"Val doesn't really do the club scene." Cal snapped back quickly, tone completely disjointed from the charming wink he lavished on Sofia as she scampered back with his water. "Something about him hating pretty much everyone and being uncomfortable in big crowds. And anyway, Sese did have a life here before he ran off to the Districts. We used go out a lot before all that."

He wouldn't have characterized himself as nostalgic, not necessarily anyway. In the past few months, his life had shifted a lot. While there was a certain innocence to the routine of Capitol nightlife, Cal could also see very clearly that his time spent engaging with it hadn't really meant anything. It certainly hadn't come to some abrupt halt when he'd left it for a semi-professional life. It was just another thing. One probably better left to more thoughtful, reflective types. "Speaking of which-- Don't you hate everyone, too? I'm surprised you found time to bother with socializing."