Authors Note: Inspired by the movie, I really like the idea of Cato and Glimmer so I hope you enjoy reading my fanfic about them and would love to hear your thoughts through comments or Pm. Thanks!

A Glimmer

He just didn't understand her. And that was saying something. Out of all the girls he'd ever known she was the only one who didn't fancy him, or if she did she had a strange way of showing it. It was like she was split into two different people. The flirty confident girl, the girl the public saw, but the shy and conservative girl when you got to know her.

Glimmer looked up from the fire-building station and caught Cato staring at her from across the room. She smiled slightly before blushing and pretending to go back to concentrating on making fire with two dry twigs.

Cato however couldn't bring himself to look away as he continued to wonder what he'd done wrong. He'd spoken to her several times over the last two days in training, and yet she still wasn't showing any signs of wanting to spend time with him.

Marvel on the other hand seemed to have her full attention, he recollected as he watched him go and join Glimmer. She even started to laugh when he accidentally knocked a packet full of matches onto the floor.

"Right it's time to break for lunch, into the dining hall everyone!" the head trainer shouted as two avox's opened the doors and the tributes began to drop what they were doing and head for the exit. Cato spotted Clove meeting up with Marvel and Glimmer and jogged over to them. He caught up with them just as they were sitting down. Looking around the room he couldn't help but feel confident that he had a good chance of doing what he came to the Capital to do. Win the Hunger Games. Most of the other tributes sat by themselves or with the other tribute from there district. Several of them seemed to have given up hope already and would be easy prey when the time came.

"So Cato you spotted any one else you think would be a good alley in the arena?" Marvel asked cockily.

"Nope, there all a bunch of idiots," Cato said loud enough for everyone to hear as he got to his feet and stomped over to the buffet table. After seeing Marvel with Glimmer he had become irritated and wasn't in the mood to sit and listen to him talk about the numerous girls he'd left behind in District one. For some reason Cato wasn't in the mood for being the centre of attention and wanted some alone time to think about the arena. Thankfully everyone moved out of the way as he went to the end of the table and grabbed a plate. At least being feared meant you get the first buffet selection he smirked.

"It's okay to be afraid you know." Suddenly he heard a whisper and felt someone next to him. He looked down and saw Glimmer holding a plate and pilling rice onto it, not willing to make eye contact with him.

"Who says I'm afraid?" Cato said swaggering a little and playing cool the way he always did when he was trying to impress someone. The girls usually loved it but Glimmer barley looked up.

"How can you not be? We're going to die," she whispered, looking up for the first time and making eye contact with him, the fear clearly showing in her eyes.

"Well actually I'm not planning on dieing and you shouldn't be either. I'm planning on winning," Cato said winking his famous wink and flashing her a smile. Instead of melting and batting her eyelids like most girls she just stared at him as if he was mad.

She shook her head slowly. "Maybe, but to be honest I haven't got much of a chance," Glimmer stopped without further explanation.

Cato wanted to know more and was just about to ask when the rest of the tributes came near having waited long enough for him to get some food. Seeing the expressions on Cato and Glimmers face made them hesitate, but eventually hunger won out and they started getting there food. Cato knew that he was starting to look weak in front of the other tributes for not saying anything when they pushed passed him to get food. He was just about to grab one of them and start shouting when he felt an arm slid around his back.

Looking down he saw Glimmer had wrapped her arms around him with a playful look on her face and any trace of fear gone. "So baby, let's sit down and decide who were going kill first," she giggled and then glared at the other tributes to make sure they heard what she had said.

See this is exactly what Cato meant, one minute she was scared and the next she acted as if she owned the world. The confusion must have registered on Cato's face as when he next looked down at her she mouthed 'play along.' Cato still wasn't sure what was going on but decided it wouldn't do any harm to be seen with Glimmer and it would annoy Marvel.

"Now that," Cato said scooping Glimmer into his arms "is a great idea," he purred as he walked back to there table balancing both his plate and Glimmer in his arms. He couldn't help but smile seeing the annoyed look on Marvels face as he sat down with Glimmer sat on his knee. Looking around he also couldn't help but feel a sense of achievement at how unnerved the rest of the tributes looked at this development.

"Erm so are you two actually planning on helping Marvel and I plan strategies?" Clove asked raising her eyebrows at Cato.

Cato just shrugged and settled into his seat, for once being too busy to talk about the arena. Too busy thinking about the girl sat on his knee.

…

"Right fifteen minutes left, so make the most of them!" the head trainer shouted. No one seemed too interested but the announcement took Cato by surprise. If he was going to talk to Glimmer like he had been planning all afternoon, then now was the time, especially since Marvel was too busy showing off to flirt with her.

Stop it he thought. Why was he acting like this? So…so…in love. He had only known her for a couple of days and in the next week she'd be dead, so what did it matter? But it did matter. To him at least, even if he didn't understand why.

"Marvel hasn't told you then has he?" a voice from behind him said. Turning around Cato found himself face to face with Glimmer. She had done it again. Caught him off guard just as he was preparing to go and speak to her. Cato felt his breath catch in his throat but managed to keep cool as he said "Tell me what?"

"Why I'm here," she replied staring up at him, her blue eyes so intent Cato almost felt he could drown just looking into them.

"Well obviously you volunteered to win like I did," Cato said unable to keep the confusion from crossing his face.

"I didn't volunteer; I was reaped as punishment to my father, the Mayor of District one."

"What? He's the Mayor? The president never said anything, and neither has anyone else," Cato said unable to hold her gaze any longer.

"Well they wouldn't would they? Especially when there trying to punish my father. He said some things that the capital that they didn't like, spoke of being able to start an uprising if the Capital kept cutting workers wages. They said he'd regret what he had implied, going against the Capital, but after a couple of months nothing had happened and I thought things were going to be alright. Well that's what I thought, until after the reaping."

Cato suddenly experienced something that had never happened to him before. He was speechless. How could he respond to that? Luckily he didn't have to.

"Okay everyone, training's over, good look with your interviews tomorrow and well done with your private sessions earlier this afternoon," the head trainer shouted as the tributes began to file out. Glimmer turned to walk away but Cato grabbed her arm.

"You can still win you know," he said trying desperately to think of someway to comfort her. She simply smiled, the saddest and most broken smile he had ever seen.

"There's no way I can win. President Snow has told my father that if I win, or don't put on a good enough show as a volunteer to the other districts, and the daughter of the Mayor to my district, he will see my father and everyone I know publicly hanged as a warning. With the Capital against me, I'll be lucky to last a week anyway," she said. And with that she looked around the room to check the other tributes were almost gone, went up onto her tip toes and kissed Cato on the lips. To say he was unprepared was an understatement. Sure, he had kissed plenty of girls throughout his life, however nothing had ever felt like this. He tried to think what was making him feel so strange, when he realised it was pain. Pain that the only person who had brought light into his now seemingly pointless life, was going to die. Pain that no matter if he won, he would never feel this way again. After a few seconds he tasted Glimmer's sad, salty tears on his lips and knew that the one thing he wanted to give her, he couldn't. Protection.

"Right break it up you two, plenty of time for it in the arena!" a voice shouted from across the room. Knowing they had to stop, Cato squeezed Glimmer's hand as they both pulled away. He then watched as the sad smile returned to her lips and she wiped the tears from her face.

"Guess I don't know how many more times I'm going to get to do that," she whispered before forcing a grin to cross her face and turning to head for the exit.

"See you tomorrow hot stuff!" she shouted, then just like that she strutted out of the training centre, for all the trainers and peacekeepers to see.

Cato however felt as if he was rooted to the spot as he began to understand what Glimmer had meant. No matter what he did she was going to have to die and he was going to have to let her. But the problem was he didn't know how to let her die. The girl who had shown him that he could've been good. The girl who had given him as spark of hope. A twinkle. A glimmer.