Chapter 3

Johanna pov

When I return to the hospital its clear my absence hasn't gone unnoticed yet nobody actually says anything but my morphling drip is no longer set up so I can press a button and receive a hit so they must have noticed that I'm well enough to be out and about, either that or its some kind of punishment for leaving the hospital block. Who knows…but I'm kind of mad about it. I get back into my bed deciding on the best way to get them back for this when a nurse comes and re attaches it to my arm.

"You really shouldn't be out wandering on your own Johanna, you're not strong enough yet."

The nurse says this in a genuinely caring way yet I'm spitting mad that someone had the balls to talk to me about what I can and can't do. But when I look up ready to punch her I see the eyes of a young girl staring at me with such concern that I stop in my tracks, mouth open and fist clenched. The fact that this kid is actually standing up to me has me in slight awe….nobody ever stands up to me! So I decide to go ahead and give her something I very rarely give….respect.

"No need to worry about me, Hun." I reply without my usual scathing tone.

…..

I must have zoned out from the morphling because the next thing I'm aware of is a soft thud on my leg. I look to my leg and see a set of clothes and when I bring my eyes up to see where they appeared from I see Hawthorne standing there looking slightly smug for some reason.

"They gave you these to wear" he says.

I'm slightly confused as to who 'they' are until it clicks that he means the doctors.

"What they are letting me out? I thought you were gonna have to sneak me out" I say rolling my eyes in disbelief.

"Well it took some convincing but you are free to leave for a couple of hours after which you have to return" he replies not meeting my gaze.

"What aren't you telling me?" I ask suspiciously.

"Well" he takes a deep breath and continues, "There is a catch…." He says looking around the room and not at me.

"Oh just spit it out, Hawthorne" I say through clenched teeth. I'm losing patience with him.

" well none of the doctors were keen to let you out just yet even for a short time, I think it would be okay if it wasn't you….they called you 'unpredictable around civilians'"

I open my mouth to yell some abuse but he puts a hand up to stop me and continues.

"Prim totally had your back and she convinced them to let you out on the condition that…that you see a head doctor everyday" he rushes the last words out as if it would soften the blow.

Screw that! I'm not speaking to anyone, I don't care who they are, I don't want anyone to know what goes on in my head….but wait….maybe there is a way around this, I am the master of deception after all.

"Okay, I promise to see a head doctor everyday" I say, repeating his words. I can barely hide my smirk and I think he knows I'm planning something.

"Really? That's it? Just like that?" he asks suspiciously.

"Hey! I said I will do it and I will" I say honestly holding my hands up in mock surrender.

What he doesn't know is that wheels have already started turning in my head, I'm going to have to see this shrink, there's no way around that…doesn't mean I have to make his or her life easy though now does it!

I get up and whip of my hospital gown grinning at his sudden alarm and the way he turns round quickly so that his back is to me. As I get changed I'm already thinking up ways to mess with this person as much as possible and cause some havoc. This is going to be fun…

"Okay, Gorgeous, let's eat!" I say happily as I pass him with his back turned and elbow him in the side. I take off out the door with the usual swagger to my walk and I'm about half way down the corridor when he calls to me.

"Um, Johanna….dining halls this way"

Damn, I hate being wrong. I turn round and he standing waiting for me, grinning like an idiot.

"Well I thought I would wait until you walked ahead so I didn't have to be seen with you" I say.

Okay it's not my best comeback but it's all I can think of, for some reason he makes me slightly flustered. Must be the drugs!

He just laughs and says "Whatever you say" then shakes his head smiling and adds "Nutter", he's looking down at me from the corner of his eye to gauge my reaction as I walk beside him…the right way this time.

"Loser" I add with a smirk.

We continue to joke argue back and forth until we reach our destination. It's weird how comfortable I feel with him already, he's actually quite a good laugh.

…

Gale pov

When I'm handed my portion of food allowance for that meal I carry my tray towards a table with just Finnick sitting at it, I've talked to him more recently and he actually seems like a great guy, so much different than the arrogant twat he portrayed in the capitol and the lost little boy he was without Annie. But now she's back he seems so laid back and relaxed and he actually has a great sense of humour.

"Where's Annie?" I ask putting my tray down at the seat across from him.

"She's seeing her head doctor, I'm going to meet her when she's done, in any case she's still not really up to being around lots of strange people" he replies simply.

"Speaking of…" he continues glancing at Johanna who is holding up the queue by arguing with a slightly nervous looking Greasy Sae about the food portion size, "I see you brought a friend for lunch today…what's with that? Something going on I should know about?" he jokes wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"Just thought it would be nice for her to have some company" I say casually.

"That's actually really nice of you Gale. She needs a friend right now and I kind of have my hands full with Annie at the moment. Johanna would never admit it but she gets lonely too, she acts all tough and sarcastic but deep down she has a sweet side" he says seriously.

"What are you two girls talking about? You arranging a time to get a manicure together?" she laughs, appearing suddenly and slams her tray down beside me.

"Very deep down" grumbles Finnick, adding on to the conversation we were having before.

I laugh, Johanna just looks between us but she must decide she doesn't care because she just shrugs, rolls her eyes then starts to eat.

We all continue to eat and chat, Finnick and Johanna acting like two bickering children the way the mock each other back and forth. You can tell they are close friends but I find myself wondering if that's all its ever been with them. I've never seen Johanna smile the way she does when she's with him, not her usual smirk that she does when she thinks she's being clever or the sneer when she's being cruel and enjoying it, it's a genuine smile of happiness…and it really suits her.