Our Love Could Be Lethal Act I Re-Write

Act I: Pre-Games Games

TW: for slight mentions of disordered eating

I find myself stirring awake and am instantly disoriented. I hear a noise in the distance and immediately shove my hand under the pillow, searching for the table knife I'd stolen after dinner on my first night on floor 2. But there's no knife to be found.

I sit straight up in a panic and look around the room. I quickly realize that this is not in fact my room, but I fell asleep in Finnick's room while we were talking. But where's Finnick? And more importantly, how long have I been asleep?

I look out the window to see that it's still light outside, but only because of the bright Capitol lights outside the window illuminating the room with a faint glow. I'm not quite sure what to do, but get out of the bed and neatly make it, tucking in all the corners tightly. I walk up to the door and cautiously open it.

The last thing I need is the escort for 4 spotting me and blabbing because rumours spread in the Capitol like wildfire. Last year's victor being spotted exiting Finnick Odair's bedroom would be the hottest ticket of gossip this entire Games cycle.

As soon as the door creaks open, I hear one down the hall open as well. I go to retreat into the room but Mag's hobbles out of the door and over to me. "We thought it would be best to just let you sleep, dear."

I quickly thank her and begin to gather my things, even though I didn't bring much with me. She quickly explains to me that we'll pretend I came to visit her and she manages to get me out of the door with no problems. Just as I'm about to head into the elevator, I catch Mags staring at me from the doorway and I give her a questioning look.

"You look so much like your grandmother when she was younger. Act like her too. Don't let them take that away from you," she says, the kind smile extending to her eyes. "Everything she's done in the last 18 years, it was for you. To keep you safe. When you were sent to the Games, she thought she'd failed. This is your second chance at a life, my dear. Don't waste it."

Ruminating on her words, I give her a nod and push the button to take me down to floor 2. Hardly anyone seemed to be awake on floor 4, so I'm hoping I won't have any awkward encounters when I get back either.

The next few days go by quickly. I fall into a routine of going to drop the kids—even though they are technically the same age as me it feels like we are centuries apart—off at their training and then taking off with Finnick for a few hours to just sit around and talk. And the amazing part is it's never about anything in particular. I think those times with Finnick have to be the longest I've gone in my life where the conversation doesn't turn to talk about the Games at any point. A miracle and a breath of fresh air all in one.

As training wraps up, the scores come in for the Tributes. All of the members of floor 2 huddle around the couch in anticipation.

"District 2 female with a score of 10," says Caesar as Magenta's face flashes on the screen. A good score to be sure, though I'm not entirely ready to hear the girl beside me never shut up about it. "District 2 male with another score of 10." Percy's face flashes on the screen.

I notice that Finnick's tributes get and 8 and a 9 respectively, which I'll go congratulate him on later, and the other memorable score has to be the girl from 7 who got a 3, one of the lowest scores I've ever seen.

Once the broadcast is over we all break for dinner. The Avoxes lay out the food on the table and we all start to dig in. Percy, Magenta, and Brutus eat their food carefully, picking out anything that looks like it's even touched butter or sugar. Magenta methodically dabs all of her food with a cloth to soak up any remaining grease, reminding me of what I used to do with my food before I won. I can see them doing the food calculus in their heads to ensure they eat the right amounts of carbs, fats, proteins, and other nutrients.