It doesn't matter how old Katniss gets; lying will never come naturally. Everyone around her had seen it when they had attempted to film that first propos and she had failed miserably. Everyone had seen how awful she was at pretending when she tried to convince everyone that she and Peeta were madly in love. She can't even lie to herself. This is something that Katniss knows will never get better with time. Nice of Derek to think otherwise.

She shrugs in response to that comment, not bothering to correct him. He's trying to be comforting and up until now, Derek had been doing a good job. She doesn't want him to think that she doesn't appreciate what he's done because that's not it at all. It would have been easy for Derek to ignore Katniss. That's what most people would've done rather than try to get involved and make a difference. Does he realize how unique this makes him?

Probably not. If he really is like her, Katniss wouldn't be thinking much of herself either. Because of that, she takes his hand and stands. She gives it a small squeeze of gratitude. He's not being a bad guy. He's being responsible. If he leads the way again, she'll follow.