Breaking Free

By Blackkeys51

Chapter 1

~X~

I'm glad I came from District Two. Want to know why? Because I was certain to pulverize all those 23 weak teenagers who stood before me. It would come down to that bitch from Twelve and me. Someone else would finish off Clove. I couldn't do that…I wouldn't.

It makes me sick. She thinks she's all that, "The Girl on Fire." Granted, she isn't that bad looking. And she's handy with a bow. She even got an 11 in Training. But she adopts this googly-eyed look for Lover Boy and I just want to tear them both apart. It is so completely obvious that they're faking it. At least to me it is. I can see past their lies.

I'm glad the team from Twelve noticed me eyeing Katniss after the Tribute Parade. I'm glad she noticed me in Training. That gave me enough edge to get Lover Boy on our side so we could hunt her down and make them both wish they hadn't been born.

I definitely wish I wasn't.

~X~

"Hey, Cato," someone says to me, taking a seat beside me in the Dining Hall. I ignore them, focusing on the pile of food in front of me. We have it good here, in Two. We are not starving like the people in the outside Districts. I don't notice who it is until their small fingers poke and prod at my right bicep until I am forced to look at whoever it is. "You've gotten stronger."

Clove is smiling at me. Petite, with cat-like features and reflexes to match, she is puny compared to my size, yet equally deadly. I suddenly feel sorry for ignoring her, and I smile back, appreciating her company.

"They've started focusing on my strength more than anything," I reply, "It's crucial to be physically strong for The Games if you can't find any other skill to suit you."

She begins eating, taking bird-size bites of steak and talking in between them. "Well then, I'm glad I'm handy with a knife."

"Come on, so am I."

"Yeah, as a short sword," she snickers, "Mine is a bullet out of my hand."

"I think I could take you," I shoot back. Really I'm just bluffing, and I know she'll bite at the bait, but I'm honestly afraid of her. She's much smaller than me, and much quicker.

"Wanna bet?"

~X~

We finally hunt down a suitable pair of blunt knives for each of us, and head out to the enclosed practice area behind the gym. No one else is out there, still finishing lunch, but both Clove and I find the mindless chatter mind-blowingly annoying.

"So here's the deal," she says, spinning around to face me, "Whoever is pinned on the ground for more than three seconds loses."

"What do I get when I win?"

"If you win," she says, scoffing, "The winner gets the loser's desert for a month. The winner also gets the plain satisfaction of winning, and gets the use of the loser's knife in class for two weeks."

I groan. "Come on, you can't take my good knife."

"Then win." She stalks away, grinning, preparing herself. I shake my muscles, loosening them and warming them up, then I crouch down, lowering myself closer to the ground. Her cat eyes narrow, and for a second, everything is still.

She springs up into the air and lands in a roll, catching me by surprise long enough to slice the fabric of my shorts with her blunt. I recoil in shock and then come back at her, throwing blow after blow. I pin her knife with mine and then twist and throw hers aside, propelling it to the ground. I punch her in her side lightly and hear her gasp. Oops.

She grabs at my fists and knees me in my gut, making me drop the knife from my hands. I suddenly find myself in a headlock, being thrown to the ground and pinned by her body. She has more weight on her than I thought.

"1…2…3!" She gasps, then releases the pressure on my throat. I gasp for air, when I noticed she hasn't moved off me. I can feel her breathing hard, her head resting on my chest. She looks up at me, then kisses me gently on the lips.

"You owe me a month of ice cream…and your good knife."