Wow, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever. I transfered to a new school this fall for high school, and I've been really occupied with all the work and stuff. I'll try to update more often, and maybe even start new stories? Heehee, I'm so excited for November 22, I can't control my emotions akjsndflas. HAHHAHA, so yeah, sorry I haven't updated in 1094193182 years. Read & review, please! I read everything and it really means a lot. :)


"So it's the Reaping tomorrow?" I ask quietly once we finish lunch and walk back to the training center. He slowly nods, and slowly interlaces our fingers together. "I'm sorry."

I nod, and we reach the training center. We put our bags on the bleachers and walk towards the hand-to-hand combat station, and take our positions.

"Look, before we start, we should probably talk about a tap out signal. So if I hurt you–" He begins, but I knock him down and pin him.

"If you hurt me?" I taunt, and he smiles. He jerks his leg away and hits me in the side, and I stumble, but only a little. He takes this as an opportunity to get me off of him though, and he jumps up and I do too. We circle each other for a moment, but then Cato lunges towards me and pins me down, but I knee him in the stomach and hit him in the neck, and he falls off me. I get on top of him and raise my fist, but when I'm about to punch him, he grabs my fist and slams it on the ground beside his head, and twist my hand. He wraps his legs around my hips and pulls me down, but pushes me up with his hands on my shoulders. I feel a pain on my back so I twist, but it's no use.

"Give up?" He taunts, but I shake my head. He pulls me down and pushes me up harder this time, and I bend my head in and hit him in the throat, which makes him gag. He lets go for a second, but I stretch my arms and legs and elbow him in the gut, and he rolls over on him stomach, and I sit on his back and wrap my arms around his neck, and he claws at my skin.

"Give up?" I say, imitating his voice. He laughs and says, "I don't sound like that." I laugh too and say, "No, you do. Your voice is really high for a boy."

He twist his hips and knees me in the stomach, and my grip loosens, so he grabs one of my arms and stands up, and he pulls me up too.

He twists my hand, and puts his palm on my elbow, and pushes it forward. He pushes it more, and the bone starts to hurt so I step on his foot and twist around, and punch him in his chin, and he stumbles back. I run toward him and jump, placing my hands on his thighs and my feet around his neck. I bend forward and flip him, so he falls down on the floor, back first.

"How'd you do that?" He asks, while trying to catch his breath. "I'm like, three times your weight." He laughs, and I do too.

"I don't know. Finnick taught me how to do it." I say, and he stands up. "So what's the deal between you two anyways?" He says, and I walk towards our bags. I open mine and get out my water bottle, and then say, "What do you mean?"

"You guys seem so…" He says, and then finally adds, "Close." I shrug and then say, "We're like family, you know. Live with someone for a long time and you get close to them. Like us." I put back my water bottle and touch the wall in front of me. From afar it looks really clean, but it's actually really dusty.

"Like us?" He asks, and I look back at him and nod. "So we're just… Family?" He asks, and walks closer to me. "I guess so." I say, still examining the wall. "Just family." He whispers to no one in particular. "Are you sure?" He asks, and puts his hand on my waist, and whispers in my ear, "Is that all we are?"

I turn to look at him, and he puts his hand up on the wall, and leans closer to me. I run my fingers along the strings of his hoodie, avoiding his eyes. I see him look down at me and he brings his other hand to my chin, lifting it up so my eyes meet his. I swallow and say, "Is that all you want to be?"

He smiles at me sheepishly and leans in closer, so our eyes are right in front of each other. "I missed you." He says, and puts his lips on mine, and I remember when we did this all those years ago. Those days seem so far away. In fact, everything right now seems so far away, because all I'm thinking about is this moment right here, right now.

He pulls away for a moment, and stares into my eyes. "Race you back home?" He asks, and grabs his bag. I grab mine and we run out the door. Since he got a head start, he won by a couple seconds. When we reach the front door, he opens it and holds my hand going up the stairs. When we get to my door, he kisses me one more time, and I go into my room. I shower, change and then head downstairs, where everyone is sitting down and laughing. We eat dinner, and when we finish, Finnick helps Isabelle do the dishes. I'm about to walk up the stairs when Cato grabs my hand and pulls me out the backdoor, and to the garden. We lie down on the grass and stare at the stars in silence for a while, and then Cato rolls over on his side, facing me. He puts his head on his hand, and uses his other one to brush a strand of hair out of my face. I face him, and he smiles at me.

"Do you really not want me to volunteer?" He asks, and bites his lip. He rolls back down on his back and puts his hand over his hands, and I lay my head on his chest. "Mhmm." I say, and I feel him nod. "Then I won't." He says after a minute, and I smile.

"Thank you." I say, and he puts his hand around me, and we lie there for a few minutes, just staring at the stars. I'm about to drift off to sleep when I hear a knock on the door, and Cato and I sit up.

"Got something for you." Finnick says, and holds up an envelope. I stand up and brush some grass off of me, and walk towards him. It's a letter from the Capitol, so I tell Cato I have to go upstairs. He nods, and follows me inside. I walk up the stairs to my room and close the door. It's a letter from my dad, and I frown when I finish reading the letter.

"Dearest Olivia, there will be a train coming for you tonight, and it will bring you to the Capitol. You will live with me for a few days, and I hope you brought enough clothes with you. If not, we can send some people to get them for you. I regret to inform you that Finnick will not be going with you, because he has to do something for me. See you soon. Sincerely, Dad." It says, and I crumple it and throw it in the bin.

I walk downstairs and find Finnick sitting down on the couch, watching TV. I sit down beside him and stare at the TV, and he looks at me.

"What'd it say?" He asks, and I slowly turn to him. "He wants me to go back." I say, and he shrugs. "What's wrong with 4?" He asks, and I shake my head.

"Back to the Capitol, Finnick. He wants me to come back, and this time you can't come." I say, and he raises an eyebrow. "Why not?" He asks, and I say, "He wants you to do something for him. You know, that thing."

He realizes that I mean my dad wants to sell him again, and nods. "Okay." He says quietly, and shuts off the TV. It's dark, since the lights aren't on. It takes a while for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, and I hear Finnick stand up.

"When do we leave?" He asks, and I tell him tonight, at 10. It's now 8, so we have two hours to get ready. He walks to his room and I do too, and I start packing. It takes me a short while to finish, since I didn't bring that much stuff. When I finish, I quietly go out of my room and knock on Cato's door, which is ajar. He's lying down in bed, which is weird because it's actually pretty early.

"Cato?" I say, and lean on his bedpost. He says something I can't quite understand, but then he lifts up the corner of his covers, and I crawl in beside him. "You're sleeping early." I say, and he lets out a small laugh.

"Fighting you is very tiring." He says, and I look up at him. He smiles, but then it fades when he sees that I have something on my mind. "What's wrong?" He asks as I bite my lip.

"My dad wants me to go back to the Capitol." I say, and he furrows his brow. "Why? You just got here." He says, and I shrug. "I don't know, but I have to be at the train station by 10."

He nods and kisses the top of my head, and then says, "What time is it?" I tell him it's 8:30, and he says, "What do you want to do until 10?"

"Stay with you." I say, and he smiles. He reaches for his phone and sets an alarm for 9:30, and then we don't really do anything after that except lie in each other's arms and talk.

When his phone beeps, I sit up and he does too. "I don't want to leave." I say, and he shakes his head. "I don't want you to, but you have to. When are you coming back?"

I shrug and look down at my hands, and then he holds them in his and I look up at him. He smiles and I kiss him in the cheek. I stand up and get off his bed, but then he grabs my hand and pulls me back. He's kneeling on the side of his bed and I'm standing right in front of him, and he puts his hand on my cheek and pulls me in closer. He puts his lips to mine, and I can feel his smile growing. I put my hand on the back of his neck, and I play with his hair, and he puts his hand on my waist. We pull away for a second, and he asks if he can bring me to the train station.

"If you do, I don't think I'll be able to leave you." I say, and he nods and holds my hand. We kiss one more time, and then I smile at him, and turn away. I slowly let go of his hand, and walk out the door. I keep myself from looking back, because if I do I know I'll just want to stay with him, and I don't want to make this any harder than it is. Why did I have to leave so suddenly? I just arrived. I don't want to leave, I want to stay here.

I walk into my room and grab my bag, and walk down the stairs to the door, where Finnick is waiting. He smiles at me and grabs his bag from the floor, and we walk out the door and into the car waiting outside for us. The car brings us to the train station and we enter the train. Cynthia's there, but she knows that I feel bad so she doesn't say that much. I enter my room and put my bag on the chair, and then sit on the bed and look out the window. I watch as District 2 slips away from me, and sadly, Cato too. I lie down on my bed and sleep, and Cynthia wakes me up a few hours later to tell me we're here already.

"Good morning!" She says as she opens my curtains and hands me a pair of clothes. "I picked them out for you already." She says, and I smile. I'm still wearing my clothes from yesterday, so I decide to shower and I change into a small, turquoise dress. I put my hair into a herringbone braid, and walk out the door. I pack up my things and notice how there are gray pumps on the floor and a small gray belt on my bed. I put the belt in the small belt loops of my dress at my waist, and slip on the shoes. I walk out the door and eat breakfast, and then Cynthia smiles and says I look nice.

"Whose clothes are these?" I ask, and she says they're hers, but they don't fit anymore so I could have them. "Thank you." I say, and she smiles at me. The train comes to a stop and Finnick comes out of his room wearing a tux.

"Why are we so dressed up?" I ask Cynthia and she laughs and says, "You have to be. You're in the Capitol!" An Avox opens the door and we walk out as she says that, and I realize how Finnick and I are not actually dressed up. Compared to everyone else, we're actually dressed down.