I do not own Suzanne Collin's the Hunger Games character. Sorry, I have been forgetting to do that. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 19:
Clove's POV
"What the heck?" Cato's voice stirs me out of my sleep. I glance up at the clock. It is a quarter till one. "Clove, why are you on the ground?" I hear him whisper through the darkness.
I sit up from my spot on the floor, gently tossing a blanket aside. I rub the bleariness from my eyes.
"Sorry, I'm just still not used to sleeping in a bed," I say.
As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see Cato's large form walking towards me. In all honesty, I feel odd sleeping in a bed this large alone after my mom called me two days ago. Even though she was never the best to me, sometimes, after my dad would get especially mad, she would come into my bed and just hold me until I fell asleep. It is probably one of the few good memories that I have of my mom. Before she called me, sleeping alone never really bothered me, but after she called me to tell me that she was coming back to town, I couldn't bring myself to sleep in the large bed alone.
"That's a lie," Cato says. Despite the fact that I haven't been living with him for that long, Cato can annoyingly always tell when I am lying.
"I just, it feels so empty," I say. That is another thing about Cato. For some reason, I find that I allow myself to be vulnerable with him. I always put up a front with other people and I never let myself show all of who I am. With Cato though, everything is different. I can't help but want to tell him things about my life.
"Why?" He asks moving and to sit on my bed. He holds out his hand and pulls me up.
"My mom called me," I say.
"Do you want to talk?" He asks.
"Not now," I yawn as I say it, but I can feel my heart rate spiking.
Cato nods and pulls back the covers of the bed. I raise my eyebrows questioningly but either he can't see it in the dim lighting or he just ignores it. He gently takes my shoulders and shoves me gently down onto the pillows. I feel him pull the covers on top of my, but then the bed next to my sinks as he lays on the bed. He doesn't say anything, he just wraps his arms gently around me.
I snuggle into his warmth, forcing down the thought of how wrong this probably was. After Cato told Glimmer off, he started sitting with my and the rest of my friends at lunch. Glimmer was not happy about that, so she started a rumor about Cato dating some college stripper. Which everyone except my small group of friends believe. But that isn't why this is probably wrong. It is probably wrong because he has been getting asked out to homecoming by cheerleaders all week, and while he hasn't said yes, he has also never said no. I push those thoughts down though and I just let myself feel safe and warm in his arms.
When I wake up in the morning, it takes me a moment to remember that Cato is in my bed. I am pinned beneath his strong arms and his head lays in the crook of my neck. I shiver as I feel his hot breathe tickle my neck and ear. Under the covers, our legs are inter tangled and struggle to separate my legs from his. I am just about to start trying to pull his arms off of me when he whispers something. My name.
"Clove," Cato whispers again in his sleep. I freeze when he says it again. Then my alarm rings and I struggle to turn it off with my one arm snug under Cato's. I finally manage to slam it off and when I turn back, Cato is awake. His icy blue eyes are staring at me and I pull my shirt down when I realize that it has rode up a bit.
"Good morning," He says. His voice is thick and deep with sleep. I kick myself internally for thinking about how hot his voice sounds in the morning. I really look at him now, his blonde hair tousled and messy from sleep. He has propped himself up on one arm and I feel like he is looking straight through me.
"I have to get dressed," I say.
"Okay," Cato says, gesturing to my closet with a joking smile. I grab a pillow and hit him with it. He grabs his own pillow and hits me back and before I know it we are in the midst of a heated pillow fight. I lose my grip on my pillow and when I reach to grab it, Cato grabs me hand and flips me over so he is on top of me.
"Ha, I win," He smirks.
I grin back and then I raise my left hip and flip him off of me. He falls hard onto the ground and he groans. I lean over the side of the bed to make sure that he is okay, and I find him glaring up at me, but the smile in his eyes show that he isn't actually mad.
"You lose," I respond cooly.
—
Cato leaves and I get dressed quickly in dark stained rip jeans and a back tank top. It is the second week of September and it is starting to get colder, but I am not quite ready to wear sleeved shirts yet. Cato has breakfast ready when I walk out of my room. That is another nice thing about living here. I started teaching Cato how to cook the second week here and now he is practically as good as me.
I sit on the stool and begin to dig-in to the omelet that sits in front of my. It has bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, chives and a few red peppers that have been diced into small squares. I reach for the salt and put a little more on it and take a bit. Cato sits next to me and I give him a thumbs up and he begins to eat his.
We are both cleaning up our dishes and the kitchen when I hear the sound of clicking heels and a mans voice. Cato stiffens just slightly, but continues cleaning, so I do the same. Within a few seconds, a tall woman with platinum blonde hair walks into the kitchen. A man that ever so slightly resembles Cato walks in a moment later. It takes a moment for them to realize that I am here.
"Who is this Cato?" The woman, whom I am assuming is his mother, asks as she sways over to a barstool.
"A friend," He replies simply.
"What is she doing here on a school day and this early in the morning?" The man asks.
"She slept over Dad," Cato says. My jaw almost drops. I can't believe he said that, let alone how casually it came out of his mouth.
His mother looks me up and down.
"I don't like her, she's to small and freckled," His mother says distastefully.
"I don't care what you think," Cato's voice is cold when he say it.
"I mean look at that hair? The split ends on that girl are ratchet," His mother says to his dad and his dad nods.
"I quite agree sweetheart," His father says. "And look at that outfit, what is she a homeless girl?"
"Shut up!" Cato spin on his heel and yells.
"Excuse me?" The look on his mothers face is one of complete shock.
"I said shut up! You don't even know her! You don't get to judge her because you don't know her! And if you actually did, you would she that she is actually an amazing, freaking bad**s person! So just shut up!" He storms out of the kitchen when he finishes, grabbing my by the arm and pulling me with him. He is fuming as he quickly puts on his shoes and grabs his backpack. I am almost jogging to keep up with his angry pace as we make our way to his car. I slip in to my own seat and he slams the car door behind him.
He doesn't say anything as we drive to school and I don't prompt him. His hard glare at the road makes me nervous. We are parked in the school parking lot half and hour before we needed to be. We sit in silence for a second before his slams his hand down on the wheel of his car. He does it over and over until I finally reach out and grab his hand.
"Cato—" I start but he cuts my off by pressing his lips roughly against mine. For a moment, I am frozen in shock but when I recover, I pull away from him and slap him.
"What the heck?" I say angrily. I don't give him a chance to respond before getting out of the car and sprinting away. I run past the school and towards the football field. When I reach the field, I thrown my bag down on the ground next to the track before stripping my shoes and socks off of my feet. I have barely gotten my shoes off when I step into the first lane and start to run.
Anger fuels me. Anger at Cato for kissing me. Anger at myself for letting him sleep in my bed last night. Anger at the fact that I fell for him and anger at the fact that he defended me this morning. Because I am damaged. I am toxic. I'm on my eighth lap of the track when I stop. What I just did, hitting him and leaving him because he kissed me, because he cared about me. Even though I care about him. It is what my mother did to me all those years ago.
I realize then that Cato is standing in the sixth lane of the track. His cheek is red from where my hand hit him and his eyes look at me with sadness and, something else. Something that stirs something deep inside of me. I sprint towards him and throw myself into him. I wrap my arms around his neck and I kiss him deeply. When I pull away, I see Cato's face now bearing a large smile.
"I'm sorry," We both say at the same time.
"I shouldn't have hit you," I say.
"Well I probably shouldn't have just sprung myself on you," Cato replies.
That is all we have to say. My feet are black from the track, but I slip my feet into my socks and then my shoes none-the-less. I throw my backpack on and we begin to walk back to the school. Cato slings his arm across my shoulders, making sure that I was pulled close to him.
"You're coming to the homecoming game on Friday right?" Cato asks, referring to the football game.
"Of course," I say.
I have wanted to go to his games for a while now, but for some reason, I never have. But that changes now. I don't have to worry about looking odd going to his games. I can flirt with him without worrying. Well, I might have to worry about Glimmer, but I can handle here.
Everyone is arriving now, and as Cato and I approach Johanna, Madge, and Annie, Cato doesn't remove his arm. And I don't want him to. When Johanna sees us, she gives me a knowing smile and Annie lets out a small squeal of excitement. Glimmer is walking down the hallway and glares at me when she sees Cato's arm around me. I just turn and smile up at him and he gently kisses my head. Today was going to be a good day.
What did you guys think of this chapter? How did I do with the beginning of Clato's relationship? I hope that you all are having a good day and week.
Stay happy, healthy, and safe,
-Jewel.