"No no, (Y/N)! Below the ankle!"

You groaned as you lifted up the skirt one more time, wobbling on the heels that Effie gave you, though you resisted rolling your eyes. Effie was only giving you the best advice right now in prep for tomorrow's interview and how you present yourself, but right now the heels you were given were so uncomfortable that you could barely walk a few steps without feeling the need to trip, and the skirt was so ridiculously long that it only added on to your problems. How could Effie even do this?

"You sure about this?" you sighed in anger as you took another step in the shoes and almost overbalanced. Thankfully Peeta wasn't here to see you make a fool of yourself--he wanted the both of you to train separately, which was alright by you. You've been separate in the training centre, so this was no different.

"Yes, I am sure!" Effie chirped.

You shook your head. "I am NOT a heels person! And I can't even smile for long times on end!"

"Well, really? I don't know how you manage to do it with Peeta around," Effie commented offhandedly.

This instantly made your cheeks turn hot. "He's my best friend, Effie," you retorted. "How else would I be so easy around him?"

"Oh, well..." Effie stretched out on the 'well' for so long you thought you would never hear the end of it. "I was only wondering if you are only acting so hostile on me just because you're not thinking what I'm thinking. In terms of this relationship, that is."

"What are you talking about?" you finally cried, kicking off your heels. You hated having to walk in them, and standing in them even hurt.

"Don't you know? You and Peeta are just perfect for each other," Effie gushed.

"STOP IT!" you cried. "He's just my best friend!"

"Ahh, someone's denying it!" Effie cried. Then she immediately regained her smile. "See? I can still smile even though you are greatly aggravating and denying me."

You groaned again. "Look, I don't even know why I have to go through this when I'm being bombarded by people wanting me to admit the fact that I do love Peeta!"

"AHA!" Effie cried in triumph. "I knew it! You love him!"

To this, you shrugged. "Well, that was easy. TO YOU, anyway! What if he doesn't love me back?" you cried.

"Why the hell are we talking about Peeta?" Effie finally asked, changing the subject just too quickly. "Get those heels back on, (Y/N)! We got stuff to do!"

So back on the heels went on your sore feet, and you kept practicing your posture and smiling and presentation until the 4 hour mark was up.

"Now wasn't that easy!" Effie commented finally, smiling gently at you.

You shook your head. "No. No way. Never again," you muttered, gritting your teeth as you kicked the heels off again and hitched the skirt up to the calf.

"Wait! (Y/N), wait!" Effie called, trotting on her own heels towards you. "I'm sorry! I really am."

You turned to her. "You serious?"

"I didn't mean to expose anything secretive if you didn't feel too comfortable," Effie finally said. "I just want to tell you this though. I fully support you and Peeta being together. Even if you both can't get out of the arena..."

"We'll have to see to that in the end," you finally shrugged, an urge to smile finally returning to you as you felt the edges of your lips curve up. "But thank you, Effie."

*****************

"So, (Y/N). (Y/N), (Y/N), (Y/N)," Haymitch muttered to himself, tapping his finger on top of a table.

You sat across from him, concerned. "Yeah? What is it?"

Haymitch frowned as he stared at you. "I'm trying to think of how to present you. You've been fierce, you're a fighter. But I'm sure the Careers have that mindset already."

"What does it matter how the Careers are going to approach what'll happen on stage tomorrow?" you asked him.

"Because right now, you are pretty much the equivalent of one!" Haymitch finally exclaimed. "You've volunteered for someone you hardly knew at the reaping. You gave everyone a show at the parade, and again at the training centre. You are one who isn't willing to give up. But what if, for one moment, everyone sees you as the vulnerable one?"

You gawked at him. "That can't happen, Haymitch! They'll all know I'll just die in the arena the moment I step in there!"

The moment those words flew out of your mouth, you knew they were more true than you thought they would be. True, you've been fighting your entire time, and any sign of weakness would just humiliate you as a tribute and ruin your entire image. No. You weren't willing to just show the secretive dark side of you that you weren't willing to share.

"Oh? Is that so?" Haymitch finally asked.

You groaned for what felt like the millionth time today. First Effie, now Haymitch. With every passing second, you were despising this entire interview preparation process. "Why? I suppose it wasn't so hard to find what Peeta's good at?"

"He's a likable guy," Haymitch finally told you. "He can joke, play along, make people laugh. But you...you've been reserved and you can yell a lot."

"So? That's all part of who I am!" you cried.

"But what about the vulnerable parts of you?" Haymitch asked.

"Is this supposed to lead me somewhere?" you retorted.

Haymitch was on the verge of nodding, though at the last minute you noticed that he shook his head. "It doesn't matter, (Y/N). Just...I don't know. Pretend I'm the interviewer. You're the person I'm interviewing. Answer my questions. Prove yourself."

But you couldn't. The longer you stayed with Haymitch, the more annoyed you got. It was different with Effie, since she could understand your problems even though yes, she could aggravate you. But Haymitch! Leave it to him to try and expose you as someone who can't do anything! How dare he, anyway, to try and expose that side of you that you weren't willing to share to the Capitol?

After a while, Haymitch threw his hands. "You can answer, alright. But I don't know...just try not to sound like a freaking Career," he finally muttered. "For all I know, you sound way too overconfident."

"Well, thanks," you spat, getting up abruptly and spilling the cup of beer onto the floor and his pants before stomping out of the room.

***********************

The very next evening you were lined up with all the other tributes for the interview just behind this huge stage. You were shivering somewhat as you stood behind the big guy from District 11, Thresh, and in front of Peeta. Unlike the training private demonstrations, female tributes go before male tributes, even though again they start from 1 and end at 12.

"You cold?" Peeta asked you.

You turned to him and only gave him a shifty smile. Peeta was at least decked in something warm--a black tux with a white shirt, the jacket sewn with flame patterns at the cuffs. You, in the meanwhile, were wearing a sleek yet somewhat flaring red and orange dress that gave off deadly light under the bright spotlights on the Capitol stage, though it wasn't so obvious right now standing in the dark. The bodice was also filled with dark red garnets and kept trailing down the left side, the stones growing smaller and smaller and the colour lightening up until it was nothing but a pale yellow, and then it tapered off near the bottom of the dress. And unfortunately for you, the dress was strapless, leaving your arms and shoulders bare. To Peeta's question, you immediately nodded.

"I still have to say though, Cinna did such a good job on me I don't think anyone would care about how hostile or violent I go," you finally muttered, gritting your teeth as you let your hand run through your carefully styled hair--just a simple side ponytail over your left shoulder with your hair curled in gentle ringlets.

Peeta laughed as he wrapped his arms around you from behind. "I don't think you're violent or hostile," he whispered. "Just be yourself."

You smiled. "Funny, because that's what Cinna told me to do. Be myself. Just calm down and answer the questions as if I'm talking to a best friend at home. Easy enough, I can pretend I'm talking with Delly or Katniss."

At the mention of Katniss's name again, you felt Peeta's arms shift around you, and he bit his lip.

"What's wrong, Peeta?" you asked him.

Peeta shook his head. "Nothing, nothing."

You nodded as you closed your eyes, feeling the warmth of Peeta's arms seep right through your body, calming down any tension you felt building for this entire interview. All too soon, though, you heard footsteps, and you soon opened your eyes to see everyone heading onto the stage.

"Ready?" Peeta asked.

You nodded again, and together, you followed Thresh out into the glaring spotlights that blinded your eyes the moment you stepped on the stage. Knowing the Capitol, they wanted to make sure that they presented the tributes with glamour and flair before they are thrown into the arena, and this made you want to grit your teeth so badly but you knew you couldn't. Instead, you kept a smile plastered on your face while those horrible thoughts kept rolling in your head.

The host of the interviews, Caesar Flickerman, looked absolutely dashing with his midnight blue wig and matching suit as he greeted the audience. He got the ball rolling first with a few jokes and things, then he got right down to business. Each tribute, you knew, had 3 minutes to interview with Caesar before a buzzer sounded and the next tribute would go up. So you took a deep breath and relaxed in your chair, though you kept your back straight. Presentation mattered, after all.

Glimmer was the first one up. She had this amazing golden see-through gown that made her look so sexy, so provocative...and in that moment, you knew just how dangerous she could be. For someone like her, she could only lure someone so skilfully, only to have them face their endless demise if they aren't careful. At least, that was what you're getting. Since you were nowhere with the label "sexy", you recalled Haymitch having to drop that.

Marvel went next, then Clove, and then Cato...man, Cato looked pretty dashing in his navy blue outfit. Throughout the entire interview he was bouncing somewhat on the balls of his feet in impatience and probably excitement at the same time.

"Ah, so you're not one to give up so easily, aren't you?" Caesar joked with Cato.

Cato shook his head. "I'm serious when it comes to winning the Games. I would fight, and I would not give up on myself even as people fall. What I care about is bringing pride to my district, and I will never stop at that."

Wow. Haymitch was right. If Cato already portrayed the image of being nothing but a ruthless fighter, then what would you be in a sleek red dress and only some skills in throwing knives and shooting arrows?

Soon, the other districts trailed by. You were able to see the way some of the tributes answered questions and showed off their personalities. Anytime someone was too shy to answer, Caesar would always be there to make sure that they're still memorable in the Capitol's mind. As the tributes went up, one by one, you kept taking deep breaths, clutching hard onto your dress.

Thresh finally finished his interview, and soon you were called up. You got up now, releasing the cramp in your legs as you walked over to Caesar and shook his hand in greeting.

"Well well well! (Y/N), I have to say, I'm intrigued by your presence here in the Capitol," Caesar started off. "What do you like about it so far?"

You only shrugged as you gave your most honest answer. "I have to say, Caesar...the showers were definitely something."

"Ah. The showers," Caesar nodded in approval. "She likes our showers."

This made the Capitol citizens laugh.

"Who can't lie?" you continued. "There are so many buttons to press, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have time to press all of them before I either start overflowing the tub or my escort calls me to dinner and I'm drowning in several different-scented soap suds."

More laughter erupted from the citizens, and you only flashed them a winning smile.

"Ahh, that's quite hilarious," Caesar commented lightly. "Now, tell me about that time you came out during the Tribute parade. Seriously, my heart stopped when I saw you in flames with Peeta."

You nodded. "Oh, that? I had to admit, it was deadly, but I am so honestly very fortunate for my stylist to come up with something different for our district. And even now, I'm wearing something that just reflects that!" you said, gesturing to the dress you were wearing tonight. "I mean, look!"

Out in the crowd, you saw Cinna do a twirling motion with his finger. Twirl.

You obeyed as you spun around once, and the effect was immediate. Everyone suddenly 'ooh'-ed and 'ahh'-ed as you turned, letting the flames engulf all around you. This continued for a bit until you felt light-headed and you knew you had to stop.

"Don't stop!" Caesar pleaded, getting on his knees as he mocked his actual need for you to show him the flames once more.

You shook your head as you giggled. "I have to! I'm really dizzy!" you laughed, which made the whole crowd cheer for you after your fiery spectacle.

"Steady there," Caesar finally let in with a charming laugh, catching you with a hand on your back as you steadied yourself. "That was definitely something! That...that was something," he managed to say amidst the crowd's disjunct cheers now. "Thank you."

You smiled as you looked up away from the crowd, knowing that somewhere beyond the lights of the Capitol laid a small district that served as your home. You knew your mom and Delly and probably the Everdeens would be there, watching the TV at this mandatory programming...and in that moment, you felt absolutely proud that they brought you up for this. Even if you hated the Capitol for bringing this up in the first place, for the first time you felt like you were going to win this thing.

"I have just one more question about the girl you volunteered," Caesar said finally, reaching out for a hand, which you gave as he rubbed it protectively. "We were all moved when you stepped forward to take her place. Did you know her personally?"

You shook your head. "No. I haven't exactly seen her before the reaping. But I knew she had a long life to live. And I didn't want her to...well..." You trailed off, realizing that you were unfortunately putting her in danger.

"Aw, it's okay! You can whisper in my ear," Caesar finally said, and you did.

"I'm scared she'll just sacrifice herself for nothing," you whispered.

Caesar nodded thoughtfully. "Seems like someone is always the more caring one, eh? That's so sweet!"

You could hear the entire Capitol now going "AWWWWWWWWWWW!" at that.

"I just want her to know, when she watches this tonight, that I would do anything to protect her, even though I never knew her very well," you finally spoke up. "That I would go distances to make sure she stays safe."

"And I know that would be a promise you'll keep," Caesar smiled.

Too soon, the buzzer rang.

"Ahh, that's it for us," Caesar concluded, and you nodded as you waved to the crowd one last time and even blew a kiss to them. "Give it up for (Y/N) (Y/L/N) of District 12!"

You smiled one more time and then headed back to your seat, still in a daze as Peeta got up and got the audience going with his quirky personality. To your surprise, he also said the showers were the most surprising thing he found here.

"Tell me Caesar, do I smell like roses to you?" Peeta finally asked Caesar. There came a small sniffing session in which both men had to sniff each other, and then Peeta finally commented, "You do smell a lot better than me."

"Well, I lived here longer," Caesar answered.

Peeta only chuckled and grinned. "That makes sense."

The crowd cheered right on at Peeta's amazing personality. You couldn't help but smile as well.

"So Peeta. You got a special girl back home?" Caesar finally asked Peeta.

This made Peeta uncomfortable, and you knew it the moment he folded his hands in thought. "Well...um, no," he denied, shaking his head.

Wait a minute. Did Caesar just ask if he had a special girl? You were desperately praying for so long that it was going to be you. It had to be you! You were his best friend, his confidante, and hey, everyone was rooting for you and Peeta for the longest time now! Soon, you found yourself folding your hands in nervousness as well, watching helplessly as Peeta thought through his answer.

"I don't believe it for a second!" Caesar cried in disapproval. "I mean, look at that face! Peeta, tell me," Caesar prompted him.

Peeta sighed and nodded. "Well, okay...well, there is this one girl I know I had a crush on forever," he finally said. "And I have to say she's the bravest person I would ever get to know. I just hope...I hope she would feel the same way about me."

You only smiled at this response. You knew you were brave. And yes, you loved Peeta with all your heart! But something in his words made you doubt yourself. Was he even referring to you?

"I'll tell you what," Caesar assured Peeta, clapping him on the shoulder. "You go out and win this thing. And she'll never turn you down when you return! What do you guys say?" he added to the crowd, who cheered in assent.

"Yeah. I'm only hoping that...I'm only hoping that she'd be watching this tonight, because this is the only time I'm going to say this," Peeta finally said, cutting through the crowd's cheers.

Suddenly, your senses were on high alert. Of course you were watching every single minute of this. You are even in the program yourself! You shifted a bit in your chair, anxious to hear the rest of Peeta's answer.

"And what is it that you're going to say?" Caesar asked him.

Peeta took a shaky breath. "I...well, I know this is a long shot right now, but...I love you, Katniss Everdeen."