I do not own Susan Collins The Hunger Games character.

So I just realized that I spelled Johanna's name wrong in the first chapter, go me haha. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter. After this one, I will probably start including additional POV besides just Annie and Finnick's.

For the Instagram messages, Finnick is in bold and Annie is underlined.

Chapter 3:

Annie

Lunch came and went much better than I thought. Johanna and I spent the majority of lunch talking about our favorite bands and favorite songs. By the end of it we were arguing about which band was better, Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd. I, personally, was arguing for Pink Floyd, though Led Zeppelin is also awesome. A lot of people were staring at us during lunch, though I wasn't quite sure why.

As Johanna and I walk to our full-period study hall, a shorter, dark-haired girl sneaks up behind Johanna and jumps on her back. Johanna doesn't even flinch, she just grabs the girl's legs and twirls her around on her back.

"AAHH!" The girl on Johanna's back screeches.

After a few seconds, Johanna abruptly let's go of the girl's legs and the girl drops to the floor, landing delicately on her feet. She gave me the impression of a cat. She has a wide smile on her face, and it took the girl a moment to notice me.

"Hey who's this?" The girl asks.

"I...I'm," I start to stutter again.

"This is Annie," Johanna says.

"I'm Clove," The dark-haired girl says.

"Nice...nice to meet you," I say.

"You too," Clove says. Then she turns to Johanna. "I'm so proud of you. Making a new and normal friend."

Johanna rolls her eyes and the three of us walk into the study hall. We have barely sat down at a table in the back when Clove is talking again.

"Johanna doesn't make friends easily, and usually Glimmer and her pariahs get to the new girls before any of us normals can. And Jo scares people off."

"Like you make friends easily," Johanna snaps back with a smile on her face.

The study hall teacher walks in and begins to take a role call.

"Here!" I say, as my name is one of the first ones called.

"So where you...Here!...from?" Clove says.

"I actually live right around here," I say. "But I used to go to an all-girls school."

I can't help but envy Clove. Even as she just sits in a chair, she is so confident and sure of herself.

"All-girls?" Johanna says aghast. "No boys? That must have sucked."

Clove laughs.

"Johanna is a little boy crazy," she says to me.

"I am not! Here!" Johanna says, but she has a little devilish smile in her eyes.

"Oooo!" I say. "Please do tell!" As someone who has never had a boyfriend, I have thrived off of the secret boyfriend gossip at my all-girls school.

"Don't encourage her!" Johanna says, but Clove reaches over, and we high five.

"She has a crush too," Clove whispers to me.

"No, I don't."

"His name is Marvel," Clove says. "He is Glimmer's twin."

"Uh, sorry, but I don't know who either of those people is," I say.

"Trust me," Johanna says, "Within the first few days you will."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask concernedly.

"Glimmer is the top of the social food chain here. Anything that happens here usually starts and ends with her," Johanna says. "If she decides that she doesn't like you, then almost everyone won't like you."

"Which can sometimes be a blessing in disguise," Clove says.

"For some people," Johanna cut in.

"So welcome to the social outcasts group," Clove says.

"We are social outcasts?" I ask.

"Well, Johanna and I are at least."

"Why?"

Both of them share a look.

"It's a long story," Johanna says.

I nod, but I can't help but feel like they are keeping something big from me. Then again, I just meet them today. I can't expect them to share all of their secrets to somebody that they haven't even known for twenty-four hours. And it isn't like I don't have my own secrets.

We sit in awkward silence for a few moments and I rack my brain, trying to find something to talk about. And then I catch something.

"Why weren't you in Math today?" I ask Johanna, remembering that we were supposed to have math together.

"Skipping class already Jo?" Clove says laughing.

"No," Johanna shoots Clove a glare. "I went to my counselor to switch to an easier math class. And one that has an actually competent teacher."

I heave a sigh. Great. Now I will probably be stuck next to copper-haired, annoying Finnick O'Dair for the rest of the year. I still have to do the year-long AP Pysch project with him too. I sigh again.

"What's wrong with you?" Clove asks.

"I was just really hoping you skipped," I say to Johanna.

"Sorry," She gives me a sympathetic smile that I return as best as I can.

The rest of the day goes by quickly, and before I know it, I am in my car and driving home. I start preparing my answer in my head for when mom asks me how school was because I know that she will. She always does. But everything just sounds wrong. In the end, I just settle for a nice, simple, "It wasn't horrible. I met two other nice girls." However, when I walk into my house, mom isn't there with a platter of 'happy first day!' brownies as usual. In fact, the entire house is almost eerily empty. You're a senior anyways. It was getting old. I try to convince myself, but deep down I know I am lying to myself.

Since it was the first day, I don't have any homework, so I toss my backpack neatly into the corner of my room and plop down on the sea-green duvet that covers my bed. I put my headphones on and press shuffle on my Rocking Happy Place album. The first song is Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. I close my eyes and listen to the music streaming into my ears, smiling when the first guitar solo comes in. I have always wanted to learn how to play guitar, but mom said that the twins were more than enough noise for the house, so I never did. Maybe I will in college.

I am partway through Going Down / Love in an Elevator by Aerosmith when the music quiets in my headphones the way it does when I have just received a notification. I silently curse whatever or whoever interrupted the song when I see that I have an Instagram message from finn_80'dair.

"Damnit," I swear under my breath. I knew that I shouldn't have listened to Sarah when she told me to switch my Instagram account from Private to Public just because I was moving to a new school. None-the-less, I tap on the notification and open up to the message.

We're meeting tomorrow after school at the front doors. We'll go to my house so we can start talking about the AP Psych project.

what makes you think you can just tell me what we are doing

I just did. I'll see you on the front steps at 2:55.

I almost type no back, but I don't feel like arguing so I reply with a fine.

When Mom and the twins finally get home at 5:30, they don't bother to tell me where they have been for hours. Mom just asks me how my day was and starts making dinner. She was delighted to find that I already made two friends. I am tense all throughout dinner, waiting for the right time to tell mom that I am going over to a boy's house after school tomorrow, even if it is for something that is strictly school-related. The twins won't shut up about their day though, so I wait until mom and I are clearing dishes to ask.

"I might be home late tomorrow," I say, my voice shaking. I barely manage to get the sentence out without a stutter.

"Why?" She asks.

"I need to go over to my partners house to talk about our all year AP Psych project," I say, praying that I can get by without her asking if it is a boy or girl. I have no such luck.

"Is it one of those girls you met today?" She asks.

"No, they don't take that class," I say.

"Is it a boy?" Her voice is strained and tight as she asks what for most parents would be a simple or at least simpler question.

"Yes," My voice is barely above a whisper.

"Will his parents be home?"

"Yes," I say without thinking. Because in all honestly, I have no clue if Finnick's parents will be there. But as much as there is a part of me that is nervous to be alone with him, there is another part of me that just wants to be normal for once in my life. A normal girl that can go over to an annoying boy's house for a school project without her mother going into a fit.

She pauses for a long minute and I find myself holding my breath.

"Okay," she finally says. "But if anything happens-"

"I will text or call you immediately," I respond without a second thought.

"And if things start to escalate too much-"

"I call 911 right away."

My mother nods.

As I get ready for bed that night, I wonder if I made the right decision. If I should have lied to my mother. Well, it's too late now, but there is one thing I am sure of.

I am not ready for tomorrow, but I have to do it. For me.

I was trying to go for a good cliff hanger, I'm not sure if that worked. I am kind of excited to write another character's POV next chapter. Hope anyone who read this chapter enjoyed it.

Stay happy, healthy, and safe.

-Jewel.