Chapter Three

Liana and Finnick were escorted on to the train while the tributes said their goodbyes. The crowd was following their car to the station, the people loud with questions and just shock. Liana felt the same way, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She still couldn't believe how this was turning out. One of her closest friends and a very girl. How were Finnick and her supposed to do this?

As they stepped on to the train, Finnick's hand reached out and took hers. It was a friendly gesture, but it made Liana calm down so much. They hadn't known each other for very long, but Liana had trusted him with everything, like she would with an older brother. She considered him her older brother, in a way.

Liana knew the story, Finnick's. She had heard most of it from him, but some of her questions were answered by Mags. She knew that he had to do just awful things, and that because he refused at first, Finnick lost everything. Finnick was left at fifteen years old with no family around, because he didn't do everything President Snow asked of him. It terrified Liana, but it also made her angry. Finnick was so sweet, and he didn't deserve everything that has happened to him. But what could they do?

"Like I said, we'll get through this," Liana heard Finnick tell her. They were both sitting on the train, on one of the couches. The television was on, flipped on to some show about the best endings in Hunger Games history. Neither of them were paying much attention, though.

"We're not the ones who need to get through this," Liana said softly. The realization of everything was hitting her hard in that moment, and it made her feel so weighed down. Like no matter how hard she tried, she wouldn't be able to do anything to help. "It's Kenton and Molly. They have to go through what we did and it's not fair. He has a family to take care of, and Molly, she's just a little girl! How could this happen, Finnick? It's not fair! It's not fair," She exclaimed, shaking her head.

Liana tucked her head into the crook of Finnick's neck, much like a little kid would with an older sibling. She had tears in her eyes, though she tried so hard not to let them spill. It was silent for a long time, both of them soaking in the words she had said.

"I know it's not fair, I know," Finnick responded in a low voice. "But there's nothing we can do yet. We just have to try our best to get one of them through, and hope that the other goes...quickly. It's tough and ridiculous, and shouldn't have to happen. But we have to jump through the hoops before we defy anyone."

Liana nodded her head, letting silence fill the train car again. They both turned to the television, and found themselves talking through each one. Gloss and Cashmere came up, their wins. It was pretty amazing, that siblings won sequentially. Not to mention Gloss won through setting up a trap for the District Two boy, which ended up in a decapitation. Cashmere, well, that girl was ruthless. She tore that poor boy to pieces at the end, like only doing that would make her win.

"You have to admire them," Liana piped up with a small shrug. When Finnick looked over at her, she explained. "I mean, that takes a lot of bravery and resolve to keep their cool in something as crazy as this. Never once has there been a story about how those two broke down. You know? I know they're Careers, and you know what I have against that pack, but...I don't know."

Finnick nodded his head, a small smile on his face. "Something Liana Cresta doesn't know? Call the peacekeepers! This calls for an investigation! This can't be possible, Liana knows all!" He laughed.

"Oh shut up," Liana said back, shoving him with a small smile on her face. "I don't know everything, just most things."

Finnick shook his head and ruffled her hair, earning another shove. "Oh come on, let's just watch. I'm pretty sure I'll be on here."

Finnick was, indeed, on the show. As was Annie, who won with a dam breaking and causing the entire arena to flood. She won by being the best swimmer. Then something Liana hadn't expected, she was there, too. She was the last one. Liana watched herself running, her cheek bleeding a lot more than she remembered. She could see how labored her breathing was, and saw the boy running after her. He looked so angry, ready to kill her.

Liana watched as she got that burst of energy, and remembered exactly what she had done to get that. Finnick squeezed her shoulder as the television showed the old Liana get hit with a knife in that same shoulder. Liana could see the pain wash over her face as she fell, the fear and the tears on her cheeks. Liana jumped against Finnick as the boy drove his sword into her leg on the screen.

Then she saw the change in her expression. It was like she didn't care what happened to her now, as long as she got her own words in. That had taken a lot of resolve to pull the sword out, and Liana touched her leg gingerly, as if she could still feel it. Liana remembered training a bit with a sword in those few days of training. That swing wouldn't have been half as decent if she hadn't done that. Then the show ended, and Liana was snapped out of it.

"Do you remember when that kid let you go? At the beginning? You remember what he'd said?" Finnick asked, though slowly, as if it might set her off.

"Yeah, I remember. He said I wouldn't be a threat. He said I would end up dying that night anyway," Liana said back, looking out the window. How had they not noticed that the train was moving already? "I proved him wrong."

"Yeah you did. I remember watching it, that night he looked so angry. The next night, when your name wasn't up there, he was even more angry. Then that turned to a bit of fear, we could all see it. I teased Gloss about it, and you can bet that I still will," Finnick explained, grinning cheekily at the mention of the other Victor.

"You will do no such thing," An accented voice called out. It was Leto. "You will be civil to your fellow mentors. Now, it's time for lunch."

Liana and Finnick smiled at each other before standing up, following after the escort to the dining car. Molly and Kenton were sitting down already, and were looking with wide eyes at the food. Liana was still surprised by the amount of food, but it was nothing like the first time she saw it. District Four isn't poverty-ridden, but it certainly isn't as well off as the Capitol.

Liana sat down next to Kenton, and poked his arm as she did so. Kenton smiled and nodded, looking right at her with an emotion that Liana couldn't figure out. As they ate, the silence got drawn out. Molly would occasionally sniffle, and it didn't take a genius to know why. Kenton seemed strangely all right, though maybe he was just waiting until he was alone.

"So, what are your strengths?" Finnick asked, and Liana figured that was a good thing to start with. He looked so serious in comparison to when him and Liana were alone.

"I can throw a trident, and I can swim faster than Liana," Kenton said with a competitive look in his eyes.

"You can not swim faster than me!" Liana exclaimed with a playful smile.

"Can to! Remember that last race?" Kenton exclaimed.

"Yes, and it didn't count," Liana responded, sticking her tongue out at him. "But you can swim fast enough to keep up with me."

That was one of Liana's strengths, swimming. She was one of the fastest swimmers in her year, and she had hoped it would help her in the arena. It did nothing, considering the arena was full of snow and the lakes were all frozen over.

Finnick was sitting across from Liana, and was struggling not to burst out laughing. He knew what those two were doing, and it looked like they were flirting. It honestly did, and he had to wonder if Liana and Kenton were something more than friends. "And you, Molly?" He asked, still chuckling somewhat.

Molly shrugged, keeping her head down. Her orange hair was around her face, hiding it. "Why does it matter? I stand no chance anyway. Why should you guys even try to help me?"

Liana recognized that attitude, Finnick did, too. He just looked at Liana with a knowing look. Liana had the same attitude last year, it was known as the 'why-try' attitude. It meant that the tribute didn't think they'd win, so they weren't going to try. It was a deadly attitude, literally.

"There's always something someone can do, Molly," Liana said lightly. "Don't count yourself out, okay? You know who you remind me of?"

"Who?" Molly asked, gaining curiosity with what Liana was saying.

"Myself. I didn't think I stood a chance, I don't think anyone thought I would. But I didn't give up, and now look," Liana explained with a soft smile. She was really thinking, you don't want to win anyway, but she wouldn't dare say that out loud.

"Really? But you were so amazing and...I'm nothing like you," Molly said, looking up and wiping her eyes from the tears that had fallen. "But...I guess I can tie knots all right. And I'm the best at hide and seek in my year, nobody can ever find me."

Liana looked right at Finnick as Molly said that. She looked happier, because now she knew that Molly had a chance. If she's that good at hiding, well, maybe nobody in the arena could find her. Maybe she could just hide out and wait for everyone to kill each other off. They could hope for that. "Finnick, I think I'm going to mentor Molly, if that's all right."

Finnick nodded his head, a small smile on his face. He was glad to see Liana relaxing, and he was glad that now Molly had a chance. They all finished eating, and headed to the television room to watch the rest of the reapings. Most of them weren't too memorable, except a twelve-year-old girl from Eleven, a huge boy from Eleven, and then the volunteer from Twelve.

"A volunteer," Finnick said after the television was turned off. "Wow." They were all stunned, as a volunteer from that district was almost unheard of.

"Yeah, that's amazing. What do you think, Molly?" Liana asked the girl. They found out she was thirteen years old a bit earlier.

She never got a response. Before Molly could open her mouth, Kenton slammed his hand down on the floor, standing up. His face was bright red as he walked to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. "We're in the Capitol," Leto finally voiced. "Why don't you all take a nap? Dinner will be in an hour."

But when dinner rolled around, nobody was awake for it. Except Liana, but she stayed shut up in her room. All she could think about was how angry Kenton seemed. Why was he so angry with her trying to help Molly? This wasn't like Kenton at all, and it worried her.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading you guys! Sorry I didn't update, the holidays were just really crazy for me. I had some family issues, but it was mostly because holidays are hectic for me. So school is starting again tomorrow, we've had awful cold so school was cancelled for two days. That's mostly how I got to updating. I will probably update this next week, if things aren't too bad. If I have a lot of spare time, then maybe over the weekend. Anyways, thanks for reading and I'd love to see what you think so far! I have the next few chapters planned out in a little notebook of mine! I call it my Firefly notebook. XD Okay, I'm rambling. I'm gonna just stop and go to the review response.

lilly2587: Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it! Gloss should appear next chapter, if everything goes as planned! I hope you liked this chapter!