Twelve year old Annie Cresta stood at the edge of the shore, the water just covering her feet when the gentle waves came in. She stared out at the orange hue that was cast upon the horizon, smiling slightly at how pretty it was.
She always took time to appreciate nature and the beauty of things; everything life had to offer. She thought she was maybe different because of that, thinking so in depth of things. But, she had always been like that.
It was the middle of September here in District four, but the seasons or months here didn't matter. The weather was always the same. Sunny and warm, the sun always beating down on her every time she stepped outside. It's not like she minded it since she didn't really go outside much, always staying in to help her mother and father with something.
Lost in her thoughts, Annie was so startled when she heard the voice behind her.
"Cresta?" she voice said, and Annie quickly turned around, tilting her head when she saw Finnick Odair standing there.
Just by looking at him, he made her nervous and intimidating. She didn't know why. Maybe it was because he was the most popular boy in their school. With his amazing looks, and charming personality, there wasn't a person in the school that didn't at least like him. Annie didn't know much about him though, and only had seen him around school a couple of times. She was surprised that he even knew her last name. He wasn't even in her grade. Annie was in 7th grade, and he was in 8th, but he was only a year older than her.
"Hi Odair," Annie said casually, pursing her lips and still feeling a nervous feeling in her stomach.
A smile played up upon his lips and he walked a bit closer to her, walking up so he was face to face with her now.
"I never see you around here. This your first time being to the beach or something?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No.. I mean, I just don't go much. I usually just um.. Stay inside," Annie said, but then wanted to smack herself for how pathetic that sounded. Annie wasn't the best at being social, and being around Finnick Odair made talking even worse.
"I've noticed. I mean, you're very pale," he said with a chuckle, slowly making his way up to the edge of the shore just where she was. She turned around and looked at the ocean again, and then glanced at him.
"Thanks," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and looking him over to see he had a nice tan on him, which she would probably never get, even if she tried. "And what are you doing out here?"
"Oh, I always come out here. It's like my.. hide away, if you want to call it that," Finnick said with a shrug.
"What are you hiding from? Don't you have tons of friends you could be hanging out?" Annie asked, raising an eyebrow.
He looked at her and shrugged.
"Maybe, but I'd rather be here," he said.
They looked at each other for a second, and Annie was starting to feel herself blush for some stupid reason, so she looked away, looking down at her feet which were buried a bit under the wet sand.
"I can see why," she started. "It's very pretty, actually. I just don't go out here much because my parents are always keeping me under their watch and are making me do some kind've chores. The only reason I'm out here now if because.." Annie trailed off a bit, swallowing roughly and shaking her head.
"Because why?" Finnick asked, carefully as if not to push her to say anything which she didn't want to.
"They're getting a divorce," Annie shrugged a bit. "They haven't been getting along that well, but.. My dad is living somewhere else now. They just have to sign some papers and everything will be done," she said, her voice getting a bit quieter. Why was she telling a stranger this? Spilling the events of her personal life to a boy she didn't even know.
Finnick didn't say anything for a moment, because maybe he was thinking of something to say.
"I'm sorry, Annie," he said with a sigh, stepping closer to her. He suddenly put his hand on her shoulder and Annie looked up at him, facing him now.
"It's okay. I'm sure things will be fine in the long run," Annie said, looking up at him now since he was quite a bit taller than her.
"That's right. At least you're thinking about things positively," he said, nodding a bit, and smiling.
Annie didn't know what else to say, so she just looked at him. She bit her lip and looked down again, apparently too shy to make eye contact with him for more than a couple seconds.
"Yeah. Well, I think I better get going. It's getting dark out anyway," she said, glancing at him.
He chuckled, but she didn't know why.
"Alright, Cresta. See you around," he said with a smile.
"See ya, Odair," she said with a smile as well, biting the inside of her lip.
She turned around and started to walk away, looking down at the sand. Maybe she was too quick to judge Finnick Odair, because he really was a nice person and she liked him- just as a friend though, of course.