Chapter 12: Unexpected

I couldn't help myself but to try and scream as loud as I could, hoping by some miraculous turn-of-events that the policemen would hear my muffled cry. Though I continuously tried, my attacker's hand was hard against my mouth, which silenced any and all sounds engaging themselves from my lungs. Even my hands were of no use, my attacker one step ahead of me as they held my hands behind my back instinctively. I conjured up several thoughts as to whom the pursuer could be: another policeman who had snuck up from behind me to silence me as the other two authorities tracked down the remainder of my friends; a janitor or school official who had been subject to watch the schools halls after dark; Marvel, Gloss or one of the girls who had returned to protect me from being caught. My mind was a jumble of possibilities.

I kicked at my attacker, freeing one of my arms as they staggered backward. With a propelling push from my one arm and lashing out with my legs, I managed to pull myself from them. I raced for the door, but tripped as my foot caught the side of what I presumed to be a desk. Eagerly pulling myself from the ground and pacing toward the door, I felt my leg ripped from underneath me, sending me flying back to the ground. I had just about reached the door when I let out a wrenching scream as my assailant climbed overtop of me to silence my cries for help. I tried to shake them, before rolling over after which the former was unsuccessful. Unfortunately I was unable to get very far before the assaulter was overtop of me again, this time reaching down to cover the screams eagerly escaping through my lungs.

I was sweating profusely and all train of reasonable thought had long gone from my head, as I now struggled with each burning muscle to shake my assaulter from their hold on me.

"Shut up," I heard him whisper first, his voice aggravated and grim. "Shut up, right now!" he continued. I sank my teeth into one of his fingers as it mistakenly trailed its way into my mouth. I heard an outraged cry, before I began turning around to face him. When I tossed a glance upward, I immediately felt the hard blow of a hand against my face as its force struck against the side of my cheek. I was sent buckling toward the ground; my face in the opposing direction of the attacker.

"Stop it!" He called out next, pushing my face into the ground. I couldn't feel any of the pain, which surely surged through my body as my face slammed into the ground. I was too focused on gaining leverage on the assaulter that no pain could distract me from my goal. I propelled myself and buckled my legs outward as I sent the assaulter barreling to the ground beside me. With a loud crash I knew that he had been sent into a nearby bookshelf.

I pulled my aching body up toward the front desk and grabbed the first object I could reach: a medium-sized bronze trophy. I turned in a flash to meet the assailant who was struggling to pull himself up from the ground. I raised the trophy in my hands above my head, and just about brought it down onto my victim, when he turned to meet my gaze, his bloody grin meeting mine.

"Finnick?" I said instinctively, confusion setting in my mind. "I thought you were trying to kill me! Are you okay?" I asked panicked and rushing over to him. I placed a hand underneath his chin, whipping away at a stain of blood that had dripped down just below his lip.

"Remind me not to help you out next time," Finnick stated, brushing my hand away and slowly pulling himself to his feet. I sat on my knees for a little while, contemplating the recent events, my muscles still burning. I had been wrong in assuming who the assailant was and yet I was left even more puzzled than before. I finally rose to my feet, still a few inches shorter than he was, but looking directly into his eyes.

"I don't understand. How are you here? Why are the cops here? Do you know who sent them?" The questions flowed out of my mouth before I even had a chance to grasp what I was asking. My head ached from all the questions, thoughts, and memories racing around, wracking themselves against my brain. I didn't bother to allow Finnick to explain, because before I knew my mind centered on a single thought: Cato. I was on my feet in seconds, ignoring the calls from Finnick who I could hear behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck raised as I imagined his hand swiping at me, trying to hold me back from reaching the door. He was out-of-luck, because as soon as I reached the doorknob and swung the door open, there was no stopping me. I ran at full-pace with my head swinging from side-to-side as I hoped to see any sign of Cato's whereabouts; I could hear the echoing sounds of voices down the corridor past the vending machines now. I recognized Marvel's distinctive tone, both cocky and dignified – and I swore I could hear Cashmere's voice, although it did not sound as perky as usual. Though barely a whisper, I rounded the corner and flew into the room. I received alarmed looks from the others, who rushed over to me immediately.

"Cato…" I started, but I could not catch my breath. I propped myself up against a wall and placed my hands on my thighs as I breathed in heavily through my nose and out through my mouth. "Cato…where's Cato?" I finally managed to say between hard breaths. "Did the police…"

"Get him?" Marvel finished the thought before I could articulate it. "Yeah, they did." He looked just as frightened as he did when Cato was admitted to the hospital just over a week ago now. The memory hit me like a wall.

"Was he the only one?" I began. I looked around at each of their faces before realizing that Clove's was missing. "Where's Clove?" I started to ask, but I knew the answer already.

"They got her too. Luckily we were able to hide in time after we heard the barking," Cashmere interrupted. I cast a glance over at her, and realized that she and Gloss were standing barely inches from one another. I couldn't conjure up a smile after the realization, and instead decided it was best to sit down. Before doing so I thought back to Finnick, whom I remembered was only a few feet behind me as I ran down the hall. He must have fled when he realized that the others were here, I thought to myself.

"Finnick was here earlier," I started and the other shot me alarmed glares. "He was able to protect me from walking into a full-on ambush," I reassured them. I thought I could see Glimmer smiling, but the expressions from the others were unwavering. "It's a good thing guys," I tried to explain, but Gloss' angered interjection cut me off mid-speech.

"He led the cops here," Gloss stated first. "He was the only one who could have, I'm sure of it," he suggested.

"When Cato finds out, he's going to kill him," Marvel said next. He was pacing around the room now, hands on his hips as he trudged back and forth.

"He's as good as dead to me already," Gloss replied.

"What about when Clove finds out about all of this? She already has a record and she's not going to be happy when she finds out that Finnick was the one who initiated all of this," Glimmer inquired. She still had her preppy glow about her and that untouchable beauty as she passed her hand through her hair to tie back a loose strand; nobody could look as good as she did during times of stress.

"He'll be sorry for this, that arrogant, self-righteous idiot," Cashmere explained.

"No." My statement cut through the air like a knife. The others must have forgot that I was in the room during their rage, because they turned back to me with both surprised and curious expressions on their faces, before I continued. "We don't know for sure that it was him that did this. And we'd be stupid to go after him so soon after Cato and Clove were arrested – we'd mine as well turn ourselves over now, if that's the case."

"For a baker's son, you make an awful good point," Gloss stated. His words didn't bother me at all, because I knew he meant no offence to me. Anyways, I was proud of my roots and had nothing to be ashamed about.

"What do you think is going to happen to Cato and Clove?" I asked nervously.

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about there. Their parents will just pay their bail, or they'll pay the judge off if it goes that far," Marvel reassured me. I was thankful for the good news, but it did strike me as unbelievable that Cato's parents could avoid the law with their fortune.

"We best be getting home now," Glimmer said softly. "I had a lot of fun!" she added excitedly.

"Same here!" Cashmere called out.

"Definitely!" Gloss confirmed.

"It wasn't all bad," Marvel recounted.

"Yeah…" was all that I could manage to say before everyone trailed off on their own paths. Some took the front entrance closest to the parking lot, while others escaped through the southern entrance. I preferred the later, in spite of my nerves.

The Following Night

Heyy! Marvel told me that you're parents bailed you out last night. Text me!

Cato? Text me when you get this…I'm worried xo

Hello? Why aren't you answering? I'm going to call.

Hey, I just called and you didn't answer. CALL ME BACK!

I sent several more texts throughout the morning and afternoon, none of which receiving any replies from Cato. I had hardly slept last night when I got home. My mother had been waiting for me in the living room, I recalled. As I slowly crept through the living room toward the kitchen and the stairs, a light had turned on in the corner of the room. When I turned my attention to the light, I noticed my mother sitting in our green chair. She slammed the book in her lap closed and shook her head as she walked past me, the bags under her eyes largely covering her worn expression.

Ever since this morning I had been sending messages to Cato, hoping to receive some sort of reply from him. I wanted so desperately to hear his voice or be reassured somehow that he was all right. I assumed that he would be sleeping in late, considering the late night, but I assumed that he would have responded to my messages later in the day; I had yet to receive a reply as I looked at the clock and noticed that it was already 7:12pm. I decided to try calling him one more time.

Ring…Ring…Ring…Ring…

"Hello…?"

"Cato! How are you? I'm so worried about you" I called out in reply.

"I'm exhausted, Peeta. Can't we talk tomorrow?" Cato said, stifling a yawn in between his words.

"Is something wrong?" I asked simply. I noticed that his tone held a sense of annoyance in it.

"Nothing's wrong. I just—Yes, mom! Yeah…Yeah…it's Peeta. I'll be off the phone any second," Cato said, his voice calling out distantly to his mom who must have entered the room.

"Okay…I miss you. I was so worried last night. Have a good night, Cato," I said somberly, and ended the call with a simple beep as I touched the screen.

I didn't understand why Cato was acting the way he was, but I realized that perhaps he was just exhausted – he did have a very long night in any case. I decided that I would catch up on my sleep, having not went to school today – which also did not go over well with my parents, who made me work the bakery for the entire afternoon and supper shift. I turned off the night lamp that sat on my dresser and tucked myself into the bed. I closed my eyes and within a few moments I had drifted into a deep slumber.

The Next Day

I paced back and forth in front of Cato's locker waiting for him to arrive from class. I mulled over the countless things I wanted to say to him as I took each and every step. I smiled as Katniss and Gale passed by, but they were in a hurry and didn't bother to wave, just nodding as they trudged on. I returned to my trivialities turning back to take another few steps before looking up to see a brawn figure making his way down the hall. I knew it was Cato. I paced back and forth a little more as I thought back to the things I wanted to say to him, but found myself at a loss for words. I panicked when I heard his voice call out.

"People are going to get the wrong idea if you keep hanging around my locker, you know," Cato said. I turned frantically, but I noticed that he had a large smile on his face, and he was attempting to stifle his laughter. It was cute that he could laugh at his own jokes, and that was one of the many reasons that I liked him so much.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to you in English or Math," I started, unsure. I watched his expression morph from sarcastic to guilty. "So…how are your parents dealing with everything?" I asked next.

"I mean, there not exactly impressed with me," Cato said, as he pushed his way past me toward his locker.

"At least the charges were lifted, right?" I said hopefully, attempting to reassure him in any way that I possibly could.

Cato looked back at me with an uninterested glare, before he began spinning his lock.

"Do they know who did it? I mean…do they know who called in the police?" I asked him.

"Not exactly, but I'm pretty sure it was Finnick O'Dair. So the others and I are going to kick his ass when he comes back to school. Feel free to join in," Cato said. I laughed. He didn't.

"You're not serious?" I said, worried. I could not believe that Cato would go after Finnick after something so outrageous. "Please, Cato. Don't do this. For me…don't do this…" my voice trailing off.

"Peeta, what don't you understand? He embarrassed me in front of everybody! My family is pissed, and Clove hasn't even been allowed to see any of us since – let alone talk to us either," Cato said sternly. He managed to stop what he was doing to turn around and give me a hard glare.

"Promise me that you won't do this," I pleaded him. His expression finally softened as he turned to me with a sympathetic look.

"Would it be okay if I left it to the others?" He attempted, but my unwavering expression gave him his answer. "Fine!" he said sternly, until his voice softened once more. "All right. I won't do anything. You honestly don't understand the effect that you have on me," Cato whispered delicately.

I breathed a sigh of relief and looked up to meet his dazzling blue eyes staring back at me passionately.

"Shall we get out of here?" Cato said next, and my huge grin was answer enough. He threw his arm around me and we made our way to his car. What had started out as a confrontation had quickly turned into a small conversation and a sweet moment between the two of us. I couldn't help but smile involuntarily as he opened the door for me, and motioned with his hand for me to step in. I looked around to see if any students were looking, before giving him a quick kiss on the neck. He leaned in for another, but I quickly dodged his attempt by jumping into the car and pulling the door closed. He stood there for a moment, lips still pursed, before he said something underneath his breath and rounded the corner of the car to plant himself in the driver's seat. When he put the key into the ignition the car roared to life. Cato placed his hand on the dashboard to where a black knob protruded from the metal and turned it clockwise. Immediately the air around us filled with the sounds of uplifting music. We passed a smile between one another as he put the car into reverse and shifted gears once again; before I knew it, we were on the highway.

"Taking the scenic route today?" I inquired.

"That…and its also a faster route to my house if you remember correctly," Cato teased.

"You're taking me to your house?" I said, smiling. "You do know I have to work tonight, right?" I added.

"You better be joking…" Cato replied, turning to me with a tense expression. I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled a little before turning my attention to the forestry on my right.

The trees were finally beginning to chance color. I noticed a few red leaves here and there, which were my absolute favorite, despite an unusual amount of orange and yellow ones. I could see birds flying eagerly above the forest line, in a variety of different sizes and colors. I noticed a select few large ones, which I imagined were falcons. They frequently nested in the deeper forest surrounding this area. They were a close favorite of mine, but I couldn't manage to get over the beauty of the cardinal and blue jays that lived around my house. The music drowned out as my eyes took in the multitude of images passing me by. I missed coming out here to draw when I was young. I usually had to draw the sunset through my window in my room, or sketch a bit of the scenery around my house. The Hawthorne's had a beautiful landscape that I frequently painted in the summer months; it had several full-bloomed flowers, such as roses and tulips, a small pond with several koi fish, and a tree line that was open to the eye – which allowed me to see small bear cubs, nesting birds, foxes, rabbits, and other small animals.

I was taken from my train of thought when I realized that we had already arrived at our destination and Cato had already pulled the key from the ignition. I tossed a glance over to him to see that his expression held a large look of pleasure.

"What?" I asked simply.

"You're just really cute when you space out," he replied with a beaming smile. I smiled at him coolly as I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door. When I rounded thee front of the car, I felt my feet ripped away from the ground. My whole body flew up horizontally to which I finally realized that Cato had pulled me up into his arms.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking up into his eyes.

"Practicing for our wedding night," Cato started, as my eyes widened in panic. "I'm joking," he stated next, before walking with me in his arms all the way to the door. I unlocked the door and turned the doorknob before Cato pushed the two of us through into the house. He walked with me all the way down the corridor, until he rounded up the stairs and into his room. He placed me down onto the bed, walked over to turn the fireplace on, and returned to where I lay. He seductively pulled himself onto the bed on top of me until his eyes finally met mine. I couldn't take the wait any longer; so I reached up and grabbed the back of his head and pulled his lips down to meet mine. I thought I could feel sparks erupting from our touch, specifically as Cato twirled his fingers through my hair. His full weight was now resting on me, and I found it oddly relaxing and comfortable. He slid his tongue into my mouth passionately, as I slowly trailed my fingers around the bottom of his shirt. When he began whimpering between our kisses, I finally slid my hand up his shirt and onto his warm body. His entire body shuddered at my touch, and I could feel him pushing his hips into me as our tongues danced together triumphantly.

"You really were joking about working tonight, right?" Cato asked nervously, as he pushed himself up for a moment, breaking our moment.

"It wouldn't matter now anyways," I beamed, tugging on his shirt until his lips crashed into mine again. I could taste strawberries on his breath and I didn't know whether or not it was from dessert or from his chapstick. Either way it tasted amazing, and I wanted more, so I pushed my tongue deeper and reached down to place a hand on his butt. He recoiled a little, but eventually gave in. I pulled him into me as I kissed him harder. Things were getting extremely heated, and I was unsure how far things were going to go. I thought we would take a moment to cool off as he wrenched himself away from my hold, but as I started to sit up, Cato began removing his shirt; while he remained straddling on my waist.

His crossed hands grabbed at either side of his shirt before he pulled it up and over his head, leaving his golden body dazzling before me. I placed a hand on his chiseled abdomen, and breathed out an air of amazement. I kept my hand on his abdomen as I looked up to see his beaming smile looking down at me mischievously.

"You're next," he said, and I immediately felt my nerves kick in. Things were going too fast and I didn't know if I wanted to wait or not, but my hormones were raging, so I decided then that it would be now or never. It was romantic and all, I thought to myself. He had taken me on a scenic route, complimented me on a minute detail that most people overlooked, and carried me up to his bed.

I sat up further, and Cato lay back on the bed now. He looked at me passionately and I could see our connection in the moment, which was enough to reassure me. I pulled my shirt off, and pulled myself slowly onto him. I bit my lip as his eyes drifted from my own downward. I watched as he inspected my collarbone, my slender arms, and finally onto my abdomen. I had v-lines on my lower abdomen, but I lacked the six-pack abs that Cato held. Instead, my abdomen was smooth and defined. Cato's eyes drifted back up to mine, and his hand reached up to clasp my cheek. He pulled himself up slowly, and I watched as he closed his, and before I knew it we were kissing once again.

Things went from passionate to eager in a matter of moments as Cato rolled me to the other side of the bed and now stood on top of me with a fiery gaze. He pressed his lips against mine sweetly, and then trailed a few kisses down my chest until he reached my belt buckle. He began unlooping it from the clasp…

"Finally my parents let me leave that Hell hole!" Clove shouted as the door opened swiftly, sending a massive gush of air toward the bed. The cold air made me shiver under Cato's weight, and the sound of the voice sending Cato upright on the bed, his spine perfectly vertical. My hands instinctively came up to cover my eyes, as I rested my thumb and index finger on my temples.

You could have heard a pin drop. That is until a heartbreaking gasp rang out over the room.

Author's Note: I'll be the first to admit that this chapter was a little "all over the place" and fast-paced (and probably a little boring to some of you avid readers). I have so many ideas running through my head on where I want to go with this, but this was a matter of setting things in motion for Peeta, so I want to apologize if it was a bore to read. I know that I've been posting less often as of late (which is the repercussions of University). Anyways, I hope that you've all enjoyed the story so far! Until next time! ~ B