"ARE you crazy?" The shrilling voice of Effie sounded as the three young district 12 tributes and their designers sat on the couch in front of the television, waiting for the scores from earlier's evaluations to broadcast. The woman walked into the room, hands on her hips and looking right at Katniss Everdeen.
Indigo and Peeta shared a look of confusion. After Indigo had returned to the suite, the two blondes had shared everything they did and everything that was said to them to each other, Katniss hadn't told them a single thing. Hell, she hadn't muttered a word since after her evaluation.
"I just got mad!" Katniss defend, shrugging her shoulders, amused. Effie did not look amused or impressed. She looked to the two blondes for help, which they shrugged too in response.
Effie groaned before looking back to the brunette girl. "Mad? You realize that your actions reflect badly on all of us, not just you."
"They just want a good show, it's fine." Cinna's soothing voice came in to Katniss's defense. Indigo looked to Honey, who just smiled in response. Even with sending her pleading eyes, Honey just smiled and held up one finger to her lips as if to shush her.
"How about it's just bad manner, Cinna? How about that?" Effie responded smartly, hands on her hips, attitude in check.
Indigo shook her head frantically. "Can anyone tell me what the fuck is going on? What did Katniss do? Are we in trouble?" Peeta nodded, agreeing with her. They were the only ones in the room who didn't have a single clue as to what happened.
But before anyone could answer her questions, Haymitch walked in. He didn't look that drunk, which surprised the Burns girl greatly. He looked all around, his expression stoned. "Well, finally!" Effie huffed, crossing her arms and raising her brows at him. "I hope you noticed, we have a serious situation."
His stoned face quickly shifted to a sly grin towards Katniss, holding up two thumbs up. "Nice shooting sweetheart!" Katniss's lips turned up into a smile at his words.
"Wha-what did they say? What did they do when you shot the apple?" Haymitch giggled with glee. Indigo's eyebrows shot up to mars.
"You shot that apple? They were just removing the arrow when I entered." Katniss looked to her, surprised. "That's some cool fucking shit, Everdeen."
And for the first time ever, Katniss smiled at Indi. She then turned back to Haymitch to answer his question. "Well, they look pretty startled."
"Well yeah!" Haymitch snorted, composing his breath. "What did you say? 'Thanks for...?'"
"...your consideration." The brunette teen finished for him, smiling at his joy in her success.
"Genius! Genius." The mentor laughs, falling onto the armrest next to the couch to get a good seat before the broadcast.
"I don't think we're gonna find this funny!" Effie cut in again, hitting Haymitch's shoulder with her handbag. "If the game makers decided to take it out-"
"On who? On her?" Haymitch says with a straight face, pointing at Katniss. He then pointed to Indi, causing her to back up into Peeta a bit. "On her?" Finally, he pointed the the baker boy. "Or maybe him?"
Effie huffes, but Haymitch isn't done. "I think they already have." He crossed one leg over the other, leaning back into his chair. "Loosen your corset and have a drink. Do us all a favor."
While Effie starts bickering with Haymitch again, Indigo watches as Cinna whispers to Katniss, holding her shoulder and smiling. "I would have given anything to see it."
Sinking back into her seat between Peeta and Honey, Indigo watched as the television screen lit up and began to play the capitol music. The glee expressed face of Caesar Flickerman appeared and he was on a chair in front of a huge projector.
"As you know the Tributes are rated on a scale of one to twelve after a week of training and a presentation of careful evaluation." The cheery man spoke out, voice more serious then before. "And now, the scores."
"From District 1, Marvel. Score of nine." Indigo scowled as the boy's smug picture appeared on the screen. "Glimmer, eight. Satin, also eight."
Peeta looked at the side of his best friend's tensed face and knew she was obviously feeling anxious. So without thinking, he reaches over and grabs her hand, lacing them together. The blonde girl turned to him suddenly, cheeks flushing.
"Cato, score of ten. Clove, score of ten. Blaze, score of seven." Caesar went on, causing Indigo to look back at the screen, but with Peeta still holding her hand.
The districts names and their tributes went one. Plenty of people were getting good scores, but some were quite unlucky and got scores of 2 and 3. When Caesar announced District 11, Indigo straightened up.
"Rue, score of seven ." Katniss' eyes flicker fast. "Thresh, nine. And Marley...six."
Indigo cursed under her breath. "Shit, what did you do Marley? You're better then that." But before she could finish that thought, Caesar spoke again.
"From District 12..." Everyone in the room now sat at the edge of their seats, the atmosphere tense. "Peeta Mellark..." Indigo gripped his hand tightly, bringing it to her chest, closing her eyes and actually praying that he won't get a low score. "Score of...eight."
Indigo immediately sat up and hugged him. Smiling, she looked at him. "You sly bastard!"
"Ooh, Peeta!" "Not bad. Bravo." The others around them cheered, but Peeta only focused on the blonde girl in front if him, grinning from ear to ear.
"Next...Indigo Burns." They snapped their gazes away from one another, looking back at the screen, but Peeta still hung onto her tight like she had just done.
"A score of...10." Breathing out in relief, Indigo smiled as the blonde boy shook her excitedly. He was grinning once again and he looked just so proud of her. Honey rubbed Indi's back with a sweet smile. The others around her congratulated her too.
"And finally...from District 12, Katniss Everdeen." The brunette sat up straighter and put her elbows on her knees, leaning forward. "With score of..eleven."
Katniss fell back on the couch in surprise as Effie jumped up in excitement while the other adults praised her. But for some reason, the Burns girl and the Mellark boy did not exactly jump for joy.
Sure they did for each other, but not for her. They have never given out a score of 11 before, so the two blondes looked at each other, talking with their eyes.
She's a threat.
Of course Indigo knew this. Katniss hasn't liked her the second she got here, so obviously there's some sort of grudge on her that she's oblivious to.
"Congratulations." Peeta forced out, making Katniss turn to them. Indigo nodded her head, pursing her lips.
"Pretty impressive." Katniss looked at her tightly before whirling back around to talk to Cinna.
"I thought they hated me!"
"They must have liked your guts." The man replied, hugging Katniss. Effie then stood up, raising her champagne glass.
"To Katniss Everdeen...The Girl On Fire!" Everything else cheered and took a sip of their drinks while Peeta and Indigo watched them, hurt filling up their insides.
Where was their praise?
Honey looked over her shoulder at the two, knowing all too well how they felt in the moment.
☘︎︎☘︎︎☘︎
"Fia! The broadcast is on!" Delly yelled out, preparing glasses of lemonade for the younger Burns girl, and Delly's own two little sisters sitting on the floor near the tv. Thundering footsteps pounded on the stairs before Fia Burns stood in the kitchen, skinny and shaking.
Helping Delly carry the drinks, the two joined the other Cartwater girls by the tv watching as the announcer shifted to tell the district 12 scores. "From District 12...Peeta Mellark."
Delly breathed. "C'mon bread boy."
"Score of...eight." Delly smiled at her friend's success.
"Oh thank god." Fia spoke, running a hand through her unkept blonde hair.
"Next...Indigo Burns." All four girls in the room glued their eyes to the screen. Delly reached over and tugged Fia close, for extra support.
"A score of...10."
"Yes!" Fia jumped up, shouting in excitement for her older sister. Delly joined her in cheering and the two hugged.
Delly grinned as her friend's holographic picture appeared on screen. "Kick ass, Indigo Burns."
☘︎︎☘︎︎☘︎
Indigo and Peeta didn't eat dinner with the others last night, they talked quietly and shared their own meal in Peeta's room, talking about strategies for the games.
Which are tomorrow, making Indigo all fidgety and paranoid. She has no fucking clue what they might face or if she's even ready. They were going to do all that they can to stay together and get supplies.
And of course, survive.
But now here she stood, in front of Honey, pacing back and forth in a floor length purple tulle lace dress with a lacy top, and thin straps with flowers on them to complete the dress. Her blonde curls were held in a half up and down hairstyle. Chewing her bottom lip, she looked to her stylist who was sitting on a couch, raising an eyebrow up at her.
"You're obviously nervous." Honey began. "How so?" Indigo looked at her as if she had two heads. How is Honey so calm is the real question here?
Katniss was about to go on stage in front of hundreds of thousands of people, in person, and behind a camera. Then after Katniss, it would be Indigo's turn. Scoffing, Indigo crossed her arms, looking to a TV which was showing Thresh's interview. "Oh I'm sorry that I'm a little nervous, it's not like I'm going to be broadcasted to thousands of people."
Honey chuckled. Indigo frowned at her. "What's so funny?"
Honey stood up and joined the blonde teenager in front of the television screen. Placing a comforting hand on Indi's shoulder, Honey breathed deeply.
"From that first moment I met you, I knew you were unlike any girl I've styled in the past. Would you like to know why?" Honey asked, to which Indigo nodded her head at. "Well, you weren't trying to cover up your fear. The past few years, the girl's I had tried to act tough and brave. They were all killed in mere minutes after the horn sounded."
"But you my dear one, you didn't care if you cried in front of me. No, you let yourself be vulnerable and you told me how you really felt about this all. And I admire you so much for that, you know that? We need more honest people like you in this world. I believe that's the only way to make everything better."
Indigo stood silent a moment before turning to her friend. "Who knew you were so wise?" Honey barked a laugh and pulled the younger girl into a hug, holding her tight.
"I bet everything on you, sweet girl. Now when you go out there, just be your beautiful goddamn self, okay?" Indi nodded and let Honey hold her until Katniss went on stage.
When two people walked in the room, she turned to see her best friend in a black suit with red strips of details on the blazer part. His hair was slicked into a style with gel, which immediately reminded Indigo of the day of the reaping.
Blushing slightly at how handsome he looked, she walked over and fixed his hair herself, Peeta's stylist snapping at her in frustration. But Peeta liked when his best friend fixed his hair, if she liked it that way, then so did he.
"It's fine, Portia. She likes my hair without all the gel and styling." Peeta laughed to the woman behind him, who rolled her eyes before standing next to Honey.
"You look much more handsome the hair you have everyday. Not some capitol branding." Indigo rambled without thinking, fluffing out the gel.
Peeta, who didn't let it pass him, smirked. "Oh so you think I'm handsome?" Indigo rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder and taking a few steps back to fully assess his hair.
"Well if you don't want compliments, then don't expect any!" She joked, as Honey came over to fix her mascara and eyeshadow. Peeta dipped his head back, letting out a bellow.
"I didn't say I didn't want them, I was just teasing you." The Mellark boy grinned cheekily. His eyes then drifted down her body frame, his face heating up from the way she looked in the purple dress. "You look really beautiful too, by the way."
Indigo flushed again, causing Honey to snort. "Thank you, Peeta." Honey ran another layer of lipstick over the Burns girls lips and then stepped back.
"Beautiful girl." Honey smiled truthfully. A capital worker walked in, nodding at Indigo.
"She goes on in a minute, please come with me." Panic started to arise in Indigo once again, feeling Peeta grasp her hand. He went with her to the waiting area behind the stage, smiling at her.
Honey hugged her quickly. "I have to go sit with Cinna, if you ever get nervous, just look for me." Indi nodded as her stylist ran off to a door. A few seconds later, Katniss comes off stage in her red dress. She looks at the two blondes before nodding at Indigo, then walking back to the room Indigo was just in.
The guy from before ushered her to the stage door. Taking a deep breath she waited for the announcement of her name.
"Please welcome to the stage, The Girl With Fire, Indigo Burns!" Holding on the sides of her dress to prevent herself from falling, she walked on the stage with bright lights and cheering faces. Mustering a smile, she took the hand Caesar offered her and sat down on the white circle chair.
Giving her a charming smile, Ceaser waited for the crowd to hush before welcoming her. "Welcome again, Indigo! My, what the entrance you made last week!"
Indigo shrugged, glancing at Honey who was smiling up at her. "Just a normal Tuesday."
This cased her audience to burst into laughs, which surprised Indi. "Normal? Your clothes burst into flames often?" Caesar asked, grinning. Indigo put on a smirk.
"On occasions." This caused another series of chuckles. Indigo couldn't believe she was making all these people laugh with barely any effort.
"Okay, okay." Caesar spoke out again, quieting the people down. "Let's talk about today's dress because- wow!" She grinned, looking down at her dress. "Your stylist really knows how to make a crowd swoon!"
Blushing a bit, Indi waved him off. "Well of course, it's one of a kind."
"One of a kind in deed. Now, does this dress burst into flames too?" Indigo flicked an eye to Honey, who tried to contain her smile. She motioned the blonde teenager to fluff at the dress.
"I guess you'll have to see it for yourself, huh?" The crowd went crazy at that, all screaming for her to do it. With a smile of a approval from Caesar Flickerman, she grabbed her dress and swished it back in forth.
After a few swishes, purple colored flames came of the dress and lit up from the flowers to the chest piece. Knowing it was fake, Indigo let it spread throughout the whole dress, twirling around in it as the audience screamed historically, never seeing dressing quite like Indi's and Katniss's.
After the flames went out, the blue haired man guided her back to the chair for a few questions. "That was something, hm? We will all remember that tomorrow when you walk into those games."
Those words made Indigo tense up a bit. She looks Honey who nods her head, telling her to keep going. Caesar's next sentence snaps her back. "So your sister. I think everyone here is so amazed to see district 12 has two brave volunteers that came here to protect their sisters."
Indigo nodded, holding back her emotions because she missed her baby sister so much. "Did she come to say goodbye to you?"
"Yes." Answered Indigo almost immediately after he spoke it. "Of course she did."
"What did you sat to her in response?"
Indigo gripped at her dress, knowing fully her little Fia was watching her live at this moment. She didn't want to say that she was going to try to get home, because that wasn't her plan. "I told her that I would stay with Peeta, the whole time."
The room went silent at that, and the blonde wondered if that was the wrong thing to say. "She adores Peeta. She doesn't want the two of us separated."
"And Peeta is your-?" Flickerman started.
"Best friend." The 16 year old interrupted him. "He's my- my best friend." Trying her best to sound convincing was hard in this situation, but honestly? If people think otherwise, then she really could careless. It's not like people don't mistake the two of them as couple all the time.
"I see. I'm sorry this happened to you, Indigo." Caesar patted her hand before pulling her to her feet and raised her hand into the air. "Indigo Burns, The Girl With Fire!"
She waved once more before walking off the stage to see Peeta standing their, smiling at her before going towards the stage too. He brushed their fingertips against each other as she passed by him, causing her to feel all warm inside.
Katniss, Haymitch and Effie looked to her when she entered the room. Effie pulled her into a embrace immediately, pulling back and saying she did amazing. "Good job, sweetheart." Haymitch smiled at her to which her lips tipped up in the corners at.
"They seem to like to ask us about our sisters, huh?" Katniss turned to her suddenly, surprising Indigo.
The blonde blinked before nodding. "I guess so."
A/n
Peeta's interview and drama is coming next chapter so stay tuned! I was going to add it to this chapter, but it's already longer then my other chapters are, so i decided I'll save it for then!
thanks for reading <3
parker xx