Katniss' POV
District Two is great. We've been living here for two weeks now but Cato has been gone for most of the time, I come home every day to find a note on our bed with a time and place. Like now for instance, I walked into the bedroom and found it lying on the pillow.
7:00, Unit nine, Laxton Hotel.
I drop the paper and walk out again. I loved my life here but half of it was missing. Heading over to the kitchen I find a bouquet of purple tulips on the table. The kitchen is my place room in the whole house. I loved to cook the dishes they have here in two. The mayor's wide came over when we first arrived and gave me a welcoming gift which included a recipe book. Tonight I am going to cook Carbonara which is pasta that I have never heard of but I had it when we had dinner with the Calloways; our neighbours. They invited us to dine with them on our first day serving Carbonara. It is delicious so I will attempt to make it. Every so often my training buddy, Jane comes over.
"Hey Katy, open up will you. I can smell food." Speak of the devil. Jane has one of the rarest noses. She can smell anything from a mile away. We met when Cato and I first when to the Academy to train. She and I became friends right away. I walked over to the door and opened it for her. She sauntered in past me towards the kitchen.
"So what are you cooking?" She asks me
"Hello to you too Jane"
"Hey, now what are you cooking?"
"I'm going to cook Carbonara, want to help? You can have some afterwards." I unpack the ingredients and start.
"Ooh yummy. So where is Carlos? He's never around." She flips open the cook book and turns pages until she stops. We agreed when we moved, we would change our names but keep them similar. Mum wasn't known by the world so she go to keep her name.
"He's out on business but he'll be back tomorrow. What first?"
"Oh well first you need to put the pasta shells in boiling water and wait ten minutes. So how do you like District Two so far? Your mum told me you came from District Twelve but for some reason I do not know, Snow moved you here."
"It's good. Much better that Twelve; I've seen that Rose has gotten bigger and healthier. She loves the new food."
"Every kid does. It's all about the sweets and goodies but we keep them in shape. How old is Rose?"
"Twelve. She had her first reaping this year. Why do you ask?"
"Well you know how it's mandatory for children of ages between twelve and eighteen to train at the Academy. She'll have to start this Monday."
"Ok, I'll tell her when she comes over next. Now what is the second step?"
"Are the pasta shells soft and squishy?" I test them and nod. "Good, then open the jar of creamy sauce and pour it on top. Make sure it goes all over it and you're done." She snaps the book shut and put it down.
"That's it?" I ask pouring the sauce over the shells after I took them out. Jane looks at it hungrily. Soon the jar is empty. I serve the pasta onto two plates and pass one to Jane.
"Yep, that's it. Now let's eat." I take a bite of it and it tastes nothing like the Calloway's pasta but it was still nice.
"This is nothing like Mrs Calloways Carbonara."
"That's because she puts in a special ingredient in it to make it taste that way but no one knows what it is."
"Oh ok. So how does my taste? Is it okay?"
"It's good for a first try. You'll get better with practice and adding other things to it." She finishes her plate and goes to put it in the sink. I do the same and we spend the rest of the evening talking. At around nine she says good bye and heads off. I get ready for bed and go to sleep. The next morning I woke up alone which is odd cause usually I find Cato next to me when I wake up. I get up and head towards the kitchen when I see Cato at the table reading the newspaper and drinking from a mug.
"Good Morning"
"Oh hey Katniss" he puts the mug down and pulls me in for a hug. I pull away after some time to start making breakfast.
"So who was it this time?" I take out a mixing bowl and pour pancake mixture in it. While we were at the Capitol I watched Peeta make us early morning pancakes for breakfast. It was the only time we were nice to each other and had a normal conversation.
"A Miss Sulters, a sex crazed women. I hate every minute of it. I hate all of it. How do you stand it Katniss? I being forced to cheat on you with other useless women and you speak about it so calmly." I stop mixing and stare it him.
"I do for my family to keep them safe from harm but I do it for us. I shouldn't get angry at you for something that isn't your fault. Just imagine if the roles were reversed, how would you deal with it?"
"I wouldn't Katniss. I couldn't sit down and bear the thought of you with other guys and them touching you places only I should. How do you feel about women touching me Katniss?"
"Honestly I don't think about because if I don't think about it, I can pretend that it isn't happening and that you're just at the Capitol on a business trip. I know you hate this, but each person that goes in there gets degraded by price. Soon they aren't worth any money to anyone and when you stop getting visits, Snow won't get any money and he'll let you go. Now what flavour pancake do you want? I can add anything to them."
"Chocolate and when did you learn to cook pancakes? I'm sure you've never had that in Twelve."
"In the Capitol before the Hunger Games. Peeta made them one early morning. We actually got along like friends then. I can cook other meals too. Last night I made Carbonara which I shared with Jane. She's been here every day almost to keep me company." I feel a pair of arms latch around my waist.
"I'm sorry I'm never here for you." He kisses my neck numerous times.
"I know, but have friends to keep me company. Family that are alive because of you."
"Katniss, you can't forgive me so easily. Let me make it up to you. What do you want to do today? Anything at all."
"Just spend to day with you before you leave again." I squirm slightly which he notices.
"What?"
"Nothing, when you do that it tickles"
"What? When I kiss you here" he kisses my neck to prove a point "Or here" When he kisses me a second time a squirm again
"There. Stop it. Cato. Nooo!" I'm writhing beneath him trying to get him to stop.
"What about if I tickle you here?" I scream out, laughing while I try to free myself.
"Cato! Stop it! I can't take it!" I'm out of breath and he lets go of me.
"Are you seriously that ticklish Katniss?" He turns me around and grins at me silly.
"Yes and I'm going to get you for that?"
"You'll have to catch me first and then you'll have to find my weakness. Good luck though because I don't have one."
"Yes you do. Everyone has one and I happen to know yours." It's my turn to smile evilly at him.
"Well then, tell me what it is?" He leans in closer to my face. Two can play this game Cato. I lean in closer to him, my lips near touching his.
"I would tell you but…I'd rather show you." I see Cato look from my eyes to my lips back to my eyes. Yep just found it out. Well one of them. As he leans it to close the gap, I pull away and turn to continue making the pancakes acting as if nothing has happened. I hear him growl behind me and his arms link around mine again but this time his hands begin to wander. Oh pushing the boundaries.
"Cato–"
"Shh, you missed your turn to show. Now it's mine"
"Cato we are in a kitchen and I'm sixteen!" He stops and let's his hands drop. He stays quiet for a while before he speaks.
"I'm sorry Katniss." I hear his footsteps walk away and the door opens and closes. Real smooth Katniss. Just ruin the moment. Everything was perfect until you opened you big mouth. Now he probably thinks you won't ever get past kissing him. And now you have to eat your pancakes alone. Well done. The rest of the day goes by in a blur. Prim and Mum come over for lunch and I tell her that she has to start training. She is shocked but she accepts it. I visit the Calloways and talk with their daughter who is the same age as me. I knew her from when I saw the reapings, she was called but then Clove out to volunteer. We talk about training and boys but I don't tell her about what happened with Cato who I haven't seen all day and don't think I will until tomorrow.
Cato's POV
I slice every dummy apart. I was at the Academy even though we aren't allowed to be but everyone is dead scared of me, actually was. Now I have to start my reputation again. That is not the issue right now. The issue is that lost all control and wanted her. I hate myself for doing that. I mean I do want her but she's right. She's sixteen for crying out loud. I can't take her that young and we've really only just started our relationship. She's gone through a lot in a short period of time. Prim being reaped and her volunteering, she and I entering the Hunger Games together, us falling in love; although that isn't a bad thing. Us moving from the Capitol to Twelve to Two. That's a lot of things for one person to handle. She doesn't need me wanting to fulfil my desires. Oh and the fact that she is forced to put up with me being with different each night.
"Hey you can't be in here. It's policy. Come back tomorrow." I turn around and notice a trainer standing at the door. Ha newbie. Time to build up my reputation. I glare at him but he doesn't move. Instead he comes towards me. I go to throw my sword past him but I don't get the chance to. A dagger comes flying past his ear and lands in the bullseye of the target next to the mutilated dummies. I look past him and see a girl of Prim's age maybe older. For a second I thought it was Clove but then I look again and see that it isn't.
"Trainer! Scram before I throw this at your head." He turns around finds the girl ready to throw another one. He rushes out instantly. Great work Cato. You can't scare away a newbie but a little girl can. Another dagger slices the air and lands in the heart of the next target.
"Nice skills. You remind me of m- the girl tribute from this district. I think her name was Clove. In fact, you look like a mini version of her." She throws a dagger just above my head. In a second she at my side. Her eyes are full of hate but also sadness.
"I know her name. I know who she was. Clove was my sister." She pulls the dagger out of the wall just centimetres above my head. She's Clove's younger sister. Of course, how did I not see the signs? She looks just like Clove and she throws like Clove.
"I'm sorry about the loss of your sister. I know what it is like to lose a sibling."
"It's okay. It's just that I can't believe she thought she could take on the Games at fourteen. She wasn't supposed to volunteer. But what makes me even angrier is that a boy from Twelve beat her. I hate the girl less because she gave my sister a merciful death before the mutts could rip her apart."
"Well we can agree on thing. Two actually. One, I hate him too. And Two, Twelve won't be having many victors after this."
"Why would you hate him? He came from your old district and he won."
"I hate him because he didn't stop Katniss from killing herself. She promised she would come back to me. And what does she do. Kills herself so he can win. I want him to die." I know I'm lying but it's half the truth. I do want him to die.
"Were you dating the Fire Girl? Oh that's harsh. How do you feel when Cato and Peeta confessed their love for her?" Oh right, I'm digging a big hole with these lies.
"Upset and angry. I thought see loved me but then she said at her interview that she loved him. The Killer. Good thing he died. All the kisses and the crying when he died hurt me deeply." Oh boy where am I going with this? "But then I met Katy and she helped me get through the pain. I found myself falling in love with her and I found out that she loved me back." Hopefully I've made the hole smaller.
"But your still in love with Katniss?" I nod slightly. "That is one complicated love story but it is also sweet and romantic. I knew that Katniss had some competition for Cato. Clove and Cato were best friends. Everyone said that they would be married one day but she denied it. Only in me did she confide that she did love Cato. And that slut Glimmer. Please, she couldn't keep her hands off him. Good thing she and Marvel worked everything out before they died." She looks past me at the fluffy mess.
"I'm guessing you did that?" I look back the destroyed dummies then nod at her. "So your good with a sword then? When did you train with a sword in Twelve? No one there ever is able to train." Oh great another thing to be caught out on.
"I practiced with Katniss in the meadow. That's how we met and I fell in love with her. She practiced with bows and I with swords. We tried to teach each other the other skill but we weren't so good at it."
"Interesting. Oh I didn't mention this before. I'm Cadence." She held out her hand for me to shake and I did the same.
"Carlos"
"Cool, so how long have you been living in Two for?"
"Two weeks. It is definitely different from Twelve."
"What is the best thing about Two that you like?"
"Um, everything. The food, the houses, the training center."
"Yeah. I love it too. We call this the Academy. We train and then the trainers boss choses the two tributes who will go into the Hunger Games who are eighteen. With skills like that, you could go in."
"No I'm no longer eligible. I turned eighteen this year."
"So you survived all those years of reaping in Twelve without being picked. The odds were definitely in your favour."
"Yeah, so do you want to enter the Hunger Games? Willing to risk your life just to bring honour to your family? Killing innocent children like that little girl Rue?" I finally understood how everyone in other districts must feel. What Katniss means. Risking your life for nothing. All this time I thought that winning the Games for an accomplishment. Something to be proud of but there is nothing proud about killing others.
"No I'm not like everyone else. My family thinks that a disgrace. That I should be more like Clove. Well Clove got herself killed. I actually want to live my life. I have these skills but I don't show them in training so that I appear to have no skill and no chance of being chosen for the Games."
"Smart idea. Maybe I should tell Katy that." I looked at my wristwatch. It read 3:50pm. How long had I been here? I needed to escape but how could I stop this conversation with her.
"Need to go somewhere? It's okay. Nice talking to you Carlos. See you later." She walked over to the moving targets and turned them on from the control panel. I took this as my cue to leave and headed out the door. I had done what I wanted to. Relive my stress. Now I had to see Katniss and apologise. I reached that house and heard the shower running so I sat on the lounge waiting for her. The water stopped and I waited for her to come out. However the front door opened and Katniss came in holding plastic bags full of food and other stuff. That's what confused me. If Katniss wasn't in the shower then who was. Finally the person came out. What the hell was she doing here?
"Cato darling. It's so good to see you again. I can't wait for tonight." I was about to tell her to leave but then the worst happened. More worse than her being here. He stepped out of the bedroom and I was hit by his strong scent of roses and blood.
"Hello Mr Calloway." He grinned evilly at me. I could only stare at him in shock and terror but if I thought I had it bad, then imagine the face the Katniss had when I turned to look at her.
Another twist. I just love that! I bet you can guess who he is but who is she? If you know, PM me.
Answer this riddle. If a man takes six days to dig a hole, how long will it take him to dig half a hole? PM me if you know the answer and I'll give you a sneak peek at what will happen next cause I won't be updating the next chapter for a while probably. Week to 2 weeks tops.