Love is not a game (Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The mutts are closing in on me now. I'm trying to outrun them but each time I quicken my pace, they match it easily. My breath is coming out in quick huffs and I can hear my heart beating a million times each second. The Cornucopia is ahead; I can just see two figures running towards it with similar looks of determination in their eyes. The girl, with her olive skin and dark hair and eyes, can't possibly be from the same district as the boy with the light skin and equally as light hair. His bright blue eyes stand out from the mud and blood coating his face. Why are they helping each other if they're from different districts? That's not how the Hunger Games works. Tributes are there to fight against each other, not unite. I jump onto the top of the Cornucopia, ignoring the sound of teeth gnashing behind me. The mutts are growling fiercely now, they can jump high but not to the top of the Cornucopia. I turn to face one of the mutts that was jumping the highest, noticing the light, wavy hair and glimmering green eyes. The eyes that seem so familiar to me. I unhook my sword from my belt and raise it high above my head to strike. The eyes of the beast look almost humanlike and I hesitate to kill it. The slight hesitation is all that the beast needs to jump up at me, teeth chomping away. 

I wake with a jolt, sweating and breathing heavily. I look around and realise that I'm in my room, where last night I was saying goodnight to my mother.  

"It was just a dream, Cato." I tell myself calmly, or at least what I hope was calmly. My breathing still hasn't returned to normal yet and I wait a few more minutes to calm down properly. Slowly, I stand up from my bed and make my way to my dressing table. Folded up neatly on my dresser sits a smart looking pair of brand new jeans and a clean, white T-shirt. Sighing, I shuffle through my drawers and come out empty handed.  

"Mum!" I yell, not bothering to lower my voice in case anyone was still sleeping. It's reaping day, after all. My mums appears in the doorway a second later. 

"What is it, sweetie?" She asks me, a curious look on her face. Her eyes land on the neatly folded clothes on my dresser. "Why aren't you dressed in your nice new reaping clothes that I bought for you this morning?" She asks me, confusion taking over her face. 

"Mum, where are my usual reaping clothes?" I ask, completely ignoring her question. Running a hand through my hair, I handed the folded up clothing to her and continued speaking, "Those clothes are my lucky charm." 

Even before she answers, I know what she's going to say. "Sorry, honey. I gave them to your brother, Xavier." She responds, collapsing on the bed and placing her hands on her face. "I thought he could use some luck on his first reaping." She continued without looking up at me. Guilt washed over me and I sat down next to her on the bed  to comfort her. After a long silence she sighed and began to speak again, "It's hard enough knowing that I could lose one of you, two of you is just unbearable!" Tears began to form in her eyes and I wiped them away quickly. 

"Just make sure that Xavier doesn't see you freaking out. He's nervous enough as it is." I told her in a hushed tone. As if he had heard us mention his name, Xavier poked his head through the doorway and gave me a weak smile. Mum straightened up instantly and even managed a small smile. 

"Cato, can you please help me get ready?" He asked shakily. He really was nervous, and why shouldn't he be? He could be on a train to the Capitol by this afternoon. I tried to mask my worry with a giant smile. "Sure buddy!" I responded, jumping off the bed and giving mum a reassuring smile. I followed my brother down the hallway and into his room. 

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I stared at my reflection in the mirror, looking myself up and down uncertainly. I'm used to my old reaping outfit. "You look awesome!" My brother yelled, once again forgetting to use his inside voice.