I take a deep breath in, and exhale a little as the doors open and a cold breeze hits my face. The tail of the red muffler wrapped around my neck moves a little, letting in some cold in my shirt. I adjust it a little and I look up to see Katniss standing at her door, but for a moment I see nothing but haze. I'm not sure if I am ready to face her yet, after being so blunt to her since the last couple of encounters. I hope she doesn't blame herself for my behaviour; I've got to tell her she did nothing wrong in trying to save both of us in the games. To make up for it; I will put on a convincing act for the cameras, I'll do it for Katniss.
As the haze clears I see some figures from faraway; our camera crew and the huge camera equipment that have been setup.
She is wearing a white collared shirt, and green-blue cardigan that covers her arms right till her wrists. Cinna, her dresser, never fails to impress everyone with styling Katniss just perfect. As Katniss walks towards me, her eyes sparkle with a gist of tiredness and uncertainty. She seems tired yet restless; pursing her lips together like she has something to say and then breaks into a huge smile. As we both move forward towards each other the snow around me seems to be growing thicker, like I couldn't drag myself as Katniss seems to be speeding up.
She throws her hands around my shoulders and I involuntarily grab her by her waist. She moves in to kiss me as I balance her weight over me, giving her a little spin. But I lose my balance and we slip on the ground. Katniss holds me tighter. Her lips taste sweet and warm. I kiss her back for an instant forgetting about how good she is at putting on a convincing kissing act. She closes her eyes trying not to make eye contact with me, but simultaneously making it seem passionate. The cameras flashing lights on us make us look no less than celebrities. Katniss opens her eyes and looks at the camera as if she hadn't noticed they were there. She chuckles a little and then grabs me by the waist and holds me up to ease me from standing up using my artificial leg.
She brushes the snow off the back of my sweater and keeps her other hand on my shoulder. I can't resist but feel this connection with her as she stands next to me. Her aura makes me want to be around her.
After we are completely comfortable in standing position, an interviewer holds a long mic at us and asks, "So, how's it going?"
"Good." I say, my voice sounding huskier than I expected.
Katniss realises how everyone expected us to have a more compelling response and so do I, so she takes over and says, "Oh, we're so happy. Couldn't thank the Capital enough for all the privileges and all the support"
Then the mic remains for Katniss to answer some more questions about our engagement. I try my best to put up a smile and look at Katniss every time she mentions an interesting detail about our future plans.
She is subtle with her emotions but right now I could tell there's something holding her back. Unlike me, she's not just stricken by the fact that our lives will be on a show forever now, but she seems to be trembling with cold and confusion. I don't know if she's nervous and awkward around me, because of how bitter I've been to her these past couple of months. But not anymore, I can't let her live in regret for trying to survive, no matter what her approach was. In fact, she has saved my life too. Today, I'm going to reassure her.
As the interview gets over I notice Effie Trinket rushing us towards the tour bus in the usual haste that she's always in. We climb up the stairs and Katniss gives me a little smile, and it's the most genuine expression that I've seen on her face in a while now. It's her right to know that I'm no longer upset with her. I have missed her. I smile back.