Chapter Thirty Seven

Finnick awoke to sunlight streaming in the window and across his face. He gave a slight stretch and then noticed the warmth beside him. Annie. Unable to suppress a smile, Finnick decided his stretching could wait a while, and he settled back beside her. His smile widened when Annie pressed back against him and he allowed himself to wrap an arm lightly around her waist. Closing his eyes once more, Finnick breathed in deeply. The soft scent of whatever she had washed her hair with floated around her and he found it rather appealing. Annie shifted gently and Finnick's eyes opened. Biting his lip, he considered their current situation. He didn't know how to feel. He had Annie here, in his arms, right now. But, she wasn't his. She had asked him to stay with her so that she would be able to sleep without fear of nightmares and so that she would feel safe. Not so that he could get his hands on her. He figured that he should remove his arm from around her waist, but he couldn't make himself do it.

Soon, they would have to get up and go for breakfast before preparing to arrive in District Four. Annie would be presented to the District and paraded around for a while before she would be allowed to go home. He didn't have all that much time left with her. The thought made him tighten his arm around her waist, drawing her more firmly against himself. Annie made a small sound and Finnick froze. Her hand lightly touched his at her hip and he loosened his hold on her slightly. Annie turned in his arms to face him.

Finnick smiled, looking at her. He meant to say 'Good Morning', but instead he had pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. Annie blinked, looking confused. Finnick panicked slightly. "… no nightmares?" he managed to ask.

"No…" She answered, "I slept quite well…"

"Good…"

"Did you sleep well?" She asked, her green eyes rather wide as she looked at him.

"I did, yes."

He watched her chew her lower lip. "Good…" She nodded, her eyes flicking across his face. He smiled when one of her hands came to rest lightly on his shoulder. Annie met his eyes then. "So, today… It won't last forever, right?"

"Right." He nodded, his hand rubbing her back softly. "No more than half an hour, and then you will be able to go home."

"Good."

"They'll present you with the keys to your new house in the Victors' Village…"

"I'd forgotten about that." She murmured, "I… what if I don't want to live there?"

"Do you?"

"I don't know…" she breathed, "My parents…"

"They could move with you."

"No…" she shook her head, "They love their house."

"Then you can stay with them… You can do whatever you want to, Annie."

"Maybe just for a while…" she chewed her lip again, "I think being somewhere familiar would be good."

Finnick held his breath, looking at her. The urge to kiss her had returned, this time properly. His hand moved slowly up her back as she stared absently somewhere about his shoulder. "Annie…" he murmured, his hand moving carefully to her cheek. She looked back up to meet his eyes. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, unsure.

Loud pounding on Annie's door startled them both before Finnick had been able to figure out what to do or say. "Annie! Come on and get up!" Pansy's voice called loudly, "It's going to be a big morning!" They had not even had time to draw breath before the door flew open and Pansy came in. "Oh my goodness!"

"Pansy…" Annie breathed.

"Oh. My… Well…" Pansy stared at them. "Well…" She huffed, and turned around, "Breakfast…" she said, before striding from the room and closing the door behind her.

Finnick looked back to Annie who was bright red. She hid her face in her hands. "She's going to think we… we…"

"I think she already thinks that…"

She whined and Finnick smiled, pulling her hands away from her face. She reluctantly looked at him, her cheeks still red. Finnick tried not to notice how well the blush suited her as he gently stroked her hair back from her face, his eyes meeting hers. "I know everyone already thinks that…" she murmured, "But now Pansy thinks… she thinks she saw…"

Finnick rubbed her back gently, "It's okay, Annie." He told her, "It doesn't matter what people think. Now, you're going to get up and get dressed and then we will have breakfast and deal with the rest of the day as it comes."

"Okay." She nodded and he gave her another wide smile.

"Good." He said, sitting up. Annie pushed the covers back and slowly got to her feet. Finnick followed suit and then looked at her. "I'll see you at breakfast."

"Alright."

He swiftly turned and headed back to his own room. Then, after a quick shower he went to go and get himself some breakfast.

Pansy was seated at the table, sipping delicately from an elegant teacup. When Finnick entered, she cast a dismissive glance at him and then pretended as if he didn't exist. That was just fine with Finnick. He sat down and poured himself a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea. He was about halfway through his cereal when Pansy cracked.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Eating." He replied flatly.

"With Annie!"

"I don't know what you mean." He replied.

"You're being entirely selfish!" She snapped, "Using that poor girl… She's ill…"

"It was for her benefit."

"Her benefit?" Pansy cried, "What? Do you think that you have some magical healing penis?"

Finnick choked on his cereal. "What?"

"You're despicable. The poor girl is not okay and you just…"

"I didn't sleep with her." He growled, "I mean, we did sleep…" he sighed, "I didn't have sex with her… Not that it is any of your business."

Pansy got to her feet. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to your lies…"

"Fine." He shrugged, watching as she stalked out the door. Finnick returned to his food as Annie came in wearing a long purple dress.

"This was on my bed when I got out of the shower… do you think it's appropriate for today?" she asked, eyeing the dress critically.

"Don't you like it?"

"I do… but…" she shrugged.

"I think it's nice…"

She smiled and pulled out a seat for herself. "Ooh, fruit salad."

Annie clenched a handful of her dress as the train came to a stop. She could hear the cheers of the crowd beyond the doors and she tried to focus on her breathing in an attempt to keep it even. Her parents were somewhere out there and so was Tari. The cameras were out there too, however. In a few moments the doors would open and she would once again be broadcast across all of Panem.

Releasing a shuddering breath, she smoothed her hands down her dress. Pansy rubbed her arm. "Big smile now, Annie." She told her. "When the doors open you will step out and greet the crowd. Give them a wave and a smile, and don't forget the cameras!"

"Okay…"

"The Mayor will shake your hand and then your parents will be allowed to come up. You can make a big show of hugging them… you can even cry if you want to…"

Annie eyed Pansy. Sometimes the woman seemed genuine and then she would just be all fake again. It was so hard to try and pin her down.

The train stopped and she drew a quick breath. "Hold up…" Pansy put a hand on her arm, "Your mentors will go first…"

Annie watched through the glass in the doors as Finnick and Mags exited the train and were met by the Mayor. She watched as they were presented to the crowd and then they were all turning to look at the train. This was it.

"Now, it's your turn…" Pansy said lightly. The doors opened and Pansy stepped out, pulling Annie along by her elbow. "Smiling…" she told her. Annie forced a wide smile onto her face as the crowd cheered loudly.

"Miss Annie Cresta!" The Mayor took her hand, "We're all so very proud of you and your achievement."

"Thank you…" she smiled, looking from the crowd to the Mayor. The woman gave her a bright smile and Annie made sure her own smile was still in place.

"Now, I'm sure that you are eager to get to see your parents…"

"Yes," she nodded quickly. The Mayor turned and made a gesture to someone nearby. Annie's breath caught in her throat when her mother and father came up the stairs. "… Mummy…" Forgetting about the cameras, Annie hurried toward her mother. She reached her within a matter of seconds and threw her arms around her. The moment her mother's arms came around her, holding her tightly, Annie squeezed her eyes shut, resisting tears. If she cried now, in front of everybody, she may never stop.

"My baby girl…" Annie held tighter as her mother murmured into her hair, "I'm so happy. I knew you could do it."

"Mum…"

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

Taking a deep breath, Annie opened her eyes as her mother stroked her hair gently. It was then she remembered the cameras and everything going on around her. Holding onto her mother's sleeve, she stood straight and looked around them. Finnick was standing nearby with Mags. He smiled at her when he caught her eye and then he moved toward them. Before he could reach them, however, Annie's father stepped between them and put an arm around her mother while drawing Annie closer.

"When can we all go home?" he asked.

"Well," Finnick offered "Annie…" his eyes met hers once more, "You're going to be presented with the keys to your house in the Victors' Village…"

She nodded, "Yeah, alright…"

Her mother let her go and Annie straightened her dress. She then turned to Finnick who smiled at her and stepped aside. She then moved toward the Mayor who was carefully taking a shiny golden box from some Capitol person she didn't know. From the corner of her eye she saw Pansy gesturing at her to smile, and she quickly replaced her smile. With a hand on her back, Finnick guided her across the platform to stand in a certain spot before the cameras and then he backed off to go and stand beside Mags once more.

Annie watched as the Mayor came back toward her, carrying the box. "Well, Annie… on behalf of President Snow and the Capitol, I now present you with the keys to your very own home in the Victors' Village of District Four," she said holding the box out to her. "This house represents your achievement and your status as a Victor. The privileges you have earned shall serve as a reminder of all that you have endured." Annie tried to listen, but just found herself wishing that she were elsewhere. She didn't want to have a constant reminder of what she had endured. She wanted it to all be over. Taking the box from the Mayor, Annie made sure her smile was well in place as she smiled at the cameras.

"Thank you," She said, "I feel very… fortunate." Looking down at the box in her hands, Annie supposed she had better open it. Slowly lifting the lid, she reached inside and picked up the small silver key sitting inside. Holding it up for the cameras to see, she gave them another wide smile.

There was loud applause and Annie replaced the key in the box and snapped the lid shut tightly. She would go and see the house at some point, but not today. She just looked down at the box in her hands while the Mayor made some kind of speech for the benefit of the cameras. It wasn't until someone touched her arm that she looked up again and was told that she could now go home. It was then with a genuine smile of relief that Annie allowed herself to be led off the platform and into the street below.

The crowd was already dispersing now that the cameras were off and they were allowed to return to their lives. As Annie was pulled along in the direction of her house, she looked around, trying to see Finnick. She hadn't been able to say goodbye and she didn't just want to walk off without speaking to him. Coming to a sudden stop when she realised that she couldn't see him, Annie went up on her toes to try and see over the people around her.

"Annie, darling, what is it?" her mother asked, clearly having noticed that her daughter was no longer following her.

"Where's Finnick?" she asked, still trying to see over people, "I can't see him? Can you?"

"No, I… I can't…" Her mother answered.

Annie's father quickly took her hand and pulled Annie along. "We don't need him." He told her, pulling her across the street, "He's probably gone home anyway."

"No… He wouldn't go without telling me…"

"Says who?" her father answered, "The cameras are off. He'll be long gone…"

"No…" Annie frowned. Just because the cameras were off didn't mean that Finnick would just abandon her. He had promised that wasn't how it would be. She wouldn't believe it. "No, he promised…"

"I'm sure he promised lots of things…" her father muttered as they approached their house. Annie stared at his back, a sick feeling of dread already collecting in the pit of her stomach. "I'll bet he's just full of promises."

Annie blinked back tears as her father opened the door to their house and she was able to walk inside. The familiar sights and scents of home washed over her and she looked around, as if stunned.

"Now," her father told her, "go and shower and put on something of your own. Your mother and I will make lunch and then we can all sit down together."

Nodding, Annie slowly made for the hallway to the bathroom. Was she just meant to pick up her life where she had left off as if nothing had changed? She wasn't sure she could do that.

Author's Note:

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!