THE SIREN'S SONG 𓇼 F. ODAIR

20 ~ the life of finnick odair

Finnick Odair fell in love with Carolina Seymour before he even knew what love was.

Growing up, his mother would always tell him to draw his feelings when he didn't know how to describe them. At first, he would just scribble on the page until every bit of anger was let out. His mother would reprimand him for doing so, saying that the journals were too expensive to not take care of, but at the time, he didn't understand what she meant. 

He never drew anything real until the day he met Carolina.

That day, he ran home and drew a picture of the girl who had fallen in the water.

Finnick spent the next nine years trying to get her attention. He started by pulling on her pigtails on the playground. When she grew out of pigtails, he started throwing spears at her head or putting paint on her chair. He even threw her into the water again.

Every time she would react to his actions, Finnick would go home with a smile on his face. 

He always figured she would never love him back. That was clear to him from their first interaction. But, at least she had feelings for him. It didn't matter to Finnick that those feelings for him were negative, he was just happy that they were there.

So, Finnick would make sure he was sat near Carolina in every class. He signed up for the edible plants class even though he had no interest in the subject just because he knew she would be there. The boy even raised his hand in class to try to impress her, but his incorrect answers would often do the opposite.

Finnick's friends just believed the boy was dedicated to making Carolina's life miserable. He let them believe that. He would much rather prefer them thinking that over them finding out about his childhood crush.

He thought that maybe one day he would confess his feelings for her, but Finnick kept putting it off more and more in fear of the inevitable rejection. 

But then Finnick got reaped for the 65th Hunger Games, and his entire world flipped upside down. 

He survived, but that didn't mean anything. 

His life was a shell of what it was. 

Finnick stopped showing up to school or anywhere that had people present. His parents were the only people he truly spoke to for a year. The other victors would occasionally come by to check in on the young boy, but his responses were one-worded and void of any emotion.

He had to be a mentor during the 66th Hunger Games to a boy he had known for years in the academy. Beck Meadows's death broke Finnick all over again, except he wasn't in District 4 when it happened. It was in the middle of an interview with Caesar Flickerman.

Finnick's parents were dead before he got back to District 4. He was told there was a gas leak in his house, and they died of asphyxiation. 

He knew that was a lie.

After that, Finnick became the perfect victor. He flirted and smiled and winked at everyone in the Capitol who looked his way. He quickly became one of the most beloved victors the Capitol had seen in years. Finnick was everything to the Capitol. He had everyone throwing themselves at him, dying for Finnick to just look in their direction.

And then he would go back to District 4, and he was alone again.

When Finnick was 15, Fletch Ambershire did something that Finnick is eternally grateful for: he threw him off of a dock.

It was January, so the water was much colder than usual. Finnick remembered Fletch standing over him on the dock, looking down at him.

"You can't just shut yourself in your house for the rest of your life," the older man said.