Chapter 19: Dirt

Disclaimer: I don't own THG.

Katniss:

Sometimes, you see things you know you aren't meant to see. And you can't un-see them. Ever. Its an image that's permanently burned into your brain, there to torture you for life. For Katniss, this was one of those things.

"Oh my god! My eyeballs, they're melting!" She shrieked.

The blond and brunette broke apart, with the girl staring wide eyed at Katniss. Instantly, she pushed the boy away.

"Katniss!" Clove straightened up, completely ignoring Cato.

"They don't teach you Seam kids any manners, do they Everdeen?" Katniss shot the blond a look of disgust.

"Clove, really? That?" Katniss asked. Clove was about to protest. "Nope, I don't even want to know!" She walked around a row of lockers and Clove went after her.

"Katniss, there's a perfectly rational explanation for this!"

"No thanks, I don't want any details. I'm just gonna get my phone and leave." Her previously missing phone sat on one of the benches. "The girls locker room of all places. And I thought you had better taste in guys, but you're in here with that!"

"For the record, I'm the best she could ever hope to do." He said.

Clove whirled around to hit him in the arm. "Bye Cato!"

"What? She's the one who interrupted, she should go."

"Bye!" Clove repeated. "Shoo! Out!" She shoved him away toward the door. He left muttering about 'seam rats' and 'poor people'. Rude.

"Katniss, do you need a ride home?"

Katniss did indeed need a lift. Clove got lucky.

"I can't believe you're dating him, Clove." She had dated worse guys before.

And here I thought you were supposed to learn from mistakes, not keep making them. Learn something new everyday, Katniss.

Clove laughed. "God no! We're not dating! We're just...hanging out. And stuff."

Katniss was shocked. "You're sleeping with him?" Clove almost ran a red, violently hitting the brakes.

"Katniss! You're going to get us killed!" Clove cried. "I would never sleep with him, that's going too, far."

Ah. So its a friends-with-benefits thing.

"I always thought you were so rational, but I was completely wrong. This casual thing with Cato is the worst idea anyone could ever come up with." Katniss said.

"It works just fine." Clove said defensively.

Katniss frowned. Clearly, it wasn't fine. Clove was defending the idea, so something was up.

"Okay, how long?"

"Since Thanksgiving. Not long." It was mid-January.

"Not long? You're crazy. So far gone, I can't help you anymore." Clove would end up getting hurt and it was too, late to pull her back.

"I don't need help. I know what I'm doing." Clove said. "Anyway, what's your deal? Mellark's still with Sparkle Bitch."

Katniss sighed. "Don't get me started on that. I thought we'd be back in school and he'd ask me to out or something. Instead I walked in the first day back and saw him sucking face with Glimmer. You were there."

The first day back at school, Katniss saw Glimmer all over Peeta. Both sat at the Career table and Katniss could not look away. It was as though heartbreak left her immobile. And Peeta, her Peeta, did not push Glimmer away. Ouch.

"I was not there, actually." Clove kept her eyes on the road. "There are a lot of janitor closets at school, you know? You can get away with anything." That would explain why Clove missed lunch often now.

"Gross. Just Gross." Katniss shook her head in disapproval. "Not as gross as what I witnessed, though. I can't believe I fell for him."

"Jo and I were sure that he liked you." Clove said, frowning at the road. "You know, I think its Glimmer. That witch would do anything to get to you. She hates us."

Katniss had come up with theories. Glimmer could have hypnotized Peeta. That one was a bit out there, so she had another. This one made more sense.

"She could be blackmailing him." Katniss was convinced this one was it. "I already thought about it, but what could she have on him?"

Peeta Mellark wasn't exactly some rebellious criminal. He didn't have some dark past no one knew about. The Mallark family had lived in Panem County forever. They owned one of the most successful small businesses in the area. Peeta was a good student and never showed any disrespect. That was what Katniss knew. And it wasn't anything to be ashamed of.

"I don't know. She could have paid someone to find dirt on him." Clove would always think the worst of Glimmer, but Katniss didn't blame her. She would, too. "I'm just saying, you should talk to him. Peeta is not the guy who leads girls on. He confessed his feelings for you. That's got to be real."

They were pulling up to her apartments now.

"I'm not so sure I want to hear any excuses. Why put myself through this, we'll graduate soon." Katniss hoped this wouldn't affect her plans for school. "We'll go to New York and then you can set me up with some hot med school guys."

"Right. If that's what you want." Clove smirked.

"It is." Peeta was her past now. Time to move on to bigger and better things.

She opened the car door and walked off. The car horn made her turn back to see what Clove wanted. The girl signaled for her to get closer to the car.

"Kat, it would be awesome if you kept the locker room thing a secret."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "I'm telling you, its trouble. But fine." This would also mean Prim was losing her bet on Clove. That would teach her.

Clove:

Unbelievable, her life only got weirder. Katniss knew about Cato, so that was happening. Luckily, her friend agreed to tell no one. Clove trusted Katniss, the secret was safe with her. At least it wasn't Johanna. Johanna would have lectured for hours. And then she would have asked Clove if Cato was as good a kisser as they said. He was.

The doorbell rang and Clove groaned. What did people want with her, she had homework to do!

"Again?" She asked when she saw who it was. "Marvel, your house is the one across the street. You should know that."

"Hey, Clove." Awkward. "Can I come in?"

Clove was annoyed. "Go home, Marvel."

"But I brought donuts!" He said. "You have to let me in. Its an emergency."

Donuts. Deep fried, glazed goodness, right there.

Track, Clove. Eat healthy. You want to win.

"Go away. Leave the donuts."

"Oh, come on!" He pleaded. "Look, okay, I'll get on my knees and beg." He was actually doing it and Clove freaked.

"Marvel, what the hell! Get up, you idiot, the neighbors will see you!" There was on in particular that always started gossip at Mystic Ridge. That guy had a chair right at the window, he saw everything. How would she explain the random guy kneeling before her?

Clove had to let him in, or else he'd beg again. Not acceptable.

"What do you want? And if this is about the Christmas lights, I don't care. Tell you mom they won't kill her." Clove inspected the donuts. They were perfect.

"This isn't about the lights. Although, it would be nice if you guys could just take them down, its January. But no, its not the lights."

Clove thought he would just tell her what he wanted, but he was nervous. Worried about something. The seconds ticked by and he said nothing.

"Marvel! What do you want?" She yelled.

"Don't yell at me." He said dramatically. "I uh...Itriedoutforthecommunityplay."

It was a jumble of words, but she got it. She laughed. Loudly, falling onto a couch. She kept laughing, because it was hysterical. Career Marvel, football star Marvel. In the local theater play. Panem theater put on a show every year, solely for the enjoyment of the community. This year, they were going with kid friendly, so they chose Disney's Tangled.

"Clove, I brought you donuts." He deadpanned. "Its not that funny."

Clove wiped away some tears. "Yes it is!" More laughter. "Its a musical this year! And you wanted to be in it!"

Finch is in it...and Marvel wants a part.

"I get it!" She cried. "What role did you want?"

"The lead." He couldn't even look at her.

Clove grinned. "You're doing this because of Finch, aren't you?"

"No, I'm doing it because I'm such a damn good actor! Of course its because of her!" He said.

"Well, how do you know you'll get the role?"

"I already got it. Auditions were on Saturday."

Clove was surprised. The leads had to be extremely talented.

"Good for you, then. I don't see why you had to tell me." Clove said.

"You're friends with Finch. I want to know if maybe she talks about me. I don't want to ruin this for her. And I thought I could ask you."

Marvel wanted to impress Finch. And he was going out of his way to do it. Weirdly enough, Finch had always thought Marvel was cute. She didn't show signs of liking him, but she admitted he was cute. As one of Finch's friends, it was Clove's duty to help her get the guy.

"Here's the deal. She may have mentioned you before. May have, keep your pants on." Clove said. "I don't think she knows you're the lead yet. When she finds out, I think she'll worry. You're not known for you acting skills."

"I'm an awesome actor." He said arrogantly. "But I need to knew what will make this perfect. Then, she won't be able to resist me."

"Yeah she will. This is Finch the valedictorian. She has a list of priorities and you're not on it. But this play is, so she'll kill you if you ruin it." Clove explained. Community involvement always did wonders for final transcripts and recommendations.

"That's why I'm here. You tell me everything she says about me. Easy."

"What do I get in return?" Clove asked.

Marvel gave her an evil look. "I don't tell anyone about you and Cato. You guys are so obvious."

Clove did the first thing that came to mind. She slapped him.

Peeta and Katniss, they're definitely not working out at the moment. Don't kill me, I have plans for them. As for the Foxface/Marvel bit, I didn't want them to end up alone. I love Foxface, she's valedictorian. Please review and thanks for reading!