Disclaimer: I don't own Hunger Games.

Warning: There will be smut. But you'll have to wait :)

Holy Mother *spits out coffee* I don't think I've ever had 8 reviews for the 1st chapter before. I like you people :)

Peeta woke up on the cold, hard ground of the cave the next morning. This was a good sign, Peeta decided. It meant that Cato hadn't chosen to slit Peeta's throat last night, or worse. The very thought of Cato's blade on Peeta's neck had the boy feeling his throat. Shivering at the thought, Peeta decided to make sure that Cato wasn't hiding to prey on him once he woke up. All it took was a few glances around the walls of the cavern, there weren't any hiding spots.

He wasn't near the entrance where Peeta last saw him, before falling victim to his dreams, and he wasn't in the cave anywhere. There was no sign of Cato anywhere. More shivers crept up on Peeta while he slowly crawled back to the nearest wall of the cave, at least he knew the Career wouldn't be there. Slowly, the boy grabbed a sharp rock to his right, and held it out as if it were some sword.

"Cato, if you're here trying to kill me, just do it already." Peeta whined. "It's enough that you helped carry me here, and then took watch over night, but you still stabbed my leg. You're the one that gave me this injury!" Peeta yelled. "So don't act like we're friends!" The blond boy jumped as a squirrel crossed the opening of the cavern. The boy's hand shot over his heart as it raced. Yes, Peeta realised that it was a little ridiculous to jump at such a thing, but in a game of life or death, it's impossible to be too careful. Careful. It reminded him of how not careful Katniss was. She must be doing amazing, Peeta thought. She probably has another tribute in her sights as he thinks. It also reminded him of how dangerous Cato was. Images flashed in his head of Cato murdering the tributes at the Cornucopia, and more of Cato thrusting his sword into Peeta's leg.

"What are you cowering for?" Peeta jumped as Cato returned to the cave. His menacing voice already barking for answers.

"I-I-I," Peeta stuttered. Scrambling, Peeta regained composure, pointing the sharp rock at Cato as if it would defend the boy. "Where have you been?" Peeta eyed the brute suspiciously.

Nothing.

The Career stood motionless, folding his arms. The two made eye contact for another few seconds, which seemed to travel on for hours.

"Tell me." Peeta demanded. Swiftly, the Career slapped the rock out of Peeta's hand, and the boy already felt the edge of the blade on his neck.

"If I wanted you dead, you would be by now." Cato slowly pulled his blade off of Peeta's neck. "I was out hunting." Peeta was too frightened before to notice that Cato had 7 birds and a squirrel, shish cabob'd on to a stick. "I already ate my share." Cato said before tossing it to Peeta. The animals had already been fried.

"Why are you doing this?" Peeta asked. "First, I'm basically a slave for you and the other Careers, next I'm a target, and now you're protecting me? What the hell?" Peeta questioned.

"Don't ask!" Cato yelled. The Career thrust his sword into the ground next to Peeta. The brute had an intense looks of anger on his face, or was it frustration? Peeta believed that there was something more to him at the moment. Something had obviously happened within the past few days to outrage him. Maybe something or someone had him wanting something, but he was being kept from it. Either way, Cato was upset. The next thing Peeta knew, Cato was sucking back all the emotion on his face and hiding it away, back to his dangerous face that he wore usually. He turned his head sideways, trying to avoid Peeta's gaze and slowly pulled his sword out of the ground. "I didn't mean to scare you." Cato said. The taller boy walked back to the entrance of the cave, baring his sword in case of an emergency.

Peeta finished his meal in silence, seeing as Cato wasn't willing to speak. Needless to say that wasn't anything new. He didn't dare to speak to Cato about where to throw away the bones, so he tossed them aside.

Suddenly, Cato had risen up from his crouched state and exited the cavern.

"Where are you going?" Peeta called after him.

Nothing. Again.

"Jesus." Peeta sat back against the cave wall, partly annoyed. "What does a guy have to do to get an answer around here?" He rolled his eyes. Throwing a bone to the other side of the cave, Peeta was trying to calm himself. The baker's boy rolled his eyes and looked outside, wishing he had a good leg so he could just run away. After a moment of staring he noticed a bush moving more than it normally should. This caught Peeta's attention.

"Cato..." Peeta called out to the bush, that rumbled a little more. "Cato?" The bush seemed to rumble even more. Peeta then noticed a crowd of deer running away, directly from the bush. This worried Peeta somewhat.

"AH!" A scream, definitely human, yelled in the distance. It was obviously a threatening scream, meant to scare something. Whether or not Cato was around, this was certainly another tribute. It must be Thresh, Peeta decided. It's not Cato's yell, and it was male. Seeing as the other 3 tributes were all girls, it had to be Thresh.

"Cato!" Peeta called for help. If Thresh found him, it was the end, and he wouldn't make it painless either. "Cato!" Peeta called again. "CATO!"

Okay, next chapter is when the interesting stuff happens. Please review.