This was stupid. Annie didn't know how many times she had poked fun at the glossy Capitol magazines that claimed to offer foolproof solutions to any and all of life's problems, but here she was, counting out her coins to see if she had exact change for Bright!. The exclamation point, she supposed, meant it probably had even more outrageous advice than the other ones she'd considered. She fished the final five-credit coin from her purse and thanked the cashier, and on the walk back to the Victors Village, she started reading.
Ten Signs He's Totally Into You. "All right, then. Let's see what kind of damage we can do here." Okay, none of this applied. Of course he went out of his way to talk to her and complimented her once in a while. That wasn't Finnick expressing some deep, everlasting love; he acted like that towards everybody. How to Get Your Crush In Two Weeks or Less was even less useful. She tossed the magazine into the next trash bin she saw. What a waste of seventeen credits. Annie kicked at the rocks on the path home, her hands in her pockets, swearing under her breath every once in a while when a particularly stubborn stone wouldn't move the way she wanted.
Tap. Tap-tap tap. With that knock, it had to be Finnick. "Coming!" Annie checked one last time that her dress hid her bra straps and tucked a rogue piece of hair behind her ear before she hurried to the door. "Hey."
"You look great," Finnick said, and her stomach twisted in the nicest way possible.
Play it cool, Annie. "You don't look so bad yourself. You clean up nicely, Odair."
He grinned. "So, you ready to head down? I don't think they'd be too happy if two Victors were late to their Tour party."
"Sure." She made sure her door locked behind her before they walked together down towards the main road. "How is this going to be different from last year?"
Finnick looked over at her, the concern obvious in his eyes. "I don't know. There'll be less focus on you, of course, but otherwise…" He shrugged, helpless. "Do you think you'll be alright this time?"
"I'm not going to fall apart this time. I can't do that again." He smiled and offered her his hand, which she gladly took. Like this, hand in hand with Finnick, she felt almost confident that she could get through this. Annie hardly noticed when they passed the main residential area. "You aren't going to pick up Adria?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Nah."
"May I ask why?"
"We're not seeing each other anymore."
She hoped she didn't smile at that. "That's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be. I was the one who called things off. I mean, she's a really nice girl and all, but she isn't really my type, you know?"
I'd love to know what your type is. "Yeah, I get that." They walked in silence the rest of the way.
Johanna Mason, the newest Victor, was every bit the piece of work she'd seemed on television. Annie sat and watched as she and Finnick danced together, the younger woman, she was pretty sure, intentionally stepping on Finnick's toes with her sky-high heels every chance she got. She reached down to pop another cracker into her mouth only to find they were all gone. Had she really eaten that many already? Oh well, diet be damned, those things were good. She went over to the buffet to grab another helping.
When she returned, Finnick was waiting at her spot. "Care for a dance?" he asked.
"I'd love to." You have no idea how much.
He led her onto the dance floor, the picture of gentlemanly grace. Finnick put one hand on her waist and clasped her hand with the other as the band started up. She felt as though she was floating on a cloud as they swayed together. "Are you enjoying yourself tonight?"
"Very much. It's far better than last year."
"I agree." They fell into a comfortable silence, both content just to dance. Annie wondered if she was overanalyzing the situation, but it seemed that he was holding her closer than he had with Johanna, and his hand lingered over hers as the music came to an end. "Care for another?" came again and again, and she always agreed. They did not separate until he walked her to her front door and wished her good night.