"There is no way!" I say, slamming my fist down on the table. "There is no way I'm wearing that on my wedding day!" I take the picture Effie is holding and rip it up. She gasps, which is not surprising.
"Katniss, please!" She says, picking up the shredded pieces. She fumbles to put the puzzle back together, but to no avail. "It would look absolutely marvelous on you!" She says, once she gives up.
"Effie! It looks like District 12 after the bombing!" I say, crossing my arms in disgust. It's horrid. And I will not stand for this. If I'm going to get married, it's going to be wearing something that would at least be accepted by the people of my district.
"For your information, Katniss, this dress was made in the Capitol!" She snaps.
"That would explain why," I mumble, looking at Peeta. He knows I hate the dress Effie chose for me. Any reasonable person would. It looks like what a capitol citizen would wear, but ten times bigger. It's so unflattering, and there's not a chance I'm wearing it.
"Effie," Peeta says, obviously trying to work out the problem. "Maybe we could... renovate the dress. So Katniss can enjoy wearing as much as you enjoy picking it out," He says. And he couldn't have said it any better.
"But Peeta..." She pauses to think. "Fine. But it won't be nearly as extravagant as this model," she says, sighing, and holding up the ripped picture.
I give Peeta a thank you nod, and turn back to Effie.
"Anything else you want to ruin?" I ask, frowning. Effie sighs.
"Well..." She says, and I know I shouldn't have asked that.
"Your list of... Requirements were a little hard to work with..." She breathes, looking a little scared.
"What did you change?" I ask furiously. I haven't been this mad in a while. I forgot how it feels. To fight. Fighting, though, is the one thing that I know I'll never stop doing. Whether it be with people or for my life. And that fact kind of haunts me.
"Katniss. 100 people at a wedding isn't very many! Considering how well known you and Peeta are and-"
"Effie, you're lucky I'm even letting you go! This is my day, not yours." And there I go- forgetting about Peeta again. "Our day," I correct myself, mumbling. "You will follow my requirements or we're going to find another wedding planner!" I forcefully stand up, knocking over the chair beneath me. I storm out of the room and hear Peeta call my name. I don't turn back. There's no reason to. Peeta will just try to negotiate. But there's nothing to compromise on. I gave her my list and if she doesn't follow it, it's her fault. Before I slam the door, I can momentarily see Effie's hurt face. And I realize I'm being a little harsh.
I contemplate going back inside, but decide against it. That would defeat my entire purpose.I put my ear close to the door so I can listen.
"Effie, she just wants a small wedding." Peeta whispers.
"Yes but so many people want to attend! She replies. "It would be a shame to let them all down!"
"It'll be in the newspaper the next day! They'll all read about it... And right now we're letting Katniss down." He says. But that's not true. Both of them aren't letting me down. It's only Effie. But Peeta doesn't want to make her feel worse than she already does. I could never do what Peeta does.
"I'd never want Katniss to be sad," she says. And I hear her take a deep breath.
"Exactly. Me neither. Seeing her sad is the worst feeling in the world to me." And then there's a long silence.
"Let's move on from guests for now," Peeta says eventually, "Let's talk about cake."
"Well that would be your department, Mr. Mellark." She says, laughing. And then I move from the door. Peeta's been talking about our wedding cake for years. And how he wants it to be a surprise for me. I wouldn't want to ruin anything that Peeta has planned.
I go outside and sit on my porch. There's such a nice view from Victor's Village. You can see right into town. All the little people moving around like ants. It's fascinating. How people can seem so small from far away. How everyone looks the same until you get closer and recognize their face. Then you know they're name, personality, age. If they're good or bad. From far away you know nothing.
I can only hear mumbling from inside the house. Where Effie and Peeta are. They've already planned so much and I don't know how much work is left. It's been months and all I've been doing is complaining. No surprise there. I hope they're almost done, though. With the wedding. I just want to get it over with at this point. Yes, I'm excited. But I'm also sick of all this decision making. My best bet is to trust Peeta. To rely on him to make all the decisions. He knows what I want, and he's much better at expressing it than I am.
The mumbling stops and I figure they're done for today, It's getting late, and Peeta's probably extremely tired. He's been waking up at the crack of dawn every morning. To get an early start on planning. I've been sleeping in and enjoying the days before the wedding. And I feel crushed when Peeta crashes at 8:30 every night. He just wants it to be the perfect day for me. And him, of course.
I hear the clicking of high heels and turn towards the front door. I see the knob turn and Effie walks out into the brisk District 12 air.
"I just want to say... That Peeta and I are just trying to make this day special for you," she says, and proceeds to walk down the porch steps.
"Effie," I say, stopping her. "I'm... sorry." The words leave my mouth before I even know I'm saying them. She smiles, though. And I know I've said the right thing.
"Oh, Katniss. I know," she pauses. "I'll see you tomorrow."
I think about asking her to stay the night, but she's already walking into town. I don't worry about it, though. Considering her standards, she must be staying somewhere beautiful. I watch her get smaller and smaller, until she is just another ant. It surprises me that even though her appearance is so unforgettable, I can't seem to distinguish her in the crowd of people. I try, though, for a couple of minutes. But it's impossible.
It's starting to get cold. So I walk into my cozy heated house. I climb the stairs to find Peeta sitting in our bed, reading a newspaper. I join him and he smiles.
"Effie just wanted-" he starts, but I cut him off.
"I know. I apologized."
His smile gets even bigger and I scoot closer to him so I can see what he's reading.
"It's all about us," he says, pointing to one of the many articles.
"The Boy With The Bread And The Girl On Fire's Wedding," I read aloud.
"The Star Crossed Lovers Of District Twelve Together Forever," he says, laughing.
"They never forget," I say, leaning my head on Peeta's shoulder. He wraps his arm around me and brings me in closer.
"They don't want to forget," he replies, planting a small kiss on my lips.
I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to vote, comment, and follow me! Thank you!
-Melanie 🦁
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Real - An Everlark Fanfiction
Fanfiction"It's been a year, Katniss. People actually heal if they understand how lucky they are to be alive."
