A/N: This chapter is a little bit longer than usual, but I just love writing about Finnick and Annie, haha. The next few chapters with have some more Everlark and Gale though!

Finnick's POV

Today was going to be a good day. Today, Annie was allowed to leave the hospital. I woke up early, and was waiting in the foyer of the hospital by ten o'clock. Finally, Annie appeared from the elevator, walking in between her aunt and her uncle.

"Finnick!" she exclaimed, when she saw me waiting for her. I jumped up immediately and crossed to her.

"Free at last!" I said happily, hugging her tightly.

"Annie, what's going on here?" Annie's aunt said, her arms crossed over her chest. I'd forgotten that I wasn't exactly her favourite person, after our several conversations on the phone.

"Didn't I tell you?" Annie said to her. "Finnick and I are still together."

Annie's aunt glared at me for a moment, before she and Annie's uncle pulled her aside for a moment. I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but I'm sure they were trying to warn Annie to stay away from me. Honestly, I didn't blame them, but they had no idea about us.

Eventually Annie returned, still smiling at me. "So what are you doing here?"

"I may have something planned." I said, trying to be mysterious.

"Oh really?" Annie said, raising her eyebrows. She turned to her aunt and uncle, "Thanks so much for coming, but would I be able to go with Finnick?"

"Well if he has something planned." Annie's aunt said sarcastically, clearly not impressed.

"You better be good to her." Annie's uncle pointed at me sternly, "I'm warning you."

They walked away, leaving Annie and I alone in the foyer. She beamed at me.

"So what's this plan then?" she asked.

"Ever been ice skating in Central Park?"

"No, are you serious?" Annie asked excitedly, "Let's go!"

Annie grabbed my hand and took the first steps out of the hospital laughing, and I thought that was a good sign. As we rode the subway to Central Park, I couldn't help but smile at her. Since she had agreed to go to the ball with me, I couldn't shake how happy I felt.

We walked hand in hand through the park, our breath making fog in the chilly air. Annie looked ridiculously cute in the coat, gloves and scarf she had on, and it was taking a lot of control not to make out with her there and then.

"Finnick! Annie!" I heard a voice shout, and we both turned to see Katniss and Peeta walking towards us.

"Hey, guys." I said, "Fancy seeing you here."

Peeta and I had of course arranged this, even though I never that I would ever go on a double date. However, the main reason for it stemmed from a conversation I had had with Peeta the day after the ball.

Annie and I left Peeta's apartment so early in the morning the sun wasn't even up, and we did our best to not wake anyone. Later, Peeta called me, concerned that Katniss hadn't had a good time with him at the ball. To be honest, I had been too distracted by Annie to notice if Katniss was acting strangely, but if you asked me, they looked pretty cosy together in bed when Annie and I left.

I thought that Peeta was over analysing the situation, but I supposed that it would be a bit of fun to have a group outing. Annie looked pleased with our company, and we happily walked towards the skating rink, where people were already sliding across the ice together.

"You look kind of scared, Finnick." Annie joked, as she put on the ice skates.

"I am not scared." I replied. "I have many talents, but unfortunately ice skating is just not one of them."

I hadn't been ice skating since I was a child. Mags took me once and I was so terrible at it I vowed never to set foot on ice again. Peeta however, was pretty good at it, and I think he took any chance he got to impress Katniss. I would definitely not be impressing Annie, that was for sure, but maybe I could make her laugh at little.

"Well lucky for you, I've been training for events such as these my whole life." Annie said, mirroring what I had said to her at the ball.

She took my hand and together we stepped out onto the ice. I wobbled immediately, grabbing hold of the railing for dear life.

Annie giggled. "Wow, you really are bad." She started to skate off gracefully.

"Annie!" I cried out as I clung to the railing. "Don't leave me!"

"Come and get me, Finnick!" Annie said cheekily.

I sighed. Only Annie Cresta could make me want to humiliate myself in public just for her. Cringing already, I took my hands off the railing and slowly made my way across the rink. I was wobbling like crazy, but I managed not to fall down as I skated towards Annie. Just as I was about to reach her though, she laughed and skated away again. Laughing too, I quickened my pace to try and catch her. However, I was going way too fast and was quickly out of control. I had no idea how to stop, and waving my arms around was in no way helping as I was fast approaching Annie. I tried to call out to her but it was no use, and the next thing I knew I had slammed right into her. We fell to the ground, her on top of me, and I was glad I softened her fall even though I was struggling to breathe.

"Ughhh." I moaned. "Everything hurts."

I groaned in pain but Annie laughed, giving me a kiss.

"Better?" she asked softly.

I kissed her again. "Much better."

"Wow that was really something." Peeta joked, skating up to us. He had Katniss by the hand, but she was struggling to stay upright just as much as I had been.

"Give us hand, will you?" I said, holding my hand out to Peeta. He went to pull me up, but I stayed put, dragging him to the ground with me. Still holding his hand, Katniss went down too.

It must have been quite a sight, the four of us collapsed on the ice together laughing so hard it hurt. I would have preferred just to stay there, despite the cold, but we were getting annoyed looks from the people skating by us. Eventually we managed to stand again, as ungraceful as I'm sure I looked, floundering around to reach the railing.

"Come on, you." Annie said smiling. She took my hand and I managed to make it around the rink only falling once.

"Save me, Annie, save me!" I called out to her, as I struggled to stand once again.

"You are ridiculous." she grinned, helping me up.

I heard Katniss squeal Peeta's name, and we turned to see Katniss starting to flail by Peeta's side. He managed to stop her from falling, and the two of them slowly made their way over to us.

"You know what, I think I'm going to stand here for a moment." Katniss said, trying to make her way over to the railings.

"Me too." I agreed.

"Oh come on, Finnick!" Annie said playfully, skating around me in circles.

"Ah you're making me dizzy!" I exclaimed, trying to reach Katniss on the edge of the rink.

"What do you say we show these two how it's done? Peeta said to Annie.

"You're on!" she laughed, skating away.

I watched them for a moment, before turning to Katniss.

"This was a terrible idea." I said, rotating my aching wrist around in a circle.

"Finally, something Finnick Odair isn't good at." Katniss laughed. "Annie looks happy, though."

She was right. Even from the other side of the rink, I could hear Annie's laugh as she and Peeta chased after each other. On the ice she looked completely carefree. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

"Peeta too." I observed. "So how are things between you and baker boy?"

"Okay." Katniss replied, trying to not smile.

"Oh come on Katniss, you've got to give me more than that!" I laughed, "You know I like secrets."

She rolled her eyes. "I thought Peeta would have filled you in."

"Sadly, your boyfriend is just as secretive as you are." I replied. "You guys are no fun." It was true, Peeta only told me about the things he was worried about, nothing else. No fun at all.

"Well what about you and Annie?" Katniss asked, turning the conversation around.

"Oh, I never kiss and tell." I laughed.

Annie and Peeta returned, and Annie skated right into my arms and kissed me.

"Miss me?" she asked.

"You know I did." I replied.

Thankfully, Peeta and Annie decided not to put Katniss and I through any more torture, and we carefully left the ice rink. As we walked through Central Park, Annie wrapped her arm around mine, and gave me a smile that I knew meant that she was really, really happy.

"Hey Finnick!" Peeta called out from behind us, "Could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure!" I called back. As Katniss hurried to catch up to Annie, I whispered to her, "Maybe I will get those secrets after all."

Peeta and I hung back, walking slowly as Katniss and Annie walked ahead of us.

"What did you get Annie for Christmas?" Peeta asked. Ah, the dreaded first Christmas as a couple. I had struggled with what to give Annie, but in the end I settled for something that I knew would make her roll her eyes, but smile all the same.

"Just some poems I've been working on." I told Peeta casually.

"Poems?" Peeta said incredulously.

"Yes!" I said defensively, "I'm the next big thing in the poetry world, didn't you know?"

"Sure, whatever you say." Peeta joked.

"Well what did you get Katniss?"

"That's the thing- I don't know!" Peeta moaned. "We agreed not to spend over $40, but I seriously have no idea."

"Hmm that's a tricky one." I said, and then I started to grin. "You could always give her the gift."

"The gift?" Peeta questioned.

"You know- the gift." I raised my eyebrows, hinting seductively.

"Oh." Peeta said, his face going red as he understood what I was suggesting.

"Unless you have already." I said quickly. Maybe I was going to get some secrets out of Peeta after all.

"What? No." Peeta replied, still red. "We haven't even talked about it."

"Ah, I see." I said.

"Well have you and Annie…you know?"

"No, not yet." I chuckled.

Honestly, after everything that had happened with Annie in the passed month, I hadn't even thought about sleeping with her. I'd been enjoying just being with her, getting to know her, talking to her, and I didn't want to rush things. I was sick of girls only wanting me for one thing, and I knew that Annie wasn't like that. She wanted to be with me because of who I was, and because of that and I wanted to do things properly, and take it as slow, because no one had ever wanted to take it slow with me before.

My conversation with Peeta ended when we arrived at a small café for lunch, not too unlike the place Annie and I usually visited. I slid in next to her at the booth, happy to be able to hold her hand again, and once again I was taken back by how much I was enjoying this double date. We talked happily over our meals, Peeta recounting a skiing trip gone wrong and Annie once again making fun of the sugar in the coffee. At the end of the lunch, we said goodbye, and I took the subway with Annie to Brooklyn.

"Would you like to come in?" Annie asked, when we arrived at her apartment. "I want to give you your Christmas present."

"Oh, well how could I say no?" I smiled, as she led me inside.

Annie's aunt and uncle weren't at home. "Must be doing some last minute Christmas shopping. We're having Christmas here this year." Annie told me, as she led me through the small apartment.

I was immediately in love with Annie's home. Unlike mine, which was neat and styled by a professional, Annie's apartment was bursting with colour and life, from the family pictures on the wall to the homemade decorations on the Christmas tree. Annie's bedroom was no different. Family photos of a small, grinning Annie covered her bedside table, and a collection of stuffed animals lined the top of her wardrobe. She had a pile of books stacked on her desk, and the bookshelf was full with even more.

"My room is kind of childish." she admitted.

"No, it's perfect." I told her. "You are seriously the cutest."

I could see her blush as she took a small gift bag out of her cupboard. She sat down on her bed and motioned for me to join her.

"Can I go first?" I asked.

"Sure." Annie replied, trying not to smile.

I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out the bundle of pages I had folded and tied together with a red ribbon. "For you." I said, "Merry Christmas."

She gave me a confused look as she undid the ribbon and took a look at the poems I had written her.

"It's not much." I shrugged.

"Wow, I never thought a guy would ever write me poetry." Annie laughed. "Thank you Finnick, you're adorable."

"Finnick Odair is not adorable." I argued playfully. "Handsome and strong though…"

"Oh please." Annie rolled her eyes, just like I thought she would.

She looked shy for a moment, before she gave me the little gift bag. I looked inside to find it full of the little pink 'I Love You' candy hearts I had once given her. I looked at her.

"I didn't say it to you at the hospital…because I was scared to trust you." she admitted quietly. "But I felt it then, I still do now." She looked at me confidently, "I love you, Finnick."

I was smiling so much it hurt. "And I love you."

It surprised me just how great it felt to say that to Annie, because I had never felt like that about anyone before. I loved Annie and she loved me. Annie Cresta loved me! I felt almost dizzy with happiness.

This was all too much for me to handle, and I moved closer to kiss her. She didn't seem to want to stop, and we fell back onto her bed, kissing more passionately than we ever had before. I was totally consumed by her- the smell of her perfume, the softness of her lips…Suddenly my conversation with Peeta came back into my mind and I realised just how attracted I was to Annie, and how much I loved her. Wow, I thought, I really want to sleep with this girl.

Annie paused for a moment, her eyes searching my face. I wondered if she knew what I was thinking or, more importantly, if she was thinking the same thing.

"Finnick." she began, "Is this going where I think it's going?"

I sat up a little. "Only if you want it to."

She sat up all the way and I followed. "I do…want this." she said slowly. "But not just yet." She looked at me. "It's just, I never been with anyone like this before, and you've had so much more experience…" She looked sad. "Sorry if you're disappointed."

I tried not to laugh at the absurdity of what she had said. How could I ever be disappointed? I had never expected it to happen so soon. "Annie, I'm not disappointed!" I said, taking her hands in mine. "It's enough just being with you at all…after everything I did. There's no rush." I pulled her into my arms.

"You really mean that?" she asked softly.

"Yes, silly." I said, kissing her again. "How about one of those candy hearts, then?"

As Annie and I settled against her pillows, eating candy hearts together, I knew that there was nowhere else I would rather be.

Christmas came and went for another year. Every year we stayed for a few nights at my grandparent's mansion in the Hamptons, and I usually did my best to avoid them. The holiday season was often their prime time to question me about my future. As expected, my parents filled my grandparents in on how 'unsuitable' Annie was for me, but I couldn't care less. So apart from my family trying to organise my life, Christmas was a pretty boring affair, and I spent the day entertaining my younger cousins with the awful jokes inside the Christmas crackers. For the rest of the time, I counted down the days until New Years Eve, when I would be reunited with Annie.

Finally it was New Years Eve, and Annie and I were headed to Katniss' low key New Years Eve party, which the threw every year with her friend Gale, apparently. I was relieved not to have to spend another night with my parent's rich friends sipping champagne, or at some stupid party with the rest of my year level, but it was a little tricky navigating Katniss' neighbourhood. I was fairly sure we were completely lost, but Annie was adamant we were only just around the corner. It was lucky, because it was getting pretty dark and we were already ten minutes late.

As we went to cross the road, a car was speeding down the road so close to the curb we had to jump back to avoid being run over. At the same time, another car tried to turn into the street and the two cars instantly collided with each other. It happened so fast I couldn't process it all at once, but all I was really aware of was the popping sound as the cars rammed into each other, followed by the terrible sounds of grinding metal and shattering glass. Luckily no one was injured, but at once the two drivers got out of their cars and started to loudly abuse each other.

I knew that I didn't want to stick around to see what would happen, so I tugged on Annie's hand to pull her away. However, she was frozen on the spot. I started to panic when I saw the vacant look on her face as she stared at the cars.

"Annie?" I asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"No, no, no…" she started to mutter, putting her hands over her ears. She turned her head quickly to face me and all of a sudden she was running down the street the way we came. I chased after her, panic rising quickly in my stomach.

"Annie, Annie, it's okay." I tried to pull her into my arms but she fought me off, as tears started streaming down her face. Where ever she was in her mind, she was definitely not in the street with me.

I had no idea what to do, and my heart was breaking that I couldn't help her.

"Annie shhhh." I said softly. "It's okay. You're okay. You're safe, I'm here." I repeated that over and over until it finally got through to her. Her face crumpled as she threw her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder.

It took her fifteen minutes to calm down enough to speak. We sat down on the curb and I kept my arms around her until she stopped shaking, although her lip still trembled. She looked up at me, her hair stuck to her cheeks from her tears and eye liner smudged, but she looked up at me all the same, and I knew she was back to reality again.

"I'm sorry." Annie said, her voice breaking. "I had a flashback to the accident."

"It's okay." I said, holding her tight.

"No, it's not." She pulled away. "I didn't want you to see me like that. You probably think I'm mad."

"I don't think that at all, Annie." I said honestly. "But do you still want to go tonight? Maybe we should go back to your place."

Annie shook her head, looking more and more confident in herself by the second. "I still want to go." she told me. "Maybe we could just stay here a while?"

"Of course." I said.

It was absolutely freezing, but somehow next to Annie, I didn't feel cold at all. I would have stayed in that spot all night, if it made her feel alright again. It's not like I could ever forget what Annie had been through, but seeing her like that made me realise just how much it had affected her. I suddenly felt so protective of her, and I hoped I could make her feel safe forever.

Katniss' party was in full swing by the time we arrived. I immediately felt so comfortable at the relax atmosphere, and it was completely different to any party I had ever experienced. Paper lanterns were strung up across the window and the dining room table was full of delicious home made food. It was a small gathering, and as well as us, Katniss had invited Johanna, Delly and Madge from school. Also at the party were her friend Gale and his siblings, and another man who spent the whole night drinking in the corner and looking unhappy.

Katniss and Peeta greeted us excitedly, both wearing over the top New Years hats.

"Glad you finally turned up!" Katniss exclaimed. Before we had a chance to even formulate a response, Katniss was suddenly distracted. "Hang on, I just saw Prim and Rory disappear into our room again."

Peeta left us to get some food, but before long Johanna appeared beside us.

"Well, well, well. The infamous Finnick Odair actually has a girlfriend." Johanna said, smirking. "Never thought that day would come."

"Oh Johanna, I see the New Year hasn't made you any more pleasant." I replied.

Johanna and I had known each other since kindergarten, and she had always enjoyed making my life as difficult as possible, right back to when she made me each sand in first grade after I wouldn't let her play basketball with me. Despite her angry exterior, Johanna was actually a pretty fun girl, and I enjoyed our banter.

"I'm glad people are finally seeing that there is a lot more to you, Finnick." Annie said thoughtfully, once Johanna walked off.

"I know right, I'm much more than a pretty face." I joked.

"Oh yes, you have many talents." she laughed. "Not ice skating though. Or poetry writing."

"Hey! Those poems came straight from my heart, I'm offended." I pretended to act hurt.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset the wonderful Finnick Odair." Annie joked.

"To you that's Finnick Odair, poet extraordinaire."

"Wow, that even rhymed." Annie laughed, "I take back what I said."

"Thank you." I said smugly, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

While Johanna found it entertaining to tease Annie and myself, what Katniss found more interesting was how much Gale seemed to be enjoying talking to Madge. It was obvious from the way she was looking at him that she was definitely developing a crush, but from what I'd heard from Peeta, a sweet girl from the Upper East Side wasn't exactly Gale's type. Regardless, the two seemed to be having a good time.

"Okay it's 11.59!" Johanna yelled out, and we all started the countdown to midnight. Once it reached twelve o'clock, we all called out "Happy New Year" and popped streamers into the air.

I looked at Annie and gave her a gentle kiss. As she kept hold of my hand tightly in hers, I had a feeling that this was going to be the best year of my life.