My mother died when I was twenty-three. She had lasted very long, in my opinion. I had seen it coming. I wasn't sad, though. I was glad that she wouldn't suffer any more. Yes, I would miss her, but I knew my mother didn't want to leave anymore.
She had been very different since my father had died, and she was happy she'd get to see him again. She also got very depressed whenever I had to go to the Capitol; she said she hated what they were doing to her baby. She didn't have to suffer any more, and that made me feel better.
A whole year went by, and nothing interesting happened. I continued my visits to the Capitol, Annie continued being "crazy" and I had to take her turn to mentor, because I knew she would lose her mind if she were forced into the Capitol again.
"How long will you be gone?" asked Annie as we lay in bed, the night before the reaping for the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games.
"It all depends on how much the games last. It usually takes about a month," I said. "Though it can be less if my tribute doesn't make it very far… though I still have some business to do in the Capitol."
"You have to do some business, or some women?" she asked bitterly.
"Fine, Annie. I have to fuck some women before I can come home, is that what you wanted to hear?" I asked, annoyed.
She turned her back to me and faced the wall. I sighed and watched for a few minutes before I decided that I didn't want to fight with her, not over something so stupid. I was going to be gone for a month, and I didn't want to leave angry with her.
"Sorry," I whispered, and rested my arm on her waist. She turned around to face me and she looked me in the eyes.
"Me too."
"I understand that you're jealous, Annie… but you know you're not being fair. It's not my fault."
"I know, Finn… I'm sorry."
"It's ok," I whispered, and kissed her cheek.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. We made out for a while, and by the time I pulled away we were both breathing heavily.
"I love you," I whispered.
"Finn?"
"Yeah?"
"Shush." She kissed me again, and she slid her hands under my shirt, and slowly slid it up. I helped her take it off, and I threw it aside. Annie traced my jaw with her lips, leaving a tingling sensation on my skin. She kissed me softly, and then she made her way down my jaw and onto my neck. I sighed, loving the feeling of her lips on my skin.
She rested a hand on my chest, and slowly traced my abs with her fingertips, with the other, which tickled, so I chuckled. She smiled and kissed me, and I pulled her closer by the waist.
We continued to kiss, her body pressed closely against mine. I tugged on her shirt, and she crossed her arms over her chest and pulled it off. I watched her, and smiled. Her pale skin glowed in the moonlight.
"You're gorgeous," I whispered, and she smiled and blushed. We kept kissing, and undressing each other, and soon we were completely naked and panting, on the bed.
Annie cuddled against me, and I slid an arm under her, and pulled her towards my chest, where she rested her head.
"Is it ever like this with the other women, Finn?" she asked.
"Don't be silly," I said. "There's no need to get drunk, or any overwhelming guilt… so no, it's not like this with the others."
"Do you ever enjoy it?" she asked.
"Not really," I sighed. "Not at all."
"What about with me?" she asked. "Do you enjoy it?"
"Of course," I chuckled. "A lot. I think it's pretty obvious."
"I don't know, Finn," she said. "I bet you're a pretty good actor. You have to make them believe you like them, right?"
"They don't really care what I feel," I shrugged. "They like what I make them feel."
"Well, if you're half as good with them as you are with me," she said. "Then I understand why they pay for your company."
"Trust me, Annie, I'm not," I said. "Let's go to sleep, ok?"
"Sure, Finn. I love you."
"I love you too."
Next day I got ready for the Reaping. Annie didn't go… she never did. The peacekeepers didn't force her to, because they knew about her mental state, and they were afraid she would make a scene.
"You'll call every day?" she asked, unbuttoning my shirt and then buttoning it back up again because I had missed a button.
"I promise I will," I said.
"Good. You'll be in a lot of trouble if you don't," she said.
"I'm scared," I whispered, and she rolled her eyes.
"Bye, Finny," she sighed.
"Bye, Annie. I love you," I said, and kissed her. She pulled back and looked at me.
"I love you too."
The reaping was the same as always. Except Gertie seemed to be getting even duller each year, if that was even humanly possible. I was mentoring with Shay that year, though I really wished it were Mags again.
I scanned the crowd of kids and I wondered whom I'd have to mentor, and then Gertie pulled out the names. The girl was very young, but a volunteer quickly replaced her. Her name was Astrid. The boy was about fifteen years old, and he was called Perseus, which kind of reminded me of my father because he could be called Percy.
They went thorough with the usual goodbyes in the Justice Building, while Shay and I watched the other reapings in the train. We were both very surprised by the girl tribute from District Twelve. A little blonde girl, twelve years old probably, had been reaped, but then another girl volunteered. That sort of behavior was usual in Four, but not in Twelve.
It turned out that the girls were sisters, so the oldest one had volunteered because she knew her sister stood a chance… though with her thin and small body, I doubted that girl would make it very far either. She wasn't starving though, like a lot of the kids from that district, but Katniss was still very tiny for her age. The boy, Peeta, was very ordinary looking, though he did seem very strong.
Perseus and Astrid were both very talented with weapons. They had both trained before, secretly of course, and I thought they both stood a fair chance of winning.
We arrived at the Training Center, and they both got makeovers. Celia was still working with District Four, though the Prep Team was completely different. Aliena and Fabian had gotten ascended, and Viola had had a baby recently, so she wasn't working.
Their costumes that year weren't as impressive, though, maybe it was because both Percy and Astrid weren't very extraordinary… even with a lot of makeup.
They were completely overshadowed, though, by the tributes from twelve. Cinna, their new stylist had them dressed in tight, black suits, with flaming capes! Of course the crowd cheered for them the loudest.
"That's not fair," I whined.
"Remember you did the same in your games," she said.
"I didn't have a flaming cape," I said.
"You didn't need it."
They worked very hard in training and learned new skills, like I told them to, and I thought they would both get a fair amount of sponsors, with their training scores of eight and nine, until Katniss got an eleven.
"You have to be kidding me!" I groaned. "What could that girl, possibly have done to get an eleven?"
"I don't know," muttered Astrid. "All she did during training was survival skills. And Peeta did mostly camouflage… though he's really strong."
"She didn't show her real talent," I said. "She's the first one you have to take down…She won't ally with you, though. You're in the career pack, Astrid. Make sure you look for her."
"That won't be hard," she laughed. "Cato hates her!"
"I bet he does."
The interviews went all right. Astrid did very well; she was very charming, though the other tributes were a tough competition. Cato, from District One, was huge and muscular, and I thought a bit demented. Clove, his district partner, seemed just as cruel and insane.
The boy from two, Marvel wasn't very special at all, but the girl, Glimmer, was very sexy, and she used that to her advantage. The redheaded girl from five seemed very smart, and the boy from eleven was huge, and very menacing.
The little girl from the same district was adorable, and she managed to get a seven in her training scores. Caesar asked her what she had done, and she just said, "If they can't catch me, they can't kill me." Which I thought was pretty smart as well. I thought she was really cute, and I'd be very sad to see her go.
Finally it was Katniss' turn, and I was pleased by her interview. She wasn't as good with words, and she didn't really seem to want to be there. She did a bunch of stupid twirling with a dress designed by Cinna, and the audience was in awe. That girl would be nothing without her stylist.
She tried to make some conversation, and then finally Cesar asked her about her sister. She didn't seem to want to answer at first, but then she finally said she had promised her sister she would try to win for her, and the audience was near tears.
There was something about Katniss… I hated her, but at the same time… I looked up to her. Though she was obnoxious and not very charming at all, there was passion in her, and I could see it. She reminded me a bit of Johanna, though less crazy.
Though her interview was more than forgettable, after her came Peeta. Peeta was a real charmer. He had a way of captivating people, using his words. He joked around with Cesar and they made some small talk. He made the audience laugh, as well… but then Cesar asked him about his girlfriend.
He asked Peeta if there was a special girl back home, and Peeta replied that there wasn't. Peeta was handsome; I had to admit that much, so of course, Cesar found it hard to believe that he was single. That's when the interview got interesting.
"Well, there is this one girl, that I've had a crush on since forever, but I don't think she noticed me until the reaping," he said. The Capitol let out a sympathetic "aw."
"Well," said Caesar. "You know what you have to do. Win the games, and she won't be able to say no to you."
"Yeah… except I don't think winning will help me at all," he said.
"And why is that?" asked, Cesar confused.
"Because… she came here with me." There was a collective gasp, from the crowd, and a couple cries. We were all shocked; I had not seen that one coming.
"Well, that's really bad luck," said Caesar. No shit! I thought. Unless Peeta was lying, and this was all a strategy to win sponsors, Peeta and Katniss would have to face each other in the arena… and even if they worked together, one of them would have to die.
