It's not fair.

All Zoya could think about was how unfair it was, at her best friends wedding. She should be happy, she should be glad and proud of Finnick and Annie. But, she couldn't. It was hard, seeing Annie recover so graciously, still in love with Finnick as she did when she left. Now, she was okay enough to get married. Zoya wasn't even okay enough to be in a social group longer then an hour, and the love of her life wasn't okay enough to not be strapped down.

It was all so unfair.

"You've saved me a dance, I hope?" Finnick left Annie with one of the dancers, headed to Zoya. "You are my best man, after all."

Zoya cracked a grin. "The only dance of the night."

"How special I feel." he placed a hand on his heart, taking her hand to give a small spin. "Not enjoying the wedding?"

"No, it's beautiful." Zoya shook her head, guilt hitting her when she realized her face probably said more then her words would. "Just...still getting use to being with people again."

"I know." he rubbed her back as they danced. "I'm so glad you're back though, Z."

She hugged him tightly. "Me too. And that I get to see you get married."

"You next." he joked, but realized Zoya didn't return the laugh. "Peeta will get better. He's so strong, he knows he's got you. You just have to give him time."

"I'm trying." she promised, getting sight of Roz swinging Katniss around. Roz and Katniss, Finnick and Annie. Then, there was her. Where her and Peeta should be, while he was locked down with advanced treatment. She could imagine what it would be like if he had been here, the joy they'd share at their friends wedding. "I really am trying."

"Hey." Zoya walked into Peeta room with a smile. It got better to see him, as long as they didn't talk about Katniss or the capitol. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." he nodded, his hands locked together instead of tied to a bed now. "I heard music."

"Finnick and Annie's wedding was today. Remember when I told you?" she walked to sit on his bed. He'd gained weight back and his hair was growing out again, his eyes not so sunken in. He looked how he once did, but the light in his eye was still dull. "Maybe we'll make the next one."

"Maybe." he nodded, moving over some so she could crawl up next to him, her head onto his shoulder with an exhale. "I was thinking about something. Do you remember when we first met? Near the chariots?"

"Of course." she hummed, one hand petting the blonde hair on his head.

"I remember being so scared of you." his response made her frowned her eyebrows. "You were so confident and I could tell you thought you were better then all of us. It was terrifying. And then, I saw you again, but we were alone. I wasn't scare of you then."

Zoya wasn't sure where he'd been headed with this, nodding her head. "It was an act."

"I know." he said in return. "How much of this world do you think is just an act?"

Zoya inhaled, thinking. "Most of it, I think."

"I think so too." he agreed, his head moved against hers since his hands had still been bound together.

"I don't think we are though." Zoya pointed out quickly as he moved again. "Do you think so?"

"No." he said in return, leaning his head onto of hers fully. "How long do you get to stay?"

"I didn't ask." she shut her eyes in return, arms locking around his shoulders and rested her head onto him more.

"It suits you." Finnick spoke as him and Zoya got off the hover craft together. Zoya looked over. "This whole get up."

"I feel kinda badass." she said honestly, yanking a knife from one of the pockets on the bullet proof vest. "Let's kill this son of a bitch."

"Now you're talking." he cracked a grin, the pair moving through the gapping people.

"Zoya? Finnick?" Katniss grinned as they came around the tent.

"Z." Roz gapped. "Should you be here?"

"Got a docors permission." she held up a slip of paper with a smirk.

"This is blank." Roz took it from her.

"Well, no one said it needed to be signed." she gave a minor snort, taking it back and accepting the hug.

"Are you with us?" Katniss hugged Finnick first before moving to Zoya.

"Looks like it." he said in return.

"Figured you could use a few more familiar faces out there." Zoya hugged her tightly.

"Are you sure you can do this?" Katniss whispered in worry.

"He's gotta pay, and I wanna make sure you get there under my own watch." Zoya held her a moment longer. "Snow will go down for all he's done. Not just to me, but to all of us."

"I agree." Katniss whispered in return, the pair pulling back with a knowing nod.

"Gather around." a deeper voice rung to circle them as one. "Squad 451, you're my unit. Lieutenant Jackson is my second in command."

"Who are you?" Zoya spoke up.

"Boggs." he said in return. "Each one of you is elite in some form of combat. But we are a non-combat unit. So we'll be following days behind the front-line troops."

"You're to be the onscreen faces of the invasion." Cressida spoke up as she looked around. "The Star Squad."

"The Star Squad, woah. Real original." Zoya hummed as Roz elbowed her quickly.

"It's been decided that you're most effective when seen by the masses." the blonde when on.

"So we're not gonna fight?" Gale asked her.

"You'll do whatever you're ordered to do, solider." Boggs said in return. "It's not your job to ask questions."

"Yes, sir." Gale backed off.

"Our instructions are to shoot propaganda footage on the battle scarred streets of The Capitol." Boggs went on as he looked around at the group. "You were hand picked to intimidate the forces."

"And inspire surrenders." Cressida agreed.

"Making me feel a little special." Zoya hummed as she faked a fan to herself, Finnick was the one to elbow her this time.

"Even though we will be working on abandoned streets instead being the front lines, I guarantee you, wherever they put us, it will not be safe. This is a war zone. It is likely we will encounter both active pods and Peacekeepers. You're considered high value targets to The Capitol. In the event of capture, you'll be given a nightlock pill. A poison that acts immediately. Invented due to someone here."

Zoya inhaled. "Well, I guess the trauma of my games was good for something, wasn't it?"

"That is was." Roz rubbed her back as Lieutenant Jackson handed each of them a pill.

"We've all ready briefed you on the pods. I'll remind you they are on every block." Boggs went on. "Our unit has been given a Holo. A database that contains a detailed map of The Capitol and a list of every known pod. These pods can trigger anything to bombs, to traps, to mutts. We can not move without this device. There's no guarantee that our database is complete. There can be new pods that we're not aware of. Because we don't want the Game Makers to know we have this intel, it has a self-destruct on it. You flip this switch, say nightlock three times and it blows its self within a ten feet radius. Stay within our unit. Even with the Holo, it's likely that new pods have been set. Whatever they contain they are meant to kill you."

"That's comforting." Roz nodded her head.

"Extremely." Zoya agreed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen-" Finnick began as he made his way between the trio of girls. "-welcome to the 76th Hunger Games."

•

kylie speaks

peeta when he finds
our his gf went to war
without him: 🙄✋🏻🚶🏼‍♂️