A/N: Wow, I'm amazed by this feedback. If only my English teacher would agree with some of you reviewers! Sorry for the never-ending string of OC's. Correct me if some of the references are wrong, I get most of my information from the Hunger Games Wikia.
I wake up to a quiet knocking on my door. My clock says its almost midnight. I groan, telling whoever it is to come in. It's Alyssa. "Sorry." She looks like feels bad for waking me up.
"Don't be," I assure her. "I was having a nightmare anyways."
She sits down on the edge of my bed. I turn on the lamp in my room. "Dinner tonight was... interesting."
That's a huge understatement. "You could say that. I thought it was kind of funny, actually." Alyssa looks confused at my statement. I clarify, "Well the buisness I do in the Capitol, I only do it to make sure my family and friends are safe. Gale included. And he's getting mad at me for trying to save his life."
She's smart enough not to push, and ask what exactly I'm doing. But she nods, and changes the subject. "We get to the Capitol tomorrow, right?"
"Yep, around lunch." I notice how tired she looks. "Couldn't sleep?" I ask her.
She shakes her head. "I'm way too nervous for that."
I frown. "I'm going to be honest with you. Try to sleep. If you die, tonight will be one of your last, and if you live, you won't be able to sleep through the night. Haymitch won 25 years ago, and he still has nightmares. Mags won over 60 years ago and she still has nightmares."
"I know the Games are... beyond hard. It must have been ever harder for you. With Peeta and everything..." Alyssa trails off.
"Yeah, I guess. But I'm trying to move on. From Peeta. He died so I could live, and he wouldn't want me to live like I was living. So even if I'm not happy, I'm trying for him." I confess.
Alyssa yawns. "Can I sleep here?"
"Sure." I curl up in my bed, and try to fall back asleep.
When I wake up it's eight in morning. Alyssa's snoring softly. I slide on my slippers and leave her alone. I find Gale and Haymitch sitting in the dining car silently. Gale's picking at his food and Haymitch is nursing a hangover. I say nothing, but sit down next to Haymitch and pour myself some juice. Effie walks into the car, her high heels clicking. Her hair is pumpkin orange. Her dress is a sunset shade of orange, which Peeta's favorite color. I stop myself from thinking like that. "Where's Alyssa?" Effie asks.
"She's still asleep." I tell her. Effie nods, and begins to tell us about our schedule for today and the next few days. She's in the middle of talking when Alyssa comes into the dining car. Effie greets her, and then goes back to talking.
"Why are you so excited?" Gale asks her. "I mean seriously. There's gonna be 23 kids who die, and you sound like this is entertaining. I hate Capitol people."
Haymitch shakes his head. Effie looks genuinely upset. "Don't take it personally, he's not a morning person." I comfort her. Effie smiles at me. We have a weird type of friendship. I like Effie in the sense that she's so optimistic, and perfect. She always gets us to where we need to be, right when we need to be. We've had some sweet moments, and she always sees the good things in people. Even if sometimes she freaks out over the tiniest things. But I know that she's very sensitive to criticism. While Capitol people can be ridiculous, they're also just people. And they're very insecure. Once, Effie saw a girl get shunned for a month because she wore the wrong color dress to a party.
"You're going to meet with your stylists today. Gale, your stylist is Portia. Alyssa, your stylist is Cinna. Try to just do what they say, it'll be over easier." I tell them. Alyssa nods.
I have four dates in a row this afternoon. I'll be back to the Training Center with enough time to shower and change before the Parade. I excuse myself to do my makeup and hair, skimpy lingerie, and a short black dress that hugs my figure. I put on about ten pounds after the games, and now I look a lot healthier. This is mostly because I can actually eat three meals a day. I put on my red high heels, and sit back down at the table.
"Katniss, you look stunning." Effie compliments me. Alyssa gives me a thumbs up. Gale however, is less enthusiastic.
"You look ridiculous." He tells me.
I shrug. "It's what they want. I aim to please." Haymitch guffaws at the double-meaning behind that comment. I scowl at him. Nobody else seems to have gotten that.
The train pulls up, and the victors, Haymitch, and Effie go to the Training Center. I'm led out the other side of the train station to a small discreet building. Some rich Capitol citizen has paid an exponentially large sum of money to spend an hour with me. It's ridiculous, but the money is put into an account which is directly used for my tributes.
I try to breathe, and get it over with.
Four hours later, I'm getting back in a car to the Training Center. I fix my hair in the cab, and touch up my lipgloss. I look fine. I thank the driver, and step out of the car. I'm bombarded with press.
"Katniss, is it true that your cousin is in the games?"
"Katniss, is it true that you and Finnick Odair eloped?"
"Katniss, is it true that you're addicted to morphling?"
Where do they come up with this stuff. "Yes, no, and no." I say, getting in the elevator. When I get to 12, Haymitch and Gale are waiting for me. Alyssa's still getting styled, and Effie's in another room. "Hi again." I say, waving. Gale nods at me. He seems to have calmed down a bit. "You look normal. That's good. I was worried they would dye your skin green." I joke to Gale. Haymitch rolls his eyes. "Is there time for me to shower?" I sit down on the couch and kick off my shoes.
I don't even wait for a response. I shower quickly, and try not to break down. I'm too exposed in the Capitol. Nobody can know how broken I am. I put on a tight dress that would matches Effie's pumpkin orange hair, and black high heels. I've gotten used to walking in them, and they don't hurt my toes anymore. They make me look a lot taller.
Haymitch, Effie, Cinna, Portia, Gale and Alyssa are all sitting in the living room. When they see me, everyone stops talking and stares.
"So, Effie. Are we on schedule?" I ask her, wanting to draw the attention off me.
"Yes. We're right on time. Lets get downstairs everyone!" She chirps, happy to have the attention on her.
I remind Gale and Alyssa to smile, and then Portia brings them downstairs. Cinna pulls me aside, telling them he'll be down a minute. "How are you, darling? You look absolutely ravishing." I hug him. I missed him, so much.
"I'm alright." I force a smile. He gives me that look, that lets me know he's not buying it.
"We'll talk later." Cinna promises me. He drags Haymich and I onto the elevator. We go to below the training center, and down a long hallway. This is where we prep the tributes before the Parade. Gale and Alyssa are in black jumpsuits. They aren't being lit on fire, but they are like coal. Gale's hair is gelled back and Alyssa's is in a tight bun. Her makeup is dark and smoky. They almost look scary.
"You guys did an amazing job." I compliment Cinna and Portia on their designing. They thank me, and walk off. I smile at Gale and Alyssa, wishing them good luck. I'm about to talk to Gale, but I'm tapped on the shoulder. I turn around, and see a tall girl with blond curls in her hair. She's gorgeous, and looks familiar. Cashmere. "Hey there," I smile at her. She gives me a small hug tentatively.
She turns to Gale and Alyssa. "Hello. I'm Cashmere. I'm from District One." Alyssa greets her politely, but Gale rolls his eyes. He hates everyone unconditionally from Career districts. Cashmere shrugs, not really offended by his lack of interest. Instead, she turns back to me. "How bad was it today?" She asks, concerned. I can tell she means how many men I saw.
"There were three in a row." I sigh, shifting my weight to my other leg. My muscles are sore beyond belief. "What about you?"
She smiles sympathetically. "Only one. But I have two more right after this." She looks less than pleased. Cashmere is pulled away by one of her tributes.
Gale shoots me a look. He's about to start yelling at me, but I hear someone behind me. "If it isn't the famous cousin." Johanna says, sarcastically. I turn around and hug her. While we're not super close, she's probably my closest friends who's a girl. I can't talk to Madge about most things nowadays. I take in Johanna. She's chopped off a lot of her hair, and what's left is spiked. She's wearing a lot of makeup, and a very revealing shirt. "Don't kill me, but he's pretty cute." Johanna says of Gale. Next, she turns to Alyssa. "You're lethal." She says, after just looking at her. "You know, you could win."
I nod in agreement. "But if she wins..." I trail off. "Do you think?" Alyssa is very pretty, and she might be sentenced to the same fate as me if she wins.
"Yeah. Definitely." Johanna says. She turns to Alyssa. "Do you have family? Play by my rules." She waves, and walks off.
"What?" Alyssa asks me, confused.
"Johanna thinks you could win. If you played it like her. But be careful. You have to figure out if it's worth winning." I say, cryptically. I'd kill to actually be able to give them real advice, but that won't be able to happen.
They do amazing once the parade starts. I notice how Gale and Alyssa's costumes reflect the light a little bit too much. It's almost like they're glowing. The two tributes smile and wave, but don't act too crazy. Snow gives a speech, and then they're driven back to Haymitch, Effie and I.
Haymitch pats Gale and Alyssa on the back. "Great job, you two." He tells them.
"You two were fantastic." I praise them.
We make out way up to our floor. I'm sitting on the couch, when I realize that I haven't seen Finnick. "Have you seen Finnick at all?" I ask Haymitch.
Before Haymitch can answer me, I hear the ding of the elevator, and Finnick steps out. He looks at me, I look at him, and it's just us. I limp over to him. He's holding me and everything's alright. "Hi." He says, kissing me. I put my hand on the back of his head, so he can't pull away. This kiss has teeth and tongue and anger and it's everything I'm feeling in one moment.
Haymitch coughs loudly. "Keep it appropriate, you two." I take in Finnick's appearance. His perfect hair is disheveled, and his eyes are red from crying. He notices that I see how vulnerable he looks, and immediately grins to cover it up.
"How am I supposed to stay appropriate when my girlfriend looks like this?" He points to me. I giggle when he calls me that. It makes me feel wanted.
"She looks like a slut. And so do you." Gale's calmness from earlier has been replaced with anger. "Seriously Katniss, what the hell are you wearing?" I look down at my dress and see that anyone can tell I'm wearing very revealing underclothes. "You are a slut. Aren't you." I don't say anything. "You're a dirty slut! What happened to girl from Twelve that I knew? She was smart, and cared about things. And now, all you want to do is get laid." Finnick holds onto my hand. I can tell he wants to hurt Gale. I do to. "God, you're so pathetic." Gale rolls his eyes.
I shake Finnick's hand off. "No, Gale. You don't know anything. I am not a slut. Do you hear me? I'm not a slut!" I realize I'm yelling.
"I'm pretty sure you are." Gale argues, without any remorse. I try to cover up the hurt in my eyes.
I lower my voice. "No. You're wrong. Try again Hawthorne. The word you're looking for is whore." It's out of my mouth before I can stop it, and I want to run. I look at Haymitch, and Alyssa, and Gale. I don't even bother to read there expressions. Thankfully, Effie and the stylists are at some after-party.
"Do you wanna go?" Finnick asks me. I nod, and he picks me up, and carries me to my room. "Shower." He says.
The shower water is almost boiling hot, and the bathroom air is thick steam. The glass in the mirror is fogged up. Finnick helps me undress, and get clean. I sob, and he does to. We don't say a thing, but we hold each other. He's had an even worse day than me. I keep repeating that I've messed up so bad, but every time, he shushes me. The water automatically stops after twenty minutes. So we get out, and go outside. "Even if your scared, just tell them the truth. They deserve to know." Finnick tells me. "I'll be by your side the whole time. And if it's any consolation, Haymitch already knows. Gale and Alyssa, I wouldn't even worry about. One of them will die for sure, and if the other lives, then they'll end up just like us." He's right, it's true. I take his hand in mine, ready to face the three of them.
When we walk out, we're bombarded by the three of them. Finnick interrupts all of them. "If any of this gets out, I will personally murder you. I know 100 ways to kill people with my bare hands." Finnick warns them. And he's not bluffing.
"If you don't mind me asking, why are you a prostitute?" Alyssa looks confused. "I mean you have more than enough money. "And who would cheat on Finnick Odair?"
Finnick and I sit down on the couch. He squeezes my hand for reassurance. I take a deep breath. "Well, during my games, I didn't play by the rules. I buried Rue, and only volunteered because I didn't want to lose my sister. President Snow never planned on letting there be two victors. Also, the Capitol found me attractive. So, Snow figured he could get money off selling me. And he threatened to kill off my family and friends if I didn't cooperate."
"It's not like he would.." Gale says stubbornly.
"Oh he would. And he did." Johanna says. I didn't even notice she was here. "I went along with it for a little, but I put my foot down. So he did too."
"If they hadn't killed my brother, mom and girlfriend right after I won, he would have held it over me as well." Haymitch adds.
"The only positive to this is that all the money spent on me goes directly to my sponsorship funds. So you two will be able to get anything you need, within reason." I tell them.
"Anything. Food, water, medicine, a trident. You name it." Haymitch adds.
Alyssa says nothing. I turn to Gale. "While you were assuming things about me, I was out there saving your life. And not just you! But my mother, Prim, Hazelle, Rory, Vick and Posy. It's like how we had to hunt illegally to survive. If I was older when the accident happened, I would have been at Cray's doorstep, wouldn't I?"
"Catnip." Gale whispers, "I am so sorry. I never knew." He actually looks sorry.
"It's okay. But you two should go to bed, You're going to have a big, big day." I tell them, sounding like Effie.
Once they're gone, I curl up onto Finnick. "That just happened." I realize.
Finnick nods, and kisses my forehead. "You did good."
"That was the right thing to do, sweetheart." Haymitch agrees. "I'm just worried Gale might do something dumb."
Johanna sits back on her chair. "He won't. He cares to much about you. He thinks you're only with Finnick because both of you are in the same situation. Gale wants to come back, and win you over."
I groan. "Well, do any of you guys have promising tributes? Gale knows what he's doing, and Alyssa's lethal."
Finnick shrugs. "I don't want to lose Dahlia. I feel like she's my kid, I mean I helped her grow up. I don't think I'll be able to go back home if she doesn't win."
"Well she is a career. And you have plenty of sponsors. Besides, both of mine are crap." Johanna points out.
Before anyone can comment, three peacekeepers come onto our floor. "All tributes and mentors must remain on their own floors." The one in the front says. He sounds bored. I don't even have time to say goodbye to Finnick and Johanna because they're dragged back onto the elevator.
"What was that?" I ask Haymitch.
"It's the law. Tributes aren't aloud to mingle, and neither are mentors. Don't worry, they'll be back." Haymitch doesn't look slightly fazed.
"Do you think they have a chance at winning?" I whisper. 12 rarely ever wins, and having 2 victors from the same district in a row is almost unheard of from any district. Except for with Cashmere and her brother.
Haymitch shakes his head. "I wouldn't hold your breath. These games were pretty much made to get rid of Dahlia and Gale. Alyssa might have a chance, but that's only if she gets a spectacular training score and has a very good interview.
"On the bright side, I have sponsors." I point out. Haymitch looks at me pessimistically. We're so alike that we don't even have to speak to communicate. I know what he means. The reason Haymitch drinks is not just to numb himself the games, but because he's had to deal with not being able to do anything to help these kids. He's been mentoring for 25 years- he's lost 47 kids. I can tell he resents the sympathy in my eyes.
"Did I ever tell you the story behind your pin?" Haymitch asks, changing the subject.
"It belonged to Madge." I tell him. I can see him frown.
"It's more complicated." Haymitch sighs. I can tell I'm in for a long story. He turns on the TV, and goes into his room, and puts a tape into the TV box. I recognize it as Haymitch's games, the 50th Quarter Quell. They had 48 tributes instead of the usual 24.
They start with the announcement of the Quell- which a younger, but still equally terrifying President Snow reads. It cuts straight into the reaping, just reading name after name. When it gets to District 12, you see everything. First they call some random Seam girl, and then they call some girl named Maysilee Donner. She has the typical merchant look: blond hair and blue eyes. She looks just like Madge. Maysilee is crying and clutching onto two girls. One who looks just like her, it must be her twin sister and Madge's mom. The second looks familiar. I realize it's my mother. Then they show a blond boy, and then they call Haymitch. I hate to admit it, but he looked pretty good when he was younger. They cut to a clip of a younger Caesar interviewing Haymitch. We only see one exchange, but Haymitch acts sarcastic and witty.
"You didn't have to reach far for that, did you?" I ask him. Haymitch just smiles and rolls his eyes. The arena's beautiful and has to be the most amazing thing I've ever seen. They show a type of montage of most of the tributes dying, one after one. Haymitch encounters a few Careers, and manages to kill two of them, but when the third one's about to kill him, Maysilee pops up with a blow dart and kills him. Haymitch and Maysilee agree to be allies. But when they reach the edge of the arena, he wants to stay, but she doesn't. They break off the alliance. Haymitch realizes that the forcefield can bounce items back. He starts to laugh manically, but it disrupted by Maysilee's screams. She was attacked by a swarm of pink birds. He takes her Mockingjay pin, and holds her hand while she dies.
Haymitch turns it off. "That's all you need to see. But basically, when I got back I gave it to her twin sister. Who passed it onto Madge, who gave it to you. So that pin is special. Do you see where part of the closure is stained red on the back?" I unpin it from my dress, and hold it out. The back of it's red, I always assumed it was rust. "That's her blood." He tells me. I'm not quite sure how to react. A part of me feels as if Maysilee and I have some type of connection. I don't really understand it.
"So how does all the mentoring work? Once the games start." I clarify.
"Well, we sit in a room with all the other mentors, and we watch together. We have a computer. There's a list with items we can send, and their prices, as well as how much money we have to spend. As of now, we have a ridiculous amount- about two hundred thousand."
I gasp. "How much was Finnick's trident?"
"Ten thousand." Haymitch smiles. "You're pretty desirable."
"Are you flirting with my girlfriend?" says Finnick, who's standing by the staircase. I didn't even notice he was there.
Haymitch laughs, and grabs a random bottle of liquor and three glasses. "A toast," he lifts his up, "to killing kids for no apparent reason." We down our drinks. I curl up onto Finnick. I lean in to kiss him when I hear a sob emit from one of the rooms down the hall.
A/N: Sorry, I had really bad writers block while writing this.
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