Ooooookay! First Hunger Games fanfic! :D Completely obsessed with this series. Hope you like it! Review at the end!

Oh and I know I'm giving Cato a weird last name, but Hematite (the mineral) is blood red and violent looking, in my opinion, and I think the way I used it sort of fits in with the unusual string of names the HG series has to offer. Just wanted to throw that out there.

Continue!

Katniss Everdeen did not want to be part of the Hunger Games. In fact, she wished she were at home, in the coal dust covered confines of District 12, but Prim didn't deserve to die. Maybe this year's games wouldn't have been so hard on her if she didn't have a relationship with two of the other tributes. Peeta Mellark had saved her life when he threw her burnt bread one rainy night. Why Peeta had to be reaped as her district partner and enemy, she did not know. All she knew was that when they watch the replays of the reapings in the Penthouse suite of the hotel that housed all the tributes, she about died of shock. Cato Hematitus, Katniss' childhood friend, had just volunteered for the Hunger Games before her eyes, making him her opponent, her enemy.

When Katniss was about 13, kids of all ages showed up from District 2 claiming to be on a 'Field Trip'. They were all career tributes, or would be when they were old enough. Four students were assigned to her class, one of which was Cato. At first they hated each other, but before the two week long stay was up, they'd become friends. Cato promised Katniss he would come back and see her again if he could. If he couldn't, then he would come back after he won the Hunger Games, and make sure Katniss and her family were taken care of. He swore it.

Cato started showing up on the Victory Tours with whoever won the Hunger Games that year. Part of the time, he would be 'Training' for his own Victory Tour, but the rest of the time, he could roam free. Somehow, his feet would always lead him to the doorstep of the Everdeen residence. He even managed to make special visits to District 12 with the Capitol's coal retrieving system, so long as he had an escort. He would pick Brutus, one of the previous victors of District 2, and claim that he wanted Brutus to introduce him to Haymitch Alberthany, the only living victor of District 12, for advice on the Hunger Games. Which wasn't a complete lie. Cato would spend months living with the drunk, just to spend time with Katniss. He walked her home from school, she taught him how to hunt (Gale wasn't happy about that, but Cato eventually grew on him), and when her father died, Cato helped her pick up the pieces.

The pair were all but joined at the hip before long, so when Cato had to explain that he wouldn't see Katniss again until he won the Hunger Games, the goodbye was a painful one, only to be made slightly better, and slightly worse by Cato passionately kissing Katniss goodbye. She was fifteen to his almost seventeen at the time.

That was the last time she saw him. Now they were here in the Capitol, in the same hotel, one elevator ride away and they could not speak. Katniss was fairly certain he didn't remember her, or maybe he wanted to win the games so badly that he didn't care anymore. She couldn't quite tell.

"Hey Katniss, Haymitch said we need to go to sleep. We have training tomorrow first thing." Peeta said gently, tapping her shoulder.

She nodded and walked to her room without even telling him goodnight, as she lacked the energy to bring herself to talk to or care about the boy with the bread. Cato stuck to her thoughts like a spiked bur to her pants in the woods and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake him off. Specifically when she thought about that one and only kiss she'd received last time they were together.

She peeled off her clothes, and fell into a deep sleep, barely aware of the too comfortable bed where she resided. She might have dreamt the avox girl coming in to remove her dirty laundry, and certainly she dreamt of the note she left of Katniss' bedside table. And when her odd dreams turned to Cato back in the woods with her in 12, she knew she was dreaming…

Until she woke up the next morning.

Katniss,

We certainly have a lot to talk about don't we? I'll keep it short for now. Brutus and Haymitch are planning something. I told them I wasn't leaving the arena without you. Prim and Gale need you. And quite frankly, so do I.

I know acting isn't your forte, but we need to pretend we don't know each other. I have a plan of my own; Brutus said he'd tell Haymitch, and that Haymitch would tell you. I hope that I can beat him to it, because I want to tell you myself.

Stay away from the Bows and Arrows in the training room for now. Your skill in that particular field may be your highest advantage throughout the games.

Stay safe.

-Cato

:D sooooooo? Like it? Chapter two is ready for posting, all that will keep me from doing so is the review count. *hint* *hint* ;) XOXOXO

~D.A.K-hime