The Story of Us

Chapter Seven

Clove's PoV 

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I blink at the ceiling at my room for the seventieth billionth time. I never fell asleep that night. Cato was on the brain and no matter how hard I forbid myself to think of him, like all the other hopeless romantics at D2, he stayed on the brain. Sleep leaves me. It is unreachable.

Finally I can't take it any longer. I sit up, looking out the window next to my bed. Dawn is just now approaching. If only it had come earlier, it would have saved me a few hours of the agonizing aspect of 'untiredness'. I get out of bed, dressing into clothes that I can wear to the training arena if there isn't time to come back and change. I leave my room, not bothering to lock it. Quickly I make my way to Cato's quarters before I can change my mind. I knock on his door, silently begging him to be up. I hear his heavy footsteps come to the door before he opens it. Without saying anything, I let myself in. He looks slightly surprised, but he remains silent. He is shirtless and barefoot, only having pants on. I don't want to stare. Not at his finely toned muscles, hard-core abs, rippling blue eyes, sandy tossled hair. I shake my head slightly. Snap out of it Clove.

I force myself to focus. "Look, I have something to say, so don't interupt me until I am finished. I don't know how to respond to your little," I search for the right word," confession earlier. So don't ask me how I feel because I don't know. But I do know one thing. Cato, you're a powerful Career. And I want to be on your side when the Games start." I am silent as I look up at him. His face displays a moment of joy, before it disappears as quickly as it came. He outstreches his hand saying, "Allies?" I shake on it. Deciding to trust him because when Cato Jacov makes a promise to his friends, he keeps it. And I am desperately hoping that I am more than that so he'll be more inclined to keep his promise.

* * *

The training center is unique. Its housed in a gym-like structure, and is full of all types of weapons, as well as climbing bars and obstacle courses. We're one of the first to arrive, District Eleven beat us, so we get the examine the courses. After a time, the other tributes trickle in. I look for the girl from District Twelve, wanting to throw a knife between her eyes.

She arrives with her partner, the last district is the last to arrive. I roll my eyes and stand closer to Cato. I watch as a tall, sturdily built woman named Atala begins to explain what will take place. The sum of it: we have free range of the floor and all of its objects. Finally, we're dismissed and I head straight for the knives. Enobaria and Brutus, though mostly Enobaria because Brutus was drunk again, told us to show off. Make the other tributes fear us. And that is exactly what I plan to do.