The Heiress {Finnick Odair}

An Exaggerated Tale

"Adrien, I think we're all impressed that you won the fastest Hunger Games since year nine. Tell us! What are you looking forward to most about going home?" Caesar asked as the laughter from the crown died down.

Adrien grinned as he looked out at the audience who seemed to be consuming everything he had to say like he was Snow himself. He glanced over at Finnick in the wings for a moment, remembering everything that was said on the way over.

The games aren't over.

"Annie," he said with a small smile. "It'll always be Annie."

The audience awed as they watched Adrien toy with the bracelet that he still hadn't removed.

"And can you tell us what you meant when you told Annie you rescuing Ara was for her?" Caesar asked. If possible, everyone in the audience leaned forward.

"Annie always believes the best in everything. She sees a rainy day and decides it was because the sun needed a day off. She sees a dead animal and is grateful for the food it's providing the soil. She sees a child and sees them as our responsibility to love and care for them. She firmly believes in the saying 'it takes a village to raise a baby,' and I knew she would have run out to protect Ara. Corinne and I talked about allying ourselves with Ara and Oak before the games started, but when you're sitting in that arena, it is so easy to turn away because you know it's one less person to kill. But I thought about Annie, and I thought about how much value she would have seen in every person in that arena, and I couldn't leave Ara to die when I knew I could have saved her. I just wish I could have saved her a second time."

Sniffles could be heard in the crowd as handkerchiefs were passed around.

"How long have you two been together?" Caesar asked, and Adrien grinned.

"Nearly two years," he said. The audience cooed.

"How did you two meet?" he asked, and Adrien turned slightly red as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh-ho-ho, is this an embarrassing story?" Caesar teased with his loud stage laugh.

"The story of how we met? No, but the one of how we got together is a little bit, and I have a feeling that's the one you'll want to hear," Adrien said, and the crowd cheered. He cleared his throat and sat up straighter. "But you have to understand that I was not always this fighting machine you see in front of you."

"You weren't?" Caesar asked in mock surprise.

"Annie and I started dating entirely because of Finnick." The crowd started cheering at the sound of his name. Finnick went slightly red when he heard his name, and Amara, who had been standing next to him, elbowed him in the ribs.

"Annie and I met in school. Everyone in the district knows one another, and we had a handful of classes together. Unfortunately, I was bullied in school. A lot. I walked up to her in the hall and asked if she wanted to go fishing with me, and this group of guys started making fun of me. Thankfully, they didn't beat me up like they normally would, but I ended up running off.