And I Was In Love. (Finnick Odair X Y/N)

Questions

After the opening ceremony, we had gotten changed, and our 'team' of sorts went up to our level. I didn't realise we would have our own rooms, let alone a whole floor to ourselves. It bedazzled me thinking about how the people in the districts were starving and dying, but in the Capitol, people waste so much food and have whole floors dedicated to 5 people.

"Amazing, utterly amazing!" Teila claps as she walks out of the lift and onto the cold, harsh, marble floor. She began taking a seat at the table that was piled with food. "You two were stunning. Keep up the good work for the next few days, and all the sponsors will be yours!"
"Thanks, Telia," I reply, sitting down in a purple velvet chair placed around the long, glass table.
"You two really did do amazing today," Finnick compliments Ezra and I as he takes a seat across from me.
"I made some allies today," Ezra announces, sitting down next to me, "the career tributes from districts 1 and 2."
"Well done. How about you, Y/N? Is there any work on the allies front?" Asks Finnick as he looks into my eyes. His gaze feels almost percing but soft and clam like the waves.
"Uhhh, no, not yet," I rub the back of my neck, feeling the necklace he gave me. I feel like I should give it back tonight, but now isn't the right time, so I continue talking, "I guess I'll have to work on that tomorrow during training."
"Well, you don't need allies." Finnick replies
"Would you recommend it, though?" I ask, looking deep into his sea green eyes.
"Yeah, I probably would, but everyone will say different things," he responds, leaning back in his chair.
While we eat, Finnick and Teila explain a bit more about what will happen tomorrow at training. After dinner, Teila sends us off to our rooms for some alone time to process the day we had and the days ahead.

Once in my room, I lay down on the velvet quilt cover, which deflates around my body, surrounding me like the ocean. My body lays still on the covers at the white ceiling. 'I need to think about a character that the audience will want to follow,' I think to myself, 'Should I connect it to the costume I had today? It seems like they want a seductive, charismatic, flirty character? Are there cameras on us during training?' The questions float around in my head for a while. I sit up on the bed, 'I should ask someone who knows.' And with that, I get up to go find Finnick.

Finnicks POV
"Knock! knock!"
"Who is it?" I ask, lifting my head off he bed.
"It's Y/N. Can I come in? I wanted to ask you some stuff," Y/N replies from outside the door.
"Yeah, come in." I sit up on the bed and hang one leg over the side of the bed. I cross my other leg and hold it with my hand while I watch as Y/N slowly opens the door and enters my room.
"Open or closed," she asks, gesturing the door.
"Doesn't matter," I reply. She closes the door and walks towards me. "So what did you want to ask me?" I ask.
"I was thinking about what you said the other day about being a 'character' that the audience would like to follow and keep alive. And I've been thinking about how to go about doing that..." She trails off.
"Well, did you have anything in mind?" I respond.
"I had some ideas, but I don't know if they're any good or not... And I don't really know if there is any point because, let's face it, I'm not gonna win this thing. Ezra and everyone else are so much better than me," A single tear starts running down her cheek, "Look, I'm just gonna go. Sorry for bothing you." She turns and begins walking towards the door, whipping her tears with the end of her jumper sleeve with her right hand.
I stand up quickly and grab her left hand. She turns around, and I can see the tears pouring from her eyes as she looks towards the ground. I pull her into a hug, wrapping my arms around her, and start to rub her back. While she cries into my shoulder, I whisper in her ear, "It's going to be OK. Just breathe. And let's be real. The majority of the carees, Ezra included, just have the physical strength. You're smart as well."

After Y/N finishes crying, she lets go of me and thanks me for my help.
"I wasn't really much help," I say, whipping the leftover tears from her cheeks with the end of my sleeve. "How about we sit down and you tell me some of your ideas now?"
She nods, and I lead her over to my bed, and we sit down across from each other.
"I was thinking I should connect this 'character' to the costume that I had today because I assume the outfit for the interview will be similar."
"That sounds like a good idea," I nod along while she talks. Her voice is still a little bit shakey, but I could listen to it for hours.
"The kind of person I was thinking that would connect to my costume is a kind of flirty, charismatic, seductive personality. But to be honest, that sounds really gross."
"You want to win, right?"
"Well, yeahhh?" She nods with a puzzled expression.
"And who are you wanting to win for?"
"Mostly my younger sister."
"And you would do anything for her?"
Y/N nods
"So act how they want so you can win, and then you get to be with her again," I look down slightly, "I know it sounds horrible, but it works, trust me. It's what I do."
I look back at her face, and she looks sad for me. Y/N reaches out her arms and gives me a hug. We sit there for a while, just feeling eachothers warmth. I look over at the clock on my bedside table, and it reads 11:06 pm.
"You need to get to sleep," I say, letting go of her, "you have a big day tomorrow."
"OK. Thank you so much for your help," she says, standing up and walking towards the door.
"That's all good," I follow her, "come back if you need anything at all. Ok?"
She nods and walks out of the door. I wave goodbye and close the door behind me. I think about what she said about winning for her little sister. It reminds me of my younger brother, Axel, and my younger sister, Rey. This is the moment I decide I'm not going to let her die.

Y/N's POV
My eyes shoot open, and I can feel the soft blankets surrounding me. My head and eyes feel heavy with tireness. I look at the dimly lit clock on my bedside table. 3:48 am. I sigh and roll over. I close my eyes again and wonder what woke me up. 'Was it a dream? Maybe it was a noise?' As my mind wanders, I think of Cory waking me up in the night by moving too much or taking up too much of the bed, so I fell off. I want to go back to sharing a bed with her. Even though most of the time I was half falling off the bed, I miss it.

I think back to 3 years ago when I told 9 year old Cory that I was gonna sleep on the couch when Ari wasn't there. It was a few months after our dads death, and Ari had lost her job and started going out with her friends more. She had taken dads hobby of drinking the families money away. Most nights she hadn't come home, sometimes I had worried she never would. I would've taken dads old mattress if it weren't for the fact that the springs were sticking out and it had mould growing in it. Cory protested against me, leaving her. She would come to the couch and force herself on there so she could sleep with me. I decided that it was just easier that I slept in the same bed as her for the next few years. I miss her so much. Tears start falling from my eyes onto the bed sheets.

I decide to get up and have a glass of water, always helped when I was back home. My legs swing out of the covers as I climb out of bed. To my surprise, don't freeze like every morning when I get back home because the air here isn't cold like in four. I make my way to the kitchen in the dark. I open almost all of the cupboards, which light up when opened. After a while, I manage to find a glass that I fill with water. As I drink my water, I walk over to the window and sit on the ledge. My eyes scan the city lights, they look like stars in the night sky. It is so pretty. I lean my head against the cold window. The lights remind me of the night sky when Ari would take Dev, Stevie, Cory, and I to the beach at night when we were younger. I reach my hand to the necklace Finnick gave me, 'Shit, I forgot to give it back. I'll do it tomorrow.' I rub my thumb over the smooth shell, I think it's a cowrie shell, but I can't tell. It reminds me of home. I feel the tiredness creeping over me. 'I'll close my eyes for just a second, then I'll go back to bed,' I tell myself in my head.

Finnicks POV
My ears pick up the sounds of someone clattering around in the kitchen. The cupboard door opens, then closes, and the tap turns on and then off. I close my eyes and try to get back to sleep, but I can't help wonder who is in the kitchen. After battling the curiosity of who is up this late, for around 10 minutes. I get up and head to the kitchen to find out. As I walk along the dark hallway, I run my fingers along the wall so I don't crash into anything.

I can feel the cold, marble tiles on my bare feet as I walk into the kitchen. I look towards the table, no one. The couch, no one. The kitchen area, no one. I walk closer to the kitchen bench, and out the corner of my eye, I spot a silhouette in the window. The lights turn on the lowest setting as I turn the dial.

I look back to the window and realise the person is asleep. I see her hair, with the blue and turquoise streaks still in it, falling over her shoulders. Her head is leaning against the window. I see a glass of water below the window ledge that she is sitting on. I edge close and see that Y/N is asleep. I smile, she looks so cute when she sleeps. I pick up the glass and take it to the island in the kitchen.

I walk back over to Y/N and pick her up in the bridal position, which isn't hard because she's pretty light. She mumbles a bit and snuggles into my chest. I look down to make sure she is still asleep, I spot the necklace I gave her earlier. It's a cowrie shell, a light pink colour with some bits of sand colour around the edges.'It looks really good on her, much better than on me.' I think to myself as I walk back to the light dial which I manage to turn with my elbow. I want to take her to my room so I can snuggle with her while she sleeps, but I know I can't.

I carry her to her room and place her on the bed where she had taken the covers off. I pull the covers back onto her body, she mumbles again. I hold my breath in fear, thinking I had woken her up. She goes back to being quiet, and I allow myself to breathe quietly. I tuck her hair behind her ear and lean in closely, kissing her on her forehead. A small smile creeps over her relaxed face. I smile too and walk out of the room.