Sugarcubes and Buttercups

Finnicks Reaping and Games

Cordelia awoke with a startle, there was a slamming at her bedroom door. She got up and opened the door to a panicked Finnick Odair, her best friend.

"I almost just died" he said shakily

"What?! What do you mean you almost just died Finnick?!"

"There was a shark and a wave and just a- a uh, you know." He waved his arms around smashing them together

"A collision, between you and a shark?"

He perked up and nodded "yes exactly"

She laughed "Finnick I swear."

"What! I'm serious!"

"I can't handle you and your antics, you know you aren't supposed to go out in the water without someone for that exact reason."

"Hey not my fault you were asleep."

She scoffed "Could've woke me!"

"But you looked peaceful."

"You watched me sleep?" She said questioningly

"I- uhm yeah I did."

She laughed "you're dumb, come on let's go get breakfast." She led him down the stairs to where her mother was cooking

"Joining us again Finnick?" Mrs Ambrosius asked

"Yes ma'am, if that's alright with you?"

"Of course it is." She gave him a kind smile

After breakfast the kids went their separate ways to get ready for the reaping. Cordelia wore a beautiful, silky, blue dress, her hair done in two simple braids by her mother. Both her and her mother sat in silence, the two of them obviously scared, her he name was barely in the bowl but you never know whose name is going to be picked.

Mrs. Ambrosius hugged her daughter tightly "We gotta go sweetheart"

Cordelia nodded "okay"

Cordelia walked out the door and too the town square which was only a few yards from her front door, she signed in and went to her area, scanning the crowd for Finnick she caught his eyes also searching for her, they gave each other sympathetic smiles.

Bo Cleardrop walked on the stage

"Welcome to the reaping for the 65th hunger games!" she smiled

"First the men." She reached into the giant bowl and shuffled around. 'Finnick and I'd names were only in like 3 times each, we'll be fine.' Cordelia thought to herself . Eventually Bo grabbed a slip of paper, she unfolded it, cleared her throat and read.

"Finnick Odair"

Cordelia's eyes swelled and her hands went numb,

"no, no, no, not Finnick" she mumbled to herself, scanning the crowd and finding him again, his face was pale which was unlike his usual deeply tanned self, he slowly stepped forward and walked towards the stage.

"Any volunteers?" Bo asked in her chipper voice, no one said a word, no one even raised a hand.

There Cordelia stood helpless, she went blank, no thoughts except for 'why Finnick, why my best friend.' She didn't even hear the female tributes name, she came back to life when Finnicks mom and her mom grabbed her and sweeped her into a hug.

"He'll be okay." Finnicks mom stated trying to convince herself that her son would be truthfully okay.

Cordelia's POV:
The three of us met with my sister, Marina, who Finnick also loves like his own sibling. The peacekeepers bring us into a room that held a quietly sobbing Finnick Odair.
His mother, my mother and Marina all ran to him hugging him tight. I stood there frozen. Unable to move. All I heard were small whispers and the sniffling of noses. Eventually the three ladies left and I slowly walked up to him, sitting next to him.

"Hey Sugarcube" I mumbled sadly we only had 10 minutes to say goodbye, our families took up 5 of it, leaving me 5 minutes to say goodbye to my best friend possibly forever.

"Hey Buttercup." He looked over to me tears staining his skin. I hugged him tight, as tight as I could. His arms wrapped around me in response.

"You've got this Fin."

"No one our age has ever one Cordelia." We were both thirteen, Finnick turns fourteen soon and I not long after.

"Yeah, you're right. Which means you're gonna make history." I looked him in his green eyes. I watched a small smile slither onto his face.

"I love you Cor."

"I love you too Fin."

We sat there for what felt like only a few second but must've been minutes. The peacekeeper opened the door.

"Time to head out" he stated in a gruff voice.

I nod slowly, Finnick pressed a light, small kiss to her temple.

"Bye Cor."

"Goodbye Finnick."

I walk out of the room somberly, sinking to the ground as soon as the doors close behind me, choked sobs escaped my throat. Marina wraps her arms around me.

"Lets go inside, people are watching, daddy won't like this." Her twelve year old sister reminded her of her dads strict rules on public image. Marina led me to the house, I went upstairs and sat in my bed as sobs escaped my mouth.

——A few weeks later——

Cordelia rushed down the stairs as soon as she woke, she quickly sat on the couch next to her father, the games already on. Normally she was not allowed to partake in the viewing of the games but this year her best friend was a tribute, so this year her dad let it slide. No one expected Finnick to make it this far no one but Cordelia, no fourteen year old, a freshly fourteen year old at that, had ever one the games before but she's seen him hunt and fight she knew he had a lasting chance.

There were two tributes left, Finnick and the male tribute from district 3. Finnick had been sponsored a trident around halfway through the games, due to him being the fan favorite, Finnick with a trident was deadly. He had been weaving nets and catching his opponents and spearing them. It took around a week for the other tributes to realize that he was the one to kill, but by then it had been too late, he had already dominated the terrain.

To say Cordelia was on the edge of her seat was an understatement, she needed Finnick to come home. She watched as Finnick crept up on the district 3 male, trident in hand. Finnick shuffled his feet making a slight noise startling the other tribute. The other tribute swung around and just like that Finnick speared him in the chest. A cannon bellowed through the air, after a few moments of silence an announcement aired.

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the victor of the 65th hunger games." The television quickly zoomed in on Finnick who was sitting on the ground sweaty and obviously tired with tears in his eyes. Then it tuned into Cesar Flickerman

"There you have it ladies and gentlemen, the 14 year old from district 4, our newest victor." He had wide grin on his face.

Cordelia had silent tears falling down her face, he did it, he won, she would get to see him again.

Word Count: 1173
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