italics=flashback.

Chapter One
Five Years Since

Finnick Odair had been slicing gala apples all afternoon. In his left hand a freshly sharpened knife from gliding it along the edge on one of his fishing spears, the boy sat on the second floor balcony of Sage's home in District Four's Victors Square. A humble seaside cottage, she had asked for. She wanted the house on the edge of the sand, peering into the ocean, close enough to fish from the window on the days she felt dispirited to step outside. Where it lacked in the size of all the other houses that had yet to be filled, (only three out of the eleven built were in current use, a waste of money really.) the coziness kept Sage more sane than her paranoid mind would be in a large home.

"Sage? Are you almost ready?" Finnick shouted through the door he had left open, the woven blinds on the balcony door rustling by the wind whenever the breeze decided to come through. He could hear Sage getting ready, singing old songs quietly to herself. Sage placed her finger on the bathrooms light switch, getting the last look at her freshly done face. The purple under her eyes matched the color of the lip-tint she had choose, her eyelashes long and her stare dead. She liked her purple lipstick, she liked the natural curl of her lashes and the bigger appearance it gave her. She did not like the dead stare that is now as untaught as breathing. The reflection played memories with her, she started to see her mother. She then remembered her Mother had hazel eyes, green, a color she did not see often. She flicked the lights off.

Stepping onto the balcony, Finnick smiled looking up at Sage. "There she is, purple lips and all." Finnick patted the white painted panel next to him, encouraging her to sit. "I spend all this time cutting up these apples for you, and now you're going to get that mess of paint all over them. I had to trade seven fish for this basket." Finnick waved an apple slice in her face, Sage laughed, as did he. Gala apples were Sage's favorite, a middle age lady sold them at the market every Saturday. She had three kids all under eighteen. Finnick tried his best to trade as many fish as he could for her, although four being a reasonably wealthy district, there were always those who went without.

"I'll eat my weight in lipstick stains if it means apples. Thank you for lunch." She grabbed a few slices from the basket, munching on them while listening to a few fishermen discuss the plans for the day. She always listened in to the fishermen, the dock captains, the kids walking on the beach discussing school after a hard day of it, but mostly the fishermen. Her father was a fishermen, and he wanted nothing to do with her.

Finnick leaned up against the white wall, adjusting his seating and placing his legs over Sage's. "They all hate me. They all told me to get my fish at the markets like everyone else. I mean they can't really do anything about it though, nobody of importance is going to ask me to stop." He scoffed, adding in a mix of a smile and a smirk. He sat down his knife and dropped the last slices of apples in the basket.

"It's not my dad, is it?"Finnick looked at Sage, sympathy.

"Usual, yeah, but it's nothing to worry about. Just say the word and I'll accidentally miss a fish for his chest." Sage strained out a chuckle, she found it hard to joke about death. She rested her arms on his legs, slightly tugging on his leg hair, occasionally making circles on his calf with her pointer finger. A strange act, but she hated messing with her hands and they both oddly enjoyed each others feel. This sitting position was one of their usual many.

Sage changed the topic, she refused to talk about her Father any longer than the length of small talk. "How was the other night? You didn't come by when you got back."Finnick's cheeks sucked in at the mention, whenever the Capitol train drop him back by from his "commute", he would knock on Sage's door and let her know he was alright. Alright in an 'I'm alive, Snow decided I was still a valuable piece in his games' alright.

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. I took off my shirt, she took off her skirt to reval an overly done wax-job. I got my secret, Snow got his fill." Finnick's head now leaned against the wall, turned to look at Sage during the whole of the conversation. Her jaw-line not strong, her face slightly rounded like her eyes, she had been cursed with a slight plump in her cheeks that most outgrew after being a toddler. Her dark hair fizzy in certain spots, but Finnick thought she was the most appealing person even with his line of "the Capitols finest" Snow showcased to him. He found himself straying to the Annie's smile when he thought of love, he found himself straying to Sage when he thought of all the ways the sky could be colored. "Don't look to jealous, now." He joked, lighting up the stiff air.

"I know, I know. Stopping by just lets me know they haven't, you know."

"Killed me? Never." Finnick's eyes hurt. "I just wish the bastard would drop dead, he's sick you know?"

"In the head or as in ill?"

Finnick laughed. "I'm just glad you haven't lowered yourself to him."

Sage did not reply, she adored the boy in more ways than one, for the reasons she could speak for days. They were both convinced that their friendship was based off of the purest love, simple and fought for. In the sweetest of her dreams, she dreamed of Finnick. His body never touched by the Capitol and only by her, his mind never soaked with the blood of people he never got the time to say sorry to, his family still alive and well. His Annie still alive and well. They both loved Annie, and Sage knew that there were much more important things to work on than a life spent with Finnick. Much too complicated, her dead friend was once his lover. She could not do that to Annie's memory, Finnick asked Annie every day when the right time was to love again.

"You look at him the way he looks at me."

"Do you mind?"

Sage and Annie were sitting cross-legged on the balcony, keeping watch on a swift Finnick below, catching fish for a dinner the three would cook and share together. Annie sat quietly, fiddling with her fingers, cleaning her nails and placing her hair behide her ears whenever it would fall into her vision. The friendship shared between the two was never of jealousy, never of anger. They knew just how silly that would be, they both knew they were not capable to feel that towards each other after the things they had been through together.

"I don't mind at all. Everyone loves someone." Sage grabbed her hand, holding on to it, Annie squeezed back. Sage found the innocence in Annie to be the trait she was jealous of. Sage could take care of Annie all she wanted, listen to her thoughts and really get into the depths, but she would never understand how Annie could be nothing but innocence when all her body is made up of terror. Finnick said she was made up of softness, holy water, and lantern light. That was the difference in Sage and Finnick. She saw the worse and he saw the best in people like Annie; people who were still living outside of the games, or recovering from them. "If he were to chose you one day, I would hope I would be just as understanding."

"He would never choose me if you're in the picture, Annie." Not boastful, not proud, not smug, Annie shook her head. Sage cared for Annie just as much as she did for Finnick. They were not in some odd, romantic, love affair. They were not a love triangle, they were a team who had all been through three games of personal hell, the loss of family, the actions they would forever be held responsible for. They have all had to look into the eyes of parents sobbing, feel Snow's touch as he placed a crown on their heads, all confined in an area.

Sage kept her feelings quietly tucked away in the pit of her stomach, Annie took the care and affection Finnick gave her in the greatest of forgiveness towards Sage. The two held hands the entire evening, discussing the dream life they thought of in their heads, Annie did not think twice when Sage would slip out a mention of Finnick.

The silence was broken. "What time do we need to get down there?" Sage asked, pushing Finnicks leg's off hers and standing up. She grabbed the basket of apple slices, heading into the kitchen. They were to arrive at the train station together, along with the elderly victor, Mags. The remaining district four victors personally welcomed the newly deemed victors at the train station each year when they visited on their tour. A quick hand shake and hello, a nod to their mentors, shamefully. The past few years their jobs of mentors have been slacking, they had been losing interest in training scared individuals they did not want to bond with. Finnick and Sage had been following the story of the star-crossed lovers through the overheard conversations in the markets and on the beaches, where the two got most of their information. They tried to avoid any other talks to do with the games after they were over. Each remembers their tour painfully each year it came around, lonely. Bitterness sat in the back of their throats and no amount of cherry scones on tea platters their stylist tried to feed them could take it away.

"We can head down there now, We can pick Mag's up on the way, I'm sure she's sleeping." Finnick was rubbing his thumb over the scarlet's sitting in a crystal vase Sage kept on the counter. "We may need to bring sunglasses though, don't want to be blinded by all the love those two bring." He smiled at his own joke, watching Sage bring her gray knitted scarf around her shoulders.

"I might vomit all over your shoes when I meet them, just a warning. Their love is almost as believe as your humbleness." They both walked over to the door, exiting the home and making their way over to remind Mags of the meeting. "I'll give it to them though, faking a romance to stay alive, it's like they were studying what the Capitol would eat up. I would have done it if needed, it's smart."

"We could have done it, easily." Finnick glanced down at Sage to catch a reaction, there was a slight movement in her lips, nervousness. Finnick suppressed a smile.

"This time we have to face two victors instead of one."

"Eh, we're strong people. We'll get through it." Finnick grabbed Sage's hand and placed a small kiss on it, the constant reassurance he always gave her. She believed it to be practice from Annie. Knocking on Mag's door, she could hear the horn of the train from the town square, not much but a block away the townspeople were already huddled up could be heard. Peacekeepers were lining up in-front of the victor's square.

"Shit, is this really necessary?" Sage questioned, nervously.

"Looks like Snow's a bit intimidated by these rebellious acts, he's got to have extra protection on these two." Finnick replied, standing a little closer and placing his hand on Sage's back. "We've already missed meeting the two lovebirds at the station."

"If I even see one peacekeeper harm my people-"

"Hey, let's just get Mag's and head down, okay?"

will most likely come back and edit this chapter, not fond of the way it was worded, but i needed to post something update for it. next chapter soon. any comments on what needs to be focused on more or what would you would like to see once the story sets off the main plot? xxxx