IV. Interviews & Bloodbath

Be charming, Finnick. Make them love you.

Mags' words echo around in my head as I wait anxiously for my interview. I rub my palms together and fidget with the hem of my suit. Tatiana has decided to dress me in an unbuttoned sea green blazer, with a completely transparent white dress shirt, along with some black dress pants and formal shoes. I will supposedly be 'eye candy' to the women of the Capitol. Carter approaches the interview using the funny angle, while Indiana is seductive, or as I like to call, slutty. Both tributes from District Two use the ruthless angle. They are both too arrogant for their own good and repeat how they would bring pride to their district over and over throughout their interview. "Pathetic," I hear Maya mumble. The male tribute of District Three approaches the cunning angle, which surprisingly suits him rather well, and the female barely grabs the attention of the audience with her innocence.

I let out a deep breath when my name is heard over the loudspeaker and I brush down my suit. "Good luck," Maya says.

"You too," I grin at her.

It is overwhelming when I step out onto the stage. The crowd erupts into an uproarious cheer. Women shriek my name, blowing kisses and some even leap forward. It's deafening; I don't think District One or Two have received this much attention. I return their gestures, grinning and winking. A few surprisingly faint, though I never winked at one particular woman; just at the crowd.

"Wow… Finnick Odair," Caesar greets. "What a pleasure to officially meet you!"

I take a seat and say, "Not as much of a pleasure as it is for me to meet you. I must say pink really is your colour."

Lies. All lies.

I'm tempted to say, "You look horrible," because it's true in my eyes. Caesar Flickerman looks utterly ridiculous, gloriously sitting there, with his perfectly dyed and stylised pink hair.

He laughs his infamous laugh and replies, "Thank you, thank you. Don't you look dashing, Finnick? All the women back in District Four must love you."

Crossing my arms, I lean back and smirk. "Nah, I don't think I caught much attention."

"Well we have plenty of women, right everyone?"

The audience screams again - mostly women, but several men also cheer along. "Marry me, Finnick!" an orange woman at the front shrieks.

I realise that Caesar helps us when we're running out of things to say, and I'm starting to worry because I'm only thirty seconds into my interview and I'm already running out of things to say. "So what do you like most about the Capitol?"

I take a moment to think. "The food, definitely. I mean, I haven't even heard of most of the stuff they gave us on the train. It's shocking, really… and of course, there's the women."

One suggestive wink and the women are screaming again.

"I love you, Finnick!"

"You're beautiful!"

"Finnick!"

"Ah yes," Caesar nods, grinning. "You're probably the golden boy, if I do say so myself. You seem to have caught quite the attention here - a pretty large fanbase."

I smirk, lazily. Play charming, Finnick.

"Not as much as they have caught my attention. I must say, Caesar, the women here are absolutely gorgeous."

This time, it takes a while to calm the women in the crowd down and I'm grateful, for this uses up more of my interview time. I don't have to say as much. "Now, Finnick," Caesar leans in towards me, giving me the urge to lean back as he does. "I… Well, most likely, the whole of Panem have come to realise how close you and Maya Cresta are. Care to explain?"

He looks genuinely intrigued, as do the audience. Was it that obvious?

"We're best friends," I say.

Caesar nods, giving me a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about that. What do you think will happen when it comes down to you two?"

"Well, hopefully that won't happen. I cannot imagine either one of us ending the other's life. But… she volunteered for my own sister and I'm her debt now. I'll make sure that she comes out alive and if not, then I will."

Stay tough. Don't cry. Don't look weak.

I'm saved by the timer when it suddenly rings. "Well, I guess our time is up." He grabs my hand and we both stand up, as he shouts, "Give it up for Finnick Odair, District Four!"

The audience erupts into roars and I sit down next to the girl from Three. I can sense Carter's glare at me; he glares because we both went for charming but I received more attention. I give him a smug smirk and watch as Maya walks out onto stage.

With a floor length dress, she looks absolutely dazzling and I'm sure it's not just in my eyes that she is beautiful. Her dress is a pure white, symbolising innocence, I assume, with an aqua sash and v-neck. Silver bangles and bracelets adorn her left arm from the wrist to the elbow and three jewels have been glued onto her cheek under each eye.

"Don't you look stunning, Maya?" Caesar compliments.

"Thank you, Caesar," Maya smiles, "You look very handsome yourself."

The interviewer himself, blushes. I think he forces himself to blush. After so many years of having this job, I'm sure he's used to the many compliments he receives.

"Your friend here, Finnick, has said that you two are best friends. Anything to add?"

"Well, Caesar, he's already said what there is to be said. What else is there? It would be very unfortunate, however, if neither of us made it out…" she sympathises and wipes a fake tear away. That's my best friend, I think. Playing with the audience's emotions is incredibly smart, yet hard to pull off. Maya's bottom lip trembles as she continues on, "And if only one of us make it out alive, it's just as unfortunate. We're like twins, you see. We can't live without each other."

Both men and women in the crowd burst into tears. A few coo and whimper over the sob story, which is in fact true and I'm certain that there are also the few who enjoy this for more drama.

Caesar smiles sadly at the pair of us. "I'm sure we'll miss whoever doesn't make it… Onto a different matter, you received the highest score, an 11! Now how did you get that?"

She giggles. She giggles the girliest giggle I have ever heard that has come from her. I feel a bitter disgust towards Venala. I know without a doubt that she has changed Maya, even if it is just an act. Maya never giggles.

"Well, Caesar, if I said anything, it wouldn't be a secret now, would it? Besides, I barely even did anything."

Her interviewing time is up and she leaves to sit next to me. "Good job," we say to each other and we hold onto each other's hands, as an act of comfort, throughout the rest of the interviews.

The girl from District Nine makes quite an impression, most likely leaving her at the top of the Careers kills list, right after Maya and myself. Diedre is her name, I think. She rages about how the Careers won't win this year. She rambles about how the Careers will be too stuck up, obnoxious and arrogant and how she will win. Diedre has fire in her eyes. Fierce, determined and brave, but untrustworthy. Caesar actually glances around, nervously, probably never having to deal with someone with such attitude from a lower District.

District Eleven's boy also creates a sob story. He has left behind three younger sisters and two brothers. He lives in poverty and they have no parents. He is the sole protector of his family. My heart goes out to him and the rest of his family. I can't imagine a world where Rhea lives alone without our parents or myself as support.

I stare up at the ceiling blankly. I have stripped down to just my undergarments and I lay in bed, unable to sleep. One part of me thinks that I'm too afraid of the upcoming nightmares but the other is that I just can't. It's just that my body won't let me.

"Finnick?" I hear Maya's voice through the door.

"Come in."

The door opens then shuts behind her, and she crawls into bed next to me. If this was any other girl, I'd be overwhelmingly uncomfortable right now but Maya and I have done this since we were kids. We helped each other whenever we had nightmares. Since her mother was deceased, her father was constantly at work and barely at home, leaving the house to Maya and Annie, who couldn't help at such a young age. It was always the two of us.

We simply lay next to each other, eyes closed and enjoying each other's presence.

"You know… Only one of us can come out," she says.

"I know," I reply. Over the past few days, I have come to realise that if died in the Games, my parents and Rhea would be able to cope. If Maya were to be crowned victor, her winning's cash would be more than enough for her and Annie. Maya could look after Rhea if my parents weren't available. It would be no problem. If Maya wasn't victor, Annie would have no constant family around. Despite barely knowing her, I still care for her, especially since she's only twelve.

"You're going to win," I declare. "We'll protect each other as much as we can in the arena and if it comes down to the two of us, you're getting out. Annie needs you more than my family need me."

"No," she denies, shaking her head fiercely. "I won't let that happen."

I turn onto my side so we're facing each other. "Maya, you're the only family Annie has left. Rhea has my parents."

We both know she can't argue to this but she says, "How about one of us have to win, and the winner needs to look after the other's family."

"Of course."

"Promise me?"

"I promise."

"Me too."

Running.

That's what Tatiana assumed there would be a lot of, the moment she saw the arena outfits. "I presume there will be plenty of mud, hence the boots, and mud leads to water. Don't forget that. It doesn't give much about the temperature… The jacket's fairly thin and not incredibly thin for it to be desert hot. Maybe something mild. It's pretty vague this year. Sorry Finnick," she says, apologetically.

"It's fine," I smile, "You've given me plenty of advice and information.

"Two minutes."

Tatiana adjusts the flimsy piece of rope Annie gave me around my wrist and envelops me in a hug. I hug back, knowing this will be the last human contact before I enter the arena and face my imminent death. "I believe in you, Finnick. Both you and Maya. You have been one of the most amazing and genuine tributes I've had."

She pulls back and smiles at me, sadly. "Remember everything Mags and I taught you."

I nod, stiffly. "Thank you."

I step onto the platform just before it starts to rise. I catch Tatiana mouth, "Good luck" to me and I'm sudden rush of humid air whips past me.

"Ladies and gentleman, let the 65th Hunger Games begin!"

A/N: Any guesses on what the arena will be? :) I hope this chapter was okay. It's not my best, but I feel somewhat neutral with it.

As a side question, should I start the story [Golden Beauty] about Cashmere in the 66th Hunger Games? If I do start it, it's likely that it will contain spoilers for upcoming events in Finnick's story. So just of curiosity, I'd like to know how many people would want me to start it now or later.

Please review your thoughts on this chapter and provide a response to the question above :)