A/N: So I realized I'm way better at one-shots than at multiple-chapter stories. So, here's another one-shot. Enjoy!
As I arrive at the Victor's Banquet, all eyes turn to me. Again. Even if I'm all sweaty because I had to run not to be late. Which I am of course. But still, even sweaty and dirty, everyone looks at me as if they just want to ravish me at this very spot. Or maybe it's because I'm all sweaty. I don't know. Or care.
My eyes scan the room, looking for the newest Victor. From the moment she had killed Sapphire, my most promising tribute in the last Hunger Games, I had started to respect that girl from District 7. Sapphire had joined the Career pack from the very beginning but she had been the first to be betrayed by them. Vica, the girl from 1, had thrown a knife at Sapphire's back when she ran away. I had been so happy to see Sapphire had finally figured out that the other careers weren't as loyal to her as they were to each other. Once she knew that, she had tried to escape when she had to stay awake that night. But Vica had woken up and thrown a knife at Sapphire's back. Unfortunately, it wasn't fatal. Yet. But apparently, the girl from 7 had seen all of this so when she found Sapphire in a pool of her own blood on the ground, she had kneeled in front of her to look her in the eye. Sapphire had sighed. "Don't let any of those careers win. Please. Not one of them." The girl from 7 had nodded, taken Sapphire's head in her hands and snapped her neck. It was brutal, yes, but also merciful. This was not a killing. This was a saving.
I wave absent mindedly at the mayor of my district. No sign of the new Victor. When I walk over to the bar and I pass by one of the French windows, I see a lonely female figure with long dark brown curls.
A smile spreads across my face. Johanna Mason.
She's sitting on the beach, staring over the ocean. The deep red fabric of her dress is spread around her, as if she's sitting in a puddle of blood. Oh the irony. I walk up to the girl until I stand right behind her. "Congratulations"
"Fuck you," is all she says. And that without even turning to look who is talking to her. A pebble lies next to her in the sand. I pick it up and turn it around in my hand, just so I'd have something to do.
"Wow. You really are who you pretended to be huh? Fierce, vicious, arrogant, aggressive… Do I need to keep going?"
"Yeah haven't you heard? I'm totally fascinating, as long as you watch from a distance. Like I'm some freak animal at the zoo."
"Animals at the zoo are always loved and cherished by their caretakers." I say, throwing away the lost pebble.
"Too bad I have no caretakers. I'm an animal in the wild, all on my own."
I stay silent and she sighs a couple of times.
"I felt so happy and relieved when I got out of the arena. And now..." She shakes her head.
"You never really leave the arena, Johanna. This here is just an arena in disguise. And a far more deadly one too."
She finally turns around to look at me. Maybe because I've said her name. Maybe because I've said what she was thinking. It doesn't matter why, all that matters is that she turned her head around. And now, as I look into her dark brown eyes, I see she's wasn't lying about being alone. She really is alone.
No one left.
And I know why.
"Sometimes I wish the arena had scarred me for life, physically that is. That even those hot shot Capitol doctors couldn't fix my face or anything." She says, still looking at me.
"I know. But that's not how it is now. You'll have to live with the mental scars. Those are bad enough, trust me."
We stay silent for a second before I continue. "Consider yourself lucky you only have to deal with your own scars."
She eyes me with a curious look on her face, as if she's estimating me.
"Why don't you just sit with me for a while?" she asks me, patting the spot next to her.
I take my hands out of my pockets and sit down. She smiles. It's a very beautiful smile and I know she could break hearts if she wanted to. She keeps on smiling but a tear appears in the corner of her eye and she looks away.
"I'm sorry about your family," I say because I know why she's alone. She's beautiful but dangerous. That is not Snow's favorite combination and he makes sure everyone knows it.
She smirks. "Never thought you could say something meaningful, Pretty Boy, but thanks. I appreciate it."
I laugh. "Yeah well, I never thought you could utter a word other than 'Humpf' either but here I am, as flabbergasted as you are. First impressions really fool us, don't they?"
A girly but genuine laugh escapes her lips and she shakes her head in so-called defeat, throwing her long curls over her shoulder. When she's done laughing, she scoots closer and lies her head on my shoulder.
"You and I, Finnickins, we'll get along. I can feel it. You can be my caretaker if you want to be."
"I'd rather be your comrade in the wild if that's okay with you. But you're right Jo, we'll get along." I say as I put my arm around her shoulders.
A/N: Reviews make my day