Author's Notes: This is a day late. I know. I am super sorry! D: Again. Thank you soooooooo much to those that reviewed. It means so much because I'm still a beginner when it comes to writing, and it feels awesome to know people actually like what I write! :)

If anyone noticed, for each chapter that I've written, I divide it into three parts, and the title of each chapter is the main idea or a topic of the middle part of the chapter.

Enjoy Peeta fantasizing about a certain someone! ;)

Review for an abnormally long chapter! :D

Part 1: The Tributes

Chapter 5: The Lies

Stressed from the first day of being a tribute, I toss my training clothes aside and collapse on the comfort of my bed. I lie there staring at the ceiling with my blanket enveloping me like a marshmallow cloud, protecting me from the pinching coldness of the dark air.

The thought of me being a career still swirls through my head. I already said no to him, but what if I said yes? Would that have been worth it?

If I have said yes, I probably would've gotten that blow job from him (maybe I would've liked that), but he'll kill both me and Summer later on. Well, it doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done, and I already said no.

Besides, I'll most likely be their first target especially since I've annoyed him enough times today. What's his name again? Cato? It doesn't matter.

Oh gosh. I'm thinking about him again.

My eyes flutter shut, and sleepiness takes over. My heart rate slows, my breathing deepens, and I fall asleep with my last conscious thoughts on the boy from 2.

That night, I dream a very vivid scene. Enough for me to wet-dream all over my boxer briefs.

"Peeta! Get yourself ready, dear!" Effie politely commands as she brutally bangs on my door, waking me up from my unfinished dream. "Breakfast is waiting on the table, and you're gonna want some energy for the second day of training!"

"I'll be right there, Effie!" I yell being annoyed. For me, it's difficult to leave the warmth and safety of my bed since I've never had this luxury before. However, I force myself up to head for my bathroom.

I really need a shower.

I strip off my sticky boxer briefs, step in the shower, and close the shower door. Even inside, the shower is hi-tech. There's a touch pad where it allows me to choose the temperature of the water, so I slide my finger to a hot ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. Lastly, I tap the little water droplet icon.

Soon, the shower ceiling pours water on me, and it does look and feel like real rain, except for the fact that its nice and hot.

The touch pad then shows me a variety of shampoo and bodywash. I tap a random shampoo button (being unfamiliar with the brand name), and a cold, viscous liquid squirts from the shower ceiling which lands onto my head.

Amazed, I lather the clear-green shampoo onto my blonde hair. I couldn't help but appreciate the aroma its giving off as the suds clamber down my body. It smells… sexy.

That's when flashes of my dream the night before starts appearing in my head. I close my eyes as I let the heated water wrap me in its warmth, allowing me to rewind to my dream that night.

My dream took place back at the 'R' floor. Cato finds me sitting there by myself, and just starts talking to me like he's known me forever. But soon, I turn down his offer of being a career.

"Listen," he says. "Maybe you're only saying that because you want something in return. Am I right?"

"Well…" I respond. But he's right. I do want something in return.

"See? I knew it. How about a blow job?" he proposes. "Right here… Right now…" He seductively gazes towards me.

In the shower, I fantasize by letting my hands travel my sensitive body as I replay my dream.

"Okay," I gulp.

He advances towards me with possessive eyes and that evil smile. Then, he leans forward and attaches his warm lips on mine.

I sit there with open eyes watching the other boy's lips contacting my lips, but then I notice how he kisses me softly, not aggressively. I allow my eye-lids to dive shut as I kiss him back returning the same amount of passion, if not, more.

"Cato…" I groan in the shower as I caress my growing penis imagining that he's the one rubbing it.

He breaks the kiss and impatiently pulls down my training pants and my boxer briefs. This reveals my fully erect penis which springs out to finally get some fresh air. First, he grabs it and eagerly licks the sticky pre-cum leaking out of the slit, and I give a moaning exhale showing him that I'm enjoying it.

Briefly, he looks up to me as if he's waiting for my approval to continue.

"Mhhmm," I nod.

Back in the shower, my hand reaches down to massage and cup my nuts the same way he did in my dream. Now, the steaming mist in the shower is making me more hot and bothered. I begin stroking myself as I remember him placing my hard dick in his wet mouth.

While being pleasured, I feel him moan as the vibrations play with my oversensitive cock. My breathing quickens, and my balls tighten up.

"I'm close!" I yell at him with innocence.

The blonde boy continues to bob his head which slathers me moist and wet. This is perfect. And with just the right amount of friction, too.

Then, he swallows all of me, going deeper, until my penis disappears in his mouth to the point where I can feel the small stubble on his chin slightly brushing my sack. He juggles my sensitive nuts in the process.

It feels so good!

With him continuing the up and down motion on my dick and going deeper each time (if that was possible), I reach my violent orgasm just as he backs away from me slightly choking on a hot string of my sperm.

Arching my back, satisfaction electrocutes me with pure pleasure just as I squirt and leak a few more torrents of hot semen.

He allows his eye-lids to fall shut as he slowly drags his tongue from the bottom base to the top of my shaft. Cato licks the semen off to clean me up and sips on the head of my dick one more time before backing away. A mixture of gooey cum and spit bridges the gap between his lips and the opening of my still oozing length. He swallows half of the cum in his mouth and saves the other half for me.

With the other half of my hot cum still in his mouth, he crawls up to me signaling me to open my mouth. We sloppily kiss again and I taste the contents of my explosive climax entering my oral cavity. His lips taste different this time. It tastes like sweet-salty sex, that is, if sex has a taste.

Cato breaks our sensual kiss. "You're part of the careers now," he informs and steals one last peck. "And there's no turning back."

I open my eyes to be awaken by the steamy rain shower with its heat still embracing me. I also notice the white cum stain on the shower wall and on my right hand pretending to be Cato's mouth. My breathing becomes heavy due to quick exhaustion, and my fantasy and my shower session ends with the pitter-patter of the water on the floor.

Maybe I should have said yes to him last night.

x x

Once I put on a new pair of training attire, I exit my room to be greeted by the smell of various meats and breakfast goods.

As I pull up a chair next to Summer, my stomach gives off an audible grumble before sitting down.

"You must be really hungry considering you didn't eat last night," she scolds.

"Well good morning to you too, Summer," I mock.

Before my best friend starts giving me the usual piece of her mind, Haymitch interrupts her. "So how'd you sleep?" he asks.

"I slept pretty well, actually," I say. I catch myself before I say anything about my dream and my little session in the shower. That would have been very embarrassing.

An avox pours me a large glass of chilled orange liquid while I place a large quantity of food on my plate.

"Whoa. Slow down there, Peeta. You don't want to be too full for training," Effie suggests.

"Effie, I've never had a decent meal in my life," I reply as I start with my bread.

"Anyway," Summer interferes, "what happened last night? Why'd you just walk out on us, Cheesecake?" she asks.

"Cheesecake?" Effie and Haymitch simultaneously question with an awkward face.

"Yup. That's my nickname for him," she says proudly.

"Umm… let's not get into that topic," I tell them. "Yeah, uh, I just had a lot on my mind, so I took a walk." I lie scratching my head, and I try to sound as casual as possible. They don't need to know the full truth of what happened last night.

"You're lying," Haymitch points out.

I freeze in place. "No I'm not! I just walked around," I respond in defense. "That's it, I swear!"

"I've been a mentor a long time, Peeta, or Cheesecake, or whatever food you want to be called. In time, I've learned to figure out if tributes are lying," he explains. "Plus, I'm sober right now making me very aware of other people, and you are not telling the full truth."

Defeat hits me with a sigh. "Okay fine," I say taking a bite off my roll of bread. "Was I really that obvious?"

"Yes," he says taking a sip of his… is that red wine? "You scratched your head, you became defensive…" he snaps his finger for effect, "…just like that, and you wouldn't look me in the eye." Haymitch takes another swig. "So what really happened last night?"

Sighing, I decide to tell him most of what happened as I gulp down the saltiness of the cylinder-shaped meat I was chewing on. "Okay," I start. "So… According to the elevator, I went to this room that's labeled 'R'."

"You mean the roof?" Effie interrupts.

Roof? That room is definitely not a roof. "Uh… sure," I say raising an eyebrow. "Anyway, after sitting there for a while, a boy from 2 came up, and he sorta started talking to me about stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Summer asks.

"Uh… just small talk really," I tell them.

"You're scratching your head again," Haymitch points out.

What the heck? I didn't even realize my arm reach around my head. "Oh, you're good, Haymitch."

He simply lifted his wine glass and briefly angled it towards me. "You know it, kid."

In defeat, I tell them. "So after that, he asked me to be part of the careers-."

"He what!?" my mentor blurts out almost doing a spit take with his wine.

Effie and Summer stop mid-bite, and they practically drop their jaws on their plate while staring at me.

"But I told him no!" I quickly respond.

"What!?" Haymitch aggressively asks while slamming his wine glass on the table.

And of course, Effie complains about the type of wood the table is made of.

"Well, I didn't know what else to do. They would've killed me even if I did say yes," I'm starting to be defensive, but I hope Haymitch doesn't think I'm lying.

"No! No, no, no, no," he says successively. "You should've asked me about it first."

"I… Umm… sorry?"

"Kid, he asked you to be a career. Most tributes have to ask them to join," Haymitch takes another swig of his wine. "Yes, you're right, they'll try to kill you in the end, but that's if you don't kill them first. Besides, you'll survive much longer if you join."

"But I already told him no, Haymitch. Just because I'll last longer doesn't mean Summer will. And the reason I volunteered in the first place is so we can protect each other."

"Hmm… You have over thirty-seven days before the Hunger Games start, and I'm pretty sure you can convince them to keep Summer alive by then," Haymitch says looking away. "You said this boy is from 2?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So… they're an aggressive bunch," he informs me. "Spoiled at times, and he couldn't have just taken 'no' for an answer. Did he try forcing you? Or bribing you?"

That's when my cheeks flush. A bouquet of roses are growing rampantly, and Haymitch is giving me a raised eyebrow. The last thing I want to tell him is what he bribed me with.

"Okay, so he did bribe you," he guesses.

How the heck does he just know these things? It's like he can read my mind. It won't be a surprise if he already knows about my little session in the shower.

"What exactly did he bribe you with?" he asks.

Damn. I really don't want to answer that question. I just want to curl up into a ball right now and just roll away.

Lying is useless with him, so I shamefully open my mouth and brace for the truth. "He bribed me with a blow job," I say looking down at my plate.

"Excuse me!?" Effie can no longer hold her silence.

"Please don't make me repeat it," I tell her.

"Well, Effie, that boy is from District 2. They are very open about sex and sexuality there as oppose to District 12 where even being gay is illegal. Am I right?" Haymitch adds.

"Oh you said it," Summer assures him.

"Listen," Effie points to me and Summer, but mostly to me, "there will be no sex taking place in the Tribute Tower," Effie demands. "First of all, that is very inappropriate for your age. And secondly, they don't offer proper protection here." Then, she turns towards our mentor, "Haymitch, don't you dare go out and buy them those high-tech condoms, you hear me?"

"Yes, mother," he rolls his eyes at her. I can tell he's had this lecture before because of the way his face can just careless about what Effie's saying. Before long, he turns to us tributes, "Okay, both of you listen up."

Summer and I point our attention towards him.

"Training is going to start soon, and I'm telling you right now, stay away from what ever station it is you're good at. You hear? You will want to be deceiving once you enter the arena, and the less they know about your strenghths, the better. Make sure to keep an eye out on what the others are good at and use it to your advantage. And, Peeta, talk to that boy from 2. Try to join the careers 'cause, I promise you, you'll be able to keep Summer safe longer."

x x

"Where's my knife!?" yells a tribute.

Summer and I turn around from the dart-blowing station, and I notice Cato making a scene which snatches our attention.

"I swear, I didn't touch it!" responds the boy from 9.

"It was sitting right there!" he points to a nearby spot, "And you obviously took it!" he blames with his eyes now filled with hatred.

'…That's just my act for people to be scared of me,' his words from the night before echoes in my head. This is probably another one of those acts. Just like yesterday, he tried intimidating me, and he does play the bully card pretty well.

"No I didn't! How can I steal something I didn't even know existed?" argues the boy from 9.

"Stop lying! You took. My. Knife!" Now, Cato is enraged and his eyes are showing that he's being serious.

Summer taps me on the shoulder and points at the ceiling above the two boys yelling at each other.

And there, a little District 11 girl with dark skin and brown hair has climbed the nets and is mockingly holding what appears to be Cato's knife in plain view of everyone except for Cato and the boy from 9.

Regardless of the anger the boy from 2 emitted, I can't help but smile and roll my eyes at the situation. That's a good practical joke that girl just played. I hope she doesn't get caught though.

It isn't long before the tall brute starts to push and grab hold of the boy from 9, and I feel a déjà vu in the pit of my stomach. This is like when Zep bullied me, and no one even stood up for me then. But that boy doesn't have to feel alone like I did. Even if he is a tribute, no one deserves to feel how I felt with my bully.

My feet instinctively walk toward the scene in defense of the boy from 9.

"Peeta, what are you doing?" Summer asks, and I turn around to face her.

"I'm defending someone from a bully. Something that no one has ever done for me," I tell her.

She stares into my blue eyes as I stare into her deep brown eyes. "Okay," she says. "Just remember what Haymitch said about not showing them what we're good at." Then, she focuses her mind back to blowing darts as I approach the two arguing boys.

"Hey, Two!" I start as I pace to him. "Leave him alone! He obviously didn't steal anything."

Now, he has his attention on me, "And what are you gonna do about it, Twelve?" He's honestly starting to sound like Zep, and it pains me to think that my bully has followed me all the way here.

"Just leave him alone, Two," I plead, and the boy from 9 silently walks away to a different station without Cato knowing.

"Fine," he says with a careless tone. His attention is now fully on me. "Why don't I just fight you instead?"

"What?" I squeak out.

"Let's see if you're actually worth being a career," he mentions. "Fight me, Twelve. Right here… Right now…" Then, he aggressively advances.

He pulls my arm with a god-like grip to head to the combat station, and it leaves a visible bruise.

Cato stands on one end of the small circle on the ground while I go to the opposite end. There's no turning back now. Soon, a referee comes to us to explain some rules.

I stand there looking at Cato with a good three yards between us. His eyes are filled with hatred, but I shake my head, giving him a silent message of: we don't have to do this.

But Cato keeps his eyes locked on mine tilting his neck left and right to crack it.

"Hitting is allowed as long as no bones are broken and as long as the brain is not damaged," the referee explains the rules, though, I doubt neither of us are paying much attention. "Kicking is also allowed with the exception of it being targeted towards the groin area or the head. Lastly, the first to draw blood wins."

The referee throws both his arms down in a chopping motion between me and Cato. He shouts, "Begin!" and backs away watching us to make sure we don't damage each other too much.

"I know this is just an act, Cato," I say as I shyly raise my fists in a fighting stance. He's just trying to intimidate me. He said so himself. I hope I won't regret this later.

He cracks his knuckles informing me that he will fight as he shows his devilish grin once more. "This isn't an act, Twelve. This is real," he says and sneakily gives me a low kick to my legs which causes me to fall on my knees. The brute comes closer and towers over me saying, "See, if you would have said yes last night, it would have been me on my knees working my magic."

Before he strikes again, I show him a lightning sweep kick to his shin as I gain my balance to stand again. "Why are you doing this? You said last night that-."

While he kneels on one knee, he interrupts. "Do you really think I was telling you the full truth?" he asks mockingly.

Making sure he doesn't get back up again, I swing my arm for a punch to his temple, but he stops it with his palm. Now, he grips my fist so that I can't get away, and pounds me hard on the jaw.

The entire training center goes black as I clench my jaw, trying to get rid of the pain. I get dizzy from the punch, but once I regained my sight, I turn to Cato. "But you said… you act… to scare. And me… a career…" I say in between breaths, and my sentences aren't complete because of the dizziness affecting me.

Standing, he grabs my legs and throws me to the cold floor. My back hitting it hard, chills are now tightening my spine as he flips me over on my stomach, putting his entire weight on me. I thrash, but Cato doesn't budge.

My ears feel his breath on them as he whispers, "Since I already intimidated you enough that day, the other careers thought you'll join if I seem less scary and approach you like I'm your friend."

The dizziness begins to fade, and my breathing slowly comes to normal. "Friends don't offer each other blow jobs, Two!" I yell which attracts other tributes to watch our battle. It took all of my power to give a final thrash to vengefully elbow him on the ribs which causes him to loosen his weight on me. After that, I proudly punch him on the ear, which makes him loose his balance and makes him finally get off of me. I get back to my feet immediately.

With his hand on his pained left ear, he managed to respond, "I tried flattering you to join. But that didn't work, so I resorted to sex, which usually seals the deal."

"You're a jerk!" I yell out loud. All I need is to draw blood for this to be over, so I observe his body and look for his most vulnerable spot: his head. I attempt for a hooked punch, but he ducks and head butts my chest.

"I've always been a jerk, Twelve. Ever since my mom…" he was about to say something, but he trails off. This is probably a sensitive topic for him. "Never mind. It's not important," Cato says coldly.

I slouch from the wringing pain in my chest which was caused by his violent head butt. I don't get it. Why doesn't he finish me off? He's from 2, he's supposed to be trained to kill. Instead, he's holding back. Maybe he's trying to hurt me as much as possible before blood comes out of me? Yes. That's probably it. What if I anger him more? Maybe that'll get him to punch me hard enough that blood comes out. And then, all this agonizing pain I'm feeling will be over.

Knowing that it's a sensitive topic, I finish the sentence he trailed off on. "Ever since your mom became a whore like you?"

Those words are the biggest mistake of my life. He lunges towards me gripping my neck as fury bathes his entire body. I fall backwards landing again on the floor while he puts his entire weight on me. "Shut up!" he bellows. "Don't talk about my mom like that!"

He silences me by digging his hands into my esophagus. My neck becomes red, but my face turns pale. No matter how hard I try to breath in, his hand is pinching and blocking my wind pipe, making it impossible for me to breath. "Cato…" I manage to choke out, "…please."

I regret this. I regret ever standing up for that boy from 9. I regret ever jerking off to Cato. I regret thinking this is all an act. I regret calling his mom a whore. I regret everything.

But I have no one to blame but myself.

Our referee just stands there immobilized. What is he waiting for? Cato won. Why isn't he do anything?

"Feel that, Twelve?" Cato mocks with rage. "I'm not acting. This is real."

It becomes harder for me to think as I feel my moist eyes roll behind my head. Then, I feel red liquid running down my neck, and I figure out that Cato's fingers have dug deep enough for my warm blood to spew out.

Finally, he has drawn first blood. Finally, he has won.

That's when the referee peels Cato's grip off my neck as I lay on the floor bloody and bruised. I hear the other careers laughing at me, so I know that this is a battle I've lost.

"I hope that hurt," he tells me heartlessly and leaves me with his hand print on my throat.

Author's Notes: I still feel like I'm not getting Cato's character right! UGH! DX

Hopefully I can in the next chapter. I do a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter! Woot! I hope you guys liked reading it. Btw, Longest chapter i've ever writen... hmmm maybe i'm caught up with detail? idk.

Did I do Peeta's fantasizing scene okay? or should i never write smut ever again in my entire life? Lolz! Please review! :)