She had a reputation. Everyone knew. Hell, it's her fault, anyway. You don't get a reputation like that just by hearsay.
In the training center, he instantly noticed her. She didn't cling onto Marvel or have a big mouth like the girl from his district (God that girl was so needy) did. Since it seemed there was only going to be the four of them- sure, there was the female tribute from District 4, too, but she was disposable, and her puny district partner would be basically useless- he figured it'd be best to get to know her. It's crucial to know everyone's potential weaknesses, after all. He already met Marvel. He was cocky and had a loud mouth. He was pretty good with a spear, though, so he would put up a good fight. Easy to boss around, too.
"I'm Cato, District 2. What's your name?" he asked.
Marvel stepped in. "Dumbass, that's what her name should be. Your stupid ring got confiscated, idiot. Nice try." he teased her.
She put on an innocent face. "Hey, I didn't have anything to do with that, Marvel! How would I know that it was laced with a deadly poison? That ring was an heirloom from my wonderful late grandmother. I'm no cheat, sweetie, I'm a good girl." She winked at Cato.
"You gonna tell me your name or not?" Cato repeated. He noticed how green her eyes were.
She smiled slyly. Standing on her the tips of her toes, she ever so slightly whispered in his ear. Cato's nose was flooded with the faint scent of vanilla. "Glimmer."
Marvel groaned. "There she goes again. Keep your panties together, Glimmer. Jesus, you're like a freaking siren... Wait, Cato, bro, check out Robin Hood over there," He pointed a finger at a girl with her hair loosely held together in a braid. She was in the archery simulation, and, man, was she killing it. She wasn't even phased at how fast the simulation operated. "Isn't that the girl from 12, you know, the one who volunteered for her little sister or some crap like that? Made a scene and everything. You think she'd be good?"
Cato looked her over. By the looks of it, she was definitely going to be a problem. It's unusual for the kids from the lower districts to volunteer. They're all dirt poor, and the prospect of death frightened the cowards. The tributes from 11 and 12 never make it. This girl was different, though. Clearly she didn't come here to make friends or show off, but it seemed like she was a wild card. She was keeping to herself, yet she still drew a crowd from her little bow and arrow performance. "What's her name?" The girl noticed him staring at her, but he didn't break his glare.
"Everdeen. Katniss Everdeen. I don't think she'll be an issue, though, Cato. She's definitely no match against me, that's for sure. We can take her out whenever," Clove said. Cato rolled his eyes. Jesus Christ, she talked so damn much. If she wasn't so good with a knife, he'd out her so fast. "Anyways, I saw this boy from 3 who's, like, a genius. I know we don't really talk to the District 3 geeks, and he won't be in the alliance and all, but just in case, we can get him to help us out during the Games. Fix us up a land mine or two, you know?"
"Uh, yeah. Sure. Good thinking, Clove." Cato said absently. She looked so pleased with herself for bringing up the idea. He lamely offered her a nod of approval, and she immediately grinned, but settled for a slight smirk instead.
As the group left for the dining hall, Cato made a mental note of Katniss Everdeen.
Almost every night she came to his room, like clockwork. On the nights she didn't come, she wouldn't tell him her whereabouts. She just smiled and let herself in the door.
The first time she made an appearance was at 2 AM on their second night at the training center.
Cato was wide awake, going over his game plan for victory, the plan after everyone out of the alliance was dead. He knew he could overpower Clove easily, as long as he surprised her first. That girl was like a dog: so obedient and willing to please. What a try-hard. As she'd try desperately to wriggle out of his arms, he'd slit her throat.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a quiet tap on his door. Irritated, he walked over to greet his uninvited guest with a punch in the face, but saw someone else instead.
"It's 2 in the fucking morning, Glimmer. What do you want?"
"Why, yes, it's late. You don't seem to be asleep, though, so I'll take it my company is wanted. If not, I'm sure it will be soon enough."
"How the hell did you get here, anyways?" He's got his hand next to Glimmer's head as she leaned back against the door frame, arms crossed. He noticed a brown bag slung over her shoulder. "And what's in the bag?"
She looked up, amused. "I took the elevator down from 1 when my handlers went to sleep. Wasn't hard," her fingertips lightly pressed against Cato's bare chest as she said in a low voice, "I stole a bottle of wine when my mentor, Cashmere, wasn't looking. So, you gonna let me in or what, pretty boy?" She peered up at him with her deep green eyes and flashed him a smile.
Cato ran his hand through his hair, took one look at small girl in front of him, and sighed. He stepped aside and let her in, locking the door behind him. Glimmer sauntered in and revealed a bottle of red wine. As she placed it down on his desk, she noticed papers strewn about. She glanced down at them.
"Cato, darling, what's this? Ah, making plans, I see. Mustn't leave out our private information for the world to explore. Let's take a look, shall we?" She playfully picked up the papers and waved them at him.
Immediately, Cato rushed over and snatched the stack from her hands.
She laughed lightly. "Don't worry, sweetheart, we've all got ideas. Where am I on your list? What do you have under Glimmer for possible weaknesses, strengths, and skills? Do you already have my death mapped out, Cato?" A smirk was plastered on her pretty face.
He set his papers back down on the wooden desk and sat down. "Yeah, well, what's it to you? What's your strategy?"
Her long blonde curls shifted as cocked her head."Me? If you must know," She bent down to meet his eyes and rested her arms over his shoulders, inches away from his face. "I plan to enjoy myself. We're all going to die, anyway. Well, except for the very lucky victor. How lucky do you think you're going to be, pretty boy?"
"Pretty fucking lucky." He met her gaze and bit his lip. Jesus, she was so hot. Cato dropped his eyes briefly to look at her lips.
Glimmer raised her eyebrows. She looked down, and grinned. "Turns out my company is wanted after all, isn't it, Cato?"
For a second there, he almost blushed. Instead, he grabbed her slim waist, roughly kissed her and pushed her down onto the bed, eliciting excited squeals and giggles from the girl.
...
She always left. She never spent the night, not that Cato minded. In the mornings, his Avoxes would come in for housekeeping, and across their faces were looks of slight confusion as to why his room smelled of sickly sweet vanilla.
AN: I'm so stoked for this mini-series. What do you think? Let me know! x