CHAPTER THREE!

MISTAKING STRENGTH FOR WEAKNESS.

THE TWO DISTRICT TWELVE VICTORS sit in the small room as their mentor holds the television remote in his hand, ready to show off who their opponents will be. As the tv switches on, the two teenagers watch intently so they know what they will be coming up against in this year's games — it is going to be a lot different from last year.

"Cashmere and Gloss, brother and sister, District 1. They won back to back games. Capitol favorites. Lots of sponsors. They will be lethal," Haymitch says as he looks at the brother - sister duo on the screen.

He's quick to switch the screen in order to show them the other career members. "And the other half of the career pack? Brutus and Enobaria,"

"What's with her teeth?" Katniss asks as she looks at the woman, her teeth sharpened to a point.

"She had them filed into fangs so she could rip people's throats out," Haymitch shrugs as if it isn't that big of a deal, the two teens jumping a little when the woman hisses.

"She's committed I'll give her that," Peeta mumbles as he looks at the eccentric woman.

"Wiress and Beetee. Not fighters but brilliant and weird. Real tech savvy. He won his games by electrocuting six tributes at once," Haymitch explains as the footage switches over to two older victors. "The Morphlings. Masters of camouflage. Basically won their games by hiding until everyone else was dead. Self medicating ever since, which I applaud. Not a threat," He continues about the District six tributes.

When the screen switches over again, they are met with the somewhat confident face of Finnick Odair from District four who Katniss seemingly recognised instantly.

"Finnick Odair, right?" The girl asks as she watches him wave to the crowd before him, his eyes swaying to his left for a moment, obviously over towards where their female tributes are standing.

"Yes, he won his games at fourteen. Youngest ever. Extremely humble," Haymitch comments and Katniss scoffs is response.

"You're kidding?"

"Yes, I'm kidding. He's a peacock, a total preener. But he's the Capitol darling, they love him here. Charming, smart and very skilled in combat, especially in water,"

"What about weaknesses?" Peeta finally pipes up as he looks to his mentor who then presses a button on his remote. The screen switches over to an image of a blonde girl, who cannot be any older than them, crying as she makes her way over to Finnick. Both of them notice how Finnick's hand is quick to grab hers.

"One, Elena Rogers," Haymitch says to the teenagers.

"I remember her. She won it the year before us," Katniss comments to Peeta who nods his head slightly, memories of the girl's games coming back to the both of them.

"Finnick was her mentor in, you're right, the games before yours. She witnessed some pretty messed up things, like a lot of people have. Her District Partner practically died for her, stood in the way of an oncoming spear. He cares for her a lot and if he's out to protect her, it may leave him vulnerable to attack," the older man explains as they watch the two District Four tributes on the screen. 

"A guy like that, he has to know it's unlikely she'll get far," Katniss speaks.

"Well Katniss, I hope if she goes, she goes quickly. The girl has been through enough,"

Elena stands in front of the mirror as her stylist, Ruby, finishes curling the ends of her hair. As far as parade costumes are concerned, she can say this is better than the last. The outfit, due to the fact District Four is associated with water and fishing, is that of a mermaid. A scaled dress that at the bottom, has a slight tip up as if it's a tail. She has a pearl necklace on and fake green streaks through her hair — almost as if they represent seaweed.

"You look beautiful!" Ruby exclaims happily as she turns the girl around to her, her eyes running over the outfit to make sure it's sitting appropriately for the parade. "Come on, we don't wish to be late,"

Ruby leads the teenager out of the room and towards where everybody is waiting. Tributes from all different districts as strewn around the area, her eyes landing on Finnick as he stands beside their cart. She takes a deep breath and walks over to him, not even slightly surprised by the outfit they've stuck him in. If anything, it makes her want to laugh a little.

"Look at you!" Finnick beans as she walks over and a blush rises on her cheeks, her hand moving to push some of her hair behind her ear. "You clean up nice,"

"Thank you. So do you, I guess?" She trails off, not knowing how to compliment the outfit he's in. He laughs slightly as he puts a sugar cube in his mouth, his gaze straying over her shoulder. She turns her head and sees him staring at last year's victor, Katniss Everdeen.

"I'm going to go and speak to the Girl on Fire. I'll be back before you know it," He adds the last part on softly, having her reassurance and moving away only when she nods her head in understanding.

The blonde stands there awkwardly, not really knowing anybody else who is around. Considering she managed to get out of mentoring the Games last year, she hasn't met any of them except in passing when she was competing herself. She'd met Johanna due to the fact she was quite a close friend of Finnick's and that's about it — Mags and Annie were the only other two.

"Hi,"

As a result of her shock, Elena stumbles back a little having to steady herself on the cart. When her eyes move up, they meet the blue ones of another. The boy looks almost embarrassed by the fact he'd scared her, his cheeks flushed red as hers follow suit.

"I'm sorry I scared you. You looked kind of lonely, thought you could do with some company. I'm Peeta," He says with a small smile, sticking his hand out to shake.

Elena hesitantly lays her hand in his, almost flinching at the contact she's made with this stranger. Of course she knows who he is, Peeta Mellark — you'd have to be living under a rock not to know. They shake hands for a few seconds before she pulls back on instinct, still a little unsure of his presence.

"You're Elena, right?" He questions, his question quiet but welcoming — aware that he may have scared which was not his intention in the slightest.

"Y-yeah," the word comes out as a stutter, her cheeks still flushed a bright red as he looks at her.

He goes to speak again when a hand gently rests on her shoulder and she looks up to see Finnick standing there with a smile of his own. He must have finished annoying Katniss if he's made his way back over to her now. Peeta and Finnick give each other a friendly nod before Peeta gives her a smile and walks away, obviously back to his own District Partner.

"You okay?" Finnick asks and she nods her head, the awkward encounter still on her mind. "I don't think Katniss liked me much," he adds on, trying to ease the tension.

It works because a small but audible giggle falls from her lips. He really should have seen it coming, Katniss doesn't seem like the kind of person to want friends, especially with somebody as out there as Finnick Odair.

The announcer then instructs the tributes to get on the chariots and Finnick jumps on, helping the blonde up as her dress become a bit of a nuisance. Elena is quick to grab his hand and he squeezes it reassuringly in response. They are taken out into the stadium as the audience cheers loudly and she moves her eyes around, watching all the Capitol citizens get extremely excited over their returning tributes. It's all so familiar, the roar of the crowd, the hand holding, all of it.

So much so that when she turns her head, it isn't Finnick she sees there but Everett. The boy whom had so carelessly given his life for her own, a boy she'd known for a total of two weeks when he did so. She still sees his face in her dreams every night and remembers what it was like to be with him, the feeling she had when he kissed her that first time to when he'd done it the last — the spear sticking out of his stomach as she cried over him.

"Lena. I need you to focus for me, okay?" The voice isn't Everett's but Finnick's who is looking at her when she's brought back into reality. "That's it. We're almost done. We can go back to our floor and you can sleep. Okay?"

She nods her head at his words and she unconsciously moves closer to his side, practically glued to him as they make the final lap of the arena, travelling by the president as he watches closely. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see the flickering of flames and knows that Katniss and Peeta must have magnificent outfits once again.

The moment they leave the eyes of the public, Elena practically scrambles from the cart. Finnick is at her side within seconds and sometimes, she wonders how he can possibly deal with her constant crying and timid nature — and yet she's never been more thankful of his tolerance in her life. If he wasn't here, who knows how she'd cope.

"What happened out there?" Finnick asks gently as they enter the elevator, her eyes watery as she thinks about it. "Was it Everett?"

"Yeah. Just all of it brings back bad memories," She admits as the machine moves them up towards their floor. "I can't go a second without thinking about something to do with the Games, it's pathetic. There are people who are worse off than me,"

"Doesn't make your pain matter any less. You are the furthest thing from Pathetic, Lena. After all you've been through, you are probably one of the bravest girl's I've ever met in my life," he responds and she manages a small, pitiful smile as the doors open up.

"She's fine, Mags," Finnick assures when the older woman greets them with a small frown. "She just needs to rest,"

"Y-yeah. I'm going to shower and go to bed," Elena says to the woman who nods her head in response. Elena gives Finnick a kiss on the cheek as a way of saying goodbye before she goes and naps for a while.

Considering it's still day time, she knows she won't be able to sneak off and find somewhere to hide away for a while, so instead she goes into the bathroom and turns the water on. She falls against the door, sliding down to sit on the floor as the tears she was holding in start to leak out.

"You're so weak, Lena. Why are you so weak?" She sobs as she pulls the fake bits of green hair out of her own, throwing them to the floor. "A burden. A total burden," she mumbles the last part to herself multiple times.

She pulls the flats off her feet and throws them against the wall. The mascara that once aligned her lashes has now forged it's own path down the sides of her face, mixing in with the continuous tears that she cannot seem to stop.

"Everett should be here. Not you, you're not good enough to be here," Elena cries. "Why did I have to get out?"

She stands up and takes off her fancy outfit, grabbing one of the night gowns from the cupboard and slipping it on. Elena holds the green dress in her arms, her tears staining its surface as she sobs uncontrollably. Without a second though, she chucks it into the shower and watches as it drowns in the water. Her hand grabs the necklace hanging from her neck and pulls, allowing it to break and for all the pearls to tumble to the floor.

"Elena?" Finnick calls as she sobs, his hand grasping the doorknob and pushing it open, his gaze resting on the distraught teenager as she stares at the dress. "Oh Elena,"

Finnick walks over and carefully pulls her into his grasp as she tries to fight him off. After a few moments, she simply allows him to hold her, his hand strokes her hair softly as he hums the song that Jace had once told him would calm her down, apparently a song their parents used to sing to them as children.

"Why am I so weak, Finn? W-why can't I be strong like you?" Elena sniffles.

"You're anything but weak. Being sad, upset, it doesn't make you weak. The fact you're willing to show and share your emotions, it makes you strong. You're so strong, Lena," he soothes as she crumbles into him, her breaths heavy.

That's how they spend the next few moments, the young girl encompassed in his arms as he tries to stop her from mistaking her strength for weakness.

NOTE!

This chapter ended up longer than I thought I'd be? So she finally met Peeta! Even if it was an awkward two second conversation. A bit about Everett was also learned and he will be important throughout the rest of the story as well so don't forget about him!

I know it also seems as if she cries a lot, but before somebody says something about it, I would like to point out that she's a teenage girl who's been through a traumatic experience. So please, she won't cry for every chapter for the remainder of the book, just remember she has been through a lot.

Anyway, thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed!