Chapter 12

~Clove~

The next day after training hours I immediately made my way out of the building and heading to the home of the Hart's, and a big home at that. As I walked up to his home I remembered all of the moments I had here with our families having dinners and birthday parties. Cato and I were the best of friends before he started training. But then all he could or would focus on was Training and winning the Hunger Games. I sighed as I walked up the steps to the front door and giving it a firm knock. His mom opened the door with a smile.

"Clove so nice to see you again. Come on in." she said happily. That's one thing I like about his mom, she doesn't care for the Games and looks at the positive things in life. I stepped over the threshold and walked towards the kitchen where I could smell food cooking. "So what brings you here?" she asked stepping over to a big pot on the stove that I can only guess is her stew. I sat down at the kitchen table and rested my elbows on top of it.

"I was actually here to talk to you about Cato, is he around?"

"No he went for a walk with Citch, Selima, and Sessa. But Casco should be home soon. What did you want to talk about?" she asked curiously.

"Well I've noticed some changes in Cato over the past few weeks." here goes my story of lies, I thought. "And I know that he took up some sort of interest in Spitfire but it's suddenly stopped, plus he and I don't talk like we used to." I said to her and she sighed.

"Yes we've had a discussion about her. And I know the interest you're talking about." she replied.

"Do you know why he's stopped all of the sudden?"

"He's worried about is emotions getting in the way of his training. He told me that you were friends with this girl, she's nice and quite a mystery." she said and I smirked.

"That's what Cato said." I said and Claret smiled.

"Yeah. I would say that if she wasn't training then I could see them being together but if she wasn't training..." she trailed off and I put the pieces together.

"Then they wouldn't have met. I know." I said looking down at my clasped hands that were resting on the table. "What all has Cato told you about Spitfire?" I asked her and she gave me a quick glance.

"Besides the fact that she trains alone with Brutus and won't tell anyone where she's from or what her real name is? He can't get over the fact that she doesn't fall for his flirting or that he can't intimidate her. He really likes her eyes and that they can "pierce your soul" as he puts it. He thinks she's pretty but not too pretty like what you find from my home District in One. According to him she fascinates him." she explained emphasizing fascinates. I nodded and thought for a second but apparently she wasn't done. "He heard a conversation between her and her roommate Luna is it?" she asked and I nodded wanting her to continue. "Luna was talking about how she thinks Cato likes Spitfire and she kept denying it. Luna talked about how great it would be if Cato won the Hunger Games and wanted to marry Spitfire and have a family with her. But Spitfire was quick to answer, saying that she didn't want to get married or even have kids. She said she didn't want them to go through the Games or even have the chance of being in them." she said and I smiled softly.

"She sounds a lot like you." I commented.

"That's what I said." Claret said with a smile. She was about to say something else but the front door opened and I saw Citch and Selima walking in hand and hand and Cato with a giggling Sessa in his arms, a smile of his own plastered on his face. But when he saw me however, it faltered.

"What are you doing here?" he asked handing Sessa off to his brother.

"Nothing. I was just leaving." I said and without another word I walked out the door and headed to my own home. I walked a few blocks and came to my own home, much smaller than Cato's eight bedroom house, mine just had three, with a small kitchen, dining room, living room, and two bathrooms. I walked through the door and saw my five year old brother playing in the living room.

"Hey Proti. How you doing?" I asked him and he smiled at me.

"Clover!" he shouted, shakily standing up and hobbling over to me. I wrapped my arms around him, I love this boy even with his disability. I heard a chopping in the kitchen and knew it was my dad cutting up some meat for dinner. I helped Proti sit back down by his toys and went into the kitchen to find my dad with a giant knife, cutting ground beef for what I'm guessing is stew for dinner.

"Hey Papa." I said to him, grabbing a small knife and throwing it to the wall across the room, where there were many nicks from me throwing them before.

"Hey Clove how was your day?"

"The usual. How are things at the butcher shop?" I asked him.

"Got a big order in from the mayor, he's having a party in a few days and want's some meat from the shop." he says cutting the last of the beef. I nod and retrieve the knife before coming back to my spot by my dad and throwing it again. My mother walked in from upstairs right as I threw it.

"Oh Clove I didn't hear you come in. Bringing training home again?" she asked and I nodded. "So how are things with your friends?" she asked and I just shrugged.

"Cato is Cato, worried about nothing but training. And Kairo is trying to prove to Enobaria that he has what it takes to be a top student, and he's getting close." I said throwing the knife again.

"I meant your other friends. The girls?" she asked and I paused.

"They're good. Spitfire got a visit from Cato's mom yesterday." I mention and mom looks at me wanting me to continue. "Apparently Cato has mentioned her at home enough to make his mother want to know who she is." I said grabbing the knife and washing it carefully to get dirt from the wall off of it. While mother helped dad with the dinner I went into the living room and played with Proti. If he ever went into the games I don't know what I would do. I can't volunteer for him, if I could then I would. I just hope and pray that he never goes in. Mom and dad won't let him train, they hardly let me train, but I persuaded them to let me. Through the rest of the night my thoughts drifted to Cato and why he so suddenly gave up. It isn't like him to give up on anything so why now?

~Cato~

I watched as Clove walked out the door before turning back to my mom. She looked as if nothing had happened, meaning she didn't want to talk about what they had just been talking about. Well too damn bad because I want to know. Clove has been known to snoop into places that doesn't need to be snooped in. So why was she here?

"What were you talking about?" I asked mom as my brother and his wife left the room with their daughter.

"Nothing, just the Academy." she sidestepped the question.

"That's a load of crap mom and you know it. Now what were you talking about?" I demanded.

"Do not use that tone of language with me young man." she reprimanded giving me a harsh glare. "We were just talking about how she's worried about you. She said she's noticed some changes about you in the past few weeks, and that you took an interest in her friend Spitfire but you stopped. Cato you never give up on anything. She's worried about you that's all." she said and I glared at her, my hands balling into fists. I tried holding them at my side so I didn't punch anything and I was successful during my next outburst.

"Why do people have to get in my business!" I roared out loud as my father walked through the door.

"Cato calm down." he warned me. The tall, dark blonde haired, and bright blue eyed man, with muscles coating his entire body walk through the kitchen and set his briefcase down on the table for a second as he walked over to give my mom a kiss on the lips.

"I would if people didn't stop snooping into my own business when it's clearly none of theirs." I said through gritted teeth.

"We weren't snooping, she was just worried about you like any friend would be." I mom said trying to give me her sympathy.

"Please. Clove is known for her mischief and getting into things that don't need to be gotten into. And I've told you why I gave up on it, so why do you keep prying!" I shouted at her and she gave me another glare.

"To you room now. I've told you not to use that tone with me. We'll talk about this before dinner." she said pointing to the stairs. I gaped at her.

"But you-" I started but was interrupted by my father.

"Do as your mother says Cato. We'll be up to talk about it in a minute." he says giving me a warning.

"You don't even know what the hell we're talking about!" I accused him.

"Now." he ordered and I finally complied, stomping up the stairs to my room where I slammed the door shut. This is going to be a long night, I thought to myself as I dove for my bed and just laid there, thinking of how things got all messed up. Oh yeah because Citch got in my business first, which Spitfire heard.

~Katniss~

The next day I could tell something was wrong with Cato. His anger radiated off of him like the heat of the sun on a boiling hot day. And during lunch he didn't walk in, he stormed in, his eyes going wild searching for something until his eyes rested on me. He stormed over to my table where I sat alone. He rested his hands on the table and leaned on them, trying to intimidate me.

"What?" I asked him, kind of annoyed.

"You and I need to have a little chat. Not now, no our conversation will escalate and I don't need nor want people to hear it. Today after training hours, meet me out on the track. People will be gone by then so we won't be heard."

"And if I don't go?" I challenged him. His glare only becoming harder but each syllable.

"It wasn't a request Spitfire. It was an order." he said.

"You still didn't answer my question." I bit back and he growled.

"I'll make your life a living hell while you're here." he threatened, yeah I've heard that before.

"Like that's supposed to scare me?" I asked sarcastically and he growled again before leaving the table and walking to get his own food. I rolled my eyes as he walked away and soon Luna filled his place at the table, only sitting down this time.

"What was that about?" she asked me worriedly.

"He wants to talk to me alone." I answer and Clove comes up behind me.

"I'd be careful going anywhere alone with him. Are you going?" she asked looking at me.

"I don't know. He said if I didn't then he'd make my life a living hell." I said taking a bite of my roast turkey.

"I say don't go." Luna said.

"I think she should go." Clove disagreed and we gaped at her.

"Why?" Luna asked.

"Because why would he want to talk to her so randomly? He may want to talk to her about figuring her out and all that shit that he was going on about." she explained. "Maybe you can finally get some answers." she said and she had a point. I sat there and thought about it while they both continued on with their lunch.

"I think I'm going to go." I said and they both looked at me, waiting for me to go on. "I think if I go I'll get some answers. And I don't really think he expects me to go. I've rejected every almost every attempt he's made at trying to talk to me, it might throw him off his game." I said looking back and forth between them as I spoke. They both nodded and kept their gaze on me.

"So where does he want to meet you?" Luna asked.

"Out on the track after training hours." I replied.

"Well be careful. I don't trust him." Luna said and Clove nudged me in the ribs slightly. I looked down at her and saw that she wasn't looking at me but in the other direction.

"And he might have gone a little stalker on you too." she said and I followed her gaze to find Cato staring at me with a cold glare.

"What have a done to piss him off?" I thought out loud turning back to my food.

"That might be my fault a little. I went to talk to his mom last night before curfew when he wasn't home. But he came in half way through the conversation so I left early."

"What did you talk about?" I asked her quickly but quietly. She dove into the story that she heard from Cato's mom, whose name I learned is Claret.

"She said that you fascinate him." Clove finished. " She also said that you were a nice girl and wonders what would have happened if he hadn't met you through training. But we both knew the answer, you wouldn't have met." she finally ended and I just stared at her. She gave me a sympathetic look that she doesn't let many people see and I moved my eyes from her to Cato who had an angry and confused look in his eyes. He wanted to know what I was looking at him for. I shook my head to pull myself out out the gaze and turned back to my food, moving the tray out of the way and resting my head on my folded arms across the table.

"Why me?" I said to no one in particular.

"I have no idea." Clove and Luna said together.

When I was training with Brutus for the last time that day I kept looking at the clock. I was eager to go talk to Cato but I was also dreading it. I want to and don't want to know what he has to say at the same time. When the training hours had ended I had aching muscles and was in an annoyed mood because of it, the perfect mood to go talk to Cato. I walked out to the Dome where the track was and found him running laps. He was the only one out here and had some sweat running down his visible skin. When he noticed me finally he came over to me and sighed.

"I'm surprised you actually came." he said with a hint of shock in his voice. I just rolled my eyes at him.

"Well it's not like I have anything better to do right now. Now what did you want to talk about?" I demanded.

"I want to know what you did to me." he said. That sentence took me by surprise and I gave him a perplexed look.

"What are you talking about?"

"You. You came here with this fire in your eyes that people either love or are afraid of. No one knows anything about you and that frightens some people but others are intrigued by it. Nobody knows your name or what it is that you can do that got you here. It's been driving me crazy trying to figure it out. But then it morphed into something else and my interest in you was captured by your beauty and your mystery that people want to figure out." he ranted looking at me with every word trying to get a reaction out of me, when he didn't seem to get what he wanted he went on. "But then I gave myself a mental check to remember why I was here. To train, to go into the Games, to win. And I can't do that with you at the forefront of my mind. You are still a mystery to me that I want to figure out but I have to ignore it until I go into the Hunger Games and win. But I can't get it out of my head! I can't get you out of my head." he finished taking deep breaths after his rant. I stood there in shock, not sure what to think or what to say. But my mouth had a mind of its own.

"I'm sorry that I'm such a mystery. But I am one for good reason." I said and he just gave me a "you've got to be kidding me" look.

"But I want to know what that reason is. I want to know what it is that draws me to you against my will that I've had to keep at bay so I can train to be the near perfect Tribute." he said taking a few steps towards me. "I want to know what it is that kidnapped my interest and won't give it back." he said and I opened my mouth to reply but I was interrupted by his lips coming down on mine.

They were soft and kind and when I didn't respond his kiss turned up with more hunger trying to get me to kiss back. And just when I'm about to reluctantly cave in and kiss back he groans and pulls away. I take a step back and just stared at him dazed. He looked at me like he wanted to say something and even when I shook my head trying to say stop he continued.

"You didn't kiss back." he said and I just stared blankly at him.

"What did you expect? You to kiss me out of the blue and and me kiss you back? Not every girl falls at your feet Cato." I said to him, suddenly becoming enraged.

"I know that. And I also know that you're not like most girls here." he said taking a step towards me but I put my hand up to stop him and took a step back in return.

"Unfortunately for you." I say and turn around and run out of the Dome and to the dorm rooms. I could hear him calling after me but I ignored him and kept running until I made it to my room. I entered and interrupted a conversation between Clove and Luna.

"How did it go?" Luna asked me.

"Well let's just say there was a first tonight." I said to them as I went to sit on the bed and they gave me the same looks with furrowed brows. "He kissed me." I said finally coming out with it. Clove's mouth was on the floor and Luna just looked shocked.

"He what?" Clove shouted.

"You heard me. He went on and on about how no matter how hard he tried to push my mystery to the back of his mind it was still there. And he wanted to know what it was that drew him to me. And he kissed me." I explained.

"What happened after?" Luna asked looking like a girl wanting good juicy gossip.

"He asked why I didn't kiss him back and I asked him what he would expect when he kisses a girl out of nowhere and that I'm not like every girl who falls at his feet."

"That for sure." they both said interrupting me and I suppressed a chuckle and continued.

"He said that he knows and that I wasn't like most girls.".

"What did you say.?" Clove asked.

"Unfortunately for you, and I ran away. He tried calling me back but I kept running, he didn't follow." I said finishing the story.

"Okay I usually have an idea on how he's going to react from something but with this, I have no idea." she said at a loss for words.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked.

"Well like Spitfire said, she's not like other girls who fall at his feet. If he wanted to make out with some girl then he could just ask one of them. But the fact that he kissed you Spitfire, I don't know what he's going to do because he's never been rejected like that." she said and I just hung my head and stared at the floor.

"Well I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out won't I?" I asked and they nodded before Clove stood up.

"Speaking of tomorrow I have to get home before curfew. See you at lunch." she said as she walked to the door and out of it. After the door shut I groaned and leaned back on my bed with my arms spread out at my sides.

"What do you think is going to happen? Do you think he'll give up or keep trying?" Luna asked me softly.

"I don't know. Clove said no one has ever rejected him like this before. From what he said part of me thinks he'll keep trying." I said.

"But?"

"But the other part of me says that the rejection will make him stop trying for good." I said sighing as I sat up to face her. We were quiet the rest of the night, changing into our pajamas and getting ready for bed. I tried to sleep, but tonight's events kept running through my head on instant replay, and I couldn't stop them. I don't think I caught a wink of sleep that night because before I know it, our alarm is going off saying that we have to get ready for training.