FAILURE TO COMPLY ┃ f. odair

4.7 secrets and stories

Seeing Peeta's face was always bittersweet for Finnick. It meant there was a possibility Calypso was still alive alongside him, but then again it was still not her. He wanted to see her and know she was ok after her stunt with Caesar and Porter's execution. Deep down, he knew she wasn't. When Peeta told Thirteen about the bombings, he'd saved so many lives at the risk of his own and probably his fellow prisoners too. If Calypso wasn't dead already, she would be soon.

"Finnick?" Annie nudged her friend gently. He looked up from the silver coin clutched between his fingers as she sat down next to him on the bunk bed. "I got our supplies. Monica's going to see if she can get extra since there's three of us."

"Monica's bunking with us?" he questioned. "Wait, are you sharing with her? You better be, because you know I'm not."

"Well, they only have so many beds down here," she shrugged. "We share a room in the living quarters already. It's not a big deal."

"I didn't say-" he went to argue, but stopped himself. The longer he thought about it, the more time passed for a soft pink blush to appear on Annie's cheeks. For the first time since arriving at Thirteen, Finnick smiled. "You like her, don't you?"

"We've just had bombs dropped on us," she sighed. "I don't think you should be worried about my love life."

Finnick's smile softened and he put an arm around her shoulder. It was nice to be falling into old habits of acting like an older brother of sorts to her. He was a natural at it, considering he all but raised Maisie through her teen years. The ones she had, at least. She'd always gotten along well with Annie. But, as horrible as it seemed, he was glad she didn't have to live through what they were living through now.

"I'm always gonna worry about you, Annie," he sighed. "You're my family. You know I'm always going to worry."

"Don't," she urged, turning her head as a flashlight passed by in the relative darkness, belonging to a man assessing the damage in the ceiling. The cracks were unnerving, but it held. "I'm trying to be strong, Finnick. After watching Mags die, I thought I was going to fall apart but... I think I just need to be strong. Calypso gave me a chance by making the deal with Thirteen to get me out of Four. I can't waste that."

"Cal would understand your fear," he said softly. "Even when she was strong, she was afraid. And she leaned on other people for support when she could."

Annie nodded. She was there when Calypso went through the process of finding herself again. She saw her open up and learn to love with Finnick and Mags and even her help. It had been two weeks she missed dearly, their small family enjoying some semblance of peace.

Before she could say anything more, Katniss made her way silently to the bunk. She gave Annie a kind but tight-lipped smile that said she needed to talk to Finnick alone. Not that she minded. Being away from all the chatter about upsetting things was probably better for her.

"I'm gonna go find Monica," she said, excusing herself from the bunk bed.

"Can I sit?" Katniss asked, not wanting to intrude upon Finnick's personal space. He once again mustered a smile, though incredibly weak. Her eyes drifted to the coin in his hand, dancing with dim orange light from the lanterns dotted around. "Snow's using Calypso to punish you. He's taunting us with them. I didn't understand until just now watching that stupid cat."

"He's not punishing me, he punishing her," he corrected. It was Calypso who was the driving force behind it all, the reason why his regime was crumbling. Finnick, while a thorn in his side, was probably a meagre afterthought compared to the likes of her and Katniss. He let out a heavy sigh. "After your first games, I thought the whole romance thing was an act. We all expected you to continue that strategy. But it wasn't until Peeta's heart stopped and he nearly died that I knew I'd misjudged you. You love him."