The Champion | Finnick Odair x oc | PJO & THG crossover

⁑ Chapter 12 | Interviews | ⁑

     Dreamless sleep is a gift, so I was thrilled when no dreams made it to me.

    “Hey, Finnick, we can’t find-” My non-dream-filled sleep was shattered by the one and only, Regina James. “Why hello, Aria.” I could hear her smirk.

     “Your call has been forwarded to voicemail for Aria. No one is available to take your call. Please leave a message at the beep. Beep.” I buried my face deeper into Finn’s shoulder.

    “Well, when Aria can answer the phone, come down to breakfast.” Regina said, and her heels clicked away.

    I sighed. “Goddamnit, she offers me food. Food or Finnick. It’s the hardest decision I’ll have to make.” I groaned, and Finn laughed.

    “No matter how amazing I am, I would choose food.” He said, and he got up.

    I groaned again, and I got up. I went to my room and put on clothes. I plopped down onto a chair and started to eat my breakfast. “Alright, Aria, you start with Pearl for presentation for four hours and then you go with Finnick for content. Austin, you go with Caspian for content for four hours and then with Brooks for presentation after that.” Regina said.

    Finnick grinned as I pursed my lips. “Aren’t you my mentor?” I asked, and Regina gave me a look.

    “Yes, but Pearl is better at presentation and Finnick’s better at the interview stuff.” Regina replied, and I glanced over at Finn.

    “She tripped at her interviews and then she could barely stutter out her one-word responses.” Finnick said, and my eyes widened.

    I fought back the urge to laugh. Chances were I was gonna fall flat on my face too.

    It was pure torture practicing walking in high heels with Pearl’s instructions. The dress was too long and the high heels were too high. My dress kept getting caught on my shoes and I’d stumble, and Pearl would yell.

    Then it’s all about smiling. Smile at the end of a sentence, smiling before a sentence, and smiling during a sentence. The corners of my mouth were stinging by the end, and I had hoped for relief for the content, but Finnick had me smiling non-stop. Not because he was forcing me, but because he was being more charming than normal.

    “Okay, let’s get real.” Finn said, taking my hand. “I know you better than anyone. I know you’re beautiful on the inside as well as the outside, so I think it’d be best for your interviews if you go for a…out of reach style. Desirable yet not available, so even if you did win you’d be out of their reach, and you should probably add your own level of fierceness. Think you can do that?”

    “Duh. I can just act like I’m talking to you and Austin.” I said, and he laughed a bit. “Alright, now pretend I’m the interviewer.” He made a ridiculous face, and I laughed.

    “Miss Aria, tell us, when was the moment you realized you were in love with Austin?” He said, and I sighed wistfully.

    “Oh, it was a long while ago, but I could never forget it. We were walking on the beach and suddenly I started to have a panic attack. Austin took my hand and told me everything was gonna be okay, and I actually felt like it was.” I said, a charming smile on my face.

    “You’re beautiful.” He said, breaking his act.

    “Finnick!” I whined. “You broke character!”

    “I know, but it was worth it.” He said, kissing me gently.

    “Quit it!” I groaned, and he pulled back. “Fine, fine. The desirable part is simply in the way you hold yourself.” He said, and he leaned back lazily, a charming smile on his face, his legs were crossed, and his arms were on the arm rest. “See? It’s not that hard.”