A/N - two chapters in one day(: I'm so proud of myself. Tomorrow, I hope to have the interview chapter out. Then the Hunger Games begin! I'm excited to write it… I have a really good idea. Enjoy!^^ please review and tell me how I'm doing. Your comments are appreciated. xo

~Alana

Chloe DeBenedetto

"Cato, honey, time for breakfast!" Zorrelia's voice fills the silence. She's behind the door…

Where are my clothes? Wait, don't tell me. They're scattered all over the room, mixed with Cato's.

"Cato? Are you okay in there?" Go away, Zorrelia. I shake Cato up frantically, and when he wakes, he sits up and smirks.

"Last night was fun, Chlo-bird. We should do it more often." I put my finger over my lips, signaling for him to be quiet.

"Zorrelia's outside the door," I whisper.

"One… two…" Zorrelia's voice warns.

"Get on the floor!" Cato hisses. I slide off the bed and lay on the floor, not moving a muscle.

"Three!" our escort barges in, and looks around suspiciously. "Good morning, Cato. Have you seen Chloe?"

"She must be taking a shower," Cato answers, obviously skilled at lying. "You know these Capitol showers… you can't hear a thing!"

"I know, right?" Zorrelia says like an obsessed fan girl. "I just love our fabulous Capitol!"

"Yeah, it's great," Cato says.

"Well, dear, breakfast is served. Join us when your ready!" She slams the door closed, leaving us alone.

I now have my sweats and tank top back on, and I flop facedown on the bed. "Training's today," I state, my words muffled by the blanket.

"We used to train every day back in 2," Cato says quietly. "That seems like a million years ago."

"I know," I don't know why, but tears fill my eyes. "Cato?"

"What's wrong, baby girl?"

"I never had a close relationship with my parents… but I miss them," I sob. What a Career I am, crying over my parents.

"Aww, Chlo-bird," he sighs, pulling me close. When he started calling me Chlo-bird, it was a joke. "It's alright."

"Cato, I'm not going back to District 2. You are. I'm never seeing my parents again."

Cato Vindisi

"Cato, I'm not going back to District 2. You are. I'm never seeing my parents again." The words register in her mind and her mouth hangs open. "I'm never going to see my Mom and Dad again," her tears are wetting my shoulder.

"Chloe, shh. It's okay."

"I don't want to think about this anymore," she whispers. She leans over and kisses me, "Come to breakfast a couple minutes after me."

I nod and while I'm putting on clothes, that question haunts my mind again.

I'm not going to kill her. I'll let someone else do that. I'll be sad when she dies, but life will go on. I'll return to District 2 and everything will be fine without Chloe and her entrancing green eyes, her soft blonde hair, her lust for me…

I'm only lying to myself.

I've developed feelings for Chloe - my father would not be proud.

Chloe DeBenedetto

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, Evianna gives me a custom-made, dry-cleaned training uniform. I thank her and return to my room to put it on.

Alexandrie is putting my hair into elegant high pony tail. After she's finished, her and Evianna leave our penthouse to go buy more make-up and hair products for the interviews that are tomorrow night.

Zorrelia escorts us to the underground gymnasium, and of course, we're early. Careers are always here early to show off.

A dark skinned woman named Atala says that as soon as the other Tributes arrive, she can explain what to do. The next one's here are Glimmer and Marvel.

"Hi, Cato," she bats her eyes at him, and he just ignores her. I can't help but giggle, and before I know it, Cato and Marvel join in the laughter.

"Marvel! Stop!" Glimmer commands. When he doesn't stop, her face turns red and she gets angry.

District 4 arrives soon after. Zorrelia and 4's escort leave, chatting casually. "Hey," the girl, Michelle, says. She's eighteen, a year older than me.

The boy, on the other hand, is fourteen. "Hello," he waves. Easy kill. His name is Brett. Cato laughs.

"You think you're a Career?"

"Yeah, I've been training ever since I was ten!" he responds, feeling underestimated. The rest of the Careers, including Michelle, glare at him.

"You only have four years of training. The rest of us have been training since the age of at least four. Sorry, kid, but your not a Career," Cato says sternly.

"But -!"

"Talking back won't help you," Marvel glares. "I'll make sure you're the first one dead."

The boy scampers away, and the rest of the Tributes arrive. "Hello, Tributes. My name is Atala. I warn you, don't ignore the survival skills stations. They are just as important as weaponry. You may start training."

I rush over to the throwing knives before anyone can get there first. I grab all of the knives and shove them in my pocket so no one else can disrupt me.

"Excuse me?" a shrill, shy voice that belongs to the girl from 8 interrupts my train of thought.

"What?" I snap, holding a knife menacingly in front of her.

"Can I… can I please have a knife so I can train?" she can't be older than fifteen.

"Sure!" I smile, "which one do you want?" I show them all to her.

"I'll… I'll take this one!" she says happily.

"You want this knife..." she nods, but I'm not finished talking, "TO SLIT YOUR THROAT?" I shout, turning heads.

"No! No!" she runs away, scared. I see Marvel and Cato at the spear station, cackling like retarded seals.

I got a disapproving look from Atala, but it was worth it. District 8'll be an easy kill in the arena. My focus returns to my knives -

Whoosh! A knife sails through the air and hit's the dummy right in the heart. Three more knives whiz through the air and hit other dummies in the throat, head, and heart again. How I wish Glimmer was the dummy.

After spending a couple more hours at the gym at various stations including knives, spears, camouflage, and basic survival skills, its time for lunch. I'm starving; good thing the lunch room is connected to the gym.

I sit down next to Cato, Michelle, Marvel, and Glimmer as we feast on fillet mignon, mashed potatoes, and salad.

Cato has already made it clear that he is the leader of our pack, and I wouldn't have it any other way. "You all could have worked harder today," he says. "Go back to your rooms. Come back tonight and pull a high score with your private sessions."

"So how was it?" Maddie asks stoically, wiping her face with a napkin.

"I think we were intimidating," Cato replies with his mouth full of salmon fillet.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Zorrelia scolds.

Cato rolls his eyes. "Sorry. I think it went well," he says, turning into the leader again. "How much time do we have until our private sessions?"

Zorrelia consults her watch. "About an hour. Does anyone care for dessert?"

"Me!" I yell. I could go for that stuff called 'cheesecake.' Who would have thought that cheese and cake actually tasted good together?

"Inside voices," she hushes me, and claps her hands for an Avox.

"Can you bring extra cheesecake?" I look up at the Avox, who in turn smiles and nods.

"Chloe DeBenedetto of District 2, please enter the gym," I look over at Cato, grinning. He gives me a thumbs up sign. He should have been back at our penthouse by now, but he's waiting for me.

"Hello, Chloe. What skills will you be showing us today?" Seneca Crane, the Head Gamemaker, asks.

"Knives," I reply confidently.

"You know where they are," he nods. "Begin when you are ready."

I pick up a particularly fine bladed knife and -

Whoosh. That sound I love so much fills the air and hit's the dummy in the heart, just like when I was practicing.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Head, heart, throat, over and over. Seneca and the other Gamemakers are taking notes, obviously impressed.

Swoosh!

"You may stop. Very nice job. Thank you, Chloe."

I rush out of there and make a beeline for Cato's open arms. "How did you do?"

"I feel really confident, Cato," I smile. "I think I'll pull a really high score!"

"Good!" he hugs me tight, and for a second, the whole world is perfect.

Snuggled up in a blanket, we tune in to the training scores. Marvel scores a nine. Then Glimmer's smile flashes across the screen, along with the number seven. Cato sneers. "Good for nothing bit -"

"Calm down," I hold his hand under the blanket, hiding our interaction from our mentors and escort.

Cato get's a ten. "Good job!" I hug him, and even Maddie applauds him.

"Nice," she smiles.

A picture of me appears, along with a ten. I knew Seneca was impressed! "Group hug!" Zorrelia screams, and for once, we actually obey.

Michelle pulls a nine. Not bad! Brett gets a… six? Will orders a round of whiskies from the Avox, giving props to Cato for kicking him off the Career pack. I'll bet my life that he dies on the first day.

The whiskey tastes like liquid heaven down my throat, so I order another.

The only other Tribute that sticks out to me is Thresh from 11, who pulled a nine. Cato said not to worry about it, though. We're about to turn off the TV since District 12 never gets a score higher than four, but Zorrelia always says never to underestimate in the arena, so we keep it on.

The baker boy, Peeta Mellark, scores an eight. How did that happen? I shake it off, it's probably a mistake. He can't be that vicious.

What happens next is truly the most shocking thing that's ever happened to me - Katniss Everdeen (yes, you heard me right, Katniss Everdeen of District 12) somehow manages to get an eleven.

Cato becomes furious and stomps out, kicking the couch. Crack. The wood that holds it together snapped.

"Avox! Avox, please clean that up," Zorrelia says coldly.

"I'm sick of that boy's attitude," Will's words drip with venom.

"Go to hell," I reply sweetly, and follow Cato into his room. "Cato, baby -"

"Get lost, Chloe," he clenches his teeth. I push him backwards so he falls on the bed.

"Don't be mean, Cato," I bat my eyes at him, similar to how Glimmer did earlier this morning at training.

"Stop, Chloe."

"No, you stop, Cato," I sit on his lap and lay on his shoulder.

Cato Vindisi

"Really, Chloe. This is a bad time. Get out," I point towards the door. I don't really know why I'm rejecting her right now - her kiss is like a drug.

"Stop, Chloe. Get out, Chloe," she mimics. Why does she have to be so irresistible?

I rub my hands down her curves, and she smiles with a seductive edge. She crashes her lips on mine, her hands tangled in my short, spiked hair.

I needed this, after that damned girl from 12 got a score higher than mine.