"So I have no fuckin idea where we're going." Gale admits. Focusing on the road, he notices he's been around this part of town before, but not necessarily in it, not when he was sober at least.
Myka chuckles to himself; he knows exactly where they are. "Make a left at the second light. We can fuck around at my place."
"You live nearby?" Gale asks, looking away from the road and at Myka while he asks the question, then back at the road in front of him.
"Yeah. It's a shitty apartment complex, but it's got what we need." What exactly did they need at the moment? Gale just wanted to get away from campus and forget everything, maybe just get hammered or something. Oh, maybe that was what they needed- alcohol. Gale wonders if he can out-drink Myka. He doubts it, remembering Myka did work at a bar.
They drive down the streets further into town until they reach the sketchy neighborhood. Unlike Finnick, the surroundings don't bother Gale in the least bit. In fact, it's almost comforting being away from home and into this setting. At least here, everything was real. This wasn't some place where he had to pretend to be someone he wasn't.
When they finally get to the complex, Gale parks his jeep by the side parking, away from the marked spaces reserved for the tenants. The boys grab their backpacks and head into the main entrance, walking up the stairs to the third floor where the little black cat is waiting for him, but when he spots the unfamiliar body that is Gale, he races off. "He's not used to strangers." Myka explains while taking a ring of keys out of his pocket, unlocking two deadbolts in the door.
Gale isn't sure what he expected, but the place was a lot cleaner than he thought it would be. Actually, it was spotless. Myka leads him to the bedroom furthest down the hall, the room painted a dark red with a few random possessions all about. Not surprisingly, there's a black guitar leaning against the wall by the small window, but otherwise the room is simple with few belongings. Myka opens his dresser, rummaging through some clothes until he finds what he's looking for. Gale sits on the small bed adorned with black sheets and blankets, waiting. Myka takes a seat next to him, handing him a bottle of dark liquor, and lights a cigarette for himself. It felt so nice to finally have a smoke. He instantly relaxes.
The drink flows down Gale's throat with a warm tingling sensation. Yes, this is definitely what he had in mind. He looks over at Myka, studying the bizarre teenager that he was sure he hated only hours ago. "I didn't like you when I first saw you," he admits.
Myka gives him a half smirk, amused by his honesty. He'd instantly trusted Gale the moment they talked, he wasn't someone to spoon-feed you bullshit, and that was something he found rare and appreciated. "Why's that?"
"Don't know. Don't take it personally though, I hate just about everyone." What? Gale? Never! The comment is a bit of a ridiculous one really. Besides looking pissed off all the time, it was pretty obvious that Gale didn't trust a whole lot of people or made friends easily.
"What changed your mind?" Myka asks curiously, taking a swig of the alcohol followed by another inhale of his cigarette.
Gale shrugs his shoulders, a bit unsure of the answer himself. He grabs the cigarette from Myka's left hand, placing the stub between his lips and sucking in the harsh smoke before handing it back to him. Smiling, Myka hands him one of his cigarettes and lighter which he accepts and instantly lights. Truth be told, Gale wasn't a smoker. He'd tried it a couple of times, but he didn't need it all the time. He's discovered, however, that a smoke and drink went well together. "Your parents going to be pissed if they come home and see us smoking and drinking?"
"Trust me," he chuckles, "we don't have to worry about that. Beck and Max could give a shit less what I do. Fuckers keep stealing my pot anyway."
Not completely understanding his situation, he asks, "Who are Beck and Max?"
"My foster parents," he explains. Before Gale can ask what happened, and he can tell he's about to from the look on his face and the way he opens his mouth, he answers. "My mother died giving birth to me, the old man shot himself shortly after... been in the system since."
While it seemed casual to just say it, Gale knows it still hurts. He knows that pain. "I have two little brothers and a baby sister at home with my mom. Dad got killed in a car accident."
Myka was beginning to wonder if the accident happened recently, or at least recent enough to still be affecting Gale in some way, but the question would be too invasive. "What was he like?"
"He was a hard worker, a great man, the best father anyone could ask for really. We used to talk a lot." The memory begins to bother Gale, shaking his nerves and suddenly he's losing control, a single tear dripping down his face. "He didn't deserve to die and I shouldn't have been such a fucking dumbass."
Confused, Myka asks "Why do you say that? It's not like you caused the accident."
"Yeah, I did. If I hadn't been such a pussy retard and handled my own shit he wouldn't have left that night." Gale clenches his fists, taking long swigs of the alcohol in his hand, trying to be rid of the memory. He didn't want to talk about this anymore. And now he was forcing himself to not cry like a child in front of Myka. He must have thought he was such a weak moron. Instead, Myka wraps his arms around him, hugging him gently and rests his chin on Gale's shoulder. It feels slightly awkward, another man hugging him, but he doesn't shake off the contact. It's also strangely comforting.
Back at Venica Falls High School, Finnick is still bothered by Myka's decision to take off with Gale. Did he say something wrong? Why did Myka and Gale get along so well anyway? They'd just met during lunch! And besides, he was the one to introduce Myka around and he was the one that opened up to him. Wait- did Gale do the same? Maybe Myka found Gale more interesting because they were so much alike. No, that can't be it. Myka had been acting funny since… was it at lunch? What happened at lunch again anyway? Thinking very hard on the events that took place, he remembers sitting across from Myka, but he hadn't been talking to him. He was too busy talking with Peeta, trying to coax him into telling him what was going on.
Come to think of it, they were both acting strange. Maybe he had in fact said or done something wrong. They seemed off-put by his crude fun. Maybe the sexual jokes made them uncomfortable or something. He decides that when class is over, he is going to head straight to Myka's apartment and wait for him so he can apologize and explain that they were just jokes, that he hadn't meant any harm and that he wanted to stay friends. It was important. Did he owe an apology to Peeta as well? No, they got along just fine during lunch and Peeta had said it was something else going on that was bothering him.
Speaking of Peeta, when did he become buddy-buddy with Cato and his friends? It was a bit of a strange sight. Peeta wasn't a part of any sports, or at least none that Finnick was aware of, and he hadn't met any of them before moving and attending school. Could they be plotting something harsh against the poor kid? No, he was too kind for anyone to want to hurt. In fact, Cato seems… almost protective of Peeta. Strange.
Cato's intentions are kept between himself, Peeta, and Marvel. Of course, Peeta had no clue that Marvel was semi-aware of their situation, he assumed it was more of a private matter between himself and Cato. It was constantly in his mind, and it was beginning to bother him. He still didn't understand what had happened that day when Cato kissed him, wasn't even sure if Cato is gay or straight. The whole thing could have been a misunderstanding. 'Peeta, you moron. What could you possibly misunderstand? Cato kissed you- and he wanted to.'
Shaking the thought from his head, he looks up at the muscular blonde by his side. Cato is already looking down at him, smiling. A tall, built man stands in front of the class, crossing his arms over his chest in an intimidating gesture. "Listen up!" his voice is loud and demanding, silencing the once-loud auditorium instantly. "Your teacher will be out for the remainder of the semester. Some of you already know me as the football coach here. For those of you who don't, I'm Coach Brutus. Just so you know a little about me, I'm a tough coach. I make sure my players are always on the top of their game and I don't tolerate any slack. Your teacher has asked me to go easy on you all, but if you want to pass this class, you'd better show me that you're at least trying. I'm going to call your names one by one. When I do, you will answer with 'one' or 'two.' The first person I call is 'one,' the second is 'two,' the third is 'one,' the fourth is 'two,' and so on. Do you all understand?" The students nod their heads, most too intimidated to answer with words. "Good."
Coach Brutus does a roll call, students answer with "one" or "two" as evidence of their participation and attendance. It's almost unbelievable that everyone Peeta knows has been selected to be on team "one." His name is called, and unfortunately his luck isn't the same. "Two," he answers sadly. It wasn't fair that he had to be on the opposite team from Cato, Finnick, Thresh, Johanna, Glimmer, Clove, Cashmere, and Gloss.
Another student suddenly scoffs in disgust. "You've got to be kidding me. You want to put Mellark on our team? Nobody wants to be around that homo."
The tension is thick, shock echoing through the thin air. Peeta looks over to see who could possibly have said such a thing when his blue eyes catch him- it's Tice from his old school. But that didn't make sense! He transferred to another- oh. He transferred to this school shortly before Peeta left. What were the odds of that happening? The memories flood back in a crashing wave, freezing him in place. He doesn't know what to do or how to react. This was going to be like his old school all over again! No! Not again! He feels himself start to panic, unsure what to do. It feels like hours, but in reality has only been seconds. Cato has made his way over to the tall, slightly built student that's just announced Peeta's sexuality for the whole class to hear. Tice cocks an eyebrow, curious what Cato is about to do. It looks like he's decided to side with him, probably going to tell Coach Brutus that he wants to be on team two so that Peeta wouldn't have to play, he could just stay on the sidelines or something.
But that's not what Cato does. Instead he towers over Tice and lands a solid fist right to his jaw. A loud pop echoes through the auditorium, Tice falling to the ground from the strong impact, clutching his face and moaning in pain. "The next time you spread any more filthy lies about one of my friends, I'll make sure that mouth of yours doesn't heal."
Obviously siding with his best athlete, Coach Brutus just smirks at the situation. "Bombay, go to the nurse's office and get your face checked out. Mellark, you're on team one. Cato," one of the only students he calls by their first name, "no more breaking jaws. Save it for the games."
Talk about harsh and being completely biased. Any normal person would have had Cato expelled for that sort of behavior, but Cato gets away with anything and everything he wants. Most of the staff let him get away with murder because he is the son of the superintendent, others because they simply love his spunk. It was an unfair game of advantage, but Peeta doesn't complain. Cato has successfully silenced the room from making anymore comments about him, all believing that the comment really was a lie, and he didn't have to be on the opposite team from his friends anyway. This was a good time to just stay quiet.
When Coach Brutus finishes calling the last students, he has the final three join team two to make up for Peeta's switch and Tice's absence. The teams divide; team one taking over the left court, and team two taking over the right. This was the final week that they'd be playing basketball before the next sport would begin. To tell the difference between team members, Coach Brutus hands each student an armband. Team one wears purple and team two wears green bands. It's a nice change from the stereotypical blue versus red.
A buzz starts and the game begins. Naturally, Cato, Finnick, and Thresh have stolen the spotlight, easily stealing the ball from the other team and making great passes. It looks like it's going to be a quick game, until team two realizes their best defense. Thresh passes the ball to Cato, he runs for the hoop, but is quickly surrounded by the other team, preventing him from making the shot. He looks over at Peeta, who's standing awkwardly by the hoop, not knowing what to do. Cato passes him the ball, and he's too stunned to make a move. With the ball in his hands and his team yelling at him to make the shot, he hesitantly looks over at the basket. The sounds from the people in the room quiet down and soon he hears nothing, focusing on the hoop. Everything seems to slow down and just as someone is about to steal the ball from him, he throws it towards the basket. There's a moment of silence, everyone is watching to see if the ball makes it into the hoop and… it hits the rim, bouncing off the metal frame and to the left of the stadium. He missed.
Peeta's cheeks flush in embarrassment. He thought he'd make the shot and now it's clear he's not very good at this sport. But let's face it; Peeta isn't good at any sport, really. Cato must be so disappointed having publicly backed him up, accepting him as one of his own, having the coach switch him to their team only to let them down after a good run between the three particularly skilled players. He scratches the back of his neck, avoiding any looks that might be tossed his way. Cato runs to his side, softly elbowing his free arm. "Hey, don't worry about it. We're still kicking their ass," he winks.
Continuing to block the trio every opportunity they get, Thresh needs to make a choice as to who he will pass the ball to. Cato is already being blocked by three different bodies, Finnick is on the other side of the court with multiple players blocking him, and Peeta has steered clear from their paths, not wanting to be put in that situation again. A blur of red hair races by and Thresh passes the ball. Johanna catches it with ease, bouncing it as she quickly runs to the basket. She shoots and it scores perfectly through the hoop. She's really good at this.
The rest of the game goes on just like this, team one doing their best to pass the ball to Cato, Johanna, Finnick, or Thresh. Other team members occasionally get passed the ball, only to have it returned to their key players. Nobody wants to make a fool of themselves after seeing how well these four students can play. Team two doesn't make a single score. A buzzer goes off and team one has won by a landslide. They cheer and clap, slapping each other's behinds in victory. It was a good game for the purple team, no doubt.
Nobody seems to remember or care about Peeta's failed attempt to score, team members still hug him and ruffle his hair, excited about having won the game. He still feels a little guilty. When Cato wraps an arm around his shoulders, he asks the sulky little blonde, "Why the long face? We just won!"
"I know. I just feel kinda stupid for even trying to make that shot." Peeta admits.
It's rather cute seeing Peeta pout in defeat. "What? You have no reason to feel like that. At least you put the effort in. None of these other losers even tried."
Fair point, Peeta feels much better. He's glad to have met Cato and even his group of friends, all of whom are patting his shoulder and high-fiving him for being part of the team. Why didn't he like them before? They may have been a little off-putting in the beginning, and a bit on the intimidating side, but now that he was considered part of the pack, he's come to really enjoy their company. They're not as bad as he once believed. Gale, on-the-other-hand, well… he was still upset that he had taken off without telling him or inviting him. He was beginning to believe Gale may not be as good a friend as he once thought. Maybe this whole thing between him and Cato was really his fault.
Actually, that's not fair. Gale did put in an effort to be his friend. It could just be that he and the other new guy just had more in common. Or maybe it was the other guy's idea to leave in the first place. It would be silly to expect him to ask Peeta to tag along, right? They didn't know anything about each other. He couldn't even remember his name.
His thoughts are interrupted when an excited Finnick suddenly spins him around and kisses him right on the mouth. He cheers in victory and bumps his chest with Johanna. Peeta's eyes widen in shock, not having expected Finnick to kiss him, especially with so little care. Cato had noticed the gesture as well, his eyes narrowing in jealousy. That kiss may not have meant anything, but he still didn't want anyone's mouth on Peeta. Peeta is his.
"Hey, man. What's with the glare of death?" Gloss asks. Cato's been acting kind of strange lately.
He shakes his head. "Nothing. The flamboyant council twin is just fucking annoying."
"Tell me about it." Gloss rolls his eyes in agreement. "Wish that fucker would just come out of the closet already. Anyway, I got a text from my mom; she says she found the suit. Want me to swing by your place after I pick it up?"
Remembering he had other errands, Cato responds "Nah, bring it to my uncle's place. I'm heading over there after school to check up on the house and feed the dog."
"No problem, man. I'll see you in a bit." With that, Gloss walks towards the locker room, ready to change and get going. He hated basketball with a passion. It was one of the only sports he didn't like. The rest of the students do the same, heading towards their lockers to change and get ready to go home.
Cato looks around to see where Peeta had taken off to. He eventually sees him getting dressed back into his day clothes. He approaches the shy blonde, placing his arm on the locker next to Peeta's. "So what are we doing today?" he asks casually.
Peeta is caught completely off guard. Did he agree to hang out and just forgot? Maybe he was talking about their quantum mechanics class; he was his study partner after all. But he doesn't recall any conversation of the like ever taking place. "Oh… um, I don't know. I thought Katniss, Gale, Rue, Madge, and I were going to have a kickback, but I don't know what's going on now that Gale left with that other guy."
Cato suddenly tenses, leaning closer to him. "Peeta, do me a favor and just stay away from those two. They're nothing but trouble, and if you hang out with them you'll find yourself in a ditch, prison, or dead."
Peeta is about to laugh, thinking it was some sort of joke, but the look on Cato's face is grave and very serious. "What do you mean?"
"We'll talk about it soon. Call me if you decide you want to hangout or something." Cato says. He snatches Peeta's phone from his hand, quickly searching through the contact list to see who he's already befriended. Katniss, Rue, and Madge have already been added; no sign of Finnick or Gale. The realization puts a smirk on his lips, feeling some sort of sense of accomplishment. He adds his number into Peeta's phone, pressing the send button so that he can save Peeta's number to his own contact list, then hangs up and hands the phone back to Peeta.
In the end, Cato always gets what he wants.