L O C K E D- Finnick Odair

SIXTEEN

《'°•~Chapter Sixteen ~•°'》

A FEW DAYS later, we celebrate the wedding of August and Eliza. The entirety of District 13 watches, and a woman by the name of Cressida films the entirety of it to use it as some sort of 'symbol of war.'

"I, August Whitlock, take you, Eliza Solace, as my wife on this day forth." He doesn't take his eyes off her as he speaks. "Together or apart, we will always be united. One life, one purpose, one destiny."

"You may kiss the bride." The two newly wedded lean into each other and kiss like they never have before. Despite the time with all the hate and all the war, somehow, these two people spread love through all of 13. Everyone claps for them, and quickly after the ceremony, music begins to play, and people begin to dance.

I find myself sitting alone at a table, only there to take up space. I really am happy for them, but I still loathe in self-pity. I wished I could enjoy this like everyone else. I had been told so many times that I was lucky to be alive, but it certain moments, I didn't feel very lucky.

"Are you enjoying your little pity party over here?" I hear a familiar voice ask. I turn, and to my surprise, it's Valentina. Her makeup is gone, as well as her crazy wigs. Her hair is thin and dark brown, and I notice she has no eyebrows.

"Valentina?" My eyes widen. "You're here too?"

"Of course I am!" She says it like it's obvious. "I definitely don't miss the Capitol, but I certainly miss my makeup."

"You look pretty without it," I say quietly, and her gaze softens as she notices my sadness. I sit in the chair next to her, and she holds my hand.

"Thank you, dear. I was awfully worried about you," she says as she moves a piece of hair off my face. "I know how much the Capitol scares you, and once I heard how much they hurt you, my heart almost shattered."

"They don't scare me. I'm not a little girl anymore," I say, smiling weakly at her.

"Well, why don't you enjoy the wedding?" she asks me. "It is your brother's, after all."

I sigh and look up to see Finnick standing alone. I quickly glance back to Valentina. "I guess I'm a little tired."

"He misses you," she whispers, and we both look up at him. "I get you're pissed, but don't spend the rest of your life being mad at him."

I stand up and make my way to Finnick, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my jumpsuit. "Hi," I say quietly as I approach him.

"Hey," his eyes widen with surprise as he sees me. "Pretty wedding."

I nod, and we stand there awkwardly for a few moments. Without asking, I take his hand and pull him to the dance circle. I guide his hand to my waist, and I grab the other. He smiles at me, and I almost forget everything that's happened. We laugh and dance, and I'm actually genuinely happy for the first time in a while.

Finnick doesn't leave my side for the rest of the night. We have a silent agreement to not talk about what happened between us and to me at the Capitol, but he breaks that agreement by bringing it up when we're back in my room after dinner.

"I'm really sorry, Emmeline," he says out of nowhere. "You do know that, right?"

"I know." I don't tell him I forgive him. I don't want to talk about it at all, I don't even want to think about it. I place my hand on the side of his face and kiss him for a second, and when I pull away, he smiles at me with hope in his eyes.

He takes a step closer to me, and our faces are only a matter of inches apart. "I really, really missed you, Em," he says with a smirk. I close the gap between us and kiss him again. This kiss is different than the other times. It's not sweet and short but desirable and ravishing. He pulls away for a moment, playing with the tip of my ponytail. "Are you sure? I don't want you to hate me tomorrow."