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"It's over. It's okay. They're gone. The hour's up. It's alright." Peeta's ever-so calming voice filled the air as he comforted Katniss, his observant blue eyes never leaving her shaking figure.
It had been still and quiet as ever as the time passed on slowly, behind the wall of unbreakable glass. Greyson had given up trying to break through the wall just as Katniss had given up shooting the Jabberjays with her arrows, because however many she shot down two more would take its place. The hour was torturous; a seemingly never ending movie of watching the person you love scream and cry as they heard the people they loved scream in pain and call out their name over and over and over again.
Her hand was pressed up against the glass as she was forced to watch Finnick suffer. He was so close; close enough to touch. But the barricade that separated them stopped her from soothing his pain, the familiar pain that she's been working to dull ever since they met. During the nightmares, early morning terrors, anxiousness that he always tried to hide from her, the over-shadowing of his fake player persona, and the endless times that he's tried to stop her nightmares and screaming – they have all been through pain in some way. And a person like Finnick didn't deserve that, Greyson thought. He didn't deserve to suffer anymore.
A few tears burned at her eyes and traitorously slid down her cheeks, until they were wiped furiously away with her hand. Crying wasn't an option, not in a place like this. There was no room for tears in a place like this one. That was what Greyson had told herself as she watched both Katniss and Finnick clamp down their ears and scream until their throats were red raw.
In spite of it all, when the hour was over with, Finnick didn't move a stiff muscle as her arms were wrapping around his broad shoulders, with her fingertips and the warmth of her body pressed against his cold figure causing fire to spread throughout his veins and flicker off the surfaces of his skin. He felt as if the darkness was seeping out of his bones and dissipating into the air, all because of her. This bundle of glowing light was finding its way into his heart, and latching onto the very best of him.
Greyson ran her fingers through his hair, softly crying in relief as she waited for his arms to wrap around her. And soon, they did. She could feel him shaking against her, something that was so unlike Finnick it made her wary of when to move away. She pressed a kiss against his forehead and pushed back the hair from his forehead, taking a seat next to him on the dense, jungle floor. His hands never left hers as he played with her fingers, gently running over every crease and indentation.
Johanna looked over to Finnick and Greyson, concern written well across her face. "Are you okay?" She asked him.
His hold of Greyson tightened slightly, but she didn't mind. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine." His voice was hollow, desolate even. It was foreign to Greyson, an immigrant in her world that revolved around Finnick.
Greyson lifted one of her hands from his lap and cradled the side of his face, bringing him to look at her. The assurance and coolness that laid plain on her face surprised him, since she was just crying seconds ago. As if something had snapped inside her and woke her up.
"Listen, okay? Nobody, and I mean nobody, is going to take me away from you. I don't care how far apart we are from each other in distance, I'll still be with you. Whatever happened in there, whatever you heard, wasn't real. It's fake because this is all a game, a terrible horrible sickening game. But even if we lose this game, I'm not going anywhere unless you're by my side."
Greyson finished, taking a breath of the humid air as she stared deeply into the depths of his mesmeric eyes. Finnick processed her words, knowing well that they were going to make it out alive. Hell, they had to. So he nodded, leaning in and brushing his lips quickly against hers, snatching away any air she had left in her lungs. Finnick pressed his forehead to Greyson's and inhaled sharply. "I love you," he whispered as if it was their own little secret.
"And I, you." She whispered back.
Breaking the moment, Peeta was still trying to calm down Katniss who looked visibly worse than Finnick. "Okay. They won't touch Prim, alright?"
Katniss barely nodded in response.
"Your fiancé's right. The whole country loves your sister. If they tortured her or did anything to her, forget the Districts, there would be riots in the damn Capitol," Johanna was gripping her axe tightly at her side with a sneer on her face. She raised her voice to a shout, "Hey, how does that sound, Snow? What if we . . . What if we set your backyard on fire? You know, you can't put everybody in here!"
The others sat in silence as they looked at Johanna, and Greyson knew fully well how lonely her friend could get when she wasn't around to be there for her. Even if they were friends, Snow still had a tight leash on Greyson. There was very few things Greyson could do.
Johanna shrugged as she avoided the stares of mostly Katniss and Peeta. "What? They can't hurt me. There's no one left that I love." Feeling the rising awkward tension, she then said to Katniss, "I'll get you some water."
They all eventually moved back to the beach, where it was safer. Greyson had her feet in the water at the edge of the sand while watching Finnick get them dinner, spearing any fish that he saw in the water. If Greyson listened hard enough, she could hear the conversation between Katniss and Johanna.
"Finnick must love her," Katniss pointed out, looking over at the older girl who was staring carefully at Finnick.
"Who? Greyson?" Johanna asked.
Katniss nodded. "They used her screams the most against him."
Johanna looked to her friend, digging her feet further into the sand. "Greyson is a good friend."
"Why haven't I ever heard of her before?" Katniss asked.
"She was in isolation a few months ago, before she met Finnick. She never wanted it, though, and she never deserved it." Johanna thought bitterly.
"What did she do?"
Johanna smiled, looking over at Katniss with a faint gleam in her eyes. "Rebelled."
Beetee cleared his throat, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "I have a plan."
Johanna knew what that exactly meant; it was connected to the same reason as to why that coil of wire was placed specifically in the arena. "Finnick! Grey!"
"I have a plan," Beetee muttered again.
A/N: another chapter another day, I am on a role and I don't intend on stopping. I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and I hope all of you are enjoying reading it! I've been thinking about writing a pre-catching fire and before Greyson met Finnick, like her time in the games and what she did to piss snow off so much. I might do that when this is all over, I'm not sureee. big things are coming next chapter! and it will also be the second to last chapter of part one! ahh I'm so excited. have fun reading, I'll be seeing you soon! xx
p.s. happy fourth of july to my American readers! also, what would you like for me to write next? I was thinking game of thrones or Percy Jackson, I'm not sure which is why I'm asking you guys!
