Chapter 3: Influences

"Katniss, it's not what you think!" I exclaimed, as I rounded the counter to stand beside Finnick. She was only a few feet in front of me now, although she felt like she was a mile away. Gale had turned to sit down in the window seat, and had tuned most of our conversation out. Typical of Gale, I thought. He was never one for conflict. He lived a simple life, really. The Hawthorne's stayed out of trouble when they could, and Gale had never aspired to leave town after school. He mentioned once that he wanted to join his father in the coalmines on the outskirts of town, because it was good money for terrible working conditions. My reflections were cut off when Katniss motioned for us to join Gale at the table. Finnick was the first to move, before I slowly walked over to join them, making sure to change the front sign to "closed" on my way. Finnick had stayed to help clear the air, most likely, but Katniss and Gale rarely indulged in his free time. He was everyone's friend in town – he had a way with people, unlike any other – but Katniss and Gale weren't interested in playing along.

The seat was cold to the touch from the draft of the night breeze against the window frame. Katniss broke the silence as I stole a glance toward her. Her hair was currently pulled down – a good look for her – and her bangs drooped down to cover her eyebrows.

"You've been at Panem High for one day, and you're telling me that you're interested in one of the only boys at our school with a bad reputation?" Katniss started. Unfortunately she wasn't finished, as I tried to respond and was quickly silenced. "You don't even know him, Peeta! He's been in so much trouble with the law. And what would your parents think if they caught you with him? He's from a whole other world, Peeta. His family is practically bathed in luxury items and they host massive parties at their mansion nearly every weekend," Katniss said sternly. Her eyes were laced with concern as she bit into her lips. She had a horrible habit of doing that, I recalled.

Finnick was the next to speak, and he didn't necessarily help my situation when he stated that their parties were, and I quote, "killer." Whatever that meant, I mumbled to myself. Gale was currently texting someone intently on his phone, never once passing a glance up to make eye contact with any of us. I recalled him saying that he was head-over-heels for some dumb blonde, but I couldn't bring myself to remember her name since that night. Instead, I just looked away and allowed him to continue his conversation in peace.

"I never said that I was going to pursue anything with him, Katniss. I think we have a misunderstanding: I said that I have a crush on him, not that I was his boyfriend," I started. Immediately my mind raced to the idea of us together, walking along the rusty old pier by our family cottages. I imagined being introduced to his parents, who I believed would be over-the-top, but nonetheless accepting of our newfound love affair. I considered the idea of driving to school together, in his surely outrageously expensive ride. I imagined looking into his eyes every morning as I woke up next to him. But then again, I managed to consider the very real likelihood that he was only into drop-dead gorgeous girls with diamond timepieces and crystal earrings. "I don't even know if he's into guys, and even if he was, I wouldn't want to put myself in a position that could jeopardize our friendships," I stated, before passing a sympathetic glance between both Katniss and Gale.

"For starters, that boy is definitely not into guys. Trust me. He's with a new girl every week," Katniss said, her tone morbidly sarcastic. "At least we're on the same page now. Cato's bad news, and nothing but trouble if you ask me. So, I suggest that you stay away from him – no matter how beautiful he may look," she added, before giving me a supportive glance.

Gale was still hacking away at his phone as if it were bubble-wrap and Finnick was gesturing toward the door. I gave him a slight nod as he waved his hand in a goodbye manner and gave us all a flirtatious wink, before the door closed behind him. Katniss was eagerly anxious to leave for Gale's house, because his mother made a wonderful batch of cookies every time we would gather there.

The rest of the night was a blur. I hardly remembered the drive there, other than the fact that Gale was driving, and Katniss had taken up the passenger seat, leaving me to sit in the back. I remembered using this time to think about Cato and the others, and what it would mean for me now that I was stuck between their two worlds. Cashmere doesn't seem overly bad, I thought, other than the fact that she loves to hear herself talk of course. Surely Cato had some issue with me, but I hadn't had any reason so far as to group him with the other bad boys that I had met in my lifetime. I hardly recalled making our way from Gale's truck to the house, either. I had remembered nothing from our discussions that night, other than the fact that Gale continued to text some mysterious girl all night and Katniss kept asking about Cato. She was rather curious as to what attracted me to him in the first place, but she made the connection between his golden-locks and his muscular figure.

"I kind of thought that you were interested in him, when you asked me in the hall if he and Clove were an item," Katniss had said. She raised her head in pride, when I breathed a sigh and admitted to it. Her tone became more serious and concerned as she went on. "Do you ever get tired of the disappointment, Peeta? I don't mean that offensively, it's just that it never seems to work out. Well, there was that one time, with what's his name…what was his name again?" Katniss added, both serious and questioningly.

"Titus," I said, reflecting back to the time that I had thought he was the one. "We dated for a little over two months, before things went a little sour," I added, thankful that our relationship ended when it did. He was possessive and didn't appreciate me spending my extra time with Katniss and Gale. I recalled that he had always believed that Gale and I were somehow involved, but even though I denied his statement each time, he would never really believe me. Instead, he would just nod in understanding before turning the conversation toward something else. I was aware that Katniss was still awaiting an answer to her question, when she stared at me from the bed with her eyebrows raised. Even Gale had looked up from his phone to see why the conversation had died. "I guess I've gotten used to the rejection. It's really not a big deal. I move on with my life when I see that it's not going anywhere. I'm sure this whole situation with Cato will be the same as the others. I mean, he wouldn't stop staring at me all day, but it was probably because he was intimidated by my dashing looks," I added jokingly.

"He was staring at you? Really?" Gale inquired. His voice was hardly audible since he had been silent for a wealthy amount of time, before finally speaking up.

"Yeah, he stared at me in class, and at lunch, and then in fourth period during our speeches," I said, before both turned to look at each other and back to me with eyebrows furrowed in rage. Did I say something wrong? I thought.

"What was that last part?" Katniss said quickly.

"Her stared at me during fourth period—" I began, but Katniss' voice rang out mid-sentence.

"Not that part. The one before it. Something about lunch?" Katniss questioned.

"I sat with them all at lunch and he was staring at me," I replied. Unfortunately the words escaped before I had a chance to grasp what I was saying, and then both hands systematically rose to cover my mouth. I knew Katniss' caught me before I could get a chance to recover, because she rose to her feet and said that she forgot she had to be somewhere. I was sure that she did not have to be anywhere this late, but I allowed her go, knowing that I would not be able to fix this in a nights work. I had lied to her, I noted. The door slammed on her way out, as I turned to look back at Gale, who was currently biting his lip and avoiding my gaze. "I'm sorry, Gale! Cash asked me to sit with them, and I couldn't find either of you, so I just went with it," I said, hoping there was a slight sense of forgiveness left in him.

"You even call her by her nickname, that's incredible," Gale said sarcastically. I knew he wasn't mad at me, because he flashed me a smile before showing me his phone. "I'm not angry with you. In fact, that blonde I was telling you about has been helping me to confess my feelings for Katniss." I looked at the screen name on his phone and was shocked when I read that it was Glimmer. I had known since we were younger that Gale had a thing for Katniss. I watched every summer, as he would steal any secretive glance he could in her direction.

"I'm assuming that Katniss has no idea that you and Glimmer are friends?" I grinned.

"Not in the slightest," he responded. "And if you say anything, I might just have to kill you," he teased, before he tackled me into the bed.

Mrs. Hawthorne chose the perfect time to open the door, to ask us if we wanted anything to eat or drink, since currently Gale was lying overtop of me. "Sorry, boys!" she exclaimed, before slamming the door. "Didn't mean to interrupt!" she called through the door.

"Get in here mom, you know we're just fooling around," Gale said, grinning as she opened the door to meet us with a large smile. Our laughter threatened to wake up the neighbors, and eventually I fell asleep on his bed while Gale took up the couch in the corner of the room.

I dreamt about capturing the perfect sunrise in the meadow behind my house. I sat in in the emerald green grass with my drawing book in hand, the forest towering before me, as I colored in the profound shades of orange. This was my favorite color, and I would try my best to look out every morning and night to catch a peek at it. My dreams took a drastic turn, when I felt the warm brush of skin against my face, and I turned to meet Cato's twinkling gaze.

Gale and I had made our way to school early the next morning. He parked the car further out in the parking lot than most, so we had to walk a fair amount before we reached the steps that led up to the glass doors. On our way, I noticed Gloss and Cato walking behind us. I turned to meet Cato's eyes, before nervously looking ahead once again.

I heard Cato whispering something to Gloss about something along the lines of spray-paint. I was sure that it wasn't good so I tuned out before listening to any more unnecessary banter.

As we made our way into the school, Gale had to take a left to where his locker was down the hall, before I made my way upstairs. My locker was further than both Katniss and Gale, but luckily Katniss' locker was on the second level as well. I passed by her and luckily received a small smile, before the slammed her locker door and proceeded off to some unknown class.

I heard the warning bell ring, so I eagerly pushed my book bag into my locker and grabbed my English books. I walked at a fairly quick pace so that I wouldn't be late for class – fearful of receiving any sort of punishment in front of Cato. That would be embarrassing, I thought. But as the odds were not in my favor lately, I slipped on a sheet of paper on the way, and had to recover my books, before the final bell rang out. I questioned whether or not I should go to class at this point, but I couldn't get into bad habits on the second day of school.

When I made it to the door, I took a deep breath before placing a hand on the doorknob and pushing it open. I caught a glimpse of Mrs. Everdeen who casually gave me a shake of her head, a small reassuring smile, and then made my way to my desk. Finnick was already sitting down before I managed to take a seat. He was gleaming up at me currently, which made me nervous.

"Hey! Thought you weren't going to make it tough guy," he said, his tone half-joking. I flashed him a panicked smile, before asking what the topic of the day was. "You're going to love this one," he started, "it's 'lies'." I knew a great deal about that, which was for sure. Most recently, my altercation with Katniss was on my mind, but I was pretty sure that her mother wouldn't want to here about my troubles.

"Mellark!" someone exclaimed from somewhere beyond Finnick's side. I turned to see that it was Cato, who was bent down trying to whisper something in my direction. My palms immediately began to perspire and I felt my cheeks warm with what was surely a blush. Finnick chuckled lowly, before turning his head away. Was it that obvious? I mumbled. "Nice job being late on the second day! You even beat my record," he said, and as quickly as it began he had turned back to his journal entry.

Finnick was trying desperately to keep his composure, but as soon as Cato had turned away, he became laughing.

"What are you so smug about?" I said grudgingly.

"It was almost sad seeing you try to keep your composure like that. Unfortunately you're an open-book though," he chuckled. I felt my cheeks begin to redden again, and turned back to my paper to focus my thoughts on something other than Cato.

When class had finished, a petite girl approached me and pulled me aside. I looked up to see that it was Clove. She was better dressed today and yet her expression was not all too pleased when she began to speak. "Cato wants you to meet him tonight. Here at the school. 10pm sharp," she said, before turning and running off.

"But the school's closed then!" I called out after her, but Clove never turned to pass a glance back. I was really confused by the idea that Cato would want me to meet him, much less that he wanted me to meet him here, at school, tonight. Instead of standing there all day and being gawked at by Mrs. Everdeen, I passed her a quick smile and ran out the door.

The rest of the day went by rather quickly. Art with Cinna and Katniss was yet again the best class of the day. We had to hand in our portraits at the end of class, and to my surprise Katniss' blue jay wasn't all that bad. Cinna gave me a pat on the shoulder, before accepting my portrait of the fruit bowl. I incorporated a variety of shades into the orange, when I gathered my thoughts long enough to remember my dream from the previous night. It was just another reason to think about Cato, on top of the mess of thoughts already scattering through my head.

I noticed Cato had avoided his gaze when I walked in to fourth period, mathematics. I walked over and quickly took my seat, before Mr. Beetee gestured for Gale to start the public speaking this afternoon. Gale only mentioned a few things before taking his seat nervously. He passed a glance over to me when he was done, and I gave him a thumbs up to relieve any nervousness that he may have had left.

My thoughts were circling around Cato for the better half of the hour before I could take it no longer. I had to say something to him, but just as I did I received a warning glance from Mr. Beetee who had been eyeing me for the past few minutes. He must have noticed that I wasn't working on the question sheet, I thought.

I wouldn't get a chance to say anything to Cato before the final bell went off, signaling that both class and the school day were now over. I gathered my books and quickly put them into my locker, before running down the stairs to meet Gale. He had promised to give me a ride home after school today, since my mom was busy working at the bakery and my dad had to attend to some business out-of-town. I met him at his locker before noticing that Cato's locker was just a short distance from his. I motioned that I was going to walk over to say something, before Gale's arm halted my pathway.

"Yeah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Here comes Katniss. I forgot to tell you, but I promised I would give her a ride home first," Gale suggested. I wasn't overly pleased that I wouldn't be able to confront Cato before tonight, but I had to accept the facts and maybe this would be a good opportunity to fix things with Katniss. After all, she was my best friend. Her and Gale both.

"Hey Gale!" she exclaimed, before passing a glance toward me. "Peeta," she said simply. Katniss was wearing a nice black and blue top and tight black jeans. She wasn't one to dress up, but today was an exception apparently.

"Nice outfit! Looks great on you," I said, hoping that by complementing her she would be open to conversation. She managed a small "thank you," before Gale asked us if we were all prepared to leave.

We walked in silence to Gale's truck that I remembered was parked all the way across the parking lot. It was nice to feel some fresh air against my skin, and to breathe in the smell of freshly watered flowers. When we had made the halfway point, I managed to steal a glance back at the school to try and catch a glimpse of the blonde. Luckily he was a couple feet from the door and making his way down the stairs alongside all the others. I noticed that Glimmer was exceptionally quiet, compared to the others who seemed to be deep in discussion as they walked.

I turned my head back to see that we were only a couple of feet from Gale's truck. It was decided that I would take the passenger seat this time, since Katniss' house was closer to the school than mine. Minutes passed slowly, as we all listened to the radio in silence. After about ten or fifteen minutes, Gale pulled the truck up into Katniss' driveway, and she said a short goodbye to both of us before Gale put the car in reverse.

"Well, that went well," Gale said sarcastically, as he began laughing to himself. "I don't understand why she's so stubborn about this Cato kid…I mean, Glimmer isn't half-bad," he added.

"Gale…I need to tell you something," I said, not turning my face away from the open-window. I knew he was staring at me, before I began to speak. "Clove invited me to the school tonight, after it's closed. She said that Cato wants to meet me. Do you think I should go?" I said, but I knew that whatever Gale said, I couldn't pass up this opportunity. I just had to know what Cato's fascination with me was, and why he preferred to meet after school hours. I mean, why couldn't he approach me in English himself, instead of sending Clove? I thought.

"No way!" Gale said, before adding, "I don't know about this, Peeta. It's one thing to ask you to meet him at lunch, and another to invite you to Panem High after dark…" He trailed off, but I knew that his voice was only laced with concern for me. He cared for me no matter how much he would deny it. We frequently had sleepovers at each other's houses, we texted throughout the day, and we had been friends for as long as I could remember.

"Yeah…I probably won't go," I said, but I could tell that Gale knew better.

"Peeta, Peeta, Peeta…I hope its worth it," he said concerned, as he then proceeded to wink at me. I had never thought about it that way, but I was sure that Cato just wanted to talk. What about?...I had no idea, I thought to myself.

I gathered my things and snuck out to the garage where my mom's car was waiting for me. I made sure that she was asleep before stealing the keys from the key holder.

The journey to the school was longer tonight. The roads were nearly all silent, only passing a couple cars here and there. The school itself was completely dark in the distance, and only the sign that read "Panem High Private School," signaled that I had made it to my destination. The building looked eerie tonight, as the wind blew against the line of trees that circled the parking lot.

I eagerly made my way from the car to the school, passing a glance to my left to see that Cato's car was a few yards down. I looked over my shoulders on my way into the building. My nerves were acting up again, and my palms were sweaty and currently shaking.

I made my way around to the back of the school, to a set of doors that were held open by a small block of wood. Opening the doors slowly, I made my way into the dark halls, that were only illuminated every so often by dome lights.

I almost screamed when a hand landed on my shoulder and I turned around to see Cato. He was wearing a dark shirt and black pants, and had paint stains splattered all over his chest.

"You scared the hell out of me!" I exclaimed, as he gestured for me to join him in the other hall. When I rounded the corner, I came face-to-face with Marvel, Gloss, Clove, Glimmer and Cashmere. I knew then that something wasn't right.

"What is everyone doing here? Better yet, what am I doing here?" I asked, looking to each of their faces for an answer that never came.

"We're doing a little remodeling," Gloss said, which made Cashmere and Glimmer squeal beside him. I noticed that they too were wearing all black, which made me feel a little out-of-place.

"This place needs an uplift," Marvel added as a large grin pulled its way onto his lips.

I glanced back at Cato, who was giving me a nod of approval and the next thing I knew I was being coaxed into joining them. My mind raced as I tried to process everything: there never was going to be a talk between Cato and I. This was a set-up! I noted. But I couldn't back out now, not after coming so far. Therefore, before I knew it I had picked up a can of spray paint and was joining them, as we all defaced the walls of the cafeteria.

The Following Day

I woke with a startle, and managed to turn my gaze toward my nightstand that held my alarm clock. It was currently half-pass six in the morning, but I knew I wasn't going to get anymore sleep, so I pulled myself up from my bed and headed for the shower.

The warm water felt amazing against my bare skin. It rushed down my back, down my lower back and tingled against my legs. I spent countless minutes sitting there, thinking back to the night before. I remembered the laughter erupting from Cato and the others as we vandalized the school, and the drive home. The guilt of what I had just done had hit me when I waved a goodbye to the others and stepped into my car. My hands gripped the steering wheel for a while before I drove off.

Thankfully when I got home, my mom didn't notice that I was gone. Actually, she had not even woken up when the garage door had closed. She was a deep sleeper, I recalled.

I had been standing in the shower for some time, before I placed my hands on the taps and turned them off. I was glad that my mother had reminded my dad to fix the hot water system.

I made my way to my room to change, and then downstairs to the kitchen in a small moments time. My mother had left earlier for work this morning, as my dad was still out of town, and she needed to open the bakery.

I grabbed a juicy-looking apple from the countertop, before grabbing the keys my mom had left out for me. The car was how I had left it, and with it brought back memories of the night before. The smell of the paint was nauseating, I recalled.

The drive to school this morning was a lot faster than last night's had been. I pulled into the school parking lot, and parked in the empty spot beside Gale's truck. He had just arrived with Katniss as I pulled my book bag from the back seat and met up with them.

"Morning!" I exclaimed, and both Gale and Katniss gave me a worried glance. Typically I wasn't a morning person, but waking up earlier today had set the day off to a good start.

"Good morning, Peeta," both Gale and Katniss managed to reply. The rest of the trip to the school was left in silence, having only muttered a few words here and there to one another. When we walked into the school we were immediately aware of a growing number of students filing into the cafeteria.

"I wonder what's going on in there?" Katniss said.

"I'm sure it's nothing. Why don't we just head for class early?" I said, but my voice was shaking with nerves, and Katniss shot me a questioning glance.

"What's your deal? I want to check it out," Katniss replied, before she strung both Gale and I along to see what the commotion was all about. I knew what we would when we passed through those doors, but I couldn't bring myself to believe that I was capable of doing it. I heard the shrieks from both Gale and Katniss, before I was pulled away from them by a tug on my backpack.

"What the—" I started, but a calm voice cut off my question.

"Looks great, doesn't it?" Cato said smiling, as he looked behind his shoulders before turning back to me. "You're not half-bad, Mellark…not half-bad," he started. "Anyways, come meet us for lunch today. I want to talk to you about something," Cato said, and with that he was gone. I watched as his muscular figure walked away. His legs were strong from the countless laps in the pool he must have to endure on a daily basis; his biceps were huge as they now flexed out from under his shirt while he carried his books; and his shoulders were tight, leading down into a sexy brawn figure.

I smiled before turning back around the corner, and then I was pushed back into privacy once again; this time by a figure who was not impressed with me by the strain on his face.

"What did you do, Peeta?" Gale exclaimed.

A.N. Thank you to everyone who was reviewed, favourited, and followed this story! It's definitely a work in progress, haha! Enjoy :)