A/N: A big thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/favourited/followed the story last chapter! You guys are really amazing. It really means a lot to me, and cures this little syndrome called writer's block. :) Once again, thank you to PhoenixGrace for betaing, and I hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games, that belongs to the talented Suzanne Collins!

I Never Knew

By kelster07

Chapter 2: Sparkly Interruptions and Truth or Dare

"Holy cow, where is Clove and what have you done with her?" Cato asks incredulously to Katniss and Glimmer, who look a little too smug for comfort. I'm sitting in the front seat next to Cato, trying to keep my eye on the speedometer as we drive down to the lakeside mansion.

I scowl. "Cato, stop looking at me as if you want to rip my clothes off."

"Clove, I think he has Glim for that," Marvel pipes up from the backseat. Luckily, this year I don't have the temptation to rip his head off.

"Hey! What- "

I laugh and Glimmer sits dejectedly, slumping in her seat.

"Point taken."

When we reach Finnick's house, the first thing I do when I get out of the car is pull my ridiculously short shift dress down. I feel exposed, especially with the summer breeze blowing against my bare legs.

"Glim, how the hell am I supposed to walk in this without it everyone seeing you-know-where," I hiss under my breath to the obliviously smiling blonde.

She smirks. "I think that was the point, Clo."

Of course. I growl, "I swear, I will get you back for this."

Finnick greets us from the front of his house and his jaw drops when he sees me.

"How in the world did you get Clove in a dress? Damn. You look hot in that."

"Shove off, Finn," I say with a laugh, ruffling his bronze hair. Finnick was always so god-damn flirty, but in reality, he was a lot smarter than most people give credit for.

"No seriously. I can see your sexy curves-" He winks suggestively, "If you need me, just say so, baby!"

"If you say one more sentence about my so-called sexy curves, I will personally behead you. And don't call me that," I warn, pointing my finger at him.

"And that's the Clover I know," he announces brightly, beaming at me.

Although I'm not really annoyed, I snap, "Don't call me that eithe-"

"So how did you get her in that dress?"

I groan as Glimmer and Katniss launch into the story of the bedroom catfight. Cato follows closely behind me further inside to the source of the blasting music and noise.

"Cato!" A high pitched voice is heard from across the room. I turn around to the only source it could've come from. Cashmere.

"Why, hello Cashmere," he says, gritting his teeth.

I turn around in amusement and spot Glimmer coming towards us. She sighs in exasperation when she sees her cousin. "Cashmere, what are you doing here?"

Cashmere smirks and puffs out her chest slightly. She's wearing a sparkly pink mini-dress that draws more than enough attention to her chest. "Can't I have a perfectly civil conversation with Cato-kins?"

I can see Cato resist the temptation to hurl.

"We have nothing to talk about. Bye, Cashmere."

He turns around and grabs Glimmer by the arm and leads her towards the dance floor. Cashmere's smile instantly drops and she shrieks in rage. Cato continues walking and Cashmere grabs Glimmer's arm, digging her fluorescent green fingernails in sharply.

I mouth at Cato to go away while I stay with Glimmer. Cashmere pushes Glimmer towards the wall and snarls, pinning her weakly to the wall. "Cato is mine."

I almost have to laugh at that. How can Cashmere even think that Cato would want her earthly existence after that blunt farewell? Sometimes, people really don't get it.

"Obviously not," Glimmer seethes. I open my mouth to comment, but Glimmer shoots me a look, saying 'don't push your luck'.

Glimmer pushes herself away from Cashmere and goes to find Madge and Annie by the dance floor.

I make my way to the refreshment table when an arm catches me from behind. I smile when I see the familiar face.

"Hi Lakyn."

"Hey Clove. You look nice."

I furiously try to stop the childish colour flooding through my cheeks. It's stupid, really.

"You too," I reply.

I mentally curse myself for sounding so… Well, weird. A strange girly feeling seeps into me the longer I talk to the blonde boy. The last time anything close to this happened a long time ago. Of course, it didn't end well, which is exactly why I swore I would never involve myself with a guy again. But he might just be an exception.

"Would you care for a dance?" he asks lightly.

My stomach flutters before saying, "Sure."

After twirling around endlessly, I finally call quits and grab a bottle of water. I slide on the couch next to Cato, Gale and Finnick, surveying the whole scene from the back corner of the room.

"This might be one of our best parties yet," Finnick grins, taking a sip of the soda.

"Mm, it's a good way to end the year."

"I'm actually just surprised that you turned up." Gale looks at me curiously.

"I had nothing else to do!" I reply, taking another chip from the bowl on the table.

"Wow, that makes us feel so loved," Cato drawls.

A bored silence envelopes us all.

"So Clove, which one out of us three would you rather date?"

The question comes out of nowhere. I open my mouth in shock. "I am not answering that question!"

"Oh, yes you are." Cato stands up on the sofa and scream outs loud, "Everyone listen up!"

I groan. He has the attention of almost everyone in the house now. "We are playing truth or dare, so get your butt up here!"

I hear protests from more than half of the guests as they ignore him and continue swaying on the dance floor and one couple continues making out on the other couch. Talk about public displays of affection. Doesn't anyone here value privacy? Geez.

A few people come to where Cato and I are and Finnick immediately leaps off to the dance floor, probably to find Annie and to avoid the usual mess that comes with truth or dare. I moan, "You're actually following through on that?"

"Yeah, of course!"

"You do know this is pretty much a game for girly tweens?"

"And?" He looks at me like I'm crazy. "We can make it more… Badass."

I roll my eyes. "You can say naughtier, I won't punch you in the face."

"But you'll punch me in the gut?"

I grin. "You know me so well."

We sit in a circle on the floor and he grabs an empty soda bottle off the table. He spins it on the ground. I cross my fingers on my lap. Please don't be me, I don't need that kind of shame, especially knowing the type of questions that he would ask. The downsides of having a best friend.

As the bottle keeps spinning, I ask, "What's the penalty for not doing the dare or truth or whatever you choose to do?"

Glimmer's quick to answer. "You have to kiss the person on your right."

I glance to the person on my right. Marvel. I scowl. "No way."

"I'm sure he would like that," Cato says.

I swear I see a light shade of pink appearing on Marvel's face. That's new.

"Cato!" I make a wild smack in his direction and end up hitting Gale instead.

"Oi, watch it!"

"Sorry. Hit Cato for me, will you?"

Glimmer interrupts, "Let's make it so that whoever doesn't answer has to answer two of the opposite things."

We all agree on that, and after a few seconds, the bottle lands on Madge.

"Truth or dare?" Cato gives her his signature boyish grin.

"Err… Truth."

He grins, and ponders mischievously. "When was your last kiss and who was it with?"

"Right to the personal questions, I see." Marvel says.

"I knew I was going to regret this." Madge says, burying her face in her hands.

"You could always do two dares…"

She cries out, "No thanks!"

"Then answer the damn question," Cato says firmly. I cringe. Poor Madge.

"Umm…" She goes red and tilts her head to the ground. "Galeandthisafternoon."

"Excuse me? I don't think I quite caught that."

Madge's face is about the colour of Cashmere's lipstick now. She mutters, "With Gale, and it was this afternoon."

Several people whoop and a few wolf-whistles are heard.

"Are you serious?"

"Are you guys dating now?"

Questions explode everywhere until Katniss steps in. "Give the poor girl a break, will you?"

Madge takes the bottle in the midst of noise and spins it. It lands on Glimmer.

"Truth or dare, Glim?"

She thinks about it for a while. "Dare."

"Why not truth? Got something to hide?"

Glimmer shakes her head as Madge smiles evilly. "I dare you to sit on Cato's lap for the rest of the game."

"What? No!" Glimmer's protests go unheard. Cato's also flushing besides Gale on my left side. He catches my eye and I make love heart signs with my hands at him. He gives me a death glare.

I try to justify it. "It's not like she's asking you to give him a lap d- "

Glimmer shuts everyone up by boldly standing up. She walks over to him and blushes even more, before slowly sitting down. Cato's hands naturally snake lightly around her waist and she leans back slightly, before both going an even deeper shade of red.

She spins the bottle, ignoring everyone's knowing smiles. It's on the verge of landing on Marvel when it twists around just a bit more and lands on me. Oh, no. I look up at Glimmer's face. This is not going to end well.

"Payback's a pain in the backside isn't it?" She smirks at me. "Truth or dare?"

I moan and ponder about my choices. Truth, well, I don't even want to think about what she could do. Dare, not a good choice either. This is seriously a lose-lose situation. Either way, I'm screwed.

I wrinkle my nose and come to a decision. "Dare."

"Why not truth? Got something to hide?" Cato jokes.

Glimmer looks around the room and comes to a conclusion. "I dare you to tell me the truth. Which one out of Marvel, Cato and Gale would you rather date?"

Oh, god. Crap.

"You really have been immensely influenced by Cato, haven't you?"

"Maybe, maybe not." She says evenly, then adds in the same tone as I did minutes earlier, "It's not like I'm asking you to make out wi-" Her voice is suspiciously high-pitched.

"I don't talk like that!" I say hotly, crossing my arms.

I think about the possible choices and my mind quickly jumps to conclusions. Obviously not Gale, he's with Madge. I am not going to become some scarlet woman, even for the sake of this game. And not Cato either, because he's with Glimmer. Unfortunately, that leaves me with Marvel. Let me add, who I've hated since reception.

"Glim, I hate you," I mutter under my breath as everyone eggs me on.

"Well?"

"I'm going to have to go with Marvel." I wince at their response. "But only, only because Gale's with Madge and you're with Cato."

Gale, who's next to me, gives me a jokingly salacious wink as the game continues. "That's what they all say."

I groan. This is going to be a long night. And after a couple more hours, I find out that I'm not wrong.

A/N: So, who's Lakyn? Our baby Clover has an eensy crush on him. Not that she would ever admit it, but still. And, completely out of curiosity, since Clove didn't answer the question: Finnick, Gale and Cato. Who would you choose? Leave it in with a review, or PM me! Thank you for reading, and feedback is once again highly appreciated!

Next chapter: Things start to heat up! A one-on-one conversation goes haywire. Like, completely.