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It's always been him, she smiled. Our souls just dance the same.
Inside the Justice Building, Cassia finally managed to break free from Hatter and hide in the shadows along one of the walls under a painting. She wanted to find a bathroom and wash her hands, as if to physically wash away Hatters' touch. The man stood laughing across the room with a few other diplomats. His beard matched the dark brown of the hair on his head; which was in stark contrast to his very light blue eyes that seemed dull of anything but the alcohol flowing through his veins.
Thankfully, the camera crew had left after getting plenty of footage of Cassia dancing with the mayor and conversing with his wife, and socializing with the other guests. Now that there wasn't a large camera in her face, she felt that she should feel relieved. Yet, she still felt like she had to maintain her composure. Especially when the Peacekeeper was still there, sitting in a gaudy chair watching the musicians play.
For more than the second time that night, her eyes slid to Finnick. He was the picture of a socialite. He held a stout glass and was smirking at the mayor's wife, Silvia. And she was brazenly staring back as if her husband wasn't there.
"You're not the only girl on his mind," Gia said from behind Cassia. Her dark eyes watched the group of people mingling and dancing.
Cassia felt herself stiffen and her hand tighten around her flute of champagne; which she had barely touched during all of the dancing and talking and laughing. Clearly from the way Gia spoke, she knew something Cassia didn't.
"Enjoying yourself?" Cassia replied, unable to stop the bitterness in her voice.
Gia smiled down at her. "Of course. It is a great honor when someone from our district wins the Games."
Cassia stared at Gia, momentarily wondering what went on inside her mind; wondered what she has seen throughout her years of being a victor and mentor, how she has dealt with the loss of tributes each year. And then she said: "You would have rather it been Lark." She hated saying his name, remembering that she had killed him; a boy her age, a boy with a family and friends.
Gia pressed her lips together tightly, her dark eyes burning with something brighter than the words trapped inside her mouth. As if she was holding a match in her mouth and it was slowly burning her tongue, as if she was the one that was suffering from the truth instead of the people that lit the flame. And then her eyes shifted to over Cassia's shoulder.
Both women stood in silence as Finnick walked in their direction. Cassia held her breath until he stood in front of them. He was taller than she remembered and the feeling of his hand in hers under the table squeezed at her pounding heart.
His attention was only on Cassia. He held out a hand. "Care to dance?"
Without thinking, she took his hand.
On the dance floor, he kept a respectable distance between their bodies, holding their hands up in the air while one of his hands was on her waist and her hand was on his shoulder. As a new song began, they didn't say much until a minute had passed.
"How are you liking your new house?" he casually asked.
"It's beautiful thanks to the generosity of the Capitol."
His eyes were dark like the ocean on a hot summer night; pools of indigo tinged with flecks of fluorescent green. She imagined the moonlight brushing the shore of his pupils that seemed to be sucking out all the light in the room, dragging her down into their depths. Her dress swished between her legs as she stepped to the beat of the song, mindful of the distance between their bodies and how she desperately wanted to close it; if only to feel the strength of his body against hers.
For a selfish moment, she wondered what it would feel like to have his body against hers. Feeling his heartbeat strong against her chest, the soft exhales of breath on the top of her head that would warm her to the tips of her toes. His hands carefully running along the bare skin of her arms until one of them nestled gently against the skin of her back and the other cupped her hand. And they would sway to the beat of the song however they liked, relishing in the shifting of their bodies underneath their clothes. . . .
"Where did you go?" Cassia heard Finnick ask.
"Huh?" she blinked up at him, feeling her cheeks flush bright pink.
The longer he looked at her the more his mischievous smile grew. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," she said, clearing her throat and looking anywhere but at his face.
"If I knew any better, I might say you're flustered."
Cassia glared at him—at his stupid, perfectly handsome face. "You're about to look like you're in pain if you don't wipe that grin off your face."
He threw his head back and laughed, then settled his gaze onto hers. "Oh, Cassia, I'd love to see you try." And she knew he meant it. She imagined her hand raising to slap him across the face only to be stopped by his hand grasping her wrist. He would look down at her with sly intent, taking a moment to relish in her surprise before yanking her against him and threading his fingers through her hair with his other hand and bringing his lips down onto hers—
Finnick's eyes darkened. "You're very lost in your head tonight."
"I think it's time I go home," Cassia adjusted her warm palm against his, feeling the calluses brush against her skin.
At this, something dimmed in his eyes. "Right." He released her at the end of the song and Cassia went to find Rena to tell her she was leaving. Before she left, she saw Finnick standing between Mayor Bloom and Silvia, laughing loudly.
Once home, Cassia leaned against the back of the couch and yanked her high heels off as to not wake up her father and Evelin. Climbing the stairs, she picked her dress up so to not trip and then entered her bedroom. She peeled the dress off and took as many of the pins out of her hair as she could; there would likely be some in there tomorrow.
Finally alone with her thoughts, she had some things to think about other than the arena. Though, she doubted she would get much sleep as many of those things had to do with Finnick.
A/N:the sexual tension is killing me.
if any of you are fans of harry potter or fred weasley, i've got a fred weasley fic that's new if you wouldn't mind checking it out! i would really appreciate it. i also apologize for taking so long to update, i've been working a lot this summer and it's hard to find inspiration when you're so tired. xx
chapter questions:
what do you think is up with gia?
do any of you like (or love) harry potter? if yes, who is your favorite character? i would have to say mine is tied between mcgonagall, the twins, and luna.
