Maybe Foxface Is The Real Opponent Here~

6-Point-blank into a dummy's head

It's my final day of training today. I'm feeling a tiny bit sad, since I've really enjoyed being useless at more stuff. I woke up an hour earlier today for some reason, which annoys me because I didn't get a lot of sleep thanks to my secret visitor. It was well past 1 in the morning when I finally slept. And now I'm awake. Ughh.

I quickly shower, scrubbing at my ginger locks with a passion fruit shampoo I find in the bathroom, which smells absolutely brilliant. I then groggily put on some random clothes, not bothering to set any out the day before. It's a black and white stripey top and a pair of grey Tracksuit bottoms with black pull-strings. I slip on socks and tatty dark trainers, given to me by Larissa for 'luck'. This pleases me deeply since Doran hasn't got anything, not even a tatty pair of trainers. I don't bother with my hair today and slip it into a messy bun, clipping down the hair that used to be my fringe.

As I leave my room and head into the District lounge, a surprise awaits me. Sat on the smooth, glassy table that occupies the fur rug of the lounge is probably the best breakfast I have ever seen. Plates with; bacon, cereal, porridge, watermelon and all other sorts of sweet breakfast treats lie before me. Before I have the chance to even utter a shocking word, an avox woman with dark red hair hands me a glass of what looks like fresh orange juice. She nods towards me and leaves without saying a word. Doran is second to find this edible masterpiece, and upon looking me seriously in the eyes, digs into a chocolate croissant.

I later find that neither Larissa or Doran have done this. My mind whirls with conclusions, but my stomach whirls with only hunger, and I bite into a fresh slice of watermelon, allowing some of the red juices to trickle down to my chin. Pure perfection.

**

When I finally leave our lounge and start to travel towards the elavator, I find Cato leaning by it. He smirks at me and abruptly sneaks me a cheeky peck on the lips.

'You taste like watermelon.' He says, his smile widening.

'And since when was a kiss a greeting?' I ask in a giddy tone.

'Hm. Probably since I did it.' Cato declares rather bid-headedly. I punch his arm softly in a teasing way. 'So if I was to kiss Doran, it would be saying hey?' I add, teasing him further. At this he frowns and flicks me on the nose.

'Ow.' I mutter. He looks dubious at my response but pets it gently like you would pet an animal. And then all of a sudden, I find myself standing right on my toes, struggling to reach his height, and kissing him fully on the lips. That was unexpected, I think.

 'And hello to you too.' He replies, drinning lopsidedly. I tug on his arm and we enter the elavator, on the way to the training room.

The elavator trip is quick, and when we reach the training floor, I scrabble about trying to act casual as the doors open, while Cato laughs then puts his arm around my shoulder effortlessly. As we prepare to emerge, I feel positively radiant. I have a brilliant guy draped around me, and for the only moment since I've arrived, I forget about The Games. All I can think about is Cato. And our watermelon kiss. He looks admiringly into my amber eyes, and I can't help but ponder on his thoughts. You don't have to be a mind-reader to know mine.

As expected, almost everyone is staring. I only notice Katniss and Peeta involved in a deep conversation, as well as the boy from 10 with the crippled foot, who is talking to a Gamekeeper. I blush an embarassing shade of red, and Cato just grins, either at me, or just from smugness. 

'Oh hi Cato. Aren't you going to introduce me to your little.. friend?' I hear from behind us. It's Clove. I restrain the urge to remind her that she is more than friendly enough to pin me against a wall. Cato glances at me to see my expression, which I'm now sure looks rather contorted, because he says matter-of-factly 'I'm sorry, me and Finch have training to do.' And hooks my hips, leading me away from the ruthless girl that is Clove. I'm sure Cato is friendly with her, so I repress my urge to comment on whether her height and annoyingness is connected. 

Cato can't help but wander over and help as I fail miserably at almost all of the stations. He teaches me how to set a snare, and according to him, I 'pass with flying colours'. I later start to watch him doing the Gauntlet. It's a frankly daunting obstacle course. It consists of ascending platforms that rise up to a finishing platform. Tributes must jump from platform to platform to finish in the fastest time possible. To make it even more difficult, trainers swing padded clubs at the tributes. This station is very popular and I notice at least every one of the Careers, including Cato, have a go. Cato finishes in a practically unbeatable time, and after he notices me eyeing it up, tries to give some helpful advice.

'The station is not very popular with tributes who want to stay inconspicuous. I don't know how you plan on staying alive in the arena, but if you intend on showing off, you're either a threat or just attracting attention. Depending on your training score and position too I guess.'

This shouldn't annoy me, after all, he's just giving me advice, but it does.

'So basically, If i'm not a career, I can't do it.' I say bad-temperedly, throwing him a death stare. 'No, I just don't want you to get hurt.' Cato says, frowing. Just as he does so, the Disrict 3 girl falls off the gauntlet and appears to split her lip. 'We can discuss it later. Now is my time for you.' He states, pulling me closer to him. I don't protest and he plants a swift kiss on my neck, making me turn a prominent ruby red. I notice Clove stop from throwing knives to observe us, and continue, throwing a knife point-blank into a dummy's head.

**