A/N- Gah, Fanfiction can be annoying sometimes... The little - after A/N is supposed to be a longer line with an arrow... but it never shows...

Oh well, not to stress about... There are things to read and more story to be done and here is the next chapter for you people waiting in suspense...

For the record, I'm not the owner of The Hunger Games... wow, you didn't know that already?

"Ok, well the good news is that he hasn't lost enough blood to cause permanent damage" Mrs Everdeen tells me, scribbling down something on a notepad. "The bad news is that his collar bone is broken badly and will take some time to heal... It'll probably be a few weeks before he can use his right arm properly"

"Oh, well at least he'll recover" I say, sighing with relief. "He's gonna be fine, right?"

"Of course; as long as he gets plenty of rest and doesn't go jumping out of any more trains" She replies in a more light-hearted tone.

"Thank you so much" I say, smiling gratefully at her.

"You're welcome" She smiles back. "Well, I'll give you two some time alone then"

I nod at her thankfully and she leaves the room, gently closing the door behind her, leaving me alone with a half-asleep Ethan.

I walk over to the bed and immediately plump the pillows under his head, also adjusting the sheets that drape unevenly over the edges of the thin mattress. He groans quietly as I push his fringe from his face.

"Sorry" I whisper quietly, removing my fingers from his forehead.

"No, don't stop. I like it; you have a soft touch" He mumbles to me.

I accept his request and rest my fingers back on his head, pushing aside stray hairs. His skin is at a considerably hot temperature, but smooth all the same. It's relaxing for me, just to stroke across his skin and feel his heated breath on my wrist.

"So, how are you feeling now?" I ask him.

"Tired" He replies with a sigh. "Very, very tired"

"That'll be the painkiller; it's really strong" I tell him, reading the side of the bottle containing his pills. "Taking these tablets regularly will cause distinct drowsiness within the body...Hmm, well at least we know you're getting plenty of sleep"

"Yeah, I suppose it's a good thing; I probably wouldn't be able to sleep otherwise"

"Well, as long as you keep well rested, then you'll be better in no time" I say, kissing him softly on the head.

His good arm shuffles under the sheet and his hand draws out from underneath it. He reaches his hand up to my face and rests it lightly on my cheek. I bend my head lower and kiss him gently on the lips. It's only a small kiss, so within a few seconds, I pull back and smile at him. He manages a small smile back, before his eyelids flutter closed and he's drawn back under into a deep sleep.

"Sleep well" I whisper to him, adjusting his bed again. "I'll see you later"

By late afternoon, I'm also strapped up in bandages. Mrs Everdeen practically forced an examination on me, even throughout my persistence that I was fine, and it turns out that I did do some damage to my right arm. When I'd landed half my body weight on it, after jumping out the train, I'd damaged the bone in the lower part of it, like from my elbow to my wrist. Luckily, it wasn't a break, just a bad sprain. I was shocked with the so little pain I had felt from it, but that was put down to adrenalin and my mind focusing on Ethan. So now I've got a nice little support bandage on my arm.

It's not that bad though; there's not really any pain beside the occasional ache or sharp zinging feeling when I put pressure on it. Thinking about it, I'm surprised that it wasn't broken. After all, I did jump out of a moving train... It was most probably the soft-ish landing that prevented the full brake. So, yup, I've grown a strange fondness for plants now.

In the previous few hours, Ethan has been sleeping, feeling the effects of the painkiller. So, when I wasn't sitting with him, I was wandering around aimlessly through the Victors' Village, just staring at all the empty houses and wondering what it would be like to be one. A Victor, that is, not a house.

I've dropped by Peeta's house a few times, but I couldn't quite bring myself to face him or the family. It's been too long and I'm afraid that they might not want to see me any more. Maybe they've already forgotten me? Maybe they've stopped caring? Either of these are possible, but so are more positive theories that could prove true. Alas, I will only find out one way.

And that is exactly what I'm doing now. Standing outside the front door, my knuckles rapping on the freshly painted wood.

After what seems to be ages, the door clicks and creaks open. It's Flynn who opens the door, half-chewing something in his mouth. As soon as he sees it's me standing on the doorstep, he swallows the item in his mouth and stands, just staring at me in awe.

"Nice to see you too, Flynn" I say sarcastically.

He looks at me as if I've just slapped him across the face.

"Well, hello? Say something" I say, waving my hand in his face.

He blinks a few times, then swallows again.

"Zinny?" He says my name as if it's a question. "What are you doing here?"

"Not quite the welcome I was expecting... but yeah, it's me" I mutter to him.

"Sorry, I'm just... shocked to see you. It's been, like, a year or summit?"

"It's been a while, yes..."

"How did you, I dunno, like, get here?"

"I escaped from the Capitol via train"

"Oh..." The look on his face is turns puzzled as he glances to my bandaged arm. "What the hell happened to your arm? Did they, like, torture you?"

I shake my head. "Nah, I just sprained it when I jumped out the train"

"You jumped out a train?"

I make a loud sigh. "Yes, I jumped out a moving train. Stupid, I know, and me and Ethan are feeling the wrath of it all... Ethan especially"

"Ethan?"

"A friend. He also jumped out the train with me and broke his collar bone, but he's been treated by Mrs Everdeen, so he'll be fine"

"Ok, I see"

"Uh huh... So, can I come in then?"

"Oh, yeah, sure" He says, opening the door wider and allowing me in.

I walk through the door and he closes it behind me. I let him lead the way to the lounge, where Mother and Freddie are talking. Mother is sitting on the sofa, sipping at some tea, while Freddie talks in a hushed voice to her. At the sound of Flynn's sharp cough, they both silence and look up. My mother's first reaction to my presence is to drop her tea, creating a nice brown stain on the carpet. She makes some sort of squealing sound and leaps to her feet, running towards me with open arms.

"Zinny my darling!" She cries, wrapping her arms tightly around me, then whispers in my ear. "I knew you'd be back soon"

"Good to be back" I whisper back, detaching myself from her.

"How did you-" She begins to ask.

"I'll tell you all tonight, but first, where's Peeta?" I cut her off.

"Oh, he said he was going for a walk about two hours ago. He should be back in time for tea though" Mother tells me, checking the clock that sits on the fireplace.

"Ok, I'll talk to him later then" I say. "How is he, by the way?"

"There's good days and bad days, I suppose. He spends most of his time painting nowadays" She shrugs, gesturing to some piled canvasses in the corner of the room. "But I'm sure he'll tell you everything; you've always been close"

"Yeah, I'm sure he will" I agree.

Hours later, we've eaten tea, but Peeta still hasn't returned from his 'walk'. That's one heck of a long walk, in my opinion. Where did he walk; District 1?

"He'll be back soon" Mother keeps muttering every five minutes.

With every time she says this, we feel less and less hopeful for his return. Mother's even left a plate of casserole wrapped up and sat in the lukewarm oven for him. But, some how, I don't think he'll be back anytime soon. He'll most probably turn up late through the night or something, so there's no point in leaving the food, but she keeps insisting that he'll be back.

He won't.

"This isn't like Peeta" Mother mumbles to us; me in particular. But, I can tell from everyone's faces and the hint of doubt in her voice, that this is like Peeta. Exactly like Peeta. Maybe not the old Peeta, but definitely the new Peeta.

The Games affect everyone. Burying itself into Victors' minds, creating permanent memories. Peeta must feel it too, he must. There's no other explanation for his endless non-appearance; he's trying to escape it all, but everything he sees just reminds him of the arena. Reminds him of the death that loomed over him like a dark cloud, threatening to rain. That's why he likes to disappear; to get away from it all. Well, that's my theory anyway.

Over dinner, I'm roped into telling everyone everything. From my arrest to arriving back here. It takes a while, but I finally get through the whole tale; everyone engrossed with every last detail. I'd forgotten how much happened this past eleven or so months. However, I don't quite mention the whole Monroe-is-my-biological-father-and-he-makes-a-living-by-selling-other-people's-bodies scenario. It's just not the right time.

Fancying a change of scenery, once tea is all cleared away, I walk over to the Everdeen's to visit Ethan. But when I go in, he's asleep. Again. As usual. And I feel caught in the middle, between the false enthusiasm of my parents and the absence of Peeta and Ethan. It's not much of a choice for me, as I go for the silent option. Maybe I just need time to think to myself. Some noticeable aloneness.

I decide to sit on the wall outside our house. Well, my families house, it's not really mine at all.

I sit there in silence, watching the sun set and the tiny flecks of stars appear in the night sky. Letting your thoughts leave your mind and evaporate into the sedated atmosphere. It's really relaxing, sitting here out in the open. Right up until you're interrupted and all that carefree feeling zaps into thin air. Fabulous.

"Hey" Comes a soft voice from behind me.

I recognise it too well and turn my head away. It's Katniss; the last person I want to share a heart-to-heart with.

"Hey" She repeats, sitting down on the wall beside me.

I reply with a grumble and attempt to ignore her, hoping that she'll just leave. But she doesn't take my hint and continues to start an unwanted conversation.

"Look, Zinny, I know I'm not your favourite person in the world" She begins.

"You can say that again" I cut in with a sarcastic side comment.

She sighs. "Ok, fine, you hate me. But what I want to say is that I think we should at least try to put the past behind us... For Peeta's sake"

"Sure... then you can go off and steal Ethan away from me, or something" I snort in response.

"I didn't 'steal' Gale from you"

"Really... what would you call it then; borrowing and never giving back?"

"I didn't take him away from you, Zinny. He chose for himself"

"That's the point! You forced him to make a choice he didn't have to make! He could have easily spent with both his girlfriend and best friend. There was no need to cut one of us out"

There was a short silence.

"Fine, admit that I was a little selfish then. But I just felt like he liked you more than me.." Katniss speaks, then adds quietly. "And I thought he would chose you anyway..."

"Except he didn't, Katniss. He didn't. He chose you because he's a loyal friend and that's what good friends do"

She sighs and looks to the ground. "Well... I guess I was jealous then"

"What? Of me?"

"I suppose"

"But I was in love with him, not trying to be his best friend. You wanted friendship and I never had that bond with him; he was more interested in what was under my t-shirt than just talking like you two do. So why feel jealous?"

"Because...because, maybe, deep down, I loved him too"

"And do you still love him?"

"I don't know"

"What about Peeta. Do you love him?"

She doesn't say anything. Just sits still, unable to process her thoughts.

"I knew you didn't" I say, then slide off the wall and walk into the house.

Katniss follows me into the kitchen.

"What about you, do you love Gale?" She asks.

I shake my head. "No. I used to, but not anymore"

She seems relieved when I tell her, as if a huge weight as been lifted off her shoulders. Of course she'd be like that; she loves Gale. I just know she's in love with him, but just can't admit it, because she's already been tied to Peeta. And I hate her for it.

There's a few moments of silence, the Katniss turns to me.

"Soooo... are you and Ethan..." She asks curiously, glancing over to the door that leads to his temporary room, where he's most probably sleeping.

"Erm, kind of, yes I suppose" I shrug.

But, honestly, I have no idea. I don't know whether I love him as a friend, or more than a friend. He obviously sees me as the second option, but I'm not too sure if I feel the same way. There's still this little niggling at the back of my mind, telling me something else. Except, it's like it's talking a foreign language and I just can't, no matter how hard I try, understand what it's saying.

A/N-Yup, that was that. So, are you wondering what that niggling feeling is? Or do you already think you know?

Well, whatever you think so far, please let me know by either a PM or a REVIEW. It won't take you a minute and it will go a long way by making me smileeee! I NEED to know what you are thinking!

Thanks, FireflyLlama x