Dear Readers,

Sorry I haven't been updating as quickly as I would've hoped, but I just got back home and had unpacking and my mother wanted the house back (since my stuff kind of took over the entire house) so I had to deal with all that first. I'm excited though because I'm getting really close to the arena! I'm so glad all of you seem to like my story so much, I really love and appreciate your feedback, so I like to keep up with responding to your feedback!

once and future: Thank you so much! I am so happy you enjoy reading it, and I am glad you appreciate how hard it is to write two characters who are immensely complicated like Cato and Clove, and I'm so glad you like the way I'm portraying them.

DianaLover18: Thank you so much that does mean a lot to me :)

Also, I have a question for all of you. After my Cato/Clove fanfic, I decided I probably will have written so much about both of them and beaten both of their characters into the ground so far that I probably won't be able to bring myself to write more about them (well maybe I will... Idk). The point is that I was thinking about probably writing some other fics about either maybe Haymitch/Maysilee and/or Finnick/Annie. So onto the part where I actually ask a question... would that be something ya'll would be interested in reading? Let me know!

Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy this chapter (fair warning to you all, it is a long chapter)!

esl1852

Clove woke up before Cato once again. Today was the interview, and tomorrow they would prepare and enter the arena. She now realized that she only had one measly day left before their nightmare would become a reality. Their fate would be sealed for sure, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. She guessed they had been on this destructive path since the day they had met; it was funny how things worked out. Clove wondered if they ever really had a chance.

Not wanting to depress herself any further, she tried to put the thoughts out of her mind. Clove sighed as she rolled over, looking at Cato sleep. He looked like an angel. The light hit him in this was that it made him look like he was glowing. His blonde hair looked like a halo; something so ironic that Clove couldn't help but smirk. Without an expression on his face, Cato looked much younger. Without the creases and the anger and the psycho; he looked vulnerable. Clove had a brief flash of standing over him as he lay cold on the ground. Her stomach lurched. Is this how he would look when he was dead? Would he look like he was sleeping? Clove thought, and as soon as the thought surfaced, she pushed it away.

The Games were what she had trained for her whole life. She knew she was also, on the other hand, excited. It was time to prove to the world that she was strong. A victor. She shouldn't be thinking about Cato. Before him, Clove had focus and perspective. Now she felt it finally coming back to her. Him distracting her from the Games wasn't acceptable, and she hated him for it. But she knew she couldn't separate from him either. As much as she would love to cut him off, she wasn't capable of it. She needed him, something she hated but knew was true.

Cato stirred, and his eyes opened. She just watched him. He looked back into her eyes. "Hey." He said quietly, sounding full of sadness.

"Hey." She said back lamely.

Their gaze was locked on one another, and he reached out a hand, letting it tangle into her hair. Then, without warning, he pulled her to him and kissed her with a tenderness she didn't know Cato possessed. Not with anger, not with their animal lust... no, this time was different. It was something she couldn't put her finger on, something unfamiliar that she couldn't identify. They had never truly kissed like this before. Their kiss deepened; Clove let Cato snake his other arm around her waist pulling her against him as he rolled her over so that she was on her back and he was above her. Clove kissed him back hungrily. Her hands moved up his body, over the cords of muscles on his arms, shoulders, the back of his neck. She let her own fingers run through his short, soft hair, pulling him closer.

Clove knew things would never be normal for her, she would never have a teenage fling, no courtship, no romance that would withstand the test of time. But she did have Cato. What they had was messed up, damaged, violent and insane. But it was also filled with lust, passion, and a bond she had never experienced with another human being. He understood her. While what they had was finite, with a quickly approaching expiration date... it was still something. They had something. Clove would always have that knowledge.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the door. It was of course, Wanda, waking them up for another day. They broke apart and just looked at each other for a few moments. Then he pecked her lips one more time before pulling back, much to her chagrin. He rolled over, standing up. "Come on, we should get out there before she gets annoyed." Clove fell back on the bed frustrated. She didn't give a crap if Wanda got annoyed. Wanda annoyed her all the time and no one cared. But she dragged herself out of bed and got dressed anyway.

Once her prep team got a hold of her, Clove tried her best to keep calm and not kill them for the excessive touching and primping. That was their job. They gave her a tiny bit of a cat-eye with liquid eyeliner and then put a little jewel next to each eye. Her hair was in a little bun type-thing on the top of her head and then the rest was weaved into a complex series of little braids down her back.

When they were finally finished, Clove was brought to Cicero. When he showed her the dress she was to wear she tried not to grimace. It was peach, or salmon, or something like that... a color that did not necessarily look good on Clove. It looked freaking fluffy. Clove knew for sure, even if it ended up looking good on her, Cato would despise it.

When she did put it on, she felt like a cupcake. But when she looked in the mirror, she couldn't deny that somehow the dress did something for her, and she did indeed look pretty. It wasn't a Clove-like dress, but she didn't look dreadful like she thought she would. Although, she wasn't a fan of the soft and girly look Cicero had created. But she knew that he had made it for a reason, and he knew what he was doing, so she didn't rip the dress off.

When the entire District 2 crowd all met up at the elevator, Clove noted that Cato looked sexy as shit. Of course she looked like some frilly little girl and he looked dangerous in an all black suit with a blue jacket.

When Cato saw her, he rose an eyebrow at her. "Don't you dare comment." She growled at him.

"All I was gonna say is that I can't believe you let them put something pink on you without a fight." He said, unable to hide his smirk.

"It was not without much difficulty on my part, I assure you." She said through gritted teeth, crossing her arms.

"Oh would you relax, you look great." He said, putting a hand on the small of her back as they walked into the elevator.

"Easy for you to say. You're not the one in a frilly pink dress." Then, at the thought of him wearing a frilly pink dress, she snorted a laugh. "Although you in a pink frilly dress would be hilarious." Cato rolled his eyes.

"I know it isn't very you," Cicero said suddenly, "but I would not put you in something without good reason. It will work to your advantage."

Clove nodded, feeling her respect for Cicero grow. "I know that. Which is why I put it on instead of shredding it."

They got off the elevator and were immediately shuffled over towards the stage, and lined up. Glimmer was first, wearing an almost see-through, shimmery, gold gown. Clove rolled her eyes. Of course they went for sexy; that's all she had. Her actual personality was as shallow as a kiddie pool. Marvel was in a light blue suit that wouldn't work on anyone but him. She knew he looked good, and she assumed he did too.

As Cato and Clove got closer to them, Glimmer caught sight of them. Her gaze fixed on Cato and her eyes lit up. Clove fisted her hands into little balls at her sides. She really hated Glimmer. Cato looked at her with worry, hoping Clove wouldn't lose it on Glimmer yet. It was the first time she had seen her since the incident. Marvel looked just as worried.

"Hi Cato." Glimmer said, flashing her pearly whites, sticking her chest out. Fuck her and her stupid big boobs. And blonde hair. Bitch. Clove thought to herself.

"Hi Glimmer." Cato said, putting on a charming smile but keeping his distance from her. "Marvel." Cato nodded to him, trying to hold back his own anger. Marvel wasn't that bad of a person and he knew it. Just because Cato was a dumbass didn't mean he should get pissed at Marvel. After all, Marvel wasn't the idiot who had slept with the blonde bimbo.

Marvel nodded back and then turned his attention to Clove. "Hey Clove."

Clove gave a strained almost smile. "Hi Marvel."

While the other tributes lined up, Glimmer kept trying to chat Cato up. He nodded every once and a while, but he wasn't actually listening to her. What he was actually doing was trying not to eavesdrop on Clove and Marvel, but he couldn't help it. Even though Clove reassured him that Marvel and her were just friends (and really, he thought to himself, what right do I have to be jealous? I'm the one who slept with the person Clove seemed to hate more than anyone she'd ever met before), he couldn't stop himself. He knew she didn't belong to him. Still, he was jealous of how easy their friendship seemed to be; it was just so natural.

"How are things?" Marvel asked her, and Cato knew he meant things with Clove and Cato.

Cato made sure to keep his eyes elsewhere, hoping Clove didn't think he was listening. But he had a feeling she knew he was paying attention. If she did know, she didn't let on at all. "Things are... better." Clove conceded.

"Well I figured that much when I saw him, well, alive. You know, considering you hadn't actually stabbed him." Marvel said.

"Right... well... I tried to." Clove admitted almost sheepishly. Clove? Sheepish? Cato couldn't help but feel confused. How did this kid get these reactions out of Clove so easily?

Marvel laughed. "Well I'm glad you didn't. Cato may be a jerk sometimes, but he's not all bad. What ended up happening?"

"I punched him in the face." Cato turned his head to see Marvel's reaction. He looked surprised and taken aback. "But it's all sorted now." She added quickly.

Marvel looked a bit confused, and then just said, "I don't even..." He shook his head and then smiled at her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you know I don't need to know... it would probably make my head spin if I tried to understand. That's great, Clove."

They started calling for the tributes to get ready to go on the stage, and Marvel turned back around, Glimmer pouting as she moved back to her place in front of Marvel. Clove looked over her shoulder at Cato, catching his eye. "Did you get all you needed?"

"What?" He pretended he didn't get it, but he did. She was commenting on his listening in on her conversation. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

She rose an eyebrow at him with amused look on her face. " For the record, you are very bad at pretending you aren't eavesdropping."

She then turned back to face front. Cato got very close to her, mouth by her ear. "For the record, did you have to tell him you punched me in the face?"

She let out a short laugh but didn't turn back around. Cato stood back up with a grin; Marvel wasn't the only one who could make Clove laugh.

Clove composed herself right before Glimmer, then Marvel walked onto the stage. She followed, trying to glide across the stage with as much grace as she could possibly muster. All the tributes walked onto the stage and took their seats. Clove once again found herself seated in-between Cato and Marvel; it was a position that had a way of making her feel secure. Even in front of the entire country of Panem, Clove barely felt any nerves at all. Then again, Clove was't really a stage-fright kind of person to begin with.

After Caesar Flickerman warmed up the crowd of Capitol people in City Circle with a few jokes, it was time for the interviews to begin. "Let's see if she does indeed shine. Let's have a warm round of applause for Glimmer!" He said, and the crowd applauded as Glimmer strode up to the center of the stage.

Clove didn't need to fake her boredom during Glimmer's interview. "Glimmer, are you prepared?" Caesar asked.

"Yes Caesar, I"m very prepared!" Glimmer said, and Clove wanted to roll her eyes, but chose to restrain herself.

After her buzzer sounded and she strutted back to her seat, Caesar called up Marvel. Marvel went up to the center of the stage. He was funny and charming. There was no way the audience wouldn't fall in love with him. He was so likable, it was hard not to.

When his buzzer sounded, Clove realized it was her turn. Caesar held up Marvel's hand, shouting his name for the crowd one more time. Clove stood as Marvel walked back to his seat. He winked at her before sitting, and she tried not to react and kept up her self-assured attitude as she made her way to the center of the stage. "Welcome Clove." Caesar said as they shook hands. "You look lovely."

She put on her most charming smile, pretending she was looking at Marvel or Cato. "Thank you very much. Although it's not my type of dress, my stylist thought it would suit me." Clove noticed Cicero sitting in the front row with the rest of the stylists and saw him beaming proudly at her words.

"And suit you it does." He said as they sat down. Caesar asked her question after meaningless question at first, yes and no questions. After a little over a minute Clove knew she was falling a little flat. Shewas starting to get desperate for questions that would help her showcase her sarcasm and how dangerous she was. She could tell he was trying but they weren't the questions

"So, Clove, you are only 15, am I correct?"

"Yes Caesar." She said, trying to keep from rolling her eyes at his question. Of course she was 15. That was common knowledge.

"And you got a 10? Very impressive." He said. She smirked. She knew it was. "Now Clove, along those same lines, I hear from a little birdie you have a specialty? What is it? I'm sure the folks out here are dying to know how you got a 10." He was met with loud shouts of agreement from the crowd.

Clove waited for them to die down before speaking. "While I can't tell you what went on in my private session, I can tell you my specialty. Knives; or more specifically, knife-throwing."

"Oh how thrilling?" Caesar said. "I take it you're very good from the rumors I've heard?"

"That depends on which rumor you're talking about." Clove said, trying to show her wit. The crowd and Caesar laughed. She waited for a second and continued. "But, yes, Caesar, from what others have told me, I'm more than just good."

"Is that so?" Caesar chuckled.

"Oh yes. Wanna know a secret, Caesar?" Clove said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh yes, how delightful, I love secrets!" He said, leaning in.

She put her hand on the side of her face, as if to hide what she was saying (but it was on the side that faced away from the audience so they could still see her mouth), and pretended to whisper. "When throwing a knife, I never miss. Never."

Then the buzzer sounded, and he made a sound as if he wanted to continue the interview. "Well I would love to continue, but I'm afraid we are out of time." They stood, and he held her hand up. "Let's hear it one more time for Clove Carson, District 2 Tribute!"

Next was Cato, and Clove gave him a reassuring nudge as she sat beside him. He stood, going over to Caesar. Marvel nudged her right before Cato and Caesar sat down, giving her arm a little squeeze of reassurance, which meant he thought she did great. Clove gave him a small smile in return, but left it at that. She didn't want the cameras to catch it for fear of people saying she and Marvel had a thing. She knew Marvel wasn't offended; he probably knew what she was thinking. Clove watched Cato, and she found she couldn't fake disinterest, even though she knew she should go back to looking bored.

First Caesar asked him how things were going, how he was enjoying the Capitol. Cato's answer was generic, but he flashed his most dazzling grin, and with one look at the audience she could tell he was melting all their hearts. Marvel was a funny, likable type, while Cato was more of a badass charmer. A killing machine... who could also charm your pants off if he wanted to. All his words showed that.

Caesar congratulated Cato on his score, and Cato tensed, but thanked him anyways. Clove knew he was thinking about the District 12 girl, Katniss was her name Clove was pretty sure at this point, getting an 11.

Then it was onto his sword, how ready he was to get into the arena. Cato had the sponsors in the palm of his hand. Clove was just glad Caesar hadn't asked about Cato's family. They were one of Cato's few weak points; and if Cato looked soft, the sponsors would lose interest. That was something they couldn't afford. Then Caesar asked him, "So Cato, a charmer like you must be a real ladies man back in your District."

Cato chuckled along with Caesar. "Well I've had my fair share of flings with a lot of girls." Clove fisted her hands in her dress, trying not to grimace. "But not so much anymore. There were tons of girls... but there's this one specific girl who really stands out. And honestly, if I even thought of looking at anyone else, she'd probably kill me." Damn right. Clove thought to herself, but she was also shocked to hear Cato say she herself was the only one on national television. It made her feel weird. It wasn't like they were in a relationship, but they were both very possessive and jealous when it came to the other.

"Oh, and who is the lucky lady?"Clove was sure he wouldn't say... or at least she hoped he wouldn't. Then again, if he did say, it would really stick it to Glimmer. Clove dared to let herself look over at Glimmer, who thought Cato was talking about her. Idiot.

"No comment." Cato said in a tone that suggested he would not be changing his mind, so Caesar gave up on trying to get him to tell.

When Caesar asked for any last words, Cato said, "It's an honor to represent my District. I'm prepared, vicious, I'm ready to go!" Clove couldn't help but roll her eyes at Cato.

When he came back to sit next to her, he slid a hand in hers quickly, giving it a squeeze. Clove, for the first time, thanked Cicero mentally for her obnoxious dress. It was frilly and puffy enough to hide this action from the cameras. She squeezed back. She looked at hmi out of the corner of her eye, and she saw the smirk on his face. She didn't want to chance holding his hand after what he just said any longer, even though her dress hid it. With her luck, the cameras would catch it and expose them and she didn't want that.

Clove found herself bored to tears, waiting for all the others to finish their interviews. She zoned out for most of the other tributes interviews. She did however note that the red-headed District 5 girl named Finch, though she had gotten a low score, looked as if she had something up her sleeve. She was clearly very clever, and seemed pretty elusive in the way that she might slip right through your fingers if you tried to catch her. She might be tricky. Most of the others seemed lackluster and weak, most likely easily defeated. Except the District 11 boy, Thresh. Although he was massive, and had received a 10, he had rejected the invitation to the Career alliance that Cato had extended to him. His interview was dry, and he showed no interest in any of this. But he was definitely someone to look out for and most likely would get a few sponsors. He only answered yes or no. Clove didn't count him out yet, though. He was formidable and she had a feeling he would not go down in the arena without a fight. The little girl from 11, Rue, was fast and could climb. So that's how she scored higher than most of the others, Clove thought to herself, it's a shame she will have to die.

Finally, the District 12 girl, Katniss Everdeen, was up. She seemed simple-minded, a little starstruck, and giggly. When she spun around in her dress, Clove wanted to vomit. This girl literally made her sick to her stomach. She stumbled after her spin. She shared a look with Cato, and knew they were both thinking the same thing; Really, this was the was the girl who had scored higher than them? The only time she seemed anything but dim is when they asked about why she volunteered; for her little sister.

The District 12 boy, Peeta Mellark, was next. The crowd loved him. He was likable; well actually, Clove thought he was annoying, but the crowd clearly didn't. But when he proclaimed his love for Katniss, Clove found herself fisting her dress again. Not only did she detested Katniss, but she now detested him as well. He was an idiot using a ploy to get attention. It was pathetic. He was pathetic. But not to the Capitol people; they just loved silly things like this. Now Katniss had that much more of an edge. Clove couldn't bare it. She would kill them both, and it would be glorious. She would cut them up and she would enjoy it. She cast a glance at Cato, and he was gripping the edge of his chair as hard as he could to keep himself from jumping up and killing them both right then and there.

Although neither one of them would ever exploit what they had for the Hunger Games, Cato and Clove both couldn't fight not only the rise of anger and hate, but a bit of jealousy as well. The fact that he so easily proclaimed his love for Katniss was infuriating to the both of them; Cato and Clove had to hide whatever it was that they had and District 12 flaunted a (most likely fake) romance? They couldn't take it.

Cato and Clove were silent until in the apartment. Even in the living room, Cato said nothing. Clove was impressed. He didn't even break anything. They made a bee-line for his bedroom, ignoring their mentors and Wanda. Neither one of them wanted to throw a temper tantrum in front of them; at this point they had thrown so many it seemed rather pointless.

Once in Cato's room, Cato was on the brink of exploding with rage, but it was surprisingly Clove who lost it first. She let out a loud animal-like screeching sound, almost making Cato jump because he hadn't expected it. She screamed continuously as she grabbed one of her knives that Cato had forgotten to hide form her off of the bed-side table. She threw it at the wall. Cato felt the same way, but he wanted to see what she was going to do. It was intriguing to watch her lose it; mostly because it usually was such a rare occasion.

She kept screaming as she threw anything breakable in the room she could find; a glass vase full of flowers, a small mirror, a lamp... Clove just wanted to be destructive. She had been holding in her absolute hatred and disgust with District 12, the idiotic Capitol people, her parents; but she couldn't any longer. She was blind with rage, practically seeing red. She grabbed another glass, and held it in her hand while she smashed it against the wall. The broken glass cut her hand, but she didn't care. She wanted to feel the pain.

Cato snapped out of it and into action upon seeing the blood running down her arms. "Clove, stop! Seriously, it's enough!"

"No!" She bellowed. She went for another glass but Cato wrapped his arms around her tightly, holding her to himself. She fought him, screaming, shouting obscenities, tears streaming down her face (something he had never seen before). She probably didn't even know she was crying considering she was in such a state of rage. She tried to push him away. He just held her tighter. If he didn't stop her, he knew she would do irreparable damage to herself, and he couldn't have her severely wounding herself the night before they were to enter the arena. She turned around in his arms and beat his chest with her tiny fists hard enough to bruise him; he held her fast. Finally she dissolved into tears in his arms. He had literally never once seen her actually shed a tear before. He had never seen her like this; vulnerable and emotional were two traits that did not fit well with Clove. But she had finally lost it. He knew she was psychotic, but so was he. But his fits of anger were aimed at people and objects. Clove's were usually the same on the rare occasion that she had them, but when she was really pushed over the edge, he had only seen it twice before in the 7 years that he had known her, she would go so far as to hurt herself.

When her tears had subsided, he held her face in one of his hands, and kissed her gently. Clove kissed him back hard. He pulled back, and looked down into her hungry eyes. Her emotions were gone again; all she want was skin on skin. She wanted to touch, not feel. He looked down at her bleeding hand and tsk, tsked at her. He went to the bathroom and came back with a first aid kit. He pulled out some gauze and fixed up her hand, putting a cream on her hands that would heal her hand by morning.

"Clove. I have made an executive decision." He said with a smirk, putting all the medical supplies back in its box while she just sat on his bed, no longer wearing her dress, but wearing one of his t-shirts. "No more emotional outbursts for you; because then I don't get to have one, and you just manage to hurt yourself when you do." Clove muttered something her breath darkly. "What was that?" He asked as he came to stand beside her.

"I said it's your fault I even have these freaking emotions to have outbursts with in the first place." She said, avoiding his gaze.

Cato stood there, shocked. He didn't know how to react. He had never thought about that before. He didn't know why, but deep down, he knew she was right. All of her temper tantrums had been caused or linked to him. Before he and her became training partners, he knew she was different.

The first time he saw her 7 years ago, he could just tell she wasn't a normal girl. She was 8, but she looked more like a 6 year old, smaller than all of the other kids her age. But at her young age, she was entered into the academy, and her aim had been impeccable. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it himself. Sure she was rough around the edges, not as skilled as she was today, but her potential was clear. But Cato also knew, from rumors he had been hearing around the academy, that she was cold-hearted, detached, and unstable. "Damaged" they had called her.

Cato knew at the time that he should focus on his own training rather than on a little girl. But he couldn't help but feel drawn to her; he found himself watching her train and wondering about her frequently. When she turned 10, they moved her up to Cato's class. Not only that, but the instructor had pulled him to the side to let him know he had paired Clove with him since Cato's old training partner had died in the most recent past Hunger Games. That, and she wasn't sure anyone else would be comfortable with her. Their instructor had warned him about Clove; if only he had listened.

Their first day as her training partner was nothing short of a catastrophe in Cato's eyes at the time. They didn't speak. Well, Clove didn't speak. Cato did, but Clove didn't respond. She just looked at him with those dead eyes, eyebrows raised. He felt like an idiot. Her unresponsiveness bothered him more than it should've. Finally, instead of trying to get to know her like he had hoped, he set up to spar. And when they sparred, Clove came to life. There was a light in her eyes; she was more alive than he had ever seen her. She was enchanting; so enchanting that she had caught him off-guard and almost defeated him. He had eventually bested her in that sparing session, and he could tell how enraged she was by her eyes. But only for a milli-second. Then she just looked bored. It infuriated him. She infuriated him.

Their days all went much like that first day for a long time; Cato trying to get a reaction, or even a word out of Clove and getting nothing. Then they'd spar; and sometimes he would win, sometimes she would win. When she won Cato was in a foul mood; when he won he was even worse. He loved winning but she didn't give him the satisfaction of actually feeling like he had won, and he started to hate her for taking that away from him. This continued on for about a year.

One day, when she was 11 and he was 14, he made a sarcastic comment about one of their instructors (who was making a complete ass out of herself), and her heard a noise that startled him; he turned to look at her and realized she was laughing. It was the first time he had ever heard her laugh. He could do nothing but look at her, captivated by the sound and thrown off that she had laughed. When she finished laughing, she reset to spar again. "Wanna go again?" He almost had a heart attack. Those were the first words she had ever spoken to him. "Well? What are you waiting for?" She said impatiently, and all he could do was stare at her with wide eyes for a few seconds in shock. He pulled himself together, and they went again like she requested.

Slowly, over the course of the next year, Clove spoke to him more and more. At first it was just superficial. But after 6 months, she started talking to him about other things; mostly because he pulled it out of her. He found out her parents were rarely ever home, and when they were... they weren't very nice. Well that was an understatement; they were borderline abusive, especially when it came to pushing her training for the games. They were also excessively neglectful. Cato's first thought was to kill her parents; when he thought this he didn't share it with her because he couldn't even believe he had thought it. From that point on, Cato felt the urge to protect his small, strange, and slightly psychotic training partner.

They started spending more and more time together outside of the Academy, and Cato noticed her starting to emote more. He saw her smile for the first time when she was 12, and it made his heart beat faster. That smile worked on him; she started using it anytime she wanted something from him because he couldn't ever really say no to it. Slowly, he started seeing her not as a little girl, but as a young woman. As a young woman he couldn't help but want to do awful things to. At first he thought he was going crazy; she was only 12. But he slowly started to accept it; it wasn't like he was ever that sane anyway.

On her 13th birthday, he couldn't hold back anymore and had kissed her. At first she tensed, eyes wide with surprise, and for a second he thought she was gonna cut him. But when he went to pull away, she had held his face tightly in her little hands, refusing to let go. And she kissed back. She had never been kissed before, he knew that. He was eventually the one who took her virginity as well; not that she neglected. She practically ripped his pants off the first time they had sex.

Somewhere along the line, they started using their physical attractions against each other in a twisted sort of game. But it started to develop into something more. It scared the crap out of them both, and whenever he felt too close, he would go off and screw a random girl to try and push her away. It never worked; none of them ever made him feel like she did, none of them ever matched him. She was there waiting for him when he came back to her every time; and the first few times it had happened, she had cut him with her favorite knife just enough to make him suffer. The next couple of times, she didn't. It confused him because Clove wasn't one to just "let people off the hook." Then, he heard through the grapevine that she had in fact slept with another guy the last two times Cato had done it to her. He didn't like that; it ticked him off immensely. She was his. He realized how she felt suddenly, because he was hers just as much as she was his. Sure they weren't dating, but they had a death grip on each other. That was when he realized he would never be able to completely separate himself from her. He couldn't even imagine how she felt, because he had done some stupid shit to her.

How she felt.

Cato snapped out of his reverie, realizing he was in fact the reason Clove felt anything at all. "I'm sorry." He said, realizing how stuck they were. Where they were now... where they would be tomorrow. Cato wanted to bash things into walls too.

"For what?" She snapped at him, grimacing down at her hand, paying him barely any attention.

Cato didn't respond to her, he just came to stand in front of her. She looked up at him and saw how he was looking at her. Before she could do anything, he pushed her down lightly, so that she was laying on the bed. He hovered over her for a moment, straddling her, hands holding down her wrists. He wanted to do things his way. He knew she would try and grab him because she was so damn impatient, but he wanted to do this for one last time on his terms. He slowly lowered his face to hers, kissing her lightly on the mouth once. Then he kissed her jaw, her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut and she bit her lip. Clove had almost forgotten how good he was, it was, when he took his time with her.

He let go briefly to slowly pull his shirt off of her body, and then took of the one he was wearing as well. He saw how hard she was trying to hold back. He returned to her, and switched his grip on her wrists so he held both of them in one. He continued to kiss down her body. He ripped off her bra, and she jerked at his brief moment of animal roughness; it was almost better in short bursts because she didn't see it coming. He kissed a trail to both of her breast, sucking on one while he played with the other. She couldn't hold back a moan. He switched to her other breast, moving his hand down to rub her in between her legs. Through her lacy underwear, he could feel just how wet she was. She tried to restrain herself, but she couldn't help but to buck her hips up, demanding more attention between her legs. He pulled back, shaking a finger at her, and she groaned in protest. Cato then kissed down her stomach, and then back up again. Clove couldn't take it anymore.

"Cato," She said as his face finally was staring down at hers. "I know you want to do this slow, but I can't wait." She said, wrapping her legs around his waist. "I want you to fuck me and I want you to do it right now." She demanded.

He rolled his eyes at her impatience, but said, "I'm sure we can arrange something... eventually." She groaned, knowing she would have to wait. He made her wait for longer than she liked, but soon enough he was inside her, and they were moving their bodies together, both of them writhing, moaning, and clutching at each other. Clove would miss this closeness, this pleasure. They both felt it building inside of them, and she soon came, screaming his name. He wasn't far behind her, and collapsed after he came, groaning her name once. Then he rolled so that he was beside her and not on top of her to avoid crushing her. He held her in his arms, and they fell asleep like that, wishing they could stay that way.