An Extra Tribute

-propos in 12-

I'm sent to the Hangar by midmorning and wait for Katniss, Boggs, and Gale. We're going to film in 12. This time, I'm dressed in only a 13 military jumpsuit instead of my Ghost costume. I don't mind feeling normally for once. I internally go over our plan and when they turn up, I make eye contact with Katniss. When she nods slightly, I walk to Gale and grab his arm, smiling up at him. He seems surprised at first, but rolls with it in a way that reminds me of Peeta when we threatened the Careers our first go around. I force myself not to grimace and walk with him.

"So, you've gotta know too," he mumbles to me.

"Know what?" I ask with a smile.

"Where were you last night?" He asks.

"I was at dinner, but I went back to my room after the propo. The scenes freaked me out," I lie smoothly. "Why?"

"Nothing," he replies.

"Oh, and remember," I scratch behind my ear, "everything will work out the way it should." He sighs. "Hey, brighten up. We gotta sell this thing." We walk the rest of the way to the hovercraft. Boggs isn't coming with.

Our flight is mostly silent. Cressida explains the game plan and I'm basically not going to do anything. Katniss and Gale are going to talk about 12 and I'm just there because I'm part of the Mockingjay trio. Yay.

We arrive in 12 after a few minutes. We all exit and the cameramen begin fixing the cameras on. Messalla converses with them quietly as Cressida talks to us.

"Does this feel okay? We'll just start here." No one says anything as we look around. I walk a few steps and really get a full look at the town square. Memories of times in 4's town square fill my mind and I feel distraught for Katniss and Gale. I step back and spin around when Gale starts talking.

"This is where we watched it," he says. "When you shot your arrow." Katniss looks at him as well. "We were sent back to our houses immediately and sat in silence for about an hour. Then, I heard the Peace Keeper trucks pulling out. All of them. Not a single Peace Keeper was left here. And I knew what that meant." Cressida whispers to one of the cameramen to follow Gale as he walks down the street. I follow behind him slowly, allowing the cameras a clear shot of the boy. "Me and a few guys from the mines started going door to door trying to get people out of their houses and to come with us. But, a lot of people were scared of the forest and made a break for it down the street that way." He points down the road, the opposite way of the meadow. "Then the first bomb dropped." He leads us down the street in the direction the people headed. It's a downward slope, so we couldn't see what was down there until now. Gale crouches down, his eyes on the floor. I see tears form in his eyes, but he wipes them away. "915 out of 10,000," he says softly. "I could've saved them. If I just told them to go with me or grabbed them. There were so many kids I could've carried." Katniss rubs his shoulder, standing next to him.

"Gale, you saved so many people. Without you, there would be no District 12, not eve a memory," I say. "You're a hero."

"Thanks," he mumbles.

We rest at Katniss' old home in Victor's Village. The small clump of houses is the only thing that survived the bombings. They avoided it for some reason. I'm looking over the footage with Cressida when I hear their conversation. I step away and move towards the kitchen, flattening myself on a wall nearby.

"So, what's this thing with you and Noah?"

"What thing?"

"You know. The holding hands and kissing her cheek."

"Oh. We're just friends, Katniss." Good job Gale, that's really selling it to her. Whatever, she knows anyways.

"It doesn't seem like it."