𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧 | c. hadley (on hold)

04. i'll kill her

"drew!" i recognized the voice immediately as i made eye contact with cato. i forced my way through the crowd of tributes, mentors, and stylists and stood beside him, aphrodite, someone who i assumed was cato's stylist, brutus, enobaria and cedric. i was so thankful to see cato finally i didn't have to be trappped alone with that freak, cedric anymore.

cato and i were both wearing solid gold gladiator armor with a matching headdress. the armor really complimented our muscular builds, especially cato's. he looked good.

i won't lie, cedric had done an amazing job getting me ready. i looked fierce and sexy. but that didn't stop the fact that he made me uncomfortable and i was more than willing to cut his hand off.

cato leaned down and muttered in my ear, "you look great."

"you don't look so bad yourself," i smirked up at him, he responded with a grin.

"ooh, almost time for the parade!" aphrodite cooed and clapped her hands together. "my favorite part! get in the chariot, dears!"

i did as i was told. men on the left, women on the right. the black horses pulling the chariots were getting restless, ready to go and run.

"give the tributes something to fear," enobaria instructed, flashing her fangs as she spoke. easy for her to say.

i took a good look around and eyes the other tributes. most of them were pretty small this year. aside from cato the only buff one was from district 11.

i eyed district one's tributes in front of us. our "allies". we work together, or use each other, until it's only us four left. then we turn on each other, until only one remains. both of the tributes looked around seventeen or eighteen. i assumed they both had volunteered as cato and i had. they were wearing a pink feathered outfit to represent their district. luxury. the boy was pretty tan with a sandy colored hair. he looked decently strong and athletic. but cato made him look shrimpy. the girl was pale with blonde hair. she was very pretty. of course she was. that's how district one gets sponsors. by looking pretty and being decently trained. that's all they value there.

something about this girl just made my blood boil. whether it is was the fact that she had everything i didn't, or the way she was eyeing cato, had yet to be determined.

she was definitely eyeing cato. i felt a wave of jealousy pass through my body. i gritted my teeth and looked away from the girl.

it's nothing. she's just trying to take advantage of him for the games.

"what's wrong?" cato asked, studying my face.

"what?" i jumped slightly in surprise. was he reading my mind?

"you look pissed. what's wrong?" he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear.

"if you must know- look at the girl in the chariot in front of us," i said simply. studying his face as he looked ahead.

the blonde girl winked at him and blew a kiss before flipping her hair and turning back to look ahead of her.

my glare deepened on the girl. if i was in a cartoon, steam would be blasting out of my ears by now.

"okay.." cato turned back to me. "so she's trying to get in my pants."

"and take advantage of you for the games," i snapped.

he scoffed. "yeah, right. like i'd ever let that happen."

i huffed and crossed my arms.

i felt cato get closer to me, his face hovering behind my ear. "i'm not into hoes. i like girls that can give me a run for my money."

my head snapped up as i looked cato in the eye. he winked and my face flushed red.

"i'll kill her, you know," i muttered under my breath.

"oh, i know you will," he chuckled. "i'll help."

i couldn't keep a straight face anymore. a laugh burst out of me as i rested my forehead on cato's arm. after a couple moments passed, he moved his arm around my shoulders.

"i like it when you get protective," he smirked.

"oh really?" another blush crept onto my cheeks.

"yeah, it's hot."

i snorted before the chariot took off. cato quickly removed his arm from my shoulders as we both put on our game faces.

i faked the best smile i could and waved a hand to the crowd. the arena was incredibly loud, i could barely hear myself think. if i didn't suffer from some kind of hearing loss after this, it would be a miracle. everyone that lived in the capitol was here. the country was getting their first glimpse at the tributes of the 74th annual hunger games. the rich were getting their first idea of which tributes they would sponsor. it was important to look good during the parade. the better you look, the more you impress. and the more you impress, the more sponsors you get. and sponsors could save your life.

cato and i honestly didn't have you worry about not getting sponsors. being a career tribute, we're the better trained, best prepared, strongest tributes in the games. sponsors come in like crazy when you're a career.

i had almost zoned out through the rush of everything when the sound in the arena multiplied by about four times. i furrowed my brow in confusion. all of the teams that were worth anything had entered in the beginning. why the hell where the people going crazy now?

i looked up at the giant screen to see both tributes from district twelve on fire. fire?! district twelve barely even competes. they literally only have one victor, ever.

"are you kidding me? why wouldn't we be on fire?" cato growled. "instead they stuck us in these stupid, gold dresses."

"because we don't need to be on fire to look hot," i replied. not even bothering to look at cato when i said it.

i could sense his smirk to my right. "honestly, i'm going to find a way for both of us to come out of these games alive."

"good luck, it's impossible," i looked cato in the eye as the dark horses pulled the chariot to a stop.

"it might be. but i'm not letting you die. i'll protect you," the softer side of cato was showing now. this wasn't necessarily the best place for him to show his emotions, but it was nice to see soft-cato again.

"you make me sound weak," i scoffed. "don't forget i've been training for as long as you have. and 'i can give you a run for your money'."