I do not own The Hunger Games, but the plot of the story and original characters are mine.
Chapter 5
Dimitri stops suddenly in front of me, which makes me slam into the back in his back. "We can't go out that way," he says. "The press is out there. We'll have to go out the back."
"I don't understand, I say." He catches my arm and turns me around.
"Trust me, you don't want them to see us leave together. They'll… assume things," He says. "And that nice guy you came with won't understand."
Suddenly, it dawns on me what he's implying. I don't want to be associated with someone like him. "Maybe I should find Graham and tell him that I'm leaving and he can walk me home."
"No, no, no, we need to get you out of here as soon as possible. People… will start asking you questions that you don't know the answers to, and we don't want to misinform the public now do we?"
"I don't know anything," I struggle to keep up with him. It's hard semi-running in heels. "I didn't even know I was nominated."
"That's both a blessing and a problem." We weave through the party goers. He seems to have something against straight lines. Suddenly he stops by a buffet table and puts a few things on two plates and hands one to me. Grape leaves. I soon see why. A swarm of camera men and Caesar Flickerman come through filming the guests. I duck behind a large lady who is wearing a neon pink dress that is not flattering on her buxom figure. Dimitri pretends to fiddle with the buffet table.
"Did you?" I ask.
"Shut up and just eat," he growls. I take a bite of the grape leaves and realize that I am actually hungry. I finish what's on my plate. Dimitri puts a few more things on my plate. Graham walks by; he's holding the arm of another girl. He looks absolutely wasted. He leans over fondles her breast.
"I hope you didn't like him to much," Dimitri says.
"That creep," I mutter. "He's cheating on me." I start to march out there to give him a piece of my mind, but Dimitri catches the back of my dress, "Not worth it," he mutters "unless you want the press swarming you and filming a public feud."
"Not particularly," I say. "So what's the plan?"
"We stick close to the food. I've found that Capitol people hate to be filmed eating. It seems too human to them." He stops and looks behind him. "Also, if you're skirting the perimeter of the room, you're less likely to be noticed. Okay, next table. I 'll go first and then after a minute a so, follow me."
We move from table to table, no one seems to notice us. Everything seems to go smoothly until someone taps my shoulder. I turn around quickly, partly expecting another Gamemaker. Instead it's Emily, one of my classmates from college. "You disappeared so quickly I didn't have time to congratulate you."
"Sorry, I felt faint after they told me. I needed to get some air."
"If you feel faint, it's probably a good idea not to wear your wrap."
I laugh uncomfortably. "I was trying to find my mother to tell her I was leaving. I'm not feeling well. Too much excitement."
"I understand completely. Mommy always throws big parties like this, and even though I've been going to them all my life, they still always make me nervous. Drinking makes it worse. I suffer from anxiety, you know."
"No, I didn't," I say.
"You're eating so that's good. Hunger can also trigger anxiety."
"I am feeling calmer." I say. My system seems to be recovering from the shock. Dimitri is glaring at me from the next table over.
"Do you need a ride home? I can go find Daddy and borrow the car. I haven't been drinking," Caroline says. "It's a pity you're feeling anxious on such a big night. I wish I could do more to help."
"Thank you, one of the Gamemakers offered to take me home. Dimitri. He's trying to sober up." Dimitri saunters back to our table. He is drinking a glass of water.
"Do you want me to come with you?" she asks.
"What?"
"To your house. You can drive me back to my house tomorrow morning." She leans in closer. "I'll look less suspicious than you leaving with a Gamemaker. I can say you were ill in the bathroom and he just happened to be there when we were coming out. If we're caught by the cameras it won't look like you're cheating on Graham. I saw you and Dimitri dancing together earlier."
"Graham's already cheating on me." I whisper back. I didn't know her well. I'd only worked with her once or twice for a group project. She is the daughter of one of the more well-known senators in the Capitol, and Plutarch's niece. She was very nice, but smart. When asked about her father's politics, she seemed to avoid the questions.
"I hate to break up this lovely conversation…"
"His loss." She splashes water on my face and neck to make it look like I am sweating. Then she puts my arm around her neck and we make an easy exit. Only a few people turn at our exit. Dimitri follows some ways behind. Once we are out of the large dining room, there seems to be less people. We are able to escape out a side entrance.
"Thanks for you help," Dimitri says, "I can get it from here."
"I'm not letting my friend go home with a complete stranger. I don't care if you are a Gamemaker." Emily takes my arm protectively. "It's girl code."
"My car only seats two people," He begins.
"We'll manage. Or we can take my car."
"I like her. She has spunk. I think you should keep her around," Dimitri says. He presses a button and unlocks his car.
"My uncle is Lupe Peace and my father is Mel Toliver, so you better not try anything."
"Don't worry; you're not worth the damage of pissing off a fellow Gamemaker and Senator." He pulls on the door handle. Instead of the normal car doors that swung outward, these went up.
"You should sit on the outside in case you get anxious." She clamors in to the car. I sat on her lap. Dimitri makes sure both of our dresses are inside before he closes the door.
"This is a really nice car," I say softly. I stroke the leather seats. Black fuzzy dice hang from the review mirror.
"It really is," she answered. "Daddy used to have one of these until Mommy made him give it up. She said too many women were paying attention to him. I didn't really like it though, it went too fast. I was afraid that he'd kill himself. He used to take me out for ice cream on Sundays. Mommy didn't like that either."
"My father's never around so my mother does whatever she wants," I say. I feel uncomfortable that she's telling me this about her family. I guess technically I don't have it that bad.
"Why doesn't your mother like that?" I ask.
Dimitri gets in and starts the car.
"She's not happy unless she's the center of attention. Me? The spotlight always scares me. I could be put on the spot like you were tonight, Carmen. I would have fainted."
"I didn't do that great of a job," I say. "I was on the verge of crying."
"You need to learn to control your emotions and keep a straight face," Dimitri says.
"You can't show weakness, otherwise, they'll eat you alive," Emily adds.
"Or they'll prod until they find a weakness, and then they'll break you. Do you wanna know how I got these scars?" He points to the scars that curve from the corners of his mouth. They are enhanced by the red lip liner.
I wait for him to tell me, but he doesn't. He just shifts the car in to drive and backs out of the driveway. It's a story that either of us probably don't want to know.
A/N: Thank you to all those who have reviewed. What do you think of it so far?