Chapter 14: Delirious

The silence lasted most of the lunch hour, only the sounds of the others chewing down the last bits of their meals filling the air. Gloss was an exceptional eater, having been able to down so much as three hot dogs, a cheeseburger, a large fry, and two servings of coleslaw in a matter of thirty minutes. I guess it was partly due to his large figure and all the football practices he had to endure during the week; every one taking a toll harder than the last. Cashmere was nothing like her older brother, in fact she had hardly ate anything since lunch began. I watched as she picked at a fruit salad, eagerly searching for the purple grapes and the ripest strawberries, and then attempting to toss the remainder of fruit into the trash quickly thereafter, before Gloss intercepted her. My jaw went slack as I watched him pick at the leftovers, but I shrugged my shoulders in the acceptance that I'd never truly understand, and went on eating. Cato must have noticed my blatant stare earlier, because I felt his hand rest on my thigh, before he started to whisper in my ear.

"Careful: he might mistake you for food." I turned over to look at him in confusion, before locking eyes with him. His gaze narrowed and then I watched as he pulled his hand up to my face. I tried to look down at him, but he was too quick. He quickly used his thumb to wipe away at a chocolate drizzle that rested on my lip, from my pastry, and then seductively placed his finger into his mouth to taste the warm fudge. "Tastes amazing. Thanks for the offer."

"This," I started, reaching down to remove his hand from my thigh, "needs to stop, before I get any ideas." My eyes never shifted from his and his eyes lit up immediately as he processed the thought. He bit into his lip as I watched his mind wander, and then his gaze began to slowly make its way down toward my belt. For a moment in time I thought that we were the only ones in the entire room, but we were mistaken when Cashmere's phone rang out loudly. She answered it, nodded a few times as she continuously said "yes," and then she slammed her phone shut and turned to us with pursed lips and an ecstatic expression.

"You. Guys. Will. Never. Guess. What. I. Was. Just. Invited. To." She said, stressing each and every word, a small pause between each syllable. "And I'm allowed a plus one, which obviously means that you're all coming." We were all waiting for some kind of sign that there was a wedding or a formal event, but she quickly disregarded any of our guesses. "Rave."

"Yes!" Glimmer screeched. We all turned to her in shock, as she had completely risen from the table with her right arm outstretched like one of those picturesque superhero propagandas. She started rummaging her hand through her hair nervously in the few seconds thereafter, clearly embarrassed.

"There better be some hot babes," Marvel said next, breaking what would seem like a vow of silence. He hadn't said anything since the "big reveal," but Cato assured me that he was just taken by surprise and would come around. My mind raced back to the exact moment that Cato called me his boyfriend, and I realized that Marvel was one of the people whose faces expressed sheer bombshell. I figured that I would let it go, since it wasn't worrying Cato in the slightest. In fact, Cato seemed to be the most calm out of all of the people currently residing on the table.

I didn't bother to listen to the others, because I noticed that Finnick was still looking at us. He looked liked he had seen a ghost. A couple tables down, I realized that Katniss and Gale had left their table and were now nowhere to be seen. I assumed that they were gone to grab a little personal time together, which made me cringe a little inside, despite how happy I was for them. When I felt a hand squeeze my thigh again, I immediately shook myself from my thoughts and twisted around in a flurry.

"What did I say?" I shouted, but secretly enjoying the touch. When I turned back I noticed that Cato had a large smile on his face, but his cheeks completely betrayed his confidence. I could tell that he was nervous. He had this habit of looking down and avoiding my sight every so often as he would proceed to shuffle his hands together involuntarily. These were little habits that I had been accustomed too over the semester that I had known him.

"So…how about being my date?" When he finally got the words out, his colored returned to normal and he immediately looked like the cocky and self-absorbed Cato that I had come to know.

"You do realize that a rave isn't exactly a date kind-of-thing, right?" I replied, eyebrows creased and a smile making its way onto my face.

"It could be," Cato said, shifting his body closer to me. "Are you really going to make me work for this?"

"Oh, absolutely. You'll be lucky if—" I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence before his lips slowly met with mine and his warm hand placed itself just under my belt, light enough that I could feel it, but not hard enough that I could feel pressure. I immediately tensed up at the touch, and part of me wanted to recoil, but the taste of his lips against mine was too irresistible. The kiss was surprisingly quick, long enough to make a statement to me, but short enough so that our PDA was kept to a minimum. It wouldn't be wise for us to parade our relationship around now that it was just recently made public. I gave out a sigh of surrender, before responding: "Fine. But only on one condition."

"And what's that?" Cato inquired flirtatiously. God he was sexy when he talked to me like that and gave me those sweet blue eyes of his.

"Don't ever tease me like that again." I quickly swooped up from the bench and walked off, not bothering to pass a glance behind my shoulder. I was sure that Cato would follow me anyhow.

The Hawthorne's

"What about this?" Katniss asked for the hundredth time. She had gone through an entire wardrobe in the last few minutes, I was sure of it. I wasn't surprised to see that she left a boatload of her clothes at Gale's house for just this emergency. She had received an exclusive invitation to the rave too, which was all the more exciting for me. It was basically a double date…just a little sloppier.

"For the five thousandth time, that one looks just as good as all the others do. You can basically pull anything off." The latter comment made her smile a little, but she quickly trudged off to the bathroom to change again. I shook my head in annoyance just as Gale walked into the room with a bottle of water for me.

"Still changing?" he asked, nodding his head toward the direction of the bathroom. I nodded as he passed me the bottle, and then we both started laughing.

I was about to respond to him when my phone started to ring in my pocket. When I pulled it out and looked at the screen, I seen Cato's picture on the screen and immediately broke out into a smile.

"Is that your booooyyyyfriend?" Gale teased. I threw a pillow at him.

"Hey!"

"Hey Peeta, how's it going at Gale's place?"

"We're almost ready. IF IT WEREN'T FOR KATNISS' NEED TO CHANGE A BILLION TIMES!"

"Perfect. Should I swing by in fifteen to pick you up, or is Gale driving you?"

"Umm…"

I looked up to see Gale looking at me curiously, and whispered the question to him as I placed a hand over the speaker.

"Looks like Gale's going to be driving. I'll see you there, okay?"

"Sounds good, babe."

I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye before he hung up. I shrugged before turning back to Gale.

"Is that what you're wearing tonight?"

"Do you have a problem with it?" he replied quickly. I watched as he pulled a piece of thread from his jeans.

"No, it's sexy," I said, just seductively enough to get him to groan.

"I wouldn't say this normally, but I'd rather talk about you and Cato, than you and I," he started, as we both chuckled. "Do you think he's going to be able to hand all that?" He put a lot of stress on the latter part of his speech, eyeing my attire.

"What? Destroyed dark wash jeans and a low v-neck?" I didn't think thought my outfit was overwhelming, but I was excited to know that Gale thought it was. Gale let out a huff just as Katniss reentered the room.

"That's the one." I didn't even need to elaborate, because the look on her face signaled that she had already sealed the deal on wearing it tonight. She wore a black short sleeve shirt with hanging sides, that showed off her navy blue bra, along with the tightest black skinny jeans that I had ever set eyes on.

"Peeta, do you feel like stepping out of the room for a few minutes?" Gale joked, which made us all laugh, although Katniss shot Gale a serious look. I contemplated following up on the offer, but when Katniss grabbed her purse and started for the door, I knew that we were going to be on our way.

When we reached the stairs, I walked just behind Katniss, with Gale hard on my tail. "Did I hear someone correctly when they said that this is a black light party?" My question seemed to hang in the air for a while, at least until we rounded down the last few stairs and Katniss mumbled a quick "yeah."

It was a typical night in Panem City, fairly hot with a cool wind. We eagerly crossed the grass in front of Gale's house before making it over to his car, which was parked on the side of the road. It must have just been cleaned, since it dazzled under the moonlight tonight. It was Gale's baby, and I knew better than to trek my dirty shoes into the car, so I rubbed them along the hard concrete before pulling myself into the truck. I closed the door ever so gently.

It wasn't a long ride to where the party was being held. I knew host from my English class, but never really bothered to make conversation with him. He was typically very quiet and brooding, so I didn't push myself to make conversation any more than I needed too. Gale parked across the street from the building, which was surely expensive compared to many of the buildings in Panem City. It was a slate grey with windows panning around on all sides. There was a nice black design on the front of the building, but I couldn't really place it, so I waved it off and followed behind Katniss and Gale.

We walked for quite a while, before reaching a rustic looking elevator that had a pull-down door. Katniss stepped inside first, then myself, and then Gale. A few other girls joined us before Gale used his muscles to pull down the door. Up we went for countless floors. I was sure that we were going all the way to the penthouse, but we managed to stop a few floors before. The sound of the music hit me first, followed by the smell of alcohol and sweat, and finally by the sight of countless bodies packed together. There were countless colors swaying back and forth to the music, and I watched as two extremely well painted individuals made their way to a refreshment stand on our left. The whole table was lined with alcohol and a few assortments of chips. Katniss and I had already been drinking for a while before the party, so I decided to cool down with water.

I was just about to take a step closer to the table, when a hand reached over and grabbed my forearm, slowly sliding down to my hand. Turning around I caught a glimpse of Cato's naked torso. Between the few seconds I spent inspecting the ultraviolet lights and the mass of bodies, Cato had completely removed his shirt. He was now standing just before me, with a paintbrush in his mouth, eyes transfixed on mine.

"Feel like painting my body?" His words cut into me deeply, sinking hard into my chest like a pair of claws, threatening to tear me apart from inside out. I could feel my heart racing through my shirt, eyes wide with surprise and excitement. I eagerly reached for the paintbrush and shifting over to the swatch of paint buckets a few paces away. I decided on using his blue eyes as my muse, quickly inserting the paintbrush into light blue paint and slowly began etching a design on his shoulder bones. He grimaced when the cold substance first touched his delicate skin. Painting in a wide array of designs, I motioned for him to turn around to face me. Slowly I began to paint just above his hipbones, causing a stir of pleasure from him. His moan was enough to pierce through the raging music. I casually placed the paintbrush onto the table beside us, and brought my lips up to meet his passionately and teasingly. Just as he began bringing up his hands to cup my cheeks, I pulled myself away from his embrace. His eyebrows contorted in confusion, but he quickly caught on when I ripped my low v-neck down the middle with what little strength I had left in my body; Cato's body was enough to drain me of all my might. His eyes lit up as he moved himself closer to me, hand reaching out to the paintbrush at my side.

"Red," I stated, as his hand moved over a bucket of green paint. He smiled and shook his head before dipping the end of the brush into the thick liquid. I gasped when the paint touched my warm skin, much like Cato had done when I first touched him with the paint. His smile grew bigger as he painted me with a multitude of swipes from the brush. When he finally completed his design, I looked down to see several bold outlines of intricate maroon forms. It wasn't as well done as Cato's was, considering I was the artist in the relationship.

I noticed that Katniss and Gale had already finished painting themselves and were already on the dance floor, in between a large group of teenagers. The colors shone brightly under the ultraviolet light, filling the senses with ecstasy. Katniss and Gale waved their hands in the air, seemingly calling me over to join them. With a slight wink toward Cato, I bounded off to join them.

"Hey!" They hardly noticed my call, due to the overpowering sound of the music, which drowned out everything else. I jumped in between the two of them, and began dancing seductively. Katniss was in front of me, lowering herself to the ground as she pushed her body into mine. I was surprised when Gale came up from behind me and started dancing behind me. Katniss raised herself up and turned to face me, seemingly forcing me into a sandwich between her and her boyfriend. I moved out of the middle to allow Katniss between us. She immediately began kissing Gale and placed a hand behind her toward my thigh, as we moved with the music. When she pulled away from Gale, she turned to me and without any notice she crashed her lips into mine. I didn't know what to do, so I just went with it, hoping by some chance that Gale wouldn't have my head for this. Besides, Katniss and I had been drinking beforehand. When she pulled away from me this time, she had a large coy smile on her face. And then it happened: Katniss pulled both Gale and I together, until our lips met with one another. When Katniss' hand dropped from the back of my head I was surprised that he didn't recoil. The feeling was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Gale had small stubble over the roof of his lip, and his tongue felt oddly right as it pushed its way into my mouth. My eyes shot open with shock, and then it was over. He smiled at me with beaming white teeth that luminesced under the ultraviolet light.

I felt a hand edge its way from my backside toward my groin on my thigh, as I turned to see Cato. He must have seen the overt display of affection as we danced together, and wanted in on our charade. I nodded back toward Gale who caught the hint to pull Katniss closer to him. I shifted around clockwise, until my backside was facing Cato. I raised my left hand and placed it on the side of his face, as I thrust my hips in a circular motion. I moved toward the ground with my back evidently leaning against his strong legs, and hand falling down to his hip. When I rounded to face him and pulled myself up, I couldn't help but notice the tension between us. It was simmering. The ultraviolet light reflected off of his blue streaks on his muscular abdomen, sending my senses into delirium. He couldn't help himself because within a matter of seconds he placed his hand onto my belt and pulled me closer to him, closing the distance between our lips. When his lips met mine, my mind raced back to the moment between Katniss, Gale and myself. It was an experience that I'm sure we'd remember forever. I tossed the thought aside as I pushed my tongue into Cato's mouth, fighting for dominance. I eventually gave in to him, and everything seemed to fade away. The moment was exactly like I had envisioned the time that my mom explained to me how you knew you were head-over-heels for someone. She said, "Everything else just fades to grey. And it's just the two of you." I finally knew what she meant, because I couldn't feel bodies rubbing up against me, I couldn't smell the thick scent of sweat hanging in the air, and even the music had drowned out to nothing more than a whisper along the wind. I didn't exactly picture the moment I knew to be during a rave, or during a time where my boyfriend and I were half-naked, but it was perfect. In that moment I knew I was in love. It happened just like a dream does: gradually and then all-at-once.

"Take me home." My statement cut through the air like a knife whizzing past. Cato's eyes shot open with surprise and confusion, but he interlaced his fingers through mine and pulled me through the crowd. When we reached the elevator, he quickly pressed the button. It took a minute or two before the elevator stopped at our floor and then we were descending anxiously.

"Is everything okay?" Cato asked silently. I turned my head to see him looking at me with an expression full of support.

"It's perfect." I kissed him on the cheek quickly before the elevator opened to the lobby. We quickly made our way through to the front doors, and then we were rounding the building toward the parking lot. "Where did you park?" I asked confused and a little cold. We had been walking for a while now, and I still couldn't see any sign of his car. It usually stood out among the others after all.

"Over there near the trees. Sorry, I should have thought this through beforehand," he replied, motioning to our naked chests. His reply was sincere and almost too apologetic. "I have a few spare shirts in the back of the car. Don't ask." He knew exactly what I was going to say before I could muster up any actual words, so I shrugged and carried on walking.

"Don't worry, I could use the fresh air," I replied, stifling a bout of laughter that threatened to erupt into the open clearing. It smelt terribly of sweat, underage drinking, and stale chips in there, so I was thankful to be rid of it. When we finally reached the car, Cato opened the door for me, and I couldn't resist giving him a kiss in reward for the deed. He was always thinking about others. I had to give it up to him: he had the "bad boy" persona with the "golden boy" heart. The engine roared to life in the night sky, and the wheels screeched against concrete as we stormed off into the night.

"Turn here." The wind was rummaging through my hair and my voice was barely audible after lack of use for the last half and hour or so, but Cato heard me nonetheless and made a right turn.

"I thought you wanted me to take you home? This leads to the…" his voice trailed off when he realized my intentions. "Cottage?" was all he could mumble, and I nodded in approval. His expression went from worried to excited in a matter of seconds. The last time I had spent a night with him at the cottage felt like ages ago. I had to admit that I missed it. The cottage was a place that Cato and I could go too when we needed time away from the rest of the world; it gave us comfort; it allowed us to be ourselves without anybody watching or criticizing us; and most of all, it was home.

Cato parked the car into the driveway and turned the key in the ignition, the roar of the engine dissipating until it was no more. He turned to me with a curious brow. He started to speak but my lips silenced him. I brought my hand up to the back of his head to push him further into our embrace. His blonde locks were soft to the touch and I weaved my fingers through them endlessly. I pulled away from him and opened the passenger door to my right. He smiled when I rounded the car and brought my lips back to his once again. I longed for his touch. I yearned for the taste of his lips on mine. I couldn't wait any longer.

We fumbled aimlessly on the pathway, all over each other, as we pushed onward toward the door. I let out a little whimper when he had to pull away from me to slide the key into the door to unlock it. But when the door creaked open, his arms were back around me and his lips locked onto mine. I walked backwards and he walked forward, leading the way. He was a poor guider, because when I trampled over a pot of flowers on the floor next to the bathroom door, I shot him a worried glance. He didn't look too concerned, or else he was just too focused on our actions. I smiled and once again placed my lips onto his, tongue searching his mouth.

He led me up the stairs, which was a challenge in itself. You could say that we were a little over-the-top in our need to be together, that basically anything and everything that stood in our way risked their inanimate lives. When we finally reached the bedroom, my knees buckled as he pushed me into the bed and then the world around me went horizontal. His weight came crashing down on top of me, but it felt exhilarating. I raced upwards on the bed, and pulled his head up to follow along with me. With a few more kisses under our belt, Cato removed his shirt. I couldn't tell you how badly his brawn figure affected me, or how each time he gave me a glance of his beautiful body I buckled in amazement. I followed in suit, removing my own shirt next. As I did so, Cato pulled himself up to straddle my waist. We were still painted with blues and reds, but it no longer glowed without the ultraviolet light. But we would make do. The lights remained off but I could see Cato's face clearly above me. His expression was full of emotion: I noticed happiness, exhileration, and nervousness all-at-once. I placed my fingers back into his hair, which seemed to calm his nerves, and looked into his eyes passionately.

"I love you, Cato."

Author's Note: It started off pretty rough, but hopefully it lives up to some of your hopes! Thank you everyone for the reviews, it means a lot and most of them made me laugh. Thanks for the "Happy Birthday" wishes; sorry I couldn't write this weekend at all, or else this chapter would have been posted earlier (not to mention midterms!). I hope you all enjoy! :) Until next time, B.