Another Tribute

"Ouch," I mutter as one of the stylist's assistant, I think she said her name was Clairy, plucks my eyebrows.

"Sorry honey, beauty is pain," she says, laughing. Everyone else in the room but me joins in.

"Which means your hair must have been painless," I say under my breath. Maybe here in the Capitol flamingo pink pigtails might be sexy, but back home you'd be more of an outcast than Thisbe.

"Don't worry, you're waxing is done," Diedre says, comforting me. Diedre has been kind, and once you get past the crazy hair she's actually quite pretty.

"Thank goodness," I say, sighing relief. I'm not quite sure why I didn't put up more of a fight. I guess it's because all thse stylists look so excited and I don't want to be a kill joy. Unless they decided to die my hair fire truck red or something - then I'd have been more than happy to be a kill joy.

"Oh, just stunning! All that natural beauty, you lucky girl," another assistant says. I didn't catch her name.

"Oh...thanks," I say, trying to look excited. Which is really hard after all the waxing and plucking. Also my nails are now shaped and painted red and my hair has been styled. I have no clue what I look like though, because Diedre insisted on the element of suprise.

"Here's your dress sweetie," Diedre says, revealing the outfit I'll have to wear for the tribute unveiling. When I catch of glimpse of it, my girly side comes out with a vengence.

"Oh wow, that's for me?" I ask. She grins widely at me.

"Of course Auden, you have to look your best," she says as she slips it over my head, careful not to ruin my updo.

"Thank you Diedre," I say, smiling with genuine affection...which is not really my usual for most people. She looks really happy.

"Wait till you see yourself!" she say, taking the curtain off of a huge mirror on the wall.

"Diedre...is that me?"

"Oh yes, dear, it's you."

"Holy shit."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, sorry. I mean...wow."

"You're welcome."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As I walk out with Diedre to find the District Twelve chariot, I find myself tripping over my dress. Pretty? Oh yes. Practical? Not so much.

"Try not to ruin it!" she says, sounding concerned.

"I'm doing my best, I've never worn heels," I say, tripping again.

"Oh my, you children in District Twelve don't get to have any fun!" she says, chuckling. I try to pretend I think that's funny, but truly I'm just aggravated. Just because she's lived in the lap of luxury doesn't mean she can poke fun at my upbringing.

"Ugh, I'm never going to get used to these shoes!" I mutter. As I say this, I trip over my dress yet again and fall on my butt.

"Here, let me help you," a familiar voice says from behind me. As I turn around, I become speechless.

"Thanks Eli," I say, staring at his face intently. It's hard to recognize him behind all the makeup. It's kind of weird to see anyone back at home wearing any makeup, especially a guy, but this just seems right.

"The eyeshadow's kind of weird huh?" he asks. I have to laugh.

"In most circumstances, yes. It suits you for the occasion though," I say to him, still staring at his eyes. They're lined with black eye liner and his eye shadow looks like a fire blazing around his grey eyes. The reason this really stands out is because his whole face is covered in black makeup. Come to think of it, he's all black. He's wearing a tight fitting black shirt with black pants and a flaming cape. It's not literally flaming, like I heard once happened in the past, but it's patterned like fire. I realize that my dress, also patterned to look like flames, compliments this very well.

"Oh dear, I totally forgot! The makeup!" Diedre says, looking very frustrated. I frown.

"Makeup?"

"Oh yes, I'll have to call the girls straight away!" she says, pulling out what looks like a hand held radio. She mutters something into it, and a minute later the same stylists as before pull out their supplies and get to work. When I'm done, it looks just like Eli's except with fake "flame" eyelashes.

"Well, don't you two look fabulous!" Diedre says as she waves us off. The parading has begun. I can't imagine what the Capitol audience will look like until I see it.

"Oh wow, that's a lot of people," I murmer. Eli nods his agreement.

"It's kind of freaking me out," he says. I laugh.

"Hey, they're probably all a bunch of wussies. We could totally kick their butts," I say, punching him lightly on the shoulder. He laughs, and I notice a lot of eyes suddenly intentionally staring at us.

"Is it just me or is everyone looking at us now?" he asks me.

"I think they are. Huh."

"Do you think it's because..."

"Don't be crazy, it's because we look fabulous."

"Well, let's test it out," he says, putting his arm around me. I try to shrug it off, but he's firmly stuck.

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask him.

"Look around," he says, pointing to the crowd. All eyes are on us..

"Oh, I see...we're 'appealing to the sponsers'," I whisper to him.

"Yup, so smile wave like you're having the time of your life," He whispers back, waving at the crowd and blowing kisses. I do the same, and in the end, the crowd loves us. Harpon better be damn happy when we get back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Auden," someone yells out to me as I try to get out of the chariot without falling on my face. Unfortunately, the distraction was all I needed to lose my balance.

"Wow, how stupid was that?" I think to myself as the voice approaches.

"Let me help you up," two voices say at the same time. I look up to see both Eli and Nico holding out a hand to me. Nico looks amazing in his costume, a skin tight leotard that glitters like the diamonds his district is famous for. I get distracted by his sparkling attire and his perfect smile. I find myself grabbing his hand instead of Eli's. Kind of a big mistake.

"Thanks," I say quietly, seeing the annoyance on Eli's face. Nico looks pleased.

"No problem," he says, brushing a piece of hair out of my face. Huh?

"What do you want?" Eli asks him.

"Just to give you guys a pat on the back. The whole 'best friends' thing out there really worked the crowd. We'll have sponsors in no time."

"Right, well thanks. We have to go now, but see you tomorrow at the interviews Mr. Flashy Pants," Eli says, walking away and assuming I'm following him. I stay put, confused.

"Better catch up with your boyfriend, sweetheart. See you tomorrow," Nico says, strutting off in the opposite direction.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I say, but if Nico hears me, he doesn't make it clear. I frustratingly follow Eli back to our place.

"What was that back there? He's our ally!" I exclaim as soon as we're securely in the elavator with Harpon.

"What happened?" he asks Eli.

"There's something fishy about Nico. I don't trust him."

"Well you'd better start trusting him, because he could be the reason you two survive!" Harpon says harshly. Eli seems to have calmed down.

"Fine," he says, crossing his arms.

"Hey, it was only fair I let him help me up. You already helped me earlier," I say to him, trying to smooth it over. Eli nods but I get the feeling he doesn't believe that a word I've said it the truth. Of course, he's right. I'm not really sure why I reached out to Nico instead of Eli.

"Make sure you both are up and ready by two o'clock. Promptly. You have your session with the Gamemakers and then your interviews later," Harpon says, waving a goodnight. We both wave back, but he's already gone.