An Undying Love || Clato Fanfiction

Chapter 9

Clove's POV:

The Reaping for the 73rd Hunger Games had finally come and I was extremely excited for Rowena. I slipped on a navy blue dress that reached my knees and some black flats. The dress was a bit tight around my torso, but it was nice and loose at the bottom. In District 2, girls don't wear tight dresses to the Reaping because there are often fights about who will actually get to volunteer. Even though the academy chose people to volunteer, some people do it without being chosen.

I put my hair into a simple ponytail and went downstairs. "You look lovely, Clove." My mum said as she looked at me.

"Are you sure that you don't want me to do your hair for you?"

"You can do it  next year when I volunteer." I say as I sit down and start eating. As I began to eat, there was a knock on the door. I continue eating my cereal and Rowena walked into the room.

"What's up?" I said casually.

"I'm really worried. What if I don't volunteer early enough and someone else goes? What if I die in the arena?" She said panickedly.

"Rowena, you'll be fine. You are skilled in many weapons and your great at survival skills." I assured her as I walked over to her and held her shoulders. She was wearing a red dress that was pretty loose. Her shoulders were completely covered and her hair was in an elegant bun.

"I suppose you're right. But what if everyone is better than me?"

"I'm sure that you'll come home. Just don't make good friends and don't fall in love." I said as I sat back down.

"Okay, I can do that." She said as she took several deep breaths.

"I have to go, my mum wanted me to say goodbye to my grandmother." Rowena's grandmother was too old to go anywhere, so she needed to go say goodbye to her before she volunteered. My mum appeared in the doorway as Rowena left with something in her hand.

"You forgot this." She said as she placed the object on the table. It was Rose's locket. Before she went to the games, she had given me her locket in case she didn't come back. It is silver with a small oval locket with a blue stone in the middle.

I smiled at my mum and put the locket around my neck. It was finally time to go and see Rowena volunteer. I left the house and went to line up and get my finger pricked. I could see Rowena smoothing her dress at the front of the line and Joan seemed to be daydreaming in the middle of the line.

"Hey Clovely." A deep voice said from behind me and two large hands slapped my shoulders.

"Hadley." I acknowledged.

"Back to last names now." He said as I turned to look at him.

"Sorry, I was just thinking and it was instinct to call you Hadley." I said distractedly.

"Thinking about Rowena?" He asked. "No, just some stuff. I know that Rowena will win, so there's no point in worrying." I said as my eyes finally reached his blue eyes.

I'd never noticed how nice they looked in the sunlight before. They shone like diamonds. "You look nice." He said as we moved forward.

"You look decent." I said as I looked at him. He was wearing black pants and a light blue dress shirt that could easily be mistaken for white. They quickly pricked my finger and placed it on the paper. I then went and walked to the 15 year old section and waited for the Reaping to begin.

I zoned out for a while and before I knew it, Rowena was standing on the stage with a proud smirk on her face. Next to her stood Blake and I could see a bruise forming on his cheek. They both went inside the Hall of Justice and everyone started leaving. I went to inside a different door and waited to enter the room she was in. Joan stood next to me anxiously. We were both called and were told that's we had 5 minutes. We both hugged Rowena before saying anything.