Reputation (Finnick Odair)

Prologue ||

     "The male and female tributes are to be reaped from the existing pool of victors."

     Atlas Fox was known for being one of the Capitol's elite. The Capitol's darling, so to say. After winning her games, the girl was loved and adored across the Capitol. She spent a year enjoying the safety and comfort of the city's luxurious ways and its gifts. But less than a year after her games, everything around her seemed to change as she turned 16. Gifts were more conspicuous, conversations more suggestive. And when Snow visited Atlas just to threaten her family, everything made sense. 

     The Capitol became a point of contention for the girl, despite her initial fondness for it. The place had its redeemable qualities but the most redeemable of them all was a boy named Finnick Odair. The boy understood what Atlas had to go through as he had to go through it himself. The two became inseparable, staying close at any games or party. They were often talked about amongst the Capitol citizens and to outsiders, it might just look like two of the most sought-after victors being friendly due to the similar nature of their lives but what no one saw was the secret moments in hidden rooms. Moments where the two were alone. Moments that were real. Or at least as real as anything could be in the Capitol.

    When the words left Snow's mouth, her first thought was of Finnick. She thought of Finnick sitting in his house, watching as Snow sentenced them and their friends to death. She hoped for his sake that Finnick was not, in fact, sitting at home. She hoped he was instead swimming in the sea close to the edge of his district. It was winter, so the water was probably freezing, but all she could do was hope. Hope that Finnick wasn't worrying for his life. But she hoped mostly that Finnicks name wouldn't be pulled out of the glass bowl and be sent to his death.

     In reality, Finnick was sitting at home. But he wasn't thinking of his own life. No, Finnick was thinking of Atlas. He was hoping she wasn't watching. He was hoping that the girl was instead watching the snow fall under the power lines, not reliving the games inside her mind. He wished she was enjoying her life before the harsh reality would crash down on her. He prayed that when reaping came, she would get to go home and avoid the games.

     But neither of the two got what they hoped for. Not at all. Both of the two managed to be chosen on reaping day. But Atlas knew the two of them would play into the Capitol's hand until the second their feet touched down in the arena. They would put on the most entertaining show the Capitol had ever seen, even outside of the arena. I mean, they both had reputations to uphold.