Hey everyone! Sorry this took so long! Even in the summer I found myself pretty busy and with a severe case of writer's block. Hopefully that won't happen again! Here's Chapter 4!

Keep my cool? How could I? My mind was about to burst from this unwelcome, new pressure. My fake relationship with Naomi was just a game we thought of for the public eye. Now the public had their eye on me and invented their own game of my life. I couldn't even decide on my own relationship, entertaining or not. I didn't want to give them the power to keep Annie away from me.

If Naomi was thinking the same thing as I was, she didn't say it. "I told you it wasn't a good idea," she said.

I ignored her. I didn't want more lies. But did I have a choice? I could refuse to tell them anything, whether they drag me kicking and screaming to the set of Caesar Flickerman's show or not, or I could devise a new plan to fool them. Either way my existence would be under a microscope and I wouldn't be happy. And my family and friends…wait, that was Naomi's point.

I didn't need to put Annie under this spotlight. Naomi knew she herself had no way out with our publicity stunt. My mother had no way out and I certainly didn't. Annie did. No one but Naomi knew about us yet. I looked over at her, wondering how me, of all people, could be friends with such a rational person.

"I know what I have to do," I said, giving her a knowing look. Disappointment sank to my stomach. I thought I finally could tell everyone about Annie and me. It just wasn't the right time. I wondered if there would ever be a right time anytime soon.

Naomi responded with a slight nod.

The camera crew couldn't help eavesdropping. "You got that on film right? Keep going! Say it to all of us!" the eager producer exclaimed.

Naomi stared at me expectantly, waiting to see what I would do. Inside I was still reeling from this devastating life, but she knew just as well as me that I could play this game again. I'd turn these bitter feelings into bittersweet revenge. They would be fooled again by the life they thought I lead.

I stepped closer to the camera facing Naomi. "I can't do this anymore. I'm moving on to better places with better people. I'm a different guy now."

I couldn't even restrain a hint of a smile as I thought how the Capitol audience would be swooning, thinking my heart went out to them instead of the beautiful girl at home that they wouldn't know.

"They filmed you? Again?" Annie said incredulously.

We were at the beach again, resting against the soft dunes. A storm disturbed the distant sky. Only a slight breeze swept through the beach and I wasn't worried yet. My silly fear could wait. There was nowhere else I could go to talk to my girl.

"And how haven't they caught me and you here by now? Hello? This is very public."

I laughed at her response. "That's your first reaction? You're a rock. My mind was a twig this close to snapping with all of my racing thoughts."

"But you didn't let it overcome you, did you? You're a rock too." She poked me playfully.

"Ok maybe we're both rocks. You're still the tougher one. You handle everything with a calm composure. You to me is like a boulder to pebble."

She smiled shyly. "I don't think I have much to deal with compared to you."

She was right. I barely told her half of my life story too. "That's beside the point. You're handling this crazy mess of my life very well. I don't think I could do without you darling."

She laughed softly. "What did you call me?"

A slight flush crept across my face. I never used that term before. It just sort of slipped out. Naturally. But I had already lost my nerve. "Oh that…nevermind."

Her eyes met mine with assurance. "I like it. Maybe I'll have a name for you soon. Only time can tell me. Like it did for you. I need to know more about you first."

I loved her honesty. I could sit here for hours and let the memories spill out and she would know everything. Now wasn't the time. I grasped her hand. "How is it that you made me forget what I was talking about?"

"I'm pretty accustomed to forgetting," she said, smiling knowingly. Oh how she was such a mystery to me! "But you were talking about this camera crew snaking its way into your life."

"Oh yeah! Them. I wonder if they're going to follow me into the Capitol and watch me do the deeds," I said bitterly."

"Don't say that! Now you're just being negative! Maybe it won't be as bad as you think. They may get bored of you and move on to the next stud."

"And if they don't?"

"Then throw it right back at them. You can hold your own with acting, as I saw from your Games interview. Maybe I can join in the fun this time." She winked.

A crack of thunder, sounding closer, erupted. I gripped Annie's hand harder. Anger and fear swirled through my head.

"You okay?" she said, softening her voice.

I resisted the urge to scream. "No! I mean, yes. No, why would you even want to do that? I'm not doing it for fun. I'm doing it because I have to."

"I know. Sometimes you just have to make fun from what you've got. And I said we're in this together."

"And what exactly would you do?" I raised my eyebrows doubtfully, my eyes darting to the thundercloud over the sea, then back to her.

But she took no notice. "If I can't be your girlfriend on camera, I can be your cousin or something. I would be able to come to your house, have dinner together, even be alone in your room," she grinned mischievously.

A chill went up my spine, although the air was growing hotter with the smell of rain penetrating the air between us. This girl sure was clever. But of course I ravaged my mind for loopholes. It couldn't be a perfect plan, although it tempted me so.

"And how will people know your family? Why weren't you with us at the Reaping?"

Her reply was almost instantaneous, as if she planned this ages ago. "My family is a strong Capitol supporter. That part really is true, so it wouldn't be acting." She broke away from my gaze. "I never told you that. I'm not too proud of that fact, and you'd probably think I'm just like them."

My stomach lurched. So she was afraid to talk about her family too. I guess it would all come out into the open soon enough for both of us, I thought dismally. I cast away those thoughts for now and reached over to touch her shoulder.

"I never would think that about you. I already know the real you. Don't question me like that. Have faith. That's what you say."

"Thank you," she whispered. She continued on, "Anyway, since my family strongly backs the Capitol, we don't like to be seen with anyone from rebels to even mild supporters. Now since you're working in the Capitol, we definitely want in. You're finally good enough. We're suddenly like the family you never had." She paused. "First I should probably meet your family. I don't want to throw this whole idea at them if they don't know me and if they wouldn't be ok with it. Oh what was I thinking? I should have thought about your parents first. You should have said something. I'm just getting overexcited."

She squeezed my hand. We both looked over as rain began to pelt down.

"I think we should go." I said, releasing her to get up.

She stood up too. "I got carried away. Let's forget it."

"No don't forget it. It's not that. It's that," I pointed at the approaching storm.

"Oh it's just about to storm! No worries! I just love storms!" She turned to the ocean, arms spread out, as if the rain was already falling.

At this point my thoughts were about to slip out, but I had to get out of there. The rain was getting louder. Closer. I broke into a run. "Just come on!" I yelled. I couldn't stop running until I reached my front door. I looked back and saw Annie sprinting behind me.

"What was that about?" she gasped, out of breath. "What are we doing?"

"Please. Just come inside Annie."

I slowly opened the door, cringing, waiting to see my mother. Sure enough, she heard the high pitch of the door creaking and rushed out from the kitchen.

"Finnick, dear where were you? You're never–"

"Please Mom," I interrupted her. Annie stepped into the room behind me, nervously looking around.

My mom registered this and plastered a smile on her face. "Oh dear, you didn't say you were having a friend over. I could've had tea ready."

She had no idea what to do other than offer up these formalities. I had backed her into a corner. But I wasn't expecting for Annie to meet my mom now. Here was Annie, unknowing in this strange house. She, too, was backed into a corner. These were two of the most important women in my life. They didn't deserve all the secrets.

I grabbed Annie's hand. Its unyielding warmth compelled me.

"Mom, this is Annie. We've become good friends after meeting at the beach…" I braced myself for the words. "And now we're dating."

The shock revealed itself in Mom's eyes for just a second. Then they wrinkled with a smile, as she turned into the gracious host. She didn't want to look like the fool.

"Of course! Annie!" she exclaimed. "So glad to finally meet you!"

Annie warmed up a bit, assured by my mom's friendly façade. "Same to you Mrs. Odair."

Mom glanced at me questioningly. "Please call me Nora."

My eyes shifted nervously between the two. My mom was playing along quite well as usual. Ever since I was a kid, every squabble I got into at school, every Capitol interference, every nosy neighbor's gossip, she forced a gracious smile. Then I would get ambushed as soon as we were alone. I knew that would happen tonight. I just wouldn't let that be until later. I owed Annie more of an explanation than I did my mom just for bringing a girl over.

"Mom, we're going to go talk," I said, cutting through the tense silence. She nodded pointedly after what Annie said to her.

I motioned for Annie to follow me up the stairs. She complied, but her expression changed to impatient when I shut my door. Just as I expected.

The room was fairly dark from the massive gray clouds outside. All of Annie, even her icy blue eyes, appeared gray. I quickly switched on a small light. I sat on the edge of my bed and Annie followed.

"Ok so do I get to be in the loop now? What is going on?" she burst out.

"I deserve that. I thought it wasn't necessary to bring up before…but maybe I was wrong."

She barely blinked at that ridiculous understatement. She was still waiting. The silence that followed unnerved me. I had to fill it with something. And that something had to be that secret, known by few, locked in a deep chamber of my heart. It hadn't seen the light of day for a while, so it was bound to bite when it came out. But it was time.

"I haven't talked about my family much. In fact, I don't to many people. You deserve to know of course, but I didn't want to ruin your day by bringing it up.

Her face softened to a look of concern. As always her hand enclosed on mine. But she stayed silent. I was rambling and she was still being so patient. I needed to get on with it. I couldn't just blurt it out though. I'd start out easy.

"When I met you, I was on the beach. I came out there often, before and after the Games. It always has been a good place to release the anger, resentment, fear, all of the destructive feelings. It seemed natural. I lived near here my whole life and my father worked on the sea. He was a fisherman and he worked long hours on a small boat. Sometimes I watched the boat, in the same spot all day rock back and forth with the tide. He was my role model, since I figured I'd be doing the same thing when I grew up. He didn't complain for bringing in so much money but getting so little in return. We were still pretty well-off because of him. All of that changed in a day.

The day called for a severe storm, but the fishermen had to work because their output dwindled lately. My dad was one of them out there that day. I went out to the beach too, ignoring my mother's pleas to stay inside. I took my usual spot, enjoying the cool sand and wind. It didn't take more than a few minutes for the storm to intensify and the sky to darken about a hundred shades. They were coming closer, but the storm was moving quicker. I yelled out to the boat, but no one could hear me. They never did. That's when I saw it. The big waves advancing on the small boat. I was already running when one large one struck it. I went to the nearby docks, but no one else seemed to be out. I moved inward to town, yelling that my dad was out there and that someone should take a boat out. No one would do it in that nasty storm. They did promise to call the Coast Guard right away. I ran back to the shore to find the boat had overturned and was moving out to sea. I couldn't make out even a single head in the distance. I stared along with the crowd beginning to form behind me.

After what seemed like years later, helicopters buzzed overhead sweeping the ocean. I got excited when I saw them pull one body out. That one returned. We rushed over. It wasn't him. Some other family got to celebrate. The storm had passed but the helicopters circled endlessly for hours. I didn't even realize my mom hadn't been there until she was right beside me, hysterical. I don't know if reality sunk in at that moment or when the Coast Guard returned, saying they found no other survivors. My dad…was gone."

I couldn't believe I had got the whole story out and with that much detail. And it kind of felt…better to get it out. The hole in my heart couldn't have been any bigger than it had been that day.

I felt Annie stiffen beside me. Then her body relaxed again. Her face crumpled as she looked at me, now afraid to touch me.

"I'm so sorry baby," she whispered. "I had no idea you had even more pain than I already knew."

"I should've told you before," was all I could manage. My excuses were now at a shortage.

"And the storms had to do with all of that?" she cringed, shrinking back.

"The sounds and sight of a storm are ingrained into every nerve in my body. What can I say? You can't take back the surroundings from what you experienced."

"Well I feel terrible. You had to suffer at my expense. I was dancing at the approaching storm like a madwoman."

In all honesty, she looked worse than me right now. I didn't have to bring that up. "Look, it's already getting nicer out."

She looked mortified. "Oh, if you don't want to talk about it anymore…"

I laughed but quickly stopped. What was I doing to this poor girl? I gently took her small hands. "No, I'll talk. That was just my way of saying I'm fine. I think telling that story one more time just might've eased the burden."

Annie smiled slightly. "You are just one emotional roller coaster. No. Maybe I am now." She paused. "I'm happy though. That you're fine. And that you shared that with me."

"Oh but there's more."

She flopped down on the bed. "You're killing me."

I mimicked her, getting down to her eye level. "My mom and I weren't doing so well with finances until I won the Games. My dad earned enough money for the family that we didn't need my mom to work. Getting paid that handsomely had its setbacks of course. Like having to go out on that boat on command. That one day the Capitol decided to extend their greed for fish to a ridiculous level. So you see, I have more than the Games to hate the Capitol for."

Annie shot up. "Wait, so it was the Capitol that caused that to happen?"

I was surprised by her sudden outburst. "Of course. They oversee all of the fishing operations."

She got up, her face flushed and her fists clenched. She started pacing and was silent for a few minutes. I didn't know how she would respond or even if she would. Silence was barely any better than the cracking of thunder not long ago. She almost made it to the window for about the twentieth time when she turned around with a big stomp.

"I think we need to do more," she said fiercely. "Just pretending on TV isn't enough anymore. I think we need to turn this game a little more in our favor."

I hope the wait was worth it. Be on the lookout for Chapter 5!