Chapter 26
Annie seemed to somewhat come to terms with the fact that Mags and I were going back into the arena, though she still flew into rages at times. Once, when she was crying about it, and I tried to comfort her, she became angry and forcefully pushed me out of the room. I wanted to explain to her why I had to go, but I couldn't. She knew that it had something to do with the rebellion, but that only frightened her. So I steered clear of the topic. Annie knew that begging from her- however much it would kill me- wouldn't work, because she stopped trying to convince me. Instead, she tried to enjoy her remaining few days before the Quell with me. I was happy to comply. We spent the days having fun to the fullest. Most of our time was spent at the beach, which had become our second home. Swimming races and sun bathing was just the tip of what happened. I taught her how to lure fish, showed her tricks, made her learn the different strokes I had learnt from my father. I missed my family, but with Annie in my arms, I was content. It was as though she belonged there. I learnt that Annie had a special liking for seashells. It was with sad eyes that she told me it was because her older sister and she used to make jewelry out of them. It hurt to see Angelfish sad, so that afternoon, I brought some of my precious ropes from my house, and used them to make necklaces for Annie. She was truly talented at it, and I gazed in wonder as her skilled hands did the work. I had seen her so happy after a long time, so I made a point of digging deep into the sand and searching the water for exotic seashells. I had yet to find one as beautiful as Annie. The next day, I had already whipped of my shirt and waded into the water, giving Annie privacy as she took off her own. She was taking quite long, so I looked back worriedly. Annie was in the process of removing of removing her shirt, but was apparently struggling. "Finn," she called," It's stuck." I fell onto the sand, rolling around in laughter. She glared at me, arms raised above her head helplessly. Choking back chuckles, I walked over to her, and gently untangled her shirt from her hair, pulling it over her head. She gave me a heart-stopping smile, full of gratitude, and I wrapped her in my embrace. She leaned forward, and pecked my cheek and my nose. My lips sought hers, and soon we were on the sand, her on top of me. When she drew away, her long red hair fell in a curtain around my face, and she tried to brush it away, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. I tried to kiss the red bloom away, but she just blushed harder. I flipped, so I was on top of her, and licked her cheek. Her expression turned to one of disgust, which greatly amused me and she said," Yuck, Finnick! Why did you do that?" In reply, I smiled and ran my tongue along her cheek again. She squirmed and kicked in my grasp, but I was much stronger than her, and pinned her there, where I licked every inch of her face. By the time I released her, my mouth was full of the vanilla and flowery taste of Annie, and I was laughing. Wiping her face, she pounced on me, and began to run her tongue over my face. In retaliation, I stuck out my own, and when hers came close to my mouth, I twined mine around it. She tried to pull back, but our linked tongues prevented it. I pressed closer to her, and she gave up struggling, and just kissed me. The day before the reaping, she was teaching me how to bake a cake. I would prefer if she did it, but she insisted that I should learn as it was a very useful skill. I wanted to point out that they would hardly ask us to bake cakes during the rebellion, but I didn't think it would be wise, so I obliged. We had invited Mags for dinner, and Annie had tried her best to cook a delicious meal. I attempted at helping, but I decided if we all wanted to prevent throwing up tonight, I should just stay away. Half an hour to Mags' arrival, Annie decided to go take a shower and put on some new clothes. She told me to bake a cake quickly. I was reluctant, but Annie forced me to, saying that she had taught me well enough. So while she dressed, I baked a cake. I racked my brains for all the instructions she had given, and by the time I put it in the oven, I was panting. I decided to go up and change as well, because if Mags and Annie saw me in my jeans, I'd obviously be dead. When I opened the room door, I saw that Annie had already laid out my clothes. I smiled at the formal shirt and suit trousers lying neatly on the bed, and then I noticed the piece of paper folded neatly into the shirt pocket. I took it out, unfolded it and read Annie's curvy handwriting:
Love you always and forever, Finn
Yours for eternity,
Angelfish
At that, my heart was bursting with love for my girlfriend. Suddenly, girlfriend seemed too small a word for Annie. I kissed the paper and set it on my bedside table, and when Annie emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, I grabbed her petit body, pulled her towards me and kissed her with all the might I had. I put into that kiss all the love I had, all the sorrows I had felt for her, all the joy there was in simply holding her. One of my hands was on her hip, the other resting atop her chest, where I could feel her pounding heart. When we broke apart, I gasped for air. Annie just stared at me with those mesmerizing green eyes and smiled beautifully. I flashed her my trademark grin before striking a ridiculously provocative pose, and with a laugh from her, I was pushed into the bathroom. After showering and putting on some 'decent' clothes, according to Annie, I went downstairs, where Mags had already arrived and been greeted by Annie. They were both sitting at the dinner table, and looked up when I came in. Mags smiled fondly, and opened her arms. I walked into them, and squeezed her as close to me as possible, mostly for the sake of teasing her. It worked because she started mumbling in mock anger and tried to pull away, and chuckling, I released her. "Don't make me regret my decision of keeping you alive in the arena, young man," Mags said in a threatening voice. I laughed, and after ruffling her hair affectionately, I took a seat beside Annie. Annie looked pretty in a green dress that matched her eyes and went well with the butterfly clip in her wavy red hair. She flew to get the food as I chatted with my mentor. I took advantage of Annie's momentary absence to talk about the reaping. Suddenly, Mags reached across the table and grabbed my hand. I looked at her questioningly, and she said," Finn, whatever happens in that arena; promise me that you will keep the Mockingjay alive." I stared at her in confusion, because hadn't we all agreed on that already? She seemed to understand what I was confused about because she continued," I mean it's absolutely necessary. You will protect her, even if it means leaving me behind." For a moment, I was processing her words, trying to make sense of them. When I understood, I shook my head vigorously. I started saying different things that all had the same meanings: Of course not. You are more to me than she could ever be. Mags just smiled sadly at me. She spoke with such conviction of her own death that my heart broke," I'm an old lady, Finnick, my life is nearly over. There is no way I can make it in that arena. And even if I do, I'll probably die a few months later. I've lived my life, my son, but you just found your sole purpose. You can't give up a lifetime of happiness ahead for an old woman who has only a few days of sickness ahead of her. Annie needs you, the Mockingjay needs you, and the rebellion needs you. I need you to stay alive. Do this as your last favor to me." Mags' speech pained me physically, but it didn't convince me. Never in my wildest dreams would I be cruel enough to so easily give up the life of the woman who had brought me back from the arena alive, taken care of me, and been my mother in all the ways that mattered. I looked into her eyes to convey my thoughts to her without voicing them, but what I saw there made me instantly look away. I saw firm determination; a decision made that could not be reversed. And I knew that even if I refused to leave Mags behind, she would sacrifice herself for the Mockingjay. Suddenly, I was full of rage for Katniss, because she was causing this trouble. It was her fault that I was going to lose Mags and maybe Annie too. But then my anger abated, and I saw sense, because if it weren't for Katniss, many other lives would be lost too. So when Annie came back in, I forced my features into a smile and tried to enjoy dinner. But the best part was definitely the cake. Annie set it down on the table, announcing with pride that I had baked it. I pulled her in for a one-armed hug and met Mags' amused expression with sticking my tongue out. She shook her head, smiling, and cut herself a slice. Annie followed suit, and they both bit into it at the same time. For a moment, they chewed; thoughtful expressions on their faces, but then their faces contorted and they spit their mouthfuls out. Annie wiped her mouth and tongue, while Mags had a huge gulp of water. I watched them in surprise; surely my baking skills weren't that bad? Then Annie exclaimed," It's so salty, Finnick! What did you do?" Then realization dawned on me, and I couldn't stop laughing. I was doubled up, and managed to say in between fits of giggles," I put salt in instead of sugar. I'm sorry, it was an accident. I remember thinking why the sugar was next to the pepper but I just dismissed the thought." After that, the laughter of the three of us was echoing around the house. After Mags left with goodbye kisses from both of us, Annie and I went to bed. We slept with our arms around each other and our limbs entangled. It was the best night's sleep I had had in ages.