➳❦

FINNICK SAT ON HIS BED, his fingers intertwined as he just stared down at the floor boards. His mind couldn't stop going to that interview. She could barely form a sentence and when she did, her tone sounded so broken. But the thing his mind focused on the most was how she asked about him. Arya believed that he was dead, just like he did only a few moments ago. And there was nothing he could do to be able to tell the girl.

It made him happy that it seemed she worried about him, but that happiness was replaced with guilt and pain almost immediately. Because he was the cause of her own pain. Finnick didn't think she cared for him, let alone cared if he had died. But maybe she also felt guilt. Maybe she believed that he hadn't made it back to Katniss before the dome was blown out.

But either way, no matter if she cared or not, it was most likely that she would die before she ever got out of the Capitol. After that interview, there was no doubt that Snow would have her killed. It didn't even matter that she didn't say anything incriminating, or that she was clearly in distress. Snow would see that no matter how much he chipped away at her, she would never fully be under his control.

And to not be under his control, Snow thought she was too dangerous to keep around. With the way she was asking for Peeta, asking if Finnick was okay, she still deeply cared. She had charisma, she had a heart, and Snow hated that. Snow hated anyone that showed even an ounce of something other than wanting power.

"Your brain might explode if you keep sitting in silence like this." Finnick was brought out of his thoughts by Katniss who had walked into his room. He hadn't even realized she had tried knocking, he was just too worried about Arya and what would happen to her.

Katniss walks over to him as finnick brings his eyes back to the floor. He didn't really feel like socializing with anybody. More since the only people he really wanted to talk to weren't even here. They were in the Capitol. Finnick knew Johanna could handle herself, but he truly didn't know Arya. He didn't know how much of Snow's torment she could actually take. Because all he knew was the facade she put on.

"He's gonna kill her, isn't he?" His voice was quiet. Katniss could hear the crack in his voice as he said it. She sighs as she sits down beside him. She didnt want to say he wouldn't, because they didn't have eyes inside of the Capitol. But Snow had kept her alive this long, why would he kill her now?

"You don't know that." Katniss denies, not wanting him to go spiraling just thinking about it. But it seemed like Finnick was already there.

"It would be the smart move." Finnick points out as he fiddles with his fingers. Katniss furrows her eyebrows as she tries to get him to look at her but he wasn't budging.

"What happened to having hope?" She asks him, tilting her head. Finnick wanted to have hope but that interview just took whatever spec of it he had left.

"Do you have hope for Peeta?" Finnick questions, his eyes finally moving to hers. Katniss was a bit taken aback by it. She wanted to believe Peeta would be okay, but through his interviews, he just kept getting worse in both appearance and the pain that was so clear behind his eyes.

But Arya mentioning him did honestly give her a bit of hope. That maybe he was better behind the camera. "Well, Arya said his name..." Katniss says slowly. Finnick nods his head, looking away from her.

"I guess." He mutters as he shrugs his shoulders. Finnick sighs as his hand comes up to rub his face. "Coin is never gonna rescue them." Finnick denies. Maybe if he knew the woman more, he would believe she would, but it seemed she only did what was best in her interest.

"You know I'm making her." Katniss says, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Right because she just listens to you." Finnick mumbles with a roll of his eyes. It wasn't like he blamed Katniss, she was trying and he saw that. But he also saw that Coin was just doing what she wanted, and it didn't seem like rescuing the victors was in the books for her.

"Finnick, you can't keep doing this to yourself." Katniss denies with a small sigh. Anytime she saw him, be was staring off into oblivion, most likely thinking about Arya. He was digging himself into a hole that he wouldn't be able to get out of if something bad did up happening to Arya.

Finnick furrows his eyebrows, a scoff leaving his lips as he turns his head to look at the brunette. "Stop caring?" He asks her. It wasn't just a switch that he could turn on and off.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't care...." Katniss starts to say, biting the inside of her cheek as she moves her eyes to her hands. "Honestly, I'm surprised you do." She admits as she shrugs her shoulders. Finnick was now even more confused than he was before.

"Aren't you the one who basically told me that I liked her?" He retorts, wondering why she was switching up now. She was teasing him every single day about his so called crush on Arya.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to actually have feelings." Katniss admits. The teasing was just that, teasing. But she could see now that he really did care a lot about her. She's not saying he was in love with her, but there were obvious feelings.

Finnick clears his throat, shaking his head. He didn't look back at Katniss, not wanting his eyes to give anything away.

"I don't." At least that's what he thought. Finnick could talk about Arya for hours but that didn't mean anything. Did it? He just was concerned for her safety.

"Right." Katniss says, not believing him for a second. She didnt know why he had such a hard time admitting it. But to be fair, she wasn't the best person to say this. "Well, come and get something to eat. You're no good to Arya if you starve to death." She tells him, placing her hand on his arm before standing up.

Finnick nods as he watches Katniss leave the room. But he stays where he was. He didn't know what he felt. It was hard to determine it when the woman was trapped in the Capitol, having God knows what done to her. But one thing for sure that he knew was that he was worried for her.

And that he wanted her to come back to him alive.

➳❦

ARYA KNEW WHEN THOSE CAMERAS SHUT OFF THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. Something bad. She had directly disobeyed what Snow had wanted. He just wanted her to read what was told to her. But she couldn't. She could barely even focus, let alone remember a script. Her mind just kept going to Peeta and Finnick. That's all she could think of when Caesar was asking her questions.

Peeta had been beaten after trying to protect her and she wanted to know if he was okay. She wanted him. Because he was one of the only ones she felt safe with. The way he wrapped his arms around her, protected her, even to just allow her to get a little rest. He reminded her a lot of Jacob. Jacob would always want to protect her, even if it meant he got hurt. Even if it meant he wouldn't eat. Because that's just who he was.

She wished she had been able to protect her brothers. But maybe this was her chance. Maybe this was how she would finally male up for it. By protecting Peeta. But it seemed she had screwed it all up. Because instead of her protecting him, it was the other way around. And he had gotten hurt because of her. She was terrified what she would walk into when they brought her back to her cell.

Finnick on the other hand, she didn't even know if he was alive. Sure, Peeta gave her a bit of hope that Finnick could have gotten out of the arena safe. But it would mean nothing until she set her eyes on him herself. Until she could feel him and know she wasn't dreaming. Not like she could really tell much from dream to reality these days. Nova kept popping up everywhere she looked, even now. She was stood by the door just staring at her.

Maybe it was the guilt. Maybe it was all the drugs that had been pumped into her system. Maybe this was Snow's way of making her brain believe she was really in front of her. To torment her. To remind her of yet another person she failed to save. But seeing her just made her feel like she was going crazy. Which she was. She really couldn't tell what was real, what Snow had manipulated and what was just solely in her head.

Even just thinking about that name that Peeta had said, it was like her brain had memories of him but nothing was coming to her. The faint ones she could remember, was just filled of pain and misery of the things he had said to her. How much he hurt her. Arya couldn't one again, tell if it was real or fake. But no memory of him was even evident in her brain, so maybe this was real. Maybe he was just another bad guy like Snow.

Peetas voice seemed to be one that could prevail through everything. That could get through to her and assure her of things that were real or not. No matter what they did to her, he stayed real to her. And she was grateful for that. Because she didn't know how she would survive without him. Even with Johanna and Wesley, they were starting to fade from her memory. Luckily seeing them so often helped her keep her mind on them.

Her mind shifts as she feels something in her sleeve. Furrowing her eyebrows, she feels around for it before pushing it out of her sleeve. Her eyes widen slightly as she remembers. The pin. Ciela had snuck it in her hand when no one was looking. Her eyes just stared at the metal in her fingers, knowing what it could mean. Although it also terrified her. Because it was just one part of the puzzle.

"I told you there was a way out." She hears from in front of her. Aryas head lifts, seeing Nova smirking over at her. She blinks a few times, glancing back down at the pin. This was really it. This was her chance. She could escape her cage when the guards were gone. They could all escape. As her eyes went back up, Nova was gone and she was once again left alone.

Or maybe she and her thoughts had been alone the whole time.

➳❦

PEETA DIDNT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT INTO SNOW'S OFFICE. He didn't know if had something to do with his interviews, with Arya, or if Snow just wanted to torture him. Although, he knew Snow never got his own hands dirty. He turns his head toward the doors as they shut closed before his eyes went to Snow who was stood by the window. Peeta was wary to say the least.

"Beautiful weather, isn't it?" Snow asks him as he continues to look out the window for a moment. Peeta stayed silent, his eyes glancing around the room. "Your little stunt with the guards..." He starts, turning to face Peeta and he was clearly not the slightest bit amused.

"We're here to talk about that?" Peeta asks, a bit confused. He didn't think that attacking the guards earned him a meeting with Snow.

"No." Snow denies, shaking his head.  "I am here to remind you that you need to stay in line." He states firmly. Peeta scoffs as he pulls at the chains that were engulfing his wrists.

"I do your little interviews, don't I?" He retorts, shrugging his shoulders. Peeta did everything Snow asked him to in order to protect Katniss and the others.

"Hm. But your little protective act toward Arya, now that needs to stop." Snow admits. Peeta furrows his eyebrows, wondering why he cared.

"I can't protect my friend?"

"I did you a favour putting you both in the same cell." Snow states as he clasps his hands together in front of him. Peeta scoffs as he rolls his eyes.

"So, you were being generous?" He asks, wanting to gag at the fact that Snow was trying to act like he actually did something for them.

"But then you decided to attack my guards." Snow points out, shaking his head. Peeta bites the inside of his cheek.

"Well, they deserved it."

"So young, so naive." Snow states with a sigh, moving toward Peeta who tenses slightly. "This is one of the things I wanted to avoid when I spared Aryas life." He admits and that makes Peeta's eyes widen a bit. He already knew where Snow was going with this. "Maybe I should go back on that little notion." Snow suggests, shrugging his shoulders.

"You can't kill her." Peeta denies, shaking his head as he takes a step forward. Snow just raises an eyebrow toward him.

"And why not?" Snow asks him, chuckling underneath his breath. "She's not needed much anymore." He points out, tilting his head. The only reason he kept her around was to torture her and it seemed she was losing her mind more and more every single day.

"Please, I'll do anything, just don't hurt her." Peeta pleads. He didn't think he would ever be begging Snow for anything but she couldn't die. Peeta couldn't allow this all of been for nothing.

"Anything?" Snow asks him and Peeta nods his head instantly. "Well, I'm sorry Peeta but I tried to get you to understand when we first talked. Don't intervene and nothing will happen." He explains. Although he was always going to kill her, it was more fun to have Peeta think it was his fault.

"You can't do this." Peeta felt his heart race as he could barely even think of Arya being killed. And because of him of all people.

"Guards, escort him out." Snow demands. Peeta hears the doors open, footsteps shuffling toward him. He wished he wasn't chained, he couldve had a better chance but the guards onkt grabbed his arms.

"No!" Peeta shouts as he tries to fight against the guards as they start to pull him toward the door. "No, you can't kill her!" He could see Snow only smirk as he turns back toward the window. Peeta couldn't believe this was happening. And all because of him. "Let me go!" He demands but he was only dragged out of the door, the door slamming behind them,

While Snow stood victorious in his office.

➳❦

WESLEY WAS LEANT AGAINST THE WALL IN HIS CELL, he was the only one there right now and it scared him to death. Everyone else had been taken and he had no idea where. Was he next? Were they all just taken to be killed? Was it something more? He hated thinking about it and all the possible scenarios. Wesley tried not to think of the worst but it was hard. Especially because he knew Snow had killed most of the other victors. Who's to say he wouldn't kill them as well?

But luckily, before he could spiral too much, the door opened and the guards walked in. Wesley thought they were alone at first before he saw Arya being dragged in. It seemed she was going much more willingly this time. And this also worried him. Wesley didn't think of her as a person who gave up so easily. So, he wondered what had changed.

Once she was in her cell and the guards had left, he made his way over to the edge of his cell, trying to get her attention. "Hey, you all right?" Wesley asks her, seeing how she looked a bit cleaned up but he didn't know whether or not to be worried about it.

Arya looks around the room, seeing her cell was empty along with Johanna's. Her eyebrows furrow as she felt her heart race a little bit. "Where's Peeta and Johanna?" She asks Wesley as she turns her attention over to him.

"They were taken." Wesley says, seeing the defeated look that appeared on her face. "Why?" He asks, wanting to know if she was just worried for them or if it was something else.

"I need them here."

"I'm sure they're okay." Wesley assures her. Even though he wasn't sure of that himself.

"That's not... I need them in their cells." Arya admits. Wesley furrows his eyebrows, a bit confused on what she was talking about.

"Why?"

"Because then I know where they are." If they weren't in the vault, it would be almost impossible to get to them. Especially since they're most likely being guarded.

"Okay, you're confusing me." Wesley admits as he turns toward her. Arya glances around the room, making sure she couldn't hear any of the guards coming before pulling the pin out. Wesley's eyes widen when he sees it. "How'd you get that?" He keeps his voice hushed, not wanting to alert anyone.

"Ciela." Arya admits as she puts the pin away. Wesley knew who she was since she'd also been his stylist.

"You saw her?" Wesley asks her curiously and Arya nods her head.

"Yeah. She wants us to escape."

"And that's why you want Peeta and Johanna." Wesley answers his own question. That made sense as to why she wanted to know where the others were. "Well, we can wait and see if they get brought back." He tells her, glancing toward the door. Wesley just hoped Arya wasn't taken when they were brought back.

"They need to." Arya says, tilting her head up. Wesley wanted them to come back too, but he was also a realist. If they don't, they had to try and escape anyways.

"But Arya." He starts, gaining her attention again. "We can't wait too long. If one of the guards take you and find that--" Wesley tells her but she cuts him off, knowing where he was going with it. They may find the pin and then realize she was trying to escape.

"I know. I'm dead." Arya says, nodding her head slowly. She knew there was that risk but she didnt feel right about leaving Peeta and Johanna. Especially with how much Peeta has protected her. "But we can't just leave them behind." She denies, biting her tongue.

"I don't want to." Wesley wasnt trying to leave them behind, it was just the fact that none of them would if they didnt move tonight. "But getting out of here might be the best choice for all of us." If they could get out and find someone who could help, they could come back for Johanna and Peeta. But that's only if they made it out alive.

"Let's just wait a little bit." Arya suggests, wanting to at least make sure they weren't coming back before they made a move. Wesley nods, his eyes drifting for a moment.

"Okay." He agrees. "But can I call it?" Wesley asks, knowing that Arya would probably hesitate to say when they should leave.

"Fine." She responds with a sigh. Her eyes going to the ground once more. She didn't want to leave anyone behind, but eventually it'll get to a turning point. Either they get out, or the one chance they have will be taken from them.

➳❦

WESLEY AND ARYA WERE STILL SAT IN THEIR CELLS. It had been quite a while since they began waiting for Peeta and Johanna to come back. But at this point, they were losing their window of opportunity.  He sighs as he looks over at Arya who had her legs crossed. It was clear that she wasn't going to make the first move, he would be the one that had to. "Arya we can't wait much longer." He says, his voice piping up.

Arya lifts her head but doesn't say anything for a moment. She thought they would've been brought back by now but they were nowhere to be seen.

"They'll be here." She says, needing to keep that hope. But there really wasn't any left for her to cling onto.

"Arya." Wesley says, moving closer to the edge of the cell. "It's been too long already. They're not coming back. The guards are gonna come sooner rather than later." It would only be a matter of time before the guards came to grab one of them as well.

Arya knew that, she just didnt want to admit it. "Okay." She takes a deep breath as she moves over to the cell door. Taking the pin, she brings it to the lock. She grimaced when it make a clanging sound.

"Quiet." Wesley warns her and she just sends him a glare.

"I got it."  Arya tells him, focusing on what she was doing. It took a minute but she got the lock, being able to push the door open. She did it quietly, hoping there wasn't any cameras and if there were, they had limited time.

She moves quickly over to Wesley's cell, unlocking it for him. As soon as he gets out, his arms engulf her in a hug. Arya hugs him back, holding him tightly before they pull away from each other.
"

Now what?" Wesley asks, glancing around. There was no doubt that there would be guard in the hallway outside.

"Try not and get caught." Arya answers him. Wesley just raises his eyebrows, laughing lightly as he shakes his head.

"Such an inspiring pep talk." Wesley responds as they both make their way to the door. Luckily, the door was open. He carefully opened it, peeking his head out. The hallway was clear.

He glances toward Arya for a second before the two quietly make their way down the hall. Arya knew there would definitely be cameras in the hallway so it was only a matter of time. And surely enough as they make their way around the corner, they are met by a guard. Their eyes widen as the man spots them, shouting in their direction.

Arya glances the other way, seeing the hallway went in the other direction. "Come on. This way." She says, grabbing a hold of Wesley but he just seemed to be getting ready for something. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Wesley! Come on." She tries again but he just starts to run where they saw the guard.

She gasps as the guard was thrown against the wall, falling to the ground with a thud. Arya just stares in shock as she watches Wesley take the gun from the now unconscious guard. "Figured we'd need this just in case." He says as he meets Aryas surprised expression.

"You're an idiot." Arya says, shaking her head as she hits her hand against his chest. Wesley just smirks toward her. Until they were suddenly shot at again. Their heads turn, seeing more guards running their way.

"Run!" Wesley shouts, pushing her forward. They both rush down the hall, trying to get to any open door, something that lead to the outside. But all they were met with was a long empty all with a big door at the end.

When they got there, Arya saw the slot next to the door. She groans as she turns toward Wesley. "Shit, we need a key card." She tells him, but it didn't take a second before he was holding it up. Of course he had taken that as well. Arya just shakes her head, taking it from him.

Wesley turns to the hall, seeing the guards coming closer. He starts to shoot at them, causing them to stop for a moment. "Get the door open!" He tells her as she makes her way toward it. Trying to slide the key card in, it was hard because of how much her hand was shaking and the fact that the guards were shooting at them.

Luckily, it beeped green and the door slowly opened behind them. Arya lets out a satisfied sigh as she felt the breeze hit her skin. She turns back to Wesley. "Let's go!" She tells him, gesturing for him to just run with her. But he stays where he was, continuing to shoot at the guards.

"I'll hold them off!" He tells her, knowing they'd be shot if he stopped right now. Arya grabs his arm, staring at him like he was crazy.

"No, I'm not leaving you!" Arya denies, trying to pull him with her but he just pushes her off.

"I said go." Wesley's voice was stern as he stared at her. The door moving beside them caught their attention and they saw it start to close. He starts to move her toward it but she stops him.

"No!" Arya wasn't going to leave him behind, not when they were so close. But it seemed Wesley wasnt going to have it any other way. With the door closing, their time was limited, she had to make a move.

"Only one of us is getting out of here and if you don't leave now, we're both as good as dead." Wesley states, knowing that if he didn't stay back and hold them off, they wouldn't make it twenty feet. But he could see the hesitation in Aryas eyes. So he did what needed to be done.

Arya was suddenly pushed before the door could close fully. Before she could even blink and even look back at where Wesley was, she was met with a fully closed door. Her eyes widen as she bangs against it, hearing something happening on the other side but she couldn't see.

"Wesley!" She shouts, hating that he had practically sacrificed his life for her. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to get out together and now they were separated. Arya shakes her head as she brings her hands up to her hair. Her eyes go to the key card insert next to her.

She glances around, looking for anything she can use until she sees a fire extinguisher. Grabbing a hold of it, she hits the key holder repeatedly until it was sparking. Arya backs up a bit, tears in her eyes as she stares at the door. She wanted to help Wesley, she wanted to help the others. But there was nothing she could do. Not without signing her own death sentence.

So she did what she never wanted to do. She did what she had to.

She ran away.

➳❦

AUTHORS NOTE;
I can't believe we hit 60k reads and #4 in finnick odair ! That's insane, thank you so much for all your support. I guess yall deserve a little happiness.... finnick and Arya reunion next chapter.