Right by My Side ( PeetaxCato)

Chapter 3 - Matters of The Heart

Peeta

I walked out of school with Katniss when the bell rang and we waved goodbye to our friends.

"You wanna go to Starbucks?" she asked.

"Sure I guess" I answered as we walked in silence for a little while.

"Can I ask you something?" Katniss finally spoke up.

"Yea sure" I answered.

"Are you gay?" she asked.

I froze. I didnt know what to say. I decided I might as well tell her.

"Yes. Yes I am. Why do you ask?" I answered.

  "I saw the way you were looking at Cato....do you like him?" she asked yet again.

  "Honestly I dont know...I really havent felt many feelings for anyone. Not after what happened.."

Damn. I revealed it all too soon.

  "What do you mean?" Katniss inquired.

  "Ill tell you about it sometime." I said as we walked into Starbucks.

  I ordered a cold brew with classic syrup. Katniss ordered a vanilla frappe.

We sat down and talked about my dad's depression and the move and what happened in New England but not about what happened 2 months ago. I was so not ready to tell anyone. The thought of it was frightening enough so why should I spread it around? I liked Katniss a lot but I wasnt ready to reveal everything about me.

Cato

I walked through the square in town with Clove and we were suprisingly quiet. Honestly, I was worried about her because normally I would pay money for her to shut up and now she was struck dumb.

  Finally I broke the ice.

"Clove, are you okay?"

   "Yeah, I'm fine. Its you I'm worried about." she snapped.

"Why?" I asked..

"Because I saw you looking at Peeta in class today and I
know you like him."

"Clove, what the hell are you talking about?" I protested.

"Cato Hadley, I've known you since we were in diapers. I know you're gay. Cashmere is a lesbian and we all know she has a thing for Katniss."

  "Yea, but thats because she is open about it. She told me she was before she told anyone else.. Mainly because I'm her brother."

"And remember how she lost all her friends because of it? I dont want you to lose your friends or your reputation over a bread boy."

  "Dont call him that. You know nothing about him."

  "Yes I do and hes not on our level. I can tell just by the way he dresses and acts that he is never gonna get to where we are. We have so much at stake here.Get that through your head Cato." Clove said as she walked away.

I decided for no reason to go to the Mellark Bakery. I had nothing to do and there was absolutely no reason to go home because my parents were in Europe and Cashmere wasn't home yet..

   I walked down to the bakery and walked inside. Peeta was in the kitchen and I could see him through the window. He was in a gray T shirt and khaki shorts, and he was kneading the dough for loaves of bread. Flour was all over his chest and arms and he looked up when I hit the bell on the desk.
I smiled. He smiled back and said "I'm so glad you came by."

Song of the Day; Fineshrine by Purity Ring