8 : Realize

Clove's POV

The past two days would've been perfect. Me and Cato are kind of okay with each other but I'm still trying hard to make it not awkward ever since the kiss. But fire girl just had to get an 11 from the Gamemakers. What on earth did she do to get that score? I don't sleep just yet because I'm thinking too hard on what she did. It doesn't matter, I'm still going to have a lot of sponsors. I'm still the best career here… Along with Cato that is. I can't believe he said I was beautiful for the interview. He looked very speechless when he saw me. I was actually speechless as well on how good he looked. He looked freaking awesome. Like a god. Like a mystical creature created from heaven brought down on Earth. Snap out of it Clove. You're doing it again. Fantasizing about Cato. Remember you can't fall for him especially during the Games. You have to win… You have to go back to 2. But what will I return to when I get to 2? Returning means Cato dying. Losing my best friend that turned into an ally or maybe a friend. I'm messing up with my emotions again and I have to stop doing this. I'm getting more confused and less focused on the Games. I sing a little lullaby my mother used to sing to me. After a few verses, I fall asleep.

I wake up feeling cold. Very cold. I look out the window and it's raining. I look in the mirror like I do every day after I wake up and see 25 year old me. I look around the house and I was alone. My mother was gone. I was alone. I heard a knock on the door and I run. Maybe it's Cato. "Cato!" I call running to the door. I open and he's there. "Clove. I," – he stops talking and spits out blood. He falls on the floor and I see myself. It's not a reflection. I see myself. I killed Cato. I threw a knife at him and it hit him behind the chest through the heart. My mouth opens wide open and I hold Cato in my arms. "Cato, no. Don't leave me. Please don't." I beg him to stay with me. He mumbles something but I can't really catch it. "I," then a word that I don't understand then, "you, Clove," he says repeatedly. "I-I love you, Clove." Then he finally dies. Rocks begin to fall down from the sky. Cato's body vanishes. And a rock hits me on the bed making me unconscious. I scream and wake up.

A bad dream again. This means one thing. I love Cato. I do. Now I know it. I really believe it. All those nights together, training, and just hanging out, I fell in love. I fell in love with Cato Lorry. But I can't let this show. This will make me look weak. This will pull me down. This will make me lose the Games. Then again, I wouldn't want to live without him. I remember the talk we had on the train. "I don't want to lose you, Clove." Now I get what he is saying. And I can't help but think that I can't bear to lose him too. I'd rather die than live without him. That's what he meant. I wish I've realized it earlier. But it's too late.

I sleep again. Fortunately, I didn't have bad dreams anymore. I sleep calmly. I wake up by myself. Not by Faye's voice. This is odd. She should've waked us up hours ago. Why did she let us sleep in? I take a bath and wear the outfit they've picked for us tributes to wear, black shirt and dark green pants. I go to the dining table and see everybody but our stylists eating.

"Clove, I didn't wake you up so you won't be tired for later. You'll need all the energy you can have," Faye says.

"I woke up early on my own. I slept like a baby," Cato says. Does he know I've been having bad dreams? Of course not. Unless I scream when I'm dreaming. I'm sure I don't but… who knows? I roll my eyes at him and take seat. I eat a lot because it would be a while before I'll have a full belly again. Maybe after I win.

After eating, Brutus and Enobaria take us to the hovercraft that will take us to the arena. They give us last minute advices on what to do in the arena. It's all the basics. Like the survival lecture they five us back in 2. Find water immediately, don't light a fire at night, stay away from the bloodbath, of course the last two doesn't really apply to us since we are careers and we can take out anyone. We go in the hovercraft and take our seats. They put a tracker in my arm. It's to monitor where I am, how I'm doing, if I'm dead or whatever. Then they put us in a small room and I see Miles inside. She gave me my jacket and my token. My mom must've slipped this inside before I went to reaping because I don't remember taking it with me. It's a locket. My mom and dad on one side and a picture of me and Cato on the other.

Cato's POV

Mage gave me my token that I'll bring to the arena. It's a dog tag that I was carrying in my pocket at the reaping. Mage must've found it when she took my clothes before the parade. One dog tag contains the name of my mom, dad and little sister. And the other has Clove's name. I got it last last year. My mom gave me two dog tags. The one I engraved their names. Then Clove saw it and dared me to engrave hers in the other one. I agreed because after all, she is my best friend. I never knew that the girl that owned this name would be the girl I love. The girl I think about every minute every second for everyday. I'll try annoying her during the games to talk to me. And if that doesn't work, I have Glimmer to make her jealous and force her to talk to me.

"Ten seconds," a voice announces. I go in the tube and Mage wishes me good luck. The tube goes up and I'm taken up the tube. I look around me and I see trees and more trees. The cornucopia is in the middle and I see a lot of packs. I can reach the Cornucopia faster than anyone here. I can go there and reach for a sword. "Thirty, Twenty nine, Twenty eight…" I look around and see where all my allies were. I look at them and look at the Cornucopia. They knew what that meant. Be ready to kill some bitches. "Thirteen, twelve, eleven…" time is slowly running out and I ready myself to run as fast as I can so I could reach a weapon. Then it happens. The countdown is over and I run to the Cornucopia. I was the second one there after Clove. Man she's fast. She took dozens of knives. And I take the best sword I can find. I kill the guy from district 5 that was heading for one pack. The sword goes through his chest and he's dead instantly. I see Clove killing a girl from 3, sending a knife through her neck. Marvel threw a spear at the girl from 10. I just killed the girl from 7 when I hear Clove scream, "Cato! Behind you!" I immediately turn and swing my sword and it slices through the guy from 7. I look at Clove and smile. I feel like I'm in heaven when I saw her smile back at me. I heard Fiona scream, "Ronnie!" I look at him and it's too late. Thresh ran a dagger through him. I just lost an ally. It's harder for Fiona seeing the boy from his district go. Fiona runs after Thresh but he escapes. I look to my right and I see Clove throw a knife towards fire girl's direction. I thought that was the time that girl would die. No. She puts the backpack in front of her face and it misses. Damn it. That girl has a fast reflex. She runs away and Clove runs after her but she disappears right into the woods immediately. Soon after, me, Clove, Fiona, Glim and Marvel are the only ones left here. We take the advantage of taking all the packs scattered here. Me and Marvel get all the weapons while Glim and Clove collect the supplies. Fiona is just sitting behind the Cornucopia staring through the wind. I won't blame her. It'd be hard for me too if Clove died. But I'll make sure she won't. I'll make sure she will get back safe.