Aftersun 𖤓 peeta mellark

vii. defying orders

"I didn't either. How about you take care of mentoring the tributes directly and I just gain them a bunch of sponsors?" He asks while chuckling. Avonlea smiles up at him as she hooks her arm into his, walking the rest of the way back to the district twelve penthouse interlinked.

•°. *࿐

     HAYMITCH RETURNED TO HIS ROOM when they arrived back in the penthouse, leaving Avonlea to entertain herself until the alcohol wore off enough to let her sleep. She walks into the living room and finds an envelope sitting on the coffee table. With golden writing the letter is addressed to: Avonlea Ondine.

Dear Avonlea,

I know this letter comes at late notice but I have received a request for you to attend a party in the heart of the Capitol tonight. I've had your stylist leave a dress in your room to wear. Please do not be late, the host has payed for a full night's service.

President Snow

Avonlea stares at the note for a second, mentally preparing herself for the night ahead as Peeta walks into the living room. He notices her sitting alone at the windowsill and approaches her.

"You and Haymitch got back late" Peeta notes as he takes a seat beside her. He mirrors Avonlea's position by bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

"Yeah we were out getting you and Katniss some sponsors ahead of time" She says, still staring down at the letter from Snow in her hand.

Peeta notices her her attention flickering from the clock on the wall and the note in her hand yet never landing on him. "Do you have somewhere to be?" he asks, preparing to stand up and leave her to get ready.

She looks between the letter and the clock one last time then finally makes eye contact with Peeta who is waiting for her response. "No, i'm done for the night" she tells him, scrunching up the piece of paper between her palms.

"It's your evaluation day tomorrow isn't it?" Avonlea asks. She watches as Peeta lets out a sigh and drops his head to rest on his knees. Any guilt she feels about ditching Snow's plans dissipate then. He brought her to the Capitol to be a mentor, not a service for hire. Seeing her tribute so anxious and forlorn made her realise she had spent more time catering to Snow's needs than Katniss or Peeta's and they were the people who needed her most. 

"Hey, you're going to do great. Do you know what you're going to show them?" She asks. Peeta props his chin on his hands, allowing him to look up at Avonlea. Realising she is there to support him and he is not entirely alone, a soft smile spreads across his lips.

"Katniss and Haymitch say I have to show them how strong I am" he tells her. She nods along as he continues to tell her how Katniss made him throw a medicine ball across the training centre because the careers were laughing at him.

"Might need to use that trick in your private session. While showing your skill, you need to make sure they remember you. They are not just rating you on the skill, it's also about the presentation" She informs him.

Peeta is silent for a moment, thinking about all the ways he can leave his mark on the Gamemakers before he speaks up. "What was your training score?" he asks.

She hated how the second he mentioned her training score she huddled into herself. Peeta watches as the slight curl in her lip falls flat and the colour in her skin fades until her face becomes a blank canvas.

Immediately Peeta starts to apologise in a panicked daze, offering to change the topic to something they've talked about before and he knows she likes such as district four or district twelve but all he is met with is silence. When he realises his attempts are futile, he stops talking and watches her figure, waiting for her to make any sort of movement or noise.

"I got a seven. Everyone was surprised because I was just a thirteen year old girl, people my age usually got between a four and a six if they were lucky. I knew almost nothing about combat or weaponry but I was good with fishing knives as I used them at home all the time. On the train to the Capitol my mentor Finnick set up target practise for me so even if I learnt nothing during training, I knew how to use knives" Avonlea explains.

Peeta watches as she gazes out the window while she talks, as if she is watching the memories back through the reflection of the glass. He softly smiles, knowing she is comfortable enough to open up to him about stuff she probably hasn't told anyone else. 

"I'm guessing the knives came in handy because you're here today" Peeta chuckles. She looks back over at him and at first just watches him. He is not sure whether she found his comment offensive or not until the tight line her lips are in crack into a lopsided smile.

"They did but I didn't really need them. My arena was a full ocean with tiny islands, it was guaranteed either my district partner or I would've won the games. Even if I hadn't killed anyone, the cornucopia was too far from the islands and most of the other tributes didn't know how to swim, they would've died off eventually" She explains. 

With a quick twitch of her head, she shakes away the memories of her games and changes the topic. "So how do you plan on showing your strength?"

•°. *࿐

authors note.

kind of a little chapter but im still adjusting to being back at school :( (yr 12 sucks)