Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, although I kind of wish I did. Almost all characters belong to Suzanne Collins. I am merely a visitor in her world.
It was beautiful. The buildings seemed to shimmer in the rays of the sun, spikes of glittering silver and gold reaching out towards a bright blue sky.
"It's gorgeous," breathed Glimmer. "Look at that!"
Her mentor glanced out the window and nodded, "The first sight of the Capitol is always very impressive. But you're not here to have fun, Glimmer."
"Oh, come on. The parade isn't until tomorrow," said Marvel. "We don't get to visit a little?"
"No. For the first day, you get to be pampered by your prep team and eat food like you've never eaten before while you watch the rest of the reapings. But you won't be allowed out of the Remake Center."
Gloss smiled as they entered a tunnel, "Don't worry, though. The tributes from District Two will be here soon, and you'll make friends with them before anything else happens."
Glimmer nodded. Because of the way the Reapings were staggered, only the people in the Capitol could watch all of them. The people in the districts generally watched the reruns, which were required, because they had to attend their own district's Reaping. The train had left her home just in time for her and Marvel to see the boy from district three get reaped. She'd looked at him and had found him to be inconsequential.
Their train pulled up at the station, and moments later, they were standing on the platform, listening to earsplitting cheers coming from every direction. People were calling out her name and she saw herself onscreen, looking happy and confident.
Gloss grinned and looked at Crystal, the other mentor who had replaced his sister after winning the 69th Hunger Games. She smiled back, making no effort to get Glimmer and Marvel moving. After several minutes however, she began to walk towards the station's exit, and the kids followed her. Before they got inside the waiting car, Crystal turned around and looked at the cheering crowd. Together, she and Gloss shouted, "Give it up, ladies and gentlemen, for the tributes from District One, Glimmer and Marvel!"
Glimmer felt her cheeks getting warm. She loved the attention and gave everyone a wide grin, putting her arm around Marvel. He grinned back at her.
"Is it always like this?" she asked Crystal when they were in the car. She was trying to look everywhere at once at the colorful people, the food stands, and the screens that were showing the Reaping that was currently taking place in District Six.
"District One has always been a favorite district," replied Crystal. "The fact that you're both attractive and that you volunteered enhances your popularity."
It took them longer than it usually would have to get to the Remake Center, because so many people were crowding the car in order to catch a glimpse of them.
"They're so curious," said Marvel. "It's as if they've never seen tributes before."
"They've never seen us before," said Glimmer. "We're special."
Gloss smiled, "Indeed you are. Keep being this friendly and you'll definitely have sponsors lining up for you, which is exactly what we want."
Cato felt invincible. No one could touch him. He was the strongest tribute in these Hunger Games, and nobody could tell him differently. Clove, who was with him, also appeared very confident, despite only being fifteen. But he had seen her train before. She was lethal. Together, they'd be able to go very far in these Hunger Games. Although, ultimately, only one of them could win.
He was watching the reapings from some of the other districts, finding them uninteresting.
"Are we going to have any real competition?"
"Count your blessings," Enobaria said to him. "Trust me, you want the competition to be easy. That way, you'll be able to pick them off one by one before you have to turn on each other."
Clove shrugged, "We'll win one way or the other," she said.
"Of course you will. But in the meantime, don't underestimate the value of having allies in the arena."
"We'll be with district one, like always," said Cato.
"District Four might be of use too," said Brutus. "Although the boy tribute, from what I saw is younger than Clove."
Cato took a bite out of an apple muffin he was holding, "So, what do you think the arena's going to be?"
"If you're lucky, it won't be a desert. But it could be anything. Sometimes, they just have one large terrain, like they had for my Games. Other times, they use various landscapes to create the arena. It really depends on the Gamemakers assigned each year."
"I hope we get a forest," said Clove. "That way, it'll be more fun to hunt down the tributes who are hiding from us."
They didn't say much else until after they'd arrived at the Capitol. Masses of people were cheering for them, and Cato saw someone holding up a sign with his district on it. It was flattering, but even he was a little overwhelmed by everything he was seeing.
"This is unreal."
"Well, the Games are very popular here. They see you as heroes for volunteering."
Heroes. He liked the sound of that.
The Remake Center was an immense building that had recently been renovated. It was a two-story structure that had been built using the latest materials that gleamed in the sun.
"It looks like water," said Clove.
They got out of the car and immediately stepped into the lobby of the Remake Center, where they saw two other kids looking up at a large screen. Cato could only assume that these two were the tributes from District One. At first glance, it was obvious that the girl was very attractive and undeniably sexy.
Glimmer looked around when she heard the door closing.
"Marvel, they're here!" she said excitedly. She quickly walked to them, extending her hand, "I'm Glimmer. It's great to meet you!"
Cato shook it, "Hi. I'm Cato, this is Clove."
Clove smiled and shook Glimmer's hand too just as Marvel walked over as well and introduced himself.
"Please tell me we got something better than we did earlier," said Cato, nodding towards the screen.
"The tributes, you mean?" Marvel shook his head, "Nothing so far. Four was a bit of a letdown, I have to say."
"Forget about them," said Glimmer. "Do you want to have some lunch? We asked them to save you some seats."
And so it was that the four of them found themselves in the dining hall of the Remake Center, watching the rest of the reapings and eating their fill of food unlike anything they'd ever eaten before.
"Hey, look at that little one," said Marvel as District Eleven came on. A girl who couldn't have been more than twelve years old had just been reaped and was climbng onto the stage, looking very determined.
"Oh, we'll eat her for dinner. She's so tiny!" Clove began to laugh. "How long do you think she'll last? Ten minutes?"
"If she doesn't run away first," Glimmer told her, but she was grinning.
The boy who was reaped, on the other hand, was her exact opposite. Large, he seemed to tower over the little one, and he looked strong.
Cato narrowed his eyes, "He's going to be the one to beat," he said.
"Do you want to ambush him?" asked Marvel.
"Maybe. Or maybe we can let him take out some of our competition for us, what do you think?"
"As long as he dies before me, I really don't care, to be honest."
"We should save him for last," said Glimmer. "Maybe split up and try to kill him."
"We'll see how the Games unfold." Cato looked at her, holding her eye for a moment. She really was gorgeous. He didn't remember anybody affecting him quite like that before, and supposed it was the excitement of the Hunger Games. "But in the meantime, allies?" he asked, looking at each of them in turn.
"Allies," said Marvel. He lifted his glass and all of them toasted, repeating the word.
District Twelve came onscreen, its citizens looking as shabby as they remembered from previous reapings. A little girl was reaped. And then…
"I volunteer!" cried a girl onscreen. "I volunteer as tribute!"
"No way," said Marvel. "A volunteer from District Twelve?"
"That has to be her sister, look." Glimmer pointed to the screen with her fork, which had crumbs of chocolate cake on it.
The commentators went wild. District Twelve's very first volunteer. They were an outlying district, one that nobody ever paid attention to. They mined coal, something that was necessary, sure, but nothing really worthwhile. That someone would volunteer from there was cause for excitement.
"She doesn't look that strong," said Clove. "I bet I could take her."
Cato smiled, "I bet you could. Should we leave her for you, Clove?"
"Yes! Leave her for me. I'll take good care of her."
Once the reapings were over, they went their separate ways, as their prep teams were waiting for them for some massages. They were optional, but Glimmer was more than happy to let them take care of her for a while.
"Look at her, she's gorgeous," said one of the members of her prep team, Agrippa. "Oh, we're going to be able to do great things with you tomorrow!"
"Thank you!"
Glimmer settled down on the massage table, having taken off her clothes, and closed her eyes. An image of Cato immediately came to her mind, and she felt herself blushing again. He was a handsome one, and he had looked at her already, the way boys sometimes looked at her at home.
"Who are you thinking about?"
"Oh, nobody in particular."
Agrippa chuckled, "Mmhmm. I see by the look on your face that it is someone. Perhaps a boy at home that you would like to impress? Or one of the handsome men we saw earlier?"
Glimmer kept quiet, and they didn't press her, but for the rest of her time with her prep team, she allowed herself to drift on a sea of daydreams that involved her and Cato doing unspeakable things that curled her toes.
It was almost time for dinner by the time they released her. She felt completely relaxed, but her cheeks were still flushed. She began making her way to the room she would be sleeping in that evening, when someone accosted her from behind.
"Glimmer."
It was Cato, and her pulse quickened at the sound of his voice.
"Cato, hi," she said quietly. "Is it me or is everything more exciting right now?"
"Oh, it's not just you." He stepped closer to her. "You know, I think that there's something you and I have to get out of the way right now."
"What's that?"
Without warning, he grabbed her and pulled her towards him, kissing her, his tongue thoroughly exploring her mouth.
For a second, Glimmer was at a loss for what to do. Part of her had expected this, but not so fast, and certainly not so intense. She pulled away from him for a second and when he opened his mouth to protest in anger, she put a finger to his lips. "Give me a second," she whispered. She swallowed and looked at him. Leaning towards him, she pressed her lips to his in a kiss that was soft at first. She let him take over the next moment, and when his hands snaked under the top she was wearing, she didn't fight him off.
They would have probably had sex right there and then had footsteps not sounded in the hallway they were in.
"There you are, Glimmer," said Crystal, walking to them. "When you're done here, please come to dinner, will you?"
"I'll be right there," she said, waiting for her to leave.
But Crystal didn't move, so Glimmer quickly bid Cato good night and followed her mentor to where they would be having dinner together.
"Be careful, Glimmer," she told her.
"With what?"
"I know that emotions run very high prior to the Hunger Games, and that sexual tension in particular can drive some tributes a little crazy."
"Are you telling me not to have sex with Cato?"
"I'm telling you that, ultimately, he will be striving to win. It might be all fun now, but the Hunger Games are anything but games. You'll see."
"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Besides, we've just all agreed to be allies. Does that mean I shouldn't have a bit of fun with Cato beforehand?"
"Not at all. I just want you to keep your head on your shoulders, and not go boy-crazy before the Games."
"I know what I'm doing, I promise."
"Good. Then come to dinner."
That evening, while she was attempting to sleep, Glimmer thought about him. His kiss had been aggressive, dominating, which was exactly the kind of tribute he wanted to show the world he was. She found herself wondering what it would be like to give herself to him. Would he hurt her, or would he be gentle?
She couldn't sleep.
She got up, pulling on a pale gray satin robe, and left her room. She wouldn't be sleeping in the Tribute Center until the next evening, so for now, she was in her small room alone.
The room was all white, with a white armchair, a white table, a low white bed, and a white wardrobe where a small amount of clothes in her size had been put. All of them got identical white rooms in the Remake Center. There were twenty rooms, because two of the districts wouldn't arrive until the next morning.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She walked to it and opened it, revealing Cato standing there, wearing only black pajama bottoms and nothing else.
He came inside without waiting for an invitation, and closed the door behind himself, locking it.
"We never finished our conversation," he said.
"I think you made your point very clear," she replied.
"Maybe one of my points." He reached out and pulled the sash on her robe so that it untied and the satin material opened to reveal her wearing sleeping shorts and a tank top, exposing lightly tanned limbs.
"Cato –."
"I heard what your mentor told you. And yes, I know that we'll eventually have to turn against each other, but we're not doing that now." He moved away from the door and pushed the robe from her shoulders so that they pooled by her feet in a whisper. "I'm going to kiss you first. Then I'm going to carry you to the bed and make love to you so roughly that you'll still feel it in the morning."
Before Glimmer could do so much as voice a protest, Cato's lips had crashed on hers. She felt his arousal against her belly, and she touched it gently. He hissed into her mouth and picked her up, his hand already pulling off her clothing.
He entered her. She cried out once. His hand covered her mouth so that she wouldn't wake everyone, for the walls weren't the thickest there. His other hand grabbed both her wrists and held them above her head, not giving her any control. He kissed her again and she whimpered.
It ended. She lost her voice in her pleasure, colors of unknown origin popping before her closed eyelids. Her hips stuttered against his and finally stilled. Her body shivered, but he stayed within her, indicating he wasn't done yet.
An hour passed, then two. Cato knew it was the Games. The Games were doing this to him, making him want to sate himself on this girl over and over again. He would have to kill her later, or watch her die somewhere, but for now, he was content with using her body for his own carnal need. And by looking into her eyes, he saw that she was more than willing to let him.
Happy Hunger Games.
The End