Summary: Annie has her own mind. She isn't another fangirl of Finnick's. Finnick doesn't know why she's not like this. He doesn't know why she makes him feel good. But he does know he wants to get to know her better.

Disclaimer: Why must people remind me that I don't own the Hunger Games? It makes me soooo sad that I don't!

A/N: Hi! Please Review!

The first time Annie Cresta and I talked was when I was twelve. I had just realized how gorgeous I was, and all the girls realized it too. All except Annie.

I was at the beach, trying desperately to make a net, but failing. There was Annie, sitting on the sand, with her perfect net in her hands. I walked over to her and flashed her my most dazzling smile.

"Hi." I said. Annie didn't look up. She continued to tie her net.

"Hello." She replied. This confused me. I had never experienced this before. Usually girls sensed me there before I even noticed them.

"Can I have your net?" I ask sweetly. I thought there was no way she could say no, but she did.

"Why not?" I demanded. No one had ever said no to me, especially not girls. Annie looks up from her net for the first time, and all I could see where her deep brown eyes.

Annie didn't look anything like a girl from District 4. None of the Crestas do. They all have dark brown hair, whereas the rest of 4 have bronze hair. The Crestas have deep brown eyes, while the rest of us have green or blue, like the sea.

And their skin colour. They had brown skin. Not dark like District 11, but like light brown skin, as if they were a mix of pale white and dark skin colour. Plus they were insanely tall. Not as tall as my family, but taller than all the other families in 4.

"No, you cannot have my net because I have said no. If no is not a good enough answer for you, then you can drown into the sea." Annie got up and tried to walk away. I grabbed her hand to hold her back, but with great speed and force, Annie spun around and twisted my hand. She held my arm to my back and whispered in a harsh voice in my ears, "No means no."

She let go of my arm and ran off the beach.

…

The next day, I sat at the same spot Annie sat yesterday and waited for her come. She didn't. For the next week I did the same thing. I couldn't get Annie out of my mind. I had to confront her. I waited for Annie, but she never came.

I decided to go to Annie. I got her address and went to her house. I knocked on her door and a boy answered it. He looked about a year older than me, and just like Annie.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Finnick Odair. Um, I'm here for Annie. Is she here?" the boy eyed me closely, as if trying to read my mind. He called out Annie's name and she came rushing to the door. The boy went inside, and with one swift movement, Annie shut the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed. Annie looked wild. Her hair was a mess and she had dark patches under her eyes.

"I came to see you, and demand that you train me to make a good net." My voice went high at the end, so it sounded like it was a question.

Annie shook her head with the tiniest of smiles on her face.

"Really, Finnick? Couldn't you just talk to me at the markets? I'm there every Sunday, and I fish on Saturday."

"But I did go to the beach on Saturday, and you weren't there." I said. I sounded like a needy idiot.

"I don't fish on the beach, Finnick. The fish don't swim there because of all the movement that goes on there. I fish at the Warf. Meet me there next week?" Annie asks.

I nodded my head, since I was speechless on how successful I had been. At that moment, the sleeve on Annie's shoulder dipped down, and a huge purple-black spot was exposed. It couldn't be mistaken for anything but a bruise. Annie saw me starring at it, and immediately pulled her sleeve up.

"Annie, are you okay?" Annie just nodded her head and slipped back inside her house.

For the next few months, Annie and I bonded. We fished together, and eventually, made nets together. After many more months, she started to refer to me as a friend. On the night my fourteenth birthday, Annie cam running to my house, her clothes torn and cuts across her body. She was shaking. Her body was covered in bruises.

"Annie! What happened to you?" I gushed.

"My dad. He's drunk again. Darren wasn't there this time. And mum didn't stop him, either." She began to cry in my arms. My mother came out of the house at that point. At the sight of Annie's bruised body, she ran inside to call somebody, I didn't know who she called. I mean, who could she call? Not the Peacekeepers. They wouldn't understand. And not the Mayor. He wouldn't care, either.

I took Annie inside and helped her on the couch. In the light, I could see just how badly her body was. There were deep cuts along her back, and there were only small parts of her body that were not the colour purple.

"Annie," I whispered. She looked up at me. Her sweet deep eyes full of pain and sadness. Since the first day I met her, I knew something was happening. I knew that she was being hurt, but I did nothing. If I did something, I could've stopped this.

My mother walked in and sat next to Annie. She wrapped her arm around her and sung her a song. When the door rung, my mother made me get it. I ran to the door, and when I opened it, I was surprised to see Mags, a Victor, at the door.

Mags rushed in and went straight to Annie. Annie looked up at Mags, and fell into her arms. From that day on, Annie lived with Mags in Victors Village. Not once did she go to visit her parents. Not once did she mention them, but every time I saw her, I know the thought of going back to them, was stuck in her mind.

Annie and I didn't talk much after that. We would meet each other's gaze at the markets, but we would never talk. When we tried to, either girls would interrupt us, or Annie would see her family, and we would walk away.

Annie and I didn't talk until I was Reaped.

…