Updating kinda sorta early because I love you for the 1K. I'm not really liking this chapter, I dunno, so please let me know what you think. Happy reading!
Prim's POV:
It's time for my assessment, and I'm waiting for something to begin, for the men to start to attack me. It was taking too long.
I stood in complete silence, waiting for the simulation to begin. It was eerily quiet as I waited.. and waited.
I was standing in the middle of the small space, bow and arrows ready, waiting for something to come plunging out to 'attack' me, but nothing came.
I glanced around, confused as to why nothing was starting.
I was turning around in a full circle when I saw one of the orange 'attack' men tip toeing toward me, a fake knife in his hand. He was just reaching to plunge his weapon into my back when I, surprisingly, took my elbow and crashed it into his face.
Once that happened, the men would not stop coming, and what surprised me was that the men were no longer orange figures, they looked like actual people. It began to scare me that they were real men and not fake, but I had to mentally tell myself what action to take before I took it in order to keep the balance in my mind.
Duck.
Slide.
Draw arrow.
Release.
Spin around.
Elbow.
Knee.
Good girl.
Arrow.
Another arrow.
Slide.
Punch.
Nice!
The moves kept on coming, my hair kept flying, and I carried each one out with ease, not even realizing the potential strength that I had until I was stuck in the small dark room with what seemed like hundreds of men plunging at me, trying to hypothetically kill me.
With every 'kill' that I made, my body filled with a rush that made me want more. I became thirsty to crash my elbows or knees into one of my attackers, hungry to draw an arrow and send it flying into the air only to catch its target. The rush made me feel alive, like I could do this for a long time and not get tired of it.
After what seems like a very long time, the simulation stop and the lights turn back on. My eyes burn at the bright light and I step out of the confined space, calming from the high that I had only felt moments ago. My chest rose and fell quickly and I could feel the sweat dripping off of my body with every step that I took back into the training room.
I glanced around, quickly taking in my surroundings before I spot the assessors and notice that they are all staring with wider eyes than when I shot the arrow into their confined space.
The bright red clock is flashing '0:00' over and over, but no one has said a word to me since I stepped out. I was hoping that their expressions were from shock more than anything.
I was shocked of myself for actually being excited for what I was just doing, but it made me feel as if I was born to do that.
Am I saying that I was born to kill?
I don't know. I literally did not miss a single kill in that simulation, and I will admit that I was very proud of myself.
I was mustering in my glory before I realize something.. I'm proud of myself for learning that I could possibly be a killer. That's not something that I should be happy about, especially not me.
I stare back up at the Gamemakers, mumbling a quick 'thank you' before I drop the bow and arrows with a loud thud and scurry out of the room.
I slam the door shut and run to the elevator doors, begging my self conscious not to make me cry. I held myself together, shaking furiously until the elevator doors open and I squeeze my eyes shut, letting the tears fall.
I'm a killer. I'm going to be a killer.
A weak sob escapes my mouth and I cover it in an attempt to silence them. I quickly wipe my eyes, attempting to cover up what was pretty obvious on my face.. the fear and sadness.
I wiped my eyes dry as the elevator moved up, passing by the Districts.. 1.. 2 ..
The elevator jolts to a stop and the doors open, adding to my horror.
Cato steps in, glancing around as if he's making sure that no one is watching, and once the doors close, he has me pinned to the wall.
No. I can't do this right now. I can sense a fight.
"What the hell is your problem?" he growls at me, his large hands holding onto my hips tightly. He takes one hand and punches the elevator buttons, causing the elevator to come to a halt in the middle of the floors for 5 and 6.
I force my eyes to look at his and I glare at him. I really do not have the energy for him and his accusatory tone only made the anger that I held for myself boil up. I'm sweaty and I'm hot.. I just can't.
"I don't have a problem, what the hell is your problem?" I hiss back through my teeth. I'm surprised by my use of his derogatory words but I hold my ground.
Cato's green eyes widen in surprise at my response and he pushes me further into the wall. "Don't you ever roll your eyes at me like that again, do you hear me?" he asks.
I roll my eyes intentionally and shake my head. "I really don't have the energy to listen to you right now, just let me go," I state, training my eyes to stare at him coldly.
"You'll listen to me when I'm talking to you, understand?" he bites back, giving me the same cold stare.
"Cato please, I just can't right now," I plead, the energy draining from my already soiled body. I could feel the tears starting to form again at the thoughts of myself becoming a 'murderer' in only ten minutes.
My eyes betray me and allow for tears to fall onto my heated cheeks. I try to squirm to remove my hands in order to wipe the salty tears away, but I can't move.
Cato frowns and loosens his grip on me. His eyes search my face. "What's wrong?" he asks, his eyes and tone softening at the sight of my crying. "I didn't make you cry, did I?" he whispers, pain flowing through his sea green eyes.
I shake my head and try to remove myself from him. "Just let me go, please?" I ask again, but he doesn't obey.
"What's wrong kitten?" he asks, using the horrible nickname that I hate so much. I would have said something about it, but I can't.
I'm a killer and I was happy about it.
"Nothing, I'm just tired, that's all," I reply quietly, avoiding his stare.
Cato takes his rough fingers and pushes them under my chin so that I'm forced to look at him.
"It wasn't that guy from your District was it? I swear, if he hurt you, I'm going to kill him," Cato threatens, and I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from laughing at the joke that he doesn't even realize that he's made.
"No, no it's not Peeta," I defend, hoping that he doesn't get the idea to hurt Peeta before the Games even start. I know I rejected Peeta, but he's all that I have right now.
"Then what is it?" he asks, stroking his thumb against my cheek. His other hand rubs my hips and I lean into the comforting touch, feeling content.
I shake my head.
"Please, tell me Rose," he pleads, his eyes set in a panic. "Rose," he presses, his tone a little sharper. I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave until I tell him.
"I'm just.. I'm scared," I finally state. His face contorts and he looks angry and confused.
"Scared of what? Of me?" he looks panicked and afraid, just like the day in the restroom, which seemed like months ago.
I remember him looking so distant before he broke down right in front of me, looking so small and fragile. I didn't want to cause that to happen to him again, ever.
"No, of course not. I told you that I'm not afraid of you," I say to him, "it's just everything else. I'm trying to be calm but this situation is finally pressing down on me with a lot of pressure and I just can't handle it, not right now," I explain in one breath. I feel the tears start to form again and I tear myself away from his gaze. He looks way too angry.
"Do you need me?" He asks, his voice set to a whisper.
I nod, too pathetic to even make a sound. I choke on another sob and tears fall again. Cato kisses every tear that falls down on my cheeks so that they stop falling. He shushes me, pleading for me to stop crying and calm down. I leaned into his chest and let out all the grief that I had been holding the moment that I got here.
His kind gestures calm me in contrast to his harsh attitude and I love this moment when we can just be alone, him holding me, comforting me with small gestures.
Cato is a hard person on the outside, but on the inside, he's so soft. I can only place some blame on his father, who appears to be the one that caused Cato to be the way that he is, what I learned from a small memory.
"It'll be okay, don't worry, alright. Just.. just be with me, right now," he says, his face inching closer to mine.
I gulp and stare at him, waiting for his rough lips to attach to mine and make me forget about all the confusing thoughts that cloud my brain every second and millisecond. Cato's lips hover over mine, but he leaves them there, tracing his fingers over my lips like he did the last time we kissed.
My insides are burning, waiting for him to make a move and have me feel the spark of electricity that I once felt, and I just can't help it. Just being in the same room alone with him makes me forget about everything, the assessment, the Games, Peeta, home.. everything melted away when he looked at me.
Cato put his hands under my thighs and perched me up against the wall, letting my face meet his fully. He's biting his lip and moving one of his hands up and down my thigh, causing me to blush.
"How.. how did you know I was going to be on this elevator?" I stutter, trying to get my mind off of his hands.
"I was watching the elevator, waiting for it to light up the number twelve after your teammate went up," he says into my neck and leaves a trail of wet kisses.
I squeeze my eyes shut and take in huge, raspy breaths. "We can't be doing this right now," I manage to get out, but my voice squeaks, betraying the words that came out of my mouth.
"We both know that you'd rather be here than anywhere else," Cato says with a smirk, lining his lips to mine, "right?"
I don't answer, just stare at him, my breath quickening and getting louder.
"Right?" he asks again, his tone harsh, and he squeezes my leg tighter. I let out a sharp breath and nod, anxious for what was coming.
Cato smirks again before he crashes his lips onto mine, completely dominating me. I let go of my straining body and wrap my arms around him, pulling his face closer to get more of him. He groans and pushes closer, biting down on my bottom lip. He surprises me by pushing his tongue slowly into my mouth before letting go.
He eyes me questioningly and I nod. He captures my lips again and slips his tongue back in, moving it against mine slowly. The action feels so foreign to me, yet so intimate. Cato goes slowly at first, but then faster as I get used to the kiss. This is something way behind my maturity level, but I can't help but feel older when I'm with Cato.
I could stay in this elevator with him all day and never leave.
Effie would have a fit if I don't show up..
Effie is going to have a fit when I finally get to my room. We must have been in here for an hour!
I pull away from Cato and he scowls. "I have to get up to my floor. Effie is going to freak out about me being late," I tell him, placing my feet back on the floor.
Cato frowns and licks his swollen lips using the tongue that so expertly danced with mine.
Why do I have to go?
Oh yeah, Effie and her OCD.
"Stay with me," Cato pleads, rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs. I want to, I really want to, but I just can't.
But I really want to.
"I can't. They're going to be worried about me," I say, moving to press the button that starts the elevator. It jolts back to life and starts to move us again.
Cato groans and moves away from me, standing on the far side of the elevator. He looks angry and is avoiding looking at me.
"I'm sorry," I say.
"Whatever," he snaps, his hand running over his head. I bite my swollen bottom lip and roll my eyes, turning my gaze away.
"Did you just roll those eyes again?" he asks, turning back to me.
District 7..
I feel myself blush and I stay quiet. Cato takes his index finger, inserts it into my front pocket, and yanks me toward him. He towers over me, forcing me to look at him.
"Don't do that," he says, pecking my lips lightly.
I frown at his sudden attitude change but say nothing of it.
District 9..
"Do you hear me?" he asks. I nod and force myself not to roll my eyes again.
"Good," he attached his lips to my burning cheeks, kissing lightly.
District 10.. District 11..
I pull away from him and turn to face the doors. He frowns and leans back against the wall, pouting those wonderful pink lips in a way that I would assume to mean that he was asking for another kiss.
I quickly scurry to him and place my hands on his hard chest, kissing him once again. I let go just as the elevator pings and the doors begin to slide open.
I blush and begin to walk out of the elevator.
"Oh, happy birthday," he says, smirking as the doors close. My cheeks flush again and I brave myself before walking into the penthouse, my body all giddy from Cato.
"Where have you been?" Effie screeches, and I see her barreling toward me.
"Effie, I'm sorry.. um, the elevator got stuck and I had to wait for someone to fix it," I lie. I'm becoming quick with my lies, which I don't know whether or not it's a good thing.
"I knew I should have filed a complaint about those elevators. You know, they are already 3 months old and need to be changed!" she exlaims, and I hold back my eye rolling.
She a seriously complaining about state of the art 3 month old elevators? The nerve of Capitol people.
"Nevermind! Come, the results for the assessments are about to be broadcasted," she says while pushing me into the living room where Haymitch and Peeta are already waiting.
I plop down on a seat attempting to appear as normal as possible after what happened as Peeta stares at me questioningly.
"How do you think you did?" he asks me, snaking an arm around my waist.
I tense up at his touch but say nothing. "I dunno, what about you?" I lie. I don't want him to know what I did in that room, especially if it earns me a low score.
"Same as you. We'll see how we did," he says and stays quiet again. I was glad that he didn't question me any longer about the assessment or being what I found was an hour late.
The program starts and my mind wanders to how my family is feeling while watching this right now. I could imagine my mom curled up on the couch, her eyes red rimmed from the many tears that shed. I could imagine Katniss, numb with pain and anger, sitting right next to my mom, saying nothing.
I really miss them. And Buttercup.
I wonder what score I got. It probably isn't any good, considering that I threatened the lives of all the people in that room. Haymitch will laugh after he finds out what I did, Peeta will be shocked, and Effie will be livid.
They'll probably be so angry that they make it a mission to kill me in the Games.
We stay silent, other than Effie of course, as the scores of the other tributes flash across the screen. The Careers get fairly high scores, especially Cato, who scores a 10. I continue watching as Cherche scores a 9, which is pretty good. The guy from 11 gets an 8 and Rue got a 7.
My breathing quickens as my District comes. Peeta's face appears and he gets an 8, to which we all congratulate him for a fairly high score. I know I won't get as high as he will, but that's okay.
I was calm about getting a low score, but when my picture came up and a number 11 flashed, I couldn't do anything but gape.
A/N
Falling in love with Cato and I'm not sure if that's weird or if it's normal.
So this is the last part to the assessment part of the HG. For some reason, I wasn't really excited about this chapter.. Eh. I dunno.
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