Stupid Cupid: A Modern Clato Fanfiction [Completed]

Chapter 9

The very first thing that Clove saw when she woke up was her best friend. She was laying on the bed in the nurse's office. Cato was across the room, slumped on a chair, lightly snoring. Clove tried to sit up, but her head hurt. She put a hand up to her forehead, wincing. 

What the hell happened? 

Oh, that's right. Cato wanted to ask Glimmer out to the Valentine's Day Dance. Just another reason for Clove to loathe the holiday. 

"Shit..." Clove murmured, her teeth clamping down on her bottom lip. "Shit, shit, shit."

At the very last shit, Cato bolted up from his chair, eyes darting across the room. "Clove!" he exclaimed when his eyes landed on her. Clove gave him a sheepish smile. "Hi, I passed out. Didn't I?" she said lamely, her cheeks flushing. 

Cato chuckled, pulling the chair up to the side of the bed. Clove lay back down, and Cato sat down and clutched her hand in his. The gesture made the butterflies in Clove's stomach go insane. She blushed, but that quickly faded. It was just a friendly action. It wasn't meant to be romantic. 

"Yeah, you fainted," Cato told her, blue eyes twinkling. "You nearly scared me to death, Clove." 

"I'm sorry," she apologized with a sigh. "I-I just don't know what came over me." 

That, of course, was a big fat lie. It was because of his idiotic decision to asked her to help him ask Glimmer to the dance. Out of shock, and heartbreak, she fainted. Clove wondered what she would've done if she didn't black out. Would she have slapped some sense into Cato? Yes, an angry red hand print on his cheek would help. 

Because she loved him, and he clearly didn't love her the same way. They still flirted without even knowing, still teased each other. But the actions didn't mean anything to Cato. Not as much as it meant to Clove. 

"Are you feeling alright?" Cato asked, eyebrows raised. Clove nodded, giving him a small smile in return. "Yeah, I'm fine. Have you been here all this time?" Cato smirked. "Yeah, I have. School ended about a half an hour ago. I missed science class, in case you were wondering." 

Clove threw her head back in laughter. "I bet you were glad to have an excuse not to go." Cato said, "Yes, I was. But more than anything, I was concerned about you. I still am." 

"Thanks," Clove whispered, looking down at their hands. "For everything. For being here, and being worried." "Of course," he replied. "You're my best friend, Clover." 

And there was the friend bomb again. No matter what, he was her best friend. And she wanted him to be happy. And they were just in high school. This wasn't true love. It was just some silly little crush, right? 

"Listen," Clove started. She had to stop for a beat. It felt like there was a boulder sitting on her lungs. "I'll still help you, if you want me to. Ask Glimmer out, I mean." 

Cato's mouth broke out into a grin, but before he could say anything, Clove continued speaking. 

"I am not like Glimmer, nothing at all. We are like, entirely different species. And different girls like, want, and find different things attractive. So, I'll try my best. This may not work out well." 

Part of that wasn't true. Clove and Glimmer may have been different, but they both found Cato Hadley very attractive. Almost every girl in the school did. He looked like an angel. Absolutely perfect. 

"Thank you!" Cato exclaimed, throwing his arms around the girl on the bed. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he repeated, laughing from happiness. 

Clove couldn't help but break out into laughter with him. "Okay, okay," she breathed. "Now, I'd appreciate it if you got off of me now!" Cato did as she said. "I'm sorry," he told her, thought he still wore a grin on his face. 

"When do you want to start?" Cato asked. 

Clove thought for a moment before responding, "Well, as soon as possible. We have two weeks to woo Glimmer. Fourteen days, fourteen days. That may seem like a ton of time, but it really isn't. You need to contribute as much energy as you can into this. I'm helping you, but not doing all of the work." 

"Of course I will," Cato assured her. "I'm just going to need help with a few things. And, at times, advice." 

"Why didn't you ask one of the guys to help you? Like Finnick? He's good with these kinds of things. Why do you want me?" 

"Because," Cato went on to explain. "There's only certain things I can talk about with the guys. and you're my best friend. You know everything about me." 

And she did, she really did. 

This was going to be the hardest thing Clove had ever done in her entire life.