THE CARDINALS MADE THE WORLD SERIES so here's an extra long chapter- although it's kind of bittersweet and almost sad.

I will own The Hunger Games when Katniss stops hunting and becomes a vegetarian.


But you didn't have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough

Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye


Before, he wasn't the cocky, arrogant heartthrob that everyone else adored. Back then, he was my only friend, which pretty much meant I was his only friend. I was openly despised by Glimmer, and anyone Glimmer hated, so did everyone else. I miss the days of sunshine and laughter and secrets kept, so different from the sleepless nights I suffer through now...


"Tag, you're it. Bet you can't catch me, Cate." The blond boy scowls at the nickname and full out runs at the dark haired girl, tackling her and shoving her to the ground.

"Sorry, Clover. Too slow. Maybe next time."

She rolls her eyes and grins at him. He's the only one who can get away with calling her that. They seem so happy, shouting and laughing as they wrestle.

Unfortunately, the pretty little blonde girl with a bright pink dress and ribbons in her hair has to ruin the moment.

"Oh, look, it's Cato and Clover. How sweet."

The boy shrugs and pretends to look away, but the dark haired girl catches him looking at the blonde out of the corner of his eye.

"Shut up, Glitter. Leave us alone. We never did anything to you." the dark haired girl says angrily, staring at the other with stormy gray eyes.

The blonde girl starts to make kissy noises, and the dark haired girl can't help herself. She punches the blonde one in the nose.

Later, at the principal's office, she can't explain why she did it. Yes, she was provoked. But what she doesn't say, and never will, is that she felt an intrusion when the blond boy looked at the other girl. She doesn't like to share.

I wake up from the memory-dream with tears in my eyes. I might as well admit it. I miss the old Cato, the one who ruffled my hair and called me Clover, the guy who taught me how to throw a football and play a scale on a guitar.

That's why I don't like it when Olive calls me Clover- the nickname belongs to him and him alone. I had buried theses memories deep, in places where I was sure they couldn't resurface and taunt me again, but I must have been wrong.

And of all the things I've told Olive over the years, I've never told her about me and Cato. It's stupid, I know, but I wanted to keep the memories of him all to myself. I'm not quite sure that she'd believe me, anyway. Cato's so different now- and so is everyone else. I guess we kind of grew apart in the later years, because in fourth grade he met Marvel and Finnick and in fifth grade I met Katniss. Eventually the bond that had held is together for so long broke, and we barely even talked in middle school. But until it happened, I never imagined Cato hanging with Glimmer's gang.

I've had other guy friends- Peeta Mellark and Gale Hawethorne are in my same social group, but it's never been quite the same.

Now here we are. He's the star player on the football team, the most popular and sought after guy in the entire high school, and I'm the quiet, shy wall flower watching from a distance.

His football number is 2.

Not that I would ever admit it to my friends, but I still watch him sometimes, looking in vain for traces the laughing blue eyed boy who promised he'd protect me from Glimmer forever, although until very recently I never noticed him watching me. I think they're dating now, further proof that Cato's slipped away forever.

I don't know why this bothers me so much. We have different lives, different futures. I had almost forgotten about the boy with the sea blue eyes.

Now, though- if Olive is right and he really does stare at me, I don't know how long I can go before we cross paths again.

I'm just glad that today's a Saturday, because I don't want to do anything but stay in bed and write all day. Or cry until I fall asleep again. And maybe, if I feel up to it, walk down to the gas station and buy myself a soda.

And that's just what I'm doing when my phone rings. Olive and Annie, it seems, have other plans for me.

"Enough fucking around. Get your sorry ass over here NOW. We're going to the park."

I sigh inwardly. "Alright, fine. Just let me put on some clothes and get ready," I say, cradling the phone in between my shoulder and neck and frantically dragging a brush through my dark tangled hair.

"See you soon," she says, and the phone dies with a click.

I throw on some dark wash jeans and a plain black T-shirt, putting my hair in a sloppy bun. I shove my phone in my pocket and grab my keys off the top of my desk. Some papers flutter to the ground in the breeze created by my frantic movements, and I gasp for air, feeling as though I just had the wind knocked out of me.

Below the cluttered mess of paper that is my desk top, a picture peeks out, curled at the edges and slightly faded. In it, a much younger version of me stands next to Cato. His arm is around my shoulders and I'm laughing like crazy. If I remember correctly, it was taken on the last day of third grade, just before he started t slip away.

I look happy. Happier then I ever am nowadays.

I shake my head and turn away, thumping down the stairs and sprinting past my parents on the way out the door. "I'm going to Olive's house, we were planning on going to the park bye!"

Before they can reel off a list of chores I need to do before I earn the 'privilege' to be with my friends, I leave.

I practically fly down the pavement, loving the free feeling of running loose, the wind teasing wisps of hair out of my bun to fly around my face. I press on faster, and harder, like if I run fast enough I can escape all the bad memories and the things weighing me down.

I am happy; I am free.

By the time I get to Olive's house, I'm out of breath and desperately in need of a drink of water. She gives me a glass of water, and I take slow, careful sips as we wait for Annie to arrive.

"So what's the plan?" I ask, setting the water down on her kitchen counter.

"We were just going to walk around town for a bit. Although personally I think it's because Annie's hoping to 'run into' Finnick."

I giggle and slap her arm, just as Annie walks through the door.

"Ready, guys?" she says, tossing a package of Skittles at each of us. I catch it with one hand and shove it in my pocket.

"Let's go."

We start out the door, laughing and talking about people at school and our favorite books.

"So apparently Glimmer's two timing on Cato," Annie says, looking over her shoulder to make sure nobody's behind us.

"Oh, really?" Olive tosses her sleek red hair over her shoulder and arches an eyebrow. "Well, I must say I'm not surprised. I think Cato might be two timing on Glimmer as well. I'm pretty sure that they're just friends with benefits."

I look down at the ground. My friends talking about Cato like this always makes me kind of uncomfortable.

"Clover? What's wrong?"

I take a deep breath and force my head upwards. "Don't call me that. I kind of need to tell you guys something."

"What is it?" Annie says, leaning closer.

"I... back in elementary school, Cato and I were really, really close. We were kind of each other's only friends. That's why I always get weird whenever we start talking about Cato. And that's why I don't like it when you call me Clover- that was his nickname for me."

"He broke your heart, didn't he?" Annie pushes in. "That's why you don't talk anymore. Right?"

I shake my head. "It's not like that. We were kids. We never dated. We just sort of grew apart. And he wasn't always such a player."

"Fuck. I just... wow. I never would have expected that." Olive shakes her head. "Did you ever like him like that?"

I have to think about it for a moment. I've never really had a crush before, so I don't have much to go on, but I realize that maybe I did like Cato. When we started to bond more with our other classmates, I got territorial when I saw him talking with other girls. Deep within, I always thought that he would be my Cato for ever. "Now that I think of it, yes," I say quietly.

Olive grins cheekily and raises her eyebrows at me. "Well shit. So that's why you turn bright red whenever he looks at you. You still like him, don't you."

It's not a question, but my silence is answer enough.

"Cato and Clove, sitting in a tree-"

"Hey, they're Clato!" Olive butts in with a giggle.

"Shut up, you two!" I say, annoyed." He could be right around the-"

Well, hell. Speak of the devil. As we turn the corner to walk past the playing field at the park, we see a bunch of guys from our class playing a shirts vs. skins game of football, with a couple girls on the sidelines watching.

Including Cato.

His muscles twist and flex as he tackles Marvel and grabs the ball, and for a moment I think I'm dreaming. For the second time today I feel as if the wind's been knocked out of me, and I can't stop staring at him.

I just hope nobody heard my crazy friends.

"Let's watch them," I suggest." Sit on the bleachers, or something."

"We can't," Annie says, a horrified look on her face. "Glimmer's up there."

"So?" I roll my eyes. " We can kick that bitch's ass any day. And Gale and Peeta are playing too. It's not a crime to watch."

"True that," Olive says. "Also, don't you want to see Finnick with his shirt off?"

Annie grins. "Or maybe it's just that you want to see Thresh with his shirt off."

Olive has had a crush on Thresh since eighth grade, and it's been a constant source of teasing between us. She grins devilishly as we make our way up to the top row of the bleachers, earning frosty glares from Glimmer and her friend Cashmere.

"Don't I know it. Katniss is going to be sorry she missed seeing Peeta shirtless."

Just before we sit down, Cato glances upward and catches sight of us. The cocky, arrogant grin makes a reappearance as he tackles yet another unlucky guy, obviously showing off. I roll my eyes, but in his I see just a hint of Clover's Cato, back from the dead.

This chapter took longer for me to write, partly because the dialog was a bit tricky but also because it brought back memories of my own 'guy friend'... hope you enjoyed!

Five reviews and I'll post another one. You know what to do. And if I get enough, I'll put a little Clato 'surprise' in the next chapter...