And a million years later... she updates! I'm not going to bother with a huge arse explanation but my excuses are school and really bad writer's block.
Thank you Jamez S, S, HogwartsDreamer113, BigPapi1234, Ceaser Odellerk and l3Finnick for reviewing!
XLVI. Wedding Bells
It's been five days of non-stop business for Marlene and I, as we celebrate her six-month overdue victory and attend to our services. We haven't slept properly for three days - perhaps, only an hour a day - and the ride back to District Four is frantic. Our stay in the Capital has been too long and the moment we step off the train at home, Marlene and I are going to have to run for Oliver and Arden's wedding.
At times like these, when I'm rushed, I tend to forget things. My brain will run through the list of things I need but I remember them one by one. For the past few hours, I've been running in and out of my bedroom compartment of the train, flipping through my closet and the cupboards.
We were supposed to be home yesterday.
Arden's going to murder me after their wedding.
Marlene hogs the full-length mirror, applying make-up with unnecessarily extra caution. I suppose it is needed though, due to the nasty bruise on her cheek she'd accidentally received from Gloss' fist during training. They say it was to burn off all the steam that Gloss had bottled up inside of him.
After watching the gruesome death of his wife - or, ex-wife - Cashmere had explained to the two of us that the pair had been close to splitting up. Vanessa had apparently, gotten sick of Gloss' constant trips to the Capital, and had gone off with other males in District One. I thought it was pretty low, especially after having a daughter together. The spark they'd originally had is gone now. Her death had been the last straw for Gloss and he'd snapped.
Gloss stayed true to his word. After paying Snow a visit, he'd quite literally stormed over to Cornelius Sinello's mansion and snapped his neck. It's been on the news for the past few days, and Snow hasn't said anything about it - it's likely that he didn't punish Gloss due to the fact that most of the citizens in the Capital were in fact, quite elated with Sinello's death. Unfortunately for Gloss, he'd gained a larger fandom if that was even possible.
After that, our customers have been relentless. Hence, our lack of sleep for the past few days.
Marlene dedicates the most time to her eyes, attempting to hide the bags beneath them, which have appeared from exhaustion. I look similar except I have dark rings around my eyes rather than bags. When Marlene spots me walking into the main living compartment, she scowls and raises her arm. She dabs a soft material - a bit like a sponge, but not quite - around my eyes. "You look absolutely horrible."
"Get that crap off me," I demand, swatting her hand away instantly. "I don't even care anymore."
Then, a sudden thought comes into mind. "Oh, fuck," I say. "I don't have a stupid tie."
"Then, don't wear one," Marlene replies. "You don't want to look better than Oliver on his big day."
He'd probably end up dripping with bucket loads of sweat.
For the years I've known him, it's not hard to notice just how anxious he gets under stress. In speeches at school, his face would grow a beetroot red and sweat would drip down his forehead.
At least, this time it would be for a good cause.
Seconds turn into minutes, and those minutes are way too long for my liking. For forty-five minutes, Marlene and I aimlessly flick through the channels and programs on national TV, and the only news being broadcasted are Sinello's and Vanessa's death, just like it has been for the past few days. Gloss is the Capital's current object of interest. I would have thought that the Capital would move on with their lives by now and over exaggerate another occurrence in Panem.
"This is ridiculous," Marlene snaps, sneering at the video of Caeser Flickerman interviewing Gloss onscreen with a fixed glare. "You'd think they would have better things to do that wallow and dwell over something that doesn't involve them. They could at least, respect his privacy and not force Gloss to attend every single flipping interview."
Shrugging, I silently agree with her. "You get used to it."
As District Four rolls into sight, a grin crosses my face and I'm instantly up, waiting impatiently for the train to finally come to a stop. Marlene, in her dress and sneakers, is already rushing to the door by the time I've gotten up. One hand is wrapped around the handle of the door, and the other around the strap of her suitcase.
"Where's this stupid wedding again?" she asks, ready to make a run for it. The train door opens and we're both off, dragging our cumbersome luggage behind us.
"Uh, the beach by his place."
"Rich bastard," I hear her mumble under her breath, and I resist the urge to reply that she's richer than him now, and has been for several months. Shooting a few grins and waves at a few of the familiar members of District Four, Marlene and I rush past them, desperate to reach the venue within the next ten minutes.
"I feel like I'm in the games again," Marlene muses. Sending her a dirty look, I say nothing in response.
When we arrive, the place is packed - well, as packed as it can get for a family and friends only wedding ceremony. Marlene and I leave our suitcases by the side - if anyone were to steal a Victor's belongings, it would be considered a crime so we decided it'd be safe enough.
Suddenly, I find myself tumbling down with a blur of white. A familiar yelp escapes the girl's mouth and there isn't enough time for me to pull the two of us back again as I find myself landing on a soft body and staring down into those beautiful eyes that make me go crazy. The girl laughs, airily.
The sound is like music to my ears next to the ocean waves pounding down onto the sand further down the beach. Grinning down at Annie, I press my lips against hers for a brief moment. "Hello, sweetheart."
A smile places itself upon her lips and she tilts her head back slightly. "Sorry," she apologises.
Raising an eyebrow at her, I tease, "What? No 'hello, Finnick' or 'I missed you'?"
Before she can reply, a hand latches onto the back of my collar and manages to pull me back up without too much difficulty. "Come on, Odair, Cresta," Marlene says with a scowl. "You don't want everyone knowing about your little affair, do you?" With a roll of my eyes and a grin, I pull Annie up as she makes an attempt to shake the sand out of her hair. We make our way to the seats right at the front.
Oliver stands a few metres away with his hair slicked back and his hands tucked into the pockets of his who-knows-how-expensive blazer. He barely manages to shoot Annie and I a nervous grin. I can only imagine that his heart is pounding much too fast for his liking and that he's overanalysing and stressing over every single minute detail.
It's almost amusing.
When Arden walks down the aisle in a pale green dress with her arm hooked through her father's, it's evident to everyone with a brain that his worries seem to disappear. Oliver grins a million watt smile when his gaze lands on her, and I almost feel proud. Despite the fact that I'm younger than them both, I feel as if I'm a father watching them grow up into a mature couple, and moving on towards something beyond their dreams together and towards a bigger and brighter future. It's odd to think that only one or two years ago, Oliver had been pestering me about how 'good' the Capital women were.
Glancing to the left, I find Oliver's parents scowling at the happy couple, evidently unhappy with the fact that their eldest son had chosen to wed a girl in a lower class than them. Thankfully, they did indeed believe that his happiness was far more important.
Our District's traditional type of wedding takes place and the conductor of the ceremony places a veil of woven grass around them as the couple hold hands and speak their vows.
"You were a jerk," Arden starts off, bluntly, gaining a few laughs in response. The said person only smirks down at her. "I'd known you for a while, I'd seen you around but when we first interacted, you accidentally pushed me against a metal door and refused to apologise until Marlene Summers beat you up for pushing a girl around like trash."
Well, I hadn't heard that story yet.
Their vows turn out to be more amusing than serious, both teasing each other. Oliver and Arden have always been a competitive duo, and they liked to compete against each other, though everything would turn out fine in the end. I suppose this time, they're competing to tease and embarrass each other the most on their wedding day.
"I've never seen a couple so happy," Annie murmurs quietly as they kiss to seal their union, and I can only nod in response. It's true.
The next few hours consist of mostly partying, horrible dancing and feasting. When the orchestra of flutes and violins begin the first melodic tune of the night, the groom and the bride are forced to spend a few minutes dancing alone, with the others cheering them on from the sides. Oliver can barely managed ten seconds without trampling all over his wife's feet, emitting several amused laughs from the crowd.
Annie and I spend a while mingling with friends and strangers on the beach, and decide to dance to one song, no matter how pathetic we look. Her cheeks flush a rosy shade of pink when I snake my arms around her waist to pull her closer and brush the lone strand of hair away from her face.
"Do you ever want to get married someday?" she asks.
"Maybe," I reply, automatically thinking about how Gloss' marriage had gone down the drain. "It's a yes and a no for me."
A/N:
1) WHO'S SEEN MOCKINGJAY, OH MY LORD IT'S SO FABULOUS I CAN'T EVEN
but not enough finnick
2) Due to very, very bad writer's block, I think I'll just skip to the 69th Hunger Games next chapter, where Marlene mentors for the first time. I hope that's alright!
3) This is probably the worst chapter I've ever written in my life, I'm so sorry! I literally spent forty-five minutes staring at my laptop wondering how to word everything.
4) I have summer vacation coming in two weeks, so hopefully I'll get to update much more often :)