A/N: Darn. I was writing this story and then my computer shut down. Ugh...had to start over from scratch. Anyways, I'm currently on school vacation, so I decided to write this morning. I think that my daytime writing is worse than my nighttime writing, but with all the lovely reviews and requests to update, I just had to get this out of my system. Enjoy, darlings...all 300 of you lovely people. :)

And...I feel like an idiot, because I thought that "anon" was the same person posting reviews over and over again. I just figured out that it actually is short for "anonymous".

Cato:

"W-what do you mean?" Katniss stammers. Her face is turning an interesting shade of red. I know that I've hit the mark.

I can't hold back a smirk as I answer her.

"Hmm, I don't know. What do you want it to mean?" In the distance I can still see the fires raging throughout the forest, a furnace under a cool night sky.

"I don't love..." She chooses her words carefully, then pauses midsentence. Out of the corner of my eye I notice her studying my face.

"I never said that you did." I continue smirking. It's really quite amusing to mess around with girls. They always believe me, right up until the time when I reveal my true motives.

It is quiet for a minute. I can feel my wet shirt clinging to my chest. Katniss is still sitting in the water where I dropped her.

"…Peeta. I don't love Peeta." She finally whispers.

I am taken by surprise. I thought that she would say something different. Ah well. Her mentor must be furious right now, after setting up that whole star-crossed lovers front. It would have been a good idea if it'd actually worked. But for now, I'll just improvise and play along.

"I know that you don't."

Katniss:

Cato knew. He knew that I… No, you don't love him. You're just attracted to him.

Yes, just attracted. Nothing else. That's what I tell myself, at least.

The pain from my burn is temporarily forgotten as I stare at him. Cato and his perfect hair, cold eyes, the smirk that is always there. He comes off as obnoxious, arrogant, cold. And then there's the other side to him. The side that makes my heart quicken every time he talks to me.

That other side shines through Cato's arrogant mask as I try to stand and fall back down as searing pain shoots through my leg.

Cato turns his head a bit, just in time to see me splash back into the water.

"Is it your burn?"

God, how does he always know? I bite my lip to keep from whimpering. It must be worse than I'd thought, but I can't show weakness.

"You shouldn't have helped them…I don't even know why I let them go." He sighs as he gets up and lifts me out of the lake and carries me onto the grass next to Clove. She doesn't even glance at us, it seems like she is transfixed by the dancing circle of flames around us.

"Is it bad?" He is actually serious for once. I notice that I'm not the only one who got burnt; Cato has a long blaze across his arm.

"No, it's fin-…OW!" I involuntarily jerk away from him as he lightly nudges my leg.

"Oh, it's fine?" He smirks at my scowl. I glare at his amused expression, it's not funny.

"It's not going to heal without some type of fancy Capitol medicine." He remarks. Stupid Cato…does he always have to be so obnoxious and state the obvious?

"Nooo…" I reply sarcastically. There is now a throbbing pain on the back of my thigh, and I wince every time the ground rubs against my burn.

"Damn, I must have rubbed off on you. You weren't this annoying when I first met you." Cato smirks. So he knows that he's annoying. I almost smile, but another surge of pain causes me to grit my teeth instead.

Maybe if Haymitch isn't drunk, he'll send something in. I look up at the dark sky hopefully.

"Haymitch? Could I get some medicine?"

Nothing. No silver parachute appears. But still I scan the horizon with eager eyes. After about a minute or two, Cato starts snickering.

"He must be either mad at you or drunk. I guess the first option." He says, still snickering at my futile attempt. Oh yeah. I just messed up the whole "star-crossed lovers" plan that Haymitch and Peeta thought out.

.

Before I can even reply, he is staring up at the sky, a smirk still on his face.

"Enobaria. Can you send something in?"

In a matter of seconds, a silver object is gently floating down. A parachute with a "2" on it. Cato grabs it midair and opens the metal container. He pulls out a small tub of ointment. Hah…figures.

I continue scowling.

"Stop sulking. It's for you." He rolls his eyes, opening the cap to make sure that it is actually burn medicine. I look at him, eyes wide. For me? Why would he ask his mentor for something so expensive…for another tribute? And why would Enobaria send it in?

There is a note, and Cato quickly reads it, a grin appearing on his face. But before I have a chance to ask what it says, he crumples it up and throws it into the lake. It floats for a second before sinking down.

But he hands the ointment to me, and I take it with trembling hands, half-expecting him to pull it away. It really is burn medicine, I can smell the minty sharp fragrance that drifts from the substance in the tub.

I scoop some of the jelly-like stuff with a finger and spread it on my burn, sighing with relief as a cool sensation washes away most of the pain.

"Is that burn medicine? Could I have some?" Clove's voice is quiet and she seems like a little girl as she stares at the tub with large dark eyes.

"Yeah, here." I pass the container to her and watch as she applies it to a few burns on her hands and face.

After she is done, Cato says nothing. The burn on his arm must be bothering him, but he doesn't ask for or pick up the tub of medicine.

"Hey, do you want some?" Clove seems to have noticed as well, because she holds it out to him.

But Cato shakes his head.

"No, there isn't enough for three people. You two can use it."

I eye the angry red mark across his bicep, and grab his arm. He glances at me quizzically.

"Don't be ridiculous. That burn looks pretty bad. You need some too." I grab the ointment from Clove's outstretched hand and quickly apply some of the medicine onto Cato's burn.

I give a small smile as he visibly relaxes.

"That's cute." Clove mutters before turning away to stare at the flames again. She seems too tired to comment any more.

"You can let go of my arm now."

"Oh. Sorry." I quickly draw my hand back. Why am I always such a damn idiot near him?

He smirks and gets up.

"We're going to catch a cold with these wet clothes." Cato gathers some sticks from around the lake and makes a pile.

"Clove, give me a match." She takes one out from a small red box and hands it to him. He quickly lights a fire, and we all gather around it.

Suddenly Cato stands and starts tugging off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" I ask, I can feel my cheeks getting all red again.

"It'll dry faster this way." He rolls his eyes and pulls the black fabric over his head. I try to look away, but my eyes automatically stray to his chest and stomach.

No. Don't stare at his abs. Don't. Don't. Don't.

But I find myself greedily trying to gobble up the image of the tight muscles. I was right, Cato doesn't have a single ounce of fat on him. All I can see is rippling muscle and lean flesh.

"Quit staring, Fire Girl." He throws his shirt next to the fire and lays down again, arms behind his head.

"You would think that she hasn't ever seen a boy shirtless before." Clove snickers. I blush furiously. She is right in a way. I've seen Gale without a shirt during the hot days of summer, but nothing like this. Nothing like those perfectly sculpted abs.

"You must be quite popular with the girls, Cato." I speak with my eyes cast downwards at the ground, trying not to lift my head and stare.

"I guess." He mutters, sticking a blade of grass into his mouth.

"They flocked to him like moths to a light." Clove growls. "Annoying as hell."

Now I lift my eyes and stare at Cato's face. How many lips had he kissed? How many girls had he hugged?

"They always got in the way at school and training, always freaking asking him to take them out." Clove continues, her voice portraying the agitation that she felt.

"What did he say?" I ask quietly.

"No. To every one of them." She smirks.

"I didn't have time for them." Cato snaps, annoyed. "Now stop talking about me, Clove."

"Selfless as always, aren't you?" Clove retorts. "You never think of yourself. It's always someone else, isn't it?"

Cato sighs and closes his eyes, not answering.

Cato:

Why did Clove have to bring that up? First she told the whole of Panem about how I dealt with girls, then she goes on to make me seem like a good person.

Then there's Katniss, who keeps on staring at my half-naked body with those grey eyes of hers. I should have expected it. Clove seems to be the only girl I know who is unfazed when I'm in this state.

I hope that someone else kills her before it gets down to the two of us. Eight years training together. Just my luck that she was chosen the year I volunteer.

It's harder to kill when you actually know the person. A stranger is a stranger, dead in seconds with no regrets. But when you've shared laughs, told them about yourself, well…it's more difficult to end their lives.

What the heck are you thinking? You're getting soft. Stop.

Some of the fires in the forest have died down, leaving behind a charred and broken landscape. Plumes of thick grey smoke float upwards into the starry sky. It is a crescent moon tonight. How many days have we been in the arena?

Six. Seven, counting today. Only a week, and 17 are already dead. Another few days and there should only be one person left. Me. And maybe someone else?

I remember Enobaria's note:

"Nice acting, Cato. Keep it up. I wish that you'd chosen Clove instead of District 12, but knowing Clove, she'd never let you hit up on her. The Capitol is loving it, if you play your cards right, you both might get out alive. –Enobaria"

Of course she knew that I was acting. Enobaria's known me since I was young. She knows that I wouldn't actually fall for someone that I will kill, let alone someone from such a lowly district. And it seems like Clove hasn't picked up on what I'm trying to do yet, which is good.

If Clove can't guess, that means that no one else can. I knew that masks would be useful here. And it just so happens that I'm a master of disguise.

Katniss:

Cato is quiet. I wonder what he is thinking. Clove said that he was selfless. Now that I think of it, he is. Giving in to our requests, running to our rescues, staying up all night to keep watch, refusing the ointment so that we could use it. Selfless. Another trait that I can add to the list I've made in my mind.

Cato gets up and shrugs his shirt back on. For some reason, I feel a small pang of disappointment. You did not want to stare at him all night. You did not. That little part of my mind is still trying to reprimand me.

"I'll keep watch, you two can sleep." He says once he's fully clothed.

Clove abruptly turns her head and cocks it to one side. "No, I'll stay up. You look really tired."

So she can tell as well. Clove isn't so bad…once you get past the sarcasm and constant obnoxiousness.

"I'll be fine." Cato replies, watching as we spread out our sleeping bags.

"No you won't. Stop lying, Cato." She hisses back, sitting up and crossing her arms. Cato waits a few seconds, then relents.

"Just call me if you need anything." He lies down in the grass again, ignoring his sleeping bag. We're all still awake although it must be quite late already. Waiting for the anthem to play I guess.

I decide to lie on the grass instead of my sleeping bag as well. Choosing a spot next to Cato, I slowly lower myself, trying not to rub away any of the ointment on my leg.

"The sleeping bag was rubbing against my burn." I say somewhat truthfully as Cato looks at me strangely.

"Not like you'd want to sleep next to me anyways." He murmurs sarcastically, a smile playing on his lips.

"Of course not, I just happened to choose this spot." I reply with the same amount of sarcasm.

"And now I'm just happening to roll over in my sleep." He smirks and turns onto his side. My instincts tell me to move away, but I stay where I am. We are so close that I can see his blond eyelashes in the moonlight and the piercing blue eyes that they frame. There is still a faint trace of his cologne; most of it must have washed out when he was in the lake.

"You blush a lot, Fire Girl."

"And you smirk a lot, Cato."

His smile breaks into a grin.

"I've definitely rubbed off on you." Cato reaches out and tousles my hair gently Oh my goodness. He touched me. He touched me. I don't know why my heart is beating so fast just because he touched my hair, but it seems like it's about to jump out of my chest.

He seems to be thinking about something and moves his face a bit closer. My heart is going crazy, I feel like Cato can hear the pounding. I close my eyes, waiting, hoping, for something.

But just then, the anthem starts playing, and we both sit up abruptly.

.

The seal is floating in the sky, but no images appear after it. No one was killed, although I bet that there's bound to be someone injured badly.

The sky goes dark, and we are about to lay back down, but just then, a famous voice booms out.

"Many congratulations to the seven remaining tributes." Claudius Templesmith starts. "There has been a rule change in the Games. Under the new rule, two tributes can be crowned if one is female and one is male."

It takes a few seconds to sink in. A rule change? Two victors? Cato and Clove seem to be confused as well. Claudius pauses for a moment, as if he knows that we're not getting it.

"I repeat, under the new rule, there can be two victors as long as one is female and one is male. Thank you." The Capitol's seal appears again, then fades.

The news sinks in. There can be two winners, two tributes that will live.

Before I can stop myself, I breathe, "Cato."

At the same time, Clove turns to the boy beside me, grinning. "Cato!"

Then we realize what we've just said. Clove glares at me with narrowed eyes. But I stare at Cato, waiting for what he will say.

Cato looks from my hopeful face to her eager one. This is the first time that I have seen him actually taken aback.

What he says next sums up the situation quite perfectly.

"Well, this is awkward."

I know...it's a horrible chapter, right? I should probably never write first thing in the morning again. Always at night. Yus, that'll work.

Anyways, if you liked the chapter, please leave a suggestion, critique, or comment. I absolutely love reading them, and they always make me smile like a madwoman. :D And all my silent readers, let me know that you're still with me. Don't worry shy ones, I don't bite. Give me a shout sometime.

I'll definitely update sometime this weekend, but if you want a new (fluffy) chapter sooner...no, I shall not badger you guys for reviews, although I do have a number stuck in my obnoxious little head. I'll be looking forward to your wonderful feedback. :)

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And if you wanna see Cato shirtless, look up "Alexander Ludwig shirtless" on Google Images. Go for the ones where he's actually posing, and I promise that you'll love Cato even more. xx