Hey everyone! I am SO sorry for not posting for a week! My laptop was taken away from me, and my main computer wouldn't allow me on FF! However, I have been writing! I wrote far more than this, but I decided to split it up into two chapters. I'll post the other bit when I finish writing it!
You all are probably wondering why I'm referencing to this Talia girl all the time. Well, everyone, meet my OC. She wasn't created especially for this purpose, but she fits into this fanfiction very nicely, I think! She's going to create problems for Haymitch and Effie, indirectly, of course! I couldn't have their relationship flowing smoothy now, could I?
I hope you enjoy it!

Haymitch

I couldn't sleep. Not now. Not after Effie had just told me this.

So, I watched as she fell into sleep beside me, and then watched her as she slept. Her natural face was beautiful in sleep, and I couldn't believe that someone could be so cruel as to hurt her.

I wanted to know who this boyfriend was. I would find him and make him wish that he'd never met, and hurt, Effie. He would pay, whoever he was.

I pulled Effie close to me, feeling her familiar warmth and taking in her smell.

Suddenly, I heard movement outside.

Careful not to wake Effie, I moved her so I could slip out of my room to see who it was.

Katerina was rooting through the cupboards. She kept making sobbing noises, so I guessed she must have been crying.

"What'chya looking for, sweetheart?" I asked, and she whirled round, clutching her chest.

"Um... milk, I guess."

I nodded and went to the drinks dispenser, asking for milk.

"Warm or cold?" I said, not turning.

"Warm, please." She said to my back.

I told the dispenser what she wanted, and was delivered a glass of lukewarm milk.

"And a glass of whiskey." I said, turning to give Katerina a grin.

Once I had got the drinks, I directed Katerina to the sofa and gave her her milk.

"So, what's wrong?" I asked, and she looked down, ashamed.

"I don't bite, sweetheart. Tell me."

She looked into my eyes, and said "I'm scared."

I sighed. "Of course you are. I'd consider you a fool if you weren't."

She snorted, and took another sip of milk. "I'm scared for Klaus, and me. I don't think either of us are going to win. And you think it too." She added the last bit quickly, as if I'd get offended.

I gave her a weak smile and said "Yes, if I'm being honest. I don't think you're going to win. But, and here's the thing, you need to try. I didn't think that I was going to win the Quell. Neither did my mentor. But here I am. So, don't give up all hope for yourself and Klaus. One of you could walk away from this."

Katerina looked up at me; her eyes shining with what I hoped were tears of gratitude.

"Thank you." She mumbled, wiping her eyes.

I realised what she was feeling. When you're in this situation, and you feel like all hope is lost, what you need is a supportive mentor. I didn't have that, and neither did any of my other tributes. But I had given this tiny, hopeless girl some hope.

She finished drinking her milk, and then she stood up.

"I'm going to bed. Don't want Effie to have a go at me if I come to breakfast last tomorrow." She grinned at me, and I laughed.

As she walked to her room, I called her name.

"Katerina. Don't give up hope. Hope is the only thing stronger than fear. So keep on hoping."

She smiled at me. "Thank you. I will."

"Good." I nodded at her, and she retreated back into her room.

God, what was that line? Hope is the only thing stronger than fear? It sounded like something a Capitol citizen would say. I was really turning into one of them, wasn't I? First dressing like one, then talking like one, and now falling in love with one.

I downed my glass and got another one from the dispenser, hoping that the alcohol would put me into a dream-free sleep.

When I got back to my room, Effie was still there, sleeping soundly. I sink down onto the bed and just watch her.

Suddenly, like she did before, last year, her face creases up into pain as she cries out. And this time, I know what she's dreaming about.

"Effie. Effie!" I shake her awake, and she cries out as her eyes open.

"Haymitch!" She launches herself up and into my arms, knocking my half-empty glass out of my hand. I leave it and wrap my arms around Effie as she sobs into my shoulder.

"It's okay. You're here now. He can't hurt you now." I rub her back. What is it with me and trying to cheer people up tonight?

When she stops crying, I lean back from her and take her face in my hands, tracing over her lips with my fingers.

"It's alright now."

She smiles. A tear slips down her cheek and I catch it.

"Tell me who he is." I say.

She pulls back. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll go after him. And I don't want that."

"Why? Don't you want him to pay for what he did to you?" Anger surged in me. Why was she defending that scum?

"I'm not worried about him, Haymitch, I'm worried about you. He was strong. Seriously strong. And he's in a high up job, with lots of connections, even to the President. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Oh. I see. So he was important. I could see her worry. But revenge still stirred inside of me. I wanted to make him pay. To make him pay for hurting one of the only pure things in this damned city.

"Your concern is touching, sweetheart. Thank you." I left it at that. I didn't want to argue with her.

She smiled. "So you'll not go after him?"

"I won't." I lied. I knew my face wouldn't betray me, I've been lying my whole life.

"Good."

And with that, we both curled back down in bed, and this time, I tried to sleep.

Nightmares didn't plague my sleep that night, probably because of Effie, curled up beside me.

Effie

The days went past quickly in the same way. Haymitch and I pretended to hate each other, or at least be indifferent of each other, and then at night, we'd sneak into each others' rooms and sleep together.

Klaus and Katerina were dressed in coal miner's outfits in the Parade. They were revamped, but they still looked hideous. I seriously questioned the designers, Faul and Lilia, and their judgement. They weren't exactly portraying District Twelve's tributes very well.

In training, there was a mixed bag of scores. The boy from Two, Harley, got a ten, and the rest of the Careers got nine or lower. One girl, Emily, a twelve year old from Six, got a three. I winced when that score came up, she would be dead meat. The boy from Seven, Mikhail, got a nine. He must have been good with axes. The boy from Eight, Elijah, the twelve year old, got a six, which wasn't bad. Then, his partner, Talia, the beautiful one, got a ten. I thought that she looked like she had been trained in some way, and I was right.

Klaus got a score of seven, and Katerina got a five. They weren't bad scores, but not amazing either.

Then, in the interviews, Klaus portrayed himself as the protective older brother who would do anything to protect Katerina. She was innocent and sweet, twirling around in her dress.

Then, it was the morning of the Games. The kids barely ate anything, despite my insistence that they did. Haymitch escorted them both to the hovercraft, and then came back to the apartment. We had a bit of time, about half an hour, before we had to go down to the Victor's Square to watch the opening of the Games. It was compulsory, as the cameras would get the mentors' and the escorts' reactions to the bloodbath.

We hugged, as there were no Avoxes around. They were dismissed to watch the Games.

"I'm scared for them." I whispered.

"I am too."

We talked for a bit about nothing in particular, and then went down to the Square. We sat next to Chaff and Hilly, and Laylah and Cecelia. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith announced the beginning of the 71st Annual Hunger Games, and the tributes were raised into the arena. The arena was made up of water surrounding the Cornucopia, and then woods surrounding it. In the water were rafts, containing less important items. The more important stuff was in the mouth of the Cornucopia, which stood on land. There was also a patch of bare landscape with just short grass.

My heart was thudding. I wanted to hide my face into Haymitch's shoulder, but I knew that I couldn't do that. I was scared for the both of them.

And my fears turned out to be justified. Katerina had lost her balance. She must have been leaning onto the wall of the tube or something, and lost her footing when the wall had disappeared. She fell forward, into the water that surrounded the tributes' podiums, and the mines went off.

"No!" Haymitch growled, his hands slamming onto the table in front of us. I put my face in hands, trying to stop the flow of tears that were threatening to spill over.

The cameras zoomed in on Klaus, whose face was a mask of horror as he watched bits of flesh rain down into the water. Tears were spilling onto his cheeks, and he looked ready to jump off the plate himself. But he hung on until the time was up, and jumped sideways into the water, grabbing a raft and swimming away from the bloodbath.

"Good kid." Haymitch muttered, his voice hoarse and grave.

On the television, they were playing our reactions to Katerina's death. Then, they were playing the other mentors' and escorts' reactions, as other kids died.

Cecelia sat, rigid, as Talia narrowly missed getting hit in the face by a knife. Viola, the girl from One, had a good aim, but Talia ducked into the water. She managed to get out quickly and start running.

The bloodbath claimed eleven lives. The cannons rang out after an hour of Game time.

That was the signal that it was no longer compulsory to be there. I quickly told Haymitch that I was going back to the apartment, said goodbye to the others, and left. I needed to cry, and I couldn't do it here.

As soon as I got to the apartment, I fell onto the sofa and just cried. The television was on, it was automatically turned on for the Games, but I couldn't bear to watch it. Even after the bloodbath victims were cleared away, the loss was evident.

After about an hour, I heard the door open, and knew it was Haymitch. And by the smell that wafted in with him, I could tell he had gotten drunk.

"Chaff lost one of his kids in the bloodbath." Haymitch slurred. "Figured we should drown our sorrows." He plonked down on the sofa next to me, moving my feet.

I adjusted my position so I was curled up next to him, my head on his shoulder and his arm wrapped around me. I didn't even care that the smell of liquor was making me feel sick. I just needed to be near him.

We watched as the remaining thirteen tributes found their footing in the arena. Klaus found a large bush to hide in, Talia found a cave, and the Careers set up base camp just outside Talia's hideout, only to be distracted by a fire, and run off to kill that person. The cannon sounded. Half of the tributes were dead.

Klaus was still alive. He had a chance. But the pack that he had managed to grab was pretty useless, only containing some rope and an empty flask. He was also wet from the initial swim, and the temperature was falling fast.

Haymitch and I sat and watched as he shivered. He could die from the cold, more than anything else. But he knew better than to make a fire, unlike the other person.

"At least he's smart." Haymitch commented.

We watched for the rest of the night, alternating getting up to get drinks and food, and settling into comfortable positions that mostly involved being draped over one another. Haymitch kept on drinking consistently. The smell was intoxicating, but somehow it was becoming... nice to me. It smelt like him, as funny as that sounded. I had started to associate the smell of liquor with him, and through him, safety and love.

Nothing much happened until the next morning, when Klaus stumbled upon the boy from Eight, the twelve year old. A fight ensued.

Elijah sustained a shallow slash to the stomach, but it was Klaus who took the fatal blow. He died quickly, and the cannon sounded.

"No!" I called out as we watched him die, and Haymitch pulled me into his arms. We sat like that for a while, just holding each other.

After about an hour of watching after Klaus' death, we gave up and decided to go to sleep. I went to my room to de-Capitol myself, taking off my makeup and wig.

I was half way through getting undressed when I heard a light chuckle. I whirled to see Haymitch standing there, watching me. I was half naked at this point, only in my bra and undies.

"Haymitch!" I threw the first thing that my hand came into contact with my hand at him. Unfortunately, this happened to be my shirt, which I had just taken off.

He caught it and grinned at me. "Thanks, sweetheart."

I sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to leave, and went to the bed. He followed me, and we curled up together.

Being in my bra and knickers, in bed with him, made me a little uncomfortable. It reminded me of worse times. However, this was Haymitch, not the Capitol boy I fell for when I was eighteen.

I had thought that he was different than the other Capitol boys. He didn't dress like them. He looked like he'd walked out of District Two, or maybe even Twelve. That's why I fell for him, because he was different, and he reminded me of Haymitch a bit, with dark hair and grey eyes. But he soon proved me wrong.

I shivered at the thought of him, and Haymitch picked up on that. "What's wrong, love?"

"Nothing." I said, and curled up tighter to him, trying to remember that it was Haymitch, not him.

If he suspected that I was lying, he didn't say anything. We fell asleep together, and I had a nightmare-less sleep, which was a blessing.

Later

The 71st Hunger Games were supposedly one of the best yet. Caesar and Claudius commented on the fact that one girl had bonds to two of the boys in the Games, and that the star-crossed lovers of Districts Seven and Eight were the best twist that the Games had to offer. That's right, Talia from Eight and Mikhail from Seven were supposed to be in love.

I had to admit, they did look like they were in love. They found each other three days into the Games, when Mikhail had sustained a rather ghastly looking stab wound. She had stayed with him and tried to help him heal. They had confessed their love for each other, kissed, and received a medical pack to help Talia save Mikhail. It was a joint sponsor gift, something that was hardly ever seen. Cecelia and Blight, the mentors from both districts, must have worked together to get those gifts.

They had met up with Elijah, too. But he had left after Talia sewed Mikhail's wound together.

He had gone to the Careers. I was shocked, why would he give himself over? They searched his pack and found berries. Haymitch gasped, and said "that little sneak."

I failed to understand what was going on, until three of the Careers, both from One and the boy from Four, eat the berries and dropped dead.

"Ah, Nightlock." Caesar commented.

Talia and Mikhail had left the cave to search for Elijah, who had gone without saying goodbye. She was overly protective of him, which was understandable.

Suddenly, the three cannons went off in quick succession. Talia and Mikhail looked at each other, confused, when they heard a shouting voice. They went running, only to find Harley had pinned Elijah to a tree.

"You killed them!" He snarled.

"I didn't know! I was saving the berries for later!" The boy shouted, fear evident in his eyes.

"You'll pay!" Harley shouted, and drove a knife into the boy's stomach.

I screamed. No! Not the boy!

Harley dropped him and went back to the remaining Careers, Briana and Marina.

As soon as they were gone, Talia rushed to him.

Elijah explained that he tricked them so she could have a better chance of winning. He made her promise to try her hardest to win. He made Mikhail promise to protect her with his life.

Then, Elijah's face slackened, and the life left his eyes. Tears slipped down my cheeks as I watched Talia start sobbing.

She pulled off a necklace from around her neck. The necklace was beautiful, and must have been worth a small fortune. She placed it around the dead boy's neck, and looked up into the camera.

"My gift for the Pickett family of District Eight. I'm sorry that I couldn't save him."

She was giving the family a gift? That wasn't something that was usually done. In fact, I'd never seen it done at all.

Talia stood, stepped away from Elijah, and then dropped into a low bow.

Haymitch took a sharp intake of breath, and I looked up at him quizzing.

"Woof told me about that gesture. In Eight, it's supposed to mean that the person you are bowing to is so far above you, that you are insignificant compared to them. It's the deepest form of respect there."

The enormity of the girl's gesture sunk in. This wasn't something that was usually done. Not at all.

Then, she collapsed into Mikhail's arms, sobbing.

Caesar and Claudius commented on the scale of their relationship, and how much this girl was willing to feel. She had formed bonds that had never been seen in the Games before.

Suddenly, I wanted her to win more than anything. I liked her. A lot.

Eventually, after six days of being in the arena, it came down to the final five, Talia and Mikhail, Harley and Briana, and the boy from Eleven, Jackyl. The Gamemakers decided to push them together, and created huge fires throughout the woods that forced the tributes to the water surrounding the Cornucopia. The final battle had begun.

Mikhail and Talia were on the island on which the Cornucopia stood. Jackyl stood on the beach over the water. He threw a knife with superb accuracy and speed, aiming for Talia.

With even more superb skill, she caught it by the hilt and sent it flying back towards its owner, burying it deep in his chest. The cannon sounded.

Talia looked surprised, as if she had never done that before. However, her attention was focused on the impending battle between the two of them, and the Careers.

"I want him." Talia snarled to Mikhail, and ran for Harley as they landed on the island. The fight ensued, and I was impressed by Talia's skill at fighting. I thought that she had been trained beforehand, and it looked like I was right.

I clung to Haymitch as we watched the double fighting. Briana and Mikhail managed to give each other almost fatal injuries, and both collapsed on the ground, unable to carry on.

Harley and Talia found hard, but eventually, Talia was able to get the upper hand, and drove her knife into his heart.

"That's for Elijah." She spat, and the cannon fired.

"She really could win this, couldn't she?" I whispered.

"Yes, but the hard part's to come." Haymitch whispered back, and I knew which part that was.

She limped over to where Briana lay. She had sustained a leg wound from Harley that looked like it hurt a lot.

Briana lay there, gasping in pain. "Go on." She spat. "Do it, I know you want to."

Talia looked conflicted, but Briana spoke again.

"Please." She whispered. "Please, do it." Her eyes showed how much pain she was in, and how much she wanted it over.

Fuelled with that wish, Talia drove her knife into the girl's heart. A small smile etched onto the girl's death mask.

The cannon fired, and Talia crawled over to Mikhail. This was the hard part.

"There." He whispered "Now you can go home."

"No, Mikhail." She whispered, tears spilling from her eyes.

"Talia. Elijah made me promise to protect you with my life. You wouldn't want me to disobey the poor kid's dying wish, would you?"

That sounded like something Haymitch would say. I spoke that aloud, and he chuckled grimly.

"I don't want you to die." Talia whispered.

"I know, but its better this way. You can go home. But take this first." He slipped a small carved item into her hand. When she clicked a button, a tiny axe swung free.

"Thank you." Tears were slipping down her cheeks. "I love you, I'm sorry."

"I love you too, Talia." He whispered, a small smile on his face.

She leant in and kissed him, and somewhere in the middle of the kiss, the life slipped away from him, and the cannon fired.

Talia screamed and sobbed over the boy's body, refusing to let it go.

"Everyone, may I present the Victor of the 71st Annual Hunger Games, Talia Crosshatch!" Claudius Templesmith announced.

But over the ever-present voice, one could hear the screaming of obscenities against the Capitol, coming from the newest Victor. She was screaming against the Capitol, about how they took them away, how they were monsters. The sound cut off, so you could only see her mouth moving, not hear the words that came out of it.

"Well, that girl's going to be messed up." Haymitch slurred next to me.

"How so?" I asked, looking at him.

He rolled his eyes as if it was obvious, but when he saw my confused expression, he explained.

"She formed bonds in the arena. To the kid from her district, and the kid from Seven. And she's lost them both. She'll blame herself for the rest of her life for both of their deaths. She'll probably end up like me, or get hooked on morphling, to ease the pain. That's why she'll be messed up."

Oh. I understood now.

We watched as the girl was lifted from the arena, still clutching the body of her dead lover. She did look like she was slowly descending into madness from grief. I knew of Haymitch's example; he still blames himself for the death of his family. If that was anything to go by, the poor girl would only live a half life from now on.

Pity filled me. Poor girl.

"Can't somebody help her?" I asked.

"Like who? And what would they say? 'Sorry that your boyfriend and friend got killed, but you need to snap out of it'?"

"Maybe you could help her?" I suggested, but Haymitch scoffed.

"Me? I barely know how to handle my own demons, sweetheart; let alone help someone else with theirs!" He took another long swig from his bottle, as if to emphasise that point.

"Then maybe you both could learn to handle them together?"

Haymitch turned to face me. "We all have our own way of coping, princess. She'll find her own. But there's no guarantee that she'll make it through this. Hardly any of the Victors can get by without some form of self-destruction."

"What about Cecelia?" As far as I knew, she wasn't an alcoholic or a morphling addict. She had children, and seemed content with life.

"Yes, but Cecelia didn't kill anyone, remember? She hid in a tree until the other tributes dealt with each other, and the last one died from muttation wounds. She isn't a murderer, like I am, or like the others are. She doesn't have to live knowing that lives were ended because of her. Talia will. She killed Harley, Briana, Jackyl, and she'll blame herself for Mikhail and Elijah's deaths. She'll have to deal with that. Just as I had to deal with the guilt over the ones I loved, and those I killed." He looked away, gulping down another lot of alcohol.

"I'm going to bed." He said roughly, pushing himself off the sofa.

"Should I...?" I trailed off, his blunt silence telling me that he didn't want me to come to his room tonight.

He didn't answer, just kept stumbling to his room.

"Haymitch!" I called, wanting to make peace.

He didn't turn, just stopped. "Princess?"

Great, he was calling me that again.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just don't... understand. You know I don't."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know you don't get it. Sorry, princess, but you'll never understand. Only Victors will know this kind of pain. Then comes the districts, and last comes Capitol citizens. You guys have it easy. I bet you've never had to feel any guilt in your life."

I stared at his back. No, this couldn't be happening. I was losing him again.

"Not on such a scale, no. I'm sorry for what I said."

"I know. It's me. I need time to... cool down. Night, Effie."

And with that, he left me there, alone.

Oh no! Already the cracks are starting to show!
Please review, you guys! I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible to make up for my lack of chapters over the past week!
Thank you for reading, look out for the next chapter soon! :D x