The rest of our journey to the Capitol goes without anyone trying to hit on me and Finnick never leaves my side. It'd almost be annoying if he weren't my best friend and I really appreciate his company.
When we are finally in the Capitol, we have to stay in tents and shoot stuff to look good on camera and to trick the Capitol into thinking we have no idea what we're doing. And one morning, we really don't know what we are doing as one of the Leeg sisters, I don't know which one, hits a target and dies. I should be in shock like the rest of our group but I can't. I've seen too many people die like this. So I'm the one to contact Plutarch and ask what to do. He says he'll send a replacement.
The next morning, the replacement arrives and I have never seen people display so many emotions because of one person.
"This can't be true. I'm calling Plutarch," Boggs mutters and turns around to make a call.
"It won't matter," Peeta calls after him. "The president assigned me herself. She decided the propos needed some heating up."
"Well in that case," I say walking over to Peeta and hugging him. "Welcome to the team, Peetes!"
There is no one else to follow my example but I didn't really expect that and neither did Peeta.
Boggs comes back, looking angrier than I've ever seen him. He looks a bit like Haymitch when he's mad. He and his sidekick, Jackson, set up a system so Peeta is guarded 24/7.
"Is that really necessary?" I ask them.
"Yes, it is necessary, soldier Mason."
"But if 13 thinks he's ready then…"
"Soldier Mason! 13 doesn't think he's ready, President Coin does. And I think she made a lapse of judgment."
"Well I think he is ready!" I object.
"No one here asked for your opinion," Gale says in a low voice. He really does hate crazy people, doesn't he. It makes sense in a way, since Peeta is – was – Gale's biggest competition in the race for Katniss.
"And has that ever stopped me before?" I answer arrogantly. "And for the record, I don't recall Finnick asking your opinion about me joining the team but you gave it anyway so I guess the pot is just calling the kettle black here."
When Boggs asks to talk to Katniss in private, Gale and I shut up. I'm pretty sure they are going to gossip about Peeta and frankly I don't like it. The boy has been through enough so I decide to lend him a hand.
"Need help setting up your tent," I ask him.
He nods and smiles appreciatively. "Thanks."
"No problem."
While I'm helping Peeta Finnick is consoling the other Leeg sister who just had a meltdown and Gale is watching Peeta and me very closely. In the meantime, Jackson is setting up the rotation of guarding Peeta.
"Be sure to put me and Johanna together," Finnick tells her.
She shakes her head. "Not a chance."
"What?!" I yell in surprise. Why wouldn't she put us together?
"You," she points at me. "are too close to Mellark and Odair here is too loyal to you. Not safe."
"That's the biggest bullshit I've ever heard!" Finnick objects.
"No she's right," we hear Boggs' voice say. "Katniss isn't on the rotation either."
Now it's Katniss' turn to be surprised. "Why not?"
"I'm not sure you could really shoot Peeta, if it came to it," Jackson explains.
Katniss objects too but not in a way I expected her to. "I wouldn't be shooting Peeta. He's gone. Johanna's right. It'd be just like shooting another of the Capitol's mutts."
"Johanna's right? What is that supposed to mean?" I ask her.
When Katniss speaks she doesn't sound very confident anymore. "Well, you said that back in 13…"
I throw my hands up in annoyance. "Yes but that's a long time ago. Peeta is better now!"
"Is he really?" one of those two men, I think Homes, asks me.
"What is wrong with you people?!"
"Anyway," Jackson interrupts us. "Everdeen, the fact that you called Mellark a mutt isn't really recommending you for the job either."
"Put her in the rotation," Boggs orders her nonetheless.
She lets out an almost inaudible sigh. "Fine. Midnight to four. You're on with me."
A whistle announces dinner time and I drop the Peeta subject for a moment only to bring it up once we're eating silently in a circle.
"I want Haymitch on the phone," I announce.
Several heads turn my way but I just repeat myself.
"Why?" Finnick asks me.
"Because clearly no one wants to listen to me."
"You mean about Peeta?" Gale says.
"You know I'm sitting right here…" Peeta silently says.
"We know!" Gale almost shouts.
Before I can say something back or worse, Finnick beats me to it. "Hey! Let's all just calm down and get Haymitch on the phone for Johanna. It's obviously important to her."
Boggs takes a fancy looking phone out of his tent and dials a very short sequence of numbers and sends Mitchell away with Peeta. When Haymitch picks up, he immediately cuts to the chase.
"What are you trying to do? Provoke him into an attack?" Haymitch's voice booms through the speakers. Our whole squad can hear him but it's obvious he's talking to Katniss.
"Of course not. I just want him to leave me alone," Katniss says, a statement at which I roll my eyes.
"Well, he can't. Not after what the Capitol put him through. Look, Coin may have sent him there hoping he'd kill you, but Peeta doesn't know that. He doesn't understand what's happened to him. So you can't blame him—"
"I don't!" she yells.
I can't help myself. "You do!"
"Johanna is right, you do! You're punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't have a fully loaded weapon next to you round the clock. But I think it's time you flipped this little scenario around in your head. If you'd been taken by the Capitol, and hijacked, and then tried to kill Peeta, is this the way he would be treating you?"
Katniss stays silent for a minute, taking in what Haymitch just said. I was right, Haymitch could get through to her whereas I couldn't.
"You and me, we made a deal to try and save him. Remember?" Haymitch says when Katniss doesn't say anything anymore. "Try and remember," he finishes.
"See!" I say. "I knew Haymitch agreed with me."
"Not everything is about you, Johanna!" Gale suddenly says. He hadn't said a word or made a noise the entire phone call but now he suddenly speaks up.
"What do you mean about me? I'm defending Peeta because he can't defend himself since you all think he's crazy and don't believe him!"
"Why are you even defending him?! You don't know him!"
For some reason, this line gets me over the edge. I might not get along very well with Gale but things like this make me hate him.
"I know him better than you think. The real question here is why aren't you defending him? He's from District 12, someone from your home! Are you really that desperate to get into Katniss' panties that you would try to eliminate the competition by getting them locked up in a mental hospital for being crazy?" I spit back.
By the time I'm finished Mitchell and Peeta have come back and Peeta stares at me but I don't really pay much attention to it. I need to find a place to calm down, get away from Gale. I really don't understand why he's so against me and Peeta but he is and I will find out why, or else Finnick will find out for me.
I turn around and go for a walk to clear my head but not more than five minutes later I get company from Katniss.
"You shouldn't be this hard on Gale," she says.
"I'm sorry Katniss but my loyalty lies with Peeta," I simply respond.
"But why?! He's dangerous and crazy!"
Well she's obviously already over the guilt-trip Haymitch sent her on.
"He was tortured! Was I the same Johanna when I got back from the Capitol?"
She shakes her head a little at the memory of me lying in a hospital bed, constantly stealing her Morphling.
"No I wasn't," I say. "I was crazy too but no matter how crazy I was, no matter what harsh things I said to people, Finnick and Haymitch were still there. You should've been there for Peeta. It's not his fault. I was there when they injected the tracker jacker venom, I heard his screams and let me tell you this Katniss: if you hear someone scream like that and know he hears your screams as well, it doesn't matter how well you know each other. All you know is that you're in the same boat and all you want is for everything to stop. So yes, my loyalty lies with Peeta. He's my friend," I conclude.
She stays silent for a minute but then speaks up again. "I just feel like it's my fault."
I sigh. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you, in a way it is your fault. The fact that Annie was in the Capitol was Finnick's fault. But it's not something you could've changed so why keep sulking about it?"
A light chuckle escapes her mouth. "That's not really helping. I still feel guilty."
"But it wasn't your fault that I was there so that should make you feel better, no?"
"Whose fault was that?"
"That I was there? Entirely my own fault. They got Peeta for you, Annie for Finnick, and me for information," I reply casually.
"How can you talk about it so calmly when you were hooked onto a Morphling drip just weeks ago and freaked out as soon as someone said 'Capitol'?"
"Because back in my tent I have a weapon with which I'll make them pay for what they did to me. You should make them pay for what they did to Peeta because let's face it, that's way worse than what they've done to you."