HAVEN SAT AT THE BACK of the train, watching the Capitol fade into the distance. Just a few weeks before she'd been on the same train, getting ready to fight for her life. Now she was on the other side, the first of many battles behind her.

The blonde was still looking out the window when she heard someone sit down next to her. She turned her head, finding Finnick looking out the window at the view of the Capitol. "For something so twisted, it's quite beautiful." The girl remarked. "Ever so poetic Cleary." Finnick chuckled, the girl lightly punching him in the arm.

The pair sat quietly for a few minutes, watching the skyline of the Capitol fade into the distance. Haven was the first to break the silence. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" Finnick asked, tilting his head in confusion. "Go back to normal." She replied.

The boy smiled sadly at her. "You can try and pretend, but your life isn't ever going to be 'normal' again. Sorry, I know it's not what you wanted to hear."

"What am I supposed to do now?" The girl sighed. "Take it one day at a time. That's the only way I can do it." He responded, loosely grabbing her hand.

"All of us all went through it, me, Mal, Collin, Sebastian, Chlöe, Garrett, Mags. We're still going through it. There's not a lot of people out there that understand what you're about to go through, but we do."

"Thank you, Finnick. It's nice to know I'm not alone in this." She said, pulling him into a hug.

"Never." He said quietly, hugging her back.

➸

The moon streamed in through the giant curtains, casting shadows across the room. The peaceful scene soon interrupted by Haven waking up screaming, her sleep plagued by a nightmare.

Sobs shook through the blonde's entire body, her cheeks wet with tears. She wrapped herself in a cardigan, before leaving her room. Haven walked down the hall, wiping her face dry with her sleeves.

She walked into the living area, surprised to see Mallory and Garrett still awake watching something on the TV, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Oh no. Come here, what's wrong?" Mallory said sympathetically, patting the couch next to her. Garrett stood up, kissing Mallory on the cheek. "I'll give you two some space. Goodnight babe." "Love you." Mallory called out as he left the room.

Haven sat down, Mallory immediately embracing her. "I didn't know you and Garrett..." She said, trailing off. "Yeah, we've been dating for a couple of years, but not a lot of people know. Don't want all the Capitol vultures in our business." She sighed.

"Enough about me. What happened? Nightmare?" Mallory said, switching the subject. "Yeah." The blonde responded. "I'm all too familiar with them." Her mentor said.

"I just kept seeing Roxy's death over and over again. It was like a broken record, I couldn't escape it." The girl started crying again, Mallory wrapping her arms around her once more. "Shhh. It's okay. I know it feels real. But you're not there, you're not in the Games anymore. This time you can wake up. You can escape the horror."

Haven buried her face in Mallory's shoulder, her shirt soaked by the girl's tears. Mallory sat, just holding her for a while until finally the girl stopped shaking, her tears drying, and she calmed down.

Mallory had an Avox bring them two cups of tea, the pair sitting silently drinking them. Once she finished, Haven set her cup down, starting to stand up, but Mallory shook her head. "Just sleep on the couch. I'll stay with you." Haven nodded, grateful that she didn't have to be alone. "Thank you Mal." She said, laying back down on the couch. "Anytime." Mallory responded.

➸

"Hurry up! We're pulling into the station in 20 minutes." Pandora yelled, pounding on Haven's door the next morning. The blonde was frantically getting ready, making sure she would meet Pandora's standards with her appearance.

She finished curling the last strand of her blonde hair before Pandora screamed once more for her to come out. Haven quickly glanced at herself in the mirror, wearing a floral short pink dress, with her hair in bouncy curls, hoping Pandora would approve.

"Goodness, does no one value being prompt around here?" Pandora asked, the irritation clear in her voice. Haven was comforted to see her mentors, now her fellow victors also scrambling, putting the last touches on their outfits, fixing their buttons and hair. It felt foreign to her, the fact that she was a victor like them now.

"Alright, Haven of course will be going first, and you all will walk out after her. Remember, big smiles, this is going to be televised!" Pandora chirped, clapping her hands together.

The train rolled to a stop, and Pandora practically shoved Haven towards the door. Haven stepped out onto the platform, feeling a wave of relief as she breathed in the humid air of District 4 for the first time in weeks. She was immediately met with cameras flashing in her face, and people standing outside cheering for her. Haven smiled, waving at the crowd.

There were probably hundreds of people standing below the platform, eager to welcome their victor back to District 4. She only cared about four of those people though, her eyes scanning the crowd to find them. Her gaze first landed on her sister, standing at the front of the crowd. "Ash!" The blonde screamed giddily, practically sprinting into her sister's arms. "You're back. You made it." Ashlyn said, pulling back to look her sister in the eye.

Someone tapped her shoulder and Haven turned around, Sawyer now standing in front of her. He embraced his twin, lifting her up off her feet. "I knew you'd do it. You kept your promise." Haven giggled. "Put me down Sawyer." She scolded playfully.

"Where's mom and dad?" Haven asked, realizing they weren't there. "Waiting for you in the car, let's go." Ashlyn ushered her towards the car waiting in the street. Haven opened the door, her face breaking into a smile when she saw her parents.

Shane and Cecile both wrapped their arms around their daughter, having her physically in front of her veryifying for them that she had survived. "That's my girl." Shane said, giving Haven a fist bump.

"They already moved all of our stuff to the Victors Village, that's where we're going now." Cecile said. "Right, I forgot about that." Haven replied. She felt a pang of sadness, knowing she wasn't going back to her familiar home.

A few minutes later the car pulled in past the iron wrought gates of the Victor's Village. The large houses were arranged in a circle on the road, with a large fountain gushing in the middle. The car pulled up to the house marked with the number 7, Haven assuming it was because she was the 7th living victor in District 4 now.

She stepped out into the stone pathway, Pandora already waiting outside the house for her. "Oh this is so exciting! Here's the key." She said, handing Haven a small silver key. "Go ahead." Pandora said, motioning to the door.

Haven turned the key in the lock, pushing open the large wooden door. The house was beautiful, Haven and her family taken aback by how elegant it was. From the furniture, to the decor and architecture, the house was nothing like Haven had ever seen in Four before. It felt strange to her that this was her home now.

"I'll race you upstairs." Sawyer called, taking off running. "Get ready to lose." Haven yelled back, bounding up the stairs and passing her brother. She flopped onto one of the beds in a room upstairs, Sawyer entering a few seconds later. "I let you win." He said, plopping into one of the chairs. "Yeah right." She joked back.

Sawyer's face turned more serious. "I'm really glad you made it back. I don't even want to think about what I would've done if you didn't."

Haven sighed. "You guys were what got me through it. I couldn't give up because I knew I had to make it home." Sawyer smiled. "And you did just that."

Her mom prepared dinner that night, the Cleary family finally reunited. Haven felt truly happy for the first time in weeks surrounded by her family. For a few minutes, she forgot about the horrors of the last few weeks, and the trauma that would plague her every day. For once since this nightmare had started, it felt like she was dreaming again.

// author's note
finnick content = 🥰🥳
me making haven sad and have nightmares = 😥🤧
haven reuniting w her fam = 💞✨😌🥳
longer chapter since i took a few extra days!! also 10000% i made haven wear a cardigan just bc i'm obsessed w folklore. not sorry about it.
hope y'all liked this chapter, leave some comments/vote if you feel like it i really appreciate it when you do!!
- a <3