Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I got three!" I yell. I wave my trident at my dad across the water. He's on the boat with the net. Even on reaping day, we work.

The powerful muscles in my arms and legs propel me forward as I swim toward my dad and climb back in the boat, sopping wet. The sun feels warm on my golden skin. I shake my head and droplets fall out of my perfect bronze hair. "Here, Dad," I say, handing my dad the trident. Three perfectly speared fish.

"Good job, son," he says. "Let's head home. I caught about 20 fish. We can sell half at the market after the reaping."

I live in District 4. We specialize in fishing. The sparkling sea is our friend. Dad ties the boat to our private dock by our house. We hike up to beach and walk into our house. I head to the kitchen and eat some bread with seaweed sprinkled on top, and bits of tuna for early lunch.

After my early lunch, I head back to the water to calm myself before the reaping. I don't have to worry about the reaping, being one of the richer kids.

Everyone knows the reaping system is unfair. The poor get the worst of it. Every child between the ages of twelve through eighteen are entered in for the annual Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death. You are entered once, at the age of twelve, once more at the age of thirteen. Since the entries are cumulative, you'd have seven entries at the age of eighteen.

If you are starving and poor, you can opt to enter your name in more times in exchange for tesserae. Each tessera is worth a year's supply of oil and grain, but just barely enough. For people that are poor and have a big family, this is unfair. You can do this for all your family members. One person with tesserae, one extra entry.

Even if I wasn't rich, I wouldn't have many extra entries. I'm an only child. I'm fourteen, so I only have three entries.

I sit on the beach awhile, lost in thought. What will this year's Games be like? It's kind of exciting for us. We, District 4, are a more wealthy district, so we can afford to even have volunteers for the Hunger Games. The volunteers are usually people who have been training for their whole lives. They know how to use a sword, throw knives, and other important things like that. We haven't won recently. District 4's had about five or six victors before, but all of them are dead. They won the earlier Games, like the 5th, the 8th, the 11th, etc. The last victor won long ago. We lost almost all of our victors to some sickness, addiction like morphling or drinking, and suicides. Only one is still living. Her name is Mags and she's in her seventies!

I suppose I'd stand a winning chance. I'm tall and strong. I can handle a spear and throw some knives because I use them occasionally for obtaining fish in shallow water. Although I've never seen one in the Games, my best weapon is my trident, which I use to fish. I can tie knots quickly, enabling me to weave nets.

I'm so lost in thought that I don't notice her until she's right behind me. "Hi, Finnick!" she says, excited.

I turn around to see Annie Cresta, a girl with dark hair and dark green eyes. I'd know her voice anywhere. She's thirteen, one year younger than me. She's an amazing swimmer, even better than me. She taught me to tie knots and make nets. I was 12, so it was only the year before the last, when my dad said I lacked the patience to tie a decent knot. She popped up out of nowhere and taught me all the knots that exist. I had the patience when she taught me.

I have a crush on her, and I think she likes me too. The crush didn't start very quickly, though. I knew her as one of the louder, but nicer girls at school, although I never talked to her. Then, when she showed up to teach me to tie knots and make nets, we became summer friends. We were friends for a whole two years before I really started to notice her Her smile with teeth as white as pearls, her laugh like the tinkling of bells, her dark hair reminding me of the ocean at night when it's dark. These features started to really stand out to me. She became not just a nice girl, but someone precious, a pearl in a sea of green that I was lucky to meet. She's really beautiful and acts differently with me than anyone else. Around others, she's loud and energetic. She is always the one who's closed off, keeping her secrets inside, though, as if she trusts no one. Around me, she's calm and quiet. I suppose she becomes a little shy. She's funny and shares her secrets with me. I relax her, though. I change around Annie too.

Usually, I'm always the kid playing pranks, the one always flexing his muscles, the handsome boy, the popular boy. With my golden skin, bronze hair, sea green eyes, and athletic build, I don't have to try very hard. Half the girls at school are in love with me, but I don't care for their love. I only care for Annie's.

Around Annie, I'm more quiet too. I still joke around, but I don't dare be mean. I laugh at her jokes, even if they're not funny. I don't flex my muscles or anything like that.

"Going to the reaping?" I ask with a laugh. You're required to attend the reapings or you'll be imprisoned. The only exception is if you're dying. The Peacekeepers, the district officials sent by the Capitol leave us alone as long as we keep our industry going. However, on reaping day, there is an exception. If you're not at the reaping, they'll be how they have to arrest you publicly so you'll be humiliated and bring you to the small jail we have.

"Yeah!" Annie says, laughing. Then she becomes her calm, serious self that no one but me knows exists. "I'm scared you'll be picked."

"Don't worry about it! I'm scared you'll be picked!" I say, and throw my head back, soaking in the sun as I laugh. She's watching me carefully. "C'mon! Let's go swim."

The worried expression wipes off her face. "Okay, Finn."

I run cool water with her, hand in hand. I let go of her hand as I dive into the water, the green, foamy waves. When I come back to surface for air, I notice that she's just sitting at the edge of the water, not as excited as me. I join her, shaking my head and spraying her with seawater.

"Hey, Annie, why aren't you comin' in?" I ask.

She laughs and says, blushing, "I like watching you swim."

I blush and say something smart, like, "Uhhhhh..."

"Oh, never mind!" she says, blushing even deeper to a bright red.

"No, I want to hear it!" I demand.

"You know, Finn, I used to think, since you're the popular boy, that you're self-centered, just a guy showing off and trying to be better than you are. But Finn, you're not. I don't want you to get reaped. You might turn into a monster, killing people like you kill fish. So, please promise me, Finnick, that you'll try hard to come home, but only kill when you have to!" Annie's voice is turning into a pleading one.

"Ah, yeah Annie, I promise! I'm only 14! Relax!" I say, grabbing her by the head and shaking it teasingly.

I walk to the water's edge with her. "Come into the water with me," I say, jumping back in. The water's cool as always, and I open my eyes in the water. I swim to deeper water and tread, waiting for her to join me.

She hesitates, and says, "All right, Finnick." She leaps into the water beside me.

She surfaces and her dark hair floats around her. I go back under and don't come up for a long time. I notice that Annie starts to panic, searching the area. I pop up next to her, scaring the life out of her.

She whacks me on the arm really hard and screams, "Don't do that, Finnick Odair! Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

I just say, "Ow!" I laugh and whack her back, lightly. I go back under, looking at the sea floor. I see a few shells and surface. "Look at these shells," I say. "They're beautiful, just like you." I press the shells into her hand.

She blushes and can't look me in the eye. "No more than you," she says, quietly.

She leans in close to me, her forehead touching mine. She's about to kiss me, when my dad calls me from the house. "Finnick! It's time to leave for the reaping!" It's a good thing he can't see us.

I flash a smile at Annie as we pull apart, and she's blushing a deep red. "Good luck, Annie," I say.

"G-g-good luck, Finn-i-ick," she stammers, still blushing.

"C'mon, Annie! Don't be like that with me, alright? What's there to be blushing about?" I ask.

"N-n-nothing, Fi-i-in," she stammers out. "See you l-l-later."

I flash her another smile. "After the reaping, ya wanna come back again to swim? Just the two of us?"

"L-l-like a d-d-date?" she asks.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. See you at the reaping! Hope you wear a nice dress. You don't have to try so hard to be pretty, though," I say casually.

"Okay," she says, smiling. Her teeth shine, dazzling in the sun.

I get out of the clear, green water and walk up to my house.

"What took you so long, Finnick?" my dad asks.

"Oh, I was hangin' out with Annie." I say.

I walk into my room and change into a white shirt and blue shorts. Here in 4, it's always hot. Normally, in other districts, long pants are required, but they're not so strict about it here.

"Oh, well, then let's go!" my dad replies.

Chapter Text

My mother joins us and we walk all the way to the town's market. This is where the reaping will be. There's a temporary stage with three chairs. One will be for District 4's only past victor that's alive, Mags. Another chair is for our district escort to the Capitol. Her name is Aliya. She has whiskers and gems implanted on her face. Her red hair is an unnaturally bright color. The other chair is for our mayor. We call him Mayor Trey. He's nice and young, around his mid-thirties.

His daughter, Laura, is one of those girls at school that always stares dreamily at me when I flex my muscles. Of course, I usually flex my muscles to see who's paying attention. I like to keep count of which girls will come screaming and chasing me home, stalking me on the beach. And why not admit it? I love the attention. I like to flirt. I don't love any of my lovers back, but I suppose I like to be seductive and all that. But it's all just a joke.

Everyone signs in and the kids twelve through eighteen are lead to roped off areas, separated by age. The oldest are in the front, the youngest in the back. The parents surround the roped off areas, their eyes searching for their children. I glance at the other fourteen-year-olds. I exchange nods, winks, and smiles with those around me.

The mayor starts to read the history of Panem into the microphone on the podium set up for him. Basically, what was once called North America had a whole bunch of natural disasters and people fought for what little remained. What was left was a powerful Capitol, the main government of 13 districts. There was a time when the districts rebelled against the Capitol. The 13th district was completely destroyed and the other districts were defeated.
The Treaty of Treason requires us, the districts, to provide one boy and one girl from each district to fight with each other and the tributes from the other districts in a vast arena that can range from a frozen tundra, to a desert with no water, to a dream-like scene. If you are chosen to be a tribute, you go to the Capitol to prepare to enter the arena. You're only out of the Games when you die unless you win. If you're the last one standing, you win and live a life of ease and become rich. Your district gets gifts, mostly food we can't afford normally, for a year. This is the punishment for the rebellion and it shows that there should never be one again.

"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," the mayor finishes. The mayors all across Panem are probably saying the same things as Trey right now.

Trey reads down the list of victors. There have been six. Mags walks to the podium and everyone claps, for she is the only one smart enough to still be living. Mags hobbles back to her seat and sits down.

Aliya walks up to the podium. "Wow, it's such an honor to be the escort for District 4 again!" she says excitedly. "Anyways, you've done enough waiting. Let's pick our girl tribute!"

Aliya reaches into a glass ball that holds the names of every girl entered into the reaping. I hope with all my might that it's not Annie.

"Dahlia Sermee!" Aliya shouts. Dahlia walks to the stage calmly. She's seventeen. She is one of the smaller girls in our school. She's not popular, and definitely not pretty. She's a snob. However, she is one of those people obsessed with me. Dahlia doesn't fish or do any work, so she isn't strong at all. She just chats with her friends most of the time. This is a little strange because almost everyone over the age of five works. Usually, District 4's tributes are nice and strong, as we have volunteers almost every year. They train at the academy we have in our district. Training starts as young as five and goes until eighteen. Once they're eighteen, they will most likely volunteer for the Games. If not, they become just another worker in our district. Most can handle knives and spears, maybe even a sword.

Dahlia's friends burst out crying and I'm not sure if it's in happiness our sadness. District 4 is normally happy to have good tributes chosen. When they're not good tributes, no one really cares but those closest to her.

"Let's give a round of applause to our newest tribute, Dahlia Sermee!" Everyone claps, but everyone knows she won't be a victor. "Now let's choose our boy tribute!"

Her hand has barely touched a slip when she picks it up and reads it, "Finnick Odair!" My heart lurches.

I calmly walk up to the stage and smile. I think I can win these Games. With my skills and strength, I could be labeled as one of those trained beforehand, even though I have never been to the academy.

"Let's give a round of applause to our newest tribute, Finnick Odair!" The clapping is a lot louder than Dahlia's. They are happy to have a good tribute, one that will most probably win. "Do we have any volunteers for our two fine tributes?" Aliya asks. She is greeted by silence. There can only be one victor. I'm good enough to win. Those in the academy don't even dare take my place this year. They don't need some other trained person to replace Dahlia because they have me, a tribute with a clear shot of winning.

The mayor finishes the Treaty of Treason and tells us to shake hands. The anthem starts to play as Dahlia eagerly grabs my hand like she just won the Games. I shake it a little more hesitantly. She doesn't let go of my hand until the anthem's over. It's kind of annoying, but somewhat reassuring. If my fellow tribute, who I'm probably going to end up killing, can fall for me, why not Capitol girls? I can get sponsors easily! But there's that little voice in my head, in fact it's Annie from this morning, worried about me leaving. Will she be there, watching me until I come home? Break apart and hide, shutting the world out? Will I even come home? District 4 is supposed to love these Games. We're supposed to be proud to be chosen, but am I?