They Say Quitters Never Win

You say "please don't ever change"

Joe POV

After we prepared for the tour we went to the train and start our way to district 12 as it will start from there, even though I wish we could push the date more as Patrick clearly didn't recover yet.

He is getting worse frankly, he lost a lot of weight and have dark circles around his eyes as he neither sleep or eat, not to mention the whole mumbling to himself, and when I ask him who is he talking to he said its Vikki or penny and sometimes other people who I don't know about, he usually get angry that they are clearly right in front of me and I couldn't see them.

and when he is not mumbling he just look ahead with expressionless face and when I try to talk him when he is in that state he doesn't respond at all like am not the there at all.

I couldn't help but to get worried as I keep feeling that am losing him, sure we are not that close but still he is someone I knew since we were kids, and I never thought that one day I will see him like this, Pete sensed what am thinking so he told me that what's happening to Patrick is just a side effect of the morphling, and he is planning to start lessen the dose until its completely cut off after the tour.

And speaking of the devil I have no idea since when this guy is so nice, well it's true he like that only for Patrick which I find it strange,

Even though am sure that Patrick used to be afraid of him & he always cries in the days he has to go to the capital with his father, when I asked him he told me about this Pete guy, and when I met him later when I was chosen as a tribute I knew that he have all the right to be.

That guy take deep enjoyment in inviting weapons, monsters and traps, and sometimes it's too violent even for the capital standards, and in such cases when they refused to use his idea in the game he doesn't watch it.
So you can understand why am surprised that he cared about Patrick genuinely,

But honestly am glade he did, after the interview I was trying to gain sponsors for my tributes and they wanted to support Patrick but not for reasons I want to hear, some said horrible things they want to do to him that I felt that dying in the hunger games will be more merciful for him.

The only thing I could do is listen and smile to them while they keep talking, it's not like I can stop them or protect him from what they want to do.
Not to mention when Pete showed up later asking to meet him, I felt that Patrick is already dead, but now watching how he helps him made me change my mind about the whole deal thing.

During the victor tour we gave Patrick the speech paper that he have to read from and informed him to never get out of the lines, when he start to read he didn't move his eye from the paper at all and kept his head down,
But the problem is due to his morphling dose he was reading very slowly and in a very low voice almost speaking to himself not to mention that he keeps dozing off between the lines, so we made some amendment on the speech to make shorter for the other districts visit.

In some district the civilians looked at him with dark expressions and in the other districts like 3 and 5 & 9 well if only look can kill Patrick won't be breathing by now not that I blame them.

Since the show was live I didn't have a chance to see what Caeser was saying while he is covering for the victor tour event and I was really worried about his comments regarding Patrick appearance and the way he talked, so I watched the show rerun and thankfully his comment that "the victor is so choked with his emotions" well am glade he made it look that way rather than saying he is so high in morphling.

When we finished the tour around the districts and arrived at the capital, Hayley took Patrick to get him ready for his interview with Caeser, and the dinner party after it.
I went to Caeser to explain to him Patrick situation, that we are going to write his answer in the screen in front him as now he is not in good place to form a thought, he stare sadly at Patrick while they are preparing him silently and nod and promise that he won't get out of the script at all.

When the interview started me and Pete and Hayley was watching anxiously back stage, when Caeser asked Patrick he didn't answer he was just staring at him, even though Caeser kept hinting to him to look at the screen and read it Patrick didn't move at all, so they had to cut it.

The producer and director went to him and start shouting like he will actually respond to them, but they stopped and apologized immediately as soon Pete showed up.

We went to the dinner party after, there were a lot of people who was looking at Patrick, and some clearly wait for a chance to hit on him, but since Pete was next to him and give the death glare to anyone who would even think about it. No one came close
Pete asked me to stay next to Patrick as he has to welcome the President and stand near his father the vice president when the speech starts.

Patrick mumbling state is on right now and I didn't want anyone notice or they will find out about his morphine abuse so I kept acting like he is talking to me, I even reply to some of his non sense words, we seriously need to start cutting of his doses.
after the speech was over we left the Party early which is something I never done before but this time is different.

the next day we took the train again, as our last location was to return to our district for the Celebration dinner, before the plan was that after the dinner party in district 4 is over Patrick will go with Pete to the capital and live with him, but Pete decided that it would be better if the first days when Patrick start to cut the morpling to be spent near to his family.

So he and Patrick will stay in the victor village until he fully cuts it.
When we arrived to the party which all the people from district 4 are welcome to join, people start cheering for the victor arrival, not that he gave any reaction he just kept walking through with the same expressionless face.

Vikki's family still mourning over their daughter death, it wasn't easy for me either, it never will, I try my best not to get attached to the tributes but still.
I went there to give my consolation to them and praise their daughter for her bravery, after all career tribute or not she still volunteered for someone else.

I saw Bob trying to make his way to were Patrick & Pete are sitting but I ran to him before he reached there.
Joe: "Bob! I won't recommend that"
Bob: "Why? I did him a favor didn't I, I gave him a chance to be a hero and he did, that would never happened if I volunteer for him so I think he should thank me for that"
Joe: "he is not feeling well, also see that guy sitting next to him?"
Bob: "yea what's with him?"
Joe: "that is the vice president son, and apparently he has some affection for Patrick, and as you can see the way Patrick looks right now isn't really good he hadn't recover very well yet, so I would highly recommend as long this guy is here you better stay home or far away of him or you are dead"
When it comes to anything the related to the capital no one has to be told twice, he turned around and left the party as quite as he could.

I saw Pete taking Patrick outside the party so I rushed to them, still I can't get myself to trust him completely.
Pete: "relax I will take him home, just go keep drinking or something"
Joe: "why is he alright?"
He glared at me and got closer and said "do I have to explain everything to you? Or should I remind you that I don't, and the fact that you are no longer his mentor, so after this party is over you can fuck off as you don't have to accompany him any longer".
I nod and stepped back, it's not smart to piss him off also he is right, am not his mentor so I have no rights to insist in being next to him anymore maybe that's why he was nice to me before, waiting for the moment I lose my authority over Patrick.
But still Patrick is my friend and it's hard seeing him taken away in a defenseless situation.
But who am I to stop the capital, the only thing I could do is watching them helplessly as they ride the car and drive away.