Chapter Eight: Why I Hate District Two

I'm woken by the sound of Jasper knocking on my door. "Marvel?" he says loudly. "Open the door, would you? There's something we need to discuss before you leave for training."

I groan and force myself out of bed, trudging to the door and weakly yanking it open. "What?" I ask sleepily. Jasper enters the room without invitation.

"I should've mentioned this yesterday," he berates himself, seeming not to notice me. "But I didn't, so I'm here now."

"What?" I repeat impatiently. God knows I don't like being kept in the dark, and this is infuriating, seeing as clearly this is important and the more I know, the better.

"Your strategy is to appear arrogant and stupid, isn't it?" Jasper asks. I nod and roll my eyes at my mentor's condescending tone.

"Obviously."

Jasper frowns. "I think you're doing well with the arrogance factor, but from what I saw yesterday, I'm not sure that you're coming off as… moronic as you should be. So… you should try to work on that today, okay?"

"Sure, sure," I say tiredly.

"I mean it. You want to get as much as you can out of this, Marvel. Push it to the very limit."

"I will," I say, mostly to shut him up. Then I happen to notice the clock a few feet away from me.

"What the hell, Jasper? Six in the morning? What am I supposed to do for the next four hours?"

He shrugs, clearly not bothered by the ridiculous hour. "It doesn't matter. Try to go back to sleep, if you can."

I glare at him, knowing myself well enough to be certain that I won't be able to fall asleep after being awake. Apparently my expression speaks well enough for me, because Jasper corrects himself almost immediately.

"Or, if you can't manage that, you could go on the roof if you'd like."

The roof? "Am I allowed up there?"

"Of course," Jasper says. Then he shakes his head.

"You're already failing, Marvel. First rule to being an idiot: act first and ask questions later. Forget about any potential consequences."

I nod. "Got it."

The roof is actually quite nice. It's a good place to just escape the Games for a few hours before training, which I appreciate. I even enjoy the short ride in the elevator from District One's level of the training center – I've been craving silence ever since I arrived in the Capitol.

I step off the elevator just a few seconds later, entering the wide expanse that is the roof. The city looks amazing from up here. There are no people in the streets to detract from it – it's far too early for any self-respecting Capitol citizen to be out of bed, of course. The sun is just beginning to rise, and the light falls upon the city's buildings almost gracefully. I find myself wishing that Diamond could see this, because I know she has an eye for beauty and could most likely sit here and watch the sunrise for hours. And suddenly I'm hoping that even now, she's seeing the same thing, this sunrise, from District One.

I've forced myself to try to avoid thoughts of Em and Di for the past couple of days, fearing that the distraction will make me miss something important. But I can afford a little break from that effort now, while there's nothing I have to be focusing on for at least another hour.

I think of Em's innocent laugh and hope Di has heard it since I've left, despite the fact that I know how unlikely that is. My usually hyper sister will surely have been very subdued over the past few days, but I try not to think about that.

I think about the way Diamond's eyes sparkle and hope that they haven't dulled since the reaping. I don't want her to be scared for me. I only volunteered so she could be happy.

I realize I've ceased to care what happens to me as long as Emerald and Diamond are okay, and this isn't anything new. For years, all I've wanted is for them to be okay.

The next thing I realize is that this makes me sound like a girl, even to myself, and I vow never to repeat it – whether it's in my thoughts or to Em and Di when I get home. They'd never let me hear the end of it.

I sigh when I notice the time, that it's after nine already. I stand up, stretching my stiff legs, feeling the effects of sitting still for so long. Once I feel more awake I turn around to leave, and I've almost made it to the elevator when I freeze.

Cato's asleep, or so it seems. His eyes are closed, at least, and he isn't moving. As if I needed more confirmation, his lips slowly part and one word leaves them. "Clove."

I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. I almost feel sorry for the tribute from District Two, but mostly I'm just satisfied to see my suspicion proven correct. I'll have to let Jasper know when I get back downstairs.

I don't know how long Cato's been up here – not as long as me, because I didn't see him when I came up here – but I'd rather not be here when he wakes up, so I step around him and head back to District One's floor.

Glimmer and Star are sitting in the dining room, and they both nod when they notice me. I nod back, grabbing a roll of bread and joining them.

Jasper enters the room shortly after. "Half an hour," he reminds us, and I stand up to go get dressed properly, in whatever outfit Lumina has left me.

When it's time to go downstairs, Glimmer and I step onto the elevator and as the doors close I remember that I forgot to tell Jasper about Cato. Dammit. I suppose there'll be time for it later, but I think I know what he'd say to do anyway.

"We'll discuss this later, but right now you have to remember what I told you earlier." It's almost as if he's standing next to me, I can hear the words so clearly.

The doors open, and I see that Cato and Clove have already arrived. Shockingly, Clove smiles at us – well, I suspect that the smile was directed more at Glimmer than at me. This is more or less confirmed when she scowls at me seconds later without even seeming to notice.

"We have a lot to get done today," Clove says without an introduction.

"Such as?" Glimmer asks curiously.

Keeping in mind what Jasper said, I force my expression into one of oblivion and comment dryly, "There's only so much to do here."

Clove ignores me and repeats, "There's a lot to get done. We're going to break into groups of two. Glimmer, you'll be with me." Glimmer nods in understanding. "Shell will be with Cato—"

"Excuse me?" I hear a new voice. Glancing over my shoulder, I identify Shell and Zen.

"About time," Clove says quietly. I get the impression that the tributes from Four got her in a bit of trouble yesterday, and she doesn't seem too happy with them. Then she goes back to her previous volume and continues speaking. "We're going to break into groups of two. Glimmer is with me, Shell with Cato, and Marvel with Zen." I'm not sure what to think of that – I suppose Zen isn't too bad, and he did help unbalance Cato and Clove, so this could be worse.

"After lunch, we'll switch to Marvel and me, Cato and Zen, and Glimmer and Shell."

Well. Um. Shit.

I was really hoping to avoid spending any time with Clove, because it's obvious already that she'd like nothing more than to slit my throat here and now. That makes me a bit apprehensive about actually training with her – she hasn't seen much of my idiot act yet, and with the instructions Jasper gave me, I can't help but worry that she'll find me too irritating to keep in the alliance for long.

"Okay," Glimmer says, speaking for the rest of us. "So, what else is there?"

Clove and Cato look at each other fleetingly, and Clove speaks. "We're going to try to get to every station, between the six of us. Go to as many as you can; the best thing would be if we could all get everywhere, but that's unlikely. So, get in as much variety as you can. Don't just stick to weapons, or survival skills, mix it up so we can learn as much as we can today."

I'm about to comment that surely, the all-knowing tributes from Two are aware of everything there is to know already, but Cato takes over from Clove before I can. And after considering it, that might not have been smart anyway.

"Then, tomorrow, we're going to focus on the tributes themselves. We'll watch them and decide on key targets for the bloodbath. That way it'll be easier, if we already know our strategy when the gong sounds."

We all nod, because Clove and Cato – or Yoh and Enobaria, more likely – have clearly thought this through carefully. "One other thing," Clove says slowly. "We need to keep an eye out to see if there's anyone else worth allying with. I'm fairly confident that there isn't, but it's good to be safe." She does have a point there. "Notice if anyone has special skills that could be beneficial to us. Be observant."

We nod again, and then all we can do is wait for the rest of the tributes to show up. Once they do, and our district numbers are pinned to our shirts, I find Zen and we look around, deciding where to go.

"How about archery?" he suggests after a while. I nod, because I can't think of anything better, and there are no tributes over there anyway.

It turns out I'm not awful at this. Once, I manage to skewer a dummy through the stomach, and I smirk. I see Katniss from Twelve glancing over when I do that, so I look at her gloatingly. She frowns and averts her gaze.

Later, we try out the edible plants station, which I really am terrible at. Though of course that's not a good thing, it does help with keeping up the appearance of being stupid without me even having to try.

Zen and I don't speak much, which I don't mind. When we do talk, it's to make fun of Cato, though – something we both seem to enjoy. We're both disgusted by the fact that he seems to be obsessed with his district partner, but see the humor in the fact that Clove hasn't even noticed.

It's a good thing that the morning goes well, because after lunch, training goes downhill very quickly.

Clove insists on visiting the knives first thing, and I oblige her because first of all, I need to seem oblivious to everything and willing to cooperate, and secondly, I don't want to piss her off. I make sure to move with exaggerated slowness, asking the trainers questions that I've known the answers to since I was twelve.

"Wait… I hold it from the blade, right?" I ask Clove, blinking slowly and letting my eyes glaze over in confusion.

She sighs, frustrated. "For the last time, no. That's a knife that you usually use when you're fighting in close range, and since you won't be throwing it then, holding it by the blade would only result in you slicing your hand open." She grabs the knife from me, none too gently, turns it around, and hands it back to me. "You hold it from the handle, Marvel."

I think this girl knows more about knives than the trainer here – so I've stopped asking him any questions and just choose to ceaselessly bother Clove instead. "Wait, but then when am I supposed to hold it by the blade?"

"When you're going to throw it," she says through gritted teeth. "Then you can get a bit of a spin on it."

I nod slowly, trying to make my eyes light up with comprehension. "Oh. I get it."

"Really," Clove mutters under her breath. I pretend not to hear her.

We head over to the spears next, which I'm considerably more excited about, since I'm pretty much hopeless with knives.

I choose a spear and send it straight through a dummy's heart without much effort, and it seems as though this redeems me a bit in Clove's eyes. She feels the need to do better, of course, or at least attempt to – she sends her spear flying, and it lands in her dummy's shoulder – not bad, since it was quite close to its neck. For being so small – which she is compared to Cato and I – she's very skilled with just about every weapon. That idea is reinforced when her second shot skewers the dummy through the abdomen.

After about an hour I get bored, though Clove seems to have no intention of moving on. She destroys target after target, seeming to like working with spears more and more. She's got a look on her face that suggests she's thinking about something entirely different, though, so I doubt she even knows we've been here more than twenty minutes.

Eventually I just kneel down in front of the impressive display of spears and try to figure out what types are most likely to appear in the arena. A few minutes later Clove appears behind me, and I let her call my name a few times before I actually look up and acknowledge her presence.

"We need to move on," she says.

Get as much as you can out of this.

"Okay," I say, blinking.

Push it to the very limit.

I turn back to the weapons.

Clove snarls under her breath, and I have to stifle a laugh, picturing what her face must look like. I hear her light footsteps as she stalks away from me, and I doubt she'll return.

I've just stood up, intending to go find Clove, when I feel myself being pulled into a headlock, and I feel an icy blade against my throat. Before I know what's happening, five years of training kick in and I manage to spin away from her, grabbing the nearest spear and forcing her backwards a step, pointing it at her heart.

Vaguely I hear Atala shrieking at us. "Clove! Marvel! Combat between tributes is not allowed!" But that barely registers, because I'm focused on the expression Clove is wearing, and she looks triumphant.

Suddenly I feel like the idiot I'm pretending to be, because while I was caught up in ensuring that I seemed idiotic enough, I failed to consider what would happen if one of my allies saw through the ruse.

And of course it would be Clove.

"I knew it," she hisses, tossing the knife she holds behind her back, not noticing the fact that she narrowly misses injuring the girl from Five, who just manages to dart away and avoid the weapon as Atala shrieks again. "You're not an idiot – no, I changed my mind. You are an idiot. Did you really think you could trick us that easily? What the hell? We're supposed to be your allies!"

And this is the Hunger Games, I want to remind her. She should know better than to think that allies have to tell each other everything.

Once she finishes her little rant and lets me get a word in, I decide it's best to just come clean, for the most part. Maybe this can be at least partially salvaged if I do. "I had to do something," I tell her. "I promised I'd come home. I have a little sister and I'm going to do whatever it takes to get back to her." Time to see if Clove has an ounce of sympathy in her.

Evidently not. She's within inches of me now, and though she's much smaller than I am, the fierceness of her gaze makes up for it. She's right up in my face as she hisses, "We all have people we want to get back to. But we're your allies, and when you have allies, there are certain rules you have to follow. And one of the unspoken rules is that you don't pretend to be someone you're not, just to gain an advantage over us."

Instead of retorting, as I'd like to, that gaining an advantage over everyone else is the whole point of the Games, I just test to see if I can still pull off sounding dumb and comment, "I've never seen a list of rules."

She seems to buy it. "That's not the point," she says is such a low voice that I have to strain my ears to hear her. "The point is that if you lie to us again – and I don't care what it's about or how necessary it is – I promise that it will end very badly for you."

"Fine," I say through clenched teeth.

"Good," Clove says smugly. "Training should end in ten minutes, and guess what happens then? You get to go tell all the others about how you've been lying to us, and then they'll help me decide what to do with you."

"You can't kill me," I tell her bluntly. It's true. We're not in the arena yet, and besides, when we are she can't risk turning sponsors against her right away by breaking up the ever-popular Career alliance.

"Oh, no, we won't kill you. Yet." It's clear that Clove does some quick thinking here. "But you'll have the most boring jobs. You'll stand guard more often than the rest of us. You'll have to set up camp while the rest of us divide up supplies. That kind of thing. Believe me, you're going to wish you hadn't tricked us. I guarantee it."

Is that really the best she can come up with? I roll my eyes. "Whatever. I'm still going to win."

We spend a tense few minutes waiting for training to end, and when it does, we walk over to where the rest of the alliance is waiting for us. "Go on," Clove says viciously. "Tell them."

All eyes turn to me as Glimmer asks, "Tell us what?"

I shoot Clove a look that I hope clearly conveys the disgust at her immaturity I'm feeling, and she glares back. I sigh, knowing there's no getting out of this.

"Okay, well… I know I've made it seem like I'm kind of… kind of an idiot." This is ridiculous. I've actually acted almost normally around the rest of them, besides Clove. "But… I'm not… not really. I was… kind of pretending." I continue to pretend, even now, as I stutter. "To… sort of… get an advantage… over all of you."

The way they all look at me screams, what are you talking about? Except for Clove, of course, and… Shell. She just laughs hysterically and proceeds to fly into a rant scarier than Clove's.

"Don't worry. We're to going to do anything to you yet. We won't kick you out of the alliance – we need strength in numbers. But just know that you're never going to be safe."

Then Shell seems to lose the ability to speak because she's laughing so hard, and I back away from her warily, dreading what will happen when I have to relate the day's events to Jasper.

Okay guys. I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in so long. I've been super busy between school and swim and everything else, and I know I say that a lot but sadly it's true. :P The good news for you is that starting around the end of June I'll be posting more frequently, because I'm moving so a) I'll have hours and hours to write on the plane and b) once I get there there won't be much to do right away.

Anyway, I forced myself to sit and write this today because this week I've gotten a lot of amazing reviews for this story, so I just thought, I HAVE to update this. It took up... wow, like three hours of my day, so you know I put a lot of effort into this. I'm so happy I'm able to post this and show you that no, this story is NOT being discontinued.

For those of you who read Winning is Everything and remember the scene in which Clove discovers Marvel's ruse... I hope you enjoyed seeing his take on what happened. And I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know what you thought. ;) It was really fun to write. Also, some music credit: I listened to "More Than This" by One Direction pretty much the entire time while writing this, and it really helped my muse for the scene where Marvel was on the roof thinking about Diamond (and Em, but mostly Di). It's an amazing song, if you haven't heard it.

Also, a question. I said I'd be continuing the 'Vicious' cycle, and the original plan for that was to write the Hunger Games from the perspectives of the Careers: first Clove, then Marvel, then Glimmer, and finally Cato. This is part two, and I was just wondering, would anyone actually be interested in reading the next two parts? I'm debating on whether I should write them or not... so if you have any thoughts on this please leave it in a review or PM me!

Sorry for this monster of an A/N, I'll just shut up now and let you all get on with your lives. Thanks a million to everyone who has stuck with this story and asked me to update - that's what encouraged me to spend the day writing. You're the best. (:

~What the Quell