a Message filled with regret

chapter 7 the last "dance"

Rowell was rapidly filling her stomach, eating in highly award silence. No one was talking, it was all cutlery scraping and chewing noises.

Spark was still aggravated by the young girl for her continued actions during training, now being the day before the interviews, the last day for planning and preparation for the tributes to be shown off to the capital, last minute preparation for the final event before they were to be sent to their death.

So, Rowell was stuffing her face, had been doing so for a few days, attempting to build up as much weight as she could.

"Okay, so we know your strengths, the tributes know your strengths, everybody does, so you may as well share them in your interview. Leave being charming at the door, be aggressive, scary. Do you hear me, do not present yourself as charming or attractive." He spoke with a voice that held so much authority that Rowell herself thought that he was discussing life and death.

Which in a way he was, and she knew that, the games were life and death, but the way you presented, she had no clue how that was about death?

After her plate was empty, and had multiple re-fills Rowell left the room, not bothering to pay attention to the tribute partner or her mentors, and instead left for the roof.

The place had become somewhat of a small sanctuary away from the hell that she was stuck in. Clearly, though, she wasn't the only person who had this idea tonight.

Standing on the rooftop was Finnick Odair in all his glory, blond curls framing his face as he faced the lift doors, contemplative look on his face. Which lit up once he saw her face.

"Fancy seeing you here five," His voiced practically purred, but the slight blush on this face gave away his shock at his own tone. Rowell stepped out of the elevator before the doors could close after her, stepping towards the deadly boy victor in front of her.

"We are both trapped in the same building, Four, it should be hard to miss each other, we have to see each other sometime." She joked, after a moment of brief silence and intense eye contact she finally broke, abandoning her resolve. "What is it like? Not the arena, but the aftermath, in case I do make it back I mean.

If he was shocked by her invasive question, he didn't let it on, just blanked out his face and squared his shoulders. He turned his body away from her, hiding his face towards the city.

"It- it's awful, every time you think you find your feet a giant wave crashes against your legs threatening to sweep you under the waves, knock you n=down, drown you. Its like there is not an out, ever. No port to dock, no lifeboat. Your just left struggling against a fucking tsunami. Alone." He seemed to register what he had said then, turning back towards the girl, regret filled across all of his features.

"So, let it take you, embrace it. And once you are under the water. Fight. Fight so fucking hard and bloody swim your way out Finnick. You can't stop a tsunami, there unavoidable, but you can deal with the after affects."

"What if I die? What if I can't swim?" the vulnerability in his voice was shocking, so raw and powerful that her heart broke for the other boy.

"You won't, you'll do what you do best fishy. You survive and you swim." With that she turned around slowly stepping away from him walking back to the wall that held the lift, pushed the button. Rowell thought she heard a soft gasping sob from behind her; she knew better than to address it.

As the doors opened, she called out "perhaps you are right, and I'll survive too. If I do? Ill fucking swim with you Boy Wonder, rest assured. I'll swim"

A/N i just love the swimming analogy, I've used it myself many times, i know its really heavily used, but i find it powerful, especially with Finnick coming from a fishing district.