stranger things [charade]

She was breathtaking.

It was no wonder that heads in the bar were turning to look at them. Katelyn radiated confidence and beauty with the tight blue dress she wore. Opal grinned, taking her in in one quick sweeping gaze. Her hair rested on her head, golden strands falling around her shoulders. She always looked amazing. It made more sense, with Katelyn standing before her dressed like that. Opal had always seen it; she’d just been foolish enough to think that no one else would. It sucked, honestly, because not only was the entire Capitol realising she was a stunner, but they also got a small glance into who she was on the inside. It was hard to think that only a few people got to see those parts of her, especially now, when Katelyn was the figurehead of a dating show. She was the highlight of the Capitol, running around in gorgeous outfits. Dancing with beautiful men and women. As much as Opal knew that Katelyn, at first, wouldn’t have found much joy in the very thought of it, it was hard not to have a change of heart when you ultimately got to know someone.

Her train of thought was instantly disarmed as Katelyn hugged her. Giving her a quick squeeze back, they pulled apart, taking up their seats once more. “I imagine it’ll be quite the ordeal trying to keep his libido from embarrassing your district’s pride.” Opal groaned, turning to Katelyn to give her a smirk. ”Honestly, I hadn’t even thought about that.” She snorted, taking a sip of her drink. Charles hadn’t been kidding, the drink was strong, leaving a burning trail all the way down her throat. Sliding the glass away from her she looked in his direction, signaling him for her usual. Another one or two of those 'nerve' ones and she wouldn’t be able to even think straight.

”If he tries anything funny I’ll kick out his prosthetic leg and watch him hop around,” she said with an amused snort. Who was she kidding, though? She’d let him do what he wanted. The kid was alive. Her smile returned, unable to be kept at bay. He’d hugged her, the first thing he’d done when he’d woken up, he’d thanked her. Never in her life had she thought or believed she’d hear someone thank her for bringing them back. There was nothing she could say, no words that could describe that pure, chest-tightening relief and joy that had filled her. He was real.

”Yeah, but at the same time anything I felt has been drowned out by the outcome.” She looked downwards as Charles passed her a new drink, the ice clinked against the glass and she buried her smile inside the moment, hoping to remember this warm feeling forever. In reality, in the ten years it had taken her to achieve this Katelyn had already done it twice, and there was no scale she could use to tell anyone how much she admired that. It was fucking hard. It was amazing.

”What about you? What have you been up to?” She asked. Even as she asked that question she was forced to relive those few awful hours where she’d watched Glamour put his hands all over Katelyn, or that obnoxious Capitolite that thought he could cook. Her smile faltered for a brief moment, and she reached forward to touch Katelyn’s hand. ”Are you okay?” She didn’t know how else to ask. "You know, with everything."

Opal would never be okay with it if she were in Katelyn’s position. The hardest part was the fact that they both knew why she had to do it, but in the eyes of the public neither of them could say it.

Opal listened, frowning as Katelyn spoke, unwilling to bring up her own bubbling emotions about the entire thing. Katelyn was struggling enough with it all as it was. Chewing on her lip she glanced downwards for a moment as Katelyn began humming the tune to the Bachelorette, waving her hands as the song went along. That ripred-awful tune that was like fingers against a chalkboard to her ears. It took Katelyn a moment to work up to an answer, to her second question, as though, at first she wanted to ignore it and play a dazzling game of district and deflect. Katelyn didn’t, instead placing her warm hand atop Opal’s (oh the control she needed to not think too much about how warm her hand was) before answering her honestly.

Opal understood, she got it. Granted she didn’t know what it felt like to have the idea of love shoved down your throat, but she had had the privilege to marry the man whom she’d loved, the privilege to fall in love and be with who she wished. ”It should come naturally. But the hardest part is realising that you are in love with someone. It’s not as easy to see as you might think. Sometimes they’re the very sun, and sometimes they’re just always there, the person you turn to, the one you seek out. It’s more subtle but just as beautiful.” She said.

Opal sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair, “but be careful, don’t mistake affection for love. You can tell the difference, it’s in the smaller details.” She looked at Katelyn, giving her a reassuring smile. She wanted to help her, it hurt Opal to see her so confused and uncertain. She hoped that by the end of this new fight Katelyn would be stronger, some part of her knew that Katelyn would, and if she wasn’t Opal would help her, no matter what.

Katelyn Persimmon was the master of deflection. Opal smirked the change of topic as subtle as black on white. She ran with it, nodding to Charles as the man brought another drink over. Laughing she faced Katelyn, ”it’s been just a few years-“ she snorted –”it’ll be alright.” She mused, mind moving to the disastrous scenes that probably awaited her and Justice in District Seven. She almost cringed at the thought of what that was going to be like, another victor for District One at the cost of District Seven. How pleasant.

The hum of piano keys caught Opal's attention, distracting her for a moment. Her favourite part about the bar was the live music. It was charming. It ranged from slow, stunning songs, to upbeat tunes that had you dancing until you were exhausted. Turning away from Katelyn for a moment she watched the live band take their positions. The lead singer stood at the microphone, motioning the people that hung around the edges to come onto the floor. That was enough for Opal. With a one, two, three they were off. As soon as the first note struck she was up on her feet, the rhythm as familiar to her as Ky’s smile. It was one of her favourite songs, an echoing testament to the true and undeniable beauty of love.

A fresh excited smile took over, eyes blazing with excitement she turned to Katelyn, grabbing her hand and tugging her upwards. With a delighted laugh she said, ”this song is beautiful. We have to dance.” It was hard to keep her cheeky grin at bay. Before Katelyn could protest she dragged her forwards and to the dance floor, tugging her into position.

If you asked her, she wouldn’t be able to tell you what made her feel so on edge as they danced. It could have been either the comments that Katelyn said, dragging the contestants into the moment, or the very proximity of having Katelyn hold her so closely. Perhaps it was a mixture of both. Regardless, it was harder to focus on where she stepped the more she realised how close Katelyn was, the more she realised that she had to tilt her head upwards. Why had it taken her so long to realise that Katelyn was taller than her? It had been the same way with Potato, easy enough for her to rest her head in his chest when they hugged. She felt safer in those moments, as though the true reality of the world was barred by his warmth. But as much as she longed for these moments, as much as she adored holding onto the people she cared about she could see the very exhaustion etched onto Katelyn’s face.

It pained Opal, watching her friend practically struggle to keep her eyes open. It hurt her even more to know that the stress Katelyn was under was something Opal could not mend. ”You know, it would be easy enough to just tell everyone that secretly your in love with me and can no longer continue with the show.” She smirked, turning her gaze to the side to stare at her hand, entwined with Katelyn’s. ”I’m sure they’d be impressed, the scandal of it all.” Her laugh was more strained than humorous, a mixture of her own confusion and uncertainty.

With Potato it had been so easy, so easy to tell that she was in love, so easy to know where her heart belonged. But the more time she spent by Katelyn’s side the more her confusion set in. Her advice was for naught, for someone with such stellar opinions of the ways of love, she hardly knew anything about it at all. Here she was dancing with the woman that made her heart flutter. The younger victor that had her glaring at the television screen, bitterly wondering what sorts of things those Capitolites were doing to her. Opal Earnest would never admit that she was jealous. She had yet to admit to herself that her feelings were anything other than a tinge of concern for her friend. Besides, what would thinking about it do? What would admitting it achieve?

“I failed them.” The statement jerked Opal back to attention, and she swung her head around in surprise. Opal’s grip tightened on Katelyn, unwilling to let her go. It wasn’t often she heard Katelyn talk like this, it wasn’t often she admitted to anyone how she was truly suffering. Opal understood oh so well, she knew what it was to like to stare at each empty space, to stand before to more graves time and time again. She knew what it was like to fail. It was because she knew this and had lived it for so many years that she knew it was something you could beat.

There was something off note about the way she spoke about Harbinger, the hesitancy in her voice as she brought up his wife. But Opal dismissed it, knowing that to lay claim to rumours was cruel enough, and if Katelyn wanted to talk about it she would. The one thing Opal could not and would never ignore was the look on Katelyn’s face, it made her chest tighten. As always she was at a loss for words, unable to summon the correct ones to instantly banish any problems Katelyn had.

Untangling one of her hands she cupped the side of Katelyn’s face. ”No matter I’ll always be there for you, Katelyn Persimmon. I know you can do this.” She dropped her hand, instead turning to walk Katelyn off the dance floor. ”You’ll always be safe with me.” She muttered, before turning to face her. With a concerned look she said, ”you’re exhausted, Kate, let’s start walking back. The city can be beautiful at night as well.”