Victory - Cato Hadley

chapter five

I'm standing in my room naked. They just washed me and all that stuff. My stylist Velvette enters the room and starts doing my hair. She makes very loose curls and some tiny braids. My makeup is very decent. Thank god. It's just some golden eyeliner but I kinda like it. 
My dress is golden too. It's long and has a cut up to my thigh in it. Velvette puts a small golden crown on my head and secures it before looking at me closely. 
"You look stunning" she says dramatically.
"Thank you. I love it Velvette" I say turning to her with a big smile. 
She makes a last few touch-ups before letting me walk off. We're all staying at the training centre right now, so we're all on the same floor. The others are already waiting for me at the elevator. 

"You look beautiful Athena" Cato says softly. He's wearing a golden-black suit. It works perfectly with his muscles and his bodyfigure.
"Thank you" I say and smile back. I can notice him starting to stare at my cheeck. Must be the bruise I have from Brutus. My right jaw is severly bruised and my lip is a little swollen too. They tried to put makeup on but nothing really helped. You can still see a slight blueish tone and the swelling. 
"I got you good" Brutus says with a slight smirk on his face. He must've noticed too.
"Yeah, you did" I say, my smile fading away. 

The elevator ride takes almost an eternity before we reach the exit. There are limousines already waiting for us. Brutus and Enobaria get into one, and Cato, Alora and me get into the other one. We all get inside and Alora starts explaining to us.
"Okay, so you need to be on your best behavior. The people will want to speak with you. They want to get to know you better. Try to be as likeable as possible. Oh, and don't get to close to other people or they're going to notice your bruise" She continues blabbing about the whole evening but I zone out. I'm looking at all the people waiting infront of Snow's mansion. They're all standing infront of the gate and start shouting frantically as we drive by. Some even try to chase us but get lost. These people are crazy here.
Soon the car makes a stop and someone opens the door for me. It's the chauffeur. He holds out a hand for me and I kindly accept. The mansion really is huge. There's lights coming from everywhere. 
"You know the rules. Now let's go" Alora says and starts walking in front of us. Cato offers me his elbow and I link in. We start walking in synchro. 
"Hold your head up. Try to come off as tough and strong. They need to accept you" I say not taking my eyes off the entrance. The people there are already staring at us.
"Got it" he says also looking forward.

We walk through the people as they're making space for us. All of them are staring as if we're some kind of animals. I hate it. 
We continue following Alora until we reach the backyard. A lot of people are standing there chatting. There's even a dance floor.
We walking down the stairs, as a few of them come over and start talking to me.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you Athena. You're games have been phenomenal!" the man with orange hair almost shouts. He's wearing an ugly yellow suit that doesn't really come him.
The woman next to him looks just like Alora. She's wearing an all purple outfit. Even her hair is purple and high up in a ponytail.
"Thank you" I say and politely smile at them.
"You should really try these" she says and the man holds out a plate for us. It's some kind of small cakes with a pink decorating. 
"Thank you for the offer but I'm on a strict diet" Cato says seriously. I can tell he's lying because the corners of his mouth are slightly twitching. It's barely noticeable but after all these years in the same class I've catched it up. He's been doing this since forever.
My eyes switch back to the Capitol people again. They're awkwardly laughing right now, while Alora lookes at him shocked. Apperently it's not nice to deny food even if they didn't even cook it themselves.
"May I take you for a dance?" Cato asks holding out his hand for me to grab. He's slightly smirking.
"It would be a pleasure" I say smiling and we run off to the dance floor. The people slightly move aside, glancing at us every chance they get. I put my hand on Cato's shoulder, while he puts one on my waist and takes my other hand with the other.
"So, what do you think of the people here?" he asks me with his face a little closer to my ear.
"They're annoying" I say, and he chuckles.
"A little but I guess we have to stay here" 
"Can't we just run off. I doubt they would even notice, they're so feed up with themselves"
I look at the people around me. They look like they have nothing to worry about. Not like we do. They don't live in the districts. 
"And leave your own party earlier? Let's have some fun before we leave again" he says and moves a little back. Our faces are now inches apart.
We start laughing and continue dancing.