I roll around the grapes in front of me to give my hands something to do. I'm reliving the impromptu make out session with 'Hawthorne', not quite sure it actually happened. After all, he took me to get gas, back to my car and kissed me goodbye without either of us revealing our names. I haven't thought about the incident all that much, putting it down to rotten luck, teenage hormones and a charming tongue. I marvel at how he was able to be charming whilst simultaneously naming me after greasy food and at my own behaviour.
"Are we going to this party tonight? With Finnick?" Delly's voice interrupts me from my thoughts "We're the only juniors to have been invited" her voice climbs higher with each sentence and she's grinning ecstatically
"It's not even Finnick's party, how is he inviting people?" Glimmer asks even though that's exactly the sort of thing Finnick does
"Johanna is throwing the party. You know, the girl Finnick's parents fostered for a while?"
"Johanna Mason? As in Johanna Mason? Seam and District Johanna Mason?"
"That's the one" Delly giggles
"We definitely can't go. She's cheer royalty, she'll laugh in our faces"
"She's not as bad as her reputation paints her" Annie laughs "she's just a bit … brash"
"Didn't she make you cry the first time you met?" Rye points out
"Yes. But that's beside the point, just take everything she says with a pinch of salt and you'll be fine"
"So we're going?" Delly beams, fists clenched
"You can go without us Delly, you know that right?"
"I don't want to go on my own, that's so tragic" Delly whines
"I was under the impression we had no choice" Peeta replies "Bannock says if Rye and I turn this down he's disowning us"
"Peeta's right! You have no choice, we're going and that's final" Delly states matter of factly "Annie?"
"I already told Fin I'm going"
"Excellent, Glimmer? Marvel?" the twins nod in unison
"Madge?"
"A house party Del? We have practice in the morning and I have to meet Cato before that"
"Okay, on a serious note … are you two together because seriously, every morning, after class, free periods, weekends?"
"You know we aren't like that Delly"
"I'm starting to wonder, seriously" I groan at her in annoyance and she grins "please come?"
"Alright but I'm leaving early"
"Fine but I'm not happy about this Undersee".
I have Math after lunch, just what I need. The sleep inducing, droning voice of Miss Seeder for an hour. I sigh audibly at the thought
"Is something wrong Sugar?" I startle at how close the sultry voice is to me, the warmth of his breath on the shell of my ear
"Finnick O'dair, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I'm pretty sure I'm one of a handful of females who don't spontaneously combust at the sight of Finnick. Even before he and Annie got serious I just couldn't see past the bravado, I've always found the goofy, natural Finnick far more appealing. The type of Finnick he is with Annie and his friends
"Just wanted a chat" he grins and lifts his eyebrows suggestively
"I have a class" I retort
"Math is boring" he argues
"How do you know I have math?" Finnick winces, realizing his mistake. I smirk at him until he relents
"I have a friend who pays attention" he says uneasily
"What does that mean?"
"Never mind that, just listen. Thresh is having a party tonight and he invited you and your friends"
"And?"
"That friend I mentioned, he'd really like you to be there"
"Finnick if you're trying to set me up again-"
"Hey this isn't me, I'm just doing a friend a favour" I quirk an eyebrow "So I'll see you tonight, wear something cute" he teases "and I'll make sure my friend wears something you'll like, hey what's your favourite colour?"
"Finnick you're talking a mile a minute"
"Huh?"
"I like blue, can I go now?"
"Go right ahead young lady"
Throughout math and the hours it takes for us all to get ready at Delly's I think about nothing but Hawthorne. It's infuriating but most of that is directed at myself. I've kissed guys before, more than kissed guys and it's never really warranted a second thought. Maybe it's the mystery factor, I've always liked a puzzle but can't bare to leave it unfinished; maybe if i learn his name I'll be able to stop thinking about him and the lovely, cheesy, slightly goofy things he said to me.
"Madge help" Glimmer almost sobs "I don't know what to wear"
"You brought more than one option?" duh, stupid question
"I don't want to go too low cut because Johanna might think I'm a slut but there are so many cute guys at Seam and District" holy crap, this is a Seam and District party, I've been so blind. He could be there. Calm Madge, he said sweet things, said he'd noticed you over a year ago. But he didn't even ask for your number. Crap, now I want to change.
"Go with the other top but the tight jeans that make your ass look amazing. She can't hate you for your natural assets if you aren't showing them off"
"Thank you!" she gushes, lifting the V neck halter over her head and tossing it back in her bag.
I can't stop thinking about him, he could be there! Are he and Finnick friends? Oh my Christ what if he's wearing blue?!
He's not. I've never had reason to hate a garment before but I despise Hawthorne's grey sweatshirt with all my being. It's tight on his arms but that's its only redeeming quality and that's more him than it is the clothing itself. It's not blue and for that reason alone I want to burn it.
"You made it!" Finnick appears before us, his hair and clothing dishevelled and a winning smile on his face. He holds his arms out in welcome, as if this were his party and greets us all one by one. Annie gets a quick but hard kiss before she's pulled in to the house by Delly who gushes when Fin hugs her. Glimmer gets a wink. Peeta and Rye both get their hair ruffled, product of being younger brother to Bannock Mellark. Marvel gets a guy's handshake and I shuffle back and forth, admittedly grumpy because of Hawthorne's disappointing wardrobe
"Decided to come after all, did we?" Finnick gives me a cheeky wink and a knowing smile
"We did" I huff, I'm regretting that decision immensely
"Great" Finnick beams and throws an arm over my shoulders, I perk up a little watching the way he bobs his head in time with the current song, he's sort of wordlessly singing along through his smile too, it's fairly entertaining
"Fin!" someone calls, and with his arm around my shoulders, Finnick forces me to turn the same direction. It's him, it's Hawthorne, I try to pull away but Finnick's hand is sturdy on my arm and I swear he's smirking at me as he forces my body the same direction as his
"Yes Gale?" he replies smoothly. Huh Gale, that's not a bad name actually
"Thresh" Hawthorne clears his throat then starts again an octave deeper "Thresh wants you, he wants to talk about - uh something - um with you, so - yeah -"
"Okay" Finnick disappears into the crowd with no directions as to where Thresh might be. I watch him leave and narrow my eyes at his retreating form suspiciously when he just collapses onto one of the sofas and starts a conversation with Thom and Cato, not whoever 'Thresh' might be.
"Hi" he offers
"Hi"
"Pretty dress" he gestures to the soft white cotton dress I grabbed in a hurry
"Thanks" I pull at the skirt, in an attempt to make it longer and hide my shaky knees. No luck "so" the silence was deafening, I had to say something, it was becoming painful
"So" he seconds but the space is soon filled with music and other people's conversations "so I'm really warm in here, do you want a drink? I'm gonna get a drink" his sentences blur together in his haste to get them out
"Sure, I'm not really surprised, in that sweater" I point out, glaring at the stupid thing clinging to his body
"Oh right yeah" he chuckles nervously, clearly embarrassed that he missed that and pulls his sweater over his head. I almost die. Not only is a sliver of his olive skinned torso on show but his hair is in the most alluring disarray and none of that even really matters because under that stupid grey hoody he was wearing this shirt all along. The navy blue material stares back at me like I stare at it and I can feel the grin taking over my face
"Did Finnick pick that shirt by any chance?"
"Uh yeah, he was kinda adamant I wear it actually. Why?"
"No reason" Hawthorne frowns puzzled "you wanna dance?" his eyes widen considerably and he grinds his teeth. So it's okay to kiss me when no one's looking but in public it's unthinkable
"Sure".
It's awkward, no denying it. We step side to side in time with the music and steal glances at each other but there's at least a foot between us and I keep getting knocked by people pushing through the crowd. He looks around, craning his neck to see over the body of teenagers surrounding us
"Kiss me" I shout over the music, then freeze because I have no idea where that come from
"What?" damage is done now, he definitely heard me
"You heard me"
"Here?"
"Why not?" he doesn't answer, just takes my hand and pulls me through the crowd spread throughout Thresh's house. When we reach the back porch Gale tugs on my hand so we're pressed together and dips his head to capture my lips "No" I shove him back, furious, though I'm not entirely sure why. He looks hurt at first then just as angry as me "why does it have to be out here? You can't kiss me in front of other people?"
"What?"
"Were you just trying to get into my pants saying all that stuff? Is that why you didn't ask for my number, because I didn't put out?"
"What? No. I wasn't trying to- I just wanted to kiss you"
"So all that talk about pizza was just bullshit" dear God Madge, you sound like an idiot "is it because I'm from merchant high?"
"No" he laughs "I thought you'd want some privacy. If not, I'd be more than happy to kiss you in front of everyone"
"Oh" is all I manage before he's pulling me back into the house. He finds a space on one of the sofas and pulls me down on to his lap.
I'm still gathering my bearings when he cups the back of my head and pulls my face down to his. I moan, I can't help it.
"Damn" he whispers against my lips, making them tingle and I giggle, yes, giggle.
At some point we break apart and Gale gets up to get us some drinks. He's gone less than twenty seconds before the first punch is thrown. I don't even know who the two guys are, one is a senior at merchant high but I don't know names or why they're suddenly trying to rip each other's flesh off.
I try to move away like everyone else but repeatedly get knocked back in to my original spot by people clambering to get out of the firing line or get a better look. I get a clear view of the fight when someone jumps from in front of me and one boy tackles the other towards the sofa. I duck impulsively but something catches my face and I can feel blood rushing to the point. Was that a shoe? It definitely feels like I just got kicked in the face. As my vision swims everyone falls silent and the two boys stop grappling beside me
"Yo dude I think you broke her jaw" someone says fuzzily. Wonderful!
"It was an accident. You all saw that right, he pushed me into her"
"Shut up man, she's hurt. I don't even think she's conscious"
"What happened?" is that Gale? "Madge?!" yeah that's Gale "someone answer me, what happened?"
"It was an accident bro. He pushed me right in to her"
"Madge?" Gale hums softly "can you hear me?"
"She was just sort of … there man"
"Get out"
"Why should I leave? He started it"
"I said get the fuck out. Both of you"
"Nah I'm not going anywhere bruh" Gale's weight leaves the sofa, there's a smack, a collective 'Oh!' and then someone hits the ground with a thud
"What's going on?" that's Finnick "Gale?"
"That guy knocked Madge out, remove him would you?"
"I'm not out" I mumble feebly as Gale lifts me off the couch
"Sure thing" Finnick answers as if I hadn't spoken "give me a hand Darius"
"You still awake Madge?"
"You know my name"
"Of course I do blondie, you okay?"
"Yeah, put me down though, my head's spinning" he props me up on a bar stool in the kitchen, which is now relatively empty
"Hey, could you hold her upright for a second, I'm gonna get some ice" Gale asks someone
"Sure" I hear a freezer draw open and see the Gale is bent in the fridge opposite
"Madge?" I blink and realise the person holding me up is Cato, I must have taken quite a hit "what happened?" he asks, his features wrought with concern
"Started a fight when some guy got mouthy" I joke
"Looks saw" he winces, tipping my chin up
"S'alright, you should see him"
"Seriously what did he do? Boot you in the face" he says, bending to look at the underside of my jaw
"Pretty much. Is it that bad?"
"It's a lovely shade of turquoise already" I laugh and wince "hold still" he admonishes me, cupping my cheeks gently to keep my head in place. Gale returns, giving Cato a look just short of a death stare and pushes his hand out of the way to gently press an ice pack to my jaw. I cringe
"Sorry"
"S'okay, just cold"
"Ice? No way" Cato grins
"Shut up" I smile back, my jaw aching uncomfortably, earning Cato a glare from Gale
"That one not funny eh Hawthorne?" Gale ignores him "alright, I know where I'm not wanted. See ya Madge"
"Yeah" I try for another smile but I can tell from Cato's snicker it's more of a grimace "can't leave grievances on the field huh?" I comment when Cato's out of earshot
"He was being a moron"
"Was not"
"He's pretty touchy feely with you" he mumbles
"Are you jealous?"
"Of that guy?"
"Then what's your problem?"
"He had his hands all … on you. And he was being a moron"
"Don't call him that" I tell him crossly. Cato's had people tell him he was stupid his whole life, when that couldn't be further from the truth. He's dyslexic and that held him back but he's exceptionally bright and creative "he's a lot smarter than anyone gives him credit for" of course no one knew Cato was dyslexic, not even the teachers at school. We'd had to tell Miss Trinket so he'd have a chance to get his grades up while I was tutoring him but other than that it was just me and his parents
"You're with him then? I wasn't sure but now it's quite obvious"
"Obvious? Hawhorne I've been making out with you all night"
"Well you seem pretty cosy" he snaps
"You're so jealous" I grin
"He was all over you"
"Hawthorne … he's my cousin" not by blood but I get to enjoy the look on his face for a brief moment before Annie appears, Delly in tow
"Madge! Finnick told me you got knocked out?!"
"No I'm fine, just got caught up in some stupid fight"
"You don't look fine Madge" she gestures to my chin, which I can feel swelling
"I'm fine, I was going to head home though"
"Alright, I'll come with you" Delly says sternly, all motherly instinct
"We'll all go" Annie seconds
"No! You stay, I don't want you to cut your nights short because of me"
"Madge-"
"You're staying! All of you"
"Then how are you going to get home?" with a pointed look at Hawthorne I scowl slightly
"Cato's giving me a ride. Have fun, text me in the morning" I call, already moving through the main room and the throng of teenagers dancing
"Text when you're home safe!" Annie yells. I wave my acknowledgement at her and make a bee line for the front door. Cato's texting in his car across the street and he looks up when I tap the window
"Madge? What's wrong?"
"Can I get a ride? I'll give you gas money"
"Hop in"
"Thanks"
"Hawthorne too intense for you huh?"
"Something like that" I sigh, falling into the passenger seat.
By the time Cato pulls to a stop at the end of my drive I'm ready to climb in to bed and not leave it all weekend. Tonight was a bust.
"Thanks, are you sure you don't want anything for gas?"
"Madge you're on the way and the company was nice"
"Likewise, thanks again. I'll see you Monday"
"Monday" he agrees. He watches me up to the house and I wave him off from the front door before creeping up to my room and getting in to bed in my dress.