Hey guys! I decided to post another chapter, since tomorrow and Sunday, I won't be posting. If you want to hear the rendition I think of, when Katniss and Finnick sing, 'Just Give Me A Reason' (which I don't own by the way), you just google, 'Just give me a reason tiffany alvord'... This story is dedicated to Courtney and Holly, my cherished sister. Thank you.
Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, nor any characters from the wonderful world she created.
Although Katniss had agreed to give Cato a second chance, Courtney was responsible for that, she still needed time...Time to do what, Katniss didn't know, but she did know that she needed time, or she might regret what she said...Big time... So she waited.
When she got to school the next day, she knew that Glimmer had spread the news out. People scanned her up and down, looking for a difference in her…A few people avoided her, but Katniss couldn't care less, they weren't her friends. When she got to her locker, she saw Gale, Peeta, and Darius waiting for her. Gale and Darius were laughing.
"Hey, Catnip," was Gale's absentminded greeting.
"Hey yourself." Katniss turned to Darius, "Gimme your schedule?" she asked, with a pleading look.
Darius chuckled, and passed over the much wanted slip of paper, "Whatever you wish, Princess."
Katniss shoved him, "You can't call me that during school-"
"Yeah, it'll ruin her bad-ass reputation!" Gale cut in.
Thresh joined their circle, "Who's bad-ass rep? And who's- Darius?"
Darius grinned. "Weeelll," he said, drawing it up, obviously enjoying torturing his victims, dying to know why he had moved back.
Katniss pushed him, "Stop it! You're soooo mean Dari!" She turned to Thresh, "He moved back here!" with a grin.
"What's with all the abuse, Katniss?" Darius rubbed his shoulder. "That's the second time you've pushed me! What happened to the kitten loving, sweet Katniss I remember?"
Peeta scoffed, "Yeah, right…Even as a kid, she was kicking and biting."
Katniss smiled, looking at Darius's schedule, "You've got Math with Peeta, Gale and Thresh have English, and Finnick and I have Music together," looking up as Finnick joined their circle.
"Who's this?" Finnick asked, looking up, obviously looking confused.
"Oh, that's right!" Gale snapped his fingers. "Finnick never joined our circle till recently, Finnick, this is Darius, our loooong time friend…Katniss, Peeta, Thresh, Darius, and I were friends since elementary. Katniss and I were friends long before that, because…" Gale trailed off.
Katniss sighed, "Because our fathers died, in the same incident. But, moving on, Darius joined our circle at Pre-K, but Thresh and Peeta joined our circle in 1st grade…So, we're pretty close."
"Yeah, and Dari, this is Finnick," Peeta added. "He used to be a Career, but he changed his ways, after-"
Finnick slammed his hand over Peeta's mouth, "Hush! We wouldn't want the whole school to know, would we?" he added sarcastically.
Katniss rolled her eyes, "Gosh, over-precautious much?"
"Well, what if she was here, like over hearing us?" Finnick protested.
Thresh commented absentmindedly over his phone, "You said 'like'."
"Who're you texting?" Katniss asked inquisitively.
"No one," Thresh said, a bit too quickly, shutting his phone down immediately.
Katniss grinned, and made a mad leap at his phone. "Come on!"
Thresh held the phone out of arms reach. "No."
The bell rang, and Katniss sulked, "Fine. But, this is the only time," Katniss warned.
Thresh nodded solemnly. "Ooh, the two singers are in music together…Aww, I wanted Finnick so I could get a good grade."
"Wadddya mean?" Darius asked.
"Finnick and Katniss are the best singers. They always team up, and they're awesome!"
"Oh, that's cool. Katniss was always a singer, even as a kid."
Eventually, they all dispersed, to their different classes, in groups of two.
Cato walked into his first class of the day. It was Music. He had been a pretty good singer as a kid, but he rarely sung at all these days. He froze. Right there, in the first row seats were Katniss…And Finnick. He sat down on the other side of Katniss. Here was his chance. He saw Finnick and Katniss's spines stiffen.
"Welcome Class!" the teacher called out. "Today we will be operating in pairs. You will sing a song, as a team. You are allowed to pick your partners. You will write your names down on this paper," she pointed to a slip of paper, "and then we will go down the list.
Cato watched as Katniss and Finnick teamed up without question. They were the first to write their names down.
He was paired up with some girl. He didn't bother learning her name. He was all eyes and ears when Katniss and Finnick stepped up to sing together.
Katniss
Finnick
Right from the start
You were a thief
You stole my heart
And I your willing victim
I let you see the parts of me
That weren't all that pretty
And with every touch you fixed them
Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh
Things you never say to me, oh, oh
Tell me that you've had enough
Of our love, our love
Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
It's in the stars
It's been written in the scars on our hearts
We're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
I'm sorry I don't understand
Where all of this is coming from
I thought that we were fine
(Oh, we had everything)
Your head is running wild again
My dear we still have everythin'
And it's all in your mind
(Yeah, but this is happenin')
You've been havin' real bad dreams, oh, oh
You used to lie so close to me, oh, oh
There's nothing more than empty sheets
Between our love, our love
Oh, our love, our love
Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
I never stopped
You're still written in the scars on my heart
You're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
Oh, tear ducts and rust
I'll fix it for us
We're collecting dust
But our love's enough
You're holding it in
You're pouring a drink
No nothing is as bad as it seems
We'll come clean
Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
It's in the stars
It's been written in the scars on our hearts
That we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
Just give me a reason
Just a little bit's enough
Just a second we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
It's in the stars
It's been written in the scars on our hearts
That we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
Oh, we can learn to love again
Oh, we can learn to love again
Oh, oh, that we're not broken just bent
And we can learn to love again
The classroom sat in silence, including Cato. What was the most special about theirs was they sung with so much emotion, yet as soon as the song ended, they snapped out of it. Katniss and Finnick just grinned, headed back to their seats, but not before giving each other a high five.
The other students came and went, but none of them matched up to Katniss's and Finnick's song. When class was over, the teacher singled Katniss and Finnick out, "Would you two like to perform in the upcoming choir performance?"
Katniss and Finnick shared a look. Finnick cleared his throat, "We appreciate the suggestion," Finnick started out, as though he had said this many times.
"But, we'll have to decline," Katniss finished.
The class stared at them. Apparently, no one had declined a spot from Panem High's Choral Performances. College scouts went there, it was even on TV.
"You don't want to?" The teacher repeated, albeit a bit stupidly.
"Yes." Katniss and Finnick replied, in sync.
The teacher sighed, "It's a really good place to be you know, most people would kill to be on there."
"We're just not ready for that type of attention yet," Finnick replied smoothly.
"I'll have professionals train you! You could go really, really far in this business. Believe me, I can tell," the teacher was getting desperate now.
"We're fine," Katniss said firmly. "Thank you for your consideration."
Finnick and Katniss walked out of the class, and out into the halls, just as the bell began to ring.
The teacher put her head in her hands and muttered something about, "I could've been famous for introducing the world's greatest singers,"
Cato walked into the lunch room a few hours later. He walked into the lunch line. Katniss and Gale were there, making faces at the disgusting concoctions some cooks had made. Finally he caught up to them.
"Hey," he murmured to Katniss.
Katniss shied away from him, almost instantly, leaning into Gale. Of course, this caused Gale to notice Cato, and he glared at him. "Watch it," he growled. "You mess with her, you mess with all of us."
"And who's us?" Glimmer whimpered. Geez, Cato hadn't even noticed she was there. How much more of a stalker could she be, lining up right behind him, staring at him from behind.
"Us, my darling girl, includes me," Finnick piped up behind Glimmer.
"Oh, geez," Katniss rolled her eyes. "We are not starting a fight in the lunch line. Honestly, I don't need drama right now. I need lunch!"
"Says the drama queen," Peeta teased her.
"Oh shut up! Everyone is sooo mean to me!" Katniss cried over-dramatically.
"Remind me to get you a book of comebacks," Gale smirked at her.
Katniss stuck her tongue out at Gale. "Ugh, how immature can you, like, get?" Cashmere popped in.
'Since when did half of the Careers get here, along with Katniss's friends?' Cato wondered. But he stayed silent, not wanting to invoke the wrath of Katniss.
"Oh, they're still there?" Katniss asked. "I forgot about them…Wow, I didn't know immature was in her vocab."
"A big stunner, believe me," Thresh dryly commented.
"I am so not, like unforgettable!" Cashmere whined.
Katniss suddenly perked up, "Oh, here's my lunch tray! Buh-bye suckers!" She grabbed her tray, and left the line with Gale.
Thresh shook his head, and turned to Finnick, "She'll be such a drama queen when she's hungry, but as soon as she gets her food, it's like the light shone out of the clouds, and suddenly she's back to her normal, snarky self."
"That's just her personality," Peeta said.
"Are we just like invisible to you? Why aren't we getting, like, attention?" Glimmer demanded.
"I'm sorry, darling, food's here, it calls to me, I respond, so I'm out of here," Finnick picked up his steaming pizza and left the line, leaving only half of the Careers left in the lunch line, wondering why they were there in the first place.