Tortured but Together (A Hunger Games Fanfiction) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter Fifteen

A/N: Usual PSA that the Hunger Games characters belong to Suzanne Collins and not to me. I know it might seem a little repetitive to put this every chapter but I just want to make sure I do so that I don't run into any copyright issues. Thanks for understanding! And now, without further ado, the story!!

(Peeta POV)
To say I'm a little bit unnerved would be an understatement. I'm not really sure what to expect from my meeting with President Snow. Although, I'm sure that there will be an explanation soon enough. While the peacekeeper escorts me to his office, I just make sure to keep in mind the promise I made to Katniss. I will come back to her.

The peacekeeper sharply knocks on the door, and, a minute later, President Snow calls for us to be let in.

"Ah, Mr. Mellark. How nice to see you again. I'm going to have to ask everyone else to leave the room. Mr. Mellark and I need to have a private chat." They can't leave the room fast enough, it's clear that President Snow is angry, and none of them want to be around for that.

I sit there silently, refusing to break his gaze. It's important that I don't show weakness.

"Mr. Mellark, I'm quite sure you know the reason for this meeting. And, before you respond with some smart comment, be aware that you are currently on very thin ice."

He steeples his hands on top of his desk, waiting for my response. Well, he won't have to wait long.

"I have some idea. I'll also tell you this though, Katniss is the most important person to me in the world. I will do whatever it takes to protect her, even if it means that I die so she can live. If that's the case, then so be it. I made her a promise that you and your peacekeepers would never hurt her, and I intend to keep that promise."

"Well Mr. Mellark, I will admit, you have quite a bit of courage. Especially considering how easy it would be for me to kill you and dispose of the body..."

I interrupt him, "But you won't do that, will you sir?" I ask calmly.

"I don't appreciate being interrupted Mr. Mellark."

Ignoring his comment, I continue talking. "Would you like to know why you won't do that? Well, I'll tell you. You need me sir, plain and simple. Without me, you have no hope of convincing Katniss to call for an end to the rebellion."

"You are clever, Mr. Mellark. I will give you that. However, what you fail to realize is that I'm quite clever as well." He smiles, a sign that something is clearly wrong.

"What did you do?"

"Let's just say that your dear Miss Everdeen is about to have her first test. And, I would strongly suggest that she passes, otherwise the consequences will not be pleasant."

I'm afraid now, but I can't show it, so I'll show anger instead. "What. Did. You. Do."

"Miss Everdeen will be talking to Caesar Flickerman, and, during that time, she will call for a ceasefire. If she refuses, if she puts up any resistance, she will have another one of her "sessions" and we will not heal her afterwards;  we will see if she is alive come morning time."

This time, I can't hide my fear. President Snow basically just told me that he would kill Katniss. "Don't. Don't you dare do that. Don't you dare hurt her!"

"My dear boy, I can do whatever I wish."

"If she dies, I'll become the mockingjay. And I will welcome this war, because it will be a chance to avenge Katniss. I'm not a violent person sir, don't force me to change that." The threat in my voice is clear; mess with Katniss, and I'll raise hell.

"You? The mockingjay? Oh, that's just too amusing." President Snow says, letting out a brief chuckle.

"You don't think I can do it?"

"My dear Mr. Mellark, why do you think I barely have any security watching you? Why do you think you're allowed to freely roam my palace during the day and are only confined to your quarters at night? It's simple really. You're not a threat."

I glare at him, but he does have a point. "Then let me go on the air with Katniss."

"After all the insults you threw at me? Now, why would I do that Mr. Mellark? Why would I accommodate someone who, just a minute ago, threatened to commit treason?"

"Because, like I said, you need me. You hate me, and I'll hate you forever because of what you did to Katniss and countless other tributes, as well as district 12. That being said, I'm not an idiot; I know that if I want to get both me and Katniss out of here alive, we'll have to play along, at least for now."

"I'm still not seeing your line of reasoning Mr. Mellark."

"I can...I can convince her to call for a cease fire. I'll...I'll get her to do it. Just don't hurt her, just don't make me leave her again. We've already lost each other so many times. Not again, I won't lose her again."

President Snow smiles his usual devilish smile in response. "Why, my dear Mr. Mellark, why didn't you simply lead with that? It would have made our conversation so much easier and so much more pleasant!"

"I wanted to make sure that I was truly out of other options. That I had thought of everything before I had to play on your team."

"Well, that's irrelevant at this point I suppose. As long as you deliver on your promise, I see no reason to punish you. After all, you don't truly want to cause chaos in Panem. All you want to do is be with Miss Everdeen and keep her safe. Who would I be to fault young love?"

"I'm pretty sure that however I answer that I'll be back on thin ice sir."

"Well played Mr. Mellark, well played. It truly does seem like you're learning. Now, Miss Everdeen will be going on the air with Caesar Flickerman in two hours. I'll have you sent off to wardrobe now so that the two of you can enter together. After all, who doesn't want to see the famous star crossed lovers?"

I nod, and a peacekeeper leads me out of President Snow's office. Before long, I'm backstage, and a prep team gets to work on making me ready for all of Panem to see on live television. Quietly, I murmur, "Katniss, I'm doing this to protect you. Please see that and please don't hate me for it. Please forgive me for all of this."

P.S. In case you're curious why I'm writing Peeta like this, I feel like I'm still staying true to the core of his character. Peeta cares about Katniss and truly would do anything to protect her, when I write in his POV I'm doing my best to show this off. I also don't want to write this like Peeta is weaker than Katniss, that's why I have him getting angry and emotional. I feel like it isn't discussed as much how strong of a character Peeta is and so I'm hoping to change that.