Spark to Flame: A Finniss Story

Pt I: Smoke to Spark

She inevitably sees him the next day.

She doesn't necessarily want to, but they're both tributes for the Quarter Quell and there's no getting around it. It may have been a bit easier to avoid him if they weren't living in the same building, but she thinks that with his constantly zeroing in on her (whether intentional or not) they could have been five buildings away from each other and it wouldn't have made a difference.

She tries to act nonchalant when she spies him in the cafeteria for breakfast.

He's talking to Johanna and Mags and Beetee, and she doesn't know why but she immediately starts hurrying towards the food line before he notices her. It's silly, but she finds it harder to keep her gaze on the back in front of her than it is for her to constantly crane her neck and see what Finnick's doing. It's a struggle, but she does manage to lock her neck and keep it from turning as she moves about the line, picking and choosing from the protein-filled foods the Capitol has chosen for her today from the refrigerated stainless steel sinks along the never-ending length of the buffet counter.

She takes her tray full of food and steps out of the line, trying her absolute best to scan the crowds and empty seats without making it seem like she's avoiding him in particular (even though she is), and her gaze rests on the familiar, comforting form of Peeta sitting at one of the tables on the far end of the room, talking with Haymitch. Feeling a sense of relief wash over her, she grips her tray and begins her trek to her fellow district partners, dodging and weaving through the various obstacles in her way, trying not to notice the pair of eyes that have finally settled themselves on her as she does.

She makes it to her destination without flaw, and carefully sets her tray down next to Peeta's as she seats herself next to him.

She isn't sure why at first, but she makes sure to slide in next to Peeta as close as possible, their sides pressing together on the bench seat even though there is plenty of room, and though she knows that he finds it odd and somewhat awkward (they never touch unless they're training or on camera) he doesn't object, either.

And it's only after she does it that she realizes; she's doing it because of him. Finnick. She's trying to prove to him that he's wrong about Peeta, that she loves him and touches him plenty, and that close contact is no big deal for her.

She doesn't know why she's even bothered; she has nothing to prove to him. And yet at the same time, she does. She does have something to prove to him, which she supposes that in and of itself means that she doesn't. Or maybe she doesn't and really does. She doesn't know. Either way, she can feel the eyes staring smug holes into her back as she moves, and so she has no choice but to stay in the uncomfortable position she's put Peeta (as well as herself) in.

She expects (or rather, hopes) that the subtle action she's made will send him a clear message and steer him away, but it doesn't.

If anything, it only makes him zero in on her even more, and before she's even aware of it he's setting down his food tray and sitting next to Peeta.

"Hey, guys," he says, smiling to everyone at the table. "How's it hangin'?"

The way he says it, as though it's just another perfectly regular day and they hadn't had one of the most abnormal conversations in history the night before, infuriates her, but she knows by now that her anger is his whole reason for coming over in the first place, and she's not about to give him the satisfaction of accomplishing his petty goal.

Haymitch watches from his seat across from them, obviously picking up on their tension and clearly being amused, and she doesn't hesitate to try and put him in his place with a well-executed glare. It doesn't work, but she feels a bit better at having subtly released some of her building anger, and having Peeta answer Finnick's pointlessly polite questions instead of her doesn't hurt, either.