Catching Fire: The New Story

the Unexpected Gift

Katniss's POV

Dinner is awkwardly quiet and unbelievable long. Effie is trying to make conversation out of anything, but we all slip continuously out of it at our lack of effort. I guess everyone heard what happen. I think I am most embarrassed out of all, it was my fight, my battle, that Haymitch tried to run over. My feelings for Peeta belong to me. If I love him, then-

Blush rushed through my cheeks when I realize it, everyone knows my true feelings for Peeta, even I know. I just realized them though. Even some of them are guessing, they still know by the stunt I pulled a few hours ago. I push the blush back, sitting up confidently. Chin up, mind off. Just like how Effie taught me just a few months ago.

My right hand searches for Peeta's under the table, he sits next to me. I find the soft skin and squeeze it in my own. The light scars from baking are noticeable as my thumb rubs the back of his hand. My long nails run over the veins that pop out of his skin, over and over again. He smiles to himself, his eyes wondering away from me to his plate of food, to everyone, widening in amazement at my sudden intimate actions. Pink floods his cheeks, making them as red as tomatoes. I know that makes him happy, happy in a way I never knew I could make a person. Somehow, it did to me too. I smile, looking down to my plate of food as I run my nails over his hand, moving to his soft palm. I know he likes it as much as I did.

We walk to my room, hand in hand, once more, excusing ourselves from the dining room once we are finished. I wonder if anyone saw us, we only grabbed each other's hands once the doors shut behind us. I feel safe in Peeta's arm as we lay on my dark blue bed, the whole room was a hue of blue. I was very tired, and quickly fall asleep in Peeta's warm grasp. I know he would wake me up either when I have a nightmare, or when we reach Eleven.

My dreams drift off as time flies by. Some pleasant, ones I wish I could live in forever, or at least be in for longer since those types of dreams have been vanishing lately. Some dreams come so horrifyingly real, I couldn't pull together if I was in a dream or reality.

"Katniss."

My name echoes in my head until my eyes fly open and I sit up. Peeta is at my side already, holding me down before I do something crazy, like scream. "I'm fine," I whisper. "I'm fine." I'm shaking. My breathing is heavy. I am not fine. Peeta can tell by the looks of me.

He nods though, unconvinced. "Let's go, we're here."

-

Eleven is much more different than I imagined it to be. I expected much more greenery since it is the agriculture district. Long, dark trees everywhere, gardens with beautiful blooming flowers. Bushes with ripped fruit. Reality hits hard though. Each building or house molded more as we passed to the next. Nothing was green, no fruits or vegetables around anyone. All houses were brown wood or gray cement. Every person I saw was dark skinned, paper-and-bones skinny. Working as agriculture seemed to feed well, I guessed wrong. I should've known, this is the second to last district. Like the Capitol would care for it, or it's people, just like Twelve.

Peeta's arm lays over my shoulder as a protection and warmth. He pulls me closer every time we pass something unsatisfying to the human eye. I am still shivering from the cold. Snow doesn't fall here fortunately, for both me and the crops, but the wind is blowing hard outside the car. It's a chilly, winter wind. The land is flat, allowing the wind to come from the top of mining mountains from Twelve and down to the farms of Eleven.

I never got used to the cold. Neither have I liked it at anytime it was around. Winter always meant less hunting time, less food for my family, and more warmth need that I couldn't provide. My father would always say the snow came to make us greater at what we do. It stopped us, just for us to make it through the difficulty and into the easy. We had to appreciate the snow, so we could see how east the summer was.

That is the past. Why must I still worry if theses people of Eleven are feed well enough and are as comfortable as they should be? Because Gale's family is in this state? Because I left all the families in Twelve hopeless? Or am I helping by doing nothing?

My Mockingjay showed something, said something to me that I couldn't form into words yet. I just couldn't find it with cameras on me at all times. I can't figure out why they would do such a thing at such an important time.

Once I exit the car, everything became a blur. I go through changing and my prep team applying makeup and doing my hair. I don't stop to look around at Eleven when the mayor is showing us some spots. My hello's to people have no emotion, these people I will never see again, let alone remember their face and names.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asks, striking me out of my jumbled thoughts.

"Yes, why?" I ask, blankly.

He laughs,"Because, you've been looking straight forward since the car ride, ignoring most of everything. And we are almost ready to go outside to say our speeches."

I stare at him confused for a minute. We still have an hour, don't we? Effie pushes us to the door, answering my question in a sentence that says we only have about two seconds to prepare ourselves until we go out into the cold again to face the people and Panem. I smile as soon as the doors open and everyone is screaming for the Victors of the 74th annual Hunger Games. We thank the mayor of Eleven for his wonderful speech, one I don't listen to. We receive a bouquet of flowers and a large plaque. I place my flowers at my feet and help Peeta hold the award. Where we'll put this, I don't know.

The award means nothing, nothing but the deaths of the two children we assisted in killing. It will never mean a good thing to me. Awards are meant to be given to a person who has achieved something great. This is only saying that we killed two children from this district, even if we didn't put a single finger on them, we are alive, they aren't. It gives us permission to move onto the next district to feel the same way as we do here, and to do it again and again until we return home where the memories never leave. It is a horrible thing to do, yet, we are supposed to have a big, happy smile on our face. How could people be so despicable?

Peeta's speech is better then I would've guessed, but who am I to wonder if Peeta will do a good job at speaking? It is one of his greatest talents. I am glad he takes over the talking and is speaking for me. I tried, I tried so hard to write a speech. Every time my pen hit the paper, I burst into tears. I was left with a stack of blank white sheets of paper covered in tears, a red face, and crimped balls of paper everywhere.

I look out, catching Rue's family. Her sweet smile pops into my head as I stare at her siblings. As small and as beautiful as Rue herself, stood with a hunched mother, alone to care for her children. I wrinkle my eyebrows together in confusion. She said her father was alive too.

I have to blink twice when I spot Rue's youngest sister, for a moment I think she is Rue as a child. She was a child when she was in the Games, but this is a spitting image of as a toddler. The little girl is exactly like her. Same brown hair, same brown eyes, same chocolate skin. The child is even beautiful as her. She smiles warmly at me and I return it. The little boy beside her looks up and smiles at her, then to me. It breaks my heart.

"... and to all the people of Eleven, for giving two of the greatest warriors to the Games, Katniss and I would be obliged to give the families of our fallen tributes a parcel from our winning every month for a whole year," he concludes. I smile so wide. Peeta looks down at me and kisses my forehead.

The people of Eleven are shocked, gasping and watching us as if we were wild muttation animals.

Thresh's family isn't as happy. His grandmother, which seemed, is growing older and seems in need of assistance to stand. The girl, probably his sister, is full on furious with the presence of us. I am as angry as she. Thresh and Rue, and everyone in those Games, did not deserve to die for entertainment. It was not fair. Why should she be mad at Peeta and I though? I did not kill Rue, neither Thresh. He saved me. Cato killed him. I still grieve to this day for him.

"Thank you my people of Eleven for giving Katniss and Peeta a warm welcome to our small district here," the mayor exclaims.

We started for the door when all my guilt of saying nothing bursts.

"Wait!"

*

Fixed this one too :p

~Jez xo