Just a Game

Chapter Nine

Clove is still limping.

Her ankle hasn't gotten much better, but at least the swelling had gone down a bit. Neither of us paid much attention to the health lessons that were provided in school. Right now, she was using a long branch as support. I want to help her, but I was afraid that I would make her ankle worse.

It is night time, and the cloudless sky is dark. I look at the moon, which I assume is just a part of the Games. It's an almost perfect, white circle. Clove's head is resting against my shoulder, which is the way that we unspokenly agreed on sleeping as. Neither of us were asleep yet though, because we were waiting to see if anyone had died today.

The anthem comes and goes, and not a single face was shown. What were the Gamemakers waiting for? They usually didn't let the tributes lie in peace for so long; pieces, maybe, but not peace. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind not getting 'this close' to dying at any second. But I just wanted these Games to be over and to go back home.

I was beginning to forget what District 2 was like. What was my sister doing right now? She's probably lying down in bed, or maybe she was talking with my parents. Were they worried about me? Did they still care about me? Or have they somehow lost hope and were already mourning?

Clove turns her head towards me, seemingly sensing my distress. Her wide hazel eyes look into mine. I feel like I'm in some sort of trance. I shake my head, hearing a crack in my neck. Clove pulls away from me and begins fiddling with her jacket's zipper.

"You should sleep now," I say quietly.

She doesn't move. "No, it's okay. I'll take the first watch."

I touch her arm and she jerks away. I'm not sure why, but that stung. I lean back against the tree, letting Clove sit alone.

**********

"You can trust me, Cato."

A sly smile spread across her face. It was too dark to see who it was, but I was pretty sure that I knew. She was in front of me, pressing herself against me so that I was trapped. My back is against a brick wall. She slides one hand up my arm.

"Are you scared, Cato?" she asks teasingly. "I could help calm you down." Her other hand snakes up the front of my shirt. "Or...not."

My eyes widen slightly, and my breaths become slightly panicked. She leans in and put her lips against mine. I kiss her back, not sure whether or not I wanted to. My arms go around her, one hand in her hair, and the other on her back. At first, it was a nice kiss, but then it felt like it was becoming desperate. The girl began to lift up my shirt.

I push her away from me, before anything could happen. I could hear her sobbing, even if I couldn't see her face.

"Why would you do that, Cato? I thought that you loved me too."

I froze. Love? I didn't love her. I don't love anybody.

"I don't love you."

I think.

**********

It was just a dream. Thank goodness. Just a dream.

This thought repeated itself in my head again and again, throughout the entire morning. Now every time I look at Clove, that image appears in my mind. I turn around, my face burning. I shouldn't be acting like this though. I knew that it didn't happen. I knew that I didn't have any feelings for her, except for maybe a little, itty bitty crush.

'NO,' a little voice inside of my head shouts. 'He can't fall for her! She'll just kill him in the end.'

'She won't kill him!' another little voice replies. 'They can both win, remember?'

'Yeah, so? She's vicious!'

'She likes him!'

"Who says?'

"SHUT UP!" I roar.

Clove glares at me. "What? I wasn't even talking."

"No-not you. I was talking to the voi-" I stop beause I would sound like an idiot.

Clove just shakes her head and goes back to eating her breakfast. She is sitting on a rock, chewing one bite ever so slowly. She's staring at the ground, as if it was something interesting. I resist the urge to put my arms around her, and begin kicking rocks around.

This whole day, we travelled around the whole forest, carrying a couple of weapons that we had, in case we found a tribute. No luck, probably because Clove's ankle is still swollen. Every step that she took gave way to a loud crack from a stick. We wouldn't be able to sneak up on anything like this.

I took her back to our campsite. It was still late afternoon, and the sun was only just beginning to set. Clove rubs her ankle as soon as she sits down. The moment she puts pressure on it, she cringes slightly. I wish that there was something that we could do to make her ankle heal faster.

Just as I think that, I catch a glimpse of something shiny in the sky. Excellent timing, Brutus. After we scare everything in our path off, then he sends us something. Brilliant. Well, at least that it is something.

The parachute falls onto the grass, and I scramble to retrieve it. I open the container. Inside the container, is a foul-smelling salve. I assume that it's for Clove's ankle, because there is no way that that could be edible. I go to Clove, holding the container an arm's length away from my nose.

"What's that?" she asks. I stick it near her face. "Ew! Get that thing away from me!"

"But it's for your ankle," I say innocently.

She sighs impatiently. "Put it on."

"Me? Why me? It's your ankle."

Clove gives me a look. I look at her defiantly for a moment. Then I see her grip the handle of a knife inside of her jacket.

"Fine. Put out your ankle." I rub on some of the salve on, and Clove gives a sigh of relief. Her breathing becomes eaiser, and I twist the lid of the salve shut.

"Thank you," she breathes, touching my arm.

I don't pull away. Clove lies down, obviously exhausted, even though it wasn't even dark yet. I take out some of the leftovers and we munch on them in silence.

There is a sudden sound of trumpets, and I leap to my feet. The sound of Claudius Templesmith's voice invites us to a feast. Clove and I seem pretty well off without any extra food. We could both hunt again, now that Clove's leg is pretty much fixed up.

Claudius seemed to recognize this thought, and hurries on. "Now hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation. But this is no ordinary feast. Each of you needs something desperately."

We need something? I looked around at our supplies. We had enough weapons. We could hunt. I notice that we are nearby the lake as well, so we could get water easily. What more could we need?

"Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. Think hard about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance," says Claudius.

There's nothing else.

Clove grabs my hand. She has a mischevious glint in her eyes. She obviously has a plan to kill someone. That someone is, obviously, Katniss.

She leans into me, and whispers her plan.