Fancy meeting you here! :)

So this is more fluff. I'm sorry of you think my chapters are kinda short...I've only been trying to fill my time. So please review and tell me exactly what you think..and in a nice way, please:) I'm kinda sensitive.

Now, more Oriole and Lavianna!

Oh, and just in case you had a suspicion that I wrote and own THG, I'm afraid you're mistaken. Suzanne Collins stole it from me:( so don't sue me, you lawyer-smart-sewing people. Thanks:P

FOUR

"So, Annie," my mothers voice chimes, "how are you feeling?"

Annie just sits on the couch and grins while mumbling something inaudible. She suddenly looks up, to some empty corner of the room as if someone startled her, but then just looks down. She sips her coffee.

But mother doesn't seem fazed. She only smiles and goes to sit beside her, taking her hand. "You know, I've been thinking of going out to Four, to stay with you for a while if that's okay."

This is news to me, and apparently, I'm not the only one by the look on dads face.

Annie snaps out of her little world and looks at my mom. She smiles lightly. "I miss you." She says in a beautifully soft voice.

Mother nods and says it's settled, she'll leave with them back to Four and stay a month or two.

Oriole seems grateful for her offer, and under his beautiful smile, I can't tell from years of experience that he's sad. I reach over and lay a hand on his knee. He smiles at me, better.

After lunch, the adults sit in the living room and invite their friend Johanna to join them, who now lives in one of the Victors Houses. Caspian runs to town to hangout with his friends, obviously being too cool for us.

So Oriole and I end up just walking in the cold winters air.

He breaks the silence. "So, how's it been, Lav?"

Assuming he means life, she shrugs. "It's been fine. Nothing really exciting going on." I sneak a peek at his face. He's looking at me. "How are you?"

He fake smiles as best as he can (not very convincing) and shrugs.
"It's been better."

I look at him seriously, but I know he isn't going to mention his mom, so I back away from the subject.

Our feet crunch, falling into the newly laid out snow, fresh and fluffy, packing snow. I grin at my feet and point ahead of us.

"Hey, what's that?" Oriole's eyes leave my face and I swiftly stoop down and pack a hard snow ball, and as he turns, I chuck it at his face.

The white snowflakes explode onto his neck, blinding him momentarily. I laugh so hard, I kneel over. It was just so ridiculous; his expression.

I look up. Big mistake. A bigger snowball flies towards me, and I dive, landing in the snow but not fast enough. The cold stuff drips down my back.

I look at him in mock anger and disbelief. "Oh, you're gonna get it." He takes off towards the forest and I follow after him, the wind biting my skin and howling past my ears, as I bend and throw handfuls of snow as I run.

We skitter through the trees, laughing like kids and chasing each other. I fall a few times, and of course, he comes to help me up, only to find a trap as I pull him into the snow bank and speed off.

It's the most fun I've had in ages.

•••

Oriole and I lay side by side in our pressed snow angels in front of the lake. In daylight, the water take in a whole new personality. Softer, not dark and dangerous, but smooth and iridescent.

I turn my head to look at him. His eyes meet mine.

We run around in the sand, my feet tripping over each other as the hot grains stuck to my skin. He was younger, maybe fourteen and I just turned twelve. He was tan-probably as tan as I've ever seen him, and his hair was shaggy. We laughed as he tackled me to the ground.

"Sand in my eyes! Sand in my eyes!" I screeched, face-down in the sand as he held me down with his strong hands.

He laughed maniacally, "Ha ha ha," he said in his low villain voice, "Ill never release you, until you tell me were you hid the forbidden treasure!"

The 'Forbidden Treasure' was a smallish back of candies my father had brought back from the store. I had stowed them away at the house in fear that his boy-like urges would devour them all.

"Never!" I screamed, pushing loose.

"Whoa," he fell back into the sand, fake hurt by my incredible super hero strength. "No! You can't defeat me!"

I ran to the waves, wading in deep to my hips and screaming in horror as he chased me. Lunging forward, he picked me up by my skinny hips, and swung me around on his shoulder, kicking and screaming.

He walked deeper in and threw me as far as he could, flipping me flailing into the cold ocean.

I bobbed up laughing, cursing his growth spurt, and grabbed his legs, making him fall.

In the end, we sat on the warm sand, making a sand-drip castle and watching the sun set behind the horizon, orange flames snaking across the pink sky...

I remember that day, the way his eyes looked so happy at me. I see it now.

We sit up and somehow start talking about everything. Life, future, past. Our past together, our silly fights.

"Remember that one time," he laughed, "when you were nine and I was around eleven, I think. And we were at you're house and you yelled at me for eating the last cupcake your dad made for your sleepover," I remembered. I was so young and sensitive and I was saving it, actually for him, but I wanted to give it to him myself, as a very important offering, as it was the last cupcake.

I smiled. "Yeah. You got so confused you hit your head on the wall as you walked out, and I laughed I guess, because you got so mad."

He sighs. "Ah, the old days. We didn't speak for a week, right?"

I raised my eyebrows looking at the sky. "Yeah. I was so upset I think I cried and told my mom you basically wanted me to die. I was so dramatic," I chuckle.

"Eh, we all were."

He gets up with a groan, and offers me his hand. We walk past the spot where Caleb kissed me last night, and I sort of fast-shuffle past it, avoiding any confusing memories.

It was weird. I was getting involved with two people. Caleb and Oriole... I was becoming that pathetic excuse of a girl who got herself involved in stupid things like the love triangles some of the girls read about in school. My mother was almost like that, I guess. But it wasn't really her fault. It was literally life and death.

But me on the other hand, it was almost like I was asking for it. I could avoid it but...I don't know what's happening. I wish I could just rewind and make things simpler.

"Do you remember how we made up that day? When we were kids?" Oriole says, out of the blue, about the cupcake story.

I think back. "I can't really remember anything...only, something about a drawing? A sand castle maybe?"

He smiles to himself and shakes his head. "No, something like that though. I went to go check on you a while later at night, and you were on the Lookout," he remembers.

Oriole and I had a secret hideout on the roof of his house called "The Lookout Point". It was a landing, almost flat, right above the alcove outside the guest bedrooms window. We climbed up there some nights to talk or just sit there when one of us was having a bad day, or to play adventurous games during the day.

I nod. "Yeah I remember, I was playing with my stuffed bunny..."

He laughs. "Yeah, you loved that forsaken thing. Anyways, I remember calling you down and bringing you to the beach. It was a really bright night," like last night, "and I led you by the hand," like last night, "and told you I loved you as my bestest friend in the world," kinda like last night, I continue to think dimly. But I force myself to listen to him.

"So I had made this huge sand castle, and around it was a stick picture of you and me, reading "Friends Forever And Ever" I think," he smiles.

I smile warmly, almost sadly. I remembered perfectly now.

I looked up at his face and the waves crashed behind us, the high tide lapping our bare feet.

The beach was only literally a few steps back from his house, since it was basically his backyard. The castle was amazing, and the caption had a little smiley face beside it.

I smiled big and wrapped my small arms around him, dropping my bunny, ignoring the 'Coodie Code' and said "I love you forever, Orio." in my little girl voice.

He said, "Me too, Lavie."

O_o WOOOO LAVI AND ORIE, SITTIN' IN A TREE...C-U-T-I-E-S X2! (sorry I can't really rhyme haha)