This Soon Shall Pass

How Does This Make You Feel

Cato's POV
"So she just left?" Calpurnia asks.
"Yeah. She's been gone all summer." I say, slouching in between my parents with my arms crossed over my chest.
"Does that upset you?" I choose not to reply.
"Of course it upsets him. All she ever does is upset him, which is why he needs to stop associating-" My mother begins.
"Valerie, you're just jealous of the Sevina girl. Calpurnia, don't listen to a word she says." My dad orders.
"That is why we're here. Clearly this family has terrible communication skills. Don't you agree, Calpurnia?" All eyes turn on the therapist.
"Well, I do think you would benefit from therapy. I cannot make a decision yet on what your major issues are because we have yet to finish the second session, but I can make a schedule for you." She explains.
"Perfect." I roll my eyes as the session finishes and my mother is handed a schedule for the next three months. The car ride home is silent and I jump out of the car the moment it's parked in my driveway. I run to my room and quickly change into training clothes. The run to the Sevina's goes by quick and I soon find myself in their backyard, making my way through the trees. I can hear the sound of knives hitting targets and allow myself to think, hope, that it's Clove. I eventually see Willow.
"You're hitting the target?" I ask.
"I'm hitting the outermost ring." She replies.
"That's still the target."
"I guess. Clove always gets it in the center."
"Clove is also 7 years older than you. You've just started your extra training."
"You and I both know Clove was getting it in the center at my age."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Yeah, I guess. I miss Clove. I really thought she would come home for her birthday last week. I made her a cake and everything." Willow says and frowns.
"Hey, she'll be back and when she finds out she missed your cake she's gonna kick herself. That was some good cake."
"Thanks. Do you miss her too?" She asks, looking up at me. I give her a small smile and nod my head.
"Yeah, I do. I kind of need my best friend right now."
"Why don't you ask her to come home?"
"It wouldn't be fair to her. She needs time away. I can't ask her to give that up for me, and neither can you."
"I guess so." We go back to throwing knives, Willow taking my corrections as they come.
Glimmer's POV
I look down at my newly tan body and let out a sigh of contentment.
"What do you have to say?" I ask. Cato stands on my porch, refusing to come in. Not the best sign.
"I'm sorry. I just don't feel that way about you." He says and I already feel the tears brimming.
"Then why be with me all this time?"
"I didn't realize you had developed such intense feelings about me."
"That's such a load of crap, Cato. Stop pretending you're an emotionally oblivious dumbass. You're not. I know you're not."
"Glimmer-"
"Stop. I don't want to hear it. We're done, Cato, but get this through your head. If you don't get over your fear of being sensitive and vulnerable with a person, you are never going to be happy. Get off my porch." I slam the door in his face.
The sound of the waves soothes me as I let my eyes drift shut. Breaking up with Cato was hard, but it was the biggest wake up call I could have ever received. I deserve someone who adores me. I deserve the boy I wanted all along. Muscle and mystery are overrated. I feel a presence on my towel and before I know it two wet arms wrap themselves around me. He gently pulls me on top of him and I squeal.
"You're all wet." I complain, giggling as I open my eyes.
"Sorry. You just looked so hot I thought you needed to be cooled down." Marvel says and I groan.
"That's the lamest one yet." I state and lean down to kiss him. When I eventually pull away I hear a small whimper.
"Aw." I coo and kiss him again before resting my head on his chest. His arms tighten around me and I begin to doze off.
Marvel's POV
"What do you want?" Cato asks as I enter his room.
"We need to talk about Glimmer." I state. Cato lets out a grunt and closes his eyes.
"I am in no mood to be yelled at."
"I'm not here to yell. I'm here to help."
"That sounds like something a friend would do. You're not my friend, remember?"
"Cato, what you did to me sucked. A lot. I'm still mad at you-"
"Marvel-"
"But, after Glimmer shed some light on the situation and some deep thinking, I realized that instead of giving up on you when you do something bad, I should force you to learn from your mistakes. I should expect more of you than ever before, but be ready when you inevitably fail to reach those expectations."
"Well not that that doesn't sound great, but what makes you think I'd ever be friends with you again?"
"You care about me. I know you do. You want us to be friends again, but you're too scared to admit it."
"Get out."
"It's also the least you could do for Glimmer. After everything, you owe her this." He's silent for awhile, but eventually caves.
"Fine. We're friends. Get out."
Savera's POV
The knocking on my door is consistent. I pull it open and see Turbo, eyes wide.
"I think Pexey has one too." He says.
"A key?" I ask.
"Yes. I was with him last night and he kept asking if I knew where Finch likes to hide things. There's no way he was asking for fun."
"I thought we decided my clue led to Lanni."
"It does, but that doesn't mean that Pexey isn't also involved. It makes perfect sense that she would involve all of us in this."
"I guess so. Should we organize a hangout somewhere and figure it out?"
"Totally. How about Saturday at my place?"
"Works for me."
Sagara's POV
From: Glimmer
Are we all set to use your house for Cato's party?
To: Glimmer
Message: Yup. My family is going away for the weekend. We just have to clean up.
From: Glimmer
Of course. Is Clove coming? She never gave me her RSVP.
To: Glimmer
Message: She turned her phone off this whole trip. We haven't talked about it, but I'm sure she's coming. It's Cato.
From: Glimmer
True.
I stare out the car window, Area 7's trees blurring together as we pass by. I finger my Mockingjay necklace, knowing I'll have to hide it the moment I get home.
Lanni's POV
"He writes to me everyday, proclaiming his love. I can't wait to move there, it sounds so beautiful." I exclaim as Pexey and I walk into Turbo's neighborhood.
"I'm sure it is. Can we focus more on Finch right now? What do you think all of these clues mean?" Pexey replies. I shrug.
"I'm not sure. I haven't really thought about it."
"Really? It's all I've thought about all summer. If she left us these clues, she must have known she wasn't coming back from the games. Doesn't that upset you?"
"Well when you mention that, yes. Now I feel nauseous." The two of us knock on Turbo's door until he opens it. We follow him to his room where Savera already has their clues laid out on Turbo's bed.
"Okay, so Turbo was given a key and his clue pointed to me. I was given a pocket knife and my clue pointed to Lanni. Can I see yours?" She asks and takes our clues and items.
"Okay, Pexey's leads to Turbo, clearly. How she snuck a sledgehammer into your house I'll never understand." Savera says as she skims my note.
"It's from my garage. That's where I found the note." I explain.
"Makes sense. Lanni got a Peacekeeper manual and her clue... huh."
"What? Doesn't it lead to me?"
"No. I don't know who it leads to."
"I do." Lanni says. Savera looks up at her.
"You do? Who?"
"Marvel."
Cato's POV
The music blares as the sun begins to set in the sky. I find myself sitting on the front stoop, alone, the party in my honor continuing without me. I miss Clove...
"Hadley, this has got to be the saddest thing I've ever seen. You don't even have a beer? It's your birthday." Sagara exclaims from behind me. She joins me on the stoop.
"I know. I just... I thought she would come." I say and look down.
"She could still come."
"Where is she?"
"We dropped her off at her house when we got back. Where she's gone since then is beyond me."
"She's avoiding me."
"I wouldn't say that."
"Why not? She's been home-"
"Cato."
"What?"
"Look, don't say anything about it to her when you see her, but her mother was not happy about the trip. She might just be dealing with that."
"Yeah. Maybe." I shrug and Sagara gives me a pat on the shoulder as she gets up to leave. I look down at the ground for awhile. It's been two months with no word from her.
"All I want is for her to be here for my birthday. Is that so much to ask?" I mutter.
"No." A voice says and my head jolts up. Clove is walking down the path to me, arms crossed and with a slight smirk. I stand up and try to keep from smiling like an idiot.
"You're here." I say and she rolls her eyes, finally reaching me.
"Of course I'm here. I was always going to be here. I'm just a little late."
"What happened?"
"My mom didn't want me to come. My dad put his foot down, which he's been doing a lot lately according to Willow. Finally my mom got frustrated and just let me go. Willow made a cake for you, by the way. She told me to tell you." Clove explains. Yes.
"Good. I love her cake."
"You don't have to say that."
"I'm not being nice. She's really good at baking. She's been forcing me to try things all summer." I say, the corners of Clove's mouth turning up. She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head on my chest and I freeze, not sure what to do.
"I missed you. I'm glad I left, but I missed you." She says and I tentatively wrap my arms around her. When she only slightly tenses I leave my arms there.
"I missed you too. You left and... everything kind of went to hell." She pulls away and gives me a look.
"Another time. I'm sure they're looking for me in there." I add and we enter the party. We soon find Marvel, Sagara, and Glimmer sitting around the fire pit. Clove and I take the two remaining seats and join them in their silence.
"So... senior year." Marvel says, breaking the moment of silence.
"Yup. It's hard to believe it's really here." Sagara states.
"It's hard to believe my last summer of freedom is actually over." Glimmer mutters, sniffling. Marvel wraps an arm around her. Clove looks at me, confused, and I shrug.
"Has Snow at all... contacted you since school ended?" Clove asks, looking down at her hands.
"No. It's only a matter of time though. Snow doesn't just forget. Jeez, this time last year I was stressed about not knowing what to do with my life. Now it seems my career has been chosen for me and I just... hate it." Glimmer exclaims. Marvel rubs her arm as I feel Clove fully tense beside me.
"How about we don't talk about this anymore? It's my birthday." I say and Marvel nods in agreement.
"Why don't we talk about the Victory Gala? That always cheers you up, Glim." Marvel says and Glimmer immediately perks up.
"I forgot about that." Clove mumbles and I chuckle at her grimace.
"You forgot? Clove it's in one week!! Do you even have a dress?" Glimmer exclaims.
"Of course not. Why would I have a dress?"
"It needs to be elegant and formal. It's like prom but adult. We need to go shopping immediately."
"I didn't go to prom for a reason." Clove groans.
"You didn't have to finish in the Top 20, Clove. You knew what you were getting yourself into." Clove groans again.
Peeta's POV
GirlWithTheKnives: I'm back. Unplugged for the summer. Have to go shopping now.
Two months worth of constant touring didn't leave me with much silence, so the quiet house is still shocking sometimes. I hear someone pounding up the stairs and moments later my door swings open.
"Quick question: when do you move out?" Ash asks. I furrow my eyebrows.
"Um... what?" I ask.
"The Capitol. When do you move there?"
"After senior year is over. Why?"
"Why? Because... because I need you to be here on May 30th for my wedding." I jolt up from my chair.
"Your what?!"
"My wedding!!" I tackle Ash in a hug.
"You asked Gretta to marry you? And she said yes?"
"Shut up. Of course she said yes. She's been waiting for me to pop the question for ages." He explains as we pull away from the hug.
"Congratulations!!"
"Thanks. It would mean a lot to me if you'd be one of my groomsmen?"
"Of course." Ash laughs, his eyes bright.
"Oh to be young and in love." He announces and strolls back downstairs. Oh to be young and in love and have her believe it isn't all a game.
Clove's POV
I get away with a black jumpsuit for the Victory Gala. At least I get to dress myself this time. The train arrives an hour before the party begins, weirdly empty without all of the mentors and escorts. Effie Trinket and Haymitch Abernathy are the only forms of supervision, so basically none at all. Cato, Sagara, Marvel, Glimmer, and I decide to stay holed up in a bedroom for the train ride. The five of us sit on the ground in a circle, Glimmer leaning against Marvel. Cato and I lean against the bed, Sagara laying down on the rug.
"So are we going to address the several elephants in the room or what?" Sagara finally asks.
"What?" Glimmer asks.
"It's June of junior year. Glimmer and Cato are together. Marvel and Cato hate each other. Clove just revealed this majorly awful secret that's been happening to her and Glimmer at the hands of Snow. Clove and I leave for the summer. We come back and no one has even tried to fix the prostitution problem. Marvel and Cato seem fine. Glimmer and Marvel are clearly together in some way, yet Glimmer still throws Cato a birthday party. What happened?" The other three all look at each other, no one wanting to start the conversation.
"Well, for the prostitution aspect, I don't see any possible solution besides working really hard to earn Snow's respect back." I offer, Cato shifting uncomfortably next to me.
"That's arguable, but not the most important thing right now. Marvel, you seem to be at the center of all of this. What happened?" Marvel lightly moves Glimmer off him and sighs.
"Okay. Glimmer and I... we're not a couple. Yet. We're taking it slow. We didn't start acting on our feelings until after she and Cato broke up." Marvel explains. Sagara and I turn our heads to Cato.
"So you did break up?" Cato continues to stare at his hands before growling and meeting Sagara's stare.
"I don't understand why the details matter, but yeah. We're done. Marvel and I worked it out and are friends again. Isn't that enough?" He asks.
"No. I don't understand how it happened. I find the details important."
"Well I don't." Sagara pointedly looks at me and I sigh. I nudge Cato.
"It's just going to be weirder the longer you keep the details a secret. Once she knows she'll be done with the topic. You know that." I mention and he rolls his eyes.
"Fine. Glimmer wanted a guy who loved her and saw a future with her and prioritized their relationship. I just wasn't that guy. I didn't love her in that way and I didn't see a future with her and I preferred training to hanging out with her. Got it?" The room is silent before Glimmer speaks up.
"Cato, you're being too hard on yourself. The truth is, neither of us started that relationship because we really wanted to date the other person. We were being petty and taking the easy route. It finally caught up with us this summer and we went our separate ways. We're still friends, probably better friends than we were before. It's really not a big deal." Glimmer explains. I can sense Cato's confusion as he tries to control his anger. I have no clue why this of all things is setting him off.
"Okay. Marvel? You took Cato back?" Sagara asks.
"If you must phrase it that way, yes. There's no real reason. We just are. That's that." Marvel says.
"Okay. Was that really so hard? Honestly." Sagara says as the train stops moving. Sagara, Marvel, and Glimmer leave the room. Cato stands, offering me a hand. I take it and stand up, preventing him from leaving by holding onto it. He looks at me with a quirked eyebrow.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"Yeah. I'm pissed that Sagara insisted on knowing the details of my life, but I'm fine." Cato replies.
"Are you sure? It's just... you've been weird ever since I came back. You never told me about what happened this summer." He avoids my eyes and removes his hand from mine.
"It's not a discussion to have right now. It's... personal."
"Okay..." I say as he exits. I sigh and follow him out the door. What happened this summer?