Chapter Forty-Eight; Interviewing

(Stephanie's POV)

Stephanie opened her eyes hesitantly, trying to assure herself that she had been imagining it somehow. But the sinking feeling in her stomach assured her she wasn't.

Before her eyes were even fully opened someone had gripped her arms, shaking her slightly.

"Stephanie!" Haymitch's voice was urgent and hushed.

Stephanie's eyes shot open wide.

A quick glance about her told her she was in her room with Haymitch. She was on the bed. Haymitch had no doubt brought her there after…

"What is happening?" Stephanie managed to get the few words out without her voice trembling.

Haymitch opened his mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by an impatient knocking on the door.

"We really need to be getting a move on." It was a woman's voice, unfamiliar, yet undeniably Capitol.

Stephanie glanced frantically between Haymitch and the closed door.

"We'll be there in a minute," Haymitch answered back sharply.

There was slight shuffling on the other side of the door and then with an exaggerated sigh the person stormed noisily off down the hall.

"What wa…" Stephanie was cut off when Haymitch put his hand over her mouth silencing her.

He crept stealthily over to the door, opening it a sliver to peer out into the silent hall.

Stephanie felt a chill creep up her spine as it always did when she saw Haymitch like…this.

Quiet didn't seem to be a word in Haymitch's vocabulary, but there were the odd times when his eyes would become cold or when he moved silently and…deadly, that Stephanie remembered that Haymitch was a Victor. He had faced the horrors of the Games and though he had survived them, they had undeniably changed him.

He motioned for her to come over, without looking at her.

She tried to be as silent as Haymitch had been, but in comparison she sounded like a stampede of elephants. The sheets rustled…loudly, and she banged her knee of the bedside cabinet which resulted in a few curse words and knocked the alarm clock to the ground.

Haymitch glanced back at her and smirked, though in a moment it was gone and his face was serious and urgent again.

Stephanie stood closely beside Haymitch looking up at him with eyes that although trusting, betrayed a little panic.

"What is happening? Why is…he here?" Stephanie asked in a hushed whisper.

"Just follow my lead," Haymitch whispered back, just as approaching footsteps could be heard.

Stephanie glanced at him panicked. But she got no chance to voice her bewilderment at his statement, because Haymitch opened the door fully and stepped out into the hall.

Stephanie managed to plaster on a neutral expression in place of the annoyed one, and still her arm before she dragged Haymitch back by his collar and demanded that he explain himself. For at that moment a Capitol woman appeared looking quite flustered and with a clipboard in her hand.

She sighed loudly in relief when she saw them.

"Oh marvellous, she's awake! Right, well, good. We need to get moving pronto. Mr. Crane is on an extremely tight schedule and we have not a moment to lose. We need to do this interview now…" The woman had launched into a tirade as she motioned hastily for them to follow her down the hall.

"I don't know how we managed to miss you at the party…"

The woman muttered the last statement more to herself than them but Stephanie caught it, and her heart leapt into her throat as the colour drained from her face.

She felt Haymitch's arm steady her briefly.

"Once is quite enough sweetheart," he warned gently as they walked into the main room.

However all the same, it was a good thing that Haymitch was still steadying her; because walking into the main room and seeing Seneca standing there ever so casually did nothing to calm her.

Although she knew it was ridiculous, she had come to think of the penthouse as the next closest thing to home as she could get. Home; a place where she could feel safe. Even though she knew it was impossible here in the Capitol. However seeing Seneca Crane casually drop by shattered her illusion of a safe haven altogether.

There was a whole other group of people in the room, hurriedly rushing about and looking generally worried.

However as Stephanie entered the room with Haymitch there seemed to be a collected sigh of relief.

Isa bounded over to them looking ecstatic and looped an arm through Stephanie's.

"Oh Stephanie pet, you will never guess!" Isa began.

Stephanie cast her a side-long glance. She was feeling very queasy and if she didn't sit down in the next few minutes she feared her legs were going to give way.

As if sensing it, Haymitch's hold around her waist tightened ever so slightly.

"Try me," Stephanie replied dryly.

"Well pet, for some reason you missed the interview at the party. That must have been when you were off powdering your nose. However, Seneca Crane has been gracious enough to grant you a second chance so that you would not be at a disadvantage. I was shocked when I went to collect your videos this morning and instead had been told that they were not ready yet, I…" Stephanie barely registered the rest of Isa's recounting.

Stephanie looked up at Haymitch. She didn't miss the charged glare exchanged between him and Seneca.

Stephanie glanced over at Seneca while leaning closer to Haymitch.

Seneca was standing arrogantly with a passive look on his face as though he were bored. But his bright eyes betrayed that he was well aware of the effect of his little visit.

How very gracious of him, Stephanie thought bitterly, as she sent Seneca a discreet glare when he met her gaze.

However underneath the blatant fear and hot anger and frustration coursing through Stephanie, the source of it all was ultimately her confusion.

Did Seneca really hate her that much, that he would take every opportunity to terrify her like this? Had she that badly annoyed him?

As Stephanie distantly recognised as Isa finished speaking, Seneca smirked at her.

"I didn't know my mere presence could cause you to faint," he said, and there was a ripple of high-pitched giggles around the room where camera equipment and the such was being set up.

Stephanie felt herself flush scarlet with angry humiliation and beside her she felt Haymitch tense. However Haymitch was still able to give her waist a warning squeeze.

Stephanie glanced down at the ground, screwing her eyes shut and clenching her fists for a brief moment in an attempt to calm herself.

It was also to try and slow her thumping heart that still raced with fear.

"Well, let's get moving, shall we?" It was the woman from before with the clipboard.

Stephanie felt a momentary wave of panic seize her as she glanced back wildly to look at Haymitch.

His expression was dark but he gave her a curt nod of encouragement.

Swallowing her fear, Stephanie made her way over to where the woman was gesturing impatiently, and where Seneca was waiting.