Chapter One-Hundred-and-Thirteen; Trust

With her smile still firmly in place Stephanie excused herself from her newest ally and moved through the crowds towards Haymitch as she could see him scouring around for her.

She caught Tain's eye as she passed by him and suspected that he had been watching her talking to Astara. She nodded her head once discreetly to let him know it was done and the briefest smile ghosted across his lips in response.

…

Haymitch saw her approaching, saw the slightly glazed look to her golden eyes and the gentle smile teasing her lips and felt he had been punched in the gut.

He had no idea why Stephanie appeared so pleasantly at ease currently but he was in no doubt that suddenly dropping the bombshell that she would have to trust Seneca on her would shatter the lulled illusion of acceptance she was enjoying.

He had spent the past while talking with Dan Flickerman, though perhaps 'talking' was too polite a term for it Haymitch considered grimly.

After many dark threats Dan had finally contacted Seneca at Haymitch's insistence. Seneca had given Dan a private cell that had one number already saved into its directory; a direct line to Seneca so that Dan could alert him when the camera crews had left.

Haymitch noted bitterly that there was an irony to be found in two individuals who hated one another so much to be found engaging in a conversation over the phone about one they both loved.

Haymitch remembered every word of the conversation perfectly…

He could still recall Seneca's exact icy drawl as the Gamemaker had answered the phone on the first ring, "Dan I know for a fact that your date hasn't even happened yet so there better be a fantastically good reason why you are contacting me now." Each clipped syllable of Seneca's words had held a deadly threat.

For a moment Haymitch had just quivered in rage hearing it; the voice of the man who had taken so much from him. But then he had pushed it back with the thought that Seneca wouldn't take everything from him.

"I'm going with Stephanie."

The icy silence of shock at the other side of the line had lasted an unbearable second before a dark disdainful chuckle sounded.

"Well, well Abernathy," Seneca drawled contemptuously, "worried are we about leaving Stephanie and I alone?"

Haymitch had grinded his teeth together, refusing to rise to Seneca's baiting.

"What's the matter Abernathy? – Don't you trust me?"

"No and neither does Stephanie," Haymitch had answered and the amused chuckles on Seneca's side tapered off.

"I told you to convince her," Seneca spat, all humour and sneering taunts had bled away from his tone leaving only ice.

Haymitch had bristled at the snappish commanding tone. Who the hell did Seneca think he was talking to? – Haymitch wasn't another mindless lackey like Dan who would jump at his every command.

The thought that this was a bad idea had returned to Haymitch then but the niggling voice at the back of his head had pointed out how Stephanie needed a cure for her fainting, and Seneca was the only one who could offer one.

"And that's just impossible," Haymitch had retorted back, having a brief moment to smirk at Seneca's strangled noise of exasperation on the other side of the line.

"Well Abernathy," Seneca had begun icily, his voice had lost some of its languid drawl, it was more incensed and Seneca's anger was making him impatient, "you either have the choice to tell Stephanie what she can expect or allow her to find out herself soon enough."

Haymitch had clutched the phone so tightly it seemed likely to shatter as he ran an agitated hand through his hair.

That was what he had silently dreaded Seneca would eventually pull.

Seneca knew he had placed Haymitch in an impossible situation that worked either way to Seneca's advantage.

Haymitch had the choice to pre-warn Stephanie about what was going to happen, to tell her to trust Seneca. Haymitch knew he would be able to convince Stephanie, the task was not 'impossible' as he had said to Seneca. The simple fact was he didn't want to tell Stephanie to trust Seneca for a multitude of reasons with some of them being admittedly personal.

However it wasn't jealousy that was the main reason Haymitch told himself resolutely, but worry; legitimate and justly earned worry. If Stephanie grew to trust Seneca, how far would Seneca be able to use that trust? Haymitch believed Stephanie wouldn't be gullible enough to fall for anything Seneca said, but Seneca was one of the most convincing and deceptive people in the entirety of Panem.

The alternative however was to knowingly let Stephanie be terrified when Seneca turned up and interrupted her date with Dan; to let Stephanie be sick with worry as Seneca carted her off to his secret facility, to add more nightmares to her already haunted sleeps.

"And have no doubt Abernathy – I'll be sure to let Stephanie know that you had knowledge of this but refused to tell her," Seneca had hissed and with those words Haymitch knew his choice was made.

Haymitch would not allow Seneca to try and sow seeds of doubt into Stephanie's mind about her trust in him.

He would have to tell Stephanie as much as he despised the task.

However Haymitch wasn't about to just let Seneca have his way yet.

"I'll tell Stephanie," Haymitch had said stiffly and the concession had felt like swallowing knives but he had pushed ahead. He almost imagined he had heard Seneca exhale a quiet sigh of relief and he had smirked ruefully thinking that Stephanie would have given Seneca hell if the Gamemaker had of just pulled her from her date with Dan. It would have taken Seneca ten times longer than Haymitch to convince Stephanie to trust him and that was assuming Stephanie would believe Seneca at all.

"But I'm still coming with her," Haymitch had added uncompromisingly and Seneca growled low in his throat at the other end of the line.

"Abernathy you forget your place – it is I who am dictating the terms here – not you."

Haymitch had gritted his teeth then; knowing and hating that Seneca was right.

Now that Seneca knew that Haymitch would tell Stephanie to trust him, he had no reason to concede to anything Haymitch would demand of him.

The conversation had ended shortly after with the only possible outcome; Seneca had indisputably won.

Haymitch would convince Stephanie to trust Seneca and he would not be going with Stephanie.

…

Stephanie could see that Haymitch was deeply occupied in his thoughts when she reached him; she could read the tenseness in his posture and the anger glittering in his gaze and the smile was wiped from Stephanie's lips almost instantaneously.

"Haymitch?" Stephanie inquired cautiously.

Haymitch snapped from whatever reverie he had been lost in and looked to her, his expression renewed with purpose.

"You ready for our chat sweetheart?" he asked her. There was something definitely…off about Haymitch Stephanie decided. His face was hard and stern as he looked to her but his voice was soft almost.

Stephanie nodded, swallowing thickly and preparing herself for the worst as she recalled Haymitch's earlier words.

Things have changed…

Haymitch nodded to someone over her shoulder and Stephanie whipped around just as Isa's perfume began to tickle her nose.

"Isa I'm taking Stephanie for her date with Dan now," Haymitch told the escort.

Isa's perfect features scrunched up into a puzzled frown, "but Haymitch pet that's not for a while yet shouldn't she be socialising a little more before she goes," Isa replied hopefully.

"It's up in the private box and I want to get sweetheart here settled before her date arrives," Haymitch replied without missing a beat, though he hadn't sounded quite as sincere when he had referenced Dan.

Isa sighed disappointed in response but Stephanie couldn't even find it in herself to be annoyed by them talking about her as though she wasn't there.

She was still dwelling on Haymitch's words as he led her away, refusing offers from Isa to send Bright, Lashes and Silver with them to touch up Stephanie's make-up.

They walked back the way they had come when they arrived at the race tracks and here pressed and picketed in against the white fencing where the rest of the Capitol crowds; the less refined ones or the ones who couldn't quite afford to be part of the exclusive crowd that would mingle with the tributes.

They gawked openly at Stephanie and Stephanie cringed against Haymitch in response.

Stephanie had thought she looked irrefutably like a Capitolite when she looked in the mirror that morning but apparently she had been mistaken for immediately the crowds were able to ascertain that she and Haymitch were different, they were outsiders – district dwellers.

Stephanie blocked out the buzzing swarm of comments all around her, knowing they would all be about her; most likely offensive or derogatory.

Instead Stephanie walked as steadily as her ridiculous Capitol heels would allow her. Her bare arm kept brushing against the satin of Haymitch's blazer until some of the painted swirls on her skin had transferred in gold smudges to the royal blue of his sleeve. Stephanie smirked slightly at the sight as she allowed her fingers to graze Haymitch's as they walked.

Haymitch's hand twitched against hers and for the barest of seconds their fingers interlocked briefly and Stephanie inhaled a deep breath as she felt welcome relief wash over her.

Because this was Haymitch, who she loved and no matter what happened she trusted Haymitch.