There was a collective gasp. Then silence.

That had never been done before.

2/3rd of the Careers were eliminated.

I glanced over at Paris. He looked pleased.

It was good for us. Eliminating the Careers was less competition.

"Take care of this," I whispered to Paris. "I'm sure we'll have sponsors down our backs. Behave. Get money. I'll be back here tomorrow morning when Gamecenter opens for everyone."

He nodded.

I slipped to the back of the room. I didn't like the stifling heat that came with everyone being so close together.

Just as I had reached the back wall, a hand pulled me back into a room. I gasped but a hand covered my mouth.

"Geez," Cori laughed. I knew it was him just from his voice. The room was dark so I couldn't see him or his face. His hand slipped away from my mouth and to my cheek, stroking it lovingly. "On edge much?"

"Only 11 tributes remain," I said. "That's quite impressive for the first hour."

"Thanks to your sister. I must admit that was quite brutal," he said.

"Funny. You called me brutal the first time we met," I said. I felt for the front of his suit. It was a smooth and silky fabric.

"I remember," he said. "But I want you to tell me the story anyways tonight."

"Tonight?"

"I'm sure Paris can handle it," he said.

"I suppose," I sighed. I hadn't been able to sneak out of the Tribute Center since that first night.

"What about the other issue?" he asked.

"I assume you mean Pax?" I asked.

"I do."

"I haven't seen him around," I said.

"He'll be around today. Find him. Sort it out," Cori said. "I don't want this going on any longer."

"Me either," I said. I straightened his tie, even though I couldn't see it.

He was silent.

"You do know you're so much better than him, right?" I asked.

"Of course I do," he said.

"Good," I whispered. I put a hand on his cheek. I could feel the stubble on his skin. My thumb found the corner of his lips. I ran my thumb along his lower lip. He inhaled sharply.

"Shh," I whispered. I replaced my thumb with my lips.

We walked backwards, my fingers fumbling at the buttons of his suit, until I had him pressed against the wall. His hands were in my curled hair.

I kissed him eagerly.

I wanted to forget everything.

There was a knock at the door.

"One moment, please," I called. I resumed kissing him.

"Ah— Cassie," Cori protested. I stopped. His hands took mine. I could almost feel his eyes looking down on me. "I have to go, dearest."

I kissed his cheek before finding the door handle in the dark.

I opened the door and slipped back into the party.

I had to find Pax and get this all resolved.

I wander the crowds for a good hour before I found him with three other candidates.

"A moment?" I asked. He seemed surprised to see me.

"Of course," he said. He said his goodbyes briefly before leading me into a room. The Gamecenter was surrounded by little rooms for arranged bets and sponsors.

The lights were on in this room.

We stood a few feet apart.

"Hello, Cassia," Pax said. He seemed uncomfortably confident, as if the Capitol had given him some new-found power.

"I'm not here for chatting," I said. "I'm here to give you a warning."

"A warning?"

"Just shut up and listen and this will be over quickly," I said. "You were right. I'm seeing the President. It's a scandal, I know. But I do love him. And he loves me back. He's also been watching you and not in a good way. He doesn't want you seeing me anymore."

"Seeing you? Is that what you call our encounters?" Pax asked.

"I could call them harassment or almost blackmail. I know it's improper for the President to be seeing the girl from the districts. But I'm not just some girl—"

"No," he said, crossing the distance between us. "You're not."

"Pax—"

"Tell me what you love about him," he said. "Tell me."

"He's charming. He cares about me. He's been there for me—"

"Been there? When?" His eyes were wild with curiosity and frustration. "When you skinned your knees? When that loser guy broke up with you when you were 12? When you left for the Games?"

"It's none of your business."

"I just want you to realize that your life is back in District 1. With your family, with me!"

"I don't have that," I said. "I don't have a life there anymore. And if my sister doesn't come out of—"

I fell to pieces on the inside.

"I'm done with District 1. I'll do my duty during the Games but that is all. The President and I are very happy together and—"

Pax had backed me up against the wall.

"Are you happy?" he asked.

"Yes!" I protested. "This is rather improper."

"It's the Capitol. This doesn't begin to describe improper here," he said.

"We were childhood friends. That is all," I said.

"And if I want it to be more?"

"You're too late," I said. "Now please let me go before I cause you any real pain."

He backed up, looking angry.

"He's put a threat on your life, Pax," I said, his lost confidence filling me. "Don't push it."

I exited the room.

.........

"Once upon a time there was a girl," I started. Cori laughed quietly. "This girl was a very brutal girl. She'd had just won the 22nd Hunger Games and had just completed her Victory Tour. She was very nervous because on this particular night, she was going to be meeting the new President. She had heard all sorts of rumors about him. Especially the rumor that he was the most handsome man in all of the Capitol."

"That's not true," he protested.

"Be quiet," I said. "I'm telling a story."

He readjusted himself amongst the pillows.

"Go ahead," he said. I rested my head on his chest.

"Now, she put on her best party dress, something she had never dreamed of owning back in District 1. It was a pretty mint green and particularly short. But it was a warm day in the Capitol so she wasn't worried about being cold. Her escort, an awful man by the name of Paris, walked alongside her as they entered the party that was being hosted in her honor."

"But the President was no where in sight. The party swirled around her but she was looking for just one man. She truly believed that once she met him, the night would be over, and all her nerves would disappear. She was afraid she would do something wrong in front of him and he'd have her strung up by her toenails."

He laughed again.

"Then a young man pulled her aside to have a conversation with her. He had the Panem logo pinned on his suit, so she really should have known."

"'So you're the victor?' the man asked. 'Yes, I am,' she replied. She was still shy at the time. That had been her strategy for the Games. 'You were quite brutal,' the man said. No one had said that to her all night. They had complimented her skills with knives and swords. 'Were you impressed?' she asked. 'Absolutely. It made for a great first Games,' he said, which confused the girl, greatly. Everyone watched the Games. There was no way it could have been his first. 'I beg your pardon,' she said, remembering her Capitol manors, 'but whatever do you mean?' 'My first Game as President,' he said."

"The girl quickly bowed and mentally beat herself up. 'Please don't bow,' the President said. 'You have no reason to bow to me.' She was stunned by his response and didn't know what to say. 'I'm going to be very blunt with you,' he said. 'I do feel as though I'm in love with you. I know this is forward but I've never met another girl like you.' The girl was blushing by this point. 'I'll give you whatever your heart desires, if you'll just stay in the Capitol a few more days.'"

"Well, a few days turned into a few weeks turned into a few months until the girl was appearing in Capitol movies, attending important dinners, and her favorite of all: spending time with the President himself. The two got to know each other quite well. And for an entire year, they chatted and flirted and he never did anything besides hold her hand. She couldn't figure out why he could be content with that but he was. He found the beauty in small, sentimental things like that. And once the girl realized that, she discovered that she had fallen in love with him." My voice slowed. "Then there was no way the shy girl from District 1, a ruthless killer, could ever return back to her old life."

"The President sounds a lot like me," Cori joked. I smiled.

"That's just as I remembered it," he whispered.

My right hand buttoned and unbuttoned the top button of his pajama top.

"Practicing for something?" Cori asked.

"Absolutely," I said. "But nothing tonight. I'm so tired."

"I can only imagine," he said.

"And before you ask," I said. "I took care of my little problem."

"Good," he said. "But I wasn't going to ask about it."

"That's surprising," I said.

His fingers played with my hair which I had been growing out. It had gotten quite long and really needed to be cut but I just hadn't gotten around to it.

"I imagine you should probably go to sleep," Cori said.

"I doubt I'll be getting much sleep," I said.

"Is there any way I can help quiet your mind?" he asked. "I hate seeing you upset."

"Will you just put the Games on?" I said. "On mute of course but I just want to know that if something does happen I wasn't completely forgetting my duties."

"Even mentors have to sleep," Cori said. He must have pressed a button because a holoscreen appeared and footage from the Games was playing. It was dark out and most of the tributes were asleep. A map of the arena showed where everyone was camped out at. Districts 1, 9, and 11 were the only left with all of their tributes left and they were at the Cornucopia with a campfire. Districts 3 and 5 had formed an alliance and were to the east. District 10 and 12 also had an alliance and they were to the north. The lone ranger was from District 8 and he was to the west.

"Explain something to me," Cori whispered. He shut off the lamp on the bedside table.

"Anything," I said. My eyes were on the Game though.

"Why are they keeping 9 and 11 alive?" he asked.

"Probably for protection. We're giving them food and relative safety and in exchange they stay up and do night watch. And besides, 6 is more than 2," I explained.

"So what happens if everyone else dies off?"

"What do you think will happen? They'll kill 9 and 11 and then it'll just be a blood battle within our district. But I'm really hoping that Vine kid dies by something else," I said.

"If it comes down to one of the other," Cori said, "I think you'll find the odds are in your sister's favor."

"Why, Mr. President, I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.

"Try and get some sleep, my dearest," he said. I felt him kiss the top of my head.

I didn't fall asleep that night.