Chapter Seven – Katniss POV
Cato asked about Prim and the rest of my family more, before I changed the topic. "So tell me about you," He looks surprised. "What about me?" "I don't know. Your family, your district, whatever." I say. "Hm. Well, I've been training since I was eight. Most kids start around ten, but my Dad always pushed me to be the best…and I was. I didn't have much of a childhood because of all the training. But I have a little brother, Josh. He's a lot like Prim, from what you said," he sighs, "He's adventurous, we would always go on daytrips, just him and I. Mountain climbing, to a beach, whatever. It was always something new. He's eleven, next year will be his first reaping…something I've been dreading for a long time. I would never allow him to train; I don't want him anywhere near the games." Cato stares at the ground while he talks.
"You miss him, don't you?" I ask, and he nods, looking up at me for the first time. "You're the first person I've opened up like this to," he icy blue eyes never once leave mine as he speaks. "You really don't know, do you?" I'm confused now. "What?" "The effect, you can have on people." He shoots me a knowing smile. I recall Haymitch saying the same thing. "Why does everyone say that? I don't know what that means." "It means…you're hard to say no to, I guess. You have this determination…this fire, in your eyes. I saw it from the moment I met you, that's what drew me to you." I consider what he just said. I never realized it. I never thought about what other people thought. I focused on my family. Everything I did was for my family, it always has been. But maybe he's right. "I guess I never thought about that," I answer after a long silence. "I always thought you were just some brutal Career. I never would have guessed that there's more to you than that, but I was wrong." I continue. He chuckles at that and turns to face me.
"I think we both underestimated each other," he says back. I stare at the stars for a moment, before I notice the Capitol seal appearing. I watch as the dead tributes appear, and count twelve. Must be a new record, half the tributes gone in the first day. "Twelve down, twelve to go," Cato whispers and kisses me on the forehead. I somehow feel safe with him, and it's a totally new feeling. I've never trusted anyone. And The Games probably isn't the best time to do so, but I can't help it. There's something about him I just can't resist.
I start to drift off to sleep in Cato's arms, when the sound of footsteps behind me causes me to wake. I turn to see Marvel, raising his eyebrows at me. I shrug. "Get a room, children," he mumbles and Cato guffaws. "I'll watch, for now. Go to bed," Marvel shoves Cato over. I get up and pull out my sleeping bag. Strangely enough, I sleep soundly my first night in the arena. It's been a long day.
The next morning I wake up to the sound of the cannon, signaling the death of another tribute. I look around camp, seeing everyone still here. I breathe a sigh of relief. I look to the side to find Cato asleep, shirtless. I stare at him through the corner of my eye until I see him wake up. I look away pretending I didn't see anything. I thought I was convincing enough, until I look back to find him smirking. "See something you like, sweetheart?" I roll my eyes at the nickname, thinking about Haymitch. I wonder what he thinks of me joining the Careers. I hope he's okay with it.
Almost on cue, a parachute falls onto my lap, with the number 12 etched into the side. I open it to find an extra sheath of arrows, with a note attached. It read: "Proud of you, Sweetheart. But be careful. –H." I nodded up at the sky, assuring him I knew what I was doing. Haymitch always knew what to say. Cato approached me, "What are you smiling about?" "Nothing, just thinking. Haymitch sent me some arrows," I held up the sheath. "You're a lot like him. With the exception of all the drinking," Cato says. I laugh at that. I had to agree…Haymitch had the same fire I did.
A shorter chapter here, but I wanted to have one with them getting to know each other more before I post the next one! I'm excited about Chapter Eight, because I'm adding a twist to the story. As much as I love writing this, I need results for me to keep publishing! So, Chapter Eight won't be posted until I hit ten reviews. Also, I'm thinking about doing a Haymitch POV in the later chapters. Please review!
Thank you to my new readers: vma101, Alis-May, and Crizzaly! :)