Chapter 2:
"I suppose you want the dress back" Clove said as she looked at the beautiful red satin gown hanging on her closet door. It was falling off at the hinges and didn't hide the three faded dresses inside, but it was all she had. She ran her hand over the fabric before pulling her own old dress from the rack.
"Keep it. It'll only sit in a locked closet if I take it back" he said from the bed, leaning against the broken headboard, his chest bare.
"I'm not going to wear it. I'll probably be killed for thievery" Clove said, pulling the dress over her naked body. Clove sat next to him on her creaking bed next to her fiancé. Cato had offered several times to buy her new clothes and furniture, but Clove had always refused. She almost never took a hand out from anyone.
"Shame" Cato said, his hand stroking her cheek and leaving a light kiss on her neck, making her crave for more. "You looked so beautiful in it. Well, more beautiful than usual." Clove smiled and her cheeks became a lighter shade of pink. "Like the first time we met. You have become so much more beautiful since then" he said and kissed her jaw. Clove smiled when she remembered when she first met the young prince.
It was a clear day in the kingdom and the town was bustling with villagers. Cato was walking among them, no one gave him a second glance. His father never allowed someone that would be in this market to step foot inside that castle. He had snuck out that day, telling his professor he was going riding, but had just left the castle to wander the kingdom.
Cato walked along the cobblestone streets, looking at the shops and deciding what to buy. He had taken a few coins from his brother, knowing he would never notice. His eyes fell onto a small girl in between two booths. She was extremely beautiful, Cato noticed, but there was something about her that was captivating and different about her beauty.
She looked around, the few midnight black hairs that escaped from her messy bun hitting her face in the process. When she thought no one was watching her, she grabbed a loaf of bread from one cart, stuffing it under her cloak before grabbing an apple and doing the same.
She walked away and Cato followed her, his curiosity was never something he could tame. Then again, he never tried.
He caught up to her quickly. "I saw that, you know" he said. They were now out of the market and in a not inhabited back ally. All of a sudden there was a knife pressed against his throat.
"You didn't see anything" the raven haired beauty said.
"Calm down, beautiful. I just wanted to talk to you. I'm not that good at conversation" he said truthfully, sweat dripping down his forehead as the blade was removed from his neck.
"Oh" she murmured and slid the knife back into her boot. This was the first time she had looked at the boy and she was surprised to note how attractive he was. Boys like him didn't notice girls like her. "Well, I'm Clove Sevina" she said and put out her hand out for him to shake.
Instead of shaking her hand, Cato took it and placed a kiss on it. That's what he had been taught to do in the castle. "I'm Cato Snow."
Clove's gasp was barely audible. Her green eyes were wide and filled with surprise. "As in Prince Cato?" She asked, mortified that she had almost killed the Prince of Panem, the heir to the throne. And he had seen her steal, the King had hanged and whipped so many people for stealing just an apple.
Cato sighed. "Yes, but I would much prefer you to call me Cato."
Clove stared at him for a few seconds. "I am almost killed the Prince" she whispered to herself. "You are going to turn me into the Peacekeepers aren't you?" The Peacekeepers were the police of the kingdom. They were very strict and often whipped people on the spot. King Snow had told them to be brutal and almost never let their victim live.
"No. I like you more than my father so you will live another day, Lady Clove" Cato smiled and Clove visibly relaxed.
"Thank you so much, Prince Cato" she said, giving him a small curtsy. "Surely, there is something I can do for you as a thank you."
The blond boy smiled, holding out his arm for her to take. She took it and he lead her down the cobblestone street. "Two actually" he grinned at her. "One, you are not allowed to call me Prince Cato. Just Cato would suffice well. Two, you would be my friend, if you want to of coarse."
Clove stopped and faced the boy. "Your friend? Don't you have loads of them being the Prince? Why would you want to be my friend? I'm just a commoner from the Seam."
Cato chuckled. "My best friend is my brother. Everyone else I know only cares about me for my title, and I like you."
"I was so scared of you when we first met" Clove said as Cato's lips made a trail from her lips to the base of her neck.
"Why?" Cato murmured against her skin. Clove removed Cato's lips from her neck and met them with her lips. "Stop changing the subject, love. Now tell me, why were you scared of me?"
"I almost killed the heir to the throne and he saw me steal less than five minuets before. I felt like you could get me killed at anytime. Then I fell in love with you and the fear grew" she explained.
"Are you still scared of me?" He asked his finger twirling around a piece of her hair.
Clove shook her head. "Not after the first time you kissed me."
It was the middle of the night, on Clove's birthday. It had been about six months since they first met and their relationship had blossomed. Both of them wanted to become something more, but Clove was to scared to take the step and Cato was looking for the right moment to.
"Cato, where are you taking me?" She asked, holding Cato's hand and hoping she wouldn't trip as he pulled her from her small house and into an open field.
"Well, since you wouldn't accept my present I had to give you something that wouldn't dip into the kingdoms fortune my father is to cheap to spend" he said. Clove had since learned that Cato resented his father. He remarried to early in Cato's opinion and never paid attentions to his sons. "We're here" he whispered and sat her down on the lushis green grass.
He pushed her onto her back and removed the blindfold. Above her was a thousand stars. She let out a gasp. "It's beautiful, Cato" Clove said and he laid down next to her.
"Why do you think I brought you here?" Cato asked, lacing his fingers through hers. This was his opportunity. "It almost compares with your beauty. I also want to tell you something."
Clove grinned. "Besides happy birthday?" She asked, turning in her side to look into Cato's electric blue eyes that seemed to glow in the moonlight.
"Yes" Cato whispered, hie finger brushing some of her hair behind her shoulder. His heart was beating wildly and he swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew how wrong their relationship would seemed to another. They would think Clove was only with Cato for his money, but she wouldn't take anything from him.
"Are you going to tell me or just look at me?" She asked. Her hair shimmered in the light of the full moon, her pale skin made her look like a ghost and her green eyes eliminated like a cat's in the dark.
He blinked. "You know I've never been good with words" he said. It was true, besides Clove, Cato only talked to Peeta. Over the years the two brothers had since came up with secret languages and facial expressions to communicate, so they barely spoke English anyway.
Clove gave an exaggerated sigh. She was amused. "Then how are you going to tell me this very important thing?"
"With actions" he murmured. His hand rested on her freckled cheek and his eyes flitted back and fourth from her eyes to her lips as he leaned in slightly. Clove realized what he was doing and met him half way. Their lips connected and heir feelings were revealed.
"Kissing you is my favorite thing to do" he said and gave Clove a quick peck on the lips. He kissed her repeatedly until she was giggling to much for him to get much of anything besides her teeth. His hands trailed her curves and he pulled away. "Why in Panem did you put on a dress, love?" He asked and Clove laughed once again before Cato's lips silenced her.
A/N: Whoever predicted a flashback of how they met is physic. To the guests Katie, make an account and write a story! If it has Clato in it I will like it and read it so go make an account and put those ideas of yours on paper... Or a document...
