UNDERDOG | FINNICK ODAIR

chapter 5

It had been almost five years since Annie and Ford died. Finnick and I had struggled the first year. We thought only of Annie when they saw one another. It was hard but it got easier. Soon the reminder of our lost friend was a welcome feeling.

Two years after the 70th hunger games, I decided to move my mother and myself into my house in Victors Village. The old house just became a memento of before. Before the games, before I had seen the worst of mankind, before my life had evolved into something else.

Not to mention district four was struggling with steadily increasing crime rates, probably due to the steadily lessening amounts of food and resources. Rebellion was becoming more common. Beatings and loud shots echoing more and more every day. I could only imagine how bad off the outlying discricts were.

So we moved into the mansion across from Finnicks and in between Mags and Lacey's. Our new house was a wonderful blend of clean whites and light blues, greens and yellows. The ceiling had been made of crushed seashells and the tile in the kitchen was my favorite shade of blue, a deep navy that reminded me of the sea at night.

We enjoyed the added space, but only used the bottom half and two of the bedrooms upstairs. The house was to big for only two people.

Finnick and I got closer after the first year. Neither of us had many friends and both dropped out of school due to our wealth, we didn't need jobs.

I never spent my money unless to buy grocery's but most of the food I ate was from the sea. Sometimes I would go buy the expensive, nutrient rich food from the smaller grocery stores and drop them off to a few houses I knew were especially struggling.

Me and Finnick went fishing every afternoon now. Like clockwork, he would show up at my door at 5 o'clock. He would bring his trident, two fishing poles and a net.

I would usually have the net and throw it on a passing fish. Finnick would walk over and use his trident to kill it. They would try and catch as many as they could, then start a fire on the beach. I was great at starting the fires because I had more patience than Finnick. We would put them on the fire and eat them for dinner.

We would also buy a bag of oranges when we went to the orphanage. Although the oranges were expensive and more rare, we had been continuing this pattern for months.

We usually watched all the required announcements from the capitol together too. We were like a little support group with only two members. Tonight was the Third quarter quell announcement.

My mother sat on her armchair, clicking two knitting needles together as she always did, staring blankly at the ceiling. As Snow came on screen Finnick stiffened and I looked over. He had a angry look on his face. "If you don't smile soon your face will freeze like that." I joked, grabbing his face and using my thumbs to pull the corners of his mouth up.

He smiled big and cheesy at me. "That's much better." I beamed with a smile of my own, taking away my hands.

The cheesy grin on Finns face quickly disappeared as he turned back to the screen, "I can't see how that man sleeps at night." Finnick fumed.

"Probably on a big fluffy bed, with pillows the size of a couch and a comforter as soft as silk. Actually it probably is silk." I said with a smirk. Finnick smiled for real this time and turned his attention back at the screen.

Snow made his usual talk about the previous years and blah blah blah. I never cared about that part. Not until he said: "On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the capitol, the male and female tributes, will be reaped from their existing pool of victors."

Finnick grabbed the remote and stood, turning the TV off.

Silence.
We sat in silence.
I felt as limp as a ragdoll.
Finnick was still holding the remote.
I watched as he squeezed it tight. A soft cracking sound emitted from the plastic device. He flung it where the screen was seconds earlier.

The remote shattered into pieces. That's how I felt right now. Detached from myself. Lying on the floor in a million little pieces. Broken, helpless, hurt.

The loud sound made my mother go off. She dropped the needles and screamed terrifyingly. Clutching her head and eyes wide as saucers. I ran over to her, embracing her tightly and whispering soothing things in her ear.

Once she had stopped screaming, I took her upstairs to her bedroom and put her to sleep. I stayed until she was snoring softly, then came back downstairs.

3rd Person POV.

Finnick felt angry. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to punch Snow across the face. He wanted to stab the capitol in the gut. He wanted to...

He wanted to cry.

Beck stood by the stairwell for a few minutes, trying to gauge what Finnick was feeling. She couldn't stand the silence. "Finnick?" She asked softly. He didn't answer. She touched his shoulder. "Are you-?" He glared at her. "You don't understand. Have you thought about it? The capital wants me in the spotlight. Snow wants me to be on that screen." He brought his voice down, whispering at the end.

"Finnick, it'll be alright. Why would Snow try to kill you if you're the prettiest face in panem? The capitols people won't let you die, they all admire you to much." I whispered not trusting my voice to go any louder.

"I know. I-I'm sorry. What I said was selfish. I'm sorry I set your mom off." Finnick trembled.

"No it wasn't selfish, and my mom sets off if you let a pot boil over. I think you should just go home. I know we are both tired and it's been a long day. We will both be thinking clearer in the morning." Beck muttered.

"Will you..." Finnick started. "Nevermind."

"What is it?" Beck asked

"Nothing I just wanted to say goodnight." He said, wrapping his arms around my back in a hug.

"I'll see you in the morning, delia." Finnick whispered.

"I'll see you in the morning, goodnight Finn."