Hi, I just want to inform you that this whole 'updating every spare moment' thing might be coming to an end because I have a bad habit of getting excited about a story, updating, then leaving it alone. So I'm going to end that now by trying to make sure to take turns with my stories as far as updates go. Don't worry, because this one is still in its early stage I have to give it a few more chapters before that happens. So I'm spoiling you right now and you better enjoy it. Also I promise to stop giving you short chapters soon because short chapters suck.
Chapter 4- Slumber Party
"Did you find out anything about him?" Rue asks. At the moment, I'm discovering that trying talk to your best friend while googling improv is a hard thing to do.
"Yeah." I say clicking on a site. I skim the details and take a few notes. "Gale was a sergeant, positioned in Pakistan. He had two close friends that were in his troop, they mostly dealt with bombers and stuff like that."
"Yikes." Rue says. "Well, at least it's not starving children being beaten or anything."
"Rue! It could be, I don't know. Hazelle just told me the basics." I say. "I checked into it and it turns out that his group got sent in to stop a suicide bomber who was holding his fourteen year old fiancée hostage."
"Gross." She says. "I've always hated child marriages. It's just plain sick."
"Yeah." I say again. "They got the girl out, but not all of them made it out. Two people were amputated, one suffered brain damage, and one person died." There's an awkward pause.
"Gale made it out fine though?" Rue finally breaks the silence.
"No." I say softly. "When something like that happens, there's no way you can make it out fine."
"Gosh Delly, you really care about this guy." Rue says awed.
I take a deep breath. "Of course I care. Nobody should have to go through that. It makes me upset that this is in today's society at all."
"Let's get off this topic." Rue says. "Remember, friends are the break. Got it?"
"Got it." I say robotically.
"When are your parents leaving town?"
"This Thursday. I move in with Hazelle on Wednesday and Gale comes home on Sunday."
"Do you wanna stay at my house tonight? My parents wouldn't mind. And I think you need a girls' night before this starts." Rue says. I sigh.
"I think that's exactly what I need." I say.
"Okay. I'll ask my folks, you ask yours." Rues says. "Back in five, 'kay?"
"Yeah." I say. "Bye." I hang up and run downstairs. "Hey mom?"
"Yes?" She asks.
"Can I stay at Rue's tonight?" I ask. "Pleeeeeeease?"
"If it's okay with her parents it's okay with me." Mom says.
"Thanks." I say dashing back up the stairs. I stare at my phone waiting for it to ring. When it does I take no hesitation to answer.
"Yes for me." Rue says. "Yes for you?"
"Yes." I say.
"Cool, my mom can pick you up in fifteen minutes." She says.
"I'll be ready." I say hanging up. I pull my duffel bag out from under my bed and throw in my PJs, clothes, toothbrush, comb, and a book of pizza coupons knowing that it will be my meal for tonight. I run downstairs to say good-bye and rush out the door. I climb into the backseat of Rue's mom's Prius.
"Hey." Rue says when she sees me. "Did you bring your pizza coupons?"
"Yeah." I say.
"You girls make me feel like a chauffeur when you both sit in the back." Rue's mom says.
"Sorry." Rue says. She turns back to me. "Thresh is going to be happy to see you again."
"How's the online school going?" I ask.
"It's great. He's doing really good and has a part-time job as a trainer at Planet Fitness." Rue says.
"Do you think he could help me?" I ask. "I'd like to lose some weight for Peeta's wedding."
"I'll ask him." She says. I notice how she doesn't stop to say that I don't need to loose weight. Nobody does when I ask for help with my fitness and diet. "So have you gotten any details on anything yet?"
"Nope." I say. "I'm sure once they both come back everything will be coming in at lightning speed. He did say, however, that you are most definitely invited."
"Yay!" Rue says. "Can I borrow your green gossamer dress?"
"You're picking your outfit already? Geeze Rue, slow down. The wedding isn't until September. Besides, it wouldn't fit you. You're a stick."
"Okay, so you've made a point of my extreme thinness. I'll wait until you get your bridesmaid dress until I talk about what I'll wear." She says. I nod in agreement. When we get to her house, the first thing I get is a bear hug from Thresh.
"Hey Delly, long time no see, am I right?" He asks.
"You just saw me last month in the Talent Show with Rue!" I say still light-headed from the squeeze of his hug.
"Riiiiiiight." Thresh says slowly remembering. "You guys did Gangnam Style."
"I still have the Korean memorized." I say. It only takes two seconds before all three of us burst out in song and dance to the well known K-Pop song. Rue's mom orders pizza and the three of us run into Rue's bedroom to kill time.
"Pick a color." Thresh says holding out a paper fortune-teller. When Rue went through an origami phase she made hundreds- literally hundreds- of them. They lie among many other things in her room.
"Blue." I say.
"Any particular reason you chose blue?" Thresh asks. You can't expect a guy like him to do anything without trying to irritate you.
"Because it's the color of my eyes." I say blandly. Rue sits next to me trying not to laugh.
"But, it's not your favorite color?" He questions smiling. At this point, Rue lets some of her giggles leak out.
"No." I say slowly. Thresh stares at me blankly.
"What's your favorite color then?" He asks, waiting for me to pop. I take a breath smiling.
"Yellow." I say. "You know that. You got me a yellow dress for my birthday last year with a yellow frosted cupcake."
"In all fairness, Thresh gave me money and told me to pick something out for you and Peeta helped him with the frosting on the cupcake." Rue interjects.
"Don't change the subject little sister." Thresh says harshly, but comically. "So, if yellow is your favorite color... why'd you pick blue?"
"Because blue is the color of my eyes." I restate. Rue bursts into laugher and begins rolling on the floor.
"But it's not your favorite colo-"
"Just spell out blue so we can move on to numbers!" I shout finally giving in. Smiling at his victory, Thresh opens and closes the paper toy.
"B-L-U-E." He says in a rhythmic voice. "Pick a number."
"Ten." I say. Thresh raises an eyebrow. "Te-nah." I repeat slowly.
"One, four, five, Z, Q, fifty-six, six, eight, three, X." He says without any pauses. "Pick another number."
"Sixteen, because it's my age." I say.
"When do you turn seventeen?" Thresh asks.
"June nineteenth." I say.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, ummmm. Don't tell me! Twenty-two?" He asks.
"Yes." Rue says smiling. "That's absolutely right."
"Pick a number." Thresh asks. I point to the nine. He unfolds and keeps it to himself before reading. "You will meet a magical unicorn with awesome powers. He will give you a plate of spaghetti and tell you to always take singles to a strip club."
"It does not say that!" Rue says grabbing the fortune-teller from his hands. "You will meet a new friend." She says reading the real fortune while leaning away to keep Thresh from taking it back. "Hey, that's a good omen isn't it?"
"Good omen for what?" Thresh asks.
"Peeta's grandmother has cancer again, so while my parents are in Florida while she goes through treatment, I'm staying at the Hawthornes' house because Hazelle Hawthorne's son is returning from Pakistan for the last time and something happened to him. She seems to think that I can help him get used to modern life." I say slowly.
"Good for you." Thresh says. "I'm sure that you'll help him."
"Thresh, did you know him?" I ask. "Gale Hawthrone, he used to go to our school. He's four years older than me, so I barely remember him. He would've been two years ahead of you."
"Hawthorne?" Thresh asks. I nod. "I remember that he was usually alone. He was good friends with Katniss, I think they dated once, I'm not sure." Great. I'm about to help someone who might have dated my future sister-in-law. What if he remembers her and asks about her? Gosh I hope that doesn't happen.
"Pizza." Rue says as the doorbell rings. The two of us slowly get up but Thresh hops on his feet and then pushes us both down to get a head start. "See what I have to live with?" Rue says angrily.
"Yes." I say getting up. "It's pretty hard to get mad at Peeta. He always pulls puppy dog eyes on me or complains about his prosthetic leg hurting his knee. You can't argue with that."
"I'll take cupcakes and paintings over complaining and pushing any day." Rue says as we head down the staircase. "You better not have eaten all of it!"
"No." Thresh says. "Only half." When I look in the pizza box, I realize he isn't joking.
"You pig!" Rue says slapping him on the shoulder playfully. They act like they hate each other, but you know that they're acting. I peel the cheese off mine and eat the crust and sauce. I know that there's probably eggs and milk in it, but I'm not a hard-core vegan. I used to just be a vegetarian, but I thought being a vegan would help with weight loss. So far I've lost two pounds. Maybe Thresh can help me get into a size four bridesmaid dress.
"Hey Thresh, I'd like to lose some wight before Peeta's wedding." I say. "I've recently become a vegan, so I've got my diet all set up, but since you're a trainer and all I was hoping you could help me get into shape."
"If you get a membership, I can help you for sure." He says with a mouthful of pizza. "I can't help you all the time, but I can get you started. Just until you get an idea of what you need to do."
"Okay. Sounds great." I say. Thresh snatches my leftover cheese. I take another slice and peel the cheese off. I hold it out to Rue. She shakes her head and Thresh takes that piece too.
"My GOD, you are such a hog!" Rue shouts.
"Well you weren't going to take it!" He protests.
"But you just grabbed it out of her hand!"
"I don't mind." I say.
"She doesn't mind." Thresh says happily. We all pause when there's a soft noise coming from upstairs.
"Is that your laptop?" Rue asks.
"Yeah." Thresh says. Suddenly I remember the sound.
"Someone's calling you on Skype!" I shout. Rue and I run for the stairs and Thresh grabs the pizza box following behind. Rue accepts the call before checking who it is. When Cato's face comes up on the screen the two of us scream as long and loud as we can. He just smiles and laughs at us.
"Hi!" Cato says when we're finished. "You guys having a sleepover or something?"
"Yes!" We both shout.
"Do you wanna talk to us, or just Thresh?" Rue asks.
"Well, since you're there I might as well talk to all of you." He says.
"Yay!" I say. Thresh comes up behind us.
"Hey Thresh." Cato says.
"Hi." Thresh says.
"Oh my God. Put down the pizza." Rue says.
"Why?" Thresh asks.
"Nevermind." She huffs. A door opens and closes in Cato's dorm in the background.
"Hey, I'm back early." I recognize the voice. "Who you talking to?"
"Thresh, Rue, and Delly." Cato says. Marvel pulls up a chair and sits next to Cato.
"Hi guys." He says. Rue and I scream again. "If you want me to leave..." Marvel jokes getting up.
"No!" I shout.
"Stay." Rue commands. He obediently sits down.
"So what's up?" Cato asks.
"Um, we're waiting for you guys to come home." Thresh says. "I'm the only guy left in town."
"And I can't wait to meet my brother and his new bride." I say smiling. I get my wanted reaction.
"What?" Cato asks. "Your brother got married?"
"No, he's engaged." I say. "Remember Katniss who went to our school?" They both nod. "Well... Peeta's had a crush on her since I was a freshman and they both went to Penn State. One thing led to another and now they're getting married in September."
"How's that going to work?" Cato asks.
"Peeta said they were going to enroll for the next term so they can find a place to live, jobs, and that kind of stuff." I say.
"Send him my best wishes." Marvel says.
"You're going to see him! The wedding's going to be here! The planning starts as soon as they get back." I say.
"Okay then." Marvel says. "I'll tell him myself." He looks down at his phone.
"Who are you texting?" Rue asks.
"Clove." Marvel says not looking up. "Do you want her to come over? She just finished her shift."
"Yes!" Rue and I shout.
"Thresh, you haven't said a word, you're just sitting there eating your pizza." Cato says laughing. Rue and I turn around.
"Talk to them, they're your friends!" Rue says.
"Fine." Thresh says. "Hi guys."
"Hi." They say slowly.
"How's the online stuff?" Cato asks.
"Good." Thresh says. "I'm getting a raise at Planet Fitness."
"Cool." Cato says. "Hey Marv, do they know about..."
"No." He says. "I'll wait."
"Tell us!" Rue says.
"Don't bother, it's Marvel." Thresh says. "He can keep any secret. You should work for the FBI."
"Meh, I like acting." Marvel says. "I'm going to be in Clove's play. I get to be the openly gay therapy counselor."
"This, I can't wait to see." Thresh says. There's a knock at the door and Marvel gets it. Clove walks in and they whisper back and forth. She pulls up a chair and sits next to Marvel. Rue and I scream again.
"Would you stop it with the screaming?" Thresh asks.
"That's our thing." I say laughing.
"Since when?" He asks.
"Since now." I say.
"Rue, you wanted to know my secret?" Marvel asks. Rue nods her head. Marvel kisses Clove for a long time as Rue and I scream again.
"PDA is not okay! PDA is not okay!" Cato chants. When the two of them pull away Rue starts interogatting.
"How long have you been going out?" She asks.
"About two months now." Marvel says. "How else do you think I got first pick on my part in the play?"
"You didn't get first pick." Clove says rolling her eyes. "I just gave you the only guy's part."
"Well maybe I wanted to play Sleeping Beauty." Marvel says.
"Please." Clove scoffs. "Hey Dells, is Peeta gonna invite us to the wedding?"
"Probably." I say. "I haven't talked to him much about that, but I promise I will personally punch him in the face for you if he doesn't invite you guys."
"Can you get him to take Glimmer off the list?" Cato asks. "She's just going to wear something trashy and steal everyone's attention away from the bride."
"Like you would mind." Thresh says.
"She's my ex." Cato protests.
"You still have a thing for her. Two things actually. And they're called eyeballs." Thresh says.
"Think whatever you want, I'm not a player like I used to be." Cato says with truth in his voice.
"Sure." Thresh says. "But I know that Glimmer didn't buy a waterbra to impress me."
"So you follow her on Instagram and look at her pictures?" I say.
"Oh snap." Marvel says.
"Busted." Clove says. "Delly, Rue tells me that you have to spend the summer with a soldier. Details."
"What?" Cato asks. I cover my face.
"He's a sergeant and his mom wants me to stay with them because she thinks I'll help him get used to life." I say knowing that the teasing will begin.
"Someone's shackn' up." Cato mumbles.
"You bastard! He's a soldier and this isn't porn!" Clove says punching his shoulder.
"Yeah. But they're gonna do it." Cato says. "And owwww!"
"Delly's only sixteen." Clove says.
"So what?" Cato says. "I did it when I was fourteen."
"Yeah. With your hand." Clove spits. Cato is taken aback.
"You set yourself up for that one bro." Thresh says.
"Listen Dells, use protection." Cato says.
"Dick." Clove mutters.
"Bitch." Cato returns.
"What did you call me?" She asks whipping her dark-haired head.
"Be-och." He says slowly. A smirk spreads across his face.
"Stop having an orgasm and wipe that fucking grin off your Goddamn face before I smack it off for you." Clover shouts.
"Okay then! I'm going to sign us off before this becomes a rated R movie." Marvel says reaching for the mouse.
"Already is." Rue sings.
"Bye!" Marvel says and he closes out.
"Well that was fun." Thresh says enthusiastically.
"Indeed." I say.