Thanks for reviewing the last chapter! Lets clear somethings up: I made Glimmer district 2 because I wanted Clove to become jealous of someone and I really suck at coming up with names :/
Chapter 12
Clove's POV
Monday morning
I groan and roll over. Light peeks out from behind the curtains but I refuse to get up.
I'm dead set on getting a few more minutes of sleep.
Almost as if someone out there is trying to punish me, birds begin singing loudly.
And not just any birds.
Mockingjays.
The birds that were the offspring of the Jabberjays, which were specifically designed for talking.
I push my face under my pillow to block out the noise.
Didn't those capitol scientist realize that a genetically altered bird would have a phenomenal chance of surviving in the wild? What idiots. And everyone in district two is paying the price.
I hear a soft buzzing noise followed by silence from the birds.
Confused, I push the blanket off me and kneel on the bed so I can look out the window above.
I see the birds laying dead in the middle of the road.
I follow my eyes up and see that the telephone pole is humming with electricity.
" I'd hate to be them." I say aloud.
Cato mumbles something and rolls over.
He yawns and grabs my legs, pulling me on top of him.
"Cato what are you doing?" I squeak in surprise.
"Giving you a kiss." He mumbles while pulling my face towards his. He softly kissing me on the lips.
I kiss him back despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I look like a complete mess.
I pull back and see that Cato is wearing his trademark smirk.
"Some birds just got electrocuted." I tell him. Why did I just say that?
"Oh yeah?" He says. "Sometimes after a lightning storm it gets a sudden volt." He tells me.
I nod in understanding.
Cato smiles at me and cocks his head to the side. His eyes wander over me in a way that makes me feel self conscious.
I clear my throat slightly.
"You look really nice wearing my cloths, you know that?" He says.
"No I don't." I mutter turning a shade of red, knowing very well that I must look horrible right now.
He rolls his eyes. "Please, you look beautiful." he says.
"Thanks." I whisper.
I look around the room. "What time is it?" I ask. Wanting desperately to get the subject off me.
Cato smiles at me. Well aware I'm not used to this kind of attention.
He turns his alarm clock towards him so he can read the time. "6:17." "Lets get ready for training." He says while rolling out bed.
My eyes follow him as he walks to the door.
He's about to step out when he stops and turns to look at me.
"What?" I say when he doesn't say anything.
He shrugs his shoulders.
"Nothing, just memorizing the moment." he says.
"What 'moment'?" I ask.
"You know, the one where you're laying in my bed wearing my cloths." He says with a smirk.
I roll my eyes. "You're so full of yourself, you know that?" I say.
He opens his mouth to say something but closes it just as quickly. He presses his lips in a line to try to hold in a laugh.
"Go get ready."I tell his sternly.
Cato hold his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'm going." He says while walking out the door.
Once he leaves I slide out of bed and grab my training uniform off his dresser. I walk over to to the bathroom and close the door quietly behind me.
I quickly undress and step into the shower.
I press the blue button and let out sigh as the hot water goes to work on relaxing my muscles.
I shampoo my hair and wash my body with the fancy soap that smells like vanilla. I comb the knots out of my hair using my fingertips and rinse off the soapsuds.
I wish I had a shower like this at my house. I think, my thoughts drifting over to the small shower at home.
But then I remind myself that fancy things does not necessarily mean happiness.
It would sure make everything a hell lot easier though. I think.
I sigh quietly as I shut off the water and step out.
I grab a towel and quickly dry off. I slip into my training uniform and clasp the buttons.
As I dry my hair I catch my reflection in the bathroom mirror.
'Cato' is clearly written in perfect hand writing about five inches across the side of my neck.
I lightly touch it with my fingertips.
It's tender, but whatever is in that cream I used reduced the slight swelling.
Just feeling around the area I can tell it will leave a very nice looking scar.
I decide not to flaunt it. If they see it, they see it.
I braid my hair to the side so it partially covers Cato's name.
I smile approvingly at myself before heading out.
As I walk I step on something hard. I look down.
At the foot of the stairs lays my dagger. The blood is dried and I bend down and pick it up. How did it get here? I think.
I must have thrown it or something.
I tuck it into my uniform before proceeding to head down stairs.
I stand tall when I reach the bottom of the steps, pleased with myself that I didn't have one bit of anxiety.
When I enter the kitchen I see Cato on the phone.
"Uh huh, ok yeah, alright bye." He says.
He hangs up the phone and looks at me.
"That was my mom, she said she was friends with a girl named Lena before she won the games +cv but after she won they lost touch." He says.
"Oh, ok thanks for calling her." I say while giving a forced smile. Who would have know my mother was friends with a soon-to-be victor?
It's a little comforting though, knowing that she wasn't completely alone.
Once she married my father he controlled all she did. What she wore, what she said, who she befriended - everything.
Thinking about my father makes me mad.
I push the depressing thought from my mind and replace it with a good one.
I think how he looked when he was dead.
His blood forming a large pool where he lay, knife wounds on his chest, neck, and shoulders. How I laughed at the way his eyes begged for mercy.
The way his mouth was slightly open as if he was trying to take one final breath.
Pathetic.
My lips subconsciously turn up into a smile.
"Clove are you ok?" Cato asks me.
I snap out of my trance.
"Yes." I say.
He gives me a look that tells me he doesn't believe me.
"Come on, let's eat." He says.
I ask Cato if he wants my help with breakfast but he refuses.
I cross my arms over my chest.
"Why not?" I ask stubbornly.
"Because." He says.
"That's not an answer." I complain. "You let me stay with you the whole weekend, the least I could do is make us breakfast." I say.
Cato sighs. "Clover just sit down." He says patiently.
"No." I say.
"Just let me make you breakfast." He says.
"I'm not sitting down." I tell him.
"Why not?" He asks me.
"Because." I say.
"You are so stubborn." He says with a laugh.
"You're just as stubborn as me because you won't let me help you." I argue.
"True, but you started it." He says.
I click my tongue. "What are you five?" I say. "You started it." I mimic him.
He smiles at me.
"What?" I say annoyed.
"You're so adorable when you're mad." He says.
"I am not." I say. "I'm a career and careers are not adorable." I tell him firmly.
"Whatever you say." He says while bumping me with his shoulder lightly.
"Cato why... did...you...-." My words falter when I see his expression. He's stopped smiling and he's looking at me in a way I can't quite place.
Talk about mood swings. I think.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I say.
"Like what? He asks in fake confusion. He takes a few steps closer to me.
"Like, umm, you wanna-."
"Kiss you?" He cuts me off while taking another step towards me so our faces are inches apart.
"Uhhh, I don't know? I mean, I was gonna say-" He cuts off my rambling by covering my mouth with his.
He kisses me differently than he did the first time. His lips are more dominating and he roughly grabs my waist and pulls me close to him.
I just let him take over because it would be pointless to try to gain control over him now.
He lightly pushes me causing me to take a step backwards. He continues backing me up till the back of my legs hits something soft.
"Clover?" He says against my lips.
"What?" I murmur.
"Sit down."He says.
"Huh?" I say confused.
He breaks the kiss. He pushes my shoulders and I brace myself for a fall.
Instead I land in a plush chair.
I sit there confused for a moment before looking up at Cato. "Wait here while I make breakfast." He says with a smirk.
My jaw drops. "Y-you tricked me!" I yell.
"Hey, I got what I wanted and you got what you wanted." he says with a smile.
I cross my arms but I remain seated. "I bet you didn't even want to kiss me." I mutter.
"Of course I wanted to kiss you." He tells me. "You're my Clover, remember?" He says.
My face goes red. "You weren't supposed to hear that." I whisper.
He grins. "I know." He says. "Don't get up, ok?"
I roll my eyes but listen.
I watch Cato as he digs through his refrigerator and takes out a bunch of ingredients.
He turns on a pan and and I hear a sizzle indicating something inside.
"What are you making?" I ask him.
"You'll see in a few minutes." He says.
I play with the velvet arm rest while I wait.
Cato and I together now right? He asked me to be his girlfriend and I said yes so I guess we're dating. I think.
I mull over the subject till I hear a high pitched ding.
"All done." He says while opening the cabinets and taking out two plates.
He walks over to me and places one on the table in front me.
"It looks good, but what is it?" I ask.
"It's an omelet." He says.
"Ohhh so this is what an omelet is." I say. "I've heard about them but I've never had one." I say.
Eggs and meat are luxuriates only for the upper class.
Cato pulls out a chair and takes a seat next to me. "Go on." He says gesturing to my plate.
I pick up my fork and take a bite. It's light and fluffy and I can taste little chunks of meat and tomato.
"Mhhhhm this is so good." I say with a mouth full.
"You like it?" He asks.
"It's like a thousand tiny food gods are dancing on my taste buds." I say.
He laughs. "Really?" He asks while picking up his fork.
I nod.
He takes a bite. He has a look of concentration on his face as he chews. "You're right, a thousand tiny food god are dancing on my taste buds." He says.
"I told you." I say with a laugh.
He smile at me and we continue eating.
We both finish less than ten minutes later.
We take our plates to the kitchen and place them in the dishwasher.
I brush imaginary dust off my pants.
"Ready?" I ask him.
He nods and we head to the door.
The second Cato locks the door behind us he grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers.
He looks up at our hands and gives me a shy smile.
We walk down the street till we reach the dirt road that leads to the Academy.
"Clover?"
"Hmmm?"
"You're my girlfriend right?" He asks hesitantly.
"If you want me to be." I say nervously.
"So that's a yes?" He asks hopefully.
"Yeah it's a yes." I say.
"Good." He mumbles.
I focus my attention back on the road. After walking for a few minutes I hear a twig snap.
"Cato!" We both turn around and see Glimmer walking towards us.
"Oh shit, walk faster." Cato says.
I smile smugly and listen.
"Cato wait up!" She calls.
She jogs over to us.
"Why weren't you at my party?" she asks completely ignoring me.
" Because you're a bitch." Cato says.
I burst out laughing.
Her eyes go wide. "What the hell happened to your neck?" She asks oblivious to the fact that Cato just insulted her.
"Clove's gets territorial when people try to take what belongs to her." He say while giving my hand a light squeeze.
"You did that?" She asks me.
Might as well go with it.
"Yeah." I say while reaching into my sleeve and pulling out my dagger.
I twirl it in my hands while look at her shocked face.
"It was lots of fun, right Cato?" I ask him.
"Yep, lots of fun." He says.
"You're insane." She says slowly.
I smile widely at her. "Am I?" I ask while cocking my head to the side.
She just stare at me.
The hand that's holding my dagger begins to twitch slightly.I tuck it back into my sleeve before I do something that will get me in trouble.
Like killing this dumb bitch. I think.
"Come on Cato we don't want to be late." I say while pulling his hand and lead us very away from her.
"I can't stand her." Cato says with a groan once she a good twenty feet behind us.
"You and me both." I say.
We walk the rest of the way in a comfortable silence till we reach the training center.
"You first." He says.
I pull open the door and we walk inside hand in hand.
Everyone is standing in the center of the training room listening to Amari talk.
Cato and I take a spot in the back.
"So today everyone will be working on hand to hand combat." She says.
"Now usually we would pair you with someone who is your own size and weight, but today we're going to put you up against someone who's just the opposite."
Confused looks are exchanged between students.
"What do you mean?" someone asks.
"Basically boys vs girls." She says.
Half the group groans while the other half whoops and hollers.
"But they'll win!" Complains a girl.
"When you're in the arena you'll won't only fight people your size, you'll also have to fight people bigger than you like...Cato!" She says pleased with her exampled.
Everyone turns to look at him. When the other girls see us holding hands they give me death glares.
A few guys smirk at him.
I look up to him as see he's in total Career mode. He has that 'why the hell are you looking at me' expression on his face.
He raises his eyebrows at the staring crowd and they all quickly turn their attention back to Amari.
I nudge him gently with my arm.
"You scared them." I whisper.
"Did I ?" He whispers back even though he knows that the majority of the people here fear him.
I nod.
"Good maybe then-."
"Hey, no talking in the back!" Amari yells.
"We weren't talking." I say.
"Do you know who partner is?" She asks.
"Uhhhh no, I mean yes, I mean maybe?" I say.
"You're partner is Cato, and since you weren't paying attention you two can compete first." She says rudely.
Cato and I exchange glances.
"Now!" She yells.
Cato lets go of my hand and I automatically miss its warmth.
We walk over to her and she instructs all the other trainees to step back.
We step on to the fighting mat and get into position.
"Remember, no weapons allowed, if you have anything on you give it up now." She says.
Cato and I look at each other.
His eyes wander to the arm that's concealing my dagger.
There is no way in hell I'm giving up my knife. Cato knows this too but says nothing.
"What are you waiting for?" She asks. "Fight."
I look over to Cato and survey him for a moment to try and figure out what he's planning to do.
He makes a move to grab me but I duck just in time.
"Stay still!" He complains as he tries to grab me again but misses.
"Why would I stay still?" I ask him with a laugh as we circle each other.
I look towards the crowd and see that they're eagerly leaning forward to see what happens.
Before I know what's happening Cato tackles me to the ground.
He pins me down and puts all his weight on me.
"Uhhhg what the hell do you eat, bricks?" I ask him while trying to get up.
He just laughs.
I get an arm free and I try to push him off me. "Ow, watch the neck." He says.
"Sorry." I say while pulling my hand back.
I use my free hand to pull out the dagger I keep in my sleeve. I hold it up to his neck right underneath my name.
" I said no weapons allowed!" Amari yells sounding a little scared.
"Don't worry, I won't cut him up too bad!" I yell back at her.
Cato grabs my knife and throws it.
A few seconds later I hear a scream.
We stop fighting and turn towards the direction it came from.
I see a pool of blood beginning to form followed by my knife wedged in someones foot.
"Great job asshole." I say as I smack his shoulder.
He rolls his eyes. "It was an accident." He says.
A girl kneels down and pulls out the knife.
The boy gives another agonizing scream.
She tosses the knife to the side and steps back so one of the male trainers can take him to the emergency room.
"what a wuss." I mutter.
I walked five miles with a knife wound and this kid is screaming his lungs out on the floor.
As he's carried out of the room I realize that Cato is still on top of me and our legs are still tangled.
We look at each other and I can see the hunger in his eyes.
"This is why no weapons are allowed during these types of fights Clove!" Amari yells. But I'm too absorbed by Cato to care.
"Clove." He whispers.
"I'll see both of you in my office at the end of the day." Amari says. "Just finish the fight." She says while waving us off.
Cato smiles at me before rolling over, taking me with him.
I end up sitting on top of him.
Cato makes no move to push me off him or attempt to finish the fight so I just remain seated on his wait.
This feels... nice. I think.
"Are you going to push me off you?" I question him.
He shakes his head. "Nope." He says.
"The winner of this match is Clove." Amari says tiredly while rubbing her temple like she has a head ache.
Cato gently lifts me off him and helps me to my feet.
I pick up my dagger and take a spot next to Cato among the crowd.
Everyone is staring at us with mixed expressions of shock, fear, and jealousy.
"What?" Cato asks.
No one says anything.
"Ok then..." He trails off.
Everyone slowly turn around and focuses their attention as the next fight.
The day passes by slowly. Cato and I are banned from doing any other activities for the whole day so we just end up talking.
Ten minutes before everyone leaves Amari calls us into her office.
"Take a seat." She says gesturing to the small sofa.
Cato and I take a seat close to each other.
"Now you know why you're here." She starts off.
"Clove, when I ask you to give me your weapons you have to listen." She says.
"I didn't ask you to surrender your knife to be a bitch, I asked you to surrender your knife because the fight was strictly hand to hand combat, not hand to dagger." She says.
"And Cato, what were you thinking throwing a knife into a crowd of people?" She asks.
"Well in my defense, she did have a dagger to my throat." Cato says.
"Oh please, you could have snapped my neck in two seconds." I say.
"Yeah, but I would miss you." He says sincerely.
I feel a blush creep up my cheeks.
"Uhhh, both you just be careful next time, now get out of my office." She says harshly.
Cato and I quietly get up and leave her office. We make our way to the back door and I notice that everyone has already cleared out.
As we walk outside he grabs my hand.
"We're going to you're house right?" He asks me.
Oh right. I forgot I invited him.
"Yeah, just don't laugh or think I'm nuts, ok?" I say.
"Why would I do that?" He asks me.
"Well my house is really small and has a lot of stains..." I trail off.
"Stains?" Cato questions.
"Yeah, you'll see what I mean." "I hope you have low standers when it comes to housing." I tell him.
"Hey as long as I'm with you it'll be the best birthday ever." He says.
"It's your birthday?" I as him.
"Uhhh, no? It comes out like a question.
"Oh my god it is, why didn't you tell me?" I demand. "I gotta go out and buy a present for you." I say.
"I don't want a present, that's why I didn't tell you." He says.
"What do you mean?" "Everyone likes presents on their birthday." I say.
"Not me." He says. "I'm tired of... stuff." He says.
"Every year my parents would get me something." He says.
"Some times money or some fancy electronic from the capitol, when all I really wanted was a card." he says while frowning.
"I never got a card from them." He says.
"I'll make you card." I tell him.
He smiles at me. "You don't have to." He says.
"I know but I want too." I say.
We turn down the dirt road that leads to my house. I don't have any neighbors so it's really quiet.
I suddenly feel very nervous about what Cato will think of my home.
Especially considering the fact that half my home is covered in blood stains from a double homicide.
"This is your house?" Cato mumbles.
I nod.
I unlock the door and step inside. Cato follows me and closes the door behind him.
His mouth is hanging open as he looks around my house.
"You can't get blood out of wood." I tell him.
He has a pained expression on his face.
"Clove I've seen this before." he tells me shakily.
"What?"
"On a TV show." "It was filmed a long time ago because the blood was dripping and stuff..." He says hoarsely.
"I knew that women was too nice." I mutter, thinking back to the 'kind' Peace Keeper.
I walk further into the house towards the kitchen. Cato stops and his eyes flicker to the bloody hands prints of all sizes that litter the walls.
I take a cup out of the cabinet and hold it under the faucet.
Nothing comes out.
"Goddamn Peace Keepers shut off my water again." I mutter.
I look over to Cato who has the saddest expression on his face.
"Clove." he says while pointing to a small hand print.
I walk over to it and place my hand on top.
My hand is a little bigger than the print but you can still tell it's mine.
All of the sudden Cato's arms are around me in a tight hug.
I tense for a moment but then wrap my arms around him.
He hugs me for a long time but when I start to pull away he won't let me.
"No." He mumbles. "Not yet."
Sorry for not updating as fast, as I said before I'm on vacation.
Between my drunk relatives yelling at each other and the loss of WIFI I'm going insane. So please do me a favor and review because that would improve my lousy mood greatly. 0_o
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