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CHAPTER TEN - ALLIES, FRIENDS AND FACELESS ENEMIES

Cashmere heads back to her booth, leaving me a little stumped and more confused than ever.

I don't know what to think, how to feel. Scrap that, I do know how to feel - I should be expecting the worst. I should be putting my confidence in Ethan. I should be willing him to win. I should be preparing myself for the moment Annie's luck runs out - but I just don't feel that way. I don't want to feel that way any more.

On screen, the Careers finish packing up and head off into the woods, and I lean back in my seat, letting my breath filter slowly through my teeth.

Where will putting my faith in Annie get me? I wonder, watching as, in the arena, the girl in question helps Jasmine over a fallen branch. Won't it just make it more painful when she dies if I admit to myself that I want her to live?

But you do, a little voice in my head insists, you want her to win.

Before I'm forced to properly acknowledge this, though, a steaming cup of coffee lands on my desk and I look up, startled, to see Mags has returned. She's eyeing me concernedly, her grey brows knitted together, and I offer her a half smile, trying to reassure her I'm fine. She doesn't seem convinced, though.

"You looked deep in thought." She says as she lowers herself into her seat. I shrug, feeling strangely embarrassed, hoping my back-and-forth thought processes aren't visible on my face, and her eyes crinkle worriedly. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." I say falteringly. "I was just... I was just thinking I should go apologise to Brutus."

I wasn't, but come to think of it, that's not a bad thing to do. I was wrong to blame him and he deserves an apology. Dammit, he deserves me grovelling at his feet because of what I said.

Still. Apologising. To Brutus. I heave a sigh. He's going to hold this over me for the rest of my life, isn't he?

"I guess I'd best do it now." I say reluctantly.

"Okay." Mags gives me a knowing smile. "Good luck."

"You'll be alright here on your own for a bit?" I check.

She nods.

"Sure. The Careers are just moving camp for the time being." Her smile suddenly widens. "Drink your coffee. You'll need it." I pull a face at her but pick it up all the same because she's probably right. She laughs at my expression. "Off you pop, sweetie."

And so off I go, coffee in hand, towards the 2's booth. And then I hesitate. Enobaria isn't there, for which I'm glad, but Brutus is and he's unoccupied, scrolling idly through the list of possible sponsor gifts, moving through them too fast to actually be reading it properly.

He hasn't realised I'm there yet and I get the urge to turn on my heel and leave. Part of me wants to apologise (my cheeks burn as I remember my outburst) but another part of me can't get over Ash and Seela and how, tomorrow night, they'll turn on Annie and Ethan and enjoy it.

But Brutus isn't Ash and Seela. He's tough, brash and a killer like me, but he's not cruel. Maybe he enjoyed his Games, maybe he enjoyed the power of killing, but I saw his face when Seela had Mia pinned to the ground: Brutus isn't a monster.

I'm still hovering there, awkward and unsure, when he turns suddenly and catches sight of me. The grooves in his face deepen and I can't tell if he's still angry or offended or something else entirely.

But then his eyes shift towards the coffee cup in my hand.

"That something strong?" He asks. I stare at him blankly for a moment, a little taken aback. "Well?" He demands.

"Black coffee." I reply. "You want it?"

"God, yes."

I go and hand it to him – a peace offering – and as I sink down in the seat next to him, he takes a huge gulp... And immediately chokes, spitting it back into the cup with a splash, gagging and retching like I'd just tried to poison him.

His face twists in disgust.

"You put sugar in this?"

"Uh, yeah." I say and he shudders, wiping a hand across his mouth.

"You're a damn fairy, Finnick Odair." He says matter of factly and I let out a snort of laughter. Although he's still grimacing theatrically, there's humour in his eyes as he puts the cup down on the desk and pushes it towards me. "You can have that back, kiddo."

I eye the frothy saliva scum on the surface of my drink and now it's my turn to shudder.

"No thanks, mate."

Brutus' face splits into a grin and I return it, thankful he's not furious with me although I deserve it, although I acted inexcusably.

The thought wipes the grin from my face and I look down, suddenly very interested in my hands. Neither of us speaks again for a few more moments and I begin to fiddle with the rim of the coffee cup, picking at the polystyrene.

"So," Brutus says eventually. I still don't look at him. "Did you come over here for any particular reason?" I hear the smile return to his voice. "Apart from to poison me, that is?"

The corner of my lips lift, but I keep my eyes on my fidgeting hands. It takes me a little while to find the words.

"Yeah." I sigh finally. "I came over to apologise." Brutus is silent and I turn my head to look at him. He's staring straight ahead, his eyes fixed on the screens. "I'm sorry." I say and once it's out the first time, I find it easier to carry on. "I'm sorry I exploded. I'm sorry about what I said. I'm sorry I blamed you. I was wrong and I'm... I'm just really sorry."

When Brutus still doesn't reply, I focus again on the coffee cup and my restless fingers, thinking I've said something wrong and I've blown it. Brutus is a friend and I don't have very many, especially not many who understand what it's like to be a victor, what it's like to wake up and wish you hadn't, what it's like to smile and laugh with sponsors when you're crying on the inside, what it's like to watch children die every year and feel like it's your fault...

I need Brutus to be my friend again.

"Brutus?" My voice is embarrassingly small and I suddenly feel like a little kid.

And then he's shaking his head at me, a broad grin stretching across his face.

"You never had anything to apologise for, kid." He says. "I was giving you some space. You just needed to cool down."

I am disbelieving.

"But what I said..."

"Was understandable." He interrupts. And then he sighs, leaning back in his chair. "I know it's hard, kid. God, I know it's hard."

I feel my shoulders slump.

"But I've never felt like this before." I say helplessly. "I've never taken it so personally."

Brutus' low chuckle is teasing.

"If you can't work that one out for yourself, mate, I'm not gonna break it to ya."

I glance at him, puzzled, but before I can ask him what he means, Enobaria announces her presence with her customary sarcastic remark.

"Gotten over our tantrum, have we, poppet?" She asks patronisingly. I spin round in the chair to face her and see she's already settling herself in the sofa, stretching like a cat.

I eye her coolly, knowing that if I glare at her as I very much want to do, she'll just enjoy teasing me even more.

"I have actually."

Her teeth flash as she grins at me.

"It's okay, sweetheart, we forgive you. We all know you're still only young." She looks at me through her lashes, her lips pursing coquettishly, her fingers rubbing up and down the arm of the sofa. "And how much little miss Cresta means to you." She continues silkily. This time, I do glare at her. "Oh don't look at me like that." She laughs. "It's true. You've already been punching sponsors left, right and centre because they threatened your pretty little tribute's honour."

I might growl at her at that.

"Really?" Brutus ears perk up.

"One." I say through gritted teeth. "It was one. And he wasn't a sponsor, he was a creep."

"I never heard about this!" Brutus exclaims. "You punched him!?"

"We don't need to talk about it." I say moodily.

"Oh yes." Enobaria tells her mentoring partner. "In a bar, right in front of everyone."

I let out a groan.

"Oh, for goodness sake."

"Apparently the guy ended up in hospital with a broken nose." Enobaria continues with relish.

"Damn," Brutus guffaws. "You don't do things by half, do you Finnick?"

"Oh shut up." I huff. How did an apology turn into a bullying session?

Brutus punches my arm.

"We're just teasing, kid." He grins. "Good on you for showing that pervert that not everyone's for sale."

The atmosphere sort of stalls and I take a sudden breath, because I am... I am for sale and so is Enobaria. Brutus was too once upon a time and still is, on the odd occasion.

My hand closes around the coffee cup still on the desk and I take a deep swig, suddenly needing caffeine. Brutus' head snaps towards me, his eyes creasing amusedly, making a funny noise in his nose as he tries to hold back sudden laughter.

"Uh, Finnick." He says with a chuckle and I suddenly realise what I'm doing and what Brutus did to this coffee and then I'm gagging.

"Ahh no!" I splutter, clawing at my tongue. "No!"

The sound of Brutus' raucous laughter echoes around the whole of the centre room.

…

The Careers head westwards, away from the cornucopia. Ash and Seela (predictably) lead the way, with Preese and Reuben somewhere in the middle and Annie, Ethan and Jasmine bringing up the rear. Jasmine looks a little brighter but she's definitely struggling. Annie and Ethan help her along as much as possible but she's not going very fast and the 2s are getting more and more impatient with every minute.

"I have a feeling Ash is going to snap soon." Mags says quietly and I nod in agreement.

I'm back in my chair with Mags now, having left Brutus and Enobaria cackling away in their own booth and swilled my mouth out at the sink by the coffee machine.

I shudder once more.

"Come on!" On screen, Ash scowls over his shoulder at a limping Jasmine. It's about the eighth time he's growled at her and I can see Ethan is looking more than a little irritated.

"Give her a break, Ash." Ethan rolls his eyes. "She's injured."

Ash suddenly stops and whirls round. I see fury in his eyes and for a moment, wonder if this is it, if Ash will snap. I feel my nose crinkle anxiously because, if Ash goes for Jasmine, I know that either Ethan or Annie – or both – will intervene, probably without thinking. I could see it took all Annie had to not stop Seela killing Belle, but if it's Jasmine, if Ash decides she's slowing them down too much and goes for her... well, the results don't bear thinking about.

"She's slowing us down." Ash growls through gritted teeth. Next to me, I see Mags fight a wince.

Ethan, though, is not impressed.

"As I said before," He says slowly, in a way that's designed to irritate Ash. "She's injured."

Ash's eyebrows furrow so deeply they look like they might meet in the middle.

"I don't appreciate your attitude, Marborough."

"And I don't appreciate your attitude towards Jasmine." Ethan retorts. "But it doesn't seem like that's gonna change any time soon."

Ash steps forward and Ethan's stance becomes immediately defensive. He moves, almost imperceptibly, until he's in front of Jasmine and Annie.

"If she doesn't hurry the hell up," Ash hisses aggressively, pointing a threatening finger in the injured girl's direction. "I swear, I'll slit her throat."

Jerk.

Annie's jaw clenches, but her hand slips out to take Jasmine's, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Fine." Ethan replies evenly. "But don't expect my sympathy when you're injured."

Ash's eyes narrow, glittering dangerously.

"I wouldn't dream of it." He snarls, turning on his heel and stalking off ahead after Seela and the others. "Get a move on!" He yells over his shoulder.

The three left behind stand like statues for a moment, none of them moving, none of them speaking: they're barely even breathing. Ethan's furious expression looks like it's carved in stone and Annie... Annie looks like she's about to explode.

But then she takes a few breaths and I see her calm herself down. Her fists unclench and she pushes her tongue into the side of her cheek, loosening her jaw. Although it's actually quite refreshing to see her angry, to see the edge that might save her later on, now is not the moment for fury. Now is is the moment to get on with it and ignore Ash and his scowls.

After a few minutes, Jasmine turns to Annie, her lips forming a faint smile.

"Do you think someone should tell him he'll scare away all the other tributes yelling like that?" She asks. Annie smiles, but it's forced, I can tell.

"Nah." She says lightly. "He'll figure it out for himself soon enough."

The three of them move on, but Jasmine begins to flag and I can tell she's getting weaker by the second. After another ten or fifteen minutes, she stops and slumps onto a tree stump, her shoulders sagging.

"Go on without me." She announces dramatically, but it's clear she's in pain, it's clear she's wondering how long she'll last.

"No way." Annie tells her softly and there's a note of steel in her voice – a promise of protection – that makes me both proud and anxious at the same time. Jasmine blinks at her, confused.

"But Ash..."

"Ash nothing." Ethan cuts her off. "I promise you, Jasmine, neither me nor Annie will let Ash hurt you, okay?"

She nods and that little smile is back.

"'Kay."

"We mean it." Annie says firmly. "We're allies, remember?"

Jasmine's eyes well up.

"Yeah."

"Good." Ethan turns round and hunkers down a little, holding his arms out behind him. "Now, who's for a piggyback ride?"

Jasmine's face lights up and Annie laughs, a clear bright sound in the shadowed forest. As she helps the younger girl onto Ethan's back and the three of them set off again, joking gently, Annie and Ethan making a conscious effort to keep the conversation positive for Jasmine, a little pain tears at my chest, like a glass shard puncturing my heart.

Because they're just normal kids - they were once happy kids - and the Capitol ruin everything.

The Capitol always does.

...

I hope you're getting the sense that Finnick is getting more and more confused, bitter, frustrated and angry with the Games and the Capitol. That's what I was aiming for.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review! x