Heart of Gold • Finnick Odair

-17-

ROSALIE POV

The night was colder than it had been previously, cold enough that me and Ralph had decided to sleep on the same branch. Luckily, it was a chunky tree so we managed to fit just fine. We double tied the rope in case too.

Ralph sighed, "there's so much I wanted to do before I died."

I ignored the pain in my chest at the idea but decided not to argue, knowing he's the most stubborn person i've ever met. "Like what?"

He looks up at the stars, "I've always wanted to get married, have kids." There was always an unspoken worry about having children in the districts, the hidden fear of having your own child just for them to grow up in this cruel world. "Though, I'm getting ahead of myself," Ralph laughs sadly, "I'd do anything to have just been able to have a first girlfriend, hell even a first kiss."

He sighed as I watched his facial expressions soften slightly but his eyebrows were still scrunched, the way he always did when he was deep in thought.

Feeling my gaze, he turns to me. He leans in until his lips are grazing mine, I close the distance immediately, kissing him as he cups my face with his hands. I rest one hand on his chest and the other on the back of his neck. We pull away, "you can cross that off your list."

"Do you know how long i've wanted to do that?"

"How long?"

"Since you're first day of work, you'd been up from sunrise to sunset, at work all day, and you walked right in with a smile on your face. Anyone could see you were exhausted, but you didn't complain once. And it didn't stop you from sitting and listening to Brook complain about his crush getting a boyfriend for an entire hour (when I only lasted ten minutes of his whining), you just took it. Because you're selfless, you always put others first." We laugh lightly about how pathetic Brook was with girls. "When'd you realise you liked me? Or am I gonna regret asking this, you don't like me do you, you hate me?" He jokes, mocking being insecure about it.

I laugh quietly, "I was thirteen and I got home after a long day, and saw you were stood in the kitchen making food out of whatever scraps we had as an apology for calling me 'shortie' a few days before." I laugh at the image in my head, "I'll never forget the happy look on your face as I tried it."

"Was it actually good?" he asked.

"Honestly? It was a tad dry," Ralph chuckles under his breath.

Shortly after the kiss, I was gifted a spear from a sponsor which shocks both me and Ralph though we don't let it show on our faces. I didn't even have to fake gratitude as I smiled to the sky whispering a 'thank you'. If this could save me and Ralph's lives, I'm grateful, even if it was given to me by a Capitol person with more money than they know what to do with but keep it to themselves nonetheless.

We figured something out that night, there was no source of water in the arena. Any water you came across was acid. They were using the pond as temptation, if you are thirsty enough to try the water, it will burn and swell your throat from the inside until you choke from lack of oxygen.

Another canon sounds as we walk through the woods eating some crackers and berries, I can't tell at this point whether the Careers are on the hunt or if dehydration has struck.

Everything goes too fast for me to comprehend, one minute Ralph is smiling and joking besides me as we laugh quietly, our fingers entwined, and the next second his laughter stops and so do his steps. Before I can think, my arm wielding my spear bends back and throws the sharp weapon to the attacker with such force that the boy from 12 staggers on his feet for a moment before falling to the ground with a thud and a cannon.

I force myself to ignore the fact that I've just murdered another human and run to Ralph's side just in time to catch his head as he falls. I hold his head in my lap and he looks up at me as I inspect his injuries.

An arrow, through the stomach. 

Images of my brother flash before my eyes as his breaths become laboured, "p- promise me something?"

"Anything," I stroke his hair.

"Win, go home."

I nod, "I promise..."

"And two more things," his lips form a weak smile.

"Yeah?"

"Sing that song for me?" His eyes are pleading but hold a look of amusement. "And one last kiss."

I laugh through my tears, placing a soft light kiss on his lips, "okay, you win.
I'm bulletproof, nothing to lose
Fire away, fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim
Fire away, fire away
You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
Cut me down
But it's you who'll have further to fall
Ghost town and haunted love
Raise your voice
Sticks and stones may break my bones
Talking loud, not saying much
You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
Stone-hard, machine gun
Firing at the ones who run
Stone-hard as bulletproof glass
You shoot me down, but I won't fall
I am titanium
I am titanium."

His eyes lose all signs of life and tears fall from my cheeks onto his bleeding shirt as his grip on my arm releases.

I whistle the four-note tune as the mockingjays make a beautiful cacophony of the song and whistle joined together.

I close his eyes and place a kiss on his forehead before standing to my feet and wiping my face of tears. I can't let my guard down, especially now with nobody to watch my back.

I take the bow and pack of arrows from the dead tribute from 12, cringing when my hands come in contact with the weapon, and hide them in a bush, I have no use for them but someone else could and if I am to die, I wouldn't want to go at the death of an arrow. The same death as my brother, the same death as my Ralph. I couldn't help but flinch as my fingers touched the bow and sheath of arrows.

With Ralph and the boy from 12 dead, as well as the cannon from earlier that morning, this means there's only me and four other tributes left.

I have to win, I have to go home, to Luna and Apollo, I promised.

Ralph died, so I need to live. His life will not be lost for nothing. I will live, for him.

an: song- (slightly shortened besties of) Titanium by David Guetta