A/N Hello Lovelies! Heads up: THIS FIC IS NOW M. I REPEAT THIS FIC IS M. I'm sorry if this chapter lacks the emotion that the others have had. I'm suffering major writers block. Normally I can pump out a chapter in an hour or two, but for some reason I've been writing a lot slower. It might have to do with the fact that I'm working on this simultaneously with my original story. If you are interested in that at all I'll leave a link at the bottom of this chapter as well as one on my profile. I just put up the first installment. The story is a young-adult fiction about two high schoolers. Here is my little snip-it/summary:
"I can't help but think what a blessing Andy has been in my life. Every anti-social, anxiety fueled person needs and equally insane counterpart. We were the same, but also complete opposites in every possible way. When I think about her now, I picture the rush of our emotions, the excitement we felt as we went on new adventures, the love we had for each other, sanctity I felt in her presence... If I close my eyes I can still see her face from that first day. Her wide grin as she bounded up the steps to the office. What girl can be that excited on the first day at a new school. What girl could be so caring for others... What girl could love me, for who I truly am.
Only Andy could."
Anyways, sorry for the super long AN, thanks again for reading, following, reviewing, etc. You guys make me so happy! Yours, Alise.
Adley's POV
The alarm clock wakes me noisily at 8 in the morning. I slowly wake up and start to remember that I have a meeting with Snow this morning. Great. Just what I want: to be surrounded by the one person who I hate with all of my heart. Sounds like a great way to start a long trip.
I quickly hop in the shower, washing my hair and body with the special soaps one last time, before throwing on a clean white silk shirt and a pair of dark navy pants. The outfit had been laid out on my bed, I'll need to figure out who to thank later. I lazily grab my jacket, a navy blue blazer that matches my pants, and head toward the door.
The large white car picks me up right outside the Tribute Apartments. I settle into the hard leather seats and play with my fingers in the back, trying desperately to get out all my nervous energy before meeting the President.
Snow's home is the most magnificent place I have ever seen. It is large and white, with ancient looking pillars. A large garden surrounds it with some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen.
The driver pulls up to a door and a guard opens the door for me then leads me inside. He walks with me up a large staircase and to a set of double doors with intricate designs along the frame. The guard knocks.
"Come in!" A voice calls out, I can recognize it from the years of hearing it on television, Snow. I feel the fear and disgust well inside of me, but I push it down and enter his study.
"Hello there, Adley." Snow is sitting behind a large wooden desk. Everything in the room looks so perfect, too perfect - as if the perfection is supposed to mask a major flaw. I feel the sick rise in my stomach again.
"Sir" I nod curtly. He gestures at the chairs in front of his desk and I take a seat.
"Adley, How are you? Doesn't it feel amazing to be this year's victor?" I swallow my distaste. "You're a household name, a celebrity, you should be proud, my girl." I clench my jaw, then allow my face to fall into a nice smile.
"I do feel blessed." I say, feeling bile rise on every word.
"Well, Adley," Snow says. "During your games you received quite a few… well quite a few admirers in the Capitol, so to speak. Their interest is so dramatic that I have decided to make a sort of business deal with you." My eyebrows furrow together.
"Business deal?" I ask.
"Yes, well. This particular interest involves getting to know you personally, intimately." Snow smiles evilly, "I think your admires would appreciate and pay very well for your companionship." My jaw drops. I have heard of courtesans, there are some in the districts, those who can't afford to survive without giving themselves to awful men.
"No" I say incredulously.
"Well, I suppose it is your choice." He relinquishes all too easily. My heart pounds in my chest.
"What?" I breathe.
"It is your choice." He says, "However, choosing to go against my wishes may result in… well in some consequences." I eye him, and his eyes narrow, boring into mine with great force and terror. "Shipwrecks are a very unfortunate event, it would be tragic if your family's sunk. Wouldn't it be." it wasn't a question. I nod. "But, it's your choice."
"I'll do it" I answer immediately. Snow smiles.
"Good, I knew you'd see it my way. You will begin your duties after the victory tour, your birthday is during it, yes?" I nod. "Perfect, we always request that our employees be of legal age before they begin work." The muscles in my jaw begin to twitch. Snow gets up and walks over to the door, opening them and gesturing towards them. "Thank you for your cooperation, Adley. It has truly been a pleasure." I nod in response and walk out the doors quickly.
Tears blind my eyes as I make my way down the stairs and out the grand doors of Snow's estate. The white car is waiting where it left me. I run to it, eager to get back home.
Finnick's POV
I slam the door to the District Four room shut and rip my jacket off.
"Tough day at the office, love?" Max jokes from the counter. I glare at her. She's leaning against the counter nursing a glass of whiskey. She gestures to the bottle on the table, "You want?"
"Maybe later." I tap on my shirt pocket where I have a pack of cigarettes stashed. She nods. I'm thankful that she doesn't say anything about it. Right now I just needed to get my mind away from the Capital, away from everything. I head out to the deck and place the cigarette in my mouth. I quickly light it, inhaling. After a while, Max comes out and joins me, along with her bottle of whiskey. She holds it up to me and I take it from her. I put the bottle to my lips and take a deep gulp.
"Better?" She asks.
"Hardly." We laugh.
We stand there in silence, I smoke, she drinks, and we watch the Capital.
"What time did you get back?" I ask Max. She shrugs.
"Two-ish. Did you just get back?"
"I had a break between midnight and one, but yeah" The exhaustion finally hits me, staying up all night will really do that to you. "Is she still gone?" I ask about Adley. Max nods. "Fuck." I say, causing her to nod again. "Do you really think-"
"She's beautiful" Max cuts me off. Beauty is a curse here in the Capital. I look down at my hands and let out a large puff of smoke. "You should really quit, Finn." Max gestures at the cigarette.
"I'll quit smoking when you quit drinking." I fire back. She laughs.
"We're one messed up pair, huh?" I nod in agreement.
Adley arrives back about an hour later. I can tell from her eyes that she's been crying. I know why, Max knows why, but neither of us want to push it. We know that in time she'll come to talk to us, when she's ready.
"Ready to go!" Max calls out, almost cheerfully. I know she's just trying to act like everything is normal, like she has no idea what Adley has been asked to do. She walks out of her room carrying two large duffle bags and a rolling suitcase. I roll my eyes. "Don't mock me, Finn. I'm pretty sure you have a suitcase for hair gel." This causes Adley to laugh. I silently thank Max.
A large SUV takes us to the train station where we get on board a large train headed towards District 12. The further districts were supposed to get some snow this year, so Snow pushed our tour up early, as to avoid it. The train is much like the one we took on our way up here, except with a few less people.
Max and I retire to the dining hall with a bottle of liquor and begin talking about life, reminiscing on times with the other victors. The one perk of the Victory Tour is getting to see the rest of the victors during a rare off-duty time. Eventually the exhaustion from the lsat night takes over both of us and we head to our respective rooms.
A few hours late I find myself being woken up by Adley, who is standing in front of my bed, arms wrapped around herself, crying. I immediately jump out of bed and pull her into my arms. Her soft tears fall onto my bare chest.
"Shh, shh, Adley" I coo into her soft dark hair. Trying to calm her down. She pulls away from me and stares into me.
"You do it, don't you?" She asks. I know what she's talking about. I nod. "And Max?" She asks, I nod again. She grimaces and looks sick. "Oh, God." She looks stricken with panic. "God, Finnick, what have I done." It's not really a question. She collapses back into my arms, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. I tell her what I tell Max, what I tell myself.
"You did what you had to do to stay alive, but now You do what you have to do to keep them alive." I gesture with my head towards nowhere in particular. I know she understands. She nods into my chest. I feel her warm body radiating onto my chest. Her fingers grip at my skin, as if that would keep her from falling into the darkness.
"Finnick…" I can feel her face begin to heat and flush against my skin, "How… How do you… with them?" I clench my jaw. I still don't really know how to answer this question.
"It's instinct." I shrug, "I know my family is in danger, so I act on impulse." She blushes further. Impulse may not have been the best word, I groan internally. Her head turns toward me, and lifts up until we are looking into eachother's eyes. "Do you want me to get Max?" I ask, maybe she'd be able to help explain things to Adley. She shakes her head.
"Stay with me, Finnick." She says, the tears are gone, and her voice is less shaky. I wrap her back up in my arms and settle down onto my bed. She curls up against me, arms intertwining with mine. I look down at the form below me and no longer see a girl. Laying next to me is a beautiful young woman, a woman who has been through far too much for her young age, for anybody. We lay there in the dark, in the silence, for what feels like an eternity. Our breathing slows and begins to line up. I begin to feel myself falling into a peaceful sleep.
"Show me" She says out of the darkness.
"What?" I respond" I look down at the young woman below me. Her innocent eyes darken, I know they are not innocent. They have seen more than anybody should be allowed to. Her fingers go to my chest and she rises up onto her knees, pushing herself off of me.
"Show me." My chest tightens. I tentatively reach my hands up to cup her jaw and stare into her beautiful green eyes. Her fair skin glistens in the light from the moon that's coming in through my window. Her breathing is hard, ragged, alluring. I bend my head down and capture her lips in a deep kiss. A small groan escapes her lips, and I take the opportunity to let my tongue slide into her mouth, she lets it in.
On instinct, her arms reach up and wrap around my body pulling me closer to her. I drop my hands from her chin and bring them down to settle on her waist. Her shirt rises as she pushes up on me to get a better grip. I allow my hands to cautiously reach under her shirt, then rest them on the warm skin below.
Gasping for air we break apart. Her lips are wet from my attack, slightly swollen. I reach down and pull her lips back to mine, pulling her bottom lip between my teeth and suckling the soft flesh. She lets out a soft moan that drives me crazy. Instinctively, I push her down onto the bed. When I realize what I've down I quickly jump off, worried I've gone too fast. I look down at her, her eyes look lost and sad, her mouth folds into a pout. I lean back down and settle my body in between hers. My legs fall in between her thighs, and I'm sure she can feel the effect that she's having on me. My mouth reaches for her skin, I latch onto her neck and begin suckling and licking tenderly at the soft flesh. Her groans cause me to smirk into her skin. I reach up and pull her earlobe in between my teeth, her mewling driving me crazy. I lower my head back down to her neck and pepper kisses along the sensitive skin. My lips arrive at the top of her shirt, she pushes me off.
I'm fully prepared to leave the room, let her be, but she reaches down between us and pulls her white silk shirt off herself, revealing a black lacy bra. God, she is so sexy. I look deep into her eyes, my hands are still on her hips, and I have to refrain from digging my fingers into her supple skin.
"Are you sure?" I ask. She nods. I lean my head back down to the soft flesh below me, igniting a low moan from the beautiful girl beneath me.
A/N I told you I'd put a link so here it is! I really hope you do go an read it! I'm very excited, especially because it's the first time I've really written something completely by myself, without using anyone's ideas. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE writing fanfiction, but it's so rewarding to come up with something entirely YOURS and be able to put it to words! Yours, Alise
www . fictionpress s/3271600/1/September