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By the time Finnick rolled around, mere seconds after the shocking revelation, the crowd was restless. Greyson stood next to Beetee where he gave her a curt nod as a sign of respect for what the younger Victor managed to say to Caesar. Greyson didn't doubt that Beetee knew she was lying, he was a genius after all. She met Finnick's eyes as he crossed the stage, and looked for any signs that might tell her he wasn't worried about what she confessed. Greyson sucked in a sharp breath as the corners of his lips tilted up into a smile, immediately relaxing her racing heart. If he was okay, then so was she.
All the women in the audience swooned with adoration as he waved, some even taking it as far as fainting in their seats. Caesar waved Finnick over and sat him down, his first question sending volts of electricity up and down Greyson's body. "Finnick, congratulations on your engagement! So sad, though, that there will not be a wedding, yes?"
Finnick nodded his head, forcing a smirk onto his face at the demanding shouts from both male and female Capitol citizens. "Right you are, Caesar. We never expected to be reaped again, because we were made a promise. I guess President Snow has better things to do then keep them." He was so casual about it, but it sent the whole crowd to silence at the fact that the Capitol's Darling had said such words about their beloved president. Greyson wanted to run off the bleachers and give him a high-five. Nobody all night had said something as defying as that. Not yet, at least.
Caesar cleared his throat and gave a hearty laugh to redirect the tense atmosphere. "Oh, you're such a tease, Finnick Odair!" The crowd laughed along with Caesar and Finnick smiled. Greyson restrained herself from gagging. "Now, to lighten up the mood I have a question for you. When was the first time you ever fell in love with Miss Hunter? Knowing that you're quite the ladies man and all, you must have had some idea about her."
Finnick nodded under the pressure of the short time he had left, but he spoke in an old voice, as if he's said it a thousand times before. "There is no first time you fall in love with somebody. You can't misjudge them by their actions or their appearance, and I suppose that's why I hadn't realized it until a few days ago; that I loved her. I fell in love with all of her, from her head to her toes. I fell in love with the way she smiled and how she has the capacity to make you feel something so much greater than yourself. So, no, Caesar, I didn't have any idea about her before I met her in person. She was beyond anything I'd ever imagined. She crept up on me."
Greyson never knew something so deeply breathtaking could be said from one person. The way he spoke of her made her seem not so much like a monster, but as if she left a mark in his beautifully deranged world. Maybe she did, and maybe she hoped she did, because after months of truths and confessions, she fell in love as well.
Caesar faked as if he was wiping away a tear, or maybe he actually was crying, but he wished Finnick all his best in the arena tomorrow before sending him off, up to Greyson in her Mockingjay dress. The moment he reached her she wanted to throw her arms around him, but she didn't, and instead grabbed hold of his hand as if it was the only lifeline in a lonely ocean. Which Greyson supposed that Finnick was her lifeline. She doesn't think she would be able to survive the Games if he wasn't beside her.
