Really quick note: I'm going off of like 3 hours of sleep over the past two days, so I realize the part about the hunger games might be a bit rough and i'm going to read over it on here and make revisions. hope you enjoy and thanks for the reviews and to all my readers for following my story =] i appreciate all your support and the fact you guys have stayed with me this far (yes i realize i'm writing their story very slow, that's my point) ENJOY

random fact phsyc fact: according to my textbook, it's normal for people to hear noises or voice right before you fall asleep, any other time, it may be a symptom of a disorder

Chapter Ten: 65th Hunger Games—Annie's POV

The wooden docks creak beneath my feet, and boats—tied to waterlogged posts—lazily float in the fluctuating surface. A few of the men, bringing in their fresh haul or departing with their boats, look my way curiously because obviously I'm not here to meet the day's quota. At the very edge of the dock, a tall figure stands looking out to the sea, arms crossed. I'm several yards away when they turn and see me approaching.

A smile breaks out on Finnick's face, and a bit surprised, he states. "You came."

"I told you I was going to think about it." I look around. "Where's Kenin?"

Finnick's face falls. "He uh, wanted to stay in."

I set the bag I'm carrying down and give him a disapproving look. "Did you trick me into thinking Kenin was actually coming when he wasn't?"

"What? No." he earnestly says. "He really was suppo-"

"I'm kidding Finnick." I laugh and eye him out. "You can relax."

Relieved, Finnick bends down and grabs my bag. "Making jokes now, are we?" He nods his head in the direction of a wide blue boat. "C'mon. I want to take you out to sea." We walk to his boat which is gently bobbing up and down, and nervously I look out to the vast stretch of water in front of us. I can do this. Maybe. Finnick lowers himself into the boat setting my bag down. "What's in here?"

"You'll see." I try to say confidently, but my voice breaks off at the end.

His green eyes say, trust me. Finnick holds his hand out, "You'll never know unless you try."

"Right." I mumble. I take a few steps forward, and bend my knees as I take his hand. Unsteadily, I put a foot down and the boat slightly rocks making me stiffen with fear.

Cautiously, Finnick puts a hand on my waist and helps me into the boat. "I got you."

He eases me to down on one of the two seats which stretch across the boat, meant to sit two people. My left hand clutches the seat, and my right grips the edge of the boat. Though the water may not be touching me, it is surrounding me and the panic rises. "Finnick, what if I can't do it? I've never been out to sea on a boat and I might not be able to handle this."

Simply he replies, "Then we'll turn back."

That calms me, and I let out a sharp breath. I close my eyes and slow my breathing. In. Out. Slower. In...Out... Methodically I inhale and exhale in slow deep breaths, and that agitated feeling which bubbles underneath the layers of skin begins to subside. Okay, I can do this. Then I hear Finnick softly wince, and the next thing I know it feels as if the boat is plunging downwards in midair. I let out a scream as the hull smacks the water and my eyes frantically open.

"It was a small wave Annie." Finnick lets me know, but I'm focused on the docks in the distance. When did we leave? There is water everywhere! It's completely surrounding me. One wrong move and it could envelop us. Suck us down to the bottom. Where the dead bodies lie. And the fish eat their eye. Underneath the blue sky. Slowly, a voice breaks through the repetitive endings, "Annie, look at me."

I'm breathing rapidly since all I can see is blue, and finally that piercing green comes into view. Strong arms are rowing the boat, veins and muscles clearly defined with each stroke. Am I still rhyming? I find my voice, "Tell me it's going to be okay."

Very certainly, Finnick assures me. "You're safe. There is nothing to fear."

"Nothing to fear." I say aloud. "Okay."

But I focus my eyes on the sparkling green. Light reflecting from the water—which is all round us—shines in Finnick's eyes. I don't mean to stare at him so intensely, but it's the only haven I have. He holds my gaze, never looking away. "Did you watch my game?"

"What?"

Patiently, he repeats. "Did you watch my game? The 65th Hunger Games."

I was still dealing with the death of my family, but I remember it. I may not have been as involved as other people were, but I watched most of it. "Yes."

"I was scared then. Terrified actually." he admits. "People think I tied those vine nets together in order to ensnare other tributes, but I really made those nets for the therapeutic process of tying knots. It just ended up that the nets became useful." Finnick stops rowing, and leans forward. "What I'm trying to say is that everyone fears something. I work through my anxiety by tying knots. You'll find something to help you overcome your fear of the ocean."

What Finnick told me is a big deal. I've gathered that victors don't usually talk about their game unless it's to another victor. Which I'm not. Kenin barely talks about his game to me. It can't be easy for Finnick to have brought this up. But it's definitely taken my mind off of my fear, and I know that was his intention even if it meant it was at his own expense. So, it doesn't feel like an obligation, just that it would be fair for me to tell Finnick my reason for fearing the ocean.

He's here with me. Everything is safe. I allow my eyes to wander to the side and observe the water only a foot away. "My baby brother drowned in his wash-bin. Then my mother walked into the sea and drowned herself. And then my father passed out in a bowl of spirits, and he drowned." I see my reflection in the water, and the wavering stunned reflection of Finnick. "I fear drowning more than anything. It seems like a terrible way to die because my entire family died that way."

"Annie." Finnick quietly says.

I turn back to him and give him a faint smile. "Things happen. I can't change the past. And, I have the Denfezes. While their parents and Minul did die, I have Yurol, Joa, and Kenin." I attempt to lighten the mood. "Kenin came back. He's alive. I'll get better one day because of them. And if I don't, it's not necessary for me to swim ever again."

Finnick smiles. "I'm glad you have them."

"You will too." I tell him. "Once things get better between Kenin, Yurol, and Joa. You've already adopted Kenin. The rest will follow."

He laughs and looks to the horizon. "I haven't been a part of a family for so long, I wouldn't know how."

I kick Finnick's foot with mine and his head jerks my way. "It's not a matter of knowing Finnick. If you care, that's all that matters."

Finnick considers this and shyly admits, "I care a lot."

"I know you do." I gently say. "You mean a lot to us too."

His face looks quizzical as if he didn't hear me correctly, and he opens his mouth to ask a question. But it dies on his lips and he shakes his head returning his focus to the horizon. Did I say something wrong? Should I not have told him we care? I think he has a hard time accepting kind words or actions. Because he must feel like he doesn't deserve anything good after what happened with his game. It was pretty bad from what I remember.

At the Cornucopia, Finnick and the Careers fought several tributes to establish their claim. A blonde with green eyes and bright pink lips gave an awful high pitched laugh when she sliced a boy's head in half diagonally. The other girl Career, also a blonde but with big brown eyes and high cheek bones, slammed her arm into a young girl's face causing the girl to be knocked down, and then she pressed her foot to the girl's throat and slowly pushed down crushing it until it was flat.

A stocky guy with black hair stuck a sword in another boy who had brown hair and grey eyes. He'd left him to bleed out, but after several minutes this Career stabbed him repeatedly until it was obvious the boy was dead. The other Career guy, who had brown hair and hazel eyes, killed a red haired guy by continuously bashing his head into the side of the Cornucopia where it left a ghastly smear of blood.

And Finnick. He had the most kills at Cornucopia. In fact, in the entire game and maybe even in the history of the Hunger Games. This guy from Three who created an electronic trap many games ago, killed all the remaining tributes in his game and may have killed one more person than Finnick. I can't remember exactly though. But Finnick definitely has the highest individual kills. At the Cornucopia he snapped this guy's neck and speared a girl through the heart. The other Careers except Emilia didn't see Finnick make these kills, and he pretended other tributes had killed the people he did.

No one in our district was sure why Finnick didn't take credit for those kills until his victor's interview when he explained to Caesar if he had taken credit, the other Careers would have seen him as a threat. Which was why he always wandered off during their alliance because he'd worked it out with Mags that she should only send him parachutes when the other Careers except Emilia weren't around. If they'd known he was getting a lot of extra help, they would have made him their first priority.

On the third day, the blonde with green eyes killed another girl by smothering her in sand which was designed to burn as hot as a stove. The blonde stood on these rocks in the shade, and forced the girl's head into a hole which had been dug up by a sword, and then very slowly the blonde slowly pushed the sand back into the hole. On the next day, the same girl killed this blonde girl with blue eyes by physically assaulting the girl until she was guided towards a cliff and was then shoved off where she fell to her death upon these jagged rocks.

Finnick killed this guy within seconds by spearing him on the fifth day. Later that day, he also speared this girl. The games were set into action that night. We watched as seven tributes were electrocuted by some entrapment, and the next scene of Finnick was in darkness. Between this time lapse which we never saw, Finnick described it in his interview. The Careers we're eating around a campfire when seven canons boomed. He was the first to react. He'd grabbed Emilia's hand, and threw the other Careers' blankets onto the fire smothering the flames. Without the fire it was pitch black, but diligent as he was throughout the entire games, Finnick always had an escape. He'd lead Emilia through the darkness until they reached a cave he'd discovered a few days back. There, the cameras could only pick up their voices.

He explained to Emilia, six people were killed at the Cornucopia, the blonde had killed two more after that, today he killed two more people, then there were seven canons. She didn't understand because no one was constantly counting the number of dead tributes as he was—later in his interview, Finnick told Caesar the reason he'd reacted so quickly to the seven booms was because the number of deaths ran through his mind every few minutes, so the moment he heard those seven booms he knew. The Careers had killed ten people, someone or something killed seven people all at once, leaving one person against six Careers. The Careers alliance would not hold with six people. And the first to be turned against would be Four considering One and Two usually have stronger alliances together than any other district.

The next day when Finnick woke up early and went outside the cave to look for food and water, the Careers stumbled upon the cave by sheer luck and found Emilia sleeping. Furious she and Finnick had left them, they beat her badly and waited for Finnick to return. He was gone for a few hours because he was knotting those nets he mentioned earlier. Unaware of the danger, Finnick carried the vast net back and then saw the Careers through a clearing. You could tell by the look on his face that he was about to go up against them, four to one while he only had a spear.

That's when the parachute came. The box was large and everyone at The Shack had begun murmuring because no tribute has ever received a gift that big. All of us could only wonder what was inside. The moment he opened the box and pulled out the trident, we all knew he was coming back to Four. Even before he became victor it was well known throughout Four that Finnick had no competition when wielding a trident. He had let the spear drop and you could see by the way he balanced trident in his hand that it was his destined weapon.

Without hesitating, Finnick ran towards the Careers who futilely shot arrows and threw knives at him which he easily evaded with a few twists and turns of the trident. The last sword which was thrown, Finnick had caught between the prongs and he spun the trident with ease allowing the momentum to keep the sword in place, and with one flick of his wrist, he'd stopped the trident and sent the sword into the green eyed blonde's head. The look in his eyes told the Careers he'd hit his intended mark and it was not dumb luck. They hesitated, and Finnick used this time to throw his net across the stocky Career, who became entangled in it, and then he yanked the net towards himself causing the stocky guy to jerk forward and land near Finnick's feet. From there, Finnick sank his trident into boy's back.

Finnick ran to his body, and while he pulled the trident out, the brown eyed blonde hastily threw a dagger at him. He didn't have complete access to the trident so he couldn't avoid the throw, but Finnick used his left arm as a shield and the knife buried into his bicep. The girl and last guy began to run, but Finnick speared the girl as she and the guy disappeared into the trees. He ran over there and retrieved the trident from her body leaving her to bleed out.

In the cave, the sound of three canons echoed. Emilia was bleeding from injuries all over her body, and terrified sobs wracked her body. For several hours, Finnick applied pressure on her stomach which had been torn open, but by nightfall she asked him to remove his hands. He refused for nearly an hour before she told him she was in so much agony and the best thing he could do for her was to let her die. After that, Finnick didn't sleep. He went out into the dead of night and began to track the last two tributes.

In the early morning he found the last Career sleeping underneath a covering of plants, and Finnick threw his net over the plants, tangling everything inside, and he threw his trident. It was in the afternoon when he met the last tribute. He was walking through the trees when he stepped on this silver wire, realized what it was, and before he could withdraw his foot, a girl with thick rubber gloves touched the end of the wire to a large battery. His shoe was barely touching the wire, but it knocked him off his feet while he dropped his trident and net on the wires in front. The net sounded like it was being fried and an angry electrical buzz came from the trident.

You could see from Finnick's point of view, on the ground, that silver wires were also on the ground hidden beneath the layers of vegetation, and we realized how the girl had electrocuted seven tributes all at once. She simply waited until everyone was within range of being shocked. The cameras showed the girl remove the wire from the large battery, and she emerged from her hiding place. Finnick stared at her in amazement as she walked across the now safe wires. His entire body looked stiff with pain, you could see veins protruding in his neck and forehead, and his eyes were opened wide in pain while his face was a deep red.

Unconcerned, the girl grabbed Finnick by his arms with her gloves still on, and dragged him onto the wires so that his body would get the full blast. So close to winning, she became arrogant and that was her downfall. She saw the trident next to Finnick's arm, but he was still weak and in pain so she figured he wouldn't be able to lift it let alone throw it. What she didn't take into account was Finnick's net. The girl turned her back and walked to the battery. Finnick's hands had managed to grasp the net, and when her footing was right, he yanked the net harshly. The girl's feet caught in the gaps, and she fell down smacking her head on the ground.

By this time, he'd recovered some strength and sat up; hands on his trident. Frantically the girl crawled forward to reach the battery several feet in front. When she was only a fingertip's length away and out of the wire zone, Finnick had enough strength to toss the net one last time, pull it backwards, and sink his trident into her body. Then the canon boomed. And it was over.

That's how Finnick got here. That's what it took for him to be here. Sitting in front of me. Still alive. Like Kenin. They have both endured so much. Too much. Just like all the other victors. It breaks my heart. Finnick glances at me and catches my stare. "Yes?"

"I was just thinking." I tell him.

He waits a few seconds. "About what?"

I don't want to say it, but it's the truth. "Your game."

"And how's that going for you?"

"It's terrible."

Finnick nods. "I know."

I lean forward and rest my hand on his knee. "Not because you're a terrible person." he gives a bitter laugh and shakes his head clearly thinking I've lost my mind. I speak the way I do to any of the Denfezes when it's appropriate; the utter truth and no fluff. "You did terrible things in your game Finnick. It would be stupid to deny that." he nods in agreement. "All the tributes you killed though, you're not responsible for their deaths. You know who is, so you shouldn't blame yourself."

Finnick puts his hand on mine, but continues to stare out at the horizon. It's nice to have his hand there, and I'm sure if I was having a problem I could draw comfort from this contact. He's possibly doing just that right now so I keep my hand there and stare at the horizon with him. The blue of the sky and of the water contrast as they meet as far as they eye can see, and the gentle rocking of the boat soothes my nerves. It's incredibly beautiful out here, but I am glad I'm not in the water.

It would only bring up terrible memories and I can't say Finnick would be able to comfort me much then. Finnick gives my hand a squeeze, then begins taking his shirt off. This motion ruffles his bronze hair, and he grins. "I need to go in for a dip. It helps clear my mind."

Very gracefully, he leaps out of the boat barely causing it to rock, and makes a clean dive into the water. A few droplets splash me, but I can tolerate it. But then a minute passes and Finnick hasn't surfaced. I twist and turn my body looking around but there's no sign of him. You're overreacting. Water is your fear. It's not his. By three minutes though, I'm fighting hysteria. At four, my throat is raw from screaming.

"Finnick!" I scream at an empty ocean. We're on the other side from where the boats go to fish, and I don't think my voice carries that far. But it's all I hear. And silence. "Finnick!" Tears are rolling down my cheeks and blurring my vision. The panic is suffocating me, and my head is dizzy. He's gone. It's impossible. He was just here. I let out another scream and my voice sounds terribly broken. "Finnick!" Not again. This cannot be happening again.

I was just getting to know him. To know him! Not in the way he does with other girls, but actually know him as a person. Maybe it would have been nothing. Maybe we would have grown to be good friends like brother and sister. Maybe we would have fallen apart and went our separate ways. Maybe we would have ended up having our only connection be Kenin. But what if it had been different. He showed me a side that other people don't see. I was able to talk to him about my family. Express my emotions openly without holding back. These were things I noticed before, but didn't have to acknowledge because he was always there. But now. Now.

"What's wrong?" a concerned voice asks from the side.

My head snaps in the direction of Finnick's voice, and I see his stupid face with his stupid green eyes and his stupid messy hair and his stupidly handsome appearance. I begin yelling at him, "Did you think that was funny? To scare me that way? After I told you my entire family drowned. Especially after I told you that!"

Finnick swims to the side of the boat and attempts to put a hand on mine, but I snatch it away. He backs off and calmly says. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about the drowning thing. I went diving to search the ocean floor."

"What?" I stupidly ask.

There's a small-shiny-thick-translucent-white-cone shell laced with piercing light pink running along the spirals in Finnick's right palm. Drops of water cling to my skin when he places it in my hand, and Finnick runs a hand through his hair causing it to stick up. "If you know where to look, you can find beautiful shells."

I wipe the tears from my eyes, embarrassed, and hold my hand out. "Well I hope the girl you give it to likes it because it caused me great distress."

He laughs and curiously asks, "What do you think she'll think of the shell?"

I personally want to crush this shell between my hands because not only am I embarrassed, not only did it temporarily yet significantly impair my mentality, but it brought up things better left to the side because they were stupid thoughts. This stupid little shell caused this, this mess. Me. That's what I want to do. To crush it. But it doesn't describe the shell.

Finnick is waiting for my answer, and he's holding onto the side of the boat, head resting on his hands. I turn the shell over in my hand and say, "It's extraordinary. I've never seen white and pink mixed together this way. And the colors aren't solid. I like that." I hold my hand out, "It's gorgeous Finnick. You should let her know what you had to do to get it. Swimming down to the bottom of the ocean for more than four minutes. Complete insanity, but you should still tell her."

He swims backwards leaving me with this stupid shell, and then calls out. "I already did."

Finnick ducks under, and I'm left here annoyed. Already did? There's no one else here! What, he swam to shore and already told her too? He can swim as fast a dolphin? Impossible. He couldn't have told anyone else. He's the only one here with me—oh... Stupidly I hold the shell in my palm and examine it again. I don't want to crush it anymore.

New tears start to fall and I quickly wipe them away. I don't need Finnick asking why I'm crying again because I wouldn't want to tell him and can't bring myself to think it. Carefully I place the shell in my pocket and keep it there for safekeeping. Several minutes pass before Finnick resurfaces, and I've done a good job at controlling the panic by believing he's okay and he'll come back to me.

Cautiously he approaches the boat and jokingly asks, "I'm not going to get yelled at again, am I?"

"No," I tell him, "you're not. I'm sorry I yelled at you before."

"Don't worry about it." he laughs, "It's understandable."

I touch his fingertips with mine and quietly say, "Thank you. For the shell."

There's an itch in his eyes for him to look at our fingers, but he keeps his gaze straight ahead at me. "Your welcome."

Unintentionally I stroke his fingernail and let my fingertips trace his skin. It becomes a serious moment which overwhelms me and I have to break it. Turning away, I lean back and grab my bag. "I have something for you too."

"Oh yeah?" he asks in a different tone I've never heard.

I pull out a bottle and hand it to him. "Here."

Finnick raises an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you wanted to get me drunk."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever. Just take a sip."

"Is it poison?"

"No." I indignantly say. "And it's not spirits, I don't drink."

Finnick unscrews the cap and raises it to his mouth. "That makes you the better one of us." When he takes a sip, his eyes light up as expected. "It's that drink."

I nod. "The one I hate. But I knew you would appreciate it. You took me out on your boat, it's the least I could do."

He's grinning like a child and takes a huge gulp and I get that sick feeling thinking about the taste. "I could drink this all day."

"That's disgusting."

"To most." he takes another sip and swishes it around in his mouth emphatically. "Mmm." Finnick screws the cap back on and places it in the boat. "That's just what I needed."

I'm looking at his flawless body and that's when it strikes me. His body is flawless. Not the way other girls think of him, as a god, but literally flawless. No scars, no marks, no discolored skin where his injuries should be. It's so strange. "Finnick?"

"Yeah?" he cheerfully responds while pacing from one end of the boat to the other.

"Why is your skin flawless?"

"Because of good genetics." he presumptuously jokes.

I laugh and give him an exasperated shake of my head. "I mean, you don't have any scars where you were injured."

Finnick stops swimming and looks at his thick bicep. It takes him a few minutes to respond which is fine because I know he's gone there in his head. He continues looking at the area where that girl threw her dagger at him, but he explains. "When they got me out of the arena, I was taken to a medical room. They fixed me up and got rid of all my scars. Imperfections as they called it."

"We're you in bad shape when they got you out?"

"I was." he says casually and looks up at me. "Getting electrocuted messed me up inside. My nervous system was shutting down, my organs failing. The knife wound was the least harmful. Aside from the infection. But it wasn't serious." he sighs. "And then they did their works on me and I was better. Stronger. No infection. And as you said it, not me, I was flawless."

I think about Kenin. "Do they do that to all the victors?"

Finnick nods. "Yeah. It's not a good image as the Capitol puts it." he shakes his head and laughs. "The only difference the Capitol likes is when victors get alterations to their body." Enobaria and her golden tipped fangs come to mind and I shudder. We must be thinking of the same person because Finnick agrees. "Yup, like her."

The sun is beating down on me and I feel sweat collecting on my forehead. I wipe it away and look at the water. It must feel nice. And Finnick seems to be greatly enjoying the water, I don't want to spoil his fun because I have a heatstroke. Maybe I can do it.

Tentatively I say, "Finnick, it's been almost five years since I've gone swimming."

He's not sure why I'm saying this, but he goes along with it. "That's a long time."

"It is. And I'm terrified out of my mind." I tell him. "But, maybe I should give it a try."

"Swimming?"

"Yeah." I say nervously.

Finnick tilts his head and beads of water drop into the ocean. "You don't need to face it right away." But he encouragingly adds, "It is nice in here though."

I stick my hand in the ocean and the cool water takes a few degrees off from this heat. I swing my legs over the side and let my feet sink beneath the surface. It feels so good. The water rises to my calves. Finnick is watching me with a grin and I ask, "What?"

"Nothing." he says. "You're doing great. You even seem to be enjoying it."

I laugh. "We'll see when the water rises." I use my arms to keep me above the water, and I slowly submerge my legs completely. My arms begin to shake from the strain of slowly submerging myself, and I lower myself more so that the water rises to my waist. I'm somewhat clinging to the side of the boat and beside me Finnick is treading water.

He laughs. "Your dress is like a jellyfish."

I look down and see that my dress is floating on the surface and billowing out around me. Then my hand slips, but before I fall into the water, before I feel any fear, powerful arms are wrapped around me keeping my head above water. I'm pressed against Finnick's chest, and his right arm moves away as he grabs the side of the boat, his left arm still tightly holding me.

Worried, he asks. "Are you okay?"

I'm aware that the water is at my chest occasionally touching my neck and throat. Almost half of my hair is wet and it floats around us like tangled seaweed. But I'm okay. I don't feel panic, I don't feel scared. I tilt my head away so I can get a look at Finnick and tell him. "I'm okay."

Finnick's heart is beating against my chest, and I can feel the strength in every muscle touching my skin. I don't want to move away because I am certain he's the only thing keeping me calm, and Finnick doesn't indicate he wants to move away either. His green eyes sees me. With an assuring voice, Finnick states. "We'll stay like this."

"Like this." I confirm. Beneath me, his legs are treading the water to help keep us afloat but they're working slower than usual since he is holding onto the boat. But even then, I can feel the power in them. Many victors end up wasting away, yet Finnick is in shape. "How did you keep your body strong after the games?"

Very subtly, Finnick's body tenses. I can feel the movements of his muscles as he swallows. "I uh, have many work outs. And I walk around Four a lot, go swimming, diving. Only drink in the Capitol. Haven't turned to medications. I survived the Hunger Games. Seems like a waste to fight so brutally in order to live then let my body deteriorate from spirits or drugs or lack of exercise."

I rest my head against his shoulder, my cheek gets wet, and underneath my cheek I can feel and hear Finnick's heartbeat. A slightly fast, pump-pump pump-pump pump-pump. At least that's what it reminds me of. I'm not sure how long we stay this way, but I do notice my cheek is pressed to his chest now instead of being at his shoulder and I take this as Finnick's arm is tiring. However, when I look up I see that Finnick has fallen asleep. He has a fierce grip on the side of the boat, and his left arm is still securely holding me with a gradual slip. So even in his sleep when he's not having nightmares, Finnick is considerably, and by that I mean really, strong.

"Finnick." I whisper.

Groggily he responds, "Mm, yeah?"

"I think we should get back in the boat."

Finnick opens his eyes and looks at me still in his arm. "I think so too." He helps me back into the boat, and then dunks his head underwater. When his head breaks the surface, Finnick cheerfully says, "Alright. I'm awake." But I can tell he's tired. His hands grip the side of the boat, and he hauls himself up with those flexing arms. Suppressing a yawn, Finnick begins to row. I unscrew the bottle, hold it near his mouth, and he opens wide so I can tip the Sweet Burst in. Finnick nods to indicate it's enough and he gulps the rest down. "Thanks. I feel better."

"This was fun." I tell him.

"It was." Finnick agrees. "I'm glad you came."

I look behind us at our spot, and the rising cliff next to it. I'd always sat on that cliff, but never went into the water below. Until now. "I am too." I put my hand on my pocket feeling for the reminderance I'll have of this day, but there's nothing there. I feel my other pocket. It's empty. The shell must have fallen out when my dress got wet. "Oh no."

"What?" Finnick quickly asks.

"The shell. It's gone."

Finnick jokes, "Tossed it into the ocean, did you?"

"No." I desperately say, and feel my pockets again. "I can't believe it's gone."

Seriously, Finnick tells me. "It's okay Annie, I know it's not like you actually threw it away. Don't worry about it."

This time I don't say anything because I'm afraid I'll cry. And it's a stupid thing to cry over. It really is. But that's how I feel inside, and I want to cry over losing that stupid shell. It's such a silly thing. But there it is. My shell has dropped back down to be claimed by the ocean floor. So I look away, at the horizon, because I'm afraid I'll cry.

"Where have you been?" Joa asks me in the kitchen.

I take a sip of my water. "What do you mean?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I feel like I haven't seen you around lately."

I've been spending so much time at Finnick's house that I actually haven't been around Joa. Yesterday we went to the beach where I lost that stupid shell, the day before I spent most of my day with Kenin at Finnick's house, and the day before, I'd worked then slept over Finnick's when he had his nightmare. And the days before? Spent with Kenin at Finnick's house. This entire month I must have only slept here for a week total.

I walk over and put an arm around Joa. "We'll hang out tonight. I promise."

"Alright." he says, and I can tell he's pleased.

For three hours we build a ship model composed of tiny pieces, and as I attempt to put two parts together, they snap. Like a hawk, Joa's head jerks in my direction. "That's the sixth piece Annie."

"You're counting?" I guiltily ask, holding the broken pieces.

He holds his hands out and I put the broken parts in his palm. "I need to. Each piece you break, I need to fix."

"Well this is hard." I say to defend myself.

We begin laughing, and Yurol comes down the stairs, hair wet and in pajamas. She dresses more modestly than I do at night. "It's looking good."

"Except Annie keeps breaking all the pieces!" Joa rats me out.

"Annie!" Yurol exclaims.

I throw the box at her. "Oh whatever."

She laughs and goes into the kitchen returning with a glass of this gross green drink. Yurol's finished about half of her drink, and I've broken two more pieces when the sound of keys inserting into the lock are heard, and the door swings inward revealing Kenin.

He takes in the sight of everyone except him engaging in this family moment. I detect the sadness in his blue eyes, and he runs a hand through his shaggy hair. "Hey."

Joa puts down the broken piece he's holding, and softly says. "Hey."

Yurol doesn't know what to say because this is the first time since Kenin left for Finnick's that he's come over when everyone is up. He's always come over when I'm the only one downstairs. She keeps staring at him, afraid any move will be the wrong one. Kenin knows they've been attempting to walk on fish eggs around him, but he doesn't want that. He wants them to act as they normally would. Defensively, Kenin says. "If I'm intruding I can leave."

Now Yurol finds her voice. "You can't intrude on your own family Kenin. And, this is your house."

"Do you want to help us build this ship?" Joa asks.

Kenin silently nods, and closes the door. "What happened here?"

"Annie, she broke eight pieces in three hours."

"Thanks for telling on me again!" I say loudly, and ruffle his hair.

This makes Kenin smile, and he takes a piece in his hand looking it over. "How do you know what to do?"

Joa slides a sheet of paper, near the edge of the table, over. "These are the instructions."

While Kenin looks the instructions over, I glue on another piece and then reach for a new one. I swear, all I did was grab it, but this curved shaped piece snaps. Kenin and Joa both look at me with disbelief. I see the mock in Kenin's expression. "I'm here one minute and you break another one."

"That was not my fault. You saw me Yurol." I look behind me and see her smiling.

Yurol walks over, setting her glass on the table and takes the broken pieces. "I don't know Annie. Nine pieces already. That's pretty bad."

It's a bit tense for about thirty minutes, but when we've reached one hour, everyone seems pretty relaxed. I saw Finnick watching us for a minute or so before he left the window's view. I'm in the kitchen getting a glass of water, and Kenin enters after giving a playful insult to Yurol and Joa. Quietly I tell him, "I'm glad you decided to come over."

"It's not like I really had a choice." Kenin tells me. "But I'm glad it worked out this way."

"What do you mean?"

"That I'm glad it worked out?"

I shake my head. "When you say you didn't have a choice."

Kenin nods understanding my question. "Oh, well Finnick told me he wanted to be alone tonight if I thought I could handle coming back here. It also feels like it's time I started trying to make an effort. I'm not so angry now."

I give Kenin a hug, and he returns it just as warmly. "It's okay to be angry. Even if it hurts them. They'll understand. Or at least try to." Kenin nods beneath my head. "Do you know why Finnick wanted to be alone?"

"You don't know? It's on the screens."

"I don't watch the screens unless it's a Hunger Games. Except I watched everything for yours."

Kenin disbelievingly says, "I can't believe you don't know. Al the girls are making a big deal over it, and all the guys are acting brave."

"Know what Kenin?"

"The 65th Hunger Games. They're screening it tonight."

I'm shocked. "When?"

"In ten minutes. We're ahead of the Capitol by a few hours, that's why it's being screened so late."

I tell Kenin. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go over Finnick's."

He's about to say something, and I know he's going to tell me 'but Finnick asked him to leave', but then Kenin just nods. "Alright."

On the way out, I tell Yurol and Joa. "I'm going to Finnick's. Really quick."

In seconds I'm standing on Finnick's porch, and I knock on the door. The door begins to open and Finnick is saying, "I thought things were going well over ther—Annie?"

"Hi." I say.

"Look, it's not a good time."

I nod. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. I didn't know they were screening the game tonight."

Finnick sighs. "They are. To my great pleasure. So many people celebrate it like damn fools. They don't see it for what it is."

He's leaning against the doorframe, sticking his upper body out, the door more closed than open. I get it, he doesn't want me to be here either. So I just let him know, "If you ever want company, you know where I'll be."

But this time, Finnick doesn't say it's best if I leave. He makes an excuse. "I wouldn't be good company, you know? I would barely realize you're there for most of the time so what would be the point?"

Not pressingly, I say. "Sometimes, when your mind wanders or goes into its own place, it's nice to have a person there when your mind returns. Yurol did that for me, and I do that for Kenin. Why would it be any different for you?"

It's like he wants to send me away, but he doesn't want me to leave. Finnick looks back at the place where his clock would be, and I assume it's only minutes away from the screening. After a long sigh, Finnick opens the door and steps back so I have enough space to come in. There's already regret on his face, anxiety, doubt, but also the need to not be alone. It seems the latter won. With one minute until his game starts, we head to his couch and Finnick moves around his set up of a blanket and a pillow, giving us room to sit by each other. He turns on his screen, and that familiar anthem begins indicating the first screening of the 65th Hunger Games is about to begin.

Hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will be entirely from Finnick's perspective about his Hunger Games and will be written as if time has rewound and it's never happened before.