Chapter Six
Where Annie fails to impress.
"It's time for another important day!" cheered Gossamer, strutting in happily to the dining room. She sighed and turned the lights on brighter, not bothering to call for an attendant to adjust them for her. She stole the seat between Mags and Finnick, separating one tribute and their team from the other. "Do you both know what you're going to show the Gamemakers today?"
Rayne nodded, setting his fork on the rim of his scraped-clean plate. "I am going to be all over those combat stations." Of course he was; he had mastered everything from hand-to-hand fighting to knives and spears in the past two days of training. He appeared excited though, and needless to say confident, as his bright eyes flashed.
Annie shrank back into her chair as Gossamer's glittery gaze flickered to her. It looked her over, examining her as if she was a net up for inspection in the market square. "I don't know what I am going to do," she answered, hoping that her tone of voice was unsure as if she had so many choices to debate upon. Annie released a sigh of exasperation, as if thinking, when in reality she knew there was nothing she could to do impress the Gamemakers. What was she good at – tying knots?
"Better think fast," said Rayne, smiling. She could not tell if her district partner was hoping her ill will or not. Annie's eyes darted from his face to Gossamer's and still could not decide which it was. "Training session starts in a half-hour."
"And then you're in our hands," Rea grinned, drawing Annie's attention away from that end of the table. Her stylist understood that she was still rattled from yesterday's events and was more than willing to stick up for her. She made a small gesture towards the rest of her prep team. "We've got a big night of interviews to prepare for!"
Annie had never had a reason to dress up before, aside from the Reaping every year. The parade on her first day in the Capitol had been her first real event, to anyone's standards, and she couldn't help but look forward to another. "At least I have that to look forward to!" she chipped. Annie had decided that she was going to try not to bring everyone else down with her, even if she was dying on the inside herself.
Finnick smoothed the skin over the back of her hand. She turned towards him, having to shift slightly in her chair. Annie was more accustomed now to his behaviors and tendencies than ever before and found herself loving it, and dreading the moment she would be thrown into the Arena. "Knots are probably your best bet," he told her. "It's what you're best at."
"And you don't have to depend on your score to impress the audience in the Capitol!" reminded Gossamer. "Not after the picture's anyway. Finnick has plenty of people willing to help you now."
Her mentor squeezed her hand, temporarily drawing her mind away from the comment. "Let's get you ready, lovely," Finnick smiled, ignoring the spitting comments that her prep team was sending their way. They didn't want him touching her, fearing that all of their hard work spent cleaning her up would be spiraling down the drain within the next ten minutes. Annie nodded at him and followed him from the dining hall, ignoring Ophelia's calls after her.
Her sweat suit had been laid out on her bed, which had been made with fresh sheets since she had left for breakfast. Annie gathered the items in her hands and turned towards her bathroom, though her eyes kept tugging her to Finnick. He stood by her window, facing the city, his silhouette dulled by the bright morning light. The clothes slipped from the girl's hands and landed in a shapeless pile on the floor, as she was captivated by him, his stern posture. Annie walked over to stand beside him, timidly reaching for his hand. His incredible green eyes flickered as he glanced down at her.
"What's wrong?" Annie asked, rallying a pool of courage inside of her. She stroked his palm with her thumb. She had never been close with anyone outside of her family before and didn't know how she should be handling these types of situations, but figuring that she would be dead within days, Annie didn't have anything to lose. As long as she felt comfortable, anything she wanted to say was free game. Though, she did feel awkward when Finnick looked away from her.
His gaze was firmly placed on their entwined hands; it seemed to bring the faint ghost of a smile to his lips. "I needed to talk with you," he said, eyes darting from her face to their hands again. It made Annie happy that he appeared just as comforted by her touch as she was by his. "And I hate being dramatic, but I couldn't do it in front of everyone else."
"Okay." Annie waited for him to continue, but instead Finnick just looked across the Capitol skyline. His eyes seemed to drift just like the waves rolling in the bay. She swayed gently, rocking from her heels to her toes, shoulder brushing against Finnick's. When she was with him, she could be cheerful without the weight of the Games or the sorrow of her distant family straining her. "What do you want to talk about?"
"You're holding my hand," he said, lingering off topic. Finnick was truly smiling now. Annie didn't think that she had ever seen him beam so brightly, never with her, never on his visits to the Capitols for the Games. The only match she could think of was when he won the Games and the relief of leaving the Arena washed over him, the trident falling from his grasp to the feet of his final victim. He squeezed her hand.
Annie shivered. "Yes," she breathed.
"Because of the strategy or because you want to?" His tone of voice was unsure, unstable. Her heart was struck with pain at Finnick's sadness. He didn't believe that her intentions were pure. Annie lost her balance and stumbled, falling into her mentor. He caught her, muscled arms holding her against his chest. He was tense, but that soon vanished when he realized that she was not trying to slip away.
The girl brushed brunette hair from her eyes. "Because I want to," she answered, breathing in his sweet salt watery scent. Even though he hardly ever spent time in District Four – the Justice Building always made a point of his return – the smell of their home was forever on his skin. Annie had never wanted to go swimming more in her life. "What…what about you?"
Finnick lifted her chin up towards him. "Because I want to," he assured. "Because you're real and treat me like I am an actual person. Because you don't treat me like a victor."
"I'm sorry" was her immediate response. Annie ducked her head, pressing her ear over his heart. Why didn't she treat him like a victor? He must be so displeased with her. Her cheeks darkened with embarrassment. After a moment, she draped her arms around him, resting her delicate hands over his shoulder blades. She could feel his magnified movements under her fingertips – the rise and fall of his shoulders with every breath, warmth of his skin, and the trail of his spine under athletic muscle.
"Why?" he asked glibly, as if he expected that. Finnick pressed his lips against the top of her head, breathing in her scent. He, too, was reminded of home. "I like it better like this." Finnick was overwhelmed with warmth and happiness as he held the girl in his arms. She was nothing like the women he normally spent his time with, Annie was so much better. District Four being one of the largest districts in Panem they had never met before and Finnick was beyond upset with this. He felt that he needed this girl in his life, and that he had not had enough of her. Forever would only fill the void.
"I just…that's what you expect from people, right?" Annie clarified. She was slowly losing herself among the beat of his heart, which was now beating in unison with hers. "I'm sorry I didn't know this sooner."
"Annie," he grinned, taking a step back from her. Finnick's arms slipped from her back to her arms, holding her at arm's length from him. Her fingers itched for his touch again. "I don't want the fame of the Games going to my head. Do you know how many people treat me normally? You and Mags."
She beamed like a schoolgirl. Annie was emotionally exhausted, he had taken across and ocean's worth of horrid worry to blithe smiles in the past ten minutes. She slid her fingertips over his sleeves. Finnick grasped her wrist and led her hand up his arm, neck, and jawline until her fingers rested on his lips. Surprise flooded Annie's dark eyes. "Finnick," she breathed, watching him peck each fingertip, his warm breath dancing across her skin.
"Time to go to training," he decided, glancing over her head to the pile of clothes she left on the otherwise spotless floor. Finnick pressed his lips against her forehead. "I want you to make the Gamemakers remember you" said her mentor against her skin. "Tie a noose or a trap, a net isn't going to cut it with them."
Annie nodded. After another minute of preparing herself to pull away, she drew herself away from Finnick. He slipped from her bedroom and she changed into her sweat suit in private; Annie was surprised when she found it wasn't drenched in sweat from yesterday, especially since she didn't think it had left her room. It smelled clean. The girl met the rest of the District Four team in the hallway, where they proceeded to the elevator together. When she and Rayne were tucked inside the elevator, watching the doors close and listening to their escort bid her excited goodbyes, Annie's and Finnick's gazes were locked until the doors pressed shut. As soon as they were, Annie was empty inside.
The crowd of tributes had pooled around the elevator exit. At first glance, Annie didn't notice anything had changed inside the gym like she had expected, but her second inspection revealed that the gymnasium had been entirely cleared out aside from twenty-four chairs that were now lined against a wall that sliced the hall in half. Someone pinned the number 4 to her back and directed her to the eighth chair in line. She sat beside Rayne and watched the other tributes find their seats before the session began. One by one, the tributes from the first three districts were called into a separate room with the Gamemakers. Each time she heard a number called out, Annie's heart swelled with panic. When Rayne was called, Annie reached for him as he walked away. He gave her a final look of reassurance before he disappeared into the Gamemakers' quarters.
Forty-five minutes later, the Gamemakers called for "the female tribute of District Four" and all of the remaining tributes' eyes were locked on Annie as the attendant walked her into the Gamemakers' room. There was a panel of them – Annie's mind was too frazzled to count them all – each one dressed in purple robes and holding a wine goblet in their hand. There was a feast set out before them, and the delicious scents wafted to Annie as she made her way across the floor. She tried to remember what Finnick had told her to do as she grabbed several ropes from the knot-tying station. Annie sat before the Gamemakers on the center mat and lost herself in her work. Before their eyes, the Gamemakers watched as the weak little girl sitting in front of them tied a threatening noose. Annie inspected her product when she thought she was finished, tweaked several of the ropes, and then proceeded to the wrestling station. She strung the noose around one of the dummy's necks. Annie, who was fairly disturbed with herself for succeeding in creating such a dangerous device, held the thing up for show.
"Very well," said one of the male Gamemakers sitting towards the middle of the table, tone slurred slightly by the amount of alcohol in his blood, as he waved her off dismissively. "You may go now, District Four."
Annie had to think through his thick Capitol accent – which was even more prominent than Gossamer's – to understand what she had been ordered to do. She nodded quickly, as if to thank the people responsible for taking away her future, as she hurried to follow the attendant out of the room. As soon as she had stepped from the Gamemakers' quarters, she was drowning in a torrent of second-guesses. From the very most hidden corners of her mind, a voice came ringing out, telling her that the Gamemakers were not in the least bit impressed with her – especially not after watching the other true Careers.
She followed the silent Capitol attendant up a back flight of stairs, and then another, and then another, only stopping when she reached a door with the number four painted on it in blue ink. Annie burst through and found herself standing at the end of the corridor beside her bedroom door, on the verge of tears. Her throat was hot and closing in on itself and her heart was heavy. The only thing that kept her from crying was the reality that the others would be disappointed in her if she did.
"You're score is going to be announced before the interviews with Caesar Flickerman tonight," she heard Gossamer saying. Annie ran down the hall towards the sound of her clipped Capitol accent in a panic. "It's used to get the audience hyped up and a slight reflection before the tributes are introduced on camera."
"Annie's already got a head start on that, hasn't she?" asked Rayne. He sounded upset.
Gossamer giggled. "I guess she does."
Finnick grunted.
The girl's prep team caught her before anyone else could. The trio sucked her into the quarters where all of their supplies were set up. Annie searched their excited faces for an explanation. Faye piped up, "Rayne's team doesn't have as nearly as much work to do. We've got to start much earlier on you!"
Ophelia clapped her hands, shushing Faye politely. "Not that you're terribly awful looking, Annie," she tried to tell her. She assisted Annie onto the metal table much like the one in the Remake Center and laid the girl down, working to strip away the clothes drenched from her nervous sweat. "It always takes more time because we have to do your hair, whereas the boys never have much to work with."
Annie understood this. It was the style in District Four for the men to crop their hair short, unlike the women who wore theirs past the center of their backs. Annie's hair never grew very long and fell in soft waves to her shoulder blades, as her mother's did. She laid back calmly, skin jolted by the icy table's surface. The first thing the prep team did with her was scrub her raw with warm cloths, and then massage candy-scented oils that stung her nostrils into her skin. After being wiped down for a second time, every inch of skin the oil had seeped into was cleared of any hair so all that remained were her eyebrows and the hair on her head. It wasn't unheard of for the girls her age training to be Careers wax themselves of hair for swimming competitions in the bay, but Annie had never done it before and hated feeling so bare.
Next, came forming her nails into uniform shapes and coating them with blue polish, washing out her hair with a shampoo that had a consistency similar to jam, and skin exfoliated with an intense soap. Annie wondered why they weren't tending to her face, as they were most excited to get to that the last time. The trio moved her from the table into a large bathtub. Annie could have sworn that the water was tinted blue, but simply dismissed the idea as some sort of reflection from elsewhere in the room. She was instructed to sink into the tub, submerse herself entirely, and come up only when she absolutely needed air. Annie did so and the longer that she stayed underwater, the more her skin began to sting. She climbed out of the tub, gasping desperately for air, when the stinging became too intense. After her skin had calmed, Ophelia helped her back into the bathtub where she was to repeat the process. It happened several times before Annie was in unbearable pain and flatly refused.
When Rea entered the room, lugging in cases full of accessories and carrying a bag above her head that held the final designs, Annie's eyes were crusted shut from being shut for so long. She tried to greet her stylist but Charmant quickly clamped his hand over her mouth. He was painting her lips with silky, moisturizing color. Faye was making sure strokes on her eyelids with a brush that left her skin crisp. Ophelia was decorating her forehead and cheekbones with what felt like swirling, lace-like designs. Annie couldn't even fidget uncomfortably. She heard Rea drop her things.
"I hope they've told you how fabulous you look," Rea said. Annie could feel the woman's eyes inspecting her, but the prep team kept her still. The woman's comment didn't make her feel any better.
"I'm more excited for your dress," Annie spat quickly the second that Charmant moved his hand from her lips. She only realized after the words escaped her lips that she had probably insulted her prep team.
"As you should be." Annie could hear the smile in Rea's voice. "I am so incredibly proud of this, you don't even know!" The sophisticated woman sounded like a little schoolgirl.
It made Annie happy that Rea could be proud of what she did, especially since she had spent her entire life's talents on the noose that morning that could have saved her life – as ironic as that was – and she had spent every moment since then second-guessing her skills. "That's great!" Annie chirped. She didn't need to pretend and sound genuine.
It took the entire team to dress Annie in her dress. She loved the feel of the expensive fabric against her skin, which felt softer than it normally did. When the prep team stood Annie in front of the full-length mirror and she opened her eyes, her mouth dropped open. And it wasn't because of Rea's dress.
It was because her skin was blue.
Not dark blue, it was a faded blue like worn out fabric, but it was everywhere. Her arms, hands, chest, neck, face – everywhere. Her mind jumped back to the suspicious blue tint of her bathwater and she screamed.
"It's only temporary," Ophelia assured her, but that wasn't Annie's problem. She looked like she belonged on the streets of the Capitol. What were her parents going to say when they saw her? Or…Finnick! What would Finnick say? "It'll wash of when we clean you after the interviews tonight."
Annie couldn't respond. Shock was still on the forefront of her mind, keeping her entire body locked up. Her eyes lingered away from her faint blue skin to the dress Rea had carefully dressed her in. It was pearly white silk with a sweetheart neckline; it bunched over the sides of her ribcage and fell over her hips to the floor in an elegant waterfall fashion. The first thing that it reminded Annie of was a wedding dress. While it was nothing like the dozen or so that were kept in the woman's fashion store in the market square, the ones that were specifically designed by the Capitol to reflect District Four and shipped in to be rented in and out by almost every woman in the district, it was painfully familiar and unnerved her to look at. It was another reminder that the Capitol was taking her rightful future.
"It looks like a wedding dress," breathed Annie in fear. She didn't want to know what people would think when they saw her in this dress. Her family would think she was an entirely different person, despite only leaving home a few days ago. Her heart sank.
"Does it really?" asked Rea, cocking her head to the side, eyebrows furrowing. "I loved the neckline and the waterfall patterns together, and I chose the color to highlight your skin. I didn't realize…"
"It's not that I don't love it!" assured Annie, lying through her teeth. She didn't want to seem ungrateful to a woman she actually liked. She ran her palms down her thighs, feeling the silk against her fingertips. It was rather beautiful… "Because I do. It's just…sad."
"If you don't treat it like a wedding dress, it won't be seen as one," promised Rea with a reassuring smile. She placed her hands on Annie's shoulders and gave her a shake. "Just hold your head high through the interviews and smile. They are going to love you."
"What do I do, Finnick?" asked Annie under her breath, reaching for his hand. She stood backstage at the interviews with Caesar Flickerman, heart beating thunderously. The City Circle had been turned into a huge amphitheater with spotlights and an enormous stage and rows and rows of colorful Capitol Citizens waiting eagerly in their seats to see this year's tributes. "They all hate me! I got a three in training. A THREE!"
Even Annie had expected to do better than that. She had watched the broadcast where the scores were announced with Rayne, Finnick, and Mags. All of the other Careers had averaged in the eight-to-ten range, while the rest of the tributes hovered around a six. Her heart had sank when her picture appeared on the screen and a three flashed beside her profile. It was the lowest score Annie had seen anyone receive in the Games.
"Be you," Finnick told her confidently. He pecked her nose once, smiling. Annie's cheeks flushed purple with a mix of faint blue dye and the blood rushing to her face. "I have all the confidence in the world in you."
"But the three–"
"He won't mention it."
Annie didn't hear what he told her next because she and Rayne were ushered to the stage, each directed to take a seat in a huge arch that stretched around the back of the stage. Caesar Flickerman, hair and eyelids and lips dyed bright violet for this year's games, came bouncing to the stage in his signature midnight blue and star dotted suit smiling and drawing applause from the crowd. Annie was terrified seeing him in person. This man had hosted the interviews for thirty-five years now, and his appearance hadn't changed since Annie could remember first watching the Games. He may have made even the weakest tributes seem memorable, but he always seemed to lure them into a false sense of hope for winning the Games. Annie didn't want to leave feeling like she stood a chance.
Girl from One. Boy from One. Girl from Two. Boy from Two. So on and so forth. With each interview Annie felt her confidence draining from every inch of her body. Her cheeks were now icy cold and entirely empty of color – aside from the blue tint the prep team's dyes had left her with. Everyone interviewed before her seemed to have nailed their strategies head on – ruthless, adorable, quiet, clever, they were all brilliant. And what was she? The girl having a fling with her mentor. At least half of that was real.
Soon, Annie hears her name called and she is beckoned to center stage by Caesar. She passes the boy from Three, who gives her a particularly sour look, as she carefully steps into place. Her white gown ripples with her every movement, truly falling away from her slim body like a waterfall. She felt beautiful and caught Finnick's eye in the crowd. "Smile," he mouthed to her. She did.
"Annie Cresta," Caesar breathed as he grasped her hand, gazing her over with an impressed gleam in his eyes. His touch was too different from Finnick's; it sent chills racing up Annie's spine. She shivered, ducking her head as she smiled as if to hide a blush. "You look lovely."
"Thank you," she beamed. Oddly, Annie was filled with a bubbling glee that filled her to the brim. Her eyes darted to Finnick again. He was nodding at her, as if to say 'just go with it'.
"Tell me what a change coming to the Capitol has been for you; District Four has one of the worst times adjusting to the altitude in the Capitol."
"I haven't noticed much of a change, honestly. Aside from the food, I am just as comfortable here as I am at home." It would have been her lying through her teeth if it weren't for Finnick, the genius who knew exactly how to calm her down. Annie would never let them know that, though.
"What must your family think of all of this?" asked Caesar, looking over her dress several more times. "I remember your brothers' reactions at the Reaping, they were heartbroken. And with the three, it isn't expected for you to stand much of a chance."
Annie's pleasant mood took several blows at the mention of her brothers and the three, her heart grew sick. Her expression didn't reflect this whatsoever. "I don't think that three was deserved," she admitted, feeling a tad like Gossamer. "But I will play the hand I've been dealt. I cannot let my brothers down, I love them too much."
"After your pictures from the other day, I doubt the three is even going to affect you," Caesar nodded, playing up her confidence. She felt the audience siding with her.
Annie giggled, thinking of Finnick. Just the thought of him brought a smile to her lips now. Also, the stage was bringing a new life to her that she never expected to find.
"I must say, your dress really is something of a fashion statement!" he said amazed. Caesar turned towards the audience. "Doesn't she just look fabulous?" The Capitol citizens burst into a roar of applause. Caesar spun Annie around; she twirled happily with a smile plastered on her face.
"Wouldn't it be something if Finnick and her stylist were planning a little something for her in this dress?" he asked the crowds of crawling aristocrats. Annie's cheeks turned violet, just like his hair. She knew enough to understand what he was hinting at – Rea knew it looked like a wedding dress. Caesar turned to her. "So, we've all seen those pictures and have a good idea as to what is going on between you and Finnick, but tell us – what is it like having the most popular man in the Capitol as your mentor?"
"Finnick is wonderful," she answered, false honesty unneeded. Annie's eyes saw past the spotlights directed at her and found Finnick again. He was smiling and hiding his face. There was no doubt that the cameras of Panem were focused on him at that moment. "I love spending time with him. He is so good to me."
"It must be very hard for the two of you to think of the approaching Games." Caesar is setting Annie up for something she couldn't see down the path. She wanted to be careful with her words, but it was too easy to hear herself being scolded. "I couldn't imagine being taken from a loved one."
I've already been taken away from my parents and my brothers, Annie wanted to say, Finnick will just be added to the list of people the Capitol has taken me away from. Tears rimmed her eyes and Annie couldn't mask it. "It's unbelievably difficult," she whimpered. Her fuss was striking the hearts of people across Panem, and without a doubt the Capitol.
"Do you love him, Annie?" asked Caesar, accompanied by encouraging woops from the audience. It was remarkable how much energy and excitement the Capitol citizens had regarding the Games, they were like young children that were being denied the severity of the Games explained to them. She glanced around the crowd, desperately searching for Finnick, as if he was going to tell her what to say, but was distracted by the commotion among the audience.
"I…" Annie had never been more embarrassed in her life. She had never even thought of Finnick that way and was beyond unprepared to answer. He was comfort to her and he was a friend – he was something she could never have. Yet, he was telling some reporter of a Capitol magazine that she was his happiness. Her gaze was distant as she pulled away from reality, giving her room to breathe and sort through her swimming thoughts. What would she be expected to say?
"It's hard to say, isn't it?" asked Caesar with a smile. "Being so young, so much on your plate at the moment."
Annie nodded. The stage was giving way beneath her feet, or maybe that was just her knees. Either way, the girl was wobbling in her expensive high-heels and needed to sit down again. Were these nightmarish three minutes over yet?
"So, here's what you do," he offered with a reassuring pat on her shoulder. "You win the Games and get back to him, and then you have plenty of time to make up your mind. Maybe take more pictures…?" The Capitol roared in agreement with his last statement.
Annie stared down at her blue hands. It was all so foreign to her, frightening and unnatural. She wanted to leave the stage sobbing, but the cameras kept her from acting rashly. She looked back up to Caesar, patiently waiting for her to respond. "Yeah," she agreed, confidence slowly spreading through her system. "I need to come back for him."
In the crowd of surgery-altered Capitol creatures, Finnick was smiling. Hearing her say that she needed him was more than he could have ever hoped for. It was all real. Then again, so was the possibility of losing her forever.
Three minutes exhausted the timer and soon Annie was returning to her seat. Rayne was next, and he confidently bounced to the stage. There were two interviews that she wanted to pay attention two, and since she didn't know if her attention span was impressive enough to last until the second, she paid close attention to her district partner's. Annie saw Caesar setting him up for many opportunities to mention Calypso or whatever happened to his parents, but Rayne avoided answering with ease. The crowd was wild for him, though. While she tried not to fall asleep on stage during the other interviews, Annie looked to Finnick nervously. He just kept smiling at her. Before she knew it, time came for the final interview: Hollis Catch from Twelve.
The Capitol audience that had gathered in the City Circle had lost their zeal as they had for the earlier interviews, or perhaps it was because District Twelve not very well liked. Aside from the Careers and the twins from Eleven, Rae and Chelle Enev, they didn't pay much attention to anyone else. Hollis didn't seem to let this affect him, though. He treated his interview the same way the earliest tributes did.
"I've got my fiancé waiting at home for me," he said when Caesar asked why he was so strongly motivated. "And I promised her I would do everything I could to get back to her."
Annie's heart nearly broke listening to him talk about her, his Britte.
As Ophelia promised, the blue dye washed away from her skin within a few minutes of her shower and was swirling around the drain at her feet. Annie had been rushed back to the Training Center by her prep team as soon as she stepped off the stage. She had called for Finnick to come with her, but he had to stay with the other mentors for their own set of interviews. They were the only thing about the Games that weren't mandatory to watch – or at least not in District Four since they were on so late and the Peacekeepers wanted everyone out on the water no matter what the next day – so Annie didn't remember watching them. She only recalled people gossiping about them later. Now, here she stood, ears flooded with water and the sound of a television buzzing just outside of the bathroom as Ophelia and Faye watched the interviews, waiting for her to finish.
"I don't even know the pair from One!" she heard Faye draw out. "The victor pools are so big now, they're not even popular victors!"
Ophelia sighed. "Two isn't any good this year, either. It's like they don't even care about their tributes!"
"At least Finnick and Mags are almost on," Faye said. "These two are insufferable."
Annie turned the shower off and stuck her hand out, feeling around the counter for her towel. She wanted to see Finnick's and Mags' interviews before she went to bed. She wrapped the soft cloth around her torso and stepped from the stall, escaping the steam. The pair outside of the bathroom continued to bicker of pointless, Capitol problems while she dressed in pajamas embroidered with sea stars. When Annie stepped into the bedroom, she found Faye and Ophelia sitting on her bed, enthralled by the television. Finnick was already on the screen.
"I thought that I already had all I could ever want," said Finnick to Caesar. "I won the Games, I have enough money to provide for my family for the rest of our lives, and I have all the wonderful company I could ever ask for. Then I got luckier, because then I met Annie."
"So…you love her?" Caesar asked.
"Yes, I love her." Finnick continued, using the most alluring tone Annie had ever heard. His words carried a beautiful rhythm that lulled Annie like a song. He was seductive, yet innocent at the same time. His poem captivated the audience in the City Circle as well as Annie. It was about love and loss and wanting to keep what was never his, how beautiful she was and how he felt when he was with her.
She stared at the screen, trying to decide if what he was saying was the truth. Her heart ached for him, feeling something like what she felt when she saw Fletcher's and Vance's faces at the Reaping. Was that love? Was Caesar right? Now Annie felt bad, Finnick had just poured out his heart to her over live television and she was sitting here thinking of her brothers.
"I love you, too, Finnick," she told the screen. He smiled seductively at the camera, as if he had heard her.
That chapter was over twenty pages and 5000 words - a personal best for me, I believe. I had so much fun writing this it's unreal, so I really hope that you guys enjoyed it.
Also, I want to thank every one of my reviewers and those of you who have favorited and followed my story! It all means so much to me. I appreciate it all! Thank you.