no better, the young blonde constantly waking up due to the terrifying nightmares that plague her mind. Most nights, she ends up huddled in Finnick's arms as they seek comfort from each other. It doesn't seem possible, but they're more connected than ever before — both of them so lost and in so much pain that they have no choice but to cling to one another for some reassurance.

Katniss had been to see what is left of District Twelve just recently, sneaking back in her little sister's cat who Elena has come to adore. She never had a pet back home and the way it shows her even the slightest bit of love, it does nothing but bring her happiness - as much as she can have anyway. Katniss isn't too fond of the animal, that much is clear but for Prim she'd deal with it.

"Lena? It's time to eat," Jace's voice is soft as he pulls his little sister from her thoughts. The blonde looks at him and manages a small smile and a nod, following after him to where everybody else is. "Unfortunately, I believe it'll be just as unappetising as every other meal we've had here,"

"Nothing could be worse than that monstrosity of a stew they served up last week," Elena shivers when she remembers the horrific flavours that invaded her tastebuds. "Sometimes I feel like it literally burned away any sense of taste I had left,"

Jace throws his head back and laughs, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they walks down the halls. She moves closer to his side as people move by them, still weary of most of the people who live here. He either doesn't notice or chooses not to comment, guiding her into the room and towards the table where they normally sit. Unsurprisingly, Finnick sits there with Katniss and Gale as they quietly chat amongst themselves.

Elena slides in next to Finnick who sends her a small smile, pushing a bowl of food at her. She investigates the meal, stirring the spoon around to try and figure out what it actually is. Slowly, she scoops some up and brings it to her mouth, putting the mysterious concoction in her mouth. Finnick has to hold in a small laugh as he watches her cringe at the taste, happy to have handed the horrible food off to somebody else.

"I'm so glad nobody here pursued being a chef," She mumbles before dropping the spoon back in the bowl.

"Like you can cook. You almost burnt water when trying to make pasta once," Jace mocks playfully, feeling almost giddy when he watches her lips quirk up in a genuine smile. "Then almost set the kitchen on fire,"

"Oh please —" she goes to tease him in response when the screens flicker with the Capitol seal.

"Hello. Good evening, and a big welcome to all in Panem. I'm Caesar Flickerman. And whoever you are, whatever it is you're doing, if you're working, put down your work. If you're having dinner, stop having dinner. Because you are going to want to witness this tonight. There has been rampant speculation about what really happened

in the Quarter Quell,"

Elena swallows harshly as the eccentric man makes himself known on the screen. Seeing his face does nothing but bring back more bad memories, her emotional interviews before and after her games.

"And here to shed a little light on the subject for us is a very special guest. Please welcome Mr. Peeta Mellark,"

Katniss' gaze flicks up as Elena's breath hitches, the two of them in shock at his appearance. He looks relatively healthy, almost exactly how he did before and during their last games. The blonde allows her eyes to fill with unshed tears, watching the boy she'd grown to really like be used as a puppet.

"Peeta, a lot of people feel as though they are in the dark," Caesar comments.

"Yeah, Yeah. I know how they feel," the boy responds tightly.

"Now, so set the stage for us. Talk us through what really happened on that final and controversial night,"

"Well, first off, you have to...you have to understand that when you're in the Games you only get one wish. It's very costly,"

Elena has unconsciously moved her hand to grab Finnick's tightly, desperately seeking the comfort he's so good at providing. The older man squeezes back as he too watches the boy on the screen, the entire table in shock.

"It costs your life," Caesar adds as a rebuttal, his eyes trained on the District Twelve victor who is quick to respond.

"I think it costs more than your life,"

"How do you mean? What's more than your life?"

Elena can hardly believe her eyes as she listens and watches him, how could he possible be this okay? The Capitol are not quick to give out second chances, Peeta has crossed them more than most — to her its a surprise he's still alive, a very welcome surprise.

"I mean to murder innocent people. Now that costs everything that you are. So you hold on to that one wish, and that night my wish was to save Elena or Katniss, possibly even both," Peeta breathes and Elena sniffles.

The people around them are starting to get a little restless as they watch him, thoughts undoubtedly flooding their minds and poisoning their brains.

"You know, I should've just run off with them. I should've taken them away from the danger but-but I didn't," Peeta sounds slightly vulnerable as he airs his regrets.

"Why? Were you caught up in Beetee's plan?"

"No, I was caught up trying to play allies. And then they separated us and that's when I lost then. I knew that Elena was more than likely safe — Finnick wouldn't have let anything happen, but Katniss," he pauses as he thinks about the even that had taken place. "And then the lightning hit and the whole force field around the arena just blew out,"

"Yes, but, Peeta, Katniss is the one who blew it out,"

"No,"

"You saw the footage,"

"No, she didn't know what she was doing. Neither of us, or Lena, knew there was a bigger plan going on, we had no idea,"

"You had no idea?"

"No,"

Elena gets to her feet and moves closer to the screen as if she's trying to be closer to him. Jace follows her, wanting to provide her with some type of support to get her through this.

"Alright. Well, Peeta, there are many who find this suspicious to say the least," Caesar begins. "It seems as though she was part of a rebel plan,"

"What, do you think it was part of her plan to be almost killed by Johanna? Or part of the plan to be paralyzed by lightning? No, we were not part of any rebel plan. We had no idea what was going on," Peeta defends his District Partner.

"Alright. I believe you, Peeta Mellark. Thank you," Caesar speaks but Elena knows it's more than likely the opposite. "Now I was going to ask you to speak about the unrest, but I think you might be too upset,"

Elena almost throws something at the screen in protest — they're going to try and use him. Whether it be to lure them out or try and calm some of the districts, they're going to tarnish his name to get what they want.

"No. No, I can,"

It's the only time that Elena has ever wanted to go to the Capitol — she wants to drag him out of there and bring him to the safe place he deserves.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, absolutely. I want everyone who's watching to stop and to think about what a civil war could mean. We almost went extinct once before, and now our numbers are even fewer," Peeta is now looking directly into the camera, trying to reach out to whoever will listen.

Elena slowly brings her hand up to the closest screen to caress its surface, touching his face – if in person would bring him comfort and perhaps even a sense of security. Her eyes lock with his through said screen and she remembers the times in the arena, even when they were in a horrible situation, that the sides of them would crinkle up when he smiled. The way they radiated more calm and friendliness than she had ever experienced in her life.

The crowd around her begin to come vocal with their thoughts of the boy, calling him a traitor and excluding him from the community for his words — the words they more than likely drilled into his mind for hours on end. Peeta Mellark is not their enemy.

"Is this really what we want to do? Kill ourselves off? Killing is not the answer. Everyone needs to lay down their weapons immediately. For all of us,"

Elena tries to drown out the harsh words around her but it comes progressively harder with every passing moment.

"Are you calling for a ceasefire?" Caesar questions him.

"Yeah, I am. I want everyone to stop the senseless violence. This is not the path to change. It's not the path to justice,"

And then he's gone, causing Elena to stumble back into her older brother's arms in tears.

I'm sorry for the delay! Been busy with assignment and such! Thank you for reading!