I do not own Suzanne Collins the Hunger Games characters.
Chapter 5:
Annie
I manage to get through the majority of the second day of school without panicking too much about the fact that I am going over to Finnick O'Dair's house in less than an hour. The day actually went extremely well. I had lunch with Clove and Johanna and study hall was literally the best thing ever. On the downside, I figured out who Glimmer is. When I was walking to AP Psych with Johanna this morning, I accidentally ran into a blonde girl and spilled the iced coffee Johanna had got me all over her painfully white skirt. A brunette boy, who Johanna later told me is Marvel, came up to me and started scolding me about how I need to watch where I am going and try not to run into his precious sister.
The bell ending my last period class rings and I walk down the hallway get to the front steps where I am supposed to be meeting Finnick. It is a far walk, so most of the kids and even the teachers have already left the building when I finally reach the hallway that leads to the front doors of the school.
Suddenly a feel a tall shadow looming over me and I find myself pushing myself against the wall. When I turn, I see a large boy standing over me, his eyes glinting sinisterly. I shiver and I can feel my heart rate speeding up rapidly. He leans so near to me that my entire body is pressed hard against the wall and I can feel his breath on my face. Images from years ago flash through my mind, as though they had just happened yesterday. Another boy pressing his body against mine in a dark alley, another boy... I push the images down before the memories flood me. I wriggle, trying to get away from this boy's grasp when his lips brush against my ear.
"I hear you ran into my friend Glimmer earlier. Maybe you should learn to be more careful you..." He doesn't finish his sentence. Instead, he collapses onto the ground, clutching his groin and moaning out in pain. Clove stands behind him, a smirk on her face. She leans down so her face is only inches from the boys.
"Next time you decide to pick on one of my friends," she hisses "You're going to get more than a kick in the balls."
She stands and slips one of her arms through mine and pulls me to the front door. By the time we get there, she is nearly skipping.
"Thanks for that," I say as we step out into the mid-afternoon sun.
"Anytime," She smiles before beginning down the street quickly.
"You're late," I look down to see Finnick lounging on the front steps. I check my watch. It is 2:58.
"By three minutes."
"You're still late."
I roll my eyes. "Can we just go and get this over with?" I say.
"Works for me."
We walk to his car in silence and the drive to his house could not have been more uncomfortable. By the time we get there, I feel like I am going to explode. On the way to his house, he switched the radio station 18 times, I counted. He kept tapping his fingers randomly on the steering wheel and he would hum a tune to one song with a different one was playing on whichever radio station we were on at the time. I was relieved when we finally exited the car and walked through the doors of his house.
His house is large, but no quite the mansion level. The majority of it was hardwood, but I could see the carpet on the stair leading upstairs. Through the back windows, I could see a pool in the back. He shows me downstairs to his enormous finished basement. He tells me that the basement has two guest bedrooms and a bathroom, but we stay on the side of the basement that held the largest couch I have ever seen in my life and a flat-screen tv.
I settle myself into the corner of the couch and Finnick sits down a few seats away from me. He pulls out the "get to know your partner" sheet that Professor Latier had handed out that morning and I do the same. We sit in complete silence, the only sound being our pens filling out the basic information on the sheet until we have to start asking each other questions that is.
"Okay, first question," Finnick says. "What is your favorite color?"
"Seafoam green," I say. "What is yours?"
"Blue. Any shade."
We continue in this way, asking each other the questions on the sheet. I answer each question easily, focusing on the question instead of the fact that I am sitting alone with a boy in his basement. With nobody else around. Then I read the next question. What is your worst memory? My worst memory. I hear Finnick ask me the question, but his voice seems muted and far away.
"I...I don't want to answer that," I get out. I can hear how strangled the words sound as I say them.
"You have to," says Finnick.
"No, I don't," I say standing up angrily.
"Yes, you do. Professor Latier says we have to answer all the questions or he will take off points." Finnick's voice is deep and angry. So much like another voice that I heard so many years ago.
Memories come rushing through my brain again, but unlike earlier, I can't push them away. I remember the man, shoving himself against me. His hand covering my mouth as I tried to scream. I remember him yelling at me when I didn't listen to him. I remember... the memories become to unbearable. I can hear my breaths coming out short and uneven. Panic floods me, knocking down every barrier, every inch of my that has tried to be strong. It's over. I think. It's over. No one is going to hurt you. Saying it in my head doesn't help. The memories just keep coming. I can't breathe. I can't think.
"Annie," I hear Finnick's voice cutting through the memories, but it only strengthens my panic. I am alone, with a boy. I am alone. "Annie," He says again. This time I see him coming closer to me. I back up trying to get away from him, but I just run into the couch and fall onto it. I push myself into the corner of the couch as he comes closer. He is mere inches from me now. I see his hand reach towards me and in my panic, I hit him hard in the eye, like how my mother taught me after it happened.
"What the hell!" Finnick says angrily, clapping one of his hands over his eye. His voice scares me and I hear myself let out a whimper. The fear overwhelms me. Fear that he will yell at me, or hit me, or...or worse.
Finnick takes his hand away from his eye and he just looks at me. He doesn't look angry anymore, but that doesn't stop the fear. Suddenly, his arms are wrapping themself around me, pulling me closer to him. My panicked mind screams, and I feel myself kicking and wriggling trying to get free, but that just makes him hold me tighter.
"I'm not going to hurt you, Annie," Finnick says. His voice is soft and gentle when he says it. I didn't realize it before, but I am shaking. He holds me close to him and I start to sob the hard kind of sob that makes your throat and chest hurt. Tears stream down my face and I sob into Finnick's embrace. Over and over, he repeats those words 'I'm not going to hurt you,' until I finally stop shaking, and I stop crying. I realize now that I am curled up on Finnick's lap. I make to push myself away from him, but his arms are strong and he holds me there for a few more minutes before finally releasing me. I wipe my eyes and when my finger comes away black with mascara, I rush to the bathroom to clean myself up. When my face is finally clean of mascara and my face less blotchy, I walk back out to the couch.
I gasp when I see Finnick's eye, already beginning to bruise. Embarrassment washes over me. I can't believe I punched him.
"I'm sorry," I say, my voice shaking uncontrollably. "About your eye and, well, you know..." I trail off.
Finnick nods. "Whatever. It's fine."
We sit in awkward silence for a few moments, before Finnick says "We should probably get back to work."
I nod. For a minute I am afraid Finnick is going to make me answer the question we left off on, but then he says "What is your favorite food and why?" I give him a small smile before I answer.
"Mashed potatoes," I say. "Because they are amazing no matter what you are eating."
Finnick smiles at me as he writes it down.
Hey everyone, so I got this chapter done quickly. I guess that is what happens when you don't have anything else to do :). I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I am trying to start to build up the Finnick/Annie relationship.
Stay happy, healthy, and safe,
-Jewel.