Thanks so much to PansycakePedrad, , Hannie597, Clove1113, clatoforeverx, isabelleclove, obsessedchick44, Guest, Guest, Clato679, Guest, Guest, newyorkgirl911, Guest, Guest, clovelycato555, CWFANDOM8, Guest, FoxatoClato44, Guest, and Guest for all of your kind reviews! This story passed the 200 review mark last chapter thanks to you guys!
By the time Marvel was released from the hospital the following morning, the whole crew had gone their separate ways. Katniss had a distant cousin's birthday party to attend, Peeta and Johanna were cramming for a calculus test, and Finnick was being forced to show around his dad's friend's son Gale, who was transferring to Panem Prep after the Thanksgiving holidays. It left Clove and Cato with the perfect opportunity to talk to Marvel, but they expectedly formulated a million excuses as to why they would have to put off their confession to another day.
Either Clove had volleyball practice or Cato had football practice. If one was free, the other had a family lunch that they just couldn't skip out on again. And so the "tomorrow" that they promised each other at the hospital turned into "a few days from now" and then "in a week or so" until nearly a month had passed since Marvel was put in the hospital and Thanksgiving break was upon the residents of Beverly Hills.
Clove, Katniss, and Johanna were on their weekly stroll along Rodeo Drive together, the crisp autumn air on their bare arms and pumpkin spice lattes in hand. Clove was venting about her Thanksgiving plans, which included the annual Carlton-Astoria-Rutherford-Davenport dinner.
It just so happened that Clove's, Cato's, Marvel's, and Glimmer's parents were all best friends, so the four families always spent Thanksgiving together. This year, however, they were being joined by Clove's mom's new plaything – also known as Carter Montgomery – and his kids Gloss and Cashmere. Clove wanted to vomit just thinking about it. On top of dealing with bitchy Glimmer and suspicious Marvel, she now had the added stress of putting up with the Montgomery's. It was shaping up to be the Thanksgiving from hell.
"The whole thing still pisses me off, to be completely honest," Clove ranted. "How my mom cheated on my dad and didn't even try to work things out. Who does that?"
Johanna shrugged. "I can't believe that you, Cato, Marvel, Glimmer, Gloss, and Cashmere are all going to be at the same Thanksgiving dinner table. Talk about shit hitting the fan."
Clove groaned. "I'm genuinely contemplating faking sick and just sneaking over to your house, Kat."
"Feel free," Katniss replied. "It's just me and my sister this year. My mom's away on business, and my grandparents are spending the holidays in London."
"Are you kidding?" Clove asked. "You can't be alone on Thanksgiving. You have to come over to my house."
"It's fine," Katniss chuckled. "It won't be the first Thanksgiving spent eating takeout and watching Gossip Girl on Netflix."
"You and Prim are coming over to my house, end of discussion," she insisted.
"I guess I'll bring some popcorn," Kat said, cracking a smile.
"Let me know when things get interesting," Johanna said to Katniss, "and I might just stop by."
"Will do," replied Kat.
The ultimate showdown among the royalty of Beverly Hills was about to commence, and Katniss had a front row ticket.
Later that night, the whole group was gathered at Johanna's for some pre-Thanksgiving fun, which basically included stuffing their faces with desserts and playing a bunch of random games for the hell of it. It was, like so many other things in Clove's life, a tradition that she'd missed out on the past two years that she was at boarding school.
"Fuck, marry, kill," Johanna started with a smirk. "Prince Harry, Harry Styles, and Harry Potter."
"Definitely fuck Styles," Clove blurted. "And marry the prince, because you never pass up an opportunity to be a princess."
"And kill Harry Potter?" Annie asked incredulously.
Clove shrugged, grabbing a slice of pizza out of the box on the coffee table and taking a bite.
"Okay," Annie started, a devious smirk on her face. "FMK. Alcohol, pizza, and Netflix."
A gasp escaped from Clove's mouth. "You're kidding, right?"
Annie shook her head, looking smug.
"Marry pizza, without a doubt. But there's no way I can choose between alcohol and Netflix. I really can't," Clove answered.
"Choose," Annie insisted.
"Fuck alcohol and kill Netflix," Clove finally muttered. "But know that I hate you for that, Annie."
"How will I ever live with myself?" Annie replied sarcastically, cracking a smile.
"Cato," Marvel said, a smirk on his face. "Fuck, marry, kill. Clove, Katniss, Johanna."
Finnick burst out laughing.
"Be careful," Johanna said, only half-kidding.
Cato chuckled. "Fuck Johanna. Marry Clove. Kill Kat."
"Asshole," Katniss muttered.
"I love you, Kat," Cato said, grinning.
She punched him in the arm with all of her might, and he didn't even flinch.
"Johanna," Clove started deviously. "FMK. Cato, Marvel, Finnick."
"Easy," Jo said, not missing a beat. "Fuck Finn. Marry Marvel. Kill Cato."
"My dear Johanna," Cato began, "I thought we were on the same page."
Jo threw a pillow at him. "Go fuck a cheerleader."
A snarky retort was on the tip of Cato's tongue, but the ringing of the doorbell interrupted him.
"That's probably Gale," Finnick said, getting up to go answer the door. A few moments later, he reappeared with an extremely handsome guy, most likely the "Gale" that Clove had heard him talking about. "Guys, this is Gale. He just moved here from New York. Gale, meet my friends," Finnick introduced him. "Don't be intimidated. They're total losers," he added, smirking to reveal his irresistible dimples.
Clove couldn't help but notice how fascinated Katniss seemed with the new guy. And even better, the new guy seemed equally as infatuated with Kat. Clove glanced at Peeta, whose eyes were fixed heartbreakingly on Katniss. Clove gulped. This was not going to end well.
The Carlton residence was in a frenzy by the time Clove made her way downstairs on Thanksgiving Day. Her mom and Eleanora were frantically hurrying around the messy kitchen in a desperate attempt to prepare all of the food in time. Meanwhile, Cashmere and Gloss were sprawled out lazily across the couch, engulfed in their phones. Eighteen spots had been set at the large dinner table, a nameplate placed by each setup. All of the parents would be at one end of the table, with the kids all on the other end. Clove had been seated between Cato and Marvel. What idiot had done that?
She briefly considered moving around the nameplates, but the ringing of the doorbell echoed throughout the house, interrupting her. She glanced over at herself in the mirror hanging in the foyer. Her loose curls were held back by a cable knit headband, and her makeup had been applied meticulously. As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help but wonder when things had become so complicated. It seemed like it was only a few days ago that she'd been standing in this very spot, anxiously waiting to see her closest friends for the first time in two years. So much had gone down since that night, the night she returned to Beverly Hills, that it was almost impossible for her to comprehend.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave. When first we practise to deceive!
The line from "Marmion" rang through her mind. Her AP English class had been studying the poem for a few weeks now, and she couldn't seem to get that one line out of her head.
The doorbell rang once again, snapping Clove out of her thoughts. She turned to go unlock the door, only to see Annie and Cato already walking into the house.
"How did you-"
Annie held up a set of keys, presumably those to Clove's house. "I've had them since you were in the hospital and your mom sent me here to pack a bag for you," she elaborated.
"Okay then," Clove replied, laughing. "Happy Thanksgiving."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Clover," Cato said, wrapping her into a tight hug.
Annie visibly stiffened. "Did you guys ever tell Marvel about like…each other?"
"We were going to," Clove started convincingly, "but for whatever reason, we could never find the time. Now that things have settled down and Marvel seems to have gotten over it, I just figure…why fix something that's no longer broken?"
Annie raised her eyebrows in suspicion. "And you and Cato are what now? Friends with benefits? Secret lovers?"
"Cato and I are as undefined as we've always been," Clove replied truthfully.
In all honesty, she didn't have the slightest clue what she and Cato were at this point. They had barely hung out lately, let alone done anything scandalous or romantic, since Marvel got out of the hospital. As far as she was concerned, their little hookup was out of the blue and meaningless. Teenagers did that type of thing all the time, right? She and Cato were just two horny kids who both happened to be incredibly attractive and wealthy.
Just last week, Cato had led the Panem Prep football team to victory in the championship game against their longtime rivals, and it was no secret that he'd had a handful of desperate girls at his disposal all night long at the after party. Something deep inside of Clove – deeper than she cared to admit she even felt – had wanted Cato to choose her over all those other girls, to take her into an empty back bedroom. But in true Cato Astoria style, he chose a tall, thin blonde whose name she doubted he even remembered.
Clove shrugged it off. She and Cato had always been better off as friends anyway.
"Would everyone please gather around the table to eat and give thanks?"
Clove internally grimaced at the sound of Carter Montgomery's voice where she should have been hearing her own father's. "I don't suppose my dad will be making an appearance today?" she whispered to her mom.
All she got in reply was the same sympathetic look her mom had been giving her since the day the divorce was finalized. "I invited him, but he didn't respond to my invitation. I'm sorry, honey. I know how much you miss him."
"And I know how much you don't," Clove said bitterly before turning away from her mom and claiming her spot at the table.
"Everything okay?" Cato asked.
"I'm fine," Clove replied, faking a smile.
"It's about your dad, huh?" Cato whispered.
Clove nodded. "It's whatever."
"It's not whatever," he said. "He should be here with you."
She shrugged. "I wouldn't want to be here if I were him."
"Don't let the Montgomery's ruin the holidays for you. Look around. Give or take a few people, you're surrounded by people who adore you. That's something that none of the Montgomery's can say right now."
Clove glanced up, knowing that Cato was right. On each side of her was a guy who treated her better than she could've ever hoped. A few seats down were Annie, Katniss, and Prim, cracking up at something on Prim's phone. On the other end of the table were Cato's, Marvel's, and Glimmer's parents, all of whom Clove knew loved her practically like their own children. And sure, the Montgomery's were putting a little bit of a damper on her Thanksgiving, but it was nothing that her friends couldn't fix.
Clove's mouth watered as her eyes landed on a scrumptious-looking turkey sitting on a platter in the middle of the table. Carter was telling some weird joke at the other end of the table, but she tuned him out, focusing instead on the abundance of food around her.
"So, Clove," Cashmere said from across the table, "how's your Thanksgiving going?"
"It's been swell," Clove deadpanned.
"And Marvel, what about your Thanksgiving? What are you thankful for this year?" Cashmere asked in what seemed like an innocent tone of voice, but Clove knew that she didn't give two shits about how their Thanksgivings were going. She had something else planned. Clove wished she knew what.
"My family and friends, a good education, the usual," Marvel replied.
"That's nice," Cashmere smiled. "Even the friends who hook up with your girlfriend behind your back?"
Clove's gaze on Cashmere immediately hardened, and she could feel both Cato and Marvel tense up next to her. By this point, everyone on her end of the table was listening – Annie, Katniss, Prim, Glimmer, Gloss. How could Cashmere know whom she cheated on Marvel with? The only people who knew were she, Cato, Jo, and Annie, and she knew for a fact that none of them had blabbed about it to Cashmere.
"Excuse me?" Marvel said.
"You don't know?" Cashmere raised her eyebrows innocently.
"Know what?" Marvel asked suspiciously.
Clove cracked her knuckles nervously. Cashmere was bluffing. She had to be bluffing.
"That Cato was the one who hooked up with Clove when you guys were dating."
Shit. She wasn't bluffing.
"Clove?" Marvel started, a hint of desperation detectable in his words. "Is that true?"
She knew he already believed it. Even if she tried to concoct some elaborate cover-up story, it would be useless.
She exhaled loudly. "Yes," she said, sounding small.
Marvel scoffed. "I'm out of here," he mumbled, standing up from the table.
"Marvel," Cato started apologetically.
"Fuck you, man," Marvel spat as he passed by Cato.
Marvel disappeared around the corner, and a few seconds later, Clove heard the front door open and then slam. Clove's end of the table sat in silence, shocked, while all the adults were blissfully unaware of everything that had just gone down as they chuckled at something Carter said.
"I hope you're fucking happy," Clove said, narrowing her eyes on Cashmere.
"Oh, I'm thrilled," Cashmere giggled.
Clove shook her head, dumbfounded. Cashmere had outsmarted her like a true expert, except she seemed to have forgotten one thing…Clove still had that incriminating video of Cashmere in the elevator with that married man.
Clove smirked, and Cashmere faltered for a second. "You're thrilled, huh?"
"Beyond thrilled."
Clove wasted no time in pulling up the video on her phone. "Still beyond thrilled?" she asked, handing Cashmere her phone. "Don't bother trying to delete it. I have plenty of copies."
Cashmere's face fell.
Just then, Carter passed behind Cashmere, his gaze landing on the phone screen and the video that was playing on it. It took him a few seconds to realize that the girl in the video was his daughter and a few more seconds to take note of the ring on the man's finger. "Cashmere," he said disapprovingly.
She paled. "Dad…it's not what it looks like."
"Are you still seeing him?"
She nodded reluctantly.
"End it," he ordered. "Now."
She scoffed. "I see how it is. It's only okay when you fuck married-"
The swinging of her father's hand across her face interrupted her, leaving a prominent red mark on her cheek. She gasped, tears brimming her eyes. Clove almost pitied her. Almost.
"End it," he repeated.
Clove glanced expectantly at her mother, silently willing her to stand up to Carter. But, as expected, all that came out of her mom's mouth was a tense, "Who wants pie?"
"Who wants pie?!" Clove said, exasperated, quoting her mother as she sat cross-legged on the floor of Cato's bedroom. "Her fiancée slaps his daughter across the face in front of all our friends and all she has to say is who wants pie."
Within an hour of the incident between Cashmere and her dad, the Carlton residence had emptied out, save for Clove's mom and her monster of a fiancé. Cashmere and Gloss left to go visit their mom, the other parents decided to go for drinks at a nearby bar, and everyone else escaped to their own houses for some peace and quiet. Clove, after listening to her mom and Carter yell at each other nonstop for about fifteen minutes, decided to pack a bag and spend the night with Cato and Annie.
Annie popped open a bottle of champagne, which bubbled over the top and onto Cato's carpet. "I think we all just need a little alcohol."
Clove laughed. "I'll drink to that."
"Have either of you talked to Marvel since dinner?" Cato asked, taking a swig of champagne from the bottle.
Clove sighed. "I texted him about two million times, but he won't respond."
"See kids," Annie said, chuckling, "this is why we shouldn't keep secrets."
It seemed almost uncanny then when Finnick Odair, the epitome of any and everything having to do with secrets, appeared in the doorway of Cato's room.
"Happy Thanksgiving," Finn greeted them with a smile. He plopped down next to Annie on the floor, subconsciously wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
Cato stiffened just enough for Clove to notice, and she elbowed him nonchalantly, a silent reminder that he was expected to tolerate this relationship between his baby sister and his best friend no matter how he felt about it.
"So how was the annual dinner?"
Annie, Clove, and Cato groaned simultaneously.
"Horrific."
"The cake topper on the Terrible Thanksgiving Dinners cake."
"A typhoon would've caused less drama."
Finnick chuckled. "That bad?"
They all nodded.
Being Finnick Odair, he of course demanded to know every juicy detail about the dinner that he was unable to attend, right down to the flavor of the pie that Clove's mother so embarrassingly offered after the incident.
"Okay, seriously," Finnick started as he eyed the bottle of champagne, "can somebody point me in the direction of the liquor cabinet? If I'm going to drink, I'm not going to fill myself up with this weak stuff."
Cato laughed in agreement, motioning for Finnick to follow him downstairs.
"Now that's more like it," Finn said in response to the cabinet filled with bottles of Grey Goose, Smirnoff, and Bacardi.
"Do you ever wonder what our lives would be like if we weren't drunk off our asses half the time?" Cato asked lightheartedly.
"Much less complicated," Finnick said. "Speaking of which, what's the deal with you and Clove?"
Cato almost groaned. "Hell if I know."
Finn looked at him skeptically. "Well what do you want with her?"
"I don't know," Cato shrugged nonchalantly.
"What are you gonna do when she gets sick of waiting around for you and goes and finds herself someone better?"
"What is this, 20 fucking questions?" Cato retorted.
Finnick raised his hands above his head jokingly. "Just think about it."
They headed back upstairs, where Annie and Clove were cracking up at something on Vine, and Cato couldn't stop Finnick's words from echoing throughout his mind.
What are you gonna do when she finds someone better?
It terrified him, mainly because he was in no position to stop her from dating someone else, someone better. He knew for sure that he wanted to be with her, which was selfish of him in itself because Clove deserved someone so much better than him. But it was because he was selfish that he was able to want her all to himself, and he thought then that he must be pretty messed up for that.
Perhaps being messed up wasn't that bad if it meant he got to be with her.
Four hours into Johanna's post-Thanksgiving depression nap, she was rudely interrupted by a persistent knocking on her front door. She rolled over on the couch, pulling a decorative pillow over her head to block out the noise. If she ignored it, it would eventually have to go away.
The knocking continued.
She groaned loudly, hoping that whoever was at her door could hear her. Rolling off the couch, she walked zombie-like to the front door and flung it open without bothering to check who it was.
"What?" she greeted rudely, rubbing her tired eyes.
"Did I wake you up?"
She squinted. She knew that voice.
"Marvel?" she said skeptically. "What are you doing here?"
He stepped inside, and the faint scent of booze emanated off him.
"Are your parents home?" he asked.
She almost laughed. When were her parents ever home? Both her mom and dad had made an extremely brief appearance at the dinner table before scurrying off to do whatever the hell it was that paid the bills for this extravagant house they barely ever lived in. She shook her head in reply.
"How was your Thanksgiving?" he asked, and Johanna just stared at him. He damned well better not have interrupted her nap to make small talk.
"How was yours?" she challenged.
"I found out that my girlfriend has, once again, been fucking my best friend."
Oh.
She gulped.
"I know you knew," he continued. "But I'm not mad at you. I'm not even really that mad at Cato or Clove."
"Then what's wrong?"
"I just can't stop thinking about how stupid I was not to have figured it out by myself."
Johanna chuckled. "And you came to my house because?"
"I figured you could help me get my mind off things," he said with a shrug.
She nodded, pretending to be deep in thought. "How do you suppose I do that?"
"We could watch a movie, or play a game, or," he glanced at her lips, "anything really."
She exhaled, knowing exactly what he meant by getting his mind off things. He needed a rebound, and he'd had his eye on Johanna for a while now. It was quite flattering, but she was reluctant to give in to him because she kind of enjoyed having all this power over him.
He smiled, knowing by the look on her face exactly what she was thinking. "What's it going to be?"
She smirked to herself. No way was she giving in that easily. "Pizza delivery or Chinese takeout?"
He tried not to look too disappointed. "Pizza."
Johanna, perceptive as ever, immediately noticed the brief glint of dissatisfaction is his eyes, and she couldn't stop herself from feeling somewhat triumphant over him. Marvel Rutherford, who was arguably one of the most brilliant, athletic, and all-around perfect guys on the west coast, was disappointed that she wouldn't hookup with him. It was an unusually satisfying feeling.
"Is pepperoni okay?" she asked carelessly, glancing down at her phone screen to find the phone number to the pizza place.
In an instant, she was being backed up against the wall as Marvel crashed his lips onto hers. Her initial shock was replaced with desire as her phone fell to the ground and her hands tangled themselves in his hair. It was one of the most electrifying kisses she had ever experienced, with his lips travelling from her lips across her jawline and down her neck. She let her eyes drift closed, sighing in pleasure.
Her phone let out a ping from its spot on the floor, signaling that she had just received a new text message. Her eyes snapped open. She hastily retrieved her phone from the hardwood floor of her foyer. The moment was lost.
"I'm so sorry," Marvel said immediately, "I've just always wondered what that would be like."
Johanna wordlessly dialed the pizza place and placed her order.
AN:
Guess who's back, back again? Happy 2015, fellow readers of my fanfiction! Thanks again for over 200 reviews.
What are you guys' thoughts on this chapter and what do you hope to see in the next few chapters? I see a little bit of a Gale/Katniss/Peeta love triangle in the future of this story. You should definitely expect tons of Clato bonding in the next few chapters as well. And I am also hoping to make Glimmer more of a main character in the upcoming updates maybe?
Sorry again for the delay in updating. Please please please review, favorite, and follow! It means more to me than you guys will ever know!
xoxo