Hey guys! I'm really sorry for the delayed update! I just got home from a vacation in the Philippines, and well… no internet… then when I got back here, out telephone lines got cut, thus the lack of connection here as well! Any readers left? Hope you like this chapter!

Oh, and if you think the story line is going a bit fast, I figured I wanted to skip out on the unimportant parts. ENJOY!

Chapter 4: A Tale of Three Friends.

"Tobias Flynn?" Alexander repeated. "And Marcus Flynn was your uncle?"

Weston and Alexander looked at the boy, examining him very closely. He had brown hair, the color of sand and shockingly deep and warm brown eyes that looked like they had too much hidden pain in them for an adolescent boy. Glasses that were a bit too big for him kept on sliding down the bridge of his long nose. Just as Marcus Flynn had.

"You look just like him," Weston breathed, as if he were in a dream. Behind Tobias, Finnick and Annie looked at their fathers questioningly. So they did know each other, Annie thought. She assumed they knew each other more than how she expected. She watched as Alexander extracted a packet of biscuits from a nearby cupboard. It puzzled her that he seemed to know his way around the kitchen, since she thought it was only his first time inside the Odair household.

"Wait, am I missing something here?" Finnick asked. He honestly had no idea about what was going on.

Weston and Alexander looked at each other and sighed. "Kids…" Weston began, looking at the three children. Tobias seemed to be giving them a knowing look as he munched on the biscuits. Annie and Finnick had confusion swept over their faces.

They all sat down on the living room, the two men sitting next to each other on the couch. They looked at the children gravely.

"There were three of us," Alexander began. "There was me, Weston, and this young man's uncle"- he pointed to Tobias- "Marcus Flynn."

"We knew each other since we were children," Weston continued. "Our fathers worked for the Flynn family and we kept Marcus company as. We attended school together, ate every single meal we had together, we did everything together. We were the best of friends." There was a ghost of a smile in his voice as he said it.

"But one thing we didn't do together was train for the games. Marcus' father was a strict man. He trained Marcus and his twin brother, Morgan, all their lives, but in the end, one was spared and the other was reaped…"

Annie looked to her sides, looking at the faces of the two boys on either side of her. Finnick's face was covered with surprise, while Tobias showed that he already knew of this story. More than anyone did, it seemed.

"So, Marcus left District Four and went into the Capitol, using his years of training as his number one advantage against his opponents. We were sixteen at the time. Being a Career tribute, the odds were already at his favor. But he also believed in justice. We watched him from our homes, and I was usually the one holding the hand of his girlfriend back then," Alexander paused and looked at the children one by one, locking eyes with Annie. "Her name was Athena Longstride."

Annie stifled a gasp.

Alexander nodded. "Annie, I think you can figure out what happened there. Anyways, Marcus believed in humanity. Even though he was born and trained to be a killer, a murderer who wasn't supposed to blink as he swept his enemies, he loathed the idea of killing. In the arena, he avoided it as much as possible, and when the Career pack had turned against each other, he snuck off during their big fight and let them slaughter each other. No one was left but him and the lone girl from District 8."

"They fought hard," Weston added, looking into the distance, as if the scene was playing in front of his very eyes. "In the end, he had her on the ground and he was roaring like a monster. He noticed what he was about to do, the monster he had become. At that moment, we saw in his eyes a little glint of humanity and we knew that he had allowed himself to be a piece in the Capitol's games. And just as he was about to plunge his knife into her heart, he slowly put it down and lay it beside the girl. The whole nation of Panem watched as she silently took the dagger with a puzzling look. He just turned his back on her and said 'Make it quick'. And then it was over…"

"Back here in District Four, his body was returned to his family a few days after District 8 was crowned Victor. Athena rushed over and opened the wooden casket that contained his peaceful figure. He really looked like he was asleep, when we peeked in the casket. It was as if we could just poke him and then he'd open his eyes and tell us we were idiots for waking him up. But we knew he would never wake up again…" Alexander continued.

"The three of us cried that night, with Athena. The Flynns had their house on lockdown for about a month, grieving the loss of their beloved son and brother. But the memory of Marcus somehow made us smile, and because of that, we got to move on. Weston and I pulled away from each other, as he opened up a small merchant business, whereas I weaved fishing nets for a living. Athena and I fell in love and we eventually got married. A few years later, we had the most beautiful daughter… and I think you'd know the rest…"

" And I swore to myself that if I ever had a son, I would make him ready for the Gmes, no matter what the cost," Weston added.

There was utter silence as Alexander and Weston finished talking. Annie didn't know what to say. The thing that silenced her the most was the fact that this Marcus Flynn would've been her father if he hadn't died. And Tobias was probably the son of his twin brother, Morgan which meant that Tobias was supposed to be her cousin. But why was Tobias here? Why wasn't he with his father, or his mother?

As if reading her mind, Weston turned to Tobias and asked him gently. "What are you doing here, boy? Aren't you supposed to be with your family?"

A hardness formed in Tobias' eyes and Annie braced herself for another tragic tale of woe.

"There was a fire," Tobias began straightforwardly. "Everyone in my household died—my mother, my father, my grandparents, even the house servants—I barely got out of there alive." He looked down on his filthy clothes, and Annie noticed for the first time that the hem of his shirt was singed. Beside her, Finnick made a slight coughing sound. "I wandered the streets for some weeks, then I stumbled upon this place were some men were drinking. They were talking about the Games where my uncle died. Then they mentioned that he had two close friends that he treated like brothers. So, I asked them where I could find these two men and they led me here."

"I'm eleven years old," he continued. "In five years, I'll be old enough to work, earn some money, gain a new life for myself. But right now, no one's hiring and no one's willing to take me. I'll work for you if you want to, I'll help Mr. Cresta wave fishing nets, or I'll help Mr. Odair in training his son. I just need a place to live, for a while… then I'll be out of your hair."

Weston and Alexander looked at each other. They seemed to be having some kind of wordless conversation, Annie could tell from the rigidity in their eyes. From what she could tell, her father was not capable of having another mouth to feed, given the circumstances in the Cresta household. Weston, on the other hand, was totally capable of taking Tobias under his wing, but how would the boy repay him? He couldn't possibly do anything that was of worth. But then again, this was the last living descendant of Marcus Flynn, who was of great importance to the two men.

After some time of staring at each other, while not speaking at all (Finnick silently wondered how they were able to do that), Alexander finally spoke up.

"I do need an apprentice," he mused, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "And Weston here wouldn't mind having another mouth to feed, won't you, Weston?"

Weston nodded. "Of course. We cherished Marcus and loved him as if he was our own brother. We would be happy to let you stay with us."

Finnick beamed. "Awesome! It'll be like having a brother!" he bumped fists with Tobias as if they had known each other their whole lives. It was palpable that they would get along very well.

Time passed and the three children got closer to each other every day, going to school together, and spending every other moment in between with each other. It was as if they had known each other all their lives, as if the bond between their fathers (and uncle) had been passed down to them. It was funny really, how the universe had somehow brought them together. Finnick began to think that there were other things in life other than train for the games, and Tobias seemed to smile more often since the unfortunate incident at the Flynn household. Annie was able to tighten her grip on her sanity as well. It was as if they were made for each other.

The dawn of Annie's twelfth birthday came in no time. Finnick was fourteen years old, having grown more into his looks. His bronze hair, which used to be short and cropped, now fell in waves on his forehead and bounce whenever he walked. His sea-green eyes now more prominent, seemed to go ablaze as light touched them, making them look fierce and fiery. Because of his outrageously good looks, his name was always on the mouth of every girl in school, and every guy wanted to be him.

Thirteen year-old Tobias was also handsome, but in a more subtle way. If Finnick was a lion, then Tobias would be a deer, as Annie would put it. His hair was now more sandy than brown, and his chocolate eyes always seemed bright, yet shy. He was more withdrawn than Finnick, who tended to be reckless at times. He was also wanted by most girls in school, though not as popular as Finnick.

Annie, however had developed into a beautiful girl. Even at twelve, her sea-green eyes had an inquisitive feel about them, like she wanted to know something from you, and there was always a little pinch of eccentricity in them, giving her eyes a wild and crazy edge, like she was capable of snapping at any given moment. Her tangled brown hair fell down her back in waves that resembled the waves of the sea and as if it was always being blown by a soft wind.

"Happy birthday, Little Cresta," said Finnick, patting her head lovingly as they walked to the beach that day.

Annie pouted and shrugged his hand off. "I'm not so little anymore, Finny," she told him.

Tobias chuckled and stood next to her, emphasizing the fact that she was only at his shoulder level. "Yes you are," he said a matter-of-factly. "You're too small, even for a twelve year-old."

Annie huffed and stalked away from the two boys, who were laughing at her height. She stood in front of them, narrowing her eyes, her hands at her back. "So, this is how you treat the birthday girl?" she asked sneeringly.

Finnick and Tobias pretended to think for a while then at the same time, said "Yes."

With an agile sweep of her arm, Annie revealed her the hands she hid behind her and hurled the piles of wet sand she was holding at them.

"HEY!" Finnick cried indignantly as a blob of water and sand landed on his hair. "REVENGE!" he cried.

Tobias laughed along and collected his own blobs of sand, throwing both of them at Finnick and Annie, yelling something that resembled a war cry. In no time, a battle arose and the three friends laughed and yelled and threw sand at each other as if they were snowballs.

After their tiring game, they lay down on the beach, their backs on the warm sand, side by side. Annie sighed and held hands with the two boys on either side of her. "This has been a good birthday," she told them happily. "I can't believe I'm twelve years-old today… I still feel like I'm a kid."

Suddenly, as if the universe wanted to disrupt their moment of happiness, the large bell in the center of the town square rang, clanging for all of District Four to hear. This signaled that the reaping was about half an hour away.

Annie, Finnick and Tobias sat up, brushing the sand away from their clothes. A certain kind of hardness had formed in Finnick's eyes. He looked over at Tobias and saw that same hardness reflected on his, too. This was Annie's first year of being eligible for the reaping. Finnick and Tobias remembered the time when they each had their first reapings and it wasn't pleasant. The first time never is. And the fact that the reaping was held every year at Annie's birthday didn't help. They feared for her. Annie, who didn't seem to notice, turned to her friends and bid them goodbye, wishing them luck for the reaping.

The two boys watched as she walked away from them in silence. As her retreating figure diminished into nothing but a dot in the distance, Finnick, who seemed to be dazedly staring at the dot that was Annie spoke up. "I think that Annie Cresta's creeping up on me."

Tobias stared at him quizzically. "What?" he asked, although he knew exactly what Finnick meant.

As if in a trance, Finnick gave his head a little shake and waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing. Let's just get ready for the reaping."

As she made her way home with heavy footsteps, fear overcame Annie. What if she had become chosen? This was her first year. She didn't like it whenever twelve year-olds got picked for the Games. She silently hoped that someone would volunteer to take her place if she were to get reaped. District Four had a lot of Careers, though not as many as the ones in Two, where everyone volunteered. She hoped that the odds would be in her favor, even if it was only for this year.

"Are you ready?" Alexander knocked on the door of the bathroom, where Annie was putting on the pale cream reaping dress she saved for this occasion. It had belonged to her mother when she herself was twelve years old.

"I'm coming," she called back, and looked at herself in the mirror one last time. For a brief moment, she wondered if Finnick would like the dress, but then shook her head and laughed at herself, for having such a thought. With a little shake, she stepped out of the bathroom to present herself to her father.

Alexander's eyes lit up as he saw his daughter in his wife's old dress, but Annie could see that there was a pinch of fear and anxiety in his eyes. "You look beautiful," he told her. And it was the truth.

Annie smiled a crooked one and headed for the door, smoothing the dress down. "Thanks, dad," she said. She tried to keep her voice from shaking when she added, "After all, I need to look pretty if I'm going to get on that stage, right?"

Worry flashed in her father's eyes again but he just looked at her with some sort of mix of admiration, respect and love. "We better get going," he said, and ushered them out of the door.

The square, which had always looked huge to Annie, was very crowded as the citizens of District Four gathered in it around the stage. Annie was taken to the area where they kept the girls eligible for the Games, across the spot where Finnick and Tobias were stationed. She gazed at them with a look that offered them assurance and directed her eyes on the stage, where the seventeen past Victors of District Four sat on a row next to the Mayor and the District Four escort.

Mayor Bagsworth then stepped up to the podium welcoming everyone of District Four to the 65th Hunger Games. The anthem played and then the mayor read out the speech he had been reading every year, starting with the story of how Panem rose from the ruins of what used to be a place called North America, how it was glorious until the dreaded Dark Days when the Districts rebelled against the Capitol, how the Capitol had won the war and how the Hunger Games came to be as punishment for the Districts that had rebelled.

In no time, the escort for District Four, Scorpius Rosenthall, was done with a speech of his own and he bounced up across stage, his scraggly hair bouncing along with him as he skipped to the reaping balls. Annie was reminded of the District Twelve escort, Effie Trinket, whom she had only watched on the televised reruns of the reapings and wondered if being maniacally upbeat was part of the job requirements for being one.

"Alright then, we shall start with the ladies!" Scorpius announced and inserted his arm into the reaping bowl, which was about the size of a full-grown horse. He mixed his arm around for a while and extracted the slip of paper with the girl's name.

"ARIEL GREENWALD!"

Annie breathed out a breath of relief and watched as a huge eighteen year-old girl with two pigtails made her way to the stage and gave everyone a menacing look. It was obvious that she was a Career Tribute and she looked like the kind who would stop at nothing to win the games. Looking at her made a shiver go down her spine. She thanked the heavens for not letting her get chosen.

"And now, the boys!" announced Scorpius. He bounced over to the reaping ball at the other side of the stage and took out a slip of paper, unfolding it carefully.

Annie held her breath, praying for the safety of Tobias and Finnick. Scorpius paused for a moment, as he registered the name written on the slip. And when he did speak it out, the world seemed to stop spinning under Annie's feet.

"FINNICK ODAIR!"