𝑭𝑶𝑶𝑳 (𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓)

xix.

𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐥!

𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐢, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐱𝐢𝐱

Avalon had always thought death would feel, well, more painful than this did. She imagined a fiery substance coursing through her veins, a substance so burning that she would feel like she was suffocating. She didn't feel that now. All she felt was peace.

Perhaps that's because she, surprisingly, wasn't dead.

A gentle hand found it's home on her cheek. Another ran through her knotted hair. Her eyes stirred before slowly opening to see a handsome specimen standing above her. 

Finnick.

Before her conscious could catch up, she found herself reaching up to hug the boy's shoulders, holding him as close to her as possible. She knew what had happened in the arena was all a part of the plan, but that didn't stop it from seeming all too real. She remembered the last thing she saw; Katniss shooting an arrow into the sky. There was no way she could have survived that, right?

"Avalon, it worked," Finnick said into her shoulder. She could feel a faint smile on his face, and she leaned back to meet his eyes. So full of hope. So full of love. She wished she could have that feeling instead of the dread that sat in her stomach.

"I'm glad," she replied, simply, because what else was there to say? "And Katniss? Is she..."

Finnick simply nodded in return, that signature smile back on his face, and pulled her back in for another hug. She was eternally grateful to know someone like him in moments like these. She wondered how he could be so reassuring and gentle with someone like herself who was so full of doubt. She admired him, truly.

A knock was heard on the wall behind them. Avalon lifted her head to meet eyes with Haymitch, who wore a neutral expression. Neither excitement nor dread. It was almost more terrifying than either option. "Good to see you, Avalon," he said, and she nodded in return. "I think we should all talk. I need to tell you something you should know." 

He led the two into a different room, one with a table in the middle. Plutarch Heavensbee was waiting patiently for them to arrive. "Hello," he simply greeted, to which Finnick and Avalon parroted back to him.

Haymitch ran his hand along his face, taking in a deep breath, before he turned to Avalon and Finnick. "They got Peeta. Johanna, too," was all he said. The silence was deafening.

"They?" Avalon asked, but she already knew the answer. "What- How did they get them?" The earlier dread she felt in her stomach seemed to create a never-ending hole of despair. There was no way the Capitol didn't kill the two as punishment for rebellion. The Capitol would stop at nothing to protect it's innocent image.

"We didn't get to them in time. We couldn't. We're going to get them back," Plutarch insisted. He seemed to have much more confidence about this than anyone else in the room.

"That's almost impossible, is it not?" Finnick asked, darting his eyes back and forth between the two men in the room. "The Capitol will shoot us dead on sight if we're caught there. How do you plan to get them out?" 

The two men stayed silent. They didn't know. 

Avalon sighed. "Katniss. She's going to go crazy over this," she explained, glancing toward the door. Katniss was still unconscious on the other side of it. "You're not going to get her to work with you until you promise her Peeta's safety. She just won't do it."

"I'm aware. We're going to figure it out," Plutarch reassured. Avalon nodded, but she didn't feel confident whatsoever. 

That's when Katniss came crashing through the door, and all hell broke lose.

✰✰✰

a/n: i'm bacckkkk

seriously, thank you all for the love on this story. i cannot express how much i appreciate it. 

I'm back, and so are these characters. i'm ready for a good time with mockingjay! get ready for total heartbreak muahahaha