draw me a map that I can hold, lines that tell me where to go Who: Demi Rafferty and Isaac Callahan Where: The Paulsen’s apartment What: First attempt to fit in...lunch with some senators and their wives. When: Backdated - Saturday, August 15th, 2018 - noon.
The gifts had come as a surprise to Demi. Items laid out on her bed after she had returned from a morning of wandering around the Capitol (and out into the city). At first she wasn’t sure exactly how to respond to them, they were another confirmation that this truce, or this plan, was something she and Isaac were moving forward with. If Lansing wanted to spy on them, keep them under his thumb and be aware of their every movements - they might as well give him a show. Whether this would remove suspicion from them or not, Demi didn’t know. Her plans had a habit of crashing and exploding into a fireball. Still, she wasn’t doing this for herself. She had no illusions over her safety in the Capitol, over how precarious her position was here. One wrong step and she knew she would be gone, out the door quicker than a blink of an eye. This act wasn’t really for her, though. Demi felt responsible for the fact that Isaac now had a spotlight shining on him, people keeping track of his every move and just waiting for something to look out of place just enough to justify removing him from his job.
The Capitol wasn’t her home, but it was Isaac’s and she wasn’t going to sit by and cause him to lose it. Not when he had already lost enough.
So, true to her word, Demi had worn the cardigan and pearls Isaac had given her. Though, also true to her word she had paired it with shorts and a t-shirt.. There was only so far she was going to go to fit in around the Capitol, giving up who she was entirely just wasn’t in the cards for her - she might be trying to fit in, but she wasn’t going to make herself feel alien in the process. A part of her hoped she could convince the powers that be that she was reformed, without losing herself in the process.
The walk over to the Paulsen’s apartment had been surprisingly quiet. This new truce was still weighing heavily on her, sould she pull this off? Could they pull this off? Demi knew she wasn’t the only person in this little plan that had to be believable. Both she and Isaac had to convince the Capitol that they were together, that she really was reformed and he really had just pulled her out of La Quinta because he’d taken a shine to her. Doubt still hung over her like a shroud and as they approached their destination she tried to ignore the butterflies zooming around in her stomach like kamikaze fighter pilots.
Could she nail down her demons enough to make a room full of senators and their wives believe she was romantically involved with Isaac? They were just barely back on speaking terms, and now they were going to have to play as if they’ve been starry-eyed for each other all along.
“It’s too late to cancel now, but do you really think we can do this?” Demi stopped short of the Paulsen’s door, hand reaching out for Isaac’s arm and stopping him in place. “Rose won’t be hard to fool, she already thinks we’re an item. But if we confirm it, if we show up to this together...she’ll have it all over the Capitol by dinner time. Are you ready for that?” She’s facing him now, dark eyes searching his for any sign of the doubt she felt, for any trace that he might be just as unsure about all of this as she was.