"What is this I hear about you going to work on a boat?" a voice says when I open the front door of my house.

I drop my keys and almost punch the intruder before I realize it's only Finnick.

"Fuck," I breathe, "Why would you sneak up on me like that? You know you shouldn't do that, dumbass!"

I take a few deep breaths to steady my heart rate and then pick up my keys.

"I didn't sneak up on you," Finnick says, grinning slightly as he flicks on the light switch. "You just weren't expecting me."

"Of course I wasn't expecting you!" I yell, my panic making room for anger. "Why aren't you at home when Annie? It's almost nine o'clock!"

"Nine o'clock indeed, which leads me to this question: Where were you all day?"

I nod towards the bags in my hand. "I went to the grocery store. A girl needs food in her house, even when that girl is me. And then I took a walk."

Finally completely calm, I walk to the kitchen to put everything away and get me and Finnick a drink.

Finnick follows me and leans against the kitchen doorframe. "So," he begins, "a boat?"

I roll my eyes as I hand him a glass of soda.

"With Tyree," he says when I don't reply. "Anything I should know?"

"There's nothing to know," I say.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Why are you asking? Do you have a theory?"

"No, I don't have a theory," Finnick says, shrugging. "I just think it's odd that you chose to get over your fear by working with Tyree."

I can feel a smile spread across my face. "Are we a bit jealous?"

Finnick smirks. "Oh please, Finnick Odair doesn't get jealous."

He flexes the muscles in his arms and chest to add force to his statement but receives a mocking eye-roll from me in return.

"You do realize Tyree's muscles are probably five times bigger than yours are?"

"So you have checked out his muscles?"

Finnick looks like a five-year-old who has just found a secret candy box.

"Bit hard not to," I say matter-of-factly. "No, serious now, you told me I needed to make friends here in District 4, and that's what I'm doing. I don't really want anything more. And I agreed to Tyree's proposal on a whim, actually. But that's not a bad thing, maybe this is what I need. I tried the baby steps, they didn't work."

"Of course they didn't work, you're Johanna, you don't do things halfway. You jump in, head first."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Finn, but why are you really here?"

"I wanted to know-"

"Yeah right, as if. Seriously, why are you here?"

He sighs while rubbing a hand over his face. "I'm tired. The Capitol still haunts me at night, and I can't talk to Annie about it because I don't want to upset her. And I miss you."

"I'm right here."

Finnick throws me one of his sweetest smiles, the kind he usually reserved for Mags, and Annie. "I know. I mean I miss us, our Capitol friendship. As much as I hated that place, we had some good times."

I know what he means. I only felt at home in the Capitol because of Finnick, and we did have some great times.

"I miss us too," I admit in a soft voice. I thought it would be selfish of me to reclaim my best friend now that he and his wife are finally reunited and they're having a baby, but now that he basically told me he needs a break from his peachy life, I suddenly don't feel so bad about secretly wanting our Capitol times back anymore.

"We need to fix us," he says.

"We do," I nod.

"Okay, here's the plan," Finnick says, an enthusiastic expression on his face, "You and me will go on a date once a week."

I raise my eyebrows. "On a date? Somehow I have the feeling your wife won't be okay with that."

"On a friendship date, Johanna," Finnick says, sighing and rolling his eyes as if it's the most simple thing in the world.

"Oh excuse me, friend. Then okay, I like the plan. When do we start?"

"Next week?"

"Deal."

I put out my hand to shake on it and before we say goodbye, Finnick raises his hand as if he's only now remembering something.

"Oh, that's right, someone called earlier!"

"Who?"

"I don't know, I heard the phone ring when I got in but was too late to pick up."

I look at the phone hanging on the wall and then shrug. "If it's urgent, they'll call me back. Now go, before you're grounded for staying out too long."

I open the door of the bar Tyree told me to meet him at. It's a bit damp inside, smelling of fish, and my eyes start to water because of the smoke inside. A few older and tough-looking men glance at me when I come in, but then continue their conversation. I spot Tyree at the bar, ordering a beer for himself.

"You?" he asks me.

"Eh, I don't really like beer. Scotch please."

"And one scotch," he tells the bartender.

"So, why did you want to meet me?" I ask once we both have our drinks.

"Well, now that you're officially ready to get over your fears and are starting to fit in," Tyree says, raising his beer, "I think we should make a toast."

I chuckle half-heartedly. "Oh yeah?"

"To new beginnings," he says, clinking his glass with mine.

"I don't think it's that simple," I say in a whispery voice.

Tyree takes a large gulp from his beer before he says, "Nothing ever is, Johanna. But instead of worrying about everything, just try."

I raise my eyebrow. "Just try?"

"Yeah, there's more to life than just waiting for the next fight."

"Says the big guy who's had more fights than a peacekeeper, and has a giant scar to prove it," I snigger. "You should just try to take your own advice sometimes."

Tyree turns his head and looks at me smilingly before downing his beer and getting up from his chair. "Spit fire all you want, Johanna Mason. It takes more than you to burn me," he says, still wearing that cocky grin that somehow looks familiar.

"Who says I'm trying to burn you?" I say with a smile, shaking off the uneasy feeling that his grin gave me.

"Oh you just seem like a kind of girl who always plays with fire," he replies, swinging an arm over my shoulder.

"Okay mister Poet, I think I got the message. And what the hell are you doing?" I add, pushing his arm off my shoulders. "And stop smiling, it's getting creepy."

"Dance with me?" he suddenly asks.

I look at his still grinning face for a moment, deciding if his friendship is worth my trouble or not. "I don't dance," I eventually say.

"You should dance with me, I've got some kick-ass moves."

I burst out in laughter. "I don't think you even realize how arrogant you can be. But what the hell, just try, right?"

"Just try."