Hey guys! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Anyone else going as Katniss? Haha, it's funny because, in reality, I'm just sitting here typing instead of being out and about! Sandy delayed our Trick-or-Treat, so… Yeah. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 7: the Halloween Dance

"Skeeter! It's time to get up now!" Finnick shouts from the kitchen.

Skeeter buries his head in a pillow.

"I'm not going to school today."

"You have to! It's the day of the Halloween Dance!"

Skeeter reluctantly sits up, not in the mood.

Even so, he feels like an intruder to Finnick and Annie, so he gets dressed and tries to find his way to the kitchen in the unfamiliar house. When he walks in, Finnick can tell by the expression on his face that he needs a little bit of encouragement.

"Come on, don't give me that look! It's going to be awesome, I promise! There will be music, snacks, costumes, fun, friendship, and even… Romance!"

"Why would I be interested in any of that?"

"Come on, Skeeter. I think that you need to loosen up. Learn to have a little fun!"

"I do have fun, sometimes."

"You need to have fun all the time! I think you'll find out that it makes you much more optimistic," Finnick says, getting bowls of cereal for the both of them.

"Who needs optimism? Why would I need any optimism? I have nothing left to be optimistic about!"

He sits down at the table. Finnick shrugs, "You seem to find quite a friend in Rue."

"Yeah, sure. But, what do you think, I should be optimistic that she'll come to love me? Yeah, right."

Finnick gives him a smile, "Eat your cereal, Kiddo."

Soon, the two are on the road to school. "What does Annie do without you all day?"

"She works at the elementary school. She's a guidance counselor. You know, if you ever wanted to talk to her, I think it'd do you good."

Skeeter looks out the window. "Hey, there's Rue! Oh, man, she's going to ride the bus, isn't she?"

"Not necessarily." He pulls over on the sidewalk. Skeeter rolls down the window. "Hey, Rue! Come on, we have candy!"

She laughs, and climbs into the back seat. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

"Just going to school," Finnick says, "You didn't miss much."

"Mr. Odair, I'm SO EXCITED for tonight! It's going to be AWESOME!"

Finnick lets out a harty laugh. "See, Kiddo? You could really learn something from her."

In homeroom, Marvel sinks low in his chair. He, for one, is dreading tonight. He does not want to face little Rue, and nagging Poppy, and he doesn't want to face the other populars, not without a girl. He just wants to sink down and disappear.

Poppy, however, can't sit still. She squirms in her seat, excited for tonight and to Trick or Treat.

Finally, Marvel is too annoyed to keep up with her excitement any longer.

"What is your problem?"

Poppy looks back at him. "What? Oh, sorry, I'm just REALLY EXCITED for the dance! Why? Aren't you?"

"No." If you could shoot words at someone, this would be how. He puts his head down again.

"Why not? What's wrong?"

"I don't have a date to the dance."

To this, Poppy bursts out laughing. "Marvel! You don't need a date for this dance! Unless that's an unspoken rule for you popular kids! You're fine, Marvel! I don't have a date, either! That's why I have friends!"

She thinks this is funny, but her words stick in his head. If he's refusing to go with his three idols, the three he calls his "best friends," then he begins to rethink who his friends actually are.

He draws a blank. 'Great, now I'm going to the dance as a loner.'

"What about Cato?"

Marvel knows he just thought out loud, and he hates it when he does. "Clove and I had a fight," he tells her half of the truth.

"Oh. That's too bad." He knows by the tone that she means it, but he hates it because he feels as if she's talking down to him. Before he can retort, though, Ms. Trinket starts the activities of the day.

In his homeroom, Skeeter begins to think. He knows this is dangerous for him, but he can't help it. His mind just works on its own terms.

Rory is stuck on his math homework, and he figures his goody-goody of a locker partner may have some of the answers.

"Psst! Pssssssst!" He doesn't exactly know the kid's name, so he resorts to tapping him with a pencil. "Hey!"

Skeeter is snapped out of his thoughts by his rebel of a locker partner tapping him with a pencil. It's annoying, so Skeeter finally gives in, "What?"

It's awkward because, though they've been locker partners for a month, they haven't bothered to learn each other's names.

"Are you in Geometry?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I didn't get the lesson. Maybe you could help me?"

Skeeter sighs, "Fine." The two work on Rory's homework together, which, Skeeter figures, is easier than lurking in the depressing place that is his head.

Finch and Katniss are exchanging costume ideas, when suddenly, Cato walks in. Katniss, just like every day, has to look him over up and down.

"If you like Cato, why don't you talk to him?"

"What? Me and Cato? Are you joking?" She blushes.

"Admit it: you like him! It's OK! Go! Go talk to him!"

Katniss shakes her head, "That's easy for you to say! You have yourself a boyfriend! It's not as easy for me as it was for you and Thresh!"

Finch laughs, "Come on! Give me one good reason why you can't just go up and say hi!"

And she walks in just then. Glimmer sends Katniss an icy glare before taking her seat next to Cato.

"Glimmer. She'll kill any girl that Cato even looks at!"

Finch tries to reassure her friend, "Don't worry. Glimmer and Cato's relationship has passed its prime. It'll be over in no time, I swear! Come on, how long do high school relationships really last?"

Katniss wants to point out that Finch and Thresh have been dating for almost a year now, but just decides to please her friend for now.

In first lunch, Rue is drawing another picture, when suddenly she hears fast footsteps coming towards her.

"FRESHY! You never told me you're in first lunch!" It's Nathalia, of course.

Rue hates to admit it, but she's glad to see Nathalia there. She's actually grown close to her senior, which she never thought would happen in a million years.

"You look lonely. Well, I'm lonely, too! Now we can… not be lonely!"

She sits down next to Rue. "I'm glad I found you. I wanted to have a chat with you."

"What's up?"

"It's about Skeeter. Theo is really worried about him."

"I am, too."

"I think I know how we can help him."

"How?"

"It's simple! MUSIC!"

"How will that help?"

"It would be good for him- and you- to start bonding with the glee club. They're an amazing source of comfort, and caring. And, the best way to do that, is to sing. You do want to steal some solos, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. But he'll never agree to sing for the whole glee club by himself."

"Then, you can sing with him! It'll be fun!"

Rue thinks about Mr. Odair, and what Skeeter had told her about their "having fun" conversation.

She grins. "I do like to have fun!"

Now, it's seventh period. In the art room, they're having a free day, being able to use whatever they wanted to do whatever they wanted.

Poppy draws Halloween drawings all over everything. She's teeming with excitement.

Katniss automatically goes for the charcoal. She's so used to drawing on the sidewalk with child's chalk, and learning how to dust the powder just the right way. She's drawing a broken heart, thinking about her beloved Cato.

"Hey Katniss!" Mr. Odair surprises her. She sneezes loudly, but laughs warmly. "Hello!"

"What are you up to?"

"Charcoal."

He laughs, "Obviously, but what is your inspiration?"

She sighs, "It's about my love for… A certain guy… That already has a girlfriend, and would probably never love me anyways…."

Mr. Odair takes on a more serious tone, "Oh, well that's too bad. But, I love how you are channeling those emotions and putting them into this work. This piece is going to be amazing."

Katniss looks up, gratefully. "Thank you."

Now Mr. Odair goes up to Peeta, and looks at his painting. Mr. Odair sees his work, a stormy sea, with one little boat on it, sinking.

"What's this, Peeta?"

"Do you know that feeling… When you really love someone… But, they don't even bother to acknowledge your existence?"

"I do, Peeta, I do. So, I'm guessing that's who you're thinking about?"

"She's… Really really special to me." He looks over at Katniss, and sighs.

"Well, it looks SPECTACULAR, Peeta. Keep up the good work."

"Sure. Will do."

In the glee club, Rue is excited about the dance. Nathalia uses her energy to help Rue sing in front of the club.

Everyone chats excitedly, until Nathalia calls them.

"Today is the big debut of our… FRESHMEN!"

Skeeter mopes, "Great…" Now he's even more angry.

"This is Rue and Skeeter, and they would like to sing for us!"

Skeeter glowers at Theo, who's just as shocked as him.

Rue looks around, and picks a Halloween song that she knows Skeeter loves.

Theo starts the karaoke.

"It's astounding,

Time is… Fleeting….

Madness,

Takes its toll,

But listen Closely…."

Rue joins in, and Theo pushes Skeeter down to the main floor, putting a microphone into his hands. Skeeter looks around nervously, but sees all of the kids with looks of curiosity and acceptance. He knows he best not disappoint them, and he's already found himself singing the best he ever has.

"Let's do the time warp again!

Let's do the time warp again!"

Now Rue starts to dance, and takes his free hand, spinning him around. The glee kids are all laughing, and Athena and Theo dance along. Nathalia whistles. And now, Skeeter is able to throw all of his troubles into the garbage. He's finding that he likes this feeling. Now, it's Rue's turn to vocalize, and he lets her take center stage, enjoying her company.

Now the whole glee club helps with the chorus.

"Let's do the time warp again!

Let's do the time warp again!"

Now, Athena sings, too.

"Well I was walking down the street
Just a having a think
When a snake of a guy gave me an evil wink"

Nathalia picks up,
"He shook-a me up, he took me by surprise
He had a pick up truck and the devil's eyes
He stared at me and I felt a change
Time meant nothing, never would again,"

And everyone joins in for the next chorus.

"Let's do the time warp again!

Let's do the time warp again!"

Now, they're all having fun, and getting into the mood for Halloween.

And, now, Skeeter suddenly understands what his foster father meant when he said that Skeeter needs to have more fun. He needs to stop worrying so much.

The song ends, and all the members strike a pose.

Mr. Everdeen applauds and smiles.

"Now we have a glee club."

That night, Skeeter goes into it smiling. Rue introduces him to all the friends she's made. She decides not to stress him out by telling him about Marvel, so they stick to Peeta and Poppy.

Poppy dresses as a hippie from the 90's.

Katniss is in full hunting her most ripped clothes. She's a hobo. Prim is dressed like a cheerleader.

Peeta is in his baker's outfit.

Skeeter had to throw together a last-minute costume, so he wears a sheet over his head. He's a ghost. Everyone laughs about it, though.

Marvel is just another lame vampire.

They play music, and do some last-minute decorating.

Cato wears his football attire, and Glimmer wears a sexy kitten costume.

Nathalia dresses in her favorite poodle skirt, and Theo wears a cowboy outfit. The freshmen hang out with them.

Mason is dressed in full camouflage, face painted as a hunter.

Clove wears an elegant feathered dress, and a matching mask.

She approaches Cato and Glimmer.

"Hey-O, Clove!"

"No more of this! Cato, I can't take this anymore! You have to choose! ME, or GLIMMER!"

"Woah, woah, Clove. What are you saying?"

"I've ALWAYS loved you, Cato! How could you never know!? I can't just stay friends with you!"

"Cato, we're in LOVE! She's just a junior, kick her to the curb!"

Cato's blue eyes find Clove's. "Is that true?"

"No more stalling! Pick!"

"Think of all the great times we've had! You love ME, not HER! CATO!"

Cato has to make a quick decision. His love for Glimmer, or for Clove.

"Sorry," he says, staring at Clove. Glimmer smirks.

That is, until Cato takes Clove into his arms and kisses her.