AN: I've decided I'm going to put the whole of the time in the Capitol in this chapter so next chapter will be the arena and a step closer until the BIG twist! This chapter is rubbish, sorry. :(
Peeta
When I wake up reality seems to sink in and as much as I enjoyed last night I have to remind myself we won't have time to be having that much fun when we have to train and have interviews. I turn on my side and find Katniss still asleep beside me. I kiss her gently before sliding out of her bed. I walk into her bathroom and have a shower, deciding not to leave her room to go to my own.
A while later I walk into the bedroom and notice Katniss is awake and sitting up in bed, the blankets pulled around her naked body. "Good morning," I whisper and kiss her quickly.
"Morning," she replies with a small smile. Her stomach growls and I remember that we skipped dinner last night.
"Let's go have breakfast," I say and pull her out of bed, the sheets dropping to the floor giving me a view of her beautiful body. Her cheeks turn pink a little and I can't help but smile a little.
"Maybe we should get dressed first," she replies and I look down to find only a towel wrapped around my waist.
I look at her again and grin, "Good idea."
I leave her room and step into my room, which is opposite hers. I change into trousers and a shirt and head to breakfast, realising I'm starving. I arrive at the dining room to find Katniss already there along with Haymitch, Effie and our stylists. "Good morning," I smile and I'm greeted with nods and smiles, and a smirk off a certain drunk.
"Good night, as well?" he chuckles and I roll my eyes.
I ignore him but smile at Katniss's slightly pink face. I sit down next to her and start eating breakfast. "So training," I say, changing the subject. "Yes, training. I want you two to make friends with the others," Haymitch replies and Katniss has her mouth open to object right away.
"No way!" she snaps.
"Sweetheart, I let you have your fun last night. Now you need to focus, you need allies, do what I say and you might have a chance. You can even choose who you want to team up with," Haymitch offers and she glares at him. "Great. Now that's sorted. We have time to watch a re-cap of the opening ceremonies after breakfast since you two, I assume, were busy last night," Haymitch adds and I know he'll never let us forget last night- it's not like I'll be able to forget it anyway.
After breakfast we go into the TV room and watch the opening ceremonies. We thank Portia and Cinna for our amazing outfits and then we are rushed into the elevator to get to training.
The next three days we spend training and making friends with the other tributes. On the third day we have our private sessions with the game-makers and I paint a picture of Rue on the floor. You should've seen the look on the game-makers faces. As soon as I arrived on the twelfth floor I went into my room to wash the paint off of my hands.
I decide to have a shower, knowing I won't be seeing Katniss for a while because she's probably showing something to the game-makers. I wonder if she'll cause as much trouble as last year. Once dinner arrives I walk to the dining room and find Katniss already there and looking a little… nervous? I smile and kiss her quickly before sitting down next to her and eating.
We all eat and I realise Katniss and I are avoiding the topic of our private sessions. That's when I start wondering what she done. Finally, Haymitch speaks up, "Okay, spill the beans." I glance at Katniss and her eyes beg me to go first.
"I painted a picture of Rue on the floor," I say and everything goes quiet. There's silence for about a minute before Effie squeaks, "What?"
"She doesn't deserve to be forgotten so I painted her surrounded with flowers just like Katniss described her," I reply and one glance at Haymitch tells me he's mad.
"Great and what about you, Sweetheart!" he yells. "What trouble did you cause this time?"
Katniss goes red-faced with anger. "I hung a dummy and wrote Seneca Crane on the head in red paint!" she snaps back. Let's just say he took it better than I thought he would.
The next day we wait to be called by Haymitch and Effie so we can have our privates sessions but the red-headed Avox walks in with a note telling us that we don't need any training and that we are on our own. Haymitch makes me feel so loved sometimes. Katniss and I spend the day on the roof of the training centre. I sketch her while she lays her head on my lap and ties knots with vines.
She falls asleep but I wake her so she can watch the sunset. When the sky darkens we go back to her room and fall asleep.
When we wake up I realise today is the day of the interviews. I lay thinking about my angle while Katniss sleeps beside me. Our prep teams barge in and wake her up so they can beautify her. My prep team do the same for me and a couple of hours later Katniss and I are watching the other tributes interviews. I look down at my suit and then at Katniss's wedding dress and I smile smugly. Snow thinks we're not married. He better watch it because once my interview comes the puffy pink grin on his face will be gone.
Soon Katniss is on stage and talking to Caesar. "I'm really sorry you won't be able to come my wedding but at least you can see my dress," she says. "Isn't it beautiful?" she asks and like last year she twirls around. The only difference is that there is smoke coming from the bottom of her dress and it turns black. When she stops spinning her once white dress is now made out of black feather. She's a Mockingjay.
The buzzer goes and I'm last to do my interview. I take a seat opposite Caesar and beam at the crowd. "Hello, Caesar," I greet and shake the older mans hand.
"Hello Peeta," he grins. "How have you and Miss. Everdeen be?"
"Well, Mrs. Everdeen and I have been perfect up until the reaping," I reply and Caesar laughs.
"Did you hear that Katniss? Peeta and your mom have been doing more than talking," he grins and the crowd laughs.
I try to keep the smile off my face as I say, "I'm not on about Mrs. Everdeen. I'm on about Mrs. Katniss Everdeen Mellark."
A confused look takes over Caesar's face before his eyes widen. "You mean?"
I nod. "Katniss and I are married. Not legally, we had a toasting. No one in District Twelve feels married with having a toasting so we just did it. Actually, it was a couple of hours before President Snow announced that we'd be going back into the arena, " I reply and the crowd goes wild. Some scream, some boo. To sum it up: they're not happy- and that's what I want.
Caesar tries to carry on talking but the crowd is going crazy and I can't hear him. The buzzer booms and I walk back to Katniss. I take her hand and notice her take hold of Chaff's arm. The next thing I know every tribute I holding hands. If the crowd was crazy before I don't know what they are now.
Peacekeepers push Katniss and me towards an elevator to get us up to our floor. When we arrive we can still hear loud shouts and look out a window to find everyone being kicked out. "The others have gone home," Haymitch's un-slurred voice says and Katniss and I turn to face him. "We'll never see Effie again," Katniss whispers.
"I'll pass on a message," Haymitch offers.
"Tell her we send our love," I reply and Haymitch nods. Cinna and Portia come out of the elevator and I know this is goodbye. I'll see Portia in the morning but not the two other men. I say goodbye to Cinna while Katniss does the same with Portia.
A while later it's only Haymitch, Katniss and me left in the hall. "I guess this is goodbye," I whisper and Haymitch nods.
He rolls his eyes and hugs me quickly before doing the same to Katniss. He pulls away and I can tell he wants a drink desperately. This must be hard for him. "Any last minute advice?" Katniss asks.
"Stay alive," he says and I realise by the tone of his voice that he's not joking about- he's serious. He wants us alive. He loves us just as much as we love him.
We say goodnight and go to bed. I decide to shower in the morning and Katniss and I lay in bed, knowing that we won't be able to sleep. We lay side-by-side, not talking, not moving, just thinking. The night seems to go on forever but morning finally comes. I give Katniss one more kiss before going to my room and having a shower.
I dry off and Portia helps me dress. All I can think about is that I'm going to die and that there's no way for both Katniss and I to live. I'm so lost in my thoughts that the next time I blink I realise I'm surrounded by water. I thank Mr. Everdeen in my head for teaching me how to swim before Claudius Templesmith starts counting down from sixty. "Fifty-nine, fifty-eight…"
Five…
Four…
Three…
Two…
One…
"Let the 75th Hunger Games begin!" And we are off!
REVIEW! Sorry for the rubbish update!