LABYRINTH [FINNICK ODAIR]

five

THE MEETING WITH HAYMITCH AND THE OTHERS LASTED ONLY TWENTY MINUTES— BUT THERE WAS STILL A DECISION TO BE MADE. Finnick dragged Drea back to his room after, to talk things over, but Drea really didn't see that there was anything to talk about, other than strategy. She was already decided. She was going along with the plan to save Katniss no matter what. 

And of course, Finnick agreed, because who wouldn't? Not only was it a miniscule glimmer of hope for their own suvival (if everything went exactly according to plan, they'd be rescued), but it was also a chance to stick it to the Capitol, to destroy everything they'd built— a chance no one had gotten in seventy five years. 

According to Haymitch, she and Finnick would be the ones closest to Katniss and Peeta, so a lot of the plan to save Katniss rested on their shoulders. That is, if Katniss even accepted them as allies... Haymitch assured them that wouldn't be an issue, but Drea wasn't so sure. 

So Drea and Finnick's conversation did not last long, especially since they dozed off in the middle of it. In a cold sweat, Drea woke hours later in the dead of night swadled in the blankets on Finnick's bed, the man himself asleep just inches away. 

Watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest calmed Drea's racing heart, though her thoughts still ran rampant. The darkness of the night forced a tough reality down her throat— the reality that just because there was a chance didn't guarantee they'd survive. In fact, their chances of survival were even smaller now that they'd have to protect Katniss, give their lives for her if it came down to it, and she would surely be on the top of some of the other victors' kill lists... 

Drea had long since accepted the fact she probably wasn't going to make it out, but her entire being rebelled against the idea of having to lose Finnick. They hadn't been as close as they once were in a long time, but she had loved him all those years ago— she'd loved him so much... And perhaps a large part of her still did. 

FIVE YEARS AGO 

PRIOR TO THE 70TH HUNGER GAMES 

As much as they both loved the ocean, the heat, and the sun, under the moon is where Finnick and Drea thrived. That's where they were that night, a few weeks out from Reaping Day, which was just barely far enough out from it that Drea wasn't forced to constantly think about it. She and Finnick would be mentors together this year, though they were only nineteen, only a year older than the oldest a tribute could be. 

But that day was weeks from then, and ever since her Victory Tour ended around six months ago, Drea had gotten to actually move on a little bit and somewhat enjoy being a simple nineteen year old, one helplessly in love with the lean, tan-skinned boy that had been by her side for the last year. 

Drea wasn't necessarily good at hiding it either. Her best friend, Annie, teased her a lot for the goo-goo eyes she constantly made when Finnick was around. What Annie always told her but Drea never believed was that Finnick looked at her the same way.