Love at Sea (Finnick Odair)

Chapter 6

"You two are unbelievable," Tyler scowled as he walked in the front door.

"What's the problem?" Finnick asked as Taiya shoved him away.

"You know what the problem is," Tyler sighed as he ran his fingers down his face.

Taiya smiled as she quickly hopped off of the kitchen bench that she'd been sitting on. Tyler had walked in and caught them in a... compromising position.

"Honestly I thought pushing you two together was a good thing. I didn't want to walk in on you constantly making out. I feel like we need to separate you. I'm now feeling incredibly irresponsible for forcing two 17-year-olds to live with each other. This may have been a bad idea," he sighed.

"Tyler it's fine," Taiya laughed

"How are we going to explain a pregnancy to the Capitol!" Tyler asked as he threw his hands in the air.

"Oh my god!" Taiya yelled. "That's not going to happen."

"Well," Finnick winked playfully and she turned to glare at him and he immediately backed down. "Sorry," he meekly apologised.

"The reaping is tomorrow. Are you two ready?" he asked and they both stiffened. "I know it's not going to be easy guys," Tyler sighed as he came to sit at the bench, resting his elbows on the bench before quickly jerking back as the image of the couple came back to his mind. "But you know your roles. You know the acts you need to keep up. You've seen what happens when you don't," he warned gently and Taiya laced her fingers through Finnick's.

"Yeah I get it," Finnick snapped. "We ignore each other, she hangs off Crane's arm and I follow rich women back to their rooms."

"Hey," Taiya whispered as she held onto his arm. "It's not his fault."

"I know. It's just bullshit."

"It keeps everyone safe," Taiya reminded him. "But yeah, it's bullshit," she agreed.

"Are you both going to be able to do this? Or do I need to put in a request to bring another victor? Maybe Todd can come and actually do something for a change," Tyler offered.

"We'll be fine Tyler. It's ok. They'll never approve of us bringing Todd. Snow won't allow it. We all have our roles to play. We just need to do it without making him angry."

"We've got it Tyler," Finnick confirmed.

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"Hey, there you are!" Taiya yelled as she spotted Seneca Crane waiting for her. "I was worried I'd have to find you in there by myself. How've you been?" she smiled as she gave him a big hug.

"I've been great," he smiled back down at her. "And no way was I going to make you wade your way through the Capitol elite by yourself. They'd monopolise you completely, there's no way you'd make it to our seats."

Seneca had been kind enough to invite Taiya to attend the opening parade with him. She was under strict orders from Snow not to have any involvement in mentoring the tributes from home. Any intel she might gain from being around Seneca and his friends was not to make it back to the tributes or mentors from her district. She was here to flirt with Seneca Crane, and nothing else.

"Are they good seats?" she asked with a smirk.

"The best," he nodded, as he placed his hand on her back and led her through the door. "We're at the end of the parade. Right near the president," he told her and she quickly drew a breath. "It's exciting isn't it," Seneca smiled, misinterpreting her breath for one of excitement.

"Very," she agreed. "I can't wait."

"Let me know if it gets boring though and we can find something else to do. My friends are sitting with us and they can be... they can be a bit much."