Plenty of Fish in the Sea. (Hunger Games)

Chapter 17.

The start of early morning was painted in the sky in pale pinks and blues, contrasting the dark green of the surrounding jungle. The Cornucopia and the beach looked clear of any signs of life after a scan of the area, before it was quickly decided that we all needed food.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I don't feel like heading back in there just yet..." Finnick said, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the jungle where the mutts had only recently disappeared into.

"Where else are we supposed to find food? The Careers would have already raided the food supplies from the Cornucopia." Peeta said in reply as he watched Katniss stare into the sky where the Capital hovercraft had flown to pick up the morphling.

I followed Katniss gaze and looked out toward the water, wondering what she was thinking about. Then it hit me.

"The water! Ugh, why didn't I think of it before?" I exclaimed and turned to face the rest of the group.

"What?" Seemed to be the collective reply, so I sighed and held out my hand.

"Give me your trident Finnick."

"Why? So you can fail at catching some fish with it?"

I smirk at him and glance at Katniss and Peeta who seemed to be watching this conversation with interest.

"I'm glad you've finally caught up."

"What can I say- I pride myself on my acute intelligence."

"Well go on then 'Mr Intelligence', catch us some breakfast." I said with a smirk, and gave him a light shove in the direction of the water.

"I'm going to gather up some wood for a fire." I declare before strolling off along the edge of the jungle. I only walk a short distance away from the group, picking up a bundle of twigs and a few larger sticks. I let my gaze wander towards Finnick, slowly stalking through the water with his trident poised in the air waiting to strike at any passing fish.

He looked handsome. Sleek and fit, and even from a distance I could still see his sea green eyes which reflected the light from the lowering sun. I watched Katniss and Peeta as they stood together on the beach, Peeta's arm wrapped snugly around her waist and I felt an emotion which had previously been foreign to me; jealousy. Even in the face of certain death they didn't seem scared. Why? Because of love. Although they faked most of it for the cameras there was still a sliver of something there. Something they were allowed to have, to express. I on the other hand didn't get to have that. With cameras everywhere and expectations of me high as ever, I couldn't have what I wanted. I shouldn't. It wasn't fair to Annie.

I walked slowly back up the beach with the fuel for the fire still in my hands. The hot, dry sand beneath my feet became cool and damp; and I sat down next to Katniss and Peeta to busy myself with the fire.

"Look what I've got!" Finnick crowed as he came stamping back up the beach with two large fish skewered on his trident and an armful of shellfish tucked in a giant leaf he must have found.

"Well done! It seems you're a hunter and a gatherer." I gave him a cheeky smile as I surveyed the food.

Realising the fire was yet to be prepared, I reached for two pieces of driftwood I had collected from the shoreline and began utilising an old technique to get a fire going to cook the fish and dry off. Peeta had also grabbed some pieces of wood and copied my movements in an effort to help.

Busy with my fire making, I failed to notice that Finnick had sat down beside me until in an easy gesture, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and planted a quick kiss on my cheek before moving on to fillet the fish.

As soon as his lips made contact with my skin, I froze. What was that? I could feel a deep blush creeping up my neck as I chanced a quick look at Peeta who was sitting across from us to see if he had noticed.

The quirk of his eyebrows and slight grin on his face told me he had noticed, and also hadn't failed to observe my awkward reaction.

I quickly looked down at my hands again, willing them to continue their work as I internally debated whether Finnick's simple display of affection was just that, or something more. The last time he had kissed me like that was before we had come into the Arena for a second time, when we were both terrified of just the thought of being in here. Knowing we would likely die in this hell hole, for the sake of a secret rebellion that we will not live to see if everything goes to plan. If only we weren't constantly surrounded by cameras watching our every move and our actions didn't have major consequences back home.

Finnick seemed oblivious to my inner turmoil while he continued preparing our food, the fire now blazing as he cooked the fish over it. I wondered whether he thought anything more of the kiss he had placed on my cheek, if he was having the same thoughts as me on the subject.

I looked up at Finnick beneath my lashes shyly, and after noticing my stare Finnick gave me a cheeky wink before finally he declared that the fish were cooked.

"We should start planning our next move." Katniss said after a bite of her fish while passing it on to Peeta.

"Should we try hunting down the career pack?"

"We should head to the Cornucopia first, see if there are any weapons left that might be useful now that we know the Arena better." I replied, using one of my knives to crack open an oyster.

"Good idea, that way we might have a better scope of the Arena; see if there is any sign of the Careers." Peeta added.

We all ate in silence for a moment, relishing the time to just sit and eat. After such a stressful night is was good to finally have a moment to eat and almost relax before the bloodshed of the games continued.

Suddenly, we heard the sound of screaming come from across the arena. A giant wave of water loomed up and began crashing over the trees across the lake. We could hear the trees crunching under the wave as it came toward the beach. The strange part was that it seemed to be contained within a large triangle shape that pointed to the centre of the arena. The wave drew closer and closer until it finally crashed to a halt at the Cornucopia. The force of the wave coming to such a sudden stop caused it to hurtle into the air before splashing down over the Cornucopia, creating a smaller wave of water which rolled over the beach and efficiently doused our fire.

"I guess our meal is done then." Finnick commented sarcastically, looking at the mess of soaked sticks and sandy fish meat which was our food.

We watched as the sound of a canon went off and a hovercraft flew over the area the wave had just hit, stopping to pick up a body before flying away.

Katniss gasped quietly and stepped back into the trees.

"Someone's here." She murmured and pulled an arrow from her quiver.

Finnick peered through the trees we had quickly hidden behind, his fingers clenched tightly around his trident.

He turned to me, surprise clearly written on his face.

"Johanna."

Hey everyone, sorry this took so long to complete. I guess I just find it hard to gather the motivation to write anymore. I will probably still be updating this story but obviously I will be taking my time. Hopefully you all enjoy this new chapter! xx