High Tide (Finnick Odair)

Chapter 4

Finnick couldn't help but sneak glances at Reyna during the parade and Snow's lengthy (read: boring) speech. It was a relief, then, when he was finally able to step a few feet away from the distraction she presented.

Of course, the problem of this (steadily growing–more than it had been for thaw last decade or so) attraction worsened when the two of them went up to the fourth level of the Tribute building, alone except for each other.

They got to their level and had just opened the elevator doors when their respective prep teams flocked around them, already leading them to their rooms.

Reyna had her makeup and jewelry removed in what seemed like a split second after the door to her room closed, though it must've been a quarter of an hour, at most. Her shoe-thingies were a relief to take off. She hated shoes really, and would always run around barefoot as a child. It felt good to let her feet breathe. Lastly, they unbraided her hair, letting it flow down her back. Then they were gone.

Reyna took off the dress and let it fall to the floor in a heap of shimmering blue, changing into a more comfortable pair of tan pants and a black v-neck tunic.

She walked out of her room and ran straight into an Avox, who had accidentally dropped everything he was carrying. Reyna knelt down next to him and immediately started helping him pick up the scattered towels.

He took them from her and bowed his head, turning to walk away. "Wait." He froze, turning around slowly. Reyna walked over to him, and looked at the face behind the mask.

She gasped, taking a step back. He was Thomas. Thomas Lewis, the baker's son. Her throat constricted, nearly choking her. Thomas had gone missing the evening her family had been killed–and now she knew why. The Capitol had probably assumed they were in a relationship, and to retaliate for her not selling her body to the citizens of the Capitol, he was taken.

He hurried off, clutching the soft white towels close to his chest.

Reyna leaned heavily against the wall, eyes wide. He didn't deserve this. It was all her fault. She stood up after a little while and several deep breaths, wanting nothing more than to fall to her knees and scream and cry because it wasn't fair that she had to go back to the Arena. That Finnick, Lily and Mags were the only friends she had. That Thomas had been robbed of his future.

But she couldn't let anyone see her like this; pale, frightened, weak. No, that wouldn't do at all.

She had just begun walking towards the dining area when Finnick rounded the corner from the hall leading to her destination, obviously searching for her.

He frowned and walked over to her. "Rey? You all right?"

She smiled at him and nodded, but it must not have been very convincing, because he gave her the 'You're an awful liar.' look. She suddenly became quite fascinated by the ground. Oh, look! A dust bunny!

"Reyna. Look at me." She shook her head, staring at the ground. He sighed softly. Not out of annoyance, but patience. "Come on, Reyna. We've been friends since we were kids. You can trust me."

She shifted slightly, biting her lip. Finnick stepped closer and lifted her chin gently, looking in her eyes for something. She bit down harder on her bottom lip, making him frown. "Stop that, Reyna."

She sighed but released her lip from between her teeth, making a face at the taste of blood in her mouth. "I'm fine, Finnick. You worry too much."

He stepped back and crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow down at her with a, 'Did you really think that pathetic excuse for a lie would work on me?' look.

Reyna groaned and buried her forehead against his shoulder. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. The nightmares are few and far between now. But with everything going on..."

"I promise you, Reyna, that we will both be free from the Capitol soon. You and me."

She nodded and stepped back, following him to dinner. They had a lot of work to do if they were going to be free soon.

Monsters chased her, cackling, eyes glowing with glee at her frantic breathing. She was tiring, she couldn't run much longer. They howled with laughter at her attempts to escape, taunting her with her own helplessness.

Suddenly the ground dropped from in front of her; a cliff. She whirled around to face them, backing up as far as she dared.

"You couldn't save your own family, so how can you hope to save your dear Finnick?" They sneered, shadows upon a shadoy backdrop, teeth glinting.

"You're wrong!" she shouted back.

"Am I? You can't even save yourself..." And then it leapt at her with a snarl, it's face becoming Snow's, fangs about to tear–

She screamed bloody murder, sitting upright in her bed. Not six seconds later Finnick was in the room, a knife in his hand. He looked around wildly before realizing that she had had a nightmare.

The knife was set carefully on her bedside table before he sat down on the edge of the mattress, looking at her with relief in his eyes, along with sadness.

Reyna shook softly, a cold sweat on her skin. She hugged her knees to her chest, staring ahead blankly. "Stay." She turned to him, eyes still wide with fear, and whispered, "please,"

So Finnick crawled into bed next to her, letting her lay her head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned against the headboard, knowing fully that he was headed down the dangerous road of falling for her.

"Forever." He replied softly, pressing his lips to her hair. She could feel his steady heartbeat, lulling her to sleep like nothing else could. He smiled, closing his eyes. They were probably going to get scolded when someone (Lily) found them, but for now, he would enjoy the moment.

A/N: Okay, hi. First off, I hope everyone that's read this has enjoyed it! If there was something you loved, or maybe a mistake I didn't catch, please tell me. I love love looooove feedback (really, I do) and I want to know how you think the story could be improved. Bye!