"The baby bomb was good, but I don't think Snow will let the games get cancelled. Best of luck tributes. It's all in your hands now." Plutarch said, after going over all the details once more. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you anything about the arena and how it works. If Snow even has the slightest idea that you know your way around the games, then the whole plan will go down the drain. Be prepared for the worst."

"What about food and water? Will it be easy to find?" I asked.

"Always thinking about food." Newt muttered, loud enough only for Finnick and I to hear. Finn chuckled and I turned around to swat Newt's arm, causing Newt to let out a laugh.

"I'm sure your sponsors and mentors will take care of that if you don't find it in time." Plutarch said with a smile. "Anyway, hope you get some good rest tonight. Trust me, you'll need it." With that, he left the room, leaving a buzz of conversations to sprout amongst those who were present.

"I'm pretty sure Katniss will kill me as soon as she gets her hand on a bow and arrow." Finnick said, a small frown tugging at his lips.

"Well, ask Haymitch to do something about that." Johanna said, munching on some snacks that Plutarch left for us.

"Hey Abernathy!" Finn called out. Haymitch turned his head around and flashed a creepy grin, before making his way over to us.

"How may I be of service to the Finnick Odair?" He finished with a mock bow.

Finn rolled his eyes before saying, "Katniss doesn't trust me, what should we do about that?"

"That is a problem isn't it?" Haymitch said with a frown. "How about...." He looked around the room as though searching for something when suddenly he held his wrist up and exclaimed. "AHA! Show her this." He pulled out a gold bracelet, designed like dancing flames, and handed it over to Finnick.
"Show her this and she'll know you are a person I trust. Just.. don't tell her how you got it. Ooooh and if you try and save lover boy at any point, she will definitely trust you."

"Alright." Finnick said with a sigh, before slipping the bracelet onto his wrist.

"Try not to get on her nerves, she is the... cranky kind." He said with a wink. He bid us adieu and walked away.

"Now what?" Finnick asked with an exhausted tone.

"Get some sleep I guess." Newt said, shrugging. "Probably the last good sleep you'll get for a while."

"You're right, let's go then."

We stood up from the comfortable couches and walked towards the elevator. Johanna and her district partner, Blight, along with their mentor got off on the 7th floor while we made our way to the 4th floor.

Dylan and Nat were sitting on the couch, across from eachother drinking a glass of champagne. "You're back!" Dylan said as we all plopped down on the couch, tired. "Looks like you all need a glass." He chuckled.

Once we all had a glass in our hand, Nat raised hers and said, "To the hope that everything goes well, and we all will be together at the end of this mess."

We raised our glasses before drinking its content. Nat continued in a shaky voice, "This is a goodbye, isn't it?"

"For now. The next time we see eachother, we will be in district 13, where we will be safe. Don't worry Nat, it's gonna be fine." I said, a reassuring smile on my face.

"I hope so." She said, hastily wiping her eyes.

"Alright I'm going to sign off. Good night." Finnick said and stood up, before giving each of us a hug. "I'll see you on the other side I guess." He chuckled lightly.

"Good night." I said, giving Dylan and Nat a hug. "Trust me Nat, we will be alright. I promise." I whispered.

She nodded with a smile and watery eyes. "I know. Sorry I won't be able to see you off tomorrow, I need to complete some formalities at the president's mansion first thing in the morning." She mumbled and I frowned a little. "Get some rest now. I'll see you soon." She said, placing a kiss on my forehead.

With one last smile, I went up to my room and laid down on the soft blankets, finding a sense of comfort in the woolly fabric. Newt came in and laid down beside me, the both of us looking up at the ceiling. I turned to face him. My eyes traced his face, memorizing all the little details, imprinting it in my mind. He looked at me, his brown eyes met mine and I smiled, relishing the feeling of him next to me.

A small smile tugged his soft lips, and we stayed in that moment for a while. A moment where everything was fine, and it was just the two of us. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against his. He didnt hesitate to place his hand on my neck and pull me in to return the kiss. Moments later, we pulled away slowly, our eyes closed.

"Do me a favour?" He said after a while.

"Yeah?"

"Don't die in the arena." He whispered. "I have no clue what I'd do if that happened."

"Hey, look at me." I placed a hand under his chin to lift his head up, "Whatever happens in the arena, I need you to know that I love you. And I'll do my best not to die, okay? Who else will annoy Finnick if I'm not there?" I ended with a chuckle.

He grinned a little before replying, "What? You think that I'm not capable of annoying Finnick?"

"Nah, you're too much of a goody two shoes."

He let out a laugh and shook his head. His eyes flickered down to my neck before he brought his hand up to pick up the pendant he had given me all those years ago. "You still wear this?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" Even though it had a few scratches and looked a bit worn out, it meant a lot and carried precious memories.

He smiled before placing a kiss on my forehead and wrapped his arm around my waist. "It's your lucky charm, huh?"

"Yup." I replied, snuggling into his warmth, sleepiness seeping into my tired body.

"I love you." He said after a while, hugging me closer.

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

A small smile decorated my lips before I fell into a slumber. The events that were supposed to take place tomorrow, buried in the back of my mind.

"Wake up sleepy head." A soft voice whispered gently. My eyes fluttered open and saw Newt looking down at me.

I let out a groan before pulling the blanket over my head and buried my face into the pillow. "Let me sleep. It's only..." I peaked my head out of the blanket and glanced at the clock, before going back under it, "5 am. Waaaaaay too early." I mumbled, my voice muffled by the pillow.

"Trust me, I wouldn't wake you up this early without a death wish." He chuckled.

"Then don't."

"I do, you need to get going."

"Do I really have to?" I whined.

"Yup." Newt replied before yanking the blanket away, making me shiver with the sudden loss of warmth. "Go take a shower, you need to leave in 30 minutes."

I grudgingly got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. After getting dressed and eating a hearty breakfast, it was time to leave.

"I'll see you in 13, I guess." Newt said while giving Finnick a tight hug. Finn nodded and said his goodbye. Newt then turned towards me and wrapped me in a warm hug. I nuzzled my face in the crook of his neck and took in his warmth. "Please be safe." He said, pulling away. "I'm gonna miss you." He placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Don't worry too much, Newt." I said with a tight smile. "I'll be alright." I pulled him by his shirt and kissed him softly.

"You ready to go?" Dylan barged into the room, oblivious to his surroundings. We pulled away and I nodded while Newt let out a sigh.

"I'll see you soon, love."

With that Finnick, Dylan and I left the room and headed towards the hovercrafts. Once we were on, a Capitol worker injected us with the trackers and we made our way to the arena.

"Hey, you alright?" I nudged Finnick's shoulder. He shrugged.

"Just thinking if the plan will work or not."

"It will. How hard could it be to keep those two alive?"

"Well judging by the stupid decisions Katniss makes, it is going to be very hard." He chuckled.

"We'll get through this. I promise."
____________________________________________________

30 seconds.

I got up from the chair by the corner of the room and walked over to Dylan. He inspected my costume and ran his fingers along the hem of the sleeve. "Doesnt look like it will be a cold place and you should have water." He let his hand fall down. "Keep them alive for 3 days and then use the lightning to destroy the arena, yeah?" His voice bearly above a whisper. I nodded in confirmation. "You can do it (Y/n), you have a good aim."

I nodded again and mumbled ''Hope so''.

20 seconds.

"Come here," He said and pulled me into a hug. "Show them what you got."

"Hopefully I dont die in the process." I said with a chuckle and pulled away. "Anyway, you take of yourself and Nat for me, okay?"

10 seconds.

"I will, (l/n). Best of luck. See you in 13."

I nodded and entered the pod, the glass closing around behind me. I turned around to flash a smile at Dylan, and he gave a comforting one in return. The roof of the pod opened and bright light cascaded through the room. The platform started to rise and the light momentarily blinded me.

I squinted my eyes to see through the glaring sun above us. The ground was shining brightly and I was unable to see clearly due to the intensity. I looked down at my feet on the metal plate, and that's when I noticed blue waves washing over my boots. I slowly looked around, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I could see water spreading out in every direction.

I sighed in relief, knowing I had an advantage over most of the tributes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the Seventy-fifth Hunger
Games begin!" The voice of Claudius Templesmith rang through the arena. A countdown for 60 seconds started and I took in my surroundings.

The Cornucopia stood majestically about forty yards away. It appeared to be sitting on a circular island. 12 thin strips of land radiated from the circle like the spokes on a wheel, equidistant from one another. Between the spokes, all is water. Water and a pair of tributes. Beyond the water, there is a narrow beach behind which, dense greenery. I scanned through the tributes, trying to find Finnick or Johanna, finding the latter 3 spots to my left. I gave her a nod and she nodded back. Finnick must've been on the other side of the cornucopia. Looking towards my right, I saw Katniss, a few spots over, frantically looking around, I assumed, for lover boy. My eyes drifted back towards the Cornucopia. A high pile of weapon and supplies were stacked all around it, and a silver bow and quiver caught my eye.

10 seconds.

I leaned down and got a handful of water up to my lips, and tasted it. Salt water. Great.

Another pod was in the same wedge as I was, and it was occupied by a morphling from district 6. She was about as far to my right as the land strip on my left. And on my other side, across the strip was Cashmere for district 1. She had a nervous look on her face. She glanced towards me and met my eyes. We both knew we had to race eachother to reach the Cornucopia first, and I smirked because I knew I was the better swimmer as I was from the district of the seas. I prepared myself to swim the distance between the pod and the strip of land, almost 15 yards away.

As soon as the buzzer went off, I dove into the water, relishing the cold amidst the blazing hot sun. I swam across the water, and made it to the strip of land within seconds. Cashmere was a few yards behind, and it gave me a good head start. I ran as fast as I could, and reached for a small knife before turning around and launching it towards Cashmere. She tried to duck but the knife managed to graze her shoulder, cutting her costume and a little red blood seeped through. She scowled and picked up the knife, which laid beside her feet and ran towards me, while I tried to reach for a weapon behind me.

She lunged at me with the small knife and I let out a scream when she managed to stabbed my left side, right below my ribs. I scrunched my eyes close at the pain. Suddenly her weight was lifted off me when Seeder, the female victor from district 11, tackled Cashmere to the ground. I pulled the knife out with a wince, biting my lip hard, trying not to scream. I grabbed a quiver and swung it around my shoulders. Taking a bow and arrow in my hand, I took aim at Cashmere but a strained scream from behind made me turn. Peeta and the male tribute of 9 were grappling.

Conflicted between killing Cashmere and saving Peeta, I let out a groan before dashing across the Cornucopia towards Peeta, who was now pushed into the water, fighting of the man who was trying to drown him. Ignoring the blood trickling down my side, I tried to take aim at the fighting pair, hoping to get a clear shot at the tribute from 9. But they kept moving around and I couldn't risk hitting Peeta. I glanced over to the other side to see Finnick showing Katniss the gold bracelet in order to gain her trust. The first canon blast was heard when Finnick impaled the male tribute from 5 with his trident, who tried to sneak up on Katniss.

"FINNICK!" I called out, trying to get his attention. He looked towards me and I signalled towards Peeta. He ran towards me and his eyes flickered down to my hips before it widened.

"SHIT (Y/N)! Wh-" He exclaimed but I cut him off.

"Let's worry about me later, Peeta is a bigger priority." I said, dropping the arrow and pressing my left hand on the injury to prevent it from further bleeding, causing a whimper to escape my lips. Finnick looked at me with worried eyes before diving into the water and he swam towards the two fighting bodies. Suddenly Peeta and the other tribute went under.

Katniss came to a halt beside me and screamed, "PEETA!" A few moments of stillness later, a canon blasted and a body emerged. Katniss let out a startled gasp but was soon relieved when Peeta popped out of the water, gasping for air. Katniss helped him along with Finnick out of the water and tended to Peeta.

I sat down on the rocky surface, my face scrunching up with pain. Another blast of the canon was heard and I whipped my head around to see Cashmere standing over Seeder's body.

Seeder saved my life, and now she's dead.

She walked towards the Careers who were huddled in front of the Cornucopia, panting and injured.

Finnick rushed over and crouched down beside me.
"Oh god (Y/n)," He mumbled as he scooped me up in his hands. I winced at the sudden wave of pain. "I'm so sorry, but we need to get out of here." I nodded weakly before he started running towards the jungles, away from the Careers. I rested my head onto his chest and wrapped my right hand around his neck. He let Katniss and Peeta run forward. After about 15 minutes of running into the woods, he said, "Okay wait wait wait, hold up." They stopped near a large rock and Finnick sat me down slowly.

I leaned against the rock and Peeta and Katniss crouched down beside me. "What happened?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

"Cashmere got me with a knife. Thankfully, it was a small one." I winced as I Finnick lifted my shirt up a bit, revealing the cut. The wound was small but deep. He ripped a bit of his sleeve off and bundled it up before placing it on the injury. I shut my eyes in pain, a groan emitting from the back of my throat.

"Hey shhh, it will be alright." Finnick whispered, he took my left hand and placed it on the cloth. "Hold that there. Newt will send some medicine for sure. You're gonna be fine." I nodded and rested my head against the rock, exhausted.

Peeta let out a breath before wiping the sweat off his forehead. "God it's hot. We gotta find fresh water."

I let out a deep breath and closed my eyes for a few minutes, the pain subsiding to an ache. The four of us sat there for a while, catching our breaths.

Suddenly three blasts of the canon rang through the air. I opened my eyes and a frown etched onto my lips as I hoped it wasn't Johanna who died.

Finnick let out a chuckle before saying, "Well I guess, we aren't holding hands anymore."

Katniss narrowed her eyes. "You think that's funny?"

"Every time that canon goes off, it's music to my ears. I dont care about any of them."

Katniss pulled out a machete from behind her and said with a pointed voice, "Good to hear."

"Hey calm down now, you don't want to face the Career pack alone." I said.

"What would Haymitch say?" Finnick taunted

"Haymitch isn't here."

Peeta intervened before anyone could say anything else, "Let's keep moving."

Clenching his jaw and sending a glare at Katniss, Finncik lifted me up once more and we started walking forward at a slower pace. As we kept walking for almost an hour, Peeta kept swinging his machete around, cutting the vines that hung before us, clearing the path a bit. Katniss, who was lingering at the back, suddenly screamed, "Peeta, NO!", but it was too late.

With one swing of the large knife, Peeta hit a force field, sending him flying backwards, knocking all of us down. I screamed with pain as I landed on my stomach, Finnick hitting the ground with a thud beside me. Finn got up almost immediately and checked up on me, "Are you alright? (Y/n)?"

I nodded while clutching the wound and mumbled, "I'll be fine."

Katniss was huddled over Peeta's unconscious body and she let out a panicked cry of his name. "He's not breathing, he's not breathing, he's not breathing." She frantically said over and over again. Finnick made his way over to them and pushed her aside, causing her to fall.

She got back up and pulled out an arrow but I held a hand out and said, "No! He's trying to help!" She lowered her weapon and watched as Finnick closed Peeta's nose and blew air into his mouth. Finnick unzipped the top of Peeta's jumpsuit and began to pump the spot over his heart with the heels of his hands. Agonizing minutes passed by as Finnick worked on trying to save Peeta, Katniss watching with desperate eyes.

Suddenly Peeta let out a cough and Finnick sat back, breathing heavily. Katniss rushed to Peeta's side. His lashes flutter open and he mumbled, "Careful, There's a force field up ahead." She let out a laugh and kissed him. Maybe Katniss actually cared for Peeta, maybe it wasn't all an act.

As she sobbed beside him, Peeta reassured her that he was okay now. She helped him stand up and hugged him tightly, afraid as though if she let him go, his heart would stop again. Finnick and I glanced at eachother at their exchange. He squatted down beside me and said, "You okay?"

I nodded with a smile before saying, "Yes, I am. Thank you, Finn."

"What do you mean 'Thank you'?" He said with a scoff. "The only reason I'm helping you is because if I don't, Newt threatened to hand me my ass on a silver platter." A small grin laced his lips, showing me that he was joking.

"So you are helping me just to save your ass, huh?" I chuckled. "After all these years of friendship, this is what it's turns out to be? I feel betrayed, Finn."

Finnick laughed at this and his eyes twinkled. "On a more serious note, you know I'll always be there for you, yeah?"

I nodded and smiled. "I know. And you should know that if I'm not dead already, then I'd risk my life for you."

He smiled back and we just sat there, knowing that no matter what happened in this arena, we were in this together and we were there for each other.

"How's the wound?" He