Just as I’m embracing the idea that maybe it’s time to stop thinking about Hunter Maxwell, I feel someone sneak up behind me way too close, and then I hear his voice in my ear.
“Hey, Catnip.”
My heart drops right out of my chest, then explodes and unleashes a swarm of butterflies. Shivers race down my spine and for a few blessed seconds, everything feels floaty.
Hey, Catnip.
Oh, my God, he read the book. He read the book and he just quoted my very favorite book boyfriend. I could melt into a puddle around his sneakers right now, so it’s impossible to keep the grin off my face as I turn on my heel and look up at him.
“You read Hunger Games.”
Hunter smiles, and I feel the warmth spreading all over me like he’s my sun. “Sorta,” he says, shoving his hands into the pockets of his crisp new jeans. “I started it. I’m in chapter eight.”
“What do you mean, in chapter eight? Like, you’re starting chapter eight tonight, or you just finished?” My mind races as I try to remember what happened in that chapter so we can talk about it.
“I didn’t finish it yet. I started, but I got interrupted. I’ll finish it tonight.”
I frown. “Are you saying… you stopped midway through a chapter? Like, in the middle of reading a scene, you just… stopped?”
Hunter shrugs. “Eh, Peeta was talking, I was bored anyway.”
I was baffled a second ago, but him knocking my fictional arch nemesis brings a smile right back to my face. “You might be my favorite person right now.”
“Just right now?” he asks, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “I’ll have to try harder.”
“You can start by telling me how much you love Gale,” I inform him.
“Am I following you into the girls’ bathroom?” he inquires, cocking an eyebrow as we approach the opening.
“Oh. No. I forgot I was walking this way. I don’t really need to go to the bathroom, I just needed an excuse to come inside.”
“I noticed,” he remarks, smirking over at me. “Did I scare you off?”
I didn’t think that comment all the way through. My cheeks flush, but I go with absolute denial. “Of course not.”
“Seemed like I did,” he replies.
“Weren’t we talking about the book?” I ask, trying to direct him back on track. “I need to know all your thoughts. Do you like Gale, or are you just knocking Peeta because you know I do?”
“Yeah, I like Gale,” he says. “Peeta’s all right, though. He seems nice enough, just boring. I can’t imagine him keeping up with Katniss—maybe sitting on the sidelines holding her bag, but.... Gale’s the kind of guy you can see keeping up, challenging her, making her better. I haven’t seen that from Peeta yet. Doesn’t seem like he’s that kind of guy.”
“Yes, exactly,” I agree fervently. “That’s the thing, I don’t hate Peeta as a character. He is nice, but Katniss isn’t in love with him, so she shouldn’t be with him. That’s not romantic. I mean, I know it’s not a romance, but… I just can’t handle it because she and Gale had a spark, and I just hate—well, I can’t say yet, it would be spoilerish. Hurry up and read the whole trilogy so we can talk about how bleak and terrible Mockingjay is.”
“Maybe Katniss isn’t looking for a great love, just a really okay-looking purse holder,” he jokes.
I roll my eyes. “All she’s looking for is a box of tissues by Mockingjay, to wipe up all her tears.”
“Tears of boredom?” he questions. “If she gets with Peeta, I’m guessing tears of boredom.”
I sigh heavily. “I can’t even talk about it. Not until you finish the series yourself. I don’t want to color your reading experience more than I already have. I don’t possess the self-control to talk about each individual book without making spoilery comments, though, so I’m gonna need you to read faster.”
“I’ll get right on it,” he assures me. “Want me to hold your purse, too?”
I grin over at him. “You are so not a Peeta. You’re a Gale if I ever met one.”
“I’m a Hunter, actually.”
“So is Gale,” I tell him with a big grin.
Hunter rolls his eyes at me. “We’ve gotta get you out more. Your nerd bubble is out of control. Do you have a curfew?”
His question about stops my heart. “A curfew?”
Nodding, he teases, “You’ve heard of those, right? Parents typically give them so we don’t stay out all night with our friends. You do have friends, don’t you?”
I slide him an unamused look. “Of course I have friends. Well, a friend, but quality over quantity, right?”
Hunter blinks at me. “You seriously only have one friend?”
I back up against the wall and slide down it until my butt’s on the ground. Hunter sits down on the floor beside me. “It’s sorta complicated. Sara’s cool and fun, but people are afraid to be friends with her. It’s stupid,” I say, looking over at him. “It’s so dumb. But one of the mean girls put a target on her years ago and now… I don’t know. Same kids, same habits. People still avoid her, and Valerie’s still mean to her for no reason—”