Summary: The Hunger Games were a place of blood, death, and misery. A place where you know your death was inevitable, unless you were a Career. Not a place for ridiculous love triangles and forced kisses. But obviously, Marvel and Cato did not understand that. At least to Katniss they didn't.

Rated: T, M-ish kinda, depending on my mood really.

A/N: Jack Quaid, Alexander Ludwig, Amandla Stenberg, and Dayo Okeniyi are so cute. I heard that when the boys had to bench-press, they would use her as a weight. And while they were bench-pressing her she would just be like chilling and reading a book.


"Keep up a show. But you know they'll grow weary after awhile. Shame what would happen to any of you or you're loved ones after, wouldn't it?"

Marvel stares up at the flawless ceiling as countless thoughts ran through his head. He knew President Snow, who in the middle of crowing him, whispered that very same sentence in his ear before moving on to Katniss, and then Cato.

He notices the President mutter something to Cato, who's eyes widen slightly, and Marvel guesses he says the same thing to Cato as he did to himself.

Katniss will have to choose one of them, even if she didn't like either of them.

Growing increasingly antsy, Marvel twitches, kicking off his covers in a mini tantrum. Marvel had never heard of the word patience. He is extremely impatient and very spoiled, he'll admit. But it wasn't like Cato was any different.

Cato just knew how to keep a low profile on it.

Finally, after moments of tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable, Marvel swings his legs over the to the side of the bed and gets up, muttering a brief "Screw it.", and shuffling over to the door.

Slipping on his shoes he saunters out of his room, only in a pair of sweatpants and a wife-beater wandering aimlessly around the suite before ultimately deciding to go up to the roof for a breath of fresh air.

As he had the room right at the end of the hallway, he passed by many of the mentors rooms, and passed by Cato's as well, before pausing right in front of Katniss's door in a moment's hesitation.

He tempted to knock, but he didn't know why he should. She probably didn't want to see either him or Cato right about now, whether she was asleep or not. Which Marvel doubts she was.

Marvel was never much the quiet type. He was more of a loud, blunt, dangerous character that despite you wanting to hit him over the head with a mace due to his obnoxious and arrogant personality, you know you couldn't because he could easily kill you with one flick of his wrist, and suddenly you have a spear through your heart.

But there were those rare times where he would shut his yap for a few hours, just swimming in his well-concealed thoughts.

During his reaping was one. He fully planned on volunteering this year, he just had that sudden rush of excitement to, but it was proven useless because he was chosen anyways. He didn't speak at all when Glimmer had been reaped and there was a whole number about bringing pride to your district.

He was just thinking about the odds of him winning the games or losing, he didn't care much anyways.

Another time was when he was on the train over to the Capitol. He had zoned out half because of Glimmer's irritating complaints about breaking a nail, another half because he had been filing though the tributes that had been reaped, wondering whether or not they'd be a threat in the arena.

There were only a few note-worthy ones, the ones from Two of course. Glimmer another, because despite her girlish persona, Marvel knew exactly how dangerous she was. The two from 11 were quite interesting enough.

The male was extremely large, as big as Cato, while the girl was anything but. She was so small, and so young, Marvel thought he felt a pang of sorrow for her.

Then another girl, about the 11 Girl's size and structure got reaped at 12, and Marvel felt another pang, brushing it off a moment after and continued to watch the replays. Then she volunteered, Katniss Everdeen.

And Marvel was only mildly intrigued. A volunteer from District 12? Who wouldn't be interested?

Then there was the times in the arena, when he and Cato got into that argument and right after he pretended to go to sleep but was actually up all night on both on guard and just thinking. When he killed Rue and all he could think about for a whole day was the sound of Katniss's voice.

Deep in thought, Marvel barely notices the elevator doors swing open with a soft ding. What he does notice although is the figure leaning against the metal rail, looking down at the ever-still-partying citizens of the Capitol. Though it was the person that Marvel least likely expected to be up here.

"What are you doing up?" Marvel asks questioningly, raising an eyebrow.

"I could ask you the same thing Tarria." Cato answers smoothly, eyes never tearing themselves away from the streets bellow.

Marvel sneers at him from behind, walking over next to him to peer down onto the rioting citizens below with mild interest.

The two stay silent for awhile. There wasn't much to talk about. No more scheming, or talks of killing which was mainly the only source of conversations they ever had. The thought of Katniss looming over both their heads like a vulture circling an animal that is bloodied, beaten, bruised, on the verge of death but not yet dead.

"Why do you think we were all chosen as Victors?" Marvel asks idly.

Cato snorts. "You seriously don't know?"

Marvel replies with a snort of his own. Of course he knew why, everybody knew why. It just didn't hurt to ask.

"Do you even remotely like her?" Marvel asks, trying again at conversation.

Cato doesn't answer immediately, "I don't have to tell you anything."

Marvel frowns, growing increasingly frustrated at the blonde, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know she's the only reason we're both alive. If she hadn't volunteered, then one of us should be dead by now. Hell, both of us could have died-"

"Shut the fuck up Marvel." Cato growls, finally tearing his dark blue eyes away from the crowd and glaring at the District 1 tribute. "I know that, I am not as stupid as everybody makes me out to be. But I would have preferred it that way. Both of us dead, Katniss as the Victor. Both of you dead and I'm the Victor. Katniss and I dead and your the Victor. All three of us dead, it doesn't matter because we're all alive."

Marvel doesn't shut up. "Then what are we going to do Cato?! The Capitol will have to grow tired of us one day. What'll we do then?"

"It doesn't matter," Cato says harshly, "We're living in the now, and we've still got an act to pull up with Katniss. As long as the Capitol, and more importantly President Snow, is convinced of the whole stupid thing, then we are fine. Our families will be fine, everything will be fine."

He gives him one last glare before fuming off into the elevator, going back down to their shared floor.

Marvel doesn't leave just yet, he glares after him, letting out an extremely frustrated yell and he kicks the metal fence separating the roof from certain death. "An act. That's all he thinks of it as. He never even liked her, it's all just lust."

Minutes of ranting later, realization hits him with full affect and he's left dumbfounded in his own head. "Since when did he care?!"


Katniss wakes up at 5 in the morning screaming and covered in sweat. She looks frantically around for Peeta, who she had grown used to waking up by everyday. Her heart breaks when reality hits her and she realizes he's dead. Along with Rue, and 19 other tributes, all because of the stupid Hunger Games.

She collapses back onto the bed and covers her face with the pillow, she screams, and shouts, and sobs because she just couldn't help it anymore.

She wishes she was back at District 12. She wishes the Capitol, the Hunger Games, President Snow never existed. She wishes she was back with Prim, and Gale, and her mother. She wishes Peeta was still alive, that Rue was still alive, that this all never happened.

She hated this feeling in her chest. Of weakness, of sadness. But she couldn't hold it in anymore. And she just breaks.


Drama, tension. Boom, done. Thanks to a reviewer by the name of chips-n-gravy I now have an idea of where I am going with this. I hope you don't mind me taking that idea chips (if I can call you that ^.^) I'm giving you credit for the brilliance! MOOHAHAHA! Jealous Careers, prepare yourselves readers!

Don't mind the shortness of this chapter, I just needed to get the stupid details out of the way to focus on the bigger picture. Of course, Marvel falls first. Stupid Cato u DENIAL IS JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT!

I don't start writing until I get reviews!