Even though she had made quite the scene at the ceremony, she didn't regret it.

She did regret not getting to beat up more Peacekeepers but she would let that one roll of her back.

When the door slid open, she glanced up, expecting to see Gale or perhaps Peeta or Prim. Of course her luck kept getting worse as it turned out to be the last person she wanted to see in her condition. She knew she made several mistakes already and she didn't need Haymitch to make her feel worse. She was sure he had come by to lecture her as usual, make her feel even more stupid than she already felt. Katniss curled up a bit more, wishing her mind could curl itself up into a defensive ball like her body. She was well aware that her outburst on and off stage was what Snow had intended but why should she care if it made her look weak? She already had a massive target on her back. At least having Prim gave her more to fight for. To kill for.

Katniss gave Haymitch a look that Buttercup often gave her back home. Katniss really didn't want to be around him and found herself missing Gale. With Gale, she could sulk and talk about anything without feeling judged. But he was probably with Prim, who needed him too. She knew she needed to apologize to Effie for her outburst, since it wasn't really her fault that Prim and Gale were in this mess now too. When Haymitch sat down, she was pretty sure she was going to punch him. He had a lot of nerve just showing up after being such a jerk and pretending the past didn't matter and that what he said back in the woods hadn't hurt her. When he reached out, her plan of attack had gone out the window mostly out of sheer surprise. Katniss wasn't one for physical contact but she also knew neither was Haymitch so she decided to let this one slide, since he was a jerk.

He mentioned their tour with Peeta and how they saw the districts were all unsettled and how the people needed something, some kind of hope. She wasn't sure if she could do that. She was just one person fighting for her sister, that was it. Katniss sighed softly, as his hand moved against her skin, not sure why she found it soothing. But she did. Haymitch concluded by saying people were afraid of her and she knew one of them happened to be the President. She nodded and looked to him, her own eyes moving from his murky one, to the rest of his face. Even after what they said to each other, he still tried to make sure she was okay, so deep down, she guessed he did care about her, even if he might not like it. This notion caused Katniss to smile slightly as she brought up her non-injured hand to his. "Thank you." She said quietly. It was hard to remember they weren't the same people as last year. "Guess we outdid ourselves this year." She commented as she remembered the previous Reaping. 

She also remembered having to deal with Haymitch for the first time. "I think we both sort of hated each other back then." Haymitch wanted to drink and she wanted answered and Peeta had to try to get both of them to meet in the middle. But now she could understand his pessimism after having to deal with so many countless Tributes dying without much of a chance. Then Peeta and Katniss ended up changing the entire Games and now they were going back in again. "For the record, I don't hate you as much anymore." She muttered and removed his hand from her face by taking hold of his with her own hand and setting it down on the bed between them. Hopefully he didn't hate her anymore either, but he was difficult to read as she was, despite them being pretty candid with everything else. She leaned over and rested her forehead on his shoulder. "You're still kind of a jerk though." She grinned a little. Since he was trying to comfort her and get her spirits up, it only made him half a jerk now, and even then, she was determined to save him along with Prim and Gale.

"I'm glad I'm not going to be alone." Sure she had Rue and Peeta but she ultimately felt alone when she was in the 74'th Hunger Games and knowing she had Haymitch with her to help keep her collected, was more reassuring than she really realized. She understood him better, even if he liked keeping her at an arm's length. Katniss breathed in slightly, he smelled like home and it was quite welcomed after the emotional whirlwind she had gone through. "I'm sorry." She muttered, though whether it was in regards to her outburst or to the fact he was in the arena with her, hadn't been specified.

Seeing everyone get upset made Peeta feel even more like an outsider. 

He was mad about Gale and Prim and Katniss and Haymitch. He knew he had to do whatever it took to keep them all safe. There had to be a way to use the Games to his advantage. He knew Haymitch had ties, connections to the other Tributes. He wondered if he could somehow use alliances to help keep everyone safe. It was a gamble but it might work. As he fast forwarded through tapes of previous Hunger Games, Effie knocked and let herself in. He could tell she had been crying, even though her make looked freshly applied. "Katniss didn't mean what she said, Effie."

"I know Peeta." She said and carried in both bowls with names on them. "I was looking through these and saw they just had Primrose and Gale's names...I had no idea." She said, still shaken up. "I tried picking another female but I just kept getting her name...and Gale didn't even have to volunteer, he would have been selected anyway. This is unfair and terribly cruel." Effie protested. Peeta held his tongue, wanting to mention to concept of fighting was horrible but he knew she felt guilty for Primrose and that this might help her relax. "The Capital must be behind this."

"You can't tell anyone you, Effie." Peeta said as he looked to her, pausing the footage. "Gale volunteering, like I did, will give us an edge with sponsors and while Katniss' scene was hard to watch, i can at least let it emphasis her love for her sister...I doubt the Capital will react will to Katniss' bond. If we make the public hate Snow for creating such a cruel Quarter Quell, it could give the Tributes an advantage, I'm not sure but I'm working on a plan." He scratched the back of his neck.

"If you need anything, I'm happy to help." Effie smiled.

He hadn't expect Primrose to snap at him but he understood. She was frustrated and afraid. It hurt to watch both Katniss and Prim breakdown the way they did but he knew it was better they get everything out now when they could gather themselves, rather than elsewhere in the eye of the Capital. His insides reeled at the idea of going there. Katniss had explained their weird fashions and food and how everything seemed so fake and void of any real humanity. He hated that he was going and being forced to play their sick Games. He had to keep himself together for the sake of those counting on him. He had his family to think about but he also had Prim and Katniss. Gale decided that Prim needed to get out whatever she could and if he could help he would, but he felt just as helpless as anyone else. The difference was he could keep his cards pretty close to his chest and not let anyone see what really went on inside.

Prim paced around the dining car and he just watched, arms now folded against his chest.

He hated to see her this way but now wasn't the time to pretend they were back in District 12, He let her talk, ramble and cry. He knew she needed to get it all out before he could approach her with rational thought. Gale stood back and kept an eye on her, watching her move from the windows back to the carpet. He looked around, making sure no one else was around before he quickly approached her and sat down beside her. He wasn't sure if he could pull her close again but he decided to try either way. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into another hug. "We're not leaving, we're staying and finishing this once and for all. We're going to stay alive and so is Katniss." Gale told her. "They are using you to get to Katniss and you can't let them do that. To them you're a tool but you are so much more than that, Prim." He told her.

"You're strong and have more in common with Katniss than anyone realizes. They should be afraid of you as they are of her." Gale said. He had to be strong for Prim and Katniss. If he could do something, he would. But for now he just needed to make sure they were willing to keep fighting. "Last year wasn't a fluke, Katniss went and you didn't just sit around, you too advantage of that extra year remember? We went out and did our own fighting." He told her as he let go slowly. "This year they want to get you and Katniss together so that one of you might have to kill the other but that isn't going to happen. You're going to stand on your own to feet and help protect Katniss the same way she protected you." Gale told Prim firmly. In the back of his mind, he thought about Katniss and whether or not Haymitch was helping her or making things worse. Katniss' outburst had been totally reasonable but he still didn't want her turning out like Haymitch, bitter and alone.

He got up and pulled her to her feet. "Now we can complain and let all this food spoil or we can have something to eat because I know neither of us wanted to eat before the Reaping, and look forward to everything. We can't change being here. Our mothers will be watching us and they need to know we're okay. And we are and we will be." Gale said as he walked them back over toward the table of food. He removed his hand from hers and looked at the large selection of treats and candy. He knew his younger siblings would go nuts if they were with them. A pang of sadness hit him straight in the chest and he looked to Prim, hoping to at least see some kind of smile which would make him feel like horrible and lonesome. "I've never seen this before." He said and picked up a very cold glob of something. It was white and had some brown sludge covering the top. And then there were multi-colored bits of debris.

Gale grabbed a spoon and took a large bite. It was freezing! He cringed and doubled over. It was sweet, had vanilla and chocolate. He finally overcame his brain freeze and handed the crystal see through dish to Primrose. "Oh, you've gotta try this, but maybe try a little bit...it's really cold." Gale smiled to her. Whatever it was, he liked it.