For Prim, the party was a good and welcomed distraction from the games that were rapidly approaching. It was hard to believe that in a few short days, the four of them would be thrust into the arena and forced to survive. It was a tall task, made even more difficult for the need to stay alive for Peeta's plan. Prim needed things to go as smoothly as possible, and she had been fooling herself into thinking that if she, Gale, Katniss and Haymitch could just stick together through everything, that nothing bad would happen. The blonde girl didn't wish to think about the very real possibility of there being no control over what happened once the bloodbath began. In that moment, her mind truly was a mess, and there was still interviews to think about, and the private session with the Gamemakers where the target on her back would finally be assigned a number.

Gale's speculation about Finnick had Prim raising an eyebrow. It was hard to imagine what Finnick was keeping a secret, but Prim really didn't think that she wanted to know. Many of the Victors came with their own set of problems, scars from the Games that would never fully heal and the Capitol stayed in their lives for so long after they left the arena. If Finnick was keeping something from Gale, or the rest of the very secret alliance, he probably had a good reason for it. “Don't think about it too much,” Prim said, figuring that was the best advice that she could give. If Finnick wanted to share the meaning behind his barely-there smile, he would. 

The party was beginning to get underway, and although Prim didn't understand the strange music that was playing on the stereo, she did appreciate the effort that Effie had put into the celebration. Peeta deserved something nice for all of his hard work, and having to celebrate a birthday in the Capitol didn't [i]have[/i] to be terrible. “I don't know how anyone would dance to this,” Prim agreed, laughing softly. However, Gale seemed to be having more problems with Haymitch, and a concerned look came over the blonde girl's blue eyes. If they couldn't get along as a cohesive group, it would spell disaster in the arena. “What happened now?” Prim asked.

To a point, Prim could sympathize. Haymitch wasn't an easy person to get along with, and even when he was close to someone, he was still a pain. Those times when he and Katniss had been training quickly came to mind, and Prim remembered how upset her older sister was after the incident in the woods. For someone like Gale, who was always trying his best and hardest, Prim could see how that would grate against someone like Haymitch—who was so much more solitary. 

Solitary was a good way to describe it. Had Haymitch been anywhere near Prim and Gale's conversation, he would have had to agree. Even when he was younger, he had liked to be alone and the idea of an alliance with anyone had always bothered him. Another person, or three were just going to slow him down. As Haymitch got older, he learned the value of alliances and working together, but it was still difficult for him to take direction from anyone other than himself. He supposed that was why he and Katniss got along so well. It was that fact alone that had Haymitch thinking of Katniss empathizing with him over Gale and his constant pestering. 

However, when Katniss asked that question, wondering what was and wasn't wrong, Haymitch hesitated. He gripped the glass in his hand, somehow unable to come out and say exactly what was on his mind. He wanted to talk Katniss's ear off about how tired he was of Gale checking up on him, how the younger man seemed to think that he was the same useless drunk that 12 had known for decades, and worse yet, that he was going to get Katniss killed. That was the assumption that bothered Haymitch the most; that he would ever be selfish enough to slow down someone so important. 

“When these games happen,” he began, choosing to change course, “you know to save yourself, right?” The question was a difficult one, probably not something that guests at a birthday party would be eager to discuss, but Haymitch had to know. He had been operating under the assumption that Katniss would never go back for him, that his safety was his alone to worry about, and if anyone was going to cause problems, it was Prim. Unfortunately, Haymitch didn't know how Katniss felt about everything, and if the time came, Haymitch needed her to understand that letting go would always be for the best.

At the same time, it was a slightly hypocritical query. Katniss was the key to the revolution, but even if she wasn't, Haymitch would have saved her every time. Just the year before, he had been rooting for her to win, and although he would never admit it now, there had been a very large part of him that didn't care what happened to Peeta—it mattered that Katniss came home. It [i]still[/i] mattered that she came home. “I just mean,” he shook his head, a slight frown creeping across his lips, “you can't go back for anyone. If we fall, we fall. This about you.”

Way to put a damper on the festivities.