Panem High

Chapter Eleven - A Night to Remember

%Annie%

Annie checked her makeup one last time before opening the front door. She was wearing a dark blue dress that went a little past her knees. She really hoped she looked alright. If she thought she was nervous before... It was nothing compared to how she was feeling now.

When the door was out of the way, Finnick Odair engulfed her view.

His bronze colored hair was styled neatly, and he was wearing dark jeans, dress shoes, and a green button down shirt that matched his eyes. In his hands, he held a bouquet of blue tulips and the occasional daisy. He smiled shyly, red in the face as his eyes examined Annie closely. His mouth dropped open and he broke out into a grin.

"I- uh..., wow," he spluttered, shifting from foot to foot. A smirk played on Annie's lips as she blushed at his loss for words. "You don't look so bad yourself, Odair," she said, nodding at him. She stepped out of the house, and Finnick closed the door behind her. He blinked hard, and tried to regain his composure. "These," he began, gesturing towards the flowers in his hands, "are for you." He reached out and touched her arm gently, and Annie took the flowers from her date.

She looked around, trying not to scream. Calm down, don't do anything stupid.

Annie smelled the tulips and smiled. "How'd you know I liked tulips?" she asked. Finnick stuffed his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground, embarrassed. "I asked your friend; Katniss," he said.

Annie nearly gasped in betrayal. Kat knew he was bringing me flowers and didn't tell me? She's going to get an earful tomorrow.

"Before we go, you should maybe put them inside? I don't think you'd like to carry around a bouquet of tulips around," Finnick said, waving towards the door. Annie nodded, "Of course."

~

They were sitting in the theater, and the lights dimmed as the movie began. When they'd gotten there, Finnick asked if Annie would like to see Into the Woods. Annie had nodded eagerly, but secretly was trying not to laugh. Finnick was the first guy she'd heard who wanted to go see Into the Woods on his own free will. But, somehow, it made her like him even more.

~

Halfway through the movie, Finnick's hand slowly inched over past the armrest. He reached down and hesitantly took Annie's hand in hers. It took a few seconds for her to respond to the action, seeing as she didn't expect it. Her fingers intertwined with his, and they fit perfectly together. She drew in a sharp breath and readjusted her position so she was sitting straight up.

She glanced over at Finnick, and found him with a goofy smile plastered to his face as his eyes scanned the screen. Annie almost laughed, but decided against it.

She leaned slightly closer to him, and she could've sworn he did the same. Annie tilted her head and it rested on his shoulder. Finnick stiffenedat first, but he relaxed quickly. His head gently lay on top of hers, a smile permanently stuck to his face. Annie couldn't look at his face without ruining their position, but she could imagine how perfect he looked with the silver screen's glow casting on his face.

The thought itself made her blush, and she distracted herself by looking at Chris Pine and listening intently to the lyrics.

~

After the movie ended, Finnick took Annie to dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant.

Suddenly, Annie was happy she had gotten dressed up. She picked up her menu, and frowned. It was all in Italian. Not a word of it was in English. She had just started taking French this year, and she couldn't even translate that. Finnick noticed her confused her expression and smiled. "You okay?" he asked, setting his menu down. "I, uh, um, it's in Italian," she said, shoulders slumping.

He chuckled softly. "I made that mistake the first time I was here."

Finnick reached over and turned the menu over, his fingers gently brushing over hers. "The other side is in English," he said. Annie flushed pink and looked down. Sure enough, the words were in English. The dishes were familiar, and she was no longer confused. But, she did feel like an even bigger idiot, if that counted for anything.

~

Annie's hand came to rest on the doorknob of the front door to her house.

"Well," she said, turning around and meeting Finnick's eyes, "I had a really great time." Finnick smiled. "As did I. We should do this again, you know. I hear the Hobbit's pretty good," he said, winking. "Is it? I guess we'll have to go and see for ourselves another time," she alluded. His smile broadened into a grin. "Sounds like a plan. Would you like to text me the date you desire to go out on?" he asked. Annie nodded, "Sure."

They exchanged numbers, and they ended up standing really close together.

Finnick leaned in, and all Annie could do was stay still. Once his face was inches from hers, her eyes fluttered shut. His soft lips pressed against her cheek, and he stepped back.

"Until next time, Ms. Cresta," he said, walking backwards towards his car. Annie waved, and opened the door to her house. He got into his car, honked, and drove off. Annie decided that her cheeks would be stained red for all eternity. She closed the door behind her and ran to her room, collapsing on her bed. Face down in her pillow, she released a loud, long scream.

Finnick Odair took her on a date, she didn't act like a complete fool, implied that he'd like to go out again, got his number, and then he kissed her.

It went pretty will. It would definitely be a night to remember.

A/N: Awwweeeeeewwwwweeweeeweweweeweeeee

Fannie! I'd like to go ahead say they seem pretty canon right now. So, I didn't write the entire date. I wrote little snippets but, you know, whatever. I had the entire thing written out, but I didn't like it that much, so I deleted chunks until it was short and sweet.

EDIT: re-reading this chapter, I actually feel a little awkward about this. It makes me a tad uncomfortable and I have no idea why, lol.

Thanks, enjoy!
x everywhereandnowhere