Chapter I

Annie Cresta

The wind played with my hair, as I strolled across the sand, looking for small, unusual shells that I could make into a necklace for myself.

I was twelve; almost of working age.

Boys started fishing, selling and gutting when they're twelve, but girls start a year later. I'm determined to spend as much time on the beach as I can, before I join the District Four workforce. There were beaches all over District Four, but the one furthest away from the villages, was my favourite. It was smaller than the rest, and hardly anyone goes there.

A perfect sanctuary.

I leant down to pick up a conical shell.

Splat!

I turned around and saw my childhood friend, Finnick Odair, grinning at me, and holding a fistful of wet sand in one hand, and a bucket full of wet sand in his other! With a maniacal laugh, Finnick sauntered over to me, throwing the handful of sand over his shoulder.

"Finnick Odair!" I said, my hands on my hips. "What are you doing here?! I thought you have spearing duty at the moment! You know what the peace keepers will do to you if they find you walking on the beach instead of spearing fish in the sea with the other fourteen year olds! Please don't tell me it was a woman in charge and you charmed her!"

Finnick gave me a mischievous grin.

I sighed, and sat on the sand.

Finnick flopped down next to me.

"It wasn't hard," he boasted. "I noticed that she couldn't stop watching me, and in the tea break, I stood next to her, and commented on how well her white uniform matched her blue eyes, and she would've looked more beautiful if her brown hair is left out instead of stuffed under a helmet. She couldn't stop blushing. I asked if I could be excused from spearing the fish to find some shells I can make into a bracelet for her. Guess what? She said yes! And here I am! Sitting next to you! She'll be devastated if she finds out, and be heart broken, instead of being angry and whipping me! If you want, I can sweet talk her into allowing you to work next year with me! You're great at spearing fish! As good as any fourteen year old guy, apart from me of course!"

I threw a ball of damp sand at him.

"Don't leave her heartbroken," I said, placing a shell bracelet I had made earlier onto his palm. "I'd rather you alive and annoying me than dead, or whipped. Or maybe you can charm your whipper into letting you off."

"I wonder what Marica will say!" snorted Finnick.

My older sister Marica, had an open crush on him since the first time they set eyes on each other. She never stopped gushing about his body and voice or something. Fortunately for her, our parents are good friends to Finnick's parents, and she had many chances to see him over dinner or lunchtime. If Marica found out that she now has a rival for Finnick's attentions, she would fly off the handle! Thinking of my fourteen year old sister made me sad.

We had another sister, Gelilah, who would've been sixteen this year.

She died as a tribute in the sixty third annual Hunger Games.

I darkened, when I thought of the Games.

Speaking of which, the Reaping was coming up in a couple of days.

"I'm having dinner with your family tonight," said Finnick, throwing a pebble into the ocean. "My parents are selling the fish late at night. Everyone wants a good seafood feast before the Reaping. In case they can never eat it again."

"Great," I said sarcastically. "You'll have to make do with a small portion of fish and a quarter of bread if you're lucky. I have more siblings than you by quite a bit."

Finnick sat up.

"There's you, Davyd," he said, counting on his fingers. "Should I include Gelilah? Johannes, Marica, Perryn, Sergio and Vallery. In my family, there's me and my brother and sister, Jens and Natysha. There's eight of you Crestas (including one deceased) and three Odairs. Has little Vallery fell for my charm yet? Most of you Cresta ladies have already."

I rolled my eyes.

Typical! Only Finnick would tally down how many girls and women fall for his charm, he was the only one that'll make it his life's goal to sweet talk everyone in the district! I have to admit, that he's doing a good job and half the women already swoon at him. Even my mother wasn't immune to his looks and charisma! If my grandmother was alive, probably she would admire him like every teenage girl and every mother in the villages.

"It's almost time for dinner," I said, standing up, and wiping the sand off my sundress. "You should give that bracelet to your lovesick peace keeper before coming to dinner. She might be wondering whether you lied to her or not!"

"Fine," said Finnick, kicking sand at me. "Race you to the village?"

He ran off before I could give him an answer.

Cursing under my breath, I sprinted after him, and eventually caught up and outran him. Just as I reached the end of the beach, a homeless crab scuttled out from nowhere and nipped my heel! I tripped and fell headfirst into the sand.

Ouch.

Finnick stopped next to me, and helped me up. He dusted the sand off the front of my sundress, while I shook the sand that weaved into my hair, and rubbed some from my face. When I go home, hopefully there's enough water so I can have a quick rinse. I didn't want to eat dinner with sand falling from my hair and onto my plate. A sandy flavoured fish wouldn't be particularly tasty. I was about to thank Finnick for helping me get the sand off my hand-me-down dress, when I saw him silently doubling over and trying not to laugh. He managed it quite well, apart from a snort or two.

"Finnick Odair!" I said angrily. "I would've beat you to the village, if it wasn't for that irritating crab, and these stupid sandals! You have no shoes on and started earlier! Not to mention you're taller than me, you have unfair advantages!"

He couldn't contain himself any longer.

With a sigh, I stalked off.

"Annie!" said my youngest sister, Vallery, running up to me. "Where have you been?! Mama needs you to buy some bread from the market! Marica, Davyd and Johannes are helping with the fish and oysters, and mama sent Sergio to collect fresh drinking water from the public well in the middle of the square. She says for me to tell you that the bread has to be fresh, and for you to buy at least a dozen. The smaller you buy, the more you get."

"Oysters?!" I repeated. "Fresh bread?! Vallery! What's going on?! We aren't the poorest family in District Four, but we certainly aren't the richest! What happened to 'saving money for the future'? Are you sure that mum wants me to buy fresh bread? What's wrong with the bread we have two days ago? We're all used to stale bread! Is the mayor coming to dinner or something? Why didn't she tell me this morning or something? You can't find a lot of bread at a time like this! The bakers would be closing their shops, and the sellers will be leaving in the markets! Tell me! What's going on?! This is the most surprising thing I have heard all day!"

Finnick watched us.

"Finnick's coming to dinner!" Vallery squealed happily.

I face palmed and groaned.

Seriously?! Even my eight year old sister has a crush on that goddamn charmer!

Finnick smirked at me.

Vallery handed me a small pouch of coins and I marched off, leaving Vallery goggling at Finnick. I was fuming. My mum is a miser and hated spending money! Why the Hell would she spend so much money on dinner just because Finnick was coming?! If it was our neighbours the Fillet family, dinner would be the same as we have everyday!

I stopped in front of a still-open bakery and went in.

I hated talking to strangers, but was fully relaxed and happy at this shop (Finn's Bakery). My close friend's (Angel) parents ran the bakery, and were the nicest adults I ever knew. They would often give away free slices or leftover pieces of bread to the poorest families of the District. For me and Angel's other friends, the Finns would give us a cheaper price, no matter how luxurious the cake or bread. My mum didn't approve them much, but too bad. If she wants fresh bread for dinner just for a certain Odair, she'll just have to accept it from Finn's Bakery.

"Annie!" said Angel excitedly. "I haven't seen you in a while!"

"Miss Cresta!" called Mrs Finn, over the noise of baking and other customers. "Your younger brother came here a couple of days ago! Don't you Crestas normally eat a bread or two per week? Angel! Be a dear and help out your friend, will you?"

Angel came from the back and handed me a tray and clippers.

"Take the bread you want and put it on the tray," she instructed.

"This is new," I commented.

"We have the best service, and are always so busy!"

"You do have the best bread in District Four!"

"After you take put the bread on the tray, my dad or mum will count up the cost and tell you! It's a much more professional way!"

I knew that Finnick disliked seaweed (only in dishes with other sea ingredients), and an idea of revenge came into my head. I picked up a dozen round and small seaweed breads. There's eight of us Cresta siblings, my mum, and Finnick. My dad won't be with us for dinner as usual. He worked the night shift in fishing. There'll be just enough bread for all of us with a couple left for the morning. I had a feeling that a dozen seaweed breads would cost at least three gold coins. My dad won't be happy at it. He worked non-stop for us, and if he hears about this, it'll spark an argument between him and my mum. He thinks Finnick is a 'nice boy', but wouldn't agree to treat him like a god in dinners. I wished he could take a day off and spend more time with us.

I handed the tray to Mrs Finn.

"Two gold coins please," she said, winking at me.

I thanked and gave her two gold coins. I promised Angel that we would talk more like we did before, and maybe even have a sleepover like the one we had when we were young. Angel is thirteen, but she received permission from the head peace keeper, to work in the family business, instead of gutting, fishing or spearing like the rest of us.

Lucky Angel.

As I expected, dinner was disastrous and entertaining.

All my sisters (and even our mother!) fought to sit on either side of Finnick. To my surprise and annoyance, Finnick declared that he wanted me to sit beside him! At first, everyone was too stunned to move. Then, Marica burst into tears and stormed off. Finnick chortled, and my brothers laughed. Vallery sat on Finnick's other side. Our mum glared at Vallery and me for a full three minutes, before turning away to get the fish from the boiling pot near the back of the house. I lifted my weaved basket full of bread onto the middle of the table.

My mum returned with a pot of stewed fish.

She dumped two spoonfuls of it onto each plate. When she served me mine, she deliberately dumped it with more strength than necessary, and it splattered onto my dress. She treated Vallery in a similar manner (except a little more gentler).

Finnick snickered softly.

I handed everyone a small, round bread.

Finnick took a big bite.

A few seconds later, crumbs slowly dropped from his mouth. He had a facial expression of disgust and shock. I stuffed some fish into my mouth to stop myself from laughing.

"Aww, did you enjoy your bread?" I said sweetly. "Here! You should have another! I travelled all the way to Finn's Bakery just for you! Come on Finnick! Just another one! Actually, you deserve two loaves! You worked so hard today!"

"Oh, wow, gee, thank you Annie," said Finnick dryly. "I had no idea that Finn's Bakery is so far from your

house, and I'm viewed so highly in the Cresta household that I deserve two loaves."

"Eat it Finnick!" chorused Perryn and Vallery.

Glaring at me, Finnick picked up a loaf and slowly bit into it. His other hand reached for his cup, but as he lifted it, he realised there was no water in it! Perfect! This is getting better and better! I picked up my cup and drank some water.

A couple of minutes later, Finnick finally finished eating the loaf!

He stood up.

"This had been a delicious meal, Mrs Cresta," he said politely. "I must be heading home now. It's getting late, and my parents might be worried. You know how it is, these days! Peace keepers roaming the streets and whipping everyone they see."

"Of course," said my mum at once. "No one would want your beautiful-I mean healthy-body with lashes all over it! Annie! Show him the way out! Sergio! Wrap up some of this fish in dried seaweed and give it to Finnick for him to take it home! I don't think Marica is hungry, so wrap up the last loaf of bread as well! He can have a good breakfast tomorrow morning, instead of the usual meal of small bread crumbs in leftover fish soup! We can't have Finnick starving to death, can we?"

We can, I thought.

I led Finnick to the door and waited for the wrapped food.

"You know the way out," I said flatly.

"Trying to poison me with seaweed," said Finnick, rolling his eyes. "You so did it on purpose. You're the only Cresta who knows that I hate seaweed. It's all thanks to our kindergarten teacher, who made us make a poster on our favourite seafood and our least favourite seafood. And you're the only one that read it and remembered. Gee, you'll do anything to have revenge on me, dear Annie. I can assure you that sometime in the future, you'll be kissing my feet and worshipping me like all your Cresta sisters and mother, and half the girls in the village! Just you wait, Annie! You may have had revenge on me today, and won half the battles in our childhood wars, but by the time we're adults, your hatred for me would've all melted from the heat that circulate off my body, and would be replaced by admiration for me. You may not believe it now, but it will happen."

"You seem sure of yourself," I said sarcastically. "I can assure you that whatever's left of your charm, I'll never fall for it. If you seriously want to be treated like a god, and people kissing your feet, just ask for it, and my sisters will gladly do it."

Before Finnick could reply, Sergio appeared.

"Here," he said sourly, dropping the seaweed-wrapped fish and bread onto Finnick's feet. "Thanks for ruining our prospects of a good breakfast."

He left after giving Finnick a loathing look.

If I ever want to murder Finnick, my brothers would gladly help.

Finnick looked at me expectedly.

"Pick it up yourself," I said, opening the door for him. "Good bye Finnick. Hopefully I don't have to see you again soon. Go on, shoo."

Finnick leant down, picked up the bread and fish and stood up. He bowed mockingly at me, and walked out (backwards), smiling at me for no particular reason. Realising I won't sigh and scream over him, he blew me a kiss and strolled away. I watched him walk mockingly arrogantly home. There was something about him that I just couldn't look away…

I shook my head.

I'm turning out a lot like my sisters and mum.

When I went into the kitchen, Marica had sat down, her lips puffy and pouted, her eyes red, and her hair more tangled than before. Did she seriously cry all that time?! God, there's something wrong with my family, all fighting over a single guy.

Yes, he has good features, like those bright sea green eyes that girls would die for, bronze hair and tan skin. He was tall for his age and well built for a fourteen year old. When he first met me, he spoke with a seductive purr and wink, despite us being three years old. My older siblings would swoon over him, which was quite annoying.

Finnick and I were good friends, but we had no romantic feelings for each other (I think?). We were

quite affectionate to each other like brother and sister, but nothing more. Besides, if I had any real feelings for him, I would have many rivals for his attention; some being my sisters and my own mother. Another, being a peace keeper.

A worried cloud had settled in my thoughts.

What if Finnick is reaped for the Hunger Games? I'll be all alone in my walks on the beaches. No one to have sand ball fights with, and no one to talk to when none of my sisters would listen. No one to turn to when I'm stressed.

I felt a pang of guilt.

I knew Finnick hated seaweed. Why did I buy the seaweed bread?!

It's only days away from the Reaping!

I should be spending more time with the people (including Finnick) who have more of a chance of being chosen as tributes, instead of arguing or plotting against them. Who knows? Maybe this would be the last day I would ever see Finnick. That would be terrible! I don't want my last sentence to him as 'go on, shoo!', it just doesn't seem right!

"You know," said mum thoughtfully. "We should have Finnick over on the last night before the Reaping, in case he does get chosen. What do you say? We should have all of the Odairs here! Your father isn't working that day either!"

"No!" groaned Davyd. "We see them too much already!"

Mum lightly slapped his arm.

If Davyd complained about Finnick, he would've earnt himself gutting duty.

I'm sorry, Finnick, I thought. I didn't mean to buy seaweed bread. I was just playing around with you. I should've chose a different time. A day far from the Reaping. I'll make it up to you, I promise. I won't play tricks on you ever again.

This is my first Hunger Games fanfiction, so please be nice and review! :) No flames please!