CHAPTER 28
DRINK UP

"HOW nice of you to finally show up," Finnick said, stabbing the end of his trident into the dirt.

Bex's smile immediately faded, replaced by a bitter frown.

Mags slowly hobbled over to her, despite Finnick's warning to not overwork herself. She didn't listen. Mags was clearly an independent spirit, not taking orders from anyone. She reached up and placed a hand on Bex's shoulder, sending her a thin smile. "Are you okay?" She asked in a soft murmur.

"I'm fine," she assured the older Victor, setting her hand on top of hers. Bex's fingers were warm against Mags' wrinkled hand. "Thank you, Mags."

Mags bowed her head and walked back over to Finnick, who Bex turned to next. Her head snapped in his direction, eyes narrowed with contempt. "Sue me for getting spooked. I saw a man I've known for years die and I almost drowned because I can't swim. I needed to run it off."

Eyes flickering over to Katniss, Bex noticed Peeta handing her his blade. Katniss tried to keep it concealed, but they were all trained killers. Everyone saw it. Finnick put out a hand. "She's with us. We're all allies," he said evenly, and Katniss sent him a scowl. His voice turned grave. "She's with me."

Katniss released a fake laugh, "Yeah, okay."

"You're not the only star-crossed lovers anymore," Finnick challenged. "Make some room."

Bex waved a hand to break up the fight, and then glared at Katniss. "What is up with your attitude? We all agreed to trust each other at the Cornucopia earlier."

"Maybe I thought over where my loyalties lied when you ran away from us," Katniss barked back.

Peeta whistled at the silence. Bex's eyes formed into slits.

Finnick rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "Can we all just drop this? Arguing is not going to get us anywhere." He interjected, and Mags agreed with a strong nod. Finnick turned back to Bex. "Why is your head covered in blood?"

Bex picked up a few strands of wet hair and realized how much she hadn't gotten out. One hand went to the top of her head, where she still felt a slimy, sticky substance. Her fingers were still stained as well. She grimaced.

"Well," she exhaled, plopping down on top of a rock in front of her, "two tributes were hung up in the trees. Their intestines were everywhere. It looked like someone was striving to make it appear as a threat. It was probably the Career pack trying to scare everyone else. I got drenched in their blood. And then somehow almost walked into an invisible barrier."

"It might have something to do with the forcefield surrounding the arena. It's a dome," Katniss explained. She picked up a pebbled and turned her back to them, throwing the stone in front of her. After a few feet, an invisible forcefield sizzled and the pebbled bounced off. "We're at the edge of the arena right now."

Bex's eyes flickered to Peeta, who was sitting a couple of rocks in front of her. She noticed some of his hair had been singed off. Even a portion of his wet suit was burnt and discolored. "What happened to you, Peeta?"

"I walked into the forcefield," he said, laughing nervously. "It electrifies you."

Her brow knitted together. How does this boy always seem to live?

Katniss spun back to face her and wiped the sweat pouring down her forehead. "If you're done with the questions, let's set up camp."

Bex scoffed, "I've been gone for hours while you guys have figured out some parts of the arena. Sorry if I have questions."

"You left on your own accord," Katniss scowled. "That isn't our problem."

Peeta huffed, "Katniss, stop antagonizing."

"I am not antagonizing."

Bex rolled her eyes. "You kind of are."

"Enough!" Finnick shouted, laying his trident against a tree. "We're done arguing for the night. Let's set up camp here." He turned to Katniss. "We'll be safe with our backs protected and we can take turns sleeping. I'll take first watch."

Katniss released a dry chuckle. "Not a chance."

No one in this alliance seemed to trust Finnick besides Mags, and Bex partially. She guessed she kind of had to if she wanted sponsors. But Katniss and Peeta's hesitation made sense. If Bex were in their positions, she wouldn't trust him either. Finnick's Capitol persona was cocky and slightly rude. It wasn't going to do him any favors in the arena.

Bex still had to trust him if she wanted to survive. Protect Katniss and survive – that was the plan. But sometimes she needed to face the reality of the situation. She'd have to break that trust, let go of the relationship act, and attempt to kill him.

She shivered at the thought.

Averting her stare back to Finnick, she watched him get close to Katniss, stopping inches away from her face. "Honey, that thing I did back there for Peeta? That was called, 'saving his life.' If I wanted to kill either of you, I would've done it by now."

Finnick then walked over to Mags to help her up. An awkward silence ensued. Bex rubbed at the sweat on the back of her neck.

Katniss rolled her eyes and glanced at Peeta. "Why don't you go get some rest? I'll take first watch."

"Just for a little bit," Peeta agreed.

Finnick helped Mags lean back against a slanted tree. She slept soundly beside Peeta, who had one hand beside his head and the other gripping his weapon. Katniss and Finnick sat on top of a few rocks, watching their allies, taking in their surroundings. The darkness made it hard to see, but they guessed the Careers were too tired from the bloodbath to come out tonight.

Bex was going to find a place to sleep when Finnick patted the spot next to him. She swallowed hard, and it was painful from the lack of water in her system. It would be stupid to refuse his invitation. So she walked over and leaned against the rocks, trying to find a suitable position.

"That looks really uncomfortable," he commented, causing her eyes to snap open. "Come here, Bex."

She sat up, noticing that he was patting his leg. Bex had spent too many years in the Capitol to know what that meant. But Finnick's eyes were more gentle than her courtiers. She exhaled softly and scooted close to him, resting her head on his toned thigh. Her eyes closed. She cuddled her axe under her arm as if it were a stuffed bear.

His hand went to her hair, pushing back the wet strands.

Bex didn't move. She was too tired to fight it, but she knew what he was doing. And he was good. The audience watching them must be giggling with excitement.

She reached over and took the hand caressing her hair. Their hands laced together as she let herself fall into a deep sleep, listening to Finnick's breathing.

Katniss rolled her eyes once again.

Bex didn't know how long she was out, but it couldn't have been long. When her eyes snapped open as the Panem anthem began to play, it felt like she hadn't slept a wink. She tilted her head to the sky, but didn't move her head from Finnick's leg.

It must've been close to midnight. They were playing the Fallen, reminding the survivors who they had killed today. For once in her life, Bex didn't feel a sliver of guilt. The pair from District Five flashed across the sky, the two she saw hung up in the trees by their intestines. Then, the male morphling from District Six. She snapped his neck.

Bex's breathing was shallow as the memories resurfaced. Mags and Peeta stirred from their sleep.

Nico was next. They showed one of his Capitol portraits, and Bex finally sat up, much to Finnick's surprise. His hand fell from hers as she sat up, taking in the last image of him forever. Her eyes stung with fresh tears, but she didn't let them fall. Not now, not ever. Nico would find it ridiculous. Instead, Bex released a heavy exhale, sucking them all back in.

Then, it was Woof and Cecelia from District Eight. Bex felt her chest cave in the slightest bit at the portrait of Cecelia, remembering those children she still had back home. They didn't have a mother now. Her husband was alone.

Both tributes from District Nine appeared. Bex had pushed the female off the rocks, and she guessed she drowned after that. After them, it was the female from District Ten, who's name was escaping her, and then Seeder from District Eleven.

The music ended, and they were enveloped by the dark sky once again. Katniss sighed, "Ten."

"Great," Finnick muttered.

As soon as the word left his mouth, Bex heard a familiar chime gliding through the air. She lifted her head more, looking around, but couldn't see anything this late at night. The chime was getting closer, though. She could sense it through the trees.

"Hey," Finnick called from behind, laying his hand on top of hers. "You need to get more rest."

That was when she saw it: a sponsor gift, drifting towards their camp.

"No," Bex said, raising a finger at the steel can landing a few feet away, "look."

Katniss snapped her head back as the gift plummeted to the ground. She ran over, ripping off the parachute attached, and brought the gift back. Part of the canister had a small dent from clashing with a boulder, but the object inside stayed nice and safe.

Peeta and Mags sat up slightly, curious to see what was inside. The group huddled around Katniss as she broke open the canister. There was a small, silver tool inside and a note on top that read:

Drink up.
–H

Katniss furrowed her brow. "Drink up?"

"What is it?" Bex asked, unaware she was still clutching Finnick's hand. The object looked familiar, but she couldn't think of a name.

"I don't know. It's from Haymitch." She turned it over in her hand, and then met everyone's eyes. "I think it's a spile."

Finnick still looked confused. "A what?"

A spile. How did she almost not recognize it? Her father used to try to make his own out of wood, and then they would use them on the trees outside for freshwater. This was when they didn't have much money, when they lived in the shack. Before the Games and the riches. Her father's first homemade spile kept them hydrated for a long time, and then it sort of became a hobby for him. He liked to whittle and sell them to neighbors. And then, he began to collect them. That started when he found a used, bronze spile abandoned in the Square. It became a game for him, and those spiles managed to save their family.

After Bex won her first Games, she gifted her father a gold spile with his name engraved on it, bought in the Capitol. He never used it, only kept it on top of his drawer, but it meant more than anything in the world.

Bex's throat was burning again as she watched Katniss run to the nearest tree and beat the spile into the thick bark with a rock.

"You use it to get drinking water out of a tree," Bex finally said to Finnick.

Upon looking down and seeing their hands entwined, her cheeks heated up. She slowly slipped her fingers from his and followed Katniss to the tree, along with everyone else.

Katniss kneeled in front of the tree, mumbling to herself. Bex couldn't hear quite what she was saying, but it sounded a lot like a plea. Finnick insisted Mags stay put before joining Peeta and Bex, begging silently with Katniss. They needed water, desperately. Bex was not going to allow drowning or dehydration to kill her in this arena. She wanted to go down the hard way. But first, she needed water.

"Come on," Katniss whispered, grabbing the spine on the tree.

They waited for a minute longer. The seconds dragged on and on. They were started to lose hope.

And then came the water.

Out of nowhere, fresh, cool water started pouring out of the spile, and Katniss immediately brought her mouth to it, taking as much as she could. Bex, withering throat and all, pushed through everyone and ducked her head under the spile, inviting the water in. She had never tasted anything better in her life. Not even the fruity drinks in the Capitol could measure up to this. For a few seconds, she allowed the water to cascade over her head. Memories danced across her closed eyes, and she remembered her dad teaching her how to use a spile as a child.

After taking one last gulp, she moved out of the way, and Peeta quickly claimed her spot. He kept drinking until he was tired, and then moved for Finnick to take his place. Bex watched him not drink as much as the others. Finnick only took one heaping gulp before splashing water on his face and yanking a big leaf off a tree. He filled it the best he could and brought it over to Mags, who accepted it gratefully.

When she noticed the spot was free, Bex rapidly slid underneath the spile. She released a breath of relief as the water ran over her stained hands, and then she filled her mouth with it again.

The burning in her throat had ceased, but that didn't mean another fire wasn't on the horizon.

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A/N: we're back with the gang!! now we have more bex/finnick moments to look forward to, and trust me, there's A LOT 🤭