Masked Enemies

Chapter 21

Katniss

"Finnick." I whisper into his ear. "Finnick, wake up." I whisper again.

I watch as Finnick slowly opens his eyes. He sits up and coughs, and then squints his eyes again. "Katniss." He says. Finnick looks around. 'Wha- where?"

I look around me. I had brought Finnick to the beach after he fainted. The whole way he was thrashing around in my arms, mumbling something about Mags.

The beach looked golden under the evening sun, the water reflecting the color of the sky, and I can see the sun setting on the horizon, golden and bright against the orange-pink sky. Waves washed onto the shore in rhythmic movements, and made a nice sound as they did.

"The beach. I brought you here because I thought- I thought you might like it." I tell him. I am nervous, because I don't want him to slip into hysterics again.

Finnick smiles at me. "Thank you." He says, and turns to sit shoulder to shoulder with me. My body feels uncomfortable, not because I didn't like this, but because I did like it.

We watch the sunset, watch the colors change and glow from orange to pink to blue to black. We watch the first stars appear in the night sky. In the Old World, they used to wish on these stars.

So I wish that the world would freeze this moment and preserve it forever so whenever I wanted to relive it I could just jump right in. The same thing I had wished with Peeta. I wish that the world would just stop and stay in peace so that I could spend eternity with him, on this beach.

Finnick turns to me. His sea green eyes like cat-like in the pale moonlight. He looks nervous, like he wanted to tell me something, but was afraid to, because he thought it would embarrass him.

"What?" I ask. He smiles softly.

"Okay, um, so, I've ever since the Quell, I-uh..." Finnick's voice breaks off and he looks down, his cheeks turning red, though it was only slightly visible to me because of the dark.

Finnick looks up again and continues. "I like you, Katniss."

This warms my heart. My face breaks into a slightly dopey smile, and I grin from ear to ear. "I like you too. Or at least, I think I do." I laugh.

He leans forward and kisses my on the forehead. Pulling away, he says sadly, "It's not possible."

I want more of that. "Just a little bit longer." I plead.

Finnick obliges. He ducks his head and his lips meet mine. He smells like the ocean, and his lips are soft and salty. His breathing matches mine, and time seems to stop just for us. Finnick takes his arms and wraps them around me, twirling them through my hair, tangling it. But I do not care. The only things I am focused on are the boy in front of me, the lips that are touching mine, and the heart that beats in my chest, the one that longed for Finnick.

Finnick begins to pull away, but I go in for more. After an eternity, he lets go, and this time I let him, running my hands through his hair as he does.

We are apart now, our faces less than an inch from each other. Finnick smiles, and I impulsively throw my arms around him, and he throws them back. We standing there, sitting on the beach with our arms around each other, enjoying each other's warmth.

Sometime later, I fall asleep, and I can feel Finnick plopping down next to me, his breathing soft and peaceful.

That night, my dreams are haunted with flashes of my Hunger Games and the rebellion. Cato, Thresh, Rue, Clove. I remember Cato crying over Clove's body, holding her hand and begging her to stay with him. It was my fault they were dead. If they had won, they could have stayed together.