Cato woke up to the sound of a scream. It wasn't loud enough to wake most people up, but this scream was special. It was Clove's.
He sat up and slowly got out of his bed, careful not to trip on the fancy Capitol furniture. There was enough light from the city that he could walk to his door. He quietly slipped out of his room and knocked on Clove's. A muffled growl came from inside the room. Cato pushed through the doorway to find a girl curled into a ball at the edge of her bed. The covers had been kicked away and her light skin was illuminated by the city lights. She shook with each choked whimper.
"Clove?" He asked. He wasn't sure who this girl was, it looked like Clove but he had never seen her break down. The girl answered by telling him to leave if he didn't want his fingers severed off. He smiled, that was the Clove he knew. He sat next to her on the bed and pulled the blankets over her body. "What's wrong, Clover?" He asked her softly.
She turns her face to look at him, her eyes are large and tears lay thick on her lashes. "I'm gonna die tomorrow, aren't I? I'm gonna get killed by the guy from 11 or something." He shook his head. He didn't understand this at all, yesterday she had been bragging about how she could take down anyone. "I'm small, Cato. And if takes a lot of throwing knives to kill someone." She let out a wounded sound from the back of her throat. "I'm gonna die, Cato." She looked at him with pained eyes.
Cato wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "You aren't gonna die. You're the best fighter here, besides me of course." He smiled at her, hoping his joke would cheer her up. It didn't. He squeezed her shoulders. "Clover, I'll keep an eye on you, okay? If you're in trouble I'll get you out of it."
She wiped her cheeks with her palms."You promise?"
"Of course I promise. Just call my name and I'll be there."
"So whenever I'm in trouble I can just say 'Cato!' and you'll come?"
"Duh. Then once I come everything will be okay." Cato stroked her hair and smiled softly at her. She returned the smile weakly. She was calming down, her tears had dissipated, but they had given her headache. She rested her forehead against his shoulder.
"Are you sleepy?" He asked. She nodded. He pulled her away from his shoulder and laid down on her bed, placing her gently beside him. She curled up against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. "Goodnight, Clove." He whispered.
They slept together that night, entwined in each other's arms and the warm blankets. In the bloodbath Clove called out Cato's name. He was there for her instantly, as he had promised. So the petite girl began to count on him. She knew that if she was in trouble, he would save her.
He never broke his promise, save for one time. But it was only once because after that, she never called his name again.