Finnick Rinus Odair was the complete description of a heartbreaker. With his tall, firm build, pearly white teeth, and unkempt bronze locks, the boy of only fourteen was something of a total wonder, the type of guy that had girls tripping over their feet to chase after him, longing for a chance with the handsome boy.
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And, of course, he would toy with them, throw a wink one way, a winning grin the other way, and stroll past the practically drooling girls, acting as if he knew exactly what his impression was on everyone else and would sport it proudly on his chest.
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But this wasn't all he was, a boy with no other significance but his popularity; no, he wasn't that shallow. He wouldn't stoop low enough to depend entirely on his good looks to bear his image; after all, how could you put your entire faith in something that could eventually fade away?
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He had charisma, of course, he did; but squashed down deep below was a side to him, filled with cheesy, sometimes horrendous stabs at comedy; a resolve that narrowed his eyes, grit his teeth, and handed him a strength to tolerate things that he hardly thought he could endure; a passion (for things such as swimming, fishing, and practicing with the used old trident he trained with day-to-day) that allowed him to block out just about everything else in the world other than what he was concentrating on. And lastly, though unexpected due to his reputation, a militant loyalty and sense of vigilance over the few people he honestly cared for in his life.
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He lived in a little house down just a mile from the coast, with fairly stable log walls and a broken-down picket fence that enclosed roughly half of the meager lawn included in their property. There was just enough living space for his parents, twin sister, and himself, making the tiny bungalow borderline uncomfortably cramped.
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Now, there were only a few people that Finnick actually cared for, among them being both of his parents, sister, Carolina, who doubled as a best friend, and Annie Marie Cresta, the introverted girl who lived down the street, and in the eyes of hotshot, Finnick Odair, was the most gorgeous girl in the entire nation of Panem. With her long flowy chestnut hair, deep green eyes, and lovable yet reserved nature, she was a portrait of utmost beauty, which is something that Finnick had always noticed, even if it was just in passing. Did he ever consider that he'd end up with the feelings he had for her? No. She had managed to gradually and cryptically creep up on him, edge into his life and ultimately his heart before he even seemed to catch what she was doing.
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The morning of his third reaping dawned cloudless and warm, an excellent day for swimming in the crystal clear water of the local beaches and just being outdoors overall if it weren't for the dreaded events that would soon take place. So Finnick made it a point to go down and take a stroll down the shore, grains of sand clinging to his skin as he gathered his thoughts, before returning to his house, eating a sparse breakfast and dressing in fairly nice clothing before beginning the trek with his sister to the town square, to the justice building where the reaping would commence at ten o'clock sharp.
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He moved through the motions, barely having time to wish his sister good luck before being swept into a mass of children, and ushered to the proper location, left to wait in unease. He listened to the typical spiel about the uprising and a renewed nation climbing from the ashes; all of the propaganda the capitol fed to the blameless district children, who knew no better than to believe them.
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The capitol escort, bedecked with jewelry of all various proportions and a wide insane grin, reached a lace glove into the sea of carefully printed names and drew one for the female and one for the male.
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She cleared her throat before reading out in a clear flowery voice,
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"The lucky male and female tributes for this year's extravagant hunger games festivities are Kailani Abner and Finnick Odair!"
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It was at that moment that Finnick Odair truly felt fear for the first time. The type of fear that contorts your stomach in knots makes sweat collect at the palms of your hands and fades out the world around you.
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"Come up, you two! I won't bite!"
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He positioned one foot in front of the other, forcing a slight smirk on his face and mounting the steps to the concrete dais as a short blonde girl materialized opposite of him, anxiety carved upon her suntanned features.
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"District four, I deliver to you this year's tributes! May they bring you pride and victory!"
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The escort placed a hand to the back of each tribute and guided them through the entranceway into the internal portion of the building, leaving Finnick with just enough time to glance over his shoulder and find his sisters displeased face in the mob.
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He was thrust into a chamber filled with decorative furniture and was instructed to wait for his loved ones to come to say their goodbyes.
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The first to arrive were his parents, within mere seconds of his own arrival into the room. His mother surrounded him in her arms, tears in her eyes and lacing the words clinging to her throat as she tried to describe to him how much she loved him and was proud of the young man he had been raised up to be. His father slapped his back and gave him a brief hug, as well as a speech on things like how to locate food, intimidate his fellow tributes and ultimately come home a victor and not in a plank box.
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The second they escaped the room, leaving him with words he hoped he wouldn't forget, Carolina scrambled through the door, slamming it behind her and striding directly into the arms of her brother.
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"It'll be ok," he whispered in the shell of her ear, the feel of her frantic breathing against his chest making the entire experience feel so terrifyingly real.
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"But what if you don't come home?" She glanced up, her eyes identical to his, staring directly at him, brimming with emotion and tears that threatened to spill over onto her cheeks. "Finnick, it'd be like a piece of me getting ripped away..."
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"But I am going to come home, Carolina; I'll fight like hell in that arena to come back to you. I promise. And you know that I don't break my promises."
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She nodded, a single teardrop dribbling down her flushed face as he tugged her back into a tight hug and told her he loved her, holding her close until the peacekeepers came to drag her away.
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A hush filled the room, drowning Finnick in the din of his thoughts, of all the things stuffing his brain involving his present circumstance.
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The door slowly creaked open, displaying the face of the brunette girl that Finnick had grown so strangely fond of.
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"Finn..." Her voice came out in an unsteady whisper, her eyes taking in the picture of the boy before her. "Finn...I need to tell you something and I...I just know I won't forgive myself if I don't tell you...but...but I really like you as more than a friend, and I just needed you to know..."
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Finnick stood and took a few short steps forward so that he was parallel to the babbling girl. He tilted up her chin, taking notice of her sudden silence and the way her breath abruptly seized in her throat as he leaned in and snagged her lips in a soft kiss, the first of what would, with time, turn into many.
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When she pulled away, her emerald eyes tacking his with an expression brimming with emotion, he patted some of her hair from her face, trying to camouflage the sentiment working its way from his heart.
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"Will you take this?" Annie whispered, voice trembling slightly as she shoved a cowrie shell dangling from a thin rope into his palm. "You know, as a token?"
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"Yeah," Finnick closed the object in his fist, nodding his head and swallowing back the emotion in his voice. "I will."
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"Thank you, Finnick,"
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The door unlocked, a peacekeeper materializing in the opening.
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"Time's up,"
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Annie encased her arms around his neck, giving him a peck on the cheek before the peacekeeper seized her arm and began to rip her away from him.
"I'll come back to you, Annie," Finnick swore, squeezing her hand.
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A single tear dripped down her cheek as she was tugged into the doorframe.
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"Goodbye, Finnick," she called, just as the door was slammed.
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It was in that moment, as his whole world seemed to come crashing down, that Finnick Odair vowed to himself that he would never forgive the capitol for doing this to him, to anyone. Someday he would retaliate, expose every confidential secret of the capitol for himself, his heartbroken family, all the innocent children of Panem, and the girl who stole his heart.
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He stared down at the rope in his hand and thought of the girl that gave it to him. That was all he needed to harden his resolve.
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He glanced up, glaring at nothing in particular, and clenched the token in his fist.
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"Let the hunger games begin, Snow. Let them begin."
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