The Games We Play

The Hunger Games

My heart was pounding so loud that I feel like it was placed near my ear. I could not sleep because of the constant hammering inside my chest and so, to calm myself, I got up and used that machine near my bed which served dishes in minutes after inputting your order through a mouthpiece. I was then eating bread rolls with purple berries which tasted so sweet and tangy at the same time.

But I was still incredibly nervous... Almost jumpy.

Was I nervous about the Hunger Games? I must be. It'll start in a few hours.

Why?

Why now?

I got up my bed and chewed the last bit of the bread but found it almost dry and bland. Damn, I need water. Walking out of my room, I found myself facing an Avox whose bright green eyes looked as surprised as I was. She bowed a bit and stepped out of the way and when she looked up again, her eyes inquired about my needs. I shooed her off, not interested in talking to anyone and allowing them to hear my nerves. I continued walking, passing through the sitting room and the dining room. The kitchen was an uncharted territory – only Avoxes come in and out of it. I didn't know what to expect to see but I was definitely not expecting Cato who was closing the doors of the huge fridge by the corner.

He lifted his eyes from the pitcher he had in his hand and looked at me with those blue eyes which haunted me once in a dream. Cato looked as though he wanted to say something but thought better of it because he turned his attention back to the pitcher of water which he needed. I walked past him and opened the fridge – what greeted me was the array of weird colored products I have never seen in my life. I looked through whatever was in that fridge and found more oddities and no water. The only water was with Cato.

I looked at him and he too was staring back at me with a small smirk. "Say please." He murmured.

"Fuck it Cato. Let me have that."

What happened to not being allies? Why is he talking to me now?

"Alright. Making you say please is hard." Cato's amusement turned to stone. He was serious now, "Tell me the truth."

"What truth? All these for a glass of water?" I growled softly. This is getting me somewhere at least – even if I am too thirsty to talk. Maybe I could make him trust me again. Maybe this time, everything will be real. "Alright fine. It was our initial plan when I was too angry with you for saying that our friendship has an expiration date."

"What? But..."

I frowned at him, "Let me finish, please." When he spoke no more, I continued, "But after we became friends again... I never went with the plan. I never tried to make you fall for me, as though that will happen. No charisma, remember?" I laughed softly and sighed, "Water."

He poured me a glass of water and handed it to me before he spoke, "So you didn't do it? You didn't go with the plan? What was Enobaria saying? What did you say to her? What was that about?"

I drank the whole glass before saying, "I needed to tell her something but I seriously wasn't. It isn't my style." I scowled. "It's that Girl on Fire's. Not mine."

His blue eyes watched me – analyzed me as though I was something he could not understand. His gaze went softer by the minute, maybe he was going to forgive me. "Alright."

"Alright what?" My expression brightened considerably.

"If," There was a stress there, "that's true," Cato looked warily at me. I must've looked like an absolute traitor to him now. "Then I'll let you in my pack. Again. But we are not going to be friends. Think you can live with that?"