Hey, guys. Not including this chapter, there are about five more. (I really don't want it to end!) Remember, there will be a sequel. And 176 reviews? YOU. GUYS. ROCK. SERIOUSLY. Thanks so, so, so, so much! And yes, I am publishing new chapters a lot . . . Like I said, I've written a lot lately.

Winter

(FINNICK)

Autumn comes and goes in a flash. I spend every day with Annie – who has dropped out of school – doing everything from sailing, to playing pool at the bar, to just sitting around and reading a book. The general boredom of being a victor is far less frustrating when you've got someone to be bored with.

I'm getting good at understanding what Annie's trying to say. We have this whole system of gestures and lip-reading worked out.

And I've stopped trying to tell her how I feel. Why? Because first and foremost, I can't even say it. Second, if she doesn't feel the same, our friendship will be ruined. So I've decided to keep my mouth shut.

Britton has given me a longer leash because Annie's nightmares are starting to go away. He credits me for this. And even if he didn't like me, he's in school all day while Annie and I aren't, so there's not much he can do about it.

Jocasta and I have formed a strange sort of a friendship. We visit every now and then. At first, it was just to help her with Asper-related-stuff, but she's turned out to be really nice.

The Victory Tour draws closer every day. Snow wouldn't dream of cancelling it, but there will be no interview in the Capitol on the last day of the Tour. I've already volunteered to stay on as mentor so that Annie won't have to, but I can't save her from the Tour.

I stomp up the steps onto Annie's porch, hands burrowed in my pockets and shoulders hunched against the falling snow. I knock a few times.

The door swings open and there's Annie. She pulls me into the house by my hand. In the foyer, she puts her finger over her lips, points to the kitchen, then up the stairs. Britton is in the kitchen, stuffing his face with cereal before school.

I think Annie's telling me to be quiet and come up to her room.

Of course, I ignore her. I turn in Britton's direction and loudly say, "No, Annie! I will not come to your bedroom with you!"

"No fornicating," mutters Britton.

Annie rolls her eyes and drags me along to her room.

I lay back on her bed before lifting up my arms and folding my hands casually behind my head. "What are we doing today?"

She dashes over to her closet and rummages around for a moment before producing a pair of ice-skates.

"We're going skating?" I ask doubtfully. "This is the first day it's snowed all year, and I doubt we'll find a decent place to go. And I can't even skate."

She points to herself, the skates, me, and mouths the word "teach." I'll teach you how.

I get off of Annie's bed and make my way over to her desk. "But it's so cold outside," I complain.

I start opening and closing the drawers. Annie rushes over and swats my hands away, but I just trot over to her bureau and begin poking through that instead. Annie grabs the skates and pushes me out of her room before I can do anything else. She drags me into her brother's room, where she starts digging through a pile of dirty clothes. She pulls out a pair of skates and shoves it at me.

We stroll down to the docks. Annie takes the keys to my cruiser and drives slowly. It's hard to weave between the chunks of ice that float on top of the water.

She stops at the docks on Slums, where she lived as a child. Next, Annie leads me into the woods by the hand. It's good, since she's going so fast that I'd lose track of her in an instant. She releases me in front of a small pond that's iced over.

"We're skating here?" I ask. "Are you sure the surface won't break? I don't want anyone getting hypothermia." I raise one eyebrow and, in my best seductive voice, say, "You do know how to cure hypothermia, don't you?"

Annie rolls her eyes. She walks into the middle of the ice and starts jumping up and down. It doesn't break. Annie is about half my size, though, and I take my time making sure the ice can hold my weight. It's not that I don't trust the ice; it's that I want to stall time so I don't embarrass myself trying to skate.

We put on our skates. Annie holds onto my wrists and I hold onto hers. She skates backwards, slowly guiding me forwards.

It's a fight just to stay on my feet. At a certain point, my ankles hurt so much that I allow gravity to overcome me. With a loud curse, I accidentally pull Annie down with me. We land on our backs so hard, we nearly crack the ice.

Annie starts laughing.

"My back!" I whine. "Oh, ow . . ." As I turn my head to the side, I notice a snowy slope nearby. It's cleared of all large rocks and most trees. "I have an idea."

We head back to the residential area and dig around until I find a good-sized piece of cardboard. We trek back to the pond and hike up the hill. When we reach its crest, Annie tugs on my sleeve and gestures to the cardboard. What are we doing?

"We, my dear Annie, are sledding," I say. "Would you like to go first, or should I?"

Annie doesn't seem to share my love for adrenaline, but I agreed to go skating with her, so we agree that it's only fair she sleds with me. But she still isn't too enthusiastic about going down alone and I end up going down with her.

I can't say that I mind it.

I drop Annie off at her house just before sunset. Once Annie's inside, I turn to go. But then Britton, home from school, comes outside and stops me. "Let's get straight to the punch line: Annie really likes you. And that's fine with me. But Annie deserves a nice guy."

"I know," I say.

"Yeah. Well. I don't care if you are a victor. You do anything to hurt her, and I'll kill you in your sleep." Britton pats my shoulder twice. "Good talk." And he disappears inside the house.