A/N, I know a lot of you complain about the lack of details but I try, that's just the way I write. The games were not very long; they took two days. I did this because the arena was mostly an open meadow, with a line of trees around the edge. The outer-district tributes couldn't hide from the careers like they could in the woods from Katniss's games. In canon, there was a lot of days with no deaths. Katniss kept saying the game makers wouldn't be happy about that. I took this to mean they were used to quick games, so the weeks it took for Katniss's games were abnormal and boring to the audience. Capitolites want quick deaths and drama. Lucy, the careers don't want Mason to kill Annie early because it is the tradition for all of the careers to survive to the final six and for them to have a melee battle at the end, or at least in my story, it is. Please review! I honestly love responding to your guys' feedback, and the criticism helps me a lot! All of the tips you guys are giving me are amazing!
Annie- Interview Night.
I wake up before Finnick. I get up and go to the dining room. Breakfast is already sitting out. I grab a mug of hot chocolate and sit on the plush couch. He comes out an hour later.
"You doing ok?" I scoot over so he can sit on the couch. "Yeah, I'm doing fine." He sits down and wraps an arm around my shoulder; I lay my head on his shoulder. "Are you going to get something to eat? Just hot cocoa won't keep you going." I shrug "I'm not really in the mood to eat." He sighs as he stands up and leaves. Soon he comes back and hands me a plate of my favorites; cinnamon rolls, danishes and all sorts of fruits. "Thank you, but I don't think I can eat all of this." He smiles, "Who said this is for you?" He takes it back and sits on the couch in front of me as he eats a danish. "Fine then, I'll get myself food." I get up and grab a plate of his favorites; eggs, sausages, and pancakes. I sit in front of him and bite into a pancake. "Yum," I say, taunting him. "You win." He says in mock sadness as he gets up and sits beside me, swapping plates. We sit closer together and eat in silence.
We spend most of the day on the couch, just enjoying each other's company. We don't speak much, merely being next to Finnick is enough to calm my nerves.
But the time comes when I need to get ready for my interview, no matter how much I try to avoid it. I leave to meet my stylist, bracing myself for the interview. My stylist dresses me in a coral dress, with blue flats and he styles my hair with seashells that match my dress.
As I stand backstage, I think about Finnick's interview with Caesar. He was still in shock from what happened in his games. The entire he was pale, and quiet as a mouse. Caesar had to repeat what he said each time. I remember sitting at home, completely in shock at how scared Finnick had seemed. We've known each other since the age of ten, and neither before nor after that had Finnick seemed so afraid. He has always been the type of guy that appears fearless, even during the games. But, considering what he did during the games, I can understand his reaction, it's a miracle he got over it or at least can seem like he did.
His games went pretty much the same as mine, up to the final six. His arena was a rocky, mountain-like terrain; the games lasted a week. The entire time he stayed at the peak, with the cornucopia and guarded. But when the final six came, he bolted. He grabbed all of the things he could and ran down the mountain, into hiding. When the careers returned to the camp, they were furious. He had taken almost all of the food. Not because he wanted it, but because it meant they wouldn't get any. He also took all of the knives, leaving only a few blunt swords. They set off to find him immediately, searching almost the entire arena. But they never saw him, because he was following them the whole time, watching waiting. A few times he took a knife in his hand, aiming to throw it, but decided against it each time.
After about three days of this Finnick got a parachute, it was much larger than any other parachute I had ever seen in the games. It held a Trident, made of gold. Finnick took it and tied it to his back with some rope. The next day, he snuck up on the career group when they were fighting and grabbed a knife in hand, aiming it carefully at the girl from 1. He throws but misses. The blade lands with a clatter, then there is silence. The careers scan the area and quickly find Finnick. The boy from two lunges at him, fury ablaze in his eyes. I thought he was going to kill Finnick, but Finnick pulls out the trident and stabs the boy square in the chest, killing instantly. A moment of stunned shock as Finnick pulls the trident from the boy's chest. The girl from two screams and lunge at him, trying to catch him by surprise, but almost instinctively, Finnick stabs her to. Throwing caution to the wind, he lunges at his district partner, killing her. He heads for the two from one and kills them the same way. Then he turns and looks at the bodies.
The look of absolute fear he had on his face is burned into my mind forever. The worst part is that he wasn't scared of anything around him; he was scared of himself. The hovercraft picks him up, and it took a whole week before he had his replay. I seriously thought he killed himself in the hospital. But he came on T.V., during his replays I was working in the fishnet shop, all Ariel told me was that during his battle with the careers he hid and curled up, clearly terrified. I requested the day off for the next day and watched his interview.
I'm snapped out of my shock when Caesar calls my name. I walk on to the stage, smiling and waving.
"So, Annie, how are you feeling right now?"
I smile wider, "Well Caesar, I feel wonderful." A total lie, I want to scream right now, but the audience loved it, so I guess I answered well. "That's wonderful, Annie. Let me ask you another question, what was your proudest moment during the games?" My answer comes without much thought. "Honestly, I would say when I stopped Mason from killing me." He laughs "You were very brave." The interview continues, him asking the normal questions for a victor. I'm relieved when he asks the final question; it's a question he asks every victor. "So, Annie who's your favorite Victor?" I laugh, "Caesar, that's an easy one, Finnick Odair. Without a doubt." He laughs too, "Of course, I think we all knew that. That's all for tonight, Goodnight everybody."
The lights go out, and I sit there, stunned that I did it. I sit there until Finnick comes from backstage. "Hey, you did amazing." I smile "Thanks; I can't believe I did it." I get up and walk with Finnick back to the tribute center. "Tomorrow morning we will get on the train to head home. Then, the rest of your life begins, your life as a victor." He says as we walk. "Home," I say, the word almost alien on my tongue. I haven't felt a place like home since my mother died.
My father died when I was little, in a fishing boat accident. I don't remember him much, but my mother missed him. My mother ran the fishing net shop in town; she never had to go out on a boat in her life. I spent most of my childhood in the back of my mom's shop, tying knots and making nets with my mom. The year after Finnick won his games, my mom's shop burnt down, with my mom inside it. I was at school at the time, I usually skipped school, but business was slow that day, and my mom insisted I go to school.
I think back to that day. I was walking home from school like normal. When I turned onto the street, I saw the shop, burnt to the ground. Finnick was sitting on the street corner, sobbing. I ran up to him and hugged him. "What's wrong." He looked at me like I was a ghost. He hugged me and sobbed into my shoulder. "I thought you were dead, Annie. I thought you were dead." I squeezed him tighter. "It's ok; I'm alive." We sat there for a while before we spoke again "Your mother, she was in the building. They found her wedding ring in the ash." I sat there stunned, it was a few minutes before the tears flowed, and it was his turn to hold me as I sobbed.
We reach the tribute center and go to bed. I sleep in his bed again, and when I wake from nightmares, he is there to hold me and make it better.
A/N, Sorry, this update took a while, and it's kind of late. It's been a long couple of weeks. I tried to put more detail into this one, review and tell me what you think! I'll try to post the next one soon, but with the holidays I don't know if I can.