Hurricane • F. Odair

twenty » skin on fire

F I N N I C K

SIX YEARS AGO

   There she was again.
   Haunting him as unsettled ghosts do in old homes.
   She towered over a fifteen year old girl who caved her chest in to seem smaller. Her hand cradled the girl's shoulder, holding her close. He would recognize a protective stance anywhere. Logan stood next to them with her brothers. They were twenty-one and sixteen. She laughed loudly at something her sister said, neck craning and shoulders shaking. The sound bounced around in his head.
   Her eyes found him then. Across the room, he could see the different shades of rust that Paprika had painted her eyelids with. The dress that adorned her body matched the eyeshadow. It caressed her body at the chest before falling at her waist. Her sister's dress was made of the same material, but was significantly less showy.
   He wondered why she would bring her family. Was it a show? Maybe it was a dig to those who didn't have family to bring. He watched as her eyes went to the balcony before hardening.
   Gaius, the year's victor, was speaking animatedly with President Snow. Finnick understood the sudden hardening of her expression.
   "Find a partner, it's time to dance!" A voice shouted over the speakers. He recognized the dance quickly. It was one where partners were traded. Capitol citizens flocked to his side, begging to be chosen. Over their heads, he saw her being swept away by her older brother. He put on an award winning smile, twirling a girl with leaves for hair into the dance floor.
   Keeping person after person at arms length, he hated when they wormed their way closer to him. Clearly personal space had never been a social construct in the Capitol.
   In the corner of his eye, he saw a rust-colored skirt just a few paces away. A squeak escaped the girl in front of him as he distractedly stepped on her foot, drawing him back. Her dress of lemons was blindingly bright and horrid, but he kept his mouth shut about it.
   He smiled brilliantly, giving her insincere apologies that melted away her pain before twirling her to the next man. Soft skirts brushed against his leg and she was in his arms before he could think about who was next.
   The song changed immediately into something soft and slow. A ballad tickled his ears as he struggled to process what was happening. He had handled too many bodies in his life to be dumbfounded as to what to do now.
   She took his hand and placed it on her waist, lacing their fingers in his other hand. "Just spin me a bit, Odair. Nothing to put yourself in a tiz over," she said quietly, breath brushing his ear.
   Was it hot in here? Why was his skin on fire?
   When his feet began to work again, they moved in a slow circle. He didn't know if the stench of lemons was leftover from the girl before her, but all he could smell was fresh lemonade.
   He twirled her gently, spinning her out and then pulling her back to his chest. His eighteen year old heart thumped harshly in his ribs. Surely she could feel it — it felt as though it was going to beat right out of his chest and jump into her hands.
   "Take me," it would say. "I'm yours."
   "Board any boats recently?" She asked.
   His eyes flicked to hers.
   But when you board that boat, take me with you.
   "I've heard you're not much of a water fan," he stated simply.  At the change in her eyes, he wished he could suck the words right back into his lungs. He barely knew her, but he could see the cement walls rising in her eyes.
    "Would you be a fan of something if it almost killed you, Odair?"
   "Don't think I would." Someone tapped his shoulder. He looked up to find her elder brother towering over him.
   "Mind if I cut in?" He asked, but Finnick knew there was no saying no to this mammoth of a man.
   "Odair." He flinched at the deadness in her tone. "This is my brother, Blaze. Blaze, you know him."
   Blaze stuck out a giant hand for a handshake that Finnick thought was going to crush his bones.
   "Pleasure to meet you," Finnick said politely.
   Blaze merely smirked. "I'll bet," he retorted before whisking her away.
Finnick heard a faint see you next year, and he was surrounded again.