A Drop In the Ocean, A Change In The Weather,
I was praying that you and me might end up together,
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
But I'm holding you closer than most,
Because you are my heaven
When I wake up, tubes are attached to my arms. I blink and look around. When I talk, my voice is hoarse. "Where am I?"
"Don't worry, Annie," Some doctor says. "You're just in the hospital. We're going to fix you up so you can get crowned tommorrow!"
"Crowned?" I ask, astonished.
"Yes. But we're still worried about you. . ."
"Why?" I keep asking questions.
"We think you might've gone mad in the arena after you saw your district partner... beheaded."
I close my eyes and look down. Voices attack my head all screaming and yelling horrible things at me. Yes. I've gone mad. I'm insane and crazy and a physcopath. I remember in the arena, when I was lying in the pool of blood during the earthquake, thinking it was all in my head, and then it just... started. The flood.
"I won?" I ask. It wasn't a dream?
"Yes. You won. Being from District Four, Annie, you swam the best," The doctor answers sympathetically, as if I was stupid or an idiot. As if, as if... I'd gone mad. So why did it make me angry if he was just trying to talk to the true person I am? Why?
I'm crazy. Yes, I'm crazy.
God, I can't stand this. My hands find my head and I grab my hair, blink, and look around. The doctor hesitates. "I want to go home! Please. I just want to go home!"
Someone walks in, smiling a beautiful smile. The doctor says, "I thought you might like to see someone you knew," but I barely hear him, because this person... I barely know. I've known them for only a week before my Games. The doctor walks out of the room, smirking.
"Finnick?" I ask.
"Annie," He answers, and takes my hand in his. It's big and strong and my heart pounds. I'm pretty sure he notices, but he doesn't mention it. Probably just thinks I'm mad like the rest.
"How've you been?"
"I'm good," I say. "Sort of." And then I reach over and unlatch the tubes, because I think they're stupid.
"Annie," He says, laughing. "You need those." Then he moves his arm swiftly over my entire body and reattaches them perfectly. Finnick sees my look of confusion and says,
"I had a lot of tubes after I got out of the Games. More than you. More than most. It was bad," He says.
"Oh."
He smiles at me, and I smile at him, and we're like one, united, happy. And suddenly, I think I might be in love with him, and suddenly, I think maybe he's feeling the same. We stay where we are: Me, on the hopsital bed, lying under the sheets; Finnick, down on one of his knees, but he's still at the same height as me.
Silent, not moving, both of us. I don't dare look away. In fact, I don't think I'd even be able to tear my eyes away from those gorgeous sea-green eyes.
"Annie?" He whispers.
"Yes?"
"Think it'd be crazy if I said I think I'm falling in love with you?"
And now my heart is pounding, because Finnick Odair, the beautiful-strong-Victor of the 65th Hunger Games Finnick Odair, just said he's falling in love with me, and I feel the same way and maybe it doesn't even matter if he's sold to the Capitol people because he doesn't love them, he loves me and we could be together forever and-
I have to stop myself, because my thoughts are running wild.
"You aren't crazy, I am," I say quietly, blushing red as a tomato.
"I'm crazy in love."
I look down and mange to stammer out, "You kept me alive."
"Yes, yes I did," He admits. "So now you owe me."
"What do I have to do?" I ask.
Finnick doesn't say anything, just leans in and kisses me softly, but with passion. I wrap my arms around him and he pulls back.
I smile foolishly.
"Would you be willing to that?"He asks, chucking.
"That seems like an appropriate way to pay back my debts," I say, breathing in and exhaling, smiling, showing my teeth, and for the first time, I feel safe and loved.
"Finnick," I say lightly.
"Yes?" He asks, acting calm.
I close my eyes. Open them. My pounding heart feels as if it's about to burst. "I love you, too."