*I kicked open the door to our new compartment keeping Annie cradled in my arms. She released a girlish giggle when I stumbled over due to how much force I put into the kick and how quickly the door opened. I haven't heard that giggle in a while. Even since I last saw her before I left for the quarter Quell.

We were sitting by the water and I remember her running her fingers threw my hair when she let out that same giggle.

'what?" I looked up curious that she was laughing at something I was unaware of. Her eyes swirled with emerald and speckles of gold, she had a glazed over crazed look in her eyes that she developed after she came back from the games.

Her focus fell from my tangled hair and onto my eyes when she softened her stare,

"Well you promised you would never leave again" My heart sunk into my feet.

"Annie...it's not my choi-"

"No, You promised you would never leave me again so I thought We should keep that promise,you know. You don't have to leave me entirely."

I was flustered, I started to consider this was one of her unusual rants that she would start and stop and go off on different ramblings and never really have a point to, she was unpredictable, but also a little crazy, in the best way possible. She sensed my confusion and placed her hands on my cheeks, cradling my face. I wanted to freeze time and stay like that, admiring her, feeling her touch for the rest of my existence. I breathed her in and closed my eyes letting her warm hands on my cheeks consume me.

"I want you to pretend I'm with you the whole time, not even pretend, but believe I'm there."

My eyes snapped open "you want me to pretend you're with me in the hunger games?" she released her grasp on my face and furrowed her eyebrows like she was stunned i didn't understand her theory.

"yeah, that's what I did. I pretended you where with me. I protected you."

My mind was racing. what did she mean she protected me? How could she really believe that I was in the hunger games with her to the extent that she had to protect me?

"Annie I don't understand" I tried to sound gentle because i knew she was beginning to get a frustrated.

"Finnick, I kept you alive, I protected you, I won, and I kept you alive." Suddenly I understood. Annie kept me alive, by keeping herself alive. I wrapped my arms around her and swung her onto my lap. She remained silent but didn't fight it when I pulled away her hair from her ear and whispered

"I'll keep you alive Annie, Ill win this. for us."

She snapped around and I jumped a little. She had a wide grin on, which made me smile. We both began to giggle, which turned into us laughing hysterically. That was our thing. We would smile, then we would laugh because we somehow found humor in each other without words spoken. Annie was my everything, the only thing I could even imagine keeping me alive in the arena. The only thing I would fight for even if i was bloody and bruised and torn into shreds, I would fight for her. I could never leave her alone, it wasn't right.

*I continued to stumble until I felt it was safe enough to land us both on the queen bed Coin so generously offered us. Annie started to giggle again wrapping her arms around my neck pulling me down with her. "Hey Mrs Odair, you better be careful you wouldn't want her hurt your husband would you" I gave her one of my most seductive grins and she burst out laughing "That doesn't work on me Finnick" she placed her hand on my chest playfully rejecting my attempt to seduce her. "Oh really?" I said in a slow deep voice. She laughed again and pulled at my shirt bringing me to her.