Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

From the moment she enters the room, the smell of freshly baked bread and mint fills her nose. She lays down on his blue sheets, the scent wafted around her making it feel as though she was enveloped by him. Hunched over a new painting, Peeta didn’t acknowledge the girl's presence, too focused. Calliope didn’t mind though as she could watch him paint in silence for hours. Taking in every feature.

He had a ritual when he was creating, a set of habits he did over and over that the girl kept track of. Watching, waiting to check it off her mental list.

Humming while mixing pigments: Check.
Pausing briefly to admire his progress: Check.
Picking up the parchment and holding it to light: Check.
A barely visible smile on his face as he works: Check
His brows knitting together as he adds small bits of detail: Check.

It was a game she played with herself. A game she always knew she would win as Peeta Mellark was a creature of habit.

From the first time she laid eyes on Peeta Mellark, Calliope knew she was in trouble. It was the first day of school. They were five-years-old. Peeta was with his father, as they walked up to the schoolhouse, the young boy hiding behind Mr. Mellark's legs as the man was pointing out another girl and her mother, not seeming to notice his son gripping onto his pant leg as if his life depended on it. Mr. Mellark, nudged his son forward, wishing him a good day before leaving young Peeta all on his own.

He didn’t move from his spot in front of the school yard despite the teachers calling the children in. Keeping his nervous gaze over his shoulder on his father who disappeared in the distance. Anyone could tell that the poor boy was terrified, holding back tears. With no fear or hesitation, Calliope, who had been watching this entire interaction, dropped the hand of her own father, wishing him a quick goodbye before practically marching right over to the small blonde.

Holding out her little hand to him, with a warm smile she said, "My name is Calliope. You don't have to be scared, we're gonna be friends." She didn’t wait for him to take her hand, instead she took his, and led him into the school house.

In District Twelve, where the teenagers reside, there are different levels to the schooling system. Starting at Level One when you are five years old, then moving on to Level Two when you turn six and so on. Due to the small size in population, District Twelve’s Level One class that year only had about twenty-three children and Calliope and Peeta were two of them.

It took hours before she heard Peeta speak, but not because he was scared or holding back, but because Calliope talked so much the poor boy could barely get a word in. It hadn’t been until the end of the school day that she realized she should probably ask the boy his name.

“Peeta,” he answered timidly.

"Well Peeta, I promise we're gonna be really good friends." And from that moment they were inseparable.

They had been through it all together. Their childhood, that awkward stage between the ages of 11 and 13. Every anxious summer. Calliope’s fathers funeral. Peeta’s wrestling matches. They showed up for each other. Others in the District joked that whenever they saw one, the other wouldn’t be too far behind.

Looking at the makeshift calendar that hung across the small room, Calliope let out a sigh, speaking for the first time since she entered his room. "14 days."

"I wish you would stop counting down," Peeta huffed from his spot at his desk, dropping his brush into fresh red pigment the girl had brought him the day before.

When the weather got warmer, and the days got longer, there was no stopping the anxiety that filled all the children in the Twelve Districts of Panem. The country in which they live. Summer was not a season to be celebrated. This time of year brought nothing but terrible memories and unspoken feelings for most of the District. Along with scorching heat and droughts, summer also brought the annual Hunger Games.

The country of Panem was made up of twelve districts and a Capital at the center. Each district was responsible for a certain resource that would help make the lives of those in the Capital luxurious and extravagant, while receiving no benefits from the blood and sweat they put into their work. 74 years ago, the districts decided that needed to change. That they would no longer be under the rule of the Capital, that they would live freely, to do as they please.

So they fought. They fought hard. But the Capital was stronger, more powerful and they lost. The Capital was furious and wanted blood for all the lives that had been lost on their side. So as a punishment, they created the Hunger Games. An annual live TV show.

Every year, as a reminder to what the Districts had done, the Capital takes one female and one male “tribute” between the ages of 12 to 18 from each District to compete on this TV. The catch? All 24 kids must fight to the death until only one is left standing.

This year marks 74 years and another 23 innocent lives will be slaughtered for the entertainment of the Capitol, to keep the Districts scared of ever revolting again. Those were the only punishments but it was the most prominent.

The games had an extra punch to them for Calliope as just two years ago, it had been her brother Cedar who had been reaped and forced into the deadly arena as District 12's male tribute for the 72nd annual games. He was only 16 at the time, the same age Calliope was now, and a part of the 23 innocent to die.

Turning in his chair, Peeta gave the girl a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it won't be you this year. I know it." But he didn’t know it. Neither of them did. Nothing was ever certain with the games, the Makers made sure of that. Calliope returned the smile anyways as she wanted to move on from the darkness that loomed over her every year.

Looking over his shoulder to his desk, Calliope tried to catch a glimpse of the piece Peeta had been working on. He was never one to share a painting before it was finished, but Calliope didn’t care and looked anyways. The painting was of a girl with a long brown braid and gray eyes.

"Really?" Calliope rolled her eyes, grabbing the paper off the boy's desk to inspect it closer. "Katniss Everdeen, again?" Peeta tried to capture the piece of paper back from her but Calliope was too quick, turning her back to him when he got close. His room was small, so there wasn’t much space for her to go. "You're still not over this crush of yours?" she laughs, keeping the paper away from him as she climbs on his bed, gaining a height advantage.

"It's not-" he reached for it again, but no luck, "-it's not a crush."

"Oh, right you're in love with her," Calliope teased with a fake gag. Darting to the other side of the room, knocking over his cup of paint brushes off his desk on the way. They clattered to the floor, making a mess.

Ever since they were five and she sang the valley song in music class, Peeta had been pining over Katniss Everdeen, watching her from afar. Never having the courage to actually approach the girl. Calliope choked it up to a fear of rejection.

Katniss was the type of girl that everyone knew of, but never truly knew. Mostly keeping to herself or to Gale Hawthrone, Katniss refused to let anyone in, refused to let them get close as after the death of her father, it was up to the girl to look after her family and keep them alive. Her younger sister Primrose, at only 12-years-old, was the more favorable of the siblings. With her long blonde hair usually styled in two braids and contagious smile, it was impossible not to like her.

Gale Hawthrone was a similar specimen to Katniss. Usually keeping to himself or to her. Unlike Katniss, all the girls in their school fawned over the boy. He was fit, despite the lack of food in the district and he wasn’t too bad looking. Both were from the Seam.

From time to time, the two would come to the Whittmore’s shoe shop that Calliope’s maternal grandfather owned and operated with help from his granddaughter. They would trade game for necessities like shoe laces or new soles for their boots. Once even traded a whole deer for a brand-new pair of boots. That kept Calliope's family fed for a while.

Hunting was against the law. Punishable by public whippings, but most laws go overlooked. The Peacekeepers, military sent by the Capital to enforce the law, happened to be some of the black market's best customers. Their hunting and foraging had kept many families alive after their trade. It was a common unspoken rule throughout the District. If you see Katniss and Gale with game, look the other way.

Making fun of Peeta for his crush on the Everdeen girl was a pastime Calliope loved. The blonde had her backed into a corner, the only way to get past Peeta was to maneuver around him but he was faster and stronger, coming in second place in their school for wrestling. Unsuccessful in her attempt, Peeta threw the girl over his shoulder as if she was a bag of flour. Letting out a yelp, Calliope cursed at him to put her down.

"Whatever you say!" He obliged, throwing Calliope back onto his bed where he climbed over her, again trying to reach for the painting, but she was still able to keep it out of reach. "It's not done yet," he told her but Calliope didn't care. Laughing as she continued to keep the painting away from him.

It wasn't until he attacked her sides, causing her to writhe under him, that Calliope finally gave in. She hated being tickled and Peeta knew this, that's why he did it. He was able to grab the painting, smiling down at her in triumph as Calliope pouted, breathing heavily from the running around.

Others may have viewed this as flirting, but this was just Calliope and Peeta. Neither were ones to shy away from touch. Even with other friends of theirs, it wasn’t uncommon for Calliope to hold Wren’s hand or for Peeta to put an arm around his brother. People would occasionally bring up their relationship, commenting on how they were made for each other. Peeta would make a face and a comment about how he would never see the girl in that way and Calliope would pretend to feel the same way as her heart secretly broke inside.

Only a few inches from each other's faces, the painting forgotten about, their eyes looking into each other’s. Peeta’s hand lingered on the girl's side in the spot he was previously tickling. Her shirt had rolled up ever so slightly making it so Peeta's pinky and ring fingers rested on her bare hip. It sent a shiver throughout the girl's body.

Kiss me, Calliope silently prayed. Wanting nothing more than for him to lean down and break the space between them and place a kiss on her lips. To replace the tension with actual passion but the sound of his mother pulled the two from their position.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Mrs. Mellark, Peeta's mother, asks sternly walking into the room. The two jumped away from each other as if they had been burned.

Peeta stuttered, instantly bending down to the floor to pick up the fallen paintbrushes. "Uh, we’re sorry mother." Calliope followed suit, no daring to look the woman in the eyes as she berated the teens.

"I could hear you all the way down in the bakery! Acting like fools, the both of you. Make yourself useful and get to work," she threw a white apron toward the boy, smacking him in the face before he could catch it. "Calliope, go home."

Mrs. Mellark was a cold and heartless woman who didn't care for her three sons. More than a couple of times, Calliope had found Peeta with new bruises or a red handprint on his face from his mother. Each time, Calliope was there to make him feel better and assure him that his mother's harmful words weren't true.

Not wanting to upset her more, the two gave a quick goodbye and headed in their own directions.

The walk home wasn't far as the shoe shop where Calliope lived above was right across the way from the Mellark bakery but the walk was still dim. Life in District 12 was not one to be envied. Considered the poorest of the Twelve Districts, their day to day life was littered with gloomy days and unfilled stomachs. Color didn’t seem to exist in the center of the district. The buildings were of concrete or brick, worn down by time and nature. Food was hard to come by and most times considered a luxury.

Being 5 miles long and about 8 miles wide, compared to other districts, 12 was the smallest, with the smallest population. It was split into two. The Seam, being in the lower part of the District closer to the fence, had it the worst. A majority of those citizens came from families whose men worked in the coal mines but a couple of years ago an explosion claimed the lives of more than half of those men and suddenly their incomes were gone. The explosion had also claimed the life of Calliope’s father.

Violet Whittmore, Calliope’s mother, came from the merchant section, the more well off part located in the center of the District. Her father was raised in the Seam by his abusive single father after the death of his mother. It was a miracle he survived childhood. When he met Violet, they got married and he took her last name, not wanting to remember any bit of the life before her. They moved into the apartment above the Whittemore Shoe Shop.

Theodore was quick to realize that shoe making was not a talent of his and opted to work in the mines to get extra money for the family. Having two incomes was rare in the District and made the Whittmore’s more wealthy than others. Almost as well off as the Mayor.

Until Calliope was eleven and the mine explosion claimed her fathers life. There was still a steady income with the shop and families were given a small amount of money for the lives that were lost but it wasn’t enough.

Despite all the horror that is District Twelve, Peeta was the light that kept Calliope going. It wasn’t uncommon to see children with hollowed cheeks and stomachs so small you could see their rib cages, but her friendship with Peeta made it all seem a little more bearable.

"Hey, Pa'," Calliope greeted her grandfather as she walked inside. Looking up from the pair of dress shoes he had been working on, Mr. Whittmore gave his granddaughter a warm smile. "Who are those for?"

"The Galloway boy, his funeral's tomorrow."

Calliope nodded, a frown on her face. Nathan Galloway was a good boy from the Seam, only 14, though he looked much younger, due to being sick. Malnutrition and lack of shelter exposed the boy to sickness and no medicine helped him get better.

Death was so common in District 12 but it was still sad whenever someone so young died.

"Hey ma'," Calliope whispered, cracking the door to her mother's room slightly. The woman stayed lying still in her bed. Not even the sound of her daughter's voice could grab Violet’s attention. She had been like this for two years. The death of Theodore was hard on Violet but the death of her son broke her in a way no one could help. Her depression hit her like a train, bounding her to her bed. Most of the time Calliope had to spoon-feed her just to keep her alive. "Peeta baked us some bread, would you like any?" Calliope removed the loaf of bread she had hidden in her coat and placed a piece of it on the bedside table. "I'll just leave it for you if you are feeling up for it."

She knew that her mother wouldn't eat the bread but Calliope wanted to show her that she was still thinking about her.

Chapter Text

Despite living in a totalitarian Government, school was still mandatory as are chores. Though those weren't forced by the government, just parents. Finishing up her last box of inventory for the morning, the bell above the shop door rang out. "Hey, Calli," a dark-haired girl greeted with a smile that was out of place.

School ran all year round in Panem, with few days off between. Children learned basics like reading, writing and math, but each district was also taught the history of the Capitol and Panem along with the industry to their district. Calliope couldn't tell you how many hours she spent forced to hear the same lecture on the importance of mining coal for the Capital or the best ways to mine.

"Ready to go?" Wren asks.

Calliope nods, grabbing her small stack of books.

Wren Lockheart was a short girl with shoulder length dark hair and an olive skin tone that matched most of those who lived in the Seam. Unique to her though was the cluster of freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks.

The two met a couple of years ago, bonding over their mutual hatred for their level 5 teacher Mr. Stallien who made fun of young Peeta for getting excited about the painting he made for some homework assignment on the importance of using coal for fire. After an entire year of being betrayed and torn down, Wren was the one to finally speak up. Anyone who stuck by Peeta was a friend of Calliope's and the rest was history.

Giving a kiss to her grandfather's cheek, Calliope wished him a good day before rushing out the shop door where the girls would wait for Peeta and Rye. Only on this day the boys were running more late than usual.

"Where are they?" Wren taps her foot impatiently. Calliope can't understand why, the boys were never one time.

"Relax, Rye is probably holding them up," Calli excuses.

Rye Mellark, the second oldest of the Mellark Brothers. His mischievous and cunning behavior always meant he was up to no good.

This particular morning was no different. A loud clatter caused the girls to look in the direction of the bakery where Rye and Peeta came running out at full speed. Rye with a smile plastered on his face while Peeta looked beyond terrified. When their mother followed suit, screaming and waving around a rolling pin while yelling about disrespect, Calliope knew it wasn't good.

Before she had a chance to ask questions, Peeta grabbed the girl's hand, spinning her around as he quickly pulled her away from his screaming mother. Stumbling over herself as she went. Rye and Wren followed close behind.

"What's going on?" Wren yells as they run as fast as they can.

It wasn't until they were far enough away that Mrs. Mellark's screams could no longer be heard that they finally slowed to catch their breath. Wren gave them all a moment to even out their breathing. Looking down, Calliope realized her hand was still in Peeta's. Her heart began to beat even faster, if that was even possible. His hand was soft and warm and fit perfectly in her own. Despite knowing he hadn't meant to keep his hold for so long, Calliope couldn't bring herself to let go just yet.

"What...the hell...did you do?" Wren asks again between heavy breaths.

Rye couldn't help but laugh while Peeta sent daggers his way. Peeta was coming around the corner with a tray of cookies and I couldn't pass on the chance to scare him. I swear he jumped like five feet in the air!" He lets out a full belly laugh.

"What was that noise though?" Calliope questions, hand still in Peeta's.

Peeta answers, voice full of rage as he points at his brother, hand finally releasing Calliope's. She felt cold without his touch. "This idiot made me drop an entire batch of fresh pastries onto the floor."

"Come on man, it wasn't that bad." Rye wasn't letting up on the smile. Peeta wasn't one to start a fight but his fist balled at his side.

"Not that bad!?" Peeta yells. "I'm the one who has to deal with it when I get home after school. Not you." Being the youngest of three, Peeta was always the scapegoat, the one getting blamed for everything and who was usually at the end of his mothers blows.

Realizing the state of the situation, Rye quickly apologized, but they all knew the apology wouldn't help Peeta when he got home. Still angry, Peeta stormed away from his brother, continuing in the direction of their school house.

Rye gave Calliope an apologetic look. Despite all the chaos he caused, Rye did care for his brother and felt bad for what he had done.

"Peeta!" Calliope called after the boy. Catching up to him, Calliope says, "Why don't you come to mine after school, we can hang out, it can get your mind off it all."

Shaking his head, Peeta continues to walk. "No. Staying away will only make things worse. When I dropped the tray I just ran, I knew it would be bad but I just had to get out of there."

Calliope nodded. "Maybe, maybe it won't be so bad this time."

Peeta whipped around to face her, his eyes glaring as he gripped the book he was holding so tightly, his knuckles practically turning white. "You're serious? You know my mother Calli. You know how she is, you're stupid to think like that!"

Taken aback by the rise in Peeta's, Calliope freezes, not reacting well to when people yell at her. With another shake of his head, Peeta turns and walks away from the girl, leaving her too stunned to follow.

"Everything okay?" Wren asks as she and Rye catch up.

Calliope nodded her head slightly, still trying to understand the events that had just transpired. Peeta raised his voice at her and called her stupid, something he had never done before. Sure the two have been in their fair share of disagreements but they have never raised their voice before which is what shocked the girl so much. For Peeta to be that stressed, there had to be something bad coming. "Uh yeah everything's fine," Calliope lies.

"Hey, I'll talk to him, Calli." Rye gave her a sympathetic look, putting his hand on her shoulder.

To fully ignore someone for an entire school day was hard. Especially when there are only about 15 kids in their level, but Peeta did it. Not once the entire lecture did he turn to Calliope or speak to her, despite them sitting right beside each other. His attention was completely focused on their teacher, acting as if he really cared about the lesson but Calliope knew he wasn't that passionate about the history of Panem

When they were dismissed for lunch, Peeta raced out of the classroom so fast that there was no catching up to him before he just seemed to disappear. So Calliope spent her lunch with Wren who had her full attention on Rye.

"I'm sure Peeta will be okay," Wren tried to help the girl. "Once he realizes that he took it too far, he'll come crawling back to apologize."

Letting out a sigh Calliope nodded, "Maybe, but I don't know Wren, he seemed really mad."

"He wasn't mad, he was just scared of his mom and he took out the fear on you. Peeta didn't mean it, whatever he said. I would be scared of his mother too, she's a terrifying lady." Calliope agreed and the two said their goodbyes, going their separate directions home.

Greeting her grandfather with a smile, getting ready to take over the shop while he went to the Hob to get some things to make dinner, Calliope set down her books on the front counter to start on her homework.

The Hob was what many would consider the black market of District 12. It's where many of the citizens would go to trade and sell things that the capital would not approve of otherwise, and it's often where you could get a good bowl of stew from Greasy Sae. Though most of the Peacekeepers of District 12 didn't mind it too much. Oftentimes they would also participate in trades and buying of illegal goods.

Due to the District's small size, it was often overlooked by the capital, and rules weren't enforced as much as they may have been in other districts.

The bell above the shop door rang causing Calliope to look up from her books.

"Katniss Everdeen," Calliope almost froze upon seeing the dark-haired girl standing in the middle of her grandfather's shop, "uh what can I do for you?" Calliope asks as Katniss looks over some of the shoes that were on display.

Calliope had only spoken to Katniss a handful of times when partnered up for group projects in class. Mr. Whittmore was the one who did all the trading and talking when it came to the shop but the two knew of each other. The same explosion that claimed the life of Calliope's father, also took Katniss's.

After the death of her father Katniss Everdeen became almost completely closed off. Everyone remembers when Mrs. Everdeen, Katniss's mother, became catatonic, almost completely bedridden, leaving it all up to Katniss. At just 12-years-old she became incharge of making sure she and her little sister were fed and clothed.

"I was wondering if you could possibly trade a couple of squirrels and maybe a rabbit for a pair of Mary Janes?" Katniss asks, turning back to the girl.

"Mary Janes? A bit old for those aren't you?" Calliope gave the girl a warm smile.

Katniss agrees. "Yeah, they're for my sister. My mother wants her to look nice for her first reaping and my old ones are too big for her. She's a size 4."

The Reaping was now only 10 days away, approaching faster then anyone would have liked.

"Unfortunately, I can't make any trades, but my grandfather should be back soon." Katniss' eyes dropped slightly, giving Calliope an idea. "I might have something better. Wait here."

Quickly rushing upstairs to their home above the shop, Calliope began digging through a bunch of old boxes in her bedroom, searching until finally, she found them. Her old pair of Mary Janes from her very first reaping.

Knowing Katniss would never take anything for free, she offered the girl just one of the squirrels. "Are you sure?"

Calliope nodded, "I have no use for them, I'm sorry they're not brand new."

"Thank you." Calliope only gave the girl another approving nod before taking the squirrel and the two parted ways, just as her grandfather walked back into the shop.

"Afternoon," he smiled at the girl as they crossed paths.

"We're eating squirrel tonight," Calliope smiles, holding up the dead animal.

Electricity wasn't always a guarantee in District 12 so it didn't come much as a shock when the lights went out about an hour after dark, meaning the three members of the Whittmore family would have to eat their dinner of squirrel stew in candlelight. They didn't mind much though as they were used to it.

Afterwards, Calliope washed off the layer of coal dust that covered everything in the district, then slipped on her white nightgown and tied her hair into a high bun. Kissing her grandfather goodnight as he tucks himself into the bed in their living room. Being above the shop ment small living arrangements and sacrifices. Her grandfather not having his own room was one of them. Calliope was lucky to have her own room, though she used to share with her brother before he passed.

It was a tiny space for one person, let alone two. Only able to fit a dresser and bed that she wasn't expecting a teenage boy to be sitting on when she entered.

Calliope jumped in fright, almost dropping the candle she held for light. Due to the lack of light before realizing the boy was Peeta. The open window was evidence of how he had entered the room. "Jesus Peeta, you almost scared me to death," she scolds, setting down the candle.

Slowly he stood from his spot, sniffling as he apologized, "I-I'm sorry, Calli, I should go." He turns to climb back out her window but Calliope grabs his arm, making him flinch.

Taking a step back, Calliope examines him further. His eyes were puffy and red, cheeks stained from tears, and he moves as if he's trying to keep the fabric of his shirt off his back. "Peeta?" she questions, "What's wrong, what happened?" He couldn't look her in the eyes. The last thing Peeta wanted was for Calliope to think of him as weak. Moonlight shining through the window caused a sparkle in Peeta's watery eyes.

"I uh, I told you my mother was going to be mad about the cookies." His eyes stayed focused out the window to the alleyway between the Shoe shop and the town butchers.

The Whittmore girl's face went stone-cold at the thought of Peeta's mother hurting him again. "What did she do?" she asks through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry about yelling at you earlier. I just-"

"Peeta, what did she do?" She grabs his hand gently, finally grabbing his attention and earring a look from him. Peeta's skin was cold and calloused from burns provided by the bakery oven. His eyes darted to their intertwined hands. This wasn't the first time their hands were clasped together, but it was the first time he felt his heart skip a beat because of it. Calliope asks him again what happened and he lets out a sigh.

He couldn't say it, couldn't get the words out. Too embarrassed by it all. A 16-year-old boy who still gets hit by his mother. He would never say that out loud and Calliope wouldn't force him to. "Don't freak out okay." His voice shook, knowing that she would.

Stepping away from the window, he began to unbutton his shirt. Unknowingly, Calliope held her breath as he undid every brass button until the last. Though she wanted so badly to stare, she kept her eyes on Peeta's face, noticing the pained expression as he pulled the fabric from his shoulders, exposing the toned muscles that he had from lifting heavy bags of flour in the bakery and his work on the wrestling team.

It was clear that something had happened to his back, by the way he moved. Turning around only confirmed the girl's suspicions but the sight of it was worse. Instantly her hand lifted to cover her mouth, trying to hide her shock as she took in the sight of his bruised and welted skin. There had been about 10 lashes with what Calliope had assumed to be a belt from the imprint of a buckle by his shoulder.

Some of the lashes were only red and raised to welts while a couple of others that ripped the skin and were bleeding. "She did this?" Peeta nodded, keeping his head down, and eye diverted.

"I wasn't gonna tell you. I didn't want you to worry, but I know I need to get them cleaned and I couldn't go to Rye or Conan, that would have been even more embarrassing." He chuckled sadly. "But I can't have them getting infected before the Reaping."

It was one of the laws of the Hunger Games, no matter what condition you are in before the games, if your name is pulled from the Reaping bowl, you had to go. If his wounds got infected, it would put Peeta at a severe disadvantage.

Letting out a hiss as Calliope's fingers graze his skin softly. "I'm sorry," Calliope whispers, not really knowing where to start on him. There wasn't any snow so she couldn't make him a snow coat and she only had a couple of herbs from the local apothecary. This wasn't the first time the boy had come to Calliope with an open wound.

The first was when they were just twelve-years-old. He had burnt a few loaves of bread and earned a pretty bad beating for that. He came to the girl through a rainstorm, eye black and bruised with a cut close to his eye. Calliope found the right plants needed that would help keep the wound from getting infected and to get the swelling of his eye to go down. She had learned the tricks from her father who had taught himself how to fix up his own wounds.

They sat together through the rain storm afterwards, not even speaking, just watching the raindrops as the raced down the window glass.

Now was no different. Neither spoke as Calliope gathered a bowl of water and a clean cloth, cleaning up the dried bits of blood and making sure the wound was clean, apologizing every time he winced. He channeled his pain into gripping Calliope's bedpost as tight as he could. Being taller than the girl, not by much, only a few inches or so, to get to the lashes on his shoulder she had to stand on her toes. Next came the medicine. She mixed together a few different herbs into a paste.

"This is going to hurt," she warns before placing the medicine on the cut.

Peeta's entire body flinches as he lets out a whimper, gripping the bedpost to the point of his knuckles turning white. Calliope continues to work on him applying more of the paste. "Calli...," he breathed out, but she shook her head.

"Shh, try to relax while I finish."

It was only a couple more minutes but when she was done applying the medicine, she didn't let him know right away, instead, took a moment to stare at his back and his muscles that had been damaged by the lashes. She tried so hard not to but she just couldn't help it.

"Y'know starring is rude right," Peeta jokes, a slight smile dancing across his face. How he could find the energy to smile, Calliope had no idea.

Her mouth went dry and her cheek instantly lit up like cherries. Of course, Peeta noticed her staring. "I uh...I wasn't-"

Turning to face her, the smile still across his lips, Peeta say's. "It's okay, I know you've never seen a boy shirtless before so I get it, plus I don't blame ya', I'm not too bad looking," he teased her, lightening the mood.

The girl's blush instantly faded as they went back to their playful banter. "Oh, like you've ever seen a girl shirtless." She threw one of the clean rags at him, which he caught, laughing as he looked down at the cloth in his hands. Suddenly his demeanor changed. Like the vail dropped and he was again the broken boy sitting on her bed. "Thanks for fixing me, Calli."

"It's no problem." Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear she sets the bowl of medicine on the dresser. Calliope was trying to work up the courage to ask him to spend the night, so he didn't have to go back home to his horrible mother. Really she just wanted to be with him. "Do you uh...do you want to rest here for the night?" her eyes kept darting around the room, looking at anything but Peeta's.

"Only if you can look me in the eyes as you ask."

Calliope hated how flirty Peeta could be. Usually, she was a confident person who always said what was on her mind, but when it came to Peeta– when it came to the baker's son, her judgment faltered.

Despite the darkness, Calliope could still make out the blue in the boy's eyes. "Would you like to stay the night...Peeta?" Her voice dropped to a whisper as he kept his eyes trained right on hers.

"Do you want me to stay the night, Calliope?"

The way he said her name made her knees weak. It sounded sweet and comforting coming from his lips.

Nodding her head, she wanted nothing more than for Peeta to stay with her. After all, the Reaping was coming up and these could be their final days together.

Every year Calliope always acted a bit clingier as the reaping got closer so Peeta didn't think much of it. It wasn't a bad thing, Peeta felt the same way, wanting to spend more time with his best friend as the faithful day drew closer.

"I think I need to hear you say it, Calli." Peeta took a step closer to his best friend and the blush instantly returned to her cheeks. He loved the way he could make her so flustered and he knew she loved it too.

Straightening her back to look more confident, Calliope nodded her head, clearing her throat before she began, "I would like you to stay Peeta, but only so I can keep an eye on your wounds." They both knew Calliope was lying but neither of them cared, they both wanted to be there. "Did you want to go home and get something to sleep in?" Calliope asked the boy who was still shirtless in front of her, only a few inches away.

He shook his head. "No, I think I'll be fine like this."

"But you can't sleep in those." Peeta was wearing his school pants and they did not look very comfortable to sleep in. Most of those in District 12 only had a few changes of clothes, not being able to afford many so their nicest clothes were reserved for school and the reaping.

"I could take them off if you like instead," Peeta smirked at the girl. Her eyes widened as she held her breath. "Relax Calli, I'm joking." She nodded and Peeta took a step back.

"Uh why don't you-" Calliope went into her dresser and began looking through her bottom drawer before turning and holding out an old pair of pajama pants that used to belong to her brother. "Why don't you wear these?" Most of her brother's clothes had to be sold so they could put food on the table but Calliope kept a couple of his things.

"Are you sure?" Peeta asked, taking the pants from her hands.

Calliope nodded. "I would offer you a shirt but I don't think your back would appreciate that."

It was Peeta's turn to nod, starring at her for a moment and when she gave him a questioning look he said, "I mean if you want to watch me change you can but..."

Calliope instantly turned around, allowing him to get changed in peace. It took everything in her not to turn around and sneak a peek at him but she didn't, she kept her eyes front. "You can uh, take the bed, I'll go sleep with my mother," she offered

"Calli, we've known each other since we were five, I don't think it would be such a big deal if we shared your bed for a night." He was right. It wouldn't be such a big deal...if Calliope wasn't head over heels for the baker's son. It's not like they had never shared a bed before either.

"Yeah...yeah okay."

So together they climbed into Calliope's small bed. Peeta laid on his stomach so he didn't hurt his back more and Calliope lay next to him. He tucked his arms under the pillow and watched the girl next to him as she stared up at the ceiling. "What's going on in that head of yours?" he questions.

Truthfully, her brain was screaming at her to do everything she could to be closer to Peeta Mellark tonight because their lives could change forever in just a couple of days if one of their names was picked. Another part of her was telling her that the chance of either of them being picked was small and she didn't want to ruin her friendship over a silly crush she had. Calliope knew that Peeta's heart belonged to Katniss and that it was her he was in love with.

So Calliope said the first thing that came to her that Peeta would believe. "I'm just thinking about the reaping I guess, about how many times our names are in there, what will happen if one of us gets chosen-"

"Hey, don't think about that right now okay." He propped himself up so he could look her in the eyes, the light of the candle illuminating her features. "Our names are only in there 5 times right?"

Wrong, Calliope had signed up for tessera for the year's supply of oil and grain for herself, her grandfather, and her mother. She never told Peeta but despite living in the merchant section of District 12, the shop wasn't doing so well since no one had the money for shoes and each tessera she signed up for was another name in the bowl. On the day of the reaping, she would have her name entered about 11 times. 5 of which were for her yearly entry and 6 for the 2 years in a row she had to sign up for tessera for each of her family members. It wasn't as many as other kids but Peeta wouldn't understand.

Instead she just nods. "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of ending up like Cedar."

Her only brother was only 16 when he was reaped. He looked so young, like a boy. He was one of the last few remaining when a feast brought him out of his hiding spot where he was then attacked by a Career with a rock. Calliope would never get the image of her brother's skull out of her mind. It visited her on nights like this when there was nothing else to worry about.

Though the viewing of the games was mandatory, children wouldn't watch during school hours as it was still mandatory that they attend, but they would get key updates at lunch and upon arrival home. The Game Maker's time it perfectly. Calliope had just taken her seat beside Peeta and their other friends, when on the large projector illuminated Caesar Flickerman, the host, as he began to make his update. Excitement filled him as the final was close with only a handful of tributes left. He gave a brief welcome before jumping into a play-by-play of Cedar's death.

Towards the end of the games, to make things more interesting the Game Makers would hold a feast to get the tribute closer to each other again.

Everyone in the room froze before turning their attention to 14-year-old Calliope. Cedar was one of the last five. The furthest anyone from District 12 had gotten in years. There was so much hope that finally they would have a winner but they hope was bashed in the same moment the tribute from District One bashed in Cedar's skull. Caesar Flickerman played the moment over and over from multiple different angles.

Peeta had tried to do his best to cover the girl's eyes, to stop her from looking, but it was too late. His death was one of the most gruesome of the year, meaning it would play as a high light till the end of time.The only thing Calliope remembered after the first shot was screaming until her throat went raw and nothing came out. It took 18 months before she stopped waking up in a cold sweat at night.

The body looked on the screen, was tattooed in Peeta's mind as was the way he caught Calliope as she fell to the ground sobbing and the screams of Mrs. Whittmore as the scene played over and over as a highlight of that year.

"Yeah, I get that," his voice was soft, he didn't want to upset the girl. "I'm scared too." Finally, Calliope turned her head to face Peeta, rolling on her side so their faces were only a few inches away for one another for what felt like the 100th time that night.

"What?" It was the first time he had ever admitted that to her. "I'm terrified it might be you or Rye, or me. It's my worst nightmare. I don't know what I would do if I lost either of you." His hand gently raised to cup her face. "But if you are, I would be rooting for you Calli, I know you could win."

Gently she grabbed his hand and held it there against her face as she took in the feeling of his skin against her cheek. Calliope didn't want this night to end, she wanted to lay here with her best friend forever, and if she was to die tonight in his arms she wouldn't object to it.

Pulling his arm closer to her, Calliope rolled her body so her back was to the boy and his arm dropped over her side. "Can we just pretend?" her voice was soft, almost like a whisper. "Just pretend that we're somewhere else, and not here."

Peeta nodded, "Of course, whatever you like, Calli." He pulled her closer to his chest and nestled his face in the crook of her neck and for the rest of the night, the two lay in silence, listening to the other one breathe.

Chapter Text

The calendar on the shop wall taunts Calliope on a daily basis now. Days crossed out in black ink remind her of the fast approaching holiday. If one could even call it that. Holidays were supposed to be a fun and joyful occasion, but to the citizens of District 12, they were terrible reminders of all that could be taken from them.

With her attention glued on the calendar, Calliope hadn’t noticed Peeta’s presence in front of her as he set down a small basket of baked goods. “I told you to stop obsessing,” he scolds, earning the girl's attention.

“Sorry.” Shaking her head, Calliope tries to push all thoughts of the Reaping and the games to the back of her head and focus on the day she had planned with her bestfriends.

With seven days left, they put together a day full of nothing but fun with their other two friends. It was Sunday after all, the only day in District 12 where the shops weren’t open and no classes were being held. Peeta gave the girl a smile as he went through the basket, making sure nothing was left behind before their 30 minute walk to the meadow.

From the way the he moved his body, Calliope could tell he was still in pain from his mothers punishment, though he refused to say it. Since that night, at least once a day Calliope would tend to Peeta's back, making sure his wounds were healing properly. Luckily for them, they were and he was on track for a perfect recovery, not that either thought otherwise.

"What are you kids still doing here?" asked Mr. Whittmore as he made his way from the back of the shop. "Shouldn't you be heading to school?"

Calliope shook her head with a slight sigh. "It's Sunday Pa' no school today."

The older man adjusted his spectacles with a simple "Oh." His brows coming together in a frown. The past year, Mr. Whittmore has been having a few issues with his memory here and there but Calliope wasn't too worried about it. Simply deciding it was his old age and it would get better with time.

"We should get going," Peeta informed the girl, glancing at the clock on the wall.

Calliope nods, grabbing the small basket of baked goods, still warm before they begin their journey.

The meadow was a patch of green that lined the outskirts of the district. It was far from all the shops, and even a 10-minute walk from the Seam. Most citizens got nervous when approaching the fence that bordered District 12, fearing getting in trouble or electrocuted, but not Calliope or Wren. They had watched as Katniss and Gale ventured past the electric fence on more than a few occasions, so they weren’t worried. It was the most peaceful part of the district, no one would bother them there. Perfect for their day.

At first, Peeta wasn't sure about Calliope's plan to spend the entire day with his brother and Wren, instead, wanting to stick to just the two of them like always, but after a bit of convincing, he agreed. So the two, along with Rye and Wren, began their journey to the only beautiful place in District 12. The weather was perfect with the June sun shining down on them.

"All right, we got all the fixings." Peeta began unloading the basket onto the blanket they set up. "We got bread and cheese, we got a couple of cookies, and I was even able to swipe a couple of cupcakes." He smiled.

Looking at all the food, Calliope couldn't help but worry this was going to get both the Mellark boys in trouble. In fact, stealing was punishable by death in District 12, and Calli wouldn't put it past their mother to follow through with the punishment.

"Everything okay, Cal?" Peeta asks, passing a plate of cheese and bread to Rye.

Nodding, Calliope whispers to the boy, "You aren't gonna get in trouble for this are you?"

He shrugged. "I don't care. If this is my last Sunday with my brother and my best friends, I'm willing to risk everything for it." His smile made Calliope’s heart melt.

Rye gave him an approving nod. Loving that his mischievous behavior was finally rubbing off on his little brother. The time passed by too fast for any of their liking. Hardly noticing through their laughter as they swapped old memories and reminisced about their childhoods. Wren and Rye, cuddled up close to each other, occasionally feeding the other pieces of bread. Almost like they would be separated forever if they were to leave each other's sides.

"So Rye...this is your last year. That's exciting right?" Wren asks, taking a bite from her small loaf of bread.

The older blonde nodded, looking down at the girl in his lap. "Yeah, but I mean, I still got two more years of worrying about you three. Especially Peeta over here." Rye swung his arm over his younger brother, ruffling his hair. "I don't know what I would do if you got picked...any of you honestly."

They all agreed. It was unspoken between the four, but without each other, they probably wouldn't be where they were today. The Mellark brother made sure the girls never went hungry while the girls were the brothers shoulder to lean on. The one person they could trust with their secrets. What Calliope and Peeta were for each other was what Wren and Rye were.

A somber silence fell among the teens, as they all thought about the chances of their names being called in seven days.

"Well I think I could win," Wren said confidently, stretching her arms. "If I were to get picked. I think I could do it. Just get me a knife and I'll be all set."

She was right. Wren was really handy with a knife. Though they weren't supposed to, as it was against the law, Wren practiced throwing knives, knowing how to use them to defend herself. The girl could also make a weapon out of anything. She made sure to be ready if the time ever came.

"I think I could win too," Rye agreed, "I have the strength and the smartest and I am the best wrestler at our school," he brags. Last year, Rye won overall at their wrestling match, even beating out Peeta, the youngest Mellark coming in second place. Rye was the strongest of the two but he definitely didn't have the smarts. "What do you think huh?" He raised his arms to flex his muscles. "Nice right?"

After the laughter of Wren and Rye died down, Calliope whispered, more to herself, "I don't think I would win." She didn't mean for it to come out of her mouth the way it did and as soon as she said it she wished to take it back. Today was supposed to be fun and light hearted, but now they were talking about death. Instantly, the mood shifted and Rye slowly lowered his arms, a frown replacing the smile that had been dancing across his face just moments ago. Peeta gave the girl a sympathetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood, I didn't even mean to say that out loud I just...we saw how it turned with my brother right?" Calliope laughed nervously, "It probably wouldn't be any different with me," her voice trailed off as she looked down at her lap.

Wren placed her hand in her friend's. "I'm sorry, Calli, we shouldn't have brought it up."

Calliope shook her head. "No, I shouldn't have brought down the mood like that. We were having a good time. Let's change the subject, right? How is uh, how is Conan doing? It's a big step to move out."

Despite her attempts to change the subject, Peeta watched as she continued to bite the skin of her lips, a nervous habit she had developed whenever she felt anxious. Discreetly, Peeta moved closer to her, their shoulders slightly touching every time the other moved.

"Uh, yeah, Conan's doing really well, they are planning an August wedding," Rye explained, still wary of the girl's mood.

Conan Mellark was the oldest of the Mellark brothers and a couple of years older than Rye, had just recently moved out of the bakery and into a home with his soon-to-be wife. He was one of the lucky few to age out of the Hunger Games.

"It's also nice having our own rooms," Peeta smiled and Rye agreed.

"Do you think they'll have kids?" Wren asks.

The Mellark boys shrugged. "I know his girlfriend wants a few but I'm not so sure about Conan," Peeta explains.

With a sad look, Wren questioned, "What? Why not?"

"I don't blame him," Calliope began, "I wouldn't want kids either."

Peeta glanced over at the girl, a semi-disappointed look on his face. "Really?"

She nods. "Yeah. Would you want to chance your kids going to the reaping every year, the potential of them being chosen and thrown into the games? Having to watch them die. I couldn't go through that."

"Well, I want at least three kids," Wren smiled, bringing up the mood. "Two boys and a girl. Their names will be Oliver, Theo, and Poppy."

"Do I get a say in any of this?" Rye asked.

Wren nodded, "Yes you can pick our kid's last names."

Calliope couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's words, thankful that the talk about the games was over.

Later that day, as the summer air was cooling down, Wren and Rye had run off to a far part of the meadow, leaning on each other under one of the few trees that grew inside the fence. Peeta and Calliope could hear the giggles even from 30 feet away. Despite the tension that still remained after the mention of their potential death, Calliope couldn't help but smile at the two who were falling more and more in love with each other every day.

While Calli was watching them Peeta couldn't help but watch her, practically in awe of the girl and her beauty. Looks were not something Calliope Whittmore lacked. Her dark skin was blemish free, and her chocolate brown eyes shined perfectly in certain light. If it wasn’t for Peeta, most of the boys in the District would have jumped at the chance of being with her. The way the setting sun was hitting her face, made the girl illuminate, her long curly hair that Peeta loved, flowed down her back just right. At that moment, she looked like a goddess and it made Peeta rethink his affinity towards Katniss Everdeen.

"What are you thinking about?" Peeta asks from his spot opposite Calliope on the blanket. A piece of paper and pencil in his hand, sketching away.

"Just how beautiful love is," she answers, keeping her eyes trained on her two friends.

Peeta nodded. "Yeah, I guess it can be." His voice was somber and low. Not believing what he had said as he turned back to the sketch he was working on.

"You don't agree?" Calliope asked, shocked.

The boy shrugged, keeping his eyes on his sketch. "I think love can be good, but I also think it can destroy you." Calliope concluded that his mood was due to Katniss Everdeen never giving him the time a day, despite him being in love with her since they were kids.

He never had a good example of love growing up. Peeta's father was in love with Katniss Everdeen's mother but she chose a man from the Seam over him because he had a beautiful singing voice. Mr. Mellark settled for his wife instead and their marriage was not one full of warm hugs and kisses goodnight. Mrs. Mellark barely showed any type of affection to her sons either. The only love that Peeta knew was the love he had for his best friend and brother, but that was a different type of love.

Calliope concluded that their lack of a positive father figure was also the reason for Conan’s reluctance to have children.

"Wow, way to bring down the mood there," Calliope jokes. "Maybe if you weren't so hung up on a girl who barely gives you the time of day, you wouldn't have so much hatred for love."

"I don't hate love actually, I think it's sweet, I also think it could be the worst thing that can happen to you."

He was right. As much as Calliope hated to admit it, Peeta was right because falling for him had been awful. Watching the person you love, love someone else was a different type of torture that no one talks about.

"What are you drawing?" Calliope asks to change the subject.

"Uh, it's not done yet."

Trying to look past the boy's hand, Peeta quickly covered the sketch. "Another photo of Katniss I presume?" Peeta shook his head and continued to add more detail to the drawing. "If not her then who?"

"Don't worry about it, nosy." He smiled.

God his smile. It always made Calliope's stomach flip. It was like a summer sunset, so warm and alluring. You could never look away from Peeta Mellark when he smiled. Calliope Whittmore had built up so many walls since the passing of her father and her brother, but all it took was one smile from the blonde-haired baker's son for them to all crumble down.

"You know starring is rude right?" He repeats his joke from a few nights ago, looking back up at Calliope.

With a smile on her face, Calliope slightly pushed the boy's shoulder. "Shut it, jerk."

"This is such a beautiful day!" Wren yells running back over to the blanket, Rye following right behind. Smiles plastered on both their faces as they practically fall onto the blanket between Calliope and Peeta.

Rye toppled right on top of Wren, grabbing her hips and holding her in a tight hug before tickling her sides. She began to laugh, trying to get out of his grasp but he continued. Calliope and Peeta couldn't help but laugh along.

"Calli save me!" she yelled. So Calliope tried. Still laughing, she tried to pull Rye off her friend but instead, Rye transferred his attack to the younger girl. Due to his strength, he was able to hold them both as he tickled them.

"Peeta!" Both the girl yelled, in between gasps of breath and laughter.

"Alright, alright. I'll help." Only he didn't as soon as he got his best friend out of his brother's hold, he himself began to tickle the girl.

"Peeta!" she screamed trying to pray his hands off her as she laughed. Finally, the boys let them go, and together the four of them fell on the blanket, laughing as they caught their breath.

The day in the Meadow was perfect and the teens almost forgot about the events that were to take place in a week.

Every day since was filled with anxiety and fear for the upcoming day. The night before the Reaping was the worst. No child got a good night's sleep. Many wake up in a cold sweat, dreaming of their name being the one to be called.

The bell above the bakery door rang as Calliope made her way inside, though she wasn’t there for Peeta this time. Nervously she played with her hands, cracking her knuckles as she made her way to the front counter. It was as if she was on autopilot as the thoughts of what the following day would bring. To say she was terrified would be an understatement.

"What do you want?" Mrs. Mellark asks, sending a glare toward the girl.

Calliope's demeanor instantly changed upon seeing the cold-hearted woman. "My Pa' wanted me to pick up the batch of cookies he ordered from you?" Her voice was stone cold as Calliope sent daggers in the woman's direction.

Mrs. Mellark rolled her eyes and grabbed the small tin and dropped them onto the counter, not caring if they broke from the force. "Six dollars"

"Six dollars? You told my Grandfather three." The woman only shrugged, a smug look on her face. Not bothering to argue, Calliope gave the woman the extra few dollars and took the tin. If it wasn't for a special occasion then Calliope would have told the woman to forget it, instead, she turned to the woman on her way out and told her, "Oh tell Peeta I said hello and that I can't wait to see him tomorrow." With a smirk, Calliope left the bakery and walked across the road to the shoe shop.

Mrs. Mellark hated the fact that the two were close, she would always do whatever she could to break off their friendship but Peeta would never let that happen.

"Pa' I got the cookies!" Calliope shouted into the shop.

"Cookies? Why would you buy cookies?" he asks, adjusting his glasses.

Calliope's face softened. "Because you ordered them...remember Pa'?"

Looking off in the distance, Mr. Whittmore shook his head. "Why would I order cookies?"

"For our dinner celebration tomorrow. For after the reaping." Her grandfather's memory was getting worse day by day. Sometimes he would have a good day where he was all there, other days he was distant and forgetful.

Calliope prayed even more that she wouldn't be reaped so she could take care of her grandfather for at least another year.

"Why would we celebrate the reaping?"

With a gentle hush, Calliope placed the tin on the counter and got to work helping her grandfather.

As night fell, Calliope tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep as the potential events of the next day played through her head reminding her of what happened two years ago.

"Cedar Whittmore," Effie Trinket called from her spot on the stage. All attention turned to the teenage boy in the middle of the crowd. "Where are you, Cedar?" Her preppy tone and Capital accent didn't match the dreary mood of the crowd.

Calliope's knees began to shake before giving out. Wren was quick to grab her best friend before she fell.

The crowd was silent as Cedar made his way through the group of boys and up the stairs to the stage, standing alongside the female tribute of that year. He showed no emotion, nothing to give away how he was feeling. His expression was stone cold, almost like a robot. The only time his facade fell was when he met the teary eyes of his little sister.

The wails of Violet Whittmore could be heard over the dead crowd. Calliope had her hand collapse over her mouth as tears streamed down her face, silently begging that this was a nightmare and she was going to wake up at any moment but she didn’t.

Peeta didn't wait for the ceremony to end, to find her. Risking his own safety as the 14-year-old boy pushed through the crowd. It wasn't hard to find the girl as a majority of the teens moved away, making a clear path for Peeta because they knew she would need him.

Wren let the boy take over, quickly putting his arm around Calliope, holding her up. She knew Peeta was there but didn't take her eyes off Cedar until he was pulled into the Justice building and the citizens of District 12 were pardoned.

The only ones who remained in the square were the Whittmore family, Peeta, Wren, and the family of the girl tribute. All of whom were sobbing on their own. Calliope's leg had finally given out completely and she fell into Peeta's arms. He slowly lowered them to the ground, holding the girl against his chest as she cried.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay, Calli, I got you," he soothed, holding her head and occasionally rubbing her back. "Come on, Calli, you have to say goodbye." Peeta did his best to not let his own tears fall. He had to be strong for Calliope. She needed him now more than ever.

"I can't."

"Yes you can Calli, you have to say goodbye okay? You'll regret it if you don't."

Deciding she couldn't sleep, Calliope pulled back the covers and slipped on her shoes. A couple of minutes later she found herself outside the bakery, throwing tiny rocks at the window of Peeta's bedroom. He didn't even need to look outside to know it was his best friend. Instead, he made his way downstairs and opened the bakery's back door.

"What's wrong?" he asks, his face soft and gentle.

"I uh, I can't sleep."

He nods his head and moves to the side to let her in. Quietly they both tip-toed up to Peeta's bedroom. "Are you okay?" he asks as Calliope stood in the center of his room.

"I can't stop thinking about the Reaping, and what will happen tomorrow. About my brother and-" her voice brakes as she chokes back tears, "how scared he must have been and I think..." closing her eyes, Calliope takes a deep breath breath, "what if that's me? Ya' know? I must sound like a broken record going on and on about this," she chuckles, sitting on the edge of Peeta's bed.

"Hey, hey." He sits on the bed next to her, holding her hand in his. "I'm your best friend, right? Best friends are supposed to listen." Peeta tries to give her a smile, but it doesn’t help her spiraling mind.

"I can't stop thinking about you either."

Peeta's brows frowned in confusion. "Wha-what do you mean?"

"If you get picked, I-i can't live without you Peeta, you're my best friend and, and-"

He quickly shakes his head, grabbing the girl's face gently and wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "Don't think about that alright," his own voice was shaky now. "Not for a minute. Tomorrow, we'll both be fine. After the Reaping, me, you, Wren, and Rye, we're gonna come back here to the bakery and we're gonna celebrate okay?" His smile was fake, so fake. Calliope could see it but she just nodded, allowing Peeta to wrap her in a hug. Rubbing her back and quietly whispering in her ear. "Don't worry Calli, we'll be alright."

But he couldn't promise that. When it came to the games, nothing was guaranteed.

"I'm sorry," Calliope says repeatedly between shaky breaths, and each time Peeta would tell her it was okay. Honestly, she just needed to be in Peeta's arms, she wanted to spend the rest of her life in his arms.

Eventually, he got her to lie back on his bed and Peeta curled up next to her. Their bodies face each other as he pulls the covers over them. "Are you okay?" he asks.

Nodding, Calliope grips the blanket in her hand. "Thank you for letting me in."

"Yeah, it's no problem really. You being here helps me too."

"Really?"

This entire time Calliope was worried about how she was feeling she didn't even think to ask Peeta about himself.

He nods. "Yeah...I can't live without you either." Her heart flutters at his words, but as he reaches to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, it felt like it was beating out of her chest. "I mean, who else is going to make me paint...or eat all the cinnamon cookies." He smiles and for the first time that night, Calliope smiles back.

"Well with you gone, who is gonna make me cinnamon cookies? Or be here to paint Katniss Everdeen."

Peeta's cheeks flushed at the sound of her name. This only makes Calliope more jealous of the girl, not that she would ever show it. "I don't think that ship will ever sail."

"No? Why not?"

He shrugs, Peeta's eyes glancing down at the girl's lips. "I don't think she'll ever notice me."

Calliope nods. "Yeah, you should probably be with a girl who knows you exist." She teases with a smile, hoping he got the hint. But he doesn’t. Boys never do.

Peeta agrees, biting his lip. "We should try to get some sleep, it's pretty late."

The girl's heart broke slightly at the boy's words. The sooner they went to sleep, the sooner the Reaping would come but she nodded anyway and turned so her back was to the boy's chest. Surprisingly, he dropped his arm over the girl's hip and pulled her against him, making Calliope feel safe and secure.

At that moment, all the terrible thoughts about the next day faded away and she melted into his arms.

Chapter Text

A light gray piece of fabric lays, sprawled out on Calliope's bed. It was the best dress she owned and it was one of the few things that her mother had made since her brother's death. Mrs. Whittmore was a talented seamstress and would help make clothes for the District before losing her son.

The sun was just rising when Calliope woke up in the arms of Peeta Mellark. After waking, Calliope decided to stay in his bed, watching the blonde boy sleep for what felt like hours. He looked so perfect as he slept, so still and at peace. He looked as though nothing could touch him. His wavy blond hair flowed right across his forehead, only this time, Calliope didn't hold back from pushing the hair out of his face.

Peeta sighed at the feathered touch of her fingertips. His eyes fluttered open and he gave the girl a smile. "Have you been watching me sleep?"

Calliope returned the smile. "I can't help it. You look so adorable when you sleep." When she tried to get up Peeta's grip on her strengthened as he pulled her close to his chest.

"No, not yet." He buried his face in her neck, sending chills up her spine. Sure the two had shared a bed many times before but this felt different, this felt forever and relationship changing.

It was still quite early in the morning, the reaping wasn't till 2:00 that afternoon so it made sense that Peeta wanted to stay cuddled in the bed with his best friend. His body was warm despite the cold early morning air that blew through his opened window. Calliope breathed in the scent of freshly baked bread and mint as her heart beat practically out of her chest. His aroma calmed the girl.

Neither of them spoke of the possible outcome of the day or how scared they both were, instead they just lay in silence, enjoying each other's company.

A couple of hours later, Calliope finally convinced Peeta that they should get up, by now it was 10:00 in the morning and their parents would surely be worried about them.

Not wanting to walk around outside in her pajamas so she bent down and picked up a shirt off Peeta's floor. "I'm gonna wear this out. I'll give it back to you tomorrow."

Peeta watched as the girl pulled the long sleeve over her tank top. "Keep it, it looks good on you." Her cheeks blushed as Peeta watched her. "I'll see you in the square," he said, giving the girl a weak smile.

She nodded, giving him a tight hug before leaving. "Good luck, Peeta." Calliope wanted to say more, to tell him how she really felt, how she's loved him their whole lives. But she couldn't, for the simple fact that he was in love with someone else.

"Good luck, Calli."

Now the girl stood, staring at the perfect dress, hair wet from her bath, regretting all the things she didn't say. Once dressed she looked at herself in the mirror, unfamiliar with the girl staring back at her.

"You look beautiful." Calliope jumped at the sound of her mother's voice. "Want me you do your hair?" The young girl couldn't find any words to say. Her mother hadn't gotten out of bed, let alone spoken in almost two months so seeing her up and out of bed was shocking.

"Wha- you're out of bed?"

Mrs. Whittmore decided not to acknowledge her depressive state, instead, she walked over to her daughter and began putting her long curly hair up into a tight bun on top of Calliope's head. Her hair truly pulled it all together. "You look just like you're father," Mrs. Whittmore smiled.

"Thanks, mom."

By then the time was around 1:00, meaning there was still a whole hour left before names began and a half hour before the Peacekeepers made their rounds. Everyone in the District would be required to show up to the reaping unless they were deathly ill, and the Peacekeepers would make sure they were.

Mrs. Whittmore held her daughter in a tight hug, afraid that she would lose her if she let go.

"Everything will be alright, Violet," Mr. Whittmore said rubbing his own daughter's back. "Calliope will be fine. It's just school." He gave his granddaughter a smile as the two pulled from the hug. "Won't you?"

Calliope nodded, deciding not to correct the confused man. "Ya, thanks, Pa'."

By 1:30, every person in District 12 made their way toward the city square where the reaping would be held.

"Hey, there you are." Wren locked her arm with Calliope's, causing the girl to jump in fright but Wren didn't notice. "Have you seen the boys at all?"

Calliope shook her head. "No, not since this morning."

"This morning?" Wren asked, giving her an accusing look.

"Uh, yeah, I spent the night at Peeta's."

The Lockheart girl stopped in her tracks, causing a bit of a pile-up in the crowd. Calliope had to grab her arm to keep her moving. "What do you mean you spent the night? Did you two..." Wren gave her friend a knowing smile.

"What no, we didn't do anything, we just slept."

"Right, right. It's so obvious you're in love with him. You have to tell me all about it after."

Calliope was put off by the girl's enthusiastic vibe, acting as if they weren't on their way to being chosen on who to be killed. Maybe this was just how Wren coped, with humor instead of fear, Calliope figured she should try to go about that root but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"You got this Dovely, nothing to worry about I promise," Cedar smiled down at 12-year-old Calliope. "Your name's only in there once, there's no way you'll get chosen."

"But you don't know that for sure."

"I do," he knelt down so he was at eye level with the young girl. "When you go in, they're gonna prick your finger, it's only gonna hurt for a moment then you'll be fine. Once you get in the crowd just try to find my eyes, once you see me, you'll have nothing to be scared of. Okay, Cal?"

Calliope nodded as Cedar wrapped her in a hug, it's your first-year kid, they're not gonna pick you."

"Are you sure the two of you only slept?" Wren asked once they got past check-in, heading towards the front where the older of the children are supposed to go. The space gets tighter as more people arrive. The square is large but it's not big enough to hold the entire population of about ten thousand.

Family members of the children and others in the district lined the square outside the roped-off area those between the ages of 18 and 12 were forced to stand.

Calliope looked all around the boy's section for Peeta, but her eyes just couldn't find the blond-haired boy before her attention turned to the makeshift stage in front of the justice building. Her friend's words not registering as she spoke.

The stage holds three chairs, a podium, and two large glass bowls full of names, one for girls and one for boys. Two of the chairs were filled with the Mayor and another with Effie Trinket, District 12's escort, straight from the Capital. Calliope had an irrational fear that the Capital people would eat her when she was younger, with their white-painted faces, elaborate wardrobes, and over-the-top wigs, it was all so much. The last chair on the stage was empty.

When the town clock strikes two, the mayor steps up to the podium and began to read a pre-written speech. It's the same story every year. Mayor Undersee tells the history of Panem, the country that rose from the ashes of a place once called North America. He lists the disasters, the droughts, the storms, the fires, the encroaching seas that swallowed up so much of the land, and the brutal war for what little sustenance remained.

The result was Penam, a shining Capital ringed by 13 Districts, which brought peace and prosperity to its citizens. Then came the dark days the uprisings of the districts against the Capital. 12 were defeated, the 13th obliterated. The Treaty of Treason gave the new laws to guarantee peace and, as the yearly reminder that the dark days must never repeat it gave them the Hunger Games

"It is about time for repentance and time for thanks," intones the mayor.

He reads the list of past District 12 Victors. In 74 years District 12 has had exactly 2, only one is still alive. Haymitch Abernathy, a paunchy, middle-aged man, who at this moment appears hollering something unintelligible, staggers onto the stage and falls into the third chair. He's drunk. Verry. Calliope and Wren give each other a look. The crowd responds with its token Applause but he's confused and tries to give Effie Trinket a big hug when she barely manages to fend it off.

The Mayor quickly tried to pull the attention back to the reaping by introducing Effie Trinket.

Bright and bubbly as ever, Effie Trinket trots to the podium and gives her signature, "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" Only they weren't ever in the favor of those in District 12.

Calliope's eyes scan over every face in the boy section, just waiting to meet Peeta's gaze but she still can't find it. Her mind was so focused on finding Peeta that she practically missed Effie's entire speech. It wasn't until Effie's voice said, "Ladies first," that Calliope's attention was brought back to the stage.

Effie made her way over to the glass bowl full of girl names, she reaches in, digs her hand deep into the bowl, and pulls out a slip of paper. Wren and Calliope lock hands. The crowd draws a collective breath and then you can hear a pin drop.

Calliope closes her eyes tight, afraid she might be sick with anticipation. Effie Trinket crosses back to the podium, opens the tiny slip of paper, and read out the name in a clear voice.

"Primrose Everdeen."

A large weight is lifted off Calliope's shoulders. It's not her. It's not her, and it's not Wren. She can breathe a little now. Only then the sadness sets in.

Sadness for the twelve-year-old girl. Sadness for her family and her sister. The crowd begins murmuring unhappily as they always do when a twelve-year-old gets picked because no one thinks this is fair.

Primrose Everdeen was too soft, too gentle to be thrown into these games and she would surely be murdered by someone much more brutal and harsh.

"Oh my god," Wren lets out a sigh, putting her hand over her mouth.

"Prim!" The cry of Katniss Everdeen was unmistakable over the crowd. "Prim!" The crowd of teens made a path just for her and the older Everdeen daughter ran towards her little sister, pushing the small blonde behind her. "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

The crowd was completely silent. No one had ever volunteered before.

There's much back and forth and Prim begins screaming for her sister. Gale Hawthorne had to lift the young girl and pull her away from her sister's hold.

"That's the spirit of the games!" Effie smiles as Katniss makes her way up the stairs, standing next to Effie. "What's your name?"

Katniss is frozen, stunned by what had just happened. Her voice is quiet, "Katniss Everdeen."

"I bet my button that was your sister?"

Katniss nodded, "Yes."

The entire crowd is shocked as well. Calliope and Wren just as shocked and saddened, both sharing a few glances every few minutes. Despite not meaning to, knowing it was a horrible thought, Calliope was almost thankful that Katniss was going to be out of Peeta's life. Sure he was going to be upset for a while but he would finally be able to move on from the girl who probably didn't even know his name.

They soon moved on to the next part of the reaping.

"What an exciting day!" Effie smiles, clapping her hands together, "but more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute."

Calliope gripped onto Wren, they each held each other tight. Wren for Rye and Calliope for Peeta.

Effie Trinket santers over to the glass bowl of boy names and picked the first one she sees. Calliope barely has time to think before Effie reads out the name.

"Peeta Mellark."

The world stops.

There was nothing.

No sound of the summer breeze, no muttering of the crowd. There's nothing. The only thing Calliope could feel is the squeeze of Wren Lockhart's hand in her own.

No, no no no!

Her heart stops as her eyes finally find the blue eyes of Peeta. He was dressed in his best white button-up shirt, and slacks and his normal ashy blonde waves were slicked back. His face was pale, drained from fear. The shock of the moment registered on his face. Anyone could see his struggle to remain emotionless but his blue eyes show his fear clear as day.

He begins to make his way up to the stage, escorted by peacekeepers.

No one volunteers for him. No one takes his place. Not even his brother.

Calliope didn't hear anything else the rest of the reaping, it all sounded as if she was underwater, she just kept her dark brown eyes right on Peeta's blue ones. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she tried not to cry, to be strong for Peeta but when he was taken into the Justice building by the peacekeepers, her knees gave out and she fell to the hard ground, sobs falling from her mouth as Wren fell with her.

It was just like her brother all over again. She was going to have to say goodbye to Peeta Mellarke and watch him either kill or be killed.

"We have to go see Peeta now," Wren's voice was the first Calliope heard. It was shaking and full of sadness. The square had been cleared now and each of Peeta's family and close friends had 3 minutes each to say goodbye to the boy.

Rye helped lift the girl off the ground. Tears stained his own cheeks, fear for his little brother.

Peeta's family were the first to see him, his brothers, his father, and his mother. They got their time to say goodbye while Calliope waited outside the room for her own time.

"Cedar!" she yelled rushing into her brother's arms.

"Hey, hey it's okay Dovely," Cedar soothed, holding his little sister in his arms. "I'm gonna be okay."

He put a smile on his face but they all knew that the odds weren't in his favor, he was from District 12, had no particular skill set and he was scared. But Calliope didn't care.

"You can win Cedar," she wiped away a tear. "I know you can."

He pulled her into a tighter hug. "I'm gonna try Calli, I'm gonna try... Hey," he pulled her from his chest. A warm smile across his face, "Take care of Mom for me will you?"

The peacekeepers came to collect the girl for her time. Her hands were shaking as she opened the door. As soon as she walked in, Calliope was instantly pulled against Peeta's chest. The tight hold was the only thing that kept her upright as she stumbled. Tears began to fall down the boy's face. He refused for anyone else to see him cry, see him falter but with Calliope, Peeta didn't care. With her, he let his guard down.

She took the moment in their embrace, to take a breath and collect herself. Stop the tears and be strong for Peeta. Calliope let him pull from the hug first and when he did, she gently cupped his face in her hands.

"Hey, hey. Shush, try to breathe, okay." Tears were non-stop from the boy as he began to breathe fast and heavily, unable to catch his breath. It felt as though someone was sitting on his chest making it impossible to let out any air. Calliope took the boy's hand and placed it over his heart and held it there. "Just focus on that, okay, just focus on your heartbeat, and don't think about anything else."

Taking deep breaths she urges Peeta to follow her breathing. He did and eventually, he was able to calm his nerves and speak. Shaking his head, he couldn't even meet her gaze. "Calliope-"

She cut him off. "No, Peeta, you are smart and you are resourceful okay? You know how to fight, hand-to-hand combat, right?" she spoke fast and to the point, holding his chin so he would look at her. "You know how to talk, how to charm people, use that in the interviews. Say whatever you can to get the sponsors on your side. You got this, alright?"

Letting out a shaky breath Peeta says, "Twenty-four of us go in, Calliope, and only one comes out."

"And that one will be you. I know it. I'm rooting for you Peeta Mellark."

He let out a silent sob and wrapped his arms around her neck, finding comfort in her embrace.

Calliope Whittmore never knew the feeling of true heartbreak until she was wrapped in the arms of her childhood best friend as they said their final goodbyes.

"M-my mother, she said, that District 12 might actually have a winner this year."

From the shakiness in his voice, Calliope knew that Mrs. Mellark didn't mean her own son. She was talking about Katniss Everdeen, the girl from the Seam who everyone knew could shoot a bow and arrow with perfect aim.

"You can do this Peeta," she assured him, ignoring what his mother said, "I know it." They pulled from the hug, and Calliope gently wiped away Peeta's tears, their foreheads touching. The boy closed his eyes, falling into her touch.

It was now or never, Calliope thought to herself, this was the only time she had to let Peeta know how she truly felt.

Maybe it was all the emotions or the fact that she may never see him again but Calliope Whittmore had all the confidence in the world to gently lean in and place her lips on top of his. Peeta was shocked at this, frozen as their lips connected.

Suddenly their 11 years of friendship were changed forever all by a simple kiss. How could he have never noticed this, how could he have been so blind to the girl he had spent almost his entire life with?

After the initial shock, Peeta reciprocated the kiss, pulling the girl in closer by her waist, hungry for the warmth and comfort that her body brings him.

It was a gentle and calming kiss, passionate but with the natural restraint of a first kiss.

When they pulled apart, Peeta stared at the girl, still shocked. "How-how long?"

Letting out a sad chuckle, Calliope answered, "Since we were five,"

His eyes widen, "What-"

"It doesn't matter okay," she held his face again, "Just focus on coming home Peeta, focus on coming home to me, please." Calliope finally allowed a tear to escape, followed by a sob. She pulled him into yet another embrace, and they held each other till the peacekeeper came into the room.

"Times up."

Peeta pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and quickly shoved it into her hand. Calliope looked up at him with teary eyes. Wrapping her arms around him for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, making it so the peacekeepers were forced to pull them apart. "Remember Peeta, remember I love you!" Calliope yelled as she was dragged from the room.

"I lo-" before Peeta could finish his sentence, the doors shut, putting a barrier between the two.

Calliope was then escorted out of the Justice building where Rye and Wren were waiting for her in the square.

Wren instantly wrapped her friend in a hug as she collapsed, the piece of paper still crumpled up in her hand.

Chapter Text

Calliope was only able to catch a glimpse of the blond-haired boy as he and Katniss Everdeen were escorted to the train that would take them straight to the capital. Peeta's face was red and blotchy from crying but Katniss didn't look as though she cried at all. Her face was stone cold, staring straight ahead of her.

That night, the highlights from each district's reaping were shown, so everyone in the country could see who would be going into the 74th Hunger Games.

The multiple volunteers from one and two, the reaping of a twelve-year-old girl in eleven, and finally, the mayhem that was District twelve. Haymitch, practically falling off the stage, Katniss volunteering, Peeta being called. It all made Calliope's stomach turn.

She watched the highlights, her grandfather and mother right next to her to comfort the girl as she cried. No one touched the cookies that were meant for celebration because no one felt there was anything to celebrate. He wasn't their son or grandson but the older two Whittmores grew fond of the boy that was always around and though Calliope was thankful that she had been spared for another year, she was recked from the fear for Peeta's life.

All she had from him was the piece of paper her placed in her hands hours before. Once she unraveled it, she realized it was a painted portrait of her, done in a plethora of beautiful colors from the pigments she got for Peeta. She held that painting close to her as she watched the screen.

Since arriving at the Capital tributes would be there for 6 days before the games. Getting prepared, training, and doing interviews, all leading up to the 7th day, the day the Hunger Games began.

Calliope couldn't imagine how Peeta must be feeling. Probably scared and nervous, terrified even. She shook her head, trying to rid any thought of that. She couldn't think about that now, she had to convince herself that he would at least be okay for the next six days.

The Opening Ceremonies were the next day. This is where each tribute team would be dressed as their district's specialty and were paraded on chariots through the Capital. Sponsors used this to get their first close-up look at the tributes, already deciding who looked like they had the best potential.

Calliope had been glued to the chair in her living room the entire day watching Ceasor Flickerman, the host of the Hunger Games, talk about each of the tributes as the highlights of the reapings played again and again until the first chariot rolled out.

Each tribute looked phenomenal, dressed to perfection in the outfits the stylists designed just for them. She bounced her leg, biting her nails due to anxiety, waiting for just a glimpse of her best friend. District Twelve would be the last of the chariots since they went in order.

District One's chariot was pulled by snow-white horses, they looked so beautiful spray painted silver and decorated in tunics designed with jewels. The roar of the crowd could be heard through the speakers. District One made luxury items for the Capital. They were always a crowd favorite, producing the most amount of victors along with District Two.

District Twelve was coal mining. This meant that Peeta and Katniss would be dressed as coal miners. Or so Calliope thought.

When the District Tweleve's chariot, pulled by two beautiful black stallions, the crowd went crazy, screaming for the two tributes, Calliope wasn't sure why until the camera finally panned on Peeta and Katniss.

Her heart almost stopped. They were on fire! How could that be? How were they on fire yet, not burning? They weren't dressed as coal miners like they were supposed to, no they were dressed in matching dazzling black uniforms with what Calliope assumed to be synthetic flames flowing behind them in the wind, they were dressed as coal.

Looking closer, Calliope noticed something else, they were holding hands. Usually, tributes from the same district didn't acknowledge each other, aside from the career pack, made from districts one, two, and four, as they would soon have to potentially murder each other. Katniss and Peeta, however, looked united as they held their hands together, waving at the crowd with big smiles. They looked amazing, with their shockingly minimal makeup and the flames illuminating their faces.

The thought of Katniss and Peeta being together hadn't even crossed her mind. Peeta was probably happy to be holding her hand, after all, he was in love with the girl. Perhaps being together in the games would help him get over her. Then again, Calliope worried for Peeta. If he lived and Katniss died, how would he react? Would he grieve the love he never got the chance to have? And how would he react if he had to kill her?

Calliope couldn't even imagine Peeta killing someone, it was obscene, and Peeta wouldn't even hurt a fly. Killing would definitely take something away from him.

"I don't think I could ever do it," Peeta said, letting out a sigh as he looked up at the sky. The 70th Hunger Games had just begun and they couldn't bare to watch it.

"Kill someone?" Calliope asked from her spot on the soft grass next to him.

He nodded. "To kill an innocent person, that's gotta cost everything you are. It's gotta change a person."

Calliope semi-agreed with him. She couldn't even imagine killing a person even if it was in self-defense but she would do it if she had to. do anything to come back home, even if I died trying."

Peeta knew she would, he would too if it came down to it. "I just don't want it to change me."

"It wouldn't," she gave him a small smile. "At least not to me. You will always be my best friend."

The next few days blended together in a haze, if she wasn't watching the coverage of the Games she was in the shop taking care of business.

She stood at the front counter staring into space waiting for a customer as her grandfather worked in the back. The bell to the shop rang as Wren appeared before the girl.

"Hey," her voice was soft and gentle. "How are you?"

Calliope gave a slight nod. "I'm fine I guess."

"Are you sure?"

"How am I supposed to be?" Calliope questioned with a shrug. "Peeta is in the games and I am either going to have to watch him be killed or kill someone and I don't know how I would handle that."

Wren nodded, going around the counter and wrapping her friend in a hug. "Peeta's smart, he knows how to fight, he's got this."

Calliope melted into Wren's grasp, holding her tight, and tears began to weld up in her eyes. "Even if he comes home, he's gonna be a different person."

"No, he won't, he's going be the same old Peeta that we all know and love." The girls pulled from the hug and kept each other at arm's length. "When Peeta gets back, you'll definitely be the first person he turns to."

Calliope nodded, taking a deep breath. "When I went to say bye to him...I kinda kissed him."

Wren's eyes lit up. "Really! What happened? What did he say?"

"He was shocked and I told him that I loved him. He didn't really have time to say anything back, but he did give me this." Calliope pulled out the crinkled piece of paper and unfolded it to show Wren the beautifully painted portrait of Calliope. Wren was speechless at the painting. "I guess he wanted to give it to me after the reaping was over but... ya know."

Wren nodded. "We're all rooting for him Calli, me and Rye even Conan."

"He'll come home," Calliope agreed, "I know he will."

The time came for the individual assessment scores. Each tribute would go before a panel of Game makers and perform a specific skill and get rated on it. The scores would range between 1 to 12, 12 being the highest score you could get.

These were the moments when District 12 would almost always how electricity for the coverage of the games. Calliope, her mother, and grandfather sat together on the couch, watching as Ceaser Flickerman spoke about each of the tributes.

There were only two days before the games and Calliope was on the edge of her seat waiting to see what score Peeta would have. District 12 was always last and most of the time wouldn't get the best scores as they didn't have much to show for it usually, but Calliope had hope for her best friend.

Finally, the scores began and the face of each tribute appeared on the screen as their number floated in front of them. The boy from District 1 got a nine, and the boy and girl both from District 2 scored a ten. The girl from 5 scored, funny enough a 5. So far everyone seemed to be doing well enough, even the young girl from 11 scored a seven.

Calliope wondered what Rue could have done for that well of a score.

Before she could think too hard about it, Peeta's face flashed on the screen.

"And from District 12, Peeta Mellark." Calliope leaned forward, her leg bouncing with anticipation, her full attention on the screen as Ceasor Flickerman read off Peeta's score, "With a score of...eight."

The girl let out a sigh of relief. Eight was a good score for someone from District 12, it was something Peeta and his mentor could work with to get him sponsors and it was an average number to score so he wouldn't be much of a target to the other tributes either. He must have shown off his strength and fighting skills to get that.

"That good," Mrs. Whittmore said, rubbing Calliope's back. "He's gonna do great I know it." She gave her daughter a reassuring smile.

Calliope knew how hard this must be for her mother. She refused to watch last year's games as it was too hard and brought back too many harsh memories of the death of her son and Calliope could only imagine what her mother was feeling now. Cedar had scored a 9 during his games which got him a decent amount of help from sponsors but also put a target on his back.

"And finally, from District 12, Katniss Everdeen...with a score of eleven." All attention instantly turned to the tv screen again.

An eleven? That was almost a perfect score, not unheard of but very rare. No one from District 12 had ever scored that high before. The score was sure to make Katniss the primary target of the careers, they don't particularly like when outlining districts score higher than them.

That night Calliope wanted nothing more than to crawl into Peeta's bed and lay next to him, enclosed in his grasp, just as they did the night before the reaping and talk to him, tell him all about her day but of course, she was in District 12 and he was in the Capital.

Instead, she decided to write to him. Though he may never receive the letters that were addressed to him, it helped Calliope to feel as though she was actually talking to her best friend.

Calliope began by writing down all the thoughts she had that day and some encouraging words she would tell the boy had he been there. Then she spoke about how much their friendship meant to her and eventually it lead to her pouring her heart out, explaining to Peeta all the feelings she had for him since they were five.

She spoke about the first time she saw him and the years she spent wishing he would see her in the way she saw him. She wrote about how hard it was to keep her feeling for him at bay every time they shared a bed and every time their bodies were so close to one another. How she wanted to scream at his mother every time she hurt Peeta, how Calliope hated his brother for not volunteering in his place, despite knowing she couldn't really blame him. She ended the letter by telling Peeta how much she was rooting for him and that she would always be rooting for him.

Upon finishing the letter it was three pages long, front and back and Calliope hadn't even realized she had been crying as she wrote it, but she wiped away her tears, folded up the letter, and stuck it in her dresser draw, never expecting it to be seen again.

The next day, Calliope stayed in bed, refusing to get up for anything.

"Calli come on," Wren begged as she did everything she could to get Calliope up. "I know things suck right now, but you can't just stay here forever."

With a groan, Calliope pulled her blanket over her head. "Leave me alone." She practically screamed as Wren pulled the blanket off the girl. "What the hell!"

"You have to get up Calli."

"No." She rolled back over and hid her face in her pillow. "Just leave me alone Wren."

Wren let out a sign crossing her arms.

"Come on Calli, Peeta wouldn't want you to act this way." Calliope hadn't known he was standing in her doorway, but if she had, she would have gotten up fast just to kick him out.

Calliope sat up and whipped in Rye's direction with a glare. "You have no idea what Peeta would want."

"Don't be like that Calli," Wren began.

"No!" Calliope spat at her friend. "No I will act however I want," she climbed out of bed, "You could have helped him, he's your little brother!" She didn't really blame Rye for Peeta going to the games but she needed someone to direct her anger towards and a person not protecting his little brother seemed like the right way to go.

"Calli-"

"No Rye! You could have taken his place! You're a way better fighter than him, you have more survival skills. You even said it yourself, you could win. Do you even care about him?"

"Of course, I care about him, he's my little brother!" Calliope knew she was being unfair, Rye had his own life, his own girlfriend that he didn't want to part with, but she couldn't help it, she just kept yelling, accusing him.

"You never cared about Peeta!"

"Calli, that's not fair," Wren tried to de-escalate the situation but Calliope kept going.

"You are always getting him in trouble, causing problems with your mother. You know how she is with him, yet you still did it all and let him take the fall for all your shit." Rye's face was red with anger as he scowled at the girl. "You want to know how I know this? Because he always came to me to clean up the cuts on his back from the belt your mother used."

The comment made Rye's face soften, he knew his mother was cruel to Peeta, she was cruel to all of them, each of the boys had the occasional bruise or cut from her, but he hadn't realized the extent of his mother's anger towards the youngest Mellark.

Mrs. Mellark hadn't wanted another son, she was fine with her older two but their father pushed her to try for a girl, they ended up with Peeta instead and Rye was now realizing how that could have affected his little brother's relationship with their mother.

The truth was Rye froze when they called Peeta's name, he didn't know what to do, he was terrified and didn't have any time to react before the reaping was over.

Taking a deep breath, Rye swallowed his tears with a nod, "I'm sorry, Calliope." He left the two girls standing in the room, wordless.

"What's wrong with you?" Wren asked.

Calliope couldn't answer her, she was just angry. Angry at Rye, angry at Mrs. Mellark, and angry at the world. All she wanted was Peeta, and she couldn't have him.

"Just leave me alone Wren." Calliope walked back over to her bed and climbed under the covers.

"Fine if you want to wallow in self-pity, I can't stop you. But if Peeta saw you right now, he would be very disappointed."

She ignored Wren as she left, and continued to lay in her bed for the rest of the day.

"Come on hun, don't you want to watch Peeta's interview?" Mrs. Whittmore asked as she sat on her daughter's bed. Despite her own depression seeping back into her mind, Violet Whittmore knew she had to be there for Calliope. That's what was most important to her.

Calliope didn't really want to see Peeta's interview, she didn't want to be reminded about his potential fate that was to come the next morning. "Please mom, just leave me alone."

Mrs. Whittmore nodded, leaving her daughter to be alone.

Calliope tried not to listen to the interviews that played on the screen in the Whittmore's living room but it was no use. She could hear every detail being said by the tributes, the laugh of Ceasor Flickerman, and the roar of the tv crowd.

At the name of Katniss Everdeen, Calliope couldn't help her curiosity anymore, she had to see what strategy Katniss and Peeta were going to be using in the games and if they had a chance of making it. Reluctantly, Calliope pulled herself out of her bed, wrapping a blanket around her, and walked to the living room where her mother and grandfather were sitting on the couch.

On the screen was Katniss Everdeen, twirling in a beautiful red dress that lit up in flames as she spun. Ceasor was going crazy over the girl. His face had been painted white and his hair dyed a powered blue color. He dyed it a different color for every hunger games.

Katniss has a smile on her face as she spins. When she stopped, she grabbed onto Ceasor for support. "Don't stop," he said catching her.

"I have to, I'm dizzy," Katniss giggled.

"Don't worry, I've gotcha," he wrapped a protective arm around the girl.

Calliope's brows furled at the girl on screen. That was not the same Katniss Everdeen that everyone in District 12 knew. Here she looked almost shallow giggling and twirling in her pretty dress. That wasn't her.

Violet Whittmore made room for her daughter on the couch, putting her arm around Colliope as she sat down.

"Let's go back then, to the moment they called your sister's name at the reaping," says Ceasor, his mood is quieter now, "And you volunteered. Can you tell us about her?"

Katniss' face softened at the mention of her young sister. "Her name is Prim, she's just twelve, and I love her more than anything."

"And what did she say to you? After the reaping?" Ceasor questioned.

"She asked me to try to win, and I swore I would." That was Katniss Everdeen, the girl who would do anything for her sister, for her family.

With the end of Katniss' interview came Peeta's. Calliope sat on the edge of the couch just as she did when the tributes were shown off in the chariots. He was dressed in a black suit with red trim, the same color red that Katniss was wearing, and his blonde wavy hair was gelled back

When Ceasor called for the boy, Peeta came out smiling, waving to the crowd before greeting Ceasor. He had the crowd from the moment he walked on stage. That's what Peeta did best. He was so charming and friendly. You couldn't hate him, it was impossible.

"Hello, Peeta," Ceasor began with his usual chipper voice, "How are you finding the Capital?"

"It's uh, it's different than back home."

"Different?" Ceasor asked, "Different in what way? Give us an example."

"Okay, well uh, the showers are different."

Calliope couldn't help but smile at his words. He could always make her laugh in stressful situations.

There was a joke between the two of Peeta asking Ceasor if he smelt like flowers and the two ended up smelling each other, causing the crowd to go wild. He looked so relaxed in the interview seat like he belonged there.

She knew it was all a facade though. She knew by the way he drew small shapes on his skin when Ceasor spoke and he thought the cameras weren't on him. In those short seconds, Calliope watched as Peeta let his guard down every so slightly.

"So Peeta, tell me, is there a special girl back home?"

Calliope took in a breath at Ceasors question and Peeta's eyes looked into the camera for only a moment before flickering back over to Ceasor.

Peeta didn't want to talk about Calliope, he couldn't. Calliope was the only thing that the Capital didn't have that belonged to only him. He didn't want them to take their relationship and twist it into something it wasn't so instead, Peeta shook his head with a slight chuckle.

"No, uh, no not really."

At his words, Calliope's heart broke just a little. She figured he was doing it to protect her in some way but it still hurt that even after their shared kiss, Calliope felt like this was his way of turning her down.

"I don't believe that for a second, look at that face!" Ceasor complimented, "A hansom man like you. Peeta, tell me."

He thought for a moment, debating in his head whether to go with what he and Haymitch discussed or speak about his best friend. "Well, uh. There is this one girl, that I've had a crush on forever."

Calliope's heart fluttered. Maybe he wasn't going to reject her on national television. Violet placed her hand on her daughter's back, rubbing it slightly to comfort the girl. Everyone figured that Peeta was going to talk about Calliope, after all, everyone in District 12 believed they would end up together at some point.

"But I don't think she actually recognized me until the reaping."

Wait, no. That couldn't be Calliope that Peeta was talking about. Calliope knew Peeta, they spent their whole lives together.

Ceasor gave an audible sigh before placing his hand on Peeta's shoulder in a paternal way. "Well, I'll tell you what Peeta, you go out there, and win this thing, and when you go home, she'll have to go out with you. Right folks?" Ceasor asked the crowd who just cheered him on.

Once the cheering quieted down, Peeta continued. "Thanks but I uh...I don't think winning is going to help me at all."

"And why not?"

Peeta paused again, trying to collect his thoughts, he knew this was going to hurt Calliope, that she would be watching at home, but this would be sure to get him support from sponsors and it would also help Katniss in the games as well.

Letting out a sigh, Peeta went with the plan. "Because she came here with me."

With that confession, the interviews were over and the tributes would be sent back to the tribute center to get ready for the next morning.

Calliope was frozen in her spot. Not hearing the rest of Peeta's interview. That was it. His way of rejecting her because he hadn't had enough time when saying goodbye. He was in love was Katniss Everdeen, he always had been and he always would and Calliope Whittmore was just his best friend. Nothing more.

Chapter Text

The bell to the shop rang above the open door. Looking up from her book, Calli was surprised to see Gale Hawthorne carrying an old pair of boots.

"Hey..." Calli trailed off as the young man approached her. He barely looked her in the eyes as he placed the worn shoes on the counter. It was the first time Calli had seen the boy since the reaping.

He had dark bags under his eyes, his shoulders hunched almost like he was trying to protect himself from an invisible force. He didn't look like he was doing so well. Calli expected he thought the same about her.

"Gale Hawthorne," Calliope's Grandfather smiled, walking out from behind the shop. "What can I do for you?"

"I uh...I start working in the Mines tomorrow, and these boots just need a new set of soles," he explained.

Picking up the shoes, the older man examined them a little closer. Each pair did in fact need a new pair of soles and a sturdy set of laces. Not to mention the insoles were practically falling apart. If he had the money, Calliope would have just recommended he buy a new pair, but he didn't and the two squirrels on his back weren't gonna be enough to trade for a brand-new pair by her grandfathers standards.

"And you need them by tomorrow?" Gale nodded. "Alright, I uh, can do that for you."

"Great, how much do I owe you?"

"Well son, what do you have?"

Pulling a string off his back Gale showed the man two squirrels. "I know it's not much but I'm hoping it will cover it."

Mr. Whittmore thought for a moment before letting out a sigh. "The squirrels will get you the new supplies but what about the time and effort?"

If it were up to Calli should would have taken taken the squirrels and called it even but her grandfather was a business man. He couldn't afford to give out discounts whenever he felt like it.

"I can uh..." Gale reached into his pocket and pulled out the few coins he had but it wasn't enough for the man.

"I'm sorry, son, I really am, but I have a business to run."

Gale nodded, taking the old pair of boots and his squirrels before leaving the shop.

"Why couldn't you just do it for him?" Calli asked once she knew Gale was gone.

"He's a good boy, don't get me wrong, but if I give him a discount, then I have to give everyone a discount and two squirrels will barely feed us for a day," he answered before go back into the shop and continuing his work.

After a moment of think, Calli raced outside, hoping to catch up to the boy. His shoulders where hunched as he hung his head low. "Gale!" Calliope called after him.

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, allowing her to catch up to him. "I'll fix your boots for the squirrel's."

"I don't need any hand outs from you," he spat before going to turn back around.

"It's not a hand out," she said, stopping him again. "You need your shoes fixed and I need to put dinner on the table. Like my granddad said the squirrels will cover the supplies, I don't mind doing the work."

"Doing work for free...Sounds like a handout to me." He was practically glaring at the girl. Letting out a sigh, she took the boots from his hands and began to walk back to the shop. "Hey! What the hell!"

"Don't worry, you'll get them back tonight."

Gale raced to stand in front of the girl, blocking her path as he tried to reach for his shoes but she pulled them away. "I told you I don't need any handouts."

"It's not a hand out Gale! I could use the distraction and maybe just in the future you could do something for me." Calliope knew better then to say that. Gale had to much pride to owe anyone a favor.

"I don't do favor's."

"Then you can pay me back next time you come across a deer." Gale huffed and angerly stormed away from the girl. He knew from stories how stubborn she could be he wasn't expecting it to this degree. "You can pick them up tonight, they'll be ready for you after sun down!" she called out to him.

Later that night he returned to the shop, annoyed but grateful for Calli's work. She met him at the backdoor of the shop and held out the practically brand new boots to him with a smile.

He return it with a glare as he grabbed the boots and handed her the squirrels, offering a solum, "Thank you."

"Pleasure doing business with you Hawthorne."

"Yeah whatever," he huffed, quickly walking away from the girl.

"Gale wait," her voice was desperate as she called after him, which was the only reason he turned back to her. With no one else to talk to who understood the pain she was in, she asked Gale, "How are you, with everything?"

"I'm fine." His answer sounded almost rehearsed. The boy from the seam wasn't going to talk about his feeling with a girl from the merchant section of the District. He wasn't going to talk to anyone about his feelings. They both knew how the other felt. They were going throw the same thing but Gale wasn't one to put his feelings on display.

"If you uh want to talk-" With a scuff, Gale turned on his heals and left the girl standing in the doorway, her sentence unfinished.

Calliope knew he was hurting and didn't mean to be rude. At least that's what she told herself over and over.

-

The start of the Hunger Games was the most talked about event of the year besides the final.

Everyone was betting on who would win with a somber tone in the air. On the rare occasion, Calliope Whittmore left her house, most would stare at the girl with a pitied expression.

She hated it.

It took over a year for people to stop looking at her like that after Cedar died. Now it was happening again. For the next 18 days, Calliope would experience the most anxiety she had endured since her brother's games.

Her mother tried getting the girl not to watch the games. Knowing the first few moments were a blood bath and if Peeta was killed it would be televised over and over again. But she had to watch it. Calli had to know if Peeta had lived or died.

When the time came, Calliope sat on the sofa with her mother and grandfather, her eyes glued to the projection as the announcer began to count down from ten. Each tribute's face flashed on the screen side by side. Most wore harsh expressions, ready to kill, while others looked beyond terrified.

Her heart fluttered as Peeta's face flashed in front of her. It was to fast to get an idea of what he was thinking. Never in their eleven years of friendship could Calli tell what was on Peeta's mind despite him always being able to read hers.

It was all terrifying. Bringing back flashes of her brother's games. When the numbers counted down, and the game began, the only shots that were shown were of the bloodbath at the cornucopia. It was utter chaos and death. Thankfully, Calli didn't see Peeta on screen again for about an hour.

The Gamemakers always wanted the games to be entertaining for those in the capital which is why the only shots that were shown were those of people being brutally murdered.

In the first 10 minutes, eleven of the tributes were killed.

During the run time of the games, there would be 24-7 coverage, with a recap at the end of each night of everything exciting that had happed incase anyone missed it. The fallen tributes would be shown alongside a video replaying their death. Thankfully, Peeta was not one of the many to die during the blood bath. He had run in the opposite direction, not wasting any time to gather supplies.

He ran into the woods with no weapon, no protection, to get away from all the killing. He was shown briefly, a clip of him running was played alongside another tribute running for their life. No watching where he was going, Peeta tripped over a raised tree root and his entire body practically flipped forward and he went tumbling down a hill, twisting his ankle in the process.

He lay on the ground for a moment, in pain, trying to work up the ability to get himself up. But there was no time. Before he knew it the boy from District One was standing over him with a blade to his throat.

Calli gripped her mom's arm, holding her tight. It was just one person, Peeta could get out of this. He knows hand to hand combat and surely, he trained in the tribute center on how to disarm someone.

Peeta was fast to kick the boy's arm, causing the blade to fall out of his hand. He then jumped up and collided his fist with Marvel's face. He was quick to bounce back, tackling Peeta to the ground. Landing a few of his own punches across Peeta's face.

Using his strength, Peeta was able to flip them over so he was on top. One arm held Marvel down while the other searched through fallen leaves for the blade that had been dropped. Once he found it, Peeta held it up, ready to end Marvel's life. Just as Peeta was about to send the blade through the boys head, a flying knife cuts Peeta's arms, causing him to wince and drop the blade. Allowing Marvel the upper hand again and throw Peeta to the side.

In a moment, all the careers were standing over the scared blonde, his face bloodied and bruised.

This was it. Calli thought to herself. This is where she lost her best friend. Calli was on the edge of her seat as the cameras focused on both Peeta and the career pack. One career Peeta could handle, a pack of them was game over.

"Marvel, I told you not to kill him!" Cato scolded.

"He attacked me!" the boy from One defended.

Cato walked over and knelt before Peeta, his own sword clutched in his hand ready to use if Peeta made any sudden moves.

He was terrified. You could see it on his face.

Calli just hoped they didn't torture him before they killed him. Her heart was beating so fast but the girl was frozen in her spot, unable to move.

But the large boy from District Two didn't kill Peeta like everyone was expecting. No. He stood over him, a smile on his face as he reached him hand out to him.

Peeta stayed put in his spot. "Come on lover boy, either you take my hand or I kill you. It's your choice really." So Peeta took his hand and Cato helped him to his feet. "Now what do you say?

"T-thank you?"

Instead of killing Peeta, the careers took him in, gave him a weapon and told him that as long as he helped them find and kill Katniss Everdeen, they wouldn't hurt him.

Later that night, the Careers were making their way through the woods with Peeta following close behind limping due to his twisted ancle, when they noticed a flame in the distance. The girl from District Eight, lit a fire for warmth, informing everyone withing 100 feet where she was. She went unnoticed for a while, except for Katniss Everdeen who was shown to be in a tree a few yards away.

It was Cato who had killed the girl, stabbed her as she pleaded for her life while the others laughed. Calli had to close her eyes as the blood splattered all over the place once Cato removed his sword from her stomach. After rummaging through her things, the group took off, still laughing at the girls suffering.

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" The boy from Marvel asked as they were about ten yards from the tree Katniss was in. The cameras were really focusing in on Katniss's spot above them and the group not noticing.

"I'd say yes. Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately."

"Unless she isn't dead," the girl from two, Clove added.

Defending himself Cato said, "She's dead. I stuck her myself."

"Then where's the cannon?"

"Someone should go back. Make sure the jobs done," Marvel suggested.

"Yeah, we don't want to have to track her down twice."

"I said she's dead!" Cato yelled.

"We're wasting time! I'll go finish her and let's move on."

Calli was shock when the camera focused on Peeta. It had been him who offered to go back and kill the girl, it finish her off once and for all.

Peeta.

Sweet Peeta Mellark that would never hurt a fly.

The same Peeta that hid behind his fathers legs on the first day of school.

Calli's Peeta.

The camera's followed the boy as he limped back through the woods. He froze upon seeing the wounded girl again. and knelt down next to the girls body. There was blood everywhere as she had tried to crawl away from the spot the Career's left her. As soon as she saw Peeta she began to freak out. She knew he was coming to kill her, that she wasn't going to live through this.

Letting out a sigh, Peeta knelt down beside he and held the girl in his arms, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching. He shh'd the girl, trying to calm her as he pulled out his knife. He spoke to her softly, trying to hold back tears as he stuck the blade through the girls heart. Instantly she stopped struggling and Peeta gently laid her back on the ground. There was a canon sound and the girls face appeared on the screen next with her district number appearing under her.

It was out of necessity. Calli told herself. The girl was bleeding out and in pain, if it was Calli she would have been thankful that he death came sooner. Peeta had to show the careers that he wasn't weak and that he could handle himself when it came down to it. Knowing Peeta better than anyone else, she knew this would affect him in ways she would never understand.

In the following days, the cameras followed the career pack and Katniss, paying close attention to them as it was their rivalry that was focused on the most.

Calli was thankful for the amount of screen time Peeta was getting because now she could make sure he was alive and wasn't suffering. Thankfully the boy had food to eat and water to drink and protection at night.

What Calli worried about the most was what was to happen to her best friend after they find Katniss Everdeen and kill her. The Career's surely would kill the boy next. Maybe Peeta knew this and already had a plan in place for what he was going to do.

-

Glimmer was dead. After the careers found Katniss hidden in a tree, she dropped a nest of tracker jackers on the pack as they slept. Peeta tried to save Katniss by fighting Cato but he was bigger and stronger, stabbing Peeta in the leg so deep that there was bone showing.

Katniss's ally Rue, the young girl from District 11 was killed by Marvel who was then instantly shot by Katniss.

Peeta was left bleeding out by a stream. He was hurt and dying with no food or water. The only defense he had was to camouflage himself.

Calli was a reck pacing back and forth across her Livingroom, only occasionally pausing when Peeta's face showing on the screen again. In the streets people would mutter about Peeta's betrayal towards Katniss, choosing to run with the career until he showed his final plan that it was all to protect her.

When Calliope came around, most people stopped talking about it. They knew the girl loved the boy and hearing about him would devastate her. Sometimes, Calliope would stare out her window that looked out at the Mellark's bakery.

She wondered how Peeta's parents were taking this. His father would surely be upset, Rye too, but his mother was probably only mad that she lost an extra set of hands to work for her.

Wren had come to visit, checking in on the girl, trying to pull her away from the TV screen as much as possible but it wasn't often that she was successful. If something were to happen to Peeta Calli needed to know, if she left while he was dying, she might miss his final moments and watching it set her at ease that Peeta wasn't alone, she was there with him.

"Attention, tributes, attention. The regulations requiring a single victor have been suspended. From now on, two victors may be crowed if both originated from the same district. This will be the only announcement."

Calli, sat up straight in her seat. Two victors from the same district. With Katniss and Peeta working together they were sure to win!

The only tributes left were Clove and Cato, the girl from five, Thresh from district eleven and Katniss and Peeta. They had a chance. They can make it if they work together.

The idea must have also crossed Katniss's mind as well because as soon as the announcement was over, Katniss was screaming for Peeta, looking for him in the last place she knew he would be.

After searching the stream for a few minutes, a hand grabbed the girls ancle, frightening her at first as it was unclear where the hand had come from.

Bending down next to the boy, Katniss began to clean off the dirt and moss Peeta used to cover himself. His leg was badly wounded but you couldn't quiet see the damage through his pant leg. Katniss helped him up and made him put his weight on her.

The two walked until they came across a cave they could hide in. Katniss gently set Peeta down and began cleaning his wound with water from a canister she had. Wincing in pain, Peeta tried not to move.

Calli cringed at Peeta as he was practically whimpering from the pain as Katniss tried to help him.

A sponsor had thankfully sent the pair some soup so they wouldn't starve and hopefully keep them warm in the damp cave. Katniss, fed it to the hurt Peeta.

As Katniss raised the spoon to his mouth, he began to tell Katniss about the time how'd thrown her bread, regretting not just going over and giving it to her.

Calli had never heard this story before, Peeta had never told her, but she knew it was one of the reasons for his many beatings, probably one that she helped him with after the fact.

Calliope looked away from the screen, tears in her eyes as Peeta went on to tell the girl how he watched her walk home every day, how it was her singing in music class that first got his attention. He was sweating despite the cold air of the arena. His leg was surly infected, causing the fever and his expression of love.

"Calli would tease me for it, every day of my life." Sitting up straight at the mention of her name, Calli wiped the tears from her eyes. "She knew how I felt even before I did."

"How's our boy?" Wren asked, walking into the apartment with Rye at her side. It was the first time he had visited her since their fight and he had felt bad ever since.

Putting her finger up, Calliope singled for them to be quite.

"Calli's your best friend right?"

Peeta nodded. "Since we were five. She always told be to tell you how I felt but...I never could," Peeta smiled sadly to himself. "I didn't have the courage and she would make fun of me for it."

There was a lull in their conversation and Katniss told the boy to get some rest before she cuddled at his side, filling Calliope with anger.

She had told Peeta how she felt before he was taken to the Capital, he knew she would be watching. This had to be further telling the girl that he hadn't felt the same about her. He was in love with Katniss and he always would be.

"Calli?" Wren asked, taking a seat next to the girl, placing her hand on her back.

"He uh, his leg is infected, if he doesn't get medicine soon, he's gonna die." Quickly, Calli wiped away a few fallen tears.

Clearing his throat, Rye sat on the other side of Wren. "Maybe they'll get a sponsor?"

"Maybe," Calliope agreed.

After about an hour or so there was another announcement.

"Attention tributes, attention. Commencing at sunrise, there will be a feast tomorrow at the Cornucopia. This will be no ordinary occasion. Each of you needs something desperately. And we plan to be generous hosts."

"Its a trap," Calli said to her friends. "They're getting bored, it's gonna be a bloodbath."

"Katniss knows what she's doing," Wren tried to calm her friend. "Peeta needs that medicine. She'll be able to get it."

Katniss knew this to and instantly tried to get up. Peeta began to argue with her. "You would do it for me, wouldn't you?" Katniss practically hissed at him.

He would. If it came to his life or her, Peeta would do everything he could to protect Katniss Everdeen.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked her, confused.

Calliope's hand reached over her mouth as Katniss dropped her bow and leaned down to kiss Peeta on the lips. He kissed her back instantly, reaching up to hold her face gently, just how he had held Calli's face the day of the reaping. He pulled Katniss in, the same way he had pulled Calliope against him.

Anger brewed inside her. She was angry that she had to see the one person she loved most in the world kissing Katniss Everdeen the girl who never gave him the time of day before the games. Angry that Peeta was hurt. Angry at the Capital. Angry at the world.

Since the age of five, Calliope had given Peeta her undivided attention. It was her who helped Peeta deal with his mother. It was her who cleaned Peeta's wounds. It was her who made Peeta paints. Yet it was Katniss Everdeen he loved.

At that moment, Calliope decided she was done watching for the rest of the night and promptly shut the projection off. It was the first time she was able to pull herself away from the screen.

"Where are you going?" Wren called after her friend.

"For a walk."

Chapter Text

The summer breeze blew Calliope's long curls across her face. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared at the fence that was supposed to be electrified in order to keep the citizens of District Twelve inside. But the fence was barely ever on since electricity was already not guaranteed.

During the rare times, the fence was turned on, you could hear a slight hum of the electrical current. Right now, the only hum Calli could hear was that of the wind and a bird off in the distance.

The spaces in the fence were easy to fit through.

The farthest most citizens usually go was to the tree line to collect the little fruit that bloomed in the fall. Almost no one ever ventured further into the woods—no one except Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne.

The older boy was who Calli was searching for that day. She had seen him enter the field, not even looking to see if he was being watched. It was so effortlessly. Being a Sunday, it was the only day the mines were closed and the workers were able to rest. Normally they would be home relaxing.

Not Gale.

Gale retreated to the one place he felt the most safe. The woods.

After building up enough courage, Calli finally climbed through the gaps in the fence and began to make her way towards the woods.

If she were to be arrested for this, she wouldn't care. Calliope had nothing left to live for. Peeta was bound to die without the medicine he needed and Calli didn't want to see that. At first she thought she needed to, that would be a betray to him if she wasn't. But now even the thought of watching the bakers son die, made her sick with anxiety.

Not exactly sure where to go, Calli just kept walking deeper into the woods, staying in a straight line. If she got lost, all she had to do was turn around and go in the opposite direction.

Pausing for a moment, Calliope looked up at the blue sky. The sun was just over head, leaking through the leaves and warming her face. With a smile, Calliope took a deep breath. The woods smelt wet and almost sweet. The air was clean and the breeze felt nice in the summer heat.

It was the furthest Calliope had ever gone from the fence and it was thrilling to be out here, knowingly breaking a rule she could be killed for.

Now she understood the want to be out here. It was beautiful. All the different colors, the shades of green and browns. It was truly amazing and eye opening. Calli wondered if there was a lake near by that she could possibly swim in. The cold water would feel refreshing.

There wasn't a large body of water inside the fence, only a few small streams where many citizens got their drinking water from and those who could afford it, their running water.

"What are you doing out here?" a voice asked, frightening the girl.

Looking in all directions, Calli had no idea where his voice was coming from until he emerged from a hidden tree. His brows knitted together in anger as he scowled at the girl.

"Well, I guess I wanted to see what the excitement about the woods was. Why it make you so mysterious and what people find attractive about it?" She crossed her arms over her chest again.

"Go home, Calliope, I mean it" he spat, walking right past her in the opposite direction.

"Hm, that's funny, I don't remember you suddenly becoming my father. Last I checked, you don't tell me what to do Gale," she called after him.

"You're gonna get yourself killed."

"If I die, I die," Calliope shrugged.

Abruptly, stopping in his tracks Gale turned to glare down at the girl. "Look, I only have one day to hunt for two families, I don't have time to babysit you."

"Good thing I didn't ask you too. You go your way and I'll go mine, we don't even have to speak."

"You'll scare off all the game."

"That's why we'll go in different directions. You keep going the way you were and I'll keep going that way." She pointed in the direction they just came from. "Have a nice day Gale." Calli gave a fake smile before walking away from the boy without another word. Thankfully he allowed her to leave with no issue.

Muttering to herself once she was far enough, Calli began to mock the boy. "'Go home Calliope, I mean it!' What a joke," she laughed. "Just trying to make some nice conversation but no, the boy from the seam could never be friends with a girl from the merchant section. Don't know what all the girls saw in him, he is a huge a-" her words stopped at the sight of the large body of water sitting in front of her.

A lake, glistening in the afternoon sun. A huge smile spread across Calli's face as she instantly ran to the waters edge.

Bending down, she lightly grazed the water with her hand. It was warm from being in direct sunlight. Pulling her shirt over her head, Calliope couldn't help but giggle like a child. After removing a majority of her over clothes, leaving on only her undergarments, Calliope began to walk into the lake. It felt like warm bath water, yet was still refreshing against her bare legs.

She had to go further in. Making sure to keep close to the shore, Calliope walked until the water reached just above her breasts. Letting out a sigh, she leaned her head back, allowing her hair get wet.

By her calves, fish swam past her, completely ignoring the girl that most defiantly wasn't supposed to be there. Mud squashed between her toes but she didn't mind. The water was so enchanting that it was practically keeping her from the sore.

After a while of just floating and hanging out, Calliope's stomach began to growl so she walked back over to the waters edge where she had left her things, promising herself she would go back to the water once she finished eating. Grabbing the small pouch of food, Calliope sat on a near by rock that sat a couple feet above the water. Positioning herself at the edge, Calliope dangled her feet over the water while she ate her lunch.

She couldn't help but be astounded by the beautiful clear blue water and the green that surrounded it. Peeta would have loved this view, she thought to herself. It would be the perfect landscape for him to paint. If he survived Calliope would have to take him back here to see this.

If he survived.

If it was left up to chance, Peeta had none. He was wounded badly, refusing to allow Katniss to get him the medicine he needed despite its ability to save his life. If Katniss did somehow escape Peeta's hold and went to the fest, she would be up against Cato and Clove, the two skilled killers from District Two, and Thresh, the large boy from District Eleven who could probably throw her as far as she could shoot.

They had almost no chance of winning in the state they were in.

Despite wanting to, Calliope refused to let any tears fall. She wouldn't cry until she knew for sure they were dead. She had to have faith in Peeta, in her best friend. She was the only person truly rooting for his safe return. His mother had no faith in him, neither did his father or brothers.

But what would his return mean? He and Katniss were in love, they were gonna live together in Victor's Village, get married, grow old together after being plastered all over the country as Star-crossed lovers.

The last time they spoke, Calliope kissed him. She confessed her feelings to him. Feelings that he didn't reciprocate.

Their friendship would never be the same again and that would kill her more than Peeta's death would. Perhaps it was for the best. If Peeta made it home, he would be busy with the victory tour and would become a mentor for new tributes, meaning once a year for the rest of his life he would be shipped to the capital for an unknown period of time.

Letting out a sigh, Calliope wrapped up the last of her lunch and went to stand. Turning to walk back down the rock, her foot slipped on the wet surface and her body fell backward off the rock and went tumbling backward into the lake.

The water was deep in this section, meaning she had no land under her feet to stand and nothing to keep her head above water. Having never swam before, Calliope had no idea how to save herself from drowning.

She was doomed.

Flailing her arms and legs in all directions, Calliope tried reaching for the surface of the water. The more she struggled, the deeper she seemed to sink. Letting out a scream, the girl began to panic as her air was running out. She reached and reached, trying to kick her feet to get to the air but it was no use.

Even more panic began to set in as her body instinctively breathed in for air that wasn't there and instead, her lungs filled with water and she began to cough. Only coughing meant more breathing and breathing meant more water in her lungs. It was a vicious cycle she couldn't escape from.

This was it. She was going to die. Calliope was going to drown and no one would know what had happened to her because she wanted to pretend to be a rebel and go past the Districts fence like she had a point to prove.

One thing was in fact proven correct though. Gale was right, Calliope was going to get herself killed out there.

Just as her head felt like it would explode from lack of oxygen, a hand grabbed the girl's arm and pulled her above water, carrying her to the shore. At first, Calliope wasn't breathing, her lips blue from lack of air. Someone began pumping their fist against her chest, again and again, grunting from the force.

Titling her head back the person placed their lips on top of hers and blew air into her lungs twice before going back to the compressions and repeating the process for a second time. After about a minute, Calliope's lungs seemed to jump back to life and she began to cough up all the water she had inhaled.

Turning on her side, Calli continued to cough, gasping for the air that she had been denied. Taking deep breaths, the same person who saved her was rubbing their hand on her back as the color slowly returned to her face.

Turning to her savior, Gale had the same scowl on his face he had when he first saw the girl, only this time, he was angry and wet.

"I told you, you would get yourself killed!" he scolded. "What were you thinking, you can't swim!" Still gasping for air, Calliope shrugged. Holding her arms over her chest, she shivered. "If I wasn't around you would be dead right now."

"You were...watching me?" she asked, looking up at Gale.

"Of course I was watching you. You made yourself my responsibility when you came out here. Now get dressed, I'm taking you home."

He passed the girl her clothes and for the first time during their interaction, Calliope was aware that she was wearing nothing but her underwear. Even worse she realized that Gale had watched as she undressed to get in the water.

Quickly pulling on her clothes as Gale turned his back to her, Calliope cleared her throat, telling him she was decent now. For a moment Gale just stared at the girl while she stared at his shoes.

"Th-thank you, for saving me."

Still angry, Gale didn't respond as he stormed past the girl, bumping her shoulder as he went, leading the way back home.

It was Calliope's turn to be angry now. "Hey! What is your problem with me?!" she yelled after him. "All I've ever done is try to help you!"

Furious, Gale spun on his feet, storming back over to her. "No!" he pointed his finger at her. "All you've ever done is treat me like a charity case. I don't need help from you and I don't need help from anyone in town." Calliope was well aware of his build at this moment. She wasn't short, she was on the average height for her age but Gale was tall, he always had been and he toward over her. "I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity."

"Oh yeah, then what is it?" She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. "Exactly! You and me, we aren't the same. You're family has a shop, a nice home and money to put food on the table. Your name is only in the reaping 5 times. You want to know how many times mine was? 42!" The girl couldn't help but laugh at how wrong Gale's portrayal of her was. "What's so funny?" he spat.

"You're idea of me and my family that's what." Her smile faded and turned to anger. "Yeah sure my family has a shop in town, sure we get some money here and there but after my brother was reaped two years ago and murdered, my mom doesn't get out of bed most days. With the both of them gone, I had to take over. Which I guess I shouldn't complain about because most kids help their parents in their shops but my grandfather is slowly losing his mind, meaning its up to me and only me to keep everything in order. I may have food on the table but it's not every night. Sometimes, I give people a little leeway and do work for free. Oh and my name wasn't in the reaping 5 times, it was in there 11. I know its nowhere near how many you had but I didn't need to sign up for tesserae until my brother died and the last bit of family I had started loosing their minds."

Needles pricked at her throat as tears pooled in her eyes from the amount of anger she was feeling. But she stood up straight and chocked down her sobs. "Everyone has their shit Gale, don't act like you're better then me because you've struggled more."

The young mans face was still hard with a scowl but it softened slightly at her outburst.

"Why are you out here? Really?" he asked, his voice less accusing.

"Because I thought I could possibly talk to the one person that might know what I'm going through," Calliope answered.

"What are you talking about?"

Letting out a sigh, Calliope ran her hands through her wet curls. "I can't watch the games anymore. I can't watch Peeta and Katniss...together."

"Yeah..." Gale trailed off, his face finally softening for only a moment, before he went back to his usual self. "Lets go, its a bit of a walk back."

"That's it?" Calli asked, frustration building inside her once again. What else did she expect though? For Gale to just open up about his feelings to a girl he barely even knew?

"What would you like me to say? That it sucks? It does. You already know that, you've seen it."

"Ugh, you're such a boy!" Calliope stormed past him, in the direction she thought was home.

Confused, Gale yelled after her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're all the same! A girl tries to talk about their feelings and you clam up. You don't care. Like it would make you less of a man to just admit you're scared."

"Scared?" Gale scoffed. "What am I scared of exactly?"

"Loosing your best friend to the games!"

He was silent now. Calliope had hit the head on the nail. Gale Hawthorne was scared of loosing his best friend to not only the game but to the bakers son. Maybe they had more in common then he originally thought.

With a sigh, he rubbed his face and sat on the ground, almost defeated as he starred out to the lake.

"It's all for the camera's. Katniss isn't like that," he spoke, still not looking at Calli. "She would do whatever it took to survive."

"Are you trying to convince me that...or yourself?"

"I don't know," he whispered, shaking his head. Slowly, Calliope sat next to him, a few feet away.

"It may be an act for her but its not for Peeta." Pulling her knees to her chest, she let out a sigh. "He's been in love with her for years. Ever since we were little. She's never given him the time of day yet he chooses her every time. Even after I..." she stopped herself, not expecting Gale to want to hear what she had to say.

"Even after what?" he asked, looking at her for the first time since they sat down.

Taking a deep breath, Calliope told Gale about their kiss and how she confessed her lover for the bakers son. A love that he clearly didn't feel the same about.

"I always thought he would move on eventually. That Peeta would get over her and see what was always right there in front of him. But even after she tried to kill him with the tracker jackers, he still chose her."

"You two always seemed like you two would end up together."

Calliope nodded. "Yeah well I thought the same about you."

"Yeah...yeah I did too." Gales eyes shifted back on the lake. "I guess we're both just a couple of second choices huh?" he chuckled sadly to himself.

"Who knows maybe things will change if they come back."

"If?" he asked.

"You haven't been watching...have you?"

Gale shrugged. "Only when I can't get away from it."

"Peeta has a bad infection in his leg. If it doesn't get treated he will die and then it will be Katniss alone to face off against District Two and Thresh."

"Katniss can do it."

Nodding, Calliope agreed with the boy. "Peeta can do if it wasn't for his leg."

After a beat, Gale spoke again. "I'm sorry, for what I said to you. I shouldn't have just assumed."

"It's okay. No big deal. Thank you for saving me."

"Your welcome."

The two fell into a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying each others company until Calliope spoke again. "I get why you like it out here. It's so peaceful and quite."

Gale nodded. "Well it usually is when there no girl tracking through the woods scaring off all the animals and almost drowning."

Knowing he was joking, Calli acted hurt. "Why Hawthorne, I didn't realize you had a sense of humor. Alright so maybe I've never been out here before, its a little scary, but I'll get better."

"Who said I would let you come back out here."

"I thought we already discussed that you can't stop me from doing whatever I want."

"Hmm, yeah I do recall having that conversation," he flashed the girl a quick smile. For the first time in her life, Calliope Whittmore had witness Gale Hawthorne have a genuine smile on his face. It was only for a quick moment and it was so fast that she might have missed it if she wasn't watching him. She wondered if he only ever smiled when he was in the woods. "Have you ever shot a bow?"

Calliope eyes widened at the question. "When would I have ever shot a bow before?"

The rest of the day was spent in the woods with Gale. After their talk, Gale had come around to the girl. Despite the woods being his place with Katniss, it was nice having someone else there with him again. Even if she scared away all the game with her loud footsteps.

Gale had attempted to teach her how to use the bow Katniss had made for him. He taught her how to hold it and how to aim. But an attempt to shook a squirl was unsuccessful and Calliope quickly declared that there must have been something wrong with his weapon.

"Yes, Calliope. It's defiantly something wrong with the bow."

When the attempts at hunting failed, Gale showed her his sneers. Traps placed throughout the woods to catch smaller animals. He also showed her some plants to gather for certain medicines. When they returned home he would give them to Mrs. Everdeen for her apothecary business.

When she asked, Gale would tell her about him and Katniss and their time spent in the woods. When he would ask, Calliope told him about her and Peeta and their nights together.

"We should start heading back. It'll be dark soon," Gale explained, looking up at the sky.

The girl agreed and they made their way back to the fence. Once on the other side, the two gave each other a small nod before going in their opposites directions towards their respective homes. Calliope gave the boy the left overs from her lunch, to make up for the game he lost due to her.

The two had a simple understanding of each other. They understood each others pain.

Calliope arrived home to an empty apartment. Her grandfather was in the shop and her mother was at the hob, buying food for that nights dinner. She was so tired, Calliope didn't have the energy to watch to recap of that day. If Peeta had died, she would have know by the looks on everyone's faces as she passed by them.

The next morning Calliope woke up early and had no choice but to watch the games while she worked in the shop. The host, spoke about Katniss apparently drugging Peeta to sleep the day before so she could get the medicine for his leg. At the feast, Clove had her pinned to the ground about to kill Katniss when Thresh saved the District Twelve girl and bashed Cloves head with a rock.

With the medicine, Peeta's leg had healed and the two fell asleep in each others arms, unknowing what the following day would bring.

It was early afternoon when the finale began and the mutts were released into the arena, killing Thresh. Calliope stop mid repairs on a set of shoes and watched the screen intently.

The girl from District Five had died earlier in the day after eating nightlock berries Peeta almost ate himself. After examining the body, Katniss and Peeta took a handful, hoping to trick Cato with them in some way. They were the only team left, giving them a high advantage.

Despite the anger Calliope felt towards the two, she kept watching. She had to see how the games ended, if they lived or not.

She and the rest of Panem were on the edge of their seats as they watched the mutts attack Katniss and Peeta causing them to run to the cornucopia. While climbing to get away from the dog like mutts, one of them gripped onto Peeta's leg, taring into it harshly and ripping out a chunk. Calliope was biting at her nails as the two fought with Cato.

When the boy from District Two had Peeta in a headlock, holding him so tight it was cutting off his air, Calliope could feel the tears begin to fall down her cheek. One thing Cato was known for was snapping necks, he could do it so easily due to his strength. All he had to do was twist his arms and Peeta would be dead.

The bakers son was clawing at Cato's arms trying to get out of this, but his grip was tight.

Katniss had her bow trained right on Cato, who just laughed.

"Shoot me and he goes down with me."

He was right. If Katniss shoots him, he'll fall into the group of mutts and Peeta was sure to go down with him, but there is only so much time left as Peeta's lips are beginning to turn blue and his face red. As if in a last-ditch effort, Peeta raised his finger, dripping with blood from his leg, up to Cato's arm. Instead of fighting his way free, he draws an x on Cato's hand singling to Katniss to shoot him there.

The girl's arrow pierces Cato's hand. He lets out a yell and his grip on Peeta loosens and the baker's son slams his body against Cato's sending the boy off the edge of the cornucopia.

He hits the ground and the mutts instantly begin to attack. They rip him to shreds, tearing at his flesh and ripping his arms.

For hours he lay on the ground moaning in pain and all the country could do was watch live as this boy slowly died a horrible painful death.

There is almost no light in the arena due to the game markers trying to make things a bit more interesting. By the time the sun begins to go down in District Twelve, that's when Katniss finally takes her last shot and kills Cato out of mercy and the Mutts finally leave him, returning back to where they came.

Peeta and Katniss climb down from the cornucopia, looking around, expecting something to happen, but nothing does. There's no congratulations or the sound of horns blaring. There is nothing.

Slowly the two make their way down to the lake, Peeta limping, and they wait for anything.

Finally the sound of the head game makers voice plays. "Greetings the final contestants of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. The earlier revision has been revoked. Closer examination of the rule book has disclosed that only one winner may be allowed," he says and everything spins, "Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."

"No!" Calliope screams, causing her mother and grandfather to run over to her and she cries.

Of course they did this.

They wanted to make the games unforgettable, to do as much damage to the Districts as possible. They never intended for both of them to live. This has all be devised by the Gamemakers to guarantee the most dramatic showdown in history.

"If you think about it, it's not that surprising," Peeta says softly, pulling the knife from his belt.

Katniss has her bow on him in a second, but once she sees Peeta throwing the knife into the lake she lowers it. Of course, he's going to give his life for hers. Despite promising Calli he would make it back to her.

"No do it." He limps towards her and puts the weapon back in her hands.

"I can't," she shakes her head. "I won't."

"Do it. Before they send those mutts back or something. I don't want to die like Cato," he says and Calliope cries harder.

"The you shoot me," Katniss say, furiously shoving the weapons back at him. "You shoot me and go home and live with it."

Peeta shakes his head again. "You know I can't." He discards the weapons. "Fine, I'll go first anyway." He leans down and rips the bandage Katniss made him, off his leg.

"Peeta no!" Calliope yells as if he could hear her through the screen. "Just kill her." Mrs. Whittmore was frightened by her daughter's words. Calliope wasn't one that feed into the games, she hated them like any other person. But this was Peeta, her best friend's life at risk.

The two tributes continue to fight over who should die, trying to get the other to save themselves. "Listen, we both know they have to have a victor. It can only be one of us. Please, take it. For me."

After a moment of thinking, Katniss pulls out the small pouch of berries they had taken form the District Five girl.

"No," Peeta instantly placed his hand over Katniss's.

"Do you trust me?" She places a few spoonful's in each of their hands. "On the count of three."

Their are killing themselves. The anger boils more inside Calliope. After everything they have been through, they're gonna kill themselves. Peeta was going to die and never see Calliope again over a girl who didn't even know he existed a month ago.

The berries just reach their lips when trumpets begin to blare and the head Gamemaker's voice is heard again frantically telling them to stop.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am please to present the victors of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark! I give you - the tributes of District Twelve!"

They did it.

They won.

They will live.

Calli will see Peeta again.

But the thought of it makes her stomach turn.

The entire District erupts in cheer. For the first time in almost 30 years they have a winner to return home. Not just one but two. They are getting both their children back from the games and there is a celebration to be had.

The district will have a grand party provided by the Capital with so much food, no child will go hungry for days.

The next day Calliope doesn't watch the victor interview, she doesn't care to see Peeta looking at Katniss with so much love. She just want this all to be over and to go back to the way things where.

"So," Calliope found Gale sitting on the front steps to his home. "They're coming home." She sat beside him.

"They're coming home," Gale repeated. "You're not watching their interview?"

Calli shook her head. "No reason too. I watched the Games, I know how they survived." Gale nodded. The two sat in silence for a while until the sun set and it was time to go home.

Within three days, almost the entirety of the District was gathered at the train station, waiting for the victors to arrive and make their appearance. It was Wren who had forced Calliope to go, not caring that the girl was mad at her best friend. Peeta was going to need her. He needs to see that she was there supporting him the entire time.

When Katniss and Peeta stepped out of the train, hand in hand, everyone cheered, excited to see the victors. Peeta had a wide smile on his face as he waved to the fellow members of the District. His eyes searched the crowed for his best friend. He couldn't wait to run into her arms and receive a hug from the only other person he cared about.

When he finally meet her eyes, his smile dropped. She was looking at him, but not with happiness. Her face was filled with so much sadness and sorrow. Yet she still clapped for him and put on a fake smile. But Peeta knew. He could see right past her facade. He knew her the best out of everyone else in the world. From this point on everything would change for them.

Chapter Text

It was days before Calliope and Peeta spoke for the first time since the reaping. Someone always surrounded the boy, whether it was his prep team, cameras, or even Katniss, everyone wanted to be near him.

Everyone but his best friend.

Calliope was in no rush to speak with him again. She tried to play it off as allowing him space to heal and get everything in order as he moved to his new home in Victor's Village. In reality, she didn't know what to say to him.

What do you say to a person to whom you poured your entire heart out, only for them to reject you on national television?

Sometimes at night, Calliope would look out her window at Peeta's dark bedroom above the bakery. It would forever be empty as he now lived in a home completely to himself.

Wren had tried to get Calli to visit the boy but Calliope would continue to make the excuse that it wasn't the best time and they were both too busy, but Wren knew that was a lie.

On the sixth day of Calli giving Peeta 'space', he finally had enough and marched his way into the shop where Calli was working at the front desk.

The bell above the door rang and the girl looked up from her work with a customer service smile that quickly disappeared upon seeing who had entered.

Peeta was dressed in an expensive capital outfit and a new pair of shoes he hadn't gotten from the shop. His curls had been neatly cut around his ears and he looked very clean. Besides the small limp in his step, you would have never guessed he was in the arena just over a week ago.

"Peeta..."

Stuffing his hands in his pocket, he slowly approached the girl. "You haven't come to visit me at all."

Shaking her head, to bring herself back in the moment, Calliope cleared her throat. "I...uh figured you've had enough company. I didn't want to bombard you on your first few nights back."

"You could never bombard me." His smile was quickly replaced by a hurt expression. "I would have expected my best friend to at least say hi at the fest. You know, show a little excitement that I lived. I was looking for you all night but then Wren said you went home early."

Best friend.

Yeah, that's all Calliope was to Peeta. His best friend and that's all she'll ever be. He made that very clear during the games.

"Yeah well, ya know. Things have been busy around the shop."

Peeta looked around at the empty store. "Right." Letting out a sigh he leaned on the counter. "Look, we should talk."

Calliope gulped down her nerves. "Uh...about what?"

"About the uh...the k-"

Instantly, she shook her head, cutting him off. "No."

"Calli-"

"No. Peeta, don't even worry about it." She laughed uncomfortably, waving her hand as if to brush the thought away. "There were a lot of emotions going on and I was being stupid. I thought I was never going to see you again." Quickly she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She hadn't meant for the words to come out like they did and she would take them back if she could. He instantly let out a sigh and looked down at his feet. "Peeta that's not what I...I was rooting for you the entire time. I watched every day."

"It's okay Calli, I'm used to no one believing in me."

The words were like a knife in her heart. Calliope did believe in him. He was her best friend. If anyone had faith in Peeta Mellark it was her.

"Peeta, no, I believed in you. I knew you could do it. I told you that the day of the reaping after I..." she trailed off.

"After you kissed me?"

The girl's shoulders tensed as she stared down at the counter. "Look Peeta, I don't want to talk about it."

"Why?" he tried to meet her gaze.

"You already rejected me on live TV, I don't need you rejecting me to my face." Turning on her heels Calliope walked to the back of the shop but Peeta was quick to follow.

"I didn't reject you."

"You're with Katniss now, I get it. You've been in love with her your whole life so the fact that she feels the same is amazing. Really. I'm glad you two are happy." She moved around different pairs of shoes and boxes to try and look busy as she rambled.

"That's not-"

"I watched the Games Peeta, I watched your interviews. I know everything so please don't act like I'm dumb."

"We're not..." his voice broke, as he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one else was around. "We're not together."

"What?" Calli asked, annoyed, walking past him to get to a box behind Peeta.

"We're not together, at least not really," he looked down at the ground, hiding his face. "It was all an act." The pain in his eyes saddened Calliope. "I can explain everything later but things have been really hard and I just...I need my best friend."

The sadness was instantly gone and the anger returned. "You need your best friend?" she almost scoffed. "I get you went through hell in the arena, I saw it and I know I shouldn't hold you to the things you did in the games. I know you did them to survive but...you were going to die Peeta. You were going to kill yourself." She tried to turn her back to him again. She couldn't bear to look at him, but he grabbed her arm and forced her around.

"Just listen."

Spinning to face him again, Calliope pointed her finger at Peeta's face. "You were going to die Peeta! You were going to leave me alone...after everything we have- after my father and my brother. You need me? Well I needed you, but you didn't care about that right? All you cared about was Katniss Everdeen." The name felt like venom on her tongue. "You were going to kill yourself for a girl who has never cared for you! I couldn't lose you too Peeta." Her voice broke as tears formed in her eyes.

"Hey. You didn't lose me, I'm right here," he cupped her face, trying to wipe away her tears.

For a moment, Calliope allowed his touch. Allowed him to hold her just like he used to. Closing her eyes, she melted into his hand.

Maybe she could pretend. Pretend that the games didn't happen and pretend he wasn't in love with Katniss.

But he was. He was in love with her still, and always would be. She did save his life after all.

Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, Peeta pulled Calliope against his chest and she allowed herself. His heart was racing, his hands shaking.

"Why don't we have a picnic in the meadow? Like old times, like before?" he pulled back from the hug and gave her a weak smile.

But it wasn't like old times. Despite how close their bodies were, Peeta and Calliope were miles away from each other.

"I don't think we can go back to before." His face contorted with confusion and hurt as she dropped his hands.

The bell above the shop door rang and Calliope knew exactly who it was. Gale was coming in on his way back from the mines, stopping by to say a quick hi. It was a habit he had formed after coming in to check on the progress of his boots. They were done after three days but Gale continued to stop by to check in on Mr. Whittmore and allow Calliope to tell him about her day.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Calliope made her way to the front of the shop. Putting on a fake smile as Peeta followed her. Gale returned the smile with one so small you can barely even tell it was there, but it quickly fell upon seeing Peeta Mellark.

"Gale." Peeta gave him a nod.

Gale mimicked his action but didn't say anything until Peeta left. "You alright?" Calliope nodded slightly but Gale wasn't convinced. "Then why are you eyes red like you had been crying?"

"We just had a small fight Gale, don't worry about it really."

With a sigh Gale nodded not wanting to push her boundaries. "It's weird, them being back. Isn't it?"

Calliope agreed. "That was the first time I spoke to him since they got back."

"Really? Aren't you guys really close?"

"Yeah but I don't think things are ever going to be the same."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm helplessly in love with him and despite me telling him that...he's still in love with her."

The hatred Calliope had for Katniss was building more and more everyday but inside herself, she knew it wasn't Katniss's fault. The girl hadn't asked for any of this.

"Yeah well at least you have his attention."

They spoke for a few minutes more before Gale gave the girl a quick goodbye and headed home.

The next morning just as Calliope was opening up the shop Wren came bursting through the door, shocking both Calliope and her grandfather.

"What is wrong with you?!" she yelled at her friend.

Calliope looked over her shoulder to make sure Wren was talking to her. "Peeta Mellark, your best friend since you were five, came over here because he needed you and you just...blew him off?"

"Wren it's not like that-"

"Then what is it like? That boy just went through one of the most traumatic things in his life. Living in survival mode for 18 days. Almost dying on multiple occasions, actually killing people, losing his leg and you act like you're the one hurt."

"He lost his leg?" Calliope asked, brows knitted together in confusion.

"You didn't know!?"

"No, I didn't watch any of the victor interviews. Yesterday was the first time I spoke to him."

"I know you're hurt, and your upset that he choose Katniss, but he's still your best friend and you need to be there for him, no matter how shitty it feels."

Letting out a sigh, Calliope sat down. "Wren you don't get it."

"No I get it alright! He didn't reject you on live TV Calli, he was doing what he needed to do to survive. It's a TV show, he put on a performance."

"We both know, it wasn't a performance Wren. He's been in love with her for years."

With angry huff, Wren crossed her arms over her chest. "That doesn't matter anymore. You need to be there for your friend right now, he needs you. You can feel rejected later. Now go to his house and apologize before I kick your ass."

Calliope opened her mouth to protest but Wren wasn't taking no for an answer. Grabbing her friend's hand, Wren forced her to walk all the way to Victor's Village and to the boy's front door. Standing at the bottom of the steps, Wren watched with her arms crossed over her chest.

Turning to look down at her, Calliope looked at her as if to say, "Are you serious?"

"I'm not moving until you knock on his door."

With a groan, Calliope did as told and a few moments later, Peeta was standing in front of the girl. The smell of freshly baked bread and mint, hitting her like a train.

Taking a deep breath, looking Calli up and down, Peeta quickly looked past the girl and over to Wren. "Oh, good morning Wren." He gave her a toothy smile.

"Good morning Peeta, Calliope has something she would like to say to you. I'll see you two later now...make up!" Wren ordered before walking away.

Peeta looked at the girl before him confused. "Uh hey." She waved.

"Hello."

"Are you gonna let me in or are we just gonna stare at each other?" Calliope shifted awkwardly from side to side.

"Hmm I don't know, we're not friends anymore."

Rolling her eyes, Calliope shook her head. "You know that's not what I meant."

"Fine, I'll let you in...if you tell me why you're here." He leaned against the door frame crossing his arms.

Glaring at Peeta, Calli explained, "I came to apologize."

"Oh...okay. Go ahead."

"What?"

"Apologize." Through gritted teeth, Calliope apologized. "And what are you apologizing for?"

"Peeta!"

He couldn't help but laugh at the girl's struggle. "Fine, come in." He moved to the side and allowed Calli into his home.

"Wow. This place is huge," she said looking around. Victor's Village was the best place in all of District 12 to live.

The houses were huge, they had showers and indoor plumbing. It was meant only for those who had won the hunger games to live. Right across the way was Katniss's house and next to that lived Haymitch.

Peeta nodded, sticking his hands into his front pockets.

The two stood awkwardly in front of each other for a moment. "Look, Peeta, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I shouldn't have said it."

"It's okay...You are allowed to feel how you do. I just wish you would have talked to me instead of ignoring me all week." The two made their way into Peeta's kitchen where he began making her a cup of mint tea.

"You're right. I was being a bit of a bitch."

"You said it not me," he muttered while taking a sip of his tea. Calliope playfully acted offended. "Look, I understand why you were upset by it all, I do. And I'm sorry it all came across this way. I wish things had gone differently between us. Right now...I really just need my best friend. Maybe we could revisit all that other stuff later?"

Calliope nodded with a small smile. "I can settle on friends for now."

"Uh, best friends, remember?"

"Gee I don't know." Calliope took a sip of her own tea. "Wren is coming up on taking your spot. You did leave me for almost a month."

Peeta's mouth dropped in shock before he let out a little chuckle. "Yeah I am so terribly sorry that I was a little busy fighting to death and losing my leg."

"Excuses, excuses."

This felt nice to Calliope. Sitting with her best friend and laughing again. She had almost forgotten what that was like.

"Did you really watch it everyday?" Peeta asked when there was a lull in the conversation. The two had moved to Peeta's couch and sat conformably next to one another.

Calliope nodded. "Everyday."

"So you saw me in the cave..." his cheeks instantly turned red.

"Oh I saw you in the cave." She laughed. "I also saw you join the careers and I almost lost my mind. But I need you to have a plan. You always have a plan."

Peeta gave a weak smile. "So that means you saw...what I did to that girl?"

Letting out a sigh, Calliope nodded again. They were really going to talk about this right now? If Peeta needed to, Calliope would listen.

"Yes, I did." She reached out for the boy after noticing the change in his expression. "But anyone who was watching who knows you, knew it was a mercy kill. That you did that for both her and you. She would have suffered otherwise."

"Yeah..." his voice broke before he cleared it with a sigh. "Anyways. What's going on with you and Gale."

"Peeta..."

"What?"

"You don't need to do that with me."

"Do what?" he asked, shrugging slightly.

"Act like you're not hurting. I know I was a bitch yesterday and I haven't been around but Peeta...it's me."

Instantly tears pooled in Peeta's perfect blue eyes. He tried hard not to let them fall. To bury all that pain back inside of him and keep it locked away. Peeta didn't want Calliope to see him like this. So broken and sad.

But she was right.

It was her.

The same girl who day before the reaping, tending to the lashes on his back from his mother. The same girl who held a snowball to his face when he got a black eye. The same girl who would sit through every one of his wrestling matches at School.

Calliope quickly pulled Peeta against her chest and let him cry while she stroked his blonde curls. "It's alright Peeta, I got you."

Chapter Text

"Oh no, absolutely not. Go change," Calliope ordered as Peeta finally entered the kitchen. The girl had already been there for hours, cleaning and prepping the food Peeta had bought just the day before.

"What do you mean?" Peeta asked, looking down at his clothes acting as if he didn't notice the paint that he was covered in.

Shaking her head Calli let out a sigh. "Your prep team is going to be here any minute and you're going to greet them like that?" She continued plating the sweets Peeta had baked as she scolded the boy. Making the table look presentable for the capital people.

Today was the day Peeta and Katniss would have their first camera debut since the games. As a couple. If it wasn't for Calliope, Peeta's house would have been messy and there would be no food to be presented to his prep team. Though they probably had more than enough on their train ride over, Calliope didn't want Peeta to seem like a bad host.

Though Calliope didn't live with Peeta the two spent most nights together hanging out, talking. Especially with winter coming and the air getting colder, Peeta's house radiated heat. Despite having the fake, powered heat that Peeta could turn on with a button, the two always opted for a nice fire instead. It reminded them of winters when they were younger. When a day would be particularly cold, they used to find heat from the flames of the oven while cookies were baked.

After a few months, it was almost as if things were back to what they were before the games. Almost.

Calliope notices all the small details. The far-off look he gets in his eyes from time to time. His shaking hands as he tries to paint. His avoidance of the topic any time Calliope brings up the games or Katniss.

Some nights after Calliope falls asleep on the couch, she'll wake to soft whimpers coming from Peeta's room. She tries to pretend not to hear, to go back to sleep. Before, Calliope would have climbed into the bed beside Peeta and held him as she whispered words of encouragement. Now, it just doesn't seem like an appropriate thing to do. But on rare occasions when he screams out for help, Calli can't resist waking up the sleeping boy and reminding him that he is safe there in his bed with her beside him.

"Why are you cooking?" Peeta asked, leaning over the table to watch as Calliope chopped up some carrots.

"Because if it were up to you, you would let your prep team starve. Now go shower."

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't have a prep team." Peeta reached over the table and snagged a couple of the chopped pieces.

"Peeta Mellark!" Calliope dropped the knife and glared at the boy as he laughed.

Instead of getting in the shower, he walked next to the girl and reached up over her head to the cabinet where he stored all the different flavors of tea he now had readily available. "You could have at least put on the tea."

Calliope held her breath at how close he was to her, she could practically feel his body heat. A shiver ran down her spine. Trying to play it off she cleared her throat and quickly backed away. "Jesus Peeta, you got this big fancy house and you can't turn up the heat?"

"I like the cold." He shrugged, putting the kettle on the flame of the stove.

"Seriously though, I can already hear Effie Trinket scolding you for your appearance. 'You look like a disaster!'." Calli tried her best to mimic the high-pitched accent all capital people had.

Today was Peeta and Katniss' home interview before their victory tour. They would travel to each district in Panem, and give a speech about winning the games before ending it all at the Capital where they would make a debut at President Snow's house.

"Portia will probably make me shower again anyway. Why do you want to get me in the shower so bad? You just want a chance to see me shirtless again don't you?" Peeta accused playfully, causing Calliope's cheeks to turn crimson.

"N-no. I just don't want your prep team to think you're actually a rabid animal."

"Hmm, yeah that's got to be it."

The two fell into silence which was slowly filled by the sound of Calli's chopping and the hiss of the boiling kettle.

"Have you forgiven her yet?" Calli asked, to break the silence. The her in question is Katniss Everdeen. After the games, Peeta had thought they were in love. Thought they would be together but that wasn't what Katniss wanted. She never loved the boy, never planned on being with him for the rest of their lives...and she broke his heart. Leaving Calliope to pick up all the pieces.

Of course, the two still had to play the loving and doting couple in public and on TV. Their lives actually depended on it. The President wasn't happy with the stunt the two had pulled to kill themselves. He saw it as an act of defiance. It was Katniss and Peeta's job to convince the world that their stunt truly was out of love and that neither could live without the other.

"Not yet." Peeta shrugged, not making eye contact with Calliope as he poured them each a mug of Jasmine tea. He didn't want to talk about Katniss with her. He knew it hurt Calli, that he was in love with someone else while she was in love with him. He didn't not love Calliope, quite the opposite. Peeta was just having trouble figuring out if that love was more than the love he would have for a friend and he needed to get past his trauma before he could figure that out. "You're not gonna watch are you?"

Quickly Calliope shook her head. "Hell no. The last thing I want to see is you shoving your tongue down Katniss Everdeen's throat." Peete couldn't help but laugh. "I'll probably get everything set up then head home." Calliope looked over at the clock that hung on the wall.

"I have to run over to Haymitche's. Make sure he had a bath and eat."

"Alright," Calliope smiled, continuing to put together her soup. "It's gonna be so boring without you here." She practically whined. "I'm gonna be all by myself for like 16 days."

"Ah you won't be so alone, you'll have Gale to keep you company," Peeta teased.

Gale and Calli were friends. That's all. Bonding over losing their crushes to the same people. Though in the time Peeta and Katniss were away, the two fell into their own routine that had been disrupted by their return.

In no time, the victor's village was crawling with Capital people, excited to make the place look somewhat presentable.

"Peeta!" Effie Trinket gasped upon entering the boy's home. "My! This place looks beautiful!"

The boy greeted Effie at the front door, as Calliope set a vase of freshly picked flowers in the center of the table. Their conversation echoed through the house.

"Thank you Effie but please, it was all Calliope." Peeta led Effie and Portia and the rest of his prep team into the kitchen when Calli was putting together the finishing touches. Effie's smile only grew wider at the sight of the girl standing before her.

"Oh, Calliope! I've heard so much about you!" She pulled Calli into a hug which the girl awkwardly returned, doing her best not to get any of Effie's white face paint on herself. "I heard so much about you!"

"Really?" Calliope asked, turning to Peeta whose cheeks flushed red.

"Oh yes!" Effie practically clapped. "I tried to get Peeta to talk about you in his interview but he simply refused." Looking back on the situation, it was good that Peeta leaned toward the star-crossed lovers trope instead. If he hadn't he most likely would be dead. "Ah, I should have known the beauty of this house was by the hand of a gorgeous young lady and not that disaster of a boy." Effie glanced over her shoulder to Peeta's outfit, which was still covered in paint. Calli couldn't help but laugh at Effie's words. "Oh did you make this food? It smells absolutely delicious! You have to tell me all about yourself as the other two get ready." Peeta was quickly swished away by Portia as Effie sat at the table, crossing her legs.

"Oh, I actually was going to head home. I have to check on grandfather."

Effie waved her hand. "Oh please, you must wait until you see Peeta's final look, it will truly be life-changing."

What would be life-changing is if you gave me that necklace. After selling it I could feed my family for a month. Peeta being dressed like a doll would be hardly life-changing, Calliope thought to herself as Effie grabbed her hand.

"Now, tell me all about Peeta as a boy. I must know."

There was only enough time for two stories before Peeta came down the stairs and practically presented himself to Calliope. He was dressed in an expensive capital-made jacket and scarf. His blond curls were slicked back away from his face, making Calli want to frown. His curls were her favorite part about the boy.

"Oh! Is that the time!" Effie looked down at her watch. "I must go check on Katniss. Cameras should be here any minute. It was lovely to chat with you Calliope." Effie placed her hand on Calli's delicately for a final time, wishing her a farewell. Portia followed leaving Calli and Peeta alone.

"So what did you girls talk about?" Peeta asked with a smile.

"Oh just your awkward puberty phase you went through when you wanted everyone to call you Pete."

Peeta laughed playfully before his face went back to serious. "You're joking right?"

Calli gave a simple shrug. "Maybe." She laughed. "I should get going. I definitely don't want to be here when the cameras arrive." Gathering her things, Peeta watched, trying to work up the courage to ask her to come back after everyone left. To spend the night with him again so he wasn't alone.

He hated being alone in this big house. Dreading it most nights. His parents and brother had lived with him when he first returned from the games, making sure he was all settled and using excuse after excuse to have some of his money. After a while, they explained how the bakery needed them to be there and they eventually moved back. Rye stayed for a little longer before their parents made him return home, saying they needed the help now that Peeta was gone. He visited from time to time but not nearly as much as Peeta would have liked.

So that left him alone when Calli wasn't around.

"Hey uh Calli..." She turned to the boy with a questioning gaze. The words were on the tip of his tongue, waiting to be asked. His hand was slightly raised to the girl, almost as if he was reaching for her. He wanted things to go back to have they were, before. He wanted his best friend back. His privacy from the camera's back. He wanted their relationship to be normal. But it never would be, not after she kissed him and he broke her heart. The last thing on Earth Peeta wanted to do was to hurt Calliope. So in fear of leading her on, hurting her again, Peeta lowered his hand and cleared his throat. "You'll be at the station tomorrow right? To say goodbye?"

Calliope gave him a warm smile. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Peeta watched as the girl he wanted more than anything in the world to stay, left.

On the way home, Calliope found herself falling into step with Gale who looked to be sulking.

"Why do you look like someone pissed in your tesserae?" she tried to joke.

"Not now Calli," he huffed, sticking his hands into his pockets as snow began to fall.

Her face fell at his words. "I'm sorry Gale. Is everything alright?" When he didn't speak, keeping his eyes straight ahead, Calliope grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alley, away from the eyes of District 12. "Gale, what's wrong?"

"Nothing Calliope everything's fine." He tried to walk past her but Calli pulled him back again.

"Well, your tantrum is telling me otherwise. What? Is it the Victory Tour?" Gale let out a sigh and refused to meet the girl's eyes. Telling her that she was right. "Look I know, it sucks but they'll be back before you know it. In the meantime, I'll still be around to hang out with."

"I kissed her. Katniss." His eyes dropped to the ground. "I didn't give her a chance to say anything I just walked away."

"Wow okay...did anyone see you."

They both knew that if Peeta and Katniss's cover was blown, it would probably mean their death. With the amount of cameras that's been around the district lately, the Capital had even gone as far as to say the two were cousins so no one would mistake Katniss and Gale as lovers. They looked enough alike but the district knew otherwise. Gale had to be careful around the girl he loved.

"No, I don't think so." Gale shrugged. "I just hate that there's always cameras and someone around. Always there."

Calli agreed. "I know, I get it."

"No, you don't." Calliope was taken aback by Gale's words. "You get to be with Peeta practically every second of the day. No one questions your relationship."

Yeah because Peeta's clearly in love with Katniss.

"I have barely seen Katniss since they got back and now they're just leaving again." Aggravated, Gale ran his hands through his hair. "Look, I have to go alright. I'll see you tomorrow." He stormed away without another word.

Confused and a little hurt, Calliope decided to let Gale go this time. He needed space and Calliope understood that.

When she arrived home, the last thing Calliope expected was there to be two Peacekeepers at her front door.

The shorter of the two led Calliope to the apartment above the shop where her grandfather and mother were seated at their kitchen table, another man in a Peacekeeper uniform sat at the head, waiting rather impatiently. He was different from the other Peacekeepers though. He didn't have a helmet and his uniform had a few more metals that Calliope had never seen before. The three members of the Whittmore family shared looks of concern.

"Calliope, nice of you to finally join us. Have a seat," The man said, gesturing to the empty seat across from him.

Doing as told, Calliope sat down at the other end of the table. Her heart beating fast. Peacekeepers in your home was never a good sign. It usually meant something bad, usually that her entire family would be arrested.

"Wh-what can I help you with sir?" Calli shuddered, fiddling with her hands under the table.

"My name is Commander Conway, I was sent here by President Snow to have a...discussion with you." He folded his hands neatly.

This wasn't going to be a discussion. This was going to be him telling Calliope what to do and Calliope doing it no questions asked to save her and her family's life.

"The President sent you? Wh-what an honor." Being agreeable was best.

"Yes, well I wish I could say the same." Commander Conway looked around the apartment with a scrunched nose, acting as if he a disgusted with the room. "I'm here to talk to you about Peeta Mellark."

Calliope leaned forward in her seat, nervous now. "What about Peeta?"

"It has come to our attention that you spend a lot of time at the Mellark's residence. Why is that?" Commander Conway tilted his head to the side.

"He's my best friend. We've been best friends since we were five."

Commander Conway nodded. "Not anymore."

Calli's eyes widened in shock. "W-what do you mean?"

"You and Peeta Mellark are not to be seen together for the foreseeable future as per President Snow's instructions. Peeta will be much too busy with his actual love."

"I think you're mistaken-" Calliope tried to correct the man but his face hardened with anger.

"Are you trying to tell me what to think?"

Shaking her head, Calli backtracked the best she could. "No sir, not at all. I'm just trying to explain that Peeta and I...we are just friends, that's it."

"Good." Commander Conway nodded. "Be friends from afar." Getting up from the table, he gave Calliope a nod as if to tell her she better follow through.

"I'm supposed to say goodbye tomorrow at the train station. Can I do that?"

Looking at her as if she had three heads Commander Conway repeated, "Friends from afar. He'll have Katniss with him. You don't need to say goodbye." He made his way over to the door but turned to look over his shoulder. "President Snow also advises that you perhaps become closer to someone else. Maybe that Gale Hawthorne. That would be good for both of you."

With that, the Commander and the other Peacekeepers left Calliope and her family to sit at the table and think about everything she had just been told.

She couldn't be friends with Peeta anymore.

She couldn't say goodbye to him tomorrow.

She should get closer to Gale Hawthorne.

The last part confused her. But perhaps it would be best if she and Gale both stayed away from Katniss and Peeta. Gale couldn't resist not kissing Katniss so maybe if he and Calliope got closer it would seem as though he wasn't in love with Katniss and it would take away some of the burdens off the girl to play that she was in love with Peeta.

The Capital wouldn't question Calliope and Peeta's friend if Calliope was in a relationship with someone else. The same would go with Katniss and Gale. Getting Gale to go along with it would probably be impossible. But what if it would save Katniss's and his life? Would he pretend to be in love with Calliope then?

"They seemed nice," Mr. Whittmore smiled, not really understanding what had just happened due to his health was getting worse by the day.

The following morning at the train station, Peeta waited as long as he could for his best friend. Everyone else showed up to say goodbye. All of Katniss's family, Rye and Wren, his father. Everyone but the one person he wanted to see most.

"Come, come! We must get going!" Effie clapped her hands together. "We're going to be late."

"Can't we just wait a few more minutes?" Peeta asked, not wanting to get on the train just yet. "Where is she?" he asked Wren who was just as confused as he was. "What if something happened?"

"I'm sure Calli's okay," Wren tried to comfort him. "Maybe something happened with her grandfather. You know she wouldn't miss saying goodbye unless it was something serious."

"Peeta!" Effie called to the boy again.

He nervously looked at his friends. "Tell her I said goodbye and that I'll be back soon."

Wren nodded as Peeta boarded the train. Looking out at the crowd for a final time, praying to see Calliope's head of brown curls but was disappointed when they never appeared.

Chapter Text

Sunday. The one day a week Calliope had that was completely her own. The shop wasn't open. There were no orders to be made. With Peeta gone and Calliope under strict instructions from the President to stay away, she found herself with no one to confide in. She couldn't tell Wren what was going on for fear of putting her in danger too.

Her mother didn't want to hear anything about it as she hated anything that had to do with the Capital and the people who took away her son. Calliope's grandfather still wasn't in the best mental state and didn't even remember the conversation with the Commander. That left her with only herself to think this out with.

Calliope and Gale barely even knew each other. Sure they had a mutual understanding and found themselves calling the other a friend but that's all they were. That's all Calliope could ever see them being, but if it was going to save her family and herself, she would do almost anything. With her mind made up, Calliope made her way to the one place she knew she could find Gale on a Sunday afternoon.

In the solitude of the woods, Calliope looked for Gale Hawthorne- or rather, waiting for him to find her. The woods were the one place the two could talk without fear of anyone else being able to hear them and Calliope needed to talk to Gale if this was going to work.

The December air was cold, nipping at her cheeks and nose. The coat she wore was barely warm enough to keep her from shivering but she had refused to allow Peeta to buy her a new one despite his pleas before he left.

"What are you doing following me, Cal?" Gale's voice rang out through the trees before Calliope saw him.

"I need to talk to you," she called out, looking around for any sign of him.

"About what?" He appeared from behind a large oak, scaring Calliope slightly and making himself laugh. Like ripping off a band-aid, Calliope explained the idea to him, of them fake dating, all while Gale looked at the girl like she was insane. "Hell no." He instantly shook his head. "Not happening. I'm not going to pretend to date you."

"Alright, I'm going to act as though your fast reaction didn't just hurt my feelings." Calliope crossed her arms over her chest. "We're already friends, right? What's the harm in pretending to be a little more?"

"The harm is I don't feel that way about you and you don't feel that way about me."

"So?" She shrugged.

With a scoff, Gale shook his head and tried to walk away, but Calliope stood in front of him, angering Gale. He hated when she did that when she blocked his path because he couldn't move her. He would never put his hands on her. "Calliope, move," he practically growled, staring down at her.

"Just think about it. If we acted like we were together, no one would question our friendship. We could talk to Katniss and Peeta all we want. No one would think twice about it if we were madly in love like they are, the Capital would think we bounded over our best friends falling in love. The story would be easy to sell. Me, you, Peeta, and Katniss could go on like double dates, we could all hang out at one of the houses, things like that."

"You sound insane. Double dates? This isn't the Capital."

"Insane or brilliant?" Calliope smiled, trying to break the tension.

"No...no you sound insane."

Her smile dropped and she rolled her eyes. "Okay fine. A Peacekeeper Commander visited me the other night. He told me that President Snow suggests we become...closer. He said we would both benefit from it."

Gale's eyes darken. "You're joking?"

Calliope shook her head. "I wish I was."

"I am not going to act like I am in love with you for the sake of President Snow and the Capital." He was disgusted at the idea.

"Then what about your family? Your mom, your little sister, and brothers because if it came to us being punished, our families would be the first to go." Gale thought for a moment before letting out a frustrated groan. "Please Gale, I wouldn't ask this if I didn't seriously think our lives were in danger."

Rubbing his face, Gale turned his back to the girl and let out a heavy sigh. Hating the idea completely but a piece of it made some sort of sense. Perhaps they pretended until the star-crossed lover's bit died down. Gale could pretend for a while longer. He could act like they were in love just until the next games brought a new thing for the Capital to focus on.

"How do we do this?" Gale asked, keeping his back to Calli.

Closing her eyes, she let out a sigh of relief. "Well, first off we can't tell anyone, not even our families. My mom and Pa' know but that's only because they were there when the Peacekeeper suggested it." Finally turning to look at the girl again, Gale nodded slightly. "And we have to be very public with our relationship. I could meet you at the end of the day at the mines and you could walk me home."

"That all?" Gale asked, refusing to meet Calli's eyes.

"Well I mean...we're gonna have to do couple things eventually but for now...I think that could work."

"I'm not a PDA type, so don't expect any grand gestures or me to hold your hand or anything."

Calliope nodded. "I wouldn't expect anything more of you, Hawthorne. I'll see you tomorrow at the mines."

Gale returned the nod and Calliope made her way back home, shaking her hands out from the nerves. Never in her life has Calliope dated anyone. Now she was "dating" Gale Hawthorne. The boy all the girls fawn over in school who never gave anyone but Katniss an ounce of attention.

-

The first few days of the fake dating were a bit bumpy. Calliope met Gale at the mines every day and waited for him to clean up before he would walk her home.

The first day, Calliope had to remind him to look happy to see her. The second day too.

On the third day, Gale appeared from the mines with a wide grin on his face, one that looked out of place and weird to Calliope as she had only ever seen him smile in the woods. She had the teach him how to smile and it look genuine and not scary.

The fourth day was when the other miners began to talk about them suddenly always being together. The whispers in the hob came very soon after. The rumors of the two dating.

On the fifth day, Gale surprised Calliope when he hugged her and kissed her on the head before they began their walk to the shoe shop. He did it so naturally like he was one of the other miners greeting their wife after a long day.

"How'd I do?" Gale asked when they got to Calliope's front steps.

"Oh uh...yeah. You did great. Nice job Hawthorne." Calli gave him an awkward smile.

"You too Cal. See you again tomorrow?"

Calliope nodded and Gale left her standing at her front door, regretting ever bringing the idea up to Gale. But now it was too late. People were already talking and to them, it made sense that the two started dating. Everyone in District 12 already knew about Gale and Calliope's affinities towards their respected best friends but they also knew that the Capital was sniffing around, trying to poke holes in Katniss and Peeta's love story.

Two childhood best friends each with a crush on one of the victors were sure the be the hole that drowned the Everlark love story. So with the whispers of the two's new relationship also came the doubts of it being real.

Only four people would even know their relationship was fake and they planned to keep it that way.

That night there was a viewing of Katniss and Peeta on Caesar Flickerman's show. Katniss and Peeta were going to be interviewed on the final day of their Victory tour. They had visited every District and now ended in the Capital.

Calliope tried to watch the show, but her mother's worries distracted her.

"I just don't think you and Gale need to be out in public flaunting this relationship. What do you think Peeta will say when he gets back?" Mrs. Whittmore asks as Calliope watches Peeta pull something out of his back pocket on the screen.

"No fucking way," Calliope muttered under her breath as Peeta got down on one knee. Leaning back on the couch, Calliope covered her mouth in shock, causing Mrs. Whittmore to walk over. Letting out a gasp, she put her hand to her chest, clutching the necklace her late husband had given her.

All noise drowned out to Calliope as Katniss enthusiastically nodded her head while Peeta placed the ring on her finger.

Peeta and Katniss were engaged. They were going to get married. The star-crossed lovers would never die down. They would never be overshadowed by something different, not for a long time. They would soon move in together and be expected to have children someday.

Peeta was officially Katniss Everdeen's and he would be for the rest of their lives. Calliope had lost him forever. He would now only ever be her best friend, nothing more.

What did that mean for Calliope and Gale? Were they supposed to pretend forever? Surely not. They didn't have the same coverage as Katniss and Peeta. They could pretend for a little while then break up and find other people the grow old with.

Or maybe I could grow to love Gale? Calliope quickly shook that thought out of her head. She would never love anyone in her life the way she loved Peeta Mellark. Anyone else would be Calliope simply settling and that wouldn't be fair to the boy. But if she and Gale both settled for each other, maybe they could make due.

No Gale would never go for it.

Calliope just hoped Peeta didn't ask her for wedding help. Though the wedding would probably be a huge septically for all of Penam to watch. Calliope was going to have to attend. Be there and pretend to be happy that her best friend was marrying Katniss, pretend not to hate the bride with every fiber of her being.

On the sixth day of the pretend dating, despite telling her he wasn't one for public displays of affection, Gale allowed Calliope to wrap herself in his arms when they met outside the entrance to the mines. Ignoring how uncomfortable he was, Gale held her for a moment, knowing she was upset about the news of the engagement. It was a weird feeling for the girl to be pressed against his chest. He was much taller than Peeta and smelled of coal dust and sweat.

The two tried to play it off as they just missed each other after a long day in the mines but those who passed by the two knew why they were really upset. No one in the district was buying their love story when it was so clear that the two were still in love with their best friends.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Gale grabbed Calli's hand and led her away from the crowd, pulling her into a small alcove. "You okay?" he asked once they were out of earshot from fellow district citizens.

"They're engaged," Calliope said, looking down at her feet, sticking her cold hands into her pocket. Embarrassed that she had actually just hugged Gale Hawthorne.

"Yeah I know," Gale sighed. "I saw the show."

"They're gonna get married and live together."

"I know what it means Cal." Gale hadn't meant to sound harsh, he just didn't want to face the truth just yet. Katniss and Peeta still weren't back from the tour. It would be another day or two. Meaning Gale didn't have to think about the ring on Katniss's finger just yet. He could keep pretending just a little longer.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." Calliope shook her head. "Maybe we should end this now before we get too invested. It's clear no one is buying this."

"Woah woah, what?" Gale grabbed the girl's shoulders. "They're going to be married. There will be cameras on them 24/7. If we ever want to see them again, we have to pretend to be in love, like they don't matter to us. We have to act like we're just two supportive friends right?"

"Gale...they're never gonna escape the cameras. I don't know how long I can pretend."

"We pretend for as long as we need to. For as long as it takes."

"Gale..." Calliope sighed but he wasn't having any of it.

He gently cupped her face. "You said this would protect us, Cal. It would protect our families and it would protect Katniss and Peeta. You want to protect them right?" Calliope nodded, letting out a shaky breath. "Then we keep going, right? Until there are no more cameras on them until it doesn't matter anymore."

Not having the heart to tell Gale this would never end, that the cameras would never stop, Calliope just agreed and allowed him to wrap her in a hug again.

If only they knew the trouble their fake dating would bring them.

The following day, hell seemed to break loose in the District.

Calliope was late meeting Gale at the mines by just a few minutes. Her grandfather was having a particularly bad day with his health so it was hard to get away.

When Calliope arrived at the crowd of miners beginning their walk home, she was shocked to see that Gale already had his arms around Katniss Everdeen. She was back from their victory tour, which meant Peeta was too. They were early.

Gale's eyes found Calliope's, giving her an apologetic look as he pulled from Katniss's arms. Everyone else was watching. This was the perfect time to show that their relationship was real and that Katniss was only a friend to Gale. So Calliope marched right over to the two and slipped her arm into Gales with a smile.

"Katniss, you're back!" Calli greeted the girl. "It's so great to see you. Congratulations on your engagement! I bet you and Peeta are so excited, I can't wait to help with wedding plans." Calliope planted a faux smile as wide as her face.

Katniss looked down at their intertwined arms and then back to Gale. "Yeah, it's all very exciting."

It was clear Calliope and Gale were up to something, that much Katniss got, but the sight of Calliope with her arm in Gale's was still shocking. Katniss opened her mouth to say something more but Calliope quickly shook her head. Reaching out, she grabbed Katniss's left hand.

"What a beautiful ring. You know I helped Peeta pick it out right? He was agonizing over the decision for days. You'll have to tell me all about how he asked you. I mean we all saw it but you have to tell me everything you were thinking." Now Katniss got it. They were pretending for the sake of everyone else in the District.

Calliope linked arms with Katniss and led her towards the woods where they could talk without anyone else hearing them. "How's Peeta?" Calliope asked once they reached the fence. "Was he upset I wasn't there to say goodbye?"

Katniss, confused by the sudden shift in Calliope's voice looked between the girl and Gale.

"I'll explain everything," Gale assured her.

"He was a little upset. You might want to go check on him."

Calliope let out a sigh and shook her head. "I can't...not yet. A Peacekeeper visited me and said he was sent by President Snow. He suggested that I stay away from Peeta and get a bit closer to...Gale. For the sake of everyone else. We decided to go with it because maybe if they thought we were together then people would believe you and Peeta were in love." With a concerned look, Katniss nodded. "I'll let you guys talk. I should go check on my Pa'." Turning to Gale Calliope said, "I'll see you tomorrow?" Gale agreed.

Before Calliope could leave, Katniss called back out to her. "Calliope wait. Don't tell Peeta."

The last thing Calli wanted to do was lie to her best friend but Katniss was right. If Peeta didn't know then the plan would work out better and he would distance himself from Calli.

Despite wanting nothing more than to run into Peeta's arms after not seeing him for a few weeks, Calliope returned home to her grandfather and mother. An hour or two passed by before the bell to the shop rang, signaling that someone had entered.

Calliope quickly rushed to the front of the shop to take care of the customer who had entered but stopped in her tracks when she came face to face with Peeta Mellark. The one person in the District she was trying to avoid.

Though when it came to Peeta and Calliope, they could never be apart for long, the universe always figured out a way to bring them back together.

"Peeta...you're back?" Calli tried to play dumb. "It's really great to see you." She stayed behind the desk, using the piece of chestnut furniture as a barrier.

"You didn't say goodbye." His voice broke the girl. He was jumping right into business.

Looking down in shame, Calliope tried to make an excuse. "I-I couldn't my grandfather was having a bad day and I had to be there for him."

Peeta nodded, beginning to make his way around the desk. "Right, right."

"I'm sorry Peeta. I wanted to say goodbye, I really did." He was standing right in front of the girl now. "Congrats on your engagement by the way. I'm really happy for you." Calliope tried to change the subject. "I bet you and Katniss are beyond excited. I can't wait to help plan everything!"

"Calli-" Peeta tried to interject.

"Were you thinking of a Spring wedding or Summer? Oh actually, probably not Summer huh? Considering that when the reaping is."

"Calliope."

"You know, Katniss seems like she'd rather have a Fall wedding. All the colors would just be beautiful-"

To stop her rambling, Peeta grabbed Calliope's face and held it so she would finally look him in the eyes. Clamping her mouth shut, Calli held her breath as the last time they had been this close was the day of the Reaping when she kissed him.

"Gale Hawthorne?"

He already knows. How the hell does Peeta already know?

Gulping down her fear, Calliope wasn't expecting to talk about this with Peeta so soon, but here he was. Standing before her, holding her face in his hands, hurt in his eyes as he begs for her to tell him the truth. But she couldn't.

"Peeta-"

"I was gone for two weeks and now you're...you're with Gale?" He drops his hands to his side and backs away from the girl. "I thought...what about you and I?"

Calliope's face hardened as she practically glared at the boy as if he had three heads. "There is no you and I, Peeta. You're engaged to be married."

His face fell. "I know but..."

"Ever since you got back from the games, you've made it clear that you need a friend more than you need a relationship and I've respected that, I've been there for you, but I can't keep waiting. My entire life I have watched you be in love with someone who never gave you so much as a glance. I waited for you to see what's right in front of you and I can't do it anymore. I love you Peeta and a part of me is always going to love you...but I want to be with someone who wants to be with me."

Peeta stared at the girl, his heart breaking with every word that passed her lips. The same perfect lips he wanted to press against his own. All this time he had been unsure of his feelings for Calliope. He knew he loved her and hated how stupid he had been to not see that she was right there his whole life. But he was also scared. Scared that it would ruin the best relationship he ever had.

Their friendship was the most important thing in the world to Peeta and he would do anything to protect Calliope. So when Katniss told him of President Snow's threat to make their relationship look believable or else, Peeta was willing to do whatever it took, including getting engaged.

Except, now he was back in District Twelve, staring into his best friend's beautiful brown eyes. Wanting nothing more than to pull her body against his. He knew she now belonged to someone else and he hated even the idea of Calliope being wrapped in another's arms. It made Peeta sick to his stomach to think he would never get to feel the pressure of her lips on his ever again. It was now clear to Peeta what his feelings towards Calliope were.

He was in love with her.

Perhaps he always had been and just refused to admit it.

"Calli...I-" Before he could finish his sentence, there was loud rumbling coming from outside, and the sound of multiple engines.

Calliope and Peeta shared a look of confusion before darting out the door where they had a perfect view of the calvary of Peacekeeper trucks that drove past the store on their way to the square.

Chapter Text

The two glanced at each other. Face drained of color.

"Peeta?" Calliope grabbed onto his arm as a loud shriek caused her to jump. "What's going on? Why are there so many Peacekeepers?"

His eyes stayed trained on the men in white uniforms marching towards the square. "I-I don't know."

In seconds, the entirety of District 12 erupted in chaos as Peacekeeper went door to door, tearing apart shops and confiscating anything of meaning. Turning on her heels, Calliope rushed back into the shop and up the stairs to her home, barging through the door, Peeta raced to follow.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Whittmore asks, rubbing her hands on a dish towel.

"Peacekeepers. They're taking everything. Hide dad's things." Calliope's voice was frantic as she raced across the small living room.

A photo of Calliope's father sat on the fireplace mantel, a box of his most prized possessions beside it. The box included his wedding band, a necklace, and a compact mirror he had given her mother when they first met.

Grabbing the box, Calliope froze at the sound of Peacekeepers entering the shop below, tearing it apart as they went. Mr. Whittmore entered the living room, confused. "Who is in my shop." He attempted to walk down the stairs but Peeta quickly stopped him, explaining it wasn't the best idea to interrupt Peacekeepers at work.

"What do we do with Dad's thing?" Calliope turned to her mother. "Where do we hide them?"

"Give them to me!" Peeta quickly reaches for the box. "They won't think anything of it. I'm a victor, I have the money for it." Calliope nods and allows Peeta to take the box of things, stuffing it into his fancy Capital coat. He's about the leave the apartment when a Peacekeeper blocks his way.

The boy stiffens and slowly backs away from the man. No one was safe from the Peacekeepers tirade. "Everyone out!" the man yells in a demanding voice. The Whittmore family, along with Peeta rush out down the stairs, leaving their home in the hands of the men spawned from Satan. Calliope's hand shot to her mouth as she stared at what was once her families beloved shoe shop.

Boxes of supplies were thrown about and emptied. Anything of value was tossed into the street and set on fire. Their cash box with all the money the family had was taken, leaving them with absolutely nothing.

"Come on!" Peeta grabbed Calli's hand, leading her outside. "We'll go to mine until this is all over, they won't touch Victors Village."

"I'm not leaving my home!" Mr. Whittmore shook his head, stopping in his spot.

"We have to go!" Peeta warned the man. "They're not messing around here."

"Neither am I! I'm not gonna let anyone push around me and my family." Mr. Whittmore turned to enter the shop once again, ignoring his daughter and granddaughters protests. Peeta reached out for Mr. Whittmore but the older man, pushed the blond away.

"Granddad please!" Calliope begged.

Mr. Whittmore opened the door to enter the shop but the Peacekeepers beat him to it, pushing the old man out of the way and knocking him to the cold wet ground.

"Granddad!"

"Dad!" the Whittmore woman yelled, rushing to the man's side.

Thankfully, the peacekeepers didn't cause any harm to the man, just to his pride and they stormed away without even a second glance, dropping some more of the Whittmore valuables into a fire as they went.

"Fucking tyrants," Mr. Whittmore muttered under his breath once they were far enough away.

"Come on, let's get my house," Peeta reached for the Whittmore's but again, the oldest monarch shook his head, refusing.

"No, you take Calliope and Violet, I'm not going anywhere."

"Neither am I." Violet stood strong with her father. They were prepared to protect their home and shop if their life depended on it.

"Then I'm staying too," Calliope said.

"No!" All three protested at the same time.

Violet placed her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "We'll be fine here. I need you to go with Peeta where you will be safe. Okay?" Calliope shook her head, opening her mouth to refuse but her mother beat her to it. "Calliope, listen to me alright. Go with Peeta, I'm not asking you again. I'm not losing you too."

Before she even had the chance to say anything, Peeta was already pulling her towards the direction of Victor Village, holding her under his arm and close to his side as they passed small fires burning in the streets and people hunched over from injuries at the hands of Peacekeepers.

When they reached the square, it was clear something else was happening, something big. The crowd was too thick for either of them to see but the sound of something whistling made Peeta climb onto a crate against the wall of the sweetshop, keeping his hand in Calliopes.

"What is it?" Calliope asks, trying to follow him. His eyes scan the crowd and just as she's halfway up, Peeta quickly pushes her down. "What?"

His eyes are wide and panicked. "We have to get you out of here." Grabbing her arms, Peeta tries to back Calliope away, shielding her view with his body.

"Peeta, what's wrong?"

The whistling continues along with a faint sound of grunting. A few people notice Calliope standing by and give her soft pitied looks, giving the girl the impression that whatever was happening in the square she was close to it. Ignoring Peeta, she began to push through the crowd of people, some moving passed to let her through.

When she finally breaks through the crowd, the little lunch Calliope had eaten threatens to come back up. Peeta was right, she should have left before she saw this. Gale's wrists were bound to a wooden post. A wild turkey he must have shot while in the woods with Katniss hung above his head. His jacket had been cast aside on the ground, his shirt torn away. His body was slumped unconscious on his knees, held up only by the ropes at his wrist. What was left of his back is a raw bloody slab of meat.

Standing behind the boy was a man Calliope had never seen before, but he wore a uniform the was designated for the District's Head Peacekeeper. His muscular arms raises above his head and comes back down fast, as the whip in his hand meets Gale's back.

The girl lunges forward, prepared to protect her friend from the beating, but a pair of arms finds her waist. By the way they held her, Calliope instantly knew they belonged to Peeta.

"What are you doing we have to help him!" she cried, trying to pry Peeta's hands away from her waist.

As far as anyone in the District knew, Calliope and Gale were a couple, supposed to be in love.

"You're not thinking straight." Peeta grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. His blue eyes were stern yet scared. He was terrified of her getting hurt, committing a crime like interfering with official business would end up with her being publicly beaten too, or worse, killed. If he was forced to watch her be tortured, it would send Peeta into a blinding rage, probably to the point of psychosis. "You're gonna get yourself put in the same position and I'm not going to let that happen. I told your family I would get you home safe and that's what I'm gonna do."

"Get off me!" Calliope yelled, tugging her arm away from the boy but he kept his grip firm.

She was aware of the blatant hypocrisy coming from the boy. If it was Katniss, Peeta would have already been over there, putting himself between the whip and the girl not listening to a single word Calliope said.

"Calli!" Wren called to the girl, rushing to her friend. "What are you doing?"

"She's acting crazy trying to get between a whip and Gale Hawthorne!" Peeta snapped.

"I need to help him!"

Wren held her arm. "You're crazy!"

"Stay out of it!" Calliope shot at her friend, eyes darting to her.

Fortunately, neither had to intervene as Katniss Everdeen ran at the Peacekeeper, holding her arm up and using her body to block the next blow from the whip. It came down across her face, sending the girl to the ground but she didn't care. Freezing in pain for a brief moment before pulling herself back up and practically throwing herself on Gale's body.

"Stop it! You're killing him!" Katniss shrieks.

But this new head Peacekeeper was stone cold, with a face full of lines tattooed from a permanent scowl. His eyes were so dark, that Calliope questioned if they were a black void. He didn't care what he was doing or who Katniss was, he didn't even take a moment to realize he was beating a victor before raising an arm, ready to send another blow to the girl.

"Hold it!" a voice barks. Haymitch appears on the other side of the square, tripping over a Peacekeeper lying on the ground. It the same Peacekeeper most of District 12 cared for and Calliope recognized him as Darius, a redheaded man who always bought his uniform boots from the Whittmore shop instead of ordering them from the Capital.

Haymitch ignores the man and helps Katniss up before examining her face. Muttering something about it being bruised for a big photoshoot coming up. The Peacekeeper hadn't recognized Katniss at first due to her flushed red face from the cold and her hair tucked into her jacket, but Haymitch, anyone in Panem would know who he was from his years on tv.

"He was Poaching," the Peacekeeper tried to justify. "What business is it of hers, anyway?"

Katniss cringed as Haymitch helped her stand. With every bit of movement, she flinched.

Peeta couldn't help himself, his love was split between the girl at his side and the girl facing the new Peacekeeper out for blood, his instincts took over and he rushed to Katniss' side, ignoring Calli's calls for him.

"He's her cousin," Peeta explained to the man, grabbing Katniss' other arm gently. "And she's my fiancée. So if you want to get to him, expect to get through both of us."

Taking a step forward, Calliope attempted to rush to Gale's side once again while the Head Peacekeeper was distracted but Wren held her back. "Don't be stupid Cal, they're victors, they have leverage, you'll be killed on sight."

Calliope knew her friend was right. She didn't have the same amount of immunity as the others. The crowd collectively held their breath as the man turned to his back up squad, which was made up of familiar faces in the district.

A woman who Calliope recognized as Purina, stepped forward stiffy. "I believe, for a first offense, the required number of lashes has been dispensed, sir. Unless your sentence is death, which we would carry out by a firing squad."

The girl's legs went weak at the mention of them putting Gale to death. In the past few weeks Katniss and Peeta had been gone and the time before that, she had become close to Gale. They would spend hours together every Sunday in the woods, talking about their lives. She wasn't prepared to see him be put to death.

"Is that the standard protocol here?" asks the Head Peacekeeper.

"Yes, sir," says Purina, and several others nod.

He gives a stern nod. "Very well. Get your cousin out of here, then, girl. And if he comes to, remind him that the next time he poaches off the Capitol's land, I'll assemble that firing squad personally."

The head Peacekeeper wipes his hand along the length of the whip, splattering the Victors with blood. Then he coils it into a neat loop and walks off. Most of the other Peacekeepers follow him.

Finally, Wren lets Calliope go and the girl runs across the square, dropping at Gale's side as Katniss and Peeta cut the ropes with a knife one of the miners gave.

"Gale?" Calliope asked, holding his face, which was void of any color. His arms fall at his side and his body goes limp. Calliope grabs his head, keeping his body upright as Katniss gets a board for them to carry him on.

The square had practically been disserted at this point, not that anyone could blame the citizens of District Twelve as they were probably terrified of what they had just witnessed.

"Wren right?" Katniss asks as the girl stands beside Calliope as they gently roll Gale onto his stomach. "Can you get Hazelle, and send her over?" Wren looked down at Calli before nodding, rushing in the direction of Gale's home.

"Wren!" Calliope called out over her shoulder, making the girl look over her shoulder, "Don't let her bring the kids." With a nod, Wren continued. Gale's Siblings did not need to see their big brother in the state he was in.

A few of Gale's crewmen stuck around to help get the boy to Katniss' mother, along with Peeta and Haymitch lifted Gale into the air and began to journey to Victor Village. Bristle and Thom, the crewmen, filled in the others on what happened during the walk.

Gale must have gone to Cray's house, as he's done a hundred times, knowing Cray always pays well for a turkey. Instead, he found the new head Peacekeeper, a man someone called Romulus Thread. From what Calliope could gather, no one knew what happened to Cray, the former head Peacekeeper.

Thread put the boy under arrest, and of course, since he was standing there, turkey in hand, there was very little for Gale to say in his defense. The rest of the story was easy to figure out. He was brought to the square, and forced to plead guilty before being sentenced to a public whipping which was to be carried out immediately.

Calliope held onto the boy's hand, though he wouldn't know she was there, too dazed from the pain. Her worried look never left her face as she stood by Gale every step of the way to the point where the crewmen and Katniss herself wondered if the relationship they had, was actually real.

Peeta's blue eyes stayed locked on Calliope's back, watching her every move. He noticed the way her thumb rubbed circles on the back of Gale's hand, the way she kept in toe with the men carrying the boy and how she never once took her gaze off his pained face.

It was obvious to anyone that she was scared for him. Peeta wonders if she'll tend to Gale's wounds like she used to do to his own. Though he didn't miss the beatings or getting thrown around by his mother, Peeta missed the intimate moments he shared with his best friend as she tended to him.

-

"She missed your eye." 14-year-old Calliope gave Peeta a sad smile as she wiped the blood from his cheek. "You'll be fine, just a little swollen." A smashed coffee mug that had missed his face by an inch was the culprit of his new face wound.

"I shouldn't have gotten in the way." Peeta sighed, shaking his head. Calliope held his cheeks, keeping him still. "I knew her and Conan had just gotten into it and that she'd be looking for a fight. I should have just stayed outside."

"Peeta, you shouldn't have to worry about this." Calliope dropped the cloth onto the table, reaching for the glue they kept for shoes and the paper she cut into thin strips to keep the skin under Peeta's eye together to heal. No child should fear that their just existing would be enough to send their mother into a tornado of anger that ends with a shard of glass in their face. "I really think you should come stay with me, we have the room now."

Cedar's death brought an empty bed for the boy, but the young teens both knew this wasn't plausible. Peeta's mother would find him and the repercussions would be far worse than either wanted to imagine.

"Calli, you know I can't." His voice was barely above a whisper.

Their faces were inches apart as Calliope needed to see the wound up close to take care of it. She dropped her hands in her lap, letting out a defeated sigh as she looked down. Despite wanting to, she knew she couldn't cry, for then Peeta would think she pitted him. And though she did feel bad, he kept his charming smile, kept up his façade that everything was alright when it certainly wasn't.

"Hey, I'm alright. See?" He tried to catch her eyes but Calliope refused until he placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head till she finally gave in and looked him in the eyes. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me okay."

But she would worry about him. Calliope would always worry about Peeta for as long as he lived in that house because she loved him and it killed her to see him in pain.

Peeta's blue eyes stared at her brown. A voice in his head was screaming at him to just lean in a little closer, only an inch or two. Then his lips would be on hers and they would together share their first kiss. But there was another voice screaming some sense into him. Calliope had just lost her brother and buried him no more than a month ago. She was vulnerable and full of emotions. The last thing Peeta wanted to do was confuse her, though he was beyond confused himself. The new feelings that had been plaguing his mind were terrifying.

There was a pull in his chest that led him to the girl in front of him. A constant stream of thought yelling at the boy to do something about these new emotions. A second pull led him toward Katniss Everdeen, the girl who didn't even know he existed.

She was the easier choice, Peeta decided. Being in love with Katniss was being in love from afar. It hurt less to be in love with a fantasy than the girl he thought would never return his feelings.

Clearing his throat, Peeta pulled away from the girl, dropping his hand to his lap.

That day he decided that any sort of romantic feelings he felt towards Calliope Whittmore would be pushed into a dark corner of his mind to be forgotten forever.

Chapter Text

The early sunset brought a raging snowstorm, trapping Calliope in Victors Village. The storm started upon their arrival to the Everdeen house, where her 'Boyfriend' was set on a kitchen table, back still bleeding and bruised. The Morphling brought to them by the Mayor's daughter, helped lull the boy to sleep after waking up in terrible pain.

"Cal?" he asked between grunts of agony when Mrs. Everdeen first began working on the mangled flesh on his back, confused as to why the girl was there holding his hand. Flashes of the event played in his mind but the burning of his back clouded any other thought he had.

"Gale?" Calliope asked nervously, biting through his tight grip as he fell unconscious again. "Is there anything you could give him for the pain?" Calliope asked, running her hands through the boy's hair. Despite the freezing air outside, Gale was dripping in sweat.

Mrs. Everdeen shook her head, brows knitting together as she focused. "We'll combine the herbs with sleeping syrup and he'll manage. The herbs should take down the inflammation soon."

"That's not enough!" Katniss shrieked. "Give him the medicine! Give it to him! Who are you anyway, to decide how much pain he can stand?"

Gale begins to stir at the raised voice, causing fresh blood to stain his bandages and an agonized sound to come from his mouth. He was trying to get to Katniss, to comfort her because even floating in and out of consciousness, Gale Hawthorne's heart still belonged to her. Bending down, Calliope tries to calm him as Mrs. Everdeen orders Katniss to be removed from the room so she can work. Peeta and Haymitch comply, removing the kicking girl and placing her in another room, waiting for her to calm down.

That's when Hazelle arrived and then soon after, Madge with the Morphling. Straight from the Capital, the small amount of clear liquid injected into his arm instantly helped to dull Gale's pain. His face immediately relaxed as did his body. Hazelle stayed by her son's side, holding his hand the entire time Mrs. Everdeen worked

Now that Gale drifted away on painkillers, everyone seemed to deflate. Prim, made sure they ate stew and bread. A room is offered to Hazelle but she has to go home to the other kids as the storm is really starting to pick up. Haymitch is sent home next, along with Peeta and Calliope.

Looking down at her 'boyfriends' mangled body, Calliope said, "Maybe I should stay. I don't think it would be wise of me to leave him just yet."

"He'll be fine here with me, I promise." Katniss had calmed down in the few hours that had passed but the anger she felt towards Calliope was prevalent. It was irrational, she knew that, but Gale was hers and she was his. At least privately. Publicly, Gale was supposed to be Calliopes. Katniss knew the relationship was fake but the others didn't, for anyone else, it would seem strange that the girl would leave her badly injured boyfriend at a time like this.

Calliope tried not to let the words Katniss spoke get to her but they did. Katniss was protective over him in the same way Calliope was protective over Peeta, but still they had an image to uphold. A relationship to fake.

Looking down nervously at Gale, Calliope eternally fought with herself on what to do. She wasn't supposed to be with Peeta alone as per the President's wishes, she was supposed to be distancing herself but Peeta was her only option on this side of the District as Calliope was uncomfortable with the idea of being somewhere she wasn't wanted.

"Really Calli, he'll be fine." Peeta placed a comforting hand on Calliope's shoulder. "We can come back first thing in the morning and if anything happens in the night, Katniss can call us. Mrs. Everdeen is the best in the District to handle this."

Still unsure, Calliope rubbed her hands together.

Peeta hated this. She should want to go with him, be with him. She was his best friend, his person. Six months ago, Calliope would have dropped everything to be with him, now she was trying to stay away.

His mind wonders what he would have done in her situation. If Calliope was Reapeted, ripped away from her old life, and sent to the arena where she fell in love with a boy, helped keep him alive, and promised to marry him all while he watched from home. The idea alone sent fire throughout his boy.

Calliope was his. He wanted her, loved her and he hated that it took so god damn long to see that.

But it was too late. Peeta was promised to Katniss whose heart belonged to Gale, who was with Calliope, who was in love with Gale. Leaving Peeta alone in this awful web of love and torture.

"Okay," Calliope agreed, but only because Peeta's house felt like another home while this felt cold and unwanted.

Nowhere in the District would be safe from the tirade of the new Head Peacekeeper. Not even Victor's village, but it was safer than making the long walk home in a storm like this.

After tossing and turning most of the night, the noise from the wind bothering Peeta, he decided to seek out his best friend for comfort like he used to. He found her in his study, sitting in a chair facing the large window. If it weren't for the storm or the almost mile-long distance, Calliope would be able to see the Shop from there. It gave her a small sense of comfort in the knowing of her family's current state. The only light in the room came from the fireplace on the opposite wall. Calliope had lit it to keep herself warm, preferring the heat from the flames over the artificial heat in the home.

"What are you doing in here?" Peeta asked from the doorway causing Calliope to jump slightly in the chair and turn around. His blond curls were unkept and flowed across his forehead like they used to, before his prep team began using hair gel from the Capital, giving him a boyish look.

"I uh, I couldn't sleep," the girl answered, turning back to look out the window.

"You're worried about them," Peeta stated, keeping his distance from the girl, stuffing his hands into the loose-fitting pajama bottoms.

She nodded. "They're my family and they're all alone."

"Right." Peeta's voice broke.

"What are you doing up?" she questions as the boy made his way across the room, standing beside her.

"Couldn't sleep either and I figured you would be up. I know you hate snow storms."

When she was younger, Calliope used to crawl into her parent's bed during particularly bad storms. The wind made her anxious. It was a fear she hadn't quite grown out of despite not crawling in her parent's bed anymore. No, that privilege was left to Peeta Mellark before the games.

"So...how was the tour?" Calliope asked, trying to make conversation as the silence wasn't helping with her anxiety. Their conversation earlier had been interrupted by the Peacekeeper invasion, not that she minded as she had confessed to being embracingly in love with the boy her entire life.

Closing his eyes, Peeta let out a sigh. "Please don't."

"What?"

Calliope watched as Peeta moved in front of her, blocking the view. Lowering his body the best he could with his leg, he kept his eyes on the ground. The tension and lack of speaking from Peeta was nerve-racking to the girl.

"I don't want to talk about the games, or the Capital or any of that other stuff. Not with you."

"Peeta-"

"No please..." he cut her off gently. "Just let me finish." Calliope nodded. "You are the one thing, the only thing, I have that the Capital doesn't. The reason I never spoke about you during my interview is because I didn't want them to take it and spin it into something to be used against me and once I knew how you felt, I didn't want them to ruin us. To ruin you...like they ruined me."

The girl's heart broke at his words. Reaching out, she gently, placed her hand on his cheek. Closing his eyes, Peeta leaned into the touch, holding her wrist. "They did not ruin you Peeta Mellark. You're heart is too big and too beautiful for them to ruin."

"You saw what I did in the games, the people I hurt." He couldn't look her in the eyes when he spoke about the life he took. It hurt too much as he feared she would look at him differently.

Calliope held his face and forced him gently to look at her. "You're still the same Peeta I know."

He wished he felt like those words were true but they weren't. He wasn't the same and he never would be. "Calli, I'm broken." His lip quivered.

"So what? You fixed me after Cedar, right? I was broken and you helped put me back together. You think I'm just gonna leave you to fend for yourself?" She tried to give him a comforting smile.

Peeta's blue eyes glistened in the light of the fire, the flames illuminating up his face perfectly.

"I love you," he confessed, causing Calliope to hold her breath. "I know I hurt you and I'm so sorry. When Rye told me that you were with Gale, I didn't believe him at first, but then I saw the way your were with him today..." Peeta trailed off. "I don't want you to be with him. I don't want you to be with anyone."

He was saying all the right words. Everything Calliope wished he had said before the games. It was all perfect.

But too late.

She couldn't be with Peeta, not when her family's lives depended. "What about Katniss? You're getting married." It didn't matter that it wasn't real, the two would be forever tied if they went through with it.

"Snow doesn't believe our love story. Some of the Districts saw the berries as an act of rebellion and not love. It started a spark. There was an uprising in 8, maybe other Districts too. Katniss thought us getting married would fast-track everyone believing us."

The words were coming out of Peeta's mouth too fast for Calliope to process. Uprising? Rebellion? No, the Capital would not allow that. The last uprising caused the Hunger Games and Calliope didn't want to think what the next one would bring.

Death to all Districts? More whippings? More murder?

The Capital was already taking all the children. Would they kill the elderly next too, just for simply existing?

"Wh-why are you telling me this?" Calliope fidgets in her seat, worry flooding her mind.

Peeta thought for a moment before speaking. "Because today won't go unpunished. We defied direct orders from a Head Peacekeeper. With Snow already not believing us and the uprisings, there's gonna be repercussions I can feel it."

Her heart was racing. Peeta's life was in danger again. Calliope couldn't help him again. They were stuck facing impending doom, again.

"Katniss wants us to run away, into the woods."

"What? No!" Calliope panicked. Reaching out to grab Peeta tightly. He couldn't leave her. Not again.

"Don't worry, we're not leaving. Not when Gale is hurt." Peeta looked down again, not able to look at her as tears filled his eyes. "Do you love him? Really?"

Calliope opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Peeta nodded and stood up, beginning to make his way towards the door, believing he got his answer. Out of desperation and anger, Calliope shot up from the chair.

"That's not fair of you to ask me, especially right now." Peeta turned to look at her. "You know how I feel about you how I've always felt about you. I told you this afternoon."

"Then why are you with him?"

She couldn't tell him the truth, Katniss told her not to. It was supposed to make things easier, be better for all of them. But looking into Peeta's hurt eyes, nothing about this seemed easy. He was too broken, too sensitive for Calliope to lie anymore. But her family's lives were at stake and she had to protect them.

"You're engaged."

"But what if I wasn't?" he walked towards her till they were inches apart. "I can end it all. I will." He held her face, rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. "I will if it means being with you."

With hands on his chest, it took every ounce of restraint in the girl's body not to kiss him. "You have no idea how long I wanted to hear you say those words. How many nights I laid awake thinking about you." Their foreheads touched as Peeta leaned down. Tears filled Calliope's eyes as she prepared to break the boy's heart. "But we both know you can't. If you do, Snow will punish you."

"We don't have to tell anyone, Calli..." He lets out a breath.

"Peeta, I can't be your secret. It hurts too much and would cost us everything if people found out."

"So we don't let them." He was desperate, holding onto any possibility of them being together. Maybe if he kissed her, if he showed her how much love he would give, she would change her mind.

So he did.

He pulled her in, placing his lips on top of hers. The movement was full of desire and hunger. Calliope didn't hold back, she leaned into the kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck as her fingers ran through his hair. Peeta's hands fell to her waist, then to her back. His strong grasp pulled her against his body, to the point he could feel the shape of her against him.

She let out a soft moan as fire filled her body. She wanted more, needed more, from the boy. It was all she ever wanted.

But this was wrong. It was so wrong, despite feeling so right. She allowed it for a moment, not wanting to lose his touch. But when his hands began to wander, Calliope knew she had to put a stop to it before they went too so far and cross boundaries they could never uncross.

"Wait." Gently pushing against him, Calliope broke the kiss. For a second they stood in front of each other, panting, their lips swollen.

When tears began to fall down her face, Peeta knew he messed up. "Peeta...we can't."

He let out a sigh, leaning his forehead against her again. "I know. I know," he agreed. "But how beautiful was it to think we could for a moment."

Calliope let out a broken sob as she took a step back, putting much-needed distance between the two. If they remained as close she they were, Calliope wouldn't be able to say no to him again. "Maybe in the future, this won't be so bad."

"Yeah..." Peeta cleared his throat, sending her a fake smile. "Maybe it won't be torture."

Chapter Text

It takes two days for the storm to pass and another for the roads leading out of Victor's Village to be cleared. Three long days stuck in debilitating silence. Despite spending nights and most afternoons together, Peeta and Calliope only speak in passing about the weather, lack of food, or her worry about her family. They don't acknowledge the shared kiss or burning desires. At night, they lay awake, in separate rooms, staring at their respective ceilings, refusing to seek each other out for comfort despite the tug in their hearts that pulled them towards one another.

Calliope visits Gale daily, spending a few hours beside him at a time, ignoring the sideways glances she gets from Katniss. She tells terrible jokes to try and bring a smile to his lips. It's a challenge Calliope gives herself each morning, a challenge she continues to fail. She should have known a smile would be too rare, especially after what he had been through. She found herself craving it more every day. Maybe it was her proof that someone could actually like her, even if it was just as a friend.

A piece of Calliope felt guilty about the kiss with Peeta. Despite knowing both relationships are fake, she still feels a sort of loyalty to Gale. A different kind than she has for Peeta. Their time spent together distracts Calliope from the fact that her family is on the other side of the District, alone with barely any food to keep them from hunger.

"He pushed you down the stairs?" Gale asks with a raised brow, wincing slightly as Mrs. Everdeen applies an herb mixture to his wounds.

Calliope nods. "He put me in a basket and said it was like sledding." She recounted the time when she was six, and her brother eight when he put her in an old wicker basket and sent her down the flight of stairs leading from the apartment to the shop. "I think he just wanted to see if it was safe enough for him to do it, but it wasn't. See this scar?" Calliope pointed to the small white line on the side of her head. "It bled so much it looked like a murder scene. I thought my mom was gonna have a heart attack. I had to get six stitches. Cedar bought me a bag of peppermints later that day to make up for it."

"Well, that was nice of him."

The girl shook her head. "No, it wasn't, I hate peppermints. He got them for himself. They're his favorite candy." Her smile instantly faded. "I mean they were his favorite."

To change the subject, Gale asks, "What is your favorite candy?"

Growing up, they didn't get many treats as most of their money was spent on food or supplies for the shop, but on the last Sunday of every month, her father would bring home a small bag of cinnamon sweets just for her. They were tiny red candies that made her mouth water. A smile spread across her lips at the memory. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of them.

"What's yours?" Calliope asked after explaining the story to the boy. Gale was sat up now, the inflation on his back had died down, though wearing a shirt was still too painful. After thinking carefully for a moment he answered, licorice. Crinkling her nose in disgust, Calliope shook her head. "Of course you like licorice."

"What's wrong with licorice?"

"Nothing, if you have the taste of an old man."

Picking up a hand towel, he playfully threw it at the girl.

Dropping her mouth open, acting offended, Calliope threw the towel back, hitting him in the face, causing a slight smile to spread on his lips as they chuckled. The sound of his deep laugh made her heart flutter. Calliope found herself wanting to do anything she could to hear it again.

"Hey," Peeta's voice broke their laughter. Gale's gray eyes look to Peeta briefly before turning back to the girl sitting in front of him who could barely look towards the blond standing in the doorway. Every time her gaze landed on his, she was reminded of the night in front of the fire where she broke both their hearts. "The roads are clear. If you wanted to check on your family."

From the corner of her eye, she could see him. Dressed in a warm Capital jacket and scarf. His cheeks red and rosy from the short walk in the cold and his curls were styled with gel in the way that Calliope hated. Despite the person her heart longed for the most standing in the doorway, her eyes landed on Gale.

"Will you be okay?" she asks.

He nodded. "Yeah, Cal, I'll be fine. Go see your family. Make sure their okay." Getting up from her seat, Calliope gathered her coat which once belonged to her mother. "I'll see you tomorrow?" he asks, holding her gaze.

"I'll try."

Gale takes it and nods, allowing her to leave.

Making her way out of Victor's Village, Calliope wasn't expecting Peeta to be following her. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"You think after everything that happened the other day, I'm gonna let you walk home alone?"

Taking offense to this, Calliope crosses her arms over her chest. "I don't need you to look out for me."

"Really? Because it didn't seem that way when I was stopping you from interfering with Peacekeeper business," he shot back, limping behind her.

"Yeah, to stop the Peacekeeper from killing my boyfriend, but it was all fine and dandy when you ran in to save your fiancée."

"That was different."

"How is it different?" The angrier she got, the faster she walked, not realizing the struggle Peeta had keeping up on his bad leg.

"Because you're just a normal person. You would have ended up just like him, if not dead. I at least had a shot at living."

"Right, because you're a Victor." The word was sour on her tongue. She hated it and the implications it brought. To be a Victor was to give your life away. For Peeta it meant being forced to marry Katniss Everdeen and go on tours and be a mentor and never have the chance to be with Calliope.

"Exactly. But I told you, something's coming. Something big and I need you to keep your head down for now. You can't get caught up in anything."

"Nothing is going to happen." The words were taken out of her mouth as they entered the square. She was wrong. So beyond wrong.

In the three days everyone was trapped inside, the square had been completely transformed. A large banner with the seal of Panem hangs off the roof of the Justice Building. Peacekeepers, in pristine white uniforms, march on the cleanly swept cobblestone. Along the rooftops, more of them occupy nests of machine guns. Most unnerving to the teens, is the line of new constructions - an official whipping post, several stockades, and a gallows - set up in the center of the square.

Calliope came to the sudden realization that they were being watched. Her heart beat against her chest. She wasn't supposed to be with Peeta, hanging around him. Those were direct orders from the Capital. If they were seen together, it would be reported and Calliope had no idea what it would mean for her or her family.

"Thread works quickly." Peeta continued to look around the square, shocked.

"I have to go." Calliope tried to take off but Peeta grabbed her, causing the girl to panic when she saw a duo of peacekeepers watching her. "Stop. Let me go."

"Woah, what's wrong?" Peeta asked, jumping away from the girl.

Stuttering, Calli didn't know how to tell the boy they couldn't be seen together. "I-i just. I have to get home."

Peeta nodded. "Okay, let's go-"

"No," putting her hand up, Peeta froze. "I need to go, alone."

"I would feel better knowing you got home safe."

"I would feel better if you just left me alone," she spat.

Peeta took a step back, his brows knitting together in confusion. "Why are you being like this?"

Letting out a rigid sigh, Calliope dropped her face in her hands. "Because I can't..." taking a deep breath she continued. "I can't be around you anymore. It hurts too much."

"Calli..." he voice cracked, breaking the girls heart once again.

"I appreciate you letting me stay in your house these past few days and keeping me safe but...we can't... It's not fair to me and it's not fair to Gale and honestly, it's not fair to you. We can't keep doing this to each other. Keeping the other at arm's length."

Peeta nodded, staring her directly in the eyes. If she was going to ruin the only good relationship they had growing up, she was going to have to look him in the eyes as she did it.

"I'm done Peeta. Okay. Go, be with Katniss, be happy. I can take care of myself or I have my boyfriend who can do it."

He didn't say a word, didn't acknowledge anything she said but the tears in his eyes told Calliope that he heard her. Turning his back, Peeta left her there. Standing in the square, surrounded by Peacekeepers who had most definitely been watching the interaction take place.

-

The streets were practically deserted as she made her way. Calliope would have chalked it up to the snow and cold but the Calvary of Peacekeeper told another story.

Where the Hob once stood was now a building engulfed in flames. The girl didn't have time to stare or worry for anyone's safety, her mind was on her family and whether they were okay or not. Her world came crashing down as she entered the shop. It was still destroyed from the day of the raid. The shop was her grandfather's pride and joy. When everything else went to shit, the shop was the one thing he had to keep him going. Even with his deteriorating health. Which only meant one thing. Something was stopping her family from picking it back up.

It wasn't even a second before Calliope bolted for the stairs that led to the apartment. "Mom?! Pa'?!" she called out to them.

Opening the door, a large sigh of relief was released at the sight of her only living relatives alive. But the fear returned when she realized the state they were in. Her grandfather was lying on the couch, covered in piles of old blankets and bundled in winter gear while her mother fed him steaming soup, or that's what she assumed it was. Turns out if was just the little bit that was left of their broth which had been watered down significantly.

"Pa'?" Kneeling to the floor beside her mother, Calliope reached for the old man's hand. It was cold to the touch and he was shaking. "What happened?"

Mrs. Whittmore dropped the spoon in the bowl. "I think it's pneumonia. We ran out of firewood the first night and it's been too bad outside to get more. I tried bundling him up but he's only getting worse and with his health..." she couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

Mr. Whittmore was a prominent figure in the District. Being one of the oldest and wisest. He was one of the few who remember life before the war. He took care of his family, his child and made an honest living.

Calliope's own father was raised by an abusive man from the Seam, becoming violent after the death of his wife. When Theodore met Violet, they fell in love instantly and Mr. Whittmore took the young boy under his wing, being the father figure he never had. Once they were old enough, and got married, Theodore took the Whittmore last name out of respect for the man who stepped up. Losing him was like losing a son.

"This is the last of the food we have. I was gonna get more from the hob but..."

It was burned to a crisp.

The old man was pale and weak, barely able to lift his arm. "Okay...okay. I'll go to the bakery and get us some bread. That should last us a couple of days until the mines open back up."

"Okay. There should be a few coins in my pouch." Calliope rushes across the room and grabs the small velvet bag Mrs. Whittemore had kept hidden before rushing back down the stairs and across the road.

The bakery was the only place in the District that had any food at the moment as no one else could really afford it.

"Calliope." Rye smiled at the girl. "What can I do for you?" It was the first time he had seen her in weeks and if he was being honest, he missed their group from before Peeta's games.

"Can I do two loaves of your wheat bread please?" Pouring the coins out of the pouch, Calliope counted as she went.

"That will be $10."Mrs. Mellark's voice was cold as she demanded the price.

Calliope looked up at the stern woman standing behind the counter. "What? It's never been more than $4."

"Supply and demand sweetheart." A sly smile spread across her snake-like face. Even with the money she had, it wasn't enough.

The girl glanced over to Rye who was leaning against the counter, not making eye contact, trying to hide his shame. If it were up to him, he would have given the bread to her for free, but his mother would have beat him for it. Calliope knew that. She cleaned Peeta's wounds enough to know why Rye wouldn't do this for her.

"You know no one can afford that right?"

"If you can't afford it, get out." Mrs. Mellark shrugged as if she wasn't the most heartless woman in the District.

As the days drag on, things go from bad to worse. The mines stay shut for two weeks, and by that time, half of District 12 is starving. The number of kids signing up for tesserae soars, but they often don't receive their grain. Food shortages begin, and even those with money come away from stores empty-handed. When the mines reopen, wages are cut, hours extended, and miners sent into blatantly dangerous work sites. The eagerly awaited food promised for Parcel Day arrives spoiled and defiled by rodents. The new installations in the square see plenty of action as people are dragged in and punished for the smallest of crimes.

The faces of the Whittmore family grow gaunt as the bones in their cheeks become very prominent. Any food they can get their hands on is given directly to Mr. Whittmore in an attempt to keep his strength up. Peeta and Calliope don't speak, giving each other the space that the girl asked for.

No one comes by the shop as there is no money left to spare on materialistic items like shoes. Calliope doesn't meet Gale at the mines anymore. They get out too late to the mandatory curfew and there's just no time after taking care of Mr. Whittmore whose pneumonia has only gotten worse. The infection spread causing him to be completely bedridden. He had developed bedsores that had to be cleaned daily, though it had become hard as both women barely ate a cup of soup a day. Most days going without.

"Come on Pa', it's just a few feet." He shook his head, groaning as the young girl pulled him into a sitting position. "It's only for a couple of minutes." Pulling the blankets back, she helped move the man's legs in front of him. Tucking under his arm, Calli used all her strength to stand. She figured getting him moving may get the blood flowing and help him a little.

Mr. Whittmore began to protest, shaking his head over and over, attempting to speak but the words came out slurred.

"Calliope?" Mrs. Whittmore dropped the bowl of hot soup on the ground, not caring that the broth burned her skin. Rushing to her father, Mrs. Whittmore's face drained of all color.

The entire left side of the man's body had gone limp, his face drooping. "What's happening?" Calliope asked nervously, setting her grandfather back on the couch.

"I think he's having a stroke. Quick, send for Mrs. Everdeen."

"He needs a Doctor!" the girl protested.

"Calliope May, we don't have money for food let alone the doctor. Go now!"

Looking at the clock on the wall, Calliope's anxiety only skyrocketed. Curfew was in effect, if she was seen, she would be shot on sight and with how many Peacekeepers had been dispatched to the district, it was certain that's where the night would go.

They were forced to wait till dawn, listening to the wet crackling of his breath as Mr. Whittmore slowly succumbed to his illness.

As soon as the sun peaked over the horizon, Calliope ran out the door, not even thinking to grab a jacket before running towards Victors Village, passing the miners on their way to work as she went.

"Woah Calli, what's wrong?" Gale asked, grabbing the girl. She was shaking cold, her lip quivering.

"I-i can't. I have to get Mrs. Everdeen, it's my grandfather." Without saying another word, she took off, leaving the boy stunned. If he had a choice he would have raced after her, got to the bottom of what was going on but wages were already cut in half and Gale had a family to provide for.

Racing up the front steps to the Everdeen household, Calliope began banging on the door until it opened, revealing a concerned Mrs. Everdeen.

"Yes?" she asks, pulling the robe tighter around her body as a gust of bitter January air blows past.

"It's my grandfather. We-we think he had a stroke last night and we can't afford the doctor, could you...could you please come check on him and we'll provide free shoes for your whole family forever." Rubbing her hands together nervously, Calliope barely felt the cold.

"Who is it?" Katniss questions from the steps.

"The Whittmore girl," Mrs. Everdeen answers, collecting her jacket and slipping on her shoes before grabbing a bunch of small vials and following out the door.

By the time they had gotten back to the home, the sun had risen. They came stammering through the door as Mr. Whittmore let out his final death rattle. His body went limp as his hand fell to the floor. His daughter by his side, tears streaming down her face but no sound came out as she turned to her daughter.

It was too late. They waited too long. Not that they really thought Mrs. Everdeen could do anything to help. The infection had spread throughout his body, causing a blood clot to form which caused the stroke.

Falling to her knee, Calliope's face went blank for a moment as she processed the scene in front of her. He was dead. Her grandfather was dead. One of the two people she had left was gone forever. Perhaps if there wasn't a curfew he could of been saved. If the uprising hadn't happened, the Peacekeeper wouldn't have been enforced and help could have come sooner and her grandfather wouldn't have died. The uprisings wouldn't have happened if Katniss never pulled out those damn berries.

Letting out a disturbing scream, in that moment Calliope could only blame one person.

Katniss Everdeen.

She hated the girl more than the Capital. She took Peeta away, took her peace away and now she took her grandfather and Calliope was furious.

Chapter Text

The ground is too frozen for a burial, meaning the oldest of the Whittmore family would be put to rest by cremation. It was the standard in District 12 during the winter since it wasn't safe to keep the body around until the ground defrosted due to the different diseases it would bring.

A funeral was still held in honor of the man. As per District 12 tradition, a family member would speak, and a toast would be made before spreading Mr. Whittmore's ashes around the snow-covered meadow. Peeta had arranged it all for the family as a favor, even paid for it all. Calliope tried to protest but Peeta wouldn't listen.

When the news reached Peeta about the man passing, he dropped everything and ran as fast as he could across the District. Not caring that the last time he and Calliope spoke was a few weeks ago and that conversation had ended in a fight.

Calliope hadn't moved from her spot on the living room floor. Tears trailing down her cheeks as she held a blank stare, keeping her eyes locked on the couch where her grandfather died—not even looking back to see the commotion Peeta caused as he pushed through the door and past the small crowd of Peacekeepers who were there to take away the body. Dropping in front of the girl, Peeta instant pulled her against his chest, holding her tightly.

"Calli, it's okay, everything is going to be okay. I'm here." His voice sounded muffled as if he was underwater. There was nothing else she could focus on except for the now empty couch where the old man had taken his last breath less than 30 minutes ago. The only sound Calliope could hear was the thumbing of the boy's heart against his chest, bringing the girl back down to earth.

Peeta was there. He was in their apartment, above the shop, holding her against his chest. Peeta was still alive. The games didn't take him from her.

Allowing herself to finally cry, letting it all out, Calliope gripped onto the boy's jacket as if she was holding onto him for dear life, in that moment, she felt like if she let him go, Peeta would be gone just like her grandfather.

Neither one of the teens cared about the Peacekeepers that were watching them.

They ignored the stares, as Peeta cradled the broken girl in his arms, rubbing comforting circles on her back while she let out heartbreaking sobs as four Peacekeepers familiar to the district gently and carefully, carried Mr. Whittmore to the funeral home, where his body would be prepared for the funeral in the coming days. Violet rocked on the floor just a few feet away, cradling her knees to her chest and she mumbled to herself word no one would make out.

The sun had fully risen in the sky when Peeta pulled the girl up from the ground. He needed to get her off the floor and into a warm bed. Lifting Calliope was far too easy, it had made Peeta stop and take a good look at her. She was nothing but skin and bone, the few weeks without food had taken a terrible toll on the Whittmores and it was shown by the women's fragile frames, sunk-in cheeks, and dark bags under their eyes.

Setting her down on her bed, Peeta pulled the blankets back, bent down in front of the girl, and removed her shoes before tucking her under her blankets. She didn't speak, just went through the motions and allowed Peeta to move her around like a doll. The few blankets she had were barely enough to keep her warm, causing Peeta to make a mental note to bring by some extra blankets he had lying around.

"Everything is going to be okay. I know it doesn't seem like it now but it will get better." He tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, wiping away a fallen tear as he went. "I'm so sorry Calli," he repeated, tears forming in his own eyes. "I'm sorry. I wish...I wish I was here."

Placing her hand over the boys, Calli closed her eyes, resting her cheek against the palm of Peeta's warm hand before pulling him in closer. He knew what she wanted, but Peeta wasn't sure if he could give it to her. His heart couldn't handle any more rejection. "Calli-"

Still heartbroken from their last encounter, Peeta didn't want to reopen the wound but when her broken voice practically begged him, Peeta couldn't say no, not to her. Not to the girl whom his heart belonged. Stepping out of his shoes, and shaking off his jacket, Peeta climbed over her small frame and laid behind her, wrapping her in his arms, protectively pulling her back to his chest.

The warmth his body radiated instantly helped to defrost the girl.

Just like when they were younger. Just like before the games. Before the back and forth. For a moment in time, Calliope allowed herself to feel it all again because once they got up and out of that bed, the world around them would resume and they would be forced to go back to their tragic realities.

It was Peeta who made the speech during the funeral to honor the man, it seemed fair as he was the one to organize everything. Calliope couldn't bring herself to do it and Violet had become once again completely bedridden in the few days between the death and the funeral. Calliope was the only member of the Whittmore family to attend as there was no one left. His words brought instant tears to the girl's eyes. Everything was truly beautiful given that despite it being the middle of winter, the sun was shining down on them, bringing warmth to their faces. It was as if it were Mr. Whittmore looking down on his granddaughter. A majority of the district showed up to pay their respects to the man who was so kind and had made all the shoes in the district for the past 50 years. Almost everyone knew him and shared beautiful stories.

Gale made sure to show, pulling the girl into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry Cal, I should have been there."

Calliope shook her head. "No, no if you left the mines, they would have punished you." The peacekeepers would have seen it as a refusal to work which was punishable by whipping and Gale's back couldn't take anymore, it was already covered in scar tissue. For the rest of the afternoon, Gale stood by her side to support his girlfriend.

When the Everdeen family approached Calliope, fire instantly filtered through her bloodstream. The dislike she held for Katniss had only grown into pure hatred. Everything in Calliope's life that had gone wrong stemmed from the Everdeen girl and her actions.

Eye narrowing, Calliope didn't speak a single word as Katniss approached her, whispering her sorry and pity. Neither went in for a hug as Katniss wasn't one for physical touch and Calliope would have rather died than accept any sort of apology. There weren't enough apologies in the world that Katniss Everdeen could say that would fix the life Calliope was now living.

Feeling uneasy by the girl's glare, Katniss kept moving, turning to Peeta and starting a conversation with him. The touch of Gale's hand on Calliope's lower back gave the girl one of the worst ideas to get back at Katniss.

Turning to look up at him, Calliope leaned into Gale's chest, whispering something in his ear and getting Katniss's attention. The move confused Katniss more than anything since she knew the two weren't actually together.

Once the funeral was over, the district went straight back under lockdown and everyone felt the tension and fear of death. There were more beatings in the streets, and more punishments dulled out by the new head peacekeeper.

School was out of the question. Calliope had decided she was done the night her grandfather died. The funeral, the shop, putting food on the table, it was all up to her now. There was no time for the simplicity of learning about math and the reason for coal mining. Getting the shop back together was tough as it was still destroyed from the raid since there hadn't been any time to get it put together while dealing with her grandfather's sickness and then his death.

But Peeta was there once again to lend a helping hand. The two had spent most days together once again, almost like old times. Neither spoke of the shared kiss or fight that happened the last time they were together. It all seemed so trivial now, unimportant. Together they got the shop cleaned up and organized, despite the mounds of paperwork that had been thrown about and the large amount of product that had been damaged. Sorting through it all was one heartbreak after another as it meant more money had to be spent to replace the supplies and products that were unusable.

Food was still scarce but whatever he had, Peeta shared with the Whittmore women and even went as far as to help spoon-feed Violet when it all became too much for Calliope to handle. He was the true backbone of the Whittmores in the following days after the funeral.

His lack of appearances for the wedding promotion was becoming noticeable to the capital. All eyes in the district were on Peeta and Calliope who were spending a noticeable amount of time together. Most citizens and peacekeepers would witness the boy entering and leaving the shoe shop time and time again without a purchase considering the store still wasn't open. Rumors were beginning to fly once again as no one had really seen the girl spending any time with her actual boyfriend

Peeta hadn't wanted to leave her, opting to have Katniss- who had come to fetch him for a suit fitting- tell his prep team he was off-limits till further notice. As if he had much say in his schedule. But his prep team wasn't having it. Porsha herself showed up at the shoe shop, doing her best to hide her disgust for the place while telling Peeta the President would be furious if they didn't get this fitting done.

He tried to protest again but Calliope stopped him. Urging him that she'd be fine and see him the following day.

But she wasn't fine. Once the dust settled and there was nothing left for Calliope to throw herself into, no one left to talk to, she was forced to face the thoughts and anxiety of what was to come her way. As soon as her front door closed, the fake smile on her face dropped. Leaning her forehead against the door, she let out a heavy shutter, doing everything in her power to hold back her tears.

Beyond exhausted and left to her own devices. Her thoughts weren't right. They were racing a mile a minute, reminding Calliope that her grandfather was dead. Reminding her what his body looked like, how he sounded taking his last breath, the way the light left his eyes.

Then came the thoughts of the future.

There was no money left. The family had nothing saved. Barely any food to feed a mouse let alone two women. The shop hadn't been open in weeks, meaning nothing was coming in. Everything was on her shoulders. It was Calliope's job now to keep her family alive and that thought alone sent her spiraling into panic.

She needed it all the stop. The thoughts. The anxiety. If Calliope thought about it for another second she would descend into madness. Sleep never came without nightmares, replaying the horrors she saw on the streets of the District. There was no resting for her, not anymore.

The knock on her door confirmed it further. Looking out the window, the sun had almost set, meaning whoever was at the door was about to break curfew.

"Gale?" Calliope asked opening the door. "What are you doing here?"

"How uh...how are you?" he asked almost hesitantly. He was covered in coal dust, from head to toe. Smudged on his cheeks and chin, even collected in his hair. It honestly made it hard for the girl to breathe.

Calliope shrugged. "Fine, I guess."

"I uh, I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit much after the funeral. Work orders have been increased and we get out way to close to curfew for me to make it home in time. I got out a little early today so I thought I would stop by." It was a nice gesture for him to visit, though everyone in the district could probably guess how the Whittmore girl was doing.

Calliope motioned to look out a close by window. "It looks like you're pretty close to curfew now."

"Yeah..." he trailed off, looking down at his hands.

With a sigh, she reached out for him while moving to the side. "Come in before you get shot."

"The shop looks nice," complimented Gale as he looked around.

"Uh, thanks." Running her hand through her hair, Calliope walked across the shop, standing behind the front desk to the pair of shoes she was trying to work on before Peeta was whisked away but making shoes was harder than she had anticipated. "I would offer you dinner but...we don't have anything." Calliope let out a laugh that didn't do its job in masking her emotions very well.

"That okay. I'm fine."

They stood at an awkward distance, not really saying much to the other until Calliope broke the silence. "Why are you here Gale? Really?"

"I told you, I wanted to make sure you're okay," he answered.

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yes."

He tilted his head to the side, flexing his jaw. He didn't believe her that was clear and his stare was reaching into parts of her bones that Calliope didn't realize it could. "Cal, you've been through some hard things...are you sure-"

"Fine," she laughed manically, "I'm clearly not okay, but you knew that. I'm drowning here Gale. There's so much to do and it's all on me to do it. There's no food, no money, my mother won't get out of bed and I half a mind to join her and wallow in my self-pity but I can't because it's up to me to keep things going."

Without saying a word, Gale walked around the counter and wrapped his strong arms around the girl. She didn't fight it, didn't protest, instead melted into his hold. His winter coat practically engulfed the girl. She wouldn't cry, not anymore, but it was nice to be held, despite having to breathe in the coal dust from Gale's shirt.

"It's okay. I got you."

They were the same words Peeta had said to her a few days prior, but for some odd reason, they felt just a slight bit more comforting coming from Gale's mouth. He was there. Despite it being so close to curfew and working since dawn, Gale was there, in the shop, comforting her. Emotions were running rapid and Calliope clearly wasn't thinking straight because why was she feeling butterflies in her stomach?

They pulled from the hug but didn't move away from one another, Calliope looked up at Gale, tilting her head back.

"I'm really sorry about your grandfather Cal, he was a good man," Gale repeated.

"Thank you."

"I mean it by the way. I got you. Whenever you need something, let me know."

Gale had taken it upon himself to treat the girl like he would his family. She was now his responsibility he decided. When it came to food, he would hunt it for her. When it came to water, he would fetch it from the well. If she needed an ear to listen or a distraction, he would be there. He hadn't meant for it to happen and would never admit it out loud but he had become quite fond of the girl standing before him.

Gale reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small bundle of fabric, holding it out to the girl. Reluctantly, she took it from his hand and unraveled it. Calliope couldn't hide the shock from her face. Inside the piece of fabric was a small cheese bun from the bakery.

"Gale no-"

"It was left over from my lunch, Katniss got my mother a cleaning job at Haymitch's so she splurged and got me something nice from the bakery," he explained.

"I can't take this." Despite her grumbling stomach screaming at her in protest, she held the baked good back out to Gale who simply shook his head.

"I can hear your stomach from here. Please, eat it."

"What about your family? I'm sure Rory would love this."

"Rory already got one, and so did Vik and Posy. I mean it Cal, please, eat."

The girl finally obliged but only ate half, saving the other for her mother.

"I should probably get going." Gale sighed, peering out the window to see the darkening sky.

"Are you crazy? Its practically curfew. If you get caught they'll shoot you on sight."

A playful smirk crosses his lips. "Are you actually worried about me Calliope?" He took a step closer, making the girl instantly nervous.

"Of course, I'm worried about you," she stuttered clearing her throat. "We're friends. Friends worry about each other."

"Right." Gale nodded, staring down at the girl.

Nervously, Calliope took a step back, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Right so...I uh- you can sleep in my room. I would offer the couch but I don't think you would want to sleep there considering that's where my grandfather just died and I'll sleep with my mother."

"I'm not taking your room from you," Gale tried to protest.

Shaking her head, Calliope didn't allow him to argue about it.

"We can talk about that later but first we have to do something about...you."

"Me?"

"You're covered in coal dust and if I'm being honest, it smells."

"News flash Cal, everything in the district is covered in coal dust."

"Yeah," she nodded, wiping a bit of black smudge off his cheek. "But not everyone is covered head to toe. Let's go, the weather has been good so the pipes shouldn't be frozen, you can have a shower." Leading the way upstairs Gale quickly followed.

Very few buildings in the district actually had running water, usually only in a few homes above shops if the family had enough money at the time the shop was built. The Whittmores were part of the lucky few. The shower, if you could even call it that was basically a spigot that only flowed cold water to a cement floor and the water pressure was just terrible but it got the job done. Calliope usually opted for baths with water heated up in the old fireplace but there was no time for that now.

"You have a shower." Gale looked at the small room with slight shock.

Calliope nodded. "Yup, now don't come out until you are sparkling," ordered the girl, handing him an old towel.

Gale let out a grunt and nodded slightly as Calliope closed the door behind herself, leaving him to his own devices.

Chapter Text

A bed of old blankets and pillows was made on Calliope's bedroom floor where Gale Hawthorne was supposed to be lying, but the idea of sleep had gone out the window hours ago. Instead, Gale sat on the floor, leaning forward with his arms resting on the edge of Calliope's bed as she laughed at the story he told when his mother had given birth to his little sister Posy.

"You did not faint." Calliope's voice sounded full of light and laughter, a dark contrast to the horrors that had plagued her past week.

"No, I swear." Gale put his hand up as if he were taking an oath. "As soon as her water broke, my vision got spotty and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground looking up at the midwife who was forcing me to hold my mother's hand. If I could of, I would have run for the hills," he explained between laughs. At the time of Posy's birth, Gale was only 14 and had just lost his father, making him the man of the house. At his young age, being a witness to the birth of his little sister wasn't supposed to happen but Hazelle had no one else to hold her hand. So Gale pushed through and stayed by his mother's side, even getting to cut Posy's cord when the time came.

"I don't believe that for a second." Calliope propped herself up on her elbow so they were closer. "Gale Hawthorne, fainting at the sight of childbirth? I didn't peg you to be such a wimp." Offended, Gale laughed at the statement. "I mean, you hunt and skin animals for a living. Come on!"

"Hunting for survival is completely different than watching a child be born," he defended.

"Alright fine." Calliope put her hands up in protest. "I guess I've never seen someone give birth so I can't judge."

"Exactly, give me some credit here Whitty."

Calliopes eyes widened before doubling over in a fit of laugher. "No, no. Absolutely not. You can not call me Whitty."

"What? What's wrong with Whitty?"

"What even is that?"

"Its a nickname. A great nickname actually. I came up with it myself."

"Really?

"Yeah." Gale nods proudly. "Just now, it came to me."

"You can not call me Whitty, Gale. That would be like if I called you...Hawthy or something."

"Hawthy? No. This is completely different."

"Right." Calli laid back in her bed, tucking her arm under her head as she stared at the boy. "You really are different then I thought Hawthorne."

"Well I hope that's a good thing." He smiles, resting his temple against his fist.

Taking a dramatic pause to think, Calli nodded. "It is. I used to think you were this brooding guy who walked around like he's better then everyone else. I never saw you smile until that day in the woods. Always scowling like you smelt something bad." The boy laughs at this. "I like when you smile. It's a side of you that not many people get to see huh?"

He shakes his head. "Only the people that I like."

Calliope beamed. "You like me Hawthy."

"I like you a little less now Whitty."

They stared at each other closely, eyes lingering a little to long until a yawn escaped from Calliope. "I think we need to sleep. You have an early morning."

Gale looked out the window of the girls room and nodded. "Yeah...yeah I do." Unconsciously, Gale's hand messages his shoulder and he winced slightly.

The memory of Gale's whipping came right back to the girl and her eyes widen. "Oh my god I'm a terrible person!" Calliope practically yelled out before getting out of bed.

Confused, Gale stands with her. "What? What's wrong?"

"Your back! You're still probably so sore and here I am making you sleep on the floor! I am a terrible host. Absolutely terrible. Get on my bed."

Gale took a few uncomfortable steps back. "Uh...No, I am not going to sleep on the bed. Where are you going to sleep?"

"I'll sleep on the floor."

Instantly, Gale protested. "No, I'm not kicking you out of your bed Whitty. I'm fine really."

"Fine then...then we'll share for the night."

"Share? No, Calliope that is way to...intimate." He spoke as if the word was dirty.

"Gale...we're dating..."

"No we aren't, not really!" His voice went high pitch, more so due to nerves. "Just lay in your bed please."

Looking from the bed to the floor, Calliope crossed her arms. "Fine, you won't sleep on the bed, then neither will I." She laid herself down and snuggled into the blankets that had been set out of Gale.

"Don't be ridicules."

A dramatic yawned came from the girl as she pulled the blankets up to her chin.

"I forget how damn stubborn you can be Whitty." Bending down, with almost no effort, Gale lifted the girl from the floor, throwing her over his shoulder, causing a yelp to escape from Calliope.

"Put me down!" she laughed out, gripping onto the boy as if her life depended on it. Spinning her around a few time, pulling laugh after laugh from the girl, Gale couldn't help but keep going.

Her laugh was like a drug and this was his first high. Nothing else would ever compare and he would spend the rest of his life chasing it.

Each little squeal she let out was a wave a euphoria that went right to Gales head, making his mind feel full of air. He didn't care about the sting in his back as her body rubbed against the sore scaring. The drug of her laugh took away all the pain, making him numb to it.

"Gale Hawthorne! If you don't put me down this instant I will make you regret it!"

"And how are you gonna do that Whitty?"

"I will smother you in your sleep." It was an empty threat, they both knew that. Gale still found it amusing however.

"You would probably be doing this word a favor." Playfully, Gale turned so that his back was to the bed before gently letting her go, allowing Calliope to carefully fall into her soft bed. Still laughing, Calliope adjust herself so she was kneeling on the bed looking up at the boy.

Her laugh quickly died at the sight of him rubbing his sore shoulder, the pain returning instantly once she was gone. "Are you alright?" Edging to the end of the bed, Calliope placed a soft touch on his shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Got any Morphling laying around?" he joked over his shoulder.

"I wish. I might have some herbs that could help with the inflammation. Did Mrs. Everdeen give you anything before she sent you on your way?"

Nodded Gale explained, "She did, told me to apply it before I went to bed but...I didn't take it with me. I don't remember what she gave me though I just know it works."

"Right, well I have some stuff that may work too," Calliope states, getting off the bed and digging into her stash of herbs she kept in her dressed draw before climbing back on to the bed leaning on her knees and urging Gale to turn back around as she mixed a few things together.

"What is that?" Gale asks turning over his shoulder.

"Calendula mixed with a bit of Aloe Vera. The Calendula will help heal the wounds and take down some of the inflammation with the Aloe Vera will fell sort of cooling on the skin."

Gale let out a hum, his brows knitting together as he watched the girl mix together the paste. "In case you didn't notice, its freezing, I don't think my skin need to feel anymore cool."

"Will you just hush and take off your shirt?"

"Woah, at least take me on date first." He joked before expertly pulling off his heavy long sleeve, exposing the tender skin on his back that was still raw and bruised.

Holding her breath for a moment, Calliope took in the sight of the boy standing before her, shaking away any inappropriate thought that crossed her mind as she went about applying the treatment. His muscles instantly tensed at the touch, wincing slightly.

"I didn't peg you to be a nurse," he grunted out through gritted teeth.

"I'm definitely no nurse."

"Then where did you learn all this stuff?"

Flashes of Peeta's bruised and tattered skin played in the back of her mind, reminding her of all the times she did the exact same thing for him on more then a few different occasions. "Books." she simply explained. "I taught myself how to take care of open wounds, even learned how to give stitches."

"Any reason?"

"Just to...to help out a friend." She wouldn't tell Gale Peeta's past. It was no secret to most of the district that the bakers wife had a heavy hand and rotten attitude but when it came to her boys, they were occasionally spotted with bruises and belt buckle impressions that anyone not paying close attention to would chalk up to them being on the wrestling team.

Turning to face the girl, Calliope was instantly aware of how close they were to one another. "I uh...wasn't done."

"It's okay. I think I'm feeling better."

"Uh okay...then we, uh...we should probably go to sleep now."

"Yeah?"

Gulping, Calliope nodded. "Yeah we can uh...we can sleep feet to head. I-if that will make you more comfortable."

"Sure, whatever you want." But neither moved. Continuing to look intensely at the other. Brown on grey, Calliope held her breath as Gale leaned his body closer becoming only inches from her face. His hands somehow found their way to her hips, rested lightly against her over her nightgown. "Goodnight Whitty," he whispered.

"Goodnight Gale."

Bypassing the girl and flopping down onto the bed on his stomach with a groan, Gale was beyond ready for sleep to take him.

For a moment Calliope was frozen in confusion. What had just happened? Was he about to kiss her but chickened out? Why did he get so close to her face? Then the anger burned inside her. Dropping her hands, and shaking her head, Calliope got off the bed and turn to him.

"You're a jerk."

"How so?" Gale asked not even looking her way.

"You can't just do that!"

"Do what?" He sighed as if Calliope was the inconvenience.

His acting clueless only infuriated her more, causing Calliope to let out a huff. "Don't do that! Don't flirt with me, put your hands on me, lean in to all this built up tension to then just act like nothing happened!"

"Calliope-"

"I mean, what the hell was that?!"

"Cal-" he began to get up from the bed.

"If you don't like me that's fine, we agreed to be friends and that's completely cool. I like being your friend but don't mess with me, don't mess with my heart. Not when I barely just put my grandfather to rest."

He was standing in front of her now, shirtless. Body heat radiating off him. He was taller then Peeta with a bit of a different build. Look's wise, they were almost complete opposites, reminding Calliope that once again, the boy whom her heart belong too wasn't the one standing before her, it belong to the curly headed blonde across the district with sparkling blue eyes.

The same blond who was trying on different suits for his wedding to Katniss Everdeen, the girl Calliope despised with every fiber of her being.

"That's why I didn't kiss you," Gale confessed. "I remember everything you been through and I couldn't do that. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I just..." he trailed off, not really knowing what else to say.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Calliope thought about her next move. Would she had been upset if he had kissed her? Would she had leaned into it? Should she? Would it ruin what they had as friends.

Gale was willing, he was right there in her bedroom shirtless and he was willing. Katniss was in love with him clearly, it would be her perfect revenge against the girl who had stolen Peeta from her. Calliope could already imagine the look on Katniss' face as she brags about being with Gale. Katniss would be so full of rage that it would be laughable.

She deserved it, to have her heart broken, after everything she did and it wasn't even as bad as what she had put Calliope through.

But as Calliope imagined the glorious revenge she would have on Katniss, flashes of Peeta's face played through her mind and now she was imagining how he would look, how his heart would break. It took 17 years, nearly dying and a fake marriage but Peeta had finally admitted his feeling for the girl, he was in love with her.

If Calliope asked, Peeta would drop everything to be with her. Only now he was too late. Being with Peeta meant defying the capital, and defying the capital meant death to both of them and their families.

Calliope didn't have much of a family left but she would do anything to protect her mother and she wouldn't let Peeta or his brothers die just so they could be together for a short amount of time. Living a life without Peeta but him still being alive was far better in the girls mind then having him dead.

"You're still in love with him," Gale voiced. Her shoulders slumped and her head dropped in shame. "That's okay," he assured her.

Gale was still in love with Katniss himself so he understood where Calli was coming from.

But neither of them could deny the blooming feelings they felt for one another. The butterflies they each had when the other laughed. The need to hear it and the want to protect the other.

Was it possible to like two people at once? Calliope wondered as she stared up into Gale Hawthorne's grey eyes. Or was the pull she felt to him just a result of her brain looking for a distraction?

"I don't know what I feel anymore..." she said truthfully. "I know that I'm still in love with Peeta and I will always be in love with him but I also feel something for you."

Gale shook his head. "I don't want to be another's girl second choice."

"Well aren't I yours? You're still in love with her. How is it fair for you too be in love with someone else but I can't be."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Gale shutters on what to say next. "I think this was a bad idea. Us."

"Us? There is no us, remember Gale?" Calliope took a few steps back. "We're not actually together." Her voice softened as the hurt began to fill her. "I don't even know why we were having this conversation in the first place." Walking passed the boy, Calliope went to her bed, adjusting her covers.

Even though they weren't together, it felt like she was being rejected all over again.

"Look, I don't think its good for us to just settle for each other because we can't have the people we actually want."

But a piece of Calliope did want Gale and his rejection brought all those feelings to light and it terrified her.

"Come on, Hawthy, let's just go to bed." Her voice was soft and fully of dread. The laughter from just a half hour ago was gone and the insufferable darkness was back. The darkness that reminder her that her life wasn't her own and no matter what she did, there was nothing that could change that.

The only thing keeping her going was her mother and Peeta.

Even if she couldn't be with him, he was at least alive and with the amount of money he had and his status as a Victor, as long as Calliope stayed away, she didn't have to fear for his life or safety.

At least that's what she had thought.

Chapter Text

Yet another showing of Katniss Everdeen trying on wedding dresses played on the projection in the far side of the shop. The girl looked ditzy and posh as she spun in circles, allowing the tool to flow around her. This dress made her look like a princess. It had a large skirt that stopped just at her hips, meeting a tight corset that Calliope felt claustrophobic just looking at. The Whittmore girl tried to hide her disgust but her scrunched nose gave her away. As much as Calli hated to admit it, Katniss looked beautiful in white. It suited her well.

With a grimace, Calliope turned from the projection, focusing back on the pair of leather boots she was trying to teach herself how to repair the soles of. The constant photoshoots and video reels of the big wedding being planned was shoved down the throats of Panem citizens since the royal couple made their return from the victory tour. Almost every night it seemed Ceaser Flickerman was gushing over a new dress or hairstyle. The Capital citizens even got to vote on what flowers would be used for Katniss's bouquet. Between that and the mandator viewings of whippings and executions that played right before, Calliope found herself resenting the screen across the room that she had no control over.

Not all homes in the District had projectors, only those who could afford them. However, the shops and the mines were an exception, being provided by the capital. It was to ensure that even if the district citizens were doing their daily shopping that they were still able to be notified of an mandator viewings. Shop keepers could watch without leaving their business unattended. Since that raid, it seemed as though the projector was never turned off due to the mandator announcements from the capital and live punishments.

"It's sickening," Wren complained, setting down a box of old soles on the desk beside her friend. For the past few days, she had been helping Calliope out in shop since her mother was still bedridden. "How she's just dancing around in dresses while the rest of us are being starved."

The victors of district twelve had become outcasts. Most people blaming Katniss for the harsh crack down and then blamed Peeta and Haymitch by association. Not that anyone had much care for Haymitch as it was.

Calliope agreed with Wren. "I know. I'm so tired of hearing about this damn wedding. I just can't wait for it to be over."

"You're telling me." Wren let out a sigh, digging through the box. "What are these for again?" she questioned, holding up an old sole that definitely should have been thrown out.

"I need a new sole for these boots but I don't have the money for new material so I am going to try and find one that's not in terrible condition and fix it up."

"Right." Wren gave a nod, looking over her shoulder at the shop. "Well is there anything else I can do? Any thing I can organize or papers I can go through?"

"Uh...no I don't think so. Gale helped me clean everything up and organize the other night."

"The other night?" Wren raised a brow.

"Yeah. The other night. He came over to check on me and then helped me get everything back in order," Calliope explains, not looking up from her work.

"Wait...did Gale spend the night here?" A smile spread across Wren's face as she pushed for more details. Calliope didn't make eye contact as she concentrated on the shoe in front of her. "He total did!"

"Okay fine, yes he did but only because it got too close to curfew and he didn't need another offense against him."

Poking Calliope in the side, Wren continued to tease her, asking, "Did he sleep in your bed?"

"Well I wasn't going to make him sleep on the couch my grandfather just died on and his back was still messed up from the whipping."

"Excuses, excuses." Wren waved. "That's like a huge step for you Cal. The only person who you have even let spend the night is Peeta. I haven't even spent the night here." To be fair that was mostly due to the fact that Wren was usually at her own house, sharing a bed with Rye. Peeta's older brother. "Did you guys..."

Before she had a chance to finish her sentence, Calliope quickly shut her down. "No we most definitely did not." Despite her assurance, Calliope's cheeks light up like cherries. She wasn't one to speak about such private matters. Preferring to keep things like this to herself the complete opposite to Wren who was practically an open book.

Jaw dropping in shock, Wren asks, "What why not?"

Tilting her head to the side, Calliope wondered if her friend realized the question she had just asked. "Because my grandfather just died...I wasn't really in the mood."

The bluntness of Calliope's words made Wren shut her mouth, turning her attention back to the projection on the wall.

Katniss appeared in yet another white dress, spinning in circles with a fake smile plastered on her face. How could anyone look at the girl and think she was happy?

"All right, I can't handle seeing that girl show off another dress. I'm turning this off." Wren reached for the button as Ceasar Flickermen made an announcement about staying tuned for another big event for the evening.

"That's right, this year will be the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Hunger Games, and that means it's time for our third Quarter Quell!" The chirp in his voice meant that something was coming. Something big.

Wrens face paled as she starred at the screen as Calliope's brows furled in confusions. "What? The games aren't for months."

The Capital would never let the citizens forget about the Hunger Games. They kept them fresh in everyone's minds with the Victory tour half way between games and the constant replays of the year previous. But making an important announcement before the dust had even settled was weird and out of character.

"Must be the reading of the cards."

"What does that mean?"

Wren didn't get a chance to explain to her friend as the anthem plays and President Snow takes the stage. He's followed by a boy dressed in a white suit, holding a simple wooden box. The anthem ends, and President Snow begins to speak, to remind those watching about the Dark Days from which the Hunger Games were born. When the laws for the Games were laid out, they dictated that every twenty-five years the anniversary would be marked by a Quarter Quell. It would call for a glorified version of the Games to make fresh the memory of those killed by the districts rebellion.

He then goes on to tell them what happened in the previous Quarter Quells. "On the twenty-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebel that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it."

Calliope's stomach turns at the thought. She wonders how that would have felt. Picking the kids who had to go. For the richer districts it would have been an honor to be chosen, to be seen as the best of the best. But for the lower grade districts like twelve, it must have felt like torture. Worse then getting your named drawn from the reaping bowl.

"On the fiftieth anniversary," the president continues, "as a reminder that two rebels died for each capital citizen, every district was required to send twice as many tributes. And now we honor our third Quarter Quell." The little boy in white steps forward, holding out the box as the president opens the lid. The girls can see the tidy, upright rows of yellow envelopes. Enough envelopes for centuries of Hunger Games. The president removes an envelope clearly marked with a 75. He runs his finger under the flap and pulls out a small square paper.

Without hesitation, he reads, "On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capital, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors."

The words had barely registered to Calliope before Wren lifted her hand to her mouth and let outs a gasp. Both girls are baffled but Calliope is frozen. Not even blinking as the crowd is flashed on the screen showing the mixed emotions of the Capital citizens. Some are shocked, others sobbing.

Existing pool of victors.

Peeta

Her body reacts before her mind does and Calliope is running out the shop door, across the square and in the direction of Victors Village. Not even thinking about how close it was to sundown. The only thing on her mind was Peeta.

Her Peeta.

Her best friend. The person she thought she was going to grow along side with. Sure he would be forced to marry Katniss but he would have still been alive. Now his life was once again in danger. The thought of the boy she loved being tossed back into the one place that caused him the most amount of trauma made Calliope boil in rage.

She was aware of the sharp wind on her cheek but didn't stop until she reached the front of Victors Village. Peeta was already outside his house, sitting on the front steps looking up at the night sky. Without taking a moment to catch her breath, Calliope raced over, arms already out and slammed into his body like a wall. Wrapping her arms around Peeta's neck as if it were the last time she ever would.

He didn't say much, only leaning into her hold.

"I knew you'd come." His voice was soft, so low that Calliope almost missed what he had said. He was waiting for her. Knew she would be there for him the moment she heard.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she sobbed, pulling him in tighter, if that was even possible.

Lowering his hands to her bare arms, Peeta said, "You're freezing." Calliope hadn't cared to grab her coat before rushing out of the shop. Leave it to Peeta to be worried about Calli in a time like this. "Come on, lets go inside. I'll make you some tea." They pulled a part and Calliope instantly felt cold from his lack of contact until he grabbed her hand, leading her into the warmth of his empty home. He seemed eerily calm as he walked her through the hall. It wasn't until they were in the light of his kitchen did Calliope see the tear stains on his cheeks. He must have only stopped crying right before her arrival.

"What type of tea would you like? I have Jasmine, Green, peppermint." Opening his cabinet with the assortment of tea. He was trying to hide his fear, be strong for the girl standing before him.

"Peeta..."

"I would have more but there's a shortage." His hands shook as he pulled the jar of Jasmin off the shelf and turning to grab the kettle, attempting to fill it with water. "Really I think Peppermint is the best, but that's just my opinion." The fire stove top was behind Calliope, Peeta tried to make his way passed her but the girl stood in his way, removing the kettle from his hands and putting it down.

She knew he was trying to be strong. Trying not to show emotion and a small part of Calliope was bothered by that. It was her he was talking to. He never had to hide himself when he was with her and Peeta knew that. Though his words weren't saying it, he was terrified, that much Calliope could tell. Looking into his blue eyes, all Calliope could see was the scared little boy in front of the school house on the first day they met. Like that day, Calliope took his hand in his, assuring him that everything would be okay.

Only it wasn't okay. Not this time. Peeta had a 50% chance of going back into the arena were there was sure to only be one survivor this time around. Though Calliope had all the faith in the world of Peeta, he would be going against others victors, people who spent their lives continuing to train and get better at combat, who led some of their mentees to victory.

"You're gonna be okay," Calliope tried to comfort, tears glistening in her eyes. They both knew she couldn't be sure. Lifting a hand to his face and holding him, she said, "I'm still rooting for you, Peeta."

Her belief in Peeta was enough to make his crack. The flood gates opened and tears poured down his face. Calli was quick to pull his body against herself, allowing Peeta to cry into her shoulder. "It's okay. It's alright you're okay."

His knees gave out and together the fell to the kitchen floor, Calliope never letting go of the boy.

Once Peeta had settled, the two moved to the couch in his living room, this time Calliope brought him a tea. He took it with a smile that didn't reach his eyes and stared at the hot liquid as Calli climbed under the blanket opposite Peeta on the couch. Sitting in silence for a moment before Calliope speak.

"Maybe it wont be you."

"Cal-" Closing his eyes, Peeta tried to ignore the words coming from her mouth.

"No, I'm serious. Maybe it wont be you. Maybe it will be Haymitch. If they pick him you'll be safe, you'll never have to think about any of this again."

The blond shook his head, bringing the cup of tea to his lips. "I knew there would be consequences."

"Consequence? For what?"

"For standing between a Peacekeeper and official business."

Suddenly it all clicked. This wasn't a card written seventy-five years ago at the birth of the Hunger Games. Not when the prize for becoming a victor was to never be in the reaping again. A rebellion was brewing with Katniss at the forefront. A victor defying the capital because she thinks she can get away with it. Peeta was thrown right into with her when he and Haymitch stopped the knew head Peacekeeper from killing her. This was their punishment.

"Okay...well there's still a chance."

"Cal, he reached for her hand, taking it gently as he tried to find the best way to break it to her. "If Haymitch gets called, I have to volunteer?"

"What?!" Calliope asks with disbelief, tearing her hands away from him. "What do you mean?"

"If it's Haymitch, what husband would allow their wife to go into the games without them being there to protect her."

Panic was rising inside her now. "No. No Peeta you don't have to do it. You don't have to protect her anymore. It would be over. It would all be over and then it could be me and you again. Just like before."

He shakes his head. "It wouldn't be for her. At least not completely." Calliope tilts her head, confused at his words. "It would be for you, for my parents, for Rye and Conan. This isn't over until one of us is dead. If they think I don't love her, they'll punish me and the only way they can do that is if they hurt you." Reaching out Peeta grabbed her hands again.

"I can't, I can't lose you. Not again Peeta. Not again. I just lost my Grandfather. I can't lose you too. I won't survive it."

His hands cup her face. They are warm from the hot tea mug. "Yes, you will Cal. You survive it once before you can survive again. Even without me."

"You promised me. You promised you would do everything you could to make it home to me and now you're here and you just gonna leave again?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Yes you do!" she urged. Trying to hold onto the boy as if he was already gone. "If you die it will have all been for nothing."

"What will?" Peeta asks, his turn to be confused.

Getting up from the couch, Calliope began to pace back and forth. "All the lying, the back and forth. Staying away from you. Dating Gale. All of it was to make sure that you stayed alive. I could live with you being with Katniss, with settling for Gale as long as you were alive. I know you Peeta, if you go into that arena, you won't be coming out, you will do everything in your power to make sure its her who lives."

"Calli-" Peeta stands and tries to reach for the girl but she quickly pulls away.

"No! You once told me you would drop everything, stop it all to be with me. Is that still true?" He doesn't say a word, continuing to stare at the girl with somber eyes. "Peeta..." she trails off in a whisper.

"I wasn't thinking then. I was high on adrenalin after everything we had gone through that day."

Just like that, Calliope's world was crush once again by the boy she would give everything too. They had an out. A way to finally be together and if they were lucky enough for life to give it to them, Peeta wouldn't take it.

"So me being in love with you all our lives...that was just for nothing. Right." Calliope nods, turning her back to the boy.

"You're with Gale," Peeta points out, confused by the way she was acting. "You refused to be with me even when I said I wanted you."

Annoyed she flipped back around. "Did you not hear what I said? I was with him to keep you safe. I stayed away to make sure you and my family lived. Katniss wasn't the only person the President made to be in love."

"What?" He stared at her like a deer in headlights.

"A Commander came to visit me, straight from the Capital with a message from Snow. If I cared about my family or you, I would stay away and get closer to Gale. Having two childhood best friends pinning after the Victors who were supposed to be in love wasn't a good look. I was never in love with him. I was in love with you. My whole life I have been in love with you. You know that!"

Peeta's feet were moving before Calliope had a chance to think, then his lips were on hers and his hands in her hair. If either of them were thinking right, they would know that this wasn't a good idea. Emotions were running wild and neither were thinking straight. Calliope couldn't find it in herself to care and neither could Peeta. This could quit literally be their last chance to be together and Calliope was going to let it happen. Peeta was going to let it happen.

Calliope was glad she hadn't been with Gale that night as she wasn't in love with him. She was in love with Peeta and she was stupid to think she could ever live with herself if she had been with him.

When kissing Peeta, everything made sense, like the world was right again. Like it was meant to be. The noise in her head silenced and all Calliope could think about was the way his body felt against her own. Her lips parted and Peeta's tongue slipped into her mouth as he pulled her body against his chest. A soft squeal left her mouth as he lifted her off the ground and dropped her onto the safety of the couch where they continued to be connected by the mouth for the next thirty minutes.

It wasn't until Calliope went for the hem of Peeta's shirt did he finally put a stop to this. Both their lips were swollen and Calliope hair was wild. Cloths were wrinkled and they were panting, finally able to catch their breath.

"Why'd you stop?" Calliope asks, sitting up slightly.

"I don't want to do this and then leave," Peeta explained.

"You won't...we still have a few weeks left of winter then all of spring and we still don't know if you're the one leaving."

"Calliope-"

She couldn't bare even the idea of him going back into that arena. Not now. "I want it to be you." she cut him off. "You are the first boy I ever loved. You were my first kiss, my first dance, my first friend. I want you to have this first too...If you want to."

He stared down at the girl with uncertainty. Peeta wanted to be with her. He wanted it as much as Tracker Jackers wanted honey, as much as mocking jays wanted to sing. Peeta loved Calliope and if she was willing he would gladly be her first.

"Well then we are not doing this on the couch." Standing up Peeta grabbed her hand and led the girl up the stairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind them. His hands found her waist and he pushed part of her hair over her shoulder, his touch lingering on her collar. For a moment they stood in the center of the room just staring at each other waiting for the other to make a move. Peeta initiated by pulling his shirt of his head. Exposing his muscles. He wasn't as built as he once was as he now spent most of his time painting instead of wrestling and his bad leg didn't help contribute to his working out but Calliope didn't mind one bit.

Calliope reached her hand out, fingers dancing over the white scaring on Peeta's arms from old oven burns. She had seen Peeta's bare chest countless other times from when she cleaned his wounds but this time was different. This time she didn't care to let her eyes linger a bit too long.

"You know it's rude to stare right," Peeta joked, referencing one of the last times they had been in this positions. Calliope chuckles, her hand roaming up his chest to cup his face as she moves in to kiss him once more. Peeta's hands find their own way to her body, holding her hips, afraid to upset the girl if he moved them anywhere else. He was trying to be a gentlemen and Calliope appreciated that, but she was craving more from him. Needed it like she needed oxygen. Taking matters into her own hands, Calliope lifted her shirt over her head, dropping it to the floor followed by her bra.

Peeta couldn't help but stare, never seeing this much of his best friend before. Eyes wide and mouth slightly open, Peeta stood before her helpless. Feeling insecure by his wordless stare, Calliope found herself wrapping her arms around her body, nervous of what he was thinking of her. Shaking himself out of his daze, Peeta instantly took a step towards her, holding her face he ran his thumb over her cheek.

"Please don't ever feel uncomfortable in front of me. You're beautiful. I'm sorry it took me so long to tell you."

The girl couldn't help but smile as Peeta connected their lips once more. Slowly he began backing her towards the bed until her legs it the edge and the two of them fell onto the soft capital made bed. Hovering over Calliope, Peeta moved to her neck placing soft kisses along her jaw and down her front, sucking just enough to leave little marks in places that would be hidden by her clothes. He was rewarded with a soft moan from the girls lips once he reached her navel.

She was trying to hold herself back, be as quiet as possible, knowing that Peeta usually never shut his bedroom window. He found it to be amusing. Wondering how far he could go before breaking her silence. Skillfully he removed Calliope's pants along with her undergarments, throwing them to the side. Now on full display for the boy. Letting out a sigh Peeta once again complimented the girl. "You're so gorgeous."

Propping herself up, Calliope grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled Peeta in, reconnecting their lips as he hovered between her legs. He hands roamed over her body, feeling every inch, trying to memorize every piece of her incase this would be the one and only time he ever got to be with the girl. He found her sweet spot, causing Calliope to arch her back and let out a loud moan. Making Peeta smile widely. This continued until Calliope suddenly felt a rush of euphoria she had never felt before and there was no holding back her moans.

Peeta was smiling above the girl, a smug look on his face. Once she was able to catch her breath, Calliope push Peeta away and climbed on top of him, going for the button of his pants but Peeta grabbed her hands gently, stopping her.

"What?" Calliope asks.

"I just...you haven't seen it yet. My leg. It's not very pretty. I don't want it to freak you out."

Never would have Calliope thought Peeta would be insecure about his leg but to him, it was a reminder of everything he had been though. That he would never be the same person he was before the games and a piece of him was afraid that Calliope would see that and freak out.

Instead she held his face, leaned in close and repeated his own words back to him, "Please don't ever feel uncomfortable in front of me. You're beautiful."

Sitting up, Peeta practically grabbed the girl and pulled her in, smashing their lips together. Reveling in her on top of him for a while until Calliope returned to his pants, pulling them off completely and exposing his prosthetic leg. From the knee down were his leg once was, was now a piece of metal and plastic. A man made leg that looked almost real but the texture of the paint was a bit off. The prosthetic couldn't be removed as the top half had been surgically embedded into the upper part of his leg, leaving nasty scars.

"I told you...it looks weird." Calliope shook her head, moving back up his body, straddling his waist.

"I think you look perfect."

Wrapping one arm around her waist, Peeta, almost effortlessly, held Calliope against himself as he flipped them over, now above her once again. Peppering soft kissing across her face before landing on her lip, holding for a while. It was soft yet full of hunger for more. They both needed to fell the other in ways no one had before.

Pulling away he looked down at her big brown eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

Calliope nodded, holding his face gently. "I love you, Peeta Mellark."

"I love you too." Reconnecting their lips as he lined himself up with her, moving forward slowly. Holding her hand as she winced in pain. It wasn't a terrible pain, and only last for a few moments before turning into pleasure. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," Calliope nods with a smile. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

Chuckling, Calliope pulls him in, giving Peeta all the confirmation he needed to continue.

The rest of the night was spent in pure bliss. The two exploring each other for the first time and finding out things neither knew of the others body and even found of a few things of themselves. Neither cared that this act could get them and everyone they loved killed as punishment. All that matter was they were in love and for the time they had left, they wouldn't hold back from each other, at least not in the privacy of Peeta's home.

Chapter Text

The moon's light shined through the open window, perfectly illuminating Peeta's face, allowing Calliope to take in every feature as he slept. It was the first time they had shared a bed since the night before the reaping. Calliope had tried to push the boy away for so long to protect her heart, but it was useless in the end. They had spent many nights together in the past cuddled under thin blankets and sharing late-night thoughts that when it happened again, neither felt out of place or like this was wrong.

The first time they spent the night together was an accident. They were about twelve and it was the first time Peeta had come to Calliope with marks he couldn't clean himself. The rain had come down pretty hard that day, soaking the boy head to toe in the short walk across the road to the shoe shop. Night had fallen and the small taps on the girl's window in their secret rhythm told Calliope it was Peeta.

Without looking outside, she got out of bed and headed downstairs to the back door, quickly pulling Peeta out of the rain. With teary eyes, he tried to hide his face, ashamed of the marks his mother had left. His left eye was swollen black and blue with a small cut underneath and his lip was split and bleeding. In the past Calliope had noticed marks on him before but always assumed it was caused by playing too rough with his brothers or from wrestling. Rumors had gone around about Mrs. Mellark's indifference towards her youngest son but Calliope didn't believe in rumors.

Calli wanted to say something, to ask how this had happened, but she knew Peeta wouldn't want to talk about it. So instead, she pushed down the lump in her throat and got to work. She cleaned his lip and applied a wet cloth to his swollen eye hoping to bring it down as she made a paste from collected herbs using recipes left by her father from his own experience of self-cleaning inflicted wounds. He had passed down his findings to his children in case of need. Neither of the kids said a word the entire interaction yet. Peeta allowed Calliope to do as she pleased without any protest. Even when she tilted his head to the side and put a weird scented paste onto his face.

When she finished applying the right herbs to bring down the swelling, Calliope continued to stare at the boy, taking in all the small scars on his face that she hadn't noticed before due to never being this close to Peeta's face. Putting together herself every time she saw him with a new bruise or mark on his face that it hadn't been his brothers or wrestling. It was someone else.

"You haven't said anything?" Peeta stated more like a question.

Calliope shrugs, tucking away the few medical supplies her family owned. "Would you like me to say something?" Peeta shook his head, watching Calliope's hands closely. "You don't have to go back home." Reaching out to Peeta as she sat across from him at the table in the shops office. "You can live with me and my family. You don't have to go back."

"Yes, I do," Peeta said solemnly. "If I don't things will just be worse."

So it was his mother doing this to him.

"Then stay for now, we can just hang out and talk until you feel better."

"Calli..." he trailed off, dropping his head in his hands.

"Peeta, I don't want you going back there. Please." Holding his hand in her own, Calliope was prepared to tie him up if need be.

After thinking about it for a moment, Peeta reluctantly agreed to stay for a few more hours. The rest of the night was spent in the shop together. Calliope told stories and jokes, making the boy laugh. Until the early hours of the night, the two talked about everything they could think of. Calliope gathered blankets and pillows and created a bed on the floor for them to lay next to each other on after Calliope forced Peeta to change out of his wet clothes, sneaking him an old pair of Pajama's from Cedar. They hadn't intended to fall asleep but it was inevitable. Mr. Whittmore found them the next morning and allow his granddaughter and her friend to sleep till the mid morning.

Now, sleep was out of the question for the girl, not with her mind running a mile a minute and her body jittery with emotions. She and Peeta had finally been together. After years of pinning for him and unrequited feelings Calliope had gotten her wish, but the circumstances were horrible. Deep into their night, after experiencing each other for the first time, Calliope decided life was not worth living if Peeta died, without him she would have nothing left.

A piece of Calliope knew that her mother wouldn't last the Spring. All shops in the district had a quota to met, a tax they had to pay the Capital in order to run a business on their land, if a shop didn't met their quota it could be seized by the Peacekeepers. With no money coming into the District, no one was buying shoes, which meant the Whittmore's only had a small window of time before their shop was taken, along with it, their home. Violet would refuse to move and the peacekeepers would see that as resisting and there was no doubt she would be put to death for it. That is if they didn't starve before then. Meaning Calliope would be alone and as much as she believed in Peeta, she wouldn't be able to keep going if he was gone too. There was no talking Calliope out of it. If Peeta were to die in the next Games, she refused to go on without him.

The possibility of him returning to the games never crossed any of their minds. Sure, they knew he would become a mentor and be dragged back to the Capital every year, but the deal was if he won, Peeta wouldn't have to face the reaping's ever again, he would be free of it. Now they took that away from him. They took away his safety and his freedom to live.

Rubbing her hands over her face, Calliope tried to push away the thoughts of the person she loved most in the world being sent to slaughter for a second time, but anxiety had a funny way of working. Ignoring it just made the voices louder. In an effort to not wake up Peeta, Calliope got dressed and made her way to the open window hoping for the cool winter air to provide her with some calm. The small of snow filled her lungs and a sense of ease filled her as Calliope closed her eyes.

Something about the winter air soothed the girl. Perhaps it was due to the fact that snow reminded her of her brother. He was born in the winter and every year without fail snow would fall on his birthday. The family would spend the day building snowmen and igloos. It was one of the few days a year the Whittmore's would shut down the shop for the day and just spend time together. The tradition died when he turned 14 and their father died. There was no denying though, once Calliope smelt the cold winter air, her fears began to melt away for the moment.

Cedar was always the voice of reason. After their fathers death, he and their grandfather took over the shop, made all the choices and built it up together. When Calliope was in a mood or having trouble with someone at school, Cedar was there to provide her with the best advice.

The calmness the came with the the winter air gave the girl more peace about her choice in her life ending after the next games. It was like Cedar was holding out his hands to welcome her home to reuniting her with their fallen family. Until that day Calliope would live her life without apology and love Peeta whole heartedly. It didn't matter to her what happened. She would take care of the shop and her mother for as long as she could in case Peeta was able to pull through and win the games, then they could finally be together.

With a smile, Calliope opened her eyes and scanned over Victors village covered in a white blanket of snow. Across the lawn, she could make out a figure sitting on the steps of the Everdeen's front porch. By the length of the hair and color of her clothes, Calliope could easily tell that it was Katniss, starring straight ahead in thought. Out passed curfew, but Peacekeepers wouldn't shoot her, the Capital needed Katniss. Snow would make sure her death was televised.

Filled with sudden determination and fire Calliope had never felt before, she rushed down the stairs and out the front door. The chill from the night air caused a shiver to run up her spine as she made her way across Peeta's lawn, stopping in front of Katniss Everdeen.

"Calliope?" Straightening her back, Katniss asks, "What are you doing here?"

"I was uh...I was talking to Peeta," Calliope explains, deciding to keep what just happen to herself. Not that Calli actually cared but she forced herself to asked, "How are you?" Katniss only shrugs in response. "Right...so listen. I need to talk to you." Sticking her hands in her pocket, getting right to the point. "Only one person is coming out of these games."

"I know." Katniss nods.

"And that person is going to be Peeta." Katniss continues to stare, wondering where Calliope was going with this. "I don't know why but he's been in love with you our entire lives and he has it in his head that he needs to protect you. As if you're not fully capable of protecting yourself."

"Yeah," she sighs, unable to look Calliope in her eyes. "I know."

"He never asked for any of this. All he wanted was to live."

"Calliope-"

"No." Putting her finger up, Calliope stops Katniss before she could make up some excuse. "You were the one who pulled out those berries. You are the one who started this uprising. Peeta has gone along with all of this because he was in love with you. I don't know why, but he was, probably still is. He is too kind and too good for it be wasted. So if it comes to it, you make sure he lives. You know he will protect your family like they're his own because that's all you ever wanted right? Was to protect your sister?"

Again she nods, trying not to glare at the girl. Katniss was one too prideful, to stubborn for a girl from town to be lecturing her like this. "We want the same thing."

"Really?" Calliope practically scoff. In her mind, Katniss was selfish and egotistical. The idea of her actively wanting to help someone else wasn't computing to Calliope.

"I already spoke to Haymitch, the plan is to make sure he lives this time. Not me."

Calliope gives a single nod and says, "good," before turning to leave Katniss alone again.

"He's in love with you too," the girl calls out. Katniss's words make Calliope stop in her tracks. "The first games, Effie and Haymitch tried to get Peeta to talk about you during his interview but he refused. He wanted to keep you safe from the Capital. He didn't want them knowing about you. So they went with the next best thing."

"The star crossed lovers?"

"Yeah." Katniss rubs her nose with the back of her hand. "I know this is my fault, but I didn't ask for any of this either."

A cold gust of wind passes between the girls. Katniss shivers, hugging her arms over herself. Outside in the winter with no coat, Katniss was obviously cold. The small detail reminded Calliope that Katniss was human. The person she had put all of her anger on and who Calliope was prepared to ruin was human just like she was.

"He's going to volunteer."

"What?" Katniss asks, looking up at Calliope.

"If Haymitch's name get picked, he's going to volunteer anyway."

"He can't. You have to convince him not too."

"I tried." Calliope shrugs. "He thinks that if he doesn't volunteer that it would prove your relationship is fake and Snow will come after me, my mother and possible your family and Gale. He's trying to protect all of us." Katniss lets out a heavy sigh, dropping her face in her hands. "I honestly have no idea what he see's in you." Now, she looks up at Calliope, eyes narrowing. "You're closed off and cold. You never gave him the time of day, yet he is willing to give up his life for you, for a second time. He may be in love with me, but...he's always going to go back to you."

It was a hard truth that Calliope had to realize. No matter how much Peeta told her he loved her, that she was the one he wanted to be with- it was only because he couldn't have Katniss. He spent their entire lives looking passed Calliope, refusing to see that she was right there in front of him. Unless Katniss was gone, she was the one his heart would long for. She was the one who got away.

"Yeah well, I don't know what Gale see's in you," Katniss spats defensively, straightening her back.

Calliope couldn't help but chuckle, shanking her head. "No. Gale and I are just friends. We tried to use each other in place of you and Peeta but...it never worked. We're just friends...If it amounts to more, it would be us settling." She could have lied to try and hurt Katniss's feelings but Katniss seemed like the type of girl to be above petty boy drama. "You don't even realize everything you have."

"Everything I have?" Katniss stands up now, trying not to raise her voice. "Do you want my life?" Katniss tilts her head, narrowing her eyes again at the girl before her. "You don't know the first thing about me."

The two girls standing before each other were almost perfect mirror images. Both fathers died in the mining explosion when they were 12. Both had childhood best friends they would do anything for. Both had mothers who completely shut down after the deaths of loved ones, leaving the responsibility of taking care of the family to them. Both had to sign up for tesserae in order to survive and both had a sibling who's named was Reaped for the Hunger Games. The only difference there, Primrose had someone to volunteer for her spot. Cedar was all alone.

Their differences were small but neither cared enough to sit back and realize their striking similarities.

"Look, it's clear the Capital is afraid of you, what you stand for. Ever since you pull out those berries, things have been different. Everyone can see it. There's some kind of hope in the air. Hope that wasn't taken away by the raids or the increase in Peacekeepers. These games are to fully kill it, to punish you. You, not Peeta. If he survives, Peeta will make sure your family is taken care of, that your sister will be safe. Gale too. You know that. He has to be the one to live and then everything will go back to normal."

"This is the life you really want to live?" Katniss asks. It was a fair question. The life of a person in the Districts. Not know when your next meal will be. Sending your child off the reaping every year. Being forced into slavery for a Capital that doesn't even blink if you die. But none of the mattered in Calliope's young mind.

"Yes," Calliope nods, "If it means Peeta is alive and safe. Life sucks, everyone knows that, but I don't need a rebellion, I don't want another war to take out everyone I love."

"You think I do? I don't want uprisings or riots in the Districts. I don't want to be on TV for all of the Capital to gawk at, to monitor my every move. All I wanted was to protect my sister."

"Really? Were you protecting her when you pulled out those berries? Or when you pushed Peeta to eat them so you would both die? Were you protecting her then?"

Opening her mouth to defend herself, Katniss was cut off by a soft voice asking for her. "Katniss? What's wrong?" Primrose appeared behind the front door in her thin nightdress, allowing a small bit of light to illuminate the two girls.

"Nothing." Katniss turns to her little sister. "Go back to bed Prim. I'll be in in a minute." The small blonde looks between the two before nodding and closing the door behind her.

"It's the right thing to do." Calliope says to Katniss's back, as the girl refuses to turn around. "If he dies I don't have anyone else. Prim would at least have your mother, and Gale and Peeta." What Calliope was asking was unfair and selfish. She knew that but right now all she could think about was Peeta, the only good thing she had left going for her.

Chapter Text

It was a joke Calliope didn't think Peeta would take seriously. Laying in bed, keeping warm with each other's body heat, recounting stories of their youth and the people they grew up with, Calliope had mentioned briefly how she had never gone on a date before. That made Peeta realize he had never properly taken her out and how terrible he had been for that. So he sat up and proposed the idea of a first date. Calliope couldn't help but laugh. They had known each other their entire lives, and to have a first date now after months of sneaking around, and being together behind the Capital's back seemed so juvenile. Perhaps that's why Peeta jumped at the idea.

It was a way to hold onto their youth for a while longer before he was thrust back into the nightmare of the Hunger Games. "Dinner would be perfect!" he suggested. "We could get all dressed up, fancy looking then cook together. Something nice, not squire or rabbit. After we could make dessert before cuddling by the fireplace."

With the warmth of the summer, Calliope wasn't too keen on the fireplace idea, but everything else was perfect and they agreed on the following Saturday night, to give them time to get the right ingredients and proper clothing. It was also the last possible night for their date, as Sunday was the dreaded Reaping that would once again take Peeta away from Calliope.

Winter had ended in a blur and spring came and gone in the blink of an eye. The past six months had been a fever dream of passion and terror. Their relationship was kept out of the public eye, for obvious reasons.

During the day, Peeta belonged to the Capital, training with Katniss and Haymitch from sun up to sun down, preparing to go back into the arena, to fight against past victors, people who had already won the Games, most in brutal ways. The appearances of the Star-crossed lovers on TV dwindled but there was still the occasional photoshoot and interview that had to be done, despite how much Katniss and Peeta told the Capital they wished for privacy in the last days they potentially had together. Ceasar would gush over this and give the illusion of following their wishes but it was only a matter of time before the next interview.

Calliope's days were copy and paste. With help of Wren, she was able to keep the shop up and running, though the need for shoes other than for funerals was lacking. No one can afford it, even in trade. Calliopes best customer: the Peacekeeper. The familiar ones, those assigned to the district before Threads take over, always pay when a new shoelace is needed or the sole of their boots has to be replaced or when the leather needs to be stiffened. The newer ones, the ones set on making the lives of those in the district a living hell (more than already was), they never pay. They take what they want, not understanding that their lack of payment means another night without dinner for the Whittmore family, but they don't care. They simply don't see them as people.

On the rare occasions he goes hunting, Gale will bring game during his daily visits. Those days are the best, because Calliope knows her mother wont go to bed with a rumbling stomach, that she will last another day. Peeta brings baked goods still which Calliope leaves on her mothers night stand, though she know she wont eat them-- having grown a distaste for anything sweet. It's the squirl stew and rabbit meat, Violet longs for. Calliope tries to tell her she can't be picky but there is no reasoning with someone who is mute. The woman was withering away, becoming nothing but skin, bones and bedsores.

During his daily visits, Wren takes over the shop while Calliope and Gale tend to Mrs. Whittmore. Gale has the strength to lift the frail woman out of her bed, but with her catatonic state, there wasn't much else that could be done for her. They once tried taking her outside to get some much needed sun, her skin had gone ghostly pale due to her spending months in the home, but Mrs. Whittmore writhed and groaned as if she was in agony until they put her back to bed. Sometimes the only way Calliope knew her mother was still alive was the occasional sobbing she would hear coming from the other side of her bedroom door.

Gale helped to keep Calliope sane, along with Wren. Seeing them everyday was the distraction she needed from the piling Capital tax bills, her mothers health, and the impending death of the boy she loved most. Though there was no distracting Calliope from the last thought that always seemed to be in the back of her mind, but when the bell above the door rang at the same time everyday, she knew it was Gale coming to tell her stories of his day in the mines.

Whenever she saw him suddenly the weight on her shoulders didn't seem so heavy. Perhaps because when she looks at Gale she sees the young boy who was forced to take care of his entire family, whose name was entered in the reaping the most out of any child in the district. She sees his exhaustion and terror hidden behind his stone cold grey eyes. When she looks at Gale, Calliope see everything he has gone though and her problems seem so minuscule compared to his. There's not much she can do to repay the boy, but Calliope provides free shoe repairs and laces for the entire family. Its not much but it helps.

Her grandfather was always the one strict with taking payments, putting aside empathy if it meant keeping food on his table and his family fed. Calliope just didn't have that kind of mindset, she couldn't push aside her empathy. When a family needed a pair of shoes for a lost child's funeral, she couldn't bare asking them to pay. With the way the shop is going, it wouldn't be long before they lose the ability to stay open. In a month or two, Calliope would be clean out of money to pay Capital Tax and the shop would be taken away from the Whittmore family and they would be forced to move to the Seam. However, in a month or two, Calliope didn't plan on being alive if Peeta went into the games and didn't come back.

Her plan was selfish, Calliope knew that, but without Peeta and her mother, she truly had nothing left to live for. Gale had his family, Wren had Rye. They wouldn't miss her. If she died before the money ran out, Calliope would leave the shop to Wren, who definitely had the ability to be strict with payment. Wren could keep the shop going no problem, Calliope had faith in that.

At the end of the day, when the sun goes down and everyone in the district sleeps, that when she feels alive again. After closing the shop and making sure her mother was set for the night, Calliope sneaks off to victors village where she and Peeta could finally be together again. All day it feels as though she can't breathe, as if a rope is tied around her neck pulling tighter and tighter until she back in his arms, finding oxygen tangled together between cotton sheets and naked limbs.

In the light of the moon, they take turns taking care of one another. When Peeta mumbles in his sleep, fighting imaginary demons, Calliope pulls him closer, running her fingers through his head of curls, whispering sweet nothings until he calms again. When Calliope paces back and forth with anxiety about her mothers condition or the state of their district, Peeta holds her head against his chest, having her focus on the beating on his heart, until all her worries wash away.

As dawn breaks over the mountains, Peeta tries to sneak away quietly but Calli always wakes to the cold air the absence of his body leaves and then theirs days repeat until their last Saturday.

Calliope's fingertips brushed over the grey fabric of the dress shirt Peeta had picked out for himself. It was Capital made, straight from District eight. With his home in Victors Village, also came a closet full of clothes all from the Capital, hand picked by Porsha. Before, Peeta got his clothes from one of the few seamstresses in the District, like everyone else whose family didn't have a mother who took up sewing.

The door to the bathroom opens and Peeta emerges, steam billowing around his body as he wears nothing but a towel, not that Calliope was complaining. From behind, he wraps his arms around the girls waist, chin resting on her shoulder. Never would he get tired of seeing her in his room. He just wished it could last forever.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready?" Peeta asks, placing a kiss on her soft skin. Calliope nods, eyes still trained on the wrinkleless fabric. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

She didn't want to tell him the truth—that she was thinking about the reaping, that she only had this last night with him, his plan to volunteer if Haymitchs name is called, and how angry she was at him for this.

Instead, Calliope shakes her head and turns to face him with a faux smile. "I just can't get over the fact that warm water comes out of your shower."

Peeta could read her like a book, knowing instantly that that wasn't the most prevalent thought raging through her brain. Holding her face in his hand, Peeta searched her eyes from the glimmer they once held when they first met-- but like most of the children in the district, her glimmer dulled more and more with each name entered into the reaping.

"Calli..."

"I'm fine, I promise. Now you get out so I can get pretty for you."

Pushing him towards the door, Peeta responds, "But you're already pretty."

"Then let me get more pretty," she says closing the door in Peeta's face. Her smile instantly fades as she drops her carefree attitude in place of her anxiety before making her over to the small wooden vanity in the far side of the room. Makeup was not common in the district as they were not privy to the luxury items made by District One, but through shared tips and tricks, most young girls learned to make blush out of carmine, a deep red dye harvested from the cochineal insect. It was only used for special occasions as the insects were hard to find. First dates were always considered the most special.

One of the only freedoms those in the Districts had was they could marry whoever they pleased, love was the singular thing they were allowed (as long as you weren't a victor). Calliope figured it was so the districts would have children. More children meant more slaves for the capital and children came from passion which was brought on by love.

She took her time getting ready, making sure her hair was out of her face and to the side, the blush was simple, only used to heighten her red cheeks in a way that Wren had taught her. The entire time trying not to cry in the process. For a second time, Calliope was sending Peeta off to his death and there was nothing she could do to stop it. There was no volunteering to take Katniss's place, there was no convincing Peeta not to volunteer. There was absolutely nothing Calliope could do to change the outcome of tomorrow's reaping.

A beautiful gown with pink ruffles and long puffy sleeves was what Calliope chose to wear for their date. She had found it in the back of her mother's closet ages ago.

"It's been in the family for generations," Mrs. Whittmore told her daughter. "You should ask your grandfather about it, came from his side of the family."

It was odd to see something so full of color and light in a place like twelve where every inch was covered in thick coal dust, turning everything a dull grey. Taking one last look in the mirror, Calliope almost felt like this was normal. That her life was how it was supposed to be, just like everyone else. Going on her first date with a boy she was head over heels for, she just wished her mother was here to see it instead of being bedridden.

He was waiting for her when she opened the door, dressed in the nice grey shirt and his best pair of Sunday pants. His breath catches and for a moment in time, the world seems so simple. For the first time his life, Peeta understood the difference between pretty and beautiful. Never would he forgive himself for looking past what was right in front of him since he was five.

"Calliope, you look..." There was not a single word in Peeta's vocabulary he felt would do the girl justice. Pretty was too child like, hot was too immature, even marvelous was too mundane of a word to describe the complete beauty that was Calliope Whittmore. Instead, he walks up to his girl, takes her hand her looks down too ashamed to meet her eyes. "I am truly sorry if I ever made you feel inferior to anyone else."

With a smile, Calliope places a kiss on Peeta's lips, silently telling him it was okay. As much as Peeta didn't want to make her feel like that, he would again when he chooses Katniss at tomorrow's reaping but Calliope wouldn't bring that up, wanting to have a great last night together.

Though she may not be able to bake, one thing Calliope was good at was cooking. After countless nights of Peeta bringing her the same stew form Greasy Sae, Calliope decided they needed to learn to cook for themselves, so she got to teaching herself and became quick good at making a meal out of almost nothing. For their last night together, Calliope scraped up the last bit of extra pocket money she had and purchased a whole duck from the butcher. A good duck with lots of meat on its bones. Peeta would need the protein.

Night after night she had tried a new recipe with Peeta there to cook at her side, cutting up vegetables and herbs, whatever they could get their hand on. Tonight was no different, though Peeta had initial protested the large bird, Calliope put a finger up to silence him.

"There will be no negativity coming from either of us today, got it?"

He shut his mouth quickly and nods. For a while the two worked in almost silence, occasionally bringing up stories from their past, reminiscing. They didn't mind the silence, finding comfort in just the presence of the other.

"I miss radio," Peeta voices, halfway through cutting up the carrots.

"Radio?"

He nods. "Instead of just live music, in the capital, they record the songs and instruments so the music can be listened to any time they want. Effie says its nice to have in the background when they do mundane things like cooking."

"That actually sounds nice," Calliope says with a smile. "My Grandfather used be our radio while we worked, him and my ma'. They could sing together for hours. Their voices were so beautiful together. Pa' taught us songs from his childhood. His family used to perform all the time."

"Really? I didn't know that about your grandfather."

Calliope nods. "Oh yeah, he used to tell Cedar and I stories about it. People from all over the District would come to see them perform, even the Peacekeepers. He said they could get a room up and moving just with one note of a guitar."

District Twelve didn't have much, but one thing they could do was dance. It was in their bones. On the rare occasions of a wedding, there would be dancing and laughing into the late hours of the night. It was the few joys they held onto.

"Why did he stop performing?" Peeta asks as Calliope pulls the duck out of the oven.

"I'm not sure," she answers honestly. "He said when he was about fourteen they lost someone really important to the family, a cousin I think, and they couldn't bring themselves to perform much after, but Pa' made sure to pass the memories of the songs down to my mother, then to Cedar and then to me."

With a smile Peeta asks, "Could you sing one of the songs for me?"

Shaking her head, Calliope laughs, "No way. I unfortunately did not get my mothers singing voice. That went to Cedar. He's the one that was supposed to pass on the songs." But now he was gone, and Violet Whittmore wouldn't live long enough to meet her grandchildren to continue the tradition. Not that Calliope planned to stay around long enough to have children of her own.

Cedar was the musically gifted one, he could memorize and entire song after hearing it only once, an ability that seemed to only belong to one descendent per generation. After the death of their father, when Calliope couldn't sleep, Cedar would stay up late with her, humming old songs till she eventually dozed off.

"Well you may not be a singer but you're a dancer," Peeta recalls. Thinking back to their years in the lower levels. When there was singing, there was dancing. Dancing was to Calliope Whittmore what singing was to Katniss Everdeen. Grabbing her hand, Peeta lifts it over Calliope's head, spinning her elegantly. "You were always the first to volunteer whenever a dancer was need for a performance and the first on the dance floor for any event." Pulling her back in, he places a hand on her waist and hold her left in his, slowly they begin to sway.

"The foods gonna get cold." She smiles, not actually caring about the state of their food.

"Shh, just dance with me for a minute." Complying, Calliope stays in Peeta's hold as they sway together. "These past few months have been perfect," he recalls. "Me and you together, all the time. I could live like this, for the rest of my life."

Letting out a deep sigh, Calliope closes her eyes before pulling from the hold. Turning away from the boy, she grips onto the back of a wooden chair. Knuckles turning white from the force of which she was holding.

"Calli? What's wrong? What did I say?"

It was their last night together, Calliope didn't want to fight but his words were too ironic not to say anything. "You could..."

"I could what?" He places a hand on the small of her back, but the touch sends shivers up her spine. A hand raises to stop Peeta from moving any closer. By the tears in her eyes, he knew he had messed up.

"You could have this." Her voice starts off soft. "For the rest of your life, you could have this! Us. Me." Calliope points to herself. "Late night cooking together, dancing on the kitchen tile, waking up beside each other every morning. You could have it all, I am giving it to you, begging you to take it."

"Calli...you know why I can't." His voice is exhausted, tired of repeating the same thing over and over again.

"To protect me. I know! Because you think going back into the games will keep me off the Capital's radar, but here's the thing Peeta, I don't care what the Capital thinks. I don't care what Snow thinks, or the game makers. I only care about you and me."

"I am trying to save your life." He reaches for her but Calliope pulls away.

"I don't need my life to be saved! I'm not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself, I have been for years now." Defeated, Peeta slumps down in one of the wooden dining chairs, his eyes falling to the floor. Calliope instantly feels awful by the tone of her voice, knowing all Peeta wants to do is help. Putting her pride aside, Calliope approaches Peeta, kneeling down in front of him. "Your heart is one of my favorite things about you. Your ability to care for others, to put everyone else before you-- it amazes me how incredibly selfless you are." Holding his hand, Calliope looks up at him. "Our entire lives you have looked out for me and Katniss and your brothers, I can't even remember a time when you weren't trying to take care of me. You have gone through something unimaginable, something I will never understand. It's okay to be selfish for a change, to take care of yourself instead of everyone else. I promise."

Trying to find the right words to say, Peeta stares at her, a mix of emotions on his face. "I love you Calliope, more than I think I have ever loved anyone." A smile crosses her face, thinking she had finally convinced him. "My selflessness makes me who I am, if I give that up, I become someone else. I would be admitting that the games changed me, letting go of the only thing I swore never to let them have. I know you don't understand it, that you hate it, but I have to do this Calli. To keep being me, I have to."

Tears roll down Calliope's cheeks as she gives up her fight. "Can you promise me something?" Peeta doesn't agree just yet. "If Katniss dies before you, try to make it back home to me?" He nods, pulling Calliope up from the floor and holding her against his chest.

"I promise."

It was time Calliope accepted the fact that despite how badly she wanted it, Peeta wasn't her future. Just like everything in their lives their relationship wouldn't last. It was short lived, momentary even.

Chapter Text

The day of the reaping is hot and sultry. The population of District 12 waits, sweating and silent, in the square with machine guns trained on them. This year, the weight of it all seemed a lot more heavy on their shoulders. Those 18 and under should be letting out sighs of relief that they were saved for another year. Though most were, the Capital's past reminded them to never let their guard down, that they could still be punished with death for stepping a hair out of line.

Calliope and Gale stand with Mrs. Whittmore between them, practically holding the woman up as her lack of food and vitamin D had caught up to her. Calliope and Gale, who knew Mrs. Whittmore would refuse to get out of bed came to help, had tried to argue her mother's case when the Peacekeepers made their rounds but arguing with them was useless, and ended up with a gun pointed at Calliope's head.

"I will say it once more," the Peacekeeper spat, face hidden by his helmet, "All citizens, no matter age and health are mandated by the capital to attend the annual reaping ceremony in the town square. Failure to appear will be seen as an act of rebellion, punishable with death by firing squad."

With hands raised in surrender, Calliope slowly nods. "Okay. Okay, I understand." Gale's hands find Calliope's shoulders and he backs her towards him until she is standing safely behind him.

The Peacekeeper holsters his weapon. "We will return in 15 minutes, if anyone is still in the home, they will be shot on sight."

It wasn't until they were gone did the teens let out sighs of relief.

Now, they watched from the bottom of the stage-- families of those being reaped got the privilege of a front-row view-- as Peeta, Haymitch, and Katniss appeared before them. Katniss stands alone in a small roped-off area with Peeta and Haymitch in a similar pen to the right of her. No one was happy to be there, but it wasn't the usual sadness or fear that overcame the crowd. This year it was anger. A wave of mutual anger was felt throughout the district. They were mad. Mad they had to be there. Mad the rules were changing. Mad their home had been turned into an unrecognizable hell. Sure life was hard before but now, it was simply unlivable. If defeat was what the Capital was going for then they got it.

Wren appears on the other side of Calliope, giving her arm a slight squeeze, showing her support with a soft smile. Rye was beside the dark-haired girl, flashing Calliope a similar saddened look. There to support Peeta, though he didn't have much of a choice, Rye stood tall, almost proud of his little brother. The rest of the Mellark family decided to stay at the back of the crowd, out of Peeta's eyesight.

Effie, dressed in a shining wig of metallic gold, does her signature opening. Though this time there is almost no chipper in her voice and when there is, it's fake and forced. Anyone could tell she didn't want to be there picking from this specific pool of names.

Peeta's blue eyes find Calliope's and almost instantly she is pushing back the tears. She understood now why Peeta was doing what he was, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Still, she hoped with everything she had that it was Peeta's name drawn and Haymitch would be the one to volunteer instead but of course, that's not how it ends up going.

The reaping takes only a minute. Effie has to claw around the girls' reaping bowl for quite a while to snag the one piece of paper that everyone knows has Katniss' name on it. In a solemn yet high-pitched voice, she announces Katniss' name and the girl walks to the center of the stage. The boys are next. Haymitch's name is called and there's barely a moment for Calliope to grieve before Peeta volunteers to take his place.

Calliope doesn't cry this time and doesn't fall to her knees, despite how badly she wants to. Their eyes meet for a final time before he is marched into the Justice Building. An announcement is made that due to a new procedure, there would be no goodbye and the tributes would be taken to the train station right away.

That couldn't be true. No goodbye? Tributes always got to say goodbye to their families. Every year they were allotted one hour. This wasn't fair. Primrose felt the same and instantly started calling out to her sister.

Calliope's feet are moving before her mind can think, muttering no to herself over and over. A line of rope wasn't going to hold her back. She rushes towards it and Gale's arms are wrapped around her waist in a second, catching her practically mid-air as she attempts to launch herself over the rope. Had he been a second later, Calliope would have been shot for disrupting an official Capital event. She hadn't realized the number of guns already pointed at her, waiting for the wrong move until Gale forced her to see it.

"You need to calm down, Whitty." He holds her arms against her chest as she fights to get free.

"He gets to say goodbye!" Calliope shouts, pushing his arms away.

Grabbing her wrists, Gale forces the girl to turn around, shaking some sense into her as she continues fighting to get out of his hold. "Calliope, stop!" He shakes her shoulders. "There are five Peacekeepers with their guns trained on you. They're gonna kill you if you don't stop."

Her body goes limp, eyes still trained on the door Peeta was rushed into. "This wasn't supposed to be it...I was supposed to get one last memory. One last goodbye" she sobs.

That morning Calliope attempted to get up without waking the boy but failed. "Are you going to watch?" Peeta asks, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Referring to the games of course.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stills at the sound of his voice, her back to him. If she turned around Calliope knew there would be no containing herself. Dawn was just peaking over the treetops, meaning it wouldn't be long before Peeta's prep team would arrive to get him ready for the day's events. Sneaking out before them and the cameras would be ideal, and it would have been easier for Calliope to leave without begging for Peeta's life again. If only he hadn't woken up.

"Of course, I'm going to watch," she says almost bitterly. "It is mandatory." That was somewhat true, only big events like a feast or the finale were mandatory as well as the end-of-the-night recaps. It wasn't really enforced the past years but nothing was out of the question for a quarter quell.

There's some rustling of the bedsheets and a pair of cold hands find Calliope's waist. "I don't want you to watch. Not this time."

"Peeta-"

"I don't know how things are going to play out, but these other victors are brutal and ruthless and I just..." He pauses briefly. "I know whenever you think of Cedar, your mind ends up going to how he died. The way his body looked, the things he did in the games. I don't want that for us, okay? I don't want your last memories of me to be something horrific."

"It won't-" Calliope tries to assure the boy, turning to face him.

Peeta simply shakes his head. "It's nothing that could be controlled and I wouldn't blame you. I just...I don't know what I might have to do in these games but I know that I don't want you to ever see me like that again. I want you to remember me and not who the games made me." Closing her eyes, a tear trickles down Calliope's cheek. Quickly Peeta gently wipes it away, holding her face. "I want today, when we say goodbye after the reaping to be the last time you see me. That way whenever you think of me in the future, you will only remember all the happiness we had together." Peeta tucks a stray curl behind her ear. "Think of the meadow and dancing in the kitchen. When we met on the first day of school. The way you took my hand and marched me inside, and how I've followed your lead ever since. Our nights together and how you are the only person in the world to ever know me in that way." A sob escapes Calliope's lips as Peeta pulls her against his chest.

"Think of how much I love you." He places a kiss on top of her head of curls, hiding his own tears as they fell.

Last year it was Calliope who was strong for the both of them. She was the one holding in her tears and putting on a strong front, calming Peeta down from his panic attack. It's what he needed at the time, for her to hold onto hope for the both of them. He was the one falling apart in her arms. Now the roles were reversed and despite the outcome being the same, Peeta had made peace with his fate. It was Calliope who needed him now to assure the girl that everything would be okay but he couldn't give that to her.

She was supposed to get one last goodbye, one last memory before he was taken away. Now her last memory of Peeta Mellark as he was before the games was him being unfairly pulled out of her line of sight and rushed away.

The next time they would ever see each other, neither would be the same.

Chapter Text

Not once was the projector in the Whittmore shop or apartment turned on in the week leading up to the Quarter Quell. Not during the tribute parade, not during the interviews, and not even during the score reveal. Calliope hadn't so much as left the shop the entire week, in fear of seeing the event on one of the many other screens in the district.

If it hadn't been for Gale, no food would have come into the house. Not that Calliope ate what he brought anyway; instead feeding it all to her mother. She tries to drown out his words, ignoring Gale as he updates her on the events of the games. He filled her in on everything, told her of all the different tributes and what they brought to the games. He tells her what their outfits looked like during the tribute parade and the way they acted, even the scores they received. Both got a perfect score of 12.

"Woah," Gale says walking through the shop door, looking around. "You cleaned?"

Calliope nods, stepping down from a small ladder. "I figured it was about time to get everything in order."

The shop wasn't messy, it was more cluttered with tools and supplies thrown about, but now every surface was cleared, draws were pushed all the way into cabinets and everything had a labeled place. Even the back office was free of random papers with past inventory and tax forms. It had never been more organized.

"Right..." Gale nods. Walking over to the counter, he places a small tin container of soup on the front desk. "Fresh from Greasy Sae."

"Oh uh thanks. You can grab what I owe you from the draw."

Gale walks behind the front desk and opens the top draw, all the money was facing the same way perfectly pressed without wrinkles and the coins were stacked in order. "You ironed...the money?"

Over her shoulder, the girl gives him a blank stare and responds with a simple. "Yes."

With a shake of his head, Gales closes the draw without taking any money. Its a trick he's been doing for weeks, any time he brings her food she tells him to grab some money from the draw but he never actually does.

"That's weird Whitty, even for you." Calliope doesn't answer, keeping her back to Gale as she continues to scrub at the window frame. It had been hard to not watch the coverage of the games. If she stopped moving for even a moment, the anxiety would build in her chest and her entire body would begin to shake uncontrollably. "Come on, take a break and eat."

"I will later." The window frame was covered in years of coal dust and grime that no matter how hard Calliope scrubbed, it would not come clean.

"You haven't eaten all day, that can wait a minute." Gale reaches for her arm. At the touch of his finger against her elbow, Calliope flinches as if she had been burned. Jumping almost a foot away. "Woah, what's going on with you?" He takes a few steps back noticing her wild eyes.

"Uh...you know, I'm actually not feeling well so maybe...maybe it would be best if you just went home tonight." Running her hands through her curls, Calliope makes her way across the room to grab the soup. "Thank you for this."

"Whitty," he calls after the girl as she makes her way to the back, but she doesn't respond. He knew she was going through a lot at the moment, that her life had been completely turned upside down for a second time which is why he didn't follow her, didn't push her to talk. Walking out of the Whittmore shop, Gale couldn't get the image of Calliope out of his head.

For the past few days she had been distant, always starring at something off in the distance with her eyes glazed over. He would speak but she never seemed to be listening and now that he thought of it, he had never seen her actually eat the food he brought. Now today she freaks out by a simple touch from him.

Calliope being on edge wasn't anything new, but to this level was scary, especially since she hadn't left her home in the past week, which was out of character. He decided the next day, Sunday, he would try to cheer her up and get her out of the house.

At night, Calliope starred up at the ceiling, sleep never seemed to grace the girl anymore. On the rare occasions she did, her mind was filled with nightmares of Peeta being murdered in the most brutal of ways. The night before, Calliope woke in a cold sweat after dreaming of Peeta getting his throat ripped out by the District 2 tribute who had her teeth filed into fangs. Another night, Peeta was stabbed with a trident by the District 4 tribute who had been the youngest ever to win his games.

Night after night was more brutal and bloody. Calliope hated that she had listened to Gale as he described this years tributes to her and the ways they had won their games. It was all Calliope thought of when the sun set.

Its not that she wasn't curious about what was going on, from shop visitors Calliope had heard of Peeta and Katniss's apparent private marriage ceremony and the baby Katniss was supposedly carrying. In her heart, Calliope knew they were lying about the pregnancy, Katniss and Peeta had never been together in the way. It was a ploy to try and get the games canceled, one that didn't work as the games were still scheduled for the day after next.

Before she knew it, sun was filtering into her bedroom window. The same window Calliope used to be able to look out of and see Peeta in his own bedroom. Groaning, she rolled over, placing a pillow over her face to hide from the light. Her legs felt like jell-o and her arms refused to move. Despite her brain screaming for Calliope to get her day started, her body ignored it, choosing to waste away under her cover instead. At noon her bedroom door opens, no one is supposed to be there but Calliope doesn't care enough to see who it is.

"Whitty?" With a sigh, Calliope pulls the pillow on her head tighter, not wanting to deal with Gale at the moment. "Have you been in bed all day?" She doesn't answer but feels the edge of her bed dip as Gale sits beside her. "Are you sick? Whitty?"

In a muffled almost defeated voice, she says, "Leave me alone."

"I can't do that today, I have something planned for us and I need you up and out of bed." His voice is far too motivating for Calliope's liking. She doesn't move, continuing to hide her face from Gale. "Come on, its the only day we have that we can hang out." Since the start of the games, the mines had resumes to their regular days of operation despite the quotas still be high.

"Please, go."

After spending many night with Calliope helping her mother who had gone completely catatonic, Gale realized the girl was trying to do the same thing, shutting herself out from the world. But he wasn't going to let her give up, he refused to see her drown like her mother. Getting up from the bed, Gale pulls back the blanket and take grabs the pillow from her face as Calliope groans in annoyance.

"I'm not giving up on you, Whitty. Now get dressed because I am taking you out and we are going to have a good day." Instead of doing as Gale says Calli rolls over onto her stomach, hiding her face once more. "Okay, I didn't want to have to do this but you leave me no choice." Tucking his arms under her legs, Gale lifts Calliope from her bed, throwing her over his shoulder as she lets out a shriek.

"Gale! What are you doing?!"

"I am getting you out of your bed because I refuse to let you waste the only day a week we have." Beating on his back, Calliope demands for Gale to release her. "Not until you promise you'll get dressed and let me take you out."

"You're insane!"

"Maybe." He shrugs. "Or maybe I'm just a good friend!"

"Fine! I'll get dressed, now put me down!"

"Gladly." Gale gently lays the girl back on her bed. "You have three minutes."

Once clothed Gale lead the girl out of the shop for the first time in a week and out to the meadow and past the electrified fence through a small hole. The space was tight and if Gale's shoulders were any broader, her would have been barbequed by the electric currents flowing through the fence.

"I brought your favorite," Gale says once they reach a quiet spot above a green valley. He holds out a small bag to the girl who still has a scowl across her face, arms crossed over her chest. "Come on, at least open it."

Curious, Calliope opens the small pouch surprised to see it filled with small red circular candies. Brows knitted together, she looks back at the boy sitting beside her who wears a smug grin. "You remembered?"

"Of course, I remembered."

The gesture was incredibly kind but Calliope couldn't help but feel guilty that Gale had spent money on something so childish when there were more important things like food that needed to be bought. "But why?"

He shrugs, looking out at the green valley. "I've been putting away extra pocket change. With my mom working for Haymitch there was a little more to go around and you seemed like you needed a little pick me up. Don't be greedy, share some with me," he jokes reaching for one of the candies. Plopping it in his mouth, his face crinkles in disgust making Calliope giggle for the first time in days. A wave of euphoria rush through the boy. Her laugh, the drug that he's been chasing since the first night he slept at her house. "Oh man, how can you stand to eat those Whitty? They're burning my mouth."

"That's what makes them so good." She smiles, eating a few herself. "I haven't had these in ages. Thank you, Gale."

"No problem, Whitty." He nudges her shoulder lightly. "I'm happy I could make you smile. I haven't seen that in ages."

"Yeah well..." she trails off, her mood instantly going sour. "Not much to smile about lately."

Noticing her mood change, Gale tries to redirect the conversation to something lighter. "At least we're out here, experiences this beautiful weather." He wasn't wrong, the sun was bright and shining, the weather was good and the valley was blossoming with color. It all reminded Calliope that Peeta wasn't there to see it. While she was experience a beautiful day, he was preparing to go back into the arena the following morning.

"How are you so okay?" It wasn't fair. His best friend was taken too. Katniss was the girl he loved most in the world, so how is it that Gale seemed perfectly fine while Calliope was falling apart?

"Okay?" he asks, "You think I'm okay? I am anything but okay. I just wanted to help cheer you up because I know things are hard for you too. I think we both needed to escape for a little while."

"There is no escaping." Calliope brings her knees to her chest. "We are never getting out here. It's just going to repeat over and over, for the rest of our lives." Her sinical tone was a fare contrast to her usually uplifting demeaner.

Gale nods, turning to look out at the valley before them. "Katniss wanted us to leave. Asked me to run away with her the day they got back from the tour." Calliope turns to the boy, eyes squinting due to the bright sun. "She wanted to escape into the woods with our families. We had always talked about it, planned for it but we could never actually bring ourselves to leave. That day she was ready but I said no, I wanted to stay."

"Stay?"

He nods again. "I thought a rebellion was coming, there was already talk about it in the mines, people wanted to do something, but then Thread came in and killed that plan pretty quick. It wouldn't have worked anyways, us running away. Katniss wanted to bring Peeta and Haymitch and I knew I couldn't leave without you and you wouldn't leave without your family. It would have been too many people, we would have gotten caught."

"You want a rebellion?" Calliope was shocked by Gales words. After everything they had gone through, after all the torture from the capital, Calliope couldn't get her mind around it. Why would they want to try and over throw the people who already make sure the District knows not to mess with them. Who take their children every year just because they can.

"Katniss said there were uprisings in other districts and I thought there could be one in twelve but...I was stupid to think we could." Calliope watched as Gales face contorted with pain for a brief moment. "I should have said yes. I should have gone with her. Taken you with me."

"It would never had worked," she attempts to ease Gale's mind, shaking her head. "You were right, there would have been too many of us and three victors? They would have found us in a day."

"But at least we would have tried, I could have gotten us out, instead of sitting back and just doing nothing." Frustrated he picks at a blade of grass.

"Gale." Calliope gently grabs his face, forcing him to look at her, a move he wouldn't have ever let her do a year ago. "We would have been dead. My grandfather couldn't have hiked in these mountains, neither could Peeta with his bad leg. There was nothing you could do. You gotta stop trying to save everyone."

He was talking just to talk. Gale felt helpless. Katniss was gone and Calliope was falling apart in front of him and his family was once again at the mercy of the Capital. These past few months hadn't been easy on anyone. There was still a shortage of food, even with what they got on parcel day. Executions and beating were only rising.

"I can't live like this anymore." He turns away, pushing himself off the ground. Calliope follows, standing only a few feet back. "Its just gonna get worse." An idea pops into his mind and he faces Calliope once more. "We should leave, tomorrow morning, while everyone's distracted with the start of the games."

The girls eyes soften. "Gale-"

"My family and you. I can't keep waiting for something to change. We can do it. You said it yourself that nothing will get better."

There was hope in his eyes. Real hope that Calliope had never seen from him before. It broke her heart to crush his dream. "Gale...Posy's still a baby, and Vick's so young too. Plus, you're supposed to look after Mrs. Everdeen and Primrose. You couldn't live with yourself if you left them. It wouldn't work."

His jaw clenches as he shakes his head. "Its better than sitting back and doing nothing! Pretending like this isn't happening." The venom in his voice was directed at Calliope.

Backing away she asks. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I want to actually do something about our lives, I want to change it. You would rather sit back and ignore it all, pretend like it isn't happening before giving up and wallowing away in self pity." He was a defensive person and didn't take light to Calliope's refusal to try and change things.

"I'm not ignoring things. I know what's happening, I'm just choosing not to watch."

"Why?"

"Because Peeta didn't want the last memory I have of him to be his murder. He actually cares about my well being," she spat at him.

Gale raises his brows, shocked by the words coming out of Calliope's mouth. "And I don't?"

"I didn't say that, it's just different."

"Right, well if he really cared about you he would be here, but he's not."

"That's not fair!" Calliope yells.

"Isn't it? The past six months its been me bringing you food, me visiting everyday, me helping your mother out of bed. Where was Peeta, huh?"

"He's been training, getting ready to go back into the games, he didn't have time."

"He didn't have to go back into the games! He had a choice. He choose to leave, he choose to volunteer."

Anger was boiling inside the girl, ready to explode. Neither of the teens were thinking straight. How could they with emotions running so high. "You don't understand him. You have never even tried to get to know him."

"I don't need to! I got everything I need to know. He's a coward. He took the easy way out."

That was her boiling point. Calliope's anger toppled over, spewing out of her like a volcano. "You son of a bitch!" she shouts, rushing at him, landing an open hand slap across his face. He doesn't move, his jaw clenching. "Don't ever talk about him like that again."

"I'm just saying the truth. Not all of us have a suicide plan." Gale glares, looking her up and down.

Frozen, the girl stares in him, jaw dropping. Not sure how to defend herself. "Ho-how-"

"You really think I didn't know?" His voice shakes. "You've been bouncing around the District since winter with a big ole smile on your face. You cleaned the shop, organized everything so it would be easy to find. We all know you've been with Peeta. I tried to ignore it, pretend like it doesn't bother me. I figured the closer things got to the games you would start to come back to reality but you never did. When you stopped caring for your mother is when it really hit me. I know you wouldn't kill her but without you she would die and your family would all be together again wouldn't they?" His accusations were almost spot on.

"I never stopped caring for my mother," Calliope spat, "How could you say that?"

"You left her alone every night. If it wasn't for me she would never get out of bed."

"That's not my fault! I have tried since the day Cedar died, for years! She was getting better. She was happy again. I had my mom back but then...then pa' died and I guess she decided there was nothing left to live for, that I wasn't good enough to stick around for." Her voice broke. "There is nothing else left for me here. You at least have a family. Your mom, Posy, Vick, Rory. I have no one!"

"No one...so I'm no one. Right." He nods, backing away.

"Gale-"

"No, I get it Whitty. We're not dating, I'm not your boyfriend, but I at least thought I was your friend."

"You are!" Calliope shouts back.

"No," he shakes his head. "No, I was just a pawn to make sure you and your family were all right. I did all the heavy lifting while you fooled around with Peeta. I get that now."

Completely at a loss for words, Calliope nods. Refusing to entertain this any longer, she says, "Don't worry Gale, you don't have to take care of us any longer. You are relieved of your duties." Dropping the pouch of candy on the ground, Calliope storms away from the boy. He doesn't follow her. They were both too stubborn for that. Neither would give the other the satisfaction of stepping down.

Had Calliope known it would be the last time she saw Gale, she would have stopped, would have turned around apologized but she didn't. She kept walking until she was back at the shop, laying in her bed, ready to waste away the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

By the end of the third day of the games, tired and ready for it all to be over, Callie begins locking up the shop, getting ready to spend the rest of the night alone in her apartment cuddled under her blankets. Though they weren't ever actually dating, Calliope was taking this breakup with Gale quite hard. Unknowingly, he had been her rock, the one person she could turn to when everything went bad. It had only been two days but Calliope was starting to miss her daily visits with the boy. She missed his teasing, his smile, and how honest he was. The only person Calliope had left was Wren and though she loved the girl, the only thing she ever seemed to talk about lately was the games or her relationship with Rye. It was getting redundant and honestly, all Calliope wanted to do was waste away in her bed.

Making her way over to the door, Calliope turns the open sign over to display the word Closed. Being only six o'clock, the summer sun was still high in the air but everything else abruptly turned dark. All lights in the shop were turned off along with the few street lights in the town square making Calliope pause mid-locking the shop door. Confused, she opens the shop door and steps outside. Losing power during the time of the games was extremely rare. It was the one time a year when electricity was guaranteed. What made things even more strange was that what Wren had been saying, today seemed like the grand finale.

After only three days, having the grand finale seemed way to fast, but Calliope had chalked it up to it being because all tributes had won the games in the past. They knew how to kill strategically and efficiently.

With the victors from last years games being from 12 surely the Capital would want those district citizens to see the finale, so why was the power cut?

She heard the voices before seeing the rush of people swarming away from the square, running in droves. Looking over their shoulders as they ran away from whatever was happening in the center of the town, terrified expressions on their faces. Something had happened, something big, making Calliope uneasy.

"Rye?" Calliope called out to the Mellark's middle son over the chaos of the crowd as he rushed up the path to the bakery. "Rye, what's going on?" The blonde looked over his shoulder for a moment, mouth opening as if he was about to speak, but a scream of terror caught both their attention. A peacekeeper sent the butt of his riffle across the face of a young man, sending him to the ground. Rye rushed inside the bakery, closing the blinds and locking the door behind him.

Calliope couldn't take her eyes off the chaos. There was nothing but screaming and worried faces in the crowd. Young children crying as Peacekeepers marched after them. Civilians were being pushed forward, beating if they fell to the ground. It wasn't until a pair of strong arms pushed Calliope into the shop, closing and locking the door behind them.

"Gale? What the hell is going on?" His eyes were wide in fear. "Are you okay?" she asks, placing a hand on his face.

Panting, he kept his hold on Calliope's shoulders "Something's happening, with the games," he explains. "Katniss, she took down the arena, and everything went dark."

"What?" None of what the boy is saying was registering to Calliope. He was speaking too fast.

"The Peacekeepers forced everyone to their homes. Said we would be shot on sight if they saw us after the next 20 minutes. Please just, stay here and keep hidden alright? Lock your doors and shut the blinds. I'll come check on you as soon as I can."

"Wait what do you mean Katniss took down the arena? How?"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Gale bites his lip before going into the event that had happened in the passed few hours. From the allies splitting up, to Katniss and Johanna getting attacked, to the lighting hitting the tree. He didn't know anything about Peeta the games hadn't shown his ending. "All we know is Katniss fired the arrow and it all went dark."

Frozen in fear and panic. Calliope eyes starred straight ahead. Still not understand the extent of what was happened. Katniss took down the areana? As in she stopped the games? That couldn't be. If its true, the Capital would destroy everyone she loves, maybe even worse. The last time a tribute did something like this it was 25 years ago, Haymitch Abernathy used the force field to his advantage to win the 50th Hunger Games. Snow saw this as an act of rebellion and killed his entire family and his girlfriend as punishment.

Would Peeta be in danger because of Katniss' impulsive thinking once again?

"Do you hear me Whitty?" Gale holds her face. "I need you to listen to me. I don't have a lot of time, I have to get home."

"What?"

Grabbing her hand, Gale rushes the girl up the stairs to her home above the shop, setting her down in one of the dinning chairs. Running around the room, Gale shut ever single blind, blocking out all light sources before returning in front of the girl.

"Stay here, okay? Don't leave until I come back for you, got it?"

The automatic gun fire ringing from outside made the teens both jump in fright.

"Did that come from the bakery?" Calliope wonders to herself. "Is the capital coming to punish Peeta and Katniss' families. Does that mean Gale would be next? Or herself?"

Out of curiosity, the boy stands to look out the window but Calliope grabs his hand. "Gale, I'm scared." Her body shakes as more gun fire rang out.

Gale had to get home, make sure his family was okay but he also felt like he couldn't leave Calliope here alone. He didn't care about there fight anymore. He needed to make sure Calliope was safe but he couldn't bring Calliope, without bringing her mother and that would only slow them both down, killing all three of them. There was no time for Gale's mental back and forth. "It's okay." He tries to convince her, holding her face once again. "You'll be safe, just stay here and wait for me to come back."

Through fearful tears, Calliope nods, holding his wrists as she leans into Gale's touch. He was her last line of defense, the only person who would protect her. Calliope couldn't fight, she didn't know how but she understood why he was leaving. He had to get to his family, his siblings and his mom.

"Promise?" Calliope asks, "Promise you'll be back?

Taking a deep breath, Gale stares into the girl chocolate brown eyes, hating himself already for leaving her here. As quickly as a lightning strike, Gale leans forward his lips finding Calliope's, connecting together for the first time. In the utter chaos of the district the teens find comfort in the others holds. Calliope reciprocates the kiss, pulling him in tighter, hoping it would make Gale stay longer. It doesn't. Gale pulls away first, looking the girl in the eyes. "Do you trust me?" Calliope nods slowly. "I promise, I'll be back," he says for a final time before taking off down the stairs and out the front door of the shop.

Using the shadow and ally ways to his advantage, Gale is able to duck and hide the whole way to the Seam, making it home just in time.

For the next 45 minutes Calliope sits at her kitchen table, listening as the screams and gun shots lull into an eerie silence over the district as the sun sets behind the mountians. Leg bouncing in anticipation and fear as time seems to stand still. The screams of horror followed by gunshots that came from the bakery haunt her. Was the Mellark family okay? Was Rye? Had Wren been there? Why was there gun shots?

Calliope needs answers but Gales words telling her to stay put repeat in her head. The fact that he had just kissed her wasn't even remotely at the forefront of her thinking. Instead her mind raced with "what if" scenarios about Peeta and what he was going through. Unless he was already dead.

The Capital did not take lightly to these situations. Peeta was probably already gone as punishment to Katniss. Angry with herself that she hadn't watched the games, Calliope ran her hands through her curls, pulling at the roots. Wondering if knowing what Peeta was going through in his last hours may have help the thoughts racing through her head.

The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs made the girl let out a sigh of relief. Gale was back. Standing up from the table, Calliope walked over to the door to meet him but her entire body froze at the sight of four Peacekeepers barging into the home.

"Uh, what can I help you gentlemen with?" Calliope tried to play it off cool, like she wasn't terrified by the large weapons held close to their chests.

"Calliope Whittmore, you need to come with us," one of the men ordered as two others grabbed Calliope's arms.

"W-what why?" The fourth Peacekeeper made a B line for the back bedrooms. Calliope attempted to turn her body in their direction, but the hold on her arms were too strong. "Wait, that's my mother's room. She's very sick. She's harmless, I promise-" Her sentence was cut off by a single gun shot and her entire world came crashing down. It took a moment for Calliope to understand what had just happened. When the Peacekeeper reemerged, back straight as if he hadn't just murdered an innocent women, Calliopes legs gave out from under her, falling to the ground.

A blood curdling scream emerged from the teenage girl. Shocking even the Peacekeepers that surrounded her. This couldn't be it. She couldn't be all that was left. An entire family line obliterated except for her. Her father, her brother, her grandfather and now her mother. The Whittmore family was gone with only one remaining. One girl.

These men were cold and callose, putting down her sick mother like she was a dog. Calliope hadn't realized she was screaming until her throat became raw and the taste of copper filled her mouth. Then it hit her, she would never see her mother again. Never see her smile or her beautiful brown eyes. Never feel the warmth of her hug or be tucked in at night. Violet Whittmore was gone before she had the chance to get better. Calliope should be glad that the woman's suffering was over but she wasn't, she was horrified by the actions of the man that was supposed to be human.

There was no fighting against the peacekeepers. There was no point. Not when Calliope truly had nothing left to live for. A piece of her wished they would just shoot her to and get it over with. No, they wanted to execute her public, make some kind of statement. What's the point in fighting, this was what she wanted wasn't it? To die if Peeta was gone. So why was she so scared?

The Peacekeepers carried her down the stairs and out of the shop where a car was waiting. Before Calliope was loaded in, her eyes found the open front door of the bakery. Confused by the sight. When did the Mellark's paint their walls red? It seems like such an out of place color. Especially for the Mellark family who definitely would have opted for a more neutral tone.

The bodies on the ground were also foreign to the room. Tuff of blonde hair made Calliope turn away quickly. Neither the baker or his wife had blonde hair, only their three boys, meaning it was either Rye or Conan lying on the bakery floor, so close to the door. So close to escaping. Taking into account that Conan had already moved out, the body had to belong to Rye. The Mellark's 18-year-old middle child and someone who had been one of her best friends before the 74th games.

Another life lost at the hands of the Capital, as punishment for Katniss' impulse. Another family nihilated, executed. More tears flowed down the girls face as she thought of Peeta finding out his entire family was murdered. Sure he has a difficult relationship with his mother but Peeta loved his family, probably more than he should. Calliope could only hope that at least Conan was able to escape this wrath.

"W-where are we going?" the girl asked, her body shaking in fear. But none of the Peacekeepers said a word, deepening her fears.

As the Peacekeepers moved out, the District became eerily quite. "What's going on?" Posy asked, hiding behind Hazelle's legs. Gale peaked though the hand made blinds covering the windows. Rows and rows of Peacekeepers were making their way out of the district and a pit grew in his stomach.

All the Peacekeepers were clearing out, meaning only one thing. "We have to go, now!" He turned to his mother and siblings. "Come on."

"What?" Hazelle shook her head holding her daughter close. "What are you talking about?" Gale was frantic, grabbing the kids shoes and throwing them towards them.

"The Peacekeeper, all of them are leaving. They're saving themselves. Something bad is coming. Get to the meadow, I'll meet you there."

"You're leaving us?" Rory asks, shaking his head. "You can't." At only 13 Rory was small for his age, as were most children in the Seam due to the lack of nutrition needed. He looked his his older brother with the same grey eyes and dark hair. He was Gale with a baby face.

Placing his hands on the young boys shoulders, bending down to meet his height Gale says, "I have to warn others. I promise I'll meets you at the meadow. Now I need you to do something really important." Gale hesitated, wondering if he should really be asking a 13-year-old boy this. "I need you to prove that you're a man and take care of Mom, Vik and Posy. Get them to the Meadow. Can you do that for me?"

A look of worry was written all over the boys face but he still nodded his head confidently. "Yes, I can do that."

The oldest of the Hawthorne children gave him smile. "I knew I could count on you. I'm proud of you, Rory.

"Your father would be proud of you." A warm hand rests on Gale's shoulder. His mother looks down at her oldest son with a melancholy smile, Posy seated on her hip. Without saying much else, Gale gives his mother's hand a comforting squeeze before setting a kiss on Posy's head.

Door to door, Gale went, urging people from their homes, begging for others to help get the rest out. Some refused in fear of what the Peacekeepers might do if they were found. With not much time, he had to keep pushing, keeping moving. Statically he made his way through the Seam and up to the town square, warning people on the way. With the Whittmore Shoe Shop in view, Gale's heart was pounding against his chest.

He told her to stay put until he got there. If she noticed the commotion outside would she get herself and her mother out? Or would she still be sitting at her table waiting for him. Rounding the corner, his blood ran cold as the shop door was swung wide open. Specifically remembering shutting it on his way out that afternoon.

"Please still be there. Please still be there," he mumbled to himself over and over. Racing up the stairs, not stopping until he froze in the center of the Whittmore's living room, an empty chair staring back at him.

"Calliope!" he yelled out. "Mrs. Whittmore!" The first room he checked was Calliope's. The bed was neatly made, obviously not slept in. Across the hall was Mrs. Whittmore's room. The door was slightly ajar. Set in a way Calliope would have never left it. Slowly he crept towards it, praying that Violet Whittmore wasn't there, it would mean someone had already been here to warn the women.

Calliope dragged her mother out of bed with the help of a by passer and there where on their way to the meadow. That is what Gale told himself. She would be safe. She and her mother would be in the meadow waiting for him.

Closing his eyes, Gale reached for the doorknob slowly pushing it inwards. Through the light of the moon shining in the window, Gale could make out the shape of a body. "Mrs. Whittmore?" No response came. "Mrs. Whittmore, is everything alright?" Reaching out to touch the woman's shoulder, Gale's hand became coated in something warm and sticky. By the smell of copper wafting up to him, he knew it was blood.

Stomach turning, Gale rushed out of the room, running room to room, in search of the missing girl. Cursing at himself for leaving her while praying she was simply hiding. The apartment was only so large and when he came up with nothing, he knew instantly that Calliope was taken by the Capital. For what, he wasn't sure.

Bursting out of the shop, the night air felt soothing on his hot skin. Breathing heavily, Gale placed his hands on his knees as he took a moment to calm his nerves. Screaming from across the way shot him out of his trance. All the adrenalin came back as he ran across the road, and into the horrid scene of the bakery. Blood covered the walls as three bodies lay limp on the floor, pools of crimson surrounding them. The cause of death being multiple gun shot wounds, as if they had been showered in them before each being shot once in the head, execution style.

This must had been the gunshots he and Calliope heard earlier.

Everyone knew the Baker and his wife and their three boys, only Gale never had a conversation with either of the older two before, but he knew Calliope had been close to the middle son at some. So when he saw the young towhead blonde's body, his stomach turned. The boy's girlfriend, Wren, whom Gale had spoken to on many occasions, knelt beside him, shaking the lifeless shoulders of Rye Mellark.

Sobs rang out of her, ear-piecing screams that no human should be capable of making. From above, aircraft were closing in on the District and Gale instantly knew what that meant. He had to get out of there.

"Wren!" Gale called to the girl, kneeling beside her. "Wren, we have to go now." Despite him being right beside her, Wren couldn't hear a word coming from Gale's mouth. He didn't have time to pull her out of her shock. Wrapping his hands around the girl, Gale pulled her up from the ground and dragged her out of the bakery, fighting against her writhing arms and leg.

The first bomb dropped in the center of the town, just as Gale made it to the Meadow with Wren, urging people through the fence. The crowd screamed in terror as more bombs fell from the sky blowing up their homes. Despite being a mile away they could feel the heat of the flames on their skin.

"Keep moving!" Gale screams. "There's no time to stop! We have to keep moving!" He repeats this in the early hours of the morning.

Babies cried, Children and mothers wept as their homes were blown to bits. Out of ten thousand people in the District Gale and the few other men were able to get 900 out of their homes and into the woods that surrounded District 12.

By noon, many were getting restless. "Where are we going?" One of the men in the crowd asks. "We don't have a plan or a place to go."

"What if they find us?

"What do we do?"

"Should we go back?"

Questions rang out from the crowd, questions Gale didn't have the answer to. "We can't go back. There won't be anything left."

"How did you know it was going to happen?" A woman questions, holding her baby close to her chest. "Are you working for the capital?"

"Of course not."

"Well, you're leading us to a place you won't tell us!"

Gale meets Hazelle's eyes and he instantly lowers his head. His mother, who was the last parent he had left, held his baby sister and brother close to her while Rory stood only a few feet away. They were counting on him. All of these people were and he had no idea what to tell them. "Look I don't-" His words were cut off when shouts from all around startled the District 12 civilians.

"Don't move! Stay where you are!" Men surrounded them, holding large weapons close to their chests. "Put your hands up." The barrel of a gun aimed between Gale's eyes.

Chapter Text

Pure white was a color that few people in District 12 had seen before. It was almost too bright, hurting Calliope's weak eyes. Everything was white: the walls, the floors, the lights shinning down the center of the room, and the chair she was forced into.

The straps around her legs and wrist were uncomfortably tight, digging into her skin to the point of leaving burns if she so much as moved. The trip was long and harsh. A majority of it took place in the back of a cattle car by herself, hands bound together and a sack covering her eyes. Despite the blistering summer heat, no food or water was provided to the girl. Not that she expected any kindness from the Peacekeepers. The Capital seal covering everything immediately told Calliope where she was and that fact terrified her.

District citizens only came to the capital for two reasons: to become vox or for the Hunger Games. At least she would still be alive if she were a vox. An avox was a traitor to the Capital. As punishment, their tongues were cut out, and they were forced to serve the elite until their last day. At the time, she wondered who she would be forced to serve every day.

When she saw the sterile white room and was strapped down to a chair, Calliope realized becoming an Avox wasn't in her future. What was would be so much worse.

Weak from lack of food and water, in the three days she had been in the Capital the girl had lost significant weight causing her body to shiver uncontrollably in the cold room. The little bit of clothing she was wearing didn't help much either. She had given up fighting against her restraints hours ago. There was no use. Even if she got out, she then would have to escape a building that was littered with Peacekeepers and other high-ranking personnel.

No clocks or windows in the room, made the passage of time seem weird. A piece of her knew it couldn't have been more than a couple of days, otherwise, she would have died from dehydration, but another piece of Calliope convinced herself that it had been weeks. She was completely alone. The questions were all Calliope had to keep her company. Why was she here? What did the Capital gain from an unknown District 12 girl? Why hadn't they just killed her? Did Gale ever come back? Was Peeta okay? Was he dead?

The sound of the door unlocking makes Calliope flinch. Two peacekeepers enter the room and blindfold the girl before pulling her from the chair as she begs for them not to hurt her. There was no fighting against them, Calliope knew that which is why she allowed them to drag her out of the room with no issue.

Despite not being able to see, Calliope could hear the sound of struggling coming from the side of a door. The noise only paused momentarily when the door opened, and Calliope was brought inside and sat down. Her arms were tied behind her back, but thankfully, she wasn't strapped down this time. Forcefully, the blindfold was ripped from her, causing Calliope to flinch at the even brighter lights, forcing her eyes to take a moment to adjust. When they finally did, she froze.

Sitting in a chair opposite her was the one and only Peeta Mellark. He was alive. Covered in bruises and his mouth taped shut but alive.

In disbelief, Peeta shakes his head, eyes wide. He tries to speak, but his words are muffled. Tears of relief pool in Calliope's waterline. "Thank god, you're alive!" A hard fist blow connects with Calliope's jaw.

Peeta tries to protest, screaming under the tape as he attempts to pull his arms and legs from their restraints.

One of the peacekeepers rips the tape off Peeta's mouth and he immediately starts to beg. "Please, please leave her alone! She doesn't have anything to do with this!" His arms flexed as he used all his strength to pull himself forward.

Neither of the men says a word as another, rolls in a cart of medical tools. Both teens stop, eyes fixated on the cart, knowing instantly what is going to happen. Meeting Peeta's eyes, they knew the other was terrified. Sitting back in her seat, Calliope lets out a shaky breath as tears roll down her cheeks.

I should have ended it when I had the chance. Calliope thinks to herself.

"No...no, no! Don't do this!" Peeta yells as one of the men Calliope would later refer to as The Doctor picks up a scapple from the tray and stands behind the girl. "Please! I don't know anything! I don't know anything! Leave her alone!"

Calliope's screams pierced their ears as the sharp blade was dragged from the top of her left cheekbone to her jaw. Hot blood dripped down to her neck.

"Just tell us about the rebels and this will all be over," The Doctor says in a calm voice, pausing for a brief moment. It was almost friendly like they were having a simple conversation. "We'll let the girl go. Just tell us their plans."

"There were no plans! We had no idea what was happening. Please you have to believe me!"

A long sigh escapes The Doctor's mouth as he shakes his head. "I'm sorry Peeta, we just don't believe that."

The girl tries to pull away as the man continues to draw a second line next to the first. The more he did, the more she moved, which annoyed The Doctor. Take a step back, he motions for one of the Peacekeepers, who sends another punch across the girl's face this time knocking her to the ground. Blood began to pool in her mouth.

"Stop!" Peeta screams as the girl is kicked in the stomach again and again. "Please stop!"

Blood flew everywhere, staining the white floors crimson. Fire radiates from the girl's side. Her ribs were most definitely broken. The Doctor holds up his hand to single to the Peacekeeper. "Alright, that's enough for now."

Defenseless, Calliope lays on the cold floor in a fetal position as The Doctor stalks towards Peeta. A cold glare crosses his face.

"I'm going to kill you," Peeta threatens, voice full of venom.

"I do not doubt that you believe you will, but you won't." Waving his hand over his shoulder, the Peacekeepers hook their arms through Calliope's and drag her from the room, listening to Peeta scream to whole way.

They toss her into an empty room, hands still tied, before closing the door. Leaving the girl alone once again.

For the next few weeks, this was the girl's routine. Starved, humiliated, and beaten. On odd days she was tortured in front of Peeta, used as a punching bag. In attempts to get him to confess and tell The Doctor everything he knew about the plan to start a rebellion. Occasionally, he would get beaten alongside the girl and by the end of it they would be laying on the cold ground beside each other, pools of blood mixing. So close yet so far out of reach.

Once, The Doctor and Peacekeepers even left the two alone, tricking them into a false sense of security in hopes they would speak to each other and revile secrets.

"Peeta...what is going on?" Calliope asks the boy, panting in pain. "Why am I here? What do they think you know?"

It was hard for Peeta to look the girl in the face. He was angry at himself for allowing her to be put in this position. The cuts and bruises reminded him of his failure to protect her.

"I guess there was some kind of plan, to get Katniss and me out of the arena, to save us, the others all knew about it but we had no idea. They think I had something to do with it."

"Did you?"

His eyes shoot up, brows knitted together as Peeta attempts to keep tears from escaping his red eyes. "No." His voice broke through sobs. "I don't know anything! You think I would let them keep hurting you if I did?"

Their ability to read each other had never left and Calliope knew instantly that Peeta blames himself for this, blames himself for her torture. Mainly because that's what The Doctor would tell him every time the girl was dragged out of the room.

"This would all end if you just told us what we want to know. She's here because of you, you know that right?"

No torture method went unused. Calliope was waterboarded, beaten, starved, sleep deprived, you name it. However, when it came to the girl specifically, The Doctor preferred physical tactics. though he was never the to carry out these events, always motioning for the Peacekeepers to do that part. Once she was soaked head to toe before being electrocuted.

Seeing became a privilege as after the first week, Calliope was mostly blindfolded, never knowing when the next blow would come, which terrified her the most. The not knowing.

On even days, she was left alone in the silence of her cold room. Until late into the night when The Doctor would visit. He was meant to treat her wounds, and keep Calliope alive long enough to get what they wanted out of Peeta. He wasn't supposed to do anything but help. But like the vile man he is, he used his position of working alone with the girl and abused it. It started out with touching while he whispered all the things he wished to do to her. She hated the way it made her feel dirty, less than human. She wanted to rip her skin off her body.

At first, Calliope tried to fight against him, she would beg him to stop and plead, but he seemed to like it more when she did. So eventually she stopped moving altogether and stopped protesting. She tried to think of other things during these times. Like her days with Peeta, their childhood, and her time in the woods with Gale. Anything to take her mind out of her body.

His voice made her cringe. It always brought her right back. "What's wrong Doll face? Come on, I know you like it." It was deep and horse. Always whispering in her ear, sending shivers up her back. "I just want to have some fun with you before you're all bruised up."

That never mattered to him. The more bruises she had the more joy he seemed to feel as he pushed down on them hard.

She hated even days the most. At least when she was being beaten, she knew Peeta was still alive. Still fighting.

The worst day, Calliope decided, was the last. She hadn't known it at the time but her torture would finally come to an end. That day, they tore her fingernails off but it wasn't because of the pain that made it the worst, it's because of the way Peeta had looked. The longer they were trapped in the Capital the more distant Peeta grew, almost as if he wasn't all there in his mind. After hours of torture, where each of her fingernails were slowly pulled off her as she screamed in agony she had finally been given the privilege of seeing again.

The moment her blindfold was removed, her stomach dropped. Despite everything being blurry due to the damage done to her eyes, Calliope could see that Peeta's face was almost skeleton-like, his cheeks sunken in, dark bags hung under his eyes. The part that scared her the most was he wasn't strapped down. Peeta sat quietly, motionless in his normal chair, eyes staring straight ahead but not seeing. Mumbling to himself, something about the number 13 and Katniss.

The Peacekeepers and The Doctor leave them alone once again, but neither moves, wondering if this is some sort of test. Calliope knew that stepping out of line meant more punishments but a part of her didn't care. They sat in silence for twenty minutes before either of them spoke.

"Peet-peeta?" her voice shakes with fear. "Are you okay?"

His body tenses, as if he is remembering something. Staring at the girl almost as if he recognized her but didn't know from where. "You almost sound like her."

"Who?"

"My best friend."

Heartbreaking, Calliope tries to remind him. "I am your best friend. It's me Peeta, Calliope."

He shakes his head, body jumping slightly. "No. No Calliope's not here, she's in District 12 she's safe." Something clearly had been done to alter the boy's memory. He was scared and hurting. The last Calliope wants is to upset him more. So she gave away the last thing she had. Her hope. Closing her eyes, a tear ran down her cheek.

Peeta didn't recognize her anymore. It would do the Capital no good to torture a girl Peeta didn't know. She would be dead within the hour. Instead of reminding Peeta that she was there, she sat in silence once again, waiting for the Peacekeepers to bring her back to her room or execute her.

Watching through the camera's The Doctor orders for the girl to be brought back to her room where she would be executed, but not before The Doctor had one last visit with her.

Her blindfold remains off, so when he enters her room, Calliope knows what is going to happen.

"Well I guess that didn't go as planned, did it?"

Instantly her stomach curdled, wanting to throw up the very little she had in her stomach.

"I guess you figured out what's going to happen now huh?" Using the back of his hand, he gently caressed her cheek. "I just wanted to have one last visit with you. Would you like that?" Calliope doesn't speak and keeps her face as neutral as she can. "Don't worry we'll be completely alone this time. Snow had this wing cleared of Peacekeepers for the big event he had planned. We've been working on it for weeks and I think he's finally ready. You helped us see that today. Thank you for that sweet girl. It must have been hard for you, to see little Peeta like that."

His body continues to get closer to her, his smell becoming more apparent. "I'm gonna take my time with you today. It is the last day I have with you."

And take his time he did.

-

Gale was the first to volunteer on the recuse mission into the Capital. He did it partly for Katniss, knowing how important Peeta was to the girl. He also did it for Calliope, the girl he had become fond of over the past year. There was absolutely no evidence to suggest that Calliope was alive except for Gale not finding her body the day of the bombing. No one believed him, not even Wren that she was taken by the Capital. Everyone who survived assumed she had died in the bombs with her mother. Gale refused to give up.

Before leaving, Gale attempts to speak to Boggs, the captain of the mission and tries to get him to listen. "What the harm in making sure she's not there?" Gale asks. "It would take a few minutes at most."

Boggs turns to the boy with a stern look. "We can't jeopardize an entire mission for a girl who might not be in the building."

"All I'm asking for is a few minutes to check."

"And I'm saying no. We have our orders. Now I expect you to obey them or stay behind. Is that understood?"

Gale nods solemnly. "Yes sir."

Their orders were to get the victors and get out. That's it, but Gale knew he wasn't going to stick to it. He would search the entire building until he found her.

He promised to go back for her and that's exactly what he would do.

It had been almost too easy. After going unnoticed in Capital air space, the group lowered into the tribute center dropping smoke bombs as they went to incapacitate the Peacekeepers and other officials in the building. It made it hard to see, but they never lost track of their objectives. Once on the upper level, the ground came to a set of white double doors. Boggs opens them slightly before throwing in another smoke bomb, allowing it a moment to take effect before they storm inside. The hall is lined with locked doors, and medical instruments on carts made Gale's stomach turn as they knew this was the place the Victors were being held.

Peeta was the first to be extracted, having succumbed to the smoke bombs in the process, he was out cold. Johanna was next, followed by Annie. Each Victor had two guards assigned to them, tasked with getting them out of there safely. While the others were getting the Victors back to the hovercraft, Gale continued down the hallway.

"Hawthorne, what are you doing?" Boggs asks in a whisper.

Glancing over his shoulder to his Captain, Gale thinks for a moment before calling back out to the man, "Give me 2 minutes. I promise I'll be back!" Running down the corridor, Gale kicks in every door along the way, searching each room for her, ignoring order as he goes. He couldn't live with himself if she was here and he didn't know, leaving her again.

The Doctor had completely lost track of time during his torment. Focusing only on the girl and the things he was doing to her. Had he paid attention, it would have saved him. Unstrapping the girl, he let out a satisfied huff.

"For our grand finale, I'm gonna need you on your knees. Now be a good girl." Despite his orders, Calliope doesn't move, only glares at him. If looks could kill he would have been six feet under by now. She was ready for this to be over, for her death, she even welcomes it at this point. If she went out fighting she wouldn't mind.

Rolling his eyes at the disobedience, The Doctor grabs the girl by her arms and tries to force her on her knees. Out of anger and pure spite, Calliope uses what little strength she has and pushes the man away from her, kicking him in the stomach. Stumbling backward slightly, The Doctor was shocked for a moment before charging back at the girl, grabbing her by the neck and lifting her into the air before slamming her onto the hard cold ground, knocking the wind out of her completely.

Being nothing but skin and bone, it was easy to lift her and even easier to mount on top of her. Wrapping his hand around her throat, The Doctor squeezes, cutting off oxygen from her brain. Despite already accepting her death, a rush survival instinct kicks in and Calliope struggles against his hold, attempting to scratch at his face but couldn't due to her lack of fingernails. Black spots began to cloud her vision as she felt the lack of oxygen affecting her body. Calliope's face turned red, her lips blue and her eyes went bloodshot from how tightly The Doctor was squeezing her neck.

Arm's going weak, they drop to her side as the young girl fully accepts her death. Her mind floats to her mother and father how they would meet her on the other side. Then she thought of her brother and his smile, happy that she would see him again, and her grandfather, whose arms would be outstretched wide to accept her. Calliope would have to explain to all of them why she stopped fighting. Why she gave up, but she wouldn't have the chance. Just as he mothers hand seems to be in reach, the pressure around her neck was relieved.

The last door Gale kicked in, he was shocked to see someone inside as all other rooms had been empty till now. The man had his back to Gale, knelling forward over something. "Put your hands up!" Gale orders, gun raised. The Doctor was startled and jumped slightly, looking over his shoulder. That's when Gale noticed the girl he was mounted on top of.

If it wasn't for the curly brown hair, Gale would have never recognized her.

"You piece of shit!" Gale yells, rushing the man and kicking him off Calliope. "What did you do!" Grabbing him by his collar, Gale sends blow after blow across his face, beating the man until his face looks almost identically to the girl lying limp on the ground beside them.

Finally able to breathe again, Calliope gasped for air. Holding her chest. The sound of crushing bone didn't register right away. The only thing she could think was, "Why aren't I dead?"

"Hawthorne, where the hell are you? We have to get out of here now!" Boggs's voice came through the boy's ear piece, finally pulling him out of his rage. Panting, Gale stood over The Doctor. Pulling his handgun from its holster, sending a bullet through the vile man's head without a second thought.

Calliope jumps in fright at the loud sound, expecting the bullet to be in her. But the pain never came. She assumed that her body had been through so many unthinkable things that it was just used to it at this point and a bullet must not register on her pain scale anymore.

"I found her, and I'm on my way. I'll be there in a minute!" he says into the headpiece.

When two arms wrapped around her waist, Calliope begins to scream, throwing her arms all over the place. "Let me go! Get off me!"

"He-hey you're alright! Calliope you're safe."

She found no comfort in his words. Never would she trust the words of a man again. He was dressed head to toe in black tactical gear with a gas mask covering his face. For all she knew this was another man coming to kill her. So Calliope continues to fight Gale.

Setting her down, Gale frantically pulls his mask off before gently holding Calliope's face, forcing her to take a moment to look at him. "It's me, Whitty. It's Gale. You're safe now, I promise."

Freezing, Calliope had a hard time making out the blurry face in front of her. He sounded like Gale and kind of looked like him. Only one person had ever called her Whitty, meaning this had to be him. Maybe this wasn't one of the evil tricks the Capital was playing.

"Ga-Gale?"

He nods with a slight smile. "Yeah, yeah it's me, Whitty. It's me."

Now that he was so close to her, staring the girl in the face, his stomach twists at the state of her. Two large scars crossed down her cheek, cuts and gashes lined her brow. Her left eye had become swollen shut, black and blue. When he first saw her Gale assumed she was covered in dirt but upon closer inspection, it was patches of bruises that lined her arms and ribs.

"You came back?" It was more of a statement than a question but Calliope was still in utter shock that he was actually there, standing in front of her.

"I promised you I would, didn't I?"

"Hawthorne, get your ass back here now! I'm not telling you again!"

"We have to go," Gale says, picking up the girl's shirt from the ground and helping pull it over her head. "Can you walk?"

After repeatedly getting her legs hit and jumped on, the pain was too much. Shaking her head, Calliope says, "I can't, I'm sorry."

Without a second thought, Gale lifts her up almost effortlessly. Taking off down the hall the way he came and back to the hovercraft.

"Who the hell is that?" Boggs yells as Gale boards.

"Calliope, the girl I've been talking about. I told you she was alive."

Looking at the girl for a brief moment, Boggs nods slightly. "Prepare to fight, they know we're here!"

Gale nods, setting the girl down gently, turning to prepare to fight if need be. Calliope reaches for his arm frantically. "No! Don't leave me, please. Not again!"

"I'm only gonna be a few feet away. Just for a couple of minutes until we're out of the Capital air space. You'll be okay. I promise."

Only they didn't have to fight. Eerily, the capital allows the hovercraft to fly over and escape with no issues. This meant Gale was able to put his complete focus on the girl, putting his first aid training to use as he cleaned her wounds.

"Where are we going?" Calliope asks. He hadn't realized it till now but her voice sounded foreign, like it wasn't her own.

"District 13."

Unsure if it was due to her brain being so clouded, or the hunger in her, but Calliope could have sworn she heard Gale say District 13.

"What? But District 13 is gone? It was bombed after the first war." Shaking his head, Gale explains briefly that it had all been a lie, a way to scare the Districts even further. "But...why? Did you leave District 12? Did you take your family? Are they still in 12?"

Gale's face goes somber and his head hangs low. "Whitty, there is no District 12."

Chapter Text

Three fractured ribs, a broken radius, and more mental and physical scars than she could count. That's what the Capital left the 17-year-old girl with. After landing in District 13, Calliope was rushed to the medical center with the three victors who had been saved alongside her. Being a large part of the rebellion, they were the priority. Not a simple District 12 citizen who wasn't meant to be saved. Gale broke the rules to get her out. Alma Coin, the president of District 13, would have to discuss and approve her treatments, which is part of the reason she was separated from the others.

"Explain it to me." Sitting in one of the cold hospital beds, deprived of any pain management, Calliope's expression was blank.

Gale grips the sides of the sink, letting out a long sigh keeping his back to the girl. "Whitty, I don't think-"

"Tell me," she demands, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I need to know what happened?" Maybe it was the concussion she most definitely had or the shock of her home being gone but despite Gale explaining it to the girl three separate times, the words weren't computing.

Turning back around, he took the seat beside her bed, a wet rag in his hand. "After everything went dark, the Peacekeepers started rolling out." Gently, he began cleaning the dried blood from her arms. "They were saving themselves. I knew what was coming so I went door to door, trying to get as many people out of their homes as possible, trying to make my way to you. The shop door was open, I knew I closed it when I left so something was obviously wrong. When I saw you were gone..." he pauses, thinking for a moment, keeping his eyes hung low before shaking his head. "I should have taken you with me."

"It's not your fault...what happened. If I went with you they would have gone to your house, killed you and your family." There she went reassuring him again. Trying to make Gale feel better when she was the one sitting there beaten and scared. "So my mother...is really gone." Gale nods slowly, moving to her other arm. "It happened so fast." Her voice shook as she recounted that night. "I thought it was you coming up the stairs. They came in and grabbed me. They told me to go with them while one of the men went into my mothers room. It's like he knew exactly where she would be. I heard the gunshot and I just knew...that she was gone."

Despite her blurred vision, Calliope could still see Gale's sorrowful expression. "I'm sorry." It was the only words he could say. Nothing would make it better. Nothing he could say would dull the pain in Calliope's chest. She knew from her father's death that nothing in the world could mend the hole that forms in a person's heart after they lose someone they love.

"Did you see the bakery? Are they...are they gone?"

"Yeah...yeah they're gone," Gale confirms.

Calliope's heart aches for her best friend. Losing a family member was never easy, but losing four in a single moment was something that would be hard to come back from.

"Have you seen him yet? Is he okay?"

"He's alive. The doctors are monitoring him now."

"That's good...that's good I'm glad."

Gale rings out the rag before wetting it again. "Do you...do you want me to," he motions towards her face. Calliope nods slightly leaning forward.

"What I would kill for is a bath." She flinches slightly as Gale cleans the blood close to the large cuts on her face that would most definitely need stitches.

"No baths here, just showers but they have hot water at least. You can't shower until you get these wounds looked at first by a doctor."

Logically Calliope knew that, but the idea of a doctor examining her, sent panic to her chest. "I-I don't want a doctor." She shook her head frantically.

Confused Gale says, "You need a doctor, who else would give you the antibiotics you're gonna need?"

"He called himself The Doctor." Closing her eyes, Calliope feels Gale's hand still. "He was supposed to take care of my...injuries, make sure they didn't get infected but he used that time for other activities."

"What...what did he do?" His hands balled into fists lowering away from the girl's face. No part of him felt guilty for ending that man's life.

Shaking her head, Calliope couldn't give Gale an answer. She wanted to tell Gale what happened to her, tell someone to get it off her chest, but then it would be real. Everything she went through, all the torture, and the assault, would define her for the rest of her life. The last thing she wanted was for Gale to look at her differently.

A knock on the door interrupts them. Calliope could only make out a tall bald man with dark skin dressed in the same tactical gear Gale was wearing. Instantly, she notices the way Gale tenses, back straightening at the sight of him.

"Hawthorne, I need you to come with me," the man says in an authoritative voice.

Palms begins to sweat, and Calliope's body panics as Gale stands. Transported back the moment the Peacekeepers took her away from her home.

"Wh-what? Wait." Grabbing hold of his wrist, Calliope pulls him back. "No, don't go."

"It's fine, Whitty," he assures her, but she's not buying it.

Stumbling off the bed, legs shaking and heart pounding, Calliope pushes Gale behind her. "No. He's not going with you." Turning to the tall boy she says, "You don't have to go with him. Stay here, where it's safe."

"With all due respect, ma'am he is under my order." The man moves in closer, standing inches over her. Feeling cornered, fight or flight kicks in.

"You're not taking him!" she yells. The rise of her voice attracts attention and a doctor enters the room. All Calliope sees is the white coat and glove and she is back in the Capital, undergoing torment.

"Whitty, everything is okay, I'll just be out in the hall."

"No." Her eyes stay trained on the doctor. "No, not again. I can't." Breathing became harder as she ran her hands through her curls. "Not again. Please."

"Is everything all right in here?" the doctor asks, looking between the three. "Has she been seen yet?"

"No," Gale answers. "They have been busy with the Victors." Resting his hands on the girl's shoulders, Calliope lost all sense of self.

His touch caused flashes of the time The Doctor held her under in a bucket of ice water. The pressure was unbearable as water filled her lungs. Only able to hold her breath for so long before giving in to the need for air. She wasn't underwater now but with the way her chest tightened, refusing to fill with oxygen, she might as well be.

"Get off me!" she screams, turning and using all her strength to push Gale's chest. Sending him stumbling backward into a glass cabinet of medical supplies. The crash brought more attention and in came a sea of doctors and nurses, all trying to hold back the girl as she kicks and fights against them.

"Just kill me! Please! Kill me! I can't do it again."

Blood dripping down Gale's arm went unnoticed as he watched in horror as Calliope withers and screams. The noises she makes are almost animalistic as she fights hard until a needle is stabbed into her leg, injecting something into her bloodstream and her body goes limp.

With her out cold, the room eases.

"What was that? What did you just give her?" Gale asks as they set the girl down in the bed.

"A sedative," one of the doctors explains. "It's harmless. Now we can treat her without her being a danger."

"She's not a danger," Gale defends. "She's scared. She was tortured for weeks and has no idea what's going on."

"She just shoved you into glass! Look at your arm!" the head doctor yells at the boy.

Grabbing gauze from the counter, Gale quickly applied pressure to the large open wound. "She didn't mean it."

"Hawthorne," Boggs says, getting his attention. "Come with me, now. That's an order."

Mouth shutting, Gale looks down at the unconscious girl. If she wakes up and he's not here, it won't be pretty but he was already in trouble for going against direct orders. Doing that twice in one night would not look good. So he follows Boggs into the hall where he instantly goes in on the boy.

"I have half a mind to remove you from your position."

"I know. I messed up."

"Messed up? No. You put your life and the lives of everyone else at risk. You put the mission at risk. All for a girl you had no proof was alive. You saw the type of things the were doing in there. That could have easily been us if things went wrong." Keeping his head hung, Gale knew there was nothing that could be said to fix the situation. He was wrong, but he wouldn't take back his actions. Not when he knew it resulted in Calliope's life being saved. "Coin wants to see you."

"Coin?" he asks.

Boggs nods. "Did you think she wasn't going to ask about the random girl we brought back?" Fair enough.

The woman sitting before him was of average height, with gray hair. Her face was reminiscent of a grandmother. Though she was much more strict and headstrong than you would think. Always sitting up straight, eye narrowing down her nose at the person standing before her. Alma Coin was her name. The District 13 President was one who helped keep her people hidden and out of harm's way for 75 years.

Beside her at the table was Plutarch Heavensbee. A short old man who always had a sly smirk, like he was on the edge of telling a joke. He was this year's head Game Maker and was part of the reason for Katniss's escape from the arena.

"Mr. Hawthorne," says President Coin, not looking up from her paperwork. "You know why you're here, yes?"

Standing at attention, arms behind his back, still dripping blood, Gale nods. "Yes ma'am. I defied orders and strayed from the mission to rescue a friend of mine."

District 13 was once thought to provide graphite to the Capital as its contribution before being destroyed in the first uprisings. Though that had been somewhat true, their actual role in the Capital was secretly the making of nuclear weapons. When the first rebellion broke out, the District aimed their weapons to the Capital and threatened annihilation unless they agreed to let them live in peace. Free from the Capital's reign. Now District 13 prides itself on its military capabilities, having strong and well-trained soldiers. The influx of refugees only added to their army.

"This came after you had already asked permission to search for this missing person but was denied due to lack of proof of her existence."

"Yes ma'am." Never had Gale been one to conform to anything, but his position in the ranks of District 13 he had taken seriously. He had done the training, and the exercises and quickly became a trusted soldier.

"You brought this girl into our community and I am hearing now that on day one she broke one of our most sacred laws. Hurting one of our own." Referring to Gale's wounded arm that is still dripping blood. Without permission to speak yet, Gale is forced to stand there in pure shock at the words being said to him. "Due to this crime, the girl, will face a trial and present her case."

Behind him, Boggs clears his throat. "Madame, President if I may?" Coin nods briefly. "Those who were brought back from the Capital are supposed to have immunity. Peeta Mellark just attacked Mrs. Everdeen in a much worse way than this girl did to Hawthorne," he defends. Though he was mad at Gale, he also knew that Calliope was a deeply troubled girl.

"No. The rescued Victors have immunity," Coin reminds, narrowing her eyes at Boggs. "She is just a girl who was illegally brought here."

Speaking out of turn, full of anger Gale says, "Calliope is a refuge just as much as any other citizen from District 12. She didn't mean to hurt anyone, it was an accident. She was tortured just as badly as the others, if not worse. She hasn't done anything wrong. Give her a chance to prove herself. She can even help you get through to Peeta."

Plutarch and Coin's ears practically perk at this. Some sort of brainwashing had been done to the boy in the Capital. He had been programmed to set off on a violent rage at any sort of reminder of Katniss. His readiness to kill at a moment's notice was suspected to be the reason why the capital allowed them to get out with such ease.

"What do you mean?" Plutarch questions, leaning forward in his chair.

"They're best friends. Since they were 5 and before the Quarter Quell..." Gale took in a breath, wondering if he would be betraying the girl by disclosing this. "They were in a relationship."

Looking through the stack of paperwork in front of her, Coin shakes her head. "No. I have no record of that. I do, however, have records of the two of you being in a relationship."

"That was a lie. It's a long story but Peeta never spoke about her during the first games to keep her safe. When he came back their relationship was questioned along with mine and Katniss's, so it was suggested that Calliope and I...get closer to dispel any rumors that Katniss and Peeta's love wasn't real." The more he spoke the more Gale cringed at the explanation of their relationship. It sounded ridiculous out loud and childish. "Calliope is the closest thing Peeta has to family left alive. If you want to get through to him, she can do it."

It took three days before Calliope was weened off the sedation. At that time, she wasn't allowed any visitors due to her violent outburst. The first day, after stitching up the wounds on her face and her arm being placed in a cast, the sedatives began to wear off and the panic set in. The scissors used to cut the thread of the stitches where grabbed and the doctor threated. During the struggle, the fresh stitches were reopened, and ever since it was required the girl but sedated during all visits from doctors and other medical personnel.

A mental health expert evaluated her and diagnosed the girl with server PTSD. Of course, further tests and evaluations would need to be done after she was healed physically. With no next of kin, Gale took on the role of discussing her treatment plans and her diagnoses, despite still not being able to see Calliope.

Vision still blurred, a dethatched retina she was told, Calliope had a hard time focusing on the conversation before her. The blurry vision could be fixed with surgery eventually. Though she wasn't too fond of that idea, having already to be pumped full of sedative whenever a doctor came into the room.

"It's a rather uncommon technique known as hijacking," Plutarch says the to girl, moments after introducing himself along with Haymitch. Gale stands beside Calliopes hospital bed, finally allowed in after the girl refused to stop screaming until he was with her. His presence made her feel more calm. "The technique involves the use of tracker jacker venom. When injected with it, it causes a person to have frightening hallucinations as it attacks the part of the brain that controls fear."

"I don't understand." Calliope shakes her head. "Even if Peeta was scared, he wouldn't hurt anyone. Let alone Katniss."

"It's not the fear that is making him act this way," Haymitch says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Plutarch continues, "The hallucinations cause confusion. They have a hard time telling what's real and what's not. Recall is made more difficult because memories can be changed. Brought to the forefront of your mind, altered, and saved again in the revised form. Imagine that I ask you to remember something - either with a verbal suggestion or by making you watch a tape of the event- and while that experience is refreshed, I give you a dose of tracker jacker venom. Not enough to induce a three-day blackout. Just enough to unfused the memory with fear and doubt. And that's what your brain puts into long-term storage."

Calliope felt sick. "So that's what they did to him? Taken his memories of Katniss and distorted them so they're scary?"

Plutarch nods. "So scary that he'd see her as life-threatening. That he might try to kill her. We don't know yet what else had been tampered with."

Calliope sighs, dropping her head in her uncased hand. The boy she loved was suffering worse than she had thought. "He...he was fine. The last few times I saw him...sure he was out of it a bit but I just figured he couldn't take any more of the torture."

"What do you mean by out of it?" Haymitch questions

"I'm not sure how coherent a person should be after being tortured for days while also watching someone you love be tortured but the last time they...uh, you know." Swallowing a lump in her throat, Calliope continues, "They left Peeta and I alone together, after they finished. He was different. Usually, they tied him to his chair but this time he wasn't. The entire time I was being hurt, he didn't move. I tried to talk to him but he didn't recognize me. At first, I figured it was all the blood and my face being swollen but when I told him who I was he didn't believe me. He said that I couldn't be Calliope because she was back in Twelve. It was like he just forgot the past few weeks." Trying to keep from breaking down, Calliope clears her throat. "You're gonna fix him, right? You can help him?"

This time there wasn't such a definitive answer. "There is very limited data on that. None, really. If hijacking rehabilitation had been attempted before we have no access to those records."

"But you're gonna try?"

Plutarch nods. "That's why we're here. We're hoping you could help us."

"H-help you?"

Haymitch takes a step forward, nodding. "He's been looked after by a team of mental health and military professionals and they want to try something new. We want you to talk to Peeta, see what potential memories could set him off, what don't."

"How will that help him?" Calliope asks, edging off the bed, wobbling slightly due to the heavy medication she had been put on. "What if I set him off? I don't want to upset him. What if he gets hurt?"

"It could give us a starting point of where to begin on his recovery."

Shaking her head, Calliope stumbles over her words. "I don't think that's a good idea. What if he asks me about his family or Twelve? I can't lie to him, I've never been able to. No...no this is a bad idea."

"It will help him."

"Why me?" Calliope asks. "Why does it have to be me? Why can't it be someone else?" Gale quickly places his hands on Calliope's shoulders, settling her down.

Plutarch and Haymitch share a concerned look before the latter continues. "Someone he's familiar with would be best. It will trigger his memories and help us understand where he is mentally."

"I-I don't know."

"This will really help him-" Plutarch begins but Gale cuts him off.

"Why don't we let her have a moment to think about this."

Agreeing, Haymitch says, "We'll be downstairs."

Once the door closes, Calliope feels as though she can breathe again. Putting her hand to her chest, she tries taking long slow breaths but that doesn't seem to help her panic.

"Hey, everything will be alright." Gale moves to kneel in front of her. "No one is going to let anything happen to you while you're in there."

"That not...that not what I'm afraid of." With a final deep breath, she continues. "What if he doesn't recognize me? What if they made him forget who I am?" Tears formed in her eyes. "What if because of what they did to me...he doesn't want to see me. What if I bring back all the horrible memories of being in the Capital?" Sure that was part of the reason for her fears but truly, Calliope's reluctance was more selfish. She was terrified for her own mental state. Worried that seeing Peeta would set her off, and remind her of everything that happened.

But that felt too selfish to say. Peeta was worse off than her, he needed more help. Maybe she shoulder just suck it up, put aside her fears for the health of Peeta.

"You and Peeta have been friend for ages," Gale begins. "He's not gonna treat you differently just because of what happened. You've been through far too much for that." He absolutely hated the words coming out of his mouth. He didn't want Calliope going in there either, worrying for her safety but ultimately the state of the rebellion relied on this boy. "I can be there the entire time if you want."

Weighing all the possibilities in her head, Calliope slowly nods. Agreeing to the plan.

Chapter Text

Calliope watches the toe-head blonde intently through the observation window, wondering if this truly was the boy she had grown up with or if the doctors of District 13 were playing a cruel trick on her. Strapped to the bed was a boy who looked nothing like the person she had loved before. His blue eyes were dull and almost empty of emotion. His collar bones were protruding out of his skin and his face was void of reaction.

A hand placed on her shoulder made Calliope jump. "Sorry," Gale says softly. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Calliope turns back to the window and nods. She had to do this, for Peeta, her best friend.

Plutarch approaches going over a few things, suggesting topics for Calliope to stay away from. She nodded along but nothing was registering in her mind, not when Peeta was only a few feet away, suffering. The door opens and Calliope glances over her shoulder to see Katniss enter the room with Haymitch at her side.

Being held captive for weeks on end gave Calliope a lot of time to think about thing. About her life, how she ended up where she was, how Peeta ended up where he was and all roads, no matter how hard she tried, always lead back to Katniss. The death of her grandfather, Peeta going back to the games, the Peacekeeper crack downs, the raids, Gale's punishment, her mothers death, Calliope being taken, District 12 being bombed.

Everything that had happened to the Whittmore girl was a direction result of Katniss Everdeen pulling out those berries in the arena. The sight of the girl alone, filled Calliope with so much rage to the point her body was shaking uncontrollably as she glared Katniss's way. Black and blue bruises covered the girls neck and her eyes were bloodshot from Peeta's attack but Calli felt no sympathy for her. How could she when her family was safe in their quarters while Calliope's was taken out one by one? Because of her, Calliope had nothing, while Katniss still had everything.

"Calliope." Katniss gives the girl a court nod. "How are you?"

She doesn't actually care, Calliope convinces herself, she's just asking to seem polite. "As great as anyone who was tortured for weeks can be." Her voice was harsh. The tension between the girls was pulpable and the men beside them could sense it.

"Calliope's known Peeta for a long time," says Plutarch.

"Yeah," Calli nods. "I probably know him best of anyone." The subtle dig, did not go unnoticed as Katniss's eyes narrowed but Haymitch was quick to keep to conversation moving.

"What do you think?" he asks the Everdeen girl.

Katniss, keeping her eyes trained on Calliope, shakes her head. "It's not a good idea."

"Of course you would think so," Calliope snaps, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We've had a lot of overlapping. I would visit the shoe shop all the time, she's been to my house. Look at her, she's covered in bruises and marks from the Capital. When he see's her he's going to be reminded about the past year. Not to mention her relationship with Gale."

The way she spoke as if Calliope wasn't in the room sent fire through her blood. "Peeta knew it was fake," Calliope argues. "Gale and I-- I told him months ago. I have eleven years of memories with Peeta that don't have anything to do with you. It will be fine."

From beside them, Plutarch looks from one girl to the other before shaking his head. "Maybe Katniss is right. Perhaps we're rushing into this, we should find someone else."

Calliope whips her head in his direction. "You're kidding? No! No, I can do this. Just let me try. He'll react best to me."

"I think you're forgetting that we're here to help Peeta," Haymitch says. "And if this isn't what's best for him-"

"What's best for him?" Calliope's face crinkles with anger as she cut Haymitch off. "You all have known him for what? A year? And suddenly you think you know what's best for him? You're the ones who pulled me out of bed, who begged me to do this. After I told you this wasn't a good idea. Now that I'm here, you want to take this away?"

"Its not a competition sweetheart. We are doing what the doctors say, the professionals." If that were the case they wouldn't be asking Katniss Everdeen her opinion. Just because they see the girl as their heroic symbol, doesn't mean her word is God. "And right now you are looking a little too worked up to go in there."

She was worked up because they made her worked up. Taking a deep breath Calliope regains her composure. "I'm fine. I promise. Just...just let me try."

Plutarch thinks for a moment before shaking his head again. "I think Katniss is right on this. We may have jumped the gun. We should keep looking."

"You're serious?" Running her hands through her curls, Calliope turns her back to them. Her chest tightened at the sight of Peeta struggling against the restraints. In such a short amount of time, the boy had been through hell and back alone. Now, once again he was left with no support. No one at his bedside to hold his hand. No one there to tell him it would all be okay. His family was gone. Murdered by the Peacekeepers just like Calliope's mother and the one person he had left that he considered family wasn't allowed to see him.

There was no helping the regret that washed through Calliope. Regret for lashing out at the others and seeming to loose control. Regret for allowing herself to be taken, furthering Peeta's torture. Closing her eyes, Calliope tried doing what the Doctor had told her to do when she started to get worked up. Think of a good memory and focus on that. The day in the meadow with Peeta, Rye and Wren. It was her go to memory. One she could always rely on when things got bad. Their last day together before everything change. She clung to it most. The way Wren and Rye laughed together, Peeta's painting he did of her. Their talks of the future and the way Wren glowed in Rye's arms .

That when the idea came to her. "Wren." She turns back to face the others. "Wren Lockheart. Is she here?"

Gale nods. "Yeah. I got her out."

"She's who you should try next."

"Who is she?" Plutarch questions.

"She was Rye's girlfriend and one of Peeta and my's friend. The four of us where close. We spent almost every afternoon and weekends together. She's your next best shot after me."

"Rye?" asks Haymitch, looking towards Katniss.

Jaw dropping slightly, Calliope couldn't understand how they were the ones making Peeta's decisions, claiming to know what was best for him, when they didn't even know who his family was. "His brother...are you serious? You're telling me you don't know who Peeta's brothers are?" The room was silent. "Conan Mellark was the oldest, he moved out right before the first games with his fiancé June, they were planning an August wedding. Rye was the middle, he was 18 and dating Wren Lockheart, my best friend. They met after Peeta introduced them when we were 12. You seriously, never met his family?"

Haymitch didn't respond, instead turned to Plutarch and Katniss. "What do you guys think?"

Katniss nods slightly. "I don't think there is any overlap with us. If what Calliope says is true, it seems she may have been almost part of the family."

The words were revenge for Calliope pointing out how little Katniss actually knew about Peeta's past. If anyone was family to that boy it was Calliope. Instead of bursting out in anger, the girl contained herself, knowing that yelling and fighting wouldn't do anything to help Peeta.

"Okay," Plutarch agrees. "Let go get the girl."

Within minutes Wren was brought to the viewing room, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Calliope. Bolting right into the girls arms. "Thank God you're okay. I was so worried about you. I knew you were alive I had a feeling."

It was hard for Calliope not to pull away from her friends hold. Her body buzzing with fear at the touch. "I'm glad you're safe," Calli agrees, forcing herself to hold her tighter before the eventually pull apart. "Did they tell you why you're here?"

Wren nods. "Yeah, they filled me on the way. God poor Peeta. Poor you!" She scans Calliope up and down. "It must have been terrible. I'm so sorry you went through all that."

"It's okay." Calliope gives her a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "I'm okay now. How are you though? How have you been here?"

"It been good," Wren nods. "They've been treating us all really great. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Gale though, he found me that day, helped get me out just in time."

Interrupting the reunion, Plutarch asks, "Are you ready?"

Looking over her shoulder, Wren nods. Gently, Calliope holds onto her wrist, "We'll catch up after this, I promise." Wren gives her a genuine smile before being lead to another room when the door to Peeta's was located.

The observation room became crowded with ten members of Peeta's recovery teams armed with Pens and clipboards. The one-way glass and audio set up allows them to watch the interaction secretly. He had stopped fighting the restraints, but his hands fidget continuously. His expression seems more lucid, but its still not one that belongs to him.

When the door quietly opens, his eyes widen in alarm, then become confused. Wren crosses the room tentatively, but as she nears him she naturally breaks out into a smile. "Hey Peet. It's Wren. From home."

"Wren?" Some of the clouds seem to clear. "Wren. It's you."

"Yeah," she says with obvious relief. "How are you feeling?" She takes a seat on the edge of Peeta bed, worrying the recovery team and the others.

"She's fine," Calliope calms them, "Peeta wouldn't hurt her." But that couldn't be trusted. At one point they thought he would never hurt Katniss either.

"Awful. Where are we? What happened?" asks Peeta.

"Here we go," says Haymitch.

"I told her to steer clear of any mentions of Katniss or the Capital," Plutarch says. "Just see how much of home she could conjure up."

"Well..." she trails off, thinking of how to word things. "We're in District Thirteen. We live here now."

Calliope leans forward, her good hand griping the edge of the window.

"That's what those people have been saying. But it makes no sense. Why aren't we home?" asks Peeta.

Wren bites her lip. "There was...an accident. I miss home too. I was just thinking of the meadow and all the picnics we would have. Remember the first time you brought cookies you made all by yourself? You were so excited for us to taste them, only to find out that Rye had switched out the sugar for salt."

A smile crept on Calliope's lips at the memory. They had tried to keep a straight face and be polite as Peeta watched them with so much hope in his eyes. But the salt was too over powering and the girls ended up spitting out the bite they had taken. Confused, Peeta tried to cookies himself, only to wear a sour expression and apologize profusely while they laughed. Rye fessed up instantly through tears of laughter.

"Yeah. It was Rye's first prank. You said...about an accident."

A sheen of sweet compiled on Wren's forehead as she tried to work around the question. "It was bad. No one...could stay," she says haltingly.

"Hang in there girl," Haymitch mutters.

"But I know you're going to like it here, Peeta. The people have been really nice to us. There's always food and clean clothes," Wren explains.

"Why hasn't my family come to see me? Or Calli?" Peeta asks.

Tears begin to well in the girls eyes as flashes of the Mellark's bodies play in her mind. His parents, his brother. Each body full of bullet wounds. The only one not accounted for was Conan but from the census taken upon their arrival, Conan Mellark was not apart of 900 District Twelve citizens to escape, Wren had looked, checked the lists twice a day for two weeks.

Peeta always had a complicated relationship with his family. His mother, though abusive, was still his mother and he loved her. A piece of the boy always hoped he would one day be able to reconcile with her and be able to understand her. His father, the man he looked up to had a kind heart and a soft spot for his youngest son but couldn't bring himself to stand up to his heartless wife. His oldest brother was there to protect him from their mothers wrath at times, but couldn't bare to stick around longer then necessary. And Rye, though a trouble maker, made sure no one gave him a hard time in school. He always hoped for better relationships with them in the future. Hoped to be close to them in the ways Calliope was close to her family. But now that would never happen. He would never get the chance.

"They...they can't." Wren cleared her throat. "A lot of people didn't get out of Twelve." Shaking her head, Wren plastered on a smile that even Peeta could tell was fake. "But hey, we can make a new life here. Plus they are in desperate need of a good baker. They can't even do scones right. Remember when your father would sneak us cinnamon buns? They were always Calli's favorite but I didn't mind."

"Calli...she was in Twelve." Wren wasn't sure what to say. Calliope had been in the Capital with him but the Capital was on the list of topics not to bring up. "She's gone too. Isn't she?" He was panicking, his eyes wide and wild as he attempts to sit up straight. The machines rang out, indicating his raise in heart rate.

It was Calliope's turn for tears. Wishing she was the one in the room instead, to show Peeta that she was alive.

"No!" Wren tries to calm him. "No, no, no. Calli is fine, she wasn't in Twelve.

"There was a fire," he says suddenly.

"...Yeah," Wren whispers.

"Twelve burned down, didn't it? Because of her," Peeta says, anger building in his voice. "Because of Katniss!" He begins to pull on the restraints.

Wren got up from the bed. "Oh, no Peeta. It's wasn't her fault."

"Did she tell you that?" he hissed at her.

"Get her out of there," says Plutarch. The door opens immediately but Wren doesn't move. One thing about her was she was stubborn, especially when it came to her friends and Peeta was one of two she had left.

"She didn't have to. I was-"

"Because she's lying! She's a liar! You can't believe anything she says! She's some kind of mutt the Capital created to use against the rest of us!" he shouts.

"No, Peeta. She's not! You're not thinking right-" Wren tries again.

"Don't trust her, Wren!" he says in a frantic voice. "I did and she tried to kill me. She killed my friends. My Family. She killed Calli! Don't go near her! She's a mut!"

"No, Calli's fine. She's alive. I promise!" A hand reaches through the doorway, pulls Wren out, and the door swings shut. But Peeta keeps yelling.

"A mutt! She's a stinking mutt!"

Calliope's hand covers her mouth as she watches the boy she loves struggle against his restraints. Around her the recovery team member scribble like crazy, taking down every word. Haymitch and Plutarch grab Katniss by the arms and propel her out the room.

"He needs to see me," she says turning to Gale. "He needs to know that I'm alive."

"I don't think they're gonna let anyone see him for a while."

Wren rushes into the observation room, tears streaming down her eyes. "I-i tried."

Calliope nods, pulling her into hug.

Chapter Text

The infirmary smelled of artificial lemon and bleach. After two long weeks of recovering, Calliope still wasn't used to it. It would be a few more weeks before the stitches could be removed and the cast on her wrist came off, but Calliope was most happy about being able to leave the stark white walls of the infirmary wing. The brightness and smells reminded her of the Capitol. That, combined with the nightmares, made it almost impossible to sleep without medication.

The panic attacks and episodes hadn't gotten any better, but she was learning ways to cope, especially on her own, since Gale had left to visit District Two with Katniss.

"Are you sure you have to go?" Calliope asked the night he came to tell her he was leaving. Groggy from the anesthesia that was wearing off from her eye surgery.

Gale nods, slowly walking towards her, doing his best to keep his movements small so as not to scare Calliope. "It's the last district we need," he explains. "Once we have Two, the only place left to take is the Capitol. Beetee and I have been working on new weapons and tactics to get them to turn, and Coin thinks sending Katniss there will help."

A pain runs to the girls wrist but she doesn't say much instead just, bites her cheeks and looks down.

"Hey." Gale tilts her chin up to look him in the eyes, despite the eyepatch. "Everything's gonna be okay, Whitty. I promise. I've been training for missions like this remember?" She nods but can't keep Gale's gaze. The softness of his touch, the closeness of his body causes a chill to run up her spine. Noticing the way her muscles tensed, Gale lowered his hand, clearing his throat. "Uh, Wren said she would come by and look after you."

They hadn't spoken about the kiss yet, which Calliope was thankful for. Not ready to delve into all those feelings but the tension coming from Gale was hard to ignore. Especially when she herself wasn't sure how to feel.

"I don't need a babysitter."

Gale nods. "I know. We just don't think you should be alone right now."

He was right. The thoughts running through Calliope's head were terrifying and despite being in the infirmary, she wasn't sure what she was capable of if she was left alone.

Two weeks later, Gale was still gone and Calliope was finally discharged with strict instructions to follow during her further recovery.

"Are you sure this is okay?" she asked as Wren led the girl into her quarters, carrying a box of supplies provided by District 13. Soap, clothes, a toothbrush-- all the essentials.

"Of course! What kind of friend would I be if I made you live by yourself after everything you went through?" Setting the box down on an empty table, she turns to face Calliope again, reaching out to hold her hands. "Really, I want you here." Her voice was sincere and it was honestly the first time Calliope felt like someone was telling her the truth since she got to District 13. "Can I give you a hug?" Nodding, Calliope allows Wren to wrap her arms around her shoulders, holding her tightly. "I am so sorry about your mom Calli, and Peeta."

"Thank you." They pull back, still at arms length.

"Have you been able to see him yet?" Wren asked as they each took a seat at the table.

With a sigh, Calli shook her head. "No, the doctors keep saying he's not ready for visitors just yet and they won't tell me about his condition since I'm not family." Those words hurt the girl more than any Capitol punishment. At this point she wondered if he would ever be ready.

Reaching across the table Wren held the girls hand. "I'm sorry, Calli."

With a sad smile, Calliope tried to push all thoughts to the back of her head. "I haven't asked. How are you doing? I'm so sorry about Rye. How's your father?"

Wren was an only child to her father Reed Lockheart. It had only ever been the two of them since her mother died in during childbirth and her father could never bring himself to remarry. Thought they weren't close, they were all the Lockhearts had. Looking down, Wren shook her head and that was all the confirmation Calliope needed to know that he hadn't made it. Wren was completely alone, just like her.

Giving Wrens hand a tight squeeze Calliope gave her condolences.

"When we first got here," Wren began, "District 13 put together a memorial ceremony for us. We got to honor everyone we lost. It wasn't much but it was something." Looking down, the girl brows knitted together in pain before clearing her throat. "I've been trying to keep myself busy with my work assignments."

"Work assignments?"

She nods. "Every day we get a temporary tattoo of our days schedule. Usually we start with breakfast, then report to our work assignments. I have been helping in the kitchen, preparing meals and such. Then we have lunch, work a bit more, then we usually have some free time after dinner. They're very organized here. You'll probably get your work assignment after you've healed more."

"Who picks our assignments?"

"Janice Killion. She's the head of labor and met with all of us, learned what our skills were and she gave us assignments based on that." Leaning back in her chair, Calliope wonders what she could possibly offer to the District. Her only skill was making shoes, and even that she wasn't extraordinary at. "Don't worry too much. All you have to think about is getting rest and healing. How's your eye?"

"Better." The blurriness had subsided quite a bit, and she didn't have to wear the eyepatch as much, but there was still an immense amount of pain and the occasional migraine. "They said I should be healed in the next few weeks. Four more and the cast comes off and the stitches. Unfortunately, the scars aren't going to fade." The first punishment from the Doctor and the only visible one that would probably stick with her for life. Two clean lines from her cheekbone all the way down to her chin. Looking in the mirror became a struggle since whenever she did, Calliope was instantly reminded of everything that happened.

"I think they look pretty bad ass." Wren smiles. "Honest. If I didn't know you, I would look at you and think: don't mess with her."

It was meant to sound kind, but all Calliope heard was: "Strangers will think not to approach you because something happened to you. You're a freak to look at."

"Gale was keeping me updated while you were in the infirmary," Wren says, changing the subject.

"Really?"

She nods. "Yeah. He kept close tabs on you. You know, when you went missing, he didn't think for a second that you were dead. He never lost hope. He knew he was going to find you, and he did."

"He did..."

"So..." A playful grin crosses Wren's lips. "You sure it wasn't real?"

"What?"

"Gale told me about your relationship being fake, and I have to say, you and Gale must be some very talented actors." With a groan, Calliope drops her head in her hands. "I mean it. Was there an acting class you took and didn't tell me about? Because last I checked, you were terrible at acting."

"He kissed me the day of the bombing."

"Shut up!" Wren covers her mouth and quickly apologizes after seeing the way Calliope jumped at the sudden outburst. "What did you say? What did you do?"

"I didn't really have time to say anything since the Peacekeepers were...ya' know...attacking people. But he kissed me and made me promise to stay put until he could get back to me."

"And he hasn't brought it up since?"

Calli shakes her head. "And I really don't want him to."

"Oh," Wren nods, knowingly, "was he a bad kisser?"

"What, no." A very small chuckle leaves her lips. "No, not at all, but...Peeta and I were sort of...together before the Quarter Quell. So kissing Gale felt wrong, but then he saved me, and all these emotions came back. When I look at him, I know I love Gale, but..."

"You love Peeta more," Wren finishes. "So if it came down to it..."

"I would choose Peeta. Every time. I love Gale and I care for him, but I'm not I'm in love with him." Rubbing her forehead, Calliope lets out a sigh. "But then I think about him not being in my life, and I start to panic."

Wren nods along, listening. "Well, you spent almost every day together for like a year. You guys are bound to be close. Maybe he won't bring up the kiss? He knows you're in a fragile place emotionally and that you need time to heal way more then you need a boyfriend. I'm sure he'll understand." Teenage boys weren't the best when it came to understanding feelings, the girls knew that, but Wren was doing her best to give her friend some kind of hope. "Hey, it's getting late. Why don't we try to get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

As if she'd get any sort of sleep. The following day would be the first time since her arrival that Calliope would be intergraded into District 13's society, joining them for meals and such.

How Wren could sleep so soundly was a mystery to Calli. In the Capitol, the only escape she had was sleep. Using it to pass the time between being tortured, but now she struggled to find it again. The nightmares keeps her awake most nights or rather the fear of another nightmare. The Doctor is usually the one to visit her. Always dressed in his scrubs, his mask covering his face, though Calliope could still smell his awful breath, feel his hands on her skin.

Wren's quarters was small. Filled by two single beds on either side with a half wall at the foot of each to separate from the small sitting area by the door. The walls were bare, with no decor what so ever, except for a small analog clock that ticked every second.

Placing her hands over her eyes, Calliope tried not to think about the Doctor, remind herself that he was dead and couldn't hurt her anymore. "Don't think about it. Don't think about it," she repeated in time to the ticking clock, rolling onto her side to face the wall. "You're safe. Your okay."

Closing her eyes, she attempted to think of all the happy moments in her life, everything good about it as a way to drown out thought of the man who tortured her.

Wren, one of her best friends. A selfless girl who she could rely on to feel like a kid again. Who spent the last year helping her with the shop, getting everything in order after the death of her grandfather.

No don't think about that. That's too sad.

The day in the meadow. Their picnic with Rye and Peeta. They fits of laughter. Their last day together before everything changed.

Calliope rolled her body again, shaking her head, trying to find another memory-- a happy one.

Gale in the woods. The way he only smiled in the woods. His sarcasm and protectiveness. The same protectiveness that lead to Calliope being rescued from the Capitol.

At this point, the girl was begining to believe there was nothing she could think about that wouldn't lead to dark thoughts.

There was a single glimmer of light however, one singular memories that wasn't tainted by anything. It crept in just as she felt herself finally drifting off. The night Peeta and her had their first date. The dinner they prepared together. The dress she wore. The way they danced together. It was such an intimate night between just the two of them that Calliope would hold onto for the rest of her life.

She hated leaving Peeta alone in the infirmary, with no familiar face. No one there to hold his hand. He had to get better, but did it have to be in isolation? Pulling the blankets back, Calliope quietly got out of bed and tiptoed out of the quarter. Sliding the door behind her.

With only one good eye, it took her a while to get back to the infirmary and find the viewing room they had been in a few weeks before. With it being lights out there weren't many guards that needed to be dodged, just the cameras, but when they made their rounds, the girl would hide out of sight till they passed. Since she didn't put on her shoes, she was able to sneak around without the echo of her foot steps.

Head on a swivel, Calliope had to make sure she was watching all angles, especially on her right where her vision was blurred. Before moving on, the girl would check that she was out of sight from the blinking red lights on top of the cameras.

Blinking red meant someone was watching, that much she learned after a failed escape in the Capitol.

It was late one night after hours of torture, she was finally able to rest. Once again, Calliope was alone, strapped to the hospital chair. Only this time the restraints hadn't been as tight and the blood on her wrist made it easy to slip out of. A camera was always pointed at the girl twenty four seven. Sometimes the light on top would blink, other times it wouldn't. Hadn't ever seen a security camera before (they were hidden from sight in district 12), Calliope wasn't quiet sure what the light meant.

Slipping out of the restraints, heart beating hard against her chest, Calliope made a run for the door, but made the mistake of doing so while the red light was blinking.

The Doctor caught her in seconds and spent the next few hours punishing her for it. Now she knows-- red blinking light means someone was watching.

Just like last time her heart was pounding in her chest as she hurried down the hall that lead to the observation room. A pair of foot steps behind her made the girl move faster before slipping into the room, holding the door as it shut to make sure it didn't make a sound. Letting out a breath of relief once inside the room.

Her back was to him at first, unsure if she could trust herself not to go into his room once she saw him again. Slowly, Calliope's body turned to him but once she saw the blonde, she rushed over to the window like it was the first time she had seen him since the games. Two weeks was still too long of a time for her.

Thankfully, he had gained some weight to the point his sternum wasn't so visible anymore and all the bruising had begun to heal as well. Peeta's arms were still strapped to his sides and his legs to the bed. As someone who moves a lot in their sleep, Calliope knew he wasn't comfortable, especially since he wasn't covered with a blanket. Being underground, no matter where you were in District 13 you were always cold.

Calliope surmised the clear liquid being pumping into the IV in Peeta's arm was helping him sleep. Which she was thankful for as the deep dark bags under his eyes suggests that Peeta hadn't gotten much rest in a while.

Placing a hand on the window, Calliope held back the sniffles threatening to escape. The only thing she wanted most in the world was to curl up beside him and feel his strong arms wrap around her. As much as the last year destroyed her, it also was one of the best times of her life because at least for a little while, she got to be with the one person she loved most in the world.

It was torture to see him behind a glass where she couldn't reach.

"You were good at that."

The sound of the woman's voice caused Calliope to jump in fear, clutching her chest as she turned to Alma Coin who hadn't made a sound when she entered the room.

"M-mrs. President. I'm so sorry. I know I'm not supposed to be in here. I just..."

"You had to check on him," she stated, gracefully making her way to stand beside Calliope. Looking over the boy. "He's doing better."

"Really?"

The President nodded. "The doctors have been keeping me up to date with his progress....as well as yours."

Taken aback Calliope, confused, asked, "My progress?"

"Gale told me you're good with healing. You know the right herbs to make medicine."

"No, not really. I mean, I taught myself a few things, but nothing....nothing like Mrs. Everdeen can do."

Her voice was intimidating as Coin continued to speak. "Scars on Peeta's back had been documented in his chart but they are on the older side. Katniss didn't know where they were from, someone had to have helped the boy with his wounds."

"Like I said, I taught myself a few things." Calliope looks back at Peeta again, remember the night she snuck him into her rom a few weeks before the reaping.

"Is that something you would be interested in perusing further?"

The girl shrugs. "Maybe."

Coin's back straighten even further, as if that was possible. "When the time comes, I am putting together a tactical team lead by Second in command, Sargent Boggs to be sent to the Capitol. They are going to need a medic with them. With your background and some training, I think you would be a good fit."

After starring at the woman for a moment, Calliope couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips, even when she covers her mouth. But Coin never laughs, or even smiles slightly. "I'm sorry I just...I make shoes for a living, or I used to, and I'm not even very good at that. I have a broken wrist and one good eye. I've never held a gun before and you think I should become a soldier?"

"Yes." Her plain answer made Calliope scoff. "Your eye should be back to 20/20 vision in a few weeks, same with your wrist. While your healing you can brush up on your medical knowledge, be trained by a few of the doctors and other combat medics here. Once you get the go ahead from your doctors, we can start you with defensive training."

Shaking her head, Calliope looks back to Peeta, wondering what he would say if he was hearing all of this. It was an interesting offer but after almost dying in the Capitol once, Calliope wasn't really keen on the idea of possibly going back there. "Why me?"

"Like I said, you have a good background for it and I was impressed by the stunt you pulled tonight. Making it passed twelve guards in a record time. You even managed to stay out of sight from the camera's. Unfortunately, you miss one." Turning her head, Coin looked up at the small hidden camera in the corner of the room, the red light blinking menacingly.

Muttering to herself, Calliope shamefully looked away from the camera. If this happened in the Capitol she surely would have been punished painfully. "Gale would never allow this."

"Well, it's a good thing Mr. Hawthorne is not your keeper. Isn't it?"

She was right about that.

Peeta stirred slightly in his sleep, turning his head to the side.

Fighting against the Peacekeeper, destroying the Capitol and getting revenge for everything they stole from her sounded like a dream. Face hardening, Calliope turns to look up at President Coin.

"When do I start?"

Chapter Text

A wedding was the perfect distraction from Calliope's long week of training. With only a few weeks until soldiers start shipping out to the Capitol, the girl was going full force into her training. Studying ways to stop a bullet hole from bleeding, how to tighten a tourniquet, and how to protect a wound from getting infected. At night, Calliope would study the books, which kept her mind occupied on the not-so-rare occasions when the nightmares kept her awake. Despite her arm still in a brace, Calliope taught herself how to assemble a gun and clean it, trying to get ahead of her combat training.

"I think it's the perfect time to have a wedding." Wren smiled, reaching up to hand Calliope a string of woven flowers to decorate the alter.

From the top of the ladder Calliope agrees. "It's been so long since some thing nice happened. I was starting to get tired of the same old routine." Which is why, along with hundreds of others, the two volunteered their services landing them on the decorating committee.

"I've never been a fan of green..." Wren sighs, looking at the next link of flowers, "If I was getting married I would go for a more bright color palette. Maybe a light rose and cream. I definitely wouldn't wear a white dress thought. That's just not me. I think I would rather a nice dove color."

"Dove?" Calliope asked as Wren hands her the next bit of flowers. "Dove isn't a color its a bird."

"Dove most certainly is a color. It's a light gray, almost pinkish. I think it such a pretty color. When I get married..." the smile that was across her lips faded quickly before Wren cleared her throat.

They both knew what the other was thinking about. Rye Mellark and his untimely and most unfair death and how he always used to promise the girl they would get married the moment she turned 18. He was too young to be taken from this world. Then again, weren't they all?

Plastering on a fake smile, Wren shook her head, as if she was trying to erase any idea of the boy from her mind. "Anyway. I don't think Annie's going to wear white, I heard Katniss took her back to 12 and they picked out a dress from her extravagant collection."

Finnick Odair the victor of the 65th Hunger Games, would marry the love of his life, Annie Cresta, in a beautifully extravagant ceremony. Put together and filmed by Plutarch to be used as propaganda footage for the rebels.

"Sounds about right," Calliope says with a sigh, her attention back on flowers that no matter how hard she tired, she couldn't seem to get straight.

A deep voice shakes the girl. "Should you really be up there in your condition, Whitty?" Looking below, a smile spread across the girl's lips as her eyes met Gale's. There had been talk of their return since yesterday morning but hadn't seen each other yet.

Wren wiggles her eyebrows at the two before leaving them alone to fetch more decoration.

"I'm not completely broken, Hawthorne," Calliope teased, turning back to secure the decor. Once finished, she climbed down the ladder and gave him another smile. "How was your trip? I heard it was a success. Well minus the whole, Katniss getting shot thing."

He nods with a chuckle. "Yeah. Yeah, all went well. We were able to turn 2, so now it's time for the real thing."

The real thing. He means the Capitol. His grey eyes stared down at Calliope, knowingly. Nervously, Calliope tucked a strand of curls behind her ear, moving over to the table of decorations. He knew he had been back for only a day, yet somehow Gale knew about Calliope becoming a soldier. "How is she, by the way? Katniss." The bullet hit her impenetrable vest, leaving the girl bruised ribs and nothing more, but she was still being treated like a princess in the infirmary.

"Shouldn't you know?"

Closing her eyes with a sigh, keeping her back to the boy Calliope tries to play it off. "Why would I know?"

"Well haven't you been in the infirmary training?" he accused. Even with her back to the boy, Calliope could tell he had his arms cross over his chest.

"I was going to tell you." The look of disappointment and anger on his face, sent a gut punch to the girls stomach.

"Are you crazy? You're training to be a combat medic?"

"I am fully aware of what I am doing."

His face only reddens. "You can't go to the front lines. You can't even see straight, how do you expect to fight?"

"I wouldn't be going to fight, I would be going as a medic."

"Well that's ridicules," Gale scoffs.

Hurt by his words, Calliope's eyes narrow. "Oh really? Do you know how to properly cauterize a wound? Or how to stitch up a bullet hole? Do you know how to perform CPR? You need to know a lot more then just fighting when you're at war."

"Its a pretty damn big part of it."

She nods. "Which is why, once my stitches come out and my eye is healed, I start my combat training." Picking up a few more flowers, Calliope walks back towards the ladder.

"No," Gale says as she passes.

Stopping in her tracks, raising a brow, she stares at the boy, tilting her head to the side. "No?" Had she heard him right? Was he really saying no to a choice that wasn't his to make?

"No. No way. I'm not going to let you."

Anger was starting to bubble inside, and she lets out a chuckle. "You're not gonna let me do anything, Gale, because you're not in charge of me. You don't tell me what to do. Or did you forget that? You're not the only one fighting for something."

Jaw tightening, he takes a step forward, pointing to himself. "I'm the one who saved you the day you fell in the lake, I'm the one who kept you and your mother fed through Spring and Summer, and I'm the one who rescued you from the Capitol. I think I have a pretty good idea about your fighting skills."

At the mention of the Capitol, it was if all the oxygen from the girls lungs was sucked out of her. No matter how hard she tried, Calliope could not take in a breath of air. Hands shaking, she dropped the flowers to the ground, reaching out to the table for stability, but more so crashed into it.

"Whitty?" Gale asked, voice changing instantly upon seeing the state she was in. "Whitty, what's happening?"

A rush of cold ran through her body, but her hands were clammy with sweat as she continuously tried to inhale any sort of air. A hand on the small of her back sent the girl into fight or flight mode.

"Come with me sweet girl," a cold hand touched the small of her back. "I have an extra surprise for you." The sickly sweet voice whispered in her ear.

"Please," she begged through tears. Her blindfold keeping her from seeing anything that was about the happen.

"Oh, you know there's no point in fighting this anymore."

"Whitty?" Gale gently places a hand on her shoulder, causing Calliope to shake her head.

"Don't worry darling. You know I always take good care of you." The grip on her upper arm tightens to the point of leaving a harsh bruise and the hand on her back slowly moves to her hip then lower and lower until she can't stand it.

She had frozen in fear then, allowed The Doctor to do as he please, because fighting him only meant more punishment, more pain. But now, she couldn't bare it another second. Before there was even time to think, Calliope's hand was in a tight fist as she swung around, colliding it with Gale's jaw, sending him tumbling backwards as she screams, "Don't touch me!". For a second time, Calliope had injured the boy due to her traumatic outburst and instantly she regretted it.

A gasp, from the other side of the room, informed the girl that they were not alone anymore. Wren came rushing in, dropping the box of decoration in her hands. "Calli what happened? Are you okay?" Reaching out to her friend.

Not wanting to be touch, Calliope jumped back. Beside them, Gale looked down at the girl, holding his face, shocked by what just occurred.

"I-i'm sorry. I didn't...I didn't mean to." Crossing her arms over her chest, tears pooling in her eyes. Unsure of what to do, Calliope rushed out of the room.

Running her hands through her curls repeatedly, she received many confused looks her way through the underground district. Finally, she found a hidden corridor where she could finally be alone. Leaning back against the wall, Calliope let out a sob as she slid to the ground, dropping her head in her hands.

Maybe Gale was right. Maybe she couldn't do this. Just the mention of the Capitol sent her spiraling. What would happen when she was actually there, fighting for her life? She could put the entire team in danger if she froze like that again.

What was Coin thinking? What could she have possibly saw in her?

A year ago, Calliope would have had no problems with her training. There was nothing that would trigger her to the point of no return. Now she was a ticking time bomb.

"You had a momentary laps of judgement," says Dr. Aurelius, later that day during their session. It was mandatory that they met once a week to make sure Calliope wouldn't be a danger to those a part of her team.

"It wasn't a laps of judgement, I completely freaked out. I hurt someone." Leaning back in her seat, Calliope let out a long sigh, rubbing her hands over her face.

Dr. Aurelius nodded. "Yes, but it has only been a few weeks since your rescue, its going to take a little while longer for your mind to stop being in survival mode. This was also your first panic attack in almost a week. That's great progress." It didn't feel like progress to the girl. "Next time you feel yourself start to panic, I want you to try and recognize the signs." Leaning forward, the woman tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "How do you feel when it first starts? Do you begin to shake? Do you freeze? Do you feel a tingling sensation? Once you start to recognize what's happening, try to remind yourself that you're safe and that you are the one in control now. You decide what happens to you. If you need to, try and remove yourself from the situation. Its going to be hard at first and may not work right away, but if you keep practicing, eventually you will get there."

Calliope nods along. Taking a few deep breaths.

"Now why don't you tell me how Gale made you feel?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"When he tried to tell you what to do, how did that make you feel?"

"Uh...angry and annoyed, I guess." She hated talking about Gale in these sessions. Compared to everything else happening in their world, her boy issues seems so mundane and childish to take up any time.

"Why?" Shrugging, Calli wraps her arms around herself. "Come on, Calliope, you know why."

"Fine, because he was treating me like a child, like I was too broken to make my own choices. It's like he only see's me as this weak girl who needs saving and I'm not. Sure he got me out of the Capitol but he's not the reason I survived for as long as I did. Before him, I was the one taking care of my family, making sure we survived another year. Me. He only showed up when things got bad."

After jotting down a few notes, Dr. Aurelius looks back up at the girl. "What makes you think he only seeing you as some one who need to be saved?"

"Beside him saying it straight to my face? I don't know...I think because whenever he's around he's always cleaning up my messes, making sure I'm okay and trying to fix things."

"And you don't want him to help you?"

"No, I do...when I need it but right now, what I want is a friend. Not a savior."

"Have you told him how you feel?" Calliope shakes her head, looking down at her hands. "Why not?"

"Because..." she lets out a sigh. "Because I'm afraid."

"Of what?" Biting the inside of her cheek, Calliope thinks for a moment before shrugging. "May I tell you what I think?" Calliope nods. "In your life, there is a pattern of loss when it comes to male authority figures. Starting with your father, then your brother and then your grandfather and even Peeta. All men who promised to keep you safe and protected. I think you're afraid that if he stops seeing you as some one needing to be saved, he's going to think you don't need him anymore and he's going to leave like all the other men in your life have. The only difference with this man is that he would be leaving by choice."

With raised brows, Calliope stares at the woman for a moment. "Damn..." She had just hit the nail on the head.

"As much as we as woman try to instill into young girls that they should be strong and independent, the world tells them men should be the providers, the one to protect them. We can still be strong and independent while also wanting that male figure there in our lives. That doesn't make us weak. You lost your father at 12, your brother at 14, your grandfather at 16 and your mother at 17. You are bound to try to cling to any sort of connection with the people in your life you are close with and there is nothing wrong with that.

"But you have to do so while also taking care of yourself. Gale, is your friend. He's not going to stop being your friend simply because you are becoming someone who is stronger then they once where. I think, it would be a great idea for you to have a sit down conversation with Gale and explain to him how you feel about the way he treats you. If he doesn't see any value in who you are becoming, then he is not someone worth having in your life."

I guess this is why people see her, she is good at what she does, Calliope thinks to herself. "Now, I believe you have a wedding to get ready for." She gives Calliope a smile as she closes her book of notes.

300 people where invited to this 'small' wedding celebration. Mostly dressed in their day to day clothes as District 13 was lacking in bright festive attire. Annie, the bride is dressed in a green silk dress and Finnick in a suit. A cattle guy from 10 named Dalton conducts the ceremony, since it's similar to the one used in his district. But there are unique touches of District 4. A net woven from long grass that cover the couple during their vows, the touching of each other's lips with salt water, and the ancient wedding song, which likens marriage to a sea voyage.

Calliope watches from a back row with a smile that doesn't leave her face once. She can see the back of Gales head and occasion finds herself staring at it before shaking herself out of the trance. The words of Dr. Aurelius play in her mind. It was hard to ignore. Calliope was afraid of losing Gale. She had already come to realize that herself but she hadn't known the extent of how much she truly cared for him until she thought about losing him.

After the kiss that seals the union, the cheers, and a toast with apple cider, the lone fiddler strikes up a tune that turns every head from 12. They may have been the poorest district in Panem, but they know how to dance. Sure enough, Greasy Sae grabs Gale by the hand and pulls him into the center of the floor and faces off with him. People pour in to join them, forming two long lines. And the dancing begins.

Calliope stands off the side, clapping along since her vision made dancing troubling to manage. She can't help but think on the time her father taught her these same moves when she was only five. It took a few tries before she actually got the steps down. Cedar laughed and laughed while he watched, only to get playfully slapped upside the head by there mother before she forces him to learn too.

Wren joins in on the dances, grabbing Gales hands as he spins her around. For a moment a pang of jealously shoots through Calliope before she shakes it away. She and Gale were just friends. That's all and Wren deserved to have fun, dancing after everything she had been through. Seeing the two smiling together and laughing was a sight that warmed the girls heart. Remember the first time she heard that sound from Gale and how badly she wanted to keep hearing it.

After another spin, Gale catches her eyes for the first time that night and gives her warm smile, dissolving any tension between the two of them instantly. Arms dropping to her side. Before Calliope knew it, he was standing before her, holding out his hand.

"Oh, I uh...I can't dance." It wasn't a complete lie.

"I don't believe that for a second, Whitty. If I recall you were the lead in the level five dance recital."

"There is no way you remember that."

"Of course, I do. I even remember the blue dress you wore." A smirk crept across his lips.

"Well, I didn't say I wasn't good," she shrugs playfully. "It's just hard to keep balance with...everything."

Gale nods. "Well, just hold onto me, I won't let you fall."

Happily, Calliope takes his hand and allows the boy to lead her to the center of the floor to join in. Keeping him promise, not once does Gale let go of her the entire night. Holding Calliope up right as she spins, pulling her against his chest as they move.

Her laughs radiated out of her, making Gale feel full of air, causing him to continue to spin her around and around. Her laugh had always felt like a drug to him. But being that it had been so long since he had last heard it, it felt as though he was relapsing.

They are wrong, he thought to himself, they are wrong when they say nothing will compare to your first high. I know this because this moment here, dancing with her as she laughs loudly for the first time in months, is the best high I could ever ask for.

Their arms interlock as they spin in a circle, eyes finding each other as they smile.

Dancing transforms the crowd. Those from 12 teach the steps to the District 13 guests. Insist on a special number for the bride and groom. Join hands and make a giant spinning circle where people show off their footwork. Nothing silly, joyful or fun has happened in so long. This could go on all night if not for the last event planned in Plutarch's propo.

Four people wheel out a huge wedding cake from a side room. Most of the guests back up, making way for this rarity, this dazzling creation with blue-green, white-tipped icing waves swimming with fish and sailboats, seals and sea flowers. Calliope pushes through the crowd to get a closer look, Gale right behind her. She knew at first sight that the frosted flowers on the cake were done by Peeta.

No one would tell the girl about his recovery, keeping him under lock and key, but the boy she last saw, screaming his head off, trying to tear free of his restraints, could never have made this. Never have had the focus, kept his hands steady, designing something so prefect. It reminded Calliope that while she was here, having fun, laughing and dancing with Gale, Peeta was struggling not to lose his mind.

The tingling begins and she remembers what Dr. Aurelius said, Calliope removes herself from the situation. Feeling nothing but guilt and panic, she rushes out of the room, trying not to draw attention to herself but Gale follows.

"Whitty. Whitty wait up!" he calls after her. "What's wrong, what happened?"

Breathing heavily, the girl runs her hands through her curls. "I can't do this."

"Do what?"

"It's not fair."

Gale begins to reach out for the girl but quickly pulls his hand back, remember the last time he touched her. "What's not fair?" Calliope doesn't answer, instead continues to shake her head, repeating the words to herself. "Whitty, it's okay. You're safe."

"It's not okay!" she burst out. "None of this is okay. I'm out here dancing while he's going crazy?!" Pacing back and forth, Calliope continues to run her hands through her curls. "This is so messed up. I should be waiting for him to get better. I should be in there every day demanding updated, not dancing with you."

Gale's back tenses at her words. Trying his best not to take what she just said too personally. "You still love him."

Was he seriously asking her that? He knew the answer. "Gale..." she trails off.

"So...are we gonna finally talk about it. The kiss?"

Closing her eyes, Calli lets out a soft sigh, before turning to face him again. "...there were a lot of emotions going on, the Peacekeepers were swarming."

"Do you care about me?"

"Of course, I do." She rushes towards him, terrified that he was going to leave her standing there alone. "I care about you probably more than anyone."

"Not more than him."

In a soft voice, she says, "I-i really don't know. I care about you both in different ways." His face hardens and Calliope can feel her heart breaking. When Gale's hurt, he doesn't cry, he gets numb. "There is nothing I can give you to repay you for everything you have done for me." She reaches out to hold his hands. From this angle she sees a freshly formed bruise from that morning curtesy of herself. "I love you Gale, I do. I just...I can't be what you want."

"That's not true-"

Cutting him off, she says, "Yes, yes Gale it is." She sighs. "You saved me-- probably more times then I can count, but you can't keep looking at me like I'm something that needs to be saved or fixed."

"I don't."

"You do...you do and I don't blame you for it. I'm not angry. I know it's because you care about me. But telling me what I can and can't do, that crosses a line. You threw the worst part of my life in my face." Gale knew that was wrong, he regrated it the moment those words came out of his mouth. "I need to get better. I need something to distract me from all the shit going on in my head. Training, working on becoming a soldier, that is was I need and I can't do that if you are there constantly remining me how broken I am."

"I don't think you're broken. I actually think you're pretty bad ass." They both chuckle. "I'm sorry, Whitty. For making you feel that way. I just...I don't think I could stand to see you get hurt. If you get assigned to a different team, I can't be there to protect you."

"That's just it Gale. I don't need your protection. That's the whole point of the training." He doesn't meet her eyes and Calliope can't help the panic that begins to build inside her. Its the fear of him pulling away the scares her, which is why she says, "But...if it will make you feel better, then you need to put in a good word for me with Boggs."

He nods, a smile creeping on his face. "That I can do." He leans down towards her but Calliope was quick to take a step back. "I-i'm sorry."

"No...no it's okay. I just...what I really need right now, is a friend. Do you uh...do you think you can be that for me, Hawthy?"

With a playfully dramatic sigh, Gale nods. "As long as you never call me that again."

"Well, then I guess it's a deal."

Full of relief, Calliope wraps her arms around Gale's waist not expecting for him to actually return the hug or for it feel as warm and inviting as it did. It took everything in the girl not to melt into his protective arms.

"Come on, let me walk you home. You have a early morning," he smiled, referring to the girls new training schedule.

Calliope agrees. The walk back was nice as the two spent the time reflecting on all the fun that occurred that night. The dancing and the laughter. It was the perfect distraction from the girls earlier break down about Peeta's state.

When they arrived to Calliope and Wren's quarters, the two gave a finally goodbye hug before Gale left her for the night.

Inside, the girl almost jumped out of her skin upon seeing Haymitch sitting at the table alone. "Jesus dude!" she scolds, clutching her hand to her chest. "Don't you know not to creepily hide in a girls quarters. Especially one whose been tortured?"

"I wasn't hiding. I was waiting," he responds, standing up.

"Why are you here Haymitch?" she asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"He wants to see you, Peeta."

Chapter Text

Nervously, Calliope stares at the metal door that leads into Peeta's room. Palms so sweaty, she rubs them against her jeans. It was almost midnight at this point, but her mind was spiraling with so many questions that there wasn't enough space for her to feel tired.

Glancing over her shoulder, checking to see if the group of doctors were still there, waiting to monitor Peeta's response to the girl. Haymitch gives her a curt nod, signaling she is okay to enter. Slowly, Calliope reaches for the handle, taking one last deep breath before pushing it open.

Peeta's blue eyes instantly find hers, and the butterflies in the girl's stomach dance violently. God, she missed seeing those ocean blue eyes and the way they sparkled in the right lighting. The last time they met, hers was truly supposed to be the last, since she was minutes away from her own execution. They had looked so different back then, void of emotion and clearly exhausted. Now he looked somewhat like his old self.

For a moment, all Calliope could see when she looked into those eyes was the eyes of that scared five-year-old boy on the first day of school. The way he hid behind his father's legs. terrified. Now, there were many scarier things for him to be afraid of. If she had the chance to go back in time to that morning, she would do everything different. She wouldn't have wasted eleven years, too afraid to tell the boy she loved him. She would have told him the moment she realized all those years ago when little Peeta handed her a dandelion on the playground.

Struggling against her will to run into Peeta's arms, Calliope tried to keep a few feet' distance between the bed and herself. He couldn't hug her anyway, as his arms and legs were still secured to the bed.

"Hey," she greets with a genuine smile.

"Hey," he responds. His voice soft and gentle, almost surprised by her appearance. A stark contrast to the last time the girl saw him awake, when he blew up on Wren at the mention of Katniss.

The way he looks her up and down makes Calliope nervous, almost as if he were searching for something wrong with her. When Peeta meets the scars on her face, his eyes stop wondering. There's no expression on his face, nothing to tell Calliope what he was thinking.

Self-conscience, Calliope scratches at the scars before clearing her throat. "You look good."

"You don't have to lie to protect my feelings."

Stuttering over her words, she shakes her head. "I-i'm not. You just...the last time I saw you, you looked...different."

Why am I so nervous? This is Peeta. The same Peeta you have known since you were five.

But he wasn't the same and neither was she, not after everything they went through in the Capitol.

"Well, you look good too," he compliments. Tucking a hair behind her ear, Calliope nods, awkwardly swaying. "I'm not going to hurt you," he says, his eyes finding hers for a split second before he looks away again. "I think..." he adds softly.

"No...no you won't. I just don't know how you feel about touching. I've been struggling with it myself. I don't want to upset you." She walks closer to the bed. "So, ho-how have you been?" Calliope shakes her head with a sigh. Wondering if she had really just asked him that.

"I've been better."

"Yeah, yeah of course you have. I'm sorry."

"How's your mom?"

Rubbing her hands together, Calliope takes in a deep breath. "She uh...she didn't make it. Got caught up in the bombing," she lies.

"I'm sorry. That's terrible." He sounded as if he genuinely meant it. "How are you?"

"I've been doing okay. I had to get surgery on my eye a few weeks ago but it's healing pretty great. I should be able to see perfectly in a few days. Same with getting my stitches out. It's still gonna leave a pretty gnarly scar though but Wren thinks it looks cool. I've been living with her since I got discharged from the infirmary. That's been going really well...and I'm rambling. I'm sorry." Embarrassed, Calliope looks down at her hands again.

"That's okay. I like when you talk. It keeps my mind busy." A smile breaches Calliope's lips. She wants to tell him all about her training and becoming a combat medic but all talk about the war and going to the Capitol is forbidden. "How did that happen?" Peeta asks, attempting to lift his hand to point at something but the restraints keep him from doing so. "The scars, I mean."

The scars on her face. That he was there for on the first day of their captivity. "You don't remember?"

He shrugs. "I remember some things, bits and pieces but it's hard to keep it all...cohesive. Sometimes, I think I remember some thing but then they tell me I'm wrong and I get even more confused."

"Well...let's not talk about what happened." Calliope tries to change the subject to not upset him.

"No one wants to talk about it. No one ever wants to talk about it!" he raises his voice, clearly angry by his lack of control. Leaning back against the pillow in frustration, Peeta lets out a sigh.

"It's not out of malice," she tried to convince him. "They're trying not to upset you."

"Keeping me in the dark is what's upsetting me. Not knowing what happened to you upsets me."

Breath hitching in her throat, Calliope apologizes instantly. "You really don't know what happened?"

He shakes his head. "I have an idea, but...no not really. I remember screaming and crying. I remember begging for them to stop but I assumed that was from my own...ya know."

Her eyes glance over to the mirror, the doctors standing on the other side. Calliope didn't have to see to know that Haymitch was shaking his head, muttering to himself about the girl not being able to follow simple instructions.

"I can't tell you everything but...I was there with you. In the Capitol. They thought they could use me to get to you."

"So that was real?" Calliope nods gingerly. "Every time he brought you in and...that was real? I thought I made it up. Ugh, I can't keep anything straight!" Once again, Peeta tried to lift his hands to rub his face but was stuck. Out of annoyance he pulled on the restraints harshly.

"Hey, it's okay." Calliope placed her hand on top of his, sitting on the bed beside him. "It's okay. I'm safe now. We're safe now. We're gonna figure this all out, alright?" Peeta's body freezes at her touch, his eyes train to their interlocked hands. "Sorry," Calliope apologizes, pulling back her hand.

"You don't have to keep apologizing for every thing. I should be the one apologizing."

"For what?" He doesn't respond. Instead his eyes wonder across the room. Understanding she wasn't going to get an answer, Calliope changes the subject again. "I'm really happy you asked to see me."

Brows knitting together he asks, "Why?"

"W-what do you mean? You're my best friend and I haven't seen you in weeks. I miss you."

Still confused, Peeta shakes his head. "But...but you hate me."

It was Calliope's turn to be confused. "What? Why would you ever think that?" He can't meet her eyes, his jaw tightening. "Peeta, please."

"I've been here for weeks. I haven't seen you once. For the longest time I thought you were in District 12. They told me about the bombing and since I couldn't trust my memories I had no idea what happened to you. But when Wren told me you were here, I figured you weren't visiting because you hate me."

"That's not true."

"I don't blame you. I'm the reason they took you. Me. That's why they did that to you. I would hate me to."

Calliope reaches out to cup his face, gently forcing him to look her in the eyes as she wipes away his fallen tears with her thumbs. "Hey, listen to me. Listen. I don't hate you, Peeta. Not one bit, okay." Tears dripped down her own cheeks, but a smile still cast on her lips. "Believe it or not, when we were in the Capitol you helped me get through it. You did." Peeta shakes his head, as if the statement was too bizarre to be true. "I mean it, okay. Seeing you every day, knowing you were still alive. It gave me something to live for. You are my reason to live, Peeta."

"Then why haven't you visited me? I've been alone."

Her heart breaks even more as her hands fall into her lap. "I tried. I really tried. I asked about you. I would show up here everyday but they wouldn't let me see you. Everyone was just trying to protect you."

"Protect me from what? Myself? Am I really that bad?"

"No, no you're not bad at all."

"I'm broken then."

"No! You're not broken, don't think that for a second."

"But I am...they broke me Cal, they took my brain and scrambled everything. I can hardly tell what's up and what's down anymore. The things that they did..." he voice breaks. "No one can come back from."

This was all nonsense. Leaning forward, she once again held his face. "You listen to me Peeta Mellark. You are not broken. Not in the slightest. If you think you are broken from what they did to you, then you must think I'm a fragment of who I once was. As much as we feel smashed beyond repair we are not. Neither of us. Okay? We are just a little lost right now. Do you understand?" He stares at her wide eyed. "I'm going to help find you, okay?" Slowly, Peeta nods. Speechless.

Seeing her like this, so fired up and ready to defend him, it reminded him why he wanted to see her in the first place. He loved her. He loved Calliope with his entire mind, body, and soul. Every day he went thinking she was dead, was a living hell worse then anything the Capitol put him through. Worse then the beatings and the starvations, even worse then the waterboarding because with out Calliope, Peeta would have nothing left to live for. He didn't care about the rebellion, he didn't care about the war, all Peeta wanted was to keep her safe, but he failed, and he would never let himself forget that.

The one thing Calliope wanted more than Peeta getting better was to kiss him. Every synapse in her brain was screaming at her to do it. All it took was leaning a little forward and their lips would connect for the first time in weeks.

But she wouldn't do that to him. What Peeta needed right now wasn't a girlfriend, it was a friend at his side, holding his hand to be there as he recovers. That's what she would do from now on.

"I'm still rooting for you, Peeta. I always have and I always will."

"Always?"

"Always," she agrees with a nod.

Chapter Text

Her recent conversation with Peeta and the joy of getting her stitches removed put a pep in Callie' step. Now, she could start training full force with the others. Sure, she had been putting in her medical training and going on runs here and there, but using weapons and warfare drills she was unfamiliar with. Her vision was still slightly blurred, but she wasn't about to tell the soldier training her for fear that they might not medically clear her.

Training starts bright and early at 7:30. After scarfing down a quick breakfast, Calliope makes her way to the woods above District 13, where she is told to report to a man called Soldier Marks. Gale is there waiting, with a group of other soldiers.

A smile spreads across his face at the sight of her, easing the girl's anxiety on her first day. "Glad you could finally join us."

"Shouldn't I be with the beginners?" Calliope asks, looking down at the large gun in Gale's hands.

Gale shrugs. "You can, but since you're part of the group Coin already approved for the Capitol, you are with us on the accelerated path."

"Sounds fancy."

"Oh, it is," he agrees.

Hands on her hips, Calliope looks up at the young man with a smile. "So where do we start?"

After stretching, they begin with a few hours of stretching exercises, they move on to a five-mile run, which Calliope has a hard time keeping up with. After the first mile, she finds herself fallen to the back of the group, struggling to keep up. Sure, she went on short runs between her medical training, but nothing to the extent of this.

"Come on, Whitty. Keep up!" Gale encourages, falling into her step.

Between heavy panting, she shoots glares at him as they slow to a light jog. "You try running five miles after being tortured for weeks."

"That happened almost two months ago. You can only use that excuse so many more times." He jokes.

Calliope stares at him in a playful shock. "Wow, Gale. I see how it is." Gently, she pushes against his shoulder, before picking up speed, taking off as Gale stumbles over his feet.

"Hey!" he yells after her, chasing close behind. They hide their laughter as they catch up to the others.

In the afternoon, she learns how to assemble her gun. This turns into a silent competition between Calliope and Gale. Each trying to be the first to put their weapon together. When Soldier Marks isn't looking, Calliope takes the recoil spring from Gale's lap and drops it on the ground to slow him down a bit. As revenge he bumps her shoulder lightly.

During a short break, they take a seat on a fallen tree. "How's your arm?" Gale asks. Throughout the day, the girl had been subconsciously rubbing her wrist, still sore even after all this time.

"It feels good," she lies before quickly changing the subject. "I'm excited to start shooting."

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Gale says, "Yeah I bet."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this but you suck at aiming."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Calli asks, the pitch in her voice rising slightly.

"Whitty, I tried to teach you how to shoot last autumn. You couldn't aim a bow if your life depended on it."

Crossing her arms, she turns her body away from him. "That's different. That was a bow. This is a gun."

"I don't see you being much better," he mutters to himself, between bites of a granola bar.

"You have little faith in me, Hawthorne."

He shakes his head. "No, I have little faith in your aim. Which is why you're coming to the Capitol as our combat medic. Not a fighter."

"Okay, you are really starting to hurt my feelings."

He laughs at this. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Whitty. You're right. Maybe your aim did get better. Especially after you almost lost your eye." Gale couldn't help the last comment. It just slipped out.

Her aim, in fact, did not improve. Not in the slightest. If anything it got worse, missing literally every shot she took. Her still blurred vision affected her ability to take aim as she was seeing more than double.

"Man, Whitty, you at least have to try to hit the target," Gale teases, not realizing the foul mood the girl was now in. The others in their group laugh along with him.

Dropping her gun to her side, Calliope lets out a long sigh.

"Whittaker. Over here now," Soldier Marks ordered in his deep voice. Trying not to show her anger, Calliope jogged over to the man.

"Yes, Sir?"

"You may have been selected to go to the Capitol, but in order for me to sign off on your mission, you need to be able to defend yourself and the other members of your squad. I can't send someone into battle who can't hit a single shot."

She nods. "I know, sir. I will get better."

"How is your eye?"

"My eye? It's fine."

"You're seeing perfectly?" Calliope hesitates for only a moment, but it's enough to confirm to Soldier Marks that she wasn't 100 percent. "Alright, until you're at 20/20 vision, I can't have you on my shooting range."

Frantically, Calliope defends herself. "No, no. I'm good, Sir, I promise, I'm not a risk. My vision is almost perfect, it just gets blurry sometimes. I just need some more practice. Plus, I'm training as a combat medic, not a soldier."

"Whittaker, combat comes before medic. How do you expect to help others in the field if you can't protect someone when they're down? What if it's just you and Hawthorne out there, you're taking fire, he gets hit and goes down. That leaves only you. What's going to happen if you can't take down the person shooting? You are a risk, just being here." Marks goes to turn but Calliope continues.

"Please, sir. Give me another chance. I can prove myself."

Staring at the girl for a moment, he thinks it through before giving her a curt nod. "Fine. I'm giving you one more day to prove yourself. Got it?"

One day? Calliope thinks to herself. Just one day to become a good shot. How could he expect her to get better overnight?

Pushing her worries to the side, she agrees. "Yes, sir. I won't let you down."

After the shooting range, training was done for the day, and the soldiers were free to do as they pleased for the rest of the night. While everyone else went to get dinner or see their families, Calliope stayed behind for a while, shooting round after round, spending hours in the dirt, committing to get at least one shot.

When the sun set and the girl still hadn't landed a single shot, frustrated, she slammed her hands onto the ground, pushing herself up onto her knees. Calliope wanted to keep trying, practicing as long as it takes but she had run out of bullets and they were only issued so many per day. A headache was rolling in from how much the girl was straining her eye to focus and her wrist was still sore.

Suddenly a vice spoke from behind her. "Why don't you start with something simpler?" Jumping in fright, Calliope turns to the girl standing a few feet away. Katniss holds a gun at her side, the same kind Calliope had been shooting.

"I don't have time to start from the bottom. I have to get better by tomorrow or Marks is keeping me from the Capitol."

Katniss makes her way over to the girl and knells on the ground beside her. She takes a closer look at the shooting range, realizing that Calliope hadn't made a single shot. "You're gonna need more time."

Already knowing that, the girl-- annoyed --crosses her arms over her chest. "Yeah, well not everyone can be as perfect as the Mockingjay."

With a sigh, Katniss shakes her head. "I'm not perfect."

"Tell that to the Coin," Calliope chuckles bitterly.

"Coin wasn't going to let me go to the Capitol," she confesses. Calli, raises her brows. "Turns out you actually have to show up to training to become a soldier. I guess you're not the only one that has to prove themself."

Shocked by this, Calliope says, "So the Mockingjay is actually treated like a normal person for once. Boo-hoo."

Ignoring the girl's comment, Katniss nods. "Try something simple to improve your eyesight first."

Coldly, Calli interrupts the girl. "My eyesight is fine."

"Well, looking at your target it seems as though you may be seeing double. You keep aiming for the left and missing. Try going more towards the right and you might hit something." Pushing herself up from the ground, Katniss goes to leave but pauses once she gets to her feet. "Have you seen him?" Calli nods, knowing she is referring to Peeta. "How was he?"

"He was...himself, but also...not," she answers. Katniss nods, expecting that answer. "Have you seen him?"

"Not yet." Katniss looks off into the distance. "He asked for me, but I couldn't bring myself to see him. It's my fault he's like that."

Calliope nods. "Well, I'm not going to argue with that." She didn't care that Katniss was trying to be nice a few minutes ago and gave her advice. To Calliope, it came off as Katniss proving she was the better soldier.

After a moment of silence Katniss continues, "No one will tell me what happened in the Capitol. I keep trying to ask but Johanna won't talk about it, and I don't think it would be wise to ask Annie. Gale said when he found you, you looked worse than the others." She was referring to the other victors that were taken with her and Peeta to the Capitol.

Calliope's eyes glazed over at the mention of her time in the Capitol. "You don't want to know what happened."

"I do. I need to know what I'm getting into in case it happens again and everyone seems to think you had it the worst."

Quickly, Calliope blinked away her tears, trying to ground herself as she shook her head. "They're wrong. What Peeta went through was worse, is worse. They broke his mind, made him doubt himself and he has to live with that, for the rest of his life. They took away the one thing he tried to hold onto the most."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What did they take from you?"

A sad smile spreads across Calliope's lips as she shrugs. "What didn't they take from me? The difference between Peeta and I? I remember every single second of my time there. Every session, every scream, every ounce of pain. I get to live with that."

"That sounds worse than forgetting."

Calliope shakes her head. "Peeta doesn't forget. Every time he remembers something different, every time he doubts himself, it puts him right back in his mind, where nothing will ever be the same again. I know what happened to me. There isn't one thing that I'm unsure of. Peeta can hardly tell what's real and what isn't."

"What happened while you were there?"

The last thing Calliope wanted to do was get into the most traumatic time of her life. So instead she says, "Just know that it was a good thing Peeta wasn't a girl surrounded by those evil men." Katniss keeps her eyes trained on Calli, but she doesn't look at her with pity or shame. Something Calliope was very grateful for. Standing, Calliope matches Katniss's look, tone turning serious. "If you ever get taken by them, do everything you can you kill yourself because you will spend every second of the rest of your life wishing you were dead." Her words were dark, concerning, but also true. Some nights, when the silence is too loud and her skin feels too dirty, Calliope finds herself wishing that Gale never found her, never stopped the Doctor from his final plan.

Katniss nods, understanding the level of torture Calliope had gone through. "For what it's worth...I'm glad Gale saved you. If you weren't here, Peeta wouldn't have any family." Shocked by her words, Calliope's brows raise. Katniss was admitting the role Calli plays in Peeta's life. Acknowledging it for the first time. Clearing her throat, Katniss continues. "Maybe start by throwing balls of paper into a bin. That will improve your aim without straining your eyes. Once you get that down, move onto something smaller and then maybe try shooting again."

Calliope nods, still shocked by the girl being nice to her, considering the last time they spoke, Katniss was telling her how she wouldn't be good for Peeta and now she was sort of admitting that she was wrong.

"He's gonna get better," Calli began. "We're gonna bring the old Peeta back. I promise."

Katniss gives the girl a smile that doesn't reach her eyes before turning to make her way back inside.

The advice Katniss gave the girl worked to some extent. It took all night but eventually Calli was able to get more paper balls into a bin than she missed. Sleep deprived and running on little food, Calliope got dressed the following morning and made her way outside.

"Where'd you go last night?" Gale asks as they begin their stretching. "You weren't at dinner."

"I was practicing my aim so you would get off my back," Calliope half-jokes.

Her second day of training is a stark contrast to the first. Despite Gale trying, she doesn't joke around, doesn't tease him back. Instead she stays serious, stoic. On their five mile jog, she pushes herself to keep up with the other, pushing her body as much as she can. Her lungs were on fire and Calli felt like she was going to be sick but she kept pushing. In the Capitol there would be no time to catch her breath.

It came time to practice shooting again, and Marks kept his eyes on the girl as she once again lay in the dirt beside Gale, cheek resting against the scope of the gun. Her vision begins to blur as Calliope once again strains her eyes to focus. The single target blurs into two, and Calliope remembers what Katniss told her the day before. Aim more towards the right instead of the left.

Taking a deep breath, Calliope calms her nerves for a moment before squeezing the trigger. Hitting one of the outer rims of the target. A smile spears across her lips. It may not be the center of the target but at least she hit it on her first shot of the day.

"Good job, Whitty," Gale compliments from beside her. "Now just keep doing that."

By the end of the day, Calliope has hit the center of the target five times. This was enough for Marks to not see her as a risk and allow her to continue her training.

Gale congratulates her on their walk to dinner.

"Congratulations for what?" Katniss asks as she falls into their step with Johanna at her side.

For the first time ever Calliope gives the girl a warm smile. "Your advice worked. I actually got better and Marks is letting me stay."

"Look at that," Johanna comments, "If the normy can do it, so can we."

"Normy?" Calliope raises a brow.

"She just means, a non Victor," Katniss tries to defend her friend. "That's good news, though. I'm happy for you." Katniss smiles slightly.

Once inline for food, Gale, who is standing behind Calliope, leans forward, whispering in her ear. "Since when are you two friendly?"

"Since she gave me advice on my aim instead of making fun of me," she shot back.

They each receive a giant serving of beef stew before joining a table with Finnick and Annie. It's interesting for Calliope to see the way Finnick has changed since his marriage. Before, he always seemed like an arrogant heartthrob who didn't care for anyone beside himself. She saw now that it wasn't the case. He never lets go of Annie's hand. Not when they walk, not when they eat. Annie's lost in some daze of happiness. There are still moments when they can tell something slips in her brain and another world blinds her to them. But a few words from Finnick call her back.

Calliope is starving. Spending the last two days focusing on training instead of eating. It's become somewhat of a bad habit for her. After going so long without food, it stops being at the forefront of a person's mind and oftentimes she finds herself forgetting to eat until Gale or Wren remind her.

The stew is delicious– beef, potatoes, turnips, and onions in a thick gravy– that Calliope has to force herself to slow down. All around the dinning hall, you can feel the rejuvenating effect that a good meal can bring on. The way it can make people kinder, funnier, more optimistic, and remind them it's not a mistake to go on living. It's better than any medicine. Even Calliope finds herself laughing at Finnick's story about a sea turtle swimming away with his hat. Wren joins them, taking the empty seat beside Gale and laughs as Finnick retells the story.

It's a moment before they realize he's standing there, across the table and behind the empty chair between Johanna and Calliope. He's staring at Katniss, two large guards standing beside him.

"Peeta!" Wren says. "It's so nice to see you out...and about."

Calliope turns and gives him a warm smile. He holds his tray awkwardly, balances on his fingertips since his wrists are shackled with a short chain between them. This instantly angers Calliope. How is he supposed to feel normal if he is still locked up?

"What's with the fancy bracelets?" asks Johanna.

"I'm not quite trust worthy yet," says Peeta. "I can't even sit here without your permission." He indicates the guards with his head.

"Sure he can sit here. We're old friends," says Johanna, patting the space between her and Calliope. The guards nod and Peeta takes a seat. "Peeta and I had adjoining cells in the Capitol. We're very familiar with each other's screams."

Calliope stops mid chew. Flashes of the Doctor playing in her mind. Gale, who sits across from her notices. He tries to find her eyes, but Calliope keeps them focused on her bowls as she takes long deep breaths. Annie, who's on Johanna's other side, covers her ears and exits reality. Finnick shoots Johanna an angry look as his arm encircles Annie.

"What? My head doctor says I'm not supposed to censor my thoughts. It's part of my therapy," Johanna replies.

The life has gone out of their little party. Finnick mutters things to Annie until she slowly removes her hands. Gale mouths an "are you alright?" to Calli, who simply nods. Then there's a long silence while people pretend to eat.

"Annie," Wren says brightly, "did you know it was Peeta who decorated your wedding cake? Back home, his family ran the bakery and he did all the icing."

Annie cautiously looks across Johanna. "Thank you, Peeta. It was beautiful."

"My pleasure, Annie," Peeta says. Calliope hears that old note of gentleness in his voice that she thought was gone. It lifts her spirits ever so slightly.

"If we're going to fit in that walk, we better go," Finnick tells her. He arranges both their trays so he can carry them in one hand while holding tightly to her with the other. "Good seeing you, Peeta."

"You be nice to her, Finnick. Or I might try and take her away from you."

It could have been a joke, if the tone wasn't so cold. Everything it conveys is wrong. The open distrust of Finnick, the implication that Peeta has his eyes on Annie, that Annie could desert Finnick, that Calliope didn't even exist.

Dropping her hands in her lap, Calli stares at him, hurt in her eyes. Wren instantly sees this and tries to grab her hand, but the touch makes her jump. Peeta doesn't turn to look at his best friend, doesn't even acknowledge that she's there.

Calliope wonders if in his mind they still have to keep their relationship a secret. That they're somehow still under the Capitols eye. Maybe he doesn't realize they don't have to hide anymore. Or maybe he doesn't remember.

"Oh, Peeta," Finnick says lightly. "Don't make me sorry I restarted your heart." He leads Annie away after giving Katniss a concerned look.

When they're gone, Wren says in a reproachful voice, "He did save your life, Peeta. More than once."

"For her." He gives Katniss a brief nod. "For the rebellion. Not for me. I don't owe him anything."

Out of anger, Katniss can't help but respond. "Maybe not. But Mags is dead and you're still here. That should count for something."

"Yeah, a lot of things should count for something that don’t seem to, Katniss. I've got some memories I can't make sense of, and I don't think the Capitol touched them. A lot of nights on the train, for instance," he says.

Calliope's heart begins to beat harshly against her chest. Was he referring to the train ride to the Quarter Quell? When he and Calliope had become official? Or was it the Victory tour?

Looking between Katniss and Peeta, her heart breaks. Katniss wasn't denying it, not in the slightest. Her face only gets red and her shoulders tense. Had Peeta been with her the same ways he was with Calliope? Had he lied when he said he had never done those things before.

Peeta makes a little gesture with his spoon, connecting Gale to Katniss. "So, are you two officially a couple now, or are they still dragging out the star-crossed lover thing?" His eyes float over to Calliope, almost as if he is noticing her for the first time that night. "Or maybe you two are still together. While I'm laid up in a hospital bed." Spasms cause Peeta's hands to tighten into fists, then splay out in a bizarre fashion.

Calliope was too shocked, too hurt to respond.

"I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself," Gale says.

"What's that?" asks Peeta.

"You," he answers.

"You'll have to be a little more specific. What about me?"

"That they've replaced you with the evil-mutt version of yourself," says Johanna.

This makes Peeta's muscles tense and it takes everything in Calliope not to plant a hand on his thigh to calm him. But his words are still ringing in her ears.

Gale finishes his milk. "You done?" he asks Katniss. They rise and leave the table, taking their trays with them.

Peeta's eyes follow them until they are out of sight.

"Seriously, Peeta. That wasn't okay!" Wren says to him. Voice raising.

"I'm just telling the truth," he shrugs as if he hadn't just hurt everyone at the table.

"No, you were being rude. You hurt her feelings and you hurt Calliope!" Wren points to the girl across the table.

Peeta glances at his best friend before turning back to Wren. "Why would she care? She's the one dating him."

"No, she's not-" Wren goes to defend but Calliope quickly shakes her head, speaking for the first time since he sat down.

"Wren, don't. It's fine." Peeta clearly doesn't remember their relationship before the quarter quell and the last thing the girl wanted was to confuse him even more.

"It's not fine! The last I checked you two were the ones in love. If it were Rye, I'd want someone to remind him he loved me."

Johanna audibly laughs, enjoying the drama playing out in front of her.

Peeta's face crinkles in confusion as he looks between Calliope and Wren. "No...no that's not...that wasn't real. I was with Calliope? No. I was with Katniss. But Katniss was with Gale. Calli was with Gale." He shakes his head fast, dropping it into his hands. The two guards try to pull him from his seat but he fights against them. Screaming the entire way. "No! No, let me go!" He kicks his tray causing his food to go flying.

Chapter Text

A knock pulled Calliope away from her reading. The military tactical books could wait a few minutes as she answered the door. Gale stood on the other side, looking down at the girl, her brows scrunching in confusion.

"Gale? Is something wrong?"

He shakes his head. "I was coming back from a meeting, and I guess old habits led me here." The old habit he was referring to was when he would stop by the shop after his long day in the mines. Realizing it was rude to keep him out in the hall, Calliope moves aside to allow him to enter her small quarters. He takes a moment to look around the small space and the lack of things in it. "Where's Wren?"

"She's in the kitchen, prepping for breakfast," Calliope answers, closing the door. Gale turns to face her, nodding at the explanation. Tense shoulders and a crinkle in his brow suggests that he may not be telling the whole truth about why he was there. "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just wanted to check on you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, with Peeta's outburst and everything."

Right. Peeta. The way he acted at dinner, as if he and Calliope were never together and the relationship that he insinuated to having with Katniss. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's not the worst thing someone has said to me." She chuckles awkwardly, playing with her hands. "Is Katniss okay?"

"She's a little upset but she'll be fine by the morning. I was more worried about you. I saw how you were when Johanna brought up the Capitol."

"Uh...yeah. I'm fine." She waves off. "I need to work on handling talk about the Capitol anyways. If I'm going to be there fighting, I can't freak out at the first mention of it. Exposure therapy or whatever..."

Gale gives her a half hearted smile. "You would tell me if you weren't okay though? Right?"

She agrees, not realizing it was a lie. Truth was Calliope wouldn't tell anyone if she wasn't okay, not out of malice but simply because her feelings were her own burden and no one else's. Gale wouldn't be able to handle it. Neither could Wren.

"Okay..." he breathes, "I should let you get back to reading." Awkwardly, Gale tucks his hands into his pockets, looking over at the open book on Calliope's table. "We have a long day tomorrow."

"We do?"

"Yeah, we start running drills and doing more tactical training. I hope you brushed up on your aim because you're going to need it."

"I've been practicing," she says with a smile.

"Well good," he returns, moving to make his way towards the door. "A little tip, don't shoot your team members," he teases, opening the door.

Calliope chuckles, stepping closer to him. "I'll take that into consideration."

Despite the door being open and the conversation coming to a natural end, neither move. Standing practically toe to toe as their eyes linger for a moment too long. His close proximity makes the girl's breathing stop. Despite her mind screaming for her to move away, Calliope's heart kept her in place. It had been so long since she felt close to someone. So long since Gale last planted his lips on top of hers.

She knew it was wrong to think of Gale in this way. Just the other day she was talking to Dr. Aurelius about needing a friend more than a boyfriend, and to Wren about choosing Peeta over Gale. But Calliope was simply a 17 year old girl with teenage feelings. Some nights when her nightmares keep her awake, she thinks about that kiss she shared with Gale and how it was the last time she felt the comforting touch of another person.

It was a feeling she wished to feel again. Hoped to feel again, but every similar touch since that night had been replaced by images of the Doctor. Every time she should have been falling into Gale's arms, every time his eyes lingered a bit too long, she should be feeling the butterflies. Instead, Calliope only felt the Doctor's hands on her skin, felt his eyes burning into her. It brought back every horrible thing he had done to her body and it made her stomach fill with distaste.

But, for some reason, in this moment, the way Gale was looking down at her, she felt different. She felt those butterflies again. Felt the excitement and joy of someone seeing her. It made her cheeks flush red and she was the first to look away. Eyes drifting to her shoes as she takes a step back, nervously tucking some hair behind her ear.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Whitty." Gale bids his farewell, leaving the girl standing there.

When the door shut, Calliope's stomach turns with guilt. Peeta's hurt eyes flashing through her mind. The way he sounded when accusing her and Gale of being together. No, she shouldn't be feeling these things for Gale. Not when Peeta was still struggling. If Peeta were in her position he would never think of being with someone else.

But he was...wasn't he? At least that's what he implied at dinner. Him and Katniss being together. Was it even true, or was that hijacked Peeta talking? There was no way of telling.

Shaking her head, Calliope sits back down at the table and tries to redirect her focus back to her book.

Deep in 13, they've built an artificial Capitol city block. It's used for Simulated Street Combat or S.S.C for short but the soldiers refer to it as the Block. That's where Calliope reports first thing in the morning. Her mind still racing with last night's realizations but when she comes side by side with Gale, she can't help the smile on her face as he greets her.

The instructor breaks everyone into squads of eight and they attempt to carry out missions–gaining a position, destroying a target, searching a home–as if they were really in the Capitol.

"Keep your mind straight, Hawthorne. Focus on the mission," Calliope warns when they are put into the same squad. He laughs, but Calliope knows him. When they are in actual danger he's gonna have half his mind focusing on where she was and whether or not she was okay.

The Block is rigged so that everything that can go wrong for them does. A false step triggers a land mine, a sniper appears on a rooftop, Calliopes gun jams, a crying child leads them into an ambush, their squadron leader–who's just a voice on the program–gets hit by a mortar and they have to figure out what to do without orders. A piece of Calliope knows that it's not real and that they're not going to actually kill her and that's the only thing keeping her going as the anxiety builds inside her.

But in other ways it feels real. The enemy soldiers dressed in peacekeeper uniforms, the confusion of a smoke bomb. No one gets their mask on intime and the smoke that was said to be harmless, causes them all to pass out for ten minutes.

Their failure marks the end of their first day in the Block. The eight of them are frustrated with themselves but it only motivates them to do better the next day and they do. This time they get through the simulation without a problem, making them cheer in excitement.

They get a small break after their victory, to eat a short lunch. While Gale and Calliope share a small piece of bread, they watch the squads below them, training and working together. Just as she goes to take a bite of her food, a head of blonde curls causes the girl to freeze.

The manacles are off but he’s still accompanied by a pair of guards always a few feet away. Peeta is drilling with the other beginners, learning how to put a gun together.

"What the hell are they thinking?" Calliope voices allowed, lowering her arm.

Gale's eyes follow hers, his brows crinkle in confusion.

If a simple fight with Wren could cause him to lose it, he has no business learning how to assemble a gun. The thought of him around a bunch of weapons worries the girl of what he might do if he gets triggered again.

Later in the day, she learns Peeta is there simply for the camera. The weapons weren't real. That helped to ease Calliope's anxious mind, but she was still nervous for the state of Peeta's. A woman named Cressida has been following the victors around these last few weeks, getting all kinds of footage of them training to go against the Capitol. She even managed to get a few shots of Gale and Calliope.

The footage was to be aired to the districts, showing the surviving victors and their families giving it their all in going against the Capitol. Fighting for what's right.

At night, when training is over and the district sleeps, Calliope finds herself sneaking back into the observation room, watching the blonde as he stirs in his sleep. He's no longer tethered to the bed but he is still kept under lock and key. No words had been exchanged between the two since dinner a week ago but from what Calliope overhears, his progress is slow but there. She's allowed to visit, to speak to him but Calliope finds herself too terrified to hear what he has to say.

Would he confirm her worst fears? Or her desires? Either way, Calliope couldn't afford to know. Right now, she has to put everything she has into training, getting better at her aim, learning new warfare. The last thing she needs is a distraction and she hates herself for seeing Peeta as one.

Once the war was over–if she survives–Calliope vowed to throw her entire being into Peeta's recovery, and getting him back to who he once was. Until then, she had to put herself first.

-

"Alright! Listen up!" Calliope, Gale and the rest of their squad stand at attention. Waiting for Marks to give his orders. "You've done this once before, you're going to do this again, only this time, it's going to be a bit more difficult. I can't give you any tips or tell you what's going to happen, but like always work together, think straight and make it out."

The eight of them nod in unison before being sent into the Block. Their objective was to save a soldier who had been injured and left behind. His whereabouts weren't exactly known but they had a general area.

It starts off like any other drill. They enter a dark building, Gale and another soldier lead. They keep their guns against their chest and stay alert as they take a corner. Light flickers above and the sound of water drips. Two other soldiers stay at the back, making sure the squad isn't met with any surprises.

Gale puts his hand up, singling for them to stop, which they do. Ahead of them is what looks to be a normal hallway, but when they looked towards the ground they saw a thin wire. Taking turns they each clear it without an issue and continue on. The sound of rustling could be heard from behind a doorway, telling the squad that's where they needed to go. Once again Gale and the other soldier enter first, clearing the room initially before the others follow.

Across the room, tied to a medical bed is their soldier. A dummy actually, but it's meant to simulate the man they were there to save. The dummy was groaning in pain and bleeding. Pulling her pack off her shoulder, Calliope makes her way over to the soldier as she reaches for her medical supplies.

Unfortunately, no one checked to see if the room was booby trapped with another thin wire. Calliope triggers it, causing an ear bleeding alarm to sound and shockingly, a glass wall to fall from the ceiling, splitting the room in two. Calliope on one side, Gale and the others on the other.

Their new objective: Get the two soldiers out of captivity in ten minutes before the Peacekeepers arrive and take them all to the Capitol.

This is when the panic began to set in. The room was small, dark and familiar. The chair in the center of the room made the girl's stomach turn in fear. The space looked almost identical to the one she was held captive in for weeks. The one the Doctor would visit her in. Her entire body shook as flashes of her torments played through her mind like a slideshow.

Covering her ears to block out the alarm, Calliope tries to control her breathing but there is no stopping the panic. In seconds it completely consumes her. Gale turns to the others, instantly starting to give orders. He doesn't realize the pure terror of the girl as her back is still to him.

Attempting to speak to her doesn't work as the wall is sound proof. Gale bangs against it, trying to get Calliope's attention but it doesn't work. Her mind is screaming at the girl to move, to do something. In this situation, Calliope is supposed to render aid to the soldier, then figure out how to work things out on her end. But she doesn't move. Calli stays frozen in her spot, tears streaming down her cheeks.

It's as if she was right back in that room, listening to all the terrible things the Doctor was going to do to her that day. It was part of the routine. He would come in nice and early and give her a detailing itinerary of her torture.

"Come on, Whitty," Gale mutters under his breath. This won't work if she doesn't pull herself together.

The seconds tick down fast and the others discover a passageway through the vent system, but they can't get through without Calliope loosening the screws on her side. No aid has been rendered to the soldier causing the dummy to fall dead. If they don't get Calliope out of there they fail this drill.

All hope of them passing goes out the window when the girl falls to her knees and lets out a sob they can't hear due to the sound proofing. Backing herself in a corner, Calliope can't help but think she's back there and the Doctor is standing over her, his menacing smile on his face. Then the tingling starts in her arms and spreads throughout her body. It's as if little fire ants are crawling all over her.

Ripping her jacket off, the girl begins to scratch at her skin, digging into it and drawing blood.

Gale continues to bang on the clear wall, trying to get her attention, but she doesn’t move.

By the end of the ten minutes, her arms are raw and as well as her throat from her constant screams. The wall is lifted and the team can't help but stare at the girl who was now disassociating in the corner. Already knowing they failed but the team didn't care about that, after working together all week they had come to care for one another and were worried about Calliope.

Gale was the first to approach her. Bending down slowly, knowing fast movement and touching scared her. "Whitty...it's Gale. You're safe, alright? It was just a drill. It's over now."

Her face is void of an expression but from the redness and the tears, it was clear to see she panicked. A buzzer rang out, singling the end of the simulation and that they had to leave the area. It pulled Calliope out of her thoughts.

Looking around the room, her stomach turned in panic once again. "Wh- what? No, no, no! Not again!" Out of frustration, she threw her head back, clashing it against the cement wall. Luckily she was wearing a helmet preventing her from getting hurt.

"It's alright, let's just get out of here." Gale reaches for her hand, but Calliope wasn't done with her outburst.

Pushing herself off the ground, she stormed out of the room and out of the block. Marks and the others tried to call after her, give her their evaluation but she kept going, unable to breathe in that small area.

The panic had turned into anger, anger towards herself for failing once again.

"Whitty!" Gale chases after her, pulling his helmet off. "Whitty wait up!" He finally catches up once they are away from the Block. Her feet slow to a stop but her breathing only gets worse. "Hey you're okay. It was just a drill."

Feeling constricted, Calliope fiddles with her helmet buckle, but her hands were too shaky and she couldn't get the claps to undo. "I can't get this stupid thing off!" she yells.

Gale rushes in front of her, keeping a few feet of distance. "Let me help you." She agrees. Slowly, as if he was approaching a skittish horse, Gale unclips the strap under her chin and backs away again. Not wasting another second, Calli rips it off her head and throws it down the hall, before her knees give out and she falls to the ground. Gale follows suit, bending down in front of the sobbing girl.

"It was just a drill. It wasn't real. You're not in the Capitol anymore," he tries to assure her.

"But I could be!" she shouts. "It's just a drill now! But what if I freeze like that in the middle of a warzone? I could get all of us killed. I was so stupid to believe I could do this."

"You're not stupid-"

"I am! I am. I thought if I just kept trying, kept pretending it didn't happen then I could forget it. But I can't! I can't forget it. He's always there. Always in the back of my head, taunting me. He never goes away. I just want it to stop." Cupping her hands over her ears, Calliope rocks in her knees. "I can't get it to stop." Reaching out to her, Calliope flinches away. Frustrated at the situation, Gale lets out a grunt, dropping his fist to the ground. "I'm sorry," she cried. "Every time...someone touches me...all I feel are his hands. It makes me want to rip my skin off." Gale's eyes soften at her words. He knew the Doctor had been using Calliope's body to his advantage but he had no idea the extent she was truly suffering. "I don't want to feel like this anymore. I can't do it." Shaking her head, the tears continue to pour. "Marks is gonna wash me out. I'm not gonna be approved."

"Maybe that's a good thing," Gale tried to reason with her. "You have fought so hard, and come so far. No one would blame you for taking a different assignment."

"I would blame me. I promised myself...I would do whatever it took to take them down. All of them."

Gale's hands cupped her face gently and for what felt like the first time, Calliope didn't feel sick to her stomach at his touch. "Then we take them down, together. Tell me what I can do to help you, Whitty."

Her heart rate finally began to slow and her breathing was evening out just from the way his eyes looked into hers. His beautiful grey eyes that she could get lost in forever, the way they looked at her with such hope. Hope that she would get better. Hope that one day they would beat this war.

Before she realized what she was doing, Calliope grabbed onto Gale's face and planted her lips right on top of his and suddenly all the noise seemed to quiet. She felt the way his body tensed under her touch, could sense his wide eyes before he eventually melted into her hold.

When they pulled back, Gale's face was one of confusion. His brows scrunched together and his head tilted to the side. "You said..."

"I know what I said," Calliope nodded, placing her hands over Gale's. "But I don't care about that right now."

What she actually needed was for someone to replace the memories she held of the Doctor and the way his hands felt on her skin. Calliope hoped–prayed –that Gale could do that for her. That whenever she thought about intimacy going forward, she would picture someone other than the Doctor. She needed that now, which is why she chose Gale. Waiting for Peeta would be far too long and Calliope couldn't bear to suffer anymore. She couldn't keep putting her feelings on the backburning for a boy who possibly cheated on her.

"Whitty...I don't think that's such a good idea," Gale says, backing away slightly.

Now he decides to have manners? Now he decides to be a gentleman?

"Gale, please. I need this. I can't keep being so scared to be touched and you...you can help me forget about it all. When I'm with you, I feel safe." The words weren't a complete lie. She did feel safe around Gale but not when he touched her suddenly, or moved too fast. Then he became like everyone else. Doing this with him could change that.

It was simple biology, he found her attractive, she found him attractive. How hard could this actually be? She moves in to kiss him once again, but this time he pulls back, pulling her hands away from his face and holding them in his lap.

Looking down, he racked his brain for the right thing to say, taking his time before finally speaking. "I have wanted you to do that for weeks. I have pictured over and over again."

"So what's the problem?"

"It wouldn't be because you actually want me."

Shocked by his words, Calliope pushes herself up from the ground. "You asked what you could do to help me. This is what you can do!"

Gale stands. "I can do anything but that. Come on, Whitty, even you know this is a terrible idea."

Turning on her heels, Calliope tries to storm off but Gale grabs her hand. Flinching she pulls away, solidifying to Gale that he was right. "Leave me alone. I don't want to see you anymore."

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do," Calliope practically hisses.

"After everything, you're gonna leave it at that?"

"Like you even care!"

As if her words hit him like a fist, Gale takes a step back. She was hurting, he knew that, but that didn't change the way her words hit him like bullets. Feeling like there was nothing else he could say or do, Gale nods briefly before turning on his heels and walking away from the girl.

Running her hands through her curls, Calliope lets out a frustrated grunt, dropping to the ground to wallow once again.

Chapter Text

Like most teenage girls dealing with strong emotions, Calliope decided to ignore them altogether. Instead, she threw herself into her training. Spending hours upon hours studying her tactical books and working with Dr. Aurelius on her triggers, learning different ways to cope with her trauma while on the battlefield. She would die before embarrassing herself like that again, freezing when her team needed her most. Everyone was focused on training for their final evaluations, and the last thing anyone wanted was to be distracted from their end goal.

Dinners with Peeta happened more often, though Gale and Katniss weren't there to join anymore. Calli assumed it was because Katniss didn't want to deal with another outburst from the boy, while Gale didn't want to deal with Calliope. Despite being on the same tactical team, the two had barely spoken since the girl's breakdown.

Without Katniss at the table to set Peeta off, he had been doing well. There were no outbursts, no passive-aggressive comments, and no fighting with himself. It was nice. Almost as if the old Peeta was back. Sometimes Calliope liked to close her eyes and pretend they were in the meadow, having a picnic on a warm Sunday afternoon. The only thing missing was Rye—the middle Mellark brother.

They don't speak about him, never bring him up. Calliope fears that talking about him would send not only Peeta down a spiral but Wren too, and with Gale and her not speaking, Wren was the last friend she had to keep her afloat. She wonders if not speaking about Rye hurts Wren more than ignoring the topic. Perhaps the wound was still too fresh, and once the war was over–if they won and weren't all executed–it wouldn't hurt as bad.

"Have you been painting much?" Wren asks, eating a spoonful of beef stew.

Peeta, whose wrists are still in manacles, nods slowly. "The Doctors say it helps keep me grounded. That it’s good therapy, whatever that means." He shrugs.

"Well, that's good!" Wren smiles from her spot beside the blonde. "It must be calming to focus on something you love. You have to show them to us one day. Right, Calliope?"

Her head shoots up, eyes looking away from her tray for the first time since Peeta sat down. "Oh, uh...yeah, that sounds nice."

"How about after dinner?" Wren asks. Turning to look at the two men tasked with following Peeta. "Would that be okay?" The men don't respond, just simply stare at the girl as if they couldn't believe she was actually asking that question.

Peeta shakes his head. "You can't. They don't allow me visitors after dinner."

"Why not?"

"That's my reflection time. I'm supposed to reflect on my day and think about how I could have acted differently in situations that set me off."

"Oh...maybe another time." Wren smiles that way she always does when speaking to Peeta. Like he was a child receiving bad news for the first time.

Calliope's eyes find her bowl of stew once again. She stays focused on the chunks of meat floating around as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. From time to time she could feel Peeta's gaze, studying her, wondering how she was going to react to certain topics but she doesn't give her input.

"Don't worry about her," Wren says, noticing the way Peeta was staring. "Calli's just worried about her final evaluation. That's all she's been thinking about this past week."

That and the way Gale's lips felt on her own.

"Evaluation for what?"

Calliope looks up again and for the first time in days, their eyes meet. Blue on brown, Calliope could feel his confusion.

"Didn't she tell you?" Wren asks, brows knitting together.

Calli shakes her head, dropping her spoon into the bowl with a sigh. "I wasn't going to, no."

"Tell me what?" Peeta asks, looking between the two girls.

Wren sends Calliope an apologetic look.

"I'm uh...I'm training to fight. In the Capitol," Calliope explains. "I have my final evaluation tomorrow and if I pass, I get assigned a squad and get sent out."

The blonde's face is blank of any expression as if he has no feelings about this particular topic. "You're training to become a soldier?"

"A combat medic," she corrects, shoulders slumping. Worried about what Peeta would think of it.

"You?” His eyebrows now raised, but Calliope couldn’t tell if it was due to shock or confusion. “Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, do you even know how to fight?" His blank expression morphed into an almost taunting one. "You're not a doctor either so really who are you going to be able to help in a war?" A chuckle passes his lips as he shakes his head. "Honestly, Calliope, I don't think you thought that through."

The words leaving his mouth hit the girl like a sucker punch. Shocked, Wren's jaw drops while Calliope's face contorts with anger. "Yeah well, remember when I was the one you ran to every time you needed someone to patch you up, and you never seemed to have any complaints."

Peeta shrugs. "That's different from a war zone."

"I guess so," Calliope says through gritted teeth.

He takes a bite of his food, speaking with a full mouth. "Let me guess, Gale is going to be a part of this team. He's probably gonna be the one having to save you in the end. Or you'll die trying to save him. Either way it's a terrible idea."

Out of pure mania due to lack of sleep, Calliope couldn't help the laughter that escapes her. "Yeah well...at least I didn't voluntarily go into the Hunger Game to protect a girl who left me for dead anyways." Pushing herself up, Calliope grabs her tray and storms away from the table.

Breathing got harder the further she stormed away from him. The tears pricking at the back of her eyes made them burn as she attempted to hold them in.

It's not him. It's not Peeta. The real Peeta is trapped inside his mind. She tries to tell herself but the way he looked at her, the little faith he had made her heart shatter. He hadn't even been worried for her safety. Instead criticized her abilities as if he had seen her fight or shoot. He didn't know anything.

But maybe he was right? Maybe she hadn't thought this all the way through.

No. He was wrong. She had spent too much time and energy to just give up. Calliope was going to do this. Even if it killed her.

-

The final exam consists of four parts: an obstacle course that assesses a person's physical condition, a written tactics exam, a test of weapons proficiency, and a simulated combat situation in the Block.

Calliope gets through the first three parts with flying colors, despite hitting a small snag on the obstacle course. With her wrist still hurting from time to time, a cramp caused Calliope's grip on a set of bars above her head to slip. Thankfully, she was able to recover fast and pull herself back together. When she moves on there's a blockage at the Block. Some kind of technical bug they're working out. The group of soldiers exchanges information with Calliope about what they believe happens during the final part of the exam.

A person goes through alone. There's no predicting what situation you'll be thrown into. One boy says, under his breath, that he's heard it's designed to target each individual's weaknesses.

Calliope's weakness? That was clear cut from the start. Any sort of hospital room that resembled the one she was held prisoner in, that and the Doctor.

Dropping her face in her hands, she let out a long sigh. They would recreate the run through she did with Gale and the others. They would make her go through all that again to see if she could handle it.

Or maybe they would target another one of her weaknesses, like her aim or her lack of brute strength. She was overthinking it now. With each name to be called ahead of her, Calliope's anxiety only grew.

Fortunately, once she's in the Block a certain amount of training does kick in. It's a rescue mission. Calliope had prepared for this in her manic overthinking just a little while ago. Her objective was to get inside a building, retrieve Gomez–a short dark haired boy who she had been training with these past few weeks–and together make their way to the rendezvous point to meet up with their scattered squad.

Taking a deep breath, Calliope repeated over and over to herself, you are safe, you're not being held captive, you are saving someone's life. Slowly, she navigates the street, taking out Peacekeepers as she goes. Two on the rooftop to her left, another in the doorway of the building where Gomez was being kept. It was challenging but not as hard as she was expecting.

Room by room, she clears each one, making her way to an upper level. Pushing down the anxiety in her throat the closer she got to the boy. The building was scattered with medical tools. The same type of scalpel that made the two scars across her face. The same type of pliers that pulled off her finger nails one by one. The same type of medical beds she would be strapped to for hours at a time while the Doctor performed his own types of torture.

She found herself repeating a new mantra, a list of names, reminding her why she was there, why she was doing this.

Da'
Ma'
Pa'
Cedar
Rye
Peeta

They were her reason. They were what she was training for. To stop what happened to them, from happening ever again.

Da'
Ma'
Pa'
Cedar
Rye
Peeta

Repeating the list grounded her, kept her focused and calm.

A couple of rooms away from her goal, things begin to heat up. Doctors became mixed in with Peacekeepers Calliope had to take out. The first one made her freeze for only a moment but the names kept coming back to her.

Da'
Ma'
Pa'
Cedar
Rye
Peeta

The last room is where Gomez is being held. It's not actually him, just a dummy in place of the boy who is supposedly too injured to get out. Calliope provides quick aid–wrapping some open wounds and cuts–before lifting the boy over her shoulder.

The hallway was unusually empty as she lugged the body beside her. Calliope reports her rescue to her squadron leader who has been almost silent the entire time.

"Great, get Gomez out here now. Don't stop until he is safe."

Following orders, Calliope begins to make her way back down the levels of the building, taking out more Peacekeepers and Doctors as she goes.

At the bottom of the steps, there is a glass wall, similar to the one that was used in the exercise that made her spiral. On the other side she sees Gale and a few other members of her squad walking towards a different building. She thinks nothing of it at first. Until she sees a group of half a dozen Peacekeepers on the roof, allowing them to enter the building, surely for some kind of attack.

If she puts the dummy down, she can make it to the others, warning them about the attack before the Peacekeepers get them. Putting a step forward, Calliope pauses. This wasn't just a dummy she was holding, it was supposed to simulate a member of her squad. They were alive and her orders were to get him to safety. But Gale was walking into a trap. She had to warn him. Maybe she could do both? Put Gomez somewhere safe then go after Gale.

Just as she was about to set Gomez down, the last part of her squad leader's message plays in her mind. Don't stop until he's safe.

That's when it hit her. Sure the Capitol and the Doctor were her weakness but she could push through that. She already had. All Calliope had to do was walk one more block and then Gomez would be safe, but they had been watching her. The way she and Gale never left each other's sides during training. How they always had each other's backs. How they felt about one another. They knew it all.

Gale was her weakness.

They put him in there to distract Calliope. Try and get her off course. If she was given orders, they had to know she wouldn't throw them out for a boy she cared deeply for. She couldn't abandon one life for another she deemed more valuable.

Focusing back on her objective, Calliope halted Gomez up higher and made her way to the rendezvous with a new determination. When she exits the Block on the far side, a soldier congratulates her, stamps her hand with squad number 451, and tells her to report to Command.

Almost giddy with success Calliope runs through the halls, skidding around corners, bounding down the steps because the elevator's too slow. When she barrels through the door, Calliope is shocked to see Gale standing there, a proud smile on his face. He hadn't actually been the one in the Block, it had been someone who looked like him.

Also in the room was Finnick and Boggs–who gave Calliope a happy smile and a small nod–along with five others that Calliope doesn't recognize.

"Gale," Calliope says, sounding almost shocked.

"I uh...knew you could do it." Calliope doesn't move, just continues to stare. It was the first time they had spoken since the incident. "Uh, the Block wasn't too bad was it?"

She shakes her head. "No. No, not too bad at all."

Again he nods awkwardly. "I'm proud of you, Whitty."

Those words break down every single brick of the small wall Calliope tried to rebuild after being rejected by the boy. She had told herself she was done with him, that she would put all her focus back on training, build up her walls again. But his words, the way his grey eyes looked at hers, they tore down any bit of the stone she thought she could use to separate them.

It was the first time someone had said those words to Calliope and she felt like he meant it. Tossing all caution to the wind, Calliope throws her arms around Gale's neck as he holds her around her waist. Nose buried in Gale's shoulder she breathes in the scent of coal dust that always lingered and gun powder.

"Thank you," she sighs.

"It's no problem, Whitty. I told you I would put in a good word for you to Boggs." Pulling from the hug, Calliope gives the boy a wide smile. "What was your run through in the Block?" Gale asks.

"Uh...just a standard rescue mission. Had to face my fear of the hospital and doctors." She decided not to tell Gale that her ultimate weakness in the end was him.

When the door to Command opens again, Katniss walks in with a wide smile. Of course, she would be joining their squad. Finnick and Katniss fighting side by side, it would be perfect propo footage. The group calms and lines the wall, standing shoulder to shoulder.

We must be important, Calliope thinks to herself.

Plutarch stands over a wide, flat panel in the center of the table. He's explaining something about the nature of what they will encounter in the Capitol. Hitting a button, a holographic image of a block of the Capitol projects into the air.

"This, for example, is the area surrounding one of the Peacekeeper's barracks. Not unimportant, but not the most crucial of targets, and yet look." Plutarch enters some sort of code on a keyboard, and lights begin to flash. They're in an assortment of colors and blink at different speeds. "Each light is called a pod. It represents a different obstacle, the nature of which could be anything from a bomb to a band of mutts. Make no mistake, whatever it contains is designed to either trap or kill you. Some have been in place since the Dark Days, others developed over the years. To be honest, I created a fair number myself. This program, which one of our people absconded with when we left the Capitol, is our most recent information. They don't know we have it. But even so, it's likely that new pods have been activated in the last few months. This is what you will face."

The hologram is daunting. Every few feet, there was a pod ready to take someone out. Calliope was nervous to see what it would look like closer to more crucial targets.

Finnick's voice fills the room as the rest of them continue to stare at the hologram in awe. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the seventy-sixth Hunger Games begin."

Chapter Text

The remaining days go by in a whirl. After a brief workout each morning, the squad's on the shooting range full-time in training. Calliope practices mostly with a gun, but they reserve an hour a day for specialty weapons. For the others, it means Katniss gets to use her special Mockingjay bow, Gale his heavy, militarized one. A trident is designed for Finnick by Beetee.

Calliope spends this time perfecting her medical skills. She can now stitch a bullet wound in under five minutes. Shooting is still a bit of a struggle, but she's gotten much better with time. Sometimes during training, they shoot at Peacekeeper dummies to become familiar with the weaknesses in their protective gear. The chinks in the armor, so to speak. If a person hits flesh, they're rewarded with a burst of fake blood. Their dummies are soaked in red.

It's reassuring to see just how high the overall level of accuracy is in the group. Along with Finnick, Gale, Katniss, and Calliope, the squad includes five soldiers from 13. Jackson, a middle-aged woman who's Bogg's second in command, looks kind of sluggish but can hit things the others can't see without a scope. Farsighted, she says. There's a pair of sisters in their twenties named Leeg–they call them Leeg 1 and Leeg 2–who are so similar in uniform, it's hard to tell them apart until Calliope notices Leeg 1 has weird yellow flecks in her eyes. Two older guys, Mitchell and Home, never say much but can shoot the dust off a person's boots at fifty yards.

No one had to tell Calliope that there was something special about their team, something different, she could tell simply by those assigned to this squad. But she hadn't fully grasped their status until one morning when Plutarch joined them.

"Squad Four-Five-One, you have been selected for a special mission," he begins. "We have numerous sharpshooters, but rather a dearth of camera crews. Therefore, we've handpicked the nine of you to be what we call our 'Star Squad.' You will be the on-screen faces of the invasion."

Calliope's blood runs cold. She didn't want attention or cameras on her. The point of going to the Capitol was to fight for everyone in her life who couldn't, not to be on TV. Katniss and Finnick being a part of the team eases some of the anxiety, knowing that those in the Districts and in the Capitol would most likely want to see them and not some girl with two hideous scars across her face. Looking in the mirror was already hard enough. Every time Calliope saw her reflection, she saw what the Doctor did to her. The scars reminded her that she wasn't the same girl, that she was now damaged.

Disappointment, shock, then anger runs through the group. "What you're saying is, we won't be in actual combat?" snaps Gale from his spot beside Calliope.

"You will be in combat, but perhaps not always on the front line. If one can even isolate a front line in this type of war," says Plutarch.

"None of us wants that." Finnick's remark is followed by a general rumble of assent. "We're going to fight."

"You're going to be as useful to the war effort as possible," Plutarch says. "And it's been decided that you are of most value on television. Just look at the effect Katniss had running around in that Mockingjay suit. Turned the whole rebellion around. Do you notice how she's the only one not complaining? It's because she understands the power of that screen."

Because of course this was about Katniss, about the Mockingjay. What else? Calliope crosses her arms over her chest. The anger was brewing inside of her.

"But it's not all pretend, is it?" Katniss asks. "That'd be a waste of talent."

"Don't worry," Plutarch tells her. "You'll have plenty of real targets to hit. But don't get blown up. I've got enough on my plate without having to replace you. Now get to the Capitol and put on a good show."

“A good show?” Calliope mutters under her breath before shaking her head. “They have got to be kidding.”

The night before they are set to ship out, Calliope gets ready for a sleepless night when a knock drags the girl to the door to her quarters. Opening it she's shocked to see the toe-head blond on the other side, still accompanied by two guards except now his wrists aren't shackled.

"Peeta?" His curls were long and untamed, as if they hadn't been brushed in days. The bags under his eyes suggest lack of sleep though Calliope knew this couldn't be the case since he was most likely medicated nightly. His lack of eye contact and furrowed brow made the girl believe in this moment she was talking to the old Peeta. "What are you doing here?"

"Wren told me you were shipping out in the morning. I just...I wanted to apologize for what I said to you the other day." He chokes down a lump in his throat. "Sometimes...sometimes I'm not really myself. I can't tell when it is me talking or when...it's the other me."

Looking over his shoulder at the two men, Calliope lets out a sigh. "If I invite him in will you two stay out here?" They shake their heads but that answer isn't good enough. "I guess that's too bad." Her eyes find Peeta's as she looks down at her with a raised brow. "I'll keep the door unlocked, if anything happens you can come in." Moving to the side, she allows Peeta to enter the room but shuts the door in the men's faces.

It was the first time the two had truly been alone since the Quarter Quell. No doctors were watching, taking notes, no one was being held captive. It was just the two of them. Like old times.

Peeta takes a few steps back, putting distance between them. "I-i'm sorry," he stutters, referring again to the last time they spoke. "I got scared and worried for you and when I get strong feelings, that's when my mind starts going and I can't stop it. Thinking about you being in the Capitol again scares me. What if something happens? Or you get...get taken again?" His voice trembles and his hands begin to shake. "I may not be all there but I still don't want you to get hurt."

Reaching out, Calliope takes his hands in hers, holding him for the first time in months. "Hey. It's okay, Peeta." Her voice is soft and gentle. "I'll be okay. I've been training for weeks, I've been preparing. I'm ready for this." A small reassuring smile spreads across her lips as Peeta lets out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry..."

Calliope shakes her head. "It's okay, I forgive you-"

"No," he cuts her off. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Peeta's eyes trained on the scars across the girl's face. The one inflicted on their first day of their torture.

The mention of it all hit Calliope like a bullet, bringing back all the memories once again, but this is what she was working on with Dr. Aurelius. When a trigger comes up, she has to follow her steps. Close her eyes and take three slow deep breaths, remind herself she was safe and find something to ground her. When Calliope opens her eyes again Peeta is still staring at her like a lost puppy, brows knitted together and shoulders stiff. Slowly, she moves to the table, gripping onto the wooden chair as tightly as she could.

"Peeta-"

He puts his hand up to stop her once again. "I know what you're going to say. It wasn't my fault, I wasn't there, there was nothing I could have done. I know all that. The doctors have been drilling that into my head since the moment I got here but it doesn't change anything."

"I don't blame you, Peeta."

His blue eyes only grew more pained. "I know you don't, I know, but I blame me." He points to himself. "I couldn't protect you then and I can't protect you now."

Was that what all this was about? Calliope thinks to herself. Peeta feels guilty because he's not mentally well enough to fight in a war?

Frustrated, Peeta takes a seat in the chair opposite Calliope, dropping his face in his hands. "I can't protect anyone."

Moving her own chair in front of the boy, Calliope sits down and reaches for his hands. The way his eyes found hers made the girl's heart flip. The sad expression on his face reminded her so much of the little boy he once was. Tilting her head to the side, the girl gives him a sympathetic smile. There was not a single atom in her body that blamed Peeta for the things that happened to her and she never would blame him, but that wasn't what he needed to hear right now. What he needed was forgiveness and if her forgiveness is what would bring him peace she would give that to him. She would give anything to the boy sitting in front of her if it meant bringing him an ounce of comfort.

Looking directly into his eyes, Calliope says, "I forgive you." A wave of relief washes over the boy's face and his shoulders finally drop as a shaky breath leaves him. Needing his warmth Calliope's hands cup his face, but she is met with ice cold skin. "You, Peeta Mellark, have been through hell and back three times now. You have sacrificed yourself and put your life on the line more times than I can count. It's time for you to rest now and get better. Focus on protecting you and that brilliant brain of yours instead of everyone else."

"Promise...promise you'll come back to me?" he asks, hands on top of hers.

She couldn't lie to him, not when his mental state was already so fragile. "I promise I will try." Calliope's thumb gently rubbed against his cheek, as their eyes lingered on each other.

"I...I still love you..." Peeta says in a whisper his eyes flickering down to her lips.

His confession made the world around her crumble. This whole time Calliope had no idea where she stood with Peeta, what they were. They never officially broke up, but then again, they were never officially together. What they had was something deeper than love. But what do you call it when the guy you have loved your whole life and who you thought loved you, decides to give up his own life to protect the girl he was publicly married to? All of it was such a mess, and she didn't even want to think about what was going on between her and Gale. He was just a friend, right? A friend she had kissed a few times...and tried to sleep with.

Calliope's head was jumbled with feelings she didn't have time for. Her mind was supposed to be focused on the fact that she was shipping out in the morning, that she was going to war and she and her other squad members may not live to see the end of it.

Despite wanting nothing more than to be in Peeta's hold again, tangled under his bed sheets, she wouldn't do that to him. Not when everything was so crazy and she was about to leave. Instead, she pulled him into the tightest hug she could muster. Breathing in his scent of mint and freshly baked bread. Even after all this time he still smelled the same. For a brief moment she let herself believe they were back in Twelve, living the life they were destined to have.

"I love you too Peeta," she says, placing a kiss on his cheek. Blinking back tears, she pulls from the hug. It wasn't a lie. In fact, it was probably the only thing Calliope still believed about herself.

In the morning, Calliope says a long goodbye to Wren, holding her tightly. Feeling tears on her shoulder, Calliope pulls back and gives her friend a warm smile. "Take care of Peeta for me, okay?"

Wren nods with a smile. "I will, Calli, don't worry. I actually decided to follow in your footsteps."

"Oh really?"

"Yup. I signed up for medical training. I start this afternoon."

Calliope gives the girl another smile. "I'm proud of you Wren. Rye would be too." Tears now fall from both their eyes as they embrace once again.

"We're proud of you too, Calli."

A hovercraft takes them to of all places, 12, where a makeshift transportation area has been set up outside the fire zone. The sight of her district almost sends the girl to her knees. It was the first time seeing her home since the night she was taken from it. Sure there were pictures but nothing would have prepared her for seeing the actual thing. The bodies that hadn't been buried yet, the buildings that were in ruins. Before she could see much else, Gale tucks the girl under his arm and leads her to the cargo car packed to the limit with soldiers in their dark gray uniforms.

After a couple of days' travel, they disembark inside one of the mountain tunnels leading to the Capitol, and make the rest of the six-hour trek on foot, taking care to step only on a glowing green paint line that marks safe passage to the air above.

They come out to a rebel encampment, a ten-block stretch outside a train station. It's already crawling with soldiers. Squad 451 is assigned a spot to pitch its tents. The area has been secured for over a week. Rebels pushed out the Peacekeepers, losing hundreds of lives in the process. The Capitol forces fell back and regrouped farther into the city. Between them lie booby-trapped streets, empty and inviting. Each one will need to be swept of pods before they can advance.

Mitchell asks about hover plane bombing– feeling very naked pitched out in the open–but Boggs says it's not an issue as most of the Capitol's air fleet was destroyed in 2 or during the invasion.

After three days, much of Squad 451 risks deserting out of boredom. Cressida and her team take shots of the others firing while Calliope helps work on the incoming wounded from the front lines. Her days are spent in the medical tent, wrapping and cauterizing wounds. Once she even had to help assist on a soldier whose leg had been blown off. A traumatic amputation usually meant death for these soldiers but luckily Calliope and the doctor working on the man were able to stop the bleeding and get him stable before getting shipped back to 13.

Cressida attempts to get footage of Calliope working but the girl has a hard time controlling the awkwardness that comes when a camera is on her. Instantly, her body tenses and her mind goes blank. She requests not to be filmed but that was the whole reason for her being there.

On the fourth morning, Boggs decided that Calliope needs to start practicing her shooting again so she doesn't get rusty. They are shooting at Pods, setting them off for propo footage. Again Calliope is awkward and tries to hide her face from the lens.

"What are you doing?" Gale asks when Calliope moves beside him.

"I just...don't want to be on camera, that's all," she shrugs, not wanting to go into the real reason for her hatred for the lens.

Gale opens his mouth to speak but that is when it happens. Leeg 2 hits a mislabeled pod. It doesn't unleash a swarm of mutation gnats, which they had prepared for, but shoots out a sunburst of metal darts. Gale grabs Calliope and pulls her down, covering her head until the burst stops.

Instantly Calliope goes into medic mode, grabbing her bag, she races towards Leeg 2 who lies on the ground motionless. It was too late, one of the metal darts had found her brain and she was gone before she hit the ground. Despite there being nothing that could be done for the woman, Calliope still takes this as the first person she has lost, beating herself up for her inability to save her.

Gale tries to cheer her up, explaining this was the unfortunate price of war but his words don't help in the slightest. Plutarch is informed of the tragedy and promises a speedy replacement.

The following evening, the newest member of their squad arrives. Calliope had gone back to the medical tent, telling Boggs she is needed there the most so they don't lose another soldier.

"Look at you, little miss Doctor," Gale teases with a smile, meeting the girl at the infirmary tent.

She gives the boy a playful scowl. "Were you watching me Hawthorne?" Calliope asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Shaking his head, Gale quickly changes the subject. "Come on, you need a break. Let's eat."

Glancing over her shoulder, Calliope sighs. "I can't, there are too many wounded and not enough medics."

"Whitty, they'll be fine for an hour. Come on, you need food. Plus you’re supposed to be our medic.”

“No, I’m supposed to be a medic. Not just the squads. You can’t have me all to yourself, Gale.” She hadn’t meant for the words to come out the way, but that didn’t help the smug look on the boy's face. Just by the way his gray eyes stared at her, it only took a moment for Calliope to fold.

With a long sigh, she finally agrees and sets down her clipboard of patients' needs before following Gale to the canteen. They barely make it halfway when he appears. No manacles. No guards. Strolling out of the train station with his gun swinging from the strap over his shoulder. There's shock, confusion, resistance, but 451 is stamped on the back of Peeta's hand in fresh ink.

Gale and Calliope both freeze in place as Boggs relieves Peeta of his weapon and goes to make a call.

"It won't matter," Peeta tells the rest of them. "The president assigned me herself. She decided the propos needed some heating up."

Chapter Text

No one had ever really seen Boggs angry before. Not when Gale disobeyed his orders to save Calliope, or when Calliope lashed out at him, not even when Gale broke his nose. But he’s angry when he returns from his phone call with the president. The first thing he does is instruct Soldier Jackson, his second in command, to set up a round-the-clock guard on Peeta. Then he takes Katniss on a walk.

Calliope is beyond confused and angry by the decision to have Peeta out here. He wasn't okay back in 13, what made anyone think he would be okay in an active war zone? Anything could set him off. He was going to hurt someone or himself, or worse, kill someone. Not to mention, he had almost no training and didn't know how to handle a gun properly.

Despite all her anger and annoyance, Calliope greets the boy with a smile and a tight hug. "Hey, how are you?"

He shrugs, not really knowing what to say. The way his hands shook told the girl that he was slipping right in front of her. Taking his hand, Calliope leads him to their tents and helps him pitch his own while she rambles on about their daily schedules and what sort of things to expect out here. She hopes that talking to him normally would help keep his mind stable.

She urges for Peeta to sit beside her. “How have things been going back in Thirteen? Have you talked to Wren at all?”

Peeta nods. “Yeah. She started training with the medics. She wants to do more to help instead of just cooking.”

“Of course she does.” Calliope smiles. That was their Wren, wanting to help as best she could. “Have you been painting more?”

Peeta doesn’t get the chance to answer as Katniss returns to them at that moment. "What time is my watch?" she asks Jackson, a stern expression on her face.

"I didn't put you in the rotation."

Both Calliope and Peeta's attention was on them now. "Why not?"

Jackson lets out a sigh, trying to lower her voice to a whisper but failing. "I'm not sure you could really shoot Peeta, if it came to it," she says. To be fair, Calliope couldn't either, yet she still volunteered to take multiple shifts in a row.

Speaking loudly for the whole squad to hear, Katniss says, "I wouldn't be shooting Peeta. He's gone. Johanna's right. It'd be just like shooting another of the Capitol's mutts."

Peeta's body freezes, not moving a muscle, not even turning his head to look the girl's way. Even Calliope was stunned by the words coming out of Katniss’s mouth.

"Well, that sort of comment isn't recommending you for the job either," says Jackson. But her opinion doesn't matter because Boggs forces her to put Katniss in the rotation anyway.

The dinner whistle sounds, and the others all head for the canteen, but Peeta stays in his spot, head dropping in utter defeat.

Calliope follows, bending down in front of him. "Hey, she didn't mean it, okay?"

"Yeah, she did." Peeta nods. "I don't blame her. I am a mutt." He refuses to meet Calliope's eyes which only angers her more.

"I'm gonna get us dinner, okay? Stay here," she says with a smile before standing and marching in the direction Katniss was. Making a B line for the girl. Calliope doesn't care if they are in the same squad or that Katniss was the Mockingjay; all she cares about in that moment is her oldest friend in the world and how his feelings were hurt.

"Are you trying to provoke him?" Calliope accuses, stepping in front of Katniss as she tries to exit the dinner line. Gale behind her.

"Of course, not. I just want him to leave me alone."

"Well, you have a terrible way of showing it. Look, Peeta doesn't know what's going on, he doesn't understand why he's here or what's happening to him. So you can't blame him."

"I don't!" says Katniss.

"You do! You're punishing him over and over for things that are out of his control."

"Alright, Whitty, maybe just slow down," Gale interjects, always prepared to defend Katniss. Reminding Calliope that she is where his priorities lie. No matter how close he and Calli get.

"No! I won't do that. Peeta has no one. No family, no friends. He doesn't even have himself! Yet here you are making him feel bad about it. What if it happened to you? Huh? If you'd been taken by the Capitol and hijacked, and tried to kill Peeta. Is this the way he would be treating you?"

Katniss falls quiet because she knows it isn't. He would be trying to get her back at any cost. Not shutting her out. Without saying anything else Calliope grabs the food from Katniss and Gale's trays before returning to Peeta with a smile as if nothing happened.

Squad 451 and the television crew collect dinner from the canteen and gather in a tense circle to eat. No one speaks as a few unfriendly glares are sent in Katniss's direction. Calliope tried to act as though everything is fine and that Peeta being here doesn't pose a risk to the group's safety. It is figured out pretty quick that him being here is to get Katniss killed. That Coin only sent him to do one job, but Peeta doesn't know that and Calliope wouldn't allow anyone to tell him as such.

The autumn day turns from brisk to cold. Most of the squad hunker down in their sleeping bags. Some sleep under the open sky, close to the heater in the center of the camp, while others retreat to their tents. Leeg 1 has finally broken down over her sister's death, and her muffled sobs reach them through the canvas.

Boggs tells Peeta to sleep out in full view where everyone could keep an eye on him. Calliope, despite having the first watch, stays beside him the entire night, not trusting Katniss to keep her hands to herself.

"How are you holding up?" she asks him. Settling down in her sleeping bag once her watch ended at midnight.

"Fine," he answers shortly, focusing on the knots in a short length of rope he continues to tie over and over. Finick had shown him this after dinner, explaining that the ritual of focusing on something else helps to calm himself when he is struggling with racing thoughts.

"For what it's worth," Calliope begins, "I'm glad you're here." She attempts a smile but Peeta returns it with an almost glare.

"You don't have to lie."

"I'm not.

This makes Peeta scoff because they both knew she was lying. The way his brows knit together and how he refuses to make eye contact. Calliope could tell that hijacked Peeta was currently at the forefront and that was made even more clear when Katniss appeared from her tent a moment later and Peeta's glare found her before quickly looking back down at his hands.

"You can go back in your tent, Calliope. I'm not going to lose my mind."

The girl nods. "I know that. Maybe I just want to spend some time with my best friend. I do miss hanging out with you, ya' know." She also didn't want Peeta to see she was sharing a tent with Gale and Katniss, a choice that hadn't been up to her. "Do you remember when we were like ten and Rye burnt a batch of cookies so bad that the bakery and your entire apartment smelled like it was on fire for days?" Calliope chuckles. "Rye insisted on sleeping outside that night. Claimed he wanted to sleep under the stars but we all knew it was because he couldn't stand the smell."

Peeta's hands still and his gaze trails off into the distance, attempting to remember but no matter how hard he tries, nothing comes to mind. "No...no I don't remember that." His brows knit together in distress.

"Oh..." Calliope shakes her head, replacing her momentary frown with a smile, continuing the story. Hoping that adding more details will help bring back those memories. "Well, he managed to convince you to stay outside with him and of course, you later convinced me and I convinced Wren. I actually don't think we got any sleep that night. We all were too freaked out about bears or wolves eating us while we slept. We really should have been concerned about the bug. We were eaten alive. The four of us were scratching the bites for weeks.”

He nods slowly, holding onto the words Calliope speaks, but it's clear he still can't remember a thing. "It's okay." She gives him a sympathetic smile, holding his hand. "It will all come back in time. I promise." But promises were hard to keep in this world.

Just like that night so many years ago, sleep did not come for either of them. An hour later, just as Calliope was finally starting to drift off, Peeta speaks, but this time it's to Katniss, who is sitting on the opposite side of the camp fire.

"These last couple of years must have been exhausting for you. Trying to decide whether to kill me or not. Back and forth. Back and forth."

As soon as he speaks, Calliope knows this isn't Peeta, at least not the old Peeta. Bracing for a snide remark or cruel line from Katniss, Calliope rubs the sleep from her eyes. But Katniss surprises them both when she answers Peeta with a more calm, level headed response.

"I never wanted to kill you. Except when I thought you were helping the Careers kill me. After that, I always thought of you as...an ally."

Adjusting herself, Calliope sits up in her sleeping bag as Peeta responds.

"Ally," he says the words slowly, tasting it. "Friend. Lover. Victor. Enemy. Fiancée. Target. Mutt. Neighbor. Hunter. Tribute. Ally. I'll add that to the list of words I use to try to figure you out." He weaves the rope in and out of his fingers. "The problem is, I can't tell what's real anymore, and what's made up."

Finnick's voice rises from a bundle in the shadows. "Then you should ask, Peeta. That's what Annie does."

"Ask who?" Peeta says. "Who can I trust?"

The words cut Calliope deep. It's not him. It's not him talking. Peeta, the real Peeta, knows he can always trust me. This isn't him.

"Well, us for starters. We're your squad," says Jackson.

"You're my guards," he points out.

"That too," she says. "But you saved a lot of lives in Thirteen. It's not the kind of thing we forget."

"And you can ask me," Calliope tells him, bumping his shoulder slightly. "I would never lie to you about anything." But he doesn't seem convinced by this.

In the quiet that follows, Calliope tries to imagine what it would be like, not able to tell illusion from reality. Not knowing if Peeta loved her or not. If Snow was her enemy. If the person sitting right beside her was telling the truth or not.

Peeta turns to Katniss again. "Your favorite color...it's green?"

"That's right," she nods. "And yours is orange."

"Orange?" He was unconvinced.

"Not bright orange. But soft. Like the sunset," she adds. "At least, that's what you told me once."

"Oh." He closes his eyes briefly, maybe trying to conjure up that sunset, then he nods his head. "Thank you."

But Katniss wasn't done. "You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double knot your shoelaces." Then she dives into her tent without saying another word.

A pain of realization suddenly hits Calliope after hearing all the Katniss had to say. Looking at Peeta and the way his eyes were still trained at the opening of Katniss' tent, the girl couldn't help the hurt that flooded her chest. She had been wrong about Katniss. Despite everything, she still somehow cared for Peeta just as much as Calliope did. Though she refused to show it, it was clear– to Calliope at least– that some part of Katniss did love Peeta.

The next morning Calliope does her best to stick by Peeta's side in between tending to the wounded. Jackson has devised a game called "Real or Not Real" to help the boy. He mentions something that he thinks happened and they tell him if it's true or imagined, usually followed by a brief explanation.

"Most of the people from Twelve were killed in the fire."

"Real. Less than nine hundred of you made it to Thirteen alive."

In all this time, Calliope had never really heard about that night. She was taken pretty early on and Gale refuses to speak about it. Even Wren blocked it from her memory.

"The fire was my fault."

"Not real. President Snow destroyed Twelve the way he did Thirteen, to send a message to the rebels."

Reaching out to the boy, Calliope gently squeezes his shoulder.

The game seemed like a good idea until they realized that Katniss would have to be the one to confirm or deny most of what weighed on the boy. Jackson breaks the team up into watches. She matches up Finnick, Gale, Katniss and Calliope each with a soldier form 13. That way Peeta will always have access to someone who knows him more personally. It's not a steady conversation. Peeta spends a long time considering even small pieces of information, like where people bought their soap back home.

Gale fills him in on a lot of stuff about 12; Finnick is the expert of his Games. Calliope tells him about his family and his friendships. But since Peeta's greatest confusion centers around Katniss–and not everything can be explained simply–their exchanges are painful and loaded. They touch on the most superficial details. The color of Katniss's dress in 7. Her preference for cheese buns. The name of their math teacher when they were little.

Reconstructing his memories of Katniss is excruciating. Perhaps not even possible after what Snow had done to him.

"Thank you, for being kind," Calliope says later in the day while she and Gale go on their own to do a perimeter check. "You are good with him."

Not once had Gale made a snarky comment or an uncalled for joke during "Real or Not Real" which was rare for him. Shrugging Gale says, "It's better if we all get along, right?"

Calliope nods. "Yeah. But I know he's not your favorite person to get along with." A silence falls over them as they continue to walk. Guns held close against their chests. "What do you think of all this? Coin sending him here knowing he's a flight risk?" It was a question that had been nagging at the back of her mind for a while now. They knew about Peeta's mental state, the way he could still be sent over the edge by a simple greeting. "Do you think she sent him here for a reason?" A reason beyond firing up the propos.

"I don't know," Gale says with a sigh, never taking his eyes off the surrounding area. "I really don't know." But he did know, he and Katniss had already discussed it, along with them leaving the camp and going off on their own. He doesn’t tell Calli that though.

The next afternoon, they are notified that the whole squad is needed to stage a fairly complicated prop. Peeta's been right about one thing: Coin and Plutarch are unhappy with the quality of footage they're getting from the Star Squad. Very dull. Very uninspiring. The obvious response is that they never let the team do anything but play act with their guns. However, this is not about defending themselves, it's about coming up with a usable product. So a special block had been set aside for filming. It even has a couple of active pods on it. One unleashes a spray of gunfire. The other nets the invader and traps them for either interrogation or execution, depending on the captor's preference. But it's still an unimportant residential block with nothing of strategic consequence.

The television crew means to provide a sense of heightened jeopardy by releasing smoke bombs and adding gunfire sound effects. They suit up in heavy protective gear, even the crew, as if they're heading into the heart of battle. Those with specialty weapons are allowed to take them along with their guns. Boggs gives Peeta back his gun, too, although he makes sure to tell him in a loud voice that it's only loaded with blanks.

Peeta just shrugs. "I'm not much of a shot anyway." He seems preoccupied with watching Pollux, to the point where it's getting a little worrisome. Calliope stands in front of the boy, adjusting his helmet for him, tightening the strap so it doesn't fall off.

"Stop starring," she warns Peeta in a whisper. So instead, he begins to speak.

"You're an Avox, aren't you?" The team goes silent, eyes turning to Pollux. "I can tell by the way you swallow. There were two Avoxes with me in prison. Darius and Lavinia, but the guards mostly called them the redheads. They'd been our servants in the Training Center, so they arrested them, too." Calliope's hands froze as she was adjusting the straps of his chest plate. "I watched them being tortured to death. She was lucky. They used too much voltage and her heart stopped right off. They kept asking him questions, but he couldn't speak, he just made these horrible animal sounds. They didn't want information, ya' know? They wanted me to see it.” Peeta’s eyes lock on Calliope’s. “That's what they did to you, too." When she doesn’t answer he looks around at the others' stunned faces, as if waiting for a reply.

Caught off guard, Calliope can’t speak, not expecting these memories to be brought up so suddenly and in front of the others. She stares at him, frozen. Not even breathing. He was right, they had done similar things to Calliope. Worse things too. She just hadn't realized that in the days it took to get her to the Capitol they had already torture two people to death in front of the boy.

When no one answers him, he asks, "Real or not real?" The lack of responses upsets him more. "Real or not real?!" he demands, now staring down at the girl in front of him.

Gale makes a move forward but Calliope finds it in herself to finally speak. Choking out a, "R-real.” Clearing her throat she gives him half a nod. “Yeah...real." Taking a step back, Calliope drops her hands to her sides. It was time to face this, pull herself out of the memory spiral like Dr. Aurelius had taught her. If Bogg thought for even a second she wasn't in the right state of mind she would be on a train back to 13 in a moment's notice.

Peeta sags. "I thought so. There was nothing...shiny about it." He wanders away from the group, muttering something about fingers and toes.

For the first time in her life, Calliope doesn't feel the pull to follow him. The need to make sure he was okay, because right now, she was about to lose her own grip on reality. However, she kept her eyes trained on Peeta until he was out of sight.

Boggs places a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Whittmore..." he trails off, checking to see if she was okay.

Jumping slightly, Calliope takes a small step to the side. "I'm...I'm fine. I just need a second."

Boggs nods, allowing her that courtesy. Behind her, she sees Katniss with her head resting against Gale's chest, his arm tight around her. His eyes meet Calli’s. The expression on his face somehow doesn’t scare the girl. It's an expression that says that there are not enough mountains to crush, enough cities to destroy. It promises death. And at this point of her life Calliope would greet death like an old friend.

Calliope walks off alone, taking a seat on a piece of a fallen building. Closing her eyes, she takes a few long deep breaths, shaking her hand out at her side. "You're fine. You're okay," she whispers to herself. "Remember what you're fighting for. You got this." Listing her people out, she takes a breath after every name just like she did during her examination. "Da'. Pa'. Ma'. Ceder. Peeta."

"Annie does the same thing." Calliope's eyes fly open as she jumps to her feet. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Finnick puts his hands up.

"I'm fine."

He nods. "I know you are." For a moment they silently stare at each other. "It's better if you do your whole body."

"Excuse me?" Calliope raises her brow.

"Shake your whole body." Awkwardly he points to the girls wrists. "I saw you doing your hands. Annie does that same thing. Only she does her legs too. It gets her up and going, distracting herself." He motions for Calli to do it. She starts with her hands and Finnick follows her. "There you go. Now your legs too." Finnick shakes his left leg out first, then his right.

Calliope halfheartedly follows him. "You can do better than that!" Finnick demands. "Come on!" He starts jumping around shaking his entire body to the point where Calliope can't hold in her laughter any longer as she follows his movements. Jumping around, looking like a total nut case.

They slowly calm back down after a few minutes of joy.

"Thank you, Finnick." Calliope smiles at the boy, trying to catch her breath from their impromptu dance session. Lucky for them, it had worked and Calliope was fully pulled out of the dark place her mind was drifting towards.

It’s funny, Calliope thought to herself, they had only ever spoken in a group setting. Never one on one. At most they were simply teammates. Yet Finnick followed her to make sure she was okay. Put a smile on her face and brought her back down to earth. Everything Calliope thought she knew about the man had been wrong, she realized that after the wedding but seeing it with her own eyes made it clear.

"Anytime, Whittmore." He smiles his charming smile before motioning for her to follow him back to the group.

With Peeta's grisly account fresh in their minds, they crunch through the streets of broken glass until they reach their target, the block they were about to take. Calliope walks with Peeta in front of her. Feeling more safe with him always in her eyesight. They gather around Boggs to examine the Holo projection of the street. The gunfire pod is positioned about a third of the way down, just above an apartment awning. Someone mentions triggering it with their own bullets.

The net pod is at the far end, almost the next corner. This will require someone to set off the body sensor mechanism. Everyone volunteers except Peeta–who doesn't seem to know what's going on–and Calliope–too afraid of something going wrong and her being taken by the Capitol again.

The squad positions itself under Boggs's direction, and then they have to wait for Cressida to get the cameramen in place as well. They're both to the left of the squad, with Castor towards the front and Pollux bringing up the rear so they'll be sure not to record each other. Messalla, another of the Camera crew, sets off a couple of smoke charges for atmosphere.

Cressida calls, "Action!"

Slowly they proceed down the hazy street, just like one of their exercises in the Block. Everyone has at least one section of windows to blow out, but Gale's assigned the real target. When he hits the pod, they take cover–ducking into doorways or flattening onto the pretty, light orange and pink paving stones–as a hail of bullets sweeps back and forth over their heads.

When he doesn't move, Calliope lunges for Peeta, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the ground. From her soft touch, she can feel his entire body shaking. Hands over his ears as he tries to drown out the loud pops of the machine guns.

"It's okay. You're alright," Calli whispers to the boy, encouragingly.

After a while, Boggs orders them forwards.

Cressida stops them before they can rise, since she needs close-up shots. They take turns reenacting their responses. Falling to the ground, grimacing, diving into alcoves. All except for Peeta and Calliope.

"We have to show Peeta is trained for this, that he knows what he's doing. We can't show you saving him," Cressida explains, as she arranges the two in a way that makes it look like Peeta saved her.

Through gritted teeth, Calli complies. Hating every moment that camera is only inches from her face.

They know it's supposed to be serious business, but the whole thing feels a little ridiculous. Especially when it turns out that Katniss isn't the worst actor in the squad. It takes almost five takes to get Calliope and Peeta's close ups. Neither can get the fall right, and at one point, Peeta topples on top of the girl, practically crushing her under his armor. The squad breaks out in laughter, mocking the two's attempts as they help them up from the ground. Even Peeta lets out a small chuckle as he apologizes to the girl he practically squashed. It goes on for so long that Bogg's has to reprimand them.

"Pull it together, Four-Five-One," he says firmly. But you can see him suppressing a smile as he's double-checking the next pod. Positioning the Holo to find the best light in the smokey air. Still facing us as his left foot steps back onto the orange paving stone. Triggering the bomb that blows off his legs.

Chapter Text

Laughter changes to screams, blood stains pastel stones, and real smoke darkens the special effects made for television.

A second explosion seems to split the air and leaves Calliope's ears ringing. But no one can make out where it came from. There is no time to think. Calli races towards the Boggs, reaching him at the same time as Katniss. Getting to work instantly, pulling her bag open. Calli knows the others will cover her as she works.

Homes reaches them next, pushing Katniss out of the way. He and Calliope each attach a tourniquet above the wounds, tightening them to the point of cutting off circulation to Boggs's legs. But they won't stop bleeding. Pools of red surround the three as they work.

Next, they move on to covering the wounds. Calliope wraps the stumps with compression bandages, but they are already soaking through. "Try and stay still," she tells the man, who was still somehow alert and talking despite his legs being blown off. His only words are to Katniss.

"The Holo."

Jumping into action, Katniss looks for the device, finding it rammed into a stairwell with one of Boggs's boots. Retrieve it, wiping it clean with bare hands as she returns it to the commander.

The rest of the squad has gathered in a protective formation around the crew. Finnick's attempting to revive Messalla, who was thrown into a wall by the explosion. Jackson barks into a field communicator, trying unsuccessfully to alert the camp to send more medics, but they all know it's too late. All except for Calliope who continues to work.

Using more and more supplies as Homes leans back on his knees, staring in almost disbelief at the scene in front of him. The pool of blood only grows, covering the girl. Boggs has both hands working the Holo. He's typing in a command, pressing his thumb to the screen for print recognition, speaking a string of letters and numbers in response to a prompt. A green shaft of light bursts out of the Holo and illuminates his face.

He says, "Unfit for command. Transfer of prime security clearance to Squad Four-Five-One Soldier Katniss Everdeen." He turns the Holo towards her face. "Say your name."

"Katniss Everdeen," she says into the green shaft.

"Maybe we can cauterize the wound?" Calliope looks towards Homes, who simply shakes his head, eyes wide with shock. Annoyed by his lack of help, Calliope continues trying to wrap the wound and stop the bleeding before looking into her bag for anything to help Boggs with the pain.

"Prepare to retreat!" Jackson hollers.

Finnick's yelling something back, gesturing to the end of the block where they had entered. Glancing over her shoulder, Calliope's stomach drops as black, oily matter spouts like a geyser from the street, billowing between the buildings, creating an impenetrable wall of darkness. Surely it's lethal and there's no heading back the way they came.

Defending gunfire as Gale and Leeg 1 begin to blast a path across the stones towards the far end of the block. Another bomb ten yards away, detonates, opening a hole in the street. This was their attempt at minesweeping, something Gale was all too familiar with.

Calliope and Homes latch onto Boggs and begin to drag him after Gale. Agony takes over and he's crying out in pain. Instantly Calliope regret not giving him something for the pain first. Eyes flashing in all directions, Calli tries to find a better plan, get the man to safety faster, but the blackness is rising above the buildings, swelling, rolling at them like a wave.

A yelp from beside them causes Calliope to pause for a brief moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she watches as Katniss is yanked backwards, slamming into the stone. Peeta stands over the girl, all recollection gone from his face. His gun rises over her, descending to crush the girl's skull but Katniss is quick to roll out of the way.

"Whittmore!" Homes calls out to the girl, trying to get her attention back on the man in their arms. Boggs was their priority right now. Not Peeta. Peeta would be taken care of by someone else.

The days of Peeta being Calliope's number one priority were over. She took an oath when she became a medic, to save everyone she could. Right now, when it came to life and death, Peeta wasn't in need. The others could take care of him. Calliope needed to refocus her mind on Boggs.

Mitchell tackles Peeta and pins him to the ground. But Peeta, still with the strength he worked on for years and now fueled by tracker jacker insanity, gets his feet under Mitchell's belly and launches him farther down the block.

There's a loud snap of a trap as a pod triggers. Four cables, attached to tracks on the buildings, break through the stones, dragging up the net that encases Mitchell. Blood goes everywhere, covering the pastel streets. No one understands how there can be so much blood, until they look closer and see the bars sticking from the wire that encases him. It was the same wire that lined the tops of the fences in Twelve.

The smell of the blackness, thick, tarlick, hits them and they are gagging. The wave has crested and begun to fall.

Gale and Leeg 1 shoot through the front door lock of the corner building, then begin to fire at the cables, holding Mitchell's net. Others are restraining Peeta now.

"Whittmore! Let's go!" Snapping back into medic mode, Calliope moves with Homes. Dragging the man inside the apartment, through someone's pink and white velvet living room, down a hallway hung with family photos, onto the marble floor of a kitchen, where they all collapse. Castor and Pollux carry in a writhing Peeta between them. Somehow Jackson gets cuffs on him, but it only makes him wilder and they're forced to lock him in a closet.

From the living room, the front door slams, people shout. Then footsteps pound down the hall as the black wave roars past the building. From the kitchen, they can hear the windows groan, shatter. The noxious tar smell permeates the air. Finnick carries in Messalla. Leeg 1 and Cressida stumble into the room after them.

"Gale!" Katniss shrieks upon realizing the boy hadn't appeared yet.

But he enters a second later. Slamming the kitchen door shut behind him, choking out one word. "Fumes!"

Castor and Pollux grab towels and aprons to stuff in the cracks as Gale retches into a bright yellow sink.

"Mitchell?" Calliope asks, barely looking up from re-adjusting the tourniquet on Boggs's legs. Leeg 1 just shakes her head.

As Calliope digs in her bag for anything else to help Boggs, Homes gently touches her arm. "What?" she asks but doesn't give him her full attention as she pulls out morphling from her bag to help with Boggs pain. Sicking a needle into the vial, it's not until Homes gently grabs her wrist that she finally looks at him.

His eyes motion for her to look at the man on the ground beside them. Boggs's eyes are still open, but dead. His face drained of any color due to the amount of blood he had lost. Dropping the needle back into its case, Calli lets out a long sigh, rubbing her forehead. In doing so, something smeared across her skin, she wouldn't realize it then but it was Boggs blood that covered her clothes and now her own skin.

Pressed in Katniss's hand, glued to it by his blood, is the Holo.

Peeta's feet slamming into the closet door break up the ragged breathing of the others. But even as they listen, his energy seems to ebb. The kicks diminish to an irregular drumming. Then nothing.

"He's gone?" Finnick asks, looking down at Boggs. Calliope nods, not allowing herself to cry as the anger takes over her. Another name to the long list of lives she lost. "We need to get out of here. Now. We just set off a streetful of pods. You can bet they've got us on surveillance tapes."

"Count on it," says Castor. "All the streets are covered by surveillance cameras. I bet they set off the black wave manually when they saw us taping the propo."

"Our radio communication went dead almost immediately." Jackson says, holding the radio at her side. "Probably an electromagnetic pulse device, but I'll get us back to camp. Give me the Holo." Jackson reaches for the unit, but Katniss clutches it to her chest.

"No. Boggs gave it to me," she says.

"Don't be ridiculous," Jackson snaps.

"It's true," Homes defends. "He transferred the prime security clearance to her while he was dying. I saw it."

"Why would he do that?" demands Jackson.

"Because I'm on a special mission for President Coin. I think Boggs was the only one who knew about it."

This grabs the attention of the entire group but her words in no way convinces Jackson. "To do what?"

"To assassinate President Snow before the loss of life from this war makes our population unsustainable."

Pushing herself up from the ground, Calliope runs her hand through her hair, only spreading the blood further across herself, trying to make sense of this mess. They all knew that Peeta was sent here to kill Katniss, to make her a martyr. If what the girl was saying is true, Peeta wouldn't be there with them now.

"I don't believe you," says Jackson. "As your current commander, I order you to transfer the prime security clearance over to me."

"No. That would be a direct violation of President Coin's orders," Katniss defies the woman.

Suddenly, guns are drawn. Half the squad at Jackson, half at Katniss. Calliope's doesn't move from its spot at her side. Instead her attention is on the small family portrait sitting on the kitchen counter. A simple family, a mother, a father and their two girls. All dressed in over the top, bright capitol outfits. The children looked identical, twins, Calliope surmised, no older than nine. Just two innocent children forced out of their home.

"It's true," Cressida says. "That's why we're here. Plutarch wants it televised. He thinks if we can film the Mockingjay assassinating Snow, it will end the war."

This gives Jackson pause, then she gestures with her gun toward the closet. "And why is he here?"

"Because the two post-Game interviews with Ceaser Flickerman were shot in President Snow's personal quarters. Plutarch thinks Peeta may be of some use as a guide in a location we have little knowledge of," Cressida continues.

Her words make even Calliope wonder if they were actually telling the truth or not.

"We have to go!" says Gale. "I'm following Katniss. If you don't want to, head back to camp. But let's move!"

Calliope can't understand why everyone was lying for Katniss. Why they were going this far, defying President Coin. So conflicted, the girl was ready to make her way back to camp alone.

Homes unlocks the closet and heaves an unconscious Peeta over his shoulder. "Ready."

Of course, they were taking Peeta with them. He was pivotal in this movement, they needed him. As much as Calliope tried not to make him her main priority, no matter how hard she tried to focus on the others, he would always be there in the back of her mind. The sight of the unconscious boy made the girl's plans of going back to camp alone fade away. Wherever Peeta went, Calliope went.

"Wait, let me make sure he's okay," she says to Homes. Inspecting Peeta's body for any trauma. The melt down in the closet thankfully only left the boy with minor scrapes but the mental trauma will kick in the moment Peeta realizes what he had done to Mitchell.

"Boggs?" Legg 1 asks.

"We can't take him. He'd understand," says Finnick. He frees Bogg's gun from his shoulder and slings the strap over his own. "Lead on, Soldier Everdeen."

The girl looks down at the Holo, brows knitted together in confusion before she walks towards Jackson. "I don't know how to use this. Boggs said you would help me. He said I could count on you."

Letting out a scoff, Calliope covers it with a fake cough. Jackson scowls, snatching the Holo from Katniss, and taps in a command. An intersection comes up. "If we go out the kitchen door, there's a small courtyard, then the back side of another apartment unit. We're looking at an overview of the four streets that meet at the intersection."

The cross section of the map is blinking with pods in every direction. And those are just the pods Plutarch knows about. The Holo didn't indicate that the block they just left was mined, had the black geyser, or that the net was made from barbed wire. Besides that, there may be Peacekeepers to deal with now that they know their position.

Everyone looks to Katniss for the next move.

"Put on your masks. We're going out the way we came in."

The others begin to object and Calliope's head spins with fear as she slowly backs away from the group. Rubbing her temples, her eyes land on Boggs's dead body. Just laying in this kitchen while the others argue. Another person Calliope failed to save. Another life lost. Add Boggs to the list of failures.

Katniss raises her voice over everyone. "If the wave was that powerful, then it may have triggered and absorbed other pods in our path."

"It may have disabled the cameras as well," Castor says. "Coated the lenses."

When Gale places his boot on the counter with a thud, Calliope jumps slightly. Turning to face him as he examines the splatter of black on the toe. Scrapes it with a kitchen knife from the block on the counter. "It's not corrosive. I think it was meant to either suffocate or poison us."

"Probably our best shot," Leeg 1 says.

Masks go on. Calli adjusts Peeta's over his lifeless face. Cressida and Leeg 1 prop up a woozy Messalla between them.

They make it out of the apartment with no resistence. The black slug has turned into the consistency of a gel but it thankfully doesn't leave footprints.

The pink and orange block seems to have been dipped in glossy black paint and set out to dry. Paving stones, buildings, even rooftops are coated in the gel. A large teardrop hangs above the street. Two shapes project from it. A gun barrel and a human hand. Mitchell.

"If anyone needs to go back for whatever reason, now's the time," Katniss says, once the entire group joins her on the sidewalk. "No questions asked, no hard feelings."

No one retreats so they start moving into the Capitol, knowing they don't have much time. The gel's deeper outside. Four to six inches, and makes a sucking sound each time someone picks up their foot, but it still covers their tracks.

"You alright?" Gale asks in a whisper, falling into Calliope's path. The girl simply nods, continuing to push through the terrible gel. But he knows she's lying.

As they make their way through, they realize Katniss was right about the wave setting off other pods. One block is sprinkled with the golden bodies of tracker jackers. Another block has an entire apartment building collapsed.On the fifth block is when the gel finally begins to taper out. Becoming only about an inch deep.

The afternoon light has faded and like some of the others, Calliope is getting anxious about being in the dark in an unfamiliar area.

Across an intersection, Katniss leads the group to another apartment building. Homes jimmies the lock, and Katniss orders the others inside while she stays on the street for a minute, watching the last of their footsteps fade away, before closing the door behind herself.

Flashlights built into their guns illuminate a large living room with mirrored walls that throw Calliope's face back at her at every turn.

Gale checks the windows, which shows no damage, and removes his mask. "It's all right. You can smell it, but it's not too strong."

The apartment seems to be laid out exactly like the first one they took refuge in. The gel blacks out any natural daylight in the front, but some light still slips through the shutters in the kitchen. Along the hallway are two bedrooms with baths. A spiral staircase in the living room leads up to an open space that composes much of the second floor. There are no windows upstairs but the lights have been left on. A huge television screen, blank but still glowing, occupies one wall. Plush chairs and sofas are strewn around the room. This is where they congregate, slump into upholstery, try to catch their breath.

Calliope is thankful for this, not wanting to be downstairs surrounded by all those mirrors. Forcing her to look at her reflection at every turn. Reminding her of the horrors that took place to her in this very city.

Checking the wounds on his wrists from being handcuffed, Calliope cleans Peeta's delicate skin while Jackson watches, her gun trained on Peeta. She checks on Messalla next, who was simply a bit woozy from the fumes.

A distant chain of explosions sends a tremor through the room.

"It wasn't closer," Jackson assures them. "A good four or five blocks away."

"Where we left Boggs." Calliope hadn't meant to say it out loud but she did.

Although no one has made a move toward it, the television flares to life, emitting a high-pitched beeping sound, bringing half their party to their feet. Calliope quickly reaches for her gun.

"It's all right!" calls Cressida. "It's just an emergency broadcast. Every Capitol television is automatically activated for it."

There they were on-screen, just after the bomb took out Boggs. A voice-over tells the audience what they are viewing as they try to regroup, react to the black gel shooting from the street, and lose control of the situation. They watch the chaos that follows until the wave blot out the camera. The last thing they see is Gale, alone on the street, trying to shoot through the cables that hold Mitchell a loft.

Calliope has to look away, not able to stomach it all again.

The reporter identifies Gale, Finnick, Boggs, Peeta, Cressida, and Katniss by name.

"Theres no aerial footage. Boggs must have been right about their hovercraft capacity," says Castor.

Coverage continues from the courtyard behind the apartment where they took shelter. Peacekeepers line the roof across from the former hideout. Shells are launched into the row of apartments, setting off the chain of explosions they heard, and the building collapses into rubble and dust.

Now they cut to a live feed. A reporter stands on the roof with Peacekeepers. Behind her, the apartment block burns. Firefighters try to control the blaze with water hoses. They are all pronounced dead.

"Finally, a bit of luck," says Homes, leaning back on the plush couch.

Calliope sits back on her knees. Her mind instantly going back to 13 where Wren was. The only person Calliope had left. Wren was going to think she and Peeta were gone. Wren had no one else. Calli can't even imagine the thoughts raging through the girl's mind right about now.

The whole of District 13 was going to think they were dead. Would this affect the rebellion? Would they call it all off because the Mockingjay was gone?

They watch them play the footage over and over. Revel in their victory, especially over Katniss. Break away to do a montage of the Mockingjay's rise to rebel power and then they go live so a couple of reporters can discuss her well-deserved violent end. Later, they promise, Snow will make an official statement. The screen fades back to a glow.

The rebels think they're dead. The Capitol thinks they're dead. Their families think they're dead. Just as Calliope's breathing begins to increase, Gale speaks up, grabbing the girl's attention.

"So, now that we're dead, what's our next move?"

"Isn't it obvious?" No one even noticed Peeta had regained consciousness. By the look of misery on his face, Calliope concludes that he had been watching long enough to see what happened on the street. How he went mad, tried to bash Katniss's head in, and hurled Mitchell into the pod. He painfully pushes himself up to a sitting position and directs his words to Gale. "Our next move...is to kill me.

Chapter Text

"Don't be ridiculous," Calliope says, looking across the room at Peeta, her grip tightening on her weapon.

"I just murdered a member of our squad!" Peeta shouts.

"You pushed him off you. You couldn't have known he would trigger the net at the exact spot," says Finnick, trying to calm him.

"Who cares? He's dead, isn't he?" Tears begin to run down Peeta's face. "I didn't know. I've never seen myself like that before. Katniss is right. I'm the monster. I'm the mutt. I'm the one Snow has turned into a weapon!"

Calliope steps forward, standing directly in front of the boy. "It's not your fault, Peeta." But her words slide off him like water against stone.

"You can't take me with you. It's only a matter of time before I kill someone else." He looks around at the room of conflicted faces. "Maybe you think it's kinder to just dump me somewhere. Let me take my chances. But that's the same thing as handing me over to the Capitol. Do you think you'd be doing me a favor by sending me back to Snow?"

"We're not going to let that happen." Calliope crouches in front of him, meeting his eyes. He looks so broken, and yet a part of her fears he's right—that he would kill them if they're not careful.

"I'll kill you before that happens," says Gale. "I promise." His tone is so certain that Calliope's chest aches as she turns to him.

Peeta shakes his head. "It's no good. What if you're not there to do it? I want one of those poison pills like the rest of you have."

Nightlock. Every member had one, tucked into the breast pocket of their suits. They were to be used if the Capitol captured them—death would be kinder than whatever methods Snow's people would use to get information out of them. Calliope knew that all too well. It made sense that Peeta hadn't been given one. Coin probably worried he'd take it before getting the chance to kill Katniss.

Either way, right now, Calliope was relieved he didn't have access to one. He likely would've used it already.

"It's not about you," Katniss says. "We're on a mission. And you're necessary to it." She looks around to the rest of the group. "Think we might find some food here?"

Aside from the medical kit and cameras, they had nothing but the uniforms on their backs and their weapons.

Half of the squad stays behind to guard Peeta or keep an eye out for Snow's broadcast, while the others hunt for something to eat. Calliope joins the latter. Her thoughts are too loud, too heavy, to let her sit still.

Mirrors cover nearly every wall, making her skin crawl as she is forced to confront her reflection. She avoids looking at herself as she searches one of the two bedrooms. She knows she won't find food in there, but curiosity drives her.

The room looks like it once belonged to a couple. A larger bed sits in the center, the silk sheets untouched, the carpet too clean. Everything in the room whispers of comfort, yet it makes her stomach twist. Beneath her feet is a soft carpet—one that would be layered in coal dust if this were District 12. Back home, everything was. But here, there isn't a speck of dirt anywhere.

Calliope wonders what her life would've looked like if she'd been born in the Capitol instead of the Districts. Would she have lived in a place like this, with a boy she loved? Slept in a bed of cold silk and woken up with a full stomach? Styled her hair and painted her face like Effie Trinket, spending hours perfecting it? Was there anyone in the Capitol who looked like her—or would she have changed herself completely to fit their version of beauty?

But the most disturbing question on her mind: would she have rooted for the Hunger Games? Would she have had a favorite tribute? Cried when they died?

The thought is so sickening she shakes her head as if she could shake it out completely. But it lingers, like a foul scent.

On the far wall are two sliding doors, each covered with full-length mirrors. When she opens them, her eyes widen. Racks of pristine dresses and pastel jackets fill the closet.

Back in District 12, Calliope was lucky to own seven outfits. One for each day of the week. Here, the choices are endless.

She reaches for a baby-blue dress, holding it up. The waist is so small, Calliope wonders if it was meant for a child rather than the adult who lived here. As she strokes the fabric, blood smears from her fingertips onto the cloth. Boggs's blood. Still on her hands.

“It seems so pointless,” Gale’s voice says from the doorway, deep and rough. She turns, cheeks burning red, embarrassed to be caught looking at something so frivolous. “They had all the food they could ever want but didn’t eat, just to stay as skinny as possible. It’s sick.”

Calliope agrees. “Peeta told me they’d stuff themselves full at parties and then make themselves throw up… just so they could keep eating.”

"Yeah. While people in the Districts starve." Gale steps closer, tapping the base of a small pocket knife against his palm. "I like that color. It's really nice. I think you would look good in it."

It was her favorite color. Blue. Like the calm skies just before a snowstorm. Like the lake outside the fence when the sun hit it just right. Peeta's eyes the day they met.

Calliope keeps her back to Gale as he stands only a few inches away.

"Thank you," she says, voice tight. She sets the dress back in the closet. "I'm not much of a dress girl, though."

When she glances over her shoulder, she isn’t prepared for how close he's standing. Quickly facing forward again, her face grew hotter.

"That's not true. You used to wear dresses all the time." He remembers.

Calliope blinks. She didn't think he'd even noticed her before the Reaping.

"Yeah… because I would wear all my mother's old clothes. I've always preferred pants, though." She stares at the dress. A smile creeps onto her lips. “She was so happy that I came out a girl.”

In the Districts, almost no one knew the gender of their child before birth. They just didn't have that technology.

"My father said she spent hours sewing tiny dresses before I was even born. He joked, 'I was worried she was jinxing us and I’d end up sending my son to school in babydoll dresses.’"

Gale smiles beside her.

"My mother knew I hated dresses, but she didn't care. She’d wake me up early just to spend hours making me look perfect. She’d fight with me to do my hair—she loved my long curls and never let me cut it short. She’d agonize over which dress to put me in. And then I’d just run off to play in the meadow with Peeta and Wren. I’d come back covered in dirt, knees scraped from climbing trees, hair a mess. She’d get so mad, but my dad would always calm her down before taking Cedar and me back out to get even filthier. Then she'd clean me up and put me to bed, only to redo it again in the morning."

"That sounds awful," Gale says, but his tone is playful.

Calliope shakes her head, lips still tilted up in a smile. "It wasn't. At least now that I look back at it. It made us closer in a way that only a mother and daughter can be." Now, she missed the mornings her mother dressed her like a doll.

It felt nice to talk about her family. But her laughter turns melancholy as the realization hits her.

She was the only one left, and one day, she would be gone too—and so would the memories of the Whittemore family.

In a whisper, almost too soft for Gale to hear, she says, "I'm starting to forget their voices." Swallowing a lump in her throat, Calliope continues. "My mother's is still fresh, my grandfather's too...but Cedar's is fading and I've completely forgotten my father’s." Eyes rimmed red, she turns to the boy beside her, looking up at him due to their height difference. "Do you remember what your father sounded like?"

Gale shakes his head slowly. "Not really, no."

"Mhm." Calliope looks back at the closet of dresses. "I'm glad Posy and the boys still have you and your mother. It's good. They need you." She brushes her fingers over a short, bright yellow dress with puffed sleeves. Gale watches her carefully, ready to be there if she needs him. "They didn't give me the chance to say goodbye." Her arm falls to her side as the girl lets out a shaky breath. "Didn't even give me a warning. Just walked in like they owned the place. One gunshot, she was gone."

"Whitty—"

"She would have loved these dresses," Calliope cuts him off, changing the subject instantly. "She loved color and frills and patterns. Gosh, they look like they've never even been worn before. Such a waste of perfectly good fabric."

"You should try some on," Gale urges, earning a scoff from Calliope.

"Yeah, right."

"I'm serious. I think you'd look nice."

For a moment, she studies him, wondering if he's being honest or just teasing her the way he usually does. She might've humored him, if their life wasn't their life and they weren't where they were. "Maybe another time."

Nodding slightly, Gale slides the closet door shut. He notices the way Calliope flinches when she catches a glimpse of herself in the mirror, quickly diverting her eyes. She moves around him, towards the door, back to the others who were probably starting to wonder where they were.

But gently, Gale grabs her wrist, pulling her back in front of him, but keeping her back to the mirrors. Calliope raises a brow at his hold.

"You just have..." He motions to his face, trying to signal to the girl that she was covered in blood. She knew she was, but she can't bear the mirror long enough to clean it. Using the back of her sleeve, Calliope wipes at her face, but it does nothing against the now dried blood.

"Here, let me help." Pulling a piece of cloth from his pocket, he wets it with water from his canteen and reaches to wipe her face. She flinches at first. He tries again, and this time she lets him—with the same gentleness and care he'd shown the night he saved her from the Capitol. He had been the one to clean her up then, too.

Her body burns with heat at his touch.

"When will it be my turn to help you?" she asks, looking up at him through her lashes.

His hands pause. Gray eyes meet brown as he steps closer. Calliope's heart hammers in her chest.

But the sound of the others breaks them apart, and they are reminded where they are.

Clearing his throat, Gale takes a step back, still looking down at the girl for a moment before the two return upstairs with the others.

Messalla proves most valuable because he lived in a near replica of this apartment and knows where people would be most likely to stash food. Like how there’s always storage space concealed by a mirrored panel in the bedroom, or how easy it is to pop out the ventilation screen in the hallway. So even though the kitchen cupboards are bare, they find over thirty canned goods and several boxes of cookies.

The hoarding disgusts the soldiers raised in 13.

"Isn't this illegal?" says Leeg 1.

"On the contrary, in the Capitol you'd be considered stupid not to do it," says Messalla. "Even before the Quarter Quell, people were starting to stock up on scarce supplies."

"While others went without," says Leeg 1.

"Right," Messalla confirms. "That's how it works here."

"Fortunately, or we wouldn't have dinner," Gale says. He stands on the opposite side of the room from Calliope, stealing glances her way every now and then. "Everybody grab a can."

Some of the squad seems reluctant to do this, but it's as good a method as any; no one is in the mood to divvy up everything into twelve equal parts, factoring in age, body weight, and physical output.

Calliope finds a can of cod chowder, then sits back on the floor opposite Peeta. Her stomach growls with hunger, but the patches of dark red splattered across her suit make her stomach turn. Her appetite is completely thrown out the window. Why should she eat when three of their squad members are dead, two of which she failed to save?

At some point, Gale ends up beside her, his shoulder brushing against hers every so often from how close he sits.

A box of fancy cream-filled cookies is passed around when the broadcasting begins again. The seal of Panem lights up on the screen and remains there while the anthem plays. Then they begin to show images of the dead, just as they did with the tributes in the arena. They start with the four faces of the TV crew, followed by Boggs, Gale, Finnick, Peeta, and Katniss. Except for Boggs, they don't bother with the soldiers from 13 or Calliope, either because they have no idea who they are or because they know they won't mean anything to the audience.

Calliope is meaningless to the Capitol. After everything they put her through—all the torture, the Doctors’ punishments—it all meant nothing because, to them, she was just a useless district girl. Should that be a good thing?

The man himself appears, seated at his desk, a flag draped behind him, the fresh white rose gleaming in his lapel.

Snow congratulates the Peacekeepers on a masterful job, honors them for ridding the country of the menace called the Mockingjay. With her death, he predicts the turning of the tide in the war, since the demoralized rebels have no one left to follow. And what was Katniss, really? A poor, unstable girl with a small talent with a bow and arrow. Not a great thinker, not the mastermind of the rebellion—merely a face plucked from the rabble because she had caught the nation’s attention with her antics in the Games. But necessary. So very necessary, because the rebels have no real leader among them.

Somewhere in District 13, Beetee hits a switch because now it’s not President Snow but President Coin who’s looking at them. She introduces herself to Panem, identifies herself as the head of the rebellion, and gives Katniss's eulogy. Praise for the girl who survived the Seam and the Hunger Games, then turned a country of slaves into an army of freedom fighters.

"Dead or alive, Katniss Everdeen will remain the face of this rebellion. If ever you waver in your resolve, think of the Mockingjay, and in her you will find the strength you need to rid Panem of its oppressors."

"I had no idea how much I meant to her," Katniss says, which brings a laugh from Gale and questioning looks from the others.

Up comes a heavily doctored photo of Katniss looking beautiful and fierce, with flames flickering behind her. No words. No slogan. Her face is all they need now.

Beetee gives the reins back to a very controlled Snow. Calliope has a feeling the president thought the emergency channel was impenetrable—and someone will end up dead tonight because it was breached.

"Tomorrow morning, when we pull Katniss Everdeen's body from the ashes, we will see exactly who the Mockingjay is. A dead girl who could save no one, not even herself." Seal, anthem, and out.

"Except they won’t find her," Finnick says to the empty screen, voicing what they all were thinking. The grace period will be brief. Once they dig through those ashes and find twelve missing bodies, they’ll know they escaped.

"We can get a head start on them at least," Katniss says. But everyone is so tired, so worn from almost dying just a few hours ago. The floor in the corner of the room looks mighty appealing to Calliope right now.

Katniss pulls out the Holo and insists that Jackson talk her through the basics. As the Holo projects their surroundings, Calliope feels her heart sink even further. They must be moving closer to crucial targets, because the number of pods has noticeably increased. How can they possibly move forward into this bouquet of blinking lights without detection? They can't. And if they can't, they are trapped like birds in a net.

Looking around at the squad, Katniss asks, "Any ideas?"

"Why don’t we start by ruling out our possibilities," says Finnick. "The street is not a possibility."

"The rooftops are just as bad as the street," says Leeg 1.

"We still might have a chance to withdraw," Calliope begins, rubbing her hands together nervously. "Go back the way we came. But that would mean a failed mission."

"It was never intended for all of us to go forward. You just had the misfortune to be with me."

"Well, that’s a moot point. We’re with you now," Jackson says. "So, we can't stay put. We can't move up. We can't move laterally. I think that just leaves one option."

"Underground," says Gale. His body is so close to Calliope she can feel the heat radiating from him.

The idea makes Calliope’s chest tighten. Underground—dark, cold, and full of the same confinement as the prison cell she was once held in. Closing her eyes, Calliope takes a few deep breaths, controlling her worries. When she opens them again, her brown eyes find Peeta’s blue—her favorite color.

The Holo shows subterranean as well as street-level pods. Underground, the clean, dependable lines of the street interlace with a twisting, turning mess of tunnels. The pods look less numerous, though.

Two doors down, a vertical tube connects their row of apartments to the tunnels. To reach the tube apartment, they will need to squeeze through a maintenance shaft that runs the length of the building. They can enter the shaft through the back of a closet space on the upper floor.

"Okay, then. Let’s make it look like we’ve never been here," Katniss says. They erase all signs of their stay, send the empty cans down a trash chute, pocket the full ones for later, flip sofa cushions smeared with blood, and wipe traces of gel from the tiles. There’s no fixing the latch on the front door, but they lock a second bolt, which will at least keep the door from swinging open on contact.

Finally, there’s only Peeta to contend with. He plants himself on the blue sofa, refusing to budge.

"I'm not going. I'll either disclose your position or hurt someone else," he says.

"Snow’s people will find you," Finnick warns.

"Then leave me a pill. I'll only take it if I have to," Peeta pleads.

"That’s not an option. Come along," Jackson says.

"Or you’ll what? Shoot me?"

"We’ll knock you out and drag you with us," Homes says. "Which will slow us down and endanger everyone."

"Stop being noble!" Peeta raises his voice, fists tightening in the cuffs, standing from his seat. "I don’t care if I die!"

Calliope’s hands clench at her sides. Anger and fear roil in her chest until it finally spills over. She is tired of hearing Peeta talk like this. Tired of his constant need to self-sacrifice and wanting to die.

"Stop being so damn selfish!"

The room goes silent. Her voice—normally steady and low, even under fire—ricochets off the walls. Everyone turns. Peeta’s mouth snaps shut.

"You dying would only help one person right now, and that’s you!" she spits. "We need you. We need you when we get to Snow’s mansion because, believe it or not, my time being tortured didn’t come with trips to the palace like yours did. I can’t get Katniss inside. You can."

"I won’t be any help if I get more of you killed," Peeta mutters.

"You won’t be any help if you’re dead!" Calliope snaps. Her eyes blaze. "Dammit, what aren’t you understanding? You matter. To this squad. To Katniss. To Wren. To the Districts. To me!" She jabs a finger into her chest. "Wren thinks we’re both dead. We’re all she has left. Do you really think actually killing yourself will make her grief any easier? Katniss needs you to get into that mansion. To kill Snow. Panem needs their golden boy to prove Snow wrong. And I—" her voice breaks—"I need you, Peeta."

He lets out a bitter laugh, looking between Calliope and Gale Hawthorne, who stands only a few inches away.

"You don’t need me. Not really."

"Don’t you dare—" Her eyes hardened to a glare, fists tightening.

"You don’t!" His voice rises, ragged. "You’ve got him. Standing right there, filling in for me, same as always." Gale’s body tenses at the mention of his relationship with the girl at his side. "He doesn’t break. He doesn’t snap. He doesn’t put you all in danger every time he loses control. He’s better for you. Better for everyone."

Calliope trembles with fury. "Give me a break! Gale and I are friends. You and I are friends."

"We were never just friends."

"You're right," Calliope nods. "You are my best friend. Since we were five, Peeta! That means something. We’re family. No one can replace that. No one can fill that space. No one will ever be what you are to me. No one."

Peeta’s voice drops to a whisper of pure self-loathing. "Everyone would be safer if I just stopped breathing."

Something inside Calliope shatters. Her voice comes out low and shaking but hard as steel. "That’s what Snow wants you to believe. He tortured you until you started thinking you were poison. You’re not. But if you keep talking like this, if you give up now, you’re doing his work for him. You’re not saving anyone. You’re handing him the last piece of you he couldn’t break." Her words still don’t seem to penetrate the walls he built.

"Do you even realize what you’re doing to me? How many times do I have to stand here and beg you to choose your own life? After the berries, you promised you wouldn't leave me again. You promised. Then you volunteered for the Quarter Quell. And now this." Her fists shake at her sides. "Yeah, maybe I'm being selfish and maybe I'm being a hypocrite, but I don't care. How many times, Peeta? How many times are you going to make me fight for you before you start fighting for yourself?"

The words hit him like a blow. His eyes flicker, pain breaking through the haze of guilt.

Calliope’s tears spill freely now. "I lost my entire family. My father. My brother. My mother. My grandfather. Everyone…except you. Do you think I’d still be here if I thought you were some kind of monster? You’re all I have left, Peeta. And I’m done begging. You want to spit in Snow’s face? Stay alive. That’s how you fight him."

Silence crushes the room. No one knows what to say.

Calliope wipes at her cheeks, squares her shoulders. "Now stop acting like a martyr and get ready to leave."

She turns sharply, storming out before anyone can see her break again.

The door clicks shut behind her. Silence stretches in the room. Peeta stands frozen, chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. For the first time in days, maybe weeks, the weight on his chest eases just enough for one thought to pierce through: I can't let her be the only one left holding on.

And for the first time, the edge of his guilt doesn’t feel like the only thing keeping him alive—maybe, just maybe, she does.