Cato's POV (first meeting (Clove: 7 Cato: 8)):

It was a cold Tuesday morning at the vast training centre. I was only eight but in my eyes I was still the best there. I had been training since I was four years old and was definitely the best in my group for sure. I was really annoyed and angry, today as our trainer was extremely ill we had to partner up with the younger group, as if I wasn't already too skilled for my group... I walked in with my sword and messed around with it, stabbing a dummy and slicing it repeatedly.

After a while my friends started joining me. Maxier, a boy about my size with blonde hair a sea blue eyes, like most district two people who lived in the centre, blonde hair or light brown hair and blue eyes. He was always the clown. Gariton, a short boy with dark hair, pale skin and brown eyes, like the people on the outskirts near the mountains, the poorer people. And lastly Derion, a lanky boy with mousy brown hair and light brown eyes, my best friend. We all started messing around and play fighting like normal.

After a while they called the group together and told us about our groups joining together, I groaned looking at the seven year olds at the front really excited and the eight year olds groaning with me. We were told we would be doing knife throwing and everyone sighed, except one girl who caught my eye because she seemed over the moon, she must have been the youngest in her group and only just have turned seven, unlike me who was turning nine in two weeks. She was smiling brightly, her pale skin showed me that she lived near the nut, where all the weapon makers and masons lived, the poorer people. She had raven black hair that was put in a high pony tail, and forest green eyes mixed with pastel green and brown outlines. She was wearing training boots and a maroon zip up hoodie.

I rolled my eyes at her excitement. We all picked up a few knives and started practising, but is soon my friends and I got bored so stood at the side joking around laughing when Maxier pointed out the girl that I observed earlier. She was hitting the target perfectly and was the only person still training.

No one took training really seriously till they were twelve when they picked their weapon of choice and are sorted into groups according to skill. I saw her ears pick up at our laughing. Suddenly a knife whizzed past me and cut off some of my hair and just the wall perfectly above my head, I glared at her.

"you missed" I shouted at her angry.

"no I didn't, I never miss"

Cloves POV (assesment (Clove: 12 Cato: 14)):

I was so excited on my twelfth birthday, I finally get to pick my weapon of choice and then they judge me and put me in my skill group. My best friends Cato and Derion both got into top group and all their other friends didn't so leading to them not hanging up together anymore.

Since the day I meet them, Cato and I have been inseparable, Derion was like a brother to me. Cato was almost two years older than me, our birthdays were exactly a month away from each-others, so he was thirteen at the time, and was nearly fourteen. I couldn't wait to join them in top group, everyone knew I would be in there. I got to training and the trainers took me to a special room and sat me at a desk, it was strange as the trainers would make this very formal and I was very active and wanted to move around all the time so this was going to be an interesting hour.

I looked at the new boots my dad had got me for my birthday, it was only him and I at home, and he worked late into the nights making weapons for peace keepers, he was really happy and merry all the time, no matter how much we struggled. My dad had done so much for me as my mum died when I was born leaving him to take care of a baby. The boots were great, they were combat boots and were really good quality, I don't know how he afforded them. I also wore really light brow trousers and a darker brown top and a black jacket to train in as it is very comfortable.

A senior leader came in and sat down in front of the table I was sat at and set down a form.

"name?" he said, he was obviously high up and had paid a lot into this place, he was from the centre of the district, all our victors come from there. He was blonde hair that was turning grey, and pale blue eyes and was very tall, of course, he was Cato's dad.

My dad really liked Cato, he thought it was nice to see that the centre weren't all stuck up rich snobs, but the thing is, Cato's dad was a perfect example of the stereotype of the people from the centre. He wanted his children to win the games and hates all the people from the outskirts and also was a Capitol lover. People from the outskirts want to go into the games and fight and win, but for the actual game, fighting, blood and the money, not for the Capitol and honour. Cato's dad didn't really like me hanging around with Cato but let us as he saw a lot of potential in me.

"Clove Cutler" i said politely. Cutler was a common surname for an outskirter, it meant knife maker, along with Mason, the two main jobs for the people on the out skirts. Cato's dad wrote it down.

"and may I ask your weapon of choice please?" he asks and I smirk

"knives, mainly throwing" I'm already tapping my foot wanting to train, Cato's dad chuckled.

"calm down Clove" I smiled and he wrote down my weapon of choice.

We exchanged a few more questions then they took me to a room much like the main training room but much smaller. There was a table with an array of different knives spread across it, I picked up about ten and put them in my belt and also a machete. There were three men that lead the training centre sat there, one of them being Cato's dad.

I walked over to the archery range as it was much longer than the knife and spear throwing section. I stood there in stance. This would decide my future. Join my dads job. Peace keeper. Or Victor. I look at Cato's dad and he nods, letting me know it's time to start. I stand ready, knives in hands. I close my eyes and focus. Then, I start throwing, viciously and showing off. After the last knife hit the dummy I picked up the machete and throw it at the dummy, sending it spinning through the air. The machete sliced the dummy's head off cleanly with a perfectly horizontal line, sending the head to the floor with a bang. The men were silent for a moment and then started writing notes.

I walked up to the decapitated dummy and examined it closely, the ten knives stuck perfectly straight and deeply into ten deadly places, one on the forehead, one in each eye, one in the heart, one in each lung, one just above the collar bone, and three in the stomach. I smirked to my self then stood up straight, I walked formally to the cross on the floor in front the men, a lady came in and measured every inch of me and weighed me. I was average height for my age, but they liked to have tall bulky people in top group, but I was lean due to living in the poorer part of the district, making me different. I would have points deducted from me for that. The lady looked at me. "you'll be measured every month so we can update your file." she said and I nodded as she passed her noted to the men and they wrote it on my files.

I started fiddling my fingers and tapping my feet wanting to run around and train, the men notice this and smiled writing it down too. Cato's dad looked up and stands up. "we are done come with me" he walked into a room with the training uniforms.

There were five groups, all set out like a pyramid, group five was the biggest and was the lowest, they wore black clothes like everyone did, but they wore a green strip on the seams. Group four was still big but a bit smaller than five and they wore a purple stripe. Group three was a bit smaller so medium size and had an orange stripe. Group two was small and were second best and wore a white strip. Group one was very small, the top group, only about ten people and they would almost always get picked to volunteer, they wore a crimson red stripe.

Cato's dad looked through the uniforms and pulled out a perfectly sized uniform and passed it to me, I saw the crimson line following the seam carefully and my face lit up.

"thank you so much sir, this means a lot" I beamed to him an he smiled.

"don't let us down Clove" he walked out and I ran to the toilets to get changed really quickly, no doubt Cato and Darion would be waiting for me.

I got out into the main training room and saw Cato and Darion laughing practising with spears laughing, I ran behind them and tapped their shoulders. They both turned around and Cato hugged me tight when he saw my red stripe, and I hugged back.

"welcome to the club, Clover"

Catos POV (the seventy second games (Clove: 13 Cato:15)):

I was fifteen when Darion entered the games and Clove was thirteen. We both sat at my house watching every second together, I enjoyed the time with Clove. I sat there watching the games carefully, Darion and Clove were amazing friends to me, but I was starting to think I liked Clove. Clove was amazing, and a great career, she wasn't a machine, she put passion into her train, enjoyed the killing, I loved that.

Darion was doing well, he was in the last three as the games were coming to a close. In the opening ceromonies he wore a suit that looked like it was made from bricks and his face looked like it was made from stone too. He got a nine in training, the average for the careers. He was great in his interview, he said he wanted to get home for a girl he liked but she never knew, he said it would be a secret till he won, a great way to get sponcers as the Capitol are really nosey but I'm scared it's Clove. I think Clove likes him too which makes me slightly jelouse.

The last three, Darion, the girl from four who was eighteen, short and had bright red hair, and the boy from one who was seventeen blonde and green eyed. The girl from four was killed by the boy from one, making me worry.

Clove suddenly burrows her head in my shoulder, normally I would love this, but then I realise it's because she doesn't want Darion to die.

I sigh and hold her close, watching the tv carefully. I gasped as the boy from one pins Darion down, a sword to his throat. I hope he has remembered what Clove always tells us, always keep a knife up your sleave. The boy from one chuckles into his face. Darion is too clever to forget what Clove said and with one swift move a cannon goes off, and I hold Clove closer. I feel clove cry silently into my shoulder.

"he won Clover..." I whisper, realising im shocked, meaning I thought he wouldn't win, i didn't realise i thought that.

A slow smile grows on my face and Clove looked up at me, her green eyes watery so I whip the tears away. She slowly smiles too, and huged me tight, starting to laugh, I did so too. We ran around the living room celebrating.

The next day was the part I was dreading, the interview. Clove and I sat down and turned the tv on and the show started. Darion looked great in his suit, I sighed, Clove must have fallen for him. Caesar introduced him and sat down. They started to talk about how the games went, Darion is a young victor and so he almost played it sweet and innocent. Then finally the part I was dreading.

"So you promised to tell us this girls name, now say!" Caesar said, and I gulped.

"oh well she's amazing, she uses knives" I felt Clove stiffen in my grip and Darion laughs innocently

"she's a girl called Clove Culter" he blushes bright red and continued talking about Clove, I was too upset to hear. The sound of Clove crying brought me out of this state. Clove never cries so I knew it was bad.

"Clove" I hug her tighter and wipe her tears

"what's wrong aren't you happy?" she looked up at me.

"no... I'm stuck with him now, the Capitol will make sure of it. I don't even like him like that! He's like a brother to me!" I sighed, all of this was true, but if Clove saw Darion as a brother, how did she see me? I held Clove tight and rocked her gently.

"I'm so sorry... It wont be that bad" I sigh whispering to her, she shoots up and looks at me.

"not that bad?! When they force me to marry him at like, 18?! Force us to have kids?!" she was screaming an crying at me, I felt helpless, I wanted to tell her I liked her but that would just make this harder for her and I.

"you'll be ok Clover..." I tried to reassure her.

"no! No it won't! I don't love him! I don't even like him! I like someone else!" she shouted, I backed away, we are both dangerous when we are angry, too dangerous.

"Clove... Calm down ok?..." her face changed from anger and upset, to rage and pain.

"calm down?! How?! I-I-I don't..." I looked at the screaming girl break down in front of me, the girl that was always happy, but had a very dark side, she was happy from the pain and the fear she could cause and what kept her happy and sweet was her knowing she could over power many people. Now Clove didn't have a say in what was happening, I could see it tearing her a part. Slowly she looked down, showing no emotion and sat back next to me. I looked at her confused till she said

"let's see how the Capitol will like my little twist I put into the story" I gulped knowing this would end badly.

"Clover, be careful" I sighed.

"oh I am" she smiles

"let's see how the Capitol deals with heart break" I had to admire her scheme here. I looked at her and smiled, it would work, shes only thirteen so she could act all innocent and act like she just wanted to live a life for a while. That's what I liked so much about Clove, she was so innocent and young looking but had a mind that was more clever and older than it should be, also her looks did not portray who she was, she was not innocent, she was dangerous.

Cloves POV (shocks (Clove: 15 Cato: 17)):

Cato and I had changed a lot the last few years, we were extremely close still, but very different. Cato was loud, cocky and I have to admit, a bit of a jerk, but I liked that. I on the other hand was quick, sly and quite clever, but we liked each other for that.

My scheme had worked, when Darion got home he ran up and hugged me tight and hugged back and whispered to him that I didn't like him. The camreas heard this, and I looked at Darion innocently then hugged him tighter and told him he was like a brother to me. Darion soon got over me and fame went to his head, girls surrounded him and he changed too much so Cato and I left him.

Today they were gonna say who was volunteering for the seventy forth hunger games. Cato was so excited, he knew it would be him. I wanted to wait till the quell to volunteer as it was more dangerous, more fun. I get up early that morning and quickly get into my training clothes and grab my bag.

I walked out the front door before the sun had even peaked over the mountains. I like to take the back roads, the dirt paths, where the grass over grew and grabbed your legs as you walked past and the light dots of colours from where the flowers grow. On your left you can just see the roof tops and the rest of the outskirts. On your right you can see the large mountains looming over and covered in light snow.

I run down the path as the sun rises in front of me, like every day. The journey normally takes me about an hour to run but I still did it every day. Once the sun had nearly completely rose, I was about ten minutes from the training centre. I felt a strong hand grip my arm tightly, so my first reaction was to kick them, so I did.

"what the hell Clover?!" I turned around and saw Cato doubled over in pain, I burst out laughing. He glared at me and stood up.

"shouldn't of attacked me randomly then you would be fine." I laughed and he glared at me, and started walking next to me.

"you gonna miss me when I'm in the Capitol?" he smirked at me.

"no, Cato it's only for three to four weeks"

"well you see me everyday, it will be a shock to you"

"a good shock, it will be nice to have a break from you for once" he huffed and kept walking next to me looking down a little. I whisper to him, as the morning was quiet only disturbed by our voices and the occasional gust of wind.

"I will miss you... a lot" I said almost annoyed that I looked weak. I could see Cato perking up and smirking.

"Ha! I knew it! You will miss my charm and awesomeness!" he smirked and joked as I started to laugh. I slowly stop and realise that if Cato does go into the games he may not come out, and I'll lose my best friend. I guess Cato realised the same thing as he put his arm over my shoulder and smiles.

"race you to the centre!" before he even finished his sentence, he was off. I ran after him and after a few minutes we were neck and neck with the training centre in sight. we both got there at the same time out of breath and walked in. Everyone was standing in a semi circle so we joined in, standing with our group. Cato's dad stepped out and looked around at all of us carefully.

"good morning" he said sternly.

"Today we will be announcing the volunteers for the seventy fourth annual hunger game" he then smirked

"but first! Your mentors for this year are Enobaria" I smiled at this, I had looked up at her most of my life, she's a knife thrower too but has a dangerous twist, her teeth.

"and also Darion" I looked at Cato knowing he would enjoy his time very much. He exchanged sly smirks then looked back at his dad.

"and the male volunteer will be, from group one" he paused

"Cato Hadely!" everyone cheered and clapped as he stood next to his dad, in between his dad and Enobaria. I smiled at him excitedly and remembered last night when we went to the lake next to the nut.

"Cato..." it had finally hit me, sitting cross legged in the grass looking at the glittering water. Cato looked at me. "

yes Clover?" he was laid next to me looking at the sky.

"promise to come back..." I almost whispered, he sat up and sat closer to me.

"starting to doubt me?" he said trying to joke, but I looked at him and he knew I was serious. He hugged me tight

"I will come back, I promise"

"thank you Cato..." I sighed

"I don't care who the girl tribute is, I want them dead so you will come home" he chuckled at me and I smiled weakly and pulled away and looked at him.

"Clover... I will kill her myself with ease to get home, I promise."

"and the female tribute is from group one" Cato's dad looked at me and smiled

"Clove Cutler!" everyone one knows me and Cato are best friends and inseparable, so they awkwardly clap as I walk forward. I can't bare to look at Cato's face. We both know people change in the games and that the chances are one of us will die by the others hands, we are both killers.