"You want me to do what?"
The President hardly looked up from his steaming cup of tea. Nor did he answer, instead taking special care to drop a couple of the sugar cubes that lay in a small pyramid into the liquid.
When Finnick opened his mouth to repeat himself, Snow finally acknowledged that he had spoken.
"You'll know that this year marks five years since you were crowned victor of the Hunger Games," He began, stirring his tea. "Ever since you emerged victorious, the citizens of the Capitol have hardly stopped buzzing about you. You were the youngest person in the history of the games to win."
Perhaps his face had glazed over with boredom; it wasn't the first time he had heard this speech.
Snow pursed his lips and smiled at Finnick. "As I said, this year marks five years since you were crowned. I think it would be in the interest of everyone if you were to do something…special."
His green eyes widened and his first thought was that he was going to go back into the arena. But that was impossible. Wasn't it? His brows furrowed in confusion and he stared at the President as he drained his teacup. A small trail of blood had appeared on the porcelain where Snow's lips had been and it slowly moved down the inside of the cup to the dregs. "Special? How so?"
His answering smirk made the copper hair on Finnick's arms stand on end. "You're making a movie."
It was almost laughable how caught off guard he was. He uttered a short laugh and shook his head. "I don't understand. A movie?" A warm breeze blew through the rose gardens and he closed his eyes for a moment, having a bad feeling that he wouldn't like the further explanation.
"Our arrangement has brought in more money than we originally anticipated. You're a very coveted man." Snow's lips were curled and he dabbed at his lips with his cloth napkin. "I want to expand on that. You aren't accessible enough. Everyone wants you, but only a select few can get you. Not everyone has the money to win you."
Finnick pressed his lips into a hard line and he stared hard at Snow, his clenched fists shaking in his lap. "I see. And a movie will solve my accessibility? I'm still not following."
An Avox stepped forward and placed a small orb in the middle of the table before retreating. The orb, when touched, began to hum and a beam of light sprang from a small opening, projecting a screen. It was blank for a moment before a scene from a pornographic movie started, making Finnick's face turn beet red.
"I don't think this is necessary," he mumbled, looking at his tea rather than the scene in front of him. "I get it, okay? Turn it off." He could feel his heart beating faster when the projection stopped and he forced himself to lift his head to meet Snow's gaze. "You want me to make a porno."
Snow laughed and he clapped his hands together. "This will be bigger than anything you've done. Than anyone has ever done. You aren't the first victor to have made a film like this, and you certainly won't be the last. But with as big of a following as you have, it will have a greater reception. There will a script, a crew, a set…it's a very big production. We're going to spend a lot of money on you. You will attend a premiere and promote the film before the sales start…and there will be many. You're going to be an even bigger star."
Unable to help it, Finnick held his head in his hands, fighting angry tears that stung his eyes. If he had to go on camera and promote this, the whole world would see it. He wouldn't be able to escape it. At least what he was forced to do happened behind closed doors, usually costing so much that the client could never afford him again. "And if I refuse?"
The garden was quiet before Snow gave a long sigh. "Would you really have me threaten an old woman? Mags Cohen is old, but she may still have a long life ahead of her."
As always, that was enough to get him to do it. He grit his teeth and then sat up straight, making strong eye contact. "Fine, I'll do it."
"I'm glad that you see how good this is for everyone. People that could never hope to buy you will suddenly be able to. You'll be satisfying more people than you'll know. And who knows? Maybe after this first one is released, the demand for another will be so high that it'll become a regular part of your contract. The possibilities for you are endless, Finnick. I don't think anyone is going to have as much success as you."
He felt sick to his stomach and like he was about to come apart at the seams. How much more could they do to him? His parents had been taken care of after he was fresh out of the arena. Mags was really the only person left that he cared about. If he slipped up and ended up getting her killed, was there anything left they could dangle over his head? He swallowed at the thought of being completely alone, every last person that he cared about being taken from him. With no one else to blame but himself. Man up, Finnick, it was just sex.
Snow smirked again and noticed that Finnick had not touched his tea. "Do you need a sugar cube?" He picked up the plate and held it out to the boy.
It took an extreme amount of self-control to keep from swatting the plate away, but he managed it. "No thanks. Don't really have a taste for sweet stuff." He wrapped his hand around the cup and brought it to his lips, swallowing it in one hard gulp.
Hi there! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! This idea kind of just came to me recently, so I'm gonna explore it! Thank you for reading and if you let me know what you think of this beginning, I'd greatly appreciate it!
-Kelsey x