8 hours.

That was how long you managed to sleep before you felt someone shake your shoulder, interrupting you from peaceful slumber.

"(Y/N), get up," a gentle voice murmured. "It's time."

You groaned as you opened your eyes groggily, then immediately bolted up in bed as Cinna's face came into focus, panicking.

"Cinna? Oh my god..." you murmured. "How long were you here?"

Cinna only chuckled as you got out of the covers. "Only a few minutes. It didn't take you too long to get up now. Don't freak out."

"I didn't mean to sleep in! I just...I just went out last night on the balcony and...oh god..." You looked down now at your arms to see that you were still wearing Cato's sweater. Then it hit you. Did Cato want you to have it? And was Cato the one who...tucked you in last night, kissed your forehead even? You suddenly felt a little dizzy and put a hand to your temple.

"Is that...it's not yours, right?" Cinna clarified with you.

"No no, it's not," you murmured, blinking a few times. "Um, that's not important, really. I'll get changed."

Cinna raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but he didn't question any further. "Clothes are just over here," he motioned to you. "There would be more things when we get to the arena."

The arena. You shivered as Cinna left the room, and you glanced down at the clothes by your bed. A simple black t-shirt and a pair of dark brown cargo pants were laying by the corner of your bed, and also a pair of comfortable hunting boots.

You first took off the sweater Cato gave you and hung it in your closet. You knew Cato meant for you to keep it, right? It was a symbol of friendship, to show that maybe he did care after all. But even so, you felt nothing strong for him, just gratitude for him being there last night. Slipping out of your nightgown, you quickly put on the clothes and met Cinna outside, walking with him all the way to the hovercraft that waited for you on the roof of the building.

Haymitch joined you now as you walked out with Cinna. "You know there'll be a bloodbath the moment the gong sounds," he murmured quickly to you. "Don't get too involved."

"Why not?" you asked him, raising an eyebrow in intrigue.

"It's a bloodbath there," he answered. "You'll get killed, you won't stand a chance. Find water, get some shelter and food. Don't worry about weapons until you can get your hands on one from a dead tribute. Or even a stone would work." He smiled and patted your shoulder. "Good luck, (Y/N)."

You nodded. "Thanks, Haymitch." You gave him a final hug and then headed onto the hovercraft, where you saw Peeta sitting right next to the only empty chair left on the hovercraft. Sighing in annoyance, you sat in that empty chair, he on your left side, Rue on the other.

Taking a closer look at Rue now, you closely examined her face, her eyes looking forward in determination, her focus unwavering. It was amazing just how quickly she adapted to the spirit and the grim atmosphere of the Games. You resisted all the urge to smile at her bravery, though. For all you know, she could last only a few days, even with a 7 in training under her belt. You finally tore your gaze from her and looked around at the other tributes. The fox-faced girl from District 5 was there, and Clove, and...Cato. He gave you a shifty smile, and you returned with a small close-mouthed smile and a nod.

As you all sat in the hovercraft, launched towards the arena, several female attendants went around holding out syringes. "Give me your arm," they'd tell a tribute, and the tribute would oblige to that, holding out their right arms as the tracker was installed in them.

"(Y/N)?" Peeta's voice finally cut through the silence as he turned towards you. He actually just finished having his tracker installed.

You turned around now to look at your best--no, wait, ex-best friend. "Yeah?"

Peeta took a deep breath. "Look, I thought through what I said last night, and I'm sorry. Honestly, I didn't mean to hurt you again. I realized I broke my promise. And I just want to ask you for forgiveness. Please, (Y/N)?"

For a moment, your (E/C) lingered on Peeta's light blue ones as you thought through your answer. It's been so many years now, eleven years into the friendship and you and Peeta have never fought in your life. Odds were that the moment you got into the Capitol, things changed. While you were both preparing for the Games, you two separated. You fought a lot, and it wasn't healthy for the both of you. You knew that. You tried to mend it the best you could. But what did he do instead? Profess his love for Katniss, claiming that he didn't wish to hurt you.

And now you were standing at a conflict. Did you wish to forgive this boy who has been sticking with you for so long only at the last minute to make your world collapse before the Games? Assuming that both of you, or just one of you, dies off, would now be the best time to clear things?

Suddenly, Cato's words from last night floated through your mind. "Maybe the time in the arena would give you some air time, to clear your head, you know? You can stay with us for a bit. Then clear things up with him."

You bit your lip in doubt. "Peeta..." You could feel Cato's eyes stare through you as you spoke, but you managed to shrug the presence off temporarily. "I know why you did what you did. And it's okay. Only one of us would manage to come out of the arena out of all 24 of us. I know you want to go home to Katniss. I get that. I won't have anything left if I win, anyway. You'd be gone by then." You looked away from him. "I wish I can forgive you, Peeta. I love you and you know that. But I can't bring myself to say it's okay. I...I can't forgive you, Peeta."

As the words left your mouth, you half-expected Peeta to start raging over you, but he only sighed. "I know why you wouldn't," he whispered.

"Everyone was rooting for us," you murmured to him. "The fact that you would just go for someone else...what would they say?"

Peeta shrugged. "It wouldn't matter."

"Oh yeah, of course it wouldn't," you spat back quietly. "You'll have Katniss. The girl of your dreams. And I'll have no one."

"What about Cato?" Peeta asked. "I know you two are pretty close."

"Peeta, stop thinking that Cato and I would be together," you hissed.

"Well, that's what I'm getting, since you wouldn't stop talking and hanging out with him in training," Peeta retorted.

"It was he who approached me, and it would never be the other way around," you said, and instinctively you felt your heart twist. This was not entirely true. Last night, it was you who was trying to find comfort, though it was unexpected for Cato to just appear on your balcony. Yet it was still you who approached him.

Peeta sighed again as he ran a hand through his blond hair. "Have it your way, (Y/N)," he finally said, turning away from you.

Just then, an attendant held out her hand to you. "Give me your arm."

Out of everyone in the hovercraft, you were the last one to receive your tracker. You only obliged as you quietly held out your right arm, and the tracker was inserted into your arm, your flesh.

Soon, you all landed in the arena, and you were all sent away to several places at once. The Launch Room was set in place for each tribute, and soon you were whisked away by two Peacekeepers who lead you through several dark winding corridors until they reached your designated area. One of them immediately opened the door for you, and you entered the room, unsure of what to expect.

Someone else was already in there, though. Cinna.

"Cinna," you managed to breathe in relief, hugging him hard.

"Here," he said to you, holding out a long waterproof light jacket that reached up to your knees. It was a very dark navy blue black colour. He helped you zip it up, and then he turned around and fished from his pocket the pendant your mom wanted you to wear in the arena--the sapphire pendant with the golden bird wrapped around it.

"Where did--I thought I lost it!" you cried, though honestly you didn't give the pendant any more thought after the parade.

Cinna smiled. "It only barely cleared the security check," he told you quietly as he did the clasp at the back of your neck. "Some people have hunches that there would be some kind of secret weapon behind it, but luckily they found nothing there. They did confiscate a token from District 1, though. The female tribute. Her token was supposed to be a ruby ring, but upon closer inspection they found it could eject a poisonous spike from the gem. She had no knowledge on that, but it's gone now." He then let go of the pendant, which bounced on your shirt slightly. Then he zipped up the rest of your jacket and held onto your shoulders as you took deep breaths, trying to calm down.

"You want anything?" he finally asked after a few moments of silence.

You nodded. "Maybe a glass of water."

Cinna nodded as he got it from a Capitol attendant, and he held it out to you. You smiled as you took it, taking small sips from it as you tried to let the nerves go away. They had to! You can't show yourself as a vulnerable person the moment you step into the arena, anyway.

"You okay?" Cinna finally asked.

You glanced up at Cinna, one of the only people you trusted so deeply since you got into the Capitol. "I'm just worried about...I don't know, a whole lot of things. Peeta's love for Katniss, my decision to die in the arena if I can't get out alive...I mean, I won't have anything to return to."

"(Y/N), you're a fighter," Cinna noted for you quietly. "I know you have a lot to risk yourself for. The girl you volunteered for? Primrose? She'll be watching you every moment. Don't let her leave your mind. Make sure you make the right choices, keep her alive as you move through the arena. Don't let thoughts of Peeta distract you. Do what you got to do."

"You mean, I do have someone to fight for," you finally said.

Cinna nodded. "Fight for Primrose. She'll thank you over and over the moment you get home."

You nodded as you gave him a hug. "Cinna, I'm really scared. Everything's so complicated."

"I know. I know." Cinna rubbed your back gently as he tried to think of a good answer to this one. "Maybe things would work out once you're in the arena. But for now, just focus on the task at hand. You have to get out of there alive." He let you go and looked into your eyes. "I'm not allowed to bet. If I could though...I'd bet on you."

Your eyes lit up at Cinna's words. "Really?"

Cinna nodded and gave you a gentle smile. "Really." He kissed you on the forehead, almost in the same manner as Cato did last night, and this coaxed a smile out of you.

"Thirty seconds," a cool female voice sounded over the intercom.

Cinna slowly let go of your arms as you took a final look at him, at the glass of water that you've put on the table. Hastily, you took a final gulp of water, finishing the entire glass as you set the glass back and made your way to the metal plate that awaited for you in the corner of the room.

"Twenty seconds."

Your footsteps and your heartbeat were all that you could hear. You felt the slight depression of the metal plate under you as you set your feet upon it, trying not to think about the cylinder that would cut you off from what could just be safety and security.

"Ten seconds."

"Do you need anything else?" Cinna asked you.

You shook your head. "I just want to thank you for everything. You've been a great friend to me."

Cinna nodded as he reached out his hand for yours, the same way Peeta used to. "I'll be watching you, girl on fire. Good luck."

Just then, the cylinder closed down over you, and you glanced at Cinna through the glass, a small sad smile tugging on your lips. He held his head high, gesturing you to do the same.

Without a second's hesitation you obeyed, and the plate began to lift you up higher and higher, away from the Launch Room, until your vision finally focused on a forested expanse. All of the tributes were standing on metal plates, standing in equal distances from each other, from the Cornucopia. You only set your face, your vision towards the Cornucopia, as you heard the voice of Claudius Templesmith boom throughout the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he announced in an enthusiastic and professional voice. "Let the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games begin!"

You let the words sink in as you positioned yourself on the metal plate, directing your feet in the direction of the Cornucopia. What does it matter how the others are? For all you can tell, you can outlast them if you just had the weapons in your hand. An image of your mom, Primrose, and even Delly flashed through your mind--the people you left at home. You knew that you had to fight. Fight for them, for the sake of seeing their faces in the flesh one more time. Especially Prim.

Above the Cornucopia, you saw that there were now 20 seconds till you were able to get off the plate and run to your desired bounties. You quickly assessed the pickings in front of you. It seemed that the further into the Cornucopia you got, you would afford to get some pretty rich things like a wicked scythe or a tent housing about 3 tributes, but the closer you got to your metal plates the weaker the options seemed. Your eyes caught on a glint in the sunlight, and you assumed that would be a plastic sheet. Works for anyone, you supposed. You resisted the urge to get off the plate--you knew the ground beneath you was mined, and if you stepped off the plate before the time was up you'd be blown off and it's game over for you.

Ten seconds remained. Your eyes flitted to the surroundings. There were a lot of trees off in every direction. You also allowed yourself now to glance at the other tributes, who were also wearing similar clothes to you but in different colours. Twelve colours, twelve districts. You didn't dare try to look for Cato or Peeta, knowing that trying to find them would make you lose concentration.

Finally, the gong sounded. You were finally free to leave your plate. Immediately you surged forward, scooping up a plastic sheet in front of you. There was also a loaf of bread which you pocketed. A few feet in, your eyes honed in on a backpack, and you ran towards it, grabbing it at the same time a boy from District 9 did.

"Give it!" you growled, ripping the backpack from his strong grip and kicking him hard in the gut before he suddenly coughed up blood and staggered forward, lying on the ground with a knife in his back.

"CLOVE?!" you screamed, retreating away from the rest of the bloodbath. Out of the corner of your eye you saw a bow and a quiver full of arrows, which you quickly grabbed and slung on your shoulders.

"What are you standing there for?!" Cato called for you. "Run! Go go go!"

You let your eyes wander a bit further as you assessed the situation. Most of the other tributes were lying senseless, probably already dead. You couldn't seem to find Peeta anywhere. Probably ran off into the woods without anything in hand.

"Yeah. I'm coming!" you finally called out for him, and with that, you let your feet take you after the Careers, but not before you felt a hand grab onto your shoulder and flip you over.

"Prepare for your demise," a boy, possibly from District 5, growled.

You pulled out an arrow and shot it immediately into the boy's chest. "I don't think so." Wriggling out of the boy's loosening grip, you retrieved the arrow and tore after the Careers again, not daring to glance back as you finally entered the wood.