Finnick and Annie

Friends Again

"I'm so sorry, Love," she whispered. "Let's go back home."

My father was waiting for us outside the building, and he picked me up and carried me as we walked back home. By the time we got back, I was asleep, and my father took me upstairs to my room and tucked me in.

I woke up hours later on my bed, resting on my side. I turned around and sat up alarmed as I saw Annie sitting on the edge of the mattress.

"Hey, Finn..." she whispered. She was looking at me sadly, almost pitifully.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check on you," she said.

"I thought you hated me," I said. She rolled her eyes at me, but then smiled and took my trident charm, which still hung from my neck.

"Nice. Who gave it to you?" she asked with an impish grin.

"You did," I smiled.

"I thought you hadn't figured it out."

"Of course I did, Annie," I said, "I watched you making knots for a whole month."

She sighed. "Finnick, I don't hate you. I just avoided you, because I couldn't believe you would be friends with me! You're popular, and sweet and your family is perfect... and I am... me."

I looked at the ground ashamed. "Honestly I never thought I'd be friends with you either. My friends would make fun of me but I don't care anymore. Andrew was my best friend, and everybody knows that, yet you're the only one here making sure I'm all right."

"It's not like I have anywhere else to be," she teased, but then her face turned serious. "You were there for me before, even if you didn't know how much you were helping me." I smiled and hugged her, but I quickly pulled back because it was awkward.

"So... how are things with your mother?" I asked. I hadn't talked to her in a while so I wondered if things had gotten better between them.

"Same as always," she sighed. "She tried to take the money from my bracelets the other day but my father took it away and gave it back to me. I hid it somewhere safe."

"I wish I could adopt you," I whispered and smiled. "I bet my mom would love you, and you'd be my sister!"

"But I'd have to put up with you every day!" she teased. "And I love my dad too much."

"Yeah, he's cool. Oh, guess what my dad gave me for my birthday?"

"He let you to use his trident?" she guessed. I nodded and told her about how awesome it was and how my dad had told me that I was a natural. We continued to talk for the rest of the afternoon, catching up after months of no speaking. I hadn't realized how much I missed Annie. I felt like I could talk more freely to her than to any of my other friends, except maybe Andrew.

School was cancelled the next week because it got flooded by heavy storm, which was very convenient also, because the first week of the games was usually the most exiting one, and many people wanted to watch it. I kind of wished we had school, because I didn't want to stay home, with nothing to do except watch TV. I think Annie knew that, because she visited me every day, and we spent most of our time outside, on the beach.

We did watch the games a couple times, but Annie cried every time someone died, and I wasn't really too fond of the slaughter. I just watched to make sure that Andrew was still alive. He had made it through the bloodbath, and had stolen some supplies from another tribute, and taken them to his hiding place. He hadn't come out in three days, and I knew he would have to come out soon because his food supply was running low.