"Ur chariot awaits…"
Bursting out in laughter, Myka takes his cue that Finnick is waiting for him outside. He shoves his cell phone into his pocket and grabs his wallet and a small plastic container, ready to leave.
Finnick is already outside, standing on the passenger side of his car, waiting for Myka. "Hey," he greets the unusually happy brunette. He looks him up and down, observing his attire. "You look nice."
Myka unexpectedly leaps towards Finnick, taking in his scent and huskily whispers in his ear. "And you are fucking hot." He nibbles on his earlobe.
Extremely shocked and turned on by this sudden charisma, Finnick feels his cheeks grow hot, his knees buckle, and his body heat increase. This wasn't the Myka he'd known, but he didn't dislike this side of him either. "I, um…" but he's cut from his thoughts when Myka continues to nibble on his earlobe, working his way down his chin and to his neck. "Ohhh! Myka, what are you doing to me?" he moans in appreciation, loving the contact of Myka's lips on his jugular.
"We can take this inside if you want?" Myka purrs.
Remembering Domi's advice, Finnick reluctantly pulls Myka away from him. "No. I want to take you out. I'm not trying to get into your pants, remember?"
But Myka isn't interested in that part of the conversation. "You're taking me out? Where are we going?"
"Well," Finnick shifts from foot to foot, "I was thinking we could stop by the new aquarium-"
"The aquarium? Why are we still here? Let's go!" Myka shrieks in excitement. He hurriedly hops over into Finnick's convertible, ready to leave.
Stunned, Finnick shakes his head in disbelief before walking around the car to the driver's side and lets himself inside. After he's started the engine, he looks over at Myka, whom can't seem to sit still. "You alright?"
"Alright? Of course I'm alright! I'm fucking ecstatic! How much longer till we get there?" Myka asks impatiently.
This is strange behavior for the brunette adolescent, but Finnick doesn't seem to notice. He chuckles at Myka's enthusiasm, happy to have come up with such a brilliant idea after all. They drive deep into the city, downtown; the buildings are tall and the streets are filled with life. Myka watches them in awe as they drive closer to the pier, passing tourists and unique buildings. Finnick drives into a parking lot just a couple blocks from their destination. Finding parking anywhere else, despite being a weekday and during mid-day, would prove to be hectic and nearly impossible. The moment he parks the car, Myka jumps out.
"Let's go, let's go!" he yells in excitement.
Finnick hurriedly follows behind, chasing him into the sidewalk. When he finally catches up, he wraps his arms around Myka's arms and chest. They giggle like small, happy children playing in a playground. "I hope you like this place." Finnick whispers into his ear.
The aquarium is simple enough to find. It's pretty large with a huge blue whale painted on the ocean-themed wall. There's a small white penguin on the large, glass double doors. Myka can't help but scratch at the material, testing its durability. Finnick laughs at his childish behavior, pulling him away from the glass by his wrist. When he's dragged into the building, Myka forgets about his little task and looks around him. The floor is a beautiful white and crème concrete, complimenting the off-white walls that showcase the colorful tanks filled with numerous sea creatures. Finnick hands a woman two tickets from his pocket and leads Myka to the first tank.
Ignoring the "Do Not Touch" sign, Myka presses his fingers and face against the glass, mouth agape as he watches the different fish swim around in the tank. Most of them aren't very colorful, but the starfish and sea plants are vibrant, rich in color. Never having been to an aquarium before, Myka stares in shock at the different fish until a leopard shark catches his eye. It swims so close to the tank's glass that it's nearly within reaching distance. Myka strokes the glass as it swims by, wanting to feel its smooth skin. Finnick smiles at the display, slowly walking behind him to place his arms around the brunette's waist. Myka doesn't seem to notice, or care, and Finnick takes the opportunity to softly kiss the side of his face and neck. He looks up at the tank, following Myka's gaze towards the leopard shark. "You know," he purrs, "you can actually touch the babies in the petting section."
Myka whips his head around. "Really? Can we go there?"
"We will. But first we're going to look at the other tanks. There's so much more to see and we haven't even started yet!" Finnick winks. Myka grins at the information then looks back at the tank, watching the leopard shark as it swims to the other side of the tank. When it's out of sight, he frowns. Finnick kisses the side of his face again. "Let's get going."
They spend several hours browsing around the aquarium, looking at numerous tanks with different fish, sharks, seahorse, leafy sea dragons, penguins, and other lively creatures. Myka keeps making frequent stops to the restroom every couple hours to snort another line of cocaine. They spend the majority of their time in the jellyfish division until Finnick suggests they head for the petting station. On their way, Myka notices the most beautiful creature he's ever seen in the water. It's even more breathtaking than the jellyfish. Finnick stops in his tract when he notices Myka is not by his side. He turns around and finds him looking at a small tank, but can't see what's inside. He walks up behind him, peaking over his shoulder to see what it is that's caught his attention so grossly. It's an octopus.
"He's all alone in this tank." Myka states sadly, staring at the stunning display. There's something more to the particular creature- he feels a strange connection, as if he understood this octopus on another dimension. "If humans are reincarnated from animals, I was a wolf in a past life. I think I might have been an octopus as well."
"What makes you say that? I can definitely see the wolf, but I want to know your reasoning for the octopus." Finnick asks in curiosity. Myka could be a strange one, but still rather darling.
He shrugs. "I don't know. I just… know. It's hard to explain."
Not wanting to make Myka feel silly, Finnick says, "Hmm… I think I was a shark."
"No. You were a dolphin; personable, charming, good swimmer, definitely a dolphin. I don't think you have a mean bone in your body. Definitely none mean enough to be a shark." Myka smirks.
"Hey!" Finnick pouts. "Why can't I be something cool? Couldn't I have been an octopus too? They're good swimmers, and they're not mean."
"On second thought, dolphins are supposed to be the most intelligent creatures in the ocean. Maybe you weren't a dolphin after all." Myka teases.
Finnick just shakes his head before bursting out laughing. "Alright, octopus boy, let's get going to that petting station already."
Myka doesn't need any more convincing and happily struts off with Finnick to the last division of the aquarium. There's a section for sea cucumbers, star fish, crabs, and other small creatures, but they don't pay any attention to it. To the left is a section of sting rays. In the back center, there's a room for different birds. And to the far right, there are the baby leopard sharks. Myka instantly starts running towards the sharks. They're absolutely beautiful, about two feet in length, with dark gray spotted patterns in their skin. He sticks his hand in the water and feels the strong, smooth skin as one of the sharks swims by.
"Wow." Myka whispers, mostly to himself.
Smiling, Finnick says, "I know, right? Makes you wish you could take one home."
Myka stares at the sharks for a moment before responding. "Let's take one then."
"Sure, why not?" Finnick chuckles. This boy was just too much. But then he sees Myka put both his hands into the water and starts to grab at one of the sharks. It shakes violently, not expecting that sort of attention. Finnick's eyes grow wide in shock. "Myka! What are you doing?"
"I'm taking one of them with us." Myka answers flatly. Guess he wasn't joking.
"Oh my God, you're crazy! Leave it alone or we'll get in trouble! Myka, look! It doesn't want to be touched!" But Myka ignores him, firmly grabbing the shark by its sides and pulling it out of the water. It shakes, tosses, and turns, and suddenly a worker approaches them.
"What the hell are you doing?" He demands. He grabs Myka's left arm, jerking it and causing the shark to slip from his hands. It turns sharply and bites down on his arm.
"Oh my God!" Finnick shouts! "You asshole! Your shark just bit my boyfriend! We are going to sue the living shit out of you!"
The man freezes in surprise. They really could sue if they wanted to. "But… he was holding the shark! That's not allowed!"
"Yeah? Well you should have put some signs up! Now go get help! He's bleeding!" Finnick yells, watching the man look back and forth as he panics. Does he tell his supervisor? Or will he get in trouble because this happened on his watch? He couldn't lose his job! He loved this place! "Hello? Earth to asshole! Go! Go before I kick your ass into the worlds beyond!"
And he does. He takes off faster than the speed of light. When he's gone, Myka tugs on Finnick's hand. "Let's get out of here!"
"What?" Finnick asks incredulously. "You were just bit by a shark and you're bleeding! You need medical attention!"
"It doesn't even hurt. Let's go before they throw us in jail." Myka presses, pulling Finnick harder. "It was just a baby. Look, the cuts are small. You can make me all better later. Can we please go now?"
Knowing this was a stupid idea, but accepting what Myka had just said, Finnick agrees to leave. They sneak out the exit and run to the car as fast as they can the moment they are out the door. When they're safely inside the car, they both look at one another before laughing in excitement.
"I can't believe you did that!" Finnick shrieks.
"That was just killer!" He looks over at the unbelieving redhead. "Thank you for taking me to the aquarium."
Finnick smiles in appreciation before realizing that Myka was still bleeding. "We need to get you to a hospital."
"Just take me home. I'll clean it later." Myka says, irritated. What was the big deal? It was just a baby shark. The bite was like that of a dog.
"No. If you won't let me take you to the hospital, then I'm taking you to my place and I'll clean it up for you." Finnick insists. There was no way he was going to let Myka just go home and ignore his wounded arm. He's lucky he didn't lose his fingers or hand.
Myka doesn't argue. The ride is a fairly quick one. Finnick was speeding on the freeway, wanting to get home as soon as possible. They arrive at a beautiful two-story home in a quiet, but friendly neighborhood. A small group of young children watch as Finnick drives by; and wave when they notice him. He waves back and parks into the garage, closing it behind them.
They enter the house through the garage and Myka begins to feel uncomfortable. The house is clean, big, and very beautiful. He begins to feel a little embarrassed of his own living arrangement.
"My room is upstairs; last door to the right. You're welcome to lay down while I get some rubbing alcohol and wrap for your arm." Finnick explains. Myka offers a small smile before ascending up the stairs, passing numerous rooms until he reaches the last one on the right. He lets himself inside; the room is spacious with light blue walls adorned with several trophies and academic awards. It suits Finnick. Myka lays down on the king size bed, not really bothering to fix the messy blue and orange plaid blankets, and stares at the white ceiling in slight irritation. He's coming down from his high, and it's making him angry. He takes out the plastic container from his pocket and snorts the last bit of substance, immediately feeling better.
His phone vibrates, notifying him of a text message. It's from Gale.
"Where r u?"
Tapping away at the speed of lightning, he responds.
"Out. Will be back later."
But Gale won't accept that as an answer.
"When? & wut's with the powder on the dresser?"
No point in lying. Gale had better just accept him as he was.
"It's coke. Help yourself."
Staring at the text message and then the bagged powder on the dresser, it finally clicks in Gale's head. Coke… this was cocaine, and Myka just told him he was welcome to take some. Did he want to try it? Was it safe? Then again, when did he ever care whether or not something was safe? Let's face it; he's been drinking, heavily, for years, smokes pot, ran away from home, moved in with a stranger, had sex with his best friend, among countless other things. Gale was a bit of a wild thing. Shrugging at the realization, he lays out a thin line of cocaine on the table and inhales the strong powder through his left nostril. It instantly feels amazing. Why hadn't he tried this before? Besides, if Myka was doing it, then he could too.
Snorting cocaine proved to be more fantastic than he ever believed. All of his worries went away and his senses seemed much more in tune, quicker to respond. He felt like a God.
His phone chimes, signaling another text message. He looks down at the name, but realizes it's not from Myka. It's from Peeta.
"Can we talk?"
Contemplating his options, he realizes he should really get this settled with. Peeta was kind enough to bring him his cell phone during P.E.
"Wuts up?"
Peeta responds quickly, within seconds of sending his reply.
"Im sorry about wut happend between us n wut happend to u."
The memories flood back into his brain in an instant; standing behind one of the school buildings; Peeta kissing him; shoving him to the wall and spitting at him; the Facebook page; Cato's uncle… it was beginning to become too much again.
"Plz dont ever mention that again. Any of it."
Peeta begins to shake, ready to start crying again. He didn't mean for any of this to happen.
"I want us to b friends again. Im sorry."
He waits for Gale's reply for several minutes, but no response ever comes. Sighing, he decides to just give up. He's done everything in his power, but Gale still doesn't want to talk about it. Should he try again later or wait for Gale to make the next move?
Fuck it; he had other things to worry about. If Gale didn't want to talk right now, then there was nothing more he can do. Now he can focus on whatever the hell is going on with Cato. Texting doesn't seem especially appropriate for a matter such as this, so he calls him. The line rings several times, but Cato does not answer. What the hell?
Looking down at his phone, Cato notices that Peeta is trying to call him, but he's in the hospital right now and can't talk, so he ignores the call and waits for it to go to voicemail. He'll talk to Peeta later. Right now though, he promised to visit Marvel. Gloss was released a couple hours ago, but he couldn't be bothered to care much about that anyway. Besides, his best friend was much more important right now.
Peeking into the room, he sees Marvel lying down in the bed with bandages all over his body. He looks terrible. The guilt begins to flood in his brain and take over again, hating himself for having done this to Marvel again. Their eyes link and Marvel offers a genuine smile, happy to see Cato.
"You came." Marvel says.
"Of course I fucking came. Did you think I was just going to bail on you or something?" Cato walks over to Marvel's bed and sits in the wooden chair next to it. "I'm sorry."
"Its okay, Cato." Marvel says, never tearing his gaze away from the masculine blonde beside him.
"No! No, it's not okay, Marvel. Don't you get it?" Cato shrieks. "I could have killed you. What if you had died? Shit, I'd never be able to fucking live with myself. I mean, sure, if it had been anybody else, I probably wouldn't give a fuck, but you're my best friend and you've never wronged me for as long as I've known you. I'm a fucked up friend and I'm sorry, Marv."
Marvel only looks at him for a moment, taking in the broken form that has once again lost control. Cato wasn't always this way, but he can't remember exactly when it was that his best friend started to act like this. He reaches his hand out and caresses Cato's cheek, wiping away a tear that had managed to fall down his face. Cato never cries… for anyone. "I forgive you."
"But why?" Cato demands, looking up from his hands to Marvel's concerned eyes.
Marvel has to think about this. "Well… because you're my best friend and I love you."
Cato scoffs. "I have a feeling it wouldn't be the same if the tables were turned. Friendship isn't enough to forgive something like that. And I've been a terrible friend to you."
"I know. Maybe… I just… nevermind." Marvel looks down at his lap, ashamed.
"What is it?" Cato asks with concern.
"It's nothing." Marvel lies, trying to ease the situation with a soft smile.
Cato doesn't buy it. "You're lying. What is it? Please tell me."
"Well…" Marvel starts, his heart beating faster and faster in his chest. My mouth suddenly feels dry and his hands fidget in his lap. "Do you remember when we were young and that group of kids across the street tied me to the carousel swing and threw rocks at me?"
Reflecting on their childhood, Cato remembers. He nods.
"You came over and beat up the kids that were throwing the rocks and then you came and untied me. I was so embarrassed because I had let them trick me into getting tied up, and I felt so alone and afraid when they were hurting me, and then you came… and I didn't feel like that anymore." He looks up from his lap and into Cato's blue eyes. "Cato, you were always more than my best friend. I…"
"What… are you trying to tell me, Marvel?" Cato asks, knowing what the answer will be.
"I think… I mean, I know… it's just- Cato, I love you… more than just a friend or family member." He finally blurts out.
The room begins to feel hot and stuffy. Cato doesn't know what to say, but this information doesn't exactly surprise him either. He always knew there was something between him and Marvel that was more than just friendship, but what else did that mean? Did he love Marvel the same way that Marvel loves him? He's sure he loves him, but doesn't really know what that means. Is it a brotherly bond, sexual, or something else entirely?
Cato scratches the back of his neck in discomfort. He doesn't know what to do. His best friend is lying in a hospital bed just inches away from him, searching his blue eyes for some sort of clue, but there's nothing. Cato doesn't know what to do, what to say, how to feel. And then there's that constant vibration of his cell phone in his pocket.