The Games We Played Chapter 8 Part 2 The Tributes in Arena, a hunger games fanfic

The Games We Played

First I want to say that I am truly humbled by you all. Every chapter I've posted has had someone new follow or favorite my story. And to those who leave me reviews, I don't have the words to say how much that truly means to me. Thank you is not nearly enough, but comes from the heart.

Rolyn: Peeta having a twin doesn't seem significant now? I'm teasing. Just stick with me please. The cliffhanger was because I felt the need to split the first 24 hours in the arena up. Okay, seriously the cliffhanger was for me to test the waters so to speak. My chapter lengths are all over the place. I've decided on 8 – 10 thousand word limits (including any AN's). Marvel & Katniss? To be honest, I hadn't given much thought to these two being a couple in my story. But maybe you're on to something….

lincolnlog89: So glad you liked the arena! Yep, Peeta had a twin. Nice twist, right? ;) Ninja stars will possibly kick some tribute butt soon! Read on to find out about Cato and Gale. I don't want you falling out of your seat, lol.

Mhardman: I'm so glad you found my insanity of a story! Its insaneness comes from trying to keep up with first the main characters. And now I'm trying to keep up with 72 tributes! Yep, I'm definitely crazy lol. You should also know that your kind words warmed my heart more than you'll ever know.

MangoMagic: You may definitely repeat yourself as often as you like! I certainly don't mind hearing (reading) it over and over again ;) And since I can't have my readers falling out of their seats, please read on.

Chapter 8: The Tributes go into the Arena part 2

Previously: Peeta saw Gale and Cato together. He called out to Gale while Clove called for Cato. Peeta grabs Cloves hand and they carefully run towards their friends. Peeta stops in his tracks when he notices the District 4 male come out of the jungle, knife in his hand, heading towards Cato and Gale. Everything seems to go in slow motion. The next thing Peeta sees are Gale and Cato flying through the air.

"CATO!" Peeta screams.

Peeta sprints to Cato's side throwing his backpack to the ground. He rolls Cato onto his back, cradling his head in his lap struggling to get the backpack off Cato's back.

"No, no, no! Please be okay. I need to tell you I'm sorry. And I have so much more to tell you." Peeta says quietly, tears running down his cheeks. He sees a shadow fall over Cato's face and looks up to see Camille, his partner from the night of the luau, kneeling down on the other side of Cato removing the backpack from Cato's other shoulder.

"Peeta please let me help." She says, gently pulling Cato from Peeta's lap to lie flat on the ground.

Peeta lets go of Cato, vaguely aware that Clove is with Gale, helping him to slowly sit up. He watches as Camille leans down to listen for Cato's breathing before checking his pulse.

"Peeta, I have to perform CPR. Do you know what that is?" she asks.

Peeta nods, tears still flowing down his face. "Please, just help him." He says quietly. He is barely aware that Clove and Gale crawled over next to him, each taking a hand. He watches as Camille tilts Cato's head, pinches his nose closed, and gives 2 breaths. Time seems to stand still as she gives compressions and breathes for Cato.

Just when Peeta is about to give up all hope, closing his eyes tightly, he hears Cato, "Peeta".

Peeta opens his eyes and pulls away from Gale and Clove. "I'm here Cato, right here." Peeta says, gently stroking Cato's cheek. "I'm so sorry for last night. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I was wrong for walking away from you like I did."

Cato turns his head towards Peeta. "No, I'm sorry for pushing you." He reaches up to touch Peeta's cheek. "Please don't cry." His voice is soft.

Peeta leans down and gives Cato a quick kiss. "They're tears of happiness now, I promise. How do you feel?"

"Like a brick wall hit me. What happened?"

"The boy from four that won with Rue the night of the luau was running after you guys with a knife. He stepped on a land mine. You and Gale went flying." Clove answers. "You were, well.., it's good to see your eyes, Muscles."

Peeta helps Cato to sit up. "Clove, Gale you're both here!" He looks at the red haired girl. "Who are you? You look familiar."

"That's Camille. She was my partner the other night. She saved your life." Peeta answers.

Just then they hear yelling, their names being called. The small group turns and sees the rest of their allies joining them, loaded down with weapons and bags.

"What happened?" asks Marvel, running over to the group, dropping an armful of weapons. He sees Cato and Peeta looking at each other, each with a hand on the others cheek, smiling at one another. "Are we interrupting anything?" he asks smirking.

"Stay," Peeta say to Cato, who rolls his eyes. Peeta stands up and looks at his friends who have joined them. They're dropping more weapons and bags on the ground. "Clove and I had seen Gale and Cato come out of the jungle and we called to them. As we were running to meet each other, the boy from four came out of the jungle behind them. He had a knife and was going after Cato. He stepped on a landmine and they all went flying. Camille," he points to the red haired girl, "gave Cato CPR. Then you guys showed up. Are you all okay?"

"Other than some bumps, bruises, and scrapes, I'm fine." Delly answers. "I'd really like to just rest awhile. Glim and I had a fairly busy day."

"What happened to the two of you?" asks Rue.

"Where to start. Let's see, I fell out of a tree retrieving a backpack and then we nearly drowned in the rain forest during a flash flood." Delly says. Noticing the shocked looks on the others faces she asks, "What? You guys didn't get swept up?"

Clove responds first, "No, we weren't in a rain forest. Peeta and I almost got lost in this huge brick maze."

"Cato and I nearly died in a sand storm in a desert." Gale says. "A maze huh?" he adds looking at Peeta.

"Thresh and I nearly froze to death on a frozen plain." Madge contributes, still a little confused.

"I was in a pine forest. It was rather calm." Camille says.

"I found Little Bird in a rundown city. She was trapped on an overturned bus by a boy from one and a girl from 4." Rie says, putting an arm around Rue who added, "It's where my tube came up."

"Marvel and I nearly got trapped in some caves." Katniss adds quietly. "It reminded me of the mines back home."

"I guess we all were lucky enough to enter an area with someone. Except for Rie, who found Rue. Thank you for protecting her by the way. Oh, and I'm guessing you were alone too Camille." says Thresh looking over to Rie and Rue first, then to Camille who just nods at him. "I wonder how many different areas there are."

"I'm glad I found her too. She reminds me a lot of someone back home." Rie says sharing look with Katniss. They were both thinking of Prim. "As for how many different areas, I guess we know there are at least seven."

Everyone just got lost in their thoughts. Some were thinking about the different areas, others were thinking of home. Peeta was thinking about how he could have lost not only Cato, but the rest of his allies. Cato was thinking that he was glad that Clove and Peeta had teamed up. Gale was thinking of how dangerous it was just to be standing around. Another tribute could attack them at any time.

"I don't feel safe here on this beach," Gale says suddenly, causing the others to jump. "We should move somewhere else before other tributes show up. We need to get a plan in action."

"No, I don't want to move Cato yet." Peeta says. "Let's go through what they brought first. We can move after that." He adds pointing towards the pile.

"Okay Peet. But it's really not safe here."

"I know Gale. Apparently there's a lot more to this arena than we thought. But we really shouldn't move him right now. In fact, you should probably be resting too." Peeta gives Gale a look that says as much.

"I'm fine Peet, really. Cato got the worst of the blast as he was closer to it. I was barely knocked out." Gale grins. "Clove made sure I was fine anyways."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" Cato asks from his position on the ground.

Both boys turn to him, "No!" they say in unison. Cato pouts and Peeta sits back down next to him. "Please just rest for me." Peeta says.

Cato nods and takes Peeta's hand. "Fine, for you." Peeta smiles at the older boy.

Gale, Marvel, and Thresh keep an eye out as the girls, including Camille, go through the backpacks, bags and weapons that are in the pile. As Madge is going through a backpack, a knife flies through the air from the direction of the cornucopia and hits her in the shoulder. Marvel quickly turns and throws a spear at the figure on the nearby bridge and a cannon goes off. He runs to retrieve his spear and sees a girl from what he thinks is District 9. As he's running back on the bridge, he can feel it moving.

"Run faster Marvel, the cornucopia is sinking!" yells Gale. Marvel barely reaches the shore as the cornucopia is submerged, on the tip of the tail sticking out. The thirteen tributes watch in horror as they see a tribute in the water screaming for help.

"Oh my god, there are man-eating fish in there!" Camille exclaims. The twelve friends look at her with shock and confusion.

"You mean like mutts?" asks Glimmer.

"No, piranhas, I think. I read about them once in a book. That book was later burned by peacekeepers. We need to stay out of that lake." Camille says.

A cannon goes off.

"How many does that make?" asks Delly who has been helping Madge by removing the knife from her shoulder and wrapping a bandage on it.

"I think that's eighteen or nineteen." replies Rie. "But I'm not really sure."

"I say we head into the jungle there and set up camp for the night." Katniss says. "We don't need to go far. With some of us hurt –"

"I'm fine." Cato interrupts.

"We need to get to cover." Katniss finishes scowling at Cato.

Clove snickers behind her hand. Cato scowls at her. "Well, I am." he mutters. "Overprotective brats."

Peeta smiles standing up. He was the only one to hear Cato. He then helps Cato stand but only lets him carry a sword. They head into the jungle where Camille had emerged from. She leads them to a small clearing that she thinks should be safe enough. They all sit in a circle. Katniss begins pulling food out of one of the bags. She hands everyone some bread, dried meat, and dried fruit. Gale goes behind her handing out water. Camille sits next to Madge and begins to clean and rewrap her shoulder.

Peeta watches everyone eating, picking at his own food. He puts his hand up to the pocket watch under his suit. Cato watches him. He can see Peeta has something on his mind. He leans over to him whispering, "Everything okay Peeta?"

Peeta turns and gives Cato a sad smile. "Yeah. Just thinking about something. I need to talk to Rie for a minute. I'll be back."

Cato nods and watches Peeta get up and go over to whisper in Rie's ear. He watches Rie stand and the two walk out of earshot of the rest of the group, yet still within eye sight. He sees Peeta pull something out of his suit.

Peeta can feel several sets of eyes on him but ignores them as he looks at Rie. "I've got something to show you. It's from Dad." He pulls the waterproof pouch out and opens it. He pulls out the pocket watch and note.

"I recognize that watch! After mom kicked you out, Dad would sit at his desk late at night holding that watch and cry. He really missed you. He tried to get mom to change her mind about you. But you know how stubborn she is." Rie says looking at the watch. He looks up. "What's the note say?"

"Read for yourself." Peeta says handing the note to Rie. While Rie reads it, Peeta opens the watch.

Rie looks at Peeta confused. "I don't understand. I don't remember ever hearing about a sister." He takes the watch from Peeta. "This is you and her? What happened? How'd she die?"

"I don't know, I was kind of hoping you'd know something. I'd forgotten about the watch until yesterday when Portia gave it to me before the interviews. I opened the watch and the note fell out. I don't understand any of this Rie. And we're stuck in here until God knows when." Tears start falling down Peeta's cheeks. "I need answers Rie."

Rie pulls Peeta into a hug. "I understand Peet. I have questions too." Rie can see some of the looks coming from the group - Cato's worried eyes, Gale's concerned eyes, Katniss's anxious eyes, Glimmer's vexed eyes, and Rue's upset eyes. "What do you want to do now?" he asks, pulling away from Peeta.

"I think I.., no we, should share this with our friends. They deserve to know the truth, the whole truth. Especially Gale and Katniss. They were there for me and took care of me when I needed it most. They still do." He looks over to the group and gives a small smile. Turning back to Rie, he asks "Shall we?" Rie nods and they walk back to everyone.

"Everything okay Peeta?" little Rue asks. "You were crying. I don't like it when people are sad."

"Yeah Rue, things are okay." He answers, patting her on the head. "But I have a story to tell. It has to do with what you all heard during the interviews."

"Peeta, are you sure about this?" asks Gale. "I mean –"

"I know Gale." Peeta interrupts. " And yes, I'm sure. I need to talk about it. I can't run and hide from the past anymore. Besides, I think what you're about to hear will shock you." Rie puts his hand on Peeta's shoulder. He continues. "As some of you don't know the story, I'll start with the day my life changed." Peeta could see the confused look on the faces of those not from district 12. "Six years ago, I purposely burnt some bread to give to Katniss who needed it to help her family." All eyes turn to Katniss who just looks down at her folded hands. "My mother caught me and began...to…," Peeta takes a deep breath looking over to Rie; "Well, she beat me. Really bad. Threw me out in the street, disowning me. But luck was on my side. Gale found me, took me took Katniss's mom who is a healer, and even offered me a place to live." All eyes look at Gale who just shrugs his shoulders. "I spent the last six years with his amazing family who treated me with kindness and love, like a real member of their family." He pauses, smiling at the memories of his adopted family. "But then the six of us were reaped. My parents came to see me and my dad gave me this pocket watch." He holds the watch for all to see. "I just shoved it into my pocket and had totally forgotten about it. Yesterday, before the interviews, Portia gave it back to me. When I opened it I found this note and picture." He opens the watch and shows the picture and note. He hands the watch and note to Gale first. As they make their way around the circle, Peeta continues. "The picture is of me…and my twin sister, Michetta. A sister that died two days after we were born. A sister we never knew about." He looks at Rie and smiles.

"How often did your mother hit you?" asks Cato, barely able to keep the anger and disgust down.

Peeta walks to Cato and squats in front of him, looking him directly in the eyes. "Too often. But she can't hurt me anymore. Please, its history. Can you let it go?"

There's a slight pause. "A sister, huh? I wonder if she'd have been as cute as you." Cato says, eyes twinkling when he sees Peeta blush. He pulls Peeta down to sit in front of him, his back to Cato's chest. He wraps his arms around Peeta's waist and whispers in his ear, "No one will ever lay a hand on you again, not as long as I live."

Peeta turns his head to look at Cato. Cato leans down and kisses Peeta's lips, cutting off anything Peeta was about to say. Before the kiss could deepen, a voice interrupts.

"Get a room you two," Gale says covering Rue's eyes. "There's a child here for heaven's sake." Everyone laughs.

"I'm rather curious as to how long this has been going on between the two of you, little brother. Is this why you two went to training alone together?" asks Rie rather suggestively, sitting down between Delly and Camille. He smiles at Peeta.

Peeta tucks his head under Cato's chin, closing his eyes, flush with embarrassment. Cato wraps his arms a little tighter. "Just accept this Mellark. I care about Peeta and I'm going to protect him from now on. Nothing bad is going to happen to him on my watch."

"I'll accept that Cato and I will hold you to it. If anything does happen to him, I'll personally hold you responsible." Rie says, half joking. "And call me Rie please."

"Deal." Is all Cato said.

"Well now that that's out of the way," begins Clove, "Something is bothering me about your situation Bread Boy. You say you two never knew you had a sister and your dad's note said no one ever knew. Who delivered the baby? I mean, someone else had to be there, right? Your dad's a baker not a doctor."

Katniss looks at Rie then Peeta. "Mom delivers babies back in twelve all the time. I wonder if she knows who delivered you and your sister."

Peeta and Rie share a look that baffles Katniss. "What? What do you two know?"

Peeta answers. "When I was five and Rie six, dad walked us to school that first day. Wheet had gone ahead to walk with his friends. You were with your dad. I must have been staring because I remember my dad looking at me then over to you. He got down to our level and said 'that's Katniss Everdeen. I was going to marry her mother'."

"I asked what happened." Says Rie, smiling at Peeta. "He said 'see that man?' We both nodded."

"Dad continued, 'When he sings, even the birds stop to listen. A baker has no chance against that. So I let her go' He stood up and sent us to the teacher." Peeta finishes. "You sang that day, the valley song. And I swear the birds stopped to listen to you."

Katniss blushes. "Dad was a great singer, I'm nowhere near as good as he was. Thank you for thinking that though Peeta."

"Plus, if our mother knew anything about your mom and our dad, I doubt she'd even let her in the door." Rie says sadly. "Everyone in twelve knows how she feels about those living in the seam."

"Okay, I'm a little confused now." Says Marvel. "What's 'the seam' and why does your mother hate the people there?"

Gale speaks up. "There are two parts to District 12. Three if you count the Victor's Village, but since Haymitch is the only one living there… Anyway, there's the 'town' which is where all the businesses are. People from there look like Peeta, Rie, Delly, and Madge – blonde hair, blue eyes, light skin tones. Those from the 'seam' look more like Katniss and I - dark hair, gray eyes, olive skin tones. We are raised to work in the coal mines or do any other menial jobs. The two parts of the district don't get along."

"Okay, but when we watched the reapings we saw Katniss volunteer for a blonde hair, blue eyed little girl. Wasn't she your sister Katniss?" asks Glimmer.

"Yes, Prim is my sister. My mother wasn't from the seam, her parents ran the apothecary shop in town. When my mom married my dad, they disowned her. I took after my dad and Prim looks like my mom."

"You talk about your dad in the past tense, what happened to him?" asks Camille.

Marvel grabs Katniss's hand and gives it a squeeze. "You know you don't have to tell us if you don't want to." He tells her.

"I can tell them Catnip. If you want." Gale says. Katniss just nods her head at Gale before laying her head on Marvel's shoulder.

"Her father died in a mine explosion. But he wasn't alone. My dad was with him." Gale says. Rue hugs him.

"Just a couple months later, Peeta came along and saved my family with that burnt bread. If it wasn't for him, I don't know what would have happened, if I'd even be here now." adds Katniss feeling Marvel's arm going around her shoulder.

Everyone just sits and thinks about what they've heard. For Marvel, Thresh, and Cato, Lyme's words come back to them, 'They gave you very high praises – saying how you overcame a painful childhood and are one of the strongest people they know. I personally don't think they meant just physically.' Each boy had a new respect for Peeta.

Cato whispers in Peeta's ear, "I think I understand now what Lyme meant up on the roof that night about you. Even she could see your goodness, putting others first."

Peeta doesn't say anything. He just places a kiss on Cato's jaw.

"I think we've all learned enough about District 12 for now." Says Thresh teasingly. "What's the plan now?"

"First, I think Camille should be officially part of this alliance." Peeta says as he snuggles closer against Cato remembering how he almost lost him. Twice if he counts the dust storm.

"I'll second that. Thank you for saving me." Cato says to Camille. It was sincere. He's just happy to have Peeta in his arms.

"Whoa! Muscles just thanked someone! Didn't think those words were really in your vocabulary." Clove grins. "And I also think Camille should be with us."

The rest all nod their heads in agreement.

"Well, I can't say no to you guys now can I? But please, call me Foxface. All my friends do." Foxface says.

"Cool. Now we need to decide who has watch tonight and where we should go tomorrow." Madge says. "There's plenty of blankets and weapons for everyone."

"I'll do a watch." Cato volunteers.

Peeta turns to face Cato, "The hell you will! You nearly died! And don't even try arguing with me. You are not doing a watch!"

Cato is angry but when he sees the concern, fear, sadness, and something he can't quite place in Peeta's eyes, he backs down. "Fine, but you stay with me tonight. If I'm not going to do a watch, neither are you."

Peeta smiles smugly as he resumes his position against Cato, who wraps his arms around Peeta once again. Peeta winks at Clove who is snickering behind her hand yet again and then turns to smile at Rue who looks at the two boys like they're crazy.

Clove is loving the back and forth between Cato and Peeta. She always thought her friend needed someone like Peeta, someone who'd give as well as take. With them being in the arena, hopefully rescued, she hoped they would get to see their relationship grow.

"Since Cato and Peeta are out, how about Clove and I take first watch, Thresh and Delly take the second watch, Marvel and Katniss the third watch, and Rie and Glimmer take the fourth watch." Gale suggests.

"Works for me." Thresh says. The rest just nod in agreement.

Just then the anthem blared. The teens looked up and watched the sky. The deaths, shown by video, were as followed:

District 2 female – killed by Katniss

District 3 female – killed by Thresh

District 3 female – killed by drowning

District 4 male (Fischer) – killed by landmine

District 4 female – killed by lava flow

District 5 male – killed by light beam in maze

District 6 male – killed by drowning

District 6 male – killed by lava flow

District 7 male – killed by Clove

District 7 male – killed by drowning

District 7 female – killed by drowning

District 8 male – killed by drowning

District 8 female – killed by lava flow

District 8 female – killed by drowning

District 9 male – killed by light beam in maze

District 9 female – killed by Marvel

District 9 female – killed by drowning

District 10 male – killed by lava flow

District 10 female – killed by piranha

District 11 male – killed by lava flow

The anthem plays again to signal the end of the videos. Soon after, three more cannons went off signaling three more deaths.

"The videos plus the three cannons means 23 deaths so far. I thought the count would be higher." Delly comments.

"There probably would have been had we all been closer to the cornucopia." Cato says. "If you add those deaths to the 13 of us, that leaves 36 tributes left."

"That's half the tributes." Rue pipes in. "We have a really good chance."

"You got that right Little Bird. Especially now that we're all together now." Rie smiles at Rue.

"We have about three hours before we are able to receive anything from our mentors. I say we settle down for the night. Try to get some sleep. Clove and I will stay on watch until about midnight when we will wake Thresh and Delly. Those that get parachutes will also be awakened." Gale says. "Sound fair to everyone?"

They all nod and start getting ready to bunk down for the night.

Thresh lies down between Rue and Delly, Marvel lies next to Katniss, Glimmer next to Rie, and Madge and Foxface lie next to each other. Cato leans back against a tree and pulls Peeta with him so that he's on Cato's lap. Clove hands out the blankets. "No funny business Muscles!" she whispers to Cato as she hands Peeta a blanket. "Hands where I can see them, both of you." Both boys blush but do as she says. She snickers as she sits across from Gale.

The next three hours pass quietly. Before Gale or Clove have a chance to wake Thresh and Delly, a couple parachutes fall around the camp. One lands by Madge, one by Glimmer, one in the center of camp, and a rather large one next to Peeta and Cato. Gale wakes Thresh and Delly while Clove wakes Madge, Glimmer, Peeta, and Cato. Madge receives medicine for her wound. Glimmer got a hair brush. Peeta opens the one by him and Cato. He takes out the note from Haymitch first.

Whatever you two Loverboys have going on, keep it up. The Capitol loves it! This was chosen by a very generous sponsor for the two of you.

-H

Peeta shows Cato the note before he pulls a large black bag out of the metal container. As he goes to open it Glimmer looks over and squeals, "I know what that is! We have one at home. It's a high-tech, self-inflating/deflating air mattress. They're really comfortable and hard to destroy."

"Open it Peeta. Let's use it." Cato says. Peeta gives him an odd look. Cato pouts. "I almost died today. You want me comfortable don't you?"

Peeta shakes his head, smiling. "Now you use that as an excuse. Fine. But you're going to help me." Cato smiles widely causing Peeta's heart to flutter. They get it set up. The mattress is large enough to hold four people.

"Let's put Rue on here with us, Cato. She's just a child. We should protect her."

"Okay. There is plenty of room. Thresh, you want to bring her over?" Cato asks before looking at the younger boy next to him. "You know Peeta, you are a far better person than me. I never would have thought to share."

Thresh lifts Rue gently and puts her on the mattress without waking her. He covers her with the blanket that Clove brought over.

Peeta notices the package in the middle of camp. "What's in there Gale?"

"Let's take a look." Gale replies. He opens the container. Inside he finds 52 fish shaped green rolls and a windup toy – a little bird.

Peeta takes and winds up the toy. He watches as the bird flies right above his palm. He looks at the rolls. They look so very familiar, but he can't place why.

"I don't get it Peeta. Why send 52 rolls and a toy?" Gale asks. "Does any of this make sense to you?"

Peeta shakes his head. "We can figure it out in the morning. Let's put this bird back and cover those rolls. At least we can have a good breakfast." He gives the bird to Thresh who puts it all away and tucks the container into a backpack. Everyone lies down except Thresh and Delly who take over the watch. Peeta is now lying with his head on Cato's shoulder. He can see Rue from where he is. For some reason, he thinks she's connected to the clue, but his tired mind can't figure it out. He closes his eyes and is soon asleep.

When he wakes up, he sees that most everybody is awake. He thinks Cato is still asleep as are Katniss and Marvel. Katniss is cuddled up to Marvel's side, similar to the way he is with Cato. He feels Cato's hand rubbing on his back. He tilts his head to look at the older boy. "Morning Peeta. Sleep well?"

"Morning Cato. I slept very well. And you?"

"I did too." Cato tilts his head up to kiss the top of Peeta's head. "As much as I'd like to stay like this all day, I don't think the others would approve." They get up and pack the mattress back up. They fit the whole thing into the largest backpack.

When Katniss and Marvel wake up a short time later, Thresh pulls out the package they'd received the night before. He passes the bird to those who didn't see it the night before. Peeta is holding one of the rolls and thinks about the clues. Cato is next to him. He can see that Peeta is thinking hard and leaves him to it. They both hear Rie talking to Rue.

"There you go Little Bird, a breakfast fit for a princess."

Peeta snap his head to face his brother. "What did you say?" he asks.

Rie looks at Peeta confused. "What do you mean?"

"You called Rue 'Little Bird' right?"

"Yes. It's my nickname for her."

Peeta looks at the roll in his hand. Suddenly it all makes sense! "I got it!" he exclaims standing up. His sudden outburst startles everyone.

"Peet, calm down and explain." Gale says.

"I am calm. Oh, it all makes perfect sense." Peeta runs his hands through his hair.

"Um, Peeta, you want to fill the rest of us in?" Cato asks.

Peeta looks down at Cato. He smiles before leaning down and giving him a loud, smacking kiss. "Oh dear Cato, all in good time." He turns to the rest of the group. "Be patient for a moment." As Peeta tries to find a way to tell his friends without tipping off the game makers, another parachute lands near him. He leans down and picks the container up.

Meanwhile, back in the Mentor Room -

Haymitch watches the flat screen. He sees his tributes meeting up together. The plan is starting to come together. He sits up when the picture changes to show the District 4 male running up behind Gale and Cato. Haymitch watches in horror as the boys go flying through the air. Then he hears Peeta scream. He watches as the young blonde boy cries over the larger one and as the red haired girl performs CPR. Behind him he hears a crashing sound. He turns and sees Finnick leaving the room. He debates going after Finnick. He looks up at the flat screen and sees Peeta kissing the other boy.

"Effie, keep an eye on our kids, will ya?" he asks standing up.

"I'll be fine. Go check on him." Effie replies, unable to stop watching. She's curious to see how the rest of the group on the screen is going to react to Peeta and the large blonde boy.

Haymitch finds Finnick in an empty room, filled with cots. "Is this a bad time Finn?"

Finnick looks up, sees Haymitch and shakes his head. "No, come in. I just couldn't stay in there, watching my Peeta Bread crying over that muscled up brute."

Haymitch sits on a cot. He waits as Finnick sits across from him. "As your friend, I'm not going to beat around the bush. You had your chance with Peeta. You wanted to break it off with him. Now you want him back don't you?"

"Yes, I want him back! I love him! I only ended things because I thought I loved Annie. But it wasn't her, it was never her." Finnick cries, tears falling down his face.

"This is going to be hard for you to hear but I saw Peeta kiss the other boy." Haymitch watched Finnick flinch at that. "Those two boys like each other. It's going to be hard but you're going to have to let go of Peeta now. He's finally gotten over you and has moved on. Be happy for him."

"But what if I can't?" Finnick says sorrowfully.

Haymitch stands up, putting a hand on Finnick's shoulder. "Stay in here and get yourself together. I'll have Mags take over for now. I know how hard this is for you. I'm here for you if you need me."

Haymitch walks out of the room. He could hear Finnick sobbing. He closes the door to give the man some privacy. He really did feel for the younger man. He also knew things were about to get much harder for him having to watch the two young boys discover their feelings for one another. Man, what he wouldn't give for a bottle of anything strong right now.

He walks back to the Mentor room and goes over to Mags to explain that Finnick would be back later, that he needed some time. Mags just smiled sadly up at him. He went back over to Effie.

"What'd I miss?" he asks, sitting back in his chair.

"They've just talked about the different areas they were in. Then Gale and Peeta were discussing staying put for Cato, who wasn't happy they left him out of the discussion." She giggles remembering that. "Now they're going through – Oh no! Madge has been hit with a knife!"

Haymitch looks up to see the boy from one – Martin? Marvel? – throw his spear at someone. He hears the cannon go off. He watches as the cornucopia sinks and another tribute dies. He hopes that his kids will find somewhere a little safer to hide for the night. He knows that the four tributes from Districts 1 and 2 will want to hunt for more tributes as that's what they were raised to do. He relaxes as they go back into the jungle.

His interest piques again when the two brothers go off to talk alone. He listens to their conversation.

"I've got something to show you. It's from Dad."

"Read for yourself."

"I don't understand. I don't remember ever hearing about a sister. This is you and her? What happened? How'd she die?"

"I understand Peet. I have questions too. What do you want to do now?"

Haymitch feels sick to his stomach. He listens to Peeta tell the story to the others. He remembers Peeta hobbling around on that fricken cast. He felt sorry for the kid. Then when he met the three in the forest, he knew that boy would be special. It's why he wanted him trained by the best of District 13. If anyone can rally the nation, Peeta could. The boy was their best hope. His thoughts are interrupted by an Avox. She hands him a note. He reads:

Meet me in the lounge at 10 pm sharp. We have something to discuss.

He looks up at the clock, not realizing how long he'd been reminiscing. He has less an hour. He looks at his tributes. He sees Gale and the District 2 Girl sitting on watch while the others go to sleep. He sees Peeta on Cato's lap and quickly turns to look for Finnick. He sees him at his station. Fortunately his flat screen is not showing the two boys. It's one less thing for Haymitch to worry about at the moment.

Haymitch arrives in the lounge with a few minutes to spare. He looks around trying to find a quiet spot to sit. He can see Cashmere talking to a pink skinned woman dressed in a lime green sundress, Brutus talking to a blue skinned man dressed in a bright purple suit, and Johanna talking to a couple dressed in matching yellow slacks and button up shirts. He turns and sees Lyme talking to someone in a hooded cloak. He realizes it must be a contact for District 13. He turns back around to see Tigris walking towards him.

"Hello Haymitch" she purrs as she sits by him.

"Hello Tigris. How are you?" asks Haymitch.

"I'm well. I'm here about those two blonde boys. I know that one of them is from your district." Tigris replies getting right to the point. She pulls out her tablet and points to an object. "Several of my Capitol friends have donated very generously for this item. They want it sent to the boys. They just love them."

Haymitch looks at the object on the screen. It's a high tech air mattress, very expensive. "They want to send a bed?"

"Yes," purrs Tigris. "The money has already been put into Peeta's account. As soon as the game makers allow it, send it. Word on the street is that everyone is rooting for them, that the game makers will allow both boys to win."

Haymitch isn't exactly shocked to hear that. Capitol citizens love a good romance. "Okay, I'll send it. But you are aware of the other plans, right?" Hinting at the rebellion.

"Of course darling. But we all need to keep up appearances now don't we?"

With that, she gets up and leaves. Haymitch watches as she goes, thankful for some sort of news from the outside. Even if it is knowing that the citizens are hoping for the deaths of his other 5 kids. He gets up and heads back to relieve Effie for a couple hours.

As soon as Effie leaves, he begins to check the balances of his kids. They all have money, but Peeta has almost 10 times as much as the others. He decides to send some ointment to Madge and the bed to Peeta as requested. He punches in the orders and waits until midnight to make sure they're sent.

Haymitch looks over to Finnick. He sees the bronze haired man staring at the large screen but not really seeing it. He sighs as he stands and goes over to sit with Finnick.

"How are you holding up?" Haymitch asks.

Finnick looks over at Haymitch. His eyes are bloodshot and Haymitch could tell he'd been crying again. "I've been better." Finnick looks down at his lap. "I saw Peeta telling the others about his past. That Cato kid got really upset. Peeta calmed him right down." He looks at Haymitch again. "Peeta really likes him, doesn't he? I saw them kiss and they're sleeping together. Well, Peeta's sleeping in his lap."

"He really does Finnick. I wish I could say something to take away your pain." Haymitch says sadly, really wanting to help the younger man.

"Thanks Haymitch, but I'm going to have to deal with this myself." Finnick looks back up at the screen. "Oh, before I forget, the plan goes into effect on the fourth day. Be ready."

"Thank you Finnick, I will." Haymitch gets up and goes back to his own screens. At midnight he sees the kids get their parachutes. He smiles as Peeta suggests putting Rue on the mattress. 'That boy is far too nice' he thinks to himself. He begins to wonder how a boy like Peeta came from such an evil woman. Worse still, he can't believe that he's related to that witch. Memories of what happened eighteen years ago begin to swirl in his head.

As the tributes begin to wake up, Effie joins him. Before he goes to bed himself, he sends in six more parachutes.

Back in the arena

As Peeta picks up his parachute, he sees one land in front of Rie. The two brothers look at one another, shock and confusion written over their faces. Rie stands and goes over to Peeta. They open their containers together, the eyes of their companions glued to them. Inside the containers is a cheesy bun and a note.

We need to have a talk. It's important.

There's more to the story.

-H

The two brothers look at each other. Both are even more confused. A voice startles them.

"Peeta? Rie? What's going on?" They both turn to look at Gale.

The eleven other members of their group are standing there looking at them with curiosity. Neither boy can say anything.

Cato walks up to Peeta. "Are you okay? You guys are scaring us."

Peeta looks up at Cato. He just hands him his container. Cato reads the note. "I don't understand," he says. "What does this mean?"

"I don't know," Peeta replies quietly. "Can you just hold me for a minute?"

Cato hands Peeta's container to Gale before wrapping his arms around Peeta. He feels Peeta's arms go around him. "It'll be okay Peeta." He whispers in the younger boy's ear. He can feel Peeta shaking his head.

"I don't think so." Peeta whispers back.

The rest of the group sit back down to try and help Rie figure out Haymitch's cryptic message.

"What story is he talking about?" Gale asks.

Rie shrugs his shoulders. "I honestly don't know Gale. I'm just so confused."

"I might know," a small voice says. All eyes turn towards Rue. She is playing with the bird that came with the clue from the night before.

"What do you mean Little One?" Thresh asks.

Rue looks up. She turns her eyes first to Rie than to Peeta. "I mean, Peeta told us about what happened to him when he was younger."

Peeta can feel Cato tense up. He looks up and into Cato's stormy eyes. "Calm down Cato. It's over, remember?" Cato relaxes and kisses Peeta's forehead. Peeta smiles at him and turns his head to Rue, "I told a couple stories last night, not just about me."

"I know Peeta," Rue says smiling. "But it's the only story that also involved Rie, who also got the same message. That's got to mean something."

"But Katniss and Gale were also in that story Rue. They didn't get a parachute." Marvel points out.

"True. But the main story was about Peeta. Gale and Peeta are like brothers and Katniss is like their sister," replies Rue. "But Peeta and Rie are brothers, related by blood."

"That does makes a lot of sense Rue." Clove says. "You're scary smart."

Just then two more parachutes land. This time in front of Delly and Madge. Everyone jumps. Cato and Peeta break apart but Cato grabs Peeta's hand. The two girls just stare at the containers.

"Well, aren't you going to open them?" Glimmer asks exasperated.

Delly picks hers up and waits for Madge to get hers. Madge picks hers up and looks at Delly, "On the count of three?" Delly nods.

"1…2…3!" Both girls open the containers and gasp. Inside is a cheesy bun and a note.

We need to have a long talk

-H

"Madge, are you as freaked out as me?" asks Delly, fear lacing her quiet voice.

"Maybe more." Madge replies in the same tone of voice.

"Um, girls, care to share with the rest of us?" asks Foxface.

"Sorry, just really confused," Madge replies. "It seems Haymitch needs to talk to me."

"Me too." Delly adds, looking at Madge, Rie, and then Peeta.

"Ooh, a mystery," Glimmer squeals. "I love a good mystery!"

Peeta looks up at the sky. "Haymitch, if you're there, this is not funny. In fact, it's downright creepy!"

No one says anything. They're waiting for something to happen. Nothing does.

"Well, as fun as this morning has been, I still have questions about last night's delivery." Marvel says, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, Peeta said he had it figured out." Clove says, turning to face the boy. "Care to explain Bread Boy?"

Peeta looks at Cato, still unsure as to how to explain the clue. Cato gives Peeta's hand a squeeze, encouraging him to explain. "Well, I'm not sure how to explain it right now," he confesses. "Did everyone get their four rolls from District four this morning?" He watches as everyone nods confusedly before continuing. "Even you, Little Bird?"

As Rue nods her head, realization hits Rie first. "Oh. OH!"

The next person to figure it out was Rue. "I see now. Very clever."

"Well, I wish someone would explain it to me! It's driving me crazy." Glimmer exclaims, throwing her hands in the air.

"I thought you loved a good mystery Glitter Girl." Clove snickers.

"Very funny, Clover. I noticed you haven't figured it out yet either." Glimmer snarls.

"Okay, that's enough you two." Gale says calmly. "Fighting with one another is not helpful to the rest of us. Peet, do we have time to figure this out?" he asks looking at Peeta.

"Yes, and maybe we'll get something new tonight." He says.

Just then two more parachutes come in. This time in front of Katniss and Gale.

"Alright, now I'm freaked out." Marvel says. "Your mentor has gone off the deep end guys."

Katniss and Gale just look at each other before opening their 'gift'. Inside was a biscuit and a note. Katniss reads hers aloud,

Stop sitting around. It's time to go 'hunting'

-H

"Peeta, your mentor is definitely a creeper!" Cato says.

"I think your right Cato." Peeta replies.

The group starts packing up their supplies and getting ready to hunt down other tributes. The temperature in the arena started to get hotter so everyone peeled off their neoprene suits, thankful for the cotton clothes underneath.

"Peet, I almost forgot. These were in a backpack Cato and I found." Gale hands Peeta the ninja stars. "We saved them for you."

"Thank you Gale. Thanks Cato." Peeta smiles taking the stars from Gale.

Cato leans down, "You can thank me properly later," he whispers suggestively in Peeta's ear.

Peeta blushed a deep red color before whispering back, "Why wait?" he asks, dropping the stars.

Cato looked at Peeta wide eyed. Peeta slides his hand up Cato's chest, silently admiring the firm, toned muscles under his hand, before curving it behind Cato's neck, gently pulling the taller boy closer to his lips. When their lips touch, Cato lets out a low growl before wrapping his hands around Peeta's waist and pulling their bodies closer. The kiss begins to deepen. Peeta runs his tongue along Cato's lower lip, silently asking for access. Cato instantly opens up. His letting Peeta take control was a new experience for the older boy. When their tongues began battling for dominance, they hear a quiet cough coming from behind them. They jump apart, both red faced.

"Sorry to interrupt," Gale says, not sounding the least bit sorry at all. "But it's time to go." He chuckles as he turns away, walking to the rest of the group who are also chuckling.

Cato turns to Peeta. "We'll continue this later," he says with a wink before picking up his sword and backpack.

Peeta gathers his stuff, including the stars he dropped putting them in a small pocket of his bag. He looks up at Cato, taking his hand, and they follow the rest of the group back to the beach from the day before.

So, Cato's fine and Peeta apologized, the group knows Peeta's past, Finnick is letting go and Haymitch has some secrets he needs to spill. I personally liked this chapter, but if you didn't please feel free to let me know.