A/N: 12/10/2014 Woah! 7 reviews for a single chapter in less than 24 hours! I wasn't expecting such awesome feedback! :D
Tenn: Eeee! Then you'll have SUPER major feels for this one! :D
Guest: Thank you! It makes me happy that this story is good enough to take you out of your usual comfort zone :)
ktmmxgirl: Thanks! And don't worry, you will! :)
K-the-Queen-of-Typos: Yeah, Finnick's a little 'jelly' of Katniss' family setup. Which is kind of ironic when you think about it because her family (well, her mom) annoys the crap out of her, haha! And me too. Thank God for the internet, because I'd be two years behind on the latest fads without it. Like when someone talks to me about the newest trend and I have no idea what they're talking about, I'm like: 'Well thank goodness I have no life!' Otherwise I probably would be embarrassed lol. Thanks for the review, more will be revealed on the Annie situation very soon ;)
It's Lizzie: I love how you approach the probability of Galeniss and Finniss like it's a math problem. G + K + F/K - G = Finniss. Lol XD
CelestialTitania: Oh, okay. Yeah, I hear you. I get teased about my guy friend a lot but that's about the extent of it. And yes, Katniss is gonna make Finnick forget all about Annie, and in the best of ways. So stay tuned! ;)
Foreverlovingalways: Thank you, I will! ^^
Reading time: 10 mins.
Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.
Chapter fourteen: The Fight~
As it turned out, Katniss lost her bet.
Finnick was, indeed, brave enough to kiss Effie full on the lips - albeit chastely - and when they left, it was he who sat in the driver's seat of her black Mazda.
They laughed and waved their goodbyes, and they were off.
They drove in silence for a long time, both still getting off their highs of warmth and love and just enjoying each other's company. But eventually it died off, wearing down into a simple happiness and contentment at the pleasant turns of the night. They neared Finnick's apartment and he pulled up beside the curb, putting the car into park.
Katniss spoke first.
"So are you gonna tell me what that was about back there?" she asked, and he froze, momentarily stuck in the position of taking off his seatbelt.
When he didn't answer, she continued. "I'm not trying to press you, but if this is something that's going to interfere with future jobs, then-"
"No," he said firmly, cutting her off. She snapped her jaw shut, surprised at his tone of voice.
He sighed. "Look, I'm not...I'm sorry that I snapped at you, it's just...it won't happen again," he assured her, moving his hands to grip the steering wheel forcefully.
She stared at him. "...Go on."
He obeyed. "I was just thinking about someone I used to know. It's nothing, I promise."
"A female someone?" She asked.
He clenched his jaw in pain. "...Yes."
She looked at him, not with sympathy but with understanding, and said, "...Okay."
His gaze snapped in her direction. That was it? She wasn't going to hound him? Press for information? Beat the living shit out of him until he talked and spilled his whole life's story?
Finnick stared, flustered. "Uh...thanks," he said, and they sat there awkwardly.
He finally moved to get out of the car, but Katniss' voice stopped him.
"I'm sorry."
He froze, then slowly sat back in the driver's seat and looked at her, brows furrowed in confusion.
"For what?" He asked.
She looked away from him, instead choosing to stare at the dashboard.
"This wasn't supposed to be like this. You were supposed to go to my family dinner and they were supposed to hate you, and I was supposed to never be bothered by my mother to get a boyfriend again," she confessed, voice laced with anger and shame towards herself.
He chuckled despite her miffed behavior. "Why did you think they would hate me?"
"Because you're a self-absorbed womanizing prick," she said emotionlessly, glancing over at him.
"Oh," he said dryly. "Well, that doesn't bruise a guy's ego..."
They sat in silence, each going over what the other had said, and Finnick spoke again.
"Why didn't you just dump me and try to find some other jerk?" he asked, trying to keep his tone playful despite the surprising amount of hurt he felt.
"Because then my mom would be onto us, and then I'd never hear the end of it." She groaned, throwing her hands up. "Ugh...I'm sorry. I just had to get that out...I felt like I should tell you."
Finnick smiled, masking his sadness. "You know what? It's fine. I mean, it's not like I expected you to actually like being around me or anything." He opened the door to get out, looking back at her to add, "And hey; I woulda done the same thing."
He got out of the car, walking around the front and making his way up the cement walkway to his apartment.
He heard her open the passenger side door, and he continued walking as he waited for the moment when he would hear her get into the other side and drive off, away from him and out of his life or something like that. But as his ears waited, he heard no other sounds that would allude to such assumptions, and it took all his willpower to reign in his hope and curiosity and keep from looking back.
"Hey!"
Finnick whirled around, surprised to see the braided brunette marching up to him, feet crunching in the snow as she didn't bother taking the sidewalk.
"What are you talking about?" She asked angrily, coming to stand a few meters away.
Finnick swallowed, not letting his hopes up. "Uh...what do you mean?"
She marched forward again, snow splaying out across the cement as she came to stand a foot away.
She huffed, the hot breath leaving her mouth in vapor and blowing in his face through the cold winter air. "You know what I mean. What's all this bullshit about me not liking you?"
He lifted his eyebrows, shocked at her cursing. "Uh...I- I just figured that you-"
"That what?" she snapped. "That I'd use you and never want anything to do with you ever again when I was done? Do you really think I'd sink that low?"
"Well...yeah," he admitted sheepishly.
She looked at the ground and huffed again, and he tried not to notice how minty her breath was.
"Well...then you'd be right," she confessed. "I was going to do that, at first."
He opened his mouth to say something, but her gaze suddenly snapped up to him and held him there, keeping the words in his throat.
"But after all we've been through now, don't you ever-" She jabbed his chest with her finger with each stressed word. "Say that I don't like you."
Pausing, she shoved him angrily and Finnick backed away, eyes wide in shock as he tried to keep some distance between them.
Her fierce words and blazing eyes told him she meant every word that came out of her mouth, to a point that scared him. But it was also comforting, knowing that she didn't beat around the bush. And as he stared at her, wide eyed, he knew that, ultimately, from this point forward she would always be straight with him.
They continued to stand looking at each other, breaths coming in fast little puffs as they mingled with the night air, and just like in the dining room at the Everdeen house, Katniss was the one to break the trance.
Without so much as a word, she turned around and walked away, backtracking through the snow as she made her way back to her car.
Finnick watched, mesmerized, as she flipped her scarf around her neck in an angry but half-hearted manner and placed her hand on the door handle. She jerked it open, pausing to finally look up at him.
"Happy New Year's," she muttered, anger dissipating into annoyance with each word.
Not waiting for a response, she disappeared inside the vehicle, put it into gear, and drove off.
Finnick stood there watching, even long after she left, staring off into the dark streets as he tried to comprehend and make sense of what had just happened.
Without really feeling himself do so, he smiled.
It was then he noticed that his face was frozen and his toes were numb.
He slowly turned around and walked the rest of the way to his apartment building, two specific words repeating themselves over and over in his head.
She cared.
She cared.
She cared...
No matter how odd and unreal it sounded, it was true. Katniss Everdeen cared about him. Amidst all the sarcastic comments and hostile banter and piercing looks, she had come to care for him. Sure, she hadn't really said it, but with someone like Katniss, it was about as close as he could ever hope to get. And that was more than good enough for him.
Finnick unlocked the door to his apartment, smiling at a passerby as they made their way to the stairs.
Never had he felt so good after a fight.
A/N: Well, now that they've got their problems sorted out, the romance will start in the next chapter, most significantly in the one after the next. So look forward to it :)
'Til next time!