➳❦

FINNICK WAS SAT NEXT TO ARYA ON ONE OF THE BEDS. They had made it down to the bunker to wait out the Capitol aircrafts. Arya had fallen asleep for the first time, something about this whole crisis seemed to make her be able to close her eyes. Finnick was running his hands through her hair as he just gazed down at her. He was glad that she was finally getting some rest but it wasn't exactly keeping him calm. Knowing that the Capitol was getting ever so closer to them.

He let a sigh leave his lips as he tilts his head up a bit. Finnick just couldn't wait for this to be over. For them to have some sort of normalcy in their lives. Even though they didn't even know if it was possible. It definitely wouldn't be if Coin was in charge. Finnick knew something needed to be done, it was just whether or not someone went up against Coin after everything was done.

"Hey, can I sit?" Finnick hears from beside him. He turns his head, seeing Katniss standing there. He nods his head as he rubs his hand over his face a little bit.

"Yeah, just uh, be quiet cause I don't want to wake her." Finnick says as he gestures toward Arya. Katniss sits down slowly, her eyes on Arya as she saw the girl with her eyes closed. "This is the first she's really slept since she's been back." He admits as he knew Arya often just closed her eyes but was unable to actually fall asleep.

"I guess the loud sirens help her sleep." Katniss points out in a joking manner. Finnick nods, his eyes going to his hands. "She's lucky to have you taking care of her." She states, looking toward him. Finnick clenches his jaw slightly.

"I don't think Matthew would agree." Although they tried to be civil with each other, Finnick knew Matthew wasn't his biggest fan. He also knew Matthew kept a close eye on him, what he did, how he interacted with Arya.

"He's upset." Katniss says with a small sigh. "He's probably glad you're there for her." She points out. Matthew has to realize that even though she didn't know him, at least she was opening up to somebody.

"Snow was using Arya to punish you. He was taunting us with them. I didn't understand until now, watching that stupid cat." Katniss mutters with a scoff as she clenches her jaw a bit. Finnick nods slightly, looking in front of him.

"After your first games, I thought the whole romance was an act." Finnick tells her. "We all expected you to continue that strategy. But it wasn't until Peeta's heart stopped and he nearly died that I knew I'd misjudged you." He says and she just meets his gaze. "You love him." Finnick states and he could see that she was a little taken aback. "I'm not saying in what way, maybe you don't even know yourself. But anyone paying attention can see it." He points out.

"You love her." Katniss retorts as she glanced back toward Arya. Finnick was quiet but he didnt even need to say anything for Katniss to know the answer. "How do you live with it?" She asks him.

"I drag myself out of nightmares and there's no relief in waking up. But it's better not to give into it." Finnick explains to her. "Takes ten times longer to put yourself back together than it does to fall apart. But having her here, knowing she's alive... it helps." He tells her and Katniss nods her head. "She's like...."

"Glue." Katniss finishes for him. Finnick looked slightly amused at her analogy. Finnick laughs slightly, shaking his head. "She holding you together. Because you don't want to fall apart around her." Katniss states with a playful roll of her eyes. Finnick sighs as he nods his head.

"Because she needs me." Finnick says. He sees the pain in Katniss's eyes, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. "We'll get Peeta back." He tells her. Katniss let's out a small breath.

"I hope so." Katniss responds, running a hand through her hair. Neither of them noticed that Arya had opened her eyes and was just staring up at them now.

"I'm sorry." Her voice cracks as she looks at them. Finnick meets her gaze, a smile on his face.

"Hey, did we wake you?" Finnick asks her but he sees that she wasn't happy. She had a guilty expression on her face as she sat up a little bit.

"I wanted to save him. I wanted to get him out." Arya says, her eyes moving move over toward Katniss who furrows her eyebrows a bit before her eyes widen slightly.

"Peeta?" Katniss asks, sharing a glance with Finnick. Arya nods her head slowly.

"He tried so hard to protect me. We were in the same cell." Arya starts to say, her eyes on her hands as she sat next to them. "He got hurt because of me. The last time I saw him was before my interview. He punched the guards for hurting me." Her voice cracks as she closes her eyes for a moment. "Ciela.. she was my stylist in the games. She gave me a pin.." She explains. Finnick puts his hand on her knee, squeezing it.

"You picked the lock." Finnick says, looking toward Arya who sniffles slightly.

"When they brought me back, he was gone. Johanna too." Arya says, remembering the events of being in the Capitol too vividly. Katniss drops her eyes as she fiddles with her fingers. "I tried to wait for them, but they never showed. Wesley and I got out." She tells them. Both Finnick and Katniss were confused by her statement.

"Wesley?" Katniss asks her.

"The guards were on us. Wesley got one of their guns but.." She trails off for a moment. "We couldn't make it unless one of us held them back." Arya tells them. Finnick sighs as he tilts his head. "I wanted to be the one to stay behind but he... he pushed me. The door closed behind me." She stops herself, her eyes staring in front of her. "I left him. I left all of them." Her tone was shaky as tears fill her eyes. "And now Peeta is being tortured because of me." Her gaze goes to katniss who shakes her head immediately.

She didn't want Arya thinking it was her fault because it wasn't. None of it was. "It's not because of you." Katniss denies, grabbing a hold of her hand. "It's Snow. He's the one doing this." She assures the woman. Arya can't wrap her mind around that though, feeling herself get overwhelmed.

"I promised myself, I'd never allow him to break me." Arya starts to say, feeling the tears leave her eyes. "But I feel like I'm losing my mind." She breaks down, Finnicks arms immediately enveloping her and holding her closely. Katniss brings her hand to Arya's back, a frown on her lips as she watches them closely.

➳❦

FINNICK LEANS AGAINST THE DOOR, his eyes set on Arya as she brushed her hair in the mirror. Her eyes glanced toward him, sensing his presence but she doesn't say anything. Finnick watches her, his gaze soft as he crosses his arms against his chest. "You doing okay?" He asks her curiously. Arya sighs as she nods her head, stepping away from the mirror.

"Yeah." She responds, glancing at the ground for a moment. Arya was silent for a second before her eyes go back over to where Finnick was standing. "Do you need something?" Arya asks him, raising an eyebrow. Finnick shakes his head as he pushes himself off of the frame.

"Just checking in." He admits as he walks into the room. Arya looked a bit suspicious.

"Or you're making sure I don't break down again." Arya tells him, tilting her head. Finnick sighs, smiling as he stops in front of her.

"Is that a bad thing?" Finnick asks her. Arya glances around the room, her cheeks heating up a bit underneath his gaze.

"No, it's not. I mean--" She stops hersrlf for a second. Her eyes meet his. "I guess it's not a bad thing having you around." Arya admits, fiddling with her fingers. Finnick raises an eyebrow as he gazes down at her.

"Oh, yeah?" Finnick asks with a small smirk. Arya narrows her eyes as she pressed her tongue to the inside of her cheek, her eyes running over him.

"Yeah." Arya responds, a smile growing on her face. Finnick chuckles slightly, glancing down at the ground. "Finnick?" She questions making his eyes move back up to hers.

"Mhm?"

"Can I ask you something?" Finnick furrows his eyebrows but he nods his head. "When you were talking with Katniss.... what you said, uh.." Arya cuts herself off, clearing her throat as she rubs the back of her neck.

"Which part?" He asks curiously. Arya could only stare at him, nothing coming out as she gazed into his eyes. Finnick seemed to realize what she might have been referring to which makes his eyes widen slightly. He didn't think she had heard him.

A knock on the door luckily interrupts them. Arya moves her eyes to the door while Finnick glances over to see Haymitch. "Sorry to interrupt." He says as he looks between them. "Finnick, we need you." Haymitch states.

"For what?" Finnick asks him curiously.

"We're gonna do a broadcast in order to block the Capitols security system." Haymitch explains to him. Arya looks toward Haymitch, her eyes widening slightly. Finnick seemed to have the same thought that she did.

"You're getting them out." Finnick states and Haymitch let's out a small sigh as he nods his head.

"That's the hope." Haymitch says, not wanting to get them too hopeful.

"All right. I'm coming." Finnick tells him and Haymitch looks at them one more time before leaving the room. "What did you want to ask?" He asks her as he looks back at Arya. Finnick didn't want to bring it up first, mainly because he was terrified of what she'd say. Arya gazes at him for a moment, feeling her heart clench slightly.

"Nothing." She denies as she shakes her head. Finnick looked a little bit disappointed at her words. "This is more important." Arya says, forcing a smile onto her face. Finnick stares at her for a little bit longer before he nods. He clears his throat before both of them make their way out of the room.

➳❦

ARYA STANDS WITH FINNICK OUTSIDE THE RUBBLE THAT THE DOORWAY WAS MADE INTO. Luckily the bombs the capitol had dropped didnt do any significant damage. But it still made Arya nervous knowing that Snow had their location. No matter how safe they told her she was in thirteen. "Finnick, you okay?" Cressida asks him as she glanced over at him. Finnick looks toward her, nodding his head as he looks around the area.

"Yeah, yeah." He says, feeling the nerves build up inside of him. Arya looks toward him, not knowing whether to comfort him or not.

"Just in the centre, near those rocks." Cressida points at it and Finnick moves toward it. Arya follows after him.

"What are you going to say?" She asks him, clasping her hands together. Finnick sighs as he meets her gaze.

"The truth." He tells her. Arya bites the inside of her cheek.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Arya questions. Finnick looks toward her.

"I'm fine." He assures her with a nod. "If this brings the others back, I'll say everything." Finnick tells her. Arya reaches out, taking his hand in hers. Finnick looks down at their hands before they're interrupted by Cressida.

"Take your time. Just remember to keep talking and don't stop." Cressida tells him and he nods slowly. Finnick glances once more over at Arya who gives him a reassuring smile. He smiles back before looking at the camera.

"This is finnick odair. Winner of the 65th hunger games." Finnick starts as he looks directly in the lense. "And im coming to you from district Thirteen, alive and well. We've survived an assault from the Capitol. But I'm not here to give you recent news. I'm here to tell you about the truth of being a victor. The life they sell you isn't what it seems. The truth. Not the myths about a life of luxury. Not the lie about glory for your homeland." Finnick explains to them. Arya looks down toward the ground. Her family dreamed of winning, not because they wanted to be reaped, not because of what they would have to do, but because of what you were promised afterwards. No one knew that it was a lie.

"You can survive the arena. The moment you leave, you're a slave. President Snow used to sell me. Or my body at least. I wasn't the only one." Finnick says, his eyes dropping slightly. Arya sighs as she looks away for a moment. "If a victor is considered desirable, the president gives them as a reward or allows people to buy them. If you refuse, he kills someone you love." He explains. That was the one thing Arya had over Snow. She didn't really have anyone who he could take from her.

"I wasn't the only one, but I was the most popular. And perhaps the most defenseless, because the people I loved were so defenseless." Arya frowns as she looks back over af him. "To make themselves feel better, my patrons would make presents of money or jewelry. But I found a much more valuable form of payment. Secrets." Finnick tells them. Arya glances around, seeing that everyone else was just watching Finnick, or more the camera to make sure it was still running.

"See, i know all the depravity, the deceit and the cruelty of the Capitols pampered elite. But the biggest secrets are about our good president, Coriolanus Snow." Arya knew a bit about Snow. Tigris had told her quite a bit. He seemed somewhat reasonable back when they were younger. Apparently she used to be proud of him. Until he completely turned into his father.

"Such a young man when he rose to power. Such a clever one to keep it. How, you must ask yourself, did he do it? One word, that's all you need to know. Poison. There are so many mysterious deaths to adversaries. Even to allies who were threats. Snow would drink from the same cup to deflect suspicion but antidotes don't always work. Which is why he wears roses that reek of perfume. Help cover the scent of blood from sores in his mouth that will never heal. But he can't hide the scent of who he really is. He kills without mercy. He rules with deception and fear."

"His weapon of choice is the only one suited for such a man. Poison. The perfect weapon for a snake." Finnick states. Arya hoped that one day they could get Snow out of control of the districts. Maybe this mission to save the other victors would give them so more hope. But hope often led to nothing but misery, especially when you knew nothing but pain your whole life.

And hope leads to eternal misery.

➳❦

KATNISS SIGHS AS SHE RESTS HER HEAD BACK AGAINST THE WALL. They were waiting for Haymitch to come to them with news of the other victors. The mission had gone awry when Snow had interrupted the broadcast. Katniss was sure she would never see Peeta again, not after what Snow said. And it terrified her. It seemed to be affecting Finnick too since he hadn't said anything since they sat down in the hallway. He was just staring absent-mindedly at the wall.

"What's on your mind?" Katniss asks him curiously but he doesn't answer her. "Do you not think it'll work?" She adds, furrowing her eyebrows a bit. Finnick looks toward her, blinking a few times.

"What?" He responds, just staring at the woman. Katniss scoffs as she raises her eyebrows at him.

"Are you even listening to me?" Katniss asks him. Finnick groans as he covers his face, rubbing it a bit.

"Sorry, no." He denies, feeling bad but there was just too much going on in his mind. Katniss turns to face him, narrowing her eyes.

"What's going on with you?" Katniss questions, crossing her arms. Finnick fiddles with his fingers.

"I think she heard us." Finnick tells her. Katniss only looks at him with confusion.

"What? Who?"

"Arya."

"You think she heard us?" She asks him slowly, trying to figure out what he meant. Katniss saw him just give her a certain look making her eyebrows raise. "Oh." Katniss coughs a bit. "Oh, really?" Katniss was a bit surprised But Arya was right beside them when they were talking.

"Mhm." Finnick hums as he continues to mentally beat himself up.

"Well, I'm sure it's fine." Katniss says with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Fine? What if this just screwed everything up?" Finnick asks her. Katniss really didn't see why he was getting so worked up and nervous over it.

"I'm sure it didn't." She assures him but he just shakes his head. "Hey, she would've said something already if she was uncomfortable." Katniss points out.

"You don't know that." He mumbles which just makes Katniss rub her face.

"Did she say she hated you?" Katniss asks him making him furrow his eyebrows, a bit confused.

"No.."

"Did she talk about your feelings?" Katniss asks him which just makes him let out a sigh.

"That's not the point." He denies. Katniss just rolls her eyes a bit as she crosses her arms against her chest.

"It is." Katniss says. "Maybe just talk to her instead of spiraling down." She states. Finnick closes his eyes as he brings his hand to his face. He didn't know what to say, or even how to say it. He knew it was one sided.

"Hey." They both look over and see Arya standing there. "Heard any news yet?" She asks them. Katniss glances at Finnick before shaking her head, looking back over at Arya.

"Nothing yet." She denies since Finnick wasn't going to say it. Arya nods before sitting down beside him. Finnick glances at her, running his hands over his legs. He clears his throat a bit which catches her attention.

"Uh, what did you want to talk about earlier?" Finnick asks her curiously. Arya just stares, blinking a few times before forcing a smile on her face.

"Oh, it's fine. It wasn't anything important." Arya denies as she shakes her head. Her eyes go back to her hands. Katniss glances at Finnick who's face showed everything he was feeling. She did feel a bit bad for him but he wasn't saying anything either. He couldn't expect Arya to just make the first move. If he wanted her, he'd have to say something.

If not, then the end result would be his fault.

➳❦

ARYA WAS NERVOUS AS HER FOOT TAPPED AGAINST THE FLOOR. She was thinking of the worst which wasn't exactly hard. Anything could have happened. Anything could go wrong. Arya wanted everyone to come back okay but even if they came to , they wouldn't ever be fine. Not after what they went through in the Capitol. Not after what Snow did to them. Arya felt guilty, she felt like she should still be there. Or at least Wesley should be out here and not in there. She shouldn't have let him push her out but she did.

She felt a hand on her knee making her glance toward it. Finnick had placed it there, squeezing it gently. He gave her a soft smile and she tried to return it but she couldn't. All her mind could do was think of the worst case scenarios. Her head drops into her hands as a groan leaves her lips. Arya hates the waiting, every single second was torture. Especially because of Snow cutting them off. He knew they were there. He could easily just kill them all.

"They're back." Haymitch's voice makes her head shoot up. Arya jumps out of her seat along with Katniss and Finnick. No one says a word, just rushing after Haymitch.

Arya kept thinking about all the possible scenarios in her head as she was going into the medical room. Whether or not everyone was okay, if they didn't get everyone. She was so terrified. Especially for Wesley because she didn't even know if he has survived that night. They had tried to escape, Snow wouldn't have taken that lightly.

But as soon as she enters the room, a commotion takes place in front of them. They move through the countless people until they see the woman on the bed, fighting off the nurses. "Johanna." Katniss says, her eyes widening. Johanna meets their gazes. Arya was shocked at her appearance to say the least.

It seemed Johanna noticed her as well as her eyes immediately went to Arya's.

"You're here." Arya says as she takes a step forward. Johanna laughs as she raises her eyebrows, her eyes running over the woman as if not believing she was here.

"Part of me knew you had made it but honestly, most of me thought you were dead." Johanna retorts as she takes the oxygen off of her nose. Arya sighs as she grabs it, holding it back up to her. Johanna just narrows her eyes.

"Yeah, me too." Arya responds, biting her bottom lip as the guilt reformed in the pit of her stomach. "I'm sorry." She apologizes.  Thinking about leaving her and this being the outcome, Arya should've just stayed or waited for a better opportunity.

"I'm just glad you got out." Johanna says with a sigh, grabbing a hold of her hand. "I know how much you suffered." She points out, her eyes softening. Johanna didn't blame Arya for getting out, she took the chance and it paid off. Snow was going to torture them anyways.

"That's not the-- you guys got the worst of it." Arya corrects as she shakes her head. Johanna didn't think it mattered who got it worst though. "Wesley." She asks hesitantly, not seeing him in the room. "Is he...." Arya trails off, not even wanting to ask.

"He's in the other room." Johanna answers him with a small sigh, knowing she was worried.  "They didn't kill him." She denies. Arya was relieved but it did pose a question.

"Why?" Arya asks her. "I mean he helped me escape. Why would Snow keep him around?" She wondered. Johanna shrugs her shoulders.

"I don't know. I didn't see him much after that." Johanna denies making Arya frown but she nods her head.

"I'm glad you're okay." Arya admits.

"Yeah." Johanna responds. Arya moves back over to where Finnick was and he could see the worry on her face.

"Hey, I'm sure he's fine." Finnick assures her as he puts his hand on her shoulder. Arya leans into it, nodding her head before moving to where Haymitch was standing. Finnick looks back at Johanna for a second and even though she was hurt, he could see the smug look on her face.

"Shut up." He mutters and she just rolls her eyes playfully at him.

"Wow, so sincere. You can't talk to me like that, I was just tortured." Johanna tells him and Finnick just shakes his head.

"Is Wesley in there?" Arya asks Haymitch as she gestures to the room. Haymitch looks at her, a slight sigh leaving his lips.

"Yeah."

"Is he okay?" Arya questions, fiddling with her fingers. Haymitch stares at her with a saddened expression.

"Physically, the doctor says he's not looking too bad." Haymitch responds and Arya closes her eyes for a slight moment.

"Can I see him?" Arya asks him and Haymitch nods. She walks to the door, hesitating as her hand hovers over the knob. Opening it, she walks inside, seeing Wesley sitting at the table. His eyes were on the metal as he just stared down. Arya takes a deep breath, walking over to him slowly.

"Wesley?" She asks carefully, looking at him. He doesnt lift his eyes, only staying still. "You're here. You're okay." Arya says with a smile. She stops next to him. "I'm sorry for... you risked your life for me. I can't thank you enough." She tells him as she bites the inside of her cheek. "I'm just glad you're alive." Arya says but her smile drops when he doesnt say anything. "Wesley?" She didn't know if he was just being quiet or if something was wrong.

"Traitor." The words were more like a mumble. Arya didn't hear them, just stepping closer as her eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"What?" Arya asks. Wesley's head finally raises and his eyes meet hers. But instead of warmth and relief like she expected, all she saw was a hardened glare and hatred.

"You're a traitor!" Wesley screams, jumping up and grabbing a hold of her. She gasps in surprise as she's slammed against the table. Arya tries to fight against him but she was still pretty weak. Wesleys hands wrap around her neck as he repeatedly slams her against the metal. "I'll kill you! You traitor!"  He yells as he glares down at her. Arya feels her vision get spotty as she reaches her hands up but it does nothing.

"Hey! Wesley, stop!" She hears in the distance before Wesley is pulled away from her. Arya gasps as she drops to the ground, bringing her hands to her throat as she tries to get her breath back. She felt the pain in the back of her head from being smashed repeatedly against the table.

"I'll kill you!" Wesley shouts as he fights against Finnick's grip. Finnick tries to see if Arya was okay but he was focused on not letting Wesley go. Arya stumbles her way toward the door, needing to get out of the space.

"Hold him, now!" Finnick demands the two guards in a stern tone. Wesley wasn't calming down though, they needed a sedative.

"You traitor!" Wesley screams while Arya closes the door behind her. She bends over, her hands coming up to cover her ears as she shook her head. Arya felt like her whole world was crumbling down around her. Nothing was the same, everything was changing and not for the better.

Arya tries to catch her breath as she leant against the wall, her hands going to her chest. The tears streamed down her face as she squeezed her eyes shut. Her head was pounding, her heart racing in her chest as she heard Wesley screaming. She just had to hear it, to suffer the consequences to her actions. She made this happen.

Wesley hated her. He wanted to kill her. Arya knew it was because of something Snow did but it didn't change the fact that she got out and he didn't. That would've been her. But instead, Wesley wasn't himself and she didn't know how far it went. If he would always hate her, if it was temporary.

Or if his whole life had been turned upside down because of a decision that she had made.

➳❦

Authors note;
Sorry for the late update ! But we have reached 100k on this book ! Thank you all so much for your support and I hope you all continue to read this series as it continues <3