"You're The Boy Who Murdered Love, Cold Hands And A Heart Of Stone, You're Tainted Cherry Tree, You're The King Of Pain And Hurt, There's A Mark On Your Skin Where Your Heart Used To Be. I'm Shot Like A Bullet, Stop Oh You Love It, No Now You've Done It ... You're The Boy Who Murdered Love." - Diana Vickers; Boy Who Murdered Love.

It wasn't that I didn't appreciate everyone's attempts at a light atmosphere for dinner; but it merely made the whole knowledge of my imminent death more painful. I had changed out of my dress as soon as I reached my bedroom, now feeling dirty after Julian's hands had touched me. I felt so violated, yet I didn't understand why, I shouldn't allow someone as petty as Julian to get to me, but somehow he managed to make my skin crawl. I didn't fear for my life when it regarded him, I feared for Mico's, I was almost certain Julian had no idea of my true intentions, of my mission to make sure Mico won, but I still knew he would try to kill Mico as maliciously as possible, simply because he was associated with me.

Gold and Karina chatted happily about unimportant things, trying to make small jokes to keep both Mico and I smiling, who had kept strangely quite since my run in with Julian, while Cato glared at his plate as if he were in deep thought. Although the chatter and laughter flowed through the room easily, the thick unbearable truth of what tomorrow meant hung in the air like an elephant in the room, no one seeming to want to address it, not that I blamed them.

I fidgeted in my seat constantly, wishing I hadn't pulled my hair into a messy bun, as leaving it down would have given my fingers something to fidget with, temporarily calming the ever growing nerves. Mico ate quietly, his brown eyes staring forward into his place, holding no expressions, and I prayed to god that he wasn't finally beginning to feel the same amount of nerves I was, and that he did feel safe, because I was going to be there every step of the way.

"Gold … is that really your name?" Karina gave Gold a sceptical look, an eyebrow rose as she awaited Gold's response.

Gold laughed lightly at that, her eyes rolling and spoke with a patronising tone, "No silly! What parent would call their child Gold?" I had wanted to say that Capitol people were stupid enough to do so, but as usual when it came to Gold I held my tongue, "It's Evangeline, but I changed it to Gold … it just sounds more classier."

I couldn't help it, it happened by complete reflex, her statement was so ridiculous that I couldn't help but let out a small burst of laughter, covering my mouth as I did so, and setting off a chain reaction. Drew let out a quite chuckle like he usually did, with both Karina and Gold laughing musically; even Cato cracked a small smile, showing a different emotion other than frustration since we had exited the elevator from the Interviews. My smiling face caught his eye, and we held each others stare for a while before once again his face went back to its original expression and his gaze once again at his empty plate, apparently not hungry.

My worry for Mico rose, his face still blank as he stared at his uneaten food, playing around with it using his fork, not even a small smile had etched onto his face, I put my hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his daze to smile softly at him. He blinked, looking at me for a few seconds before returning back to the gaze at his plate, making no indication of talking.

"Mico, you haven't touched your food … is something bothering you?"

"You're leaving me."

That one line seemed to stop everyone in their current tracks, utensils falling onto plates, and small talk abruptly stopping, I didn't have to look to know that all four eyes would be locked on us; I was still recovering from what had come out of Mico's mouth myself. We hadn't spoken about me volunteering, or what would happen in the games, I didn't really think I needed to, I thought it would be obvious enough, and that talking about it would make it harder for Mico to accept. He clearly hadn't finished there with his statement; his voice broke slightly, as if he were holding back tears, and with every word that left his mouth the cracks in my heart got just that much bigger.

"You're gonna die and leave me on my own, I wont have anyone to tell me stories, or to nag me when I'm home late, or to sing me to sleep after I've had a nightmare, or to kiss me goodbye every morning for school. You're leaving me."

I took a shaky breath, turning my chair so it was facing him, and doing the same to his so that he was looking me in the eye, his face still blank, yet every ounce of pain he was feeling was conveyed through all the words he spoke, I tried to keep my voice steady, soft and comforting, hopefully not letting on just how afraid I was, thank goodness for me that it worked.

"Mico, you know that I want to be there for all those things every single day of your life, more than anything in the whole world. I just can't, I have to keep you safe … so that you can get older, and have a family, and do all those things with your kids that I do with you."

"But you are my family."

My tongue was tied. How was I supposed to respond to that? It was such a simple statement, yet carried such heavy emotions, so many memories and feelings that I had to blink as many times as I could to keep myself from crying; it physically hurt my chest listening to his words. I knew what he was asking of me, and he knew more than anyone how impossible it was, you could only ever have one winner, only one of us would get out, I had lived my life, there wasn't anymore I could possibly do except take care of Mico. But he had so much promise, so much life in him, so young that it was impossible for me to deny him of a chance at living, there was no way I would ever place my life over his, I would walk through fire if it meant saving Mico.

I knew the feeling that took over me every time I thought of Mico, it was one I had grown so accustomed to, and so easily at that, I couldn't imagine life without that feeling; maternal instinct. Just as Mico had said I was the closest thing to a mother, He was the closest thing I would ever have to a son. Despite my young age of eighteen I could barely remember a time when he wasn't in my life, when I wasn't taking care of him, and it didn't feel like a chore, or a nuisance, I found it a blessing, that I was given this young lively boy who took so much joy in life, and saw so much beauty in things.

"I'm tired of you trying to save me Faith, you can't always protect me … what if I got reaped next year? When you've become too old to participate in the games. What would you have done then? Sometimes you need to accept that life isn't always fair Faith."

I didn't expect such wise word to come out of Mico's mouth, nor did I expect him to be thinking along the lines of any of these words, if this was what he honestly thought of the entire situation, then I really hadn't been listening to him. I had been so set and narrow minded in just making sure he was safe, that I hadn't bothered to ask him how he was about it, how he felt, whether he even wanted to win.

My mouth opened, trying to find words to counter his argument, yet there was nothing that came out, because his words were true, as much as I didn't want them to be they were. He didn't seem to notice though, because he carried out, his voice breaking even more with every sentence, and his face slowly contorting into that of a frown, his brown eyes looking sadder than I had ever seen them.

"Don't you realize what it's gonna do to me to see you die? To know that the one person who's ever cared about me is gone, the one person I could ever call my mom has left me alone."

The large lump in my throat had formed so prominently, and no matter how many times I tried swallowing it down it stayed firmly put, warning me that if I couldn't hold on any longer I would eventually start crying. I used the back of my hand to rub my eyes, trying anything to keep the tears at bay a little longer, and through my pained face I still managed a small smile, something to reassure Mico as much as I possibly could.

"I won't really be gone Mico. I'll always be in here, with you through everything," I pointed to the spot above his heart, my finger lingering on his small chest as he bowed his head to look at the spot, "And whenever you need me all you have to do is speak, and I'll listen, you won't hear or see me but you'll feel me there. I promise."

His head returned to face me, our eyes locked as he digested what I said, his soft breathing seeming to be the only thing I heard as I waited for his response.

"But that's not good enough."

I don't think anyone had ever had the power to leave me gob smacked, yet time and time again Mico always seemed to some how do it, without even trying usually. My mouth hung slightly open, once again processing his words, and unable to move as he softly excused himself out of dinner, reaching the door and turning only once to let me know he would put himself to bed. I didn't dare look at anyone's faces, I didn't want looks of pity, or ones of shock at Mico's out of character behaviour, I wanted to crawl into a dark hole and never come out.

As I again tried to take a deep breath, the sounds of chocked sob was what met me, my hand flying to cover my mouth to stop any more from sneaking out. I could not be weak in front of these people, I couldn't be weak at all, and I couldn't break down now, not after holding on for so long, not when tomorrow was that most important day of my life. As much as I tried to repeat those words in my head they didn't seem to register with my over emotional mind, only images of Mico's face and what he had said replaying over and over, becoming almost unbearable to stand.

I may have been able to withstand a lot of crap, but I was still a teenager, and every teenager had a moment in time where they blew up. Unfortunately for me it had to be a day before I entered The Hunger Games, knowing my luck in life I couldn't say I was all that surprised. I cleared my throat, still fighting the waterfall of tears that would spill out any second, standing up from my seat and speed walking out of the dining hall, the tears falling as soon as I reached the door.

I bit down on my lower lip to stop loud sobs from escaping; allowing only silent tears as I sprinted to my room, attempting to be as silent as possible, the last thing I wanted was the already broken Mico see me crying my heart out. My hand covered my mouth as a sob still managed to get out, and gritting my teeth as I reached the door I couldn't have possibly been any faster in throwing it open, rushing in to slam it shut just as fast.

Only luck seemed to enjoy not being on my side, because before I could even get the door shut Cato's toned long arm pushed it back open forcefully, almost knocking me back, barging in and slamming it behind him, making me stagger slightly. I didn't have the energy to argue with him, or throw a snide comment his way, instead I turned my back on him, using the long sleeves of my whit shirt to rub the tears away, a constant routine as the tears never seemed to stop. Cato grabbed my elbow roughly, swinging me back around to face him head on, his hard angry face zeroing in on me, his jaw set firm.

"Stop it."

I tried to listen to his demand, knowing that he actually meant well, that he needed me to be calm, but I some how couldn't, instead another sob left me, and another, and another, the only control I seemed to have was to keep them as quite as possible. I looked the floor in shame, shame of the fact that I should have been able to keep it together, that I was meant to keep it together, because I needed to for Mico, and now I had felt like I let him down. Cato had barely even let me cry, and through the hard and cold look on his face I could still see the sympathy in his eyes; one that he couldn't afford to properly show, because he knew as well as I did how important it was I kept it together.

"You don't have the luxury of breaking now; you need to keep it together."

"I- I kn- know."

I barely managed to speak, my sobs still breaking through, and I gritted my teeth again, harder this time, shutting my eyes tight in a desperate attempt to stop, I hated crying with a passion, it always came in situations where it wasn't needed.

"Breathe."

Cato's deep and soft voice filtered through my ears, actually seeming to relax me, and taking in a few shaky breaths I inhaled, holding it for a while before exhaling, listening to his voice as he continued the same instructions, helping a great deal in calming me down. Finding his grip on my forearms a comfort, I made my no indication of me moving away from it anytime soon, instead I stood there, staring at his torso, repeating the same breathing routine, even though my crying had ceased.

Finally raising my head to look up at Cato's tall form, his face seemed to have softened from the hard look, now adoring a simple stare, a stare that I had always found uncomfortable, simply because of the unfamiliar feeling in stirred within me. His blue eyes looked as if they were an ocean of secrets, looking wise beyond his years, and for some reason all those hidden secrets drew me closer to him. My stomach tied itself into knots, my breathing becoming shallow as I continued to stare at him, my heart rate speeding up slightly at our ever growing closer proximity.

Completely unaware of my actions, I hadn't even realised what I was doing, until it actually happened, and even then for some reason I didn't stop it, possibly because I liked it. I don't know who kissed who first, or if it was a mutual movement between us, but what I did know was that the second our lips connected that small spark I constantly felt inside me turned into a fiery blaze, escalating out of control.

The tempo changed dramatically in a matter of seconds, at first testing each other, our lips coming together in short kisses, and I guess we both liked it as the next time our lips connected it was much fiercer. Cato's arms wrapping around my waist and pulling into a tight hold, so tight that I almost lifted off the ground, where as mine went to the black of his neck, attempting to pull him closer.

Our kisses were anything but gentle, lips smacking together harshly, while he bit my lip in odd patterns, growling if I repeated his actions, and the strangest thing about it was that I enjoyed it. For reasons completely unknown to me I didn't want this to stop, the strong fire coursing through my body was a feeling I had never relished in before, and only Cato seemed to be able to rise that feeling within me. Cato's lips moved from my bruised ones, suddenly feeling cold without his against mine, and trailed a series of kisses against my jaw, going towards my earlobe, and my breath was caught in my throat this time for a whole other reason.

He stopped, lips lingering just beside my ear, seeming to catch his breath as did I, speaking in a husky tone, his voice sounding flustered, practically whispering.

"I knew you were somewhere in there."

I didn't even know what the hell that was supposed to mean, not that I even got a chance to freaking ask, seeing as he only let me have a few seconds to register those words before letting go of my waist and taking a few steps back, slowly letting his smirk take over his face, as if he hadn't used it in a while and was getting used to it once more. My eyes narrowed slightly as I followed his back tracks with my own steps, my eyes hold a threat within them, if this was his way of playing with me, then he really was messed up.

I couldn't possibly ever understand him, five minutes ago he was trying to help me calm down, the next moment he's devouring my lips with his own, and then makes a completely confusing statement and tries to leave. I wished that I once again had my training boots within my vicinity, so that I could throw that at his head, but instead I chose to quicken my pace as his backwards steps got closer to my bedroom door. And I had just enough time to grab one of the many bottles of perfume on my vanity table before the door opened, and chucked it at his head, only just missing him this time as he ducked, seeming to have learnt his lesson from last time. I slammed the door shut as hard as I could, ignoring the fact that there was a shattered perfume bottle right outside my room, the sickeningly sweet scent of it already filtering throughout the entire floor, and let out a yell of frustration.

If he cared as much as he did about being a mentor, then surely his aim was to keep his tributes as calm and collected as possible, making sure no other thoughts or emotions preoccupied my mind other than confidence and battle strategy. Instead, he further messed with my already breaking mind, catching me off guard while I'm upset by kissing me, and then saying something that made no complete sense.

I probably would have understood it more if I wasn't still thinking about his soft lips against mine.

What the hell was I doing?

I'm like ... twenty one reviews away from a hundred! OMG MAN YOU GUYS ROCK! Sorry there must be so many typos on this, but I'm so shattered right now That I'll need to fix it later, I'm sorry! And I'm sorry it's late too! Work piled on ridiculously after my last update and I had to postpone, I hope you can all forgive me! :(

REPLIES:

BiggestPotterHead: HAHA Hi five for twitter stalking him! I love him! Andddd thank you for your kind words, and for thinkin it's written well/good plot/good character development1 It's means a hell of alot to me! :D Fear no more Teddie ( :P) You're update is here! Thanks for reviewing!

: Haha no way! Just making sure she knows how hard it's going to be, Julian is her biggest competition after all! :P And haha really? I didn't even mean to make him protective, it just looked liked that! But oh well me don't mind :3 Thanks for reviewing!

saiyanprincess711: I know exactly what you mean! Total freakout when you see a chapters been uploaded :D Thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much for all your kind words, it means the world honestly! And the arena is going to be so awesome I'm so excited for it, its unbearable!

Nelle07: Haha they got quality time alright ;) and urgh Julian, he's my own character and even I don't like him! haha thanks for reviewing and hope you enjoyed the chapter! :D

angel2u: Sorry, thats another question I can't answer! Because it'll reveal the plot . Sorry again and thanks for reviewing! :)

Kaleidoscope-eyes1990: Thank you for thinking so! And making him protective honestly wasn't my intention, I didn't realize how it looked until after reading all the reviews! Haha oh well it still works! :D Thanks for reviewing again!

Wearethelight: YES! YES I DO! Andddddddd After I'm done with this I shall be going to read chapter seven of yours my darling ;) Can't wait! and urgh Julian is a douchebag!

Geranium08: I think I do! Because the fact you took time to review proves it! :D And yesh they had more time alright ;) haha and the story/skills will not let you down ;) Thank you for reviewing!

FYInichole: Welcome new reviewer! Always happy to have a new reader! And who doesn't? He's amazing 3 Haha Thankkk you so much for thinking so! It makes me so happy! Honestly check out two stories called Spark and Behind Enemy Lines! They're awesome Cato stories too! The authors are wonderful people too!

Dra9onf7yz: I'm glad you pointed that out actually, because that nickname is going to have a much more deeper meaning other than being likened to Helen! Stay tuned to find out my friend :D

PeppermintAmortentia: Awwwww thank you! :D Same goes to you darling! And I can't believe I didn't realize thats how it looked, I didn't mean to make him protective haha! I'll update soon, and you should too! (hint hint)

Wolfihood: Ha, I love his bad boy attitude! :P Ha we shall see soon enough if she really did deserve that six ;) Thank you for reviewing once again!

EmbrysGirl444: Awww thank you for your two reviews! And everyones entitled to their own interpretation, it doesn't mean they're wrong! Hope you liked this chapter!

onlygirl16: Thank you! I will!hope you keep on reading!

RavenclawSlytherin: Thank you! I'll try to as frequently as possible!

So that my friends is another chapter ... REVIEW REVIEW REVIEWWWWW!