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 Six

Training : Private Sessions

'Unfailingly Naive,

Maybe I Just Fell In Love With Being The Dream.'

-Day Four - 10:00 a.m.

This was the moment of truth.

Damon had been preparing his entire life for this very moment. He was about to be judged and ranked by the Gamemakers. His goal of course, was a perfect 12. He wouldn't settle for less than that. His father wouldn't settle for less than that. His heart was pounding painfully in his chest as he waited for them to announce his name.

He would be the first tribute to enter the training room.

'I better get a 12. I just gotta get a 12 or dad is gonna be so disappointed.' Even though his father had never competed in the hunger games he had always stressed that if he had, he would have received a 12 at the private training session. He glanced over at his partner. She looked just as anxious as he was. Her head was in her hands and she was muttering something under her breath. Everyone in District 1 put a lot of pressure on their kids to compete well in the games. If they didn't, they would shame everyone.

"Damon Salvatore."

His stomach tangled violently and he could taste the bile in his mouth as he heard his name. He felt like he was going to vomit. The weight of the pressure on his shoulders was suffocating. He only had one shot to impress the Gamemakers. He had to remember his techniques and execute them perfectly. If he made one mistake he wouldn't receive a 12.

"Good luck." Caroline told him with a small smile. She didn't care much for Damon as a person. The two of them had never really gotten along, but she knew the pressure his father put on him. She had watched Stefan crumble under that same pressure numerous times before.

"Thanks." He forced a smile and stood to his feet.

Damon leant his head back and took in a deep calming breath before letting it out. The large mechanical door opened and he headed through it, entering the training room. He had picked to demonstrate his skills with the sword. Though he had many skills, that was the one he felt most confident with. Stefan and him had been practicing sword fighting since they were three years old.

'Thud. Thud. Thud.'

His heart was pounding vehemently in his ears.

Across the vast room, he could see a weapon rack holding a single sword. The Gamemakers were all sitting in a brightly colored room, lounging in their chairs, sipping on their alcoholic beverages. As Damon neared the rack, a few of them raised their glasses to him, offering him their support. All of them were wearing encouraging grins and watching him eagerly. They couldn't wait to see what the District 1 tribute had to show them.

Damon's lips curled up into a confident smirk as he pulled the sword off of the rack. The grip felt comfortable in his hand. It felt just like home. He had no more doubts. He could do this.

Slowly, he approached the four dummies that were placed around the room.

Everyone was silently watching him. They were expecting to be impressed. They were rooting for him.

"This is the District 1 tribute, Damon Salvatore." One of the Gamemaker's said to another. "My bets are on him winning the entire thing."

This gave Damon a boost of confidence as he raised his sword and prepared to attack the dummies. He took a second to observe each of their positions in order to calculate a game plan, and then he launched toward them.

He easily cut the first dummy's head clean off it's shoulders. Then he twisted on his heels and jumped through the air at the second dummy, severing both of it's arms. His posture was perfect and his technique flawless as he twisted his body and stabbed the sword through the third dummy's heart. Finally, he faced the last of the remaining dummies and he severed it's head from it's shoulders. He managed to kill and severely injure all of them in a matter of thirty seconds. It was one of his personal best times.

Damon turned to face the Gamemakers, running a hand through his dark hair. They were all politely clapping for him and cheering him on. It made him feel confident he would have a high score. 'Just PLEASE be a 12.'

"Thank you, Damon. You are excused."

Twisting on his heels he started to strut out of the training room. He felt like a hundred bucks. He just knew he was going to have a great score and he couldn't wait for his parents, Stefan, and his district to see it. They would all be so proud of him.

Caroline's head snapped toward the door as it started to open. She saw his cocky grin and she knew that he had done a good job. She hoped that she would be as lucky. She let out a breath and started to pull her blonde curls back into a ponytail. She would be going next and she didn't want anything to get in the way of her accuracy.

Damon sat down next to his partner. As much as he couldn't stand Caroline, he had to stick around and support his district. He was hoping she scored high as well.

"How'd you do?" She asked with a nervous smile.

"Let's just say, it's gonna be a difficult performance for you to follow, Blondie." He said with a playful waggle of his brow.

"I do believe he is challenging you, sweetheart." Enzo said with a smirk. He was sitting on the opposite side of her with his teammate.

"Yeah, well, challenge accepted!" Caroline declared. "I am so gonna kick your ass, Damon! Just you watch!"

"Caroline Forbes."

The blonde stood to her feet and stretched out her limbs preparing for the training room as she waited for the door to open. Her heart was racing in her chest and her hands were shaking. Her mother had never been as strict as Damon's father, but she had won the games, and Caroline felt like she needed to do the same to prove herself. She needed to do the same to be reunited with her.

'You can do this. You just have to get a good score so you get sponsors.'

She lifted her chin confidently and she walked into the large room. She could see the weapon rack holding the bow and arrows and she headed toward it. Caroline had been shooting a bow since she was old enough to hold one. She had always thought it would be a better weapon than a sword, because she could kill people from far away. She wouldn't have to get too close and that would help keep her alive.

All of the Gamemakers turned their excited eyes to her and watched her closely as she picked up the bow and put the quiver on her back.

She positioned herself in front of the moving targets and she readied her bow. Her goal was to hit the targets as quickly and accurately as possible the minute that her time started. They gave her fifteen minutes to hit them all. She wouldn't need that long. Letting out a breath, she steadied her hand and closed one of her eyes so that she could focus on the targets.

Caroline heard the buzzer signalling that her time was starting.

She aimed and drew back the arrow releasing it at one of the moving targets. It hit directly in the bull's-eye. Right after it started to soar through the air she was reaching for her next arrow and placing it in the bow. She hit one target after another in a matter of five seconds. More targets started to fall from the ceiling forcing her to lift the bow and aim up at them. She easily managed to hit all of them with equal precision.

Not once did she breathe. Not until she had successfully hit every target.

Once the targets stopped coming, her blue eyes landed on the clock and she noticed that she had hit them all in a minute and a half. That was an amazing time for an archer. She had hit over thirty targets.

"Exceptional job, Caroline." The Gamemaker said. "You are excused."

It was rare that a Gamemaker personally complimented your performance. 'He said I did an exceptional job!? Seriously!? Oh my God! I can't wait to rub this in Damon's face!'

Damon looked up at his partner as she skipped through the mechanical door. He could tell by the wide toothy grin on her face that she had done a really good job. 'I hope she doesn't get a better score than me...' He would be so embarrassed if that happened and he knew that the blonde would NEVER let him live it down. She would tease him about it endlessly.

"They said my performance was exceptional!" Caroline exclaimed proudly.

"So." He furrowed his brow and shook his head at her. "That doesn't mean anything."

"Did they say your performance was exceptional?"

Damon's roll of his eyes answered Caroline's question. The Gamemakers hadn't complimented his performance. He stood to his feet. Now that his partner was done, they could leave the training center and head back to his room to wait for the results. They were planning on watching it together with their mentor and escort.

"Didn't think so." She laughed at him.

"One of them said that he was betting on me winning the entire thing." He bragged with a devious glint in his blue eyes.

"Before or after he saw your performance?"

"Shut up!" Damon groaned.

On the way out of the training center, he placed a hand on Enzo's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He was really hoping that he would get a high score. If he didn't get a high enough score then Caroline and him would have to break their alliance. They couldn't be teamed up with someone that wasn't as skilled as they were. "Good luck."

"I don't need luck." The British man countered with a cocky grin.

Damon loved his response. It sounded just like something he would have said. Enzo and him were a lot alike.

As he walked toward the exit, his blue eyes landed on the stunning young woman from District 11. She had her long dark curls pulled up into a ponytail and a look of pure determination on her face. She didn't look scared in the slightest. Which was amazing considering that the Gamemakers were going to be particularly difficult on her.

"Good luck, Bon-Bon." Damon sang, waggling his fingers at her and winking in her direction. She glared up at him, but she didn't say anything.

Bonnie felt a heated blush rush along her face and shoulders as he winked at her. She hated that he called her Bon-Bon and all of his other nicknames for her. She hated the way that her body reacted to hearing them. 'I don't get why I'm blushing! Gah! He's just trying to get under my skin and throw off my game. I need to focus on impressing the Gamemakers right now. I need sponsors if I am going to stand a chance in hell of winning the games.'

She didn't know when her view had changed on the games. Somewhere along the line she had gone from dreading them entirely and knowing she was going to die, to feeling like she could actually win them.

"Tyler Lockwood."

A young man sitting across from her stood to his feet. He had toned arms and he looked to be very strong. His short black hair was spiked up, and he had naturally tan skin. His shirt had the words 'District 2' embroidered into it in bright gold. He was one of the other people who had spent a good majority of his time training at the gauntlets.

'This is going to take forever.' Bonnie realized. She was starting to get impatient.

"Tell me you aren't dating that bloke from District 1." The man sitting next to her said. She furrowed her brow in confusion and looked over at him. He had brown eyes, wild dark hair, and a cleft chin. He was speaking in a British accent. He had a dark blue training uniform on with the crescent moon above his district number. He was from District 6.

Bonnie didn't know much about the people from District 6 aside from the fact that they were the most rebellious district. They didn't follow the rules of the Capitol. They were constantly causing mischief. Misusing drugs and alcohol, and committing petty crimes. He was definitely not the type of guy she should take home to her mother.

His question finally registered and she scrunched up her face in disgust, "You mean Damon? No. I am definitely not dating him."

"I didn't figure, but the two of you seemed awfully flirty." He teased.

Bonnie clenched her jaw and her muscles tensed when she heard him say that he didn't figure she was dating Damon. She knew why he assumed she wasn't. It was because he was from District 1 and she was from District 11. "Why didn't you think we could be dating? Because he's from District 1 and I'm from District 11?"

"Precisely."

'Wow. He's just as bad as Damon!' Before she had the chance to call him out on being an asshole, the British man explained what he meant.

"You are from District 11. You know what hard work is. You are undoubtedly a kind individual. I couldn't possibly see you dating a bloody wanker like that."

"Oh." Bonnie was shocked by his reason for thinking that the two of them weren't dating. "In that case, thanks?" She had never expected the young man to think that Damon was out of her league. But, apparently he did. It was actually really refreshing. Everyone else kept treating her and Marcel like they were beneath them, but this man looked up to them for being from District 11.

He grinned from ear to ear. "You expected me to treat you like the rest of the Capitol huh? Not me. I couldn't give a bloody fuck about what the Capitol deems worthy! I'm smarter than they are. I know without District 11 we would all starve to death."

'See. Why can't Damon understand that?' She didn't know why she was thinking about him again. It was like he was always invading her thoughts lately. 'It doesn't matter if he understands or not! You don't need him to understand you!'

"If you ask me, the entire Capitol is filled with lazy bastards. The whole lot of them." He said. "They just sit up in their castle while us worker bees provide them with everything they bloody well need. I mean, those District 1 assholes aren't treated better because they are better than us, they are treated better because they provide them with their most valuable products. Hair-stylists and colorful gems and diamonds."

"What do you do?" Bonnie wondered curiously.

"My name's Kol and I'm a mechanic. I work on their precious shuttles. Without our district they would have no form of transportation."

"I'm Bonnie." She smiled.

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Bonnie." Kol said with a devious twist of his lips.

'With The Only World I Ever Knew Balanced On One Shoulder,

And A Heart I'm Just Getting Used To, Beating On The Other Sleeve.'

"Wish me luck." Marcel said with a smile at his partner. It was finally their turn to go into the training room. Everyone else had left, aside from the District 12 tributes. He was excited to get into the training room and show the Gamemakers what he was made of. He had always been very competitive and now was no different. He wanted a high score. For himself and his district.

"You aren't going to need it, but good luck." Bonnie said. "You'll do great in there."

"I hope so."

"Marcel Gerard."

"Okay, here we go." He stood to his feet and clapped his hands together, eagerly waiting for the door to open. Marcel had chosen to prove his skills with the sickle after training with it. The expert had been impressed by his skills and he took that as a great sign. Hopefully he could impress the Gamemakers and get some sponsors as well.

The large mechanical door started to open and his heart jumped into his throat. He moved toward the entrance and started to walk through the large room. In the distance he could see a small neon room filled with people sipping on alcohol and laughing. None of them seemed to be paying attention to him as he approached the weapon rack with the sickle on it. He felt like he didn't even exist. They just continued talking to each other.

He didn't like it.

He didn't like being treated like he was nothing.

"Ahem!" Marcel coughed loudly. They all turned to look at him with appalled expressions on their faces. "Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you guys might want to actually watch my private session."

The Gamemakers laughed. "Why don't you put that sickle to good use and harvest some wheat for us!"

He bit down hard on his cheeks when he heard them making fun of him. It wasn't fair. They hadn't even seen what he was capable of and they were already writing him off. Marcel decided to just ignore them and make them eat their words. Once they saw how good he was with the weapon they would realize he was actually a threat.

Reaching out he gripped the sickle firmly in his hand.

All of their eyes were on him.

He just knew that they were waiting for him to screw up so that they could end his session and make fun of him. Marcel didn't intend to give them that satisfaction.

There were four dummies positioned around him. His brown eyes scanned each one of their positions, observing them for the fastest and most precise attack. They were set up similarly to the dummies at the training station.

"You're time already started!" The Gamemaker warned. They were supposed to sound the alarm when their times started. It was like they were intentionally trying to sabotage him.

Marcel ran toward the first dummy as fast as his legs would carry him. Approximately three feet from the dummy, he did a front flip and on his way back down he pierced the dummy through the throat with the sickle. Twisting his body he flipped over the second dummy and he pulled the curve of the blade toward it's throat, cutting it's head clean off. He jumped toward the third dummy and he sunk the blade into it's throat and then he kicked himself off of it's chest and delivered a deadly wound to the final dummy.

He was breathing heavily as he stared up at the time. It had taken him thirty-five seconds which was very impressive considering they started his time before he was ready.

None of the Gamemakers said anything to him.

Marcel simply walked out.

Bonnie cast her green eyes toward the mechanical door as it opened and her partner walked through it. He was shaking his head at her and she was worried that he had made a mistake. 'Oh god, what happened? I hope that he did a good job...' "How did it go?"

"I did great." He admitted with a confident smirk. Marcel was happy with how he had done in the training room, he just hoped that his scores would reflect his efforts. He deserved a high score. "But, those Gamemakers are complete dicks just like everyone else here. They told me I should put my sickle to use and harvest wheat for them." He plopped down next to her. "Can you believe that?"

"That's terrible!" She exclaimed angrily. She was so tired of how everyone treated them. 'I really don't know how Rue stayed so positive through this experience.' "I just want to go in there and show them that they can't count us out."

Marcel loved that her fire was back.

She was the same determined woman she used to be prior to the loss of Rue. She wanted to fight. She wanted to win.

"Bonnie Bennett."

"Well, there's your chance." He reached out and gave her hand a small squeeze. "Show em what you're made of, Bon-Bon." He teased.

"Ugh! Don't you dare start calling me that!"

"Why not? It's kinda cute."

"It is NOT cute!"

Marcel had been teasing her about her relationship with Damon constantly. He was always asking where her boyfriend was. Singing Bonnie and Damon sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. No matter how many times she told him that she didn't like Damon, he wouldn't drop it. In fact it only made him tease her more.

Bonnie stood in front of the door and she waited anxiously for it to open. She wanted her chance to prove herself. She wanted her chance to prove that District 11 still had a chance in the games. They weren't to be ruled out simply because of where they came from. The door opened and she swallowed hard. Her heart was pounding violently in her chest. She felt like she was going to pass out. But, she lifted her chin confidently and walked through the door into the spacious room.

For the most part it was empty. Aside from a small bright purple room where all of the Gamemakers were chatting away and eating, a few targets, and a weapon rack with her throwing knives.

The hard floor was cold against her feet. She had decided against wearing shoes. She wanted to be able to climb. If she combined her two greatest skills then she was bound to get a high score.

As Bonnie reached the weapon rack, she collected her knives and waited impatiently for someone to notice her. They were all talking loudly and laughing as they sipped on their drinks. It was like she wasn't even in the room. They didn't care to watch her because they already assumed she was going to have a low score. It infuriated her. She looked around at the room that they were sitting in. It was up on a platform. She decided to use it to her advantage.

She quickly ran toward the platform and she did a flip on to the lower edge, then she climbed up on top of it.

Everyone was paying attention now.

They were looking up and trying to see her. Bonnie was climbing across the exposed ceiling rafters. She was at least twenty-five feet above the ground. But, she wasn't scared in the slightest. Back home she climbed trees way higher than this. She easily jumped from one rafter to the other. Even flipping a couple times. She could feel them staring at her with intrigue.

They had never seen anything like it.

Bonnie positioned herself up in the ceiling rafters where she could clearly see the targets below. Lifting her knife she steadied her hand and breathed calmly, focusing on the target. Pulling back, she released the knife as fast as she could and watched it fly across the room, hitting the target in the bull's-eye. Then she aimed at the next target. One after another she hit them directly in the center.

After she hit the final three targets and she was out of knives, she ran back across the rafters toward the platform and she did a double front flip, landing on the ledge in front of all of the Gamemakers. Her full lips twisted up into a proud smile.

Even if they wouldn't admit it. She could tell that they were impressed.

'You Cut Me Back Down To Size, Whenever You Decide.

Can Barely Stand The Sight, Of Your Plastic Grin Against The Light.'

Author's Note :

Thank you all again SOOO much for reading this fic and leaving me reviews! Your encouragement keeps me writing! And I love you all so much for it! I hope you continue enjoying the fic! I know that this chapter didn't have much Bamon in it, but it did have some Kennett for you guys and it kind of showed off all of the character's strengths! The next chapter will be the scores and then their first interviews and things are going to get REALLY heated with Bamon! Lots of confrontation in the next chapter! Lots of Drama! Also some more Kennett to come! And the games are right around the corner!

Anyhow, please do tell me what y'all thought of this chapter even though there wasn't much Bamon in it! What are your guesses on their scores!? Do you think Bonnie and Marcel did good? Will Damon get his 12?

Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that y'all enjoyed the chapter! I love you guys!

-Tracy Cook-