Enchanted; A Finnick and Annie Fanfic ♥ (Currently Revising/Editing)

Chapter 1: Wanna Go For a Swim?

The first rays of a new morning were shining through my window. I got up quickly and threw on the same t-shirt and shorts I had worn yesterday before tip-toeing past my parents' bedroom and out the back door. I'd been a curious kid all seven years of my life, but since I was my parents' only child, they were very protective of me, so I had to explore the woods outside my house before they woke up.

Once outside, I took off into a sprint and reached the forest in no time. I had barely broken into the treeline when I heard a splashing sound some distance away. The sun still wasn't up all the way so it was difficult to see, and all the birds and bugs were chirping so loud it nearly drowned out the splashing. But no--there is was again. I kept pushing forward, deeper into the trees than I usually would've gone, but my curiosity had gotten the best of me and I couldn't stop. 

The trees started thinning and growing farther apart while the splashing got louder until I reached a small pond that filled a clearing.  I looked from side to side, but I couldn't see anything that could've been making that noise.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when a boy's head popped up and out of the murky water.

"Oh, hey there!" he said as he pumped his arms and came swimming towards me. I watched as he climbed onto the bank, getting small bits of grass stuck to his legs. He looked to be not much older that me--maybe eight or nine--and he was soaked from his spiky bronze hair to the toes of his bare feet. He grabbed a towel that was sitting on the grass near us and began drying off, and that's when I noticed his eyes--it was as if they were made of the crystal blue and green waves of the ocean itself. They were bright and fascinating, and I felt like I could just get lost.

"Um, hello?"

I quickly realized I had been staring with my jaw dropped and clamped it shut. I shook my head and cleared my throat. "Uh, hi."

"My name's Finnick."

"I'm Annie."

"Cool name."

"Thanks, you too."

We both stood there for a minute in a silence that was only a little awkward, both with small smiles on our faces. I was finally able to tear my eyes away from his and stared at the ground instead, at my muddy feet, and the tiny footprints I had left behind me.

"So," Finnick finally said, "Wanna go for a swim?"

"Oh...I, uh, I don't know how," I replied, blushing a deep red. What kind of person from District 4 didn't know how to swim? Probably only my family.

"Well, that's alright. I'll teach you!" he exclaimed.

"Well..." My parents always warned me about talking to strangers, but Finnick was a kid just like me. I hesitated to answer, thinking of how angry my mother would get if I wasn't back by the time she woke up, but finally I caved. "Alright, but I can't stay very long."

Finnick smiled. "Then let's get started." He turned away from me, throwing the towel back onto the grass at his feet as he started for the water.

"Wait!" I called out, and he turned back around. "I don't have a bathing suit."

"Oh, just wear your clothes. A little water won't hurt them."

My mother would know that I snuck out if I came back with soaked clothes, but she didn't know how to swim either, so this might be my only chance to learn.

I followed Finnick through the grass, which got quite tall where it surrounded the pond, and I noticed that the water wasn't pretty like the ocean--it was murky and more of a brown color. When we could feel the cool water wash over our toes, Finnick smiled at me again and said, "Okay, just jump in."

I supposed he didn't mean it literally, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I jumped right in and sank towards the bottom, which was a lot deeper than I was expecting. Almost immediately, I couldn't breathe. I tried to mimic Finnick's arm movements from earlier, but I couldn't push them through the water fast enough. I felt trapped under the water like a prisoner, and I was sure I was going to drown. My vision started going dark, and just as soon as I was convinced I was as good as dead, I felt solid ground beneath me and air flowing through my lungs again.

I coughed violently and opened my eyes, not even realizing how tightly I had them shut. Finnick was kneeling over me, worry then relief filling those beautiful eyes of his. He smiled and said, "I think you might need a few more lessons."

I tried to smiled back but coughed again instead. "Maybe. I can't right now though, I have to get home."

Finnick grabbed my hand and helped me up, and we tried to pick off as much of the grass stuck to my wet skin as possible. "Your parents won't get too mad about this, right?" he asked.

"They might, but I don't really care."

"You don't?"

 "Uh-uh."

He laughed lightly, but it was nervous. "E--even though you almost died?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." I paused for a second, looking down at my feet again, which were now caked in a layer of mud. "Thanks though. You know, for saving me and stuff."

"You're very welcome."

We laughed together and said our goodbyes. I ran home as fast as I could on the off chance my parents wouldn't be awake yet, but it was no use. My mother was waiting on the back porch for me and yelled as soon as she saw me.

"Annie Cresta, do you have any idea how worried I was? Look at you, you're soaked and covered in mud, you're going to catch a cold!"

"I'm sorry, Mommy. I just heard something out there and--"

"You heard something?! You think that makes me feel any better?! You could've been killed!"

"I...I'm sorry." A few tears rolled down my cheek as I stared down at the ground, avoiding her glare. I always hated getting yelled at.

My mother sighed and crouched down next to me. She grabbed my shoulders and murmured, "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just worry because I love you so much." She pressed her lips to my forehead and shook me gently. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

We walked together, hand in hand, to the side of my house where the water hose was. I began to calm down as she washed the mud and grass off of me, my shivers of nervousness turning into that of being cold. It was still only spring, and even though the sun was out, it wasn't the warmest of days.

"Mommy, I met a boy out in the woods. His name is Finnick."

"Finnick Odair?" she asked.

"I dunno, he didn't say. But he's going to teach me how to swim!"

"Is that why you came home soaked?"

"Maybe..."

"Well, Finnick Odair is the only Finnick I know of. I hear he's a nice kid, and his family has done a lot for District 4. They're good people."

My mother finished cleaning me off without any more conversation and hurried me back inside. She threw a towel in the dryer for a couple of minutes, and while I was waiting on it, I noticed that the door to my parents' room was still closed. A quick glance at the clock told me it was nearly ten in the morning.

"Is Daddy still in bed?" I asked.

As Mother brought the towel from the laundry room and wrapped it around me, she muttered, "He, uh, had a long night. Don't worry about him."

The heat from the towel surrounded me and made me feel toasty warm. Mother ran off to the kitchen to make breakfast, and I thought for a second about going to check on my father despite was she had said. 

The thought quickly passed when I remembered how wonderful the morning with Finnick had been. I had finally found someone that would teach me how to swim and who could be my best friend for a long time.