Chapter 21
I spend a majority of the next few today's thinking. Mostly about how we can get out of here, but I'm also trying to figure everything out. I've never been good at untangling emotions, so it's taken a while. Luckily, the Gamemaker's have been satisfied enough to allow us to have a few peaceful days to come up with new strategies. I can't be sure, of course, as there could just be a lot of fighting going on elsewhere in the arena, but it probably has something to do with the crowd's satisfaction with the near-constant snuggling between Cato and I...
By the second day of this however, the two of us are getting very irritated with Marvel's constant attempts at humor. Honestly, how exactly does one live for seventeen years while missing an organ as vital as the brain? So I snap. After my approximately four hundredth episode of forced, exceptionally fake laughter, I can't take it anymore! I need some time away from this loon!
"You aren't helping anything!" I shriek, pointing madly at the forest line. "So just… go. Just… do something productive, for once! Tribute hunting, or- or- or something!"
Surprisingly, another big, goofy, annoying grin spreads across his face, as if I just granted permission. Well, he was free to leave at any time! I continue to glare at his retreating form until I'm sure that he isn't coming back.
Turning around, I see Cato holding back laughter. Our eyes meet, and the uncharacteristic giggles escape. It takes a while for us to calm down, and by the time the rawness in our throats is gone, the sun is setting.
That night, we finally see the boy from Ten in the sky. It took long enough… How he lasted this long, I'm not sure. Maybe he was faking the full extent of the damage so we would leave him alone, or something? I'm not really sure. Anyway, it's a good thing for us. One less person is standing in the way of our double victory now.
We are alone now. Besides the cameras, of course. So maybe I can use that to our advantage… If we over-emphasize our feelings for each other, maybe the Gamemaker's will feel badly for us. And besides, they love over-the-top things in the Capitol. I mean, my stylist literally looks like she was made of metal and rhinestones! So I decide that, however sickening it will be when we have to watch this in the recap interview, we need to overact as much as possible.
Night is falling quickly, and the temperature is rapidly dropping. I know that my parents will freak out when they see this, but as they said in the Training Center, do what is necessary for survival. They would doubly emphasize that if it is something for the victory of two people, of course. Anyway, we both crawl inside one of the temperature-maintained, fleece-lined sleeping bags, and curl up next to each other. I consider imitating Glimmer and batting my eyelashes, or something, but we all know how that worked out for her. We shouldn't act too out of character. Otherwise, people will assume that everything is an act, and that we have no feelings towards each other whatsoever.
His arms wrap around me as he pulls me closer. I feel the pounding of both of our hearts. Though mine is faster, it still feels as though they are in sync, though that may be purely metaphor clouding my judgment of rhythm. This is all perfect… wonderful…
We gaze into each other's eyes for what feels like hours. I eventually feel my eyes get heavy. I'm only the brink of alertness when slowly, gently, he kisses me to sleep…