𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲.Cato Hadley

7.

~•~•~•~
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.
~•~•~•~

Seeing Haymitch again after so long doesn't make me feel like I missed him at all. Sometimes I thought that when I sее him, all my anger towards him would be extinguished because, after all, this was the person who helped me in every way during these two years. But now I actually feel angrier. I'm angry because he's trying to control everything again, and as we saw, that didn't end well the last time.

"Hello, Melanie," Haymitch says. I have no desire to say anything to him. After what he did, all I feel for him is rage. "This how you greet an old friend?"

"Maybe you have nothing to do with the word "friend" to me anymore," I answer out of anger.

"We are back to the stages of getting to know each other again?" Haymitch says it as a joke, but I don't find it funny at all. I quickly find myself not wanting to communicate with him anymore.

"I have no intention of becoming friends with you," I say firmly and then release myself from my studio.

On my way to the exit, I can feel all eyes on me. Some, like Plutarch's, are angry that I am leaving without having done my job properly. Others seem to understand me and accept my own release.

~•~

The next day, Haymitch gathers us in a Command. Here's me, Effie, Plutarch, Boggs, Coin, Gale, Finnick who wheels Beetee, and of course, Haymitch. The first thing my former mentor does is show the footage we shot. I see processing is turned on, but that doesn't make things any better. I look so forced and fake that even I wouldn't say I did well.

I look down in shame, not even bothering to see the disappointed faces of the others. That's impossible to happen. I can't be the Mockingjay alone, I can't speak in front of cameras as freely as Cato did.

"Madam President, indulge me for a moment, if you would," Haymitch says and stands in front of the big screen. "Let's everybody think of one incident where Melanie genuinely moved you. Not where you were jealous of her hairstyle or her dress went up in flames or she made a halfway decent shot with an arrow. I want to hear one moment where she made you feel something real."

I look around at everyone in the room, and at first, they seem to be wondering if such a moment even exists. Fortunately, after a few seconds, Effie quickly raises her hand.

"When she volunteered for her best friend at the reaping," She says. "She was then sure she was going to die."

"Good. Excellent example," Haymitch says. He takes an electronic pen and writes on the screen."Volunteered for best friend at reaping. Okay, somebody else?"