ODDS

ɢɪʀʟ ᴏɴ ꜰɪʀᴇ

𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓯𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓸𝓸𝓷 𝔀𝓪𝓼 pleasant enough, if a bit windy. I blamed it on the close proximity to the beach. It was peaceful, too, which was nice, considering where I would be in the next few hours.

"Hey." Came a voice from behind me. It was Finnick. I knew before he even made it to my side. I could never forget that voice.

"Hey." I responded, keeping my face turned toward the horizon. I wished I could swim. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for that.

"You ready?" Finnick asked, following my gaze towards the ocean. I closed my eyes enjoying the salty breeze flowing through my hair.

"Yeah, I put my bag by the door."

"That's not what I meant."

Our eyes met, and I saw the mix of fear and pity in them. He always held this look when we were headed to the Capitol. I didn't blame him. I probably held the same look in my own eyes.

I looked back to the ocean, wishing more than ever than I could stay there permanently. I didn't want to go. I never wanted to go.

"No." I finally answered.

We were heading to the Capitol for the Victory Tour. It always brought back bad memories, but then, so did every Capitol visit. Finnick and I were heading up there early, as we always did. As we were always forced to. We sat for another hour, just enjoying the last bit of happiness we would have for awhile.

"We should get going. The train will be here in half an hour."

I sighed at this, but nodded all the same. Finnick stood up first, then turned to offer me his hand. I gratefully took it, using it to force myself up. We walked slowly back to the houses lining the beach, one of which was mine. Well, mine, Tora, and Caspian's. I didn't want to live alone, and Caspian had become very protective of me since my winning the games. I didn't mind. I liked having him around. Otherwise, the house was big and empty. I didn't like that.

Finnick's arm slung around my small frame. I looked up at him with a goofy grin, making him laugh. I loved making him laugh. It almost made me forget what he had been through, and what he was currently going through. What we were both going through.

"I can not wait to meet the Girl of Fire, can't you?" He stressed the 'can not wait' part of the sentence, using sarcasm for emphasis. I rolled my eyes, my smile never faltering.

"Finnick," I began in a mock-authoritative tone. "Be nice."

He plastered an innocent look on his face, but I could see past the fake sincerity. He was making fun of her and we both knew it.

"Alright, alright." He conceded. "I just won't have any fun."

"If making-fun of one of the newest victors, a teenager, practically a child," I emphasized 'child' to prove my point, "is your idea of fun, then we really need to get you a new hobby, Odair."

His eyebrow shot up at the mention of his last name and he looked ahead, still grinning. I would miss this during the week to come. The bickering wasn't real, we both knew. We were merely teasing. That was how our relationship worked, small quips and laughs. This almost never happened at the Capitol, unless we were behind closed doors. Even then, it didn't happen very often. We were always either too tired or too on edge. Nobody could blame us, the Capitol did that to just about every victor.

"Lana! Fin!" A small voice called. Ahead of us, on the back of my porch stood three figures.

One was tall and thin, his hair all grown out, reaching his shoulders. I had told him that I really liked it, but Mags would be fussing about him cutting it. I wasn't too opposed to him cutting it, either, but Caspian couldn't be persuaded to cut it yet. Not even by Mags.