So sorry for not updating yesterday guys! I had a lot to do and never found time to make it to my laptop... Sorry! :( Well I hope this chapter makes up for it :)
TARDISRose: I'm glad you liked it! I'm sorry I had to let Annie's mom out of jail... It seemed like a good plot adder and I can use it for a while off and on, like the Snow and Coin thing.
TheWomanWhoCodesAndWrites: They helped a ton! I'm glad you suggested those ideas :) I'm glad you enjoyed the punch. I was like, hmm, this could get me some negative reviews, but I got a lot more positive than negative, so yay! I thought he would be one of those people who you keep their girlfriend in their phone as girlfriend... lol. I think she is crazy, I'm sure all of you will too. I'm actually trying to think of a good story to come up with Annie's father, actually. :)
Catching Fireflies: Well I'm glad you still like it. These three couples are my favorite couples, even though Jo and Gale aren't a thing in the books...
Catching Fireflies: I'm glad you like it! It is a ton of fun to write :)
hungergamesgirl999: I felt so bad for making it Annie who's parent got out of jail... but I thought it would work out best that way.
MiaBelles: I'm glad you liked Gale defending Jo! I was sad to let her mom out of jail, but I thought it would be a good choice.
Anarchy Girl: I'm glad you like it! Please don't cry. Peeta made you some cookies!
SparksFly'SkyHigh: That sounds like a really good idea! I'll be sure to add that somewhere. I did try to add some Katniss and Peeta this chapter as well :) Aww! Well that makes you a good sibling, standing up for your brother! Good job :)
Y.O.L.O So do it right: I'm glad you like it! :D
pumpkinking5: Aww sorry! Well I hope you don't miss this one :) I'm glad you liked how I wrote Gale and Rory, that was... interesting... to write. I'm glad you liked the Katniss and Prim! I thought I needed more of them. Yay Johale! They're only getting out of school to meet Annie's mother, sadly... but I may let them go on a trip soon. Cinna, I just love him :D Glad you liked the punch!
MahoganyMagic12: Yeah! I'm glad you liked it! I usually don't support men punching women either... so I added the Devil Spawn part... I like that idea a lot and added a little bit of it in this chapter. Thanks :)
MewWinx96: It's okay! It was 12:44 when I read it (gotta love time zones...) Yay Peeta hugs! Glad you liked the punch, and Enobaria deserved it! Poor Annie. Hope you slept well! :D
axes tridents and snares: Glad you liked!
axes tridents and snares: Sorry about that... I was going to be risky with the punch and I was worried about the reaction, but I wanted to do something that proved Gale would do anything for Jo. I usually don't support that kind of stuff but there is seemed fitting...
Alexandra Jackson rocks Hades: I feel so bad for Miss Cresta... I loved writing Gale standing up for Jo though. Hi Leo!
Addicted2-Your-Story: I won't ever let Finnick get heartbroken. I love him wayyyyy too much. Sorry for a later update...
MeaganOneDirection: I'm glad you loved it! I love reading your reviews :)
TurtleThompson: I feel so bad for her T.T
Chapter 11- Just Hold My Hand
Peeta
Katniss and I get called down to the office and are told to bring our books. We don't usually leave in the middle of school, unless something is happening at Graceland. I'm sure that is what it is. Katniss has her dark brown hair in a single braid down her back, a few strands in the front escaping and framing her face. She is lovely. I don't realize I'm staring until she comments on it. "What are you looking at?"
I shrug and continue walking down the hallway. Right now, my biggest worry is trying to figure out how to get her to like me. That is going to be Mission Impossible. Katniss hasn't taken a remote interest in dating and boys. She's taken even less consideration with me. How am I supposed to get the scowling girl to fall for me like I have fallen for her? We reach the office and look around. Everyone else is already there and Annie's face is covered in tears. "What's up?" I ask Johanna. She is standing closest to me and seems to have the same sorrow filled look everyone else has.
"They let Annie's mom out of jail. Her mom wants to come over to Graceland to see Annie. Haymitch is picking her up from the airport right now. If the court deems Annie's mother able to take care of her, then she will have to go away with her mother." Jo's brown eyes are heavy, blinking back tears. Everyone's are. Finnick has a few silent ones rolling down his cheek and Annie has several coming down in a steady stream. I can't blame her. The thought of going back to her mother must be terrifying.
Effie looks sad as she announces all of us are to get into the van. We walk into the parking lot, huddled around one another for comfort. Katniss is hugging me while we walk, like I'm supporting her. Katniss is hugging me like the way a girlfriend would hug her boyfriend. Does this mean she has feelings for me? I doubt it. This isn't the time to be thinking about my feelings towards the most beautiful and brave girl I know.
When we get to the vans, Effie takes the driver's seat instead of Finnick. Annie climbs into the very back bench instead of her usual spot as passenger. Finnick slides in beside her. On the bench in front of that, Jo and Gale scoot in, putting their backpacks on the floor beside them. That leaves the front bench wide open. Katniss and I slide onto that. The car ride is silent, save the happy and bubbly pop music on the radio and the occasional sniff.
We get there at the same time Haymitch pulls up. Annie loses it. "No! No don't let her see me! No, don't make me go!" She is crying and her hands are clutching her head. Finnick has come over her like a blanket and he is whispering words into her ear.
I hop out the car. I want to meet the woman who gave birth to Annie. I refuse to say she was Annie's mother. If anything, she was Annie's personal devil. I hold out my hand so Katniss can get out of the van easier. "Want to go meet that woman with me? I want to see what she is like before Annie goes to see her again."
Katniss nods. "Good idea." She takes my hand with her soft fingers and lets herself out of the van. The touch is so small and I can't savor it as long as I wish to. I am about to let go of her hand but she stops me, by squeezing it. "Don't let go. I might fall."
I hold onto her hand tighter. "I couldn't let that happen, could I?" We walk into the house, very tense, very nervous. We get to meet the woman who tortured Annie.
In the room, talking to Haymitch, there is a woman that looked like ice. Her pale blonde hair was the same thickness as Annie's, but hers was cut to her chin in a very angular cut. Her face had the same basic shape as Annie's, but is sharper, none of the soft features Annie has. Her skin is a shade or two darker than being paper white, she is very pale, but if you look at her, her eyes are what stand out the most. They are pale ice blue with a look of insanity in them."Hello there." Her voice sounds cold and distant as well.
I can feel her sizing me up, looking me down head to toe. She does the same to Katniss. "Neither of you are my little girl. Where is she? I've missed her. I haven't seen her in seven years. That is a long time for a mother to go without seeing her daughter."
I don't know what to say. Katniss lets go of my hand and sticks it out in forced politeness to the woman. "She is coming. My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm one of your daughter's floormates. I stay in the room next to her."
The woman, slowly, takes Katniss' hand. "Hello there. I am Isla. I am Annie's mother."
I hold out my hand for the woman too. "I'm Peeta. I am also one of Annie's floormates. I stay on the opposite side of the floor."
The woman looks angry to learn we all stay on the same floor. "Well, isn't that, pleasant?"
Katniss and I sit down on one of the plush living room couches and Isla follows us, making herself comfortable at one of the chairs. Moments after we do so, Gale and Johanna walk in, hand in hand and join us at the couch that can easily seat four, leaving the loveseat for Finnick and Annie when they walk in behind them. Haymitch and Effie make their way over to the remaining chair and sit there, ready for the interview about Annie's fate begin. Effie and Haymitch will do a basic interview, with the six of us here to help answer questions, and later, a Social Worker will come and see if Isla is worthy to take Annie back. I hope not. I take Katniss' hand in mine and she looks stunned. I whisper under my breath. "I might fall."
"Can't allow that, can I?"
Finnick *Thanks to MahoganyMagic12 for inspiration for a section in this section*
The moment we got Annie out of the van and into the house, her tears vanished and she became tense and nervous, each step she took shakier than the last. I have an arm around her shoulder and have both her hand clutching my free one, letting her hold me for support. "Annie, there is no guarantee she is taking you. Remember that."
She looks up at me with her frightened brown eyes. "There's a chance, Finn. What if she gets me?" We are standing outside the house, letting last minute nerves out.
I lift up her chin with two fingers and kiss her soft lips with mine. "Annie, if that happens then I will take you away from there the moment you turn eighteen. Or I will leave this place and take you with me. We will disappear until your birthday and will appear once again at the dawn of your eighteenth. We can finish school somewhere else. I will not let her take you."
She wraps her arms around me, keeping me as close to her as possible. After minutes she looks at me and has a trembling lip. "Finnick, I need to tell you something."
I can feel my heart hammer against my chest. I'm nervous so I press my lips to her once again. "Annie, I have something to tell you first." She looks up at me and I clear my throat. Jo and Gale are back beside the van, and are in range to hear us. When I don't say it, she looks at me disappointed. "I want to tell you, but I'll tell you after this meeting."
Annie, looking satisfied, but still nervous, holds me in a hug.
Jo and Gale are making their way over here and they enter the house. "It's time." I put my hand around hers, and she clasps it with both her hands. I drape my free arm over her and we walk to the free love seat, directly across from Annie's mom.
"My, my Annie. Look how you've grown." Annie is rubbing her hands in mine nervously, and I cup my other hand over hers. "What is wrong dear? You don't look very happy to see your mother." Annie lifts up her head and stares at her mother. She attempts to give a feeble smile, but her tries are in vain. "Why, Annie, didn't you used to have green eyes?"
Annie nods. "They were green until you injected me with that stuff. They were supposed to turn blue, weren't they? They're brown now."
Her mother takes in a nervous breath. "That's, nice, my dear. You know, you look a lot like your father. You have his hair, his skin coloring, his nose." Annie is shaking. "Why do you have so many scars on your legs, Annie?" The tears start pooling in Annie's eyes. "You look like you have been eating a little bit too much my dear. When you come home with me, we'll diet. What do you think? We can bleach your hair, maybe dye it a prettier color. We can get you a nose job too. I've also heard of some surgeries that can change your skin tone."
Annie is crying and I stand up, her hand still in mine. "Excuse me, but isn't a mother supposed to tell her daughter how beautiful she is? You have a lovely daughter. Not everyone has to look like an Ice Queen to be beautiful. Annie has the prettiest eyes I've ever seen and I think it is a shame I never got to see them when they were their natural color. Her nose is beautiful. I love it! I don't see what you don't like about it. The scars on her legs? Those were caused by fits she used to have and still has because she has nightmares of what happened to her when she lived with you. Also, just because someone isn't a size zero, doesn't mean they are fat. Annie has a different bone structure, which means she can't be a size zero, but is means she can have all the lovely curves guys like so much more. Also, looks are not everything! If you searched the entire world, you would be hard pressed to find someone as sweet, caring, loyal and genuinely a good person." I look her mother in the eyes. "I cannot believe you would think your own daughter is like that? How could you treat someone like that? My parents, as awful as they were, still told me I had some value."
I turn away from Annie's mother and grab Annie's hand, taking her upstairs to the top floor. No one follows us. I grab my swimsuit off the hook and pass her the bikini top and swim skirt she will sometimes wear. I slip into the bathroom and change. I need to be in the salt water to get my mind off of things.
Annie stays in my room and changes in there. I knock on the door when I'm done changing and hear her lovely voice let me in. Her clothes are put in a pile on my bed and she is hugging her body self consciously. "Let it go, Annie. You have nothing to worry about."
Annie takes a breath and nods. She then follows me down the stairs and past the living room where her mother, Effie and Haymitch and everyone else is still sitting. Annie and I walk on the warm sand and find ourself in the warm shallows of the beach water. I find myself having the courage to tell her what I wanted to say earlier. "Annie?"
I pull her close to me in the water, letting myself pull her in for a hug. "Yes Finn?"
I take a breath and let my bottled emotions out. "I love you."
I wait in nervous moments to hear her reply. "I- I love you too, Finn."
We kiss one another and stay there, letting the waves crash over our heads. I wish we could stay like this forever, but we can't. For now, the time we have will have to be long enough.
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Thanks to my 49 followers as well! Peeta made cookies for all my favoriters and followers and reviewers!
-Juliet