Flames to Embers

17- Maris

(video is Save Myself by Ashe. I'm seeing her in concert this week and am soooo excited)

Katniss got up at about three, which was a relief. According to Haymitch, it was normal for her to stay in her room all day, and not make an appearance until the next day.

I met up with her at the interviews. She looked beautiful, sitting in the last row reserved for mentors. She laughed at something Peeta told her, but not for real. Just that fake laugh she used when something was amusing, but not funny enough for her to actually laugh.

I made my way back to her. She caught my eye, whispered something to Peeta, then stood up and walked away.

"Is she avoiding me?" I said, as a joke to Peeta as I took my seat next to Katniss's.

"Ha. No, no she's not," Peeta said, his laugh faker than Katniss's.

"What did I do?" I asked, my smile slipping away.

"I don't know," He answered, staring off in the direction that Katniss had taken her leave.

I sighed. "Great. Just what I need." I followed his gaze.

"Should one of us follow her?" he asked.

"You should," I responded. "If she's mad at me, she won't want to see me."

Peeta nodded in agreement before getting up to find her.

"Don't dwell on it too much," Mags told me, catching the pain on my face. "I don't think she's mad at you. You've been nothing but good to her all week."

Britt leaned forward so she could see me around Mags. "Did you say anything to her that could've been perceived wrong?"

I stared down at my hands, trying to remember back to the last time I saw her. Then it hit me. She told me she loved me. While I had been floating above Cloud 9 all day, it occured to me that she might not know how to deal with this confession. Katniss was generally a very closed off person, and that was a pretty big confession.

"No," I said instead. Which was the truth. I didn't say anything to upset her.

Just as the first interview started, Katniss and Peeta sat back down.

I very slowly grabbed her hand, which laid in her lap, and gave it a light squeeze. Katniss stared up at me. 'Okay?' I mouthed. She nodded slowly, but removed her hand from mine.

"We need to talk later," I whispered, my mouth close to her ear. She nodded again, and I turned my focus back on the tributes.

Around the time that my female tribute took the stage, I stood up and made my way to the backstage area, where we were supposed to wait for our tributes. Adonia and her co-stylist were already there, as was our escort.

As we waited, I allowed my mind to drift back to Katniss, where it had been almost all day. She loved me. She actually did love me. I knew I shouldn't push her about it. She wasn't in her right mind when she told me, but still. If she broke out of her vegitative state just to tell me that, it must be true, right?

When the interviews ended, I cornered her by the elevators before she had a chance to meet with her tributes.

"Katniss, you can't keep avoiding me for no good reason," I told her.

"I'm not," she argued. "Why would I be avoiding you?"

I sighed, frustrated with her attitude. "I have no idea. That's what I'm asking you."

"Well I'm not, so..." Katniss tried to push past me, but I put a hand on her shoulder gently, and turned her back around to face me.

"Why are you hiding all of the sudden?" I asked her quietly. She didn't answer, but just stared at me. "You can tell me anything. You know that, and you've always trusted me before. So what's changed?"