Catching Fire (Katniss loves Peeta)

Chapter 14

Suzanne Collins owns the characters!

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Chapter 14

Falvius, Venia, and Octivia keep bursting into tears. I find myself constantly comforting them. Since I'm the one being prepared for slaughter I find this quite annoying. The second Cinna steps into the room I snap.

"If you cry I'll kill you here and now." But he merely smiles. 

"Had a damp morning?"

"You could wring me out."

"Don't worry I always put my emotions into my work. That way I can only hurt myself."

As I'm slipping the black outfit on, Cinna carefully slides his hand to my stomach and whispers in my ear, "Who?" 

What is he talking about? The baby, he means the baby. He means the baby! I figure it out.

"Peeta.." I whisper closing my eyes. 

"The president will think you're lying. The majority won't. Keep it that way." He advises.

I look at myself in the mirror before I leave and smile. Cinna can always brighten my mood. 

"How did you do this?" I ask amazed.

"Portia and I spent a lot of time watching fire." He says smiling slightly. "Let's turn it off to save your power pack." For lunch I pretty much are three bowls of chocolate only. It was really good though.

"Neither you and Peeta smile. Don't do anything stare straight ahead. Got it?"

"Yes, finally something I'm good at."

I walk to the chariots and Peeta isn't here yet. Sadly neither is Haymitch or any of 12's stylists. I look around and observe everyone. I don't personally know anyone so I decide to stay put. I stroke my horse for a little while. I hope no one notices me. It doesn't work.

The crunching is at my ear before I even know he's behind me, and when I turn my head, Finnick Odair's famous sea green eyes are only inches from mine. He pops a sugar cube in his mouth and leans against my horse.

"Hello Katniss," he say, as if we've known each other for years, when we've never met before.

"Hello Finnick," I say just as casually, although I'm feeling uncomfortable in his closeness, especially since he's got so much bare skin exposed.

"Want a sugar cube?" He says offering his hand, which is piled high.

"They're supposed to be for the horses, but who cares. They've got years to eat sugar whereas you and I . . .well, if we see something sweet we better grab it quick.

Finnick Odair is something of a living legend in Panem. Since he won his Hunger Games when he was only fourteen, he's still one of the younger victors. Being from District 4, he was a career, so the odds were already in his favor, but what no trainer could claim to have given him was his extraordinary beauty. Tall, athletic, with golden brown skin and bronze colored hair and those incredible eyes. While other tributes that year were hard-pressed to get a handful of grain or some matches for a gift, Finnick never wanted for anything, not food or medicine or weapons. It took about a week for his competitors to realize that he was the one to kill, but it was to late. He was already a good fighter with the spears and knives he had found in the Cornucopia.

When he revived a silver parachute with a trident- which may be the most expensive gift I've ever seen given in the arena- it was all over. District 4's industry is fishing. He'd been on boats all his life. The trident was a longer deadly extension of his arm. He wove a net out of some kind of vine he found, used it to entangle his enemies so he could spear them with his trident, and within a matter of days the crown was his.