"It would be best if we don't start off our association by lying to one another, my dear boy," a cool voice said.

Slowly he opened his eyes, looking up at the well-dressed man. President Snow was intimidating from afar, it was worse up close. Especially being alone with him in his hospital room. He had only been awake for a few hours. Haymitch hadn't been back to see him since his speech went wonky.

"Yes, sir."

"Good boy."

He sat up and fixed the sheet over his lap, looking up at the President of Panem. "Hello, President Snow, how are you today?" he asked.

"You're very polite, I like that. I want us to stay on polite terms with each other, don't you?"

Peeta did his best not to flinch when the man padded his knee. "Yes, sir."

"Good. May I ask you why you didn't open the bag in the arena?"

He didn't know why he was asking these questions. Should he tell the truth or lie? For some reason he knew that he shouldn't tell the complete truth.

"I work in my parents' bakery at home. The smell was one I knew, it's dangerous. We use it in the bakery, it's so volatile that my dad is the only one that connects the canaster. The smell is unique, hard to forget."

"What was your plan for the bag?"

"Just what happened, use it in a fight," he lied.

"I thought we agreed not to lie to each other. You carried the bag over that arena just so no other tribute found it and have a little accident. Don't answer, we both know the truth. One of my Gamemaker's became a little clumsy and detonated the bomb inside the bag. It wouldn't have been as big if it were not near the other bomb. The one you found at the Cornucopia when you returned. Neither were supposed to be big enough bombs to kill anyone just maim. You are the luckiest boy in Panem, your win was a complete fluke."

"I'm sorry?" he said.

"Nonsense, how could it possibly be your fault?" he asked.

By the cold, angry look in his eyes, Peeta very much believed it was his fault. How could the man smile and look so cruel at the same time? There was that smell again, almost like roses but not. He did his best not to gag.

"Right."

"That does lead us to a problem, one that I know you didn't mean to cause, but here we are," Snow said spreading out his hands with his palms up.

"What happened to the Gamemaker that made the mistake?"

"He's been dealt with, my boy, don't you worry. He'll never make that mistake again." Or any other mistake he guessed.

Peeta nodded but he knew what happened to people who angered the Snow. An Avox didn't come out of nowhere, but he thought the Gamemaker was no longer with the living. If the man hadn't been trying to kill him in the arena, he would have felt bad.

"Now back to our slight problem. People saw you try to stop the girl from entering the Cornucopia before the explosion. We just can't have that."

"Why not?"

He could swear the man's pupils turned into slits like a snake for a second. There was no way he could know what the man wanted. After hearing talk from Haymitch when he was drinking, he believed there was something worse than losing the games…winning them.

"If they see you winning the games without killing anyone, they may think they don't need to play the games at all. See my problem?"

Not really but he didn't dare say it. "I don't understand."

"Once people think they don't have to play the games, they may get even more radical ideas. Ideas like rebellions, no hierarchy, and the end of Panem as we know it. That can't happen, it's a fine line we are walking my dear boy. Our system is frail, but you can help strengthen it. Not to worry, I wouldn't ask this of you without giving you something in return. Although, if you refuse, consequences will have to be served."

"How?"

"Simple, you will have to convince them you're a cold-blooded killer. You convince them all they saw was all a strategy."

"But we both know I'm not."

"Then you better do a good job."

"How will I know if I've succeeded?"

"Convince me on the Victory Tour. Also Mr. Mellark, I would suggest you keep this between just us."

He nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good, because there are many things worse than dying in the arena. I best be going; I have things to do to prepare for your crowning. I do have one more question for you. We work hard to make our games, how was it you barely needed any food?"

"Most kids in District Twelve don't eat because they don't have anything. So, when they do find something, they can eat it. No matter if it's the littles piece of bread or bitterest berry. My family is lucky, we're from town, merchants are better off. My mother's punishment was that I couldn't eat if I had done something wrong. A few more days and I'd be dead. I just knew I could do it because I already had." He knew he couldn't lie to the President about that because he was still too out of it to think of a good lie.

"Mmm," was all he said.

It was blood he realized after the man left, the smell mixed with the rose he wears, blood. It wafted behind him, lingering in the room long after he had gone.

He didn't think he could convince anyone he was a killer. He knew if he hadn't put the bags in the Cornucopia, she wouldn't have died that way. She probably would have won, she was strong. When he was on the volcano, he was worried that when it started to heat up it would cause the gasses in the pack to explode. He hadn't known it was a bomb. It made him wonder how he could smell the gasses. If they were in a strong container he shouldn't have been. Unless it was leaking, which since he hadn't passed out or had it explode while he was running, didn't seem likely. But Snow said the Gamemaker accidently denoted it, meaning it wasn't just the ML2TL gas. His father had always made sure he and his brothers knew it's dangers because it caused an explosion in the bakery, causing his grandfather's death. His dad had to rebuild the whole thing.

All he wanted to do is go home and hid in the crawlspace under the bakery, it was the only place he felt safe. His dad had told him once it was strong enough to old off the bombs that destroyed Thirteen, he didn't believe that, but it was a nice lie. It's why he hid there when his mom was scary angry with him. The teachers didn't even ask him why he was injured anymore, hadn't since he was seven.

Haymitch arrived not long after looking more disheveled than his normal state.

"I heard you had a visitor," he said casually.

"President Snow came to congratulate me," he said, trying to sound happy about it.

"I bet he did. I guess you know what you're going to say during the interview." Did Haymitch know about the talk they had?

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"Just remember kid, your life isn't the only one on the line here."