DYSTOPIA

0.10

Roughly five more weeks had passed, it was becoming increasingly difficult for Clove to keep track of date, let alone how long she'd been in District 13. It was also impossible for Clove to keep track of the date, when her mind was preoccupied, with avoiding Cato. Over the weeks, Clove often found herself replaying their last brutal encounter in the back of her mind; She often felt two different emotions, when remaining on it;
Most of the time she felt hurt, and the hurt only seemed to worsen each time she thought about it.
On the their hand what she felt most of the time was embarrassment, she'd cried not only in front of Glimmer, but in front of Cato. Something he'd never seen her do before, and no doubt took pleasure out of it. However, when she managed to successfully distract herself, she could then put her energy into more important weeks. When she wasn't busy training, she'd often spend time with her sister Cressida. When she wasn't with Cressida, Clover would sometimes spend time with her ex-career partner Marvel. As time went on also, Clover's relationship with Gale had developed; Instead of their regular, and fleeting, conversations that only take place in passing, their interactions had now become pre-planned, intentional and naturally more frequent. Their secret rendezvous often took place at night after Clove returned from visiting Cressida, and after Gale finished up his duties. While Clove found she still wasn't used to all the time she was spending with Gale, she still found it the most comforting part of her day—

After my daily meetings with Cressida, of course...

Clove's eyes fluttered shut as Gale's lips met hers in a deep and passionate kiss, "I've missed you..." He mumbled, not expecting a reply, as he did so. It was often Gale told Clove he missed her, because it was the truth, he'd grown to enjoy her company so much that whenever she wasn't around for a long period of time he could physically feel the void. It wasn't anything romantic, just friendly— Or at least that's what they told themselves.

"So have I... " She murmured, against his lips. "Just a little bit." She quickly added, as his hands made their way in her hair, his fingers threading her thick auburn hair. As much as Clove wanted to suppress the thought, she couldn't help but reminisce about the night before the arena; Cato had pulled the exact same move on her, before she let him take her virginity.

"What's wrong?" He asked, pulling away from her slightly.

"Nothing." She lied, attempting to press her lips against his once again, only to get avoided.

"Is this about what happened that?" He asked, moving backwards slightly. "I thought you said you and Cato weren't involved—"

"I may have lied." She said with a breathy sigh, knowing she could no longer hide the truth from him. "I slept with him once." She elaborated.

"And?" He asked.

"It was a one time thing and meant nothing." She said in an unconvincing tone, the exact same thing Cato had said to her that night, something that was unbeknownst to Gale at the time. No more words were exchanged between the pair, their lips met again, in what was a softer kiss and when Clove found herself slowly being pushed onto her back, she didn't protest.

The following morning, Clove sighed to herself as the door clicked shut behind Gale. It was currently breakfast time and Clove sat in the mess hall, reminiscing about the night they'd shared together, there was something not quite right about what they'd done. She didn't necessarily regret it, but it somehow felt like a betrayal to someone it wasn't, someone she'd tried so desperately to forget. "Hey Clovie."

"Marvel, I asked you a long time ago, not to call me that." She said, with a slight eye roll.

"You should know I don't listen to a word you say." He said with a grin, popping a piece of chopped apple into his mouth. "I haven't seen much of you lately." He said with what Clove felt like was an accusatory tone, "What've been up to—"