Here we go! New chapter! YAY!
:)
So...I have had several requests to do Mags story, and I have decided...
to write her story! :D
Hold your horses, I will not be writing it until probably after Annie's games.
So it's going to be a while, but I will be writing it, so if you're interested, keep and eye out o.O
So here is the newest chapter, (what do you guys think of Cleo and Flynn?)
I know I haven't elaborated much on their characters, but I may or may not keep them in the story.
So! The...sixty-eigth? Hunger games are coming up, and this is the first year Finn will be mentoring.
Like I said earlier, we will be meeting some new characters :)
Anyway, I'll stop blabbing so you guys can get to reading the chapter!
Thanks so much for the reviews, and please keep it up!
Chapter Twenty-five: Dinner.
I walk home slowly, thinking over my plans for tonight.
I'll get a shower and pick out a nice outfit to wear tonight, then I'll find something to do until a little before five-thirty, then it's over to Cleo's house to pick her up, we'll go back to my house and meet up with Annie and Irvin, then we'll all go to dinner.
I take a left turn onto a less traveled on street. It leads away from the shopping area of the district, and ends up somewhere near the docks. I know a back alley that will take me off this road, and lead me to victors village.
The sun burns brightly overhead, and I soak up its warmth. It's real, the heat, the light. It's real, not like all the artificial heat and lighting in the capitol. I shudder, when will they make me go back? I straighten up, pushing all thoughts of the capitol from my head, and focusing on the present.
The sun beating down on the sandy ground, the faint sound of children playing, the man who just turned on the road. Hey, I know who that is.
"Hey Bruce wait up!"
He turns around confused, as I break into a jog to catch up with him.
"Finnick? What are you up to?"
I shrug,
"Not much, I'm on my way home to get a shower and change."
We start walking again as he replies.
"Oh? Going somewhere?"
I smile.
"Yeah, Annie and I are going out to dinner."
He stops suddenly, grinning at me.
"Dinner? Like a date?"
I nod confused.
"Yeah...what's so funny?"
He shakes his head.
"I didn't think it would happen so fast, I thought a couple more years at least."
I frown puzzled.
"What are you talking about?"
He looks at me like I'm stupid.
"You and Annie, together?"
"Oh! No, no not at all."
I say quickly shaking my head.
"No, Annie and her boyfriend are going to dinner with me."
He looks confused.
"Oh...she has a boyfriend?"
I nod.
"Apparently so, his name is Irvin, Irvin Glendower."
He nods slowly, starting to walk again.
"So does she like him?"
I shrug,
"She seems to, but Annie is hard to read. I can read her fairly well, but I've known her almost all my life."
Bruce nods.
"True. What do you think of him?"
I shrug.
"I just met him today, but he seems like a good guy. Annie is a good judge of character though, so I'm sure he's great."
We walk silent for a moment, then something hits me, and I stop him.
"Wait, you thought Annie and I got together?"
He shrugs.
"Yeah, is that so hard to imagine?"
I shake my head.
"Ugh, how could you think that?"
He laughs at my expression.
"The thought never crossed your mind?"
I shake my head vigorously.
"Annie and I are-" He finishes my sentence.
"-just friends, yeah I know. It will happen though, mark my words."
I smile and shake my head.
"Whatever you say Bruce."
We walk a little farther in silence, then he asks.
"So you're just going along on their date?"
"No, it's a double date."
He raises his eyebrows.
"Really? Who's the girl?"
I shrug.
"Her name's Cleo Heisen."
"Have you known each other long?"
I smile.
"Well, she's known me for quite a while, but I just met her today. She seems nice, and who knows? Maybe we'll hit it off."
He shakes his head.
"I can't believe you asked a girl out on the same day you met her. That's awful..."
"Capitol of me? Yeah I know. But I don't know anyone really besides Annie, and it's less like a date and more like hanging out with some friends."
He shrugs.
"I didn't think you'd be ready to be with anyone after..."
I clench my jaw, and refuse to think of last week.
"Well, she's nothing like them. It'll be good to be with someone not from the capitol."
"Well then, I hope you have a great time. Here's my stop."
We halt.
"I'll see you later."
He waves.
"Bye."
He turns and cuts through an alley.
I continue home a little faster, and soon I am walking up the large front steps.
Once inside, I don't hesitate to jump in the shower. I spend maybe half an hour in there, and come out with a towel wrapped around my waist.
I dig through my dresser for something suitable to wear tonight. No jeans, definitely not a suit.
I finally decide on a pair of black dress pants, and a dark purple button down shirt.
I dress quickly, and comb my tousled hair. Then I check the clock. Almost four-thirty.
Great, that gives me just enough time to pick Cleo up and come back here to meet up with Annie and Irvin.
I reach Ceo's house around Five, and knock on the door.
A tall woman who I assume is Cleo's mother opens the door.
"You must be Finnick."
She says with a smile. Her honey brown eyes match Cleo's but her hair is much darker.
"I'm Cleo's mother, Rita."
I shake her hand.
"It's wonderful to meet you. Is Cleo ready?"
She glances over her shoulder,
"I think she's finishing up. Why don't you come in?"
She ushers me inside a comfortable living room. Flynn is laying on his stomach on the floor, reading a book. When he sees me, he jumps up.
"Hey Finnick! You here to pick up Cleo?"
I give him a high-five.
"Hey little buddy. Yes, I am picking up Cleo. What are you up to?"
He glances down at the book, and scowls.
"Homework. Where are you going tonight?"
I smile confidentially at him.
"Well, it's a surprise but I can let you in on the secret. I'm taking Cleo to 'the Neptune'."
His eyes grow wide.
"Really? That's the best restaurant in the district!"
I nod.
"Yep, maybe next time you can come along."
He shrugs.
"Yeah maybe."
Rita walks towards the back of the house.
"I'll go check on Cleo."
Flynn and I talk a little longer about our favorite foods, then I hear someone coming down the hall.
"Sorry, I couldn't find my other shoe."
Cleo says quickly.
"Is what I'm wearing okay?"
She's dressed in a pretty, thick strapped coral dress that reaches a little past her knees, a pair of brown sandals and a seashell necklace. She's holding a dark brown purse. Her hair is pulled up with a few strands hanging around her face.
"It's perfect. You look beautiful."
She gives me a pretty smile, and I offer her my arm.
"Shall we go?"
She puts her arm loosely in mine, and nods.
"Have a good time you two."
Rita says.
"Bye mom."
Cleo waves, and we leave.
"We have to stop by at my house to pick up the friends we're going with, do you mind?"
She shakes her head.
"No that's fine."
We reach my house in a little while, and find that Annie and Irvin haven't shown up yet.
"They're probably running a little late. Do you want a tour of my house?"
She smiles,
"Sure, why not?"
I show her around, and we end up back in the living room.
"So that's pretty much it. It's a little big for just me, but I don't mind."
She sits down on the couch, and I sit next to her.
"It's a very nice house. At least you'll have room if or when you have a family."
I nod.
"Yeah, plenty of room. I don't know if I'll ever have a family though."
She looks surprised.
"Oh? Why not?"
I shrug.
"Don't want any of my children to live through what I did. The child of a victor would be very popular in the capitol."
She nods understanding.
"I know what you mean. I'm going to be selfish though and have children anyway, I want a family, and there are always risks right?"
I nod.
"Yeah."
I hear a car pull up in front of the house, and I stiffen remembering the last time a car was here.
"Finnick is something wrong?"
Cleo asks. Great, she can see the fear on my face.
"No, everything's fine."
The door opens, and I immediately relax when Annie walks into the room.
"Hey Finn, the door was open."
I stand up.
"Wow, you look great Annie."
She does a small twirl in her light green, short-sleeved gown. It almost reaches her black slightly high-heeled shoes. Her hair is braided back and put in a bun.
"Thanks! You don't look so bad yourself."
She turns to Cleo, who is standing up now as well.
"This must be your date. Hi I'm Annie Cresta."
She shakes Cleo's hand.
"Cleo Heisen, nice to meet you."
Annie smiles her bright and cheerful smile.
"You too. Well, let's go, the car's waiting."
I raise my eyebrows.
"The car?"
Annie smiles.
"Apparently a certain tall, dark and handsome mentor wants us to go to dinner in style, he sent the car to pick Irvin and I up."
We walk outside, and I chuckle.
"Well, thank you Bruce. Annie that's not just a car, that's a limo."
She smiles, and hops down the steps.
"I know, I just wanted to see your face. Come on! I'm starved."
I hold Cleo's hand, and lead her down the steps and we join Annie and Irvin in the limo.
"Hi Irvin, this is Cleo, Cleo this is Annie's boyfriend Irvin."
They shake hands, and I give the driver directions.
"The Neptune please."
Annie gasps.
"The Neptune? You can't get in there unless..."
"You're a victor? Don't worry, I've got it covered. Oh and tonight's my treat."
In the back of the limo there are two couch-like seats facing each other. Annie and Irvin sit on one, and Cleo and I sit on the other.
We talk and joke around until the car comes to a stop.
"The Neptune sir."
I thank the driver, and ask him to pick us up around eight. Then we all pile out of the car, and stand in front of the restaurant for a minute.
The Neptune was named after a ship, that was said to have sailed to other lands and back, but it sunk mysteriously off the coast of district four, so they built a restaurant in its honor. What makes the restaurant extra cool though, is that they built it to look like a ship.
"Shall we go in?"
I ask, and the others just nod. I take Cleo's arm in mine, and we walk through the large double doors.
We are met by an attendant.
"Do you have a reservation?"
I nod.
"It should be under Finnick Odair."
The attendant checks his book.
"Yes I have a party of four at six. Follow me please."
He leads us through a bunch of tables, over to the corner, were a table for four has been set up.
"A waiter will be with you shortly. Enjoy your meal."
Irvin and I pull out the girls seats, and then take ours. I'm sitting across from Annie, and next to Cleo.
"Wow, this place is really first class. How did you get a reservation?"
Irvin asks curiously.
I laugh, and shrug.
"Well, I happened to get a young woman on the phone, and once I explained who I was, she was more than happy to get me a reservation."
They laugh, and Annie shakes her head.
"No one can resist Finn's charm."
Cleo grins slyly.
"I bet I can."
I turn to her with a grin.
"You don't even know me and I got you to go out on a date with me."
She laughs.
"All right, you got me there. I could bet that Annie can resist your charms though."
Annie nods her head.
"He doesn't fool me one bit, I've known him too long. Trust me, I've seen it all."
I smile at her.
"Oh trust me, I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve."
A blonde, young waitress comes up with some menus.
"Hello, my name is Tanya and I will be serving you this evening. Can I get you something to drink?"
I scan the menu quickly.
"Hi Tanya, could I get some of your tropical storm drink?"
She nods, writing it down on a pad.
"I'll have some too, and could I get some water as well?"
Cleo asks.
Annie asks for just some water shyly, and Irvin orders the berry lemonade.
"Alright, I'll be back in a minute."
Tanya says. She leaves, and we sit reading the menus for a minute.
"What looks good to you Cleo?"
She smiles, and shakes her head.
"Everything, I don't know how I'll ever decide."
I glance down at the menu.
"How about I get the seafood platter, and you order something else, then you can try several different things."
She nods.
"Okay, that sounds good. I think I'll get the salmon bisque then."
I look up at Annie.
"You decided yet Annie?"
She closes her menu slowly.
"I think so. The blackened tuna looks really good. What about you Irvin?"
He shrugs.
"I don't know, everything looks wonderful. I'm leaning toward the calamari though."
Annie scrunched up her face.
"You like squid?"
I laugh.
"Annie's never been a fan. I used to like it but after the mutt in my games I haven't looked at it the same."
Cleo grins.
"I remember that, it was a monster squid. You could think of eating squid as your revenge."
I laugh.
"Yeah I guess I could. Take that you angry squid thing that tried to kill me!"
We all laugh, and in a minute Tanya's back with our drinks. She takes our orders, then disappears again.
I try the tropical storm, which turns out to be a fruity drink with a little bit of alcohol in it. It's very refreshing, and Cleo seems to like it as well.
"Can I try some of your drink Finn?"
Annie asks, I pass her the tall glass, and she takes a sip.
"Whoa that's got some kick to it."
She quickly drinks some water.
"It's not that bad, you're just not used to drinking alcohol."
Cleo takes a drink from her glass, then asks.
"So Annie, how long have you known Finnick?"
Annie leans back in her chair, looking to me.
"How long ago was it? About nine years ago?"
I nod.
"Just about."
Cleo raises her eyebrows.
"Wow, so you two have known each other for quite a while. When did you meet Irvin?"
Annie looks to Irvin.
"When did we first meet?"
She turns back to Cleo.
"Well, Irvin was friends with my brother Robbert, and so I knew him for a while. After Robbert died though I hadn't seen much of him, about a month ago he started hanging out with me at school, and he asked me out several times before I finally said yes."
Cleo looks at me,
"See, that's how couples are supposed to get together. You know each other for a little while, you start hanging out more, and then you ask the girl out."
I laugh.
"Well, you didn't have to say yes. Besides, when's the next time you'll get a chance to date me?"
She grins.
"Well, I only said yes because I think I know you pretty well."
I give Annie a wink.
"Oh yeah? Let's see how well you know me. What's my favorite color?"
She gives me a smile before answering.
"Green, just a shade darker than your eyes."
I nod.
"Very good. When's my birthday?"
"January tenth."
I think for a minute.
"Okay, this one's a little harder. What is one of the things I value most?"
She thinks for a minute.
"Honesty."
I'm surprised.
"How did you know? I don't think I've ever said that in an interview before."
She shrugs, taking another drink.
"I guessed, you look like someone with a lot of secrets, so I assume something you value highly is honesty."
I nod.
"Very good."
Annie turns to Irvin.
"Real quick, do you mind if I ask a personal question?"
He shakes his head.
"Go right ahead."
She hesitates for a minute.
"Do you have a good relationship with your parents?"
He nods.
"I'm an only child, and my parents and I are really close. Why do you ask?"
She shrugs.
"I'd like to meet them sometime. After all, you've met my mother, and now you've met Finn, that's all the family I have."
He smiles.
"Finnick's part of your family?"
She shrugs.
"Basically, he's been like a brother since we met, and my family has always felt like he was a part of us."
Irvin turns to me.
"Do you have any family?"
I almost say Bruce, but I just shake my head.
"My mom dropped me off at the community home when I was born. The Cresta's are the only family I have. Although I've gotten close to Mags since she mentored me."
Annie adds.
"And Bruce, you two have gotten pretty close too."
I shrug.
"Yeah I guess. What about you Cleo? Do you have any family besides your parents and Flynn?"
She shakes her head.
"Nope, just my parents, Flynn and I."
Just then Tanya arrives with our food, and conversation is lessened as we busy ourselves with eating the fine meal.
Once we're all finished, I glance at my watch.
"We should get going, the limo should be waiting for us."
We walk slowly outside, and sure enough the limo is parked out front. We all climb in, and drop Irvin off first.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
He tells Annie,
"Yeah I'll see you then."
Annie is next to get dropped off, then we drive over to Cleo's house.
I walk her to her front door.
"I had a great time tonight."
She smiles.
"So did I, Annie and Irvin are great. You too of course"
She adds quickly, and we both laugh.
"We should do this again sometime, maybe a little less formal though."
She smiles again.
"I'd like that. Give me a call?"
I nod.
"Sure."
She hesitates for a minute, the gives me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Goodnight."
Then she opens the door, and disappears into her house.
I stay at the front door for a minute. I didn't pull away from her kiss, somehow it seemed different then the capitol women.
What was it that made it different?
I get back in the limo, and the driver drops me off at my house. I thank him, and he drives away.
I go directly to bed, and try to fall asleep, but something about Cleo keeps me awake.
When she kissed my cheek, a little shiver ran through me, but it wasn't a cold shiver like in the capitol, this was a warm shiver. There's something about her that's mesmerizing, is it her beautiful honey eyes? Her pretty little smile? Maybe it's the way she laughs.
I decide to call her tomorrow.