Annie

It's a Tuesday, and we're sat at the back of class, Cleona and I, when Finnick walks in. He's rather late and Talise, our writing teacher, gives him a stern look as he flops into his seat. I can Esme, at the front, batting her eyelashes at him whilst all of her friends giggle. Cleona nudges me with her elbow and grins. I give her a look that blatantly says, stop, but she just shakes her head at me and turns away.

After school, we head back to Cleona's house and we change into something more suitable, then we head down to the sea. It's packed, as usual, with people sunning themselves, diving off piers, fishing. I smile and plonk myself next to a large rock. Cleona sighs, "I think I'll go for a dip, do you mind?"

"No, not at all, you go." Cleona is an excellent swimmer, people have tried numerous times to teach me but I'm hopelessly terrified of water. I watch as she does a beautiful swallow dive into the pool and doesn't emerge for what must be at least 30 seconds. I love to watch the way she swims, moving gracefully through the water as if she were a dolphin, she comes up occasionally and gives me a brief smile, before disappearing back under.

I'm distracted from Cleona for a minute when I notice Finnick, he's arrived, fashionably late again. I gaze at him as he rips off his shirt and makes sure that everyone gets an excellent view of his chest before he grins and takes to the water. I smile, he's such a charmer, but an incredibly sexy charmer, I add privately. Cleona comes out of the water and throws herself down next to me. She looks from me, to him, and back to me, "you are obsessed aren't you," She says with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm only human." I look up at her, "you must be the only girl in the whole District who doesn't think he's beautiful."

"Oh, he's beautiful I agree, but I like guys who have a," she pauses, "less obvious kind of beauty."

"Speaking of which," I add as I see Adrian make his way to us, he smiles at Cleona and gives me a brief wave before they are absorbed in each other. "Oh, please, get a room," I tell them and Cleona gives a light laugh which is followed by another session of kissing. I roll my eyes and stare out to the sea. I'm so happy here. I cannot imagine what it must be like to live in a place packed with factories, or with bits of coal dust floating in the air. It's lovely to be able to smell the salty water, have the wind whip your hair around your face. A place like this makes everyone who lives here look beautiful.

Finnick

I shake my head and water drips from my hair, pulling on a t-shirt, I begin to walk up the path leading from the beach, I am stopped, by a deep, sexy voice, coming from behind me.

"Hello Finnick," Esme slurs and I look at her,

"Hey, Esme, what's up?"

"Nothin' much, y'know, you?" she says, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"Cool, I'm just heading back home, it's my mum's birthday so, I'm sorry, I've really gotta go," I begin to turn away, but she reaches out and gently touches my arm,

"Oh no, please stay, just five more minutes?"

I sigh, torn between going back to my home, where my mother was surely already waiting, or staying here, where I wanted to be. With one last look at the stone path, I turn back.

"Yeah, I'll stay." She smiles,

"Good." She takes my hand and we run together across the sand, we head to the sparkling blue ocean and I pull my top over my head, she drags me into the water and I barely notice her finger running up my arm and softly touching the back of my neck. We go further into the water and my hand finds her waist, she locks her hands together round my neck and pulls me close. I look into her sparkling black eyes and touch her lips with mine.

Annie

I open my eyes, with difficulty, and realise that I must have dozed off. Cleona sits beside me, she looks at my bewildered face and grins, "hello, sleepyhead, am I that boring?" I feel my face spread into a smile,

"Nah, I'm just tired." I yawn as I say this, which makes both of us laugh, "What time is it?"

"About half six."

"Seriously?! Already?"

"Yup, you were proper out cold there babes." As she says this, I notice that there is next to no-one left on the beach.

"Jeez, I better get back home, they'll be worrying, I sh-"

"Nah-ah, you're sleeping at mine tonight, remember? We have no limits." She winks at me and stands, with a wicked grin on her face, "come on."

She reaches her hand out and I grab it, she pulls me across the sand and together, we break into a run, Cleona skims the edge of the sea and the water splashes our feet. I squeal and give her a push which knocks her right under. I stop running as she lies, face down on the surface, still. I scream in terror and she jumps up, laughing. Despite my annoyance, I find myself laughing too, "my gosh, Ann, It's about three inches deep, did you think I'd died or something?"

"That was mean." I say, and stick out my lower lip. I cross my arms and turn away, in mock anger.

"Oh, come on," she giggles, poking me in the back. She knows I'm not serious.

She takes my hand up again and we walk out, onto the pier, when we reach the edge, she pulls off her sandals and sits down, sticking her feet into the calm water. I sit next to her, cross legged. She looks at me.

"It's not gonna hurt you know," I shake my head and she squeezes my hand, "just your feet, you'll like it. Promise." I trust Cleona more than I do anyone, and I know that she means it, so I slip off my sandals and cautiously put a toe in. She was wrong. I don't like it. But I've done it. Straight away, I lift my foot, but she doesn't frown, instead she smiles, she understands. I hug her and we sit down, we talk, we can still talk, we spent all day together and we can still talk, I don't even know what about, until the conversation turns to tomorrow, when I find something out.

"You what?! Are you mad?!"

"Don't say that," she says, offended, "it'll be… an experience."

"An experience.." I repeat faintly and Cleo nods.

"Not tomorrow, but next year, maybe."

"Cleo, no offence meant, but you'll be fifteen. They'll smash you with their little finger." She makes an exasperated 'pfft' noise and the matter closes. But terror fills me up. Cleo plans to volunteer. She plans to volunteer, for the Hunger Games.

Finnick

"Shit." I whisper, "Look, Es, I need to go, if I'm any later, I'l-"

"-be in the same amount of trouble you would have been an hour ago. Come on Finn, please stay." This time, I know what to do,

"No." I say firmly. Esme sees defeat and doesn't push it, we say goodbye and she skips off to her home, and I slump off to mine, chewing my lip nervously. What the fuck am I going to do? I dither outside for a few seconds, before taking a very deep breath and opening the door. My mother is sat at the small table in our kitchen. When I walk in, she stands up and speaks quietly, "where were you." I rush into my terrible explanations and she goes through the usual, 'you've been so selfish', 'I'm so upset', 'you've disappointed me', etc. I launch into my well-rehearsed apologies and try to look upset. My mother's eyes glint dangerously. She looks at me and she shakes her head, like she can't believe that it's actually me. "you don't mean any of that. After everything I've done for you, I can't even spend one day with you?" I can't help it, I roll my eyes, bad move. She hits me round the head.

"Woah, no need to be a bitch mum," SHIT, why did I say that? My mother stifles a sob and runs from the room. Frustrated, I head to the cellar, my favourite room. I open the cabinet by the window and pull out my favourite trident. I let out my frustration on one of the dummies and tear at it until it is mere scraps of fabric. Eventually, I calm down when I manage to turn my thoughts to one subject. Tomorrow.