The Perfect Truth: A Finnick Odair Novel

Chapter 12

Warnings: kissing, swearing, canon typical violence/death, mentions of oral (both female and male recieving), idk what else lol

Word count: 1389

When I wake, the hot sun and my itching skin demand me to return to reality instead of back to my Finnick filled dreams. Everybody else is up and watching the descent of a parachute. It's another delivery of bread, identical to the one we got last night, and we each take five, leaving eight. And even though no one speaks, it seems that everyone is wondering how we can keep our alliance with the numbers dropping so quickly. Staring up at the sky, I turn my thoughts to wonder what had to change between Finn and I to make us trust each other. Then there's last night; the kiss... I banish those thoughts from my mind, knowing that if Johanna or anyone else turns on us, I need to be on high alert. Once I finish eating, I nod at Peeta.

'Come, I'll teach you to swim.'

I decide to just show him how to do the basic strokes, because he already has the flotation belt. While he swims, I discover that by rubbing sand over my skin, the remaining scabs are cleaned off, showing fresh skin beneath. I stop Peeta's practice and show him, then bring up our plan B.

'We need to go soon. Split. Take off. End the alliance.'

'Let's stick together until Brutus and Enobaria are dead,' he replies. 'I think Beetee's putting together a trap for them now. Then we can go.'

'Alright,' I agree, then turn to find Finnick, not so I can tell him the plan, even though I wish I could, but to give him the tip about the sand. I don't think that I can tell him, because he'll want Johanna to come along, and even though I would trust him with my life after last night, I won't have him killed because he's protecting me. 'Hey, Finn!' I yell. 'We figured out how to make you pretty again!'

After we've scoured our bodies, we apply a last layer of ointment because the new skin seems a bit fragile against the sun, and besides, it will be good jungle camouflage. Beetee calls us over, and it turns out that he's come up with a plan.

'Brutus and Enobaria won't attack us since they're so outnumbered, and tracking them down is dangerous and exhausting work. They'll figure out the clock sooner or later, and the fact that our last fight was interrupted by Gamemakers will not go unnoticed. So we must set a trap.' He shoos us back a bit so he can draw the Arena in the sand. 'If you were Brutus and Enobaria, knowing that the jungle is not safe, where would you go?'

'The beach,' I say.

'So why aren't they there?' Beetee asks.

'Because we are.' Johanna says.

'But if I were them, I would hide at the edge of the jungle to spy on us.'

'Good,' Beetee says, like a teacher of some sort. 'So after the lightning bolt hits noon, but before it hits midnight, we run my wire from that tree all the way down into the salt water, which is, of course, highly conductive. When the bolt strikes, the electricity will travel down the wire and not into the water but also the surrounding beach, which will still be damp from the ten o' clock wave. Anyone in contact with those surfaces at that moment will be electrocuted.'

Eventually, we agree on rigging the trap, and Beetee wants to inspect the tree, so we break camp, Peeta and Finn taking turns to carry him.

'Ryn should take the lead,' Finn points out. 'She can hear the force field.'

'Hear it?' Beetee asks.

'Uh, yeah, I've got pretty good hearing,' I mumble, hoping he'll just play along with it. Thankfully, he does, and I take the lead.

While Beetee inspects the tree, I shoot three more tree rats. Peeta, Finn and I cook the meat and some nuts by bouncing them against the force field. Johanna stands guard. By eleven, we decide to move to the blood rain section to avoid the lightning. When it strikes, I'm up in a tree so I can report what it looked like. By afternoon, we're all restless, so Finn teaches us how to dive for shellfish and spear the fish. Just as we're about to eat, a parachute appears with two supplements for our meal: a pot of spicy red sauce and twenty four more rolls from District 3.

Leaning my head on Finn's shoulder, I enjoy what might be my last happy moment with him if we have to split up. He loops his arm around my shoulders, pressing a kiss to my forehead and bending his head so he can speak into my ear, probably hoping the cameras won't pick our words up.

'Do you remember that time when I found you, asleep in front of the TV screen, remote in your hand?'

I frown. 'And then I went down on you?'

'No, when I went down on you.' He pauses. 'The last time, when it was only Katniss, Peeta and Cato left.'

'Oh, yeah,' I say, smiling a little. 'That was the best head I'd ever had in my life.'

He chuckles. 'I know. You told me.' He turns to face me. 'And while I had my head between your fucking thighs, I wondered what you'd do if I told you I wanted... more. Of you.' He pauses, searching for words. 'More time where we just sat around and chatted about nothing, instead of... you know.' He grins. 'I decided if I did tell you, you'd kick me in the balls and then the face, and then you'd leave, so I didn't.'

'But...?'

'But now I see something in your eyes that I didn't before.'

I laugh bitterly. 'Well, I guess we were both better at hiding things back then.'

He's quiet for a moment, staring out at the water, before turning back to me. 'The first time I saw you, we were all sitting in front of the big public screen, and I saw the woman in the row in front of me turn away. Other than me, she was the only one who wasn't looking. Right there, I saw someone who I wanted, not just her body, but... her as well.' He leans forward, practically speaking onto my lips by now. 'And that woman, she was you. You, Aderyn.'

I'm silent for a moment, stunned. He just told me... And he used my name, my full name, does that... does that mean he...? Eyes darting over to him, I see that he's watching my face, and I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. 'Odair, I - I never knew you'd be that soppy.'

'Hey! I just pour my heart out and that's what I get?'

'No, this is what you get,' I tease, grabbing the back of his head and quickly pecking him on the lips.

'Only that?'

'I think that - '

The anthem begins, and I lean back against Finn's chest as he brings his arm around to rest his hand on my stomach. There are no faces in the sky tonight. The audience will be restless, wanting blood, but Beetee's trap seems to hold enough promise that the Gamemakers haven't sent in any attacks, probably because they're also curious to see if it'll work. At somewhere around nine, we hike back up to the tree and Beetee wraps the wire around the trunk. It's almost completed when we hear the wave.

Johanna and I are to run with the metal spool until we reach the deep water. We're then supposed to drop it, with whatever is left of the wire, and make sure it sinks. Then we head for the jungle.

'Don't run back up the beach,' Beetee says. 'Head for the tree in the one to two o' clock sector. If you're running out of time, move over one more. Don't even think about going back on the beach until I can assess the damage.'

Obediently, we nod. I notice that Finn seems edgy, and I can tell he's uncomfortable, so I give him a light kiss on the lips. He wraps his arms around me and buries his face in my hair.

'Be safe,' he whispers.

I smile up at him. 'You too.'