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The moment Finnick stepped a foot into the penthouse, Effie was on him, fussing like a mother hen, making strangled noises and smoothing the creases of his shirt like it was the most important thing in the world.
Haymitch shared a look with Chaff, rolled his eyes and gently but firmly steered her away from the boy. If the other senior victor from Four was to be believed, Finnick was black and blue – and Stella wasn’t prone to exaggeration, except where Brutus was concerned…
“You’re okay, kid?” he asked, a little worried.
He kept a firm hold on Effie’s arm because she looked like she wanted to fly right back to the boy and check him over again. For the most part, Finnick looked fine except for a stitched up gash over his eyebrow that hopefully wouldn’t leave a scar.
“Stiff.” Finnick admitted reluctantly, walking to the living-room and dropping into the armchair Chaff pointed at.
“Would you like a drink? What would you like ? I will fix you something. Oh, perhaps not alcohol! You must be under pain medication…” Effie babbled, whirling between the liquor cart and Finnick’s armchair like an unhinged hurricane. “Perhaps some orange juice. You do like orange juice, do you not? Or perhaps some hot cocoa? Or tea? What sort of tea would you… oof.”
Her babbling came to an abrupt stop when Chaff grabbed her and forcefully tugged her into a hug. Haymitch tensed. Effie tensed. Finnick tensed, which couldn’t be great given the car accident he had just been into that morning…
“The boy’s fine, love.” Chaff said, a bit gruffly. Haymitch was waiting, ready to intervene if necessary but Eleven’s victor kept his hand and his stump at the small of her back. It probably showed how serious the situation was that he didn’t even try to grope her. “Settle down.”
He released her to flop down on the couch, picking up the glass he had abandoned earlier as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. As if he hadn’t just attempted to comfort Effie Trinket.
Haymitch sat down too with the unpleasant feeling of having stepped into another reality entirely.
Effie did settle though, perching on the armrest of the armchair Haymitch had chosen for himself, apparently ready to bolt at the smallest need Finnick would express…
“So, what the hell happened?” he scoffed, trying to ignore his jumpy escort. “Stella said it wasn’t just an accident…”
“You did something, kid?” Chaff added, leaning a little forward, propping his arms on his thighs. “You’re in trouble?”
“I’m not.” Finnick shook his head. “A crazy jumped in my car while it was parked at a red light. It went downhill from there.”
Effie gasped loudly. “Was it that horrible Gervay woman?”
“No…” The boy made a face. “Gervay’s not that crazy. Torello told her he would have her arrested if she tried to get near me again…” Head Gamemaker Torello was not kidding with security when it came to the darling of the Capitol or so it had seemed… “It was that girl who tried to sneak into my bed last week. She’s very… determined. I tried to push her away, the Avox driver got involved… It was a mess. He lost control of the car, not his fault, really… And then someone crashed into us… A mess. But I’m fine, I promise.”
“How have I not heard about this yet?” Effie asked, sounding a bit irritated by the fact her gossip mill had failed her.
“They’re keeping it hush hush for now.” Finnick shrugged and then winced, apparently regretting the move. “She’s in bad shape, I guess.”
He seemed to feel bad for that girl, which Haymitch didn’t quite get.
Effie, for her part, clucked her tongue and muttered about everything being a mess indeed.
“Were you worried about me?” Finnick asked her with one of his trademark wolfish grins.
Haymitch rolled his eyes, not quite subtly stretching his arm behind her, letting it dangle off the armrest like it had been his intent all along. If she could feel it pressed against the small of her back, well…
“What a question!” Effie huffed. “I was frantic!”
“She was.” Chaff snorted. “Very annoying. Should have seen her when the news came in, boy…”
“I was not that annoying.” she protested. “I simply refused to stoically drink myself to a stupor while we waited for news as seemed to be their plan. But when is it not their plan, I ask you?”
“It’s the best plan.” Haymitch approved, lifting an imaginary glass to toast Chaff who toasted him right back.
Effie batted him on the shoulder. He glared at her but it was mild.
Finnick watched the whole scene with his usual amusement, as if his and his escort’s antics were really entertaining.
“You know, Effie…” the boy said slowly with a slow smile. “I almost died today. How would you feel if I died and you didn’t get the chance to go out with me?”
Effie didn’t miss a beat or bat an eyelash. “I go out with you all the time. You insist on dragging me to shady bars and establishments of ill-repute.”
“Correction…” Chaff almost choked on his liquor. “You follow us to those places. You stalk us to those places. Nobody ever invited you.”
She huffed, a bit vexed. “Now, Chaff, you are simply being insulting. Of course, I was invited. Wasn’t I, Haymitch?”
She turned expectant blue eyes his way and he licked his lips, stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he agreed with her, the boys would make fun of him for being whipped – which he wasn’t – if he dismissed her claim, he probably wouldn’t get to tear that dress off her later and that shimmery fabric she had on – without a corset or a bra that he could guess at – had been taunting him since she had appeared in it earlier that day.
“Nobody’s kicked you out yet, did they?” he grumbled, leaning forward to grab his empty glass. He glanced at the liquor cart but found he didn’t have it in him to actually move over there to fill it so he put it back down and relaxed in the armchair, avoiding everyone’s eyes.
“I mean a real date.” Finnick pressed with his best puppy eyes. “Let me treat you to dinner… You won’t refuse an injured man, will you?”
Effie flashed him a smile. “I never say no to an invitation to dinner…”
Haymitch scoffed. “He’s young enough to be your son!”
She whacked his shoulder again, a lot less playfully. He rubbed the spot she had hitten with a glare.
“He is young enough to be my brother at best.” she hissed.
“And how old exactly are you?” Chaff tried, innocently enough.
“You do not ask a lady’s age, Chaff.” she chided. “I am in my twenties, if you must know. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Very late twenties.” Haymitch muttered, disguising it into a cough.
“If you are intent on being irksome, I think I will go to dinner with Finnick tonight.” she snapped, standing up with a huff. “I will go change.”
“You can’t go out tonight.” Haymitch immediately protested. “We’ve got that thing.”
She turned back to look at him, a perfectly shaped eyebrows raised. “What thing?”
“The thing.” He tried to convey what he meant with a meaningful look.
He was fairly sure that both Chaff and Finnick got what thing he meant but Effie’s face remained perfectly clueless. An act meant to humiliate him, no doubt about that.
She folded her arms in front of her chest. “And again I ask… What thing would that be?”
“The thing with the sponsors.” he lied through his teeth.
“The thing with the sponsors…” she repeated slowly as if he was being especially unclear.
Finnick was fighting a laugh and Chaff looked extremely amused.
At least some of them were happy…
“Never mind.” he spat, now truly annoyed. “I’m gonna find someone else to do the thing with me.”
“Ah, but, Haymitch…” she teased, laughter in her eyes even if her face was set into her usual cheerful mask. “… you know nobody is as good at that thing as I am.”
And wasn’t that the very unfortunate truth…
He glared at her, she stared right back.
“Guess that means you don’t get to take her out to dinner, kid.” Chaff barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “He wins again.”
“One day, Effie.” Finnick swore, sea-green eyes twinkling. “One day.”
“One day.” she promised with a grin of her own.