Chapter 20: Under the Sea

Disclaimer: I don't own THG.

Johanna:

Annie could be very persuasive when she needed to be. Finnick always did what she wanted, but that was because he adored her. But Johanna never gave in to peer pressure. Except that one time she did.

"This is going to be so much, fun guys! A double date!" Annie had told them she had always wanted to go on a double date. So Finnick forced Jo and Gale to make his pretty girlfriend's dream a reality. A double date on Valentine's Day.

"The aquarium?" Johanna walked next to Gale as they got in line to buy tickets.

"Annie wanted to come see the baby whale." Finnick said happily. Johanna shared a look with Gale. So whipped! How does she do it?

"Its adorable. Back in Florida, we had the best aquarium. I'd like to work there some day."

"And you will, Annie. She's really smart, guys." Finnick was a lost cause. He and Annie were inseparable .

They paid for their tickets. As in, Johanna had to pay for her own because she did not need Gale's money, thank you very much. After that, they all went to the otter exhibit first.

"Oh, look! Its playing with that ball!" Annie cried.

"Its just as adorable as you are, Annie." Finnick was holding her hand.

"Wow." Gale said, amazed at how Finnick was acting.

"Please tell me we are never like that." Johanna held back a laugh.

"Definitely not." Gale replied. "We can leave and they won't notice."

"Let's. We can find them later."

The two decided to go find a more exciting aquatic creature. Like...a whale shark.

"Whale sharks are filter feeding sharks and the largest living species of fish." Gale read the information provided.

"Stop. If I wanted to learn something, I'd stay awake in class. When do we get to see them eat?"

Gale read the little plaque. "It says 2 o'clock. An hour."

"I don't feel like waiting. We can go see the sting rays." Johanna suggested.

"Not really an aquarium kind of guy." Gale said.

"And I'm not an aquarium kind of girl, but we're here so I'm going to go touch some weird fish." She lead the way to the pool that held the small rays. They weren't dangerous, so there were a couple of kids putting their hands in to touch.

Johanna reached in fearlessly and felt the smooth skin of the sting ray. "They're slippery."

There was no response. "Gale?"

"What? I'm right here, Jo." He stood far from the pool.

"Come on." She called.

"I'm good over here."

Johanna laughed. "Its just a little fish. Look, that little girl is having the time of her life here!"

Indeed, a girl was petting those sting rays like there was no tomorrow.

"Can we go now?"

"No! Not until you come over here an pet this fish." Johanna knew he wouldn't. Why was he afraid of them anyway?

"Jo..."

"Gale. I will break up with you if you don't." She threatened.

Gale laughed. "You wouldn't." She really wouldn't but she was going to use that threat.

"I will." She put on her serious face. He didn't move.

It was time for a new tactic. "Hey." She said to the little girl next to her. "Look at this guy, he's scared of the fish. He's a grown man!" The little girl giggled.

"Don't listen to her, she's a bully." Gale told the girl.

"Gale, I do this because I care. As your girlfriend, it is my job to help you overcome your fears." Johanna said as sincerely as she could. Not that sincere, really.

"That's nice, Jo. Some other time, maybe."

She gave up. Gale was like her in many ways and she would never make him do anything he didn't want to. She loved that.

"You owe me. Where's the gift shop, you're buying me a t-shirt." Johanna found the shop. It was huge for something found inside an aquarium.

There was a lot of boring stuff, like stuffed animals and coffee mugs. They had tiny turtle studs and jelly bracelets shaped like fish.

"Want one of these?" Gale held up a penguin hat.

Jo smiled. "Nah, it suits you better."

Eventually, Johanna chose to get a pair of frog socks and key chain shaped like a sting ray. Gale would like it. They waited in line for check out.

"I picked out the key chain just for you, do you like it?" She said teasingly.

"You have such a great sense of humor."

She grinned, satisfied.

They were next in line and the girl at the register was almost drooling over Gale. Johanna couldn't believe her.

"Hi, I'm Lily. Is this all?" She said it in her most seductive voice. To Johanna's ears, the girl sounded like she had a bad case of laryngitis. There was nothing attractive about it.

"Yup. Its for my girlfriend." Gale said smoothly.

"Oh, I didn't see her." Lily the cash register girl glared at Johanna.

"You should get your eyes checked." Johanna offered.

"Thank for the advice." The girl shot back. Her scowl turned into a smile when she turned back to Gale. "Here's your stuff. Come back soon, okay? Maybe alone next time."

"Oh my god, could you be anymore desperate?" Johanna hissed at her. "Get a life." Johanna looped her arm through Gale's and together, they left the shop. She could see the smirk on Gale's face. Clearly, he had enjoyed her little display.

"I don't want to talk about it. If you bring this up, I will stab you." Johanna warned him. She was jealous, so what? Gale was her boyfriend. He picked her and everyone else would have to deal with it.

"Bring what up?" Gale asked, smirk still on his face.

"Guys!" Annie found them. "Where did you two go?"

"Yeah, we didn't even notice you guys were gone." Finnick added with a chuckle.

"We went shopping." Johanna showed them the bag. "Don't go in there, they have terrible stuff." And a desperate store clerk. Annie didn't need some girl hitting on Finnick. Johanna would do her a favor.

"I'm glad you're both having fun. We should get something to eat." Annie said that the aquarium had an amazing food court.

It was packed, but the group found a table and then got up to pick their food.

"Its an aquarium. Where's the fish?" Johanna wondered.

"They don't serve fish because its an aquarium, Jo." Finnick said. He held Annie's tray as they walked around the food bar.

"You want me to hold your tray?" Gale asked her.

"Fight it, Gale. You're turning into Finnick." Johanna said with mock concern.

"Haha." Gale said dryly.

The group paid for their meals and returned to their chosen table.

"So, what sort of thing do you guys like to do?" Annie asked.

"You know us, Annie." Gale said.

She rolled her eyes. "I mean as a couple!"

"We do the same stuff. We train for track and football." Johanna answered.

"We go hiking together. We went to a movie last week." Gale shrugged, not thinking it to be an important detail. Johanna agreed. They were still Gale and Johanna.

"That sounds like you guys." Annie said. "I think this is going well, we should try it again. We could go hiking next time?"

"You'll love it." Johanna didn't think Annie was the hiking type, but if she was willing to try, Jo would help her out.

"Great. I'm going to go get some cookies or something." Annie went back to the food bar.

"Finnick, what happened?" Johanna asked.

"Yeah, where did the charm go?" Gale joined in.

"Let me remind you both, I drove you here." Finnick replied. Johanna caught his meaning. He'd leave them stranded if they kept on making fun of him.

"And you'll drive us back home. Thanks." Johanna said sweetly.

"I get it, man. Annie's awesome and you really like her. That's cool." Gale said.

"And she likes you back, so that's something!" Johanna added.

"Its the best." Finnick said. "We've been together longer than you two, so we're the better couple."

"Whatever you say, Finn." Jo saw Annie walking back to the table.

"They have heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day! Isn't that adorable? I got one for each of us." No one complained about the pink icing.

On the ride back home, Gale and Johanna could hear Finnick and Annie whispering in the front.

"Finn, let's not ask them to double date with us. They're so boring." Annie whispered.

Gale leaned closer to Johanna. "We're boring? They're like an old married couple!"

"I'm just glad we won't have to go with them again." Johanna said. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Same to you." The two ended their day with a kiss. And, then Finnick demanded that they not get it on in his car.

Valentine's Day special! In May...

Jo/Gale and Annie/Finnick, for your enjoyment! More Everlark on the way. Leave me some reviews and thanks for keeping up with my story. I really appreciate it.

PS. I think I'll start updating twice a week, depends on how busy this summer is. So...Saturday and Wednesday, is that cool? If there's nothing on Wednesdays, expect Saturday for sure. :)