Panem High: Freshman Year

Chapter 11

"Truth or dare?" Clove asked Glimmer. The girls sat on the carpeted floor of Clove's bedroom a few days after Clove and Cato had made their agreement. It was Friday night, and Glimmer was skipping one of her two weekly conditioning classes she had been taking for dance (which were a living hell, in her own personal opinion) to sleep over at Clove's and do nothing productive.

"Hmm..." Glimmer said, thinking out loud. "Truth."

Her phone chimed, and when she saw Marvel's name on the screen, she smiled instantly.

"Ooh," Clove teased. "Truth: What's it say?" she asked.

Glimmer stared down at the screen for a moment before clicking the notification. Her iPhone X unlocked automatically and instantly opened Snapchat. At the very top was *marvel sanford* with blue letters under it reading New Chat. She tapped it. Can u come over tmr at 3? Glimmer read the message out loud to Clove.

"What do I say?" she asked nervously. Clove rolled her eyes.

"Well, can you?" she asked.

"Yeah..."

"Then tell him that."

"Oh, yeah," Glimmer laughed awkwardly. Yeah for sure :), she typed. He replied instantly.

Ok great ;)))

"I'm gonna have to go home and change tomorrow," she muttered. "I mean, I can't go over in what I brought to wear tomorrow..."

Clove's phone dinged too, and she checked it, rapidly firing off a response as Glimmer muttered to herself. She sighed.

Sorry," Glimmer smiled, putting her phone in the pocket of her Adidas joggers.

"All good," Clove grinned.

"Truth or dare?" Glimmer asked.

"Uh, truth."

"Truth: do you like Cato? Like, that way..."

"Umm, honestly, I— I don't know," Clove responded, and Glimmer believed it. "Like, we've been really close lately and of course we have still been bugging each other very persistently, but we have also been talking a lot more, and having, like, serious conversations about stuff. And I trust him and everything and he thinks I'm pretty and honestly he isn't too bad himself but-"

"What do you mean he thinks you're pretty?!" Glimmer exclaimed.

"Ouch," Clove muttered.

"No, I meant, when did he say that and why didn't you tell me and yeah true he isn't exactly ugly either and wowwww!!!"

"Well, I guess he told his little sister 'cause when she saw me she was like, 'you were right Cato, she did get ever prettier than before' and then I asked him about it a few days ago and he said something like 'what, I'm not allowed to think my friend is pretty?' and I said 'yeah, I guess that's okay' and he said 'good 'cause you are' and I said 'oh well thanks' and he said 'you're welcome' and I didn't tell you because it didn't seem that important, I guess, and yeah, I know, he is really cute and 'wowwwww' pretty much sums it up, yeah."

"Damn," said Glimmer. "But do you like him?"

"You know, I was one quarter of the way through explaining when you interrupted me."

"Sorry..."

"It's fine," Clove laughed, "but if you interrupt me again I will not resume my soliloquy." Glimmer nodded. "So where was I? Ah. He isn't too bad himself but we've just been friends for such a long time. I mean, it's been ten years and since the minute we met it was, like, this unspoken agreement, this unsigned contract, that we were always gonna be here, you know? Thick or thin, fire or flood, we would make it out together. Together or not at all. And when this school year started, I knew things would be different, but I didn't expect them to be that different, and I'm glad that all of that is sorted out now. But I just don't know if I like him like him or just like him the way I always have. But then again, how have I 'always' liked him? Maybe I've actually like-liked him for years and not known it. I mean, I liked him that way in the sixth grade, but he liked Lissy Kardeich- good Lord I hated that stupid, prissy little bitch- but I got over him pretty fast, or so I thought."