The Hunger Games

By: Tracy Cook

Disclaimer: I own nothing. These characters belong to the creators of Vampire Diaries.

Couple: Bonnie/Damon

Rating: M

Chapter Five

Training : Day Three

'Another Battlefield, History Repeats Itself,

Just A Number Without A Name Or Face.'

-Day Three - 10:00 a.m.

Caroline wasn't too happy with him for completely screwing up his chances with Bonnie. Now that they had seen just how big of a threat she could be in the games, it was even more important to the blonde that they get her on their side. The plan was to pretend to be in an alliance with her and then to stab her in the back. Once she trusted them, her guards would be down and they could easily kill her.

It was the perfect plan.

She had been worried that Damon was getting a little too emotionally involved in the young woman from District 11, but he assured her that it was only about sex. He found her to be very attractive, but he could never date someone from such a poor district. His father would disown him and it would shame all of District 1. That wasn't something he wanted.

He had to keep his eye on the prize.

Which was winning the hunger games and receiving all of the prizes and praise that came with that honor.

The only flaw in their plan was that Damon had screwed up any chance he had at forming an alliance with Bonnie when he made fun of the District 10 tribute. He hadn't only offended the blonde woman who busted open her nose, he had offended Bonnie. Throughout training yesterday, she refused to even look at him and she chose training stations as far away from his as possible.

To get his mind off of her, he threw himself into practicing for the games.

He needed to work on his weaknesses.

Yesterday, he had been working on the ax. Today, he was working on archery.

Archery had always been his worst skill. He could throw knives, he could wield a sword, he could launch a spear directly through someone's heart, but he couldn't master the bow and arrow. It was actually pretty embarrassing. Luckily for him, he had composed the dream team. Caroline Forbes' expertise was the bow. Enzo was skilled with an ax. And he could do everything else.

But, there was still the chance that he would get separated from his team and he would have to fend for himself. He could get stuck with nothing to defend himself besides a bow and he would have to make it work.

Damon took in a breath and closed one of his eyes, focusing on the target in front of him. He used three fingers to hold the arrow on the string, just like he had been taught to do, then he drew the arrow back holding it at chin level and aiming it at the target. 'I'm gonna hit it this time.' He thought as he released the arrow and watched it fly swiftly through the air. It passed right by the target and missed it entirely.

He could hear Caroline laughing at him and he bit down on his cheeks hard, trying not to let it throw off his concentration. Pulling out another arrow he placed it on the bow and he drew it back, the same way as he had before. Only this time he altered the aim a little. Releasing it, he watched it fly past the target again.

'Damn it!' Damon groaned out dramatically and dropped the bow to the table.

"I just don't get it! I can do EVERYTHING else halfway decent, why is it that I suck so bad at this?"

"Here." The blonde said with a wide toothy grin. She was looking forward to showing him up at something. The two were very competitive with each other. Yesterday they had raced in the pool and she had the pleasure of kicking his ass. "Let me show you how it's done." She waggled her brow at him and pulled an arrow from the quiver.

"I would love nothing more." Damon drawled sarcastically.

"Good." Caroline stated in a high-pitched voice. She had one eye closed and she was focusing on the target as she drew back the arrow. It only took her a second to release the arrow and hit one of the targets, then she was reaching for another arrow. She placed it in the bow and hit the second target dead in the bull's-eye. Her movements were so fast. It truly was impressive. Though he would never tell her that.

'Wouldn't want to inflate her ego even more.'

"See, just like that!" She said, satisfied with her performance.

"I see."

Caroline set down her bow and turned to face him. "Maybe you should just stick to what you're good at." She patted his shoulder. "Like seducing all of those unfortunate women."

"I can promise you that those women are very fortunate." Damon said with a suggestive tone and a waggle of his brow. He was obviously talking about them being fortunate sexually. That was all he ever did with women. He slept with them and then went on his way, leaving them behind. He wasn't someone that believed in love.

Not since that day.

"You are so disgusting."

"I know." His blue eyes widened and filled with excitement. He loved pushing her buttons. It wasn't quite as fun as pushing Bonnie's buttons, but it was still fun.

"I was talking about Bonnie." Caroline reminded. "Or did you forget about the plan?"

"In case you haven't noticed." Damon emphasized on each word, furrowing his brow at her. "I ROYALLY screwed up any chance I had with her."

"Maybe you should try again." The blonde nodded in the direction behind him and he turned to look over his shoulder. Bonnie was at one of the stations closest to the archery station. The fire building station. She was working on starting a fire. "If you ask me, you have a far better shot at seducing her than hitting one of those bull's-eyes."

"Yeah, well, no one asked you, Blondie."

Caroline rolled her eyes at his childishness. He was never serious about anything.

Damon turned on his heels and started to strut across the room toward the fire building station. The truth was, he knew without a doubt that he had no chance of "wooing" Bonnie after the shenanigans he had pulled the other day. He had been a total ass and honestly he didn't feel much remorse for making fun of the girl from District 10. That was what he had always been taught to do. People in District 10, 11, and 12 were beneath them. But, he wasn't one to give up when he was told he couldn't have something.

When he was told he couldn't have something it only made him want it even more.

He looked at seducing Bonnie as another challenge.

"Yes!" Bonnie cheered, her full lips twisting up into a smile as she successfully lit the fire. She knew that the gamemakers could throw anything their way when they were in the arena, including freezing cold weather. She could need a fire to stay warm, to boil water, to eat food. It was very essential to her survival.

"That's hot." Damon said with a smirk on his lips and a playful glint in his blue eyes.

She groaned out and glared up at him. Somehow she had managed to avoid him all day yesterday while training, but here he was again. He was like a parasite. "Shut up and leave me alone, Damon."

"Just to be clear." He took another step toward her, ignoring what she said. "I was talking about the fire." He scrunched up his face in thought and then added, "But, you're hot too."

"Just to be clear." Bonnie said, standing to her feet. "I really don't care what you think." She started to walk past him, but he quickly moved in front of her, cutting her off and staring down into her green eyes. Searching their depths for any sign that she didn't completely hate his guts. He found nothing but frustration behind them.

"Look, I'm sorry about the other day with that girl." Damon said with a smile. His words didn't sound genuine. He wasn't sorry. "Just give me another chance?"

He looked so confident in that moment that it enraged her. He actually believed that all he had to do was smile at her and it would make up for what a shitty thing he had done. He was just as bad as the others from Districts 1, 2, and 4. Always looking down on her people. Treating them like they were worth less because they didn't have money and they had to work for a living.

"Why don't you take a hint, Damon? I don't want anything to do with you."

"But, Bonnie!" He whined theatrically.

Damon reminded Bonnie of a child who was begging for something.

Marcel seemed to come out of nowhere. He placed a strong hand on Damon's chest stopping him in his tracks. He was all for his friend having a romantic relationship if it was what she wanted, but she had told him no. It was time for him to back off. "I believe the girl wants to be left alone."

He furrowed his brow and shook his head in disbelief, pushing the District 11 tribute's hand away from his chest. "What are you, her protector or something?"

"That's exactly what I am. Don't you forget it."

"Come on, Marcel!" Bonnie called to him. "He isn't worth your time."

'Fly Away, I Will Not Stay,

I Do Not Wish To Play Your Game.'

Hours had passed and her patience was growing thin. Damon had been following her around to every station she trained at, blatantly flirting with her. Not only was it embarrassing and annoying, it was distracting her.

She was beyond frustrated as she swung the heavy sword at one of the dummies. The sword was large and difficult for her to maneuver because of her size, but that wasn't why she was frustrated. She was frustrated because every single time she hit one of the dummies, Damon would let out an "ooh" or an "aw" from the sideline.

"Can't you make him go away?" Bonnie asked the expert through grit teeth.

"No can do, miss." He said. "He's just waiting for his turn to use the station."

"Yeah, Bon-Bon." Damon loved how flustered she got when he used the nickname. It was so much fun to tease her. "I'm just sitting over here, innocently waiting for my turn. I need to practice my sword skills."

'Like hell he does.' She thought, striking the dummy again with the blade of the sword.

"You're holding it wrong." He observed.

"That's what the expert is here for." Bonnie told him. She didn't need him teaching her how to use a weapon. She didn't need his help at all.

Damon sighed and looked over at the expert. He could tell that the man didn't care to teach the District 11 tribute how to properly hold a sword. He probably was betting against her team in the games. Most people from the Capitol were. "She's holding it wrong, huh?"

"It's not perfect. But, it's not bad for a beginner."

"Not bad" is gonna get her killed and you know it." He said, his eyes widening as he said the word 'it.' If Bonnie attempted to kill someone in the arena holding the sword like she was, it was more likely to injure her wrist. "Here, let me show you." He said approaching the young woman.

"I'm fine." She countered stubbornly. Bonnie didn't want his help. She didn't want him to get some sort of satisfaction in helping out one of the "weaker" players. She didn't trust him and she knew that Damon wasn't doing this out of the kindness of his heart. He had another reason. She just hadn't figured it out yet.

"Exactly." He sang. "You are "fine." Not great. And what's-his-face over here doesn't give a crap about you. But, I do."

Damon was now standing close to her. She could feel the heat radiating off of his body. For some reason hearing him say that he cared about her warmed her heart, but she knew that he didn't really care about her. It wasn't possible. Damon only cared about himself. 'Then why exactly is he helping me? What is he planning?'

"If you wanna die, that's fine by me." He smirked. "In fact it will help me win the game."

Bonnie glared at him when he said that.

"But, if you actually wanna live then you should let me show you how it's done."

She thought about it for a second. On one hand, she would have to take Damon's advice which was something she had never wanted to do, but on the other hand, it could help her survive longer in the games. "Okay, show me." Bonnie lifted the sword and started to hand it to him, figuring that he would demonstrate for her and then let her try.

She was very wrong.

Instead, he curled his fingers around hers on the grip of the sword, twisting his body around hers so that he was standing behind her. Bonnie could feel the heat of his chest pressed flush against her back. She could feel the fire spreading along her fingers where he was touching her. Her stomach was twisting violently and filling with butterflies, and her heart was pounding loudly in her chest. She hated how being close to him affected her. She didn't have any feelings toward him. She hated everything that he was.

Yet, when he touched her it ignited a fire deep inside of her that she had never thought possible.

Damon smirked and placed his other hand on Bonnie's small hip, pulling her body closer to his. He was a little surprised that she hadn't pulled away from him yet. 'She must like it.'

"You smell yummy." He said with a waggle of his brow at her.

The moment was ruined.

"Okay, that's it. I'm done." Bonnie started to pull away from him. She should have known that this was all some sort of sick game to him. She thought for once he was actually trying to help her out.

"Oh, Bonnie!" Damon stretched, holding her in place and digging his fingers into her hip. She had to stifle a moan when she felt the pressure against her sensitive skin and she internally berated herself. "I really am just trying to help."

"Then you seriously need to stop with all the flirting, it's driving me crazy!"

He refrained from making a sexual joke about driving her crazy and instead chose a less direct approach. "No more flirting." He nodded his understanding. Then he leant forward so that his lips were hovering only inches away from her ear and he whispered hotly against it, "I promise."

Bonnie shuddered when she felt his heated breath rush against the skin of her ear and neck. 'Is he flirting with me again!?'

'Sometimes It's So Hard To Find,

The Courage To Take Off The Mask.'

Training with Damon hadn't been so terrible.

He had limited the flirting and Marcel had always picked training stations close to the sword station so that he could keep an eye on him. And honestly, she felt a lot better about her sword skills now. She had faith in herself. Bonnie wasn't an expert by any means, but she thought that if she got a sword in the games she could effectively use it to kill someone.

'I really don't want to kill anyone...' The thought of taking someone's life made her sick. Everyone in the games were young. They had their families cheering them on. They had their lives ahead of them. And she would have to take that from them so that she could survive.

It wasn't fair.

She hated it.

"If you're going to just follow me around all day, I might as well teach you one of my skills." Bonnie said with a twist of her lips as she spotted the tree-climbing station. She didn't really want to help Damon so much as she wanted to see him fall on his ass. Her need to teach him a lesson was only heightened when she noticed he was flashing her a look that said, 'As if you could teach me anything.'

'He's so cocky considering I kicked his ass at the gauntlet.' She thought.

"YOU are going to teach ME something?" He laughed a little at the thought. "I don't think so."

Bonnie ignored him and continued heading toward the tree-climbing station. She knew that he wouldn't be capable of doing what she could. He probably had never climbed a tree in his life. 'Wouldn't wanna break a nail. He is such a drama-queen.'

He furrowed his brow and his blue eyes filled with worry as he stared at the large towering tree. Damon had never climbed a tree in his life. When Stefan and him were children they were far more interested in sword fighting and swimming in the pool. 'That tree looks absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to climb! The first branch is like eight feet in the air!'

"Not gonna happen. I'm flexible, but I'm not an acrobat." He said.

"It doesn't take an acrobat." Bonnie smiled. She felt proud to know that he was scared to do something that she had been doing since the age of five. "It's actually pretty easy. The kids in District 11 learn how to do this when they are five. Just watch closely."

She kicked off her shoes.

Damon's ego was on the line now. She had just told him that five year old kids in District 11 were capable of climbing up into the tree, so now he had no choice, he had to do it. For his district. For his dignity. He pressed his lips together tightly and furrowed his brow, watching her every move. When he tried a new technique or skill he always strove to do it perfectly. That was what his father had drilled into him.

'If it isn't perfect, don't bother doing it at all!'

He estimated the distance from the ground to the branch and shook his head. 'There is no way she can reach that branch. NO WAY. She's a midget.'

Bonnie sprinted toward the tree swiftly. She was running so fast that he was sure she was going to slam right into the trunk and hurt herself. But, she didn't. Instead, she jumped at the trunk and she started to run up it. Making it look like the easiest thing in the world. Her toes curled into the bark and she launched herself onto the branch, holding on and doing a flip. She landed the flip, standing up straight on the branch and smiling down at him. She didn't even look like she was out of breath.

'How the HELL did she just do that!? Kids in District 11 do THAT!?'

She climbed up to a higher branch and she sat down, swinging her legs over the side. Bonnie couldn't wait to see him attempt to do what she had done. "Your turn!"

Damon sighed loudly and prepared himself for the sprint. He couldn't turn down her challenge now. It would bruise his ego too much. He was sure that the "little trick" was just about mind over matter. He was more physically fit than Bonnie, so he could easily do what she had done. He just had to not chicken out. "Do I have to take off my shoes?" He wondered with a disgusted twist of his lips. "That seems unsanitary."

"You don't have to. But, it will help."

He decided not to take them off. He didn't like the feeling of dirty feet. He was a surprisingly tidy man.

'On your mark.' He thought, trying to get himself psyched up. 'Get set, go!' Damon ran toward the tree as fast as his legs would carry him. Approximately a foot away from the tree he jumped at the trunk like Bonnie had, and he attempted to run up it. It didn't work and he started to fall backwards. Luckily, he was taller than the young woman so he reached out and grabbed onto the branch, holding onto it for dear life. The bark was scraping the skin of his hands as he used all of his might to pull himself up to his elbows.

Now he was just dangling off of the branch. Bonnie was staring down at him with a satisfied smirk on her lips. He glared at her. "A little help?"

"I think you have it." She said.

Damon felt his muscles burn as he lifted his leg up and caught his ankle on the branch to help him pull himself up. It wasn't nearly as graceful as Bonnie's landing, but it worked and he was up in the tree. He leant back against the trunk, breathing heavily.

Bonnie easily moved down to the branch, sitting next to him. She looked like a little bird perching on the tree branch. It was so natural for her.

"You didn't do so bad." She told him. "Rue fell and hurt herself the first few times she tried it."

"Why are you guys so good at this?" Damon wondered curiously. "Is it 'cause there is nothing better to do in District 11?" His tone was judgmental. He was making an assumption about her home. He was assuming that since they were poor they had no other sources of entertainment.

"Actually, when kids in District 11 turn five years old, they are taught how to climb the trees in the orchard in order to pick the fruit for the Capitol." She hoped that explaining her situation back home would help him understand her. She knew that he was naive to how dangerous the world was outside of District 1. In a way he was brainwashed. "About a third of the kids actually die climbing and jumping from the trees, but the Capitol doesn't care about that as long as they get their fruit."

"Oh." He didn't know how else to respond. The conversation had taken a dark turn and he felt uncomfortable with it. He didn't want to sympathize with the people from District 11. But, he couldn't imagine if it was like that in District 1. The children were spoiled and they never had to work. And if someone did die on the job then the Capitol would give them a memorial service.

"So." Damon stretched with a smirk. "I just have one question."

"And what's that?"

"How the heck do we get down from here?"

'Tomorrow Won't Be Easy,

But Our Shoulders Might Now Be Strong Enough.'

Author's Note :

Thank you all so very much for all of your wonderful reviews and encouragement! Seriously, it means the world to me just hearing from y'all! It keeps me writing! :)) So, seriously, thank you all! I really hope that you guys enjoy this chapter! It's the first chapter centered entirely around Bamon! I hope that I got them in character and kept true to their personalities! Thoughts on this chapter y'all?! Do you think that right now Damon only wants sex from Bonnie? Do you think he plans to go through with killing her? Did y'all like how they taught each other skills?

What do y'all wanna see more of? Do you want flashbacks to Bonnie and Damon's lives? More flashbacks of Rue? More of any of the characters? A new character added? I'm willing to work with any ideas y'all send my way!

Thank you again SOO MUCH for everything! I am so happy that y'all are enjoying this fic! I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook-