TWISTED // Clato | ✓

Chapter 10: Farewell To Fangirl

CATO'S POV:

Is this a joke? I stare at Peeta's face, scrutinizing his eyes, looking for a glint of defiance. But there is none. Either he's really on my side, or he's asking for a knife in the back. Fine, I'll give him a chance. It's not like he's actually going to try and slit all our throats in the night.

I lower my weapon. "Lover Boy, eh?" At my side, Glimmer smirks.

"That wasn't real," Peeta says indifferently. He grins. "Just trying to get her on my side and impress the Capitol."

I look for any hint of a lie, but it seems like he's telling the truth. "OK."

"Come on." Peeta disappears into the trees. We all exchange glances before we plunge after him. The night drags on and I can barely see anything. Patches of moonlight glint off the top of Glimmer's head. She's still beside me. I want to shake her off, but I have to get Clove back first.

Will I get her back? Will she even trust me? I steal a look over at her. She's stomping through the underbrush, gripping the knives in the pockets of her vest. The look on her face is as vicious and determined as ever.

Glimmer must catch my distracted eyes, because she starts babbling again. "Did you see the look on her face?" Quickly she assumes a squeaky voice: "Oh nooo! Don't kill meee!"

I laugh anyway, but it's hard to ignore the subtle shift of Clove's shoulders. Quickly, she jogs ahead.

"Hey Lover Boy." I come over to him. "You sure she went this way?"

"Yeah," Peeta says. "That was her snare I found back there." He lifts a tangled rope.

I look up into the trees, but I can't see past the branches in the blackness. "Well, I don't see anyone here now," I mumble.

"She probably didn't hang around," Peeta says matter-of-factly. "Come on, this way." He heads through a grove of hanging vines. 

Marvel throws down his backpack. "Come on. We aren't going to find anyone in the dark like this. Let's just stop for the night."

"Fine." I exchange glances with Glimmer and we sit down. 

"I'll get a fire going," Peeta says as he goes over to pick up some branches.

"Are you stupid?" Glimmer's voice cuts through the dark. She glares accusingly at Peeta, who stands frozen, holding a cluster of sticks. Glimmer stands up, shaking her blonde pigtails back from her face. When Peeta doesn't make an answer, Glimmer takes another step forward and demands, "I said, 'Are you stupid?' That's a great way to get killed!"

"No one's going to attack you," Peeta says coolly, "if you're Careers."

"So now you're a Career?" Glimmer asks falteringly.

Peeta stares at her. "What, I'm tagging along with you guys and I'm not one?" He squares his shoulders. "Well?"

Glimmer shrugs. "Fine, then. Make the stupid fire."

Peeta ties the sticks together and manages to coax a small flame out of the dead wood. 

CLOVE'S POV:

I'm warm, so I strip off my jacket and roll it into a small ball. Curling up next to the fire, I lay my head on it and watch Marvel and Peeta stretching out nearby. My eyes flit over to Cato, and an unknown rush of anger shakes me almost to the point of pinning Glimmer with my knives.

Cato lies down on his back beside the fire, and Glimmer curls up next to him. Cato's arms wrap around her, and I am so mad I can barely hold myself together. My face is flaming with anger, but I'm sure anyone seeing me would attribute it to the glow of the fire bathing my face.