crashing waves (finnick odair)

Chapter 1: Flashback

Celeste's P.O.V.

I am convinced this year is different. For the first time in as long as I can recall, there have been no whispers of volunteers, no children who are eager to show off their skills for the Capitol's entertainment. I am uneasy and on edge. I try not to think of last year, but the memories intrude nonetheless.

I am shaking as I stare at the massive screen in the Town Square, grasping onto the edges of my skirt. I wait with bated breath. There are only three tributes left. Adrian has a chance.

"Run," I mutter to myself, my heart racing. "You need to run."

But he doesn't. He doesn't move. He doesn't do anything. It takes me a moment to realize why. When I do, I can't breathe. His body falls forward, and there is an axe buried in the back of his skull. A cannon sounds, and I feel every inch of my body go numb, from the roots of my hair on my scalp to my fingertips and my toes. I feel everything and nothing all at once.

My brother is dead.

"Cel?" Veronica, my neighbor, asks quietly, tugging gently on my sleeve. "I- Are you- It's going to be okay."

She hugs me. I don't feel it.

"I need to go," I mumble. I'm about to vomit.

"Come on, I'll go with you," she offers, but I shake my head. The world around me is spinning. "Cel, no arguing. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not. You can't be alone right now."

I snap back to reality. My older brother's death ruined my life. My mother was all I had, and she threw herself from the rocky cliffs soon after his body returned to District 4. I would have been sent to the group home, if not for Veronica and her older sister. They took me in, probably pitying me.

"This is our last Reaping, at least," Veronica offers as we walk to the Town Square. "Then we don't have to worry anymore."

I feel sick. I don't want to talk about it. But for her sake, I nod.

"At least there's that," I say half-heartedly. Changing the subject, I ask, "How are things with Luke?"

Her face brightens up considerably. "Oh, Cel! Just wonderful! I think he's going to propose after the Reaping today! You'll be my bridesmaid when we get married, won't you?"

I can't help but smile. I nod.

"Of course I will," I agree. "You'll be a lovely bride, you know that."

She sighs wistfully. "I just wish my mom and dad could be there whenever I got married. But least I have Reyna. And you."

I don't say anything. I wish the same. I wish I had any family at all.

"Hey, Veron-"

"Cel! Hey, wait up!"

I flinch at the all-too-familiar voice, the one I haven't heard since my mother's funeral, and before that, Adrian's. Veronica's eyes go wide.

"What does Finnick Odair want with you?" she gasps. I sigh.

"He was friends with Adrian, remember?" I mumble. I nod toward the Square. "Go on. I'll meet you there."

She looks over my shoulder, clearly watching the approaching victor, but she ultimately decides to listen to me. She walks off, and I have to take a calming breath before I turn around to face him.

I nearly have the wind knocked out of me upon seeing him. He's even more beautiful than I remembered. He's all tan skin, bronze hair, and hardened muscles. He towers over me.