Madge sat brushing her best friend's matted hair. It had once been long and beautiful, but now it was cut jaggedly since Katniss had tried to attack the hospital's hairdresser. The girl attacked everyone who came near her – doctors, nurses, friends, even family. Everyone except Madge. That was especially hard on poor little Prim. Nobody could understand it. She hadn't been with Katniss when the accident happened. The only thing that could be linked to Katniss' acceptance of Madge was when the ambulance arrived, Katniss was asking for her friend.
The blonde girl sighed, her thoughts drifting to her boyfriend, Gale. A wave of giddiness swept through her at the thoughts of him waiting outside the hospital, ready to bring her out to dinner. Madge wanted to cast down the hairbrush and run outside to where he would sweep her off her feet and –
Shame and guilt crushed down on her. Here she was, wishing to run off with her boyfriend, abandoning her best friend who had no-one else to help her. Shame wasn't a strong enough word for how she felt. If it had been the other way around, Katniss would be with Madge every second of the day. Madge's train of thought was interrupted by a nurse entering with a tray of food.
"Oh, look Katniss," She said with a forced cheerfulness. "Lamb stew - your favourite!"
Katniss lifted her eyes to study the dish, then resumed gazing at the wall in front of her. Madge tsked.
"Katniss," She scolded. "You must eat your dinner! If you don't, the nurses will have to feed you, and I know you don't like that, now, do you?"
Silence. Madge sighed and started brushing again. Katniss did pick up the spoon and begin eating though, which Madge saw as an improvement. She started humming as she brushed, her thoughts drifting to the dance next week. What would she wear? When would Gale ask her? Should she wear her hair up or down or –
"What do you think about people who lie to you? About people who leave you when you need them the most? People who are meant to love you?" Katniss' raspy voice shocked Madge, who sat there for a moment trapped in those stunning grey eyes. She swallowed before answering.
"Well," She said carefully. "I don't like it when people lie to me, but if they love me, then I'd say that they had a good reason to lie, and I'd forgive because I love them. If they left, I would wait for them, even if it hurt."
Katniss nodded, her face going into deep concentration as she sat as still as a statue. Madge glanced at the clock on the wall. Six o'clock. Time for her to leave. She stood up, brushing down her skirts and putting on her coat.
"Goodbye Katniss," She said to her friend. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
There was no response, though it wasn't as if Madge expected one. She walked to the door, about to pull it open, when Katniss' voice stopped her.
"I want to see Cato."
Madge whirled around, her eyes going wide. "Pardon?"
"I want to see Cato," Katniss repeated, her eyes trained on the other girl's face.
"Are you sure you don't want to see someone else? Your mother? Prim?" Madge asked, watching her friend's face get darker with every word.
"I want to see Cato, no-one else," She hissed. Her voice grew softer at her next words. "He promised me he would be there for me, that he would stay with me. Forever. He promised."
Madge stared at Katniss in astonishment. Cato Reed was one of the most popular boys in the school. He and his friends went around teasing and bullying people. He was huge, muscular and a complete jerk, and he hated Katniss with a passion, as did she hate him. He was the one though, who called the ambulance. Madge only remembered that now. And Katniss had asked for him. She had never asked for anyone before. Not Prim, not Peeta, not Gale. Just Cato.
Madge pondered this as she walked through the halls of the mental hospital. She absently noted the regular visitors in the lobby. The old man who read the same book, week after week, the blonde boy who always sat with his head in his hands, and the middle-aged woman who slept in the chair, releasing loud snores every now and then. Madge didn't really notice them; it just entered her mind that they were there every day, just like she was.
She walked out the main doors of the hospital, inhaling deeply to rid herself the smell of disinfectant that lurked in the building. She looked around for Gale; he hadn't arrived yet. She sat on the bench, her conversation with Katniss running through her mind. Why Cato, of all people? Why him? Katniss hated him, and he hated her, so why?
: : : : : :
"Katniss!" He shouted, before pain erupted inside of her. Pain. Pain. Pain. could feel herself drifting into the dark, leaving the pain, leaving the voice who was telling her to "hold on, don't go. Help is on the way. Don't leave me, Kat, please don't leave me!"
The voice got quieter - maybe she was getting further away? "Stay with me Kat. Don't worry, you'll be alright. Madge and the others are coming soon. I've already called them. Just stay alive. For them. Madge will take care of you, alright? She's your best friend, remember? I just need you to stay with me though. I need you. I love you. I'll be with you forever. I'll never leave you."
She found it funny, that this person was promising to stay with her while she was drifting away. She would've smiled, except that would require moving. Suddenly, she could feel something shaking her. It was a weird feeling. She could feel herself shaking, but it was a mute connection, like if it was a person right next to her shaking instead. She let it be, drifting further and further into the darkness.
"Katniss? Stay with me Kat. Don't go! Katniss? Katniss!"
: : : : : :
Clove stood by her locker with her friends. Marvel was telling some loud and obnoxious joke, Cato was listening and grinning, and Glimmer was batting her eyelashes at every guy who walked past in the hopes of making either of the two boys jealous. She was failing.
Clove, however, had her eyes fixated on a blonde girl making her way through the crowd towards them. She recognised her as Madge Undersee, Gale Hawthorne's girlfriend and, more importantly, the best friend of Katniss Everdeen. The 'girl on fire' had disappeared four months ago after a car accident and hadn't been heard of since. Clove was dying to know what was going on with Katniss, but nobody knew, and if they did, they weren't telling anybody. She watched as the girl stood in front of Cato, clearing her throat to catch his attention and swallowing nervously as he turned to face her. Clove sniggered.
"Um, Cato? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Undersee asked him timidly.
"Doesn't she already have a boyfriend?" Glimmer whispered loudly to Marvel, clearly trying to embarrass the girl. She succeeded. The girl blushed bright red while Cato grinned.
"Sure," He smirked, slouching off with the girl. "You guys go on ahead to class, tell Mr. Abernathy I'll be along in a minute."
Glimmer and Marvel turned to their lockers, chatting away to each other, unconcerned, but Clove had seen the worry in Cato's eyes. Confusion and curiosity filled her. Cato had been acting strange for a while, and this could be the answer to why.
"I'll be back in a minute," She said to the two before slinking off into the crowded hallway after Cato. She ran around a corner just in time town see a classroom door swinging shut. She lunged forward to stop it before it closed completely, then pressed her ear up to listen to what they were saying.
". . . wants to see you," Undersee said quietly.
"What?" He asked, shock evident in his voice.
"I don't know why either. She doesn't want anyone else though. Just you. She said something about a promise."
Cato was silent for a moment before asking "When?"
"Whenever," The girl answered. "You know where to find her."
Clove quickly ducked into the girls' bathroom as Madge left the room, Cato following a few moments later. A frown creased Clove's forehead before turning into a grin. She didn't know what was going on between them, or who that girl they were talking about was, but she was definitely going to find out.
: : : : : :
He clutched her small hand in his large one like a lifeline. He could feel a weak pulse throbbing in her wrist. A good sign. A ray of sunlight during a storm. He glanced around, searching for the ambulance. It hadn't arrived yet. Around him, people were on their phones to emergency services while he sat on the ground beside a very-lifeless Katniss. The car driver sat a few metres away, tears of guilt streaming down his face. Cato pushed all those thoughts from his mind.
"Stay with me Kat. Don't worry, you'll be alright."
He willed the ambulance to drive faster. The seconds were ticking away here, and every single one counted if Katniss was going to be saved. He looked around again. No ambulance. Please hurry, he thought, as tears dripped down his face.
: : : : : :
Clove, Marvel and Glimmer sneaked after Cato as he walked down the street after school had ended.
"Please remind me again why we are doing this?" Glimmer whinged, wishing she could be at home doing her hair instead of doing what Marvel called 'Spy Business'.
"We're spying on Cato," Marvel grinned, and then let out an 'Ouch!' as Clove smacked him on the back of his head.
"And you guys aren't doing a very good job of it. I knew I shouldn't have told you," She growled, glaring at the two for being loud.
"Hey, you asked us because you were scared of going on your own," Said Marvel, rolling his eyes. Clove's eyes went wide with rage.
"I'm not scared! I just wan-" She was cut off by Glimmer.
"Guys, he's going left," She whispered. "There's nothing down there. Why is he going that way?"
"There's a mental hospital," Marvel offered, then blushed when both girls stared at him. "My cousin works there. I don't know about Cato though – maybe he's checking himself in?"
They quickened their pace and turned the corner. Cato, up ahead of them, was walking up to the doors of the hospital. They watched as he pulled one open and disappeared inside.
"Come on," Clove muttered. She dragged the other two inside the hospital after Cato, not wanting to miss out on the opportunity on discovering what her friend was up to. They ran around a corner and then darted back. Ahead of them, Cato was talking to a nurse. Clove poked her head around to listen to them talking.
"Alright Mr. Reed," The nurse said. "You can go on in now."
Cato nodded, but didn't move from where he stood. His feet shifted nervously, and he clenched and unclenched his fists. Finally, he took a deep breath and walked forward to a pair of doors in front of him. He gripped the handle of the door on the right so tightly that Clove thought he might snap it, before opening the door and walking through. The nurse nodded approvingly at his back as the door clicked shut. Clove and the other two stepped out, looking at each other and wondering what Cato could be so nervous about. The nurse saw them and beckoned them over.
"What are you three doing here?" She asked with a frown on her face.
"We, uh, we, we-" Clove started but Glimmer cut her off.
"We're friends of Cato's," She said with a kind smile. "We're here as moral support for him."
The nurse's frown disappeared and was replaced by an adoring smile. "Aren't you sweethearts?" She cooed. "Come on, you can come into the doctors room."
She opened the door on the left and led them into a room with a huge glass window that looked into the room on the right. The three doctors in the room looked up when the group entered, then resumed working on their computers. Clove looked out the window into the next room. She saw Cato sitting on a couch with a nervous expression on his face while his foot tapped an irregular beat on the floor. He glanced up at the window, and Clove froze. However, he didn't react. He just turned his gaze to a door on the opposite side of the room.
"Don't worry dear," The nurse said, and Clove jumped. "He can't see us. It's one way glass."
Clove nodded and returned her gaze to her friend in the next room. She felt guilty for following him, but she was his best friend and she had to look out for him, even if he didn't want her to.
"Send her in," One of the doctors said suddenly. The door opened and Cato stood up. There was a shriek and Clove saw somebody run across the room and jump into Cato's outstretched arms. Clove saw him pick the person up – it was a girl, she now saw – and twirl her around before kissing her. Clove's jaw dropped. Not because Cato was kissing the girl, but because it was Katniss Everdeen. Clove turned to Glimmer and Marvel, who were also gaping openly. Cato and Katniss were enemies, so why were they kissing? More importantly, why was Katniss in a mental hospital?
"I knew you'd come," Katniss murmured, her head leaning against Cato's chest. Clove watched as the girl pulled her head away quickly and jump off Cato.
"Why didn't you come sooner?" She demanded, accusation filling her voice. Hurt flashed across her face. "Do you not love me anymore?"
Cato's answer showed the desperation inside himself. "No, Katniss! I do love you!" He pleaded. "I tried to visit you, I swear! I would stand outside that door everyday for an hour, but I just couldn't walk in! I was scared. I'm so sorry." His shoulders shook as he sat down on the couch again. Katniss looked down on him without a sliver of love that Clove had seen on her face moments ago.
"Sorry. You're sorry. That's what everyone says," Katniss spat out. "And you were scared? You were scared? You don't know how long I've been waiting for you Cato. You said that you would never leave me . . . you're a liar."
"No, Katniss!" He cried, stretching out his hand to take hers. "Pleas-"
He was cut off by her screams. "Don't touch me! Let go! I hate you!" Cato dropped her hand as a guard came in and grabbed Katniss. Her eyes went wide.
"Help me, Cato! Don't let them take me! They're going to kill me! Save me, Cato! Help me!"
Clove looked at her two friends beside her and saw the overwhelmed sadness in them that she knew was reflected on her face as Katniss was dragged out of the room by the guard, her screams still echoing up the halls, while Cato sat on the couch with his head in his hands and cried.