Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games or any of its characters. I merely own the idea of this fic.

AN: I'll be using elements from both the book and the movie for this story. I hope you enjoy. Please take some time to review and share your thoughts. :)

"I volunteer as tribute!"

It was cause for very little surprise to hear those four words uttered in their district. They have long groomed their tributes, whom other districts referred to as careers, to take spots in the annual Hunger Games. However, they didn't expect her to volunteer now. It was a bit of a curious event. She was still young, still a couple of years shy of 18, the usual age of the volunteering tributes are. It meant they had trained longer and are more capable of taking on whatever challenge other tributes or the game makers could throw at them. Yet there she was, marching up the stage with her head held high.

The volunteer for the boys came more expected, a thunderous applause actually sounding throughout the plaza when he stepped forward to announce his intentions. Just the sight of him would make anyone favor him as this year's victor. Add his natural gift for destruction and having honed his skills for years, and you've got the best bet for the winner.

As they stood together up on the stage, they made quite an odd looking pair. The girl was small in stature, not quite grown into a woman's figure but the smirk on her lips could make men fall to their knees in fear. The boy was tall with his muscles well-defined, easily speaking of his physical prowess. They were District 2's chances of winning, and they looked to have the best odds.

"Your tributes for the 74th Annual Hunger Games - Cato and Clove!"

Curiosity filled her mind when she caught him from the corner of her eye. His gaze was transfixed across the room instead of listening to what their mentor, escort and stylists were saying. She tried to follow his line of sight, her face falling into a scowl when her eyes landed on whatever it was that caught his attention. It was that girl from District 12. The one who had volunteered in place of her younger sister. Emotional – too weak in her opinion and shouldn't cause her any worry. But she had caught Cato's eye, and for that reason alone, she was a threat.

Clove's features hardened further when his eyes followed the girl as their entourage left, presumably to head to their apartment. What's so interesting about her? she thought. She'll probably be too distraught to actually do anything once we're in the arena. I'll have to pick her off first to save her any more grief.

"Let's go."

Both their attentions were brought back to their mentor as he angrily stalked off towards the elevator. From what she had caught earlier, he was quite pissed off that 12 garnered so many cheers from the crowd, stealing potential sponsors from the almost guaranteed victors that they were. While other districts did manage to produce victors, the tributes from District 1 and 2 were often favored early as winners. The others were seen as flukes or merely having better sponsors that helped them to victory.

Yeah, I'll just make sure to kill her first before any sponsors find a way to help her.

The trip to their apartment was a short one. The time it took for the elevator to arrive would have been longer compared to how much time it would have taken for her to run up the stairs. She and Cato would have even made a competition of it had it not been for the glare their mentor had set on them.

Once in their apartment, they were left to fend for themselves. Their mentor disappeared into his quarters with a slam of the door. Their escort quickly excused herself and went back into the elevator. Their stylists just pushed them to the direction of their rooms and told them to rest. But rest was as far from their minds as it could get. As soon as they managed to change out of their costumes, Cato and Clove found themselves in the living room.

"It's not that different from home, isn't it?" he asked, giving his observation as his eyes scanned the expanse of the room.

"Nope," she said with a smirk. "I bet the tributes from the other districts are wetting themselves just at the feel of the silk bed sheets."

His booming laughter tore through his chest, her eyes lighting up at the sound.

"I bet they'd make themselves sick when dinner gets served," he said, making a joke of his own. "It would be funny if someone eats too fast, chokes on the food and dies. It'll save us the work."

They traded more jokes and theories as to what the other tributes were doing while waiting for the replay of the opening ceremony to show on TV. They quieted down when they heard the national anthem play, signifying the start of the program.

Before the broadcast of the opening ceremony, they showed Cesar Flickerman give a quick rundown of the tributes. Cato and Clove only showed some interest in the tributes from District 1, both noting that they should form a pack to make things go quicker. More quips came as they showed the other tributes, each making bets on how long they'd stay alive or who they were going to fall victim to. But once they had reached 12, he fell silent. His face falling into an unreadable expression as Cesar talked about Katniss Everdeen.

Cato sat up straighter when he heard her name, his eyes staring right at the image of the tribute Panem has dubbed the girl on fire. Clove scoffed at the title, musing how it would be funny if she ended up dying in one.

"Shut up."

Her mouth went agape when she heard those two words. Disbelief was clearly written across her face as she stared at his profile. Long after Katniss' image was replaced by the boy from her district, Cato still seemed mesmerized.

Oh, I'm definitely getting rid of her first.