Chapter 13: Heartbreak

Disclaimer: I don't own THG.

Clove:

Okay...the four stages of light reaction: primary photoevent, charge separation,-

Clove's AP Bio study time was interrupted by the muffled buzz of her phone. She lifted herself off her bed and read the text.

'Open the door. I have food.'

She shook he head in disapproval. The text was from none other than Cato. Recently, the two had become friends. She was still helping him with Lit class and there was plenty of texting going, so she was used to having him around.

It started with a 'Bored. Do something' from Cato and a 'Don't text me during class you jerk' from Clove. And ended up here. With him knocking on her door, bringing food offerings. This would be the fifth time it happened. Clove had a weakness for food, as most humans do.

"See, pizza!" He said as he walked in.

"It's Thanksgiving, aren't you supposed to be having dinner with your parents?" Clove asked.

"They had some emergency meeting thing."

"No parties to attend? Bet they'll miss you." She joked as she took a slice of cheese from the box.

"Why go to a party when I can come over and annoy you?" He replied.

Clove laughed. "My mom left some turkey in the fridge. Complete with stuffing. All yours." She grabbed two more slices and took them to the living room.

Cato soon joined her, a plate full of turkey and what appeared to be the rest of the pizza.

"Your parents not home?" He knew the answer.

"Nope." They had places to be. Her father did plenty of schmoozing during the holidays.

She flipped through the channels. There was never anything good to watch. Just crappy holiday movies. She kept flipping through the channels and eventually came across a marathon of Cake Boss. After providing commentary for three episodes, Cato decided talking to her was a better idea.

"Clove."

She kept her eyes on the screen. "What?"

"This is boring." Cato said.

"Well, what do you want to do then?"

"I don't know." He paused. "You wanna make out?"

Clove didn't even flinch. That wasn't the first time he suggested it. "Haha. No."

He was silent for a few minutes before he tried again.

"Clove."

"What?" She asked, irritated.

This time she turned to face him. And he kissed her. Not a chaste kiss either.

She froze, not sure how to react. The logical thing to do was to push him away, yell, and shove him out the door. But she did the opposite. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Why?

It had been a while since she last had a boyfriend, almost six months. It was junior year and a great looking senior asked her out. Clove obviously said yes and for a while, it was bliss. Then he broke up with her. That's not how he had worded it, of course, he told her that he was never really interested in a relationship. She knew that, he had said. Clove put on a fake smile and pretended to completely understand. He was gone and she was heartbroken.

Eventually her mind caught up with her lips and she pushed Cato away.

"What the hell? What's your problem!?" She yelled.

"Don't pretend you didn't enjoy it! You kissed me back." He smirked.

"What?" She said incredulously. How dare he blame her! "Okay, leave."

She got up, planning to lock herself in her room. Cato went after her.

"Clove, c'mon, wait! It was just a friendly kiss!"

"Go away, asshole. I'm not interested." She spat.

"You were just now!" He exclaimed. "Look, I'm not a commitment kind of guy, I like my freedom. You're the kind of girl who understands that, right? All about school and work, no time for life; it must be boring."

Clove glared at him and almost slapped him. "It's not. Go find your 'freedom' somewhere else, Cato."

"Clove, it's not so bad. We can hang out and nothing will happen. Simple as that." He said.

"Are you asking me to be your fuck buddy?" She shrieked. "No! Not ever!"

"That's not what I meant! I'm not asking you to sleep with me. Just to um...hang out sometime? Like dating,but without actually dating."

The scary thing was that she was actually considering it. After her last boyfriend, she realized that high school was not the place to find real relationships. She couldn't commit to a favorite color, how could she commit to one guy? Cato was the same way, except he was telling her. No tricks. Not like last time. This came with a warning label and Clove kind of liked that...

Then there were her friends. They were all pretty caught up in the troubles with love and dating. There was Katniss and Gale, Finn and Annie. Johanna who liked Gale, but chose to pretend she didn't. Finch and Thresh weren't in a relationship, but they didn't mind being alone. Maybe Clove was the type that needed someone. She was starting to feel left out.

Have some fun, Clove. No emotional commitment...Plus, he's good looking. Almost as hot as Finnick! Almost.

"Clove...are you still in there?" Clove had been lost in her thoughts for a couple of minutes.

She lifted a hand, demanding he be silent. "Okay, say I agree to this idea. There has to be some rules."

"I'm up for anything." He said.

"First of all, we're not dating." Cato nodded. "Second rule: No one hears about this. Not a word."

She paused. "Third, I'm not going to sleep with you. You might think I will, but it's not going to happen."

"Fine." He shrugged.

"Good. Fourth thing; this is over once we graduate. We're both going our separate ways, so it won't be difficult. Got it?"

"Yup." He said with a grin.

"Perfect." Clove said. "So, you wanna make out?"

Gale:

There was something weird about Katniss. When she replied to his texts, it was one word. And that was if she replied. She always played with her hands when they talked. Like she was nervous about something. Katniss wasn't huge on people, but she wasn't usually nervous around him. They had Thanksgiving dinner together over the weekend, but even then she was acting strange. Katniss smiled and made small talk, completely out of character for her. Even Prim and her mother knew something was up during dinner.

"Kat?" Gale asked, keeping his eyes on the road. They were both driving home and she couldn't go anywhere. She had managed to avoid him all day. Thresh drove her to school, she sat next to Jo and Annie at lunch. But she still needed a ride home, so Gale immediately offered.

"Hmm?" She replied.

"Why are you acting so weird? Are you mad at me?"

"No, I'm not mad. I'm tired. I had a lot of school work over Thanksgiving." She said, shooting him a half smile.

"This isn't tired. I know you, Katniss. What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Gale, you have to listen to me okay? I want to tell you, but I don't want you to be all angry."

He frowned but kept his eyes on the road. "It's that serious?"

"Maybe. Can we talk once we're home?" He nodded and the rest of the drive was spent in silence.

Gale parked in front of her building and was ready to listen.

"Gale, I don't think us dating is going to work." She said.

He thought he heard her wrong. "Why not? I think we're doing a good job at it."

Katniss sighed and nervously tugged at her braid. "Gale, I like you. I care about you, but not the way you care about me. I tried and it isn't enough. I don't want to lie to you by pretending." She looked at him with those big grey eyes of hers. Completely open and sincere. He knew she was being honest. If she was saying this, it was because she truly did care.

"Gale?" He was staring at the driving wheel. Not responding.

"Is it Mellark?" He asked. He knew that, too. He knew it even before he asked her out. That's why he couldn't do it. She wouldn't agree to it knowing she'd hurt him. Yet, she had said yes that day he asked her on a date.

"Gale n-"

He cut her off. "I just want to know. Are you picking him over me?"

"I'm not picking anyone! This doesn't have to be about someone else,Gale. It's about us. I haven't been honest with myself either. I have to be if I want to avoid hurting you. You're my best friend and I hope we can still be friends after this."

She may as well have yelled 'I love Peeta Mellark' at the top of her lungs.

"You said yes, when I asked you out. Was it because he was taken? You didn't think you had a chance?"

"No! No, Gale, this isn't about anyone else, I told you. Don't rope other people into this. I'm doing this because it's the best I can do for you and myself. Otherwise, this whole thing would have ended badly. I want to keep our friendship." She tugged on her braid again.

He could tell she was lying. Not because she wanted to be mean about it, but because she thought it was kinder.

"You don't have to lie. You're not sparing me from anything. I'd rather hear the truth." Gale said.

Katniss frowned. "I wanted to try. I wanted to give you a chance because you deserved it. It worked at first and I thought we could be something. Then I kind if just fell back into being your best friend. You want a girlfriend, and I can't be that. That's the truth. Whether there's someone else or not, I would still feel the same way about us."

He wanted that girlfriend to be Katniss and she was telling him it would never be. To be honest, this felt like being tackled by Thresh a million times over. And then some.

He didn't entirely blame Katniss, though. Part of him always knew it wouldn't last long.

"Gale. I'm sorry. I'll just give you some time. I want you to know that I will always see you as my best friend. No one is taking that from you." She climbed out of the car and didn't look back as she walked to her apartment.

Gale drove down to his building and as soon as he got home, locked himself in his room. He had to get his emotions under control. Then, he could focus on forgiving Katniss. And forgiving himself for being such a fool.

Okay, so it might seem a little weird that Clove accepts a friends-with-benefits sort of thing, but it makes sense in my head. She really doesn't want a repeat of the last guy in her life and she's avoiding the heartbreak. It sounds appealing to have someone but not have to be attached to them. Cato is the right guy for it, since he doesn't do long term dating.

As for Gale and Katniss, they're over. Gale is hurt by it, but time heals all wounds, right? Or at least, dulls the pain. I really want to have some Everlark action, so this had to happen. Sorry Everthorne fans. Besides, Johanna will help Gale, no worries. REVIEW! :)