To Be Home Again (Hunger games/Clove)

Call Me Anything You'd Like

I paced the roof, chewing my nails nervously. I have no idea why she asked me to come up here tonight or more importantly why i listened. Probably because i thought she was beautiful and would jump off the building is she told me to. What did she want with me? What did she mean when she said she wasn't staring at me for the reason i thought? My internal rambling was interrupted by the door opening. I was beside myself with nerves when i turned around to see her face flushed from running, the top buttons of her blouse undone to reveal her pronounced collarbone. "Sorry im late, my escort is a pain in the ass, asking me a million questions about 'where i was going at this hour'." She rambled, mimicking the high voice of her mentor as she took a seat right beside me.

I shuffled in my seat, flustered by how close we were sitting, i could see her freckles and mesmerized green eyes up close and i had to will myself not to get lost in them. Im never like this, why was i suddenly acting like a love sick puppy? "Sorry, i probably stink from running up here." She chuckled apologetically and shuffled away slightly. Without thinking i scooted closer again receiving a raised eyebrow in response. "If i didn't know any better I'd think you wanted to sit closer to me." She smirked in a teasing voice while i just shrugged, not knowing what to say because she was right; i was absolutely enamored by her. "I don't mind." Was all i managed to get out without stuttering. A chuckle left her mouth as she leaned back, putting her arm around the back of my seat.

"Why did you wanna see me up here?" I blurted without thinking. She sat quietly for a moment, thinking of a response, "probably for the same reason that you showed up." The butterflies in my stomach spread up into my throat and made me feel like i was choking. If what she said was true that means she was just as drawn to me as i was her and for some reason that filled me with excitement. A small and unconfident 'oh' left my lips which plunged us into another uncomfortable silence. And there we sat in silence for the next 100 years, at least it felt that way. "I can't do this silence anymore. Tell me your story 7." She said, her voice filled with as much confidence as ever. I don't know if the tone made me want to kiss her or run away so i choose to just sit there instead.

"You wanna know about my story? There's not much to tell, and if were gonna meet regularly im going to need you not to call me 7; i do have a name." I chuckled sarcastically, surprising even myself with the aggression in my voice. "Who said anything about us meeting regularly?" She tilted her head with a pleased smirk on her face as i struggled to think of a response. "Im just messing with you." She laughed, this time not sarcastically but a real laugh, and it was music to my ears. "Okay, i wont call you 7 anymore. What do you want me to call you?" She said leaning in even closer, so close that i could smell the citrus shampoo she'd used, "anything." Was all that came out of my mouth and i wanted to punch myself in the face. Anything? Anything!? That was the best response i could come up with!?

"Anything, huh? Hmm....how about rosie, like how your cheeks get whenever I'm close to you." She smiled triumphantly as my cheeks once again flushed. I cursed myself as she leaned back into her seat, "And if you must know, you intrigue me. From the moment you walked up on that stage looking out of your mind scared but standing tall i knew you were someone i wanted to know. I don't think I've ever met anyone that brave in my life." She finished as i turned to her with wide eyes, genuinely shocked that she just complimented me. "You volunteered, and so did your partner, and so did the tributes from one and four. They do it every year. Why is it so shocking that i did it?" I asked, turning fully to sit crosslegged facing her.

"Since i like you i'll let you in on a little secret. Districts 1 and 2 and sometimes 4 train select tributes, that's why there are always volunteers." She said and my jaw nearly hit the floor. Sure id heard rumors of training schools but i thought they were just that, rumors. "Isn't that- isn't that illegal?" I asked, still in complete shock at the information i just heard. "Uh, yeah. But President Snow doesn't really seem to care. At the end of the day he just wants a good show and if that means giving some districts the upper hand then that's what he's willing to do." She shrugged and i continues to stare at her slack jawed. She laughed and placed her hand under my chin, closing my mouth, "close your mouth, you're gonna catch flies." I shook my head to refocus on the conversation at hand.

"How long have these training schools been active for? How do they select students? How were you picked?" I had so many questions that they all seemed to fly out of my mouth. "Woah woah one at a time." She chuckled, turning to face me like i was her, our knees grazing together causing a shot of electricity to shoot up my leg. "I don't know exactly how long they've been training careers, id say atleast 50 years because my parents were both actually careers, they met when they were in school. Neither of them were selected so my mom went on to be a teacher at the school and my dad became a peacekeeper. As for the selection process i think when you're 8 they look at your athletics scores and if they're good they call your parents to see about enrollment then you go through a bunch of tests. At least that's what Cato told me." I nodded along as she spoke.

"Was your process different? Also you knew your partner before the games? Do they train all the ages together or something because i thought Cato was older than you?" I began to blurt out questions again as she laughed. "Don't laugh at me, this is all new." I eventually laughed along as she shook her head, "im not laughing at you, you're just cute when you ramble. Anyways, my mom enrolled me a year early because i kept asking since i knew cato did it. We've known each other since before we even started school because we live in the same part of town. His younger brother is actually my age but Tobias was born with a limp so he never went into training for obvious reasons." My cheeks grew hot again and she noticed immediately.

"you're looking pretty rosey Rosie, whats wrong?" She asked, brushing my hair out of my face. The wind had picked up as the sun started to set, pulling loose stands of hair from my one tight braid, "You just- you called me cute." I laugher nervously, fiddling with my hands in my lap. "Well now i guess the cats out of the bag about why I've been staring at you, isn't it?" I eventually willed myself to look back up to find her eyes already boring into mine. Out of nowhere she leaned forward, placing a kiss on my cheek before standing up. "Its getting late. Meet me up here again tomorrow, same time. I still want to hear your story. Goodnight Rosie, sleep well." And with that she walked away, leaving me stood there stunned once again. What was this girl doing to me?