Disclaimer: Insert something along the lines of "I do not own The Hunger Games trilogy" here.

Author's Note: I was swimming the other day, and this idea just snapped into my head. It's taken me a while to get it written just because I haven't been in the mood to write for a while. It's definitely Finnick/Annie fic; I think that's my favorite ship to support. I'm trying a new point of view, third person omniscient. I'm getting a little tired of first person in the present form. I'm going to stop being a nerd and shut up now.

XxXxX

"I was down

I was drowning

But it came on just in time

This song saved my life."

~Simple Plan~

Annie stood at the end of the dock swallowing her surroundings. Her eyes skimmed the surface of the unmoving ocean waters. This is what she'd been missing since her arrival home from the Games. But the cause of her victory, the flood that swarmed the arena, had scarred her mind terribly. She was absolutely petrified but still craved the feel of the waves against her skin. Annie had come home months ago. However, her father, with the knowledge of her intense fear, had kept her away from the waters of District 4. She wouldn't necessarily call it fear of the water. More like fear of the memories that dragged along with that water. She was scared that if she would emerge fully in the water, a play-by-play sequence of her time in the Games would replay over and over again in her head.

It was midnight. Annie's father was sleeping, and he did not know that she was out by the ocean. In fact, no one knew where she was. Annie tightened the straps of her bikini top and stuck one leg back as to prepare to propel her forward. She pushed off the wooden dock and dived headfirst into the dark waters. To her surprise, her mind emptied. Her thoughts drained out of her ears right into the waves themselves. She felt her legs penetrate the surface of the water. Her chest skimmed the sandy bottom, then the tops of her thighs, and finally her toes. Annie Cresta was free. Free from fear. Free from insanity. She thought she might be able to live her entire life down at the bottom of the ocean. That was - until she felt her lungs shrivel from lack of oxygen. She rocketed toward the surface after pushing off from the sand and gulped the air from above. Her muscles relaxed in the sea water, releasing the tension that they'd held for months and months. She dove down again feeling her hair swish around her face and the fish tickle her legs. She laughed under the water, emitting bubbles from her mouth. Nothing had felt this good in ages. Then she thought of Finnick. His touch as light as the water caressing her entire body. His breath as sweet as a water lily. His eyes as blue-green as the sea itself. The thought of Finnick made her body feel even lighter as she swirled around playfully in the water. Annie lay upon a moss-covered rock across from the dock. She felt the cool night air snap at her wet skin. She felt the boy. The boy tribute who was the only one left in the arena. She felt his silent underwater screams reverberate in her head and gradually throughout her body. Her limp body was screaming and slipping off the rock. She fell for what felt like thousands of feet. She didn't understand. She was an excellent swimmer. But right now, she was the boy. The boy who couldn't swim when the arena flooded with water. She screamed for somebody, for anybody but met only silent bubbles.

Author's Note: I started this story two months ago, but I only came back to it just now. More chapters will be added shortly!