Against the Current (Finnick and Annie)

Chapter 17~Annie

"Darling, you are all I ever wanted love to be." ~s.s.

~~~
Finnick and I were walking back from town, our hands brushing against each other. He was more quiet than usual and I knew why. Tomorrow he'd be leaving for the Capitol for the 71st Hunger Games. It's hard to believe that it's been a year since I was last there. A lot has changed since then. I can't even remember the person I used to be.

Finnick helped me fix the broken pieces of myself over these past months. I know I'll never be the same, but I would've been so much worse without him. We've gotten closer after the Victory Tour. A minute hardly went by when we weren't together. We were able to forget our problems and just laugh at the little things. Being with him is what I think happiness is.

I just wish I could help Finnick with his problem with the Capitol. It's hard to do that when he won't even tell me what it is. I have an idea but it's too delicate of a subject to broach.

"You okay?" I ask Finnick. I look up at his golden brown hair reflecting the sunlight, a perfect contrast to his emerald eyes. I can see an underlying panic inside of them but it quickly fades away as Finnick looks down at me.

He smiles slightly and nods. "Yeah I'm fine." He looks out to the water lapping lazily against the shore. It looks like he's thinking about something. "Hey Annie you want to go for a swim? There's something I want to show you."

I don't go swimming often since it still scares me a bit, but I can now go in the water without totally freezing up. However with Finnick there I'm not afraid. I nod my head.

"Sure," I reply. Finnick smiles and grabs my hand as he leads me to the water's edge. Before we go in he looks at me questioningly.

"It's kind of a further swim, but I'll be there to hold you if you get tired. Is that fine with you?"

I look out unsurely. The furthest I've gone was probably ten yards and the way Finnick is looking at me I can tell we're going to be going way further. However there's an undeniable excitement, almost giddiness, in his expression that I can't turn down, so I'm the one to lead us further into the water.

I laugh as I think Finnick is about to explode from excitement. He does an adorable little jump as he takes the lead. "You're going to love it there! I just know it!"

The swim isn't as hard as I thought it would be mainly because Finnick is supporting all of my weight. All I'm doing is pretty much floating as he pulls me along. The waves get a little stronger and I begin to feel nervous. What if Finnick and I get separated? I won't be able to swim all the way back to shore by myself.

Finnick sees my brewing panic and pulls me closer. He places me on his back and I wrap my arms lightly around his neck.

"Don't worry we're almost there and the water will get calmer."

Finnick was right. A couple minutes later the water calms down significantly so that it's only a gentle current. I make Finnick put me down since I want to swim next to him. He looks a little surprised at first. I was too. I guess I really am overcoming my fear. Finnick smiles at me happily before grabbing my hand and leading me through the silky water.

It's incredibly clear here and I can see my feet moving in circles beneath the surface. There are rocks surrounding us but the current didn't push us towards them. The rocks were more like a wall of a fortress keeping us safe.

When we pass through a gap in the giant stone towers my mouth opens in shock. Hidden behind them is a perfectly rounded cove with white sand and a couple of palm trees all leaning against the cliff side.