Stupid Cupid: A Modern Clato Fanfiction [Completed]

Chapter 4

Cato walked into his kitchen, towards the sweet smell that made his stomach grumble. His mother was busy mixing something in a bowl, humming lightly to herself. "Cato! I'm making a cake. Come help," she exclaimed when her eyes landed on her son. "How was school?" 

Cato smiled, telling her, "It was fine. They started to spread word about the Valentine's Day Dance today." His mother raised her eyebrows. "And are we taking Clove again this year?" Cato shrugged. "I don't know." Mrs. Hadley narrowed her eyes. "And why not? I thought the two of you were dating?" 

Cato laughed, as his mom gave him a bowl of batter and a spatula to mix it. "We aren't a couple, ma'. I don't think she even wants to go this year, anyway." His mother sighed. "She never wants to go, Cato," she pointed out. "Did you two get into a fight?" she asked. "Is she seeing another boy?" 

Cato shook his head, his hands instinctively balling up into fists. Whenever someone talked about Clove having a boyfriend, he got angry. Hell, he got pissed off. He could never understand why. Maybe it was because she was like his sister. He just wanted to protect her, after all. 

"No, not yet." Mrs. Hadley gestured to him as a way of asking him to continue. He cleared his throat. "I heard some of the girls talking to her about some guy she supposedly likes." His mom rolled her eyes. "It's you," she said, pointing at him with her spatula. "She's over here all of the time, knows everything about you. I'd be surprised if it wasn't you." 

"Mom, I don't think so. We're just friends." 

"But you want to be more than that," she insisted. 

"Mom," he groaned. 

"Cato," she mocked, sticking her tongue out at the boy in front of her. "All that I can tell you is that if you do like her, snatch her up quick. She's a good looking girl, Clove is. And it wouldn't be awkward. After all, the two of you are best friends. And how could we not forget that Spin The Bottle incident in junior high?" 

One night when they were in eight grade, Cato invited had Clove, Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Madge, Finnick, Annie, Marvel, Jackie, and Johanna over to his house. The group quickly got bored, so somehow they ended up playing Spin The Bottle. Cato had spun after having to kiss Johanna, much to his dismay. The bottle had landed on Clove. The two best friends had shared an awkward, three second peck, which just so happened to be Clove's first kiss. 

He couldn't believe it. Cato was Clove's first kiss. She'd kissed other boys after, eventually. She'd even had a few boyfriends, but nothing long term. 

Anyway, Cato's mom had walking in just as the teen's lips connected, and she yelped. When they pulled away, both Clove and Cato's cheeks were red in embarrassment. 

"We can't," Cato said. "Clove wouldn't talk to me for a week." He chuckled, recalling the memory. "She thought that you hated her as well." 

His mom said, "Nonsense. I love Clove. And I think you do too." 

"Mom..."

"Cato..." 

"Can we just drop the subject and bake the cake please?" His mom laughed, sticking her finger in the batter and smearing it on her son't nose, making him frown. "Sure, sweetheart. In fact, you could take it to Clove when we're finished. Isn't vanilla her favorite?" 

Cato didn't think before saying, "Actually, it's red velvet. Vanilla is too plain according to her. And she tries to stay away from chocolate, or at least that's what Madge keeps telling her to do."

"See, you know Clove like the back of your hand."

"And you clearly don't."

"Touché, son. Touché."  

After the cake came out of the oven, Cato and his mom frosted it. And, much to Cato's dismay, the frosting was also vanilla. Clove liked red velvet with cream cheese frosting, not this stuff. Nonetheless, he helped his mother decorate it. 

She piped green flowers along the endges of the cake. Cato picked the color green because it was his best friend's favorite color. He decided to pick red to pipe out her name, then proceeded to scatter little four leaf clovers made out of fondant on the sides. 

Cato stood back to admire their work. "It looks good. Not Peeta Mellark good, but Cato Hadley good." 

The two laughed as his mother put the dessert in a box for Cato to take over. His mom smirked. "Yes, no offense, but I prefer Peeta in the kitchen over you. I mean, he taught me how to make his cheese buns." 

Cato rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. My life goal is not to become a baker anyway. That's Peeta's kind of thing." 

Peeta's family owned a bakery in town. Peeta and his brothers often helped out in the kitchen, making various pastries. Every time Cato was over at the Mellark residence, Peeta was trying out a new recipe. 

Cato headed out to deliver the cake to Clove. "Let's hope it tastes better than it looks..." he muttered to himself, before starting the short ride to Clove's house.