"Is your heart okay?"
— Unknown
...
Long blonde hair blows in the wind. He can't see her face, but he knows she's smiling.
Laugher rings through the air and he laughs back. He is thirteen years old and life is easy. His dad teaches him how to fish with a trident and he walks his sister to school in the mornings. His mom dotes on him and he pretends it annoys him, but he always lets her see his smile.
The sky is clear and the world is crisp. The ocean is a particularly dark blue. No...
It's red.
His head snaps to the girl with the blonde hair. He can see her face now. Her blue eyes are bloodshot and her tears mix with blood as they run down her cheeks. Blood dribbles out of her mouth as she makes an unreadable expression.
"Your fault."
And the world breaks. The ocean of blood swallows him whole and the sky turns to black.
He falls into a graveyard. There are three headstones. One for each member of his family. And then three more appear, unearthing themselves from the dark ground. One for each of Cora's brothers lost to the games.
More graves appear. For the tributes he killed in his games. For the tributes he failed to save as a mentor. For everyone he has lost and everyone he has yet to lose. He is surrounded by headstones as the sky turns red and the ground turns black.
He isn't thirteen anymore. No, he's twenty years old as he slowly approaches one of the graves nearest to him.
He chokes out a sob when he sees the name engraved in the stone.
Coral Newport
...
Finnick Odair woke up sobbing, desperately trying to catch his breath. He was panicking.
The door to his room opened abruptly, a frantic-looking strawberry-blonde woman entering the room.
She rushed to his side, slowly and gently placing one hand on his shoulder and grabbing his hand with the other. She tightened her grip on his hand and rubbed his shoulder until he started breathing regularly again.
As soon as realized what was going on, he wrapped the woman in a tight hug, burying his head in her neck.
"You're okay," she whispered. "You're okay."
"It's my fault," he sobbed.
"What's your fault?"
"She's gone. I was supposed to protect her. I'm her big brother. And I killed her."
Cora grabbed Finnick's shoulders and held him at arm's length, looking deep into his eyes. "No. It's not. Do you hear me? You did everything to keep her safe. What happened wasn't your fault." She wouldn't say whose fault it was, the consequences of it would only cause them more pain.
He didn't believe her and she knew it. But he nodded, indicating he would at least try to believe her words.
Once the man had calmed down, he had her sit in front of him. He spent the rest of the night braiding her hair until the sun came up. The act soothed him. It was something to focus on. Something he was good at.
...
Coral Newport was performing at a private party that next night. Finnick had an appointment and was dancing with the middle-aged Capitol woman as Cora sang a slower song.
"Yelling at the sky,
Screaming at the world.
Baby, why'd you go away?
I'm still your girl."
Cora just told him what happened. He walks outside to the beach and screams.
"Holding on too tight,
Head up in the clouds.
Heaven only knows
Where you are now."
He looks down at the necklace Lyra made him a few years ago.
"How do I love,
How do I love again?
How do I trust,
How do I trust again?"
He vows to never take it off.
"I stay up all night,
Tell myself I'm alright.
Baby, you're just harder to see than most."
He's at her funeral. He doesn't want to look at the girl in the casket.
"I put the record on,
Wait 'til I hear our song.
Every night I'm dancing with your ghost.
Every night I'm dancing with your ghost."
He sees her in the sunrises and the sunsets. He watches them every day.
"Never got the chance
To say a last goodbye.
I gotta move on
But it hurts to try."
He tries to go about business as usual. He won't fall apart.
"How do I love,
How do I love again?
How do I trust,
How do I trust again?"
He has to send her best friend off to die.
"I stay up all night,
Tell myself I'm alright.
Baby, you're just harder to see than most."
Every piece of her is being ripped away from him.
"I put the record on,
Wait 'til I hear our song.
Every night I'm dancing with your ghost.
Every night I'm dancing with your ghost."
He looks down at his necklace. He still has this.
"How do I love,
How do I love again?
How do I trust,
How do I trust again?"
He buries her best friend right next to her.
"I stay up all night,
Tell myself I'm alright.
Baby, you're just harder to see than most."
At least they're together in death. They never got the chance in life.
"I put the record on,
Wait 'til I hear our song.
Every night I'm dancing with your ghost."
He sees her in his dreams. Like a happy memory. Like a warning.
"Every night I'm dancing with your ghost."
He won't lose anyone else. He'll protect who he still has at all costs.
"Every night I'm dancing with your ghost."
He looked down at his necklace, still wearing it. He looked up at Cora, who had just finished singing. He wouldn't lose her. Not to Snow. Not to herself. Not to anything.
And so, he kept on dancing with the Capitol woman, though he wanted to dance with the girl on stage. Keeping his love secret was better than six feet in the dirt.
YOU ARE READING
You Asked For This - Finnick Odair
Fanfiction"Like breathing, loving you is the most natural feeling I've ever known." -Alicia N Green ... In which Coral Newport manages to make a deal with President Snow. [Finnick Odair x OC] [Annie Cresta x OC] [Primrose Everdeen x OC] [OC x OC] 65th Hunger...
