You Won't Drown: A Hunger Games story

Chapter Three

Annie POV
(TW for mentions of s/h)
(Also things get kinda steamy but you can skip that part of you want)

Finnick is here. It feels too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. A part of me wonders if I'm dying, and that's why he's been allowed to come. So he can say goodbye. That idea doesn't make a whole lot of sense but then again, nothing in this world seems to right now.

I bury my head in his chest, letting myself cry for the future the two of us could have had, should have had. If it wasn't for the stupid Quarter Quell, the two of us would have found a way to do it; we'd have to live in secret, constantly watching our backs to make sure nobody saw us or followed us, but we would have been together. In the end, that would be all that mattered.

Finnick strokes my hair and pulls me even closer to him, his embrace protecting me against the rest of the world that would do me harm. I don't deserve him, but he's still here, he still loves me. All I want is for us to be able to stay together like this, for Finnick to never have to let go. If I could stay curled up in his arms for long enough, then maybe I'd finally feel safe.

His tears land on me too; small quiet ones, but tears all the same. It breaks my heart to know that he's in pain too; if there was anything I could do to ease it, I wouldn't hesitate for even a second. Out of everyone in the world, Finnick is the person who means the most to me, and I'd do anything to protect him. Anything.

Just about everyone else thinks of me as the crazy victor from district four, the poor mad girl. They think I'm someone to be pitied, someone who's lost her mind. The truth is, we might be hailed as victors but really we're just victims who somehow survived. There is no glory in the Hunger Games, only pain, and now they were going to rip things apart all over again. They were going to rip me and Finnick apart again. I whimper quietly. Why can't the two of us finally be free of the games?

After a few minutes, I open my eyes and hesitantly look around. I have the oddest feeling like there's something horribly wrong, but I try and force myself to ignore it. My paranoia tends to tell me that there's always something horribly wrong, so I try and convince myself I'm just imagining things like usual.

"Annie love, I'm not ever leaving you again. Not for President Snow, not for the Hunger Games, not for anything." He says firmly. We both know it's a promise he can't necessarily keep, but it comforts me to hear him say it all the same.

"And I'm not leaving you either Finnick. I'll stay with you no matter what it takes, I'm not losing you again." My voice is a bit shaky, but still firm and determined. No matter what happens, I'm not letting him be dragged off to the awful hell that's the Capitol. I'll find a way to keep him safe, I just have to.

"Annie, I have to tell you something." He says quietly, his voice taking on a serious and somber tone. My heartbeat rapidly speeds up, and it's nearly impossible for me to keep my breathing steady; whatever this news is, it must be something bad.

"Can it wait...please? Just for a little bit? You just got back and I...I want to savor that, savor you. Please?" I'm on the verge of breaking down again, I can feel it; I'm no stranger to panic attacks.

He hesitates for a minute, but when he sees just how badly I'm trembling, he nods. "Yeah, it can wait a little bit. After all, it's been a while since we've seen each other; this is our time, we shouldn't let anything ruin that." He kisses the top of my head and I offer him a small smile. I'm so distracted that I almost don't remember all the cuts that have just barely scabbed over, until Finnick gently starts running his hands down my body and I wince when he touches my right side. That's where the shard of glass had dug into me, I'm just glad I was able to pull it out before I fell unconscious.