Disclaimer: Remember, I just write this for fun. I don't own any rights what so ever; the hunger games and all its characters are property of Suzanne Collins. Also, the idea of an exclusive high school with a gang of four boys ruling it, is from the manga Boys over Flowers, or Hana Yori Dango.

O my god, what have I done? I can't believe I really said that to him! What if he finds out it was all a lie? He will skin me alive! And Katniss... Shit!

As the deafening sound of the school bell penetrated Madge's ears, she began to gather her stuff in a hurry. She wanted to get out, and fast. It puzzled her why she had even bothered coming to class. She couldn't concentrate on the lecture anyway, her mind too occupied with other stuff.

She closed her khaki Prada backpack, swung it onto her shoulder and followed the other students towards the exit. As she wandered through the corridors towards her locker, careful not to bump into anyone, she though of a way to tell Katniss what she had done.

Katniss, just so you now, Cato thinks you have a crush on him. Who gave him that idea? Well, me of course. She sighed. I'm so dead.

She was yanked out of her thoughts when someone grabbed her by the arm. Startled, she looked over her shoulder to see who had stopped her. And recognised the brown haired guy she had seen earlier.

'Can I talk to you for a sec?' Marvel asked her. He didn't wait for an answer tough, dragging her with him before she could even open her mouth. She just stumbled along, too shocked to put up a fight.

He opened the first door they encountered and sneaked through, but not before he was sure that nobody had noticed them. And only after the door had safely closed behind them did he let her go.

He swung towards her, being stern and nervous at the same time. 'So, tell me, what was that all about?'

'What?' she asked, rubbing the wrist he had held; it felt as if he had tried to wring it off.

'That what you told Cato. Of you friend, liking him. Why did you lie?'

She blinked. 'You knew it was a lie? But if so, why did you back up my story?'

He snorted, crossing his arms before his chest. 'Because if I didn't, you would not be standing here, having this conversation with me. Trust me; I did you a favor back there.'

'Well, thanks for the trouble Marvel. Your name is Marvel, right?'

He nodded. 'And I believe your name is Madge?'

'Madge Undersee.' Automatically, she stuck out her hand. He took it, grinning as they shook hands. 'So, Madge, any ideas what we're going to do about this?'

She frowned, not quite following. 'We?'

'Yeah. We. In case you haven't noticed, I'm in the same tricky situation here. I've covered your back when you almost blew it. If Cato finds out we were just fooling him that, in his eyes, would equal treason. I'll risk his friendship if we screw this up.'

'Well, I don't think that would be such a great loss,' she sulked.

He shook his head, not amused. 'Says you. I don't want to lose him as a friend. Look, I know he can be quite the dominant type, acting a bit harsh towards people-'

'Harsh? Would you call what he'd done to Katniss harsh? He humiliated her in front of the entire school! He had her kicked and bullied! That guy is a menace!'

'- and I agree with you he sometimes does things I can't entirely approve of, but hey, in his defence, he's really great if you get to know him better. I don't know anyone who's more loyal, generous and trustworthy then him. We're best friends since kindergarten; we're always hanging out together. I would hate to lose him.'

'Oh, I'm heartbroken.' She rolled her eyes, obviously not believing a word he just said.

'Fine, then don't believe me. You're loss. Anyhow, how are we going to solve this problem?'

She sighed, mussing her hair as she thought of an answer. 'Well, not to be pessimistic, but I don't think there is anything we can do. He will find out sooner or later, right?'

'Not if we play this game right. First, are you even certain your friend doesn't like him? Maybe it doesn't have to be a lie at all.'

'What?' Madge gave him a sceptical look. 'Trust me, knowing Katniss, she probably hates the guy more then loves him. And who wouldn't? They really treated her bad today, and that was his fault. Thankfully that guy helped; I don't know how she could've escaped otherwise.'

'Yeah, Peeta…He seems to like her. Don't know why though. She's nice and all, but she isn't worth the trouble she causes. Mind you, I don't think Cato appreciated his action.'

'That asshole…'

'Don't call him that,' he warned her.

She shrugged as if unimpressed, but kept herself from more profanities. 'Fine. What do you think we should do then?'

'I don't know…but we'll better figure out something. We just have to make sure to limit the damage as much as possible.'

'Well, at least I have to tell Katniss about this.'

He nodded, although not with much eagerness. 'If you think it's wise… I would say: least said, soonest mended. What will we gain with her knowing anyway?'

'What's your suggestion? Not telling at all?'

'Eh, yeah!'

'I don't know…' She closed her eyes, trying to get control over her nerves. 'Argh, what a mess…I can't believe I was so stupid! All I wanted was to undone what I've caused, but I've only made it worse, haven't I? Oh, I'm such a worthless friend.'

His face softened somewhat when he saw her struggle. 'Hey, don't blame yourself. You only tried to help your friend, right? Your heart is in the right place…'

She nodded, but his words didn't feel genuine. 'I…I have to go…' she muttered, afraid he would see her cry if she stayed any longer. So she stormed out of the classroom before he was able to stop her.

'Tu chantes une chanson? Non, je ne chante pas…je ne chante pas…ah, mon Dieu!'

Annoyed by his incapacity to concentrate on his homework, Cato simply gave up. 'Damn it, I'll never be able to finish this exercise by Friday, it's do damn hard! And why do we have to learn it, anyway? It's not that I'm ever going to live in France,' he stated, tossing his book and pen onto the desk in front of him. Then he reconsidered and reached back for the pen, clicking the top fervently as he tried to clear his mind once more. That girl, that damn girl.

Don't you see that she likes you?

Beside him, Finnick muttered dreamily, as he laid his chin on the palm of his hand to lean on it: 'Ah, suave France…Ma petit belle Annie sur les marches du Sacré-Cœur…'

Cato only blinked at him in revulsion, his mood getting fouler and fouler by the minute. 'Hey, Loverboy. English please!'

It brought Finnick back to his senses. 'What? Oh…Sorry.' He took his untouched text-book in both hands, letting the pages slip past his thumbs as he gazed into it without much interest. 'So, what's with you Cato? You're acting a bit jumpy today, even for your standards.'

'Just mind your own business. I'm not asking you how things are going with Annie either, now am I?'

'No. But now you've mentioned it…I'm thinking about sending her flowers…but shall I order a bouquet with fifty or a hundred roses?'

Cato rolled his eyes. He might as well send her a dead rat for all he cared. 'Finnick, please, listen to yourself. You're absolutely spoiling the girl. Honestly, if you want my advice: just ignore her…trust me, she will be back on her knees before you know it.'

'Yeah,' Finnick sniggered in respond, not buying it for a second. 'And that, my friend, is exactly the reason why you cannot keep a relationship. A girl likes to be pampered. You have to give her the feeling that she's special, that she has something that none of the other girls has….'

Cato smirked, crossing his arms as he leaned back onto his office chair. 'Yeah. Me.'

'Honestly Cato, you're too cocky.' They both looked up at the girl that dared to enter their private study room without even knocking, and then Finnick's eyes began to shimmer. 'Annie! What a nice surprise.' He immediately jumped out of his seat so he could greet her. She allowed him a kiss on the cheek, but that was all. Her sea green eyes flashed at Cato's for a sec, meeting his stern gaze. Then she rolled them away. 'Finnick, can I talk to you? In private?'

'Sure.' He was already packing his stuff, when Cato stood up from his chair and slapped his hand on his friend shoulder. 'Don't bother, I'll go. There's something I have to do anyway. See you later Fin. An.'

She only nodded as he passed her, keeping her eyes down so she didn't have to look at him. He wondered what was troubling her. But instead of asking, he simply left the room, allowing the two lovebirds some privacy. He had other things to focus on. Like a dark-haired cat to be precise. He growled. He still wasn't exactly sure if he could believe Madge and Marvel's statement. There were just too many hiccups in their story. For example: why, if she liked him, would she have left the school with Peeta? To make him jealous or something?

A dirty smirk covered his face. Well, if that was her game, she might as well forget it. He couldn't care less who she hanged out with. Heck, if it was her wish to bang the whole football team, than that was her business, not his. And he would tell her so. 'He he. I think it's time to pay our little Kit Kat a visit.'

As he climbed the steps to enter the school building, all Peeta could do was smirk. After all, he got what he wanted now; he had talked with Katniss, knew where she lived, and even made sure he could see her outside school. The only thing that bothered him was the way he got to all that. Damn, what on earth had gone into those students to attack her?

Before he entered the room he and his friends used for their homework, he stopped before the vending machine, collecting a can of coke to quench his thirst with. Marvel was the first of the three to notice him when he finally stepped in.

'Hey guys, looks who has finally decided to join us. And Peeta, is your damsel in distress safely home now?' he joked, grinning from ear to ear. Peeta blushed, but tried to cover it by acting casually, clicking his coke open. 'Yes Marv, she is.'

'Thank you for helping her Peeta. I wished I could have stayed, but I just couldn't skip this class,' Annie apologised to him.

He just smiled. 'Don't worry yourself about it Annie, I'm sure she didn't mind.' He took a sip of his coke. 'Anyway, I'm going to see her tonight.'

'What?' Marvel asked, his grin suddenly gone.

But Annie jumped right into it. 'Really? O Peeta, would you mind if I come with you?'

'O. Eh…' This wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but Peeta wasn't the kind of guy to let someone down. Thank god, Finnick came to the rescue. 'Annie, please. Peeta, having a date? That's not something you hear very often. Don't spoil this for him now.' Then he turned his face towards his friend. 'So, who is the lucky chick?'

Again, he had to duck his face behind his coke. 'Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. And it isn't kind of a date…yet. I just want to see how she's doing, that's all.'

'She's the girl I told you about, remember? Anyway, this means I can come, right?' Annie concluded. Peeta just sighed in defeat. 'Alright. If you want to.' He took a look at his watch. 'Well, I guess I better get going now. Maybe I can still catch a classmate of hers to ask for their homework. Annie, I meet you at the parking lot in about, say, half an hour?'

'Well, what about if I'm going with you right now? It not that we're actually studying here.' Picking up her backpack, she leaned towards Finnick to give him a kiss goodbye. 'Friends again?' she whispered to him, as she pulled back. He smirked playfully. 'More than friends, I hope.'

As soon as Peeta and Annie left the room, Finnick turned towards Marvel, who hadn't said anything after Peeta had told them of his plans of tonight. Finnick pulled one eyebrow up in question. 'Ok, what's the matter? You look as if someone's just told you bad news.'

'It's nothing. Just…Finnick, you don't think Peeta likes her like, you know…' he sighed, grapping his forehead. 'Boy, what a mess…How I'm I going to solve this?'

'Mess? Marvel, what are you talking about, because you don't make sense to me.'

Another sigh escaped his lips as his eyes snapped up to face his friends. 'Finnick, please, promise me you won't tell anyone about what I'm going to tell you.'

His friend just nodded, getting more and more interested. 'I promise.'

'Alright. Me and Madge told Cato Katniss likes him,' Marvel confessed, not being able to hold the truth from his friend.

Finnick shrugged. 'You mean Peeta? So? Why should that be a problem? But why telling him, instead of Peeta? Shouldn't he be the one to know?'

'No, not Peeta stupid; that she likes him. Cato.'

'Oh.' Finnick still looked puzzled though. 'Ok. Why on earth would you tell him that?'

'Because he was picking on her. Badly. They had a clash yesterday; Cato is determined to bully her out of school. I guess Annie already told you about what happened today?'

'So that was Cato's doing?' Now it was Finnick who sighed. 'I should have known. Damn it, when will that boy ever grow up?'

'Anyway, her friend tried to make it stop. She wanted to talk to him, but he refused to listen. It was then…that she was so stupid to come up with that lie. I backed her up; what else could I do Fin? Cato was looking at her as if he was about to flay her. I just didn't want her to get hurt as well.'

'Very noble of you. And stupid.' Finnick added, thinking what kind of advice he could ever give Marvel. 'You know Cato's going to find out. It's just a matter of time.'

After she dried herself with the white towel, Katniss stepped out of the tub, careful not to hurt herself in the process. Ah. The warm water had done her much good. She almost felt like new, except for the pain in her ankle. Standing in front of the big round mirror above the sink, she took her brush and began to comb the damp strands of her washed hair, patiently working the knots out of it. She had to be on her best when Peeta arrived.

When she was finally satisfied with the result, she limped out of the bathroom, her reeking clothes in one hand. No use to get them clean again; they would end up straight in the garbage can. After she had clothed herself in some skinny yeans and an khaki tunic, she sat behind her vanity desk to put some of her jewellery on.

She took one last look in the mirror, seeing a pretty young girl with glossy cheeks and glimmering eyes staring right back at her. A smile curved her lips. That's it. Whatever they'll try to pull you, they can never take your spirit. This fight isn't over yet.

'Katniss? Someone's for you at the door,' she heard her mother shout, and she tore her eyes away from her reflection, suddenly feeling nervous. Was that Peeta already? But that would be way too soon! 'I'm coming momma,' she yelled back as she got out of her room, limping towards the stairs. When she finally managed to get down, there was nobody in the hall. She entered the kitchen. 'Were is he?' she asked her mom, who was busy cooking dinner.

'Hmm? O, I put him in the living room with your sister,' her mother answered, adding the fresh cut vegetables to the boiling water on the stove. She frowned when Katniss started to limb towards the door. 'My…what happened with your foot?'

'That's a long story. I tell you later.' Before her mother could stop her, she stumbled into the living room. Prim greeted her with a smile. 'Hey. How are you feeling now?'

'Much better Prim, thank you.' Her eyes went to the blond who had his back to her. She opened her mouth to greet him, but when he turned to face her, her blood ran cold. 'C…Cato?'

Her body suddenly felt as if someone had turned it into a bag of ice or something. All she could do was stare at him, having a hard time to admit he was actually standing in her living room.

'Hi,' he only said in respond, looking down on her with calculating eyes. He let them roam over her figure for a moment, checking her out as if she was just cattle on an auction.

'Cato?' She still couldn't believe it. 'What are you doing here?'

'I just wondered how you were doing. After what happened to school that is…You look nice,' he had to admit, after his little investigation was over. She straitened her shoulders, finally getting over her initial shock. 'Thanks,' she uttered on a tone that told him loud and clear she didn't need his compliment. She crossed her arms. 'Prim, I think mom needs your help in the kitchen. Will you go to her? Now please?'

Prim was wise enough to know when her older sister didn't want her around. So as fast as she could, she left her alone with the boy she only knew as Cato.

As the sound of her footsteps died away, Katniss jumped into defence. 'Ok, tell me what you have to say and then get out. I don't want you here.'

'Relax. I'm not here to harm you.' He looked around him, taking in the room as he first done with her. He snorted. 'So, this is how the poor people live huh?'

'In case you haven't noticed, we do have money,' She rolled her eyes as a respond to his arrogance. 'We are not poor.'

'Well, at least it looks decent enough around her. Although a bit cheap if you ask my opinion.' His eyes went back to her frame, and he took a step in her direction. She immediately created more space between them. 'Cato, I want you to get out. I mean it.'

'I know how your feel towards me,' he began, his eyes completely focused on her now. She cringed, knowing this could not be good, but forced herself to stay put. 'So?'

He sniggered arrogantly. 'Well, I must say I was a bit shocked at first.'

Wait. He wasn't angry at her for calling him all those rude names? 'So…you mean you don't mind then?' she tried, a bit confused here.

'Well, I can't blame you, now can I? After all, we're talking about me here.'

She couldn't deny that.

He sighed. 'Look, I came here to give you another chance.'

'Chance?'

'Yes. Quit school. Quit school now, and I assure you, no further damage will be brought on you. Deny this offer however, and I will make sure your life will become a personal hell.'

She couldn't believe her ears. Slowly, very slowly, she limbed towards him, until their noses nearly bumped. 'Now listen to this, you cocky, arrogant bastard. I will never, ever, quit school,' she hissed between clenched teeth, her grey eyes piercing into his. 'So if you don't wish to see me hang around there any longer, I suggest you quit school yourself.'

He grinned, only getting more amused by her anger. 'Don't challenge me girl. If we are going to play this game, I will not know any mercy. '

'Get out.'

'Katniss…'

'Get out!'

'Fine.' He grabbed her chin, jerking her head even further up. 'I will. But I'll make sure you will regret this. Big time.'

a/n; hope you all liked this chapter. It seems my muse is back, making it a lot simpler to write. I hope she will stay this time. Please, R&R.