better than the hunger games bc finnick doesn't die yay high five

don't own thg or the tegan and sara lyrics, funnily enough

something you'd be good at

maybe i would've been something you'd be good at

maybe you would've been something i'd be good at

now we'll never know

-tegan and sara, 'call it off'

APRIL, 2014

The only relationship Annie Cresta has ever been in ends quietly.

She comes home from work one afternoon to find Eli hauling boxes into his truck with the help of a few mates and he looks at her and says, "I'm sorry, Annie. I really am. I just can't do this anymore." And then he keeps moving his stuff further and further away from hers and she doesn't hesitate to help him divide up their book collection.

There are no tears- Annie doesn't believe in crying unless something terrible has happened and doesn't see the point in wasting her tears on a first love that probably wouldn't have lasted anyway. She doesn't get drunk and call him early in the morning and beg for him to take her back. She doesn't even egg his car, but probably no one would blame her if she did.

They go on with their lives as if nothing has changed- as if it's all the same, as if the other person never even really existed. And maybe he didn't exist- maybe the ten years they were together were all a part of her imagination anyway. It's possible because, realistically, what people who start a relationship when they're twelve are still together ten years later?

It ends quietly, but Annie finds she isn't exactly sure what to do with herself.

NOVEMBER, 2014

"You need to get laid," Johanna Mason claims one night when they're out for drinks. "When you're not with me, all you really do is hang out with your cat and drink wine out of a bag, and it's kind of depressing. Not to mention embarrassing- for me, I mean. I'm ashamed to know you."

Annie rolls her eyes. It's been about six months since he left, and she gets this lecture at least twice a week, and she finds it ridiculous. It's not like she's moping; she just doesn't see the point in rushing into someone else's bed when hers is so big and warm and comfy. "I'm fine," she insists absently. "Unlike you, I don't need a man in my life to complete me. I'm perfectly fine on my own, thank you very much."

Looking somewhat offended, Johanna sits back in her seat. "I resent that," she says with a glare, but they both know it's true. Johanna hasn't been without someone to at least fool around with since she was sixteen and while that's perfectly okay, it's not Annie's style. "Look, Annie, I'm just worried about you. At least get out there, you know? Make some new friends."

When she gets home that night, Annie changes into a stained tank-top and old track-pants and curls up on the couch with Mr Snuffles to watch reruns of Vanderpump Rules and okay, she might be moping, but only a little, and that's allowed, right?

JANUARY, 2015

For Johanna's birthday, she throws a massive party and Annie doesn't know anyone because Johanna likes to keep her work friends and real friends separate and Annie generally falls into the former category.

But she shows up anyway and she brings her work friend an expensive bottle of wine and as the door opens to let her in, she yells, "You old cow!" This would have been great had Johanna answered the door; but instead Annie finds herself staring at a tall, green-eyed stranger.

The guy blinks at her and glances at the bottle of wine. "I feel like you've already broken into that," he says after a moment- which technically she has, but it was only for a taste, and he doesn't need to know that- but he stands aside to let her in anyway. "Jo's around here somewhere. Last I saw her she was asking where all the strippers are. You should probably withhold that wine for a while. I'm her best friend, by the way. Finnick Odair."

"Annie Cresta," she introduces herself absently. "I'm her charity case. It's a pleasure to meet you, Finnick." Without waiting for a response, she disappears into the crowd to stop Johanna from throwing a lamp out the window.

A few hours into the party, Johanna stands on a table and yells that she needs to make an announcement. When everyone shuts up, she grins and drags Annie up beside her. "This is my lovely- gosh, Annie, you're lovely- friend and guess what? She really needs a good hook-up. Any volunteers?"

Annie buries her face in her hands and ignores the few people who jokingly raise their hands. After scanning the room for a few seconds, Johanna makes a triumphant noise. "Annie, we have a winner!" Annie glances up to see Finnick Odair grinning wickedly at the pair of them, and runs to hide in the bathroom because she doesn't think it's possible for this night to get any more embarrassing, and she kind of wants to never see any of these people ever again.

Not many people go home- most are too drunk to even find the door- and Annie and Finnick end up sleeping in the bedroom with Johanna while everyone else is stuck on the living room floor. Johanna mutters something about Annie being 'prettier than the prettiest princess that ever was pretty' and Finnick laughs and says, "Yeah, Jo, she is," but Annie's already fast asleep.

MARCH, 2015

Annie's just about to cross the road when someone calls her name.

"Cresta!" Finnick yells, jogging to catch up. "Hey, Cresta, long time no see." He falls easily into step beside her, his hands shoved into his pockets and his tan deeper than the last time they met. "Jo hasn't mentioned you in a while. How've you been?"

Shrugging, "Alright, I guess. Nothing to complain about. You?"

Finnick grins. "Never been better," he says cheerfully as he walks into a café, not glancing back. He clearly expects her to just follow him and since she has nothing better to do, she does. "I've been interning at a newspaper and they've finally let me start writing my own stuff so, yeah, I'm great."

"Really?" Annie's eyebrows raise in mild surprise. "That's awesome. I'm a writer too, you know." She blushes because that's quite an embellishment. "I mean, I write. I'm not actually a writer. Nothing published or anything, I just… yeah. You get the idea."

"I bet you write romance," he says, and when she nods he looks delighted. "You should write about me. Shorten my name to Finn, though, because my name's fucking weird. I can be the tall, dark and handsome stranger the heroine falls in love with."

Annie frowns, glancing briefly at his slightly curled hair. "But you're blonde," she protests. "And that just never works as well. You'd have to be the villain, I think."

"Ouch, Cresta. You wound me."

"Finnick?"

Annie looks behind her to see a woman about their age looking confusedly at them. She's tall and gorgeous and when she leans past Annie to hug Finnick, she smells like mint and coconut. It's a strangely pleasant mix. She takes in Annie for a moment. "Hi," she says, politely but coolly. "I'm Finnick's girlfriend."

As Annie smiles and shakes the woman's hand, Finnick looks more than uncomfortable. "I'm Annie," she replies. "Finnick's… acquaintance. I gotta run, Finnick. See you later." She walks briskly out of the café, leaving a frowning Finnick and a somewhat bemused blonde in her wake.

APRIL, 2015

"Finnick's been asking about you…" Johanna trails off as she drops the sugar packet that came with her coffee onto an empty shelf. "Says he saw you a few weeks ago but you didn't really get to hang out for very long. I think he might like you, you know. Won't shut up about you."

Annie shrugs. "I had somewhere to be," she says, somewhat defensively. "And besides, he has a girlfriend. What's the point?" She examines the dresses on the rack, pushing each aside after only a quick glance. None are really her style, and she isn't going to waste any of her crappy salary on something she doesn't want.

Frowning, Johanna bites her lip. "Is this girlfriend a tall blonde who looks like a young Kate Moss?" Annie hums her confirmation, and Johanna laughs so hard she snorts. "God, ew. That's Cashmere. She's not his girlfriend. Like, at all. More like his stalker."

This doesn't change anything for Annie, so she doesn't bother responding. She barely knows Finnick and even if he is interested in her, she doubts his intentions are anything more than friendly- he seems like a fairly friendly guy. Honestly, she doesn't want to date anyone, least of all him. It's been a year since Eli ended things and she's still trying to figure out who she is on her own. Thus far she's come to the conclusion that she likes flowers and every alcohol in existence and is generally a rather boring person.

As they're leaving the store, Johanna wraps an arm around Annie. "I gave him your number anyway."

JULY, 2015

Annie isn't sure whether she should be blaming Finnick or Johanna for this predicament; on the one hand, he's the one who's been texting her, but Johanna's the one who gave him her number and set the whole thing in motion. It's a conundrum, and she really doesn't mean to crash Finnick's dinner with his parents.

It just kind of happens.

Ever since he got her number from Johanna, Finnick and Annie had been conversing quite a bit. After a few days of late night text messages, he asked to see her, and they somehow ended up meeting for coffee at least three times a week.

When Finnick called earlier and said he was having a few people over for dinner and asked if she wanted to come hang out, she didn't expect it to be his parents.

But here she is, smiling tightly at Finnick's grey-haired mother and his somewhat scary looking father. "Mum, Dad, this is Annie," Finnick says, as happy as ever. "We're kind of best friends. Annie, these are my parents." He smiles and dimples appear in his cheeks and-

This is his fault. This is completely his fault.

"I am going to cause you pain," she mutters to him as he leads her and his parents over to the dining room table. Apparently, he's cooked pasta, and this annoys her because pasta is her favourite food on the entire planet and she doesn't want anything about this encounter to be good.

It's even more annoying when she realises he asked her about her favourite food just a week ago.

The night doesn't go too badly- until his mother asks how long they've been together. Annie chokes on the water she was in the process of drinking, and Finnick laughs. At the same time she says they're not dating, he announces they're getting married in two days, and she's tempted to throw her glass at him. He would definitely deserve it for this fiasco of a night.

As she's leaving, Finnick's mother kisses Annie's cheeks and says she's glad Finnick found such a lovely girl to finally settle down with. Annie stutters because they're not settled down and they're just friends and why can't people accept that? and gets out of that apartment as quickly as she can.

She doesn't talk to Finnick for two weeks.

AUGUST, 2015

The position of party planner falls to Johanna once again, but this time it's for Annie's birthday. It's a considerably smaller affair than Johanna's wild bash, but it's nice and it's intimate and Annie actually knows everyone in attendance.

Finnick isn't there; he only gets off a plane from his hometown at eleven that night, and Annie asked Johanna not to tell him about the party anyway, though she's sure she does.

It's early in the morning when Annie finally gets rid of everyone. Her coffee table is covered in a small tower of gifts- her favourite being the voodoo kit Johanna tracked down for her- and she's heavily intoxicated. She's just about to go to sleep when her phone goes off.

[Finnick the Dick]{2:39am} you awake? i wanna come over

[Cresta]{2:41am} fuck off

[Finnick the Dick]{2:45am} c'mon, please

[Cresta]{2:57am} fine. door's unlocked, i'm in bed, make it quick

[Finnick the Dick]{2:58am} that sounded sexual

[Cresta]{3:00am} i don't like you

Finnick shows up with hair wet from the rain. He storms into her room and drops down onto the bed next to her, where she's practically asleep already. "Happy birthday, Cresta," he says. "For yesterday, technically. Here." He drops a small bag next to her head.

Keeping her eyes shut, she reaches for the bag. "Is it jewellery? It feels like jewellery," she says as she grabs the velvet box that falls out. She pries it open and stares at it for a moment. It's not much- a silver chain with a tiny, shiny dove pendant dangling from it- but it's still incredibly pretty. She loves birds, though she's sure he knows that. "Thanks, Finn." She pulls him down to her level and wraps an arm around his neck. "I love it."

"Of course you do," he replies, easily returning the awkward one-armed hug. "I bought it and you love me so therefore it's probably your favourite possession."

Annie makes a small noise of protest at that, but when he laughs and leans down and kisses her softly and gently, she basks in the warmth of his body and pulls him closer, unwilling to let him go just yet, but only a moment after their lips fall apart, she's asleep again.

He's gone when she wakes up.

OCTOBER, 2015

"I kissed Finnick," Annie says simply one day over lunch. Johanna's eyes go wide and while her mouth is still full, Annie jumps on the opportunity to get out all the details before the endless line of questioning she is about to face. "Technically, he kissed me, but that's not the point. It was a while ago- my birthday. He showed up in the middle of the night after everyone left. I don't know. We haven't talked about it since. It was weird."

Johanna finally swallows her food. "I told you he likes you!" she cries, ignoring the strange looks she gets from the elderly couple at the table next to them. "Whoa. Like, whoa."

"Yeah," Annie agrees.

"Your birthday, you say?" she asks, and Annie nods. "Shit. That was almost two months ago. How have you not talked about it yet?"

Annie shifts uncomfortably in her seat, avoiding eye contact. This is why she hadn't wanted to tell Johanna. She stares at her still mostly full plate, somewhat ashamed of herself. "Well, um, I've kind of been avoiding him recently."

Clutching her knife and raising an eyebrow, Johanna looks vaguely psychotic. "You what? Annie, honey, I love you. You know that. But you're an idiot. You can't do that to the poor guy; he's crazy about you. Fuck, this is probably why he's been wandering around like a lost puppy."

"I don't know what to say."

"Just say something," Johanna advises. "He'll understand no matter what you tell him, just don't shut him out completely. You're twenty-four years old- why the fuck are you acting like an awkward teenager?"

Annie pauses. "This is new to me.

NOVEMBER, 2015

It takes her a while, but Annie is eventually forced to face the issue when she literally runs into him on the street. "Crap," she mutters, rubbing the spot where her head collided with his chest. "Sorry about that."

Finnick blinks at her, his expression blank. "It's fine," he says. "What's been happening, Cresta?"

Shrugging, she lets him help her up from where she fell on the footpath. "Not much," she admits. "I've realised I don't have much of a life outside of you. Johanna's actually pretty shitty company when I stop to think about it."

A smile playing at his lips, he shrugs. "I'm pretty great company though, right?" he asks, his voice teasing. "I'm a lot more fun than Jo."

'Oh, undoubtedly," she agrees quickly. "Look, Finnick, I-"

"I know," he says. "It's fine."

"How do you know what I was going to say?"

"Because I know you, Cresta." An awkward pause falls over them. After a moment, he jerks his head towards a diner down the street. "Wanna grab some lunch?"

She nods furiously, and she could almost kiss him for letting her avoid the subject. She doesn't, of course. They're just friends, and that would be weird.

FEBRUARY, 2016

Annie races through the crowd at the airport to get to Finnick, practically throwing herself at him when she finally, finally reaches him. Her legs wrap around his waist and her arms around his neck. A few metres behind them, her luggage sits forgotten, and his hair smells like green apples, and fuck she missed him.

Laughing, he sets her down. "Calm yourself, Cresta," he says. "We're in public and someone might think it inappropriate."

"I'm so happy to see you that I won't even tell you to shut up," she says, still grinning like a maniac. She'd been in New York with a book editor, finishing up the book that was finally getting published, for two months, and she'd barely even talked to Finnick- or Johanna, for that matter, but they all know which absence was affecting her more. "I have a present for you." She pulls a manuscript of the finished copy of her book from her carry on and hands it over to him. "It's not coming out until September but I figure it'll be fine as long as you don't spoil the ending for anyone."

Finnick wraps an arm around her and promises he'll keep it a secret.

FEBRUARY, 2016

[Finnie]{3:17pm} okay cresta i have officially started this book and i'm not getting up until i'm done

[Finnie]{3:33pm} oh my god i was kidding when i said to write about me you dork

[Finnie]{4:11pm} why am i being such an arsehole wtf

[Finnie]{4:45pm} you know this abby character is a lot like you

[Finnie]{5:04pm} oh

[Finnie]{5:05pm} abby and finn are having sex

[Finnie]{5:11pm} cresta

[Finnie]{5:15pm} call me

[Finnie]{5:24pm} cresta

[Finnie]{5:49pm} fuck

Ignoring all of her text messages, Annie tries to focus on the movie Johanna put on. It's one of those boring indie dramas she really doesn't have the patience for. She pulls the blanket tighter around her body and hopes it will end soon so she can just check the messages and shut whoever it is- okay, so it's probably Finnick- the hell up.

When the phone goes off again, Johanna heaves a great sigh and leans over, pulling it off the coffee table. "You sure are popular today," she says, ignoring her rule of no phones during the movie and punching in Annie's password. "I liked it better when he was Finnick the Dick."

"What's he want?" Annie asks tiredly; all she wants is to sleep.

Johanna smirks at a few of the earlier messages but her eyes widen as she gets about halfway through them. She drops the phone like it's diseased. "Um, babe, I think those were for your eyes only. He's a bit, uh… Well, I'm not quite sure what to say, to be honest."

Groaning, Annie reaches for the device. "God, he's not sexting me is he?" When she reads the messages, she almost screams.

"I'm just gonna go," Johanna says, grabbing her bag and practically running for the door. "I'll leave you two lovebirds alone."

[Cresta]{5:54pm} shit you weren't supposed to read that

[Finnie]{5:55pm} ? you gave it to me?

[Cresta]{5:58pm} that was only like the second draft

[Cresta]{5:58pm} i gave you the wrong one

[Cresta]{5:59pm} fuck

[Cresta]{6:00pm} do you hate me?

[Finnie]{6:03pm} nah it's actually kinda cute

[Cresta]{6:04pm} god none of that's in the actual book i swear

[Cresta]{6:05pm} i was really drunk when i wrote that

[Finnie]{6:09pm} oh

[Finnie]{6:09pm} okay

[Finnie]{6:11pm} i can pretend i never read it

[Cresta][6:13pm} please

MAY, 2016

"Right," Johanna says. "Let me get this straight. You and Finnick kissed and you freaked out so bad you ignored him for a month or so, and then you basically scripted a porno about the two of you, but you're still claiming to have no feelings for him?"

Annie nods. "You've got it."

Stepping out of the taxi, Johanna laughs. "Well. I've come to the conclusion that you're actually a fifteen year old, socially awkward fangirl who should never, under any circumstances, be allowed to interact with real live humans, ever. We need to lock you up."

"This is serious, Jo," Annie insists. "He read that stupid book months ago and he said he'd forget about it but now I swear he's imagining me naked every time he looks at me."

Johanna snorts. "Babe, that's because he is imagining you naked," she says bluntly. "But he has been since he met you so I don't see the difference."

"Jo!"

"Okay, Annie, shut up for a second," Johanna says. "A year ago, I sort of believed you when you said that you guys are just friends. But only sort of, because even then you guys were acting so fucking in love and it was kind of sickening, but also really cute. Now? Not a chance. I'm not buying it one bit."

"But-"

"Can you honestly tell me you don't have feelings for Finnick?" Johanna snaps, looking vaguely pissed off.

Annie bites her tongue and when Johanna looks away, she shakes her head.

JULY, 2016

Finnick is drunk.

No, maybe not drunk- not entirely, at least- but he's certainly intoxicated and he's pressing his head against Annie's knees and he's laughing far too loudly at the cartoon she put on to try and shut him up. She can't really judge; she's sure her breath reeks of alcohol just as badly as his does.

"You're not very comfortable, Cresta," he complains, shifting so that he's resting against the couch instead of her knees. Her fingers are running absently through his hair, tangling and untangling and tangling the golden strands as she does so.

Annie shoves him with her foot. "God, you're annoying," she mutters. "Can't you just go to sleep or leave or something?"

Shaking his head, he cranes his neck to look up at her. "I don't wanna leave," he says softly. "Not when I'm with you. When I'm with you I always want to stay."

It takes her a minute to decide whether he's being genuine, being a dick, or just being drunk. She settles on the latter because despite what she constantly says, she knows he's not a dick, and she's not sure how to respond if he's being genuine. "That's nice," she says. "I want you to stay, too."

Finnick slides up onto the couch and she slumps over in his lap, exhausted. Just as she closes her eyes, he says, "I'm in love with you, Cresta."

Genuine. Dick. Drunk.

Drunk. Dick. Genuine.

Genuine.

Annie smiles at him. As he brushes a few loose hair strands out of her eyes, she grabs his hand and kisses the knuckles. They both start laughing, then, because they're drunk and they're tired and they're so overwhelmingly in love.

The next morning when Johanna walks in and sees them tangled together on the tiny couch, she grins. "I fucking knew it," she says, dumping the coffee she brought on the table and slamming the door loudly behind her as she leaves.

SEPTEMBER, 2016

Nervous, Annie focuses on a spot behind the crowd so she doesn't have to pay attention to just how many people there are. There are a lot of people. Once she finishes reading the book's first chapter to the store, she settles back into her seat, relieved.

Zoe, her editor/publisher/lifesaver, perches herself on the edge of the table and smiles warmly at the crowd. "We can't give you any more than that, folks, or we'd be stuck here all day," she says. "But we do have some time for a quick interview, so who has a question?"

All the standard questions are asked; when did you start writing, where do you find inspiration, etc. It's all easy, and Annie has no problem answering.

Until a demonic teenager in the front row raises her hand. Zoe gestures at her, and the girl looks delighted. "I was just thinking that Abby sounds a lot like Annie, and probably has a few of your traits, so are there any other characters based on real people? Like, friends and stuff?"

In the back row, Finnick Odair starts laughing like a madman, and Johanna Mason yells that they should ask where she got the idea for Finn.

Annie throws her water bottle at them.

this might be really bad but please review anyway my lovelies xx