Flames to Embers

2- Finnick Odair

Chapter 2! Yay!

I feel like the song above^^^^ really accurately describes Finnick and Katniss's relationship. You guys will see that I'll post a lot of songs or videos if I feel like it fits the story, or maybe even just because I want to share it with you! This one is called the Next Ten Minutes Ago. It's a Broadway mashup sung by Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes.

Shout-out to s775590 for actually... like... reading this... :(

When I got back to District 12, a large crowd of people was waiting to greet the first victor in more than 15 years, which isn't that much compared to when Haymitch won. When the first District 12 Victor won the 10th Hunger Games, we waited another forty years before the 50th Games.

Nine-year-old Prim was there, sitting up on the shoulders of Gale Hawthorne, a boy two years older than me in school. His father was killed in the same accident that took mine, and up until recently, we hated each other because he was my competition hunting in the woods. We then realized that with my superior skills with a bow and his amazing snares, we could make a pretty awesome team. Since then, he became more like a brother than a hunting partner.

My mother wasn't there, but that didn't shock me. Since my father's death, she rarely moved. She would just sit wrapped up in blankets in bed, or in her chair by the fireplace. She was the reason I started hunting.

After escaping my fans at the train station, Gale and Prim lead me back to my new house in Victor's Village. Prim and my mother had already moved in, the moment I shot that final arrow at Caleb. I suggested the Hawthornes move in with us, but Gale declined.

That first night in the Victor's Village was the worst one I had, by far. I woke from my nightmares in a cold sweat. I was glad I didn't scream. The night before I screamed loudly, waking Haymitch.

I checked the digital clock on my nightstand, another luxury we never had before I won the Games, and saw it was only a little after one o'clock. It was too early to wake my mother. I still relied on her to be my mother, no matter how much I resented her. I went downstairs and made some Chamomile tea, wrapped myself in a blanket and sat on the new couch.

Finnick's words came back to me.

Like it or not, Girl on Fire, you're a nutcase now, too. There's going to be a phone in your new house. Call me.

I threw off my blanket and ran back to my room, where Finnick's phone number was written on a white napkin. I stared at it for a second, then brought it back with me to the living room. I didn't want to call Finnick. Or Cashmere, or any of the other Victors. I would feel awful for waking them up. If all Victors got awful nightmares like I did, I wanted them to get every bit of peaceful sleep they could.

So I drained my tea and stared at the napkin in my hands. Finnick wrote his numbers funny. He drew a flag on the top of his one, but not a little stand at the bottom. He put a little tab on the head of his seven, and a line through it. His three was flat on top. His eight was two circles on top of each other, and he must've written it quickly because they weren't attached in the middle. The napkin was soft and a little worn from spending a day of travel in my pocket, then half a night under my pillow.

I jumped and reached for an invisible bow when I heard footsteps. They were light and I had to strain to hear them.

"Katniss?" a small voice asked. I relaxed when I saw Prim at the top of the stairs.

"Hey Prim," I said with a smile.

"Why are you awake?" she asked me as she came down. My eyes watered a little when I saw the warm, comfortable, pink pajamas she was wearing. If nothing else, it was worth winning the Hunger Games to see Prim with her belly full and wearing warm clothes.