~CATO P.O.V~
Ever since my twelfth birthday, I dreamed about being a tribute in the Hunger Games. It was considered an honor to be picked as a tribute. I dreamed that I would be picked as tribute, enter the arena, come out victorious, and bring honor and glory to my district. I also dreamed about spending my life with a certain girl.
The girl lived a few houses down from me with her fathers and newborn sister. It was sort of rare in Panem, but every once in a while, a male will be born with the ability to carry children. You could always tell because there would be a little "X" shaped birthmark on the males palm. I didn't care if the girls parents were guys. In fact, I was grateful. They had created a beautiful being and I was in love with her. But the girl had no idea. I wanted to tell her, but I wasn't sure how. Everytime I tried to think of a way to tell the girl how I felt, I somehow ended up remembering the day I first saw her.
It was the day of the reaping for the 70th annual Hunger Games. The speaker was an older woman from the capitol who wore a little too much purple. She was cheery and seemed happy that she was going to send two kids to their deaths. Everyone was silent as the woman reached her hand into the glass balls containing the names. I felt bad. The tributes were siblings. When the woman read the names on the slips, first the girls and then the boys, there was one cry that was louder than all the others. I looked over to see the idiot who was making the cries and saw a beautiful girl instead. She was being restrained by her father. Through the tears and screams, I could tell that she was beautiful. She had shoulder length black hair, bright green eyes, and pale skin. Normally pale skin was a sign of sickness in district two, but the girl was obviously healthy if she was able to scream so loudly. Her pale skin just made her eyes more noticeable. I thought it was terrible for a girl like her to lose both her siblings to the Hunger Games and felt sorry for her. During the next few weeks, the girl never left her house. When the games began, the she lost her sister to the bloodbath at the Cornucopia. Her brother lasted till the feast. I was at the bakery buying bread when the girl run by with tears streaming from her eyes. I had no idea why she was crying until I returned home.
I got my chance to talk to the girl when we were training at the academy. She was at her usual place, shooting targets at the archery range. The girl was extremely focused so I decided to wait until she was done. She was a fantastic shooter. She hit the bullseye every time whether it was in the targets head or the targets heart. When the girl put the bow down and began to move on to do something else, I quickly moved up to her and said hello.
"That was some great shooting back there."
~DANNY P.O.V~
I jumped when I heard a voice behind me. I didn't expect anyone to come and talk to me. When I turned around, I was met by the most beautiful pair of blue eyes that I had ever seen. I was speechless. The boy I had dreamed about for a long time was standing in front of me and was talking to me. Cato was actually talking to me I couldn't think of anything to say. I was afraid I would say something stupid and make Cato laugh at me. I decided to just say the first thing that came to mind.
"Thanks."
"I wouldn't have been able to hit the bullseye every time even if I tried." said Cato.
"It's not as easy as it looks." I replied.
"I bet not." Cato answered back. "Do you think you could teach me how to shoot like that?"
"Sure. All you gotta do is hold the bow in the hand you don't write with and hold the string in the hand you do write with. You stand with the sides of your feet facing the target followed by your body. Now, when you go to pick up an arrow, you grab below the feathers with your pointer finger and thumb followed by the rest of your hand. You put the arrow in the arrow rest and the end notch on the string. Next, you pull the string back with your three middle fingers. Make sure that when you pull back, your bow arm is extended all the way and completely straight. But make sure to keep your grip relaxed. Your grip is one thing that keeps the bow straight. Also, when you pull back, bring the string all the way to the tip of your nose. Now, when you're aiming, you should aim a little above where you want the arrow to go. Also, before you let the arrow go, take a deep breath on. When you let the arrow go, keep your release position for five seconds while slowly breathing out."
~CATO P.O.V~
I listened to every word. I did everything. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. When I was ready, I opened my eyes and let the arrow fly. Surprisingly, I hit the bullseye in the targets head.
"I hit it!" I exclaimed.
"You are a natural." the girl replied.
"You think so?" I asked.
"I don't think so. I know so." the girl replied.
I felt good inside. The girl of my dreams said I was good at something that I had never done before. I felt like he accomplished a huge goal. I began to wonder if I should repay the girl for teaching me how to use a bow. I thought about it for a second and then decided that I would teach the girl how to use a sword.
"Hey, do you know how to use a sword?"
" A little bit." the girl replied.
"I'll show you more." I said.
For the next few hours, the girl and I worked on attacking techniques, killing techniques, defending techniques, a lot of other things. By the end of the day, the girl was as good as me with a sword. She learned quickly and caught on to everything I showed her. While working together, we talked about ourselves. I learned that the girls name was Danny and that she only lived a few houses away from me. She lived with her two fathers and a newborn sister. I knew that Danny was born from her father, but I didn't care.
When it was time to go home, I walked Danny to her house. At the door, it was silent. Danny and me said our goodbyes for the night and went our separate ways. I was at my house and was about to go inside when I heard my name being called. I turned around and saw Danny running towards me. I was about to question her actions when Danny reached my doorstep and hugged me. I was completely surprised, but I liked it.
Danny was small for a girl of fifteen but her hugs were warm and comforting. I returned the hug and rested my chin atop Danny's head. I inhaled softly and let the sweet scent of lilacs fill my nose. The scent was calming. I felt warm inside. Even though we just met a little bit ago, I liked Danny a lot. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. I knew I had found my soulmate. Danny knew it too.
" I love you, Danny." I whispered.
" I love you too, Cato." Danny replied.
"Will you be with me forever?" I asked.
"Uh huh." Danny replied.
I let go of Danny and held her face in my hands. I looked into her eyes and sighed with happiness. I knew I was Danny's first boyfriend and knew she would want to take things slow. I was perfectly fine with that. I wasn't going to pressure Danny into doing something that she didn't want to. When she was ready to move onto the next step in our relationship, I would be too. As I looked into Danny's eyes, she reached into her pants pocket and pulled out two necklaces.
~DANNY'S P.O.V~
"I want you to have this." I said while giving Cato one of the necklaces.
"What is it?" Cato asked.
"It's a necklace with half a heart. As long as you have it, you'll always be mine." I replied.
I took the necklace from Cato's hand and put it around his neck. Cato did the same thing with my necklace. When the two halves were put together, the words engraved in the metal were: TOGETHER FOREVER. The words were perfect for the new relationship between me and Cato.
"I love it, Danny!" Cato exclaimed.
"I thought you would." I said while smiling.
"Well, I guess we should go inside. It's pretty dark out." Cato said.
"I guess we should. Good night." I told Cato.
"Good night, Danny." Cato replied back.
With those words, Cato gave me one last hug and a kiss on the cheek. I returned the gestures and then ran back to my house. I smiled the whole way. When I entered the house, I saw that Daddy and Papa were already eating dinner and had a spot set for me. I walked over to my spot and sat down. I tried to hide my smile but failed. When Daddy asked why I was smiling,I blurted out everything.
By the time I was done talking, dinner was over and everyone was ready for bed. Daddy was happy for me. He knew who Cato was and knew that he would treat me right. Papa gave me a kiss on the head, said goodnight, then went to help Daddy put my baby sister to bed. I said good night back and went upstairs to my room. I changed into a nightshirt and crawled into bed. As I fell into the waiting arms of sleep, images of Cato flew into my mind.