Our Love Could Be Lethal Act I Re-Write

Act I: Party with Every Victor Ever (Almost)

There's so much I want to say to her. I want to tell her that she was right and go on a rant about how stupid I was, but this is neither the time nor the place for that. I'm not even sure I would know how to say it all anyway. I settle on simple, yet tried and true, "I'm so sorry."

We sit there for a moment, hanging onto the comfortable silence. After what simultaneously feels like an hour and not enough time, she lets go of me and wags her finger in my face. "Don't you ever go scaring me like that again."

I let out a small chuckle as I try to subtly wipe the tear from my face without anyone noticing. "I don't think you're going to need to worry about that," I assure her. I lock eyes with Grandma Sadie and I see her eyes soften even further as we come to a mutual and non-verbal understanding that I've realized what the Games truly are.

We're both pulled out of the moment by a small voice laced with a thick District 4 accent, "So this is the beautiful granddaughter you've told me all about."

I make sure Grandma Sadie gets back into her seat alright as I reach across the table to shake hands. "And you must be Mags. She's told me a lot of stories about the two of you."

"Only the good ones I hope," laughs Mags as I sit in one of the District 4 seats, hoping that whoever's seat I've just stolen won't mind. "We got into some real hijinks back in the day."

The two begin to regale me with stories of them at these sorts of parties when they were younger and I feel myself start to settle into the atmosphere. Maybe I can handle being a victor. I think I start to draw a few heads, being the new career victor who apparently doesn't want to talk to anyone but the old ladies and all, but I don't care.

"...and then, your grandmother fell into the fountain!" snickers Mag.

"Ah, well, only a little bit," she responds. A silent beat passes before they burst out laughing, there apparently being some sort of inside joke that's gone over my head.

Mags begins to look around the ballroom, searching for someone. "Where did that darned boy go?"

"Right here. Sorry, I had to use the restrooms," the blonde boy apologizes to Mags, approaching her from behind with a goofy grin on his face. I remember his Games. Everyone from 2 was going wild when he took out our tributes, not out of anger, but in admiration. In my last few years at the Academy, they made us study his tapes over and over and over again, telling us that this is exactly what we need to do to win. A poster child, the golden boy of the Games.

Mags gives a small grin and pats the boy on the chest. Mags, and even my grandmother, seems to be fond of him which puts me at ease because I trust their judgement in character. "It's fine, dear." Mags assures him as she motions to me, "Meet Octavia, the newest victor."

"Oh, you can just call me Tavia," I say. "Or Vee. Whichever one you like better."

"I see you've come to join me as part of the old lady crew," he says which earns him a swift hit to the chest from Mags.

"As much as I could chat with you all night, dear, we'll have plenty of time on the train. You should go introduce yourself to everyone," says Grandma Sadie.

"Oh, Finnick," says Mags as she puts down her drink. "You should go with her."

Finnick and I make slightly awkward eye contact, but he agrees and gets up from the table with me nonetheless.

"So, you're the infamous granddaughter I've been hearing all about," says Finnick. I can tell Finnick is trying to read me, or at least get a sense of me, because I can see the curiosity in his eyes.

"I guess," I shrug as I try to search his face for a sense of where he's going with this.

"I hang out with Mags a lot at these things so naturally, I spend a lot of time with your grandmother as well. Wish she was my grandmother," he says, raising his eyebrows as he takes a drink. "It's nice to get away from the hormonal female fans for once, which reminds me shouldn't you be drooling over me too at this point? I mean I have most girls at hello." There's the Finnick Odair I expected to meet. Flirty, confident, and all-around a womanizer.