To be honest, I thought that we were done with Lola Clementine after she escorted us to the Capitol, but I was wrong. Along with Mags and Finnick, she was to stay with us throughout the entire training period. After the Parade, all tributes were escorted to the Training Centre, the tallest building in the Capitol located behind President Snow's mansion. Each District had their own floor based on their number, so the journey to our apartment didn't take very long using the elevator. Lola hurried and shuffled Rio and me into an elevator with her whilst the designers travelled with their respective prep teams. Mags rode with Azula and my prep team due to Finnick's absence. I guessed that he couldn't wait to be rid of us and do what he really wanted to do whilst visiting the Capitol. It made my heart turn to cold and sink to the bottom of my stomach like a stone in the ocean.

The elevator ride was slightly awkward. With Rio and me standing to the sides and Lola standing in the middle, not taking her eyes off Rio and praising him for his show during the Parade.

"The muscle flexing was pure genius!" Lola commented holding onto his chiselled arm. Rio seemed to enjoy it whilst I stayed silent and watched. Lola was wearing the same outfit that she wore on the train, a cream coloured bouffant gown, imprinted with lace and vibrant pink ribbons. Her hair was in curly silver pigtails with matching makeup and vibrant pink false eyelashes. I thought she looked lovely, though the overpowering stench of lavender perfume was rather off putting. If I had to guess, I would say that she was maybe mid-twenties. I couldn't imagine that her job was very exciting; read names, escort Tributes and if they lose, do it all again. Flirting was probably a way for her to make her job bearable and put a genuine smile on her face, rather than a compulsory fake one. She probably couldn't be like Finnick and go off as she pleased and seek the company of any rich Capitol inhabitant that she wanted.

I couldn't stop myself from smiling when Finnick was crowned the winter of the 65th Hunger Games. However it was removed when he was interviewed byCaesar Flickerman and was accompanied by beautiful Capitol woman. She was draped on his arm, beaming like the luckiest woman in the world. I dazed with shock at how happy he looked too. A young boy with an older woman looking consumed with him and she with a Victor. I could see why they both looked so elated.
From that moment I tried hard not to watch his further exploits and interviews and made more nets than I ever had in my life. It worked for a few months but I couldn't stop watching. It was completely delusional but I couldn't stop.

Arriving at the glamorous apartment Lola instructed us to get comfortable. My bedroom was more extravagant than I would have ever imagined as everything had a certain expensive glow about them with soft edges and shiny surfaces. Just like the Capitol buildings my bathroom had a sterile clean with more buttons and switches for things that I had any idea what to do with. I simply cleaned myself of the makeup on my face. I delicately removed myself from my costume as to not wake the wrath of Azula and programmed my wardrobe to give me an outfit of a green tank top and black trousers. I had never really been a big fan of shoes.

I was the last to enter the Dining Room. Azula and Ivo sat with their heads bent over another hologram sketchpad, her brow furrowed in concentration, probably discussing matching outfit ideas for the interview. On the other end of the table, Mags held a napkin up to Rio's face to remove a little spot of makeup that he had missed. Rio didn't look very pleased but I couldn't help but smile at them. To me, he looked like a small child being babied by his grandmother; I thought it was kind of cute and homely. Mags greeted me as I walked in and sat opposite Rio who smiled at me in acknowledgement. For the first time entering the Capitol I felt at ease.

For dinner we were given a Distrcit Four delicacy, Marinated Swordfish with lemon sauce and salad. It was too expensive to buy on a daily basis but I would always have it on my parent's anniversary. The food was delicious and the silent servants of our apartment constantly offered wine to us, every time I refused they just disappeared back to the corner of the room, awaiting more orders. Mags called them Avoxes, people that committed crimes against the laws of Panem to get their tongues cut out. The idea was barbaric to me and suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore. Rio just carried on eating like it was not shocking to him. Mags pushed me to eat a little more. I finished my plate, but the food was an unwelcomed weight in the pit of my stomach.

Late into the night I couldn't sleep. The air was just too still and the double bed was too large for me. I drank three glasses of milk with no prevail to put my mind at ease about the three day training sessions ahead. I thought that a walk would clear my head. The atmosphere of the apartment was still as I tiptoed quietly around the halls and sat in the main living area. I kept all of the lights off except for a small side lamp that I used for me to see the knots that I was tying and untying on my bracelet to help calm my nerves. Ten minutes passed and I didn't feel any better than before. That was when I heard the footsteps. Finnick strode into the hall, and unlike me, it was almost like he was trying to wake everyone up. His green eyes glanced at the light, then at me and practically jumped right out of his skin.

"Annie!" He exclaimed, surprised to see me. His shirt was crinkled, with it tucked carelessly into his trousers and his bronze hair was dishevelled. I didn't want to think about what he was doing during dinner. Though I didn't want to think, I couldn't stop and continued to work on the knots.

"W-what are you doing up so late?" He asked, obviously confused and slightly embarrassed that I caught him coming back. I knew not to question him on it.

"I couldn't sleep," I answered, focusing on my knot tying. Finnick continued to stare at me with a thoughtful. I wanted to know what he was thinking.

"Wait here," he said and disappeared down the hall. Finnick returned with a small black oval shaped object in his hand. "Here," He said placing it into my hands, making me drop the rope in my lap. I had no idea what to do and stared at it like an idiot. He chuckled slightly and pressed the top of it. A silver thumbprint was left behind and slowly faded away as the familiar sounds of the ocean started playing. My eyes glowed with happiness and a smile eased onto both of our faces.

"Where did you get this?" I asked looking away from the stone into Finnick's eyes. He shrugged and came to sit next to me. In the small amount of light, I could see the dark rings below his eyes and the creases in his forehead. Yet his sea-green eyes didn't lose their bright colour. It made him look so much older than nineteen. I guessed that that was what the Games did to people.

"Mags gave it to me when I was Tribute." He laughed curtly and then frowned. "I know that you used to-I mean you live near the ocean. Suddenly not listening to it at night kind of threw off my sleep pattern too."

"Did you use this as your token?"

"That would have been the perfect way to die." He replied smugly, but based on my down casted eyes in embarrassment he stopped and reached into his shirt, pulling out a necklace. It was a black thread with a piece of emerald green sea glass attached to it.

"Who gave you that?"

"It's not important," replied with a shrugged and looked down to my lap. "Is that yours?"

I looked down at the net and nodded shyly, picking it up in my hands, knotting and unknotting it again.

"Why do you always do that?" He asked nodding his head to the net. "I mean I know that you tied-uh tie nets for a living but…why do you always do it?"

"It help calms my nerves and keeps my mind occupied from bad things." My answer was quite plain and simple but Finnick replied with a thoughtful expression.

"I should probably try that sometime."

There was more than just a moment of us being silent, apart from the sound of the ocean.

That answer confused me slightly because he was a Victor. He had all that he could ever want, money, jewels, women, love and a certain future. At that moment I had nothing going for me apart from a four per cent chance of being alive at the end of the week. The thought made me shake and want to block everything out my covering my ears with my hands. I also thought that I was going to start crying. I tapped the stone again and we were both left in official silence.

"Thanks for the um-"

What was it? A gift? I had no idea.

"The you know. It was very thoughtful of you. I think I am going to turn in for the night." I stood back up and went to turn out the light.

"Can you leave it on?" I turned to Finnick and was surprised by the vulnerable tone of his voice and the sullen look on his face that he gave me from under his eyebrows. My heart restricted slightly.

"Um, sure." I retracted my hand from the light and stalked to the door. I turned back to see Finnick with his elbows on his knees with his face in his hands. All that I wanted to do was rush back and collect him in my arms and put him back together, but I had no idea what needed fixing.

"Goodnight, Finnick."

He rubbed his face with his hands and looked back at me, a pathetic fake smile on his face.

"Goodnight, Annie."

I smiled back and walked to my room. Once in bed I tapped the stone and with the sound of crashing waves in the background I slowly drifted to sleep, a tearstain soaking into my pillow.