When Finnick Met Annie

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I sat quietly in the cold room and examined my surroundings. The peacekeeper's rigid body stood in the door before me, making sure nobody saw me without his concern. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply as I remembered the past sequence of events. I, Finnick Odair of only 14 years of age had been reaped and was now a tribute of the 65th hunger games. My hands trembled and shivers went up and down my spine. "You're going to die." Said a voice in my head. I pushed the thought aside and felt a pounding in my head. I jumped when I saw the door open behind the peacekeeper. It was Annie. Her curly brown hair was pulled back in an unkept pony tail, so you could get a clearer look at her face. "Finn?" she asked, her voice trembling. Her thin, sharp nose was red from obviously crying, which made her eyes look even lighter. I swallowed the knot that had formed in my throat. "Hey..." I said and gave her a weak smile. She ran up to me and hugged me. I could smell the faint scent of berries in her hair. She backed away from me slowly and said "Here..." She handed me a black macramé bracelet. It had an emerald green stone in the center with wave designs carved into it, which reminded me of Annie's eyes. "...I made this for you. Will you take it? As your District token?" She asked and I nodded. "I finished the net. I won our bet." I said smiling at the memory. Her jaw dropped a bit in surprise. "I can't believe you remembered that, let alone finished it! We made that bet ages ago!" she said. "Finnick Odair doesn't make promises he can't keep." I said smirking. "30 more seconds." I heard the peacekeeper say. Annie closed the space between us once again and whispered in my ear "You have to win Finnick, please. You need to win" Her voice was soft, barely audible but you could make out the desperation. “I promise.” I said, softly. She looked at me for a brief moment, then she did something I hadn't expected, she kissed me on the cheek. Her lips were warm and soft against my skin. I felt as if my stomach were twisted into knots, my heart raced and my palms were getting sweaty. All these new sensations came over me the way waves crashed on to the shoreline. The feeling began to subside as Annie backed away again. "Time is up." Said the peacekeeper and Annie left, a stern look on her face. The feeling still lingered after she left and I found myself thinking about her and all the memories we had shared. Her eyes were the only thing that made sense to me now, and I knew right there, that I was a goner. I had to win the games, not so much for my sake, but for Annie's. I had to come back to the District 4, I had to see her.