A/N: Here is Chapter Three! I'm sorry it has taken so long! This Chapter is dedicated to FreshAsPrimrose on Twitter. I love you, Steffi! Anything in bold is Annie's POV!

Chapter Three

"Annie's Insight"

I hear a loud clanging as Annie sees the picture. The frying pan that she has been using hits the tile. The sound is almost deafening. There is a loud screech from the baby. The noise has startled him. Annie doesn't bother to pick up the pan from the floor. I watch as she rushes to the baby, pulls him from the high chair and cradles him in her arms. I don't let my eyes linger at the sight for too long, it hurts too much to see Annie with baby knowing that Finnick will never get to know his own son. I try to quickly push this though from my mind. I can't breakdown.

I am relieved with the baby stops crying almost as soon as it's in Annie's arms. Good. Now that the creature isn't screaming, Annie and I can focus on this Haymitch and Effie situation.

"Well, I guess that explains Haymitch's little trips to the Capitol," I say. I wonder why he chose to never mention this to Peeta and me. I thought that we were like family. This isn't something that you hide from people that you consider family.

Annie laughs at this statement. "You can say that again. Wow. That's the last couple I would have expected. But there is no denying that that picture is real."

She's right. I had started to wonder if it might be fake, but now I see that it's not. There is so much love radiating off the both of them. There are meshed together as if they never want to break apart. I know that I should be mad at Haymitch for hiding this from us, but I can't be. I can see how happy he is. This picture is one of the only times I have seen him relatively well-groomed. Effie must be working wonders on him. I'm glad. He needs someone to keep him in check. I noticed a long time ago that Effie was the only person that could ever do that. It's good to know that he has her.

"No denying it's real," I said. The picture disappears, but they continue to discuss it. I'm not paying attention. "I'm happy for them. I feel like they both needed someone who is the exact opposite of them. They will balance each other out. But, oh, I'm going to have gin with Haymitch when he comes home."

Annie smirks, still rocking the baby gently in her arms, despite that it stopped crying awhile ago. "You and Haymitch live to mess with each other."

I smile at her. "Finnick used to help me with that. We messed with each other too."

I've surprised myself by openly mentioning Finnick. I wonder where it came from. Was it because Annie was around? She had been talking about him openly. She made it seem so easy. I know that on the inside, it must actually be tearing her apart. Still, she must have knocked my guard down.

Annie's smile brightens at the mention of Finnick. It's good to know that she's not a mess when talking about him. I wonder if I had lost Peeta if I would be able to be so calm talking about him? But I know that I wouldn't be. If I had lost Peeta, I would have lost myself completely. I would really have next to no one.

"You meant a lot to him, you know," Annie says. "Finnick lost his mom and dad shortly after his Games. He only had Mags and me for a long time. Then you two became so close. You were the family he had lost. You were his friend, his best friend."

I can't stop the stream of tears that starts to flow down my cheeks. I nod slightly. "I know, Annie," I whisper. "He told me. He made sure I knew. Finnick was the kind of person that didn't hold anything back."

Unlike me. I wish that I could be more like Finnick was. So willing to love and be loved in return. But because I had lost all of my loved ones, and loving people has done nothing but hurt me, I am too much of a coward to let people in.

"Finnick always did let people know how he felt," Annie replies. "I was no exception."

I find that I sit up a little straighter at this comment. I never had the chance to ask Finnick exactly how he and Annie had become a couple. Maybe Annie will offer some insight now. I had always wondered exactly what it was that drew Panem's Most Eligible Bachelor to Annie Cresta, who, while beautiful, is a bit crazy and stubbron, and quiet and shy, except to those who she knew.

"Really?" I ask. "How did you and Finnick get together, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Come outside to the swing, I'll tell you."

I take a few more bites of my breakfast before following Annie outside. The sun is shining brightly overhead. The air is calm, but there is a morning crisp in the air. I am thankful that I put on my jacket this morning. Annie has already taken a seat on the swing and has begun wrapping the creature in the bundle of blue blankets she had been holding last night. The blue is a dark, crystal sort of blue. It reminds me of pictures I have seen of the ocean, Finnick's stories of District Four, of the beach during the Quarter Quell. I am thankful that the color only triggers happy memories for me. That is rare. Anything happy.

I take a seat beside of her. I keep my eyes on Annie, never looking at the baby. I can't bring myself to do it. Maybe, in time, I will be able to look at that baby without breaking down or having a flashback. Maybe someday, but that day is not today.

"I'm surprised that Finnick never told you. He liked to tell the story. But, then again, I guess that you didn't have a lot of time to discuss things like that in District Thirteen. You were almost always training."

"We did talk a lot, about so many things. I guess we just never got around to it."

Part of me wonders if Finnick just avoided talking too much about Annie. He knew that it upset me that Annie came back to him, remembered him, even loved him and Peeta didn't know me, tried to kill me, and never knew that he loved me. He knew how much that hurt. Finnick might have just been sparing my feelings. Just because we never "got around to it".

The thought instantly saddens me. "Never got around to it." I play the phrase over and over again in my head. We "never got around to it", and now we never would.

"That's too bad. Finnick always told it better than I did. I'm a little too crazy to keep the story straight."

I want to laugh. I had never thought Annie to be completely mad, just a little off, like the rest of the Victors. Now, here she is, seemingly more mentally stable than she has ever been. I haven't once since her cover her ears since she has been here. Loud noises no longer seem to make her freak out and curl into a ball. I guess that she had to learn to get rid of the screams that Finnick told me that she always heard, since he wasn't there to get rid of them anymore. It doesn't matter. This is the Annie I have become closer to, matter if she's crazy or not.

"That's not true, Annie. Don't let other people define you. You're more than that."

Annie gives me a small smile of thanks, giving her head a nod. "That means so much, Katniss. Not everyone thinks that except you, Peeta and well, Finnick never did."

"The people that care about you know the truth. That should be all that matters."

"You're right," she says. There is a slight pause as Annie seems to be saving that to memory, her eyes adverted away from me. Just as I am about to say something, she is facing me again. "All right. Ready to hear the story?"

"I've been ready for awhile actually," I reply. I pull my knees up to my chest, keeping them close to my body. I rest my chin on the perch that is my knees. My eyes are locked intently on Annie. I won't lie. I'm really excited to hear this story.

"Well, I won't lie. I was like nearly every other girl in Panem, completely charmed by the idea of Finnick Odair. When I was watching him in his Games, I was very impressed. Everyone was. A fourteen year old teenage dream that won the Games within a matter of days after receiving the most expensive gift in Games history? It was impossible not to be love-struck by him. I had known of him before the Games. I had noticed Finnick long before. Yes, he was devastatingly good looking, but I had never given him much thought until I saw him win. I thought he was just another pretty face. After seeing his interviews, I was sure he was a kind person, a strong person. I looked up to Finnick Odair, even if I was considered one of his 'fan girls'. When rumors began flying around a couple of years later about Finnick's rendezvous' in the Capitol, I didn't want to believe them. Finnick Odair was gorgeous, a sex symbol almost, but someone who slept around? No. It couldn't be.

After awhile, there were so many stories, reports and rumors that I knew I couldn't pretend that it wasn't true anymore. I felt heartbroken. Someone who I admired so much, had let me down. I felt silly for being so upset about it. I didn't even know Finnick Odair, and he didn't know me. But not for long. Can you guess what happened just two weeks after I had given up all faith in my role model?"

"You got reaped?" I say in reply. The story had only just begun, but I was already intrigued. It sounded like some twisted romance book, the kind that my mother used to read. The kind of stuff that I used to think was trash mass produced by the Capitol to plant false hope into the hearts of its citizens. Things like that didn't happen in the real world. At least, I used to think that. But Finnick and Annie, even Peeta and I, are walking contradictions of that.

Annie laughs a bit. "That's right. I was terrified."

"My mother was all I had left at the time I got reaped. I didn't have any friends, except for Hickory. He was the boy that got reaped with me."

Annie trails off for a moment. I see her eyes flicker. This was the look I used to see her get in Thirteen right before she was about to start yelling, holding her ears, throwing a fit, and breaking down completely; The kind of fit that only Finnick could ever talk her out of. But, as soon as the look is there, it's gone. I can't say that I'm not relieved. I had been paralyzed with fear for a few moments. I don't know how to handle other people when they breakdown. I can't even handle myself. I am barely able to bring Peeta out of mild hijacking attacks. What would I have done with Annie?

"And well," Annie continues. "We would have time to say goodbye to each other later."

Our escort led us to the train where we were to meet our mentors. District Four has had so many Victors that it was hard to tell who it was going to be. I was sitting in a chair next to Hickory, trying to keep my mind off of things, but it was impossible. I was being shipped to the Capitol where I would surely die. I jumped when the compartment door opened. It slid aside and slammed into the wall with a sounds louder than thunder. I was surprised to see Mags walk in. She was so old. I wasn't sure which Games she had won, but I'm sure it was when they were still young enough to be in the teens. I wasn't expecting her. Usually the older mentors stopped once we had other Victors to take their place. Well, much to my even greater surprise, and dismay, Finnick walked into the train car next. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed. He was in nothing but his boxer shorts.

I let out a laugh at this. Of course. Sounds just like Finnick. He'd probably still been asleep when the train rolled into the District, missed the reaping and Mags had to drag him out of bed to meet the Tributes. "You know, that doesn't surprise me at all."

Annie's smile grows a bit bigger. "He had a doughnut stuffed in his mouth and Mags was badgering him about eating healthier."

"If you don't quit eating those damn doughnuts, Finnick Odair, you're still going to have a six-pack, but it will be hidden under a mountain of fat. You have a reputation to uphold, you know."

"Mags, shut the fuck up. It's too damn early for me to be getting this lecture," Finnick said, having removed the doughnut just to say this before he shoved it back in.

Mags raised her hand and slapped Finnick across the mouth, causing his doughnut to be pushed all the way into his mouth. His eyes widened and he began to cough as he choked on the doughnut. The half-chewed mess of dough, chocolate icing and multi-colored sprinkles fell to the floor only moments later. Hickory and I were laughing so hard that Mags turned to us with a smirk, and gave us a wink before she wheeled back around to face Finnick.

"Serve you right," Mags said. "Don't you talk to me like that. I'm practically your mother. It's not my fault that you were up all night with one of your little friends from the Capitol, that's it's past two and that you slept through the reaping so I had to drag you out of bed, still in your damn underwear."

I remember that my stomach dropped at the mention of his "little friends" from the Capitol. I could deny it up to a point until now, but not hearing it from someone who claimed to be like his mother. I wasn't even sure why I cared so much. I guessed that's how all the Finnick Odair Fan Girls felt. But, I wasn't really a fan girl. I looked up to him more than I lusted for him. He always seemed to have such impeccable character on top of all that strength and bravery. I always strived to be like that, but what kind of person just sleeps around with people for the fun of it?

Finnick rolled his eyes at Mags. "Sorry, Queen of the District Four Victors! I apologize for what I did. Apparently it was deserving enough for me to choke to death on a doughnut after surviving the Hunger Games."

Mags slapped him again. Only this time it was on his arm. Her hand hit his skin with a loud SMACK that caused Finnick to emit a small 'ow'. "You need to stop hopping into bed with all of those girls, keep your pants on, and get your act together, at least for a few weeks. You've got two Tributes here to mentor."

Finnick's attention seemed to be alert for the first time His eyes feel on Hickory first. He didn't seem too impressed. Hickory was my friend, but I couldn't blame him. Hickory wasn't a Career. Hickory wasn't a killer. He didn't have big muscles, he wasn't a fisher. Hickory spent more time studying the ocean and the creatures that lived there more than anything else. He was tall, and lanky. No one expected him to win. Not even me.

I wasn't much either. I knew that. I knew that Finnick knew that almost as soon as his shining eyes locked with mine for the first time. I was even smaller then than I am now. I was a wispy girl for seventeen. I was odd too. I would rather read on the beach, collect sea shells than fish or train like the other kids my age. I wasn't fast. The only skill I had was swimming, and you wouldn't be able to guess that by looking at me.

Finnick leaned over to Mags, he appeared to be shaking his head. I know that he was trying to whisper just to her, but he misjudged my range of hearing, "I don't think that District Four will be winning this year."

As you know, I'm not usually a temperamental person, but what Finnick said really hit a nerve. He hadn't even bothered to assess our skills. He judged us based solely on our looks.

"Excuse me," I said. I was trying to stay calm, but it wasn't working. I heard my own voice. It was already raised, already shaky. "Since you're a Victor and all, I wouldn't expect you to just judge your tributes based on appearance."

Finnick's eyes widened in surprise. He clearly had not been expecting that from me. I hadn't even expected it from me. I'm usually so quiet, so shy. I had never done anything this outrageous, even if it wasn't outrageous to someone else.

"Excuse me? You have some nerve. I'm supposed to be your mentor, and you're talking to me that way?"

"That's right! You're supposed to be my mentor! You're not supposed to discourage us within the first hour of getting reaped! You're not supposed to say you don't even think that have a chance! I was wrong about you, Finnick Odair. You're nothing but a cocky, egotistical prick, and it's about time that someone told you the truth!"

I burst into a fit of laughter at Annie's words. "You said that?"

Annie is laughing at herself. "I did. I had never said anything like that before in my entire life. I never thought someone could grate on my nerves as much as Finnick Odair did in the first few minutes that I knew him."

I smile at her. I wasn't sure how I imagined their first meeting, but it was nothing like this. Maybe it was because I never imagine Annie acting that way. But Finnick's reaction and response? It was no surprise.

"So, what happened next?" I ask. I was almost eager to find out. How did Finnick respond to what Annie had said?

Annie grins at me, pushing herself up from the swing, her grip on the baby tightening so that she won't drop him.

"I'm not finishing the story today, Katniss," she says as she walks towards the front door. "If you want to hear the rest, you're going to have to open up to me first."