A/N: I can't believe it. We hit 20 reviews! Thank you guys so so so much! It means the world to me, it really does. I've decided that I'm going to stop being such a review reply fail and I will make a better effort to answer them through PM and do the guest ones here.

belenydbzfan: Thank you! I decided to do the whole story in Clove's POV, so you probably won't get much focus on any of the other pairings but I will try and make it more Glatoey and Clarvellous :) Sorry, I made those names up on the spot.

Anyway, thank you to everyone else who has reviewed/favourited/followed, I've probably PMed you all at least once (or maybe not, thanks to my shyness/insecurity/paranoia—I think you get the point). Also, a huge thank you to my beta PhoenixGrace! Onto the chapter…

Disclaimer: Arghh. I will never be awesome enough to own The Hunger Games. *sobs*

I Never Knew

By kelster07

Chapter 4: Good Mornings and New Partners

I spend the rest of the summer holidays confused. And mad. And just really, really unhinged. I had sat in bed a million times, just trying to reflect on that one crucial moment. And wondering what the heck happened. If it did actually happen, that is. Why the hell did he like me? What right did he have to kiss me after years and years of annoying me?

A small part of me reasoned that maybe I was being a bit unfair. That I shouldn't judge him because of the orange jelly incident. To be completely honest, halfway through the holidays, I was wondering why I disliked him so much in the first place.

With Marvel and Katniss on holiday in the South Pacific, I was left to Cato, Gale and Glimmer. I was taken to various concerts, beach volleyball games and subjected to pointlessly listening to Glimmer's constant gossip at the ice cream parlour. Her endless questioning didn't make things much clearer either.

"Are you sure you're okay Clo?"

"Seriously, what happened that night?"

"Do you need me to punch Marvel in the face for you?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

But mostly, I spent the holidays at home, away from the sweltering heat that came with summer. Luckily, my mum sensed something was up and knew better than to mess with me, except for that one small, but disastrous conversation we shared at breakfast which didn't end so well.

I was washing up the plates after a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs when she spoke up. "Clove dear, you should ask some of your friends to come over one day. I could do with a chat. What about that boy? Marvel, is that his name?"

I had visibly cringed at the mention, but she pretended she didn't notice. "He's a good kid, that one."

And then I had dropped the stack of plates I was holding.

Although vacation wasn't a winner, in about an hour, I'll be facing something ten thousand times worse. First day back at school. And I have no idea what I'm going to say when I see him. Even after weeks of thinking about it, I still don't know which choice is better. Should I ignore it, and pretend it never happened? Or should I confront him about it? My conscience says the latter, but that, of course, involves leaving a hole in my pride. Long story short, I don't know what to do now. Crap.

When my alarm clock springs up with an ear-piercing ring, I jump out of bed immediately. I pull my school dress and white socks on and quickly tie my dark brown hair up in a messy ponytail. I make my way to the kitchen and jump out of the way as my younger sister Blaire rushes through. I'm greeted with the heavenly scent of blueberry pancakes.

"Good morning, Mum. Morning Blaire."

"Good morning, Clove. Here." My mum hands my a plate of pancakes and I set the table with my free hand.

"Watch it!" I bark as my older brother speeds towards the table, almost knocking the full plate out of my hands. The hotcakes are delicious, like always. Straight from the heart; that's what mum says. After I'm finished, I wash up my own plate and pack my bag. I say goodbye to my mum and walk outside, where Cato's already waiting in his small blue car.

"Hurry up, will you? We've got ten minutes to get there." He shouts from the interior.

"Yep, coming." I dump my bag in the creaking boot and slide onto the ragged passenger seat. "Good morning to you too."

"I don't see why 'good' is in front of the 'morning', but I'll take it. Good morning to you too."

We drive down the street and turn onto the lane where Glimmer and Marvel live. While Cato only lives across the road from me, both Glimmer and Marvel live a couple streets down.

We reach Glimmer's house and I brace myself for when Marvel gets on. If I was in his position, I would be utterly embarrassed. I think I'll try for an apology that doesn't completely ruin my dignity.

"Hey guys! Marv told me to tell you guys that you don't have to pick him up." She tells us while putting her bag in.

Cato asks, "Did he say why not?"

"Nah, he just said not to bother. I think he's walking or something like that."

I sigh a deep breath of relief and Cato looks at me strangely before starting up the car again. No having to face the inevitable so early. I smile to myself. There might be some good in the morning after all.

By lunchtime, I'm already exhausted. Teachers all over the place are piling up essays and projects onto us and have been going non-stop with lecturing in classes. After eating a quick cafeteria meal of stir-fry noodles, I open my locker to check my timetable. Double English. I take up my folders and textbook and make my way to Room 17. Ms Cardew's class.

Ms Cardew was a no-nonsense sort of teacher; you know, like the ones you see wearing old-fashioned glasses on their pointed noses in the movies. The ones that glare at you when you do anything in their class. Including breathing.

The moment the bell rings, she shuts her door. I barely make it in time. I slide into the empty seat next to Lakyn.

"Hey." I whisper as the teacher turns her back to write on the chalkboard.

"Hey Clove. First day back, huh?"

"Complete nightmare." I fake a chainsaw going back and forth on my neck. He chuckles softly and then turns his attention back to the teacher who starts to speak.

"Welcome to English. This class won't be easy, and I expect maximum commitment from you. You won't be able to pass with an average score. I expect every paper handed in to receive high marks. Same goes for exams."

The whole class tunes out for the rest of the disquisition. I see various flying objects being thrown around and whispers exchanged. That's until she mentions it.

"This semester, there will be a long-term assignment. It will be completed in partners."

When the word 'partners' flies out of her mouth, I hear hurried voices behind me. I poke Glimmer, who's sitting in front of me, and she gives me a little nod without turning around. Partners can mean it good things. Namely getting to choose who you work with. Or it can mean complete failure. As in the teacher chooses. Which, let me tell you, has never in the history of Panem High worked out well.

"As you are all probably wondering, I have already selected your partners."

A few groans are emitted and a stern look is fired towards them from the front of the room. Ms Cardew starts reading out the names and while cheers are heard, the room consists mainly of dejected silence.

"Cato and Gale."

Cato's face lights up. Lucky him. After Gloss and Cashmere's names are read out, I start to relax. I mean, who could be worse than them?

"Clove and Marvel."

I take back that last comment.

"What?" I leap up out of my chair, and across the room, I see Marvel do the same. My face pales two shades and I pray that I've misheard her. No such luck.

Ms Cardew raises an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"No," we both mutter at the same time before sitting back down. Are you serious? I have to spend my whole term working with Marvel?

"Glimmer, my life is over." I say as soon as the teacher lets us loose to work. This is going to be extremely awkward.

"What's the problem? He's not that bad, and you guys are decent with each other. Right?" Glimmer says while Lakyn gives me a sympathetic look.

Not that bad? Not that bad? If only she knew. I decide to suck it up and make my way across the room to sit next to him before Ms Cardew can yell at us. I still look down at the scribbles on the table when he speaks up.

"You know you can't avoid me forever, Clove."

My mind goes blank and I have no idea what to say back. Weeks of planning for this go down the drain.

Instead, I simply plead, "Can we please just do the project?

He snaps back, "What? Did I say that I wanted to do something else?"

I remain silent for a few seconds.

"Look," I start quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear, "I know you probably hate me right now- "

"Didn't I already say I don't hate you?"

"That was before."

He doesn't say anything, but at least acknowledges the conversation we had just before New Year's. I curse the stupid voice in my head and continue, "Okay, fine. You probably partly hate me right now, because of well, what happened. Honestly, I just didn't expect it. I'm not holding anything against you, and frankly, I just want to move on from that. And I'm sorry, I didn't know what to do. If you want, we can just forget it. Let it go. Because that's going make doing this damn project a lot easier."

"Okay. I hold don't anything against you either."

I swear I see a glint of disappointment in his eyes, but I dismiss it immediately. I don't need anymore drama in my life.

For the next hour, we scan through several books and web pages. I eventually find myself sharing a laugh with him more easily. And genuinely smiling. He's really not that bad.

Five minutes until the final bell, a blonde girl similar looking to Glimmer and Cashmere walks up to us. She smiles at giggles at Marvel and I sigh in frustration. I really don't need anymore of this.

"So I guess you two really hate each other, don't you?" She asks pointedly, glowering in my direction. Woah… Did I really do anything wrong to her? Geez.

I leave it to Marvel to reply, but he doesn't say anything. He just shrugs, running his fingers through his light brown hair and the girl giggles again. Taffeta, I think her name is. I feel some form of anger bubble up inside of me. She is like an exact replica of Cashmere. Seriously.

In the past years, every time I've lost my temper, (if I remember correctly) I also end up taking it out of someone who probably doesn't deserve it. I have a feeling that this time that person is Marvel. Not saying he doesn't deserve it; he won't even defend me against this girl. Which probably isn't that surprising, seeing that we haven't had the best history together. But still.

In response, I say, "I can't help it that he's an idiot."

"Says yourself. You're just jealous." She merely remarks, unfazed.

"Of what?" I bite back. This girl has seriously got some nerve.

"Of his natural talent and charisma. I mean, look at you!" She taunts.

"Taff." Marvel looks over at me and adds, "Calm down. You too, Clove."

"Me? Calm down? Did you even hear what she's saying?"

Taffeta scoffs, "It's just the truth."

I glance over at the teacher, who's helping out Glimmer and Peeta, who were paired together. In a flash, I have her neck pinned to the table softly. "I feel like I want to murder someone. And for the first time, it's not Marvel. Just so you know, so are an arrogant, disrespectful bitch at best."

As I see the teacher turn around, I quickly release her. She talks to the teacher before storming out of the classroom, slamming the door behind her. I can't help jumping in my seat at the sound. Knowing the kind of person she is, I can safely bet that she was too cowardly to tell the teacher what just happened. Before I can speak to Marvel again, he excuses himself and leaves as well.

In a few minutes, he comes back. He hisses to me, "You can't just start taking everything out on my friends, you know." He enunciates these last words firmly, "Grow up."

I explode. "Are you freaking serious? That girl is a complete bitch! I thought we put our differences aside to work without snapping each other's necks off. Do you seriously believe in what she says? Look at her. She is an attention-seeking wh-"

He snarls, "Stop it. I don't need you calling my girlfriend names like that."

I pause. Wait what? "Your girlfriend?"

His green eyes pierce mine. "You heard correctly. Stop complaining about her."

"Since when?" I curse myself for asking that question.

He mumbles, "A few days after New Year's, I think. And why do you even care?"

In my head, I instantly translate that to 'immediately after I decided to kiss you'.

Just when I thought we were starting to get along. Some things are just meant to stay the way they are, I guess.

A/N: Uh oh. Marvel has a girlfriend. Stupid Marvel. Stupid Clove. Stupid Taffeta. So, what did you think? I'd love to know your thoughts on the chapter, and thank you for reading!