At 16 Blaze had been through enough for a lifetime, constantly reminding herself of who she was. Now she was a District Two girl, and she lived with a roommate - I guess you could call him - in a pretty decent apartment building. Cato, wasn't a bad guy but he also wasn't the kind you'd want to be your best friend either, - unless of course you were her - for instance, he had anger management issues, and bipolar disorder. Sometimes she swore he was on steroids or something.

Living in District Two wasn't so bad anymore since she got a job working in the square in town at the food market; she got discounted on food. Cato brought home fresh game every once and a while so that was a plus.

Ever since she was taken away from District Five, she still kept up her training daily and with a little help from Cato he was just like Leland; kicking her butt if she had done something wrong. Arrows and knife throwing were still her priorities in training and Cato didn't need to be there while she did those; she never missed.

District Two was, no doubt, more glam and socially equipped, than District Five. In Five it was all about power, though Leland had made it about weapons for her and her sister. Two had more people from the Capitol visit than any other District besides One. Maybe because they were Career districts? Or maybe to visit Victors Village, after all they had made friends from being in the Capitol so dam much. All she knew was that Two looked like a rainbow with all those colorful Capitol outfits prancing around.

The people in Two were, for the most part, decent and nice but every once and a while you'd run into an asshole. Blaze had made a few friends over the past two years, but only a few did she ever keep in touch with for a long period of time. Like her friend Magnolia, who she grew a custom to calling Maggie. Or like her friend Pilot, who she had met at the bakery just down the street when she had went to pick up muffins for dessert after hers and Cato's Sunday dinner. Though Pilot and Maggie were good friends she'd learned the hard way in her past not to let people get to close to her.

...***...

It was late evening, Blaze was cross-legged in the corner of the couch with fresh hot herbal tea in her hands and a blanket draped over her lap. She watched through the third story window of the apartment building out at Cato while he cut the air with his sword and than threw it at a target drawn on the tree. It landed perfectly in the bulls eye. She wondered if she was the only one watching him swing the sword around as if something worth killing was there in front of him. He was pushing himself too hard the past few months, because the reaping was just around the corner now. Next Friday someone they probably knew was going to get their name drawn from that stupid jar, and their life would be under the Capitol's control, as if it wasn't already.

He has no shoes on. He said 'Shoes just slow you down, I run faster without them'. This made her laugh at the time, she had no idea he was being serious. He had no shirt on, was wearing sport shorts, a leather glove on the hand he held the sword in, and his hair was wet with sweat. There was no denying that he was an attractive guy, but Blaze had barely even noticed. With the reaping on her mind it was hard for her to notice anything.

All the talk the past few days has been about the reaping and who was going to get picked. Hell people were already making bets and the tributes weren't even picked yet! Blaze had just kept to herself and though she had convinced everyone that she wasn't worried about it she secretly was having mental hear attacks and nightmares. The only person who knew about how she really felt was Cato; he had woken her up from many of her nightmares. It doesn't matter how fearless you act, everyone was scared of the reapings.

Blaze sighed and drank the last bit of her tea and draped the blanket over the back of the couch. She stood up and patted across the wooden floor and put her mug in the sink before taking Cato's wallet off the counter and putting it in her back pocket. He had left it there and asked her if when she was ready if she could go and get soup, crackers, cheese, and any fresh meat that she could cook for dinner that night before it got dark outside.

Blaze grabbed her house key and started toward the square in the middle of town. Walking there was never fun, usually Cato would be the one to walk there but Blaze insisted this time. Bums lined the edges of the street begging for a quarter or even a nickle but no one really had anything to spare with the Capitol's reign. There was the occasional bum that would run up to you and try and rob you or shake you until you gave, but Blaze never dealt with it; she would lay them out so fast they would get whiplash.

Ignoring the dirty, smelly people on the side of the road she kept a steady pace toward the square. The square was a very nice place to be in this town. It had big buildings and it smelt like good food, and had people from the Capitol making their way through. Most of the buildings were colored a baby blue and the others were either yellow or shades of pink. Some might call it a little piece of the Capitol away from home.

Blaze went for a store called Bailey's. They had almost anything you could buy though most people here couldn't afford to buy lots, but if you needed it they had it.

Blaze hurried and got what she needed and went to the check out, where Mills was waiting patiently for a customer.

"Chop, chop, bag boy." Blaze smiled at Mills and he smiled right back.

"I might just kick you out of the store," He started "but I can't kick pretty out." He winked at her and she rolled her eyes. Mills was almost eighteen and he'd always had a small crush on Blaze, weather he wanted to admit it or not.

Blaze laughed. "Don't make me get a restraining order." She pointed a skinny finger at him.

Mills shook his light brown curls and gave her a pointed look. "You wouldn't because you'd miss me too much silly girl."

"You wish." She joked. Of course she'd miss his sarcasm and silly jokes.

He scoffed. "Please, Strawberry," He always called her that ever since she met him the first time she came here when she bought strawberries. "You couldn't go a day without seeing me."

Blaze rolled her eyes again. "I said chop chop bag boy!" She clapped her hands and than smiled at him. Mills rang up the last grocery and bagged everything for her. "Thank you." She smiled nicely while handing him the money.

"Don't be a stranger!" He called after her before she walked out the door pretending she didn't hear him. He just smiled.

Now she would be heading home. Back at home Cato had finally finished outside and was leaning against the counter, a glass of water in his hand and still shirtless.

"Awe, did you get dressed up for me?" Blaze joked and watched as his lips curled and he sarcastically laughed. Blaze placed the bag on the counter and tossed him his wallet. "I got chicken for dinner, I hope that's okay."

He nodded. "Yeah," He was never usually a talker. He liked to keep to himself mostly.

"Okay, than." It was a little passed eight O' clock when Blaze started on dinner and than a little past eight thirty when they started eating. After dinner Blaze had gone to bed followed by Cato after he had done the dishes. Both of them knew when they woke up it would just be another day closer to the reaping.