Finnick and Annie

Girl on Fire

I recognize a bunch of the victors when I go downstairs to meet Aliena, Fabian and Viola, who looked exactly like they had ten years before. I saw Cashmere and Gloss from District One, Brutus and Enobaria from Two, and Beetee and Wiress, whom I had seen at the meeting with Plutarch. I saw Johanna getting her legs waxed on the table across from mine, and a couple of older victors from the higher districts like Cecelia and Chaff, who usually hung out with Haymitch. Finally, I spotted the two victors I had been looking for… the two who started this whole mess, Katniss and Peeta. They were the youngest in the room, and they didn’t have any friends like the rest of us did. Peeta seemed nice enough, but Katniss was just gloomy.

“What are you getting done, Odair? Aren’t you already perfect?” called Jo from her table.

“I am, but Celia thinks my tan is uneven.”

“You know, one of the privileges of being hot is that nobody cares if you’re naked in the sun.”

“I care!” I laughed.

“So are you going naked for the parade this year?” she asked.

“The idea was considered but my stylist is a lot classier than that.”

“Yeah, mine too,” she sighed. “I’m going as a tree… again.”

“Again? Johanna, how does that man keep his job?”

“Beats me…”

“Finnick, let’s go, you need moisturizer… now,” interrupted Viola.

“See you later, Jo,” I sighed, and followed my prep team into another room.

“You have to be kidding me,” I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror, wearing my new parade outfit.

“It’s better than the seashell, Finnick,” giggled Celia, obviously enjoying my misery.”

“I’m really sorry I called you old,” I said.

“I bet you are,” she grinned. I rolled my eyes and sighed, staring at the golden net that was draped over my body and knotted over my crotch. At least she had the decency of knotting it…

“Here,” she said, handing me a golden trident covered in shells and jewels. I hesitated but took the trident wit my right hand. The shaft felt strange in my hand, not only was this trident too heavy… mostly for show, but I hadn’t held a trident in years… I had avoided my trident after my games, it was in my attic, gathering dust along with a bunch of gifts I had received from the Capitol, and my victor’s crown.

“Stay still, Finnick,” said Fabian as he applied some makeup to my face. I rolled my eyes but remained still. He put on some eyeliner, which made my bright green eyes stand out, and he drew intricate, golden designs on my face, neck and arms.

“You look stunning,” piped Aliena. I frowned and she pouted. I sighed and gave her a small smile.

“Don’t I always?” I asked, teasing.

“There’s my boy,” giggled Viola.

“Finnick, you need to be at the Remake Center in… Wow, what are you wearing?” asked Gertie who had just looked up from her clipboard.

“A fishing net,” I grinned.

“I see that… well, Remake Center… ten minutes,” she said, turned around and left.

I left for the Remake Center where about half the victors were already gathered, standing near their horses or socializing with one another. I stepped out of the elevator, my Capitol face on, and my eyes immediately fell on Katniss. She was dressed in a fitted black jumpsuit that glowed; it changed colors… it was beautiful yet terrifying at the same time. There was a bowl full of sugar cubes near the elevator, which were supposed to be for the horses, but I’d always loved sugar, and I figured I might as well enjoy my stay. I piled some cubes into my hand and walked in Katniss’ direction. She was standing next to her horse, alone.

I popped a sugar into my mouth and chewed t, making a loud, crunching sound. Katniss turned around to face me, my face about a foot from hers. She seemed startled, but she quickly changed her face to its usual, emotionless state.

“Hello, Katniss,” I said, acting casually. I’d never spoken to her in my life, but I had to work with her in the arena, so I needed to make friends with her.

“Hello, Finnick,” she replied, trying to mimic my casual tone, but still unable to hide completely her discomfort. Katniss had refused to see Peeta naked in the past games when they had been in a life or death situation, and I was wearing nothing but a knot, and a blush was starting to creep up her cheeks due to my proximity.

“Want a sugar cube?” I offered, raising my stash. “They’re supposed to be for the horses, but who cares? They’ve got years to eat sugar, whereas you and I… well, if we see something sweet, we better grab it quick.” It was a natural thing for me, to speak and flirt like I did in the Capitol, though it was completely different from the way I acted back home… but I was having a lot of fun teasing Katniss.

“No thanks,” she said, “I’d love to borrow your outfit sometime, though.”

She stared at me, her eyes narrowed, studying me. I smiled and stared back at her. Katniss was something of a mystery to me. I had been a mentor during her games, so I had been able to witness everything she had done, even the things that hadn’t been aired by the Capitol. She was brave, I knew that much, but she was manipulative… at least that’s what it had seemed to me. I never thought she was in love with Peeta. She didn’t seem to be at any point during the games, until they had announced the rule change. She defied the Capitol and managed to get them both out alive, and now Seneca was dead, and people were uprising. Her love for Peeta was a shield of sorts, and I wasn’t completely sure how real it was.

“You’re absolutely terrifying me in that getup,” I say, viewing her outfit from up close, “What happened to the pretty little-girl dresses?” I asked. I smiled and wet my lips slightly, which usually drove woman crazy, but it seemed to have no effect on her.

“I outgrew them,” she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. I raise my hand to her neck and run the fabric of her suit between my fingers. It’s really soft, and incredibly beautiful… Katniss got really lucky with her stylist.

“It’s too bad about this Quell thing. You could have made out like a bandit in the Capitol. Jewels, money, anything you wanted.” I said, and it was true. If Peeta had died in the arena like he was supposed to, Katniss would have been called to the Capitol… she wasn’t the most attractive girl in Panem, but there was certainly something about her that made her really intriguing… and I was sure that there was plenty of Capitol men who would have paid for a few hours with the ‘girl on fire’.

“I don’t like jewels,” she said, a hard look on her face. She was obviously disgusted by my ‘profession’ “and I have more money than I need. What do you spend all your on, anyway, Finnick?” she asked. OH, how clueless she was.

“Oh, I haven’t dealt in anything as common as money for years,” I said.

“Then how do they pay you for the pleasure of your company?” she asked. They don’t pay me, they pay Snow, I thought. I inched closer to her and whispered.

“With secrets.” Our lips are almost touching, and I can sense how uncomfortable she is getting. “What about you, girl on fire? Do you have any secrets worth my time?” I see her face flush, and she struggles to keep her ground.

“No, I’m an open book,” she whispers back, trying to act unfazed. “Everybody seems to know my secrets before I know them myself.” I believed that much. Katniss seemed like a terrible liar.

“Unfortunately, I think that’s true,” I said. I see Peeta approaching out of the corner of my eye in an identical suit. “Peeta is coming. Sorry you have to cancel your wedding. I know how devastating that must be for you,” I said. I popped another sugar cube into my mouth and strode away before Peeta reached us.

Peeta had proposed to Katniss on live television, but I knew how orchestrated that had been. I had brought up her canceled wedding because I wanted to see her reaction… I wanted to know if it truly pained her that she wouldn’t be able to marry Peeta, but her blank expression gave nothing away.