❝when you touch me, i can't help but feel bliss spread throughout my body.❞
in which a girl naïvely believes finnick odair loves her
[finnick odair x oc]
[pre hunger games]
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VENUS EDSALL LIES AWAKE, her body entangled with that of Finnick Odair's. It's early morning, and the boy lying next to her isn't up yet.
He is handsome even when asleep, she notices; his skin tan, and his jawline sharp. His lips aren't the fullest, but that by no means makes them less kissable, his golden hair is still tousled and matted at the back- Venus recalls running her fingers through it last night.
The mere thought of last night sends chills up her back, the passion was electrifying, every touch sent pleasure to the other. It wasn't the first time the pair had slept together, they'd have been doing it since they were fifteen, each stealing sips of scotch Venus had taken from the marketplace.
Venus is most definitely not the only girl Finnick is sleeping with, but she is the only one who is naïve enough to believe that he truly cares for her. Although she's a beautiful girl, Finnick would never be the sort of boy to properly fall in love.
The girl allows herself another thirty seconds to admire her lover, before she pulls on her clothes and leaves. She starts to notice the tiny freckles that smudge along the bridge of his nose, and the way his left eyebrow is missing a patch at the end. Before she realises, the time she allocated herself is up.
Even though Venus knows that Finnick is asleep, she still feels self-conscious about her naked body. How her stomach isn't perfectly flat, and her legs were a little too thin- it didn't matter anyway, Finnick wasn't going to wake for a while, and he was never one to complain about a nude girl in his room.
Quickly Venus finds her underwear, and slides them on, continuing to look for the rest of her crumpled clothes. Her tank top and shorts are in a pile, and her leather sandals sit next to them. It takes her less than a minute to get dressed, and she picks up her bag sitting on Finnick's dresser, putting the straps onto her shoulders. She smiles once more at the sleeping boy, before quietly opening the door and leaving.
The Odair's house isn't anything special, it was no different to any other house down the small cobbled street, but something about it made people smile. Maybe it was because of the family themselves; Finnick's parents are ever charming and a model couple; his little sister is cute and sweet, always with a grin on her face; Finnick himself is practically a god, tanned and athletic, all of the girls at school swoon at him. But maybe it is because that even through each Hunger Games, they provided support and love to the family of the tributes.
As soon as Venus leaves the house, she breaks into a run, sure that her own parents were sitting at their dining table, angry as could be. But to her surprise when she runs into their small home, it's her older brother, Caspian, sitting at the table, a frown etched into his face.
"I can't believe you were with that boy again Vee, I was worried sick!" He stands, placing his hands on his hips.
"Cas!" Venus groans in protest, "I wasn't with him, I was with friends."
"You slept with him, didn't you?"
"Of course I didn't!"
"Vee, c'mon." Caspian places a hand on his sister's shoulder, "you're in the clothes you were last night, but they're wrinkled. Your hair is a mess and you have a hickey."
"H-how did you...?"
"You think I don't know my baby sister?"
Venus shrugs in response, "I didn't think it was that obvious."
"You know you're just another one of his play-things, right?"
"Cas!" Venus exclaims, aghast her brother would say such a thing. "He likes me, I know he does! Why the hell would you even say that?"
"He takes a new girl home every week, he's just a whore."
"He's not a whore!"
"Venus please, you don't mean a thing to him, he just wants sex."
Tears cloud Venus' vision, and her voice shakes a little as she speaks. "Go to Hell Cas!" And with that she takes off into their family's shared bathroom, looking in the dirty mirror as she lets tears fall down her pink cheeks. Venus can't stop thinking about her brother's words, he couldn't be right- could he?
After a few minutes of crying, Venus leaves the bathroom and retires to her bed. She picks up the book she's currently reading, a book about American history and the rise of the Hunger Games. Although she already knows the story, she continues to read, thinking of all of the past tributes of District Four, some of whom were victors.
The reaping is today, Venus remembers, and her mind begins to drift to who the tributes this year may be. The Edsalls were remarkably lucky in District Four, they had never had to put their names into the reaping more times than needed. The men of the family both worked hard at the ocean everyday, fishing side by side, whereas Venus and her mother worked in the Marketplace, selling anything they could find. They went to bed hungry every night, but not so much so it hurt.
The prospect of being reaped scared the girl, the idea of a Capitol Escort picking her name out of a bowl filled with thousands seemed unlikely, but still possible. One of her dear friends was once chosen, Rosin Foley; a girl with hair the colour of poppies and freckles from working in the sun. Rosin was promptly murdered as Venus watched, and as the blood trickled out of her, Venus couldn't stop herself from screaming.
The book lies abandoned in the Venus' lap, overturned with the spine facing towards the low ceiling. Her mother wouldn't make either children work before the reaping, so Venus didn't need to worry about being out of bed on time. She slowly stands, ambling towards the wardrobe she shares with Caspian and opens it's creaking door. Inside both sibling's clothes hang, waiting to be worn, but today Venus' eye is on one thing.
The dress is pale green and comes up to her knees. She doesn't need to put it on to know how it fits her, she's worn it since she was fourteen and had only just began to work in the market. It looks nice on her, she recalls, especially when half her hair is pinned up.
Suddenly, a knock sounds at the door, making Venus jump and drop the dress.
"Vee?" A voice calls- her brother's- calls. "I'm sorry, can I come in?"
Hesitantly, Venus nods, before remembering Caspian can't see her. "Yeah," she mumbles.
Caspian walks into the room, his dark hair mussed up, his fingers had clearly been running through it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."
"Then what did you mean it like?"
"You're my baby sister Vee, I'm supposed to protect you, and I'm not letting some fisher boy break your heart. It's hard for me when you come home after a night with him, you're only sixteen after all, that just seems so young!"
"Sixteen isn't that young y'know?"
Caspian chuckles lightly, "it really is, but as long as you're being safe."
"Cas, please don't give me the talk." Venus laughs with him, "I know about sex."
"Well it's not like mum or dad are going to teach you, honestly, they're so clueless!"
"I think it's the Games, it scares them."
"It scares me too," he scratches the back of his neck. "I'm safe now, but if you were reaped it would kill mom."
Venus thinks for a moment, picturing her name being chosen, and the cries of her protesting mother. She thinks about her almost inevitable death-- her parents cringe at the mention of people training their children to kill at such young ages. "I'm scared Cas," she finally murmurs.
