Cato's POV Training day. The day that I've been waiting for since the moment I volunteered to be in the Games. Today was the day that I could actually prove my potential. Though I don't know who I'm proving it to. Maybe my dad. He's not watching though. I don't think anyone is able to watch the training, since I've never seen them before. My dad was, is, a tough man. From the moment I turned 8 years old, he had begun preparing me for the Games because he knew that he wanted me in them and he knew that if he beat the crap out of me, I would be able to win. **Flashback** 8 years ago "Let's go. It's time for your training." Dad said, pulling me by the arm. I was busy working on my maths when he pulled me up by the arm and started dragging my towards the door to the outside. "But dad, I don't want to. It's too hard. I can't do it anymore." I pleaded. I felt a harsh stinging on my cheek, and I instantly knew that he had struck me. Again. "Don't you dare talk to me in that way, you understand? I said to go outside, NOW!" He boomed down at me. I had no choice but to go or else he would just hit me again. I stood up and walked outside into the yard. "Honey please. Leave him one day to rest." I turned to see my mother standing in the door of the small house I shared with my brothers and sisters. I give her a small smile and she returns it, but I can see behind the smile with the fear in her eyes. "Listen," he points a finger at her, "do not tell me what to do. He needs to train, and you know it. Now go back inside, before I push you in." He growls at her. My mother starts to cry and mouths 'I'm sorry' to me before she slowly turns and walks back inside, shutting the door behind her slowly. This is how our family has always been. My mom and my siblings being pushed and beaten around by my dad. It really changed a kid, especially at my age. My teachers all say that I'm more 'mature' than the other kids. I don't know what that means, but I hope it's something good. Or maybe it's not. I hate seeing mom cry, but it happens so much that I think I expect it. I stand in front of my dad, him standing tall above me like one of the big buildings that I see on tv sometimes. "Put your hands up. Like I taught you." Dad says. He pulls my hands up and I position them in the way that he taught me. I stand ground, waiting for the blow that was going to come sooner or later. BOOM **End of Flashback** It sucks to think of my father in that way, but that's just who he is. I spent countless nights listening to my mother cry, spent weeks with countless bruises, but I guess it helped. I mean I'm here, right? And I'm obviously the best out of all these saps. I snap out of my thoughts as I hear someone talking. I can't think about those things. It'll throw me off and I need to stay focused. It's hard enough trying to focus with Rose being here. "Alright, are you guys ready?" my planner, Jeffrey, asked. "Of course we're ready." Clove says while rolling her eyes. "Why would we not be ready?" "I know, I know. Just remember, do not show them your full potential until individual assessment. This is just so that you and the other Careers can get to know one another." Jeff says. "Why can't I show my potential? I'm better than everyone in that room at everything!" I say to him, throwing my hands up. Jeff sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "It's just strategy. You don't show them what you're made of, and then when you go individually, they won't know what to expect." he explains. I can tell he's nervous while talking to me. What a punk. "Hello? Do you guys get it?" I nod and so does Clove. "Are you sure?" he asks again. I'm starting to get frustrated. "We get it. Now move!" I say to him. He throws his hands up in defense and moves. I roll my eyes as Clove and I walk past him into the door. The doors slide open and I see a couple of the other tributes already training. Some starting fires, some doing hand to hand combat, and some just standing around, looking scared. "I've been waiting for this since we got here." Clove says, rubbing her hands together. "Yeah yeah. Let's just find the other Careers." I say, walking in some more. I spot Districts 1 and 2 standing together, and I walk over to them. We get to talking, discussing what we were going to try out first, when the doors slid open and District 12 comes strutting in. The blond guy moves over a little bit and I can see my little kitten. Tight black outfit, hugging the curves that probably began developing just this year, but I know that she's way more developed than other girls that I've seen. How old is she? The guy, I think his name is Pete, says something to her and she starts laughing really hard, making her cheeks turn a little pink, like roses. Isn't her name Rose? Rose runs a hand through her hair and looks around, and when she spots me looking at her, she blushes and bites her lip, detangling her long, silky hair from her small fingers. I smile and she smiles back before walking away with Pete. "Alright.. So, what should we try first?" Gloss asks. "I'm thinking hand to hand?" Someone suggests. I'm not sure who said it, maybe Clove? We all nod and go to stand on the mat. Great. This is what I'm good at. This is what I love. This is what I've been waiting for. Mostly, I think even though I'm good, I want to impress someone. To show everyone that I live up to my appearance and that I can hold my own. We put on some gear and begin with just simple sparring techniques, blocking, ducking, stuff that I already know. It was more like a warm up for the real combat to begin. But then, we started gearing up for the real stuff, competing with one another to see who was the best. The girls went against girls and the guys went against guys, but there were points where the girl went against guys and they were able to handle themselves. I was impressed. Which is hard to believe considering who I am. I tried to keep focused, but I couldn't stop thinking about Rose. I was sparring with the trainer, getting some extra tips on technique, when I spotted Rose talking to the small girl from 11. They were working on making fish hooks, when she looked up and saw me staring, and surprisingly, she smiled at me. I was expecting her to seem afraid or look away quickly, but she didn't. I was so busy staring that I didn't pay attention to the sparring and earned a hit to the head. "Ow! What the hell man?" I yell at the trainer. "Come on man. Pay attention." The trainer said. "I am. I'm focused." I say, scratching the back of my neck. "No, you're not. What are you staring at?" he looks in the direction that I was looking in. "Oh, man, that girl. She's pretty. Nowhere in your league." I frowned and turned towards him. "What's that supposed to mean?" I say with clenched fist. "From what I can tell, you're dangerous, and she's innocent. You wouldn't do anything but hurt her. And it wouldn't matter anyway because you're going to have to kill her." "No I wouldn't." I defend. Who does he think he is getting into my personal lifestyle anyway? He doesn't know me. At all. "Trust me. You would." He says with a chuckle. I turn back to her. He's right. Even if she did like me, which I'm sure she doesn't, I'm going to have to kill her. And I am dangerous. I have a scarred past, and I'm sure she's had an innocent life. I would do nothing but ruin her, and no matter how evil I am, I would never want to do that to her. She's going to die anyway so why make it worse? "Man, shut up. Let's just keep going." I put my hands up and spar, trying to take away thoughts of her from my head. Who cares about her anyway? Obviously I do. **2 hours later** I'm sweating like crazy. I've done hand to hand, archery, body building, and running, and now I think it's time for me to slow down and take some time to rest and do something easy. I spot the herbs sector and decide to go there. Might as well learn what not to touch because you never know what the arena would look like. It could be filled with poisonous foods. I walk over and greet the trainer, waving a hand dismissively at the other tributes standing around. I start the simulation, but from the first button that I press, I get it wrong and I lose, meaning that I'm dead. Apparently I picked an extremely deadly berry that kills me instantly. Yay. "Wow, perfect score. You're great at this Prim!" I hear the trainer say. I look up to see Rose two stations to the right of me, and she's smiling and giving the trainer a high five. How on earth could she be better than me at this? I'm supposed to be the best. At everything. Everything. I have to beat this stupid game. How hard could this be anyway? I press the start button and try again. I make two correct choices before I, again, choose the wrong plant and I'm killed again. "Damn it!" I slam my hands down on the device. This shouldn't be that hard. It really shouldn't. It's only picking plants. It's not rocket science. I rub my temples with my fingers. "I can help you, if you want?" I hear to my right. I snap my eyes to see the person, and large blue eyes stare back at me. Rose. And she's talking to me. Not me threatening her. "What?" Rose's eyes look to the ground and she fiddles with her hands. "Nothing. Sorry." she says quickly, and starts to turn away. Crap, what did I do? I scared her when she was trying to help me out. I could use the help.. "Wait, no. Sorry. I would like the help, please?" I say. Please? What the hell is wrong with me? I never say please. To anyone. God, please do not tell me I'm turning into a punk for her. I can't do that. Not now. Rose smiles a little and starts the simulator. But look at her smile. "Okay great." She smiles up at me. She's so tiny compared to my stocky figure. "So..?" I snap out of staring at her. She's not inches away and already I'm losing my mind. "How old are you?" I ask. Rose furrows her brows before answering. "I'm 13. But I think my birthday is in two days, so technically 14." She answers while biting her lip. Keep control man. "Cool. Yeah. Yeah, okay, let's start." I say, rubbing my eyes. "Alright." she smiles. "So, the first thing you should pay attention to is the color of the plant. So how about you guess which ones you think are suitable based on the color?" I nod and focus on the screen. I see a bunch of dull, boring colors, and a bunch of bright colors. Bright colors are more appealing so they must be the right ones to choose, right? I shrug and choose a bright pink berry, only to get the 'you've been killed' screen for the third time in a row. "Dammit!" I yell. "Calm down. It's okay." Rose starts to rub my arm lightly, and I immediately calm down. Usually it takes hours for me to calm down again. "It's okay. You'll get it the next time." She says, comforting me. I start to breathe slowly again. What the hell is going on? "First tip: bright plants are usually the most poisonous ones, so this time, try to avoid those, alright?" she says. I nod and rub my temples, squeezing my eyes shut before I open them again, only to be met by her soft blue eyes. "Okay, let's try again." Rose says. I take a deep breath and start the simulation, remembering what she told me.. Avoid bright colors. Okay. I can do this. I start the game, and I listen to what she says, avoiding the bright greens, pinks and oranges that flash up on the huge screen in front of me. Just avoiding those got me a total of 10 out of the 20 points available. "Great job Cato! You did much better!" Rose encourages, giving me a high five. I smile at her, a genuine smile. A real smile. One that she deserved. "Thanks." I say quickly. "Alright. Next tip.." We do the simulation over and over, every single time with Rose giving me a new tip so that I learn them one by one. In the end, and even though it took forever, I finally got a perfect score. "Great job!" she squeals. I pull her in for a hug, picking her up and spinning her around before I realize what I'm doing and I sit her down. I look around, clearing my throat and making sure that no one saw. For the most part, I don't think anyone saw me. Good. Rose blushes and tucks her hair behind her ear. She avoids my panicked gaze. "So," I start, "Want to learn some tricks on making fish hooks? I saw you struggling earlier.." I say. That was pretty awkward. She stays quiet for a moment. "Uh, sure, why not?" she says with a smile. We walk over to the hook station and she pulls out the supplies. "Okay. So, first thing that you do is wrap the string around this stick right here." I point to the stick and she picks up the rope. She attempts to wrap it around but it doesn't work. She groans in frustration. "This is so difficult. I tried so hard earlier but I just couldn't figure it out." She says. She was obviously doing it wrong. I could tell from the moment that she started wrapping the string. It's all in the wrist movement, the technique. "See, you're doing it wrong. Here, let me show you." I put my hand on top of hers, and I hear a small gasp come from her mouth and then she's staring into my eyes, her face a light pink color. I stare into her eyes before my eyes flick down to her small pink lips. They're slightly parted as her breathing becomes slow while she staring at me. I feel like this moment will count. With what I'm about to do, it better.. A/N I think this chapter is so great since it's all in Cato's point of view, plus, you're getting insight to Cato's troubled past and the reasons that he is the way that he is. Soo yeah, ummm, read my other fanfiction! it would mean a lot. But you don't really need to. I would just really enjoy it if you did. Vote, comment, share, follow, and thank you so much for reading! Myesha xx