trident ✯ finnick odair

i. the odair boy

i wipe my mouth guiltily. "sorry. i haven't eaten in hours."

he shrugs. "fair enough. me either."

i remember the time. "what're you doing out here , anyway ?"

"couldn't sleep." he says.

"same here." i agree.

"how come ?" he asks.

i rub a hand against the back of my neck self-consciously. "i had a nightmare. i've had a lot since my brother .." i trail off.

he gives me a sincere smile. "you must miss him a lot."

i snort. "you have no idea. he was my best friend."

he takes my hand again , and we walk together. "i have a feeling we'll be best friends , oar head."

i hit him over the head with my oar. "now who's the oar head ?" 

we both burst into fits of laughter.

(timeskip) -  A YEAR LATER

"and , may the odds be ever in your favour." finnick mocks , in a high pitched voice.

i giggle. "the capitol really do all have those silly high pitched voices."

he smiles wolfishly. "i know."

i ruffle his hair. "don't get too big for your boots just because your voice is deep now. you used to sound like a little girl."

his jaw drops in mock outrage , and he picks me up and puts me over his shoulder. "call me a little girl again , oar head."

i squeal. "fine , fine. i'm sorry. put me down , you big oaf."

he puts me down to the floor gently , and i look up defiantly. i have to look up quite high , as he's gotten so tall. "gosh , will you ever stop growing ?"

he grins proudly. "i hope not. i already tower over you."

i sigh in defeat. "i know , and you're only 14."

he laughs. "are you trying to boost my ego ?" he winks. "because it's working."

i look up at the clock , and gasp. "my mother is not going to be pleased if i turn up to the reaping looking like this. i better go and get ready." i plant a kiss on finnick's cheek , and run off.

i get home to see mother waiting for me on the porch. "where have you been ?" she calls out sternly.

i smile sheepishly. "with a friend."

she laughs softly. "the odair boy , again ?"

i nod. "can't get enough of him."

she ruffles my hair. "okay , sweetheart. i laid out a dress on your bed. go inside and make yourself look presentable."

there's an olive green dress laid out on my bed. i throw it on and tie my hair up into a bun. i let out the front strands of my hair , and stand in front of the mirror. i shrug. "it'll do."

i go back outside to show my mother. i do a little twirl. "what do you think ?"

she kisses me on the cheek. "beautiful. and , just in time. the reaping is starting."

we walk to the center of town , and i line up to get my blood sample taken , so they can confirm my identity. my finger is pricked , and i go into a row of children my age. i scan my surroundings , and discover that finnick is a couple rows in front of me. i am only half awake as our mayor recites the history of the hunger games. i know it very well by now , i have to hear it every year.

he finishes babbling , and hands the proceedings over to our district escort , lucia cardew. she , of course , feeds us the same spew that she does every year , until , finally , moving onto the tributes of this year. the female tribute is always read out first , which i am partially glad about. it's out of the way , and i don't have to worry. "for the female tribute .." there's a heavy pause as she fumbles with the slip of paper. "adella brynn."

i look to my left , to see adella standing a few feet away from me. there's a pit in my chest as i see her take her first shaky step. i know adella. i mean , i go to school with her , we played as kids. i might never see her again. i give her a sad smile as she shuffles past me. she stays strong , refusing to cry. the capitol , the sponsors , view you as weak if you cry.

lucia cardew clears her throat. "and for the male tribute." she opens the small piece of paper. "finnick odair !"

my heart drops. no - this can't be happening again. i watch finnick , stone-faced , walk towards the stage. i have to stop him. i run towards him , and he grabs my wrists to pull me towards him. he looks at me , holding back tears. "sloane , please."

i shake my head , tears flooding my face. "it's happening again , finnick."

he sighs. "i promise you , it's not. i'm strong enough to make it home , we both know it."

i nod , shaking. "i know."

he kisses my cheek gently. "i love you , sloane."

a sob catches in my throat. "i love you too , finnick."

the peacekeepers pull me back into the crowd , as i watch finnick walk up to the stage. i can't lose another person i love. i just can't.

--

my family and i are sat down , waiting for finnick's interview with ceasar flickerman. my hopes of finnick winning were heightened when he was awarded a 10 as his training score. finnick's been training for years , and it really paid off. adella's interview ends , and ceasar begins announcing finnick.

"our very own capitol darling , finnick odair !" ceasar shouts joyously.

finnick appears on screen , a wolfish smile on his face. "don't worry , ceasar. you're our district 4 darling , too." the audience erupts into laughter. finnick has always been charming.

"it means a lot , finnick." ceasar smiles.

finnick takes a seat and ceasar begins questioning him. "finnick .. i don't know if you've heard , but a lot of our capitol citizens are just enamoured with you." he laughs heartily. "well , who wouldn't be ? look at that face."

finnick laughs , and winks at the audience. "you are all welcome to get in contact anytime. preferably not during the games. i might be a little busy." the audience hoots with laughter.

ceasar smiles. "yes , well. you say that , finnick , but i seem to remember you giving a very special goodbye to a mystery girl at the reaping. care to tell us more ?"

a blush spreads across finnick's cheeks. "yes , you must be talking about sloane."

ceasar raises his eyebrows. "she's got a name , ladies and gentlemen !" he shouts. "so , sloane. who is she ? a girlfriend , maybe ?"

finnick smiles. "something like that. not officially , but she's my girl."

ceasar grins. "our golden boy is in love ! so , why isn't she your girlfriend ?"

finnick shrugs. "never told her how i felt. and , now there's the long distance problem." he laughs , and the audience joins him.

ceasar laughs. "well , i'm sure she knows now." he waves to the camera "give finnick a chance , sloane."

i feel a blush rising on my cheeks. i can't tell if this is just for show - or if it's how finnick truly feels. i sigh to myself. 

i don't know if i'll ever find out.

『AUTHOR'S NOTE✎』
i cannot wait until i release the first chapter of this novel , because i truly loved delving into finnick and sloane's relationship. sloane's trauma will be a monumentous part of their relationship , as she struggles through two of the most important people to her being reaped for the hunger games , until she is eventually reaped herself. as finnick and sloane were childhood friends , he is the only person who she comes out of her shell for. he is the only person who knows the true her.