"I love you, Katniss Everdeen."

Those five words suddenly made you feel light-headed and dizzy as you sat still in your seat, shocked at Peeta's public love confession for someone who was not you. A flash of memories immediately occupied your vision--your very first day of school at 5 years of age when Peeta first approached you, wanting to be your friend; the first time you and Peeta held hands out of comfort; the first time you visited the bakery with him; every single hangout with him until the day before this year's reaping; and every single moment after when you felt so close to Peeta it hurt you to think of leaving him. Immediately, as soon as they flashed through your mind in full colour, they faded away to a greyscale. You knew he made that promise that evening before training, that he would never hurt you.

And what did he do? He hurt you. He deliberately broke his promise without even knowing it. Clenching your fists, you stared up at yourself on the TV screen and willed yourself not to cry. You knew you couldn't. Then you recalled Haymitch's lesson from yesterday and recalled how he wanted to show your vulnerability to the Capitol--was this what he meant? If so, then that is a very cruel way to do it.

You weren't ready to give into that yet. Not while the cameras are still rolling and displaying your reaction live, across the country.

"Katniss Everdeen..." Caesar let the name roll around in his mind. "You don't mean the sister of the female tribute originally reaped to represent your district?"

Peeta nodded. "The very same. I knew it from the moment I saw her for the first time outside my bakery one day that I had to help her, and that I would do anything to save her from misery."

Leave it to Haymitch to prove that you weren't anywhere near being a true fighter! How could Peeta just do this to you right now? How could he just reject all those years of friendship just to loudly profess all over Panem that he didn't love you, the best friend that everyone saw you two as?

"You know, Peeta, only one would ever come out of the Games," Caesar finally said. "And I'm only hoping that you'd get enough support to pull through."

Peeta nodded again with a sad smile. "I hope so to. Thank you, Caesar."

The buzzer sounded for the final time, and as Peeta turned to head back to his seat beside you, you deliberately bowed your head and closed your eyes, not willing to acknowledge him anymore. Any hope of you two ever being together has finally been dashed, crumbled, faded into nothing. All you felt within you now as the anthem of Panem played for the final time, rising with the other tributes in a standing position, was an empty void.

How dare they.

The moment the anthem was over, you followed all the rest of the tributes off of the stage, and immediately took off your heels and dashed away, running past the rest of the tributes and your escort and mentor and stylist team until you reached the elevators, the first one there as it took you up to the penthouse floor. A second later after you left the elevators, Peeta and the rest of the team appeared. By the looks of their faces, they must have been worried out of their minds. But before anyone could say anything, you grabbed Peeta's shoulders and pinned him to the back of the wall.

"HOW--COULD--YOU?!" you screamed. "So that was your plan for separating us in interview training, right? Just to prove me a weakling? Maybe you already have by professing your love to another girl! And to think that I, as your best friend, could be your best bet of getting you out of there alive!"

"Now now, (Y/N)," Haymitch started, but you soon rounded on him too with your death glare, your grip on Peeta remaining as tight as ever.

"Oh don't you dare start lecturing me again!" you screamed. "I can't believe you! You were behind all these plans, weren't you? You said you wanted me to show my weak side to the Capitol! Well, tough luck for you, because it backfired! Or maybe it hasn't! I may not have cried in front of the entire nation, but--ARGH! IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE! JUST--HOW DARE YOU ALL! Each and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!" you cried. "I thought you would keep that promise, Peeta! I thought you would forever remain loyal to that promise you made when you said you would never hurt me! Well, maybe I was wrong! You just went great distances to hurt me beyond repair, and it may not have shown in front of the screen but you know how much it wounded me! And I don't think I can be the one to say sorry now, can I?"

For a moment, tense silence rang through the hall for a full 10 seconds. 15. 20. It was the longest silence you were ever used to, and needless to say, it was not only making you uncomfortable, but everyone else was feeling very shifty too.

"(Y/N)," Peeta started weakly. "Look. I never expected you to be so upset."

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT?!" you screamed again.

"Look, I know how you're feeling," Peeta said sadly. "You believed my dad, didn't you? You do love me."

At this point, the anger was already bubbling at boiling point. You didn't even have the freedom to nod.

"(Y/N), listen to me," Peeta pleaded. "This love profession wouldn't mean anything if you aren't here with me in the first place. You proved to be a fighter, and so maybe that's what I want to be too. I wanted something to fight for."

"SO YOU CHOSE KATNISS OVER ME, IS THAT IT?!"

"Fine, I'll just get to the point." Peeta put his hands up in surrender. "I love you too, (Y/N), but it has always been a friendly love and nothing more. I mean, you're my best friend. I can't hurt you anymore than I wish to."

You bit your lip as you let him go. "MAYBE YOU ALREADY HAVE HURT ME MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO!" you finally cried. "That promise you made before training started? I can't believe you'd break it! I trusted you for so long, Peeta! How could I have been so blind, to not even see this coming? If you really choose Katniss over me, then forget the fact we ever had a friendship in the first place, Peeta! Go on, then! Win this thing, go home and woo Katniss, and forget the fact that I was ever here for you! That I probably died somewhere in the arena, possibly at the hands of a Career tribute or something poisoned or illness, and you would never make any mention of it whatsoever to your family, to her!"

If the dress didn't provide enough spark, your words certainly did. Suddenly, everyone just stared at you with their jaws dropped.

"Oh go on, then!" you continued. "Go on, forget that we ever had a friendship, Peeta! Forget the fact that we ever stood up for each other since we were both reaped in the Games! Forget all the memories we used to share, even! God, maybe I was really blind! Blind enough to realize just how unimportant I ever was! Or even to realize just how fake your father and Effie sounded when they said they fully supported us being together!" Completely bathed in rage, you picked up your heel from the ground and just threw it hard at Peeta. "Go on, then! Do it! I'm just--argh! WE'RE OVER!"

With that, you finally ran away from the hall, Peeta still holding on to one of your shoes as you tore down to your room, sobbing so much harder than you have after your private training demonstration. Back then, it was out of worry and concern. This time, it was out of upset at the thought of sheer betrayal. What does it matter by this point, anyway? You knew that out of the 24 of you, there could only be one winner. Leave it to Peeta to make you accept your defeat.

No, scratch that. Leave it to everyone to make you accept your defeat.

Soon, you heard voices come from your open door, and you turned to see Effie and Peeta at the door.

"(Y/N), look, we're sorry--" Effie started to say.

"Go away," you shouted, planting your face deeply into your pillow.

Peeta looked away from you sadly. "I just came to return your shoe."

"And I..." Effie added, her voice trailing. "Oh, I wanted to say this before Peeta said he loved Katniss. But let me just say this instead--know that you both have been wonderful tributes--the best set yet!"

This surprised you as you lifted your head from the pillow and sat up, walking over to her on sore feet. "Really?"

Effie nodded as she gave you both a hug. "Though honestly, if you asked me, I wouldn't be too surprised if I got myself a better set next year!" she added with a fake bright smile as she waved and exited, trotting away.

"Man. Effie's something," you finally murmured. Having finally spent some time with your escort, you can conclude that maybe she wasn't too bad after all.

Haymitch, Cinna, and Portia finally approached you and Peeta.

"Any last-minute advice, Haymitch?" Peeta asked sadly.

"When you get into the arena, avoid the bounty in the Cornucopia," Haymitch said. "Stay away from the bloodbath--you'll never know if you'll get killed right away. We can't lose any tributes to that. Find water. Stay up in a tree. Find food. (Y/N), you can hunt for food, right? It can help you on the long run."

"Anything else?" you asked quietly.

Haymitch's expression was dead serious as he repeated what he first said on the train. "Stay alive."

You nodded as you let Haymitch give you a final hug, and he gave Peeta one as well. "Thank you, Haymitch," you finally said with a curt nod. You knew Haymitch was now your only hope for sponsors, and so you hoped you did okay with that.

Haymitch only nodded back grimly and gave you two a final salute before heading to his room, and you did the same, running straight to the bathroom and soaking yourself in a hot bath. Fiddling with the dials, you allowed a (F/Flower) and a (F/Fruit) flavour of soap to drizzle right into the water, creating lots and lots of bubbles. As you relaxed into the scented water, you found yourself calming down a lot more than you initially did the moment you realized that Peeta didn't love you at all.

So he wanted to base his victory on someone who's waiting at home? Fine by you. Fine by him. Odds are you might be able to weed him out and win instead. But who would be waiting for you when you get home? Of course, your mom. Delly. The baker, who would be devastated at Peeta's death. Katniss and the rest of her family. And would there be someone out there, someone in your district who might like you more than you believed Peeta would? You shook your head as you closed your eyes. Enough about home for now. Who knows if you'll ever return?

After half an hour, you exited the tub and changed into your nightgown, and the minute you entered the bed you realized just how hard sleep is going to get. It is, after all, the night before you're finally thrown into the arena. You tossed and turned and closed your eyes, but something in you refused to relax the same way you did in the tub.

Images of the evening flashed through your mind. The spinning flaming gown. Your promise to Prim. And Peeta's confession for Katniss. It wouldn't be easy to banish it from your mind, would it? Eventually you come to the conclusion that you probably wouldn't be able to sleep for a while anyway. You slowly swung your legs off of the bed and headed out onto the balcony, where you saw a shadowy figure also staring out into the illuminated glow of the Capitol at night.

Your breath hitched immediately when you realized who it was.