Tribute

7.

When night falls, I am allowed to get dressed in a simple, thin white dress, and I am lead out to a car. I enter the car as a capitol attendant opens it for me, and I find that the backseat is empty other than Finnick, who sits there wearing a nice navy blue suit and a black tie that is decorated with iridescent jewels. His amber colored hair is slicked back with a large amount of hair gel, and I have to admit, I don't really like the look on him. I'm so used to seeing his hair all messy and unkept, it's strange to see him so well groomed. Though my attention is quickly taken from him when the car starts moving down the smooth, perfect roads of the Capitol.

My eyes stare down at my lap, but I get the feeling that I am being watched, and I glance up to see Finnick staring at me with those green eyes of his, only for him to quickly turn his gaze out the window when he notices that I am looking at him now. I raise a brow, "What?" I question him. He just shakes his head and looks at me with a smile and a laugh in his voice, "Nothing it's just...." He swallows before he continues, "I didn't think that you'd still look so much like yourself after the prep team finished with you," He says. 

I frown, "And you, you look like another Capitol citizen. What's in your hair? Lamp oil?" He guffaws, and I roll my eyes. He just smiles at my irritation, and he looks at my face, "Oh come on Lena, why do you insult me? I meant it as a compliment." 

"Well then you have a serious tone problem," I fire back.

He doesn't respond for a few moments, and I look away from him to instead focus my gaze on the outside of my window. I see countless people lining the streets, all of them screaming and waving to the car, all of them absolutely thrilled to just have the idea that I am passing by them. I can't put my finger on it, but the people of the Capitol remind me of something. Something foul, but something that I know very well. My mind struggles to think of an answer, but then one slips out, "Leeches." I grumble, and I don't bother to hide my words.

Leeches are the perfect way to describe capitol citizens. They lounge around all day, sucking the lives out of those in the districts, sucking away any nutrients that the districts have worked hard for and earned, and they get so much enjoyment from watching our blood spill. Foul leeches, that's what they all are. My mind immediately thinks about Felena, about her kindness, and I feel guilt twist my heart. Perhaps she's not a leech, but the people I see outside the window, they are most definitely leeches.

"You'll get used to it." I turn to Finnick as I hear his voice cut through the silence in the car, and I find that he too is looking out the tinted windows. His expression is solemn, his brows are furrowed and his lips are curled down into a frown, so unlike the usual charismatic smile that he wears on his face. 

I sigh, "If I'm not dead before the end of the month." His eyes instantly snap to look at me, and I am startled by the intensity in his eyes as he speaks again, "Trust me Lena, you'll get used to it." And then he is turning his head away again, and I don't bother to argue with him, despite the fact that I have no idea what he is talking about. 

We arrive at yet another building, and we cut through the streets and into an empty back alley, where Finnick and I are ushered out of the car and into the building. Before I can question what's going on, my prep team appears seemingly out of thin air, and they practically drag me away and into another room. When the door closes, I look at them with a confused expression, "What's going on?" I question. Nivea looks at me with a tilt of her head, "It's time that we get you ready for the tribute parade dear," Her tone reminds me of one someone would use to talk to an ignorant child, and I feel like reaching over and slapping her, but I refrain.