Katniss's POV

4:00 PM

Capitol

I honestly have no idea what I was thinking when I volunteered for Prim, just that I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I would never want her to die on TV, but I definitely don't want her to face the torture I am right now: full body waxing.

"It's okay, Katniss, just one more! I promise!" Venia squeaks before yanking off the wax strip. I yelp in surprise, just as she trills, "Sorry, sorry!" She throws away the strip and smiles at me.

"Now off to Cinna!" Octavia, a woman with pea-green skin, says.

"Katniss Everdeen: Eleven." Caesar Flickerman announces, surprised. The room fills with cheers as people celebrate Peeta's eight and my eleven.

"Great job, sweetheart." Haymitch congratulates drunkenly.

"Thanks." I answer, paying attention to the door Peeta had just disappeared through. "I'll be right back." I exit the room and go up to the little apartment where Peeta and I are living.

"Hey." I say to Peeta, who's laying on the small couch.

"Go away." He mumbles. I take a step closer and he shoots me an icy glare.

"Fine. Tell Haymitch that I'm training." I say before stomping down the stairs. As I turn from one flight of stairs to another, I realize there's another person in the Training Center. I finish the rest of the stairs and enter the room to find out that it's the monsterous boy from District 2. He turns and smirks at me.

"Hey, Fire Girl." He greets.

"Hi." I respond, standing in the doorway awkwardly.

"So, you got an eleven?"

"Yep."

"Well, don't let me get in the way of your training." He smirks again and turns back to his spears. I shouldn't have trained in front of him but at the moment, I didn't care. I walk over to the archery station, notch an arrow in the bow, and let it fly. It hits the bullseye in the head, as it does three more time. Just as I'm about to let another arrow go, I notice the absence of the sound of District 2's spears. I turn to see him gawking at me. He recovers and smirks.

"You're pretty good, Fire Girl." He comments.

"I have a name. It's Katniss, Muscle Boy." I retort. His smug look grows.

"I have a name. It's Cato." He mocks.

"Is there a reason you're commenting on my archery skills, Cato?" I ask.

"Actually yeah. How about you join the Careers?"

"Why should I?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"Because if you're not an ally, you're a threat. And trust me, you don't want to be a threat."

Cato's POV

2:03 AM

District 2 Floor

I sigh and turn on my back for what seems like the hundredth time tonight as I think about that girl, Katniss. Her dark brown hair, tied back in a braid. Her steely grey eyes that pierce through me when she's annoyed. Her olive skin just the right shade.

'Cato, you're talking like a wimp. Shut the fuck up and think strategies for the Games, idiot.' I think to myself. I try to think about my strategies, but her eyes keep coming back and haunting me. How would I be able to kill her after gaining her trust?

'Easy. You do what you do with every other person. Easy kill, then forget about it.'

"Shut up." I grumble to the annoying voice in the back of my head. I roll over on to my stomach and put the pillow over my head and finally drift into a dreamless sleep.

"Cato, get your lazy ass up!" Clove hisses.

"Go away." I groan.

"We have training." She responds, hitting me over the head with another pillow and quickly jumping out of reach when I try to hit her. "So get up!" She repeats before throwing the pillow at me and dancing out the door.

"Damn Clove..." I mutter, getting up and grabbing my clothes. After a quick shower, I throw my clothes on and jog downstairs for breakfast.

"Bacon and Eggs." Our mentor, Enobaria, says, smirking as she sees my surprised expression.

"Have some."

"Maybe later." I respond, heading for the door. "I'm going to training early." Maybe I'll see Katniss there. I add silently in my head. I punch the 'down' button and twenty seconds later, it arrives. I enter and press 'Training Centre.'

"Fancy seeing you here, District 2." A voice says behind me. I turn around quickly, bracing myself for a fight, but I lose my stance as soon as I see who it is.

"Katniss."