Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? Happy New Year! I'd like to apologize for breaking my promise on getting this chapter out before the new year but hey, at least I got it out on new years? Also, I got a bit too caught up in my goodbyes to 2020 so yeah. That's really my only excuse. So here's a new chapter, which is the last one before we finally get to the Games, to help ring in the hopefully brighter future of 2021!
Like always, I enjoy comments, in fact I thrive off of positive comments and love constructive critique ones cause it shows an author that their readers are actually paying attention and enjoying their work.
Thanks for continuing to read this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or the movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.
Warning: No beta, we die like Rue.
Chapter 15: It's Showtime
XXXXXX
"That's it! I quit!"
Val looks up from the book he's reading to see Katniss storm out, barefoot and in a shiny dress, as Effie follows after her with a pair of 6 inch heels in her hands.
"You cannot simply quit!" Effie shrills out as she brandishes the heels like a weapon.
"Yes, I can!" Katniss snaps back.
Effie huffs. "No you cannot. "How else will you be able to charm the citizens of the Capitol into becoming your sponsors? Especially considering you're rather...lacking ability in eloquence and sophistication."
"Isn't that just a fancy way of saying I'm not charming enough and can't speak politely even if my life depended on it?" Katniss growls out, completely done with what sounds like a continuing argument that's been going on for a while.
"Well I hate to break it to ya darling, but your life does depend on it," Haymitch drawls out, drawing their attention.
Katniss scowls and stomps over to where Val lounges across a couch and promptly dumps herself onto his lap but actually lands on his stomach. He lets out a gasp as the air is unceremoniously pushed out of him.
"There's literally two feet of space left on this couch and you still choose to sit on me?" he chokes out as he glares at her in annoyance while shoving at her.
She scootches off him with a huff and enters a staredown with Effie which has Haymitch palming at his face in exasperation.
"Alright, I think it's time for a quick swap to let everyone breath and not murder each other," he says with a pointed look at Katniss and Effie. Then he turns to Val and gestures for him to go to Effie. "Come on, boy. Go with the cream puff and work on your walk before your sister decides it's a good idea to murder the District 12 escort."
Val shrugs and puts the book down before following Effie who marches off with a huff and back to where the girls had been practicing. Katniss sighs in relief and starts to make her escape. However, she's stopped by Haymitch giving her a look.
"Don't think you're getting out of training missy. You and I need to have a talk."
Katniss groans and goes to sit in the seat across from Haymitch, crossing her arms and pouting like she's a kid who just got called to the principal's office.
"So what seems to be the problem?" he asks, expression carefully neutral.
"The problem? The problem?" Katniss asks incredulously like she can't even believe he just asked her that. She jumps out of her seat and starts pacing, hands making frantic gestures and tone growing more hysterical as she continues to speak. "The problem is everything! The Games, the Reaping, the Parade, the Training, the Evaluation, and now this! This prepping for interviews where I have to say please and thank you in my best polite tone and I need to cross my legs when I sit and wear a dress and fucking high heels, be the cute little girl I am absolutely not, and pretend like I'm happy to be sent to this fancy ass city to die or to see my brother die when all I want is to murder every Capitol citizen in Panem! That's my problem!"
She pants from exertion when her rant ends. Haymitch doesn't respond, merely watching her as he processes everything she had just unloaded onto him.
"There's a lot to unpack here," he finally says.
Katniss snorts as she drops back onto her seat. "Yeah, no shit."
"But unfortunately for you, there's nothing you can do about it, sweet cheeks. So you better put on your best smile and fake it till you make it," he nonchalantly says as he leans back in his seat with a sarcastic grin.
"Could you be anymore unhelpful?" she asks, ticked off.
Haymitch shrugs. "I am being helpful."
"How? By telling me I gotta suck it up to those brain dead crayons and act all nice, polite girl with my please and thank you's and happy to be here's? By letting them expose every single thing about my life, my family, Peeta?" she snarks with crossed arms and a scowl.
"Yup!"
Her scowl deepens. "Why can't I just be the brooding bad ass who's all silent and mysterious and crap?"
Haymitch sighs wearily. "Cause that "crap" only works if you're a guy, unfortunately. And newsflash honey, you need to work another angle and I think I speak for the both of us when I say it should be any angle but the sex appeal and charm angle cause you can't do girly crap to save your life and you have the charm of a dead slug."
"Gee thanks. Why don't you keep rubbing that salt in?"
"But even if you can't do that shit to save your own life, what about your brother's? Or did you already forget your goal here?"
Katniss slumps in her seat, her once snarky attitude now subdued and weary.
"You managed to convince me to stay sober because all you wanted to do was save your brother and give him the happiness that he continually sacrificed in order for you to have your own." Haymitch continues now that he has a foothold. "So remember that and use it as your motivation. You don't have to like these people, hell you don't even have to pretend to like em cause if the scoring was any indication, they like your spunk, though hell if I know why."
"So what do you want me to do?" she asks, tone surprisingly meek.
"I need you to use it. Sex appeal and charm are obviously off the table, and so are many other tried and true angles. But that doesn't mean we can't come up with a new one," Haymitch patiently explains.
Katniss perks up, now intrigued. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well...the Capitol likes your fire. So let's give them fire. Let loose, go nuts, swear up a storm and be the uncivilised person that you are. But be smart about it. They wanna ask about your family? Well tell them how you'll defend them with every fiber of your being and threaten any who dare to even think about hurting them. They wanna talk about your love life? Well you don't have to kiss and tell right? A woman's allowed her secrets," he explains.
"But what about that question they always ask every tribute? The one about what they're hoping to achieve with the Games?" she asks.
Haymitch's expression turns deadly serious. "That will be the one and only time you need to be completely honest. You need to let everyone know that you're fighting to save your brother, to thank him for the sacrifices he's made for you, and your wishes for him to finally get the happiness that he purposely alluded for your own sake."
She frowns. "That sounds good and all...But won't that backfire horribly when Val gets on stage? You know how he'll respond when he's asked the same thing, especially if they try to bring my answer into the whole shebang."
Haymitch nods. "And that's exactly what I'm banking on."
"Huh?"
"You two are siblings so unfortunately I can't do a star-crossed lovers angle," he says, chuckling at Katniss' disgusted expression. "And we most certainly do not want to stick a rivalry image on you guys, not after all the effort of having you show a united front."
She nods along in understanding.
"So instead, we're gonna make your situation as tragic as possible in order to garner as much sympathy as we can. Cause if there's one thing the Capitol folk love as much as a good love story, it's a good sob story. They'll eat that shit right up," Haymitch finishes with a grin.
Katniss leans back in her seat, thoughtfully. While she doesn't like the idea of possibly jinxing her and Val by setting up their narrative into a tragedy, she does like the appeal of not having to filter or change herself in order to pander or fit a narrative that just isn't her.
"Alright. Cool. Yeah. I can do that. Be myself but be smart about when I need to filter and when I need to be honest. Yeah. Sounds like a plan, boss man."
Haymitch grimaces at the nickname. "Never call me that again."
Katniss grimaces as well. "Yeah, no. Forget I ever called you that."
She then stands and stretches out before subtly moving towards the living quarters and away from where Effie had been training her. "Alright. If we're done here, I'm just gonna head back to my room now and-"
"Hold it," Haymitch says sharply, pinning her down with a stare. "Just because we came up with a game plan does n't mean you get out of Effie's training. She may be an airheaded cream puff, but she does know what she's talking about when it comes to presentation."
"But I thought-" Katniss tries to protest. Haymitch holds up a hand to stop her.
"I gave you permission on how you should speak, not how you should sit and walk. Now go get your brother and resume your training with Effie."
Katniss scowls and stomps off to where Effie had dragged her brother off.
"And don't come back until you can walk the length of the hallways in high heels without stumbling!" Haymitch shouted back at her.
She flips him off and he laughs.
XXXXXX
"So..."
"So..."
Val fidgets uncomfortably as Haymitch pins him with a soul searching stare.
"Well I'm glad the little time you spent with Effie is paying off," Haymitch comments as Val sits with a straight spine, squared shoulders, level gaze, and hands held together in the lap of his crossed legs.
"Even though I would like to never hear another word come out of her mouth, she does know what she's talking about when it comes to proper presentation in the Capitol," Val responds.
"Good, good," Haymitch nods appreciatively, "Now all we gotta do is come up with your game plan for the interview and that means coming up with an angle."
"And I'm assuming you already have one in mind?"
"The angle that you're gonna go for is the loving older brother who would do anything to save his sister, even if it means sacrificing his life. It'll be a true tragedy for the ages," he says dramatically despite the flat tone of his voice.
Val had been nodding along with Haymitch's explanation until he heard the word tragedy.
"What!" he explodes. "Tragedy! What the hell are you getting at, Abernathy? Are you trying to jinx us or something?"
Haymitch scowls. "No I am not. Despite what you may think of me, it took a long time to come up with a plausible angle that would grant you both the highest amount of sympathy as well as temper any fires that you may have started."
Val frowns. "What does that mean?"
"Just means I'd rather not see you two burn out before your time," Haymitch shrugs before chuckling, "Guess you could say I've gotten attached."
Val softens but…"That still doesn't answer my question. What do you mean temper fires we may have started?"
Haymitch rubs at the back of his head, clearly debating on whether he should give an honest response or not. He sighs. "Look. Even though it may not have felt like it, your actions from when you first volunteered to now...they've had an impact."
Val is silent, thoughts racing. "What kind of impact?" he finally asks softly, almost scared to know the answer.
"Let's just say, you need to be very careful how you tread from now on. Your actions, whether purposeful or not, are slowly building up to a fallout that you and your family will never be ready for," Haymitch explains.
"And that's why you're trying to turn our situation into a potential tragedy. Garner enough sympathy from the Capitol citizens and we'll have a buffer between the President and our family," Val concludes, visibly paling because the one thing he had been fighting for ever since he was given a second chance. His anonymity which protected the Everdeens from the consequences of his father's actions, it was all moot if he, himself, was following in the footsteps of the rebel, Cayden Evans. Whether inadvertently or not, it wouldn't matter, especially not to President Snow.
Haymitch nods, expression grave. "So when you're up there, no matter what you hear from Katniss' interview, you better play your role of self-sacrificing and loving brother to a T. Be as honest and charming as you want, but your end goal is ideally the sympathy of the entire Capitol general populace. Have that and I promise you that your sister and family will be protected from any future ramifications, even if I have to give up the bottle forever just to ensure it."
Val leans back heavily in his seat, still shocked but coherent enough to contemplate Haymitch's words.
"Why are you doing this?" he finally asks.
"What do you mean?" Haymitch asks back curiously.
"Why are you being so helpful?" Val clarifies, "All this advice, all these warnings, and a promise to protect not just my sister but my family? Where was this for the past twenty three years? Why now? Why us?"
Haymitch leans back in his seat. He taps at his water glass thoughtfully. "I guess...seeing you two together, the way you interact with each other and towards others...it just reminded me of something that I thought I lost forever." After that, he falls silent, clearly done with the impromptu Q and A.
Val looks down at his hands and swallows thickly, a lump suddenly in his throat from the torrent of emotions warring inside of him. A heavy silence falls like a weighted blanket upon them.
A distant shriek of outrage followed by the clatter of what sounds like high heels against a wall startles the two out of their depressive funk.
Haymitch chuckles sardonically. "You should probably go rescue your sister before she ends up being arrested for murder. You both will need an hour or two to gather yourselves before we send you off to your stylists for tonight."
Val nods, grateful for the chance to recuperate from their conversation. As he gets up to leave, he pauses when he hears Haymitch place his glass on the table with a loud clink. He looks up to see Haymitch looking back with an expression torn between grim and melancholic.
"Remember, boy. Tread carefully. Especially if you want your sister to live a long and happy life."
Val gives a sharp nod, lips pressed thin and face still somewhat pale. He rushes off to go get his sister, thankful for the distraction even though it sounded like she was cursing a storm and one step away from murdering their poor escort.
Standing outside the door, he braces himself for Hurricane Katniss...only to retreat immediately when high heels started hurtling his way as soon as he opens the door. It was a day too early to be having near death experiences.
XXXXXX
And now he kind of wishes that he'd braved the storm earlier today because death by high heel to the head sounded a lot quicker than being choked out by a tie.
Val tugs nervously at his dark red tie, desperately trying to loosen the tight knot so he can breathe. Goddammit. Why can't he breathe? Was the knot really that tight? Or maybe the reason he can't breathe is because of his anxiety over his family's future.
"You keep pulling that tie any looser and it's going to fall right off."
Val looks up to see an amused Cinna approaching him.
"Sorry," Val apologizes sheepishly, "I just...can't seem to breathe is all. Think the tie's too tight. Any chance I can just wear it loosely?"
"No can do, boy on fire," Cinna says as he readjusts Val's tie back into a proper knot. "You have a very specific image to convey and unfortunately, that does not include looking too cool for school or like you went one too many rounds with a bottle."
Val grimaces and starts to fidget with the edges of his jacket sleeves instead. Cinna notes the nervous tick as he smooths down the lapels of the jacket.
"Hey, hey, hey. What's up with all this nervous energy? I thought you were completely prepared for tonight?" he asks, placing comforting hands to ground Val back to reality.
"I am," Val responds, still looking everywhere but at Cinna.
Cinna does not look convinced. "Alright. Then why aren't you looking me in the eye?"
Val quickly glances at Cinna to make eye contact for a moment, before his gaze darts away and takes up a sudden interest in a vase of red gladiolus flowers. Cinna sighs and gently places his hands on Val's to make them stop their fidgeting.
"Val," Cinna begins with the utmost seriousness in his tone, "Do you consider me a friend?"
Val nods hesitantly at the question.
"Then know that you can tell me what is on your mind and I will never judge nor report you for it."
Val presses his lips together into a thin line in thought before he sighs. "It's just some stuff Haymitch said is all," he finally mumbles out, "It's just got me nervous about the interview and second guessing every possible answer my brain can come up with."
Cinna hums at his response. "And why did what Haymitch said suddenly make you nervous? From the few days I've known you, I can tell you're a very intuitive and empathetic person, Val. As long as you do what comes natural to you, then your interview will go well...But it's not just that is it?"
Val shakes his head.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
Val bites his lip, reluctant to respond. But Cinna's kind and open expression convinces him that maybe it won't be such a bad idea.
"It's just...everything's moving so fast and..." Val pauses, continuing on only when Cinna nods encouragingly, "My actions...I only had to worry about the consequences they would have on myself and now I'm learning that what I do, what I say, they won't just hurt me anymore but also everyone I care about."
Cinna takes a moment to process what he said. "That's a very heavy burden for you to carry, especially at your age."
Val huffs. "You're telling me."
"And unfortunately, with the way the Capitol is, that burden will not lighten with a few well placed words or well thought out actions."
"So then...what should I do?" Val asks, helplessly.
Cinna tightens his grip on Val's hands. "You just be yourself. Your true, honest, unfiltered self. The brother who would do anything to protect his sister's happiness and his family's well-being, even if it means fighting the whole Capitol by yourself," he responds, smiling gently, "And if you feel the burden start to weigh you down, then don't be afraid to seek me out in the crowd. I've gotten invested in you, boy on fire," he chuckles, "So don't you forget for even a second that you're not alone in your fight."
Val's heart clenches at the genuine kindness that seems to exude out of Cinna. How can a man who is Capitol born and bred, be so kind and giving to a stranger he's only known for a few days and will most likely die within the next few?
"Now come on," Cinna says as he lets go of Val's hands, "I need to get the finishing touches for your outfit done."
"Are you going to tell me what the surprise is?" Val asks as Cinna herds him back to the full length mirrors that were set up in the center of the room.
Cinna smiles all mysterious like as he cheekily replies, "Well that would just spoil the surprise wouldn't it? But don't worry, it will certainly be one the Capitol won't forget."
XXXXXX
"Hello citizens of Panem!" Caesar Flickerman shouts out as he does his best impression of a game show host and circus ringmaster. "I am your host for tonight, Caesar Flickerman!"
The audience gives a resounding applause as Caesar bows before them with a large smile stretching his face.
"Without further ado, let us begin the interviews!" he shouts before holding a hand out towards stage left. "Let's see if she does indeed shine as bright as her name implies. Let's give a warm round of applause for Glimmer!"
Glimmer, dressed in a pink, glittery sleeveless dress with a tight bodice that accentuates her chest and a fluffy, short skirt that makes her legs seem to run for days, flounces onto the stage with a wide smile and a giddy wave at the audience.
"So Glimmer," Caesar says once they're both seated, "Are you prepared?"
"Oh definitely, Caesar! I don't think I've ever been more prepared for anything in my life!" she gushes out without a second thought.
Caesar laughs out loud. "I like it! I like your lack of hesitation! Really speaks of your conviction."
"And now let's give a bid round of applause for the boy of wonder, Marvel!" Caesar shouts out as he holds up Marvel's hand like a champ.
Marvel, in his baby blue suit, raises his other hand up as he lets out a loud and exaggerated whoop that has the audience screaming in excitement.
Clove, dressed in a tasteful, sleeveless dress made up of many different wisps of pink fabric, walks confidently onto the stage where Caesar takes hold of her hand.
"Welcome Clove," he says as he places a delicate kiss on her hand.
Clove giggles at the gesture as the two sit down.
"So tell us what motivated you enough to toss your hat into the ring? I don't think I've ever seen a volunteering more aggressive than yours before. I'm pretty sure half the nation winced when they saw those teeth fly out of that girl's mouth," Caesar asks, nonchalantly but still genuinely curious.
"Well Caesar, that's a very loaded question, but I'd be happy to answer it!" Clove responds which has the audience cheering in encouragement and excitement.
"Initially, I wanted to volunteer to escape a bad situation I was in and then that later evolved into fighting for a higher cause, for something that's bigger than myself," she explains as Caesar and the audience nod along in understanding. "Now I want to claim the higher honor presented to me that will put me above the lowly people who dared to try and chain me down back home," she almost growls out, "When, not if, but when I win, I will be able to return to my District with the highest honor possible that I'll be able to flaunt all I want in their faces for the rest of their living lives."
"That is very admirable Clove. I think I speak for all of us here when I say I look forward to how you would conduct yourself on your Victory Tour," Caesar says sincerely as the audience nods along. Some audience members even wipe away a tear or two as Clove smiles out to them.
"And what about you, Kai?" Caesar asks, "Do you have similar motivations or aspirations as your District partner?"
Kai, lounging casually in his black suit with gold accents and slightly unbuttoned shirt, smiles widely, teeth and all, like a shark who's just been presented his prey on a gold platter.
"Sorry Caesar, but my motivations are different then Clove's. In fact, I'd say they're on an entirely different level much higher than her's," he responds dismissively.
"Oh? Pray tell what it is?" Caesar asks, as he and the audience lean in, curious for the answer.
Kai smirks. "While it's admirable that Clove wants to win so she can show how no one can ever chain her down, my goal is to prove myself."
"That doesn't too different from what many tributes have wanted to achieve before. What makes you stand out among them?"
"See, that's exactly it. It's hard representing my District when so many Victors have come from it. That's why I'm going to prove that I'm different, that I'm better, no, that I'm the best! So that no one can ever be compared to me because I will be above them. I will finally be my own person, my own ideal image of a Victor, and everyone who's ever looked down on me will now have to look up as I stand above them."
"Let's give a brilliant round of applause to the man with a plan, the boy with no fear, Kai!" Caesar shouts out as he raises Kai's hand up like a champ. Kai raises his other hand up like Marvel did but instead of shouting, he merely grins with a devilishly handsome smirk that has the audience going more nuts than they had for the previous three tributes.
"Even though I believe alliances can be beneficial to everyone involved, I would still prefer to go it alone. Because then, no matter the situation, I only have to think about myself and no one else. Plus, there's the fact that I'll have more resources if it's just me, myself, and I," Finch explains as Caesar nods along with a somewhat bored expression.
"That's a very efficient way of thinking, Finch. You sound very resourceful indeed," he responds.
"Efficiency is key after all. Even though it'd be much easier to just kill everyone on the get go, realistically speaking, those who play the long game are the ones who ultimately stand at the top in the end," she says with a predatory smile that finally sparks some interest in Caesar.
Rue skips onto the stage in her shimmering white dress with a multi-layered shirt that gives her the appearance of an angel. Caesar and the audience coo at her.
"Folks! It seems we've got an angel in our midst and she's gonna charm the pants off of us all if we're not too careful!" he laughs out and the audience cheers in response.
Rue giggles as Caesar gently guides her onto her seat and then begins to question her with extreme delicacy and indulgence that he seemed to only reserve for the youngest tributes.
Katniss stands nervously in the wings as she sees Thresh escorted onto the stage. She uses all of her will power to refrain from looking back at her brother as an assistant arrives to lead her away to the stairs leading up to the stage.
Her breaths are the only thing she hears as she anxiously waits for her turn. Her hands are clenched tightly at the long red skirt of her dress.
"And now from District 12! You all know her name! Please welcome, Katniss!"
Katniss takes a deep breath and plasters on a wide smile as she walks onto the stage, somehow managing to not trip on her heels. The audience gasps in awe at her beautiful, silk red dress with a slip of red orange fabric crawling over one shoulder like a flame and a flare at the bottom. Caesar takes her by the hand and gives her a few spins which make flames burst out from the ends of her dress which absolutely delights him and the audience who scream at the display.
"Whoo! You are definitely the girl on fire, my dear," Caesar compliments as he leads Katniss to her seat.
She smirks as she leans back casually in her chair. "Well you know what they say about fire. Better not play with it or you'll get burned."
Caesar and the audience laugh at her words, taking glee at the snarky edge of her tone.
"I think it's already too late for that!" he jokes as he pantomimes being burned by her mere presence to the audience's amusement. "So tell me, Katniss. How about that score, huh? An eleven. Care to share how you got it?"
The audience cheers on in encouragement. Katniss waves at them dismissively and smiles secretively. "Sorry folks, but I don't kiss and tell."
Caesar plays along and says, "No. No. I get it. A woman has to have her secrets after all."
The audience jokingly boos and Katniss playfully sticks her tongue out and flips them off which has them laughing in response.
"Now I've got to ask, Katniss," he says with the utmost seriousness a host should have, "About your family. I think I speak for all of us here when I say my heart goes out to you, your brother, and that little girl who I'm assuming is your younger sister."
Katniss' breath catches in her throat. "Prim," she chokes out, "Her name is Prim. Our darling little Primrose."
Caesar nods. "Of course, of course. Tell me, Katniss, what were your thoughts when your brother volunteered? I mean were you thinking about unbreakable alliances or bitter sibling rivalries? And I hope you don't mind me asking you this since your situation is very unique and all of us here would love to know what was going on through your mind since you've been reaped."
Now she can't breathe. Her throat's constricting as a million thoughts run through her head because she doesn't know what she can say. She knows she needs to be honest, but honesty could get her killed. It could get her brother killed. And she can't have that. Caesar, noticing that she's struggling to answer, places a hand over her own and squeezes it gently. It's supposed to be comforting but Katniss' skin crawls slightly at the touch and it's enough for her to snap back to the present.
"W-well I-" she chokes out before clearing her throat and trying again, "Everything I've ever done, has been for my family. Of course I want to win, to fight so I can go back home to them but more importantly...I want to fight so that my brother can go home. When he volunteered to sa- I mean, when he volunteered, all I could think about was what the fuck, Val? Why are you being the fucking martyr again, trying to put my happiness over your own? I thought you were over that shit already? It made me so angry to see him continue to deny his own happiness again but most of all, I was angry at the fact that I understood him, because that's just the kind of person he is. He's done so much for me and I want to, no I need to repay him for that." Then a hard, almost threatening edge appears in her tone as she declares, "And an Everdeen never lets a debt go unpaid."
Caesar is uncharacteristically silent as the audience sighs and moans along sadly. "Do you mind if I ask what exactly he's done for you to owe him so much that you'd be willing to sacrifice everything for him?" he finally asks, still somewhat shaken at her display of loyalty and love.
She is also shaken but powers through regardless. She's already come this far, might as well get it all out into the open now when she knows it'll provide her with an advantage, even though she finds it distasteful to use her relationship with Val in such a manipulative way.
"Let's just say, I was at a low point in my life once. Just struggling to hold everything together, and failing rather epically might I add, like for fuck's sake, I was just a goddamn mess back then," she says which gets some giggling out of the audience, "And he was just there. Always strong, always dependable, and shining so brightly like a guiding star in a pitch black sky. I don't know where I'd be today if it weren't for him. Probably lying dead in a ditch somewhere," she chuckles sardonically.
Caesar gently pats her hand in comfort as he leans back in his chair with a sympathetic expression. "Well it's too bad the both of you can't win. I think everyone would've loved to see that."
"Yeah...too fucking bad," she says softly, her hands clenched tightly around each other as she follows Caesar's lead in standing up and letting him lift her hand up.
"The girl on fire, everyone!" he shouts as the audience screams and cries out her name.
She's in a daze as she's led off stage right and down to the wings where Haymitch, Portia, and Effie wait. Haymitch places a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him.
"I-I...I didn't mean to say so much out there," she mutters shakily, "Those were always just thoughts swirling in my head. I've never actually voiced them out like that before, especially not to Val. And holy shit," she says as her eyes grow wide with panic, "I just aired all that out in front of the entire nation. Fuck."
Haymitch grimaces and shrugs. "Whether you meant to say it or not, you still did a fine job out there. Now all that's left is for your brother to deliver and then all you two need to worry about it surviving the arena."
Katniss nods silently as Haymitch steps back and lets Portia pull her into a comforting hug. She clutches back tightly as Portia's smooth voice washes over her in comfort.
In the wings, Val is shaken and he'd very much like to confront Katniss over what she just said but he can't. Because an assistant appeared to lead him to the stairs going up onto the stage.
"Let's not forget the other half of their dynamic duo! I give you, the boy on fire! Come on up, Valerian!"
Val quickly takes a few deep breaths to steady himself before plastering on his most charming smile as he walks onto the stage, waving at the audience as he makes his way to Caesar.
"Are your clothes also going to catch on fire?" Caesar jokingly says.
Val smirks in response and twists the special cufflinks Cinna had pointed out to him. Sparks travel down the length of his black, formal trench coat, accentuating it with lines of red, orange, and yellow. Underneath the coat are black slacks, a dark red vest over a white button up, and a dark red tie to tie it all together. He then gives a fun little twirl which has the ends of his coat also flare out with flames briefly before he ends with a silly little pose.
Caesar claps ecstatically at the display while the audience goes completely nuts. "You two really are the siblings on fire!" he shouts out with a laugh as Val relaxes his pose and sits down in the chair when directed.
"So Valerian-"
"Please, call me Val. All my friends do," Val interrupts Caesar with a friendly smile.
"Alright then, Val," Caesar responds jovially, "I've asked your sister about how she got her score but she was of course, understandably tightlipped about it. Now I've got to ask you the same. How did you do it?"
"Sorry Caesar, but just like my sister, I gotta give a pass on this. We, Everdeens, don't kiss and tell after all," Val responds jokingly.
Caesar waves dismissively. "Well I had to try anyway." Then his expression turns serious. "Now Val. We've heard from your sister, her thoughts about the Reaping and your volunteering. We'd like to hear from you in return. Were your motivations just as noble as proclaimed? Or are you just in it for the chance to swipe the glory away when she's least expecting it?"
"Well if I told you that the second option was my plan all along, that'd take away the element of surprise wouldn't it?" Val jokingly asks. Caesar looks out at the audience who laugh in response, especially when he points jokingly at Val and mouths 'funny guy'. Val smiles indulgently before it becomes tinged with melancholy. "But no, I guess if I'm being honest, my intentions are not as noble as you might think. They're rather selfish in fact."
"Oh? Care to elaborate?" Caesar asks, leaning closer in curiosity. Val swallows at that, fear and anxiety suddenly overtaking him because it was now the moment of truth. What he said next could make or break everything.
Quickly, Val glances out into the audience, desperately searching the crowd until his gaze lands upon Cinna who gives an encouraging nod. He points two fingers up at his eyes as if to remind Val that he can rely on him if he needs it. Val's eyes convey his gratefulness as he turns his attention back to Caesar and calmly explains, "While my sister may have rather naive intentions for wanting to help me win, I in turn want my sister to win because of all the good her family's done for me."
"Her family? I thought you were both family?"
"I'm actually adopted," Val says as Caesar looks at him in sympathy, "My family passed away due to an unfortunate accident and I was forced to survive on my own for a while. But then Katniss' father, well our father now technically, offered me a second chance. And ever since, I've been working to repay them. That sort of life debt isn't something that's so easily repaid though."
"And that's why you volunteered at the Reaping. So you could make sure your sister won and thus your debt is repaid," Caesar finishes, understanding dawning on his face.
"Well that's part of the reason," Val interjects, continuing at Caesar's silent prompting, "You see, I wasn't just volunteering for my sister, but also for Peeta. See, he's my sister's longtime partner, they were even talking about getting married when they got older."
The audience coos.
"When he was reaped, all I could think was that my little sister, who could've turned more jaded and cold than she already is if it weren't for him, was now going to have to fight against and possibly watch the love of her life die. And while I'm sure many of you love a good star crossed lovers story, I couldn't allow it." he says as the audience nods along cause they would find a star crossed lovers story in the Games utterly fascinating but the story playing out before them by the Everdeen siblings was just as fascinating, if not more.
Val's tone takes a sharp edge as he finishes speaking his thoughts, "I will do anything, anything, to protect her happiness. Even if it means sacrificing myself just to make sure she gets to go home and have the fairy tale ending she always thought she could never have."
Caesar is visibly shaken by the time Val stops speaking. Like he can't believe the range of genuine emotion and heartfelt devotion that had just appeared on his stage after years of fake laughs, fake smiles, fake bravado, fake everything.
"But what about you? What about your happiness and your fairy tale ending?" he asks.
Val smiles sadly. "It's already too little, too late for me. We spent too long playing will we, won't we because we both thought we had time. Then we didn't. And while I'll always regret not swallowing up the courage to do something sooner, I know I won't have any more regrets as long as my sister makes it out of that arena alive."
Caesar nods along sadly. "Well if it's any consolation, we are all sympathetic to your plight," he says as he waves out to the audience who nod along with the sentiment. Many are openly sobbing and blowing their noses into silk handkerchiefs. "I wish you and your sister the best of luck."
"Ladies and gentlemen," Caesar says, voice more soft and less boisterous as he raises Val's hand up to the air, "The boy on fire, Val."
XXXXXX
Val shakily walks off stage and down the wings towards where the little congregation for 12 gathered. Before he can say or do anything, he's immediately met with a faceful of Hurricane Katniss.
"What the fuck was that, Val?" she demands, her expression declaring her intention to punch him in the face if she didn't like his answer.
"Wha-" he tries to say but she doesn't bother to let him finish, instead raining down her fists as he holds his arms up to defend against her hits.
"Why'd you have to go and say all that shit you jerk! Stop trying to say you wanna save me, protect my happiness. It makes me look weak and how am I supposed to protect you if everyone thinks I'm weak! And you had no right to bring Peeta into this, no right at all!" she shouts because even though she's mad at his self-sacrificing ways, she's even more angry at the fact that he just casually revealed the one thing she wanted to keep close to her heart. "They have no right to know about him and you have even less right to bring him up!"
Val, having enough of her fists, grabs at her wrists to stop her assault. "Well then you shouldn't have said you wanted to help me win! Cause what the hell, Katniss. How the hell am I supposed to protect you now that you've made me out to be some self-sacrificing idiot that no one should put any money on! Hell, how are you supposed to protect yourself when you don't think before you speak! You just painted an even larger target on you! " he shouts back, matching her glare for glare.
Neither sibling wants to back down because to admit defeat was to concede to the other's plan to sacrifice themselves for the other.
"Alright you two, that's enough!" Haymitch snaps irritably as he forcibly separates the siblings from each other. "Listen here and listen good, this was all part of my plan to make the two of you more desirable, more sympathetic. Now that the whole Capitol's in tears over your tragic sob stories, you both will have sponsors eating out of the palm of your hands."
Both siblings try to protest. "But-"
"What did I just say?" he barks out, making the protests die before another word could be said. Haymitch sighs and rubs at the back of his head.
"Look, if you need someone to blame, you can blame me. It was my plan after all. But I think there's more to it than just that," he says with an intuitive glance that makes the siblings feel exposed. "I know you two probably don't want any more advice from me but I really think you should go cool off and talk it out cause it ain't good to still be stewing in whatever unsaid issues you've got going on before you're shipped off to the arena."
The siblings are then reluctantly herded back up to their rooms by Portia, Cinna, and Effie as Haymitch glares down at the flask he pulled out of his pocket. He takes a quick swig, grimacing as he quickly swallows down the water and imagines it to be vodka instead. When this was all over, he was definitely going to reward himself for his efforts with a bottle or twenty.
XXXXXX
Val leans against the railing as he takes in the sight of the Capitol skyline. The blinding lights are now in different shades of red, orange, and yellow, making the city look like it's on fire. The wind is once again whistling around him though he can still clearly hear the sound of the rooftop door opening and closing.
"Guess we gotta talk now, huh?"
He glances over to his right to see Katniss leaning against the railing beside him. The city lights shine against her, giving her an almost ethereal glow. He returns his gaze back out to the city.
"Guess we do."
But neither sibling actually starts to speak after that acknowledgement. They're merely content to let everything boil over until the moment when they can no longer contain the emotions within them. And that moment comes rather quickly as the pot had already been boiling ever since they first arrived.
"I'm still not happy with the fact that you're still trying to protect me out of some misguided attempt at fulfilling a life debt that doesn't exist," Katniss says.
"It may not exist to you but it does to me," Val responds, "And if we're talking about things that make us unhappy, I'm still not happy that you're the one trying to sacrifice yourself for me."
"Well I can take care of myself, Val. You don't have to keep worrying about me and I don't need you to keep trying to be my older brother out to shield me from all the horrors of the world. If you haven't noticed, it's a little too late for that," she shoots back irritably.
"I'm never going to stop worrying about you. That's just what older brothers do. They protect the people they care for."
She closes her eyes to try and stop the tears that were welling up in her eyes. "Then can you at least, just this once, please think about yourself and what you want to do instead of doing what you think you need to."
"What I want to do and what I need to do aren't mutually exclusive, Katniss. You already have everything that I've wished for when I was young and that's enough for me, to see you achieve that happiness. I'm already satisfied at having lived to be eighteen because back then, I didn't think I'd be able to live to eleven."
She frowns, turning to give him a pointed look that he turns to meet. "Then can you at least promise not to worry so much? Just trust in the fact that I can take care of myself so you just worry about taking care of yourself, at least until we both make it to the top two? Then we can both worry about the end result all we want."
The two enter a staredown, both refusing to back down. Unfortunately for Val, Katniss' resolve is a bit stronger than his. He sighs heavily in defeat. "Alright, fine. I'll let up a bit and make it so that not all of my actions revolve around keeping you safe."
She smiles and continues too even though he adds, "But only if you promise to form an official alliance with me and that we'll stick together the moment we step foot onto the arena."
"Alright, alright. Sure, whatever you say," she eagerly agrees.
He raises an eyebrow as he gives her a look. She rolls her eyes. "Okay. I promise to stay together with you as soon as we're in the arena."
"Good," he nods with a smile, "As long as you do that, I'll make sure to hold out on worrying about who's actually going to win until we're both in the top two."
The siblings then shake hands like they'd just sealed a business deal and return their attention to the brilliant landscape. Val places an arm around Katniss' shoulder as she leans against him, unknowing of the fact that she had crossed her fingers behind her back.
And now we're officially done with everything pre-Games and can finally get to the actual Games in the next chapter that I will hopefully have out before the end of next week! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and weren't too confused with the nonexistent transitions during the actual interview portion.
When I wrote it, I had a montage sequence mindset in mind like the one they did in the movie but I didn't want to make that obvious by writing in how Katniss and Val were viewing things off to the side because I felt like while it was interesting to watch, it'd be pretty jarring to read. Until next time!