Our Own "Happy ever after..."
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters and no money as been made out of this.
Chapter 2
It had been a long week for both of them. Effie spent almost all her time in her house, venturing outside just to go to the library. Haymitch spent it getting drunk and passing out. None of them reached for the other in any way. They wouldn't have met again so soon if it wasn't for the Games.
The reaping is almost starting, and Efie is sat next to mayer Undersee. Haymitch chair was empty, what left her quite woried. He couldn't be that upset that wouldn't even show at the reaping... Would he? She really didn't mean to upset him.
"Mayer, have you seen Mr. Abernathy?"
"No, however I truly hope he arrives soon. We can't keep being seen as the joke of Panem." he leaned closer so the peacekeepers wouldn't hear them.
"Me too... me to..."
As soon as the clock strikes two, the Mayer climbs to stage and starts reading the History of Panem. Effie watches the ocean of people, trying to ignore all those kids, in search of Haymitch. It's just in the end, when Mayer Undersee is reading the list of Victors from Twelve, that he shows up. He is very drunk. He climbs on stage with difficulty. It's quite embaressing mainly because he trys to hug her and she pushes him away. Pain flashes througth his eyes, and Effie his compelled to rush to him, tell him she is sorry, but their on TV, and they're already a joke. Again. To prevent anything worst from happen, Effie starts doing her job.
"Happy Hunger Games! May the odds always be in your favor!" the crowd obviously is to woried to pay any attention to her, but she as to keep going any way. "It's such an honor to be here again,with all of you, and be able of testify such an important event in first hand." this words make her sick, but she as to say them, other way she might upset the wrong people. "Ladys first!"her voice is so hight pitched and happy that she feels disgust towards herself.
She puts her hand inside the ball, and prays that it won't be a twelve years old little girl. Please, please, please! Let it be someone who actually stands a chance! She reads the name, looks to the crowd, and announces.
"Primrose Everdeen."
A litle girl, very pale and with clenched fists heads to the stage. She almost looses her balance. Sudendly, a scream irrupts from the crowd,
"I volunteer! I volunteer!" another girl, older than the blond one, steps in front of her, protecting her. This just shocks everyone. Effie opens and closes her mouth a few times, before her brain actually starts working again.
"Well, I think we need to... hum..." her voice isn't the one people are used to. It's harder, more real. People look at her with curiosity, for once, instead of disgust.
"Who cares? Who cares?" Mayer Undersee is looking at the older girl, is eyes glassy.
It takes a few moments for the girl to come up stage, 'cause the other, who is very probably her sister, doesn't stop screaming and doesn't let go of her. Effies grits her teeth, her fists closed, her eyes like dagers. How could someone make this?! How could people enjoy seeing kids killing each other?! It was sickning! She looks at Haymitch, who stares back at her. They both thinking the same. They had to make this girl win. No matter what!
Trying to cheer things a bit, Effie asks for an aplause, just to be met with silence. Sudendly, people start raising their arms, showing three fingers. Distric Twelve's Farwell...
"I like this one! So much... personality!" Haymitch is so drunk that I'm scared he will fall of the stage. "Way more than you!" he is now pointing at the camera. "You-" he doesn't get to finish because Efie discretively pushes him of the stage. At least uncounscious he can't get himself killed.
This gives the girl time to compose herself, and the Escort squeezes her hand briefelly. She gives the older women a puzzled looked. The Reaping goes on normally after that. The girl's name is Katniss Everdeen, the boy's Peeta Mellark. They're both taken by Peacekeepers to the Justice Building, where they'll say goodbye to their familys and friends. It's allways very depressing.
Almost running, Effie heads to the room where she have been told Haymitch would be. She openned the door slowly, not to startle him. He was laying on a couch, near a window, one hand on his face, the other on his stomach. He openned his eyes to see who had entered the room, but closed them right away, trying to avoid his Escort. He was defenetly not in the mood right not.
"What do you want? I'm not in the mood for one of your lectures." she was taken aback by his aggressive tone.
"Look, Haymitch, please. I'm sorry, ok? I didn't knew you were going to be so mad about me trying to keep you sober. And I just pushed you out o the stage so that you didn't get the chance to say something that might end up... well, being used against you, if you understand." she was now standing next to him. "Haymitch please..."
"Don't you Haymitch me! Don't you see what you've donne? You basicly told Snow that we were envolved! What you thinks he's going to do, hum?! Give us his congratulations!?"
"Haymitch, quite! Someone might hear you! I'm sorry, I didn't thought, I di-"
"Of course you didn't! You're just an Escort! You were made to be pretty, not smart! I should have known better. You're just like them: Capitol. I bet you enjoy The Games too! I should have known better than to get envolved with someone like you..."
"How can you say something like that?! After everything I've donne for you... How can you even think about something like that?! I'm tired of being you're punching bag!" she batled her eyelashes, trying to keep the tears away. "I.. You... Argh!" it was just to much. She turned on her heels and flew from the room.
He hadn't expect that. He could deal with an angry Effie, a drunk Effie, a too-cheerfull-Effie, but he had never seen her like this. After all those years of team work, he had never seen her crying. It was normally him. He would be the one getting drunk, the one getting arrested, the one embaressing her... He knew the other Escorts wouldn't put up with that, but she did. And she even helped other victors when their Escorts would be to bitchy to help. He extended his hand to the near botle, and took a big sip. This Games would be endless.
She can't take it anymore. She didn't do it on purpose. Effie was so focused on her thoughts that she was not even thinking where she's going. In a matter of seconds, a door opens, hiting her right in the face. She falls flat on her ass, her head spinning.
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you were..." the poor girl falls silente when she realises what had just hapenned.
"It's fine really. Don't worry, I've had worst, believe me." her face hurts, and Effie reaches for her nose, just to confirm it's bleeding.
"You're bleeding Miss Trinket. My mother is very good helping others when their injured. I'm sure she would be able of doing something for you." the litle one helps her standing up.
"It's just a bleeding nose, nothing to bad. I don't think it's broken, so its fine. Any way, wha-" Effie stops mid sentence staring at the girl. Blond hair and a skirt, in the Justice Building? "You're Primrose Everdeen, aren't you?"
"Yes, Miss." her eyes darted to the grounded, and the poor girl started shaking. The people on Districts were so scared of the Games that a Capitol saying their names was enough to make them almost have a panic atack.
"Please, call me Efie. Look, I know your afraid for your sister. I would be too. But I promesse I'll do everyhing I can to bring her back alive. For real." she wanted to say more, to reassure her it would be fine, but they were out of schedulle already so after that everything went in a hurry.
She took the kids to the train (the boy had been obviously crying), told them all they needed to know, and went to her bedroom, to see if she could get some sleep before dinner. She knows Haymitch is on the train, because it looked like there were god knows how many elefants in the bar, making such a noise that would have woken up the dead.
When dinner time comes near, Effie finnaly steps out of her room, prepared to go and get the kids. The first one was the boy. The Escort nocked on the door. A blond hair pecked out, and obdiently followed her to the dinning room. She did the same with the girl, but it felt diferent.
"I promessed your sister I would do everything in my power to make you win." Effie didn't knew why she was saying that. Maybe she just felt the urge to try to make it diferent this year... But she did have a felling, and Effie Trinket had a very good instinct.
"You talked to her?" Katniss seemed angrier than realived.
"We bumped in the corridor in the Justice Building, nothing more. I'm sorry you had to leave your family. I understand you're mad, but I'm not the enimy. I want to help you."
"You don't understand. You never will. Everything you have everything, allways had, and allways will. I'm sure that since you were a kid you never had to deal with real problems, so don't pretend you care!" the girl was almost screaming now. It would do no good to them if someone heard them, even thought there were no bugs on that part o the train.
"You might be right to some point. You're right when you say I didn't have to go throught what you do in Districts, but that doesn't mean I don't care:" Effie grabed Katniss shoulders, now both women facing each other. "Why do you think I became an Escort?"
"For the fame?" they both know what was implied in that, but even alone they didn't dare saying it out loud.
"No. Well, maybe a litle..." Katniss made a sneer at that. "But mainly because I wanted to make a diference. I wanted to show the Districts that not everyone in the Capitol is cruel and stupid. There's a reason why I'm still in Twelve, you know? My grandpa was a Victor from here, and I remember that sometimes he would freak out about the weirdest things. I just realised those things were caused by the Games later, after he passed away."
"You're Adolf Sanders' grandaughter?" she frowned. It was obvious she was suspicious.
"Yeah. If you don't believe take a look." Effie pulled out a necklace. It wasn't a fancy one, like the ones from Capitol. It was very simple, a litle rope with a cross dangling from it. It was the token he had taken to the Arena. He became known has "The knew Templar".
Katniss was about to say something when they arrived at the dinning room, so the conversation ended there.
"Does anyone know where is Haymitch?"
"Last time I saw him he said he was going to get some sleep." typical.
The dinner was quite normal, assides from one coment from Effie that left the girl quite mad. In the end they watch the other Reapings. They comment of Haymitch behaviour. And they laugth! They laugth! She might make efforts, but she can't do all by herself!
"Well, it's weird that you find the fact that the only person that can actually help is to drunk to care!" in that moment, Haymitch entered the room. It was quite disgusting when he got sick on the carpet.
He look up to Effie. He was expecting her help. She always helped him. He would get drunk, embaress her, and then she would help him. That was how they worked. They didn't expect nothing from each other. They weren't exclusive. But that never stop Haymitch from making scenes when he got jealous. Effie could see it now. They didn't expect nothing from eachother, it was just sex. Except it wasn't. Except he did. He threated her like shit, made fun of her every time possible, kept calling her clown and anoying Capitol's bitch, but stil wanted her help. Enought was enougth, and if Haymitch had to suffer to start giving her some value, than be it.
"Keep laugthing know!" Effie got out of the room, avoiding the pool of vomit, and headed right to her bedroom. Tonight Haymitch would have to deal with his problems by himself.
To be continued...
A.N: So, I hope you're enjoying the story. I just want to say that it will follow the storyline of the book, and it will show some of the things I believe it could have hapenned between our Victor and Escort while we were following Katniss point of view. We will soon be entering in the part of the story where the Games actually begin, so I thought it would be cool to write about what was hapenning outside. In fact, I would like to know if you have any ideas about what you would like to read on that matter. I will keep subtuil references about the Arena so that you know where we stand in the story. Untill next time.