IT WAS ANOTHER HOUR BEFORE LEIA WAS ALLOWED TO SEE FINNICK. He had to be examined and treated for all of the injuries that he had gotten in the arena. He also had to get supplements for deficiencies and dehydration that he had experienced. Of course, Leia wanted him to get the treatment he needed, but she also really wanted to check on him, if he even wanted to see her.

She was sitting in the waiting room of the Capitol hospital, and her leg was shaking like crazy. She was so exhausted, but she could not sleep until she saw Finnick. It had felt like forever when a woman came into the room. "Miss Calore? Mr. Odair has been asking for you."

"Yeah. Okay," she responded, jumping to her feet. She looked panicked and undone. If her mother had seen her at that moment, she might have killed her because of how imperfect she seemed. The doctor opened the door to a room, and she stepped inside. It was closed behind her, but she barely had time to look around before arms were thrown around her. She immediately hugged him and rubbed his back. She whispered, "You did it."

"I did it," he repeated back to her, but he did not seem too enthusiastic about it. It made sense. He had to kill innocent people to be there. She would never know how that felt, so she just had to stand there and hug him for as long as he needed. She would be there whenever he needed, always.

Of course, they did not even give him a break. He was immediately thrown in a suit and out on a stage in front of a thousand people. He was a bit nervous, but he was Finnick. Again, he knew how to play the game. He was charming and witty, even when he was falling apart on the inside. Caesar commented, "You are now the youngest Victor in the history of the Hunger Games. Winning looks good on you, Finnick."

"I think it might just be the suit," he responded, and the crowd erupted in laughter as he flashed his award-winning smile at them.

"Man, you are funny," Caesar laughed out, shaking his head at the joke in amusement. He reached forward and placed his hand on Finnick's thigh, which made him tense up. Leia froze, and she could not believe what she was saying. The Flickerman man continued, "Women love that. I can assure you that you will be going home to many fawning ladies."

The Odair boy was uncomfortable, and Leia could tell very easily. However, no one else in the room seemed to be phased by what was going on in front of them. Finnick was pretty close to getting assaulted, and no one was fucking doing anything. The boy just shifted so that the man had to take his hand off his thigh. "I'm excited. Caesar."

"What are your post-victory plans?" the man asked him with raised eyebrows, and he leaned back and out of Finnick's personal space. Leia's fists were still clenched in anger, but she calmed down ever so slightly. She had been really close to saying something to someone, anyone that could do something about it.

"To be honest, Caesar, I have not thought that far ahead," Finnick answered. He had not been wanting to get his hopes up or get too cocky in the arena. In fact, he had been sure that he was going to die the entire time. "I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it out of that arena." He turned to face the crowd. "I would like to thank each and every one of you for all of the support and donations. I could not have done it without you."

The crowd all began cheering and clapping excitedly, and Finnick had each and every one of them wrapped around his finger. They loved him. He was the Capitol darling. Caesar noticed this as well. "They love you, Mr. Odair. Now, I'm sure you're itching to get home, so we'll let you go. We can't wait to see you mentoring next year."

"Oh, I can't wait either," Finnick answered, and he wiped his clammy hands on his pants as he stood up before waving at the crowd that was definitely going to miss him. As soon as he was out of sight and he laid eyes on Leia, he broke down. He was crying and fell to his knees. She just kneeled in front of him and grabbed his hand, letting him know that she was there.

《✵》

IT WAS TIME FOR FINNICK TO HEAD BACK HOME. He was waiting at the train station and waiting for it to come and take him home. Mags was standing with him, but he was kind of disappointed that someone else was not coming to send him off, someone in particular. She must've read his mind, because he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He looked up and grinned when he saw Leia walking toward him.

"Are you supposed to be here?" he asked as she approached. Mags was the only person that was supposed to be with him and accompany home. However, the Calore girl had snuck out so that she could say goodbye before he went back to District Four.

"Not technically, but Amethyst is covering for me," she answered, waving him off. She was honestly positive that no one would even realize that she was missing. She had no work to do because Finnick was leaving, even though she did not technically get off until the next day. SHe would go back to school, coming back to the Capitol once a week for her makeup classes. "I doubt Apollo will notice that I'm gone anyway."

He sighed, and seeing her at that moment made him realize just how much he was going to miss her when he left. There was a chance that they would never see each other again, but neither of them were going to let that happen, even if they had to sneak out. He told her, "I wish you could come with me."

"Me too, but you know I'm not allowed in the Districts," she told him. She did not know why they did not let Capitol citizens into the Districts, but she guessed that it was something stupid about disease or image. Snow was very strict about the segregation of Capitol people and District people, all until he brought them there to die. She offered, "You can always visit the Capitol. I know you don't ever want to come back here, but—"

He cut her off because he would do anything to see her again, even go back to the city that tried to kill him. "I'd love to." There was a pause before he spoke again. "Thank you, Leia, for everything that you've done for me. I really could not have won without you. You were the only one that believed in me."

"Of course, Finnick. I'll always believe in you," she assured him.

There was a short moment of silence as they smiled at each other like little kids since they kind of still were. "I think you're an angel," he informed her, and as much as she tried, there was no way that she could hide the blush that spread across her face at that. She felt like her lips were stuck in a smile.

She finally snapped out of her little trance and reached into her pocket. He looked down with furrowed eyebrows as she pulled out something made of string. She handed it to him. "I made you something. It's a bracelet."

"I'm never taking it off," he responded, and he allowed her to tie it around his wrist. They both looked up when they heard the train coming, and their hair blew like crazy as it came whizzing past them and stopped suddenly. He gestured to it and pointed out, "That's me."

"I'll miss you," she sighed.

"I'll miss you too, but I'll write you tons of letters," he told her, and she got really excited at that. Right after that, she was going to go buy some letter supplies so that she was ready. He smiled down at her, and neither of them wanted to move even though he had to go. "Bye, Leia Calore."

She was extremely nervous, but she got over herself and leaned in. She pressed her lips to his cheek, which was more contact than she had ever had with a boy. He blushed at the sensation of her lips on his sin, and she nodded at him after they pulled away. "Goodbye, Finnick Odair."