I do not own Suzanne Collin's the Hunger Games characters.

Hi, I just want to give a quick WARNING that this chapter is going to contain some sensitive and possibly triggering topics of sexual abuse, more specifically rape. I understand that this a really hard topic for some people and I totally understand anyone not wanting to read this chapter.

As just a little additional note, this chapter takes place in their second week of school.

Chapter 8:

Finnick

We were halfway through AP Psych when Professor Latier calls me up to the front of the classroom. Despite the fact that Annie and I have been bickering a lot, we actually have been working together okay. My black eye has almost faded by now and I never bothered to ask Annie why she did it.

"Finnick, I noticed that you didn't write anything for Annie's worst fear," says Professor Latier.

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, can you two please go outside and finish it. That is the one question that you really needed to fill out, cause it will be your first big project."

"But," I begin to protest.

"Mr. O'Dair, you have to."

I nod dejectedly. I walk to the farthest back table where Annie and I sit. I gently grab her arm and feel her tense beneath me. "I'm not going to hurt you," I whisper, and she relaxes just enough to let my gently drag her out of the room and into the hallway. I lean against the wall and she stands a few feet in front of me with a confused look on her face.

"What it is?" Annie asks.

"Professor Latier said that you have to answer the question." I don't have to specify, she knows exactly what I am talking about.

"What?" Annie's voice gets hollowed.

"It's what we're doing our next project on."

Annie's face pales and I am worried for a second that she is going to faint. Then I notice that her hands are shaking. Her breaths are coming out hard like they were when she panicked at my house. I step forward and gently grab her hands. Unlike when I tried to comfort her at my house, she lets me grab her hands. She leats my hold her steady.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"I...I ca-can't do a pro-project on tha-that," She is stuttering uncontrollably and her voice is shaking. Her eyes fill with tears and for a second I think that I can't deal with another Annie Cresta meltdown. Actually, I think that for more than a second. The other part of me, a little voice, pushing me to make sure she is okay, to figure out what is wrong.

"Why not?" I ask I'm trying to be nice, but my voice comes out accusatorily. Despite the tears that are filling her eyes, something hard settles behind them.

"Right. You just want to get your stupid good grade. Sorry for letting my crap get in the way of your perfect life and you perfect grade."

Her words sting, but I know that she isn't fully wrong. A small part of me doesn't want her to mess up my grade. If I want to get an academic scholarship I can't afford t to get a bad grade. But it hurts that that is all that she thinks of me, I would have thought that after her breakdown at my house she would at least realize that I actually do care about her, at least in the way that someone who has barely known her for two weeks can.

"That isn't true," I say.

"Really?" She asks angrily. Tears slip down her cheeks and my hand wipes the tear away from her cheek before I can even think about it. This time, when I touch her she flinches. For some reason, this makes me angry. I can get her not liking me and I can get her thinking I only care about a grade, but I hate the idea that she actually thinks that I am going to hurt her.

"What the hell? Stop acting like I am going to hurt you!" I say, my voice carrying through the hallway more than I would like for it too.

"I don't know that," Annie says.

"What?" I say. "You are seriously worried about me hurting you?" My voice breaks a little at the end.

"Yes," She says, her voice strong. "I am always worried that one of you is going to hurt me." Then she starts to pace back and forth and I feel like she is talking more to herself than to me. "This was a mistake, I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have come here. I can't be around them, I can't, they, I can't," She runs her hands through her hair and the tears run down her face with more fury than ever.

"Annie," I say. She doesn't stop walking or mumbling to herself. "Annie!" I walk in front of her face and she stops. "What happened?" I ask.

She wipes her face and walks over to the wall, slumping against it. I slump down next to her but I leave a few inches between us, not wanting to set her off even more than she already is. I turn my body toward her. Annie is looking down at the ground and her entire body is shaking. I resit the urge to wrap my arms around her and hold her as I did at my house. Sure, she is annoying, but for some reason, I can't help but feel like I need to protect her.

Just as another warning, this is where the sensitive topic starts.

"When," She starts, but she chokes on her own words and swallows before starting again. "When I was eleven, I was walking home from the park after going to my friend's birthday party, alone. I walked past this, this building complex and there as a bit of a gap between two of the spaces and, and this guy grabbed my arm. He-he pushed me against the wall and I tried to scream but he-he put a rag in-in my mouth so I couldn't scream. He hit me and he-he bit me, and he, he had a knife and-" Annie grabs the hem of her shirt and pulls it up just enough for me to see a large, jagged scar that goes both higher and lower than the area of exposed skin that I can see. "And then he, you know. He raped me." She whispered the last sentence so quietly that I almost miss it. "And he had these friends that, kicked me after and laughed at me."

I know she is finished because she starts sobbing, her body heaving and shaking violently. I am frozen in a mixture of panic, horror, and anger at the fact that anyone would do that to someone as young she was. It disgusts me. And I hate myself for getting annoyed when she flinches when I touch her and I feel ashamed at the part of me that just wanted her to tell me so I could get a good grade. Because all of that is so insignificant compared to what she just told me. I make myself a promise that I will never let anyone hurt Annie that way ever again.

"Annie, can I touch you?" I ask.

For the first time since we left the classroom, she really looks at me. Her glassy, scared blue eyes meet my green ones and she nods. I move toward her slowly and carefully, making sure that she can watch me, that she can stop me if I get to close for her. My leg touches hers and she tenses. "I'm not going to hurt you," I say softly. I move closer, extending my arms until they are gently wrapped around her body. "I'm not going to hurt you," I whisper to her again. To my surprise, Annie moves further into the embrace until our bodies are pressed together. She lays her head on my chest, right under my chin and I gently lay my head on top of hers. "You aren't going to hurt me." I hear her muffled voice say. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Annie and I sit like that, our bodies pressed together, until the bell rings. Then we go inside the classroom, grab our bags, and begin walking to math together. She is still shaking a little when we sit down in our desks at the back of the room. Under the desks, I gently reach for her warm hand. My fingers graze over the back of her hand gently and I feel her flip her hand over, laying it in mine. I wrap mine around hers and hold it until she stops shaking.

"Thank you," I hear her whisper to me.

"Anytime," I say back, flashing her a quick smile. It isn't the kind of smile Marvel calls me "patented girl smile". No, this smile is real. This smile is only for her.

Hi, I hope you guys liked that chapter. Please feel free to review this story or PM me your thoughts on this chapter. I am always open to feedback.

Stay happy, healthy, and safe,

-Jewel.