CHAPTER SEVEN
rooftop reservations

Clio was busy holding two knives together, before throwing them at a wooden board, hitting the middle, before shrieking as she felt someone close to her.

The low chuckles from Finnick Odair made her shakily breath out, turning to stare at him. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him.

"You better be grateful I wasn't holding the knives when you scared me." She glared at him, though her voice was undeniably playful.

"Oh, I'd love for you to stab me with your knives." Finnick whispered back, giving a coy smile to her. He pulled her closer, leaning down to her ear, before whispering. "Laugh. It'll make this look less conspicuous."

Clio's eyebrows furrowed, though she played along. "Finally going to reinact the famous rumour of our escapades, Odair?"

Finnick whispered back in a low voice. "I wish. Midnight, roof top. Haymitch, me, you. He approached me about a deal he's willing to make, told me it's best I bring lover girl along with me."

Clio swallowed. Lover girl? She held back a small grin that already itches to form on her face, nodding. "Got it. Does that mean we get to complete our rumour, Odair?"

"You wish."

She leaned in ever so slightly, her lips now brushing his ear. "Obviously." She laughed at the dumbfounded look on his face, turning away from him. She could already see Johanna eyeing her from afar, grimacing ever so slightly at the closeness of Finnick and Clio. "See you then, Fish boy."

She missed the way he shivered at the closeness, how his body itches to pull her closer. Her hands itch to hold him too, quivering in trepidation at the thought that maybe they did have something. They wanted to have Finnick Odair, to hold him, to cherish him. They wanted nothing more than to have him and to be his, a perfect union.

But, they simply fell to Clio's side as she sauntered away.

Johanna Mason, however, seemed to hold her own comment on the matter. "You two seriously need to get a room," the girl commented, placing the axe down on the ground. She crossed her arms at Clio, who looked every ever so slightly. "Come on, you two are literally infecting this room with your sexual tension."

Clio glared, hushing Johanna's loudness. Although, it was pretty clear that everyone knew about Clio and Finnick'a undeniable tension, not as prideful as Johanna to vocalise how distasteful it has gotten. "We aren't infecting the room. Your sweat smells much worse. Don't tell me you've committed to the tree aesthetic by going all natural?"

"Oh fuck you, Royce!" Johanna snapped. She playfully pushed the brown skinned girl, laughing until she got pushed in return. Johanna Mason and Clio Royce had an undeniably odd friendship that blossomed from threats of murder to acts of true friendship. In their eyes, there was no differentiation between saying I love you and threatening to gut you alive. It was odd to onlookers, but to them it was just how they expressed their love for each other.

Because, if there was anything you needed to know, Johanna would die for Clio and Clio would die for Johanna.

Johanna whistled. "Look, lover boy's recreating your games to Girl on Fire." Clio turned around and saw Finnick showing Katniss how to do the Hangman's knot, a slight churn evident in Clio's stomach the moment she saw the knot. She swallowed down the metallic bile pooling in her throat, strutting over to the pair.

She grinned when she saw Finnick sling the noose over his neck, gesturing to the rope at Katniss. "You wanna take me on a walk?"

Katniss awkwardly laughed, though Clio decided to tease him. "You sure love being manhandled by women, don't you Odair?"

He gave a teasing smile at her. "Only if it's you manhandling me, Royce."

She gave a small smile to Katniss, averting her eyes away from Finnick. "The hangman's knot is my speciality." She gave a curt smile, taking the rope and playfully pulling on it. In response, Finnick's neck moved down the side, the man sticking his tongue out as if to be dead. "I'm sure you know why."

Katniss nodded. "Hung two careers, didn't you?"

Clio grimaced at the memory of Wren and Isayah prying at their throats, violently seizing as they scratched away at the rope. It was them and Clio left and Clio's knife had been left at the corpse of the District 9 boy who attempted to stab her from the back. The girl had left her knife in his corpse, screaming as his blood spilled all over her face. She had stumbled on Wren and Isayah's passed out bodies besides a tree and something came over the fourteen year old girl. She couldn't remember what happened, but the next thing she knew it, she was pulling on the rope and suffocating the careers to claim her victory.

Finally, she nodded, turning away slightly to avoid seeing Katniss' response to her admittance. She knew what she did was wrong, that she was a killer.

She hated herself for it.

She could feel Finnick's eyes on hers, though she refused to acknowledge the sea of green which could've easily drowned her.

No, the thought pierced her suddenly. Those sea green eyes have already drowned me.

Clio was grateful Eudoria, Woof, and Cecilia had all gone to bed early. As much as she hated keeping secrets from the people she loved, sometimes the best things should remain a secret.

At ten to twelve, Clio grabbed a black coat and draped it over her figure, simply pretending she was going up to the roof for a breathe of fresh air, though it seemed as though not even the Peacekeepers were bothered with guarding the tributes.

The awkward silence in the elevator was annoying, though Clio found peace as she was staring from the balcony.

She remembered years ago when she thought there was no barrier. She had slipped up here, secretly planning to accidentally fall from the roof. She thought it was a befitting tragedy for a kid who'd probably die from a wound in the arena anyways, much more merciful than anything else.

Though, it seemed as though fate tug the string and tried a knot, as Clio thought of jumping, a playfully boyish voice sounded—-

"Not planning suicide again, Royce?" With the coat clenched up to her frame, Clio turned around with a relieved look on her face. She didn't know why she felt relieved, though she knew regardless it didn't matter. Eight years prior she was in dismay, now she was in relief.

What a funny change of fate.

"Unfortunately not feeling it today, Odair." Clio replied with an equally charming grin. She shivered ever so slightly at the cold, though he looked colder. The idiot decided against bringing a coat, so naturally he was freezing. Clio laughed at him, taking her coat off and passing it forward. "Don't go freezing to death on me, Odair."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Royce." He took the coat, which thankfully fit his frame (Clio always bought oversized clothes since they made her feel the most herself). "Hell, massive coat."

"Maybe you've just shrunk." She knew it was a lie, but teasing him was all she lived for. "You do look a little smaller."

He gave her a real laugh, his eyes glinting with that look that was only for her. He moved ever so slightly cover to her, just so they were a few inches apart. She naturally looked up, a teasing smile on her face. She stared into his sea green eyes, while he stared at her rouge stained lips.

Then, they turned to the sound of clapping. "Okay, wrap it up lovers," Finnick glared ever so slightly at the rugged mentor, who had a clearly amused smirk on his face. "Beetee's given us ten minutes. He didn't do this so you two can have a make out sess."

"We weren't—" Clio's splutters were silence.

"Sweetheart I might be a drunk but even I can notice your ogling eyes on Odair," Haymitch grinned, though his face immediately returned to a serious expression as he stared at the two. "I'll be blunt to you both, what are your views on the Capitol?"

Clio and Finnick exchanged a look, questioning if Haymitch Abernathy was really asking them on their views. Everyone knew their views, on how much they despised the Capitol.

Or at least fellow victors knew.

Clio's response was almost bitter. "I'll give you one guess, Abernathy. Though it doesn't take a drunk to figure it out."

Haymitch nodded. "Okay fair," he paused, looking at his wrist for the time. Nodding, he began. "There's a rebellion, they're going to use Katniss Everdeen as the mockingjay. If you help, we can promise to get you out of the arena alive."

"A rebellion?" Finnick's response was filled with elation, a wash of relief soaked on his face. "Really?"

Haymitch nodded. "Yes really, District 13 is alive and they're ready to rebel."

"I thought they were destroyed?" Clio frowned.

Haymitch nodded. "It was, but people survived." He stared at the pair, who were gradually taking in all this information. "So what I am proposing if an alliance with Katniss. You protect her, keep her alive along with Peeta, and get the trackers out your arms then we can burst you guys out there."

"And if we don't get our trackers out our arms?" Clio crossed her arms over her chest.

Haymitch grimaced. "Haven't thought that far ahead yet, sweetheart."

She sighed. "If I join, you keep Finnick, Jo, Cecilia and the girls, Woof, specifically alive no matter what ." She turned and saw Finnick's eyes on her. "If I don't get my tracker out in time, you take them and leave."

"Clio?" Finnick turned and stared her down. Equally, she stared at him, slightly bewildered that he referred to her with her name and not Royce. "You're getting out alive too."

She scoffed. "I'm thinking hypothetical, Finnick."

"Hypothetically you're getting out of the arena alive, Clio." Finnick firmly stated, gesturing to Haymitch's nodding figure. He turned to the man. "I'll only join this deal if you promise me Clio, Mags, and Annie will be safe. If they're not, deals off and I'm putting myself and the people I love over Katniss Everdeen and her supposed lover." 

"Finnick—"

Haymitch cut her off. "Deal."

Clio shook her head. "Absolutely not," she glared at Finnick, her nose flaring slightly. Finnick glared back, although his gaze was much more softened than hers. "Finnick, a rebellion against the Capitol — against Snow— is worth so much more than me. Protect Mags and Annie of course, they deserve a free world. But Finnick, not me, I'd rather a rebellion over my life."

"Are you fucking suicidal?" He grabbed onto her arms, holding onto her tightly. "Clio, I can't— no. The deal is only on, if she survives along with everyone I love. I lose her and no deal."

Haymitch shrugged. "Fine by me." He stared at the pair, sighing, "Listen, I don't want to be involved in this lovers quarrel. You two better make it back before the cameras are on."

Angrily, Finnick and Clio clambered into the elevator, Clio already furious as she glared.

"What the fuck, Finnick?" She huffed. "What part of your thick brain doesn't understand the fact that maybe I'll be fine if I don't survive? I'm done, okay?"

"You're done?" Finnick stared at her, his eyes wide yet soft as he saw her almost broken form. For years, he had watched as every part of her cracked and now she laid shattered in the palms of his hands.  "You can't be done, Clio. I—I—"

"You what?" Clio swallowed back a sob already wanting to leave her throat. "Finnick, I don't think I can do this anymore, I can't— Finnick I'm tired. I'm so tired. I'm done fighting."

He moved closer to her, gently holding her now. His hands tried glueing every fragment of her together, soft yet firm, gentle yet rough. "Clio, I can't lose you. I can't lose the girl who would've jumped off the top floor rather than kill an innocent kid."

Clio stared up at him. "She's gone, she died years ago when she killed those kids. She's replaced by some—" She scowled at the memory of those two hanging bodies, swinging back and forth. Her eyes didn't even look into his. "some monster."

He shook his head. "You're not a monster, you'll never be a monster." He held onto her tightly, a hand grazing her cheek. "I wish you could see yourself from my eyes. Clio, I—"

"You what?"

"I love you, Clio." He whispered and Clio felt herself freeze, "I've loved you the moment I realised the flutters in my chest when I stared at you meant love. I can't lose you because losing you means I lose a piece of myself. I'd rather live in a bird cage with you than in a free world without you. My world won't be free if you're not in it."

Clio's eyes watered as she stared at him. "Take it back."

"What?"

"You can't— you can't be in love with me," she whispered in a tearful breath. She felt his thumbs wipe away her tears. "I don't deserve you."

"Can I show you what you deserve?"

His eyes— those sea green eyes— they flickered down to her lips, awaiting the words he longed to hear. She stared into his eyes, drowning. Those damn eyes— those sea green eyes she had immediately fallen for.

Clio Royce was madly in love with Finnick Odair. She was in love with the Fish Boy from District 4 who mildly mocked her for thinking of suicide when she was on the roof eight years prior. He had captured her heart and kept it beating for as long as he enchanted her.

In a broken whisper, Clio finally replied, "please?"

She felt both his hands hold onto her cheeks, and as she nodded once again, his lips connected with hers and for the first time since Clio Royce won her games, she felt like she really was living.

And she loved it.

He kissed her in a way she had never been kissed before. He held her gently, his lips moving against hers in perfect unison. It was as though their lips belonged together, noses bumping slightly as they rested their foreheads against each others.

"I love you." Clio breathlessly whispered, feeling his hands wander down to her waist. Her tears were an infinite stream, glistening as she whispered the words she always knew she would whisper to him. "I love you."

She felt him press her body against his, their lips once again meeting.

They truly did belong together.

JAZ SPEAKS !

OK SO I HAVE MY A LEVEL EXAMS ON MONDAY AND SO I DECIDED TO TREAT YOU GUYS TO AN UPDATE BEFORE THAT.

But this chapter made me so happy

i love clinnick sm

like traumatised babies with major love