Panem High School {COMPLETED}

Chapter 25 - Clove

(Clove's POV)

There are so many feelings rushing through me I think I might have a panic attack. I can hardly focus, so I give up on it and instead try to figure out my emotions.

Am I mad? Yeah, but I'm not sure if I'm mad at Cato. Do I hate him? I honestly don't know. Am I excited? Well, yeah, hopefully this will be the end of Glimmer messing with me.

Johanna seems a bit distracted, too, but I think it's because she's wondering how Glimmer will be in drama. By seventh hour, she's back to her normal self. She tells me that for once Glimmer didn't even try to be the star. She looked like she'd been crying. And I'm surprised to find that I care. Sure, she's a brat, but she was also a fairly decent friend last year. I don't really want her to be hurt.

After school, I tell Johanna I'm need to walk home by myself and sort things out. She looks worried, but she goes. I end up walking around the school grounds.

As I'm walking, I see a boy sitting on a bench. His head is in his hands. Cato. I slowly walk up and clear my throat, which gets his attention. He looks surprised to see me, but doesn't say anything.

"Mind if I sit down?" He shakes his head. I sit on the edge of the bench.

He sighs. "Do you hate me?"

I glance at him, and realize I don't. I can't. I can't hate him. I shake my head. "No, I guess I don't."

He looks at me, surprised. "Really? After everything?"

"I can't hate you, even if I try." I smile a bit.

He sighs. "I should have talked to you on the first day of school. I should explained everything to Glimmer. Then none of this would have happened to you."

I take a breath. "You know you didn't need to break up with her." Wow, that was hard to say. I can't believe I said it.

He looks at me, though I can't tell what he's thinking. "Yeah I did. I should have a while ago. It's not your fault. We never really liked each other. It was just, I don't know, popularity." He laughs dryly. "I guess that's over.

"Anyway, if you don't hate me, do you think you can forgive me?" Now I can tell what he's thinking. His eyes are pleading with me to say yes.

"I... I don't know. I think I can." I glance at him. "Yes. Yes, I can."

He smiles at me. "Thank you." He moves his arm slightly, then pulls it back. Almost like he'd wanted to put it around me.

He frowns after a minute. He's looking at my arm... Too late I look down and see that my sleeve is pushed up a bit.

"No..." he whispers. "Clove, I'm sorry."

I shake my head. "It's not your fault. I don't blame you. Stop blaming yourself." I set my hand lightly on his arm. He smiles sadly at me.

We sit quietly for a while. The silence isn't awkward; it's more peaceful. Finally, he turns to me. "Can we start over? Pretend everything that's happened in the past few years never happened?"

"I would love that," I say quietly, smiling.