Hi :) this is my first fanfic so I would appreciate any help and advice you can give me :D please review and I hope you enjoy it :D

Chapter 1

5. This is it. 4. I'm in the Games. 3. I can't win. 2. I won't win. 1. Go.

1 week earlier…

As I dived into the shining blue sea I felt the world around me just disappear as I entered a world that was my own. Teal fish, yellow fish, red fish and every other colour of fish surrounded me and flitted around me as if they were welcoming me in to their world. As I had been swimming in these waters since I was about 4 years old, the fish almost treated me as one of them and once they had figured out who I was they would leave me alone to swim around and enjoy my slowly fading childhood. As I swam around I tried to forget about the fact that the reaping was this afternoon and although my name was only in there three times, a slip of paper with my name on it could still be picked from the giant clear bowl containing the names of every 12-18 year old boy in District 4. I pushed these thoughts to the back of my mind and tried to enjoy what could be my last few hours of freedom.

When it got to 1 o'clock in the afternoon I decided that it would be a good time to get out of the water and go home to make myself look presentable just in case I did get reaped. I forced myself to swim back to the shore, however I swam as slowly as I possibly could to try and increase my time in the water as it could be my last. When I'd eventually reached the shore I picked up my towel from the sand and wiped my face and body dry. Seeing as how everyone would be at home getting ready for the reaping I decided to walk back home in just my shorts because it was a very hot and dry day and, compared to the coolness of the water, the beach was boiling hot. I picked up my shirt, tossed it over my shoulder and then turned to face the sea as if to say goodbye to an old friend.

I walked through the streets distracted, my mind filled with thoughts of the reaping this afternoon. What would happen to my father and sister if I was reaped? No one would volunteer for me. I wouldn't let them.

"Ow!" I am roused from my thoughts by this sound and see a girl on the floor tangled up in a net.

"Woah, sorry I didn't mean to bump in to you." I help her untangle herself from the net and lift her up on to her feet. She looks up at me and has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. They are dark green and when the light hits them at a certain angle they seem to shimmer.

"Sorry about that." I place my hand out, offering it to her as another way of saying sorry and also to introduce myself to her. "My name's Finnick. Finnick Odair."

"My name's Annie. Annie Cresta." As she says this she finally looks up as she has been staring at the ground ever since she got back up. "Don't worry about it. It's my fault; I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No, it was mine." I reply.

For a few seconds we just stand there looking at each other, then the ground then each other again. Whenever I look back up at her I see that she is silently looking me over. I'm used to this by now but it still makes me feel good about myself, the fact that people find me attractive when I think I'm the complete opposite. Finally she decides to break the stony silence.

"Well I'd better get back home; I need to give the net to my father. Maybe I'll see you at the reaping. Good luck with that by the way, how many times is your name in there?" She says with a hint of regret as she feels that this may be a touchy subject for me as she is too young to be reaped yet so she does not know the feeling that occurs deep within your stomach when you finally become of age and you're name is placed in to the glass bowl that will decide someone's fate.

"It's only in there four times so the odds are in my favour compared to some other kids." I reply, not showing her that I am worried about this afternoon, she doesn't need to be dealing with my worries about getting reaped.

"Oh well that's good then. Well I'll see you later then. Thanks by the way for helping with the net, you seem to know your way around them." She says with a ghost of a smile appearing on her lips as she turns to leave.

"Don't worry about it. I guess I'll see you later then." By the time I've said this she has already started walking away from me. For some reason I want to run after her and have an actual conversation with her. Wait, what am I saying? She's just a girl and she must only be like 11 or something, too young for me to be pining after her but for some reason I really can't wait until after the reaping so I can talk to her again and see those beautiful green eyes.