A/N: Wow, guys. Thank you so much for the reviews! I really appreciate it, it means a lot to me that people are actually reading/enjoying my fic. Also, a massive thank you to my beta, PhoenixGrace. This is probably one of my favourite chapters so far, very light-hearted and a bit fluffy. Enjoy!

belenydbzfan: I know! It's just like, can't they just hurry up and go on a date? Marvel has a girlfriend though, so urgh.

Guest (1): Thank you so much! It's really nice to get a longish review, you made me smile. I originally wasn't supposed to add Sean in, but I thought it would be fun to write, and since you asked for it, you'll get to meet him in this chapter and the next. :)

Guest (2): Although the end game is Clarvel, that is probably a really good idea for drama. I'll think about it. Thanks for reviewing!

Guest (3/4): Ahaha, thank you! I'm glad you like it. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.

I Never Knew

By kelster07

Chapter 6: Random Doodling and Tickle Wars

"Quit humming will you?" I ask, fed up with the out-of-tune Christmas carol coming from Marvel. Besides from the tuneless noise, the library is completely silent, except for the rolling wheels of the book trolley in another lane. The noise doesn't stop, so I whack him. Hard.

'Hey!"

"What are you even doing?" I grab his exercise book from him. I groan when I see the aimless doodles and try to hide my amusement. "Is this…" I wrinkle my nose, "Cashmere being chased by Ms Cardew with an axe?"

He chuckles, "Maybe, maybe not."

I grumble, "Maybe not, my arse."

"Wouldn't you like to see it happen too?"

"Do your work, funny boy." My words drip with sarcasm. Either he doesn't notice, or chooses to ignore that fact.

"You think I'm funny?"

"Funny-looking, yeah." I quip back.

He pretends to pout. We're doing, well, supposed to be doing our English assignment on use and understanding of our language. So far we've split up the work and started on the notation without starting yet another kerfuffle. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm kind of grateful for the company. Beats sitting alone at home poring endlessly over books in size five font, at least.

Silence. I grab another dusty library book from the array of shelving before sitting back down. We work in peace, only occasionally sharing the odd comment. Suddenly, a strange urge is placed upon me. I look up. "Marvel?"

"Yeah?"

I take a deep breath before speaking. "Um… I think I should probably apologise."

Time seems to freeze. His face expression is priceless. "Come again?"

I scowl. "You heard me the first time."

"Really? I thought that was you talking to your imaginary friend Albert."

"I don't have an imaginary friend called Albert."

He tries to supress a grin. "Well, you learn something new everyday."

"Um, I'm sorry that I've been acting like a temperamental diva."

"Go, on." He says suddenly with a grin, "I'm all ears."

"Marvel!" Somehow the notepad in my hand hits his shoulder.

"Ow!" He shouts, rubbing the sore spot furiously.

The librarian comes around the corner and shoots us a death glare before wheeling the trolley down another aisle.

"Must you be so loud?" I hiss.

"Must you hit me so hard?" he bites back.

"Must you be so annoying?

"Must you apologise in the first pl- Oh wait, I take that back," he amends. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"That's it." I smile. "You're not getting anymore out of me."

"Aw, no words on how amazingly fantastic I am?"

I stare at him. "Where on earth did you get that idea from?"

He shrugs. "Touché."

I grab another book from the overflowing pile and start jotting notes. I think that the teachers are on a not-so-secret mission to keep us from doing anything besides from homework.

Out of the blue, he asks, "Do you think we could get along?"

I don't look up from the half-filled out page in front of me. "I don't know."

He snorts. "Well, that's detailed."

"We've had a long history."

"That's true."

I sigh, "Can we please stop talking about whatever's going on with us and do some work?"

He quirks an eyebrow. "So you think something's going on with us?"

I pause before cautiously asking the question. "Did you mean it?"

"I have no idea what you're on about."

"At the playground." I feel heat creeping up on my neck.

"What? Do you think I just go around kissing- " He breaks off and looks slightly flushed. "I thought you said we were going to forget about that."

I open my textbook but not a word is being absorbed.

"Did you tell Glim and Kat?" he asks, patiently waiting for a reply.

"I thought we were going to forget about that," I joke, but stop when I see the his face expression. "Oops, sorry."

His jaw drops open. "Wow. This is a world first. Clove Sevina has apologised to me twice in one night."

"Fine." My eyes narrow. "I take it all back."

"No, no, no. It's all good."

I exhale. "If you really want to know, I didn't."

He doesn't reply.

We work into the night, and when I close the final book, I let out a yawn.

"This sucks."

"Understatement of the year, Clove."

I laugh and say, "Okay, I'm leaving. See you at school on Monday."

I wrap the light cardigan back around me and grab the little bag on the table.

He stands up. "I'll walk you home."

"You don't n- "

He gives me a look. "I only live like two streets away from you anyway."

"And? It's dark outside so you sh-"

The moment those words leave my mouth, I realise my mistake.

"Exactly my point."

The midsummer heat is starting to fade, and shades of pink and orange are in the sky.

"Sorry, I have to go the supermarket first."

"Third apology tonight." He pretends to tick something off an imaginary floating checklist.

I grumble, "Not exactly what I meant."

I quickly go to buy a load of bread and a carton of milk and then walk home. When we reach my street I say, "You can go now."

Unfortunately he's persistent. "No, I'm walking you the whole way."

A thought hits me like a thunder bolt. "My older brother is going to freak."

"Why?"

"He's worse than Cato at the whole older brother thing." I reply, unfazed.

"And that might be because he is your older brother." Marvel smirks.

If Sean sees me with…

"Clove!" A young voice calls out. Too late. I look up at the front porch and my sister Blaire is leaning on the railing eating a raspberry popsicle. "Mum, Clove's home! Ooh, and she brought a boy with her! Clo, is that your boyfriend?"

I mentally face palm and Marvel laughs. "And that is my sister, Blaire."

Then I call out, "No way Blaire! You're the one who's talking."

She gives an endearing blush and runs back inside.

"She looks like you." Marvel remarks.

"Yeah. We both take after dad…" My voice trails off at the end.

Suddenly, my mum pops out of the sliding door and beams when she sees Marvel. Her hands are covered in what looks like cookie dough and her apron is a mess. "Come inside, come inside, both of you!"

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Marvel looks hesitant. "No, I wouldn't want to bothe-"

"No, no, none of that." My mum shakes her head adamantly and ushers us in, "Come in. I made some fresh cookies and I would love some company."

We both come in and sit down on the small couch. My mum comes out of the kitchen with a tray of chocolate cookies and sits down across from us. I'm trying to ignore the fact the squashy couch is so damn small. A couple centimetres smaller and I would be practically sitting in his lap.

My mum beams again, "So, you must be Marvel." She doesn't even wait for him to speak before continuing, "Clove talks about you all the time!"

Wait, what?

Marvel's smile is about the size of the Atlantic Ocean. I scowl, and swat him away. He pokes me in my side, and I almost leap off the couch.

"So you talk about me all the time?" He grins jokingly.

"Oi, stop that, will you? I hate the fact that I'm ticklish." I whine, rolling all over the place.

"I love the fact that you're ticklish."

I squeal and roll off the couch, landing in some obscure position on the floor. My head hits the ground first, and a throbbing pain appears. I glare him. "Thanks a lot."

"These cookies are really good, Ms Sevina."

"Ms Sevina makes me seem so old. You can call me Ellie, dear," my mum says.

A messy head pops out of the corridor.

"Mu-" Sean pauses when he sees Marvel casually sitting on the couch and me squirming on the floor. The difference between his expression and my mum's speaks volumes. My mum looks pleased, almost like Glimmer and Katniss when they conspire with their matchmaking. And then it clicks inside of me. I look back at my mum. Oh, crap. Why didn't I notice this before? I internally groan. Why is the world so against me?

"Hi. You must be Marvel?"

"Sean." I say in an undertone, looking in his direction as he opens the kitchen pantry looking for something to satisfy his enormous appetite.

"What?"

"Nothing." I wave him off when I see Marvel looking at our exchange curiously.

"Honey, I just baked some cookies. There's ice cream in the freezer if you want that too."

Sean walks over to the open kitchen area and opens the refrigerator. "Thanks, Mum."

Before leaving, he gives me a 'this-is-not-the-end-of-this-conversation' look and I roll my eyes at the gesture and shoo him away.

"So how's school going?" My mum steers the conversation back and takes a sip of the coffee in her mug.

"Great, Ms Sev- Ellie," he corrects when she raises an eyebrow. "Too much homework though."

"Oh, I remember the times back as a kid in high school." Mum reminisces. "Crazy world. Sleepovers, detention and first dates. Speaking of, do you have a girlfriend?"

I smile despite the awkward situation. Typical of her—asking people questions about their personal life. In a good way, of course.

Marvel colours slightly before replying, "Yes. Her name's Taffeta."

His voice sounds somewhat stiff and if Mum notices, she doesn't say anything. "She sounds like she would be a nice girl."

"Yeah, she is." He says, subconsciously running his fingers through his hair. "So do you like to do a lot of baking? Seriously, this is actually the best cookie I've ever had."

Her laugh makes her sound years younger. Alive. "Yes, Clove, Blaire and Sean love it. Oh, you have to come over for my banoffee pie. And passionfruit slice. Oh, I'll make you a basketful one day. Do you have any siblings?"

"No, you don't have to-"

"No, no, no. Gives me something to do during the day."

"If you're sure…" He trails off hesitantly.

"Of course!"

"Okay." He smiles and I swear it's contagious. "I have an older sister, a younger sister and a pet dog called Fluffy."

"You have a dog called Fluffy?" I almost drop the cookie in my hand in shock. "Who the hell calls their dog Fluffy?"

"Clove." My mum gives me a warning glance and I give her a sheepish look.

He scowls but still looks a bit charming. Wait what? Did I really just think that? I shake my thoughts from my head and re-enter reality where a charming Marvel doesn't exist. "Blame my sister on that one."

"Ah, family love." I lean back on the couch and relax completely.

He looks at his watch and stands up. "Ms Se- I mean, Ellie, I better get back home now. Mum might be starting to get worried, I didn't give her any notice."

"Okay. Feel free to stop by anytime you want."

We walk outside and I can already see the stars in the setting sky.

"Do you need a lift? Actually, scrap that. You're getting a lift," I say demandingly. Before he can say anything, I scream out, "Mum? Marvel needs a lift home!"

"No I don't," he hisses, but before he can do anything, Mum walks out with her car keys and flip flops on.

"It's getting dark," I tease.

"Oh my god, Clove," he mutters.

We sit in silence in the back seat as my mum drives. When we reach the modest home, I get out of the car and awkwardly walk him up, ignoring his protesting.

"You know," I say grudgingly, shifting my weight between both feet, "I never thought I'd ever say this, but this night hasn't been half-bad." I take a deep breath before continuing. "But yeah, I think we could get along."

"That was so hard to admit, was it?" he chuckles. "You'd think you'd be confessing to murder or something like that in that voice."

I shove him lightly, but nevertheless an infectious grin spreads on my face.

"Good night, Marvel."

"Good night, Clove. Sleep tight."

I smile to myself in the darkness after he waves me goodbye. We're finally making some headway. Progress. Never in a million years would I have been happy about it, but somehow, I am.

I get back in the car and we drive home. It's been a long day. I walk into my bedroom, hoping for a chance to shower and relax. No suck luck. Sean sits on my bed, twirling a pen around on his fingers.

"So, Clo," he smirks. "We're having that talk."

A/N: Dun dun dun! You said you wanted to meet Sean, so I added that last part in. Clove's about to be severely embarrassed, and it's going to continue onto next chapter. What did you think? Please review, I'd love to know your thoughts! :)