𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒕𝒖𝒔; 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒓

𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅

The party may be in her honor, but Lilith could not feel more out of place. She sticks with her group for the majority of the night, but they eventually get distracted and leave. Silas gets called to speak with someone, Ember gets pulled away by other escorts, and Julia bursts over someone's outfit. So, Lilith ends up standing in the corner, rubbing her arms trying to warm up. She tries her best to not look bored, but that's hard to do when there is no one to talk to.

An older man approaches Lilith, making her scream 'no' in her head, over and over again. "What is the Guest of Honor doing all by herself?" He says in a tone Lilith doesn't like.

"I don't know." She says, smiling and trying to be polite. "I lost my escort."

"I can help you find her." He puts his arm around her waist. Lilith gets a horrible feeling in her stomach.

"I'm good here, really." The blonde says. His hand goes lower and her heart pounds in her chest. Lilith tries to step away from the man, but he keeps a grip on her. She scans through people, hoping to find someone to help.

"Hello." Thank god for whoever this guy is. Lilith turns her head. Well shit.

"Mr. Odair. What a pleasure." The older man says, removing himself from Lilith.

"Yes it is." He says with distaste in his voice. "I just thought my good friend Lilith could use some company." The blonde nods, going along with it. She steps closer to Finnick.

"I'll leave you to it." The older man grumbles before walking away. Lilith lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.

Neither of them say anything for a couple minutes. "You know, a 'thank you' would be appropriate." Finnick remarks, not looking at Lilith.

"Is that why you did that? To show what a stand up citizen you are?" Lilith snaps, whiping her head at the boy from District four. Finnick smirks at her reaction. He just shrugs, knowing that's not why he did it. "Then why?" She says, getting irritated at his antics.

"So, are you going to say 'thank you', or not?" Finnick smiles sarcastically.

"Go to hell." Lilith states, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm already in it, princess." Finnick muses. That stupid nickname, princess. Her mind is taken back to when she decided she did not like this boy.

"Fine. Thank you." She says sarcastically. "And don't call me that." She points her finger at him.

"What's wrong with 'princess'? I believe it fits you quite perfectly." Finnick states, fake confusion on his face. Lilith sighs in irritation. She wasn't going to get anywhere with him.

"Excuse me." The blonde says before walking away to find someone in her group. She has had enough of Finnick.

After wondering for a couple minutes, she finally sees Silas by the snack table talking to someone. Lilith walks over to the two guys and lightly smacks Silas on the arm. "I have been looking for you everywhere!" She scolds him. She looks at the man he was talking to. "Hello." Lilith says smiling, then turning back to Silas, glaring.

"Lilith this is my friend, Haymitch Abernathy." Silas says, gesturing to his friend.

"Pleasure." The blonde says, shaking Haymitch's hand. He reeks of booze. "Do you know how embarrassing it is to be standing alone at your own party?" She turns back to Silas.

"Oh, come on. I'm sure it wasn't that bad." He dismisses her.

"Not that bad? Really? How about you try being a sixteen-year-old girl all alone while a sixty-year-old man hits on you." Lilith hisses in a low voice, crossing her arms.

"What? Who?" Silas says, instantly becoming protective.

"It doesn't matter." The blonde grumbles. Silas opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the crowd's abrupt cheering. Everyone's attention is grabbed by President Snow stepping out on the balcony.

"Welcome, welcome. You have all come here to celebrate our dear victor, Miss Monroe." Lilith gazes up at her lovely President. The thought of the President of Panem praising her efforts in the Games yet again, is astounding. "I believe she has made her mark on all of us."

Some people turn to Lilith and smile, some lightly touch her arm and offer small praises. Lilith beams at the attention, soaking it all in. The blonde's loneliness vanishing at the command of their dear president.

"A toast, to Lilith Monroe, or as I have been calling her, our darling Lily." President Snow declares, holding up his glass cup. The entire party does the same, making noises of agreement before drinking. Lilith smiles brightly at everyone. She's so captivated by the praise from strangers, she doesn't notice Silas eyeing her, worriedly.

Lilith mingles with guests until she starts having to reuse her small talk. Excusing herself from the woman she's talking to, Lilith walks over to the drink table. Various colored liquids fill the table. She ends up choosing a drink that resembles fruit punch, the only thing that had an appetizing color.

Standing in the corner, once again, she sips on her drink. Only this time, she doesn't feel lonely. Funny how one person can make everyone welcome her. She starts to think all of the wallowing in self pity that she was doing was silly. All of these people love her, it's what she was made for. So why should she feel guilty that the other tributes didn't have what it takes? But, William, he had it, but chose to give it up. Why would anyone want to give this up?

Lilith feels more comfortable in the sea of Capitol residents. Although her plain white canvas stands out like a sore thumb in the crowd of vibrant Capitol fashion, she doesn't mind it. It is her party after all.

Lilith looks around and her eyes land on Finnick, who is conversing with an older woman. He seems to be flirting and smiling at the woman, but his eyes are filled with sorrow. Lilith furrows her brows slightly at the interaction. She shakes her head and looks away, joining someone's conversation about wigs.

"I think you would look lovely in an electric blue one." A lady tells Lilith.

She smiles politely, "Thank you, I'll think about it." She most definitely would not think about it.