Tidal Wave; A Finnick Odair Fanfiction

Surprise Broadcast

Y/n's POV

"Finnick, hey," I greet and swing my door open wider to let him in. "You ready for this broadcast?"

"I'm not sure," Finnick responded. "The reaping is supposed to be tomorrow, so the fact that Snow's making an announcement today is making me anxious. Do you have any idea what it's about?"

"No," I reply as the two of us settled down onto my couch. "But I'm sure it's nothing important. Probably just something about this year being a Quarter Quell, so the games are gonna be a little different."

"You're probably right," Finnick agreed as I snuggled into his side. With Finnick next to me, I felt safe. His arm rested comfortably around my waist, and the heat radiating off of his body provided me comfort. My holographic tv turned on shortly later, showing live video of President Snow in the Capitol.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 75th year of the Hunger Games. And it was written in the charter of the Games that every 25 years, there would be a Quarter Quell to keep fresh for each new generation the memory of those who died in the uprising against The Capitol. Each Quarter Quell is distinguished by Games of a special significance. And now on this, the 75th anniversary of our defeat of the rebellion, we celebrate the 3rd Quarter Quell as a reminder that even the strongest cannot overcome the power of the Capitol. On this, the 3rd Quarter Quell Games, the male and female tributes are to be reaped from the existing pool of victors in each district," President Snow announced.

"No. No no no," I mutter repeatedly. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening. I can't do that again. I can't kill those people again."

"Y/n, calm down," Finnick instructed and rubbed his hand up and down my arm soothingly.

"I feel like I'm gonna throw up," I confess and shoot off of the couch. My feet carried me towards the bathroom, and as soon as I was hunched over the toilet, everything I had eaten that morning came back up. Finnick was right behind me, holding my hair back as I continued to be sick. I don't know how long I was in front of that toilet for, but I do know that as soon as I stopped throwing up, Finnick was holding me in his arms.

"Hey," Finnick murmured softly. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"How can you say that, Finnick?" I sob. "What if you get picked? What if I get picked? I can't lose you."

"And you're not going to," Finnick promised. "What did I promise you when I was selected for the games?"

"That we'd be together until the end," I recite.

"And I've kept that promise. I helped you win your games, and I'll help you get through this," Finnick pledged and held me close.

Reaping Day

"How do I look? Does this look okay?" I ask and show Finnick the dress I had put on.

"It looks fine. You look beautiful, Y/n," Finnick told me.

"Thanks. God, I'm so nervous," I say and run a hand through my hair.

"Hey. What'd I say last night? If either one of us gets picked, it's not gonna be the end of the world. We'll just have to fight like hell to survive," Finnick claimed.

"I know. But that still doesn't help my nerves," I reveal.

"You're gonna be alright," Finnick assured me. "Now let's get this thing over with."

In the town square, all of District 4 was gathered for the reaping. The peacekeepers led the victors up onto the stage where we were separated into males and females. District 4 had 9 victors; 4 males and 5 females. And while the first few decades of the Hunger Games provided the district with very few victors, since Finnick won, we've had a good amount of winners. Finnick won the 65th Hunger Games, I won the 67th, a man named Ron Stafford won the 68th, and Annie Cresta won the 70th. So 4 of our 9 victors won within the past 10 years.

"Welcome. Welcome," Caspian, the escort for District 4, started as he faced the crowd. "As we celebrate the 75th anniversary and 3rd Quarter Quell of the Hunger Games. This time we're gonna switch it up and do males first."

"Good luck," I mouth to Finnick as Caspian drew a name out of the large glass bowl.

"All right. The male tribute from District 4 is.........Finnick Odair," Caspian read off the paper. At the mention of Finnick's name, my heart sunk, and my stomach dropped. My worst fear was coming true. "And now for the ladies. Our female tribute from District 4 is.............Annie Cresta."

When my name didn't get called, I let out a breath of relief. But then I saw Annie sobbing, and I remembered how she had seen her partner beheaded in her first games and hasn't been the same since. All of a sudden I recalled what I told Katniss when me met just the week prior. How brave she was for volunteering for someone she knew wouldn't win the games. My eyes met Finnick's, and he shook his head. He knew what I was planning to do. In that moment, all of the fear left my body, and I let my courage take over before taking a step towards the center of the stage.

"I volunteer as tribute," I declare. "I'll take Annie's place."

"Well here you have it folks. Our tributes for the 75th Hunger Games. Finnick Odair and Y/n L/n!" Caspian cheered into the microphone. I took my place center stage next to Finnick as the crowd cheered for us, and I could feel myself itching to take Finnick's hand, but I decided against it.

"Why'd you do that?" Finnick questioned me quietly. "We can't both win this, Y/n."

"I know. Look, we're not the only victors who are pissed off about this whole thing," I bring up. "Katniss and Peeta managed to convince the game maker to allow them both to survive. So maybe all of us tributes can convince the newest game maker to stop the games. It's not a great plan. But it's all we've got. So what do you say, Finnick? You in?"

"Yeah. I'm in," Finnick breathed out.