Annie couldn't sleep. Of course, this was nothing unusual as of late. Ever since she had won the Games, sleep had been infuriatingly elusive. Even when she managed to doze off for a few hours, her dreams were plagued with the horrible images of the arena. The fact that she was currently on a train that was traveling from one Victory Tour stop to the next wasn't helping matters.
Frustrated, she rolled over in bed and glanced at the clock that sat on her nightstand. 1:30 A.M. She had been tossing and turning for almost four hours now. It occurred to her that her prep team was probably going to throw a fit over the bags under her eyes in the morning, but she couldn't summon the energy to care. Finally deciding that sleep was out of the question for the time being, Annie threw off the tangled sheets and climbed out of bed, hoping that a change of scenery might help to banish her insomnia.
She made her way to the last car on the train, whose windows offered a rather beautiful view of Panem rushing by at an incredible speed, and sat down on one of the many couches lining the walls, wishing her brain would shut off for just a little while. She could see through the transparent roof that the night sky was dotted with millions of silver stars that never seemed to move regardless of how fast the train was going. It seemed impossible, and yet it was fascinating.
"You too, huh?"
The voice nearly made Annie jump out of her skin. She sat up so quickly that she almost gave herself whiplash, a startled gasp escaping from her lips. Clutching her chest as though she were trying to keep her wildly thumping heart inside her body, she frantically looked around for the source of the unexpected sound.
"Annie! Annie, hey, it's okay, it's just me!"
A head of unruly bronze hair and concerned sea-green eyes were the first things to make their way into a line of vision. After a moment's hesitation, she stuttered, "F-Finnick?"
"I'm so sorry I scared you." He said softly.
"It's okay," she replied, taking a deep breath to bring her heart rate back down to normal. "I didn't know anyone else was out here."
"You couldn't sleep, either?" Finnick asked again.
Annie shook her head and relaxed back into the couch, exhaustedly rubbing her eyes with her hands. "Nightmares," she told him.
Finnick got up from the chair he had been sitting on and made his way across the train car to sit next to her. "Yeah, I know," he said. "I got them after my Games, too. I still have them sometimes."
"Do they ever go away?" Annie asked, her voice laced with a hint of desperation.
Finnick shook his head sadly. "They get less frequent; at least they did for me. But no, they never completely go away." He stared out the window, watching as the forest outside gradually became more and more dense. They had to be approaching District 7.
"I figured as much," Annie sighed disappointedly.
Finnick took her hand in his, their fingers intertwining. Annie moved a little closer to him so she could rest her head on his shoulder. They sat in silence like that for a long time, taking comfort in each other.
"I just wish it would get better," Annie whispered eventually. "I'm tired of feeling like this, like I don't have control over my own mind anymore." She readjusted her head on Finnick's shoulder. "It's pretty ridiculous that they call this a Victory Tour. There's nothing victorious about it. Getting up on stage and having to look into the eyes of the families whose kids didn't come home…it's sick, just like the Games."
"I know," Finnick replied, absently stroking her hand with his thumb. "It is. The Capitol seems to have a talent for coming up with sick things. But for what it's worth, Annie, you're doing great. You've been handling it beautifully."
"I don't feel like I have," Annie said miserably. "I just wish I could sleep."
Finnick was quiet for a moment, and then let go of her hand and gently pushed her off his shoulder. At her quizzical look, he said, "Here, I have an idea." He took a pillow from the arm of the couch and put it in his lap. Then he put one hand on Annie's shoulder and said, "Lay down." Annie obliged, noting how impossibly exhausted she still was after having not slept more than four hours in almost three nights. Finnick once again took her hand in one of his and then used his free hand to brush her hair away from her face. "Just close your eyes. I'll keep the nightmares away."
"You promise?" Annie whispered.
"I promise."
So, with the knowledge that Finnick had never broken a promise to her before, Annie finally allowed herself to slip away into the oblivion of sleep for the few hours of the night that remained.