I do not like the stories where Cato and Clove die. *hint hint* *wink wink*
OK...here we go: I did not get 45 reviews so technically I should not give you 5,000 words. But I felt bad because a lot of people that reviews chapter 17 didn't review chapter 18 and I was worried it was because you guys were upset that I didn't give you 5,000 words for the last chapter.
I'm giving you 5,535 words now because I'm a wimp and I feel bad and I have this thing where if people are mad or upset with me I kinda won't stop thinking about it and will occupy my every living thought...so if you could let me know you're not upset with me that would be great because I'm kind freaking out here...Yeah, I get really OCD sometimes so if guys could just confirm that we're cool it would really calm my nerves. /(^-^)\ Ok, I'm done now :P
Chapter 19
Cato's POV
I glance down at my wrist watch and tap my foot impatiently as I look around the empty platform of the train station. The plain wooden bench I sit on has several names carved into it and figure no one would really notice if I added another. Besides, my parents we supposed to meet me here twenty minutes ago, and knowing them, I have a lot of time to kill.
I reach into my jeans and pull out my pocket knife. I flip open the blade and press it firmly against the wooden back board of the bench. I skillfully move my hand back and forth as I form the beginning letters of my name.
As I work, I let my thoughts wander to the reason I'm sitting alone in an empty train station on a Friday night.
It's because my mother called me out of the blue, literally hours before I came here, to inform me that she and my father would be boarding a train to District two.
She was quick to explained that it wouldn't be for long, that they were just staying here until the reaping and were then planing to head back to the Capitol to watch the Games.
Part of me wishes they wouldn't even come. Whenever they visit it's always the same bullshit.
They practically say the same thing every time they see me. 'Oh Cato, we missed you so much! or 'Your father and I were so worried about you!'
The thought causes me to press my knife a little deeper than necessary into the bench as I drag the blade across the the smooth surface of the wood. I then turn the blade a full three-hundred and sixty-five degrees to form the final letter of my name.
The sound of wheels clicking against the brick flooring causes me to look up. I see an older man who appears to be a janitor walking my way while pulling some sort of cart.
I quickly close the blade and shove it deep inside my pocket. I scoot over to the edge of the bench so my back hides the carving from him.
He's about to pass me when he stops and slowly turns around to face at me. Our eyes meet and upon further inspection I realize he must live in low income housing section District two.
He appears to be in his 60's and seems to have a depressing look about him. He has short hair that's covered by a dirty baseball cap and has a half burnt cigarette between his fingers.
He takes a long drag from his cigarette as he eyes me suspiciously. He exhale slowly and blows a cloud of smoke in my direction.
My nose crinkles slightly at them smell and I hold back a small cough.
"You waitn' on the Capitol train son?" He asks me. He has a strange way of talking...almost like a Capitol accent combined with the way people talk in District twelve.
I give him a slow nod. "Yeah, it was supposed to be here a half hour ago." I say, unable to keep the disappointment out of my voice.
"Well it should be 'ere soon." He says. I nod once more. My eyes meet the cart he pulls and I raise my head in hopes of identifying its contents. My eyebrows furrow in confusion as I'm met with slip after slip of plain white paper.
"What's with the scrap paper?" I ask him.
"Boy, this ain't no scrap paper. This here is reaping paper." He tells me proudly.
"Reaping paper?" I say in confusion.
"Yes sir re. Reaping paper. It's my job and my job alone to deliver it to the Justice Building." He says while standing up a little straighter.
"Ohhh, you mean that's the paper they put in the reaping ball?" I ask.
"Yep, with the reaping a few months away, I gotta get every thin' ready." He tells me.
"Hopefully this is my year to volunteer." I say.
"Oh yeah? You look like one of them." He tells me.
"One of who?"
"One o' those kids that train down at that Academy." He says while gesturing with his hand in the general direction you would take to get there.
"Oh yeah I go there." I tell him with a genuine smile. I lean if forward to emphasize the next thing I say. "If you wanna make some quick money, you should bet on me." I tell him discreetly.
"I think I just might do that." He tells me.
The large clock tower that resides in the center of the train station chimes six.
"Oh, well I gotta get goin' to the Justice Building, these special paper slips came right from the Capitol." He says. "Good luck at the reapin'." He calls over his shoulder. He lifts his cap in salute and continues pushing his cart.
I sigh and lean back against the bench. I take out my pocket knife once more and wield it from hand to hand.
I wonder what's my shot of volunteering this year. I have a really good feeling that I'm going to be chosen, but I don't want to jinks my luck.
If I do get pick to volunteer there's not a doubt in my mind that I won't win. Then Clove will volunteer that next year and we can-no. I think as I cut off my thought process. I'm not letting my thoughts drift back to that topic any time soon. It's bad enough that I refused to answer her question about what was 'bothering' me. I know she won't let it go, she's stubborn like that, and I think I should start coming up with a list of excuses to tell her in case she brings it up any time soon.
I sigh and tap my fingers impatiently as the hand on the clock mocks me. Tick. They don't love you. Tock. They're not coming. Tick. You're a wast of their time. Tock. I give up.
"Fuck this." I mutter as I stand up to leave.
At that moment a sleek train silently pulls up at the empty platform. You can tell right away it belongs to the Capitol. It's a silver color and bears the iconic Capitol symbol along with gold lining on the window frames.
"'Bout time." I mutter.
I cross my arms over my chest and put on my best 'I don't give a fuck' attitude as I wait for them to step out.
The automatic doors of the train open and I stand there like and idiot waiting for something, anything to happen. A full minute goes by and I find my patients wearing thin.
The steps that lead to the platform begin to move and I watch as they flatten out into a mini ramp. A moment later I see the shoes of my father stepping out of the train.
I look up to see him dressed in a navy blue suite with his hair slicked back as usual. He smiles at me, a smile I don't return. My face is completely blank, a skill which I've grown to master over the years.
"Cato." He says as he open his arms in greeting. He walks towards me as wraps his arms around my shoulders. He pats me on the back a few times before pulling away and smiling once more.
I'm his height now, we're eye to eye. Like equals. But I know he'll never view me like that. I've always been, and I always will be, below him.
"Cato-kins!" My mother squeals as she rushes towards me, her high heels clicking the whole way. She's wearing some ridiculous Capitol outfit that makes her look somewhat like our escort at the last reaping.
When she reaches me she throws her arms around me and hugs me tight. I awkwardly pat her back in return.
"We've missed you so much!" She says with a big smile. "Look how big you got!" She tells me as she takes a step back to look at me fully.
"Yeah, that's what happens when you don't see someone for over a year." I say dryly.
She ignores my comment and grips my forearm.
"Look at your muscles." She says as she grips my arm tighter. "Your training has been paying off." She compliments. "Ohh, I just can't wait for the reaping! You're going to be our little Victor!" She says happily.
"He's not little, Elanor." My father says from behind her.
"Ohh, he's always going to be my baby!" She says as she rubs my cheek affectionately.
I roll my eyes. They seem sincere now, but they always do something that reminds me that they're narcissistic Capitol lovers.
"I waited a long time for you." I tell her.
"Sorry, we had the train delayed because I still had some last minute shopping to do." She says a matter-of-factly.
And there it is. It's all smiles for two minutes until I'm reminded that everything else is put above me.
My jaw drops slightly. "You were late because you went to shopping?" I ask her. I can't keep the anger out of my voice, and either my mother is stupid or she just can't detect it because she has absolutely no reaction.
"Yes, would you like to see my outfits?" She asks me.
"No." I tell her as I clench my jaw.
"Oh well." She sighs. "Your loss."
She looks around expectantly. "Didn't you call us a limo?" She asks as she turns he head in each direction.
I scoff. "No. I did not call you a limo." I tell her. "It's a twenty minute walk, I think you can make it home." I say.
"Oh don't be silly! We're not going home." She tells me.
"What?" I say in confusion.
"We're going to be staying at one of District two's finest hotels." She says.
Before I can respond she continues talking. "Only so we'll be closer to the events that will be leading up to the reaping." She says quickly.
It feels like a blow to the chest. You don't want to stay with me?" I ask her with a frown.
"Oh Cato-kins it's not that." She says.
"Stop calling me 'Cato-kins'." I say in disgust.
"If it makes you feel better we'll stop home for a little bit." She says.
"Fine." I mutter.
She claps her hands twice and I turn around to see two very strange people step out of the train hold two trunks.
They're wearing red and have almost translucent looking skin with rubies embedded in their necks.
I automatically take a few step back. "What the hell?" I say as my breathing increases rapidly.
"Don't look so frightened Cato." My mother scolds.
"What the hell are they?" I say as I look them over. Bother look to be young girls, maybe nineteen or so, but their cheekbones are hollow and they have odd facial features.
"They're Avoxes." My mother says in confusion.
"What the hell is that? Some kind of mutation?" I ask her fearfully.
"No, they're Capitol servants that have committed treason. This is their punishment."
"Their punishment is to carry your bags?" I ask her skeptically.
"No. Their punishment is a life time of silence." She tells me.
"They can't hear?"
"No Cato, they can't talk." She says impatiently.
"Why not?"
"Because the don't have tongues!" She snaps.
"Eww, they cut their tongues out? And I thought I was having a bad day." I say while shaking my head.
My mother snaps her fingers and I watch as the 'Avoxes' walk towards her and place the trunks at her feet. They bow and turn around to board the train once more.
"Are they like, slaves or something?"
"Slaves is too strong of a word, they're servants." My mother corrects.
"Whatever, them seem like slaves to me." I mutter.
"Don't be silly Cato-kins." She says.
"I told you not to call me that!" I tell her.
She waves me off as she digs through her purse and pulls out her phone. She presses several button and holds it up to her ear.
She waits a few seconds as the connection dials.
"Ahh yes, this is Elanor Tomson, I need a hovercraft at the District Two train station, now." She says. She nods her head as she listens to what the person on the other ends says.
"Perfect." She says, and with that she snaps her phone shut. Without a word she and my father begin walking away from me.
"Come on dear." She calls after me as they draw nearer to the exit of the train station.
"Don't forget the bags." She tells me without turning around.
I grumble as I bend down and pick up both trunks. I walk after them and watch as she entwines her fingers with my father's.
I frown. Clove somehow manages to comes to my mind. And at that moment, I miss her. Which is stupid because I saw her yesterday. I can't help but let the feeling take me over as my mother leans against my father as she walks.
I sigh as I follow them around the corner of the train station and pick up my pace when I see the two double doors that lead to the exit.
They walk out the door first and I automatically think they're going to wait and hold the door for me, which the don't. When I reach the door I turn to the side and push it open with my elbow.
Bright light over takes my vision and I squint as I try to adjust my eyes to the sudden change.
"Hurry up Cato!" My father calls.
"I'm coming." I mutter.
I feel the air around me go several degrees colder and the sky cloud over forming a dark ominous shadow.
I look up to see a large hovercraft moving slowly over head.
"Cato! Come here now or you'll loose your seat!" My mother yells over her shoulder.
I practically jog over to them as I see a rope ladder descend from the hovercraft.
"You first Cato." My father tells me.
I step forward,still holding the bags, and grip the sides of the rope ladder. I feel my whole body tense in shock as a light electric current runs through the rope, making it impossible for me to move. Before I can blink the ladder retracts, bringing me upwards towards the entrance of the hovercraft. The wind whips past me and my surrounding become blurred as the objects below me turn into small specs. I feel dizzy and if I wasn't frozen, I probably would be plummeting to my death.
I feel the wind stop moving against me and I look around at the sudden change in my settings.
The entire interior of the hover craft is white. A young girl with long blonde hair dressed in a black uniform presses a red button on the wall. Instantly I'm released of my bonds, but I'm unprepared and feel my face make contact with the floor.
I quickly stand up and brush myself off. I rub my jaw where it came in contact with the ground and stumble as I try to gain a hold of myself.
The girl giggles and walks towards me. She grabs my arm and pulls me over to a chair. I turn to face her and before I can say anything she pushes me down so I'm sitting. She walks back to where I left the trunks and brings them to me. She places them next to me and I watch as my parent are taken into the hovercraft.
They however, don't fall.
"Thank you Amber." My mother tells the girl. She nods and smiles. Instead of looking at my mother her eyes find me. She gives me a weird look and my eyebrows furrow in confusion as I try to find the reason behind it.
"We'll be home in less then ten minutes." My mother informs me. "Well stay for a little bit, but we have to get going if we want to arrive at the hotel on time." She says as she and my father take a seat across from me.
"We'll be attending a very important dinner..." She continues talking and telling me about her 'special plans' as I try my best to ignore her.
"Cato?"
"Huh?" I say as I look up.
"Did you hear me?" She asks.
"Umm, yes." I say slowly.
She sighs. "I knew you weren't paying attention to me." She mutters. "I said what were you planning to say for your interview once you get reaped?" She asks me.
"I don't even know if I'm going to volunteer this year." I tell her truthfully.
"Oh sweetie, you won't even have to volunteer." She say with a grin.
"You mean..." I trail off.
"Yes, I'm going to arrange it tonight actually."
"But isn't that like, cheating?" I question.
"Cato, honey, listen to me. Money gets people vary far in life. And if by generously donating to a charity event in which the head Game Maker will be attending, makes you District Two's male tribute, so be it." She says.
"Umm, what if you get in trouble?" I ask her.
"Cato they can't touch me. I'm a victor of their Games, you can't kill a victor, the Capitol would go mad." She says with a laugh. "Trust me, I have this situation completely under control."
"Whatever you say." I respond with a shrug. My eyes find the floor as I tap my fingers on the arm of my chair.
"Cato we need to talk about this. What are you planning to do after you win?" My father questions.
"I don't know, I guess I'll just wait for Clove to win." I tell him.
Instantly I regret my words. I wasn't planning to tell them about her any time soon, or ever for that matter.
"Who's Clove?" My mother says with a frown.
"Ummm, my training partner." I say as I shift uncomfortably in my seat. That you might be in love with. NO! I yell at myself. I wasn't suppose to let my thoughts wander there again.
If my parents weren't here right now I would be banging my head against the wall.
"Oh, why would you wait for her to win?" My father asks.
"Because once we win our trainers want us to be portrayed as friends." I say quickly.
"That's a good idea." My mother comments. "Is she pretty? If she is you two could get married when you're older like your father and I did." She says while patting his shoulder.
My jaw drops with a small 'pop'. I am not having this conversation right now. I think.
"Well?" She says.
"Well what?" I sputter.
"Is she pretty?" My mother questions.
Exceptionally beautiful.
"I-I...I don't know!" I say as I look around the hovercraft in hopes of finding something to change the subject.
"Aww, don't be shy Cato-kins!" My mother squeals.
"I'm not a fucking two year old! Stop calling me Cato-kins!" I yell at her.
She pouts.
"Don't talk to your mother like that." My father says firmly.
I roll my eyes. "Why not?" I ask him. "After the reaping I won't see you for another year anyway. It'll just be me living alone in a big empty house."
"Cato, it's not our fault we're not home often, being Victors require lots of duties, throughout the districts." My mother tells me.
"You know what? Forget it. I think I did a pretty damn good job of raising myself." I tell her.
She gasps. "Cato-kins! Why on Earth would you say that?!" She asks horror stricken.
"For the third time, don't call me Cato-kins. And I said it because it's true." I tell her.
"Look, we may not be with you all the time, but we still love you." My mother says.
"Well you sure have a great way of showing it."
"Cato." My mother whines. "Don't say that." She says with a frown. "Look at him Michael, he's emotionally deprived!" She says to my father. "I told you we should have visited him more."
"I'm not emotionally deprived." I inform her. I have Clove.
"Of course you are Cato!" She says as she stands up from her chair.
She walks over to me and wraps her arms around my neck.
"My poor baby." She mumbles as she hugs me.
"I'm not your baby." I tell her.
She pulls away and frowns. "Oh my god I'm such a bad mother!" She says as she buries her face in her hands. "Cato, you know your father and I love you, right?" She asks me hesitantly.
"No." I answer coldly.
My mother spins around to face my father.
"This is your fault! If only you would spend some time with him he would feel so unloved!" She yells at him.
"Careers don't love, mom." I tell her. Or they never use to...
She huffs as she takes her seat once more. She straightens out her skirt and turns head to the side so she doesn't have to look at me.
"Well be landing in approximately thirty seconds." The girl name Amber says. My eyebrows furrow. I hope she wasn't standing there the whole time.
My mother gives a tight nod.
I sigh and run my my fingers through my hair. The hovercraft hums lightly as we begin to loose altitude.
My head begins to feel light as the cabin pressure decreases. An automatic voice of a woman takes my attention. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." At the end of the count down I feel the hover craft jostle slightly, indicating we've landed.
The mouth of the craft opens and I shield my eyes from the blinding light of the sun. I stand up and turn to face my parents as the begin to walk out in front of me.
"Just wait for us here, we won't belong." My mother tells the girl. A platform jets out from the bottom of the craft allowing us to walk down without a problem.
I walk faster so I'm in front of my parents and pass them quickly as I pick up my pace on the decline. The ramp is made of some sort of black rubber with small crevasses to insure no one slips.
Once I reach the bottom of the ramp I have a look around. The hovercraft landed right in front of my home and I don't know how it managed to fit in my front yard, but it did.
No one would ever know there was a hovercraft here unless they saw it, due to the fact that it's completely silent.
I get a head start up my drive way and turn around momentarily to see my parents half way to the house.
When my front door comes into view I freeze. Sitting on the ground next to my door is Clove.
She looks up and smiles. "There you are." She says.
She leans to the side so she can see around me.
"What's with that thing in your yard?" She asks me.
"My parents are here." I say panicked.
"What?"
I open my mouth to answer her but it's too late.
"Who are you?"
I whip my head around to see my mother looking from me, to Clove, then back to me. My father has the same confused expression on his face as he tries to figure out what's going on.
"Cato and I are training partners at the Academy." She says smoothly. I breath a sigh of relief.
"Oh, you're Clove!" She says in realization. "She's very pretty Cato!" My mother says as she turns to face me.
I slap a hand over my face and drag in down slowly. "This is not happening." I mumble.
Clove smiles. "Thank you." She says politely. I can tell she's curious to how my mother knows her name but I guess I'll just have to explain it to her later.
"You know I used to have a friend that had a daughter named Clove." She tells her.
"What? Oh yeah, that's me. You used to be friends with my mother, Lena." She says.
"Oh my god! I can't believe it! What a small world!" She says excitingly. "How's she doing?" She asks her. Oh no...
"Ummm, she's uhh, dead." Clove says with an uncomfortable look on her face.
My mother's smile fades. "What?" She whispers.
"Yeah." Clove says slowly. "See, she was kinda, umm, murdered." She finishes. "But don't worry." She says quickly. "I got revenge so I felt a lot better afterwords." She tells her.
"You're not still living in that tiny house down the road are you?" She asks her quietly. Her face looks sad and genuinely upset by the sudden news.
"Yeah, I still live there."
"Cato!" My mother barks.
I finch as I turn to face her.
"Did you know about this?" She asks me.
"Yeah." I say.
"And you didn't think to offer Clove a place to stay?" She demands.
"What? I made sure she had electricity and running water." I say in my defense.
My mother's jaw drops. "You didn't have running water?" She asks her.
Clove shakes her head.
"This is ridiculous, Lena was my best friends and she's probably rolling over in her grave knowing that you're living in such horrible conditions." She says to her.
"She doesn't have a grave." Clove points out.
"What?" She says in shock.
"I'm not really sure what they did with her body." Clove says with a frown.
For the first time in my life, I see my mother at a loss for words.
"I can't have this. Clove dear, would you like to live here? We have lots of extra rooms and I'm sure Cato wouldn't mind." She say while look over at me. "He said just today that he didn't like living alone. You can keep him company." She tells her.
My mouth hangs open slightly as I try to process what she just said.
"What? Oh no, I couldn't poss-" "Ah-ah-ah." My mother cuts her off. "Your mother and I were very close and I simply couldn't allow you to live like that." My mother says firmly.
Clove tries to speak again but my mother continues talking. "I'll have your belongings arranged to be dropped off here later tonight." She says to her.
"I'll try to see you soon Cato." She tells me.
"Take care, Clove." She says. "I'm so sorry about you're mother, if I'd have know sooner I would have arranged for you to stay here ages ago." She says.
She walks over to where she sits open-mouthed on the ground and bends down and gives her a light hug.
She pulls away and turn to face me. "Take care Cato-kins." She says while leaning in and pressing her lips against my cheek.
She grabs my father's arm and begins walking back to the hovercraft.
Clove stands up and walk towards me. We watch as my parents approach the hovercraft and turn around briefly to wave.
I raise my hand a wave back slowly.
"What is that thing?" Clove asks me.
"A hovercraft." I tell her.
"Oh."
My parents step on to the ramp and I watch as it takes them back inside the hovercraft.
It hums lightly as it begins to rise from the ground.
When it's at least four-hundred feet in the air it begins to move at a flying pace over the landscape.
Clove turns to face me. "What now Cato-kins?" She asks with a smirk.
I groan. "You don't even want to know how many times I've asked her not to call me that." I says.
Clove smiles but it doesn't last long. She begins to chew her lower lip as she looks up at me nervously.
"You know I don't have to live here with you. I can like, take my stuff back to my house when it gets here." She tells me quietly.
"What? No." I say quickly. "I mean, I'd like it if you stayed here, but you don't have to if you don't want to." I tell her.
"Umm, I'll stay as long as you want me too." She says quietly.
"Good. Looks like you're gonna be here a long time." I tell her.
She offers me a small smile before grabbing my hand and pulling me to the front door.
I reach into my pocket and take out my key. I stick it in the key hold and rotate my hand till I hear the small 'click'. I turn the knob and swing the door open as I step to the side to let Clove walk in first. I follow her in and close the door while locking it behind me. I slowly turn to face her and notice how her eyes are staring at the floor.
"I missed you today." I murmur as I walk towards her.
She looks up at me and says nothing.
"Did you miss me?" I ask her I close the small space between us and wrap my arms around her waist.
She nods slowly. "Yeah I did. Cato I really don't have to stay here if you don't want me-"
I cut her off by softly brushing my lips against hers.
I let my hand wander to the nape of her neck as I pull her in closer to me. I move my lips slowly against hers, not too fast because that would lead to my mind playing various images of her in ways I'm not very proud of.
She opens her mouth slightly and squeaks in surprise when she feels my tongue lightly brush hers. She grips my shoulders as I lean in to deepen the kiss. We remain silent other than the sounds of our lips moving together.
She's fagile, and I would have no trouble breaking her, but the very thought of that drives me to be even more gentle with her. Though, I will admit that I do enjoy being a little rough with her. I like kissing her either way, really.
Her lips feel soft against mine and I sigh quietly in contentment. I break the kiss and rest my forehead against hers.
"I want you to stay here with me." I tell her.
Ok I updated within five days and this is 5,535 words. That's a 1,000 words a day.
Please review, because I need inspiration and writing is my only source of happiness.
Anyway. I love my readers. I would hug you if I ever met you. Then I would stare at you till you got freaked out and walked away. My readers/reviewers are sexy little Clato shippers /(^-^)\
How many chapters should I write until the reaping? (I need a number) Also do you want more of Cato's POV
~Review if you like my writing~