Previously on I Never Planned on You:
"Cato." He states before placing his hand out in front of him
I look from his hand back up to his face to see if he is joking. I have never seen a more serious look on his face before.
"Clove." I say placing my hand in his and shaking it
"Well I am glad we all now each other!" BeeTee says happily
Oh how wrong BeeTee is!
With that simple hand shake we went from two friends, who were barely talking, to complete strangers
Cato
It's been two weeks.
12 days, 14 hours and 37 minutes to be exact. But, who's counting.
It's been two weeks since I hastily decided to cut Clove out of my life completely.
"She's going to be happier and I'm going to be happier since we don't have to worry about each other anymore."
I repeated that over and over again in my head as I left BeeTee's class that day.
I was wrong ... yet again.
I watch as she looks at my hand that is held out in front of her and lifts her eyes to meet mine to see if I'm joking. Marvel always told me that I was good on hiding my true emotions so it wasn't that hard to keep a serious face. Her face is painted with confusion and I can see hurt in her eyes. The confusion is quickly wiped away, but the hurt look in her eyes is still there. She reaches her small hand for my monstrous one and wraps it around mine.
"Clove." She says simply
At that moment everything that happened between the two of us was gone and we became complete strangers by a simple hand shake.
That moment has been replayed in my head for the last 12 days, 14 hours and now 40 minutes. The way Clove's face looked has been etched in my brain and haunts me wherever I go, I see her everywhere, in every girl I see. Even in Delly, which is kind of creepy. This by far has been the worst decision I have ever made.
I have been absolutely worthless since that day. I just go through the motions of school and practice to get home and sit in my room for the rest of the night.
We had our first football game last week, thanks to me not being focused we almost lost until Coach pulled me out and put Gale in as quarterback who pulled out a win for us. Needless to say I heard it from my sister when I got home from the game. I zoned out during majority of the conversation, but I heard a lot of 'selfish', 'idiot' and 'stupid' used which was her way of describing me.
But, in her rant the one thing that did stick out to me was when she said: "Cato, this is not you! When you find the real you let me know because the real you doesn't give up this easily!" My sister and best friend both told me that I need to go find myself.
So here I am sitting at one last ditch effort.
Sitting ... and waiting ... sitting ... and waiting ...
Clove
It's been two weeks.
The day that everything happened in BeeTee's room I went home after practice, ate dinner in silence with my dad and cried myself to sleep. I was mad, worn out, exhausted and just plain pissed.
I told Jackie what happened the next day. I'm not sure if that was the best decision, any time we were in even a ten foot radius of Cato I made sure any potential weapons were far away from Jackie. Or she would have found a plastic spoon to use as weapon to hurt him. Yes, what he did hurt, but he doesn't deserve to be physically hurt because of it. Even though his little plan seemed to backfire and hurt him more than it hurt me. On the plus side, she did help me not spend so much time sulking over what happened and fully enjoy my senior year with all my friends.
Then there was the football game last Friday. For one of the top ranked quarterbacks on the east coast, Cato basically blew it. That was until Brutus pulled him and put Gale instead, who gave us the win.
Marvel was stunned as he watched Cato get tackled play after play, and throw so many interceptions. 'Something's wrong.' He kept mumbling repeatedly the entire game. It got to the point where he couldn't watch the game anymore and sat on the bleacher with his head in his hands and Jackie rubbing his back trying to calm him down.
If only Marvel knew what happened. I didn't tell him what happened, it wasn't worth it.
Cato got his wish though, he wanted us to be like strangers and that's exactly what it's been. The only form of contact we have is when I catch him looking at me during lunch from the other end of the lunch table. Immediately I feel the heat start to rise on my face because his damn eyes are so captivating. But, I look away immediately.
Now I am driving home from practice in the pouring rain and can barely see out my front windshield. As I slowly pull into my driveway my headlights catch the red paint of Lucy's VW beetle, I forgot it's Friday and my dad is off to somewhere else to do commentary for a football game.
While I am trying to park my phone starts ringing and vibrating somewhere deep in the recesses of my back pack. Once I put my car in park I take the keys out of the ignition as the car goes quiet and the rain pelts the front window. My phone stops ringing before I can find it.
"Shoot!"
Big surprise my phone was in the front pocket of my backpack, I press the button on the front and see:
1 Missed Call
Hawthorne
Gale have the relationship where we call each other by our last names, and last names only. Needless to say my name in his phone is just Calloway. I press the call button and he answers before there is even a full ring.
"Calloway why didn't you answer your phone! This is important!" He barks on the other end
"Couldn't find it. What is so important?"
"Have you seen Cato?"
"No?" My answer comes out more as a question "Aren't you guys still at practice?"
"Everyone is, expect for him. He's skipped practice for the last two days."
"Really?!"
"Yes! When was the last time you saw him?"
"Last period, during Ms. Trinkets class." I yell into the phone as I run to my front door, carrying my back pack, practice bag, and cell phone while trying to dodge all the raindrops
"You are sure that's the last time you saw him?"
"Yes, Officer Hawthorne that is the last time I saw him. Unless he magically appears in my bedroom I have no idea where he is." I tell him and wave to Lucy who is in the kitchen
"This is not the time to be joking Calloway! Brutus told us if we don't find him by tomorrow Odair and I are going to get our asses handed to us on a silver platter." The anger in his voice starting to rise now
"Alright calm down. I really wish I could help," Lie. "but I have no idea where he-"
"Calloway? Hello? You have no idea what?"
There he is sitting on my bed; blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect abs.
"Guess who I just magically found on my bedroom?"
"Cato? You better not be joking. I'm ser-"
"I got to go Hawthorne."
"Calloway don't hang up o-"
Click.
I don't know how to feel right now. Furious? Yes. Excited? Maybe. Sad? No. Confused? That's a definite yes.
I just stand at my doorway staring at him and he is staring at me from my bed. He is still in his school uniform, but his tie is loosened and the two top buttons of his shirt is unbuttoned. His blazer and phone, which is now lighting up, is siting next to him on my bed.
I have half of a mind to kick him out of my house right now, but something in me wants to hear what lovely things he has to say this time.
"Since we are both just standing here not saying anything. Let me get something out of the way. How the hell did you get in here?"
"Lucy."
Typical.
"What do you want? You got your wish of us being strangers, Cato. Why are you still bothering me?" I say stepping further into my room and shutting the door "After two weeks of not talking to me, now you have something to say? What could it possibly be?"
"Can you just shut up for once Clove?" He growls at me
"Excuse me!" I can feel the anger starting to bubble inside
"What happened to us?"
"What happened to us? You have got to be kidding me! You are the one that overreacted that day when you found me and Marvel together in Finn's room!"
I see every muscle in his body tighten when I mention that day with Marvel. That is the last straw and sets me over the edge.
"Oh grow up, Cato! He was just being a good friend. Maybe you should learn a thing or two from him."
That doesn't go over well with him and then he starts to retaliate back at me.
"Do you think it's been easy for me Clove? I see you everywhere I go, the check-in girl at the gym, random girls on the street. I can't get you out of my head."
"Well, it certainly didn't seem like that when I found you playing tonsil hockey with Delly at Jackie's party! I bet you didn't even know I walked in on you two. I came looking for you because I wanted to fix things Cato!" I yell back at him
"Do you know how hard it is for me to see you with any other guy? Especially your new boyfriend Marvel."
"What!?" I shriek
He starts to answer, but I hold my hand out "You know what? No, don't answer that. Get out Cato."
"What?" he growls
"Get out Cato. Take this with you." I say opening my bedroom door and shoving the sweatshirt he gave me in the center of his chest
He walks over to my door and steps out into the hallway.
"One last thing," I can feel the tears start to rise in my eyes and one trail down my cheek "If you took any time to think about anyone else, but yourself. You would know Marvel and I aren't dating. He's with Jackie. It's been you, Cato! It's always been you! I thought you would be willing to fight for me. I guess I was wrong."
I slam the door in his face, lock it and slump down against the foot of my door and start shaking violently from the sobs.
There are three rapid knocks at my door.
"Clove!" Cato yells and I hear the door handle jiggle "Dammit! Open the door!"
"Go away!" I moan
The tears keep streaming down my face as I curl up on my side and let the cries take me away to a bleak dream land.
I am woken up almost an hour later to light knocking on my door.
"Ms. Clove? Are you okay?" Lucy's British accent chirps on the other side of the door.
I groan sitting up and stretching out all my limbs from their scrunched up position.
"I don't want to talk Lucy." I tell her
"You don't have to talk Ms. Clove. I just thought you could use a plate of my chocolate chip cookies."
Lucy's famous chocolate chip cookies always make everything better.
I pull myself up off the floor, brush myself off and open the door. When I opened the door Lucy wasn't standing there with a steaming hot plate of cookies, it was Cato now in a pair of dark blue sweatpants and the sweatshirt I shoved at him before holding two dozen red roses in one hand and a container of Lucy's cookies in the other.
Cato looks at me, shuts my door, throws the container of cookies and roses on my dresser and attaches his hands to my face like they were two magnets made for each other. His lips crash against mine with such force I am almost knocked off my feet. I wrap my arms around his neck and tangle my fingers in his blonde hair. Our lips mold together like two perfect puzzle pieces.
Suddenly he pulls away leaning his forehead against mine and staring deep into my eyes.
"I'm sorry, baby. I was such an asshole." He says between pants to catch his breath
"Just shut up and kiss me, you idiot." I say in a low purr, smashing our lips together again
Cato slides his hands from my face down my back pulling me in closer to him so there is no room between both of our bodies. I lift one of my legs up wrapping it around his waist Cato quickly catches on bracing my one thigh with his hand and lifting my other leg with his other hand until my legs are firmly wrapped around his waist.
Every emotion the two of us have held in for the last two weeks are coming out right now. This kiss is filled with such white hot passion I feel like my body is filled with live wires. Cato starts walking towards my bed and gently drops me down on my comforter. Our lips are still dancing together, until I feel his tongue graze my bottom lip I easily let his tongue in and we both start to fight for dominance.
Cato runs his hands down both sides of my body and slips one of his hands under my t-shirt and resting it on the small of my back. His simple touch feels like it has sent my entire body on fire. He cradles the back of my head with his hand and tilts it gently to the side, he starts to move his lips from mine and make a light trail of kisses down my neck. I feel shivers start to trail through my body, and I feel like I am sent off to another universe.
"Cato..." I breathe
"Shhh..." He manages between his kisses
He finishes the trail of kisses and his lips are gone. But, they return quickly with the lightest, airiest kiss making me week at the knees, but bringing me back to reality.
"Holy crap!" We both say at the same time.
Cato lies down on my bed now pulling me into him, so my back is to his chest and he brushes a few stray strands of hair out of my face.
"You're mine, no one else's." He says in a low seductive growl that sends chills down my spine
I shift around so we are both face-to-face, "So does that mean I am the famous Cato Rhodes girlfriend?" I arch my eyebrow at him
He pokes me in the stomach and I squeal with laughter and proceeds to tickles me in my sides to the point I can't breathe from laughing so hard.
"That's the only way I see it." He says wiggling his eyebrows at me flirtatiously
A chill appears through my body and I instantly get up to go get a sweatshirt.
"Where do you think you're going?" Cato chuckles wrapping an arm around my waist
"I was going to get sweatshirt." I tell him giving him my best puppy dog face
"Oh no you're not."
He peels the sweatshirt off that he was wearing, which leaves him in a simple white t-shirt and gently slips it over my head. I slip my arms through the sleeves while he gets up to get the cookies that are sitting on my dresser.
"I told Lucy to go home and not to worry because I'll spend the night here. I'm thinking that we watch the CSI marathon that is on and finish off these cookies?" He says sauntering back to me, shoving a cookie in his mouth
I quickly prop my pillows against my headboard while Cato slides under my comforter next to me. I snuggle into my sweatshirt and rest my head against Cato's chest, he wraps one arm around me drawing small circles on my shoulder. He rests the container in the middle of the two of us and we joyfully eat Lucy's cookies.
"Cato?" I say tiredly looking up to him
"Yeah?"
"I am glad you are here." A wide smile spreads across my face
"Me too." He gives me a quick kiss on the lips
As I feel myself drifting off to sleep Cato gives me a quick kiss on the forehead, which perks me up immediately.
"Goodnight, baby. I'll be here in the morning." He whispers
For the first time since my mom died I have fallen asleep truly happy.
A/N: YAYYYY! Finally Clato as arrived :D haha sooo what are your thoughts? questions, comments, concerns, suggestions always welcome!
This may be the only time that I can update this weekend because I have a really busy weekend coming up. But, I wanted to get this out for sure to you guys because I owed it to you after the last update haha. I hoped you liked this one :)
THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR ALL THE AMAZING REVIEWS! THEY TRUELY MEAN THE WORLD TO ME :)
xoxo
centerstag