And here's chapter 4! Enjoy and let me know what you think in the reviews!
Since it turns out that Finnick and Annie's place is only a ten minute walk away from the station, we end up going on a simple tour of the nearby harbor. Finnick walks a few steps in front of us, often stopping to point out various vendors and encouraging us to stop for a look.
It's like a bazar. The sides of the streets are lined with stalls and tents offering anything from crystal earrings to silk scarves. We're recognized several times by curious people passing by. One little boy comes right up to us, wide-eyed, asking solemnly if we'll shake hands with him. We do.
"Is it always like this?" I ask. "I mean, having people gaping at you the whole time you're in public." Finnick snorts. "No. I know most of them pretty well. They're more like family to us anyways." Annie nods in agreement.
"That was Troye," she adds, a little shyly. Finnick grins at Annie and gives her hand a visible squeeze, leaning in to murmur something undoubtedly sweet. She blushes a bright red, only confirming my guess. Peeta shoots me a half-amused look. They're wrapped around each other now, only inches apart. Peeta and I may as well be part of the scenery. I clear my throat.
"Hate to break you two up, but say we move on?" I suggest, as subtly as I can. It's like that for the rest of the afternoon. Finnick never once lets go of Annie's hand, and they'll whisper to each other now and then, their faces plastered with these huge, sappy smiles. And even though it's completely irrational, I can't help but feel a slight twinge of jealousy, not unlike the feeling I'd had when I watched them being reunited at the hospital in 13. I could never be jealous for either of them, it's the way they love. So whole-heartedly, without an inkling of doubt. Undiluted love.
"I'd think we were being neglected if I didn't know any better," Peeta says jokingly, flashing me a smile. Finnick laughs. "I love both of you, too," he declares. "Very, very, much. How about a group hug?" He bats his eyes at Peeta.
Annie and I try to hold back our laughter while Peeta wrinkles his nose. "No offense, Finnick, but no, not really." Finnick pretends to look hurt while Annie and I laugh our heads off. I honestly can't remember the last time I had so much fun.
District Four is truly beautiful. I want to go to the beach, but Finnick insists we go tomorrow, early in the morning. Instead, he takes us to the edge of the harbor, where we sit on the wooden dock, legs dangling, as we watch the sun slowly sink into the ocean. There's a peacefulness in the air which wraps itself around you and swallows you whole. And all of a sudden, I remember an afternoon two years ago. The one right before the Quarter Quell, when Peeta and I spent the entire day on the roof, just relaxing and enjoying luxurious Capitol food. He'd said, "I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now, and live in it forever." I think I finally understand what he meant.
There's another surprise for us when we finally leave the harbor and head to Finnick and Annie's house. Their house is a rather large two story, white with a front porch and a swing chair. Sitting on the swing chair, looking extremely bored, is none other than Johanna. Johanna.
I raise my eyebrows at Finnick. He shrugs. "I thought it'd be a nice surprise for both of you," he says, looking a little guilty. Both of you. So that means that up until this moment, Johanna had no idea Peeta and I were coming, either. Just as I reach this conclusion, she's there with her arms crossed, peering at my face with a look of slight disapproval. Definitely not a friendly reunion.
"What?" I say, trying to keep the irritation out of my voice. We may have become allies of a sort in 13, but we're still not exactly best friends. To her credit, though, she doesn't jump on me and try to strangle me. Instead, she just rolls her eyes. "I wasn't expecting to see you, Brainless," she shoots back. Finnick looks relieved. "I knew you two would work it out," he says cheerfully.
We both glare at him. "Maybe for the moment," Johanna says sweetly. "But you haven't heard the end of this, Odair. You owe me one." Before Finnick can say anything, Peeta intervenes quickly. "Good to see you, Johanna," he says with a smile. Leave it to Peeta to always be good-tempered and polite. Johanna sighs. "Yes, hello to you, too, Lover Boy." There's less acid in her voice this time.
Apparently, as Annie tells me later, Johanna hasn't been doing too well since she went back to 7. Tried to kill herself by overdosing on pills several times, landing in the hospital. Being friends, Finnick wanted to invite her over to stay for a while, hopefully talk some sense into her.
I'm shocked. Johanna Mason? The Johanna I know is strong and arrogant, snarky with an attitude. But then I think back to the Johanna in 13, the one with wide eyes and pale cheeks. That was the vulnerable her, the one the Capitol had stripped her down to. And I immediately feel bad, but I know at the same time that she'd hate my pity.
Annie and I are on the second floor, standing on the balcony which overlooks the ocean. The others are somewhere on the first floor below. I had never really been one for socializing at school, and even now I'm still not sure how to act around others. In the Games, it was different. We were just a group of people forced together by the need to survive. Stripped of that, I'm left unsure of my relationship with these people.
Friends?Allies? I can't forget, no matter how hard I try, that I was prepared to kill all of them just months ago. For Peeta, yes. But friends don't kill one another. This is too confusing to think about, so I decide to just stick with Annie as much as I can, when I'm not with Peeta. I like how we can spend time together without saying anything at all, yet still not feel awkward.
"How'd you meet Finnick, Annie?" I ask suddenly. She looks a little surprised. "You're wondering how someone like him could ever fall in love with a girl like me, right?" she says softly, but not bitterly. I open my mouth to protest, but she waves her hand dismissively. "I'm not offended, Katniss." She assures me.
Her eyes take on a distant look. "I used to go to the beach every day," she begins. "There was this special place by the rocks. I'd go there at dawn, when the sky was still kind of dark. I'd lie down and watch the stars fade. One day, a few weeks after his Games, I think, I found him at my spot. He was knotting his rope. Just knotting and unknotting." She pauses to take a deep breath.
"I watched him until the sun came up. That's when he finally noticed me. He came over and asked me to sit with him. So we sat there the whole day. He told me about his little sister. About how he hated the way the Capitol people lusted for him. He just talked on and on, like we'd known each other forever." I had no idea Finnick had a little sister. I don't remember anyone from his family actually, come to think of it. That's odd. Usually a victor's family is interviewed at the top eight, right? And then there's the Victory Tour. I rack my brain for a scrap of some kind of memory, but there's none.
Annie's voice jars me out of my thoughts. " He was so different from what I saw on TV. After that, we just met there every day. Sometimes I'd listen to him rant. Other times, he'd hold me while I cried. He's everything I could ever ask for. And somehow, though I still don't know why, he eventually loved me back, I guess." There's a genuine smile on her face.
"I know why," I say gently. I really do. "You're not mad, Annie. "You're lovely."