Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games... Obviously
"Hello Katniss." he says, popping a sugar cube in his mouth and crunching it loudly. He expects her to look shocked, shy, possibly even faint. She is meeting the famous Finnick Odair, is she not? Instead she looks at him blankly. Her guarded expression unnerves him, and for a split second he considers bolting, but he doesn't. He stands as confidently as he can, hoping the embarrassment of being practically nude doesn't show. You'd think he'd be use to it by now, seen as the sex-symbol of Panem, and he is, but around Katniss it makes him feel foolish. Almost insecure under her scrutiny. And that aggravates him. Finnick Odair is not insecure.
"Hello Finnick." Is that irritation he senses in her voice? For some bizarre reason he has the urge to laugh. Not once had he meet someone who was instantly annoyed by his presence, and he finds it almost funny.
"Want a sugar cube?" she arches an eyebrow, silently saying "Seriously?" before turning her back to him and continuing to stroke the coal black horse, he no longer any interest to her. Once again he feels aggravated because she can't even be polite enough to engage in a short conversation with him. He worries for a moment if he's bipolar, his emotions changing in what feels like every second. That, or he's going crazy? He realizes then that it must be Katniss who's doing this to him, and he honestly doesn't know why. Now he feels frustrated. Damn her.
"No thanks," she replies curtly. "But I would love to borrow your outfit sometime." he feels his cheeks heat up. Is he... blushing? Thank god her back is to him.
"Oh would you now," he whispers into her ear seductively. "I bet we could arrange that." Finnick sees the back of her neck flush pink faintly and he feels a sense of satisfaction knowing this girl is not completely made of stone.
Katniss whirls around to face him, her eyes widening when she notices their close proximity. Their faces are but only a couple centimeters apart and Finnick's eyes quickly flick down to her raspberry colored lips and his heart begins to race. They're so tempting, and the distance between them is so short...
Katniss takes a cautious step back, bumping into the horse behind her. A flicker of fear flashes in her stormy eyes for a quick second as she realizes she's trapped. Finnick feels guilty. He knows what it feels like to be put in situation with no way out, so he takes a couple steps back, leaving a comfortable space between them. He watches as she visibly relaxes, quirking a corner of her mouth up slightly in a way that's supposed to make her look casual.
Did he almost kiss her? No, that can't be right. He wouldn't have kissed her. Or would he of? He feels even more confused as he remembers how close the two were from each other, only centimeters apart.
A boisterous laugh comes from behind him, and Finnick turns around to see Gloss, the victor of the sixty-ninth Hunger Games, bent over in laughter at what he assumes must be the two of them.
"What?" Finnick asks, trying to keep any annoyance from showing.
"It's just," he pauses, letting what Finnick hopes is the last of his laughter out, before continuing. "I've never seen a girl scared to kiss you, Odair. It's actually quite hilarious." Finnick feels a scowl threatening to make an appearance on his features, but he withholds it. He has to play nice with the other careers, at least until the games begin.
He turns to look at Katniss, and sees that she has no issue letting her irritation show. She's practically glowering at Gloss, her cheeks bright pink with embarrassment, and Finnick's surprised she doesn't look even the tiniest but afraid of him despite the fact he's twice her size.
"Jackass." she mutters under her breath. For a moment, Gloss's mouth twitches. Finnick can tell she's getting under his skin, and that wave of responsibility washes over him again.
"Well aren't you a feisty one." Gloss tells Katniss, chuckling softly. "Perhaps there's a spot for you in our alliance. That is, if you can prove you're more than just another District Twelve twig." Katniss just stares at him blankly, and eventually Gloss gets that it's his que to leave.
Once he's out of earshot, Finnick whispers "Just watch out for One and Two, they're trouble," he feels someone's eyes on him and turns to see Eric, the tribute from Five, glaring him. He hates to admit it, but he's terrified of Eric. Everything about him screams insane, and Finnick's been avoiding him ever since he won his game ten years ago. "Oh, and definitely keep your distance from Eric. Who knows what goes on in his brain."
Katniss follows Finnick's gaze and finds herself facing that monstrous boy from District Five, the one with the red hair and translucent skin. "Oh, and definitely keep your distance from Eric. Who knows what goes on in his brain." It almost sounds as if Finnick's trying to protect her. She feels confused and somewhat angry. She's perfectly capable in protecting herself, and she definitely doesn't need Finnick's help. Before Katniss can snap at him, he's already walking away towards the girl in the tree costume. Johanna Mason maybe? She can't tell, with those dreaded leaves surrounding her face, blocking Katniss from getting a clear view.
"Katniss?" a voice trills. She wants to growl in frustration. Why can't anyone see she clearly doesn't want company?
"Yes?" she sighs. She can tell the girl's from the Capitol by they way she stretches out the S's in her name. Her fashion is not completely outrageous compared to many of the other Capitol citizens, and Katniss could say she looked almost normal. Almost. She has on a strapless, sparkly pale pink gown that billows out around her ankles. Her caramel colored hair is left down, each curl precisely in the right place so Katniss can't tell if it is real or a wig. Her make-up is done to look natural with the exception of black butterfly winged eyelashes that she thinks are kind of cute. Her face is familiar, but Katniss can't recall her name. She wonders if she's just one of the other district's escorts, but the girl looks a little too young. But then again, with all the plastic surgery the Capitol surely has, it's hard to tell.
"Jaden Snow," she says, extending her hand out for Katniss to shake. The girl smiles, almost blinding Katniss with her incredibly white teeth. "But you can just call me Jade."
Jaden Snow? As in President Snow's granddaughter?
Katniss shakes Jade's hand, suddenly feeling immensely suspicious. The girl doesn't seem to notice, and Katniss can't tell whether her obliviousness is an act, or if she really is that dense.
Jade purses her lips in thought as she eyes Katniss's pin. "Is that a mockingjay?" she swallows and hopes that the girl didn't notice before nodding her head Yes. Jade smiles and it unnerves her, she swears she looks almost devilish before her face flashes back to that childishly curious way. Her icy blue eyes glint with what Katniss wants to say is approval. Her mouth opens to say something else but is interrupted as Cinna, Portia, and Haymitch approach them.
"Cinna!" Jade pipes, running over and pecking him on the cheek.
"Oh Jade, it's been a while, hasn't it?" The two chuckle softly like old friends and Katniss wonders if they really are friends. For some unknown reason, she finds it unsettling. How could her friend be friends with her, the spawn of the devil?
"And Portia, you look lovely as always."
"Thank you Jaden, you do too." She giggles and Katniss rolls her eyes.
"Well I best be going now," she says, sighing softly. "It was nice meeting you Katniss, and I'm glad I was able to talk to you again Cinna. You too Portia." she eyes Haymitch for a moment, the two of them staring at each other wordlessly before they both settle for just a curt nod.
"Good luck," she tells Katniss, leaning in towards her ear. "And may the odds be ever in your favor." she whispers silkily, no trace of an accent whatsoever.
Without being given anytime to concentrate on the words just spoken to her, Katniss is standing on the chariot, hand encased in Haymitch's larger one, dark cape engulfed in vibrant flames, as she feigns excitement, blowing kisses and smiling to the colorful crowd. With her free hand she catches a single rose. It's petals an artificially dark crimson color. And she's not sure why yet, but some part of her mind tells herself to hate this rose, and all roses, for just by looking at it she has the sudden urge to puke.
Katniss lets her legs dangle off the edge of the roof as she sits back and gazes up at the stars. She still has the rose. For some bizarre reason she didn't want to let it go, so she twirls it around in her small hand aimlessly, and concentrates on counting the stars. There are so many, some brighter than others, some larger. Her father use to name all these different constellations, none of which Katniss could remember or find. One of the many things about her father that's slowly slipping from her memory. She suddenly feels like bursting into tears. The situation she's in seems so hopeless, so impossible she just wants to cry. Sure she can hunt, but what is that compared to twenty-three victors. And even if that was enough, who's to say she'd be able to kill. That thought alone causes guilt to swell up in her chest, forming a huge lump in her throat.
There's no way in hell she can do this.
Katniss hears the door behind her creak open slowly, but she doesn't turn around to see who it is. The person sits beside her, softly saying "Hey sweetheart." She can tell by the pet name that it's Haymitch, but she doesn't look to confirm, just continues to stare up at the night sky.
"I hate roses." she whispers, not trusting her voice. She rips a petal off and tosses it over the edge. She watches it fall, getting closer and closer to the ground when suddenly it stops, a small burst of light is seen, and then the petal comes straight back towards her. It lands on Katniss's lap, its dark crimson color looking like blood against her soft white night gown. The edges of the petal are slightly singed, and a sense of frustration courses through her. She wants this rose gone now. Katniss begins to violently shed the rose of its petals, determinably tossing each one off of the roof. Tears of vexation fill her eyes as they all come back with a vengeance. She cries out dejectedly, folding her arms over her chest to keep from destroying all the flowers in the garden.
"Kid, are you alright?" Haymitch asks.
"Do I look alright?" she hisses, clenching her fists. She turns to Haymitch, ready to explode at him and tell him to stay out of her damn business, perhaps even slap him across the face, but then she looks at him. Really looks at him. His grey eyes, unruly dark curls, olive skin. She realizes then that he looks like her father. A lot like her father. And suddenly it's all too much for Katniss as she pulls her knees to her chest and begins to sob. She wants to go home, she wants to go home, she wants to go home. She wants to be with Prim, Gale, Madge, mother, heck she even wants Buttercup. She wants to be curled up in bed holding her sister as the sweet relief of not having been reaped lulls them to sleep. She wants to have had the feast her and Gale had begun preparing for their families to celebrate one more year of life. Honestly, she wants to be anywhere but here. Anywhere but this damn cage that's just waiting to send her to hell where more likely than not, her life will be claimed. She's not ready to die, she realizes. There's so much in life she has yet to have done. She hasn't repaired her and her mother's relationship, she hasn't brought Prim to the Hob, she hasn't shown Gale the lake in the woods, god she hasn't even had her first kiss! And she cries even harder as she realizes how truly pathetic she's being.
She feels Haymitch drape his arm over her, and she doesn't have enough energy to shake him off, so she lets him comfort her, because what else really could she do? He just sits in silence as she lets everything out. She knows this is a bad idea, letting a man that must die for her survival get close to her like this, but at the moment she couldn't care less. She just lets her bittersweet imagination pretend that this is her father here with her, not a future corpse, and lives in the daydream without one thought of returning to reality.
I am soooo sorry about this late update. So many things had happened this month so far, my sister had surgery and my grandmother had a heart attack. They're both okay, thankfully, but I've been so stressed that I've been pouring myself into my writing, but all of it has sucked. I must have written this chapter like a hundred different ways, each being totally different, before suddenly I wrote this all today with no writer's block whatsoever. So I'm so psyched! I did rush this though because I was impatient to post it, but yayyyy! It's done! And I'm so freaked about all the support you guys have given me! I'd like to thank all my reviewers;
toritwilight504
bellanator116
VikiHungergame1
theawesomeme
Mia
samiesimpson1
wintercherry1912
firework7
sunflower2012
remuslives
And of course my various unnamed Guest reviewers :) You guys are amazing!
-Tris
P.S. HAPPY 1st ANNIVERSARY OF THE HUNGER GAMES PREMIER! :D Review if you remembered that too. Or just review if you feel like reviewing, that'll make me extremely happy too ;)
Have a good Saturday guys!