A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks to everybody that has favorited or/and followed my story, that really means a lot to me! If I may though, I would really love to get a little review from you, guys. I'd like to know what you think and make sure you're curious as to what will happen next. Also, reviews really are motivating and do make one update sooner. I'll appreciate any feedback, thanks!

"I wish I knew how to love without killing myself. How to mend hearts without breaking my own. How to kiss and not create bruises."

- Michelle K. 'Things I wish I knew how to do'

DAY 2

She looked beautiful. Not in a desirable kind of way. Just beautiful. And he hated that he thought of her that way. He enjoyed being the no strings attached type of guy with killer skills, great reputation, no real feelings towards anyone and fan girls everywhere around. He enjoyed being popular, not having to be scared of Peacekeepers. But things can never be perfect. Especially not in Panem. And they weren't perfect for him because he found his eyes obsessively attached to her. She was just a girl. A 15 year old. Just a little, skinny, dark-haired, blunt, sarcastic knife thrower. There's no way that he would ever even think of talk-

"Hey Clove."

Idiot.

She turned her head to look at him, knife in her hand, as she stood in front of the dummies in an abandoned training room. She didn't say anything. Just stared. And he felt ten times smaller under her burning gaze.

"I've seen you with those knives. You're, uh," he smiled "fairly decent."

She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her body fully towards him. Her long, shiny, black hair tied into a ponytail was down to her waist. She had to be at least a foot shorter than him.

"Fairly decent is your hair. My knife throwing skills are perfect." She said arrogantly, or maybe sincerely, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. He felt a lump in his throat. Damn her...

See, that's the thing about men. They always want something that they can't easily get. They want the excitement. An adventure. Clove was definitely all that.

"Yeah, I'll give you that." He admitted with a nod, putting on one of his sexy smirks that always made every girl weak in the knees.

She turned her back on him. And it felt like she just punched him in the balls.

"So what do you want, Cato?" She asked, lifting her arm, knife ready to fly.

His head shot up and a smile formed on his lips. So she did know who he was. She knew his name, after all. Clove knew his name.

"Well I came here for some extra training hours, didn't know anyone would be here." He lied smoothly.

There was a noise as Clove's knife hit the dummy right where a person's heart would be. Cato parted his lips slightly in awe. Man, she really was perfect.

Clove looked around the big training room and then at him over her shoulder.

"I see. Am I in your way?" She asked sarcastically. "Wouldn't wanna take up too much room."

"No," Cato said a little bit too fast "I mean, I just saw you so I thought I'd say hi, you know. You're the only one here, so.. "

She raised her eyebrows again and nodded slowly, a ghost of a smirk playing on her sweet mouth.

"Okay then, Cato."

He loved his name on her lips.

"Yeah, anyway.. carry on. You really are good." He complimented her, taking a few steps back.

She snorted.

"Ok, ok, you're perfect." He corrected himself, smirking, still facing her, as he was walking away. She really was perfect, though. Not only when it came to knife throwing. But he couldn't tell her that.

"That's better." She teased. "Don't underestimate me."

"I wouldn't dare, don't feel like ending up with a knife in my ass!" He called to her, as by now he was already on the other side of the room. She laughed. He actually made her laugh.

The sound of it was the sweetest thing he's ever heard...

His eyes opened as he woke up, cutting his dream short. Well, his memory actually. Clove's laugh was still echoing in his head.

What the hell was wrong with him? He thought he had quit thinking of her this way the minute they found out they were the ones to volunteer for the Games. Together. What were the odds? Clove was way too young, and yet they had chosen her. He couldn't help, but blame himself in a way. He never should have started training with her. They had seen them together at the Academy, their minds synchronized and bodies moving in the same rhythm, as they fought and pushed each other to become better even if they were at the top of their game already.

They were perfect training partners. Of course they'd picked them.

It was his fault. He had known from the very beginning that developing any sort of feelings for anyone would not do him any good. He had never had to worry about that before he met her. He had no parents or family. He had no real friends, just a group of fan girls and guys that liked to be seen with him, hoping for increasing their scores at the Academy. He had never cared for anyone, but himself. Thats why he knew he was perfect for a tribute. Well, he would have been. He still promised himself he was going to snap out of it the moment he got on that train with Clove. He had to. He was sure he could still pull this off and hide that little piece of a human being deep inside. Hide the way he felt about the girl who was going to have to die if he was to win.

And then there was the rule change. And she wasn't here with him now. She could be anywhere. He shouldn't care. It's not like anything had really changed that much. She was still going to die.

How he wished she were here.. How he wished he had told her before..

Told her what, though? That he liked her? Loved her..?

No. He was a Career. They don't know how to love. If they did, they wouldn't be able to murder people in cold blood for the sake of the show.

And yet.. something about her had made him more humane. This girl had him dream about something other than death and blood. For the first time since he was born, he knew how to look forward to something other than training. He had tried to tell himself that he hated that feeling. That he hated her. But how could he hate the only person in the world he considered more important than his damn self? How could he hate someone that made him feel happy by just looking at him? One smile or even a nod in his direction would make his day. And she had no idea. She had no clue.

And so there he was, unable to throw the image of her pretty face out of his head. Thinking that he didn't know where she was and who she was in an alliance with was driving him crazy. Was she okay? Was she safe?

Why do you care? He thought. It was ridiculous. He knew she had to die, because he wanted to win. Why did he care?

Cato cursed under his breath, annoyed with himself AND the girl occupying his confused mind. He sat up slowly and his eyes connected with the redhead's. She had this odd look on her face, as if something surprised her.

"What?" He asked, fairly polite. She blinked a few times and looked away. He smirked to himself. She probably stared at him while he was asleep. That girl was definitely intriguing. She hasn't said a single word since the Games had started.

"Let's wake them up." He told her, getting up and glancing at sleeping Rue and Peeta. His eyes lingered on the little girl longer than he had intended them to. What was happening to him?

"I'll take care of Lover Boy over here," he said hurriedly. He did not want to come off as soft while trying to gently shake the kid. And kicking her didn't sound like a good idea, either. So he walked over to Peeta and kicked him instead.

"Sun's up, Lover Boy." He said, watching him wake up with a startle. Peeta glared, but knew better than to say something. Cato smirked and looked at district 5 girl, lightly shaking Rue awake. The little girl woke up right away with a yawn. Cato was fast to look away.

"Let's get moving." He ordered, already walking off.

He hated what was happening to him. He liked feeling numb as he used to before, completely rid of feelings. Careless. Because living like this.. was so much more difficult. It was like he was carrying extra weight on him the whole time. There was no getting away from it. The more he tried to tell himself it was all just in his head, the more he felt the lump, having begun to form in his throat, growing bigger and bigger with every single thought of Clove.

Snap out of it, he told himself. You'll be the death of her.

He couldn't help but fear that if he ended up killing her... he wouldn't be able to live with himself. And if that's true.. what the hell did he need to win for then?

Clove had got up before Katniss managed to even think of waking her. There was an awkward silence between the two, but she was fast to break it, deciding it was time to keep going. So she picked herself up from the hard ground, feeling sore, tired and very dehydrated. Fire girl was staring at her from her spot by the tree and it was driving her crazy.

"What are you looking at?" Clove snapped, stretching her arms out "Stare at Hulk instead for a while, would you?"

Crap. That almost sounded polite. For Clove, anyway. She let her arms down and placed her hands on her hips, eyebrows arched, eyes focused on the brunette.

Katniss just shrugged and got up from the ground, looking very unimpressed with Clove's glare and hard voice.

"Just thought you should know there's a big spider on your shoulder."

Clove glanced at her arm and, to Katniss' surprise, let out a shriek, as she tried to shake it off. Thresh woke up, alarmed and was in a sitting position within a second. He furrowed his eyebrows, watching Clove do some sort of a dance right in front of him. He then looked at Katniss who risked a small smirk.

"Is it still on me?" Clove gasped, looking up and noticing how now all three of her allies were staring at her with amused faces. "What? Did you see that thing? As big as a fist." She snapped, breathing quicker than normally. She was not exaggerating, though. The Capitol always liked experimenting.

Thresh got up, not being able to supress a smirk at how vulnerable and normal her actions were.

"You're good now." Katniss said, no longer smiling, but her voice was still slightly amused.

"I hate spiders, ok?" Clove barked, desperately trying to save her face. Great, she thought. Now they thought she was completely useless. She wasn't the crazy, scary knife thrower anymore in their eyes. Now she was just a little girl with a frown on her face and a nasty personality. A girl that's scared of a spider.

"Okay," Katniss nodded. Clove clenched her fists, as she took a glance at the boy from 4 and realized that even that little piece of shit wasn't afraid of her. If he was, he would have never dared let that smile show on his face.

"It was a big one." Katniss admitted, as if to try and make her feel better about what just happened "shall we get moving?"

Feeling extremely stupid, Clove threw her an angry glare and pushed past her, purposely hitting the brunette's shoulder with hers.

"You all won't be so amused when I finally get to kill each one of you." she snapped, blood pulsating in her veins as she walked away from them.

And she meant every word. They will be sorry. She knew that sooner or later this rule would be revoked. And she could not wait for that moment to come.

She wished Cato was here. She had always been a loner before she met him. She didn't know how to be a leader. She didn't know how to deal with people. How to make them listen. She was great at hand to hand combat, despite how small she was. But jumping any of them seemed like a bad idea with Thresh around. She still felt tempted to wipe that little smile off of Katniss' face.

Peeta ran a hand through his damp hair and let out a heavy breath, as the four of them were walking up a hilly street. The sun was out, it was humid and it must have been at least 90 degrees. He couldn't believe it. Yesterday, they were freezing their butts off. He barely slept at night, due to hard floor and negative temperature. And now? He was sweating out the rest of the water he had inside his body. That's what the Game makers were trying to do. He was sure of it. Not only was it an attempt to tire them out or get them sick, they wanted them to be even more dehydrated.

Nobody has died yet. It was probably the middle of day 2 and nobody has died yet. They had to spice it up. He assumed, though, that the new rule was entertaining enough for the audience. Otherwise they would have made sure somebody died the very first day.

"Where is everyone?" he decided to ask. He really did want to know, as it made him very nervous. They have been walking around for about twenty hours total and not once did they even hear anyone else. Where was Katniss? He knew she was still alive, but was she okay? Was she safe? He knew she could handle being out there without any supplies, she was a survivor. But he was still worried. He didn't really expect for her to ally with him in the Games. Not after what he had publicly confessed. But thinking that she was allies with three others now, and he had no clue who they were, it just wasn't very comforting. He supposed they had set her up with a Career, as well. Just to make things even more interesting. He could bet on it.

Where was everyone?

"Probably sunbathing." Cato replied to his question, his voice cold and annoyed. Peeta knew he was irritated with the new rule and with how lousy things have been going for them. He didn't get to slaughter anyone yet. Poor fucking bastard.

"Peeta," Rue whispered so softly he almost missed it. He looked at her over his shoulder and instantly felt bad for the girl. Her lips were chapped and pale and her face was all covered in drops of sweat. Her eyes were red and wet, as if she was just crying.

"What's up?" He asked her quietly, concerned, but trying not to let Cato hear at the same time.

"I need a brake." She moaned, putting one of her hands on her stomach "I can't anymore."

Peeta looked up and locked eyes with Foxface. She looked almost as bad as Rue, but seeing his worried face, she shook her head, letting him know that she was fine. He nodded and slowed down so that Rue could catch up with him. He knew Cato would never let them take a brake now. He was too damn determined to find water. And well, he couldn't blame him. He wasn't about to try and fight the guy, either. That mass of a human being seemed to be doing pretty well under these circumstances. He, on the other hand, was just too darn tired, thirsty and hungry.

"Hop on my back." Peeta told her and stopped walking long enough for her to grab his shoulders and jump onto his back with the help of Foxface. He stood up and started walking again, feeling her lie her head down on his shoulder blade. Cato must have heard the little fuss so he took a quick glance at them and rose his eyebrows at the scene behind him. He said nothing, though. Peeta wasn't able to read his face, either.

Rue's little hands were wrapped gently around his neck and he could feel her hot, rapid breath on his skin.

"Thank you.." she whispered tiredly and he smiled to himself. Katniss would be happy if she could see him now. How he wished she were here to see that...

"You're welcome, Rue."

Within a few hours it was dark again. Clove was panting hard, as much as she tried to hide it from her allies. She could barely take it by now, though. She was so weak and exhausted. The other three seemed to be doing better than her and she knew why. They were prepared for these conditions. They were survivors. They have been surviving all their lives. She was a Career. She grew up in the Academy. Her body was not ready for such an extreme change. She was in great shape, but she knew she was slowly dying. She'd kill everyone on her way for a sip of water. Well.. if she had enough strenght to do so.

Clove walked over to the nearest tree and rested her hand on it, trying not to pass out.

"You alright?"

She turned her head to look at Thresh who stood right next to her. And there was no sarcasm or satisfaction in his voice. Katniss and the kid carried on walking, both shooting her a glance before they passed them by. Clove licked her dry lips and surprisingly contained herself from snapping at him. Which wasn't very hard, as for some reason her ally's question did not get on her nerves.

"Yeah," she told him, nodding. He stared down at her and shockingly the look on his face was not disgusted anymore and his dark eyes lacked the hatred they used to be filled with whenever he looked at her. She didn't know what to think about that. And thankfully, she didn't have to think too hard, because Katniss' voice broke their eye contact.

"Thresh!" she called at the top of her lungs. They hesitated just a second before running off in the direction her voice came from. They stormed into a small clearing and stopped abruptly. A smile creeped onto Clove's face.

In the moonlight there was a glistening stream, smiling back at her. For a few beautiful seconds she felt relieved. Just for a few seconds, though.

Because that's how long it took her to understand that the water Katniss has finally found was not the reason she'd called for them. She also realized why she had yelled only Thresh's name.

On the other side of the stream, there stood nobody else, but Marvel and Glimmer, vicious smirks spread on their faces. Sharp and shiny swords in their hands.

A/N: Cliffhanger! And we got a little insight on Katniss and Peeta this time, as well. I hope you liked this chapter. Please, consider leaving me a little review if you want me to continue. Thanks for reading!