Bela (everlark’s daughter)

The man still didn’t pay her attention. 

Katniss looked at the watch, she still had to get to the market for some herbs. She missed being able to have a herb garden. There was no place for that in her apartment with Marvel. 

“Da, da, da,” the man exclaimed and wiggled his butt, and Katniss averted her eyes, not wanting to lust after another man’s butt. 

It was at this point the man walked away.

“Dagnabit,” Katniss muttered. “Excuse me!”

However, the man didn’t hear her. It was then she saw the bell. She tapped the button several times. 

“Oh hello, didn’t hear you come in,” a blonde man came out. 

Katniss frowned momentarily. The man had the same shade of blonde hair, but he didn’t have the same wide chest. “Were you just out here?”

“Me no, that was my brother. He just left.”

“Oh,” Katniss replied, feeling deflated that the man that was out here had gone home. 

“What can I do for you today?”

Katniss shook off the weird emotion and slapped a smile on her face. “I need two loaves of bread. One cinnamon raisin and a plain loaf.” 

“Sure.” 

Katniss took the loaves of bread, paid for them, then walked out. She focused on getting to the market and buying the herbs she needed for the stew she was making. After making her purchase she got to their apartment and quickly began to cook. 

She finished a few moments before Marvel was supposed to come to the apartment. Katniss ran and set the table before sitting down to wait for him. An hour later, she was still waiting. She checked her phone and there was no notice from Marvel. 

Her stomach rumbled and Katniss served herself a heaping serving of the stew. She stood in front of the stove silently eating, feeling alone. Wondering if there was anything more.

=Two Weeks Later=

It was cold outside, freezing. The temperature on her phone read 8°F.  Katniss just wanted to get home to her apartment, into some sweatpants and under her blanket. But first, she and her boyfriend had to drive through the snowy streets of the Capitol to drop off her best friend at his hotel. Gale had surprised her. He’d taken the train from District 12 to the Capitol, to come visit her this weekend. Her boyfriend, Marvel, didn't like her 6 ft plus childhood best friend. 

A year ago, Katniss met Marvel. He had come to District 12 as part of the reparation agreement between the Capitol and the district. At the end of the war, the Capitol had been defeated. The districts weren’t interested in punishing the Capitol. They did want them to understand what life was like in the districts. As a result, all Capitol citizens had to do a minimum year internship in one of the districts. 

Marvel came to work in the gemology department of the mines. There were times precious stones were unearthed. The gemologists would classify them, and a lapidarist polished and cut the gems before shipping them District 1 to be made into expensive jewelry pieces. 

Katniss met Marvel when she was waiting for Gale to leave his shift. Marvel was charming and funny. Her mother said he was smarmy. Katniss didn’t listen to her mother because Marvel seemed different. Katniss hadn’t dated much, most of the guys in the district saw her as one of the guys. She and Marvel had bonded over their love of nature. He had a way of making Katniss come out of her shell. Over the course of the year, Katniss began changing. She began paying more attention to the way she looked. She became a pre-school teacher. She stopped hunting. Her posture improved, and the way she spoke changed. 

Katniss made changes to herself to please Marvel. The last thing he wanted her to change was her friends. Katniss resisted.

Marvel couldn't understand that Katniss could have a platonic relationship with a man. Especially someone who looked like Gale. It was true, Gale was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome, however she gagged whenever someone suggested that they should date. Gale was like a sibling. They looked so similar they could be related. They both used to pretend they were cousins as kids. 

Gale was her best friend, her chaos partner in crime, and her wing man. Gale wasn't too crazy about Marvel, but he did support Katniss and her decision when she decided to leave their home district with Marvel to move to the Capitol. Katniss thought she was in love with Marvel, but she wasn’t sure. So to prove to Marvel that he meant a lot to her, she moved with him to the Capitol when he proposed. 

They never argued, except about Gale. So, moving to the Capitol was a way for them to start on a new footing. 

Things were great for a while, but lately things were off between her and Marvel. It wasn’t big things that troubled her, it was slight digs from Marvel. For a while, Katniss wondered if it was her. She felt a little like a fish out of water, being in a new place. The Capitol was like a foreign planet. People dressed differently, they spoke differently, they lived a faster paced life. They didn’t look at you in the face or smile. The city was noisy, there was constant honking of the cars. It was ripe with the combination of chemical scents and rotting garbage. The walls in their apartment were paper thin. She knew what her neighbors were eating, when they showered, when they left for work and when they had arguments. 

Everything was expensive and Katniss had trouble finding a job. 

Life in District 12 was slower paced, she knew all of her neighbors, people greeted and smiled when they ran into her in town or on the streets of the Seam. True it was a mining town, but outside of mines, she could smell the pine of the trees from the forest, and the wild flowers that grew in the meadow.  

Even with life in District 12 being so different, Katniss had always had trouble making friends. In the Capitol, it was stressful, people dismissed her for the way she dressed and spoke. Marvel didn’t understand and sometimes wasn’t as supportive. 

He was always busy with his job. Marvel worked most nights and came home super late. On that odd weekend when he didn’t have a business trip or plans with his coworkers, he didn’t engage with her. 

Outside of asking what was for dinner, or giving her a list of tasks to do for him during the week, they didn’t talk about their day. He did complain about his job and she was compassionate. He was dumped into a position with little to no training. Marvel often told her that she wasn’t very communicative. Katniss couldn’t find fault with his statement. She was quiet and kept herself. She didn’t want to bother him because she knew he was always busy and stressed. 

Truthfully, Katniss felt alone, and she expressed this to Gale on one of their weekly calls. Lately, she felt a little lost. She was longing for the green woods of District 12 instead of concrete and glass of the Capitol. 

When after three months of searching for a job, she landed a coveted teaching position, Marvel didn’t seem overjoyed for her. His comment was, “Great! Now you can pay for your half of the rent.” 

Gale however was happy for her.

So when Gale showed up to celebrate her new job, Marvel was not happy. However, Gale showing up was a massive boost to her system. She was excited to go out with Marvel and her bestie. It was a little awkward during dinner, as Gale was an attractive ladies man and women seemed to fall at his feet. The server didn’t pay attention to Marvel, only to Gale. Katniss didn’t care. She was just glad to have someone from home visiting her. 

When they finished dinner, Marvel was ready to go home. He was on edge and fidgety. Katniss was ready as well. She wanted comfortable pajamas and thick wooly socks. It was cold outside as it snowed heavily in the Capitol. They were about 15 minutes from the hotel, when Marvel got a call on his phone.  

“Dang it, K, I have to park and get this. I’ve been waiting for this call.” He quickly parked the car.

“Marvel, it’s nearly midnight, why would anyone call you at this time?” Katniss questioned. His work was insane. The company was merging with another and he was part of the transitioning team. Though they never called this late, especially on a Friday night. 

Marvel didn’t answer. He jumped out of the car and took the call. 

“Is this what you’ve been going through?” Gale asked from the backseat.

“Yeah,” Katniss said, sighing. She unbuckled her belt and turned to face Gale. 

“It’s been stressful for Marvel. He’s been getting called at all times of the night. He’s part of a team that’s helping the company that purchased his company merge.

“I don’t think he’s talking to anyone from the company.”

“What?”

“Look at the screen.”

Katniss turned around and went still. 

Katniss sat in the car reeling as she looked at the dashboard the bluetooth screen read ‘Blonde 8’, with a photo of a young smiling blonde woman. Her eyes strayed to Marvel who was pacing outside, he had his head down and was smiling on the phone. 

“I can’t believe…” Katniss muttered, she turned back to see her bestie Gale Hawthorne. She was shocked by Marvel’s behavior, he was cheating and had just gotten caught. 

“Do you want me to fu-”

“Language,” Katniss said to Gale. 

“Really, Marvel is cheating on you, and you want to correct me for my language.

“What am I supposed to say,” Katniss said, holding on to her sanity. She was so angry, her hands shook. 

When she uprooted her life to be with Marvel, everyone had told her it was a stupid mistake, Katniss was following her heart. She’d been a blind fool leaving everything she held dear for Marvel. She should have stayed put in District Twelve. 

After months of thinking it was her, to discover he was possibly cheating, suddenly things began to make sense. She was furious and her hands balled into fists. She turned to Gale. ”Sorry, but I’m trying desperately to stay put. I really want to get out of this car and hurt him in the most painful way possible.”

“You know, I don’t think the rat-bastard knows that you can see who he’s talking to,” Gale said. 

“He doesn’t know his phone is connected to his bluetooth,” Katniss said, blinking at Gale and then laughed bitterly. “The idiot.”

“Give me the word, bestie and I’ll knock him the hell out.”  

A plan formed in her brain. In the Capitol, social media was everything. “Quick Gale, start recording!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Gale said, taking out his phone.

“Tagging her with the name Blonde 8, is rough…”

“I bet you if you checked his phone, he probably has seven more blondes in his contact list,” Gale said.

Katniss shook her head and breathed in deeply several times trying to release her pent up furry. 

“Here he comes,” Katniss narrowed her eyes at Gale. “Don’t say anything, I’m going to handle this.” 

Gale sat back with his camera partially hidden.

“Man it’s cold out there,” Marvel said, rubbing his hands together.

“Whose that?” Katniss asked in the most casual tone possible.

“Oh,” he said, grasping the steering wheel momentarily before replying, “that was…my mom.”

Katniss closed her eyes, she was sure her jaw was on the floor. She couldn't believe that Marvel was lying, like a professional poker player playing a bluff.

“She says hi,” he said, reaching for his seat belt. 

Katniss's mind spun. There were times she was awkward and didn’t have words to express herself. This wasn’t one of those times. She had too many words, but most of them she couldn’t say because Gale was recording. She planned on posting this video to her feed.  “What do you have your mom saved as?”

‘Pft,” he chuckled. “Mother. What do you have your mom saved as?” 

“Medicine woman,” Katniss answered. Her mother was a Physician Assistant in town. She was a competent PA who people went to for medical help when the local doctor was not available. 

“Of course you do.” 

“So you say that your mom is saved as mother, are you sure about that?” Katniss tried to keep her voice as sweet as possible so as to not let Marvel know he was about to be destroyed.

“Ah, yeah,she’s saved as Mother.”

“So why do you have your mother saved as Blonde 8?” 

“What are you talking about?” He looked at her, looking annoyed at being questioned. 

“On your phone, you were talking to someone who is saved as Blonde 8, and not Mother.” 

“I,” he said with authority. “...was talking. To. My. MOTHER!”

“No, you were talking to someone named Blonde 8,” Katniss said, staring at him. Incredulous that he was boldly lying to her face. 

“No, I was talking to my mother. See what I’ve been dealing with, Gale.”

Gale didn’t say anything. 

“No, you were talking to Blonde 8.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t realize your bluetooth was connected to your phone, and while you were out there I saw her picture and name.”

“K, that was my mother. I know that you’ve been going stir crazy in the apartment. You do nothing all day long, but stare at the walls.”

Katniss narrowed her eyes at him. For three months, she painted the apartment. She cooked and cleaned, washed his clothes, did all of the groceries. She had spent hours looking for his favorite beer. Marvel always came home to a cooked meal. He always left the apartment with a nice lunch. And yet he didn’t recognize any of her efforts. 

“Are you even listening to me?”

“I always listen,” she deadpanned. 

Through the rear view mirror Katniss watched Gale mouth, ‘Wow.”

“Well if you did, you would’ve found a job and I wouldn’t have been left shouldering all of the expenses.”

“I’m a teacher. It’s hard getting a teaching job. I explained this to you, it’s a process. I had to get vetted, which means I had to get fingerprinted. The Capitol school system had to do a credit check, a background check, health check, and sporadic drug exams. I had to take two tests to get certified.”

“And that’s your problem, not mine. I’m a responsible adult. I found a good job real quick.” 

“Marvel, you got a job because a friend of yours helped you get hired. I didn't know anyone here.” 

“Again not my fault, you’re anti-social.”

Katniss watched the way Gale scowled in the rear view mirror, it mirrored her internal anger. 

“Besides, that's not the point. The point is it took you like three months to leave the apartment. You don’t do anything and that has affected your mental acuity. So pardon me if I contradict you with the truth. That so-called woman you saw on the screen was my mother.”

“You can’t seriously sit here and call me crazy, and try to convince me that the picture was your mother’s. It was someone else's picture and name. Blonde 8 looks nothing like your mother. I know what your mother looks like.” 

“Baby you’re seeing things, there’s no Blonde 8.”

Katniss tried to not roll her eyes at his trying to call her Baby. Calling her, ‘Baby,’ was a sure fire sign he was lying.  “Are you seriously gaslighting me?” 

“Baby, I was talking with my mother. It must have been a glitch.”

“It wasn’t a glitch. I know what I saw. You forget I’m a hunter and my vision is perfect.”

“It’s true Katniss can shoot a bird midair with an arrow straight through the eyes, ” Gale commented.

Marvel turned around and threw Gale a dirty look.

“It was a glitch, nothing more.”  

“Prove it to me, call your mother.” Katniss folded her arms waiting to see what he would say. 

“Great, you don’t believe me. It doesn’t matter what I say, you always go against everything I say. You’re so argumentative.”

“Prove it, call your mother.”

“Why should I prove it, I’m not lying to you. You're just delusional. I know that you’ve been having a hard time adjusting to the Capitol. But there’s no reason for you to start a fight with a bold face lie, in front of Gale. I was talking to my mother, and whatever you saw was a glitch.”

“Okay if I am so delusional, you’ll have no problem pulling up the receipts, show me your call log.” 

“Why would I need to show you my call log?”

“If you want to shut me up, pull up your call log,” Katniss said, watching every expression, every flick of his eyes, to see if his face registered that she didn’t believe the monstrous lies he was telling her.

Katniss watched as he sighed dramatically. 

“If you don’t trust me just say so!”

“I don’t trust you,” Katniss snapped back, “because I saw it on your bluetooth and you’re blatantly lying to me.”

“I don’t want to pull out my phone.”

“Okay we’re breaking up then, because you won’t show me your call log.”  

“Fine,” he muttered. Then reluctantly pulled out his phone but was holding it protectively.

“Dude don’t delete anything,” Gale said from the backseat. “I can see you.” 

Marvel’s lips thinned, as he showed her his phone.

Katniss looked at his phone. “It’s right there, Blonde 8.”

“Baby that’s a glitch, that should be my mother.” 

Marvel accidentally pressed on the number and a smiling blonde woman appeared. 

“Who is that?”

“Baby, I don’t know. I don’t know who that is…” 

“You don’t even have your mother in the recents,” Katniss growled. 

“Baby, believe me, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“What you’re doing is lying and gaslighting me. Take me home, I’m packing up. Gale, can I stay with you tonight?”

“Sure thing, I’ve got a double queen in my hotel.”  

“You’re not going to stay with HIM!!”

“Marvel if you don’t, I swear you won’t see tomorrow.” 

“Fine,” Marvel muttered as he started the car. 

Part 2

By the time Marvel drove to their apartment Katniss wanted nothing more than to get to the two story walk up, pack, and leave. In her mind, everything was over. She couldn’t believe she was so gullible. She wondered how many times in the past few months he had gaslit her, making her feel as if she’d been in the wrong. 

In the beginning, he brought her with him the bars to meet his coworkers, then slowly he started saying that he knew she was uncomfortable, that it was better that she stayed at home. Next, he started coming home on Friday nights  smelling of cigarettes without even telling her he was going out. When she said that getting regularly drunk wasn’t good, he claimed she was acting stodgy. 

It was after this that he started working late, and going on business trips. And she wondered if his late nights were with Blonde 8, instead of working as he claimed. 

How many dinners lay uneaten because he didn’t bother calling her to let her know he was coming home late? When she brought this up, Marvel had said that he didn’t have to call her and let her know when he was working late, since they weren’t married.

She couldn’t even count the number of times he cancelled plans they’d had because something came up. It was all a lie. She saw Gale’s expression in the rear view mirror. The steel in his eyes said that he was waiting for her to give him the signal to punch the living daylights out of Marvel. 

When they got to the apartment. Katniss got out of the car with Gale. She watched Marvel park the car across the street. 

A man with a hoodie walked by her, and Katniss caught his scent. She couldn’t help but recognize the scent, cinnamon and dill. She smelled that scent before. It was sweet and warm. For a moment she battled a primal need to follow the stranger.

“Are you okay?”

Gale’s question brought her back to the moment at hand. “Yeah.” 

“I can create some type of trap to keep him hanging upside down,” Gale said.

The visual caused her to laugh.

“No, I want you to keep on recording. I want to capture this and then I’m going to post this on social media. Everyone in the Capitol lives and breathes on social media. And everyone is going to know what a double crossing lying toad he is,” Katniss said, containing her anger.  

“When you want me to tap in, let me know, I’m ready.”

Katniss nodded. When she noticed Marvel was approaching, she walked to the door of the building and punched in the door code. The doors slid open. She didn’t bother taking the elevator. She needed the physical taxing exercise of walking up the two flights of stairs to release her aggression. When they reached the second floor, she briskly walked to their apartment door. As she opened up the door, Marvel stood by her, Gale was behind him recording, secretly recording.  

“Baby, I’m telling you, that there is no Blonde 8,” Marvel said, running his hand through his hair.

Katniss opened the door of the apartment and began making her way to their bedroom. 

“Catnip,” Marvel said.

Katniss scowled. 

“Wouldn’t call her that, she hates that nickname,” Gale interjected.

“Butt out, Gale,” Marvel said.

“Gale’s right, I hate that nickname.”

“But he calls you that.”

“To annoy her,” Gale said.

“Look Katniss, I was speaking with my mother. There must have been a glitch in the system.”

“Give me your phone,” Katniss said. 

“What.” 

“Give me your phone.” She held out her hand. 

He gave her the phone. “Go ahead, call the Rose Phone company and tell them about the glitch.”

“Gale in there,” Katniss ordered.

Gale quickly scooted into the bedroom.

“You can’t be there with him.” 

“Can’t I?”

“What I am going to do is call Blonde 8, if that’s okay with you,” Katniss said, before she shut the door in his face and locked it.

“You  don’t have my code,” he said through the door.

Katniss laughed. He didn’t know she knew his code, because when he dropped his last phone in the toilet, she helped set up this new one.

“You’re going to call?” Gale asked.

“Oh, hell yeah,” Katniss said as she quickly put in his code and dialed the number. 

“Hey babe,” the voice was sweet.

“Um, who is this?” Katniss couldn't help the slight trembling in her voice. It was an awkward start, but she needed to know the truth. Hearing someone call Marvel, babe, was like getting hit with a cold glass of water in the face. 

“This is Delly, who is this?”

“My name is Katniss, Marvel was speaking to you on the phone, like less than 15 minutes ago while I was in the car. He didn’t realize that your name came up on his bluetooth screen.” Katniss said quickly. She took a breath then continued, “I’m calling to try to figure out what is going on. And he tried to lie to me, and told me it was his mother on the phone.” Katniss looked at Gale and he had a WTF look on his face as he recorded. 

“And who are you to Marvel?”

“Well we have been with each other for three years,” Katniss said and looked to Gale for reinforcement.

Gale nodded, he gave her a thumbs up.

“I moved to the Capitol with him.”

“...and…and… you live together.” 

They said at the same time. 

On the phone, Katniss heard Delly say. 

“Oh my, oh, oh, oh my…” She paused. “As in a couple.” She sounded so shocked and wounded at the same time. Katniss felt bad for her. 

“Yes, as in a couple,” Katniss confirmed.

“Are you sure? Oh my lanta!” She squeaked. “No wonder he never wanted to take me to his apartment. He said it was under construction, when I asked him about it…” Delly stammered.

“Yes, well he is, well he was my boyfriend until fifteen minutes ago.” 

“We’ve been seeing each other for months, I thought we had something special,” she weeped.

“Delly, he doesn’t have the decency to put your name in his phone, you’re listed as blonde number 8.”

“What? Blonde 8!!! How many blondes is he dating?” 

“I don’t know but we did move here a few months ago.” Instead of feeling angry, Katniss felt empathy for Delly. She was innocent and Marvel took advantage of her good nature. He was collecting nice people to trash their hearts.    

Gale waived his hand. Katniss looked at him.

“Ask how they met,” Gale mouthed.

“How did you guys meet, was it on a dating website, do you work with him, in a bar?”

“On the HG dating site,” Delly said. 

“Okay, so he was swiping as soon as we moved here.”

“I thought I’d finally met someone nice,” Delly sniffed and blew her nose.”I’ve had bad luck, there was the guy who stole my furniture, the guy who emptied out my bank account, the one who left me stranded in District 7. I thought,” she bemoaned in a high pitched voice. “Marvel was a good guy.” 

“Don’t cry over him, sweetie. He’s not worth it.” Katniss couldn’t believe her bad luck. Dating was harsh. Which is why she didn’t like dating. But Marvel was one that got past Katniss’s defenses. She should have listened to her mother.  

“You said you were his girlfriend,” Delly blew her nose again.

“He lost that privilege, but if you want him, you can have him.”

“NO!” Delly squeaked angrily. “I don’t want his cheating face anywhere near me.” 

Katniss was amazed by the metal in her voice, even though it was clear she was crying. 

“Okay.”

“I’m going to block his number. And then I have to call my parents and tell them that dinner is off tomorrow.”

“You were going to introduce him to your parents.” Katniss looked at Gale and shook her head. 

“I was, but not anymore.” Delly sniffled.

“Jackoff,” Gale muttered.

“Who is that?”

“I’m here with my best friend, Gale, he recorded everything.”

“Hi Delly, you sound like a nice person.” 

“Thank you,” Delly said. “I shouldn’t be shedding tears over him.” She sighed. “You know, we should meet.” 

“You want to meet me?” Katniss was shocked that Delly wanted to meet with her. She looked at Gale.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Gale said, shaking his head, looking amazed.

“Yeah, you’re a total badass queen! I could never dial the other woman and then be so kind,” Delly stated.  

Katniss was flabbergasted, couldn’t believe someone thought she wasn’t awkward like Marvel constantly said. He complained that she needed to get out more, but he didn’t want her to go with him because, according to him, she wasn’t sociable or approachable. Katniss was done listening to him.

“Why don’t we meet for lunch, or breakfast and we’ll show you the video. We can swap receipts."

“I’m free tomorrow for brunch if that’s okay.”

“Why not, it can be my treat,” Gale said. 

Katniss couldn’t help grinning. She must look mad. She was angry by Marvel’s actions, but overjoyed by the turn of events. Delly seemed like a stand up person, a girl’s girl. Life had a way of turning on a dime.  “Okay, it’s settled. Gale and I will meet you tomorrow, for brunch.”

“What time?” Delly asked.

“Is eleven okay?” Katniss suggested.

“Absolutely I even know the best place in the Capitol. It's not too upscale, but the food is amazing.” 

“Okay, so I don’t have to dress up,” Katniss asked.

“Not that type of place, you can wear whatever you want,” Delly said.

“Cool.” Having had this conversation with Delly, Katniss was now doubting she could post the video. “You know, I was going to post everything, but I’m not  going to. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Katniss, I’m okay with you posting the video. In fact I need you to post this.”

“Are you sure?” Katniss questioned.

“I don’t want anyone else to fall for his duplicity. He needs to know it’s not nice playing with peoples emotions…”

Delly was right. Marvel was a total mutt and his truth needed to be exposed. She looked at Gale who nodded. 

“Delly’s right. I wouldn’t want someone like him hitting on someone like Prim,” Gale said. 

Just thinking of her baby sister’s heart being twisted by a jerk, like Marvel, strengthened Katniss's conviction. “Consider it done.”

“Is it okay if I bring my best friend,” Delly asked, Katniss could hear the hesitation in Delly’s voice.

“Sure, the more the merrier.”

“Text me your number,” Delly said. 

Katniss took out her phone and quickly texted Delly. “Tell me when you get it?”

“Got it,” Delly said.

“I’m so seriously looking forward to meeting you,”

“Me too,” Delly said. 

“You deserve better than him.”