and wouldn't ever do it again." Katniss rushed to her side as the woman collapsed in the doorway.
"I'm a fool," Leevy sobbed.
Katniss wrapped her up in her arms, unsure what else to do for the woman who was now shaking uncontrollably. "I know that nothing I say can make this better. I was selfish. I knew he was with you, but he made me feel so..."
"So complete," Leevy finished.
Katniss nodded. "I did come here to make myself feel better."
"Do you?"
"Not at all." This response just caused another round of tears from Leevy, so Katniss continued to hold her, trying to keep her own feelings at bay. After she stopped heaving, the two women sat on the front steps, staring into the night sky. "Do you hate me, Leevy?"
"I should, shouldn't I?" Leevy answered with a harsh laugh. "I'm mad at you. I'm mad at him. I'm mad at myself for letting him do this to me." She took a deep breath. "But no, Katniss. I don't hate you. I know what's he like. I don't know that I can ever forgive you, though."
"I don't know that I deserve it," she admitted.
"I do have one question for you, though."
"I owe you that at least."
"Why Gale? You're a beautiful woman, Katniss. You're so talented and charming and, despite how you appear sometimes, you're endearing. You have this crazy effect on people once they meet you, you don't even understand it."
Katniss snorted. "I think Peeta said that once."
"That's what I mean. Peeta is phenomenal, he's every girl's dream. Hell, you two were all Gale could talk about after your party," she added with a hint of bitterness. "If you could get a guy like him, why would you take another woman's husband?"
"Yea, Del, I'm fine. We're back at my place. Yes, both of us. You know why. I know you are and I appreciate that but seeing her in the hospital, then on the way home from...I don't think it is, Delly. You must have seen something too or you wouldn't have left us alone or let us leave. Seems like you've rubbed off on me, Cartwright." He chuckled. "I know, two weeks, ice, no strenuous activity. Seriously, what are you twelve? Get your mind out of the gutter. Well if you want it so bad then go find someone. I'm sure Cato would be up for the job. Kidding! Totally kidding! You really do need to get laid. Right, too busy, right?" His laughter echoed throughout the apartment. "Of course. Yep, talk to you later. You too. Night."
Peeta hung up his cell-phone and grabbed the spare blanket from the closet before checking on her. "Are you going to be warm enough with what's there?"
Katniss sat up, nervously running her fingers along the comforter. "I'll be fine. Though I still think you should sleep here. I can go home. Or sleep on the couch. I don't like taking your bed."
He shook his head and smiled. "Don't worry about it. I've been sleeping on a couch for the past few days, I think my body's adjusted to it."
"You're sure you don't want to stay with me?"
He sighed. He did want to stay with her, he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and make her feel safe and protected and so very much not alone. She told him about her conversation with Leevy on the car ride home and he could tell in that moment, despite her never uttering the words, that she was truly sorry for the pain she caused the other woman. He wasn't thinking when he pulled Delly's car into his parking lot that night and it wasn't until Katniss cleared her throat that he realized he didn't even attempt to take her home. He offered to let her stay, it was nearly 3am already.
"I can't yet, Katniss," he told her. "I'm not mad at you but I just can't yet. This whole thing, you, your album, us, it's different now. We jumped into things without thinking them through. I care about you, I don't want to hurt you, and I don't want..."
"You think I'll hurt you?" Her voice was so small, so fragile, so unlike anything he had ever heard directed at him before that his heart nearly shattered.
He ran a hand through his hair. "Unintentionally, yes, if we keep going full steam ahead without checking the brakes." He sat on the edge of the bed and took her hands in one of his, using his other to brush the hair that escaped her braid from her face. "I just need a little time." He kissed her cheek and stood up. "Things will be ok, Katniss."
As he laid on the couch, he was unable to sleep. At Delly's, the images of Gale and Katniss ran through his head. He questioned everything he had with her and made him wonder how often she compared them. Tonight, it was the sound of her tears floating from his room.
He pulled the blanket back and curled around her. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and cried into his chest until she fell asleep. And when she awoke the next morning, her fingers were intertwined with his.
"How does that sound? Katniss? Katniss?"
The snapping fingers in front of her face caught her attention. She shook her head, re-acclimating herself to the small cafe by Cinna's salon that they were drinking coffee at.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Cinna chuckled. "I was asking how you felt about the photo layout for your 'Acoustically Speaking' interview."
She was slightly embarrassed that she hadn't really been listening to anything he said in the last half an hour or so. Her mind had been fixated on thoughts of Gale and Leevy and Peeta. Especially Peeta. Since that night, she couldn't get him out of her head. She saw every shade of blue his eyes had been and every twitch of his face when he tried not to laugh at her whenever she shut her eyes. "Um..."
He rested his hand on top of hers. "The hard part of this ordeal is over, Katniss. The world knows, you've talked to Leevy, none of your team has bailed, what else are you worried about?"
"So what do we do?"
"Like I said, Effie's starting damage control as well as lining up interviews for you to clear the air. Luckily we've had your spot on Caesar's show booked for a while. Though we may need to reconsider what you sing on there," Haymitch answered.
"I thought I had to perform my first single?" Katniss asked, confused as to why they'd need to reconsider her selection when she didn't have anything else.
Effie and Haymitch exchanged a look. "You do," Haymitch responded, drawing out the single syllable. "But we've been thinking."
"Maybe you need to be more on the offense with your single. We don't think it's going to help if you look..." Effie looked to Haymitch for the correct word.
"Passive," he supplied. "If you hide in the corner or avoid questions then there's a very strong possibility that no one will sympathize with you. Hawthorne's got a little of an edge right now, making it look like a lapse in judgment. He's relatable to any guy who's ever felt temptation. You, on the other hand, aren't appealing to anyone except women who are more concerned with their own happiness than that of the people around them. You look like you were just using him for sex."
Katniss felt the anger surge through her. "That. is. not. what happened between us at all."
"We know!" Haymitch yelled, his frustration as evident as hers. "Hence the need for damage control."
"Fine. So in my interview with Caesar I say that's just not the case. Problem solved."
Haymitch cocked an eyebrow at her. "You think it's that easy, do you? Because if it was, we'd release a statement now and not be having this conversation. But the picture he painted of you made that just a tad more difficult. He made it look like you knew he was married but didn't care. And that, sweetheart, doesn't make you likeable. Remember, you need to be likable."
"I'm afraid he's right, Katniss," Effie chimed in. "I don't have much respect for Gale Hawthorne but you're really looking like the bad person right now."
Katniss didn't miss the sincerity stemming from Effie Trinket. It was probably the first time the woman's voice didn't have an underlying sarcasm to it. Katniss turned her gaze toward Effie who was staring at her fingers, the wall, Haymitch, anything but Katniss herself. She sighed, Effie never avoided looking at who she was directly talking to. "Realistically, what's our game plan?"
"We're looking at a Hail Mary. We need the boy on board for it to have a shot in hell. But he's got to be 100% invested, Sweetheart."
"Welp. May the odds be ever in my favor."
"What if I can't do this?"
Cinna smiled sadly and squeezed her hands. "Do you remember what I told you the first time you asked me that?"
"That you'd bet on me."
He nodded. "I'm still betting on you, Girl on Fire."
She scoffed. "I hate that nickname."
"You shouldn't. 'In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.'"
"Deep."
"And true." He released her hands and pointed at her chest. "You, Katniss Everdeen, can be that person who rekindles the inner spirit, if you choose to be. You are a remarkable young lady and, regardless of what Haymitch grunts about you, we can all see it. That's why he and Effie stuck by you instead of going to Gale's team. It's how they convinced Peeta to give up his stable job. And it's why I volunteered to be your stylist."
Her eyes widened. "You volunteered? I thought – "
"I wasn't lying when I said I was a fan of 'District 12'. Or that it was an improvement to get you. Remember we're on your team in this. All of us." His eyes lifted from hers and sparkled slightly. She furrowed her eyebrows but he just nodded behind her. "Peeta. Good to see you."
She flipped around in her chair and couldn't stop the smile that formed at the sight of him.
"Hey, Cinna. Katniss."
"Peeta. What are you doing here?" She asked, pulling out an extra chair at their table.
"I invited him," Cinna answered as he took a sip of his coffee. "He told me a few days ago that he'd be in the studio working with Haymitch to prepare for your recording this afternoon and I figured he'd need a break from the old grump. I'm glad you could join us." Peeta sat in the open chair and leaned back to make himself comfortable. "I was just about to show Katniss a few of the renderings I've created for her 'Acoustically Speaking' layout. I'd be honored to have another set of artistic eyes on them."
"I'll look over them but fashion's not really my specialty," he laughed and pointed to the ripped jeans and faded Northwestern t-shirt he was wearing as a way of proving his point.
"Don't be so modest, Peeta," Cinna dismissed his concerns. "Katniss has told me all about the artwork at your apartment. She said you have a real eye for beauty."
Peeta looked questioningly at Katniss who gulped down the remaining of her coffee. "I just said that you had art at your apartment," she answered, suddenly feeling like a teenager in front of her crush. She knew why she was so nervous around him, even when he said they'd be fine. It had been over a week ago, though, a week of virtually no contact. She wanted to stay with him in his apartment, but the silence and loneliness of it became too much. It was ironic, give how homey it really was, with it's sunset orange walls and gently used furniture. He left for the studio early, however, and when he finally came back, he stayed in the living room or kitchen. He assured her he was still invested in writing her songs but needed more time to work everything out from the personal level. She left that night, returning to her hotel suite for the rest of the week.
Cinna gave her a knowing wink and pulled a black leather-bound notebook onto the table. She let out an audible gasp at each turn of the page, every drawing as beautiful as the rest. They spent the next hour going back and forth to decide on the three main outfits for the spread, a black leather mini-skirt with a plunging top to showcase her 'rock star / sex kitten look' that the editors were apparently excited for and Katniss knew she'd hate the most. A soft pink one-shoulder dress that flowed down to her and had silver beading at the shoulder, to showcase her 'soft and feminine' side.
The final design was her glamor shot, a nude, tight fitting dress with a black lace overlay with full sleeves and a hemline that barely hit mid-thigh. The detail on the dress amazed her the most, it was as though Cinna had hand-drawn the pattern of the lace. "That's not going to look good on me," Katniss said in disbelief, taking in the way the dress hugged every curve of the model body Cinna drew. "There's no way I'd fill that out the way I need to."
"Don't be ridiculous, you'll look gorgeous in it," Peeta said quietly. When neither Cinna nor Katniss responded, he looked up from the drawing, right at her. "You'll look beautiful in any of them." He reached under the table and rested his fractured hand on her knee. This touch, the first in a week, seem to shock them both into life and she smiled at him.
"It's really all Cinna's work," she answered, unable to tear her eyes off his.
"Don't sell yourself so short, Katniss. You could pull of a burlap sack if you wanted."
She rolled her eyes. "You're only saying that because – "
"Because it's true. Like you said, I have an eye for beauty."
Katniss smiled and ducked her head. She knew she was blushing but for once, she didn't care. At that moment, the air between them reverted back to the night before the Gale bomb dropped. When she finally looked back up, she was met by those eyes that made the world stop turning. The intensity of that feeling frightened her at first but it was now a sense of comfort. In an odd, 'this shouldn't be but it is' kind of way.
Cinna watched the two with a smirk. He liked Peeta. From the handful of times they spoke, the songwriter seemed articulate, intelligent, and completely genuine. But more than that, he liked the way Katniss unconsciously lit up around the boy. Gone was the quiet, surely girl from District 12, replaced by an actual human being. 'Effie Trinket, you crazy genius,' he thought, packing up his portfolio. He laid some cash on the table before clearing his throat. "Well, I should head out and work on these. You two have an excellent day in the studio."
Whether or not the pair heard or processed what Cinna said, he didn't know. And he didn't care either. As he slipped out of the cafe, he made sure to send an update to Effie and Haymitch. 'It worked. They're both in.'
AN2:
The quote Cinna used about the inner fire is from Albert Schweitzer.
Personal/Nerdy moment about this chapter: There is research that suggests when women who are involved in affairs show that they were emotionally attached to the married man, they are judged less harshly than when they aren't emotionally attached. Similarly, when men who cheat claim they are emotionally dissatisfied in their original relationship, they're judged more harshly than women and men who don't make any claims about emotional satisfaction.
Continue checking out my blog (see my profile) for updates and sneak peaks and answers to questions in the reviews. Actually, right now there are only updates about the whole process and excuses as to why I'm so slow in updating this story.
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