The first thing Clove saw when she woke was Katniss's beautiful face, glowing from the sunlight which lit up her delicate features. The first thing Clove heard, however, was not as comforting.

"Up, up, up, you two! Sleepy time is over, or whatever else you were …doing."

Clove looked towards the bubbly voice. It came from a woman with bright pink hair and an extremely powdered face.

Who the hell is this? She looks kinda familiar…

In an answer to Clove's curiosity, she heard rustling from beside her, followed by an enthusiastic exclamation.

"Effie!"

Clove watched in confusion as Katniss bounded out of bed and into the arms of the equally startled woman. Effie stood still as Katniss hugged her, and finally relented and gave her an awkward pat on the back.

Katniss released her hold on Effie with an awkward half grin.

"Sorry, it's just so nice to see a familiar face."

Effie nodded, replying with the slightest semblance of a smile across her pursed lips.

"I'm glad you're back…and with all of your newfound riches, you can now afford to repair that mahogany table." Effie winked and turned her attention to Clove, giving her a curt nod.

"Come down when you're ready. Fashion needs to get you two prepped for the closing ceremony. The sooner that's done, the sooner you can both go home!" She said cheerily and left the room.

Katniss crawled back onto the bed next to Clove who was sitting up; still in a daze from the tornado that was Effie Trinket.

"Aside from the rude awakening, I think I could get used to this." Katniss whispered into Clove's ear, and placed a light kiss on her cheek.

"Me too, g'morning, beautiful." Clove replied, grinning.

They rummaged through the wooden drawers near the bed and found two pairs of matching outfits consisting of sweats and a t-shirt. After a quick change out from her night clothes, Clove stood in front of the dresser mirror and examined the girl who looked back at her. She was different. Her features were still dark, but gone was the usual piercing, hard gaze. But even though Clove noticed her personal shift, she was saddened by the fact that no one else would.

"They'll never see me like they see you." She said softly. "You're the girl on fire and I'm just the girl with the knives, a killer."

Silence followed her statement, but a moment later Clove looked down at the hands which were now wrapped around her waist.

"That's not true. You're amazing, and I'm going to make sure everyone knows it." Katniss responded.

Clove smiled sadly, shaking her head, but the brunette continued. "Trust me, people here are easily influenced. You saw what happened with Peeta and I…they ate that story up."

"But I'm not like he was. I have no redeeming qualities. I'm not funny, charming, witty…whatever, let people think what they want. I don't care." Clove shrugged apathetically, but her slightly clenched fists still showed her defensive nature.

Katniss sighed. "You don't have to put on the tough guy act all the time, it's okay to be nervous."

"I'm not-"

"But you're not alone, I'll be there too, we'll get through this together."

Before Clove could object, Katniss gave her a quick peck on the cheek, slackened her grip around Clove's waist, and headed in the direction that would lead them out of their last semblance of privacy and into the chaotic world of the Capitol.

Clove took a deep breath and opened the door.

Hands pawed at her body, scrubbing it raw, ripping the hair off of her skin, and plucking eyebrows. Nearing the end of the prepping, Clove was about ready to slaughter every head in that place, but luckily they noticed her sharp glare and wrapped up quickly.

When she finally emerged from the fluorescent lit room, Clove saw Katniss for only a few seconds, enough for the brunette to smile apologetically and Clove to shrug, and wink at the girl's equally fresh and shining exterior. Katniss blushed and then the two were swept away to their stylists.

Katniss couldn't help the grin spreading across her face when she saw Cinna. He held her in a tight embrace and the brunette's mind flashed back to the last time they were together, when she was sure she was going to die. But here she was, alive. After a few moments they separated, Cinna with his hands on her shoulder, his gaze soft but searching.

"Congratulations, Katniss. I knew you'd win." He turned to the wardrobe in the corner of the room. .When he held up the dress in front of Katniss, she gasped. It was blood orange in color, sleeveless, with a slit in the back that ran down to just above her waist.

"Cinna, I think you've outdone yourself here!" She squealed in delight.

He smiled warmly at her compliment and gestured to the fabric. "And of course it has your signature fire effect."

Katniss grinned a second later as the dress engulfed itself in 'flames' at the touch of a button.

"Clove is going to love this!" The brunette blushed as she imagined Clove's reaction to the vibrant dress…it was less than honorable.

Cinna nodded. "So it is true."

Katniss felt relieved as a slight chuckle escaped from his lips. "You and Clove…well if there's one thing I didn't expect, it was that. Always full of surprises, fire girl, always full of surprises."

When Katniss was finally ready for her interview, her makeup and dress adorning her, she was ushered into another cold, grey room, but in the center of it was Haymitch, his scraggly appearance and glass of scotch in his hand being oddly comforting to her. Next to him was Effie, her hair now a bright blue and her lips painted silver.

"Hey, kiddo." Haymitch grunted as he got up to give her a quick hug. "You look stunning, and no, not you, dear." He glanced at Effie, who sighed and shook her head slightly. Once the initial greetings were out of the way, they sat in an awkward silence until Effie cleared her throat. Haymitch took another sip of scotch and looked squarely at Katniss.

"Okay, I want to be straight with you", "no pun intended", he added dryly. "This has never happened before, two winners, two girls…I'm betting that White is really livid, and that's not good, not good at all. Listen closely, Katniss. You have to be an absolute angel up there tonight. But I'm not really worried about you, I'm more concered about your little girlfriend. You better hope that she's a cute, lovesick puppy on that stage, or else the ratings will plummet and, how do I say this…the chance of Capitol intervention, will go up. You understand?"

Katniss nodded firmly. She understood the gravity of the situation.

"Don't worry, I trust her. She'll be fine on stage, with me there."

The duo sitting across from her didn't look comforted by her reply. Katniss didn't feel so sure either. She knew Clove was nervous and scared, but that she would never show it. Instead, she could put up her defensive front, and Katniss hoped that this wouldn't be the case, because Clove on defense means Clove being hostile, something that wouldn't go over well with the audience.

After a few more minutes of discussion, it was time to head to the stage. They left the room and after walking down a couple hallways, Katniss stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Clove, leaning against a wall outside of two large, double doors. She wore a simple beige dress that reached down to her knees. There were textured blossoms along the bottom fringe of the dress, and the fabric was thin, flowing down her slender, built body very nicely and naturally.

Clove didn't notice her right away, until Katniss was a few footsteps away and suddenly twirling the girl around in a full circle. Clove did a double take at the gorgeous woman standing in front of her, and Katniss could practically see Clove's eyes light up as she took in the stunning dress that Katniss wore.

"Wow, very sexy. I mean, wow. You're so beautiful, Katniss." Clove said, grinning.

"No, you're beautiful. That dress is so cute, Clove!" Katniss exclaimed, her hands running over the silky fabric. They lingered on Clove's waist and the two stood there in silence, taking in one another.

"So, are you ready?" Katniss finally asked. At her question, a look of panic fluttered across Clove's features but then it was gone, replaced with a shrug.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Katniss brought one hand to Clove's at her side and grasped it, looking into those waves of her eyes. Clove couldn't hide the storm that was brewing inside them, a storm of doubt and uncertainty.

"Listen, this is going to be fine. Give Caesar honest answers, smile, and be excited! I'll be with you the whole time, I love you." Katniss said softly, not wanting to appear overly mothering of the girl around the now gathering crew members who were getting ready to go live.

Clove smiled and squeezed Katniss's hand, but the brunette was still not convinced. A man held up both of his hands, all digits pointing up. Ten seconds.

It was show time.