A/N: This is my first Hunger Games story, and my second story of any kind. Please no flames, but constructive criticisms are welcome!
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! Plain and simple!
Chapter 1: Change of Perspective
It all started when Finnick was headed back to his room after another day of training. He thought he was the last one to leave until he heard the faint sound of someone sobbing. The first time he had been in the hunger games, crying wasn't uncommon. 24 tributes and all of them children. But this time was different, most were full grown adults, this time they all had some idea of what to expect having been in the games before, having killed before.
Curious, he went to investigate, and was surprised at what he found. Tucked away in a dark corner of the training room, arms around her legs and head buried in her knees to try and muffle her sobs was none other than Katniss Everdeen, The Girl on Fire.
Unsure of what to do, but for some strange reason feeling the need to do something, Finnick slowly approached Katniss as one would a wounded animal.
"Katniss?" Finnick asked softly so not to startle her too badly. "What are you doing back here? Everyone though you headed back to your room over an hour ago." Katniss jolted a bit in surprise and wiped her face with her shirt sleeve in a vain attempt to rid her face of her tears and cover up the fact she had been crying. Katniss didn't know what to say, no snarky comeback came to mind in her current state of duress.
"Here, why don't you come with me, and I'll walk you back to your room." said Finnick holding out one of his hands. "You must be exhausted, and we have to train again tomorrow." Cautiously, Katniss reached out and took the offered hand. Finnick helped pull her up and put an arm around her waist to help steady her, as her body was shaking with suppressed sobs. As he led her to the elevator she unconsciously leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder.
Once inside the elevator, Katniss finally spoke. "Please don't leave me alone." Looking down at her in surprise, for the first time Finnick saw not The Girl on Fire, not someone who gave the Capitol a metaphorical middle finger with those nightlock berries, but a scarred 17 year old girl who went from being just another face in the crowd in District 12 to being forced to kill innocent people in a fight to death and then becoming the face of a revolution (not she knew it yet). And now she was being forced back into the arena just when she thought it was over and she would be able to continue on with a somewhat normal life.
Despite his better judgement, he pressed the button to the 4th floor and led her into his room. By now her face was practically buried in his chest and her hands were fisted in shirt. He sat her down on the bed and carefully peeled her hands from their death grip on his shirt. He then took off her shoes and tossed them to the side followed by her socks. Glancing at her face Finnick could tell she was now passed the point of crying and now looked about ready to pass out from exhaustion, so he pulled back the covers helped her settle into bed. As he stepped away to go change out of his training uniform he felt a hand weakly grasp his wrist. "Please don't leave me, everyone leaves me." Katniss says, voice full of the deliriousness one gets from lack of sleep. Finnick doesn't think she meant to say that second part aloud. He turns back to her and gently brushes a stray lock of hair from her face with his free hand.
"I'm not leaving you, I'm just going to go change clothes and then I'll be right back. I promise" He then gently removes his wrist from her grasp and walks into the bathroom to change. When he comes back he can tell that Katniss is fighting sleep, eyelids half open and drooping lower by the second. He climbed into bed next to her, now clad in sweatpants and a tank top, and pulled her to him so that her back was to his chest, head tucked under his chin. "Sleep, you need it. I'll be right here all night." As he said this he could feel some of the tension bleed from her muscles, yet not nearly enough to be called relaxed. At this moment he realized that what he had been seeing this whole time was merely a mask, that this girl was broken. But by what or who, he did not know for there were so many possibilities, but he vowed he would everything he could to put her back together.
A/N: So what did you think? I hope you liked it, please review!