Please read the author's note at the end because I have a really important question to ask, and I would really appreciate it if I got some answers. Happy reading!
Prim's POV:
So this is the big day. Interview day. I didn't spend the day doing much of anything really, mostly due to the issue of Cato and the fact that he doesn't want to be allies. It was safe to assume that we would become allies at one point in the Games, right? Am I out of my mind to have thought that?
I don't know. Maybe I'm being too clingy and he's noticing. We have spent a lot of time together.. but no, wait. Every time that we were together, other than the first night on the roof, it was because of Cato. He always found me, told me to meet him.. so of course I'm not being clingy. The guy even chose to sleep with me.
I don't know if I'm being completely irrational with deciding to just let him go. I feel as if it's for the best, but at the same time it's crushing me. It's not heartbreak, but it's kind of miserable just thinking about how I told him I wouldn't be around anymore. Just thinking about it makes me want to break all rules and run down those stairs to his floor. But I can't do that. I need to stand my ground or he's going to figure that I'm easy and use that against me in the arena.
Oh my goodness, what if this whole thing was to make me let my guard down so that he and his allies could make a joke out of me..? I don't think he would do that, but we're going into the Hunger Games. That should be self explanatory.
Anyway, this entire day was spent watching the television and thinking about my family. Today would be the first day that they would even hear me speak since the moment I stepped onto the train. I know that I look a million times better than I did when we left, but I'm still nervous. I wonder how my mom and Katniss are going to react to seeing that I'm alive and well.. will they cry, scream, jump for joy? Everyone in the Seam will be watching, so I hope that I can make all of them proud, not just my family. I told them that I would try to win, and that's what I'm going to do, whether I have help or not.
All good things have to come to an end, because soon, Effie was knocking on my door so that she could escort me and Peeta down to the dressing rooms to prepare for our interview.
When I stepped outside of my room, Peeta and Effie were standing there, and we started walking toward the elevator. Oh, the glorious elevator where I shared a great memory.
"So, are you both excited about the interview?" Effie asks as the elevator doors close. I glance at Peeta who is staring straight ahead. It doesn't seem like he's going to answer, so I may as well.
"I don't know, I guess so. I'm kind of nervous about speaking in front of the entire nation," I tell her honestly. Who wouldn't be nervous? If I mess up, the whole country will see it.
"Oh darling, you don't have anything to worry about. Caesar Flickerman makes sure that all of the tributes have a wonderful time on the stage. You will be comfortable with him, trust me," Effie tries to reassure me. I nodded my head, still nervous. I guess I will tell once I get up there.
"Thanks, Effie."
"No problem. You and Peeta both are the best tributes that I've had. You're not wild and disregarding of others. You'll do well and get lots of sponsors," she continues.
"You really think so?" Peeta asks, finally speaking out. It was the first time I had heard his voice in a couple days.
"Of course. Just be calm. And wait until you see your outfits for this evening. You're going to love them!"
The elevator doors slid open, and Cinna and Portia were there, ready to get us dressed.
"Are you ready?" he asks as we enter my dressing room.
"I'm as ready as I possibly could be," I answer.
As soon as I sit down, Cinna goes right to work, of course leaving no mirror so that I couldn't see the makeup and hair. After that, he made me close my eyes as he slipped a soft material up my body. Once he was done, I was able to look into the mirror, and let me tell you, I looked stunning. My makeup was simple, all of the basics, with pale pink and pale purple accents for the eyeshadow. My hair was pulled up into an elegant bun, and somehow, Cinna got little primroses inserted into the bun. For my dress, it was amazing. A white two strapped dress that had a pale pink belt under my chest, and the white fell all the down to my feet where the dress popped out little primroses whenever I took a step. I also had all the jewellery on that I had gotten for my birthday. I was a walking primrose.
"Wow, Cinna. This is so amazing! How do you come up with these ideas?" I ask him. He made me look delicate, like I did not belong here where everything is corrupted and intimidating.
"A lot goes through your mind when you think the Capitol isn't justified in their actions, especially when it comes to young girls that don't deserve what you're getting because of a mistake some other District made," Cinna answers with a small smile. "When you get out there, be yourself. Don't make it seem as if being here has changed you because then that means that the Capitol has won. Do you understand?"
"Yes," I answer.
"You don't belong here. Not you, understand? You will shine, and if I could bet anything in this world, it's that you will be victorious in everything that you do," Cinna says. His words make me want to cry. No one has believed in me so much to think that I will fly in a world that's run by the Capitol. If he believes that I can do anything, then I know I can.
"I believe you."
"Remember. I'm always rooting for you, beautiful rose," Cinna says, pulling me in for a long and lovely hug. "Alright, let's go."
I walked all the way to the backstage area of the stage, where all the other tributes were standing, waiting for the show to start. They were in order, from District 1 to 12, meaning that I had to walk past every single one of them to make it to Peeta all the way in the back. That also meant that I had to walk past Cato, who looked so amazingly amazing in his suit that it made my breath hitch inside my throat. His hard green eyes met mine as I walked past, and they widened as he stared for a long while before he cleared his throat and returned to talking to Clove.
Everyone stared as I made my way down the line, and when I got to Peeta looking handsome in his suit, his mouth literally fell open.
"Wow, Prim, you look so beautiful," he commented, talking to me for the first time in a while.
"Thanks," I say with a smile, "you look great as well."
"Thanks."
"Are you nervous?" he asks, focusing his blue eyes on mine. It's crazy how we have similar features.
"Of course I am. It's not everyday you're on national television," I answer shakily. Peeta laughs at my comment.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Well, hopefully, this interview will turn out positive for the both of us," he says, giving me his dazzling smile. It was contagious, and I couldn't help but smile back at him.
It falls silent for a while, me twisting the bracelet on my arm while he fixes his tie. After a while, the silence was too much, and I really wanted to know why he decided to train separately. Every time I looked at him, it reminded me of when Haymitch told me he wanted to be trained separately. It made me feel a sense of betrayal. We were supposed to stick together, yet we were further apart than anything. When we first got here we were close, but now, not so much. I think it was because he kissed me.
"Peeta. I'm sorry, but I have to know why you decided to train separately," I told him. He frowned and cast his eyes downward, and I could feel the awkward tension begin to rise in the huge room.
"Well, um.. it's not so easy to explain," Peeta finally says after a while.
"Yes, it is. Just tell me. I'll understand-"
Music started blaring and I heard Caesar's voice talking, meaning that the ceremony had begun.
"Listen. You'll find out in the interview." Peeta turned and faced forward, signalling that our talk was over. He was trying so hard to keep this thing a secret, but sooner or later it was going to come out, so I would rather him just tell me now and get it over with. What harm could it do?
I tried not to listen to the interview that were being given, wanting to give time to myself to think of what to say, plus I was only interested in what Cato had to say. After what seems like a long time, Cato was finally called. I watched on the screen they had in the back as he smiled and walked on stage, giving that amazing smile that charms me to the fullest. He sits down and they start talking.
"Cato Hadley," Caesar teases, "one of the guys that the Capitol girls cannot get enough of, am I right?" There is the loud screaming of thousands of women from the crowd, causing me to frown. He's mine, not theirs.
"Yeah, well, I get that a lot, especially at home," Cato says smugly. The crowd cheers again.
"That must be great. But listen, I heard that not only the girls at home have something going for you. There are numerous girls, in the Games, that want a piece of you!"
Cato smirks, that deadly smirk, and nods his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I think that's true."
"Who wouldn't? I'm getting a little flustered myself! Look at him.. the face, the muscles. Hey, how about a little preview, just for the ladies?" Caesar asks Cato.
Cato removes his jacket, revealing his plump arms, and flexes for all to see. It took my breath away, but it also took thousands of other breaths away in the five seconds that it was on the screen. I was definitely getting jealous. My hands were just all over his chest not a day ago.
"Wow, amazing! You're definitely going to use those in the Games, aren't you?"
"I hope so. That's what we're going in for. And they're going to work just fine, I hope," Cato says in that arrogant tone that he uses now and again.
"I do hope so, too," Caesar comments. "You aren't afraid one bit to be going into the Games, are you?"
Cato laughs and shrugs his broad shoulders. "Not really. I've been trained my whole life to enter the Games, so I think I'm prepared," he answers.
"Is there anyone at home that you're hoping to get back to?"
"Yeah," Cato smiles knowingly, and I know he must be thinking about his mother. I don't remember him mentioning anything about any siblings, so I didn't expect that. "I have my mother, and my little brother Charlie."
Oh. So he does have a sibling. A little brother. I wonder how old he is.. Maybe he's older, maybe he's younger.
"No father?" Caesar asks.
"No. No father," Cato answers quite angrily. He's probably giving Caesar a warning not to bring that topic up again. If Cato didn't want to bring up that topic with me, then he most definitely did not want the entire nation to know. His comment sort of confused me, because he said that he didn't have a father, but he never told me that his father was dead or anything.
"Now Cato, about the girls. We know that some of the girls backstage are fawning over you. What are you going to do about that? Do you have one in particular that you may fancy?"
Cato smiles and shrugs. "There might be one." I felt myself smiling. Even if he did say there 'might' be one, I knew that he was talking about me. Just him mentioning that there was someone in his life after we all know how that guy is.
"Is it the one from your District? The beautiful Clove?"
"No, no it's not her. She knows who she is, the girl I'm talking about, I mean. This girl means a lot to me. We've had some great moments in the short time that we had together, and I know that I royally screwed up recently, but I want you to know," Cato's eyes stare right into the camera and into my eyes, "I am truly sorry. I meant what I said about protecting you as much as I can, and I'm going to try to make sure that happens. You mean more to me than anything that I could ever imagine, and never did I believe that you would be someone good for me, but you are. So even though I still mean what I said, it doesn't mean that I take back everything else. I hope you forgive me."
Cato finishes speaking, all the while my cheeks are burning red at his whole speech, the speech he gave to me to the entire nation. If he doesn't think that I'm going to forgive him, then he must be mistaken because for that, he deserves everything.
"Whooaaaaaa. Never did I expect Cato to be a big softie! Wasn't that just lovely? Can't you tell us which one of the lovely ladies that speech was for?" Caesar asks.
Cato shrugs. "I don't know if she would want me to say her name," he says.
"What does it matter, anyway? We are all going to find out, right? Why not just tell us now?" Caesar presses.
Cato lets out a huge sigh. "Okay, but if she kills me because of this, I'm blaming you," he jokes.
"I'll take full responsibility. Now tell us, who is it? I'm dying to know."
"Umm, well. It's the girl from District 12, Rose." The crowd gasps, as does Caesar and all of the other tributes backstage, and they all begin to stare at me like I was crazy. The crowd goes into an uproar as I cower in fear, trying to make myself as small as possible.
"Prim." I hear Peeta's voice say. "There was something between you two and you didn't tell me?" he asks, his eyes filled with so much sadness.
"Yes," I say, extremely guilty.
"But, you let me kiss you."
"I know. We're not even together," I try to explain, although I'm not entirely sure what I'm explaining things for. I don't feel anything for Peeta.
"It doesn't matter. You agreed to it when you know that I felt something for you!"
"And I'm sorry. But I was just so confused-"
"Save it, Prim. I don't to hear it."
Peeta turns away from me and my heart fills with so much guilt, but it wasn't enough for me to get over that beautiful confession that was given to me by Cato hinself, the hard rock of a man that claimed that he wasn't soft. I was a little upset that he revealed that it was me he was talking about, but it was going to happen anyway, so whatever. Cato takes his stand at the top of the stage with the other tributes and the ceremony continues, going through all the others with so much speed that I didn't even realise that my name was being called until my hand was being pulled and I was being escorted onto the stage.
Caesar had a smug smile on his face after the Cato situation, making my blush creep up my cheeks as I took a seat, the way that Effie taught me, next to him. The crowd was going absolutely mental, so Caesar had to shush them so that he could hear me speak.
"Primrose Everdeen, what a beautiful entrance you made. The flowers, all over. What are they?"
"Primroses," I answered quietly, quite nervous.
"How wonderful. So, you are one of the younger tributes to go to the Games this year. How does that make you feel?"
"Well, it makes me a bit nervous, but I guess it's also a good thing because I'm faster than the other bigger tributes," I answer.
"That's very true. I know that it must have been hard to say goodbye to your family at such a young age and not know if you were going to see them again, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but I told them not to worry because I was going to try my hardest to win for them."
"That's amazing," Caesar comments. "But this has been on the minds of us all when we saw the reaping. You did not let your older sister volunteer into the Games for you. Why didn't you let her come?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. She has had to sacrifice so much for me and my mother while we sat by and watched, and for once, I thought that it was my turn to do something for her. My family needs her more than they need me, and I love her too much to be the reason why she would possibly die. So, instead of causing that heartbreak, I decided to just suck it up, and come here."
"And it seems as if you've made the right choice, huh? Especially since meeting a certain tribute, the name starting with C and ending with ato?" The crowd laughed as I felt myself blushing again. I knew this topic would come up sooner or later. I was just hoping for later.
"Well, yeah," I mumbled, trying to avoid eye contact with Caesar because he would just make me blush.
"And how did this happen between the two of you?"
I shrugged again. "I honestly do not know. You would have to ask him to get a clear answer because my mind is just as fuzzed up as yours is."
"Too bad that rules are rules and we can't get him down here for a little smooch." Caesar laughs along with the cheers of the crowd. Here comes the blush again. "So, we all want to know. That was a beautiful apology that he gave. But what we all want to know is, do you forgive him?"
I pretend to think for a moment. "Yes, I do."
I hear a "hell yeah!' come from up top, and Cato is fist pumping the air, causing everyone, including me, to laugh.
"Well, we hope you do a great job in the Games. Everyone, Primrose Everdeen, the Capitol's sweetheart!"
I stood and made my way to the top of the stage, finally getting a chance to breathe normally. I could feel everyone's eyes trained on me and Cato so I tuned them out by imagining that I was home, watching television with Buttercup. It was working. I stared out into the crowd, totally tuning out of the entire interview Peeta was having with Caesar until I heard my sister's name come out of Peeta's mouth.
"Is there anything that you would like to say to her now? I'm sure she's watching," Caesar says to Peeta who nods. He faces the camera and begins speaking.
"Hello Katniss. I know that we haven't spoken before, and you probably don't really know who I am, but I just wanted to say that I have loved you since we were 5 years old, and I haven't stopped from that moment on. I regret not being able to tell you this while I was home, but I had to tell you now. I kissed your sister, and I know now that was a mistake, and I'm sorry. Just know that I love you, forever." Peeta finishes his speech, where he manages to throw me under the bus.
He just told the entire world, and Cato, what I wanted to keep a secret, but, I guess it's out. I dare not look at Cato behind me, but I could feel his angry eyes burning into the side of my face. Peeta just caused something stronger than he could ever imagine. All we could hope for tonight is that Cato doesn't somehow make it into Peeta's room and kill him in his sleep.
A/N
So, one if my readers (whose name shall remain unknown) asked me if there would ever come a time when Cato and Prim would engage in sexual activity, and if so, would I write an actual 'sex scene'. I don't know if I should write something like that without asking you guys if you would be okay with it. I know that it would be difficult, especially with the two going into the Games, but if that's what you want, I can try to make it happen, although there's no guarantee.
So, do you guys want that? The majority will win because I don't want my readers to be uncomfortable, but I also want to give you guys what you want. If you don't want to answer in the comments, feel free to send me a private message and I guarantee that I will answer it. It may not be right away, but I promise to answer all comments and messages!
In other words, this is finally the last 'Interview' chapter, and the Games start in the next one. The excitement is building inside of me!
As you all know, I love you more than I love anything else in this world, other than Cato.. or the Wanted.. or MKTO.. or Harry Styles and Niall Horan (Narry).. I think you guys get my point.
Vote, comment, share, follow and thank you so much for reading.
Cheers ?
Myesha xx