Skinny Love

6. Hero

Clove's POV

"Hey... Look at that," Cato's hand stretched up and pointed out a shooting star across the night sky. "Make a wish..." His voice was soft and it sounded like he was even extremely hopeful of his wish coming true.

A smile spread across my cheeks and I closed my eyes as I thought about my wish. What was it that I was going to wish for? I could wish that Ella's name on the reaping list was all a lie, but that would be a wasted wish. I knew her name was on that list. There wouldn't be anything that would change that. Nothing that I'm aware of at least... No amount of begging and pleading would do the trick. It would just get our places switched and Ella would end up volunteering to take my place when she knows that she has too much to live for here. She'll be safe these Games. I'll make sure of it myself. I'll be the one that volunteers for her instead and actually do my best to come back to them. Or at least be the one that is killed at the end so Cato can come back home... I won't be able to handle everything that I'll live through after winning the Games. I might end up like that girl from Four. We all know that she's a tad bit on the insane end. Who wouldn't be though? She ended up being the only one alive after everyone else was drowned in her Arena. She comes from the District surrounded by the most water for fuck's sake.

A hero... I wish for a hero. I'm going to need one in the Games. I wish that someone will be besides me to protect me in there. I probably don't deserve a chance like that though. Not that I'm aware of at least... Why would I deserve a hero in those Games anyways? I've been trained to kill anyone and anything easily. Swiftly. Heartlessly. Without a fucking trace of emotion. I don't think that I deserve a hero because of that. Not in my opinion at least. Someone from the outlying Districts deserves to win the Games for once. They probably aren't that well off right now. I doubt that the Capitol sends them that much food at least. We don't have to add our names for some tessera or anything like that. We get all of the food that we need. The Capitol loves us. Sometimes I think even more than they love District One.

I opened my eyes and looked up at the stars. There were so many things racing through my head right now. I don't even know where to separate all of the thoughts right now... Thoughts about the Games. Thoughts about training. Thoughts about being in there with Cato. Thoughts about everything else. I don't know if I'm going to be able to leave everyone behind. I don't even know that my token would be if I went into the Games. I can't think of anything that I would want to take with me into them. Or anything that Mother or Ella would want to give me. Maybe I'll get something that Father possibly left me. I don't think that he even knew about me though. I don't know... I guess it'll all depend on the timing of everything. I'm sure that Ella probably told Mother by now. Or she was the one that knew about it the most...

"So..." Cato looked over at me and I raised my eyebrow slightly after a moment. "What'd you wish for?" A smirk traveled across his lips and I have to admit that he didn't look that bad when he smirked. His eyes sort of brightened up even more like that.

"Well, if I tell you... I'll have to kill you," I couldn't control the smile that was spreading across my lips. He let out a laugh and propped himself up on an elbow.

"Alright... If you want to play like that, fine," he shrugged and kept his eyes on me.

Something about his mood began to change and it was bothering me a little bit. I didn't know what to really say to see if he was okay or to even make sure that he would be okay. I don't think that he was the kind of guy that would really talk that much about the way that he actually has some feelings beneath his cold exterior. At least not with me... He probably wants to keep things between us pretty simple. No emotional feelings or anything like that at all. It would be best not to get too attached to someone that you're going to have to kill at one point or another. That's happened before in the Games. A girl killed herself to get her District partner further along in the Games. I personally think that it was an idiot move. Why do that to yourself? I'm pretty sure she was a volunteer too. Why would you even volunteer if you thought that there was a chance someone else would be getting sent into the Games that you cared about?

"You okay?" Cato nudged me a little bit and I looked at him again. I hadn't even realized that he had been staring at me the entire time that I was spacing out and lost in my thought.

"Yeah. I mean... I'm worried that I'll freeze up a little bit when the Reaping comes. Like, I'll freeze up when they end up calling Ella's name and I wouldn't be able to function enough to volunteer myself to keep her here. She's suppose to be getting married soon. I don't want her to go into the Games and leave Daniel behind," my shoulders lifted in a slight shrug and I sat up slowly.

"Daniel Jones? That baker family? I so did not see her ending up working in that bakery for the rest of her life..." He was smiling slightly and it was clear he was trying to ease my mind a little bit.

"I know, right? I always figured that she would follow after Mother or something like that. Never that she would be ending up with him in the bakery. She can't even boil water without it going all over the place. It's so weird... She loves him though. They wanted to get married after the Reapings if all of us made it out safely. I knew that those damn fucking interviews were all just some sort of sick joke. They never cared about how we were doing. They only wanted to see who was having the best life so they could destroy that happiness," I sighed and shook my head a few times.

"You guys got interviewed, too? They came by one day to talk to Father and I was helping out with the bar when they did. They talked to us separately and I had a bad feeling about it. I knew that I should've been worried about it. Fuck...." He sighs and sits up completely.

He ran a hand though his hair and he looked out across the small clearing. It was like he couldn't even look at me that much right now. I kind of want to know what was going on in his head right now. What was he so worried about that he couldn't look at me? After a few moments of silence he ended up turning his head to look at me. His blue eyes had seemed as if they were pure ice. I don't even think I've ever noticed his eyes looking like that before. Fuck... Am I really looking at him like that right now? No, right? Right...?

"Look... Why don't we make a deal right now?" He rose an eyebrow at me and brought one of his knees up. He propped an elbow on his knee and seemed to be quite content to offer me a deal right now.

"A deal with the Devil himself? Hmm... No thanks. I think I'll be okay on my own," I tried to crack a smile at him and he didn't seem to be amused at all with my joke.

"Fine..." He nodded slightly and looked up at the sky for a moment. I rose my eye and bit my lip. It was getting late. I should be getting home before Mother gets upset at me about staying out so late.

"Sorry. I should get going though. We have training in the morning and I have a feeling the Enobaria is going to have me get my ass kicked on the mats. I want to at least be able to put up some sort of fight against whoever she pairs me up with," I sighed softly and slowly stood up.

He nodded slightly and didn't say anything to me. He didn't seem to care to say anything at all actually. His mind had to be racing right now. What was he thinking about though? I guess this deal was pretty important to him. Fuck... I should just agree and get it over with right now. It might actually be enough to help me out in training until I feel confident that I'll do okay in the Games. A girl can't just rely on her weapons. She has to know how to fight too... Maybe, just maybe he can help me out with my fighting skills. I might as well. I've seen him in biology class. He doesn't know too much about the plants that he can eat. He can barely tell which ones can kill him right now. He almost ate one in class actually. I'm just glad that I'm next to him in that class. I can tell him which ones not to eat and save his life.

"Alright... What is this deal that you want to make?" I rose an eyebrow at him and he looked up at me with a slight frown on his face.

"So no you want to make a deal with the devil? Interesting choice... What made you change your mind?" He rose an eyebrow and seemed to be content to make me practically beg for this deal right now.

"Common sense did. We both need each other's help in one form or another. Whose to say that we're in a position to turn that help down right now? No one. We both know that I'm not ready to go into those Games right now. I need to be confident that I can get into those Games and protect myself if I can't use my weapons at all," I kept my voice firm and I have no idea how I even did that.

Cato was quiet for a few moments as he considered what I said. He probably figured that I was joking or something. I really wasn't though... I need his help. I need to make sure that I'm up to kicking as in the Arena. That I can make it through some fights without getting murdered. I can handle some cuts and bruises, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle much more other than that. I've only sprained my right ankle once before when I was younger. It frustrated me and hurt a ton. The doctor said I was lucky to only walk away with a simple sprain though. I could've broken it that day.

"You're right..." He nods a little and looks at me with a serious face for a few moments. "I'll teach you how to fight if you tutor me in biology as much as possible. I'll go by you for the tutoring and then we can go to the Training Center to work on the fighting. They gave me a key to get in some extra training when I could. Two wants a Victor this year. I think that it should be one of us... Or both..." His voice had dropped at that last part.

Did I really just hear him right? He thinks that it should be one or both of us making it out of the Games. Both of us sounds pretty good, but that means that we're going against the Capitol. President Snow wouldn't be too excited about that. I don't know if District Two would be that excited about it either. They don't seem like the people that would want to go against the Games or the Capitol. But both of us... We both get to walk away from the Games. Neither of us has to leave our family behind. Neither of us have to die in the Arena. We could stay alive and be able to get through a lot more than we think we would be able to get through. Maybe my wish really is coming true right now. Maybe Cato Hadley is going to be the hero that I wished for only a little while ago. This could be the deal of our lives...

"Deal. We start tomorrow then. We don't have that much time to waste. You could easily end up eating a plant that could kill you tomorrow in biology. That wouldn't be very good..." I smiled widely and looked down at him. I extended my hand to shake on it and he stood up after a moment.

"Deal..." He shook my hand firmly and his eyes stayed on mine. "We don't want someone beating you to death in there. You gotta at least be able to hold your own until I can get there," he smirked and I instantly felt relaxed for some reason.

The deal that could possibly save my life was just made with Cato Hadley... My soon to be District partner in the 74th Hunger Games. Who knows... Maybe we'll both be able to get through the Games and end up coming home to our families. That would work out perfectly for me actually. I would be able to attend Ella's wedding and see her have the life that she always wanted to have in District Two...

"Come on... Let's get you home before either of us get yelled at," he smirked and pushed some of my hair behind my ear in a gentle motion.

"What was that for?" I frowned a little as we started to head back down towards our homes.

"It was bothering me," he kept his response short and shrugged a little bit. It was bothering him...? What the fuck was that suppose to even mean? Whatever though.... I think I'll be able to make it through the Games and actually feel confident about it for once in my life.

"Why don't we start tonight actually? I have my biology book at my house and there's an extra room that you can stay in if you want to just sleep there. You can give your Father a call or something," I shrugged a little and put my head down to watch where I was walking. Cato seemed to be considering the offer that I just made for a few minutes since it was so silent. I don't even think that I want to really know what's going through his head anymore.

"Yeah.... Why not? I need all the help that I can get with the damn plants. You probably aren't going to be at my side all the time to tell me not to eat something that could kill me," he nodded and a smile spread across my face.

"This is true. We can't have you dying if we both want to make it out of the Games alive," I smiled widely at him and he laughed a little bit at the thought. He gently grabbed my arm and stopped walking. His eyes were on mine and he was growing serious for some reason. I don't know why though. I mean,,, Wait, shit....

"You want it to be both of us making it out of the Games?" He rose an eyebrow at me and I couldn't help but think that it was my best option. I would have someone that I could talk to. Someone that actually went through the same Games as me. Saw everything that I saw...

"Yeah. It won't be the same here without your big mouth around here. Plus I'll end up going insane from everything that'll happen in the Games. I don't need that to happen. I need someone to be my date to Ella's wedding. That way I won't have to really deal with anyone there," I shrugged and looked up at him. His eyes seemed to light up with the fact that I really wanted to have both of us making it out alive.

"Talking to Enobaria wouldn't exactly be that easy with everything going through your head after the Game, huh?" He rose an eyebrow at me and a smirk as forming on his lips. I let out a laugh from the comment.

"Exactly. She went through a different Games and I don't think that she would really understand everything that I went through. She would just be the one watching me go through it..." My voice trailed off and we started walking again.

Cato nodded and walked besides me the entire time. He seemed at ease as we settled into a comfortable silence. The fact that neither of us were really bother by the quiet walk back to my house was calming. The thoughts that were swirling around in my head earlier seemed to disappear after a few moments. Things should work out for us in the Games. I have my hero after all...