Hey guys! Sorry it's been a few days. It's a busy life so yeah... My brother is smacking his potato chips really loudly to bother me (its my biggest pet peeve) so I'm blasting One direction lol. I literally only have from 4-5 to write on Wednesdays (or do anything actually it's all the free time I have) and its already 4:15 so I'm super sorry if this seems rushed! Trying to remember if I promised y'all anything special last time... I think it's just Finnick's and Katniss's conversation. Here goes!

Chapter 4

"Um hi, I'm Katniss...?" I had never met this man and was now supposed to pretend we were close enough for him to have impregnated me. Where the heck were we supposed to start?
"Are you sure about that, maybe-Katniss?" I wondered if Finnick was ever serious. My question was quickly answered; however, as he immediately sobered up at my discomfort.
"Tell me your story, then I'll tell you what they told me," he suggested.
I nodded. "Gotta start somewhere, right? Let's see... I'm pregnant- it's Peeta's, obviously. I don't know how far along I am; I didn't even know I was pregnant until today when Snow came. He told me to leave Peeta, pretending I'd run off with you after discovering I was pregnant with your child. In the beginning, I was hesitant, but then he hinted that the more realistic our act, the less danger Peeta is in. So I agreed like a good little girl. How about you?"
"So you really loved Peeta?"
"So much; I loved him with every part of me and more. We were married, actually."
"Married? God, I thought I had it bad, but- this really is ruining your life, isn't it?"
I nodded. "It's tearing my baby away from his or her father, and forcing me to leave and betray my husband- the love of my life. It's the worst thing that's happened to me, even worse than being reaped."
" I was in a relationship, also, with another Victor from Four, Annie."
"The mad girl?" I could not help my question. Here I had thought that Peeta and I were an unlikely couple, being a Seam girl and a Merchant boy. But the Capitol's man whore with the mentally unstable girl? Talk about unpredictable.
"Yeah. She's more than just mad, though, if you get to know her. She's a victim, but she remains so strong. Annie really is so lovely if you can see past the murmuring and crazy eyes."
Finnick Odair seems positively smitten. I never thought Finnick could ever be anything more than slightly physically attracted to a female; this is quite a change.
"We'll good, we're on the same page, then. Nothing I say or do to you is real, and nothing you say or do to me has any sort of romantic intent. We can build a livable friendship while still staying true to Peeta and Annie," I suggest.
He nods, slightly distracted. Suddenly, I am curious. "What made you do this?" I ask. "Obviously, I am in this to keep Peeta safe and the baby out of the arena. What do you get out of it?"
"Your baby was going into the arena?" He, while seasoned in Capitol cruelty himself, seems shocked at this outrageous murder.
"Finnick. He or she is not only a Victor's child, but the child of TWO victors. That has never happened before. Plus, Peeta and I survived the same arena and have the most famous love story in all of Panem. It would be such a tragic, unfortunate, but terribly entertaining misfortune if each and every one of our children was reaped into the arena and murdered, one after the other, for all to see. And Peeta and I would be forced to mentor every single one of them. We would be unable to do anything to help them if the Gamemakers had it out for them from the start. However, Snow promised that my child will be given full Capitol citizenship upon its birth here."
"Capitol children can't be reaped."
"Oh? So you possess brains after all, Mr. Odair. I was beginning to think that my rant was entering one ear and exiting the other, having nothing to buffer in between."
He rolls his eyes. "Actually, Miss Everdeen-" he begins with a seductive drawl, before I interrupt.
"Mrs. Mellark."
"Right, so during your excruciatingly lengthy rant, I was not only paying attention but also trying to solve your problem of breaking your husband's heart!" He seems terribly proud of himself, but I am less enthused.
"I don't think you can." I state glumly, frowning.
"Stop being such a pessimist!" Somehow, with this exclamation, his arms wave wildly in the air, and he grins madly.
"That's just who I am. I can't help it."
"Well, if Katniss is a pessimist, then don't be Katniss! Problem solved!" His grin and my scowl grow in tandem with his suggestion. I clutch my chest, deeply wounded.
"Look, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Mommy, but this experience is going to change you. It's inevitable! You're just going to have to create a character- a Capitol Katniss, if you will, who is resilient and remains unchanging against the soul-torture inflicted by the Capitol."
"What soul torture?"
"Katniss, what is my reputation? What kind of person did you think I was prior to this conversation?"
"Well, a man whore and an idiot, but the jury's still out on the last one," I joke. He ducks his head and grins, amused. His head returns to its original upright position quickly, grin replaced by all seriousness.
"And what led you to that assumption, Katniss? The first one?"
"Well, your actions in the Capitol, I suppose. Constantly taking on new lovers and such," I answer slowly, the gears in my head turning at a rapid pace.
"And, with the information you now have about my love for Annie, why do you think I would do that? What would cause a fully committed man, in love up to his eyebrows, to cheat on his girlfriend?"
"Force." The realization hits me like the full force of a mine collapse, like being hit by the train on which we currently ride.
"And now that I'll be in the Capitol again, what do you think I'll be doing?"
"Being forced to sleep around."
"Correct. And since you know that Snow will do anything for money, and he gets over a thousand dollars a night for me, what do you think you'll be doing after the baby is born?"
"Being forced to sleep around." The force of this statement hits me even harder. No way. I fall back onto the bed behind me- mine or Finnick's, I don't remember, but I doubt I'll be leaving it anytime soon.
Finnick looks down at me sympathetically. "I know the feeling, love. Like your whole soul has been ripped out. It hasn't. Every time you take on a new lover, that's another part of your soul you lose. Every time I see Annie, though, that's a part I get back. Just look forward to seeing Peeta again!"
My voice comes out raspy and slow, an octave lower than normal. "I- I can't. Snow, he made me..." I sigh. "Peeta thinks I've left him. There was a note, and I took a picture, and... And.. And... The cheese bun!" I wail, hyperventilating. "I left a cheese bun! On the bed! And I tore it in two, and... Oh, Finnick, I know he got the message... The cheese bun!"
"A cheese bun?" He seems skeptical.
"Yes, a cheese bun! Peeta's a baker, you know, and they've always been my favorite of his pastries. He makes them for me every morning. And it's sort of like a nickname, I call him Cheese Bun. So it was like... You mean nothing to me. And now he thinks I don't love him!" My eyes get even wider. "But I did! I do! I love him so much, Finnick!"
"Hey, hey, it's okay. They have nearly everything in the kitchens here, let's look for some cheese buns!" He's trying desperately to cheer me up, probably unused to such broken girls.
"They won't." I sigh again, entirely deflated. I'm as spent and dead now as I was upset only moments before. "They're Peeta's own original recipe. He's the only one who can make them, except..."
"Except whom, Katniss?"
"Except me and Prim! He taught us how to make them a few weeks ago!" I sit up quickly, inspired. I'm so excited by the solution of one of my problems, like because I can make cheese buns, I can do anything. Despite the unlikeliness of that statement, I have hope now that even if I can't do everything, I can get through everything.
And maybe I will, because now I have a spark of hope.

Lol I started this chapter sometime in July... Sorry? But 3/4 of it was written tonight! I saw some people had recently added this to their alerts, and I was like what? People still read that? And then I checked my traffic stats and I was like hey! They do! There are people who want me to keep writing! And I've been on the other side of things, exasperated by writers who abandon their stories, so here I am! I reread it and I was like woah this is pretty good! So yeah. Sorry for my overuse of exclamation marks! Well not really. I'm just really excitable! Especially today! did y'all watch the iron bowl! It was amazing! War eagleeeee! Ahhh! Hope y'all all had a great thanksgiving as well! Review with what you're thankful for (even if you aren't American and don't celebrate thanksgiving) or what football team you root for. Also, I noticed I have a handful of readers from the Philippines! Are all of your families okay? I've been praying for your country! Also I'm organizing a fundraiser at my school (i'm my grade's class president). Anyways, sorry for the super long authors rant! Have a lovely day and thanks for your support!