You are District 3’s victor.

The words still felt unreal, even now. They followed you everywhere, heavier than any medal the Capitol could place around your neck.

You sat on the sand beside Johanna, the grains still warm from the day’s sun, clinging to your skin and clothes. The ocean stretched out in front of you, endless and calm in a way the arena had never been. Waves rolled in slowly, rhythm steady enough to make your breathing match it without thinking.

Johanna’s shoulder was solid beneath your cheek. You had leaned into her without asking, and she had not moved away. Her presence grounded you in a way that surprised you, rough around the edges but unmistakably real. She spoke quietly, voice stripped of its usual sharpness, as if the sea had stolen it from her.

“Love is weird,” she muttered, almost to herself.

You hummed in response, not trusting yourself to speak. For a moment, you assumed she meant Finnick. Everyone did. The golden boy from District 4 with his easy charm and devastating smile. You had always thought she loved him in that complicated, unspoken way that survivors often shared. A bond forged in shared nightmares and too much loss.

But Johanna’s hand tightened slightly where it rested in the sand.

She turned her head just enough that her hair brushed your temple. You felt her breathe in, then out, slow and careful. When you looked up at her face, there was no humor there, no cruelty, no performance for anyone watching.

Only something honest.

Her eyes lingered on you, not as a joke or a challenge, but as if she were bracing herself for impact. The realization settled in your chest slowly, like a truth you had been circling for months without daring to name.

She was not talking about Finnick.

She was talking about you.

The thought made your pulse stumble. All this time, you had mistaken her sharp words for distance, her roughness for indifference. Now you saw it differently. The way she always stayed close in crowds. The way she watched you when she thought you were not looking. The way she trusted you with her quiet moments.

Anyone paying attention could see it.

And sitting there with your head on her shoulder, the sea whispering secrets neither of you were ready to say aloud, you realized something else too.

You were in love with her.

You just had not known how to survive it yet.