AN: Sorry for not posting this chapter sooner I was really working to edit it. Chapter 4 and 5 (which will come as soon as possible) are my favorites so far out of the 6 that I have written. Thanks for your support and comments!
I sit down at the dinner table after our long first day of the unnecessary training that we have to go through. Clove is still in her room, and Athena gets up to try and get her out so we can have a dinner together- which I really don't care for one bit.
"Do we really have to wait for Clove to eat?" I ask the mentors.
"Yes, we do. All the tributes, mentors, and even Escorts from all the districts always eat together, even the ones from Twelve. Although I doubt they even know how to eat with a spoon, when I was in Twelve all I saw was broken people in broken houses that had a layer of coal dust covering everything. There was absolutely nothing green, nothing green at all, except for the forest that surrounds it." Brutus says.
"So why do they get the pent house then? It's just unfair, they don't deserve it!" I say.
Lyme answers, "Well might as well let them live large before they die. That is probably why they also get the private roof." Lyme automatically realizes that she made a huge mistake by saying that last comment about the roof.
I ask slowly, "They have the only access to the roof?"
Lyme and Brutus look to Enobaria for help so she sighs and tells me, "Yes they do, but you would have to break into their floor and find the door to the roof, and if anyone catches you the game makers will be notified and they will be told to make sure that you don't win, so don't even think about going there!"
Clove arrives with Athena practically dragging her and they sit down, then we all start to eat. I eat quietly, thinking about the roof, thinking about the consequences if I get caught and is it worth is to just possibly scare the shit out of Everdeen if she see's that I got up there without anything happening.
I will go at midnight.
I push off my covers and put on some jeans and a t-shirt. I slowly open the door hoping not to awaken Clove, who has a room right next to mine, or any of the mentors who all have rooms across from mine. I slip out of my room and creep down the hallway to make sure that I don't wake anyone up.
I get into the elevator and my finger hovers over the District 12 button, but I stop and question myself. What if I get caught, would that ruin my chance of winning? What if there are cameras, to make sure no one sneaks up to the roof? I take a deep breath and press a button.
The doors open to the Training Center and I slip inside. I couldn't do it, not yet, so I just went down to the Training Center to get out all of my emotions. It's fairly light without the lights on, so I don't bother turning them on. I walk over to where the swords are. I run my left hand across the blade. I bring back my hand and see that it is cut right open. I take off my shirt and wrap it around my hand and continue my journey of training.
I grab the sword with the blood on it with my right hand. I take a couple swings around, and then I walk over to the dummies. I close my eyes for a second and get myself ready. I take a swing at the three dummies with one hand. The first one I cut off its arm then its leg. I vertically slice off the second one's head and it lands on the floor with a thump. Then I use all my force that I can muster to dig my sword into the last one's "heart".
I admire the damage I did to the dummies, imagining that they were people. I drop the sword that still has blood on it onto the floor and kneel down next to it. Rubbing my forehead with my good hand, trying to get that image of the people I have killed out of my head.
"I don't know if I should be more impressed with your swordsmanship or you shirtless."
I don't look up, I know who it is, that voice has become so familiar to me, "Well, that's really up to you do decide, but I have a feeling you are going to say both."
"Before I answer do you want to explain why you don't have a shirt on?"
I look down at my hand and say, "I cut my hand on the sword and I didn't have a towel or bandage so I just used my shirt, which should also explain why I was using one hand with the sword."
I hear the footsteps get closer to me. I look up; she kneels down next to me and her grey eyes. It's also the first time I see her hair down instead of in the side braid; it flows down her back and frames her face perfectly. I look back to the ground to avoid her stern gaze. She grabs my hand and I pull it away.
I take the chance and I look at her, glaring, "What was that for?"
"Okay, sorry for trying to help."
"Why the hell would you want to help me?"
"I don't know! I might as well just let you bleed to death!" Everdeen gets up and starts to walk away.
"...Why were you here anyways?" I don't know why I asked her that when she was about to leave, and I was about to be alone. She stopped and turned towards me, but she doesn't say anything. I stand up and take a few steps towards her. Her jaw clenched and I can tell me being this close to her and probably me having no shirt on makes me have so much more power over her. I'm going to have fun with this. I flash her one of my winning smiles, and I step up right in front of her.
"Cato, stop," She hisses, and tries to push me away. Her hand is on my chest, but she doesn't pull it away.
"What? You like what you see?"
She rolls her eyes and takes away her hand, "Why the sudden interest in me, Cato?" She shows no emotions on her face, nothing for me to know how she is feeling. Her grey eyes bore a hole into me.
"It isn't just a sudden interest Everdeen, you caught my eye the minute you volunteered for you sister." I put my hand right in the crook between her neck and shoulder. She just looks at me and doesn't even try to move my hand. I grin.
Everdeen says, "I know you are just trying to figure out what my talent is, but it's not going to work."
"You are smarter than I give you credit for, Everdeen, but what if you are being attacked and you have the choice of one weapon? I know you would pick the one you have most skill with, because, well, I will say it again, you are smart." She gives me a weird look like she knows what I am planning. Before she can act I pick up my sword that is lying on the ground and swing it around a couple of times to get my grip right.
"You wouldn't!" She says her eyes wide open.
"Darling, you and I both know that I would. So I would suggest that you pick up a weapon in the next 20 seconds or you will be cut up into tiny pieces."
She glares at me, but starts to walk; she looks around the Center, pondering her options.
"1...2...3...4...5..."
She walks past the spears and the swords, and starts to walk in the direction of the knives, but walks past them.
"10...11...12...13..."
She glares at me again and I can tell all she wants me to do is shut up but I continue.
"16...17...18...19..."
Right then there is a loud noise at the door and Everdeen and I both look at each other then at the door. I drop my sword as I turn to Everdeen; she is just looking at the door. The door which I didn't think was locked or jammed opened finally.
"Who is in here? Answer and no harm will come to you!" I saw the white Peacekeeper uniform and I quickly jogged over to Everdeen and grabbed her hand.
"I hope you can run fast, fire girl, because we are going for a little jog. Just keep your head down so they don't recognize you." She silently nodded in agreement.
We took off full force, with our heads lowered. We ran past the Peacekeepers. Everdeen was fast, but I could match her speed. Everdeen looked over at me her eyes filled with panic, "Where should we go?" I realize why she is so panicked now.
"Shit...um...the roof!" This does not settle her down, if anything it makes her even more panicked, but I can see in her eyes that she is considering it.
"Fine!" We run into the Elevator and she hits "12", and the doors shut.
"That was close; do you think they saw us?" Katniss asks, out of breath.
"Well if they did, the last place they will look is the roof." She nods as the doors open to the District 12 floor.
A strong male voice makes me jump, "Well Sweetheart, where have you been? Oh, who is this with you?" It's her mentor, Haymitch, that talks. It's then that I realize that we are still holding hands, and I am still shirtless.
