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The first day of school: one of the most exciting but dreaded days of the entire year. For many, it brings the promise of a new beginning, a fresh start, a clean state. In Beverly Hills, however, things never change. Where you stand on the social ladder on your first day of high school is the same place you'll stand on your graduation day. It's been that way since before anyone could remember, and it's sure to be that way for decades more. Clove, Glimmer, Katniss, and Johanna are a few of the lucky ones born with that natural charisma and charm that no one can resist, but that doesn't necessarily make them the most beloved students in the school. While they are without a doubt the epitome of popularity, they can be bitches at times, and they've managed to make a few enemies along the way.
Clove Carlton, reigning Queen Bee of Panem Academy, sat on the extravagant steps in front of the elite private school, surrounded by her friends as they waited for the bell that would mark the start of the new school year to ring. Her dark brown hair was curled to perfection, held back by a thin, gold headband. She, as well as all the other girls at Panem Academy, wore the school's required uniform, which consisted of a long-sleeved white blouse, a navy blue skirt, knee high socks, flats, and a scarf. Glimmer, who relaxed beside her best friends on the steps, had pulled her wavy blonde hair into a sleek high ponytail, while Katniss' hair was tied into its usual side braid. And then there was Johanna, who had literally woken up ten minutes ago, and therefore was looking pretty disheveled in a messy bun and untucked blouse with slightly noticeable bags under her eyes. She yawned before plopping down on Katniss' left with a thud.
"Well aren't you a beauty queen?" Katniss mocked, wincing at the punch in the shoulder that came from Johanna in return.
"Fuck off," she spat, dreading the fact that she would have to be awake and functioning by seven thirty in the morning for the next ten months.
"You never were a morning person," Clove laughed, recalling the time when they all went on vacation together the summer before seventh grade. The crew had woken Johanna up around ten in the morning so they could head down to the beach on the first day, and she had ended up threatening to light the entire complex on fire if they dared to wake her up before noon ever again. Glimmer and Katniss laughed simultaneously, remembering the event just as clearly as Clove.
A limo pulled up in front of the school, and Cato and Annie filed out, heading in separate directions almost instantaneously. "Hi ladies," Cato greeted his friends at their usual spot, reaching for Clove's hand and kissing it.
"Smooth," Johanna snorted, still not used to the idea of Clove and Cato as a couple.
"You know what you need?" Glimmer said to Johanna decidedly.
"A filter?" Clove laughed.
"Nope, a boyfriend," Glimmer smirked.
"Ha!" Johanna barked out a laugh. "I'm honored, really, but that is never going to happen."
"Why not?" Glimmer complained. "Tons of guys like you."
"Uh, no," Johanna corrected her, "tons of guys like the way I am in bed."
"I'm going to set you up," Glimmer decided, making a list in her head of all the guys who might be suitable for Johanna. "What about Finnick?"
"I support that," Cato said. "Much as I like the guy, he's had his eye on Annie for way too long now."
"Absolutely not," Katniss shook her head in disgust at the very idea of Johanna and Finnick together.
"Never in a million years," Johanna scrunched up her nose.
Finnick chose that moment to make his appearance on the steps, "What are we talking about?"
"You and Johanna in a relationship," Glimmer smirked.
The bronze haired quarterback almost spit out the coffee he was drinking, "What?"
"She needs a boyfriend," Glimmer explained, laughing at his reaction.
"No, I don't," groaned Johanna.
"Yes, you do," Clove nodded in agreement with Glimmer.
"How about Gloss Montgomery? He's pretty hot," Glimmer offered.
"Absolutely not," Finnick shook his head, "The guy's a total douche."
Clove noticeably tensed at the mention of the son of the man who her mother was now engaged to. Her mom had filed for divorce the day after Clove found out about the affair, and it had been nothing short of a shock to her father, who never would've believed that his wife was cheating on him if it hadn't come from her very own mouth. To make things even better, Mr. Monstergomery (as Clove had decided to call him…on the inside at least) had proposed to Clove's mom the other night, and of course she said yes, regardless of Clove's feelings on the situation. Now, he and his asshole kids would be moving in with Clove and her mom as soon as her parents' divorce was finalized in a couple months.
"I'm so sorry, Clo. I completely forgot," Glimmer apologized, noticing that her best friend's eyes were glistening with tears.
"It's not your fault," Clove shook her head, eyes fixed on the ground.
Cato slid in between his girlfriend and Katniss, wrapping an arm around Clove's shoulders and squeezing reassuringly. She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he whispered into her ear, his pink, kissable lips brushing against her earlobe.
She tilted her head upwards and kissed him, not bothering to stop even when the warning bell rang, signaling the start of the first day. "Wanna ditch?" Cato whispered after all of their friends had headed in the direction of their first periods.
"I wish," Clove sighed, standing up and grabbing her designer book bag off the steps.
"See you later," he called as she ascended up the steps, and she turned around, giving him a three finger wave before disappearing into the school building.
People parted for her as she headed through the freshly painted hallways towards her first class of the day, which was, according to her schedule, precalculus AP. What a great way to start off the first day.
She was one of the last ones to arrive in the class that would most likely be the cause of most of her mental breakdowns that year. There were only about a dozen students in the class, and among them were Jacqueline Fox, Wiress Collins, and Beetee Winchester, the only three people who stood in between Clove and the prestigious title of valedictorian. Sitting down in a desk next to Finnick, who was (surprisingly) pretty smart but refused to admit it, Clove smirked. "Long time no see, Odair."
"So you and Astoria decided to cut your make out session short? Shocker," he replied sarcastically, smirking to reveal his irresistible dimples.
Clove reddened, thankful for the shrill bell that marked the beginning of first period and the end of their conversation.
"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," started an older lady with long gray hair and more than a few wrinkles. "I will be your AP precalculus teacher for the year. My name is Mrs. Margaret, but most of my students just call me Mags."
Mags grabbed a stack of papers off her podium and began to pass them out. "This is a simple pre-test that should give me a basic idea of where all of you stand in your math skills."
Clove resisted the growing urge to roll her eyes. She despised these things. In her opinion, they were pointless. She raised her hand, mustering up the sincerest-looking smile she possibly could, "May I use the restroom?"
"Absolutely," Mags answered sweetly.
Clove walked as slowly as she could on her way to and from the girls' bathroom, hoping to waste as much time as possible before she had to return to that stupid class. When she returned, Finnick's empty desk told her that he too already hated the class.
The next few hours of school droned on as Clove went from Pre-Calc to Government to Independent Study. Finally, the bell for 2nd lunch rang, and Clove and Glimmer, who were in the same homeroom, headed to their usual lunch table to meet the rest of their friends. On the way there, however, Clove couldn't help but notice a certain change in attitude towards her from the other students in the halls. Not as many people were moving out of her way, and conversations seemed to get quieter as she and Glimmer passed, almost as if they were talking about them. That was Beverly Hills for you…people knew your secrets before you yourself did.
"How could she?" Clove heard a freshman whisper to her friend.
"What a slut," murmured a sophomore.
"She's got issues," said a junior.
"That's it," Clove turned to Glimmer. "Is it just me, or does it seem like the entire school is talking about us?"
"I noticed it too," Glimmer said, looking around suspiciously.
Clove rolled her eyes, "Don't people have anything better to do than gossip about us?"
"Apparently not," Glimmer glanced at the people in the hall with disdain and intimidation, and most of them scattered away quickly like a bunch of scared little cockroaches.
"Clove," the brunette looked up at the sound of her name to see Annie speed walking towards her, an unhappy look on her otherwise beautiful features. "How could you do that to me?"
"What?" Clove furrowed her eyebrows.
"You know that I like Finnick," Annie folded her arms across her chest, ignoring Clove's question.
"Annie, what the hell are you even talking about?" asked a perplexed Clove.
"Don't play stupid. The entire school already knows," huffed Annie.
"Knows what?" Clove begged, starting to get annoyed. "Please do fill me in on what the entire school knows about me."
Annie glanced around quickly before leaning in and whispering to Clove, "You were hooking up with Finnick Odair during first period this morning!"
A few seconds of silence passed as Clove digested this information. Who would start a rumor like that? Besides, she'd been in first period almost all class, other than the short amount of time she left to use the bathroom. Suddenly, it dawned on her that Finnick hadn't been there when she'd returned. Of course…one of those little genius bitches in her class must have taken the brilliant opportunity to start a rumor about her in hopes of distracting Clove from her schoolwork so that they could surpass her in ranking. Clove was currently number two in their grade, second only to Jacqueline Fox. With early admissions college applications less than a year from now, you had to be in the top 3 in your class if you wanted to even be considered by an Ivy League.
"Clove!" Glimmer's shriek brought Clove back into reality. "How could you do that to Cato?"
"And me!" Annie added.
"It's not true!" Clove protested.
"But-" Annie started to argue.
"Why the fuck would I do that? Someone please tell me," said a pissed off Clove.
"Because Finnick is so dreamy," Annie clearly had her head in the clouds at just the thought of Finnick. "And," she added, "He's an amazing kisser."
"Annie, wake up. I would never, ever do that to you. Or Cato."
"But why would someone just make up a rumor like that?" Annie pointed out, not entirely convinced.
Clove shrugged as something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Sure enough, a fuming Cato was walking directly towards Clove, a mixture of hatred and betrayal prominent in his gorgeous, irresistible eyes.
"Before you say anything," Clove begged in a shaky tone as Cato came to a stop in front of her, "Let me explain."
"Explain? What the fuck is there for you to 'explain'? You-"
"It isn't true," she hushed him. By this point, everyone within hearing distance of them was blatantly staring, dying to know how things would play out between Beverly Hills' favorite couple.
"What?"
"I never hooked up with Finnick. It's just a rumor someone started, probably in hopes that I would get distracted from school and start to fall in my ranking."
"Why should I believe you?" Cato demanded.
"Because I love you, Cato. You have to believe me," she grabbed his hands, but he pulled them away coldly.
"I don't know what to believe anymore. You never used to be like this. After the whole Marvel and Glimmer thing, you turned into a wildcard. It sucks, but this definitely seems like something you would do."
"Why would I do this?" she demanded.
"For attention, maybe? How am I supposed to know?"
"If you can't trust me," she began, hurt by his emotionlessness tone, "maybe we shouldn't be together."
His mouth formed a thin line, and he folded his arms across his chest, "Maybe we shouldn't."
Shit.
She hadn't expected him to react like that.
She was hoping he would realize that he was being completely ridiculous and then apologize to her for acting so stupid.
"Okay then," she struggled to keep her voice level.
"Okay," he turned away from her sharply, heading in the opposite direction, and she stared at him brokenheartedly until he disappeared around a corner.
She whimpered pathetically.
"Clove," said a dumbfounded Glimmer, "are you-"
Before Glimmer could finish, Clove ran in the direction of the front of the school, passing through the courtyard on her way there. Everyone was looking at her as if she'd killed a man, and at that point, she felt as if she had. If only she hadn't gone to the bathroom in that stupid class, everything would be just fine. Her position as Queen Bee would still be firm in her grasp, and her boyfriend would still love and trust her.
Why did she even come home from boarding school? The only thing that had changed was her location. Everybody still thought she was a slut. The only difference was that, this time, she wasn't.
Climbing into the driver's seat of her car, Clove sat with her face buried in her perfectly manicured hands for what felt like an eternity, waiting for someone, anyone to come comfort her. But that was the difference between sappy romantic movies and real life. In real life, your knight in shining armor never showed up to sweep you off your feet. You could sit there pitifully, waiting for a hero that's never going to show up, or you could do yourself a favor and just move on.
The next few hours of Clove's day were spent locked up in her bedroom with an entire carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream as she watched Revenge on Netflix. Her curtains were shut tightly, her lights off, and she was tucked into her bed tightly and cozily. Maybe if she was nice, her mom would let her drop out of school. After all, she was sixteen. It was legal.
"Miss Clove," called Eleanora, Clove's maid, from the hallway.
"What?" Clove shouted from her bed, pausing the television.
"Miss Johanna is here to see you."
Clove sighed. Johanna was probably the only person she could tolerate right now. It was days like these that she needed Jo's bitchiness and sarcasm. "Send her up."
A couple minutes later, there was a hesitant knock at the door, followed by Johanna's face peeking inside. Upon opening the door wider, Clove realized that Johanna had brought friends. Annie and Katniss, to be exact. Johanna stepped into the room, flipping on the light abruptly.
Annie and Katniss followed behind Johanna, gently shutting the door behind themselves. The air was tense as the four of them waited for someone to say something. Clove raised her eyebrows at them curiously, waiting for an apology, or at least something of the sorts.
"Look," Annie sighed, breaking the silence, "I'm sorry about earlier. I was just so upset at the thought of Finnick with anyone else that I didn't even bother to take a step back and realize that you would never do something like that to me. And if what I feel whenever I'm with Finnick is real, I know now that he'd never do that to me either."
Clove smiled warmly at the girl who had become something like a little sister to her in the past few months. The girl really didn't have a mean bone in her body. Even when she was mad, it was because of love. "I forgive you, Annie."
"Alright, enough with all the lovey-dovey shit. I came here for a reason, and it was not to sit around the campfire singing Cumbaya," Johanna said bluntly.
"Okay?" Clove said, waiting for her to go on.
"I think I may have seen something this morning," Katniss spoke up.
"So?" Clove asked, puzzled.
"So what if we told you," Johanna started with a smirk, "that we knew who started the rumor about you and Odair?"
Clove didn't miss a beat, "I'd say let's nail the bitch."
AN:
Hi friends :) I have like a thousand and one things that I want to talk about, but I'll try to make this as short as possible. First of all, Catching Fire. ASDFGHJKL. You should all definitely expect to see a lot more of Finnick and Johanna in this story because their character portrayals in the movie were perfect and I already love them so much and now I'm rambling. And when Finnick screamed "ANNIE" and Sam's British accent exposed itself, I almost died. And don't even get me started on the perfection of Peeta and Katniss in the film. I may or may not have been majorly fangirling the entire movie.
On another note, I really hope you guys liked this chapter. Who do you think started the rumor about Clove and Finnick? Leave me ur guess in a review :P
PS: I hope all of my United States readers have a very Happy Thanksgiving! Eat lots of food (on Thursday) & spend lots of money (on Friday).
~xoxo~