Clove’s PoV
I run to the girl’s bathroom, ignoring all the murmurs about me. I turn the lock and fall to the ground. I cry and cry until there were no more tears left. My heartbeat ringing in my ears as I replay everything I just saw. I hear a knock on the door. I use my thumb to wipe away my tears.
“Clove, is that you?” Orchid’s says faintly. “It’s Orchid.”
I gather all my strength to pull myself up and unlock the door.
“What’s wrong?” She says with a caring tone.
“Oh, this guy Cato.” I say sadly and I could feel the throbbing pain of my heart when I heard his name. I tremble when the words slip out of my mouth of what happened.
“So, Cato, is your boyfriend?” She questions.
“No, no, no. He was my best friend but I did like him in that way and he liked me back.”
“Oh okay…” She thinks for a second. “You can hang out with me and Hunter.”
“Hunter?”
“Umm… let’s say, my friend.” She nods and walks out. I follow behind her.
I look anxiously at the guy, about Orchid’s height, and he had short black hair, brown eyes and surprisingly very buff.
“Is this Clove?” He says coolly.
“Yeah. Clove, this is Hunter.”
“Hey.” He extends his arm out to shake my hand. I smile and accept his request.
“What do you want to do?” Hunter asks and messes up Orchid’s black hair with brown streaks.
“Let’s go play some sports!” She answers happily.
‘Sure. What kind of sport do you play?” Hunter asks me.
“Umm…” I wasn’t sure what to say. “I like throwing knives.” I mumble.
“You like throwing knives?” Orchid laughs, thinking it was a joke. I shake my head shyly.
“So your one of those Hunger Games kids.” Hunter says in approval.
“Yeah.” I smile.
“We got to teach her some basketball then!” Orchid yells out. Jocks, huh? They run off and I run after them.
Cato’s PoV
I look around the crowd of people surrounding me and I couldn’t even find Clove among them. This one girl, Ambrosia was all over me but I was hardly interested. Why was I suddenly the most liked guy in this school? I admit I did pack on a lot of muscle during the holidays, being stuck in my room training on every waking hour.
“You wanna go out sometime?” Ambrosia asks while winking at me and flicking her chestnut hair.
“Uhh. Ask me another time.” I say while giving a painful smile. I push everyone out of the way to find Clove. Ambrosia shoots me a very quizzical look, which I ignore. I keep running around the whole school until I see her in a basketball court with two other, unrecognizable people. I didn’t want to spoil her fun so I left her alone for a bit.
***
I wait outside the gate for Clove and she comes out but avoids eye contact with me. She walks in a faster pace than usual and I raise my eyebrow and chase after her.
“Clove! What are you doing?” I ask putting a smile on my face. She rolls her eyes and keeps walking. I grab her arm causing her to stop. Her face flushes red with angry and maybe confusion.
“Don’t touch me!” She yells in tears.
“What did I do?” I say keeping a strong grip on her.
“You left me!”
“No I didn’t!”
“Oh yes, you did! For all those popular people.” She mumbles at the end.
“Why would I do that? I mean…” I let go of her arm and look down at my feet. “I love you. I always have.”
“Say that now.” She crosses her arms, her face still wet from tears. “You know what? Don’t ever speak to me again!” She cries and starts running along the footpath towards the Training Academy. My heart instantly shatters and my eyes start to sting. I walk slowly with a depressing aura around me.
Clove completely ignored me through the whole training session, even if we were meant to be partners. I messed up everything; I lost my best friend and the girl I loved. I carry on with my sword fighting with thoughts trailing my mind everywhere. Thank god, Ambrosia didn’t train here. After training, I get home as fast as I can so I could clear my mind from everything that happened today.
Clove’s PoV
“Hi Blade.” I say without any expression as I walk past him to my bedroom.
“Clove.” He mutters and walks past me with a dagger. I look at my window and realise I could see Cato from here. I quickly close the shutters and run to the bathroom. I turn on the water, to hot so that I could see the steam coming off of the surface. I strip all my clothes off and step into the bathtub. I sit there for a few minutes without making a movement, running through everything in my head. It all lead to him, Cato. His words echoed through my mind.
I love you, I always have. My mind kept repeating over and over again. I slowly sink my head into the water. I close my eyes and fall into a dream. I could feel my lungs aching. I bolt upright and splutter water out of my mouth. I gasp for air and hold my arms over my chest. I stumble out of the bathtub and drain it. My heart was broken, like as if someone kept stabbing it with a knife. I clothe myself quickly and run to my room with my face covered with the palms of my hands.
**1 Month Later**
I sit on a bench waiting for Orchid and Hunter to stop messing around with each other. I could tell they had a very big thing for each other, just look at the way they do everything together. I was clearly jealous of them. My eyes skip around the students but a rather tall, muscular guy always catches my attention. It’s been a month since we’ve actually had a real conversation, from best friends to enemies, I guess. He was dating, that girl, Ambrosia, now but always for some weird reason rejected her attempts to kiss him. I still, well you can say, love him but I’ve always missed the ‘old’ Cato. He just wasn’t the same anymore.
Finally, Orchid and Hunter come over to me.
“Sorry we took long. This idiot wouldn’t let me go until I said yes.” Orchid apologizes sincerely while elbowing Hunter in his rib.
“Say yes to what?” I ask politely although completely ignoring her apology,
“Oh, you didn’t know? There’s like a party by that girl, what’s her name again?” Orchid answers while glancing at Hunter.
“Um…Jasmina.” He replies while holding his rib area.
“Yeah, her, I’m Hunter’s date for it.” She nods excitedly. “Are you bringing anyone?”
“I’ll just go on my own.” I fake smile.
“It’s a masquerade party so wear a mask, okay?” Orchid beams. I’ve never actually heard of this Jasmina girl before, shows how attentive I am. Damn, I needed something to wear. I’ll probably find something, somewhere.
Cato’s PoV
God, Ambrosia was getting annoying with her continuous attempts of kissing me. I’m only dating her to make Clove jealous but it seemed like it wasn’t working, at all. I never wanted to kiss anyone besides Clove so I’m saving the first one for her. I sigh, thinking of Jasmina’s party, wanting to ask Clove but forcing myself to ask Ambrosia.
“Hey Ambrosia, you coming to Jasmina’s party with me?” I ask casually.
“Yes of course I will, baby!” She squeals, almost deafening my ears. Ambrosia squeezes me tightly almost causing me to suffocate from the pressure. The bell rings and there was literally a stampede of students going back to class. Ambrosia grabs my hand and drags me along with her.