I jumped as the Anthem blared out, and I rubbed my sleepy eyes.
I was so hot. Was I burning? Was I on fire? I started to panic.
Oh, now I get it. I was sleeping with Hero, and his body heat was stifling me.
I got out of the sleeping bag as carefully as I could and stared up into the stars.
Three deaths today. Cable, the boy from District Three, whose cannon must've been the one that sounded this morning, Cordelia, and then Brooke.
That left us Careers, the outlying alliance, and Amber. Wait a minute. Amber.
I struggled to remember what Cordelia had said earlier, but then it hit me. Cordelia had said that the one who had burned down our villa was a her. How the fuck had that tree-hugging cretin managed to start a fire so vast? Did she have sponsors?
I cursed and punched the ground childishly. Stupid bitch. As if she hadn't infuriated me enough already!
I returned to my own sleeping bag and lay awake for a while before drifting into a restless sleep, imagining my axe splitting Amber's skull.

"Guys, listen! There's an announcement!" Ashlar exclaimed, twizzling a machete around in her hands.
I adjusted to the blinding daylight that was being filtered through the branches. Christ, this early?
"Tributes, congratulations on surviving this long!" Pierce Flickerman's voice boomed out. He was Magnus's, the host of the Interviews, brother. They commentated the Games together. Pierce's son, Caesar, would most probably do the job once they retired. He was already famous in the Capitol, and my mother adored him.
"There has been a slight... rule change," Pierce continued, grabbing my complete focus. "Now, up to two tributes can win, so long as one is female and the other is male. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour."
A heavy, meaningful silence seemed to drag on for an eternity.
While I wasn't sure whether to be terrified or ecstatic, I somehow already knew what would happen next.
Hero whirled to face Dazzle and Ashlar, with a wry grin on his face, and drew his sword.
Dazz's jaw dropped and he hesistated for a moment, before hastily raising his spear.
"No!" I shouted, jumping to my feet and giving Hero a pleading shove. "This isn't the way to do this!"
"Oh, really?" Hero laughed nastily. "Then what is, Shiney? Hand them some of our precious supplies and send them on their way with a teary goodbye? No? Didn't think so."
"You're a monster," Ashlar cried, tears streaming down her porcelain face.
"This is fucking madness!" I yelled. "Hero, think about what you're doing! We need their help!"
Hero ignored me and stared down Dazzle menacingly. "Come on, Dazz," he taunted. "It's now or never, man."
Dazzle snorted. "Do you know what, Hero? I'm not giving you the satisfaction. Keep your fucking supplies, we'll manage without them. Ashlar, get your weapons, we're leaving."
Hero's eyes widened in surprise. "...What? Coward!"
"No," Dazzle laughed humourlessly. "I'm doing this for Shine. I love you, sweetheart."
I gaped at him in astonishment. "Dazz..."
Ashlar bounded over to me in two springy strides, and as I prepared to defend myself against whatever weapon she was about to plunge into me, she threw her slender arms around me.
I froze, stunned, as she hugged me.
"I hope I don't have to kill you, Shine," Ashlar giggled. "Good luck."
I returned her embrace with a sad laugh. "You too, breast-sucker. I'm sorry about this."
Ashlar returned to Dazzle's side with a tiny smile. "Don't be."
And then I watched as my best friend and his lover turned and disappeared into the forest. I watched and I realised that was probably the last time I'd ever see them. My fists clenched.
"I hate you," I stated. "I fucking hate you."
"Good," Hero retorted, not lowering his sword. "Play your cards right, Shiney, and I may let you share my victory."
I stared at him, disgusted. "You're serious? You want to murder the only person who understands and accepts you for the monster that you are? You want to murder the only person that stays faithful to you even when you're being unreasonable and downright ridiculous? You want to murder me, Hero? Do you know what? Go ahead."
I braced myself, expecting him to either run me through or storm away, cursing.
But instead, Hero froze. His eyes clouded with disbelief, and I felt that irritating urge to go and comfort him. "You don't know what you're saying," he argued half-heartedly. "You don't know me. You're just an over-confident slut that assumes she's got me wrapped around her finger."
Before he could react, I launched my axe towards his head. It's a good job my heart wasn't in it, because it missed his brain by a mere couple of centimetres.
Hero growled and slammed me against a tree. I expected this reaction. This reaction was good. It meant he understood that I wouldn't stand there and be insulted.
"Bitch! How dare you!" he spat, his face inches from mine and flushed red with rage. "I do dare," I sighed, shifting uncomfortably at the painful hold he had on my wrists, which he pinned above my head, and I was certain that his fingers would leave bruises on my waist as they were digging in that hard.
"Shine," Hero moaned, resting his forehead against mine. "Why do you do this to me? I did it for you. I did it because I want us both to go home."
I sighed again. "Hero, you don't understand what you've just done. You almost murdered our allies! Your district partner! People who wouldn't of dreamed of doing the same thing to you."
Hero raised his head to meet my eyes, and if his gaze was cold, then his tone was artic. "Oh, I know they wouldn't. They're too afraid of me."
"You get a right kick out of that, don't you?" I snorted. "Pathetic. You're just an immature child with an oversized fucking ego."
Hero's grip tightened, and I winced. He was livid now, but I was just warming up.
"Let go of me," I snapped icily. "I'm going after Dazzle and Ashlar. You're on your own."
"And then what, Shine?" Hero sniggered. "What happens if you're the last three left? Do you think Dazzle will choose you over Ashlar? Not gonna happen, sweetie. They'll kill you, and then where will you be? Continuing your family name six feet underground, that's where."
His tone was vicious, positively dripping with venom, and each word poisoned my mind with it's cruel truth.
He was right. Of course he was right.
Hero's triumphant smile told me he already knew that.
I whimpered and closed my eyes as his hand left my waist and wandered lower. "Hero..." I whined, hating how his touch sent shivers of desire along my spine, scorching my skin and setting me on fire.
Hero grinned. He was loving this, having complete control over me. I had to try and gain the upperhand somehow, because I was tired of him using me and abusing me whenever he saw fit. I was an Onyx-Platinum, and I wouldn't be controlled.
I smiled seductively, gazing at him through my lashes and parting my lips as I ground my body against his.
The low groan he let out was very satisfying.
"You know, I never usually compare my sexual experiences," I began smoothly, pretending that he wasn't affecting me in the slightest. "But you don't rank very high. Dazzle, now, let me tell you, he was something else-"
I was cut short as Hero slammed his lips against mine, completely ravishing my mouth and leaving me breathless and panting and extremely needy.
"Not as good as Dazzle, huh?" Hero snarled. "Let me see if I can change your mind."
If only he knew that he was way better than Dazzle in the first place. Oh, well. The sex was always intense fun when he was angry. He overwhelmed me in pleasure so completely that I forgot about his outrageous actions, and almost forgot about how much I hated him. Almost.

I dressed myself reluctantly, quite happy just to prance about the arena nude if it meant I got an awesome tan. But I doubt the Capitol would appreciate my bare body, as perfect as it was. They'd probably just disintegrate me on the spot.
I decided that I'd changed since leaving District One. I was no longer a vain, selfish, ignorant bitch who got everyone and everything that she wanted, but a pawn of the Capitol sent into the slaughter for entertainment.
I didn't want them to change me. So, I'd made a decision. I wasn't going to be the vain, selfish, ignorant bitch from District One, and I wasn't going to be the sentimental, pathetic, emotional pussy I'd become in the arena, either. I was going to be Shine. And that meant smiling, laughter and a whole lot of fun.
I could be true to myself in here, as my only company was a monstrous boy who I valued more than anything else in the world. He understood me, and he accepted me. I understood him, and I accepted him. We were in this together. We were both going home.