"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the 72nd Annual Hunger Games!" Chants echoed from around the arena. My hands coated with the thick blood from the other tribute. I did this. My eyes could not break from the corpse on the floor; it took everything in me to hold back the lump in my throat. A tear almost fell from my eye, but I was frozen. The hovercraft had come to collect me, and a separate one lugged the dead boy away.

Gold silk covered my body; my eyes squinted from the light coming in through the large window by the foot of the bed. Instinct kicked in as my body jumped up in a sitting position, my eyes darting around the room frantically looking for a sign of where I am. Obviously I was in the capital, but where in the capital. I never knew where the victors went after the games; I just assumed they went back home until they visited each district.

"Knock-Knock!" A cheery female voice rang outside the bedroom door. Judging from the capital accent I could tell it was my personal stylist. Before I could even answer her she pranced in the room, "Wake up! We have a lot to do before the celebration dinner!" The team followed after her into the room and pulled the covers off of me. I was too groggy to protest or fight back, so I let them strip off my clothes and then coat my limp body in wax, flinching each time they ripped off the paper. They waxed my entire body until the only hair remaining on my body was my perfectly plucked eyebrows and my undone hair.

The team let me lay on my back while they started plastering my face in more beauty products than I knew existed. Due to my fair skin, they take their time to contour where the shadow hits my face. Somehow this technique gives me a sun kissed glow. My eyelashes were the biggest I have ever seen them, and none of my lashes stuck together. That plus the smokey eye that extended all the way up to my eyebrows brought out the gold streaks in my dark blue eyes. My lips, however, were a coral color, bringing some brightness and innocence to my look. Soft waves fell around my head then were pulled up into a french twist, swirling the light and dark strands of brown into a work of art; it really defined my jaw line. The only missing piece was my outfit for the day.

The piece was surprisingly normal. A maroon dress, about knee length, with a wide neckline that formed into a v. It looked as though the dress was supposed to show a little cleavage, but due to my lack in that department it just elongated my neck and made it look thinner. The dress thinned at the waist, puffing back out to give a cinderella feel to it.

"Ready!" My stylist cheered, calling out to the two men dressed in simple black tuxedos. The men each held their elbows out for me to hook onto them and lead me down what felt like a thousand hallways. My lungs were tight, a symptom I get when I am nervous, and breathing suddenly became harder. It felt as if it was the day after I killed that boy and I have to put on a fake smile and entertain the guests at this celebration. Quite frankly, it did not feel like a celebration at all.

We stopped at two large doors. The man on my left said something into his earpiece and the doors opened perfectly, and slowly, in sync. Applause ripped through the crack in the separating doors, getting louder the more it opened up. When they fully opened, the men released me to walk forward on my own. I took a step forward, almost tripping in the four inch black heels I was put in. Snow broke me out of my trance by stepping in front of me, smiling and congratulating me on my win. I politely thanked him and excused myself, trying to get away from the chaos and excited capital citizens. All of the questions were the same; they all asked about the games. Flashes of the arena were taking over my mind, and this was becoming too much to handle way too fast. My body pushed its way through the crowd to the first door I could find. Quickly, I slipped into the room, leaning my back against the wall and closing my eyes. A long sigh left my lungs, relieving myself from some of the stress. My body was shaking; it was all so overwhelming.

"Care for some company?" A deep voice caused me to jump, whipping my head to see who was speaking to me.

"I'm fine. Thank you for the offer, though." I put on my capital smile and excused him from the room, but instead of listening to me he only walked fully into the room and closed the door behind him.

"Fine? Last I checked this was a closet, and judging from the coats I am guessing it still is." His hand gestured to the coats behind me.

"Sorry. I needed to prepare for what I am about to get myself into." I inform him.

"I understand. I've been in the same position. Want me to help relax you?" His voice turned flirtatious as he moved towards me, resting his hands on my waist. "I'll make all your worries go away." His breath his my ear, making my skin warm. I tensed from the intimate touch, pushing on his perfectly sculpted chest. No matter how hard I tried to push he did not budge in the slightest. The last thing I could do in this situation was turn my head away to breath in fresh air; this act only caused a low chuckle to come from the strange, unfamiliar man holding me.

"No, thank you." I managed to mumble out, pushing the golden-haired man away from me. My hands found the door to the closet and I slipped out, getting one final glance at the shocked face I left in the closet.

"I see you've met Finnick." Snow approached me; his eyes were amused with the panic radiating off of me. I could only nod at him. "You and him should get better acquainted. After all, he will be teaching you all about your new job," he informed me. I waited, with a blank look on my face, for him to explain. "I don't know if you have noticed but the gentlemen in the room have taken a liking towards you, Kathleen. When one of my victors receive this sort of attention, I simply must use it to my advantage." Snow paused only to let out a burst of laughter. A jolt of fear sent a shiver down my spine, "Oh, and Kathleen? I will send Finnick by your room after the party so you can, um, learn more about your new job." He finally walked away, still laughing to himself as he joined the other guests in some friendly conversation.

My palms turned clammy; instinctively, they wiped themselves on the hem of my dress. Breathing no longer crossed my mind. The loss of air was finally aware to me, as I began taking in large gulps of air. What did he mean by "new job"? Never in my life would I ever believe that I would work for the capital.

In the midst of my panicking, an unfamiliar warm sensation was on my back followed by a familiar touch on my hips. "I can't wait to teach you a few things later," Finnick's breath hit the side of my face, and at that moment I could feel my skin crawl, "but for now," he continued, "let's dance." His hands spun me around to face him, swiftly placing one hand on my hip and grasping my hand in his empty one. I naturally placed my free hand upon his shoulder while he began swaying us back and forth; we moved in unison throughout the room. This, believe it or not, was exactly what I needed. No one tried to approach me during the entire dance. For a few moments, I was untouchable by the capital. I felt normal, that is until Finnick decided to dip my head towards the floor, gaining a mass amount of attention from everyone in the room. He effortlessly pulled me back into a standing position, "Well aren't we the talk of the party?"

The song ended and everyone stopped dancing and applauded the band. I joined in, putting the fake smile back on my face. My eyes rolled from the comment Finnick made. The talk of the party was the last thing I wanted to be, and the first thing he wanted to be.

I found myself walking away from the dance floor and towards the buffet. One after another, I popped the delectable cuisine in my mouth. "You need to stop leaving me." Once again I was blessed with Finnick's presence.

"You need to stop following me." I mutter to myself loudly enough so he can hear the sharp tone in my voice.

"Where's the fun in that, Katie?" He cooed at me, using a nickname as if we have been friends since birth, "Besides, I came over to tell you to lay off the food. People don't find that very appealing, and trust me, we need to be appealing. Especially with our job."

"What exactly is our job?" I ask, earning a laugh from the tall man.

"Let's just say, if you want to keep it then your going to have to change your eating habits," he said.

"What if I don't want to keep it?" I question the ridiculous task needed for a job that I have no knowledge of.

"You don't get it. You don't have a choice. If you don't like the job then you learn to stay silent about it. There is no choice in what you do after the games, you just simply try to stay on the Capital's good side." Finnick used a lighthearted tone, being careful not to draw any attention towards our conversation. A bright smile was spread across his face, as usual, as he told me what lies ahead for me. "You see that woman serving food?" he asked and I nodded, "She defied the Capital. They cut out her tongue and tortured her. Now she's a personal slave for the higher members of the Capital. The name they call them is an Avox."

I gasped at what she must have gone through, "Why would they do that?" I looked up to Finnick, for the first time, not in disgust.

"They do this because they can," he pauses and looks down at me, "It sort of makes you think; we should really spend each day without regrets." Once again Finnick's hands find their way around my waist, "How about we make this night worth while." His voice turned into a murmur as his lips grazed the tip of my ear. Leave it to Finnick to turn a touching moment into an opportunity to seduce someone.

"Can you please get off of me?" My body squirmed in his grip, trying anything to pry him off of me. Once again I was unable to even make him budge. The only thing I could do was hope he would free me.

"Oh, I see. You want to save the touching for after the party." Finnick released me from his grip and gave one of his signature winks at me. Slowly, he began walking backwards towards where the rest of the people were, "I'll see you later tonight." He turned around and headed into a crowd of people to mingle.