The Capitol Games

Chapter 10- Water Turning to Ice

I usually like mornings, but today? Not so much. Hy head throbs and the bright light filtering in through the curtains don't help either.

Groggily I stagger over to the bathroom and take and heap of time to get ready.

I put on comfortable clothes, not another stupid dress, and make my way to the lounge. FInnick and Sam are sitting on the couch and looking as miserable as I feel.

I trudge over to them, and yawn as I sit on the couch and put my feet on Sam's lap. We just sit like that.

Why the heck did we have to get up so early? If they had something so important planned they should have thought of it before and planned accordingly.

After about five minutes I hear someone come in, and I don't even raise my head to acknowledge them.

"Morning guys!" someone trills.

Suddenly I feel jolted awake and instantly disoriented.

It is Addie.

Wait, what? Addie is NOT a morning person.

What was wrong with the world?

Finnick's pretty face contorts in confusion. "Adds?"

"Sup." she says ever so casually. "Anyone want breakfast?"

I still couldn't process this whole thing. My head throbbed. I was pretty sure I hadn't had any alcohol yesterday, I had spent enough time with Haymitch to recognise a hangover.

And Addie over here is acting perfectly normal even after what happened yesterday. What? Did I imagine that too?

"Addie what did you do? How are you not looking like a zombie?" Sam asks.

Addie turns and looks at the three of us, and sighs at the sight.

"Yeah you hate mornings." I say.

Addie started buttering pieces of toast as she says "Change of heart."

I stared at her. Because I think I just interpreted that in two different ways.

She sighs. "Relax Lilian." she says. "I had these."

She turns around, her raid hair flashing as she throws a small bottle of blue pills at me.

"They make you vomit a bit, but you feel reenergised instantly." then she scrunches up her nose. "They are probably some chemical that will be horrible for our body but..."

"They work?"

"Yeah."

"Just have coffee." Finnick says.

"Too much caffeine is bad for you." Addie says simply. Then pauses. "These pills probably are too." she looks at the bottle in my hand and shrugs.

"Adds, can you get me some coffee?" Finnick asks.

Addie shakes her head. "No. Go get it yourself."

I raise my eyebrows. Whoa. Addie getting Finnick's coffee is like a religion. A ritual

Finnick frowns. "Oh. okay." he says and gets up.

I watch him go, and once he exits, I look at Addie. Her hands are folded in her lap and she is looking down at them.

"Addie."

She doesn't say anything for a long long time. Then, "Just leave it Lian. I'm fine."

Ooh. There goes the 'I'm fine'.

Then she too, gets up and leaves.

"Well, it's looks like there has been lots of drama here." Sam says. "Thing is, I'm too tired to process it even if you tell me. I'll just ask you in the night." He takes the bottle of pills from my hand and leaves too, following after Addie.

I look at the two different way the three of them went, and decide to go after Finnick since he was the one who was alone. Not that I wasn't going to tell Sam, I would eventually but for now, but this whole tension was between the three of us.

I found Finnick making coffee in the 'kitchen'. It wasn't much of a kitchen, just a place with a bowl of knifes, fruit, and a coffee machine.

He turned his head as he heard me come in, and brought out another mug to pour coffee for me too.

I smiled at him and sipped it as we both leaned on the table counter.

"So." I said after a while, "It has been a while since I asked, but, who are you dating now?"

He frowns as he takes a sip of his coffee. "Dating? Why?"

"Oh you know," I say nonchalantly, "Just wondering if you met someone here at the Capitol? Or back home?" I add hastily.

"Oh." Finnick says, but the frown doesn't leave his face. "Yeah, well kind of. I wouldn't call it dating but...Wait, how do you know?"

I consider telling him that I saw him with the auburn haired girl, but decide against it.

"I just overheard this girl talking about you at the party ..."

But Finnick doesn't buy it. He grins at me. "Yeah, that's not true. What was it?"

I sigh. "I saw you with a girl." I say. "Well, I saw you kissing her."

Finnick's eyes dance in amusement. "I see." he says. "But, a kiss doesn't really mean anything. I mean I kissed you before, and that was..." he fakes a shudder. "So." he says, his eyes hardening just a bit. "I am not really her boyfriend. We aren't dating or anything. It isn't really much."

I roll my eyes, but, "I believe you." I tell him, because I don't want to be in bad terms with Finnick and I do believe him. Or maybe because I want to believe him, for Addie's sake at least. Then I smile. "Come, we have to go now. They planned something important for us."

Finnick's amused look remains, and he looks at me, almost questioning, knowing that I want to tell him more, tell him everything. I look up at him tentatively.

Finnick? Talk to me. Addie likes you. Please talk to me. I feel like the three of us are going to drift apart. I need you to get it. Addie needs you to get it.

I want to say all of this, but I don't. I don't know why but I feel like it is a very big thing, even though it isn't. So I simply shake my head.

Finnick shrugs and holds his hand up. "Okay, Lilian," he says, and gestures for me to lead the way.

----------

"I really really want some cake." Addie says. It was after what they had planned for us, which was just a really boring tour around the monuments of the capitols. I know that the Capitol is probably very pretty, as Zeke had told me, but we only saw the buildings and official things. Not the glimpse into the actual Capitol.

"And coffee." Finnick says. "Cake and coffee is brilliant. Like in Peter and Evelyn's cafe. Was it their fall combination, Addie?"

Addie smiles and is about to turn to Finnick, but then it's like she suddenly remembers something, and then shrugs and turns around.

Finnick wasn't looking at Addie, and when no one replies to what he so casually asked, he blinks and looks up...

"Yeah!" I say way too brightly. "Yes. Cake and coffee seems brilliant. Like their fall combo. Exactly."

"Vanilla coffee tastes the best." Sam adds. Whether he sense the problem or not, I'm still grateful.

I look around thinking of what to do next, when suddenly, an idea strikes me, and I start to grin.

All the Addie-Finnick problems start to vanish from my head, and I just start grinning like an idiot. Yeah, there we go. I'm grinning like an idiot again.

"Lian?" Sam asks. "You are grinning like an idiot again."

"I know just where we can go."

***