A/N: HEYYYY ITS BACK! I'm thinking of expanding into anime, as peer pressured by Vieux, xx-flawlesspizza-xx, and others, so tell meh what ya think.
Dead in an alley, I think. Cato is dead in an alley.
I gape at the officer. "What? Where's Cato?" I hate myself in that moment for sounding like an obsessive girlfriend.
"He's still alive, for starters." I let out a breath I don't know that I'm holding.
"He drank too much somewhere, staggered into a bar, and proceeded to annoy the bartender and the customers. Bartender threw him out, and reported him to us," he says gruffly.
The Peacekeeper steps aside, revealing a stretcher with a certain blonde guy out cold on it.
"Cato," I murmur. I step forward, only to be blocked by the officer.
"I'm going to need to talk to his parents or legal guardians. For now I'll take him to the hospital. I'll be back at a more…suitable time. Expect me here at noon." With that, he and his friend wheel the stretcher away.
I shut the door and sink against it, my heart slowing.
"Clove?" Mrs. Hadley peers over the railing. "Who could be here at this ungodly hour?"
"Peacekeeper. They've got Cato. He's coming back at noon to have a talk and Cato's at the hospital now." I use the door to shove myself to my feet.
Mrs. Hadley sighs. "Not again. All right. You go to bed, and at noon, you and Rena can go visit him while we have a little…chat with the government."
I only nod, and run up the stairs back to my room. I fall into my bed and stare at the ceiling for a while. When did I start to care? Why do I care? What is this feeling?
Soon, I drift off, and am woken by Rena shaking my shoulders. "It's 11:30. Let's go!"
She leads me off down the street. It's only a quarter mile to the nearest hospital where they've taken Cato. The wealthy of District 2 have easy access to everything.
Rena signs us in, we get printed visitor badges, and the nurse escorts us down the hall. "He's got alcohol poisoning. He'll be fine, of course, but naturally in his intoxicated state, he's pulled several muscles and sprained his ankle. No training for a week, none. Should he disobey, he'll make it worse and he won't be able to volunteer for the Hunger Games."
Everyone knows Cato is one of the top tributes for the Games this year, I guess.
"All right, here we go." The woman pulls the door open and leaves us be.
"Hey there, ya little shit." Rena grins down at her brother. "Drink much?"
"Hi, big shit," Cato mutters with his eyes closed. "I don't drink more than you do."
That's true. Rena's gotten drunk more times than I can count and had to be driven home by her friends.
"Whatever," Rena says, throwing her blonde hair over her shoulder carelessly. "I'm going to get coffee." She flounces off, hairflipping again.
I take her place next to Cato's bed. "I was very specific that you not die, Cato."
"Clove?" Cato's eyes flicker open. "Hi."
"How do you feel?" I say awkwardly. Mushy stuff is not my thing.
"Like my face got run over by a car," he groans, closing his eyes again. "It's all too bright, and it's too loud."
I laugh. "Your fault. In the two minutes that I used the restroom you managed to run off."
"Not…my…fault," he mutters exhaustedly.
Not really paying attention, I brush my fingers across his forehead, smoothing the light hair away.
"Clove?" Rena sticks her head back into the room. "Mom wants me to go out now. You can stay with him until I get back. It'll only be an hour. Later she'll stop by and he can come home."
I nod. Cato has drifted off again. I scroll through shallow television shows to pass time.
"Clove? I'm thirsty." Cato's voice is raspy and tired. I fill a cup of water for him, help him sit up, and monitor him drinking it.
His eyes droop again when he sinks back down. I continue watching my show.
Rena and Mrs. Hadley come in. They help Cato stagger to his feet and we all pile into a car.
Later, I head over to the Academy, making sure to inform Cato of it so he finally can feel jealous, and dive back into practice.
"Clove, where is Cato?" Britannicus appears with his clipboard.
"Alcohol poisoning," I answer, nearly hitting him with the sword.
"Oh dear," he marks something on the paper, "his mother shouldn't let that get out to the public; a drunken potential tribute, oh that wouldn't do any good."
I shrug. "Don't talk to me. We got food, I went to the bathroom, and he ran off."
Britannicus sighs. "God knows what things go on in that boy's head. However, he's got a good set of muscles, so we might get some pride for this district this year."
I nod.
"Good work, Clove. You stand a better chance this year than many other female tributes did at your age. Who knows, we could pick you for the seventy-fourth."
I try to hide the burst of excitement that fills me. His words are casual but they mean a lot.
A huge blast of reality slaps me in the face. Cato. He's nearly guaranteed to be the male tribute this year. If we're chosen, one of us will have to face the death of the other. A little while ago, I wouldn't have given a crap.
Since when did I start to care?
A/N: I started this ages ago and I know its super short, but I mean shit went down..? kinda? So...yeah...? ANYWAYS ANY REVIEW HELPS and if you happen to like anime give me some recommendations. :) Let's see if I'm motivated enough to write more today lol, until next timee
