Enjoy
I decide to eat a lighter breakfast than the last meal I had eaten on the train. I have never not had a meal, although my portions at home are very small; coming from one of the poorer sides of the district my parent's could never afford much. But I never complained and we always get by. On the train I gorged myself, fresh warm bread, stew, balls of beef in a sweet red sauce. Of course the repercussions of my actions resulted in me loosing all I had eaten later that day.
As I tuck into I warm slice of bread I stare at Finnick, who is only in blue pajama trousers, from across the table, only to see is eyes flicker away from me. He shove a large slice of sausage in his mouth and traces the wood grain across the table with his finger.
"So Finnick, what should I do today? When I go down for training."
"You need to hide your strengths, you don't want your opponents to know them. Not even Phinley. Stick to things your not good at or don't know about, get better at them." He answers me through half a mouth of sausage and still staring at the table.
"Okay... now do you mind swallowing the sausage and talking to me in English?" He looks up at me and smiles, gulping before speaking again.
"Better?"
"Much." I smile at him.
I pop the last piece of bread into my mouth before reaching for a pot of summer berries and grapes at the other end of the table. My arm's are to short to reach that far however. Obviously Finnick notices this because he picks up the pot and pulls it further away from me towards him, giggling.
"Hey!" I stare at him angrily through a layer of hair.
"Oh sorry, did you want something?"
I sit back in my chair and stare at him as he pulls a cheeky grin. My arms crossed and trying to pull the most unimpressed look I can muster, but I can feel a smile fighting it's way onto my face. For a minute we just stare at each other. Even in the morning with his messy hair curling in random directions he still looks amazing.
Then slowly he picks up a grape from the pot and throws it up into the air, catching it in his mouth as it falls back to earth.
"Mmm, tasty." He winks at me. He's teasing me.
"Shut up. I want one."
"Ah ah ah, what's the magic word?" I sigh and stare at him. I feel like a child again, being forced to learn table manors and failing horribly at it.
"Please?"
"Hmm, say it sweeter." Finnick insists, eating the plumpest looking blackberry I have ever seen. I pull a face before fluttering my eye lashes and saying- in the sweetest voice I can conjure up-
"Pweeeeaase?"
"Hmm, that was awfully sweet, it suits you. However I still think the answer is no." To that he gets to his feet and puts more berries in his mouth, laughing.
"Hey!" I laugh, and get up, striding around the table towards him. But Finnick has anticipated my move and jogged around the other side of the table, to where I was sitting.
"Catch me if you can!"
"Finnick!"
"Oh fine!" he throws a strawberry at me which ping's off my check, leaving a soggy, pinky mark next to my nose. A grin grows across his face. Standing like this, a bowl of fruit clutched to his chest, messy hair and a cheeky smile he looks like a child. It's sweet. As I stare a funny feeling creeps into my stomach, but I push it away, because as much as I love him looking like that I want those berries.
Running for the clear section of table I jump onto it and slide across to the other side, landing my feet on the floor near Finnick with a thud. His face is shocked, although impressed at the same time. "Determined, aren't you?"
"Oh yeah." I reply running at him, but being a lot taller than me he lifts his hand with the bowl into the air. I jump for it.
Me and Finnick almost do a strange dance which ends with me tickling his unprotected ribs. He doubles over and as he does I grab the bowl from his hands.
"Thanks Fin!" I laugh, kissing him jokily on the cheek before picking up a raspberry and popping it in my mouth. It's juice escaping at my first bite and covering my tongue in it's sweet taste. A smile spreads across my face. Finnick's cat like eyes stare up at me through a layer of curly hair, his hands on his knee's, smiling.
"You like raspberries, don't you?"
"Yeah..' my voice sounds odd, as if a tad nostalgic but I just pick another from the bowl and turn it in my fingers, trying to hid the sudden change in my tone. 'Their sweet and taste nice."
Finnick straighten up and walks to me, twisting his head so his lips are a centimeter or so from mine and whispers,
"Like you then?" Before smiling at me and returning to his seat at the other side of the table. I lower my head and laugh silently, turning on my heels as I do to face him.
"I used to pick them along the woods near the far side of the beach where 4 ends. Me and my friend, It's beautiful there, just forest for miles, past the fence at least... After the 68th Games I didn't go back much. I haven't had one in ages, well before now."
I return to my seat and stare at Finnick. His face has lost it's smile and his words are soft and comforting,
"You knew Mary?' I nod. 'I was her mentor. She spoke about this strange girl she had befriended on the beach many years ago and not gotten rid of since." I laugh.
I had met Mary when I was 7. I had spent the whole day digging a whole in the sand, trying to find water, she had fallen into it while walking and after a few strange looks and remarks about me trying to dig for water on a beach we began talking. She helped me fill the hole as it got darker and we seemed to bump into each other at the beach around the same time every week. After a while we became friends, I had known her ever since.
"She always thought I was strange. The feeling was mutual... but she was my best friend and I miss her."
I look down at the table, unable to look at Finnick any more. I bury all my feelings of loss and doom back inside myself and breath heavily for a few minutes.
At the sound of a door shutting I look up to find Phinley walking across from his room, in an outfit much like mine. When he reaches the edge of the table he stares from me to Finnick.
"Where's Mag's?"
"She has other arrangements that need to be attended to. I offered to mentor both of you on how to act while in your training session today. She will be back by the time you have finished your training Phinley, no need to worry."
I watch as his eye's narrow and slowly he lowers himself into the chair next to me. I watch as he fills his plate with meat, bread and potatoes before starting eating. Unlike me I believe he holds down the food pretty well, then again, being from the richer end of the district it's no surprise. He has probably eaten a proper meal every day in his life. That would explain his full figure compared to my slightly hollowed cheeks. However as I sit wondering about this I decide not to complain. After seeing the poor district 12 children briefly during the chariot ride, hollowed cheeks, skin and bone with hungry eyes I come to the conclusion that me frowning upon the meals I would revive at home is ludicrous.
"So.' Finnick starts, clapping his hands together which makes me jump in my seat pulling me away from my thoughts. 'Let's lay down the ground rules for training today."
Hello anyone who reads this story! Unfortunately, if you are a fan of 'I Don't Care If You're Broken', I am sorry to inform you that this will be the last chapter. I have put the story on hold until it gains more interest or I decide that I wan't to finish it regardless of the views it gets.
However, at the moment I am taking my GCSE's and I have decided not to waste my time on writing a story which aren't being read.
If you like it, I am sorry. If you want me to continue ask, however I can't say the time frame it will take to start writing this specific fan fiction again.
Bye for now on this story,
~Feathers
