unforgivable ➸ finnick odair

S I X T E E N

instead of focusing on electra like the chapters usually do, this one contains brief snippets of the lives of everyone else :)

OCEAN'S POV

It was still raining. You might think that a tribute from Four like me would've been quite okay with that, but I really wasn't. I wanted these games to end quickly. This torrential rain prevented me from leaving the confines of Electra and I's cave, stranding me in my special sitting spot with nothing to do but stare at the cracks in the rocky cave walls.

Electra slept at my side, dark brown hair strewn around her head like a halo. She occasionally squirmed and turned in her sleep, quiet whimpers escaping her parted lips as whatever demons she suffered from came out to play in her mental world. I glanced at the dagger in my hand occasionally, adjusting my grip on the handle. She looked so vulnerable and it would've been such an easy kill, but whatever moral boundaries I had left prevented me from back-stabbing my ally.

I was homesick - that fact in itself was stupid enough. There I was, stuck in an arena fighting to the death, knowing that I would have to kill the girl sleeping not-so-peacefully beside me, and I was worrying about my family. Sub-consciously humming the tune that my mother had always used to sing to me when I couldn't fall asleep as a small child, I leaned back, wary of the stones that might jab into my skin, and made myself remember all the little things about my friends and family back in Four that would be a crime to forget.

My mother's soft voice, lulling me to sleep on those nights where my mind kept me awake.

My father's strong hands, gripping my own small one as I cautiously stepped into our beautiful boat.

My best friend Coral's long, wavy red hair, flying along with the wind as she ran across the beach, feet sinking into the sand and laughter ringing through the air.

Annie's wide, innocent sea green eyes, staring into my own with her special kind of inquisitiveness and wisdom that only I could really see.

This is for you guys, I whispered into the cooling air, a tiny smile creeping onto my face as thunder boomed and lightning struck.

CHIP'S POV

The inside of the tree was damp and full of creepy, crawly bugs that nudged against my skin, but I just ignored those tiny details and focused on the important facts: 

1. I was alive

2. I was sheltered from the rain

3. I had a shot at winning this

Tilting up the blade of my sword that hung precariously at my side, I examined my reflection with a strange kind of curiosity. My normally rather flat mousy brown hair was matted and filled with small bits of nature, like leaves, twigs, etc. Dirt was smeared across my cheeks messily and tiny cuts and bruises littered my skin - the product of being clumsy, I supposed. My eyes desperately tried to avoid the bloodstains that seemed to refuse to come off of the sword.

Avena Carson from District Six did not die peacefully. I still remembered every detail about her death - the way her eyes widened in shock and terror as I stabbed the blade through her stomach in a panic, the way she collapsed to her knees, shaking with blood trickling out of the wound, before falling completely to the ground, the way she made futile attempts to get back up - I still remembered everything, even though I had tried so hard to forget.

Swallowing the lump in my throat and forcing the tears back from my eyes, I instead thought about home - and then my thoughts switched to Circa. I had seen her smiling image flash up that first night. Poor, poor Circa Devon. I hadn't known her too well, but she had been in my relative age group and had been one of the smartest in said year group - for the females, at least. Such a waste.

Now knowing that even my thoughts I could not escape the games, I simply leaned back against the uncomfortably damp wood and tried to think about nothing at all.

"I don't think I'll be able to win, mum and dad," I murmured. "But I'll try."

CLAUDIA'S POV

Contrary to what others may believe, I was not just a bloodthirsty, manic career. Don't get me wrong, I still was exactly that, but there was more to me than just the side I showed everyone else.

Growing up, my parents had always expected so much from me - so much that I couldn't give. But I tried, I tried so hard, but to them trying wasn't enough. So I ignored their disappointed looks and their shaking heads, pouring all of my energy into training. Axes were my calling, I had been sure of it. Everyone stared in awe and envy as I sparred with them and flung them across the room, landing the deadly weapon straight on the bulls-eye. My instructors praised me and my heart swelled, but then my parents would look at my academic report card and sigh, and then my heart deflated.

But the Hunger Games was a chance to redeem myself in their eyes, to prove to them that I was worthy of their love and praise. So I trained and trained and trained, and then the 68th Reaping rolled around at just the right time and my hand shot up as I pushed through the crowd and took my rightful place on the stage.

And the rest, as they say, was history.

"CLAUDIA!"

I jerked awake from my daydream and shot Rhys a glare.

"What?" I demanded harshly.

"Nothing. You were just spaced out for a while."

Rolling my eyes, I lay back on the ground and tried to forget about the fact that I would have to kill my cheeky, loveable ally in order to return home, where I would subsequently have to face his grieving family.

Well that already failed.

RHYS' POV

The bowstring created a nearly inaudible twang as my finger twitched at it absent-mindedly. Rain pitter-pattered against the walls of the Cornucopia, which had been the only shelter nearby Claudia and I when the storm had began. Now we were trapped inside, but it could've been worse. At least we had food.

It was nearly night-time now - my family back in Two would be having dinner now. I tried to picture the three of them seated neatly around the mahogany dining table, my parents delicately sipping on cups of tea and taking small bites of their meal while my sister gobbled down her food with vigor and tipped back gulps of soft drink. The fireplace would be flickering gently in the background. Our dog, Jeanine, would be curled up underneath the table, tail twitching occasionally in her light slumber as she drifted between the awake and the sleeping planes.

The grin that had developed on my face soon disappeared as I failed to imagine myself in that perfect family scene. Suddenly, it was as if I belonged in this tortured arena, not with them, happily eating a filling meal and chatting animatedly with Riley, who would be playfully ruffling my hair as we talked.

"RHYS!"

"What the fuck?!" I yelped as a hand hit me over the head. Claudia sat cackling at my side, a victorious smirk on her face.

"That's revenge for before, prick." She sneered, flicking her hair over her shoulder dramatically.

"Ugh, I hate you."

"Likewise."

SORRY IF RHYS' SEEMS A LITTLE SHORT, I WAS KINDA RUSHED! :/