Hi! This is the sort-of-sequel to my other story, The Baker Boy. Thanks for reading!

"Hazel! Finn is here!" My mother shouted from downstairs as I scowled at the reflection of the mirror. The dress I was wearing wasn't exactly my style, but my mother had forced me to wear something nice for prom. At least it was loose and flowing, unlike the dress that my best friend, Serena Hawthorne, was going to wear tonight.

"Alright!" I yelled back, slightly nervous. I grabbed the thin brown clutch holding my phone and some cash and ran down the dark wood stairs.

I smiled as I saw Finn, who was not my boyfriend, although half of Panem high seemed to think differently, conversating with my mother, about who knows what. Just like his father, Finnick Odair, Finn's the definition of charming, or so my mother told me. I find Finn absolutely annoying.

Finally reaching the last step, I carefully placed my feet onto the ground, my feet already in pain. My mother had, just like the dress I was wearing, forced me to wear these heels. Although they were only one-inch heels, they weren't exactly Vans that I always wore to school.

"You look great Hazel," Finn could barely complement me without snickering. I threw a punch at his shoulder, rolling my eyes. "Joking, joking, Hazel. You look... average." Again, he laughs. Another punch at his shoulder.

My mother shakes her head in disappointment. "Hazel, punching our date to the dance isn't very lady-like," She scolds, but still has a hint of a smile on her face. She looks at my dad, love in her eyes, before looking back at Finn.

"She better be back by midnight Finn, or you'll be in big trouble," Mother warns, raising her eyebrows, turning her head towards me as she says 'big trouble', as if I was the trouble-maker. I can't help but roll my eyes when she turns her head. Finn catches this and lets out a somewhat silent laugh.

And so after a bit of fussing with my dress, which doesn't exactly lighten the blush on my cheeks when my father reminds Finn and I to "behave ourselves" as if we were going to have bathroom sex during the dance. We finally leave the house and walk to Finn's prized possession, his bright blue vintage Mustang. Handed over generation-to-generation, he takes it with great care, occasionally the car first, friends second.

As we walk there, my hand automatically slips into his, something that isn't a surprise or out of the ordinary in any way. I don't know when we started doing this, and my parents have occasionally seen us holding hands and wiggling their eyebrows suggestively towards me, but I don't really care. Finn and I don't like each other romantically, or at least I don't think we do in any way. Finn wouldn't ever like me. He's handsome, much too good-looking for me to ever admit to him, for him to ever like me in any other way than the way we are right now. I'm much too plain for him, not plastering the pounds of makeup that other girls do at school. Plus, he's a senior and I'm a junior.

"Excited?" He asks me as he opens the door for me, again, nothing out of the ordinary.

Finn had asked me to the dance, not because he really wanted me going with him, but because of a pact we made when I had become a freshmen and he was a sophomore. We had each promised each other that if no one, or at least no one decent, had asked us to the dance, we would go together. Girls had probably risked much humiliation and the fear of embarrassment to ask Finn, only to be rejected. I asked Finn once about this, only getting the response that the girls who had asked him were all faker than a Barbie doll.

"I guess," I say, shrugging. "You've got to remember that dances aren't exactly my thing, these occasions are for girls like Serena." I pull a piece of green fabric as evidence. "I can't stand getting dressed up for one night and pretending to love the spiked punch."

"Oh come on, Hazel, you don't like going to dances with me?" Finnick gives me a pout, failing as his lips curl up into a small smile.

I roll my eyes. "Finn, as much as I just love going to these school-held dances," I add extra sarcasm to my voice, "I'm going to have to say that I'm not exactly in love with the smell of sweat in the gym and the shitty music that they play."

"Party pooper," Finn mutters before starting the car, turning the music up to the highest volume, the radio playing Scream and Shout.

"Jesus Finn, I never thought that you'd go as low as to listening to post-rehab Britney and will. i. am.," I tease, having to shout over the radio. I barely hear Finn laughing over the music, finally turning it down to a barely respectable level.

We finally reach a circular driveway, a white mansion sitting behind a perfectly trimmed green lawn. Serena's house. We head toward the French doors, pressing on the white doorbell before stepping back.

One of the doors opens up to reveal Serena, gorgeous in a simple white dress, peplum, I think she called it, was the design. I didn't really listen much when it came to dress talk. Her blonde hair was in perfect curls, her makeup done expertly; no doubt some professional did it for her. She stood without a wobbling at all in a pair of sky-high sparkling silver heels. I felt completely underdressed in my asymmetrical green dress and short black heels, my hair in a quickly-tied braid. Finn should have asked Serena.

"Hey guys!" Serena grinned, clutching a matching sparkly clutch in her hand. Her parents, Madge and Gale, stood behind her with proud smiles upon their faces.

"You look great Serena," I complimented, giving her an awkward smile. I involuntarily teetered on my heels, nearly falling. Luckily, Finn's hand grabs my arm before I could fall face first onto the patio.

Serena gave me a bright smile. "Thanks, but you look much better than me Hazel. My hair was such a pain in the ass." I laugh, mostly for the fact that she's only saying that I look 'much better' was because she feels bad.

"No compliments for me? I didn't get in this tux for no reason!" Finn whines girlishly, flipping his non-existent bangs in a Justin Bieber-like way. Serena giggles, turning bright red. I'm almost positive that she had a crush on him, but this was also Serena, who turned into a tomato at even the slightest joke.

"You look very pretty tonight Finn," I sigh. Finn nods in approval, giving me a smile and a wink, forcing me to blush involuntarily. Jesus, why did I have to be such a girl?

Serena, Finn, and I all eventually walk back to the car, Serena and I's shoes clapping the multi-brown pebbled driveway. Again, Finn and I walk together, holding hands. Serena raises an eyebrow, as if she's never seen it before, but I just narrow my eyes before turning my head back forward.

"Let prom night begin," Finn mutters before we begin driving out and toward the school.

And so the whole drive there, Finn complains about my taste in music as I slide in a Dexy's Midnight Runners album, to which I ignore, singing along to the sound of Kevin Rowland's singing, while Serena talks about how she hopes that her date, Steven Evens, gives her a corsage.

Finally, we park and I can't help but think, let's get this over with. It won't be too bad having Finn as my date, but it wasn't like I especially wanted to go. My mother had told me that when I got older, I'd regret not going, although I'm almost sure that I was going to regret going and having my feet stepped on my Finn.

"Where do you think Steven is?" Serena asks desperately as we walk into the sweaty gym, couples bumping into us every once in a while. Finn's arm is looped around mine and I can't help but be glad for it, especially since I know I'd probably face plant onto the ground, or worse, fall on someone.

Serena leaves us as she finally sees Steven, who was currently nose-to-nose with another girl. Finn and I watched as Serena stomped over to Steven furiously, pointing into his chest, her face visibly red even in the dim lights of the gym. We watch him argue and raise his hands up in protest before she finally grabs his shirt and kisses him deeply. Finn and I look at each other in disgust and confusion.

"Is that how arguments are fixed?" Finn joked, poking my rib with his elbow, snickering.

I sigh. "I hope that Serena is the only one who believes that making out completely solves a fight."

"Just warning you, if we get in an argument, I'm not kissing you," Finn warns, laughing. My cheeks redden at the thought of kissing Finn. It's not like I've never thought about it before, being best friends with the opposite sex usually raises a couple eyebrows on occasion. But it's not like that would ever happen; Finn and I are strictly friends, and always will be. I wouldn't ever be able to see it any other way.

"I wouldn't count on it," I reply awkwardly. Finn doesn't reply.

An uncommon silence occurs and I feel the need to say something, but I can't. The only thing I hear is the incredibly horrible music blasting from the nearby speakers, and I need to listen to Finn laugh or talk or something to distract me from it.

"Want to dance?" Finn suddenly asks, forcing me from my other thoughts. I sigh in relief, until I realize the song is soft and slow. Of course it is.

"Sure," I say, joining one hand with Finn's, the other on his shoulder, his on my waist. We sway awkwardly to the sound of Adele, avoiding the glares of girls who I'm sure Finn had rejected. It wasn't completely rare, but it was still just as uncomfortable as it had been the first time.

And so I ignore Finn's feet squishing my toes, and I try to keep my hands from getting sweaty. My trying obviously wasn't good enough, because my hands stay that way until the end of the song and we let go.

"Maybe you should start wearing steel-toed shoes when we go to dances together," Finn suggests, snickering. "I'm really am sorry about stepping on you though."

"I'll keep the steel-toed shoes in mind Finn," I give him a tight-lipped smile before sitting back on the wooden bleachers, putting my hands in my lap.

Finn sighs, sitting down next to me. "Do you think Serena's caught Steven trying to hook up with some other girl while she grabs two cups of spiked punch yet?"

"I'm sure that it would turn into a big scene if she did catch him."

"Who do you like Hazel?"

The sudden question startles me, and I look at him with narrowed eyes, confused. "Why?"

"I dunno, we're best friends and we don't even know who the other likes," Finn says, almost a little too quickly.

I sigh, crossing my legs. "No one, to be honest. I don't think any guy really would notice me even if I did. I'm not exactly a Scarlet Stentson, so I'm not really getting date requests every day."

Scarlet Stentson was basically the classic popular girl. Blonde, blue eyes. The only thing about her that made me jealous was the fact that she didn't wear any makeup, making her naturally beautiful. Her clothes were a bit proactive to say the least. She was head of the student council, cheer captain, won practically every crown to every school dance. She flaunts every boy she dates as if they were her new purse.

"Everybody has a crush on someone Hazel," Finn says knowingly, nudging me in the arm playfully.

I huff in slight annoyance. "Well I don't."

"You tell me who you like and I'll tell you?" Finn pleads.

"Are we really playing that game?"

"Yes."

"I told you, I don't like anyone," I insist. I look straight into Finn's eyes, making sure he knows I don't like anyone. Just looking into his emerald eyes slightly makes my heart flutter but I ignore it. Just hormones.

Finn turns his head back to the crowd of people, now crowding around the small mobile platform they had put opposite of the deejay table. Prom queen and king, I assume is what people are getting so excited for. I never understood what the point of getting a crown then having to dance with whoever got the other crown was. It sounds a little awkward and uncomfortable, honestly. This year, Serena had been nominated. So I had to deal with even more dance talk than I was used to.

"You want to see who won?" Finn asks, standing up, holding out his hand for me to take.

I sigh and nod, knowing that if I don't go and support Serena, she'd probably kill me.

And so we walk together toward the platform, watching the three girls stand anxiously, watching the fourth girl run up the platform quickly, sex hair, her face flushed, and a piece of toilet paper sticking to her heel. Just what my father had warned me about what not to do. I hold on my snicker.

"Gee, couldn't pick a classier prom queen nominee, don't you think?" Finn asks, sarcasm dripping in his tone.

"A possible prom queen walking back from bathroom sex is exactly what the other female students of Panem High School need to see and think 'I want to be exactly like her'," I roll my eyes. Finn snickers and we turn our attention back to the stage as we hear Serena's name called from the microphone.

"And prom queen goes to…" The deejay pauses dramatically, "Serena Hawthorne!"

I can't help but smile for my best friend as her eyebrows scrunch up in confusion, disbelief across her face as they place the plastic crown upon her gold-spun hair. She nearly trips on her four-inch heels as she runs up to the microphone to give her speech.

I know this is going to sound really bad, but I tune her out. Yes, she's my best friend, but I came to see if she had won or not, isn't that enough?

Finn slips his hand away from mine and I look at him in confusion. What is he doing? Is he bored of me? Maybe he's going to congratulate Serena? She's still on the stage though.

Finn stands uncomfortably next to three other boys on the platform and I raise my eyebrows toward him until I realize that Finn was nominated for prom king. Both of my only friends, nominated for prom queen and king.

I hear Finn's name get called out for winning the title of prom king, and I give him my best congratulatory smile until I realize he's going to dance with Serena. It shouldn't matter to me, but it does. I don't know why but it angers me, really.

And so a crowd surrounds Finn and Serena as they dance, and they almost look too perfect together. They look probably nothing like Finn and I had, when we had danced, we were awkward and bumbling. But not Finn and Serena.

Soon enough the crowd dissolved and spread out into other places in the gym and I was left sitting on the bleachers, alone. And so like the loner I am, I watched Finn and Serena dance, both of them smiling and talking.

Yes, they're both friends, but they aren't as close as I am with each of them. It angers me that I'm Finn's best friend and date, but he's still dancing with Serena although no one's watching anymore.

And I didn't want to admit that it hurt when Finn leaned down to kiss Serena, and I definitely couldn't admit how I felt when she kissed him back with pure passion.

Oh no.. So next chapter's going to be a lot of drama and fighting with Hazel and Finn and Hazel trying to figure out her feelings.. Was the first chapter good or bad? Thanks for reading! Please review!