Thank you quietwraith, LapisLazuliRose and yeah321 for reviewing
So it's been a little while, sorry. I don't post during the summer, because I'm away at camp, working as a counselor (if you ever have that opportunity, do it. It's so much fun)
Whoever gets my Maximum Ride reference is my hero and wins a cookie. Literally one of the best series ever. You should all read it.
There was a limo waiting for me. Mags was already inside, as well as Blight from District 7, who arrived around the same time as we did. I decided to wait for Katniss on my floor. District 12 was probably the furthest from the Capitol, so she would get there last. She said she would come find me once she was finished with her stylist.
It was about two hours before she showed up. In the meantime, I decided to stuff my face full of chocolate, a luxury not sold in District 4, at least not by the bar. You could occasionally find it in icing on a cake, but it cost more money.
I heard the elevator ding behind me, and Katniss stepped out.
"Hey," I said as she walked towards me. Her arms wrapped around my waist, surprising me."Oh, hey,"
If there was one thing I'd learned about Katniss in the past year, it was that she is not a hugger.
She pulled away first, which I expected. Her face was beet red, and I almost laughed.
"I hate it here," she said.
"Don't we all?"
She smiled a little and we went to my room, so my escort would know to leave us alone. She flopped down on the bed. Even though we'd only met a few times in person before, it felt like we had known each other forever. I felt like I could tell her anything. She was like my little sister.
"Who's that?" I looked at where she was pointing. It was a picture of Whisper, her paws up on Annie's shoulders.
"That's my dog, Whisper," I said, being difficult on purpose.
"You know what I mean, idiot."
I grinned. "That's Annie."
"Cresta?" She asked with a teasing smile. "Your dog sitter?"
"Yeah. She told me you called last night to get my number. That's dedication. You must love me a lot."
"Yeah. Almost as much as she does."
My eyes widened. Oh [Insert curse word of your choice].
She noticed my facial expression. "So it's true?"
"How did you find out? Who else knows?" I tried hard to keep my voice level, but my hands were shaking.
"I just took a wild guess, and Haymitch confirmed it."
"So just you and Haymitch?"
"Well, he was dumb enough to say it in front of the tributes, but I don't think they'll say anything."
I exhaled. If Snow found out about it... That would be the end. He would kill Annie, and potentially even go after Katniss and Mags. I pulled Katniss against me for another hug.
"Please don't tell anyone." I said.
"I won't. Haymitch explained it all to me."
I nodded, then let her go before she clawed my eyes out. Sure, she had initiated contact earlier, and yeah, she was in a touchy-feely mood, but I didn't want to push my luck.
"You should probably go back to your floor. Your stylist will be looking for you. He needs to scrub all the District filth off of you." I said.
Katniss smiled a little. "At least I took a bath before the Reaping. Haymitch just kind of rolled out of bed and stumbled up onto the stage."
I laughed. "I saw that on the footage. It was pure gold." We both laughed again, then Katniss left to go back to her floor.
Ten minutes after she left, there was a knock on my door. It was very light, and at least twenty of them in rapid succession. I groaned loudly, pulling myself out of bed, and opened the door.
My prep team disappeared into a fit of giggles upon seeing the annoyed look on my face.
"Let's get it over with," I muttered.
...
My prep team consisted of three Capitolites. There was a woman, Nyx, with dark blue skin. She had tattoos of stars and constellations up and down her body, which I assume was a play off her name. She was usually the one doing my makeup. There was a man named Pertruchio, who was, by far, the most absurd of the three. He had long, platinum blond hair that was styled in ringlets and went down to his knees. He would tie it back in a braid while working, complaining the whole time about how it would ruin his 'do. His skin was black. But he was not born like that. I assume it to be a dye. It made his hair stand out even brighter. To make matters worse, he had a tail. Yes, a tail. I assume it to be that of a lion, but I could be wrong. He was usually left to deal with waxing my body, which I was okay with, because I didn't want him anywhere near my hair. The third member of my prep team was a woman named Titania. She was normal looking, compared to her coworkers. Her skin was pale, so pale it was only a few shades off of Pertruchio's hair. Her lips were always painted some dark color (this year they were dark purple), and they always matched her hair and dress (also dark purple). She was charged with doing my hair and fixing my nails. In reality, fixing my nails shouldn't be one of the jobs she has to do, but when I'm nervous, I dig them into my skin and scratch up and down my arms, leaving them short, ugly, and caked with blood. She was my favorite of the three.
"We've missed you, darling," Nyx cooed as she rubbed some lotion onto my face. None of them were fawning over me in a sexual way. I think they all saw me as a little boy still, which I was grateful for. It would be rather uncomfortable if they were all staring at my abs while they got me ready. Plus, I think Nyx and Pertruchio are together, or close to it, based on the looks they keep sending each other.
"We really have," Pertruchio piped up. "Compared to you, the Capitol citizens we see daily are just so boring. They just want a touch up on their makeup, or a new tattoo. You, on the other hand, are a fresh slate every single year."
I wasn't quite sure how to respond, but I finally choked out: "Are- are you certified to give tattoos?"
Pertruchio laughed hysterically. "Of course, dear. Of course."
"He's not," I heard Titania mutter as she ran a comb through my hair. "I am, however, so if you ever want some new ink, hit me up." I grinned.
"You're also so much more beautiful than some of our clients here. Beneath all their makeup, they're really very ugly," Nyx said. "But you..."
"You're a masterpiece." Titania smiled. Again, it didn't feel sexual. It felt like they were proud of me for being attractive.
"I think you're done," Pertruchio told me. Titania nodded along and Nyx put the finishing touches on my makeup.
My stylist, Adonia, entered the room. "Hello, Finnick." Adonia was Titania's sister, and they always tried to match. They were wearing the same clothes, their hair was styled the same way. The only way I could ever tell them apart was their colors. Titania was purple this year, Adonia was a dark red. It reminded me of Caesar Flickerman's color during my games. It was bright red, and it looked like he was bleeding. Adonia made the right decision and went with a darker shade.
"Hi," I said. Adonia was good, as far as stylists go. She never picked anything so revealing it made me uncomfortable, but she still knew how to show off my body. "Are you dressing me in a net this year?" It was an inside joke between the two of us. I once joked that she should just put me in a fishing net, strategically knotted at the groin. That would bring in sponsors for my tributes, all right. The more of Finnick they see, the better.
She laughed and held up the garment bag she was holding. "Close but no cigar," she said with a smile.
She ended up dressing me in cargo shorts and a white button down, the top three buttons undone. It was simple, but it seemed to work for me in the past, so we figured it would work again.
I walked out of my room, Adonia trailing behind me. My tributes were waiting in the living room.
I smiled when I saw them. They were dressed like fish this year, their bodies covered in shiny, colorful scales. It definitely wasn't the worst costume I'd ever seen, but it certainly wasn't District 4's finest moment.
...
I fought my way through the crowd with Mags and found a seat next to the two mentors from District 1, Cashmere and Gloss. They were closer to my age than the other Victors, since they won the two games before mine. Gloss volunteered for the 63rd Hunger Games when he was sixteen. He was pretty much unstoppable once you got him his throwing knives. I assume he did something piss off Snow in the following year, probably refusing to comply with his clients, and his younger sister, Cashmere, was reaped at the age of fifteen. A miracle for District 1, no females volunteered that year. Being from a Career District, she could still kill pretty viciously once you got a set of knives in her hands, plus being the sister of Panem's most recent, and therefore favorite Victor, she had a lot of sponsors secured.
"How are your tributes this year?" Gloss asked.
I shrugged. "They're both Careers. Both are good fighters. I don't think either of them are Victor material, but they'll last to the final eight, I think. You?"
"Both are Careers," Cashmere said. "My tribute won't last. She's too cocky. But I think Augustus might."
I remembered Augustus from the reaping. He was big, strong and handsome. He would definitely make the final five.
I watched as the chariots began riding along the parade route, and I made note of the District 1 tributes. Augustus and Sapphira. They both looked like stereotypical Careers.
District 2 and 3 went by smoothly, but I didn't really notice, because there was something on fire behind them. And it was my tributes.
I could hear Claudius Templesmith commenting on each chariot in the background. "Very, very clever, District 3. See, Caesar, it's because their District invents new technology."
"Ah, yes. I see now," Caesar laughed. "Very funny. That's simply- Oh." I could tell that was the moment he realized something was very wrong.
"That's District 4, correct?" Claudius said. "How... nice."
"Yes. I think someone's a little confused." They both erupted in laughter. Leave it to Caesar to smooth over a bad situation.
It wasn't a real, huge fire. Just little flames here and there.
"Was that supposed to happen?" Cashmere asked me.
"I didn't know it was. But Adonia doesn't make mistakes." I replied.
...
Katniss found me as soon as the parade ended. "What was that?" She asked.
I shook my head. "I have no idea."
"Was it planned?"
"By me? No. By my stylist? Definitely." I heaved a sigh and walked in the direction of my tributes, Katniss right behind me. "You guys did great," I began. "But do either of you know what that was? An electrical fire or..."
"No," my female tribute, Avonlea, said. "Adonia planned it. I don't think even my stylist knows."
I looked at Kai, my male tribute, for confirmation. "That's what she told us. And as she lit us up, she whispered 'down with the Capitol'."
I exchanged a look with Katniss. Oh man.
Just then Adonia entered the scene. "You two were brilliant."
"Um," I began rather poetically, "Adonia, you do realize how rebellious that move was, right?"
She tilted her head. "Oh, of course, darling. I knew what I was doing."
"Right. Of course." I felt Katniss's hand slip into mine. "And you know that it might reflect badly on Avonlea and Kai, right?"
"Oh, probably not, dear. Don't worry." She gave me a slight smile.
Mags lay a hand on my back. "We should talk about this more on our floor. I think they're trying to clear the tributes out of this area."
I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, ok."
We rode the elevator up to the fourth floor along with Katniss, Haymitch, their stylists and their tributes.
"I'm sorry," I said to them. Willa and Aspen. The married couple.
Willa shrugged. "It's okay. There's nothing you could've done to stop it."
"You're not just going to congratulate us?" Aspen said. I could feel the challenge rising in his voice.
"No. I think being reaped for the Hunger Games is a terrible fate and no one should have to go through what you're going through right now."
"You wouldn't know. You were never reaped. You volunteered. You signed up to kill children."
"Aspen-" I heard his wife whisper, a little shocked
"Watch it," Katniss warned quietly. "That's my friend you're talking to. He killed twelve kids in the arena, and I don't think he has a problem adding to his count."
I pretended not to hear. "I never volunteered. I was reaped. I was fourteen. Fourteen year olds aren't allowed to volunteer in District 4. They designate one boy and one girl, the ones who they think have the best chance of bringing glory to their district."
"It's true," Kai said. "Avonlea and I were picked because we're the strongest this year. We were there when Finnick was reaped."
I nodded at him. "Exactly. I was young and weak. I grew up in the poor area of District 4, and was starving when I came to the Capitol. No way would I have volunteered. It's hardly logical." The doors opened, revealing the District 4 floor. I popped a sugar cube in my mouth, crunching down on it. "Have a nice day." I smirked and exited the elevator.
Edited 11/2/21