Sugarcubes // Finnick Odair - Hunger Games Fanfic

Prologue

You would think that after four years of nonstop parties and capitol wealth, I would be used to the glamour of the Victor's ball. I'm not. It's required that all the previous Victor's be present at the Victor's ball to sort of welcome the newest into the clan of the most prestigious in society. But honestly? It's not something to be celebrated. There is no such thing as winning the Hunger Games. There is only survival. And some of us aren't doing even that. Still, I put a smile on my face because I know people will be watching. When are they not?

I make my way, weaving through the crowd, happy, for once, at the new addition to the Victor's clan. Or as happy as you can be when the Victor is a girl who's like a sister to you, knowing she'll have to go through the nightmares and the slavery and the horrible things that come with surviving the games. I see her eventually, dancing with some Capitol freak and walk right up to them, my tennis shoes making squeaky sounds on the floor as I go.

"Excuse me, sir, do you think I could steal her away from you for a while?" I say, tapping the person she's dancing with on the back. He almost jumps out of his skin in shock that he's surrounded by not only one, but two Victor's and scurries away muttering 'Sure' frequently under his breath.

I grin at her.

"I think you scared him Ria," Johanna says, looking out after the Capitol man.

"That, or I gave him an overdose of my charm," I say with a wink in her direction as I step in to the dance quickly, putting my hands on her waist as she wraps hers around my neck.

"What charm? Stabbing him with a knife? No, you seem to reserve that charm for Blight."

"Or Haymitch," I say, recalling the old district twelve Victor whom I've grown close to. "But seriously, Anna, how's it going?"

She flinches.

"Don't. Don't call me Anna anymore." She says, in a whisper so quiet I can barely hear her over the noise of the party.

"Sure thing, What should I call you then?" I ask, not missing a beat. I know why she doesn't want me to call her Anna, and I'm kicking myself for not realizing it sooner. Her last kill. Anna from District 5. There's almost never a time in the games where alliances, except career alliances come to the point where they have to turn on each other, but that's exactly what happened in her games. Anna vs Johanna. And it didn't help that they were the best of friends too.

"Jo. I think that sounds good."

"We'll have to let Lia know too then." I say, nodding my head softly, referring to my sister and her best friend. She smiles, something that has become rare after she survived her games, and we sway to the music in silence.

"You're still not listening to your new stylist?" she asks, glancing at my not so capitol approved outfit, consisting of tennis shoes jeans and a moderately fancy top in a room full of ball gowns and heels.

"I would rather die," I say chuckling.

As we dance, I can see men staring at us, wanting nothing more than to cut into our dance like the sick people they are, and I'm terrified that Snow will approach Jo for the same thing he did me a year after I won my games. Suddenly, I feel sick to my stomach remembering the appointment I have today night, as a celebration of the end of the Victory Tour. I can't walk away from Jo, leaving her to navigate the sea of people alone, but I'm unable to mask my thoughts as I have become so accustomed to doing. It's bad enough that I'm a slave to snow and the capitol, but the thought that Jo will be too frightens me to my very core. And she can't say no. Because she still has people that she cares about. And no matter how much she tries to hide it with the well nurtured smirk on her face, she will stop at nothing to protect them. Just looking around the crowded room makes me sick to the core.

"Johanna, my dear! Dance with me!" Blights voice booms across the music drunkenly. I know that he's staged this distraction for my sake, so I can get away from the party for a few minutes, even if he'll be too hungover to remember it in the morning. Jo shoots me a grimace, but turns and heads over to Blight, roughly pushing her way through a few hungry eyed Capitol men.

I take the momentary freedom from being the bright happy faced big sister as an opportunity to walk over to the bar and grab a drink of water and sip it by the ladies restroom, only interrupted by the freaks who come to puke their stomachs up so that they can eat some more. This is usually how I spend my time at any Capitol party, simply unable to bring myself to stay at the party for more than thirty minutes. That's the longest I have ever made it without having to excuse myself. And that's because Jo needs me.

"Fancy seeing you here. Again." A voice interrupts my train of thoughts, although not a negative thing seeing as that train was slowly but surely leading me towards panic attack city. I turn around to see the idiotic, flashy, blonde-haired, District Four Victor who I've become unwillingly closer to.

"Finnick." I greet softly, putting a hand to my forehead.

"Love, maybe ease up on the drinking a touch," he says, his demeanor instantly softening at the sight of my shaky state, dropping all his cockiness, "and don't spend all your time near the ladies restroom."

He knows I don't drink.

"I have another appointment today." I blurt out for absolutely no reason whatsoever, ignoring the nickname I've been so opposed to for so long. He gets it. He gets what it's like being in constant control of President Snow, sent from one appointment to another because of your desirability.

He looks at me softly, and places a hand on my back, bringing me closer to him. This small act breaks my outer covering, and a few tears slide down my face as I snuggle my head into the crook of his neck. I hate it. I hate that Snow still has the power to make me feel like this so many years after my games. And I hate that I'm breaking down when I most definitely can't.

"This isn't about the appointment, is it?" Finnick, asks, releasing me slightly. I stay stuck to his side, taking comfort in the minimal human contact that I have volunteered into this month.

"No." I say, moving away from him and wiping my tears, thanking my stars I didn't wear makeup. I rarely ever do nowadays, as a way to show the Capitol the real Kendria Parstons and not the picture prefect fairy everybody thinks they see.

He sighs, as we stand together in the hall just adjacent to the party together, none of us saying anything.

"It's just too much. And Anna- Jo, she-I'm terrified for her, Finnick." I tell him, honestly. It's one of the few times I've brought myself to be honest with him. After we became friends, it was mostly effort on his part. Never mine.

"We'll worry about that when we get to it. For now, maybe just enjoy this night? And let me have a dance with my most favorite lady in this entire room?"

I chuckle softly through my tears, wiping them off my face.

"Finnick, you dirty flirt. And yes, I will dance with you." I say, causing him to chuckle softly as I clutch his hand and we enter the party again, this time stuck in our own world.

Published: 4 October, 2023