Love is not a game (Hunger Games Fan Fiction)

Chapter 16

Author's Note: 

Hey! I decided that, since my other chapter was so short, I would try and upload this one too. 

Enjoy!

Chapter 16: 

"W-What?" Peeta asks groggily, propping himself up onto his elbows. Glimmer rolls her eyes, talking in a voice similar to one someone talking to a five year old would use. 

"I said; let's go hunting!" She responded, grabbing her bow and arrow and signalling for us to follow her into the woods. Peeta stands sleepily, grabbing his weapon and trailing after Glimmer.  

Marvel and I exchange glances before shrugging, grabbing our weapons and following the other two. I hear Clove following us and try to speed up my pace. 

So far, I've avoided her successfully even though it breaks my heart to do so. Who knew that I could miss her so much? 

I jog to catch up with Glimmer, greeting her with a smile which she easily returns. Suddenly, she stops in her track, squinting her eyes and peering out into the distance. 

"A fire!" She whispers to the group before picking up her pace slightly. I quickly match her pace, followed by the others. Soon, we are only metres away from the girl that has stupidly lit a fire.  

Does she have no common sense? 

Eventually, she notices us standing behind her and lets out a loud scream. I wince slightly at the noise and look at the others through my peripheral vision to see that, they too, are wincing. 

Man, she can scream loudly. 

"Give me your knife, Clove!" Glimmer whispers harshly to Clove. Clove hands over the knife obediently, seemingly glad that she doesn't have to be the one to kill her. 

She could if she wanted to though. 

Without any hesitation, Glimmer slits the girl's throat, causing blood to coat the grass below the girl's body. She then laughs slightly before trailing back into the woods, beckoning for us to follow. 

Honestly, I'm quite scared of her right now.  

"One down, a heck of a lot more to go!" She sings, laughing loudly. 

Maybe the Games have driven her crazy. 

Usually the craziness doesn't kick in until further into the Games though. 

It's then that I realise that I am walking directly next to Clove, our arms brushing against each other slightly. As much as I love being this close to her, I know that Snow is watching. Feeling like a total jerk, I run to catch up with Glimmer, immediately missing the fuzzy feeling that I always get when I'm around Clove. 

"Did you see the look on her face?" Glimmer asks me, laughing slightly. I nod my head, forcing a small laugh to escape my lips.  

Glimmer puts on a whiny voice, mimicking the girl, "Ooh I wonder what will happen if I light a fire. Probably nothing; it's so safe in this arena!" She laughs, wiping the blood from the knife that Clove had given her. 

After distancing ourselves from the body of the girl, we listen out for the cannon. Five minutes pass by and we immediately grow suspicious. 

"She's not even dead!" Glimmer yells in frustration, probably feeling like an idiot for mimicking her when she wasn't dead the entire time. I had to hold back a genuine laugh at that thought, not wanting to anger Glimmer. 

"Go finish her off, 12!" Glimmer yells with venom clear in her voice. Peeta immediately heads back to finish off the girl, looking queasy at the thought of killing her. 

As soon as he is out of hearing range, Glimmer lets out a loud sigh. "Can't we just kill him already? He's not helping us at all!" 

I respond calmly, even though I felt like yelling at her. "He's the only one that can help us find Katniss Everdeen." 

Glimmer opens her mouth to respond but is cut off by Clove. "Cato's right, Glimmer. He knows more about her than we do about each other." 

Glimmer lets out an annoyed sigh before turning to gaze into the woods. Marvel stands next to her and tries to calm her down. I turn awkwardly to Clove, wondering why she stood up for me. I've been horrible to her ever since I got that note. I have to ignore her though. 

I have to protect her. 

It was then that I realised that somewhere between the time we first met and when I received that note, we had become like family.  

Although, I'm sure that his love for her is somehow different to the love I feel for my family. I don't know why it's different, it just is. 

I look up at her, making eye contact for just a second before a cannon sounds, making me snap out of my trance. 

Peeta jogs to where we are standing and we continue walking into the forest with an awkward silence.  

For some reason, I get the feeling that I'm being watched. It's probably nothing.

After hours of walking, we finally decide to sit down and rest. Glimmer falls asleep first, followed by Marvel. Eventually, even Peeta's eyelids become too heavy for him to handle. 

Clove and I are now the only ones awake, sitting across from each other awkwardly. I wonder just how long this silence will last before it is broken by the sound of Clove's voice. 

"Cato, why are you avoiding me?" She asks, sounding upset. I consider ignoring her but decide against it; I would be an even bigger jerk if I did that. 

"What makes you think I'm avoiding you?" I ask her, already knowing her answer. I have made it pretty obvious that I am trying to avoid her. 

She sighs loudly and looks at me with disbelief clear in her eyes. "You haven't exactly made it hard to see that you're avoiding me." She answers after a small silence. 

"Well, the honest reason I'm avoiding you is because-" I start to respond, freezing at the sound of trees rustling beside me. I reach for my sword as Clove reaches for her knives and we stand, prepared for whatever is behind those trees. 

Will it be human or a mutt? 

Will we be able to fight off whoever- or whatever- it is?

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Author's Note: 

Well, I hope you liked it! What do you think is behind the trees? >:D 

I'm pure evil for leaving it on a cliff hanger...  

Please vote, comment and tell me what you think. 

Oh, and I hope this makes up for my shorter chapter! This chapter was three pages on Word!

Two chapters in one day? That's pretty good, isn't it? :D 

-Emily