➳❦

AS SHE ROLLS OVER ON HER SIDE, Arya rests her head on finnick as they laid together on the hard concrete on top of a very thin blanket. It did nothing to bring them any sort of comfort. "You awake?" She hears finnick ask softly, probably trying not to wake the others who weren't on shift. Arya sighs as she tilts her head up so she could be looking at him.

"Couldn't even fall asleep." Arya admits as she curls up more against him. Finnick wraps his arm around her, holding her close.

"Me either." Finnick replies, his eyes feeling hooded but his body won't physically allow him to go to sleep. Arya frowns as she glances toward Peeta who was asleep with his head against the wall.

"He'll be okay, right?" Arya asks him curiously and Finnick looked confused before seeing who she was looking at.

"Who, peeta?" He responds and she nods slightly. "Yeah." Finnick says, truly believing that he'll get back to his old self in time. That was if the rebellion worked out for them in the end.

"I can't lose him too." She denies and Finnick hated that it was always her first place to go with everything.

"Hey, you're not gonna lose anybody, okay? Don't think like that." Finnick wanted to keep a positive mind because negativity just brought on the actual thing and they didn't need that right now.

"I just feel like everything isn't going the way I wanted it to." Arya states and Finnick moves a bit in order to face her better.

"What did you want?" He questions and Arya looks toward the window out into the night sky.

"To be there, in the Capitol, not on the outskirts doing nothing." Arya admits. She wanted to get to snow as soon as possible. She wanted to stop all of this unnecessary death.

"We'll get there."

"Really? Where's that plan you all magically came up with."Arya asks, raising an eyebrow as she sits up a bit and Finnick was quiet for a second.

"Well, we weren't expecting a whole arena outside the Capitol." Finnick admits and Arya rolls her eyes playfully. "But we'll make it. And Snow will pay for everything he has done." He assures her and she nods her head a bit. Finnick leans in, kissing her softly as his hand runs through her hair.

"You two done?" Xander asks from across from them. They pull away, both of them glancing toward the man who didn't even have his eyes open.

"So much for privacy." Arya grumbled as she rests her head back against the wall. Finnick only kisses the side of her head as he pulls her back against him.

"We don't have much privacy out here." Finnick admits, keeping his voice lower than before.

"I wish we could contact Johanna, see how Wesley's doing." Arya desperately needed to know if he was making any improvements, was he talking to someone new, did he have movement in his legs, she needed answers.

"I'm sure he's fine." Finnick tells her, not wanting her to be concerned when Johanna was perfectly capable-- okay, semi capable-- of taking care of Wesley. Who was he kidding, Johanna was the worst person to ask.

"Oh, you're sure?" Arya narrows her gaze.

"Stop worrying, you know you do that quite often." Finnick points out and she pouts lightly as she gazes up at the man.

"I can't exactly help it." She admits. It was like in her DNA to worry for the people she loved. Finnick smiles gently as he brushes the hair out of her face.

"Just gotta take your mind off of it." Finnick tells her and Arya couldn't help but drop her eyes to his lips.

"Well, the one thing I want to do I cant really do it right now." She denies, an annoyed tone in her voice. Finnick seemed to be thinking the same thing as her as he got a sneaky look in his eye.

"We can sneak off?" Finnick suggests but Arya stared back at him like he was both crazy and stupid. Which he was.

"And get bombed by whatever pod is waiting for us?" Arya asks, referencing the numerous pods that were designed to kill them and that they couldn't see without the holo.

"I just meant go upstairs." Finnick suggests, raising an eyebrow. Arya felt dumb, laughing underneath her breath. Their eyes move around the room, not seeing much movement. With that, finnick grabbed Aryas hand and lead her up the stone stairs.

He presses her against the wall softly, their lips meeting as the kiss deepens ever so slightly. Finnick grips her hips, pushing his body against hers as their small moans leave their lips. Arya could all but melt anytime she kissed finnick, he was like an angel sent down to her. Although if he really was an angel, he would stop what the capitol was doing.

Arya reluctantly pulls away for a moment, noticing Finnicks slightly puffy lips. "You know this place isn't sanitary, right?" She asks him, holding onto his jacket and Finnick couldn't help but chuckle under his breath as he moved even closer to her, not that Arya thought that was possible.

"Just kiss me." Finnick says with a shake of his head and a smile on his face before leaning back down toward her.

➳❦

ARYA HAD STARTED TO DRAG HER FEET, feeling tired from all the walking. It seemed like they had gotten nowhere since they had to be extra careful because of the pods. It would be faster to just get captured by a peacekeeper and taken directly to Snow. Arya knew none of them would be up for the idea though.
She feels eyes on her and as she turns her head, she notices katniss was staring at her. She had a smug look on her face.

"What?" Arya asks, raising an eyebrow at the woman as she moves so she was now walking beside her. Katniss only glances toward Finnick which caused Arya to do the same thing.

"I saw you two sneak off last night." She admits, giving a knowing smirk. Arya blushes lightly, not realizing that anyone had seen them.

"It was nothing." Arya denies and she saw the slight disgust that formed on Katniss's face.

"You didn't do it on the dirty ground, right?" Katniss asks her, feeling slightly repulsed and she was glad when Arya made the same face as her.

"Ew, no." She responds quickly with a shake of her head. "We just made out a bit." Arya says, biting her bottom lip and Katniss gasps.

"We just made out a bit." She mocks the woman who groans, pushing her which made Katniss laugh.

"Shut up." Arya grumbles while Katniss just shakes her head.

"You both are so lovesick, it's gross." Katniss tells her and Arya looks back over at finnick for a moment before smirking at Katniss.

"My man is hot, what can I say?" She tells Katniss who rubs her face, scrunching up her nose.

"I still can't believe you two used to hate each other." Katniss admits, having seen first hand what they were like before they formed a connection.

"Finnick was more annoyed by how I acted toward him." Arya admits, she didn't think finnick actually disliked her, more so her actions and words toward him.

"I've heard stories."

"Mhm, do tell." Arya prys with a laugh, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you really hold a knife to his throat and then proceed to throw a drink in his face?" Katniss asks in amusement, remembering she had heard that from haymitch and it made her laugh. Finnick was probably used to getting all the ladies and then he met Arya.

"He was getting way too far into my personal space and if he smirked all cockily at you, you'd do the same." Arya explains to her and Katniss laughs but crosses her arms against her chest.

"Wasn't that just an act?" Katniss asks her. She knew he was putting on an act when they had first met as well but Finnick could also get sassy in his own personality so sometimes it was a mixture.

"A convincing one because I didn't know he wasn't an asshole until we got to thirteen." Arya says with a smirk. It was a little bit before that if she was being honest. She knew he hadn't killed her which did give him some bonus points.

"So, you didn't want to sleep with him earlier on?" Katniss taunts, wiggling her eyebrows and Arya let's out a scoff.

"I'm not saying he wasn't hot but I would've never given him the satisfaction." She denies with a shake of her head. Arya could never deny that finnick was attractive but sleeping with him back them would've been like handing her soul over to the devil.

"Do you and Peeta hold hands a lot?" Katniss asks out of the blue which made Arya look at her amused. "I just noticed it, that's all." She says, trying to brush it off like it was nothing.

"He's a close friend. We went through a lot together." Arya points out.

"Does Finnick ever get jealous?" Katniss asks curiously. That was the one thing she didn't know about finnick, if he got jealous or not. But maybe things were different with Peeta.

"What, like you are?" Arya retorts in a teasing tone which causes Katniss to go slightly red. "No, he knows we just care about each other. He did jokingly complain when we first started walking that Peeta wasn't holding his hand as well." She adds with a small laugh. Katniss raises an eyebrow as she looks back in front of her.

"Ah, so that's how we got to that development?" Katniss says, gesturing to where Finnick and Peeta were, their hands clasped together as Finnick talks and Peeta just listens to what he has to say.

"I guess so." Arya admits with a small smile before her eyes move back to katniss. "You're gonna get Peeta back, just keep hope." She assures the woman. Sure, it didn't seem too optimistic right now but Wesley came back to them, Peeta could come back to Katniss.

"I'm trying." She states with a sigh. "But Coin sent him here to kill me, you know that." Katniss says quietly and Arya did know that, and she desperately wanted to kill the disgusting woman for even suggesting such a thing.

"Then don't let that bitch win." Arya says with a smirk playing on her lips. Katniss couldn't help but laugh as she shakes her head. Arya wraps an arm around the woman, resting her head on her shoulder as they continued to walk down the path.

➳❦

FINNICK WALKED BESIDE PEETA, trying to get him ready for the video they were gonna shoot. Arya was trailing beside him, every so often kicking at his foot which he didnt know if she meant to do or not. He would glance at her but she would just be staring right ahead. But Finnick wouldnt be surprised if she were messing with him. "To the citizens of the capitol, our war is not with you." finnick starts as he glances at Peeta who nods his head.

"To the citizens of the capitol our war is not with you." Peeta retorts, practically like a parrot.

"You will be a vital part of the democracy that follows our victory."

"You will be a vital part of the democracy that follows our victory."

"You got it." Finnick says with a smile as he pats Peeta on the back. Arya raises an eyebrow as she looks over at them.

"Now, just try not to mess up." Arya adds and Finnick tilts his head back before his eyes move to hers and she just innocent meets his gaze.

"You had to say that?" Finnick asks her, a bit annoyed while she shrugs her shoulders, a smile forming on her lips.

"What, I'm just teasing." She admits and Finnick nudges her lightly.

"Mhm." He hums as he shakes his head. Arya makes her way toward Peeta so she was walking beside him.

"You doing okay?" Arya asks, knowing he may still be a bit out of it or he could go into an episode quite quickly. It's happened to her so she knows how fast it can happen.

"Yeah, yeah. I think so." Peeta assures her before his eyes glance to Matthew who was walking a few strides ahead of them. "Do you um... remember him yet?" He asks, wondering if there had been any progress. Arya looks at where Peeta was.

"No." She states, her head dropping slightly. "I wish I did." Arya had tried her best and it's not like she didn't get along with Matthew, but it was clear he was missing the way things used to be.

"I'm sure you will."

"We'll see." Arya says, biting her bottom lip. Nothing had come back to her so far, not even a glimpse so she was kind of losing hope. "I just feel like normalcy is not in the cards for us anymore." She admits with a long sigh leaving her lips.

"What could ever give you that impression?" Peeta asks sarcastically as he tilts his head. Arya glances away from him making him frown a little before a thought pops into his head. "I love you, a bushel and a peck--" He starts to sing which catches Aryas attention quite quickly.

"Oh, my god." Arya groans as she covers her face with her hands as Peeta only continues.

"-- A bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. A hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap, a barrel and a heap and I'm talking in my sleep about you." Peeta finishes the song, ending with his arms wrapped around Arya, his chin on her shoulder. Arya scrunches up her nose, feeling multiple eyes look back at them, probably wondering why Peeta had been singing.

"Where's that from?" Finnick asks curiously, furrowing his eyebrows as he hasn't heard that one before.

"Oh, we would just sing it to each other if one of us felt secluded or like we'd never get out of there." Arya admits as she shrugs her shoulders, her voice a bit quiet near the end of her sentence. Finnick knew it was still hard for her to talk about it but he was really glad she had Peeta constantly trying to lift her spirits.

"Or more so, I sang it to you." Peeta teases as he pokes at her side and she just playfully glares over at him.

"Whatever." Arya responds, crossing her arms against her chest.

"Peeta, you gotta stop making moves on my girl." Finnick warns in a joking way, giving him a fake glare. But they all knew Finnick was very confident with himself and in no way was even the slightest bit scared of how close Arya and Peeta were. Because he saw they were friends and nothing more than that.

"Afraid you're not good enough to keep her?" Peeta retorts, raising an eyebrow over at Finnick who seemed amused, chuckling lightly under his breath.

"You challenging me?" Finnick asks, stepping closer to the man. Peeta pretends to look him over as if preparing for a fight.

"I'm not looking at much of a challenge." He taunts and Finnick smirks down at the man, rubbing his jaw as he wasn't all too surprised by Peeta's snarky banter. Even before the quarter quell, he was a bit sassy and then with Aryas influence... yeah, he wasn't surprised.

"My moneys on Peeta." Arya admits as she flickers her eyes between the pair. Peeta let's out a loud laugh while Finnick gasps, feeling a bit offended.

"Hey!" Finnick complains, frowning dramatically as he looks over at his girlfriend who only held a sweet smile on her face.

"He's pretty scrappy, don't let his innocent eyes fool you." Arya says, pointing her finger at finnick. She just giggles as he sends her a playful glare.

"Mhm." Finnick only hums, narrowing his eyes at her but she just smiles, shaking her head as she pulls him down toward her. Their lips meet in a deep kiss, Arya sighing into it as she holds him close for a moment. Only for a moment since someone decided they wanted to start with some commentary.

"My eyes are burning." Peeta whines, bringing his hands up to cover his eyes. Arya only rolls hers as she pulls away from Finnick, pushing peeta ever so slightly. Katniss frowns as she glances back at the trio, hating how she was pushed aside.

She knew they didn't mean to, they were helping Peeta and well, he didn't exactly want her around. Katniss honestly did hope that she could get him back like Arya kept saying. Because she missed him and she missed their little group. For those few minutes on that beach, they had fun with each other.

And Katniss was just desperately trying to get back to that brief moment of happiness.

➳❦

JOHANNA SMILES AS SHE WATCHES VIOLET SIT ON HER BROTHERS BED. They were holding hands as Violet rambled onto Wesley about everything that had happened. "And then Matthew, Aryas friend, got me from district five and brought me here with him. Mom was so scared flying in the big helicopter." Violet says with a small laugh, smiling at her brother. Wesley weakly smiles back, just glad his sister was safe.

"I hope the rebellion works because I really don't want to lose anybody else." She denies, frowning a bit at the thought of it. "And Arya went to the capitol with a bunch of other people, although I wish she stayed here with us." Violet admits. She and Arya had just started to become friends and she already missed her.

This sparked concern within Wesley as he snapped his gaze to Johanna. "She went to the capitol?" He asks her, wondering why the hell Johanna would let that happen.

"She's safe, Wes. She's with Finnick and almost a dozen other people." Johanna assures him, knowing there was bad memories but it wasn't like it was a vacation, they were going to murder Snow.

"Did you know her and finnick are dating?" Violet asks with a gasp and Wesley blinks a few times. He would be more shocked by that fact if he wasn't terrified for what could happen to them.

"I didn't." He denies, shaking his head slowly. Johanna sees the man start to distance himself yet again.

"V, why don't you go get us something to eat?" Johanna suggests in a soft tone. Violet was confused but nodded her head, squeezing her brothers hand before making her way out of the room.  Johanna waits for the door to close before moving over to Wesley. "I know it's a little bit hard at first, readjusting to everything." She admits as she sits down beside the man.

"You let her go out there?" He accuses her, a small glare settling on his features.

"Wesley, it was her choice." Johanna admits. No one was going to stop her from going and she knew Arya would be safe. Surrounded by literally everyone who cares about her; Xander, Matthew, finnick, katniss-- they would never allow her to be harmed.

"She's gonna get killed." Wesley says with a shake of his head and Johanna snorts a bit.

"Wow, way to keep the air positive." She jokes, raising an eyebrow at the man who just nervously plays with the bed sheet. Johanna sighs, tilting her head. "Matthew would never let anything happen to her." Truthfully, none of them would but Matthew wouldn't even hesitate for a second to give his life for her.

"Because he can stop everything." He argues, a bit angrily as he rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry you didn't know but you only just started communicating with us." Johanna points out, it wasn't like he was having conversations with people a few days ago. "Wes, I'm right here and I believe they'll all make it back, okay?" She couldn't promise anything because it was still a very dangerous mission but she could hope.

"Did I really attack Arya?" Wesley's voice was quiet and uncertain, his eyes trained on his hands.

"Yeah, you did." Johanna replies reluctantly. "But she was fully okay, I promise." She had a few bruises and was well... a bit traumatized but who wasn't nowadays.

"I don't even really remember it, Haymitch told me." Wesley admits and he almost thought Haymitch was kidding at first but even he wouldn't joke about something like that.

"She doesn't hate you for it. Everyone knows you were still semi hijacked." Johanna assures him. Arya had only been very concerned for him and was hating herself for abandoning them even though none of them had thought that.

"And you're okay?" He asks reluctantly as his eyes run over her. Wesley could see her fragile figure in front of him and knew she would try and make it out to be less of a deal than it was.

"Okay is a relative term." She admits with a small smile. Wesley shakes his head as he feels the tears well back up in his eyes.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Wesley had been glad when Arya had escaped. At least he would've helped one of them.

"Hey, we're both here. We're alive. Let's just be grateful for that." Johanna points out. She was just happy they had all survived it. She was sure one of them would be killed early on. And if snow hadn't been gloating, it definitely would've been Arya.

"But if i--"

"Just shut up and enjoy the moment." Johanna says with a laugh, shaking her head but the man still had a tear fall down his cheek.

"Jo, I thought i would never see you again." Wesley admits, his voice cracking as his eyes meet hers.

"Well I'm here." Johanna says as she takes his hands in her own, moving closer and pressing their foreheads together. "I'm right here." She whispered, closing her eyes momentarily. Wesley squeezes her hands, smiling softly as he instantly relaxed underneath her touch.

➳❦

ARYA WALKED BESIDE PEETA, her arms wrapped around his as they made their way down the stairs. Finnick was behind them in a protective stance, his eyes looking around for any potential enemy's. He ever so often touched her shoulder or nudged her back, just to let her know he was still there. "Boggs." Cressida says, catching their attention. "This is a good spot. Through there in the courtyard." She admits, pointing toward it.

"Okay, let us clear it." Boggs says, moving toward the alley way but he suddenly stops. "Got a pod. Split, take cover." He tells them and they all go to the two opposite ends of the wall.

"Arya, behind me." Finnick says as he grabs her waist to pull her to the space behind him as they hunched down. "Cover your ears, okay? I got Peeta." He tells her and she nods her head, bringing her hands up to her ears. Xander places his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them which gave her some comfort.

"Stay back." Boggs tells them before tossing something through the alleyway, triggering the machine guns that shot bullets at them. Arya flinches as she squeezes her eyes shut, hearing her heart pound in her ears. She could barely feel Xanders touch anymore as she desperately hoped the guns would stop soon.

"All clear. Gale, Holmes with me. Leegs take the wings." Boggs says, gesturing down the alley. They begin to make their way down it as Finnick turns to Arya.

"You okay?" He asks, lifting her chin with his finger carefully. Finnick could see she was shaking, her hands practically pulling her hair. "Arya." Finnick's voice was gentle, and luckily she opened her eyes.

"I'm okay." Arya lets out with a soft sigh, slowly lowering her hands. Finnick nods softly, his eyes moving to Xander momentarily. The older man just looked a bit warily but moved away once seeing Arya was fine. "Peeta?" She asks as she moves around Finnick so she could get to the man.

"You favourite colour is blue." Peeta says as he hits his head with his gun. Arya frowns as she places her hands on his, trying to stop him from hurting himself. Peeta was breathing heavily but didn't seem to fight against her.

"You're safe, you hear me?" Arya assures him, gazing at the man who seemed to be trying to stay in the present. A sudden explosion caught everyone off guard and Arya all but threw herself over Peeta in order to shield him.

"Everdeen, no!" Jackson warns her but katniss didn't listen, only running over to the injured man.

"Boggs!" Katniss shouts while as Jackson held everyone else back.

"Hold your position!" Jackson tells them. Arya frowns as she watches Katniss bend down beside Boggs. She just shakes her head as she knew this would happen. The capitol was still killing them, even when they were trying to put an end to it.

Arya drops her head, running a hand over her face as she knew Boggs wasn't going to make it. As one of the leegs stands up, moving over toward her sister, it seemed she stepped on another pressure plate as she stopped moving immediately. A big scraping sound caught their attention and they suddenly saw the walls begin to close around them.

Her eyes widen as she glances around. They were trapped once more, as if they were back in the arena. Black slug comes pouring out of the walls, spreading panic through everyone. "Go, go, go!" Castor shouts as they all rush away from it and toward the building.

"Get to higher ground!" Jackson demands. Arya tried to stay nearer to Peeta, not wanting him to lag behind. But it seemed he had other plans as they made their way up the small grass stairs.

Peeta grabs katniss, throwing her to the ground. He takes the gun, jamming it down toward her but Katniss moves away. Aryas eyes widen as she rushes toward him, but Mitchell, one of the squad guys tackles him first. Katniss could only watch as Peeta pushed the man off of him and into the sludge.

Arya hears the screams of the man as she grabs peeta, not wanting him to hurt anybody else. But it seemed he was still in his defense mode as he had swung around and hit her over the head with the gun. Falling to the ground, she felt her ears ringing. She groans as she lifts her hand to her head.

Finnick was already holding Peeta back but his gaze was stuck on Arya. Fear ran through his veins as the sludge got closer to them. But Matthew luckily ran over, bending down next to Arya. "I got her, finnick! Go!" Matthew demands, picking Arya up from the ground and rushing toward the building with the others as Finnick drags Peeta.

They get up the stairs, stopping when they couldn't go up any further due to some of it being broken. Matthew rests Arya against the wall as Gale sticks a needle in peeta to calm him down. Finnick quickly rushes to Arya as soon as Peeta wasn't gonna move. He puts his hands on her cheeks, his eyes full of worry as he looks at the injury on her head.

She just gives him a smile, nodding a bit to let him know she was okay. Finnick let's out a small sigh, pulling her toward him and hugging her tightly. Xander stayed next to Peeta, knowing someone needed to be with him at all times. "it's slowing down." Cressida says as they see the slug stop right before the top stair. "Gamemakers are still putting on quite the show." She mumbles with a shake of her head.

"451 to base, over." Jackson says into the radio. Matthew was just staring at Arya, or more so the blood running down her face. Pollux had taken out a bandage for her and had given it to finnick.

"We better move. If peacekeepers didn't know where we were, they do now." Xander points out, knowing that just made quite the commotion.

"451 to base, come in."

"This is a bad spot, we need to move now." Gale says with a shake of his head. Matthew moves toward the window, trying to see anything.

"They'll be here in a matter of minutes." He adds.

"I can't get a signal. But i can get us back to base. Everdeen, give me the holo." Jackson says, putting her radio away. Katniss only stares at her. "Everdeen, what did i just say? The holo, come on." She says, holding out her hand.

"Boggs gave it to me." Katniss says simply and Jackson furrows her eyebrows.

"What are you talking about?"

"He did. He transferred security clearance to her. I saw him." Holmes states and Jackson scoffs a bit.

"Why would he do that?" Jackson asks.

"Im on special orders from Coin." Katniss tells her making Arya look toward her with a confused expression.

"To do what?"

"To assassinate president Snow." She admits but even with how convincing she seemed to make it, Arya didn't believe Katniss. Coin didn't trust her, all the more reason why she sent Peeta to them.

"I don't believe that for one second." Jackson denies, shaking her head. "And as your new unit commander, I order you to transfer security clearance to me. Now." She states firmly.

"I can't do that." Katniss denies. Jackson stares at her before her hand moves to her gun. Gale and Matthew were quick to pull their own weapons first.

"Let's not lose our heads here." Gale says as he glares over at Jackson. By this point everyone was pointing their weapons at each other.

"I'm not asking you again. Everdeen. Give me that holo." Jackson demands, not budging an inch. Arya could easily disarm Jackson in the blink of an eye, it was just how many bullets would fly in the process. She didn't want anyone else getting hurt.

Luckily Cressida stepped forward. "She's telling the truth. Plutarch wants it televised. He thinks if we can film the Mockingjay assassinating Snow, it'll make the  Capitol surrender before the casualties get too high." She explains to the woman and Jackson seemed to hesitate a little bit.

"No one wants a war, Jackson." Xander denies, stepping forward a bit. Jackson seemed to relax as she hears his voice but still didn't lower her gun.

"While we're arguing, there are a hundred peacekeepers on their way here." Gale points out, knowing they were running out of time.

"Boggs promised me that when the time came you would help me." Katniss says, staring right at the woman who finally sighs, lowering the gun in her hand.

"All right soldier." Jackson says with a nod.

"I don't think we're gonna leave any footprints, we should leave now. The cameras outside will be covered with the oil." Gale explains to them but Castor, who was bent down beside one of the leeg sisters shakes his head.

"She can't move forward like this, her legs too bad. We have to evacuate her." Castor tells them, looking up at Jackson.

"I'll stay with her." The other leeg sister says as she bends down beside her. Arya smiled gently, it was honestly nice to see a bond between people even when they almost died.

"As soon as we make contact, we will send someone back." Jackson tells them before looking at the rest of the group. "Alright, everybody. lets go." She states before leading them down the stairs. Arya was near the back and Matthew moved closer to her.

"You still okay?" Matthew asks her carefully and she sends him a warm smile before nodding her head.

"Yeah, thank you." Arya responds, knowing he was the one who all but carried her into the building so she wasn't killed. Matthew just nudges her arm, smiling back.

The group made their way to a building across the way, knowing they didn't have much time. It seemed to be someones home. "Get those blinds closed." Jackson demands as she gestures over to them. It was a good time they left when they did since it wasn't another minute before peacekeepers were pulling up.

Everyone ducks behind the blinds, watching carefully as they surrounded the building. Suddenly there were bullets flying out of the building. "It's the leegs." finnick says. They were fighting. They all watched as the peacekeepers returned the fire before they sent a missile into the building, blowing it up.

Arya gasps as she turns against finnick. Finnick covers her ears as he holds her close to him. She squeezes her eyes shut as she visibly shakes. Finnick was whispering something to her but she wasn't really listening, trying to calm her heart rate down.

The screen in front of them turns on making them all turn to it. A mandatory viewing broadcast appeared. Arya sniffles as she turns her head to look at it and pulling back from Finnick who gave her the space she needed.

"Good afternoon, I'm Caesar flickerman, here with our continuing coverage on the defence of the capitol. Today, as our peacekeepers  valiantly hold off the rebels, our story takes a surprising twist." He starts to explain and Arya can't help but glare at Caesar through the screen. "Katniss Everdeen, our once favourite daughter has infiltrated the city with some of the victors who's names are all too familiar." She felt someone's hand moving into hers and when she glanced over, she saw it was Finnick. His eyes were still on the screen but his thumb was running circles over her skin.

"finnick odair, Peeta Mellark, Arya Ryker and Xander Valdez. Clearly some alliances don't lat forever." Caesar says in a taunting tone, showing what had happened before one of their squad members died. Arya glances over at Peeta who was only staring at the ground. "Take a look at what happened moments ago when our peacekeepers cornered Katniss Everdeen and her band of foolish rebels. Whatever arrogance brought this treacherous girl back to us, you are about to witness a great victory not only for the capitol, but for panem." Arya hoped they believed they were dead so they could kill Snow without any further detection.

"So, there you have it. Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire, the girl who inspired so much violence, seems to have met a violent end herself. Stay tuned for more information, Caesar flicker,man. Thank you." And with that the screen goes black. No one says anything for a moment, just sitting in silence.

"So, now that we're dead, what do we do?" Gale asks, looking around the group.

"Isn't it obvious?" Peeta retorts making everyone's eyes move to him. "The next move is to kill me." Aryas eyes widen as her lips part slightly. She couldn't believe he was suggesting that. "I murdered one of our squad members. Katniss is right, I'm a mutt. And it's only a matter of time before I snap again. I'm not in control. I need a nightlock pill so I can die when i need to." Peeta explains to them, tears in his eyes.

Arya felt her heart break. He didn't even believe that he was worth saving anymore. It wasn't his fault that he had moments where he wasn't himself. Arya had snapped as well but no one was suggesting she die. Well, Gale probably was thinking it but who the hell cared what he thought. As if he was reading her mind, Gale spoke up.

"If it gets to that point I'll kill you myself." Gale tells him and Arya felt like she saw blood as her eyes snapped over to the man.

"You try anything and my knife goes in your neck." Arya threatens as she glares over at him. Gale clenches his jaw but doesn't say anything else. Arya turns to Peeta, bending down beside him and taking his hands in her own."We'll get through this, Peeta. Okay, I promise you." She says, looking up at the man who seemed scared out of his mind.

But the small nod he gave her made her let out a bit of relief before she wrapped her arms around him, bringing him close to her.

➳❦

Authors note;

Sorry for the month long wait.

We are nearing the end of this book unfortunately :( but don't be scared, the prequel will follow soon after where you can see Arya in the 69th Hunger Games as well as the aftermath that ensued.