A/N : PLEASE ENJOY

DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS TO THE HUNGER GAMES FRANCHISE THE CHARACTERS AND THE PLOT SOLELY BELONGS TO ITS CREATOR SUZANNE COLLINS. This chapter was inspired from a scene in the movie My Girl.

The Enigma and the Angel

Summary: "Sometimes everything you believe in turns out to be a lie. True, Finnick has secrets, he's always lying. But sometimes you have to lie to protect someone, even if it hurts."

CHAPTER 1

11 years old

Searing reds, yellows, and oranges blaze behind the skyline . The mockingjays hum other bird's melodies and replicate them into something new. Panicking, I jump over stumps then hide behind a narrow strip of bush. Our eyes lock. He then crashes repeatedly into the trees as if his life depended on it.

"Too slow," I sprint across the meadow getting mud and soot all over my body. He grabs my arm, knocking me off balance. We crash to the ground. Literally. My lips curve up into a smile, loving the feeling of being drenched in mud. My fingertips make small swirling patterns in the cool, slippery earth.

"I love mud." he says.

Five yards from where we both fell lay a tangle of pond lilies in full bloom. We both plunge our faces into the water. I desperately gulp the liquid gathered in the palm of my hand. We crawl in the grassy meadow and let our backs rest at a boulder. . Unlike other districts we can freely go to the forests. Though there are limitations, miles from here lay a wall of barbed wire equipped with a force field, preventing a view of other districts. A deep sigh escapes his lips. "Why do you think everybody wants to get married?"

My face cringes at the question and I bite my lower lip unsure of how or what to answer. His father is adulterous; ever since his wife died he's been trying to fill the gap by lusting after several women. Despite having a few girlfriends including concubines he's getting married to some slut next week. Finnick's been acting like the head of the family going as far as protecting his little sister from that compulsive control freak. My fingers pull out a flower and I slowly pluck its petals. "I think it's because of the smell that's why perfume and deodorant are so popular. When my sis goes on a date she always wears perfume and her date has deodorant so when they go out they kind of smell each other. Well that's what I think."

"I'm going to marry a teacher." He grins with hint of longing and I roll my eyes at the comment. His mom was a teacher.

"You can't marry a teacher it's against the law. " Well it is, for him he couldn't finish a book even if his life depended on it.

"No it is not." he argues.

"Yes, cause she'll give you all A's it won't be fair." I tease "Besides I think you're supposed to be hit by an arrow or something and you'll need a ton of money to love someone. Shiny rings are expensive".

"Have you ever kissed anyone?" He whispers trying to sound nonchalant, his eyes altering to a mischievous glint. Mushy stuff something I've always been bad at , so I just play along.

"Kissing a boy is yucky. They always slobber all over you." My fingers gently pull the stamen through the blossom and set the drop of nectar on my tongue. A sweet taste pervades in my mouth warming my veins with memories of autumn, and what it used to be like when his father was sane. The three of us would go fishing or sometimes by the shore to teach Finnick how to use a trident. Now everything' changed. Just yesterday I entered the house then saw his father kiss one woman and another.

"Maybe we should try just to see what the big deal is."

"But I don't know how." I fumble my fingers hesitatingly. "I heard that when a person gets kissed for the first time, they fall down, and they don't get up for at least an hour."

"Here practice on your arm like this. " He pecks his shoulder repeatedly and encourages me to do the same so I dumbly follow him. "You'll need to watch a lot of soap operas all day to be good at it."

"OK now let's start… Close your eyes." He says, his voice sounding soft and soothing and I obediently follow. "In the count of three...one….two...two and a half and three." I reach out to touch his cheek and he catches my hand and presses it against his lips. I remember his father doing the same to his mom. But I couldn't imagine the fireworks it could send on your stomach.

"Say something its too quiet."

"Ummm…" A blush crept on my cheeks and I put my hair back behind my ear.

"Just hurry." he demanded.

"I'm not telling anyone." Great. I wanted to punch myself from the lame comeback.

"Me neither… Let's spit at it." He spits at his palm and I immediately take hold of his hand.

"Finnick, what do you think of me?" He gives me a curious look and my face turns scarlet. "The rules go like this: if you kiss someone, then you should marry her and have kids with her

But he wasn't given anytime to reply. All the mockingjays stopped chirping. Finnick grips my arm and we quickly crawl to a bush. We hear the sounds of howling mutts descending from the mountains. A man and a woman about 20 years old are running for their life. Surely they weren't from District 4, they had a Capitol look about them.

Their clothes were tattered covered with bloodstains and mud. The girl sustained several injuries while the boy had a puss indicating blood poisoning. They frantically ran away from the two mutts while tightly interlocking their fingers.

For a brief second the man stopped while the woman looked at him as if he were mad. He had a melancholic smile and even without any exchange of words they understood each other. A tear fell from the woman's face and for the last time she pecked him on the lips, softly but quickly. The woman ran frantically to the forest, pulling out a device and passing the force field that separates us from other districts. Then I notice something unusual she held on her hands. I squinted and noticed a new born baby.

The mutts quickly finished off the man. He retaliated and slit one on the throat causing its death. The other one growled in rage and bit off his arm. He tried to climb a nearby tree but the mutt quickly caught him and bit is head off mutilating him. The man lay there dead, but not before a grenade dropped from his hand and exploded in a matter of seconds causing the mutt to die. A hovercraft picked up both of their dead bodies. When it disappeared the mockingjays began to hum once again as if nothing happened.

"Calm down Annie." Finnick says in a comforting voice until I realize I am shaking. I take hold of his hand and we quickly make it to the shore.

"Do you think she'll be alright?" I ask. "The woman's face it seemed slightly familiar."

He puts his arm around my waist. "Who knows?"