Disclaimer : I do not own The Hunger Games

"And our volunteers for this year are…." Everyone's eyes were glued to Enobaria as her hand moved around the bowl, before snatching two pieces of paper and reading out the names written on them. "Cato Smith and Sapphire Johnson."

Groans could be heard from all over the room as everyone who weren't chosen shot death glares at the two teenagers who were grinning proudly at the back. Cato had his arm around his girlfriend, who was smiling proudly at him. "Now," Enobaria said loudly, earning everyone's attention back to her. "I have a project for our two tributes. You will visit the other districts. Each of you will get two people from each district and take them here, where you will use them to practice different methods of… giving the Capitol a show." They nodded and gestured for Enobaria to continue. "I will choose a partner for you before you go next week. You have 6 months to find people who you think are strong enough to put of a fight before you execute them. Sapphire, you will be going with Mark Wallace and Cato will-" "I'll be going with Clove." Enobaria raised an eyebrow at him. "Very well, Cato. I trust that you know what you're doing. Now, everyone go back to training!"

"Hey, Smith! Or should I say BlackSmith?" Cato gritted his teeth as they continued to jeer at him. "Heard you're taking your midget out for a district tour!" He could hear them laughing. Before he knew what happened, he was pinning the bastard against the wall. "If you say anything about Clove, I will make sure your balls will make all the girls you try to do run away in fear." "You mean, make me look like you. Everyone knows that the only girl you've succeeded in getting is that midget." An echo could be heard around the room. Everyone turned and saw Silver Stone hunched against the wall with an expression that suggests pain only a guy has ever been associated with and Cato stomping out of the room.

"You know your dad is going to beat you again once he knows you've embarrassed his family name again right?" Cato just grinned. "Not when he finds out who's going to volunteer for the Games this year." "Oh yeah, about that. I'm proud of you." "Do I get a prize for that?" Clove grimaced at him. "It wasn't really your doing. And besides, I give you prizes every night, don't I?" Cato grinned before pinning her against the bed they were sitting on, expressing his excitement for everything non-verbally. He was going around the no-good districts to find people to have fun with, and then he was going into the Games. When he returned as a victor, he was going to live away from his abusive father and nobody would dare to comment on his relationship with Clove anymore. He would prove that love had not weakened him, like everybody at the center seemed to think.

The week went by quickly and it was time for the four teenagers to go and visit the districts. At the train station, Sapphire and Cato were discussing ways of killing people with all the 1021 weapons there were in the training center. "I can carve patterns into the bodies of those filthy scum I find in the crappy districts before I slit their throat," Sapphire was bragging. Cato scoffed. "I have 21 ways of piercing a person's heart through their back, stomach and even through their limbs." Clove and Mark were sitting next to them, listening to the two share their tips and experience, sighing every now and then. "No, Cato, you did NOT pin the fly against the wall with your knife-throwing skills, I did." "Shut up, Clover." Sometimes they found themselves having laughing fits together.

The train arrived and they went on it. Inside, a Capitol attendant was waiting for them. "We will be here for 6 hours before we reach District 3. After that, we will go to the districts after that one before we go to District 1. Meanwhile, you are free to do what you want. You will be having your meals in the Dining Room, which is in the back car. Your bedrooms will be in the next car. Each bedroom will fit two people. You can choose to either sleep alone or with a partner. Have a nice ride." He then walked out of the car. "Okay," Mark said awkwardly, "What should we do now?" "I think we should go clean ourselves up and meet in the dining room for dinner." Clove said. "Sure," Sapphire nodded, "Meet you guys here at six."

Clove and Cato decided to share a room, while Sapphire and Mark took separate rooms at the end of the car. In their room, Cato took his shirt off and lounged on the bed. Clove frowned. "Go take a shower." "Come with me," Cato grinned, "you look tense." She rolled her eyes but complied. "Me looking tense isn't really a good excuse of wanting me to get inside the shower with you." "It worked, didn't it?" "Only because I love you and don't want you to feel the pain of getting rejected." In the shower, Cato unexpectedly massaged Clove's back, rubbing the sore spots and pressing on the knots on her back. Clove smiled. "Not like you to be helpful. I hope you're not trying to get into my pants again." Cato rolled his eyes. "You underestimate me, woman. I have no such plans." Clove grinned and started rubbing against his groin, enjoying the surprised look on his face. "Really, now?" "Dammit." Cato groaned. They started kissing, with the cool sensation of the water droplets landing on their bodies. After a while, Cato got more passionate and pinned her on the floor. Clove flipped him so that she was the one on top this time. "You really are strong," Cato said between kisses and groans, smiling cheekily. "despite your size." Clove just rolled her eyes and got up. "Come on, we have to go eat dinner. And shut up about my size unless you want a knife in your eye when you wake up in the morning." "Killjoy."

Dinner was fun. Cato, Clove, Sapphire and Mark had fun joking around the table. There was a feast of mushroom soup, Caesar salad, roast chicken, mango pudding and a chocolate fountain where they dipped marshmallows and fruit.

Time went by quickly and before they knew it, they were in District 3. They could see a lot of technology factories. One had "Lighting" written on it with rusted steel letters. There were similar buildings with different titles. "Batteries" "Televisions" "Electric Gadgets" Cato didn't get why they even bothered making televisions and gadgets. Surely the people in District 3 were too poor to afford any luxuries like that. "Well," Sapphire finally said, "guess we should start finding victims now. Should we split up?" "Guess so. I'll go with Clove." Cato said.

"So where should we start looking?" Clove asked. "I think we should go to the place where we will find the strongest and smartest people." Cato answered. "Maybe the labs? They have pretty smart people in there. God knows you need to start training your brain to work if you wanna win the games." Clove teased. "Hush, Clover."

In the labs, they selected a smart-looking man who was working on a blue and red chemical, his face expressing his awe as he saw them mix and turn green. Cato grabbed the man and covered his mouth when his mouth opened to scream.

Two days later, they were back on the train. Cato and Clove had taken a 12-year-old child besides the scientist from District 3. Clove had chosen him, to make sure Cato won't be submerged in guilt if he had to kill a child in the Games. "Seriously, Clover?" Cato had joked. "You're worried about my conscience? Everyone knows you're the compassionate one." Clove caught his arm and twisted it behind his back. Cato winced. "Say it again." "You're the coldest and most ruthless person I have ever met." Clove smiled. "That's better. You know I plan on volunteering next year. Don't need your compassionate comments about me to change Enobaria's mind."

In District 4, they had found a muscled fisherman and his 17-year-old son. In District 5, a fiery brunette and a beautiful blonde girl. "You have to try everything to really be prepared. Can't have you falling in love with your enemy now, can we?" Cato rolled his eyes. "Getting jealous, Clove?" It continued like that until they reached District 12. Clove and Cato had been wandering around the roads, commenting once in a while about how dirty the district is. When they passed the fence guarding the district from the woods, Cato spotted the silhouette of a man far in the woods. "Hey, let's go into the woods. I think I saw a man in there." Clove was skeptical. "Cato, that's against the law." "Technically, we ARE helping by catching whoever broke the law and taking him. Besides, he must be strong to be able to go so far into the woods without getting mauled by a wild beast. Someone we can take with us back to the training center." Clove was still hesitating. "Cato, are you sure?" Truth to be told, he wasn't sure. But they've searched everywhere and all the people in that foul district were too skinny and weak to be of any fight. This man who Cato thought he saw might be the only man who was strong enough for them to make Enobaria proud. "Yes, I'm sure."

So they went under a gap in the bottom of the fence and into the woods. After a few hours of searching, they found nothing. Clove was about to give up and tell Cato that he was only imagining it when they saw it. A shadow rushing past. It was definitely smaller than the man Cato saw, but it was human nonetheless. Clove and Cato grew excited and ran in the direction the shadow's owner had run of to. Then they saw them. A man and a girl. The man looked about eighteen and the girl looked sixteen but besides that, the similarities between them were clear. The both had the same grey eyes, straight black hair and olive skin. The man was tall and strong-looking, while the girl was slight, her body evidently showing the hunger that Clove and Cato had been seeing in everyone there. The expressions on the man and girl ranged from shock, horror and confusion. Who were these people? They looked too well-fed to be living in District 12, and their faces were so unfamiliar, with no seam or town look. "Who are you?" The man shouted at them. "What are you doing here?" "Gale," the girl was worriedly looking around. "keep your voice down, you might attract unwanted attention." "We already have unwanted attention, Katniss." The man who was apparently named Gale said cynically. "….You're still scaring off game."

Cato and Clove were just watching the pair bicker about. Suddenly Clove burst out, "Are you both siblings?" "No" Katniss and Gale said at the same time. "Ugh, that's what every stranger asks." Suddenly Katniss's head snaps up and she looks at the strangers, as if just realizing the situation. "Who are you?" Gale just rolled his eyes. Suddenly Cato grabbed Gale's arms and twisted them behind his back. Clove did the same with Katniss, and they pulled them towards the fence, ignoring the pair struggling forcefully. They didn't scream, though, since they knew it wouldn't do any good. Even if someone did come and help them from Cato and Clove, they'd still get caught hunting outside the fence.

"Please," Katniss was begging in tears. "I have a little sister who depends on me for food. My dad's dead and my mom can't feed herself either. Gale has two little brothers and a sister. You can't take us away from them like that." All Cato did was pull at their arms harder. "What makes you think guilt-tripping works on us?" Clove, however was falling into a flashback.

"Clove, do you mind giving your sister a bath?" Clove, who was boredly flipping through tv channels in the living room immediately jumped up from the couch, glad to be able to do something, even though it was giving a bath to her bratty sister. She walked into her sister's room. "Come on, Madeline. Mom says you need a bath." The eight-year-old was sitting on her bed with her arms folded and a pout on her face. "I'm not dirty, Clover. I don't need a bath." Clove sighed. It was always the same excuse. "I don't care Mads. You need a bath." "You don't see any black dirt on me, do you?" Madeline was still trying to get out of the bath. After a few hours, Madeline was still listing out all the excuses she could think of, which were getting less and less sense. "If I take a bath, President Snow will force everyone to join into the Hunger Games and kill them, just like he does every year. But this time EVERYONE'S going in. And me and my friends won't be there to rebel and stop him just like we've been planning last week." Clove knew that was just a stupid eight-year-old comment and ignored it. Minutes later, however, peacekeepers stormed into her house and into the bathroom.

Clove's mother was screaming. "What are you doing in my house? My daughters and I have done nothing wrong!" "Our security cameras have caught your youngest daughter talking about planning a rebellion. President Snow has ordered us to execute anyone who talks about rebelling." "SHE'S JUST A CHILD!" It was too late, however, since Madeline was on the floor with blood pooling around her, a knife jutting out of her abdomen. The Peacekeepers left and Clove ran towards her sister and crouched beside her, pressing a wet cloth tightly to the wound. "Oh my god, don't worry, Mads. You'll be fine." "Promise me you'll help me friends start the rebellion, Clover." Clove barely heard Madeline's small voice, so she wasn't worried about any cameras catching that comment. She looked at her sister with wide eyes as her hand fell to the floor and her eyes rolled back on her head. "I promise"

Clove seldom remembered that memory, since it reminded her of part of her family being murdered because of an innocent comment. It also bothered her since she has never broke her word to someone, and a promise to her dead sister seems all the more important a promise to her. She immediately let Katniss's hands go as Cato stared at her with understanding. He'd been there when she cried into him about Madeline's death. He let Gale's hands go too and barked at them, "You're lucky. Go away and never let us see you again." Katniss and Gale briefly expressed their gratitude before they were running back towards the neighborhood. Cato glanced down at his girlfriend and saw his girlfriend's eyes glinting with unfalling tears. "I just want to forget everything sometimes, Cato. A break would be nice once in a while." He hugged her to his chest. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here."

They ended up choosing a man and a woman who were already on the brink of death due to starvation.

Hey guys, thanks so much for reading, it's my first story so please don't judge :D Please review!

P.S. I'm so sorry for the huge paragraphs, just in case it bothered anyone. It's better in the next chapters.

Cheers,
TheAwesomeSeal