Chapter seven
Cato's POV
I stuff my hands in my pockets and head out to the training center. As I walk I think back to the night before.
I can't believe I got Clove to work for me. Every day after practice I'll eat dinner with her at my house.
Alone.
As hard as I try, I can't get the the smirk off my face.
She never realized that we were practically having a date. I had to come up with a way to get her to spend time with me, and if hiring her to cook and clean my house let's me spend time with her, so be it.
Become friends with her first. I tell myself. Aren't we already friends? I'm not sure. Our last practice session together went well, we had fun together. I surprised myself at how much I enjoyed training with her.
Because I don't have fun. I train to be the best. There's no time for fun. But I want to hang out with Clove. Or Clover I should say. She seemed to like that.
A lot.
"Cato." I turn around to see Clove walking angrily towards me.
My jaw drops.
He training uniform has huge slash marks starting mid thigh and trailing all the way up her sides. "Clove what happened to your uniform?" I say slightly dazed when she reaches me.
"Some fucking idiot broke into my house and destroyed my cloths!" She screams angrily.
"Not to mention they stole the money you gave me!" "How the fuck am I supposed to live?" She say throwing her arms in the air.
"That money you gave me was going to feed me for a week and a half!" "Now I have to buy a new training uniform and food, and you know how much those training uniforms cost, it'll take me at lest two months to save up the money to buy a new one!" She screams angrily."What's the point of destroying my cloths anyway?" She yells. "Who ever it was, was probably pissed off because they couldn't find anything good to steal!" She yells. "I leave my house for half an hour to go for a walk before practice, and find my cloths ripped to shreds!" She exclaims angrily. "Why would they break into a house like mine, why not some mansion in Victor's Village?" She asks.
"Hey." I say with mock anger.
"What?" Clove says, sounding annoyed.
"You want someone to rob my house?" I say with fake hurt.
"You live in Victor's Village?" "No wonder, you house is huge." She says, distracted for a second. But then she resumes her rant. "Plus what am I supposed to wear to training, if all my cloths have been torn?" She asks while crossing her arms over her chest.
"Maxwell will give you a new uniform." I say slowly.
"No, not unless I have the money." She says.
"I'll get your uniform for you." I volunteer.
"There is no way I would ever let you get me a new uniform." She says, her eyes shooting daggers.
"Why not?" I ask as I resume walking.
"Because." Clove says as she follows me.
"Hey, how about this, I buy your uniform and you work for free for two months?" I counter.
"No" She says dryly.
"Why?" I say confused."It's a win win."
"Because I need money to buy food, idiot." She says while looking at me as if I know nothing.
" Can't your parents buy you new cloths and food, why do you have to buy every thing yourself?" I ask.
"I live alone." She says while looking at me as if I killed someone.
"You live alone, why, where's you parents?" I ask, even more confused. She huffs angrily. Τhat was probably a bad question to ask.
"My parents are dead." She say with no emotion.
"Hey, I'm sorry Clove." I say softly while giving her puppy dog eyes.
"It's ok." She says quietly while her cheeks redden slightly. "It's not like you killed her." She say while looking down.
Huh?
When we get to the training center I stop Clove before she walks in. "You will get a new uniform for free." I say while giving her a grin.
"What are you talking about Cato?" "I can't get a new one for free, those things come straight from the capitol." She says. "Plus they're each custom hand made, it's not like they have extras that are my size."
She has no idea.
"Just follow my lead." I tells her. We walk strait into the training center and find Maxwell leaning against a wall drinking a cup of coffee.
"Maxwell, Clove needs a new uniform." I say as I gesture to Clove. He raises his eye brows. "I see, what would you like me to do about it." He says while look at me, then Clove.
"Clove, wait by the door." I say slowly. She gives me a look, but listens anyway.
"Listen, she needs a new uniform and you're going to give her one." I tell him.
He laughs humorlessly. "She probably did that to her own uniform, to try and attract the attention of the Peace Keepers." He says with a chuckle.
No.
He did not say that.
Before I'm even aware of what I'm doing my fist makes contact with his jaw.
He drops his coffee and stumbles backwards. I push him on to the ground and hit him again. He groans in pain.
"Say it again!" I say with a laugh.
"Cato!" "What the hell are you doing?" Screams Clove. How did she get behind me?
I laugh. It's just like the first time I met her. Her following me around the training center until she was right behind me. Me having no idea she was there.
She pulls my arm and brings me to my feet. Every single eye is on me. Even the other trainers are frozen where they stand. In shock or fear? I'm not sure.
"Come on." I mumble to Clove. I grab her hand and pull her ruffly towards the door next to the exit that leads to a hallway . Once the door is shut I let go of her hand.
"What the hell was that Cato?" She yells. "You can't just punch people in the face every time you don't get your way!" She says.
"You didn't hear what he said." I tell her.
"Oh, would you like to tell me?" She says while crossing her arms over her chest. I shake my head.
"uhhhhg, fine!" "I'm leaving." She pushes pass me and make her way back to the door.
Not on my watch.
I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist and carry her towards the storage room. "Cato, let go of me!" She says sounding startled and maybe a little frightened.
I open the storage room with one hand and carry Clove in with the other. I close the door and flick on the lights.
Good thing I picked the right room.
The entire storage room is filled with training uniforms neatly hung on racks.
"Pick out a uniform." I tell her. She takes a second to quickly scans her surroundings, but makes no move to pick one out.
"No." She says stubbornly. I realizes my arms are still wrapped around her waist from when I carried her in, so I take the opportunity to pull her closer to me.
"Clover." I whisper in her ear, my lips tickling her sensitive skin. "Pick out a uniform before I pick one out for you." I say. Her cheeks go red and I release her from my grasp.
Stumbling a little, she makes her way over to the rack of uniforms. She quickly scans through the till she abruptly stops. "This one will fit." She mumbles, her cheeks still pink.
She looks up at me and blinks twice.
"What?" I say.
"Turn around."She says placing her hands on her hips.
"Ok, ok." I say as I slowly turn around.
"And no peeking." She tells me.
"Can't promise anything." I mumble.
"Did you say something Cato?" She asks me.
"Nope." I say. I'm glad she can't see my smirk.
I hear her unsnap the buttons to her old trainers uniform followed by a quiet rustle .
Think of something else. I instruct myself.
It was warm this morning, partly cloudy with a 23% chance of rain - and Clove is not undressing behind me.
This is not helping.
I hear her clasp the buttons on her new uniform followed by a sigh. "You can turn around now." She says.
I turn around and look over her new uniform. "It fits good, do you like it?" I ask her. "Yeah, but we're not going to steal it."She says tiredly.
"Clove, my parents are the ones who go to the capitol to pick up the uniforms, in return I can have three new uniforms a year for free." I explain. " Your uniform will count as my second, which means I have one more." I tell her. "I usually only use one or two a year, max." I say.
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" She asks me.
"Yeah, of course Clove, that's what friends are for." I tell her with a grin.
"Let's go." I say as I walk to the door. "Oh, hold on a second, let me grab my old uniform." She dashes back and grabs it, then walk back to me. She neatly folds it and tucks it under her arm.
"Ready?" I ask her.
"Yeah." She says.
We walk back into the training room and I feel every eye on us. I notice the small pool of blood where Maxwell was, but no Maxwell. Jesus, how hard did I hit his head?
He deserved it. I remind myself.
Clove places her old uniform next to the back door and we both head over to the knife station.
We practice in silence for he rest of the day.