My laptop's fixed, so that means I can update more regularly. Thanks for the positive feedback, I really appreciate it. :) I don't own The Hunger Games.
Clove was going to kill her sister. Not only had she been singing Justin Bieber songs the whole way to the hotel, but once they had gotten there Melissa had left Clove with three suitcases and nobody to help her carry them. Clove could see her talking to the hockey team from where she was stood, waiting for the elevator. The doors pinged open, and Clove awkwardly struggled with the three suitcases, trying to push and pull them in.
"Need a hand?"
Clove turned around. A tall boy with brown hair and blue eyes was stood behind her, a rucksack slung over his left shoulder.
"It would be appreciated." Clove admitted.
"No problem." The boy shrugged. Clove recognized him, but she couldn't put a name to his face.
"You know what?" The boy asked. "I'll never understand why girls need so much stuff."
"It's not all mine. Some of it's my sister Melissa's." Clove explained. She pulled one of the cases into the elevator, and the boy took the other two.
"Oh, you're Clove! Missy talks about you all the time." The boy grinned. "I'm Marvel, by the way."
"Are you two friends?" Clove asked.
"Yeah, kinda. She hangs around my cousin Cato a lot. We talk at games and stuff." Marvel said, before asking Clove which floor she was on and pressing the right button.
"She never told me about spending time with a guy." Clove frowned.
"She doesn't hang out with him. She hangs around him. With all the other girls at West Palms." Marvel laughed.
"I've never heard of him, sorry." Clove shrugged, sitting down on one of her suitcases. If the elevator ride to the sixty-eighth floor always took so long, Clove decided that she would just slide down the banisters.
"Really? Most girls tend to know who Cato is. It's weirdly annoying." Marvel casually leaned back against the wall.
"Well I don't really spend my time sticking my nose into high school politics. I'm just here to play soccer." Clove explained. She was already bored of the conversation- Cato sounded like an ass.
"He's a good guy, I promise. He's just got the arrogance that goes with the popularity." The elevator stopped, and Marvel pulled two of the suitcases out into the corridor.
"Doesn't everyone?" Clove asked, looking from room 271.
"Not everyone." They found the room, and Clove swiped her key card. "I'm the floor below, so I'll leave you here. Come down to the football field with Missy later, you can meet Cato for real.
"I'll think about it." Clove pulled the cases into the room and smiled at Marvel. "I'll see you around."
"See ya, Clove." Marvel nodded to her and took off down the corridor. Twenty seconds later, Melissa burst into the hotel room.
"Wow this place is amazing." She gasped.
"You're not wrong." Clove grinned. The door opened into a medium sized room that held two couches, a black coffee table and a flat screen television hung on the wall. There was a breakfast bar opposite a mini bar, a fridge that was undoubtedly filled with chocolate and alcohol, and a sound system. Curtains were drawn over French windows that led to a balcony. A door on the left wall led to a bedroom with a king sized bed. The blankets were white and the pillows were purple. There was a purple rug, a wooden dressing table, a white wardrobe, a white chest of drawers, an en suite and another, and smaller television. The door to the right of the living room area opened into an identical room, only with red pillows and a red rug.
"I think I'm in love." Melissa sighed, flinging herself onto one of the couches. "And I was totally hiding behind the corner when Marvel Diamond asked you out."
"He didn't ask me out. He invited us down to the football field." Clove said, raising an eyebrow.
"He so meant it in a date-way." Melissa said, waggling her own eyebrows.
"Yeah, that's why he said to bring you as well." Clove rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't care anyway."
"Um, Clove. He's like one of the top five most popular boys at West Palms." Melissa pointed out.
"You have a ranking order?!"
"Of course. 1. Finnick Odair. He's dreamy. 2. Cato Stone- His eyes are beautiful and he's such a great guy. 3. Gale Hawthorne, he's captain of the basketball team. 4. Marvel Diamond. He's the richest guy in our school. 5. Peeta Mellark. He's the most popular junior and he's on the football team, so he gets on great with Finnick and Cato." Melissa explained, holding up five fingers.
"Mel, this is weird." Clove snorted. She reached into the fridge and pulled out a chilled bottle of water.
"Want to hear the girls?"
"No."
"1. Johanna Mason. She's vice-captain of the soccer team and a bit of a badass. 2. Annie Cresta. She's been dating Finnick for, like, two years. 3. Glimmer Gold. She's a total bitch, but the guys love her. 4. Cashmere Gold. Her and Glimmer are like super bitch twins. 5. Madge Undersee- she's vice for the cheerleading squad and Gale's been dating her for months. But you know what Clove? You could probably be, like, number three if you tried. You're captain of the soccer team, you're super pretty, and you're from New England." Melissa rambled.
"Firstly, I don't care about being popular. And secondly, what does being from New England have to do with it?" Clove frowned.
"It all adds up, Clove. Get in with them and we'll be shopping with Annie Cresta and Finnick Odair in no time." Melissa said, pulling a blue hoodie out of her suitcase and pulling it on over her white tank top.
"Mel, I'm already friends with Johanna. What more do you want from me?" Clove groaned.
"It was just a suggestion. You could really be one of the 'power five', as everyone calls them."
"Power five? Are you high?" Clove asked. "I love you Mel, but being popular isn't everything."
"Yeah whatever." She threw a light green hoodie at Clove. "Put this on."
…
When he was on the football field, Cato could be whoever he wanted to be. However when he was on the football field with Marvel, the only thing he could be was annoyed.
"That's not how you catch a football." Cato groaned.
"I'm used to basketball!" Marvel protested.
"Finnick, throw." Cato said, jogging backwards a few paces. Finnick threw the football in a prefect spiral to Cato, who caught it.
"That is how you catch a football." Cato said.
"Football's boring!" Glimmer yelled from the bleachers. She, Cashmere and Madge were painting their nails and watching the boys, Annie and Johanna throw and catch a football.
"When are the others getting here?" Cashmere yelled, referring to Katniss, Finch and Thresh.
"I don't know, Cash! Soon!" Cato yelled back, uninterested. The only girls that Cato hung out with that didn't get on his nerves sometimes were Annie and Johanna. Annie was impossible to dislike, and Johanna was like a sister to Cato.
"Oh, I invited Missy and Clove." Marvel said, laying down and relaxing with his hands behind his head.
"The hot blonde cheerleader and the sports nut?" Gale asked.
"Clove's cool, be nice." Johanna warned.
"Yeah, Clove's alright. Her sister's kinda hot." Finnick shrugged. He muttered an apology after Annie elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
"There they are." Peeta pointed into the distance. Clove and Missy were walking across the football field with Katniss, Finch and Thresh. Finch immediately went to join Glimmer, Cashmere and Madge, but Katniss stayed and stood next to Annie.
"Hey, Clove." Marvel smiled warmly. Cato shot Finnick a suspicious glance. Did Marvel have a crush? Or was he being nice?
"Um, hi." Clove said awkwardly. If it was crush, it was pretty obvious to Cato that the feeling wasn't mutual. He was probably just being nice.
…
"Missy, right?" Cato said to the blonde, after an hour of throwing a football around. He recognized her from football games, and from the group of girls that he sometimes spoke too, mainly just to stop them from staring at him and Finn.
"Yeah." She smiled brightly at him.
"You're kinda hot." Cato admitted, winking at her.
"I think you should treat my sister with more respect." Clove snapped, stepping in front of Melissa.
"Clove, it's fine." Melissa insisted.
"No, Mel. It's not. She's not on fire, Cato." Clove said his name like it was poisonous.
"I'll say I want thanks, little girl." Cato said, glaring at her. He wasn't really sure why he said that- Clove intrigued him and he wanted to know more about her. Cato knew that being an asshole wouldn't get him anywhere.
"Speak to me like that again and I'll beat the living shit out of you." Clove hissed.
"I told you she was cool." Johanna smirked. "Put him in his place, Clove."
"Fuck off, Johanna." Cato rolled his eyes.
"I'm out of here." Clove rolled her eyes and started to walk away.
"I'll walk you back!" Marvel yelled after her, but Clove didn't stop walking.
"I don't walk with liars!" Clove yelled back. "He's not a 'nice guy really'!"
If I'm going to get to know the only girl at West Palms that doesn't care about stupid girl stuff… Cato thought to himself. I have to see where she breaks.