Hello, my lovelies! Here's Chapter 5, I hope you enjoy! It's the longest one yet, and it's just for you!

The next day, I get up to wash. I see that there are knobs everywhere, and I haven't the slightest clue what they all do, so I decide not to chance it, hoping that someone will tell me. I make my way to breakfast, hoping Katniss will be there, but she isn't. Though her stylist, Cinna, is.

"Hello Cinna." I say, "Those costumes last night sure helped us to get noticed."

Cinna replies, "Thank you, Peeta. I think." He laughs, and goes on, "Portia and I spent long hours staring at fires to make that one possible."

Throughout the rest of breakfast, we make pleasant conversation. Then he says, "Would you like to see the roof? It's quite beautiful up there, you can see for miles."

I agree, and we start down a long hallway. We are on the top floor, so there's no need to take an elevator. As we're walking, he says, "It's also a great place to go to get away from everything. I can't even imagine how it must feel to be in your position, but I came up here all the time when Portia and I just couldn't get the fire right. It helped me calm down."

"Thank you, Cinna." He's right. He can't even imagine how it would feel. He's from the capitol, where they don't have a care in the world. He doesn't even know half, and he still couldn't imagine it.

We walk up a short flight of stairs and out of a door. I can't believe my eyes. I can see everything! Everything! I see the city limits on one side, with the trains pulling in and out. I gaze wistfully towards it, and think of home. I walk towards the edge. If I fell, or jumped, I would die. That would be a better fate than the Arena. My thoughts suddenly jerk towards Katniss. If I die now, I won't be able to save her. I back away, towards Cinna. "Why do they let us come up here? Aren't they afraid someone will jump?"

He shakes his head sadly and says, "No. You can't." He walks over to the garden that's on the far side of the roof, picks up a rock, and tosses it towards the edge. It shoots back towards us, and narrowly misses my head. "They knew someone would try to, so they made sure you couldn't."

"There's no escape," I whisper.

He makes his way back to the through the door, leaving me alone on the roof. I stare out towards the hills that lead, eventually, to District Twelve. The roof is wonderful. The wind feels like it could just lift me up and carry me away. I feel free. But I'm not. That force field is keeping me here, trapped. I shudder, and let my mind wander to more pleasant things. I stay up on the roof all day, enjoying the feeling of being up here, no one else bothering me. Though, I wish Katniss were here.

***

As the sun starts to set, I decide that it's time to leave the roof. On the way back, I see a frantic Effie scurrying around. She tells me off for disappearing, and requests for me to be ready for dinner in a half an hour. I go back to my quarters and shower. I dress in a clean white button-down shirt and black slacks. I get to dinner and see Cinna and Portia standing on a balcony. I go over to join them, and we look out on the Capitol together.

Katniss, Effie, and Haymitch arrive, and we make our way to the table. A waiter offers us wine, but I decline. I'm too busy staring at Katniss to think about drinking. She is dressed in simple clothes, nothing fancy, but the color makes her gray eyes pop. She looks beautiful. Katniss obliges the waiter when he offers her wine, and tastes it. She wrinkles her nose, and I stifle a laugh.

We all talk and enjoy the food throughout dinner. I'm surprised to see Effie and Haymitch talking like civilized human beings. Haymitch is drinking, but he has only gone through two glasses of wine when desert is brought out. It is a cake that's on fire. At first, I am alarmed, thinking that something has gone wrong, and we are about to burn down the building, but then, it stops.

Katniss inquires, "What makes it burn? Is it alcohol? That's the last thing I wa--" She cuts off, but then continues, "Oh! I know you!" She stares at the girl for a long while. The girl shakes her head and hurries away.

Cinna, Portia, Haymitch, and Effie are all staring at Katniss. This confuses me a bit. I'm sure Katniss doesn't know this girl, because I know everyone in District Twelve, and I've never seen her. But still, why are they all staring at her that way? Like she's a child who's done something bad.

Effie is the first to speak, "Don't be ridiculous, Katniss. How could you possibly know an Avox? The very thought." She huffs.

Then Katniss wonders aloud what I'm wondering in my head. "What's an Avox?" She says.

Haymitch answers, "Someone who comitted a crime. They cut her tongue so she can't speak. She's probably a traitor of some sort. Not likely you'd know her."

Effie adds, " And even if you did, you're not to speak to one of them unless it's to give an order. Of course, you don't really know her."

"No, I guess not, I just-" Katniss studders.

But she doesn't look convinced. I can tell that she's trying to figure out where in the world she'd seen this girl. I realize that I have to cover for her. I snap my fingers, trying to be as convincing of an actor as possible, although the extent of my training is the school play about coal in Kindergarden, "Delly Cartwright. That's who it is. I kept thinking she looked familiar as well. Then I realized she's a dead ringer for Delly." Delly Cartwright? Where did that come from? This girl is about as far away from Delly Cartwright as I am!

Please, Katniss, Please. I think. Just take it. It's the best I can do!

Katniss continues to look baffled for another second or two, and then a look of realization comes over her face. I know that she is recognising my ploy, but I hope that the others think that it is simply her realizing where she's seen this girl before. "Of course, that's who I was thinking of." She says with a grateful look, "It must be the hair."

"Something about the eyes, too." I add.

They buy it. "Oh, well. If that's all it is." Cinna says, relieved, "And yes, the cake has spirits, but all the alcohol has burned off. I ordered it specially in honor of your firey debut." The whole table seems to let out a breath, and we all relax again, eating the delicious food.

We finish, and make our way to a room with a large television. We watch a replay of the opening ceremonies and discuss the other pairs. Whe Katniss and I come on screen, everyone lets out an apreciative "Ahh!".

Haymitch inquires, "Who's idea was the hand holding?"

Portia replies, "Cinna's."

"Just the perfect touch of rebellion. Very nice," Applauds Haymitch.

I guess he's right. Everyone expects us to be enemies, but the truth is, we're not. Well, we're not best friends either, but we don't sit stiffly side-by-side plotting the other person's death like the other teams.

Haymitch says to Katniss and I, "Tomorrow morning is the first training session. Meet me for breakfast and I'll tell you exactly how I want you to play it. Now go get some sleep while the grown-ups talk."

We exit together, and I stop in front of Katniss, wanting an explanation. I had been wondering about her Avox friend ever since dinner, and my curiosity is peaking. "So, Delly Cartwright. Imagine finding her lookalike here." I raise my eyebrows inquiringly. I can see that she's contemplating me, and I jump at the chance. "Have you been on the roof yet?" She shakes her head. "Cinna showed me. You can practically see the whole city. The wind's a bit loud, though." I can tell that she know's what I'm implying. That we can talk and not be overheard.

"Can we just go up?" she asks.

"Sure, come on." I say.

I lead her up, and when we reach the top, I can tell that she's in awe. I know why. It's beautiful up here. Almost as beautiful as her. We walk to the edge where we're "protected" by the railing. "I asked Cinna why they just let us up here. Weren't they worried that some of the tributes might decide to jump right over the side?"

"What did he say?"

"You can't." I stick my hand out, not knowing what would happen. I know that it won't harm me, because they wouldn't want us crippled just days before we enter the arena. I feel a zap, a bit like I assume being electricuted would feel, but only in my hand. It fades quickly. "Some kind of electrical field throws you back on the roof," I conclude.

"Always worried about our safety," She says sarcastically. I love her sense of humor. I smile to myself, thinking about how life would be if this stupid game didn't exist. Maybe she would fall in love with me, too. We could get married and have children. I start to daydream, but she jerks me back to the reality of the situation, saying, "Do you think they're watching us now?"

"Maybe," I say, "Come see the garden." It's windy over here. So much that even if they do have cameras and recorders, they will most likely not be able to hear us. I turn to look at her, waiting.

She pretends to examine a flower and starts, "We were hunting in the woods one day. Hidden, waiting for game."

"You and your father?" I ask. If it was, this was a while back. What is so terrible that she still hasn't forgiven herself for?

"No, my friend Gale." She replies. Ah. So it could be fairly recent. And her friend Gale. Huh. Don't get me started on him. I always see them together. It makes me feel, well, jealous. I don't like to think about them, together. She continues, "Suddenly all the birds stopped singing at once. Except one. As if it were giving a warning call. And then we saw her. I'm sure it was the same girl," She looks distressed, but goes on, "A boy was with her. Their clothes were tattered. They had dark circles under their eyes from no sleep. They were running as if their lives depended on it."

She goes silent, and I know that it pains her to talk about this, in the same way that it pains me to think of her and Gale. She takes a deep breath, and returns to her story, "The hovercraft appeared out of nowhere. I mean, one moment the sky was empty, and the next it was there. It didn't make a sound, but they saw it. A net dropped down on the girl and carried her up, fast, so fast like the elevator. They shot some sort of spear through the boy. It was attached to a cable and they hauled him up as well. But I'm certain he was dead. We heard the girl scream once. The boy's name, I think. Then it was gone, the hovercraft. Vanished into thin air. And the birds began to sing again, as if nothing had happened."

She ends her story there. "Did they see you?" I ask.

Katniss replies, "I don't know. We were under a shelf of rock."

At least she probably hadn't been seen. At least the girl didn't know that Katniss could've saved her, but didn't. It was a good choice, though. More than likely, Katniss and Gale would've been caught, as well, and suffered the same fate as the Avox girl. I notice that Katniss is shaking, half like she's cold, and half as if she's had the scare of her life. "You're shivering," I say, and begin to remove my jacket, planning to put it on her. She recoils at first, but then takes it gratefully. I secure the top button, and ask, "They were from here?"

She nods. I'm still curious, though. "Where do you suppose they were going?" I inquire.

"I don't know that," she says, a trace of sadness in her voice, "Or why they would leave here."

"I would leave here," I burst out, quite loudly. I glance around, hoping they didn't hear me. Hopefully I just sound like a scared tribute. But it's true. I hate it here. Just like the train that took us here, this place is full of fake cheeriness, all of the death and destruction masked by the layer of make-up they all pile on their faces. I try to cover for myself, though, in case they are listening, "I'd go home now if they let me. But you have to admit, the food's prime." When she doesn't respond, I say, "It's getting chilly. We better go in."

We step inside the dome and make our way back downstairs. I decide to take this opportunity to ask her about Gale. "Your friend 's the one who took your sister away at the reaping?"

"Yes. Do you know him?" She asks in return.

"Not really. I hear the girls talk about him a lot." I hope, or maybe I don't, that this will push her to tell me that she and Gale are more than friends. She doesn't, so I continue, relieved, " I thought he was your cousin or something. You favor each other." I say, in another attempt.

"No, we're not related." She says.

Huh. I don't like that answer too much. I either means that they are, but she doesn't want to tell me, or that they might be close to dating, but it's not official. Either way, the answer pains me. I nod, and wipe my face clean of emotion."Did he come to say goodbye to you?" I ask, digging for clues.

"Yes," she says, scrutinizing me, "So did your father. He brought me cookies."

I raise my eyebrows, surprised. I didn't know that. I guess it makes sense. The daughter of the woman he loves and the girl I love is going to the Capitol to die alongside his son. He wanted to show Katniss a bit of kindness before she died. No. I can't think like that! She will not die. I refuse to let that happen. I play up the surprise, saying, "Really? Well, he likes you and your sister. I think he wishes he had a daughter instead of a houseful of boys."

This has come up before. He always says that he wishes he had a daughter, and right after, he makes a comment about Katniss or Primrose, saying how well behaved they seem. I know it runs deeper than this. He wishes they were his. That he'd married Katniss' mother. He wouldn't give my brothers and I up for anything, but still, he's allowed to wish.

She doesn't say anything, so I mention, "He knew your mother when they were kids."

She looks surprised at this, and says, realizing, "Oh, yes. She grew up in town." We continue to walk and when we reach her door, and she turns. She strips my jacket off, and hands it to me, saying, " See you in the morning then."

I say, "See you," and walk down the long hallway to my room. I open the door, and not feeling tired at all, decide that it's time to try some of the knobs on the wall. I strip and climb into what I take to be a shower, never having seen one myself.

I start by pressing a purple button, and a jet of warm water shoots me right in the eye. My eye streaming, I blindly jab at a few more, and eventually get it to a temperature I like. I see no soap, so I assume that comes from a button, too. The first button ends up being a thick soap that smells strongly of flowers. After encountering a wide range of smells and textures, I eventually settle for a light, piney scent, since I can't seem to find any regularly scented soap.

I hop out and wrap myself in a fluffly towel. I search through the drawers until I find some soft blue draw-string pyjama pants. I climb into the bed and lay there for a while, thinking about my family, not Katniss for once. I wish they were here right now. Specifically my father. I needed someone to talk to, someone I could confide in. The truth is, I've never been more frightened in my life. I want to save Katniss, but truth be told, I don't want to die, either. I know I will, though. That's already decided. I love her more that anything, and I can't stand to be in, or not be in, a world without her. As I drift off to sleep, I begin to formulate a plan.

***

Well, there you go! I hope you liked it, and please review, review, review!

I love you, and thanks a million purple rainbows!