Stay with me? [Finnick Odair]

43

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Chapter forty three: Torn into pieces
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The arrival to the Capitol is much colder than it was when I was fifteen, nobody is cheering, a lot of people are in tears as we step onto the platform. I catch the eyes of a couple of them, sending them a confident smile and winking towards them— my own way of hiding my fear, my false confidence is my safety blanket.

Finnick's hand is in mine the entire way to the remake centre, not daring to let go until the last second, we're soon separated into our own rooms and I'm forced to change into the light blue robe which was similar to the one I wore all those years ago. The design has changed to make the tributes more comfortable as their appearances are completely altered for the appeal of the public.

The 'remaking' of me is much shorter than last time, considering my prep team did most of the work before the reaping, but it feels like hours with all of the gossiping they insist on having.

Luckily, Posy keeps me company as the other two gossip about the recent happenings in the Capitol— the one thing that makes my blood boil is their comments on Katniss and Peeta's wedding.

"It's too bad they're not going to be able to get married," says Hazelle with a tut, shaking her head, her eyes fall to the makeup pallet she is holding.

Clay shakes his head. "It's rather silly they would decide to get married before the games, though, plus they're both so young, how old are they again?"

"Seventeen," Hazelle replies, a false look of remorse in her face, I clench my jaw as I glare at the both of them. It takes all my strength not to snap at the both of them, they're just being so rude and ignorant that it sends a completely new feeling coursing through my veins. I can't describe it.

Posy places her hand on mine as she realises how worked up I am getting, my eyes snap to meet hers. "Don't listen to them, they always get this way before the games," she says with a shake of her head, eyes falling to my nails, I take a moment to watch her as she worked on my acrylics. She is so gentle, so kind-hearted, she is completely different to the others I have seen before— she has a hidden kindness in her that no other makeup artist had.

She reminds me so much of Mae.

I am so glad when I'm taken with Cosmo, I can't stop the beaming grin when he steps into the room, he allows me to change and I follow him into the same room we went to for my first games. He sits me down and orders food for us, there is just a moment of us catching up as we wait for dinner.

"That was so brave what you did, volunteering for Annie."

I smile. "I don't think of it as bravery, just my way of fixing what I did wrong when I was fifteen," I explain, Cosmo nods his head gently as he listens to every word I have to say.

"You didn't want that guilt of letting her return, so you did what you knew you had to do," Cosmo says, understanding every little action I made in the reaping, I nod my head with a frown appearing on my lips. "You owe it to her brother, that's what you think."

"That's what I know," I correct him, wiping the tears from my eyes, my hands are shaking as Cosmo wraps his arms around me and he holds me in a secure embrace; his way of telling me I'm safe here, nobody can hurt me. I know that's not true.

The food arrives and I instantly dig in, filling my stomach with crab cakes, mashed potatoes, fries and gravy, I finish it all off with the homemade strawberry ice cream with chocolate sprinkles, chocolate sauce and whipped cream on top.

Cosmo just watches and chuckles as I finish my food within seconds, shaking his head, I quickly wipe the access chocolate sauce from my lips and give a short giggle.

"So, the outfit?" I ask, genuinely curious as to what Cosmo and Luna have in store for us this year. All the other years, they've been incredible in catching the essence of District four with different styles. It's amazing how they can come up with their own spin on how the costumes should look.

"Well, Luna and I were thinking of going with something simple this year," he begins, his eyes wandering as his mind creates the image of our costumes. "We want it to have the essence of Poseidon, strong and powerful, obviously that's for Finnick— but for you..." he trails off, the corner of his lip twitching up into a smirk.

I raise an eyebrow. "What?"

Hours go by and I don't catch a glimpse of myself until the very last minute, after everything is done, I look absolutely unbelievable. Unlike my first games where they went with the innocent sparrow spreading her wings, this year they decide to go with the strong and beautiful mermaid— ready to use her powers to get what she wants.

My outfit is incredible, a light turquoise and purple flowing skirt with a turquoise corset as a top— the top is covered in glimmering jewels and beautiful accessories: shells, gems, stars, anything that will make the outfit pop. The shoes are golden high heels with the same glimmering jewels that are on the top.

My hair is different this year, flowing down to my shoulders, the ends are curled, the front is braided out of my eyes and to top it all off I have a golden headpiece that just brings the whole look together.

My makeup is a mixture of light blues, greens and purples to make an beautiful ombré effect on my cheek that extends onto my eyelids. My lipstick is a pale pink and there's a thin line of metallic gold eyeliner on my lids.

I truly do look beautiful.