Chapter 7: Drooling in a swim class

The title may give away a lot of things...
Disclaimer: I do not own the hunger games

If there's one thing I hate, it's water. The way anything could be hidden beneath it, in it even. One wrong mouthful, you could end up dead in minutes. The tide in the sea, who knows what's under that white foam left by those rippling waves? Currents that could pull you under in a matter of seconds. Sea weed stroking your body eerily, making it spasm slightly in the cold water. Sharp rocks scraping your feet, but at least their there. They could crumble underneath your toes soon, leaving you gasping for air. It's like a different, unknown world. Who knows what other dangers lie there? I'd much rather prefer the safety and warmth of dry land. So I am clearly not looking forward to our swimming lessons. Which we have twice a week. And my first one is in less than an hour.

It's all I could think about last night, nightmares invading my usual happy dreams. Nightmares including sharks, currents, darkness, and even the Quarter Quell my mum told me about. I can just picture myself standing on a small metal plate, surrounded by water and soon death. Anyone could kill me, anything could end my life once Caesar Flickerman officially announces the start of a so-called game. Mind you, I'd rather be killed at the hand of a person than the depths of water I see before myself.

At least I will not have to make a fool of myself in front of a complete stranger. Annie and Finnick Odair will be teaching the swimming classes, Annie the girls and Finnick the boys. Or that's how it was meant to be. They've decided to coach us together, because it will be "easier". More like they can't keep their hands of each other all day.

"Seriously Lils, I wouldn't have thought you would dread swimming so much. We will do it inside, in a safe, heated pool. Plus, you get to see Finn in just a swimsuit," Layla smirks at me, before taking another bite if her cheese bun.
"It's not like I haven't seen it before Lay, just get facebook." No jokes, Facebook has everything. And, you can print pictures off, or save them as your screen saver. Don't call me a stalker, I'm just encouraging his model career. Or so I tell myself.

We are eating breakfast on the sofa, after Layla found me sweating, screaming and grasping onto the covers of my bed. Of course, she made me tell her what was wrong. And she can see right through my lies, unfortunately.
"But still, it's safe." She insists. It's really not.
"Layla, it can turn your fingers to prunes in less than an hour. Imagine what having a double period would be like."
"We don't though, do we? And I'm sure it won't kill us. We all drink the stuff, remember?"
"I drink juice"
"You don't just drink juice"
"Well, lemonade is nice" I say defensively.
"It's got water in"
"It's purified"
"What do you do when it rains?" She sounds curious, maybe she didn't just ask to prove a point.
"It comes in small amounts. I wear a coat. I'm fine." I end the discussion and head upstairs to shower and change.

I shove on a bikini under my swimsuit. It's nice, made to look like its on fire, which seems like a coincidence this morning. It suits my personality. Fire is never meant to go in water. Seen as a white shirt would show my bikini underneath, I wear a deep red no- sleeve collared shirt, tucked into my black skater skirt. I tie my hair up into a high ponytail on the crown of my head, before slipping on some red bow pumps. I add some water-proof mascara to my eyelashes, holding onto the fact that maybe I look pretty. I want to look nice, hoping against hope that maybe Finn will notice me. Hoping that he won't friend-zone me again.

He used to fancy Layla, who I must agree is the perfect match for him. He's more than handsome, she's delicate and pretty. They both like to flirt and take time on their appearances. Although both are too dumb to notice who likes them.

When he asked me what Layla would like for her birthday last year, I as beyond hurt. But I stuck to my wishes that maybe, one day, he would love me in return. Not simply because I was a good time-waster, but because he loved me for who I am.

-PAGE BREAK-

"Hello guys, now for those of you who don't know who I am, my name is Finnick Odair and this is my wife Annie. We will be coaching you for your swimming" He flashes his famous grin at everyone, and the silence that filled the changing rooms when Finnick had been talking changes into excited whispering and squeals.

We follow Annue and Finnick into a large room, a pool in the middle with a few diving boards at the deep end. It's split by a rope down the middle, sectioning the deep end by the shallow end. The water looks strangely calm, not how I had expected, but I guess anything could be hidden underneath.
"If you have never swam before, please stay at this end. If you have, then make your way over to the over end." Finnick stands at the edge of the water, by one end of the rope, opposite Annie. He strips of his top, revealing his beautifully bronzed abs to a bunch of teenage girls. Not a good idea. One even falls into the pool, screaming. She looks disappointed when Annie saves her, like she was expecting Finnick too. I expect she fell on purpose.

When everyone is silent again, which is a long time, Finnick walks over next to me and Annie over by the people that are wierd enough to have actually been swimming before.
"Loving the bikini Lils" He whispers seductively from behind me. Most girls would feel weak at the knees, but I've heard it all before.
"Good to see you Finnick!" I say brightly and embrace him like I would my dad. Other girls look jealously at me.
"I didn't know you didn't swim. You were fine on your holidays in 4" His tone takes a caring edge.
"Well, I never went in did I?"
"Oh yes, I remember now. You were very stubborn about getting that tan" He laughs. "Its safe though, trust me. And I'm always here to save you if something goes wrong" he winks.
"Well, this bikini was never made to go swimming in Finnick" I say, pretending to sad.
"You think that's going to get you out of it?! If you feel so strongly that your bikini shouldn't go in the water, maybe you should take it of!" He waggles his eyebrows at me.
"Ugh, your like- 40 or something, and Im 16. Plus, you have a wife, a son and 2 daughters. You should shut up!" I end the conversation quickly.

Maybe i could go in. The water looks safe after all. And that girl was fine. But I'm not going in the deep end. Ever.
"Right class! Will you all climb in the water please!"
Finnick gets in before me, and lends me a hand. Its rough but firm and inviting. I dip a toe into the water and am amazed by how warm it is. It's room temperature, not too hot, not too cold. I sit on the edge and swish my legs about, careful not to hit Finnick.
"That's it. You can do this. Remember, you can always hold on to me if you need to!" The old, flirtatious Finnick is back, surprise surprise. Can't he even be serious for like, a minute?

The water is strangely calming, and I surprise even myself by jumping into the water. I giggle, thinking of how weird it feels. I can do this. Everyone else is. I don't want to bring anymore attention to myself, I got quite enough just being with Finnick. Let alone hugging him.

We spend the rest of the lesson just drifting about in the water, getting used to the feeling. Finnick tells me I'm a natural, but we haven't even swam yet, so how can he say that? And anyway, I never would be good at swimming, I hated water for 16 years. And will do for the rest of my life.

-PAGE BREAK-

"Finn!" Oh no. I don't think I could stand it if Finn had to kiss someone else.

We're round Daisy and Petals house, playing spin the bottle - again. And, once again, Finn is picked.
"Hahaha Thom!"
"Thom and Finn can't snog, their not gay! It will have to be... Lily!" Oh my gosh, Layla is so predictable. If you could, I'd have thought they were doing this on purpose.

Finn runs his hand through his hair as they lock us, once again, in a bathroom. His sea-green eyes look at me through the darkness, taking me in. He puts his hands on the wall either side of my face, trapping me. His eyes change to a deeper colour, some emotion showed in them. Lust? Love?

His lips meet mine, and they mould into one another, slowly at first. It gets more heated and wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me into him. Im in shock; Finn is kissing me, actually kissing me. All my dreams have come true... but I remind myself that this is just a game. I can feel something more though, Im not sure what as this is my first kiss. Well, two can play this game, I think. Lav wants us to get together? Ill show him how much. I wrap my arms round his neck and play with the little hairs there. I slowly pull them up and intervene with the copper hairs there. I pull his head closer to mine, putting my tongue in his mouth...
"TIMES UP!"

Finn pulls away, not looking at me. He walks out, leaving me breathless after him. Literally breathless. That kiss took up all my air supply.

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