Cato POV:

"What the hell was that for!"

"I was merely asking her a question!"

"That was not a question and you know it, Glimmer!"

"Why do you care anyway? She's nothing but a poor girl! She can barely afford the clothes she's wearing! Her parents don't even have a stable job! Why do think she moved here, huh?"

"That's enough! Both of you sit down this instant or you're heading straight to the principal's office!"

I sat back down trying to do whatever I could to calm myself. I was beyond mad at Glimmer for what she did to Clove. She didn't deserve any of those rude comments Glimmer was making. I did learn something though. Glimmer and Clove definitely knew each other. They were probably from the same school before. She used to live in California before moving here, after all. Why didn't I see it before? That was why Clove was so mad at me after the party. It wasn't just because I was with some girl. It was because I was with Glimmer of all people. I am so stupid. And screwed. Definitely screwed.

I was tempted to bolt out the classroom right after Clove but Mr. Anderson stopped me. Even Annie wasn't allowed to go after her. I don't know what he's playing at but it is definitely not funny.

Annie, Marvel and I bolted right out the door the moment the bell rang. We went our separate ways in search of Clove since she wasn't picking up her phone. Marvel went to the cafeteria to ask the others for help and Annie went to the nearest bathroom in hopes that she went there for privacy.

We searched practically everywhere. The library, the gym, outside by the bleachers, the labs, the music room, the bathrooms (the girls did, obviously) but we just couldn't find her anywhere. We were all growing restless, frustrated, worried, tired and a wee bit hungry.

We all met back outside the cafeteria thinking of other places she could be when Gale's phone suddenly started buzzing. "Hello? Yeah. Uh-huh. Ohhh. Alright, thanks. We'll be right there. What? Are you sure? Ok fine. Yeah. Thanks. Bye." He hung up the phone before stating, "I know where she is. She's fine. She says we should all eat lunch and she'll meet us, whoever she still has classes with, later."

We all went to the cafeteria in silence. We still had about 15 minutes before lunch was over. I bet we were all thinking the same thing. None of us could eat properly without Clove but we nevertheless tried to stuff our mouths with whatever we had in front of us. I, personally, didn't have an appetite at all. I couldn't even touch my food. I knew Clove would be mad at me if I didn't eat though so I tried really hard to at least get something in my system. I think this is the first time I was ever relieved to hear the bell ring that signaled the end of lunch break.

At Science, I tried talking to Clove but she wouldn't even look at me. I gave up after a while, knowing that she had to have a reason for ignoring me. Right before leaving class, a piece of paper slipped onto my desk. It read, I'll tell you later. –C. I glanced at her, not even daring to write back. She smiled at me for a second before she grabbed her things and left the classroom. Right then and there, I knew she going to be alright.

I drove her home as per usual. She didn't talk to me the whole ride to her house. Once we got there, she invited me inside and went straight to her room. We sat down on the floor for a while, still remaining silent.

"Clove wh-"

"Cato, stop. Can't we just drop it for now? I'll tell you later, okay? I promise." With that, she went back to her work. I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut. This was turning out to be the worst day ever.

Since I had nothing better to do, seeing as our deal was still valid and Clove had to do my homework (well, part of it), I opted to play the guitar which usually calmed me down. I was strumming, mindlessly playing a few chords. I wasn't really paying that much attention to it. It was sort of my second nature to play the guitar so sometimes I just get lost in the melody.

"Cato, can you please stop? It's very distracting." Clove finally said.

"Sorry. I was just getting bored, that's all."

She sighed before putting her pen down. "I guess I can take a break for a while. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Uh, water would be fine. I don't mind getting it."

"No, it's okay. You're still the guest, after all. I'll get it." She said before getting up. She looked a bit depressed, if you asked me. I couldn't take it. It was so heartbreaking to see her look so down. She was usually the perky one. The ray of sunshine of the group. Now she was all gloomy and I didn't what to do to make her feel better. First things first though. I had to find out what the cause was. Then I'll be able to help her find a solution.

She got back a moment later with two glasses of water, two bowls, two spoons and a container of ice cream. I looked at her incredulously. She didn't seem to take notice though as she took a gigantic scoop and placed in the bowl.

"I guess I should start from the beginning, huh?" I just nodded. She was finally opening up to me! I didn't let it show, but I was mentally fist pumping in the air screaming 'FINALLY!'.

"Well, it all started in first grade. I had met Glimmer during the first day of school. We were seated next to each other and had become instant best friends. We shared everything with each other. She knew all my secrets and I knew hers. Well, at least I thought I did." She paused for a second before continuing. "In fifth grade, I had this huge crush on a guy from our class." I couldn't help but clench my jaw at this. Luckily she didn't seem to notice. "I, of course, being the good friend, had made the mistake of telling Glimmer this. At the time, I didn't know that she had a crush on him too. We kept talking about him all the time, thinking of ways to get him to notice me. Then she suggested I join the talent show since she said I was a good singer. At the time, I thought it was a good idea. Not only will he notice me but I also get to show everyone else what I'm capable of. But then everything seemed to go downhill from there. Without prior warning, she joined the talent show as well. I was shocked, to say the least, that Glimmer would want to compete against me. Then she told me that she believed she could win the contest since there was no real competition anyway. I then proceeded to ask her what she meant. She told me that she never thought I could sing. She was merely encouraging me to so I could embarrass myself in front of hundreds of people. I started to feel sick after that. Once I got called on stage, I saw them all staring at me and it freaked me out. I couldn't get any of the words out of my mouth despite how much practice I've been doing. My mind went completely blank. When I was finally able to sing, well, more of speak part of it, people started booing me and I ended up throwing up on stage. Needless to say, it was the worst experience of my life. I ran backstage after that, feeling completely flustered. Once I got there, everyone was laughing at me. I even heard Glimmer mocking me, pointing and saying how pathetic I looked on stage. Of course, Glimmer ended up winning the talent show."

"That's just cruel! I always knew she was a bi-." I interjected.

"I'm not done yet." she cut me off as well. "A week later, meaning the Monday that followed, I was greeted at the entrance to the school by the sight of Glimmer sucking faces with Jason, the guy I, which then I found out was actually we, had a crush on. By then, I knew our friendship was long past gone. Ruined and completely torn apart with no point of return. Glimmer had just used me all those years because she needed someone to help her academically. Nothing was ever the same ever since. Everyone avoided me like a plague at all costs. I assumed it was Glimmer spreading rumors about me. Well, some of them weren't really rumors since I told her everything there is to know about me. I was horribly bullied by everyone and I had no friends to back me up. I felt worthless. Sometimes I still do. I remember everything they said about me and it haunts me until this day. Sometimes I think they're right. There really is nothing special about me and that I should just disappear." She was outright crying at this point. I don't even think she noticed or maybe it was just that she didn't care. The tears were streaming down her face and it broke my heart to see the girl of my dreams break like that.

"No."

"Excuse me?" her voice cracking.

"No. You're not worthless Clove. You're absolutely perfect in every way. You're extremely talented, smart and beautiful. You've got a killer body too so that's a bonus." She punched me in the arm for that one.

"You're such a guy, Cato." At least now she's smiling! Totally worth it.

"I'm serious! But that aside. I know you, Clove. You're kind, sweet, honest and just... amazing. You shouldn't let words like that let you down. For all you know, they're just jealous."

"What's there to be jealous of? I don't even have anything that would be counted as valuable. Not even a decent dress of my own."

"You don't need to dress up nicely to look your best. You look beautiful in whatever you wear. You don't even need make-up like the other girls do to make you look attractive. You, my dear, are beautiful inside and out. You are the epitome of perfection. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

She stared at me with her eyes that were sparkling from the tears that were once again gathering. I wiped the stray ones away with my thumb and before loosing my nerve, I pulled her face closer to mine and closed the gap between our lips. Fireworks exploded.

AN: Here's for your daily dose of Clato, everyone! Hope you're all doing well.

Before anyone asks, Clove's family is not really poor, per se. It's just that her parents transfer jobs so much so they don't really have a stable pay check yet. Her sister is a working student as well which is why she's not home very often. Her family has a decent amount of money saved up but it's not up to par with the wealth of the other kids from their school. The clothes thing is sort of just an exaggeration.

Thoughts? :)