"Snow is watching us. If he wants you to pacify the districts, I promise you, he's not happy." Haymitch told us. "Instead of being in love, you two sound like you're reciting from a drilling manual."
"You try reading the stuff that Effie writes us." Peeta said. I look to him then to Haymitch.
"We can't be ourselves in front of the Districts because of the worries of rebellion, Haymitch." I spoke up.
"Tell that to President Snow when you see him two days from now." I sighed.
"I'm open to suggestions." I turned to Peeta.
"We could get married." I said to him, softly. He snaps his head to me.
"That's not helping." Haymitch stated.
"No, I'm serious. It was going to happen sooner or later and since we're stuck on this train forever. Why not now?" I told them. "It could also make the Capitol citizen see me as off the market now, too."
"It does make a statement. I'll give you that." Haymitch chuckled.
"Yeah, sure. Let's do it." Peeta replied in a depressed voice and walked out of the car. I turn to Haymitch when he clears his throat.
"Go talk to him, sweetheart." I fiddled with my hands, "Cals." I snapped my head up. That was the first time Haymitch had called me by a nickname.
"I don't have anything to say." His eyes harden and lips thinned out.
"Do you have any idea what that boy has been going through since you left and then came back, Cals?" I shook my head. "Of course, you don't because your so caught up in your own problems to see that the boy you love is hurting and it's because of you." My eyes widen in shock. "He's hurting because the girl he loves is hurting and he can't help her because she doesn't want his help. He's angry that he can't protect you like he promised to do. He feels guilty because he failed to protect you from the Capitol." Tears were beginning to run down my face. Haymitch points a finger at me. "So, you need to go after your boy and talk to him. Now." I ran out of the car and to Peeta's room.
~o~
I sat on my bed, leaning my elbows on my knees and placing my head in my hands. I don't understand how Haymitch and Callie could talk about a basically fake marriage so easily like that. I mean, yeah, I do want to marry Callie but not so soon and so young. I lift my head a little when I heard my door slide open, inspecting it to be Haymitch I don't turn around.
"Sometimes I think you care about Callie more then me, Haymitch. You'd do anything for her and I understand that, cause I would too. But agreeing to her marriage idea? That's blow the belt, even for you." I wait for an answer but he doesn't say anything so I go on. "Sometimes, I wonder if she actually does love me and she's not just doing this to keep us alive. She says she loves me but then suddenly she's cold and distant. Now, I know what you're gonna say, "It's because of the Capitol, Peeta. They're messing with her head." but, Haymitch, she was doing that before the Capitol took her." I let out a loud sigh, waiting on him to speak. When nothing comes from him, I frown. "Well, say something." I told him.
"When did Haymitch become our secret keeper?" I snapped my head around to the door in shock. Callie stood there with a sad smile and tears running down her cheeks. She walks over and sits down beside me.
"Callie, I —" She throws her arms around me, crying into my neck.
"I'm so sorry, Peeta!" I gripped her tight. "I had no idea I was hurting you so much!" She pulled away to look at me, I wipe her tears away with my thumbs.
"Callie, it's okay." She shook her head.
"No, it's not okay. We used to be so close and now there's a mile in-between us because of me." She hiccuped. "I want to be like we used to be, Peeta. When we go back home can we just work on us? Forget about everything else and just focus on us?" She asked with hope in her eyes.
"Yeah, we can do that. I would love to do that." I told her with a soft smile. She grinned and pressed a kiss to my lips, making me sigh in happiness.
"Don't get a ring that means something." She said once we pulled away from each other. I frown at her, confused.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"The engagement ring. Don't get something that's important to us." She said.
"Why?"
"Cause I want us to pick our rings out by ourselves because we want to, not because we're force too." I nodded in agreement.
"Okay." I messed with her loose hair before she turned around for me to braid it. "That obvious?"
"Yes, but I missed you braiding my hair." She whispered. I leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek which she leaned into. Truthfully, I was happy she still allow me to touch her after everything she's been through. "Actually, I missed you in general. I never knew how lonely it was in woods until we stopped hanging out together."
"Well, that's going to be the first thing we fix then." I smiled, "I'm going to be with you every second of the day that you're going to wish you never told me that." She let out a bout of giggles.
"Uh-oh, I think I already do." I chuckled. We sat in a comfortable silence as I braid her hair with her humming a tune I didn't know.
"Do you think we convinced Snow?" I asked her suddenly. She tensed up at his name and I silently cursed to myself.
"No." She whispered. I sighed and leaned my forehead on her shoulder, there was nothing else we could do but get married now.
~o~
"The Presidential Palace." Effie all but squealed. I looked at Peeta before making a face at Effie's dress which Peeta silently snickered at. "The party of the year. Eyes bright. Chins up. Smiles on. I'm talking to you, Calla Lily." I rolled my eyes at her pointed finger. "Now, there'll be photographers. Interviews. Everyone will be here to celebrate you. My Victors." She lets out a sigh. "Breathe it all in, children." She turns around to us. "This is all for you."
"It's cozy." Peeta sassed causing me to smirk.
"Attitude." Effie snapped. She let's out a breath. "Come, come." She beings to walk us through a cheering crowd. "Come along." Peeta and I put on fake smiles, "Excuse us, excuse us." Capitol men began to touch my dress causing me to falter for a moment. Effie turned back to us. "Come, come." Everyone here was dressed so weirdly and then there was this guy spitting fire which was amazing. "Hold hands." Effie ordered us. When we got into the house, Peeta took my arm and wrapped it around his. Effie began to show us around Snow's mansion. "And the library. All mahogany."
"What is with her and mahogany?" I asked Peeta softly so Effie wouldn't hear me.
"No idea." He whispered in return.
"Hello, hello!" She greeted some people. "Not yet, not yet. No, no, no." She giggled. "Ooh, curtains!" She whacks someone's hair. "Everybody who's anybody is here." She told us. "And they all want to meet you." Finally, we reached the backyard. "Flavius! Octavia!" Regal music starts playing as we look around at the party. Peeta got himself a plate and filled it up, making sure I ate something off of it. Flavius and Octavia would tell him to try this or that while I looked around for Snow.
"Try one of these. They are divine." Octavia told us as she held out a plate of colorful cookies.
"No, I can't eat another thing." Peeta politely refused. Flavius handed him a shimmering pink liquid.
"Here." Peeta takes it.
"What's this?" He asked.
"It's for when you're full." We look at them confused.
"It makes you sick. So you can go on eating." Octavia said.
"How else could you taste everything?" Flavius asked. We simply stared at them with a small fake smiles. Peeta hands Flavius our plate and the drink.
"I think it's time for a dance." He told them. "Callie?" He gestures to the dance floor, we walked over there and get into a waltz position. "People are starving in Twelve." I gave Peeta a sad smile. "Here, they're just throwing it up to stuff more in."
"Calla Lily? Peeta." Effie called to us with a plump man behind her. "This is Plutarch Heavensbee. Head Gamemaker. Successor to Seneca Crane." I give him a light glare.
"That's a tough act to follow." Peeta said sarcastically. I felt my lips twitch up into a smile.
"Peeta!" Effie scolded. She and Plutarch laugh.
"May I?" He points to me and Peeta nods.
"Please." He says before walking away. We begin to dance and I glared at him the whole time.
"So how do you like the party?" He asked me.
"It's disgusting." I all but hissed out to him. He chuckled.
"Still, if you abandon your moral judgement, it can be fun." I raised an eyebrow.
"So are you having fun?" I asked.
"I'm the Head Gamemaker. Fun is my job." I rolled my eyes.
"Careful now, or you'll end up like Seneca Crane." I told him. He smirked at me.
"Being Head Gamemaker has never been the most secure job in the world."
"Then why are you here?" I asked him.
"Same reason as you. I volunteered." I went back to glaring at him.
"Why?"
"Ambition." We stopped dancing. "The chance to make the Games mean something."
"They mean nothing but to scare us." I hissed out to him, enraged.
"Well, maybe it was you who inspired me to come back." I looked at him in shock. The National anthem starts to play. "Ah! The Presidential welcome. I'm sure we'll meet again." I froze at the remark.
"Calla Lily, come. The President awaits." Effie said while she dragged Peeta over to me. We walk over to the front of the crowd.
"Do you think we convinced him?" Peeta asked me again.
"There's nothing else we can do." I told him. The crowd begins to cheer as Snow comes out.
"Tonight, on this, the last day of their tour, I want to welcome our two Victors. Two young people who embody our ideals of strength and valor. And I, personally, want to congratulate them on the announcement of their engagement." The crowd cheers. "Your love has inspired us. And I know it will go on inspiring us every day for as long as you may live." I gripped tightly onto Peeta's arm. We didn't convince him. Peeta and I look towards each other hopeless on what to do now. We're taken back to the train. Peeta and I were in bed but I couldn't fall asleep. I quietly get out of bed and walk into the dinning car to find something to eat and drink. Picking up a roll and grabbing a glass of blue liquid, I'm about to head back to the room we're sharing now but the sound of yelling catches my attention. I tiptoe down a hallway and stop at the security room. People in different Districts on different monitors, rebelling and holding up signs of my Mockingjay pin. I take a few step backs then rush off back to a sleeping Peeta.