I guess it's understandable that Haymitch, Peeta, Effie, Cinna and Portia would all think I was insane. Peeta attempted to soften the blow but it didn't matter. Haymitch drank twice as much, stumbling around the room and pointing at me and slurring off words. Effie didn't know what to do, if she should be excited or worried. She looked like a mixture of both as she sat on the couch and looked nervously between Haymitch and I.
Only Cinna attempted to ask me what I felt about this, and when he did I blew up. "How do I feel about this? Like this girl is ruining any chance I have!" I storm off before any of them can stop me.
I make a mad dash for the elevator and quickly press the roof button. I don't really expect it to bring me there, it would be nice though. I'm waiting for red lights to go off, to tell me this is restricted to Tributes.
The only thing that surprises me is when the elevator lifts me up.
The doors open and I quickly step off, arms crossed and anger boiling inside of me.
The breezes is nice and it helps cool my skin but I'm still furious. It's not until I'm almost to the edge of the roof, where there must be a forcefield that will keep me from jumping, that I notice him.
He's leaning casually against the wall to my left where he has perfect access to the city but instead has to watch me throw my tantrum.
For a moment I'm embarrassed that he's seen me in such an angry state. But then I'm panicking when I realize who he is.
The lights bouncing off the city give me pretty good view of him, of Cato the violent Victor from two years ago.
He won when he was about my age, sixteen. That would make him eighteen now.
What I remember best about his year was that there was so much blood and gore, and Prim burying her face into the couch on nights we were required to watch.
Mom said he must've snapped, because no sane man could kill as much he had.
I stare at him with the shock of a deer with an arrow set to hit it head on. Every muscle my body tells me to move, to get out of here while I still have a chance and while he's still a decent distance away. If nobody else has taken the elevator since I got off, then surely I have a chance of hitting the button and beating him to safety.
I'm thinking of all this while noting the absolute stillness of his body.
His body may be still, but it's his face that terrifies me. A look that you might mistake for amusement crossing over his features as he looks me up and down.
"Hi." I manage to get out, willing my voice to be firm and steady. I'm ashamed when instead a squeak escapes me. I ball my fists up and straighten my posture.
A full on smile breaks over his face and I immediately shrink away. If only I had my bow then perhaps I could wipe that smug expression from him.
"The Girl on Fire? You've created quite a stir in the Capitol."
"… Thank you." I answer uncertainly, continuing to shrink into my shadow and waiting for him to lunge towards me.
"What makes you think that stirring things up was a good thing?"
For some reason Glitter- Glimmer pops into my mind. Seneca Crane peering down at the both of us and looking absolutely delighted when he heard that this year would be different.
"Same thing every year. Twenty-four go in and one comes out."
"And you're going to change that?"
"… No… I'm just going to… I don't know." I sigh out as my body begins to crumble inward. He's tearing me apart and defeating me without once getting up from his seat.
I jump when he does get up a few seconds later.
Despite the space between us he easily towers over me. His body shows no signs of mistreatment that you often see a few years after a Victor wins.
No black marks on his arms where the needle would go in, nor any sagging skin from excessive drinking or smoking.
Despite not being forced to watch him on the television for a year and a half now, he seems healthier and bigger than he did in the Hunger Games.
It's almost amazing how much power seems to be in his arms alone, which are rippled with muscle.
I would never admit it aloud but I am somewhat fascinated with his body. It's healthy and strong, a combination of things that you would never see in District 12. The bodies there may be healthy or they may be strong, but you never really see anything in between. Maybe Gale who walked through the woods every day with me, but he lost strength for every meal he'd missed and his lungs, like most lungs in District 12, inhaled large amounts of coal each year.
He begins to walk towards me. I command my legs to jump to the side where they ultimately fail me. Instead my kneecaps shake as he approaches me.
He's standing so close to me that if I were to swing go my arm I would be touching him. My eyes fall to the ground and I curse myself for being a naïve fool and coming up to the roof.
I gasp and almost let out a scream when his fingers grip my chin and push upward until I'm staring into his eyes.
"Coal Girl, if I gave you a glass of water in the desert, would you stir it? It's the only water you have for God knows how long, yet you would stir it simply because you could? Stirring things up is a losing game."
He doesn't seem particularly dangerous. Or maybe he's just a better actor than I could've ever imagined.
It's painfully clear to me that what we're saying is treason. The desert is the Capitol and the water the Hunger Games. He thinks we need the Hunger Games to survive?
"I would look for different source of water."
His lips curl but it is certainly not a smile.
His fingers drop from my chin when a ding comes from the elevator and the doors open.
"Bread Boy said I could find you up here which is great because I have so much to talk to you-"
I twist to look at the open doors of the elevator. Glimmer is stomping towards me but pauses when she realizes I have company.