Love at Sea (Finnick Odair)

Chapter 21

Sunrises have the power to be beautiful no matter where the sun rises. As Taiya watched the sunrise during her watch shift the next morning she couldn't help but smile. Despite the harsh reality she found herself in, a sunrise still has the ability to mesmerize those who watch it, even in the Hunger Games arena.

"You good?" Theo asked, waking up.

"Yeah, all good," Taiya nodded.

"What are you thinking about? I can almost hear your brain working," he joked.

"It's beautiful."

"What is? The snow?"

"Oh god no," Taiya scoffed. "The sun. The way it lights up the sky. It's beautiful. It's constant. You can always rely on the sun to rise every day. It'll never leave. People leave, but the sun... the sun stays."

"You thinking about your parents?" he asked.

"Yeah and you."

"Taiya..."

"You made me a promise. Do you remember that?" she asked, turning to him, her eyes filled with tears. "Before the funeral. You promised me that you'd be there for me so long as I need you. You lied. Because I need you. And you're telling me that you're going to give up on yourself to save me. That's not helping me, Theo. That's killing me," she stuttered as the tears started falling.

"Hey," he hushed as he pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you doing this to me? You have a family still alive back home. You could have a family of your own one day. My family is dead, it's you who deserves to go home."

"Taiya. You do have a family. Look," he said, pulling her necklace up. "Annie, she cares about you as if you were another cousin. You finally reconnected with your aunt and uncle and Shark. You want to know why I'm doing this. I'm doing it because I know you'll recover when you go home. It'll hurt but you'll recover. If I lose you, I won't ever be the same. You'll have broken me forever."

"Theo it's the same for me."

"No, no it's not."

"How?" Taiya demanded.

"Because I'm in love with you!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up as her face fell. "I know you're not in love with me and that's ok, I don't blame you. I had a crush on you since the first day we started school when we were 6. You were so beautiful with your pigtails, the mayor's daughter. I live in the fishing village, I didn't have a right to be talking to the mayor's daughter. I stared at you for 2 years straight just trying to build up the courage to say hi to you. And then Finnick knocked you off the dock and I was terrified you were going to set the Peacekeepers on us. But when he pulled you out you were so mad at him you just marched right up to me and asked me to join you in that stupid take over District 4 plan," he laughed. "You spent the next two weeks by my side at school planning it with me. You never cared I lived in the fishing village, you just liked me for me."

"Theo..." Taiya stuttered as she grabbed his face. "Why did you never tell me?"

"You never felt the same," he shrugged as he looked at the ground. "Our friendship is too important to me, I never wanted to jeopardize that by making you uncomfortable. I've been obsessed with you for 10 years Taiya, you didn't know I even existed for 2 of those. You have a chance to go home, make something of your life. If I go home I'll be going home without my best friend, without the one girl I ever noticed, without the girl that I'm in love with."

Taiya sobbed loudly before launching herself at him and pulling him in for a hug. "I love you, Theo. You're my best friend," she cried before she pulled away slightly. She looked him in the eyes before rising onto her toes and kissing him. He placed his hands on her cheek and she felt him smile before he pulled away.