| " D E S I G N . " |

___♔___

I wake up the next day to silence. It's peaceful today. Today is a free day for all of us tributes, as far as I know.

But for now, I need some company.

I get out of bed, and grab some clothing from my closet. I put the clothes on, and put on some combat boots, then throw my hair up into a messy bun. I skip breakfast, sneak out of the living quarters, and get into the elevator. I press the button '1,' then wait for the doors to close.

The elevator seems to move slow, so I tap my foot to calm my nervousness. I've been meaning to talk to Cato since yeaterday, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So now is the best time.

I walk into District one's living quarters, and look around. Glimmer sits at the dining table, drinking a glass of milk while eating. No one else seems to be awake.

"Hey, Taylor," Glimmer greets. "Whatcha need?"

"I was wondering if Cato is here." I say. "I need to talk to him."

"Yeah, he's out on the balcony." She raises an eyebrow. "How did you know he'd be here?

"I didn't." I smile.

I walk towards the balcony, and slowly open the door. Cato's large frame stands at the railing of the balcony, overlooking the Capitol. Cato doesn't budge as I close the door behind me, and walk over to him.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I ask softly, stepping beside of him. He stares straight on, not responding. "I love the sights here. It soothes me when I need comfort."

"Why are you here?" He questions, looking over at me.

"Because I was stupid." I answer bluntly. "I shouldn't have took the advice that Ceneca gave me. I shouldn't have ignored you. It was wrong."

"You're finally figuring that out?" He chuckles. "I feel like you're only apologizing to get on my good side for the games."

"That's not it." I shake my head. "I've been in constant guilt since yesterday. I really am sorry, Cato."

"Why did you listen to him?" He asks.

"I thought it would be the best decision." I reply. "You scared me at the time."

"Are you still scared of me?" He stares down at me.

His ocean blue eyes get me every time . . .

I look away from him, turning my head. Cato let's out a loud sigh, and runs his hands through his hair several times. "Why are you so scared of me?"

"I don't want to be scared of you." I huff. "And I'm not really scared of you. I'm just scared of the games, of what could happen."

"I don't get it." He whispers, grabbing my chin, and tilting my head up so that my eyes meet his.

"Well, for starters, I'm scared that I'll lose." I frown. "And that I'll lose the people I care for."

"Like Zach?" He asks, furrowing his eyebrows. It makes him even cuter. I nod.

"Yes." I pause. "But I'm also scared of winning. Now that I've gotten here, I've realized how crazy I was for volunteering."

He stares down at me, with a knowing face. I swear that we stared at each other for about five minutes. But maybe I just got lost in time.

"Hey, Cato- woah," Clove cuts herself off as she steps onto the balcony. "Holy shit! I'm so sorry! I totally ruined the moment!"

I take a step back from Cato, and give him a smile. "No, it's fine." I turn to Clove. "I was just leaving."

"Who's leaving?" Marvel asks, joining us on the balcony, followed by Glimmer and Zach.

"Me." I raise my hand in a small gesture. "Bye guys." I make my way to the door, and through the tributes, just as the mentors get onto the balcony.

"You aren't leaving," Cato says, grabbing my arm, and pulling me into his chest roughly. "Because I've been wanting to do this for a while now."

In the snap of a finger, Cato's lips are on mine, surprising me. No, surprise would be the understatement of the century.

But nonetheless, I kiss him back. He holds my waist, and I wrap my arms around his neck. Loud applauds errupt from the careers and mentors, making Cato smile into the kiss. I grin widely as Cato pulls away, and plants butterfly kisses on my face with a happy look on his face.

"Finally," Gloss rolls his eyes, patting Cato on the back. "Never thought you'd have the guts, kid."

Zach grabs my hand, and pulls me away from Cato. Zach and Cato are the same height, which makes this next part even less intimidating.

"If you hurt her, I swear to god I'll snap your neck in the games." Zach threatens, still holding my hand.

"I won't." Cato says boldly.

"Good," Zach chuckles, then pushes me back into Cato's arms, "Because I've been rooting for the two of you."

"So, Taylor," Glimmer starts, looking at me, "Are you gonna go out with him or not?"

I put on a fake 'let me think about it' look, and shift my attention to Cato. He has a hopeful look on his face.

Awwwww.

"Yes." I nod. "Of course I'll go out with you."

He smirks, then kisses me again. Once again, cheers errupt from everyone on the balcony.

Today's gonna be such a good day . . .

___♕___

It turns out that I didn't get the entire day off. I had planned to stay with Cato and the other careers, but Ross had come for me in the early afternoon.

After leaving all of my allies behind for Ross, I was lead into his designing room.

"Okay, the reason you're in here is because of a fitting." Ross says, getting straight to the point. "Your dress for the interviews is finished, and I want you to try it on."

"Yay!" I smile. "I've been waiting to see it since we made the design. How did you get it finished so fast?"

"Not without stress." He chuckles. "But I managed. I have a few different styles of shoes that you need to choose from."

"Sounds good." I nod. "Can I see the dress now?"

"Yep." Ross takes my hand, and pulls me into a large closet. Inside, on a mannequin, is my dress. I gasp, eyeing each of the details.

"It's perfect . . . " I whisper, walking in a circle around it.

"You were the one who came up with the idea. I only carried it out." He smiles.

"Well, it looks exactly the way I wanted it to."

"Now try it on, girl. You have allies to get back to."

___♕___

Sure enough, my dress had fit perfectly. So after the quick fitting, and a choice of heels, I got the rest of the day off. Which was about five more hours at the most.

But, as much as I wanted time to myself, I had other matters to worry about. The careers and mentors wanted a huge meeting to go over our options for the interviews. I have to admit, I'm pretty nervous about the interviews. Because there's absolutely no pressure in walking onto a stage in front of thousands of people, and being televised across Panem.

Note the sarcasm.

So, to my disliking, I am sitting in District one living quarters, once again going over the plans for interviews. I already have this stuff down, so why am I here?

"As you all know, the interviews are televised." Stark says. "So it's critical that you get your roll down, and be prepared for any questions."

"These questions are sometimes designed for advantages," Enobaria speaks up. "Be careful how you answer, because other mentors and tributes will be listening closely to see how to throw you off."

"Don't show any weaknesses." Gloss adds. "They'll be watching for that."

"I don't get it." I cut in. "How would we show weaknesses while answering questions?"

"By giving it away." Cashmere answers simply. "One answer can let them know your weaknesses."

She turns around, and turns on the television. She types something on a keypad, which brings the screen to a picture. A girl stands, in her arena suit.

"This is Aliyanna Westress," Elaina steps up. "She was from District two, and was in my games." She pauses as Cashmere changes the picture of Aliyanna, to a video of interviews. "Aliyanna was one of the strongest people I met in the arena.

"She was confident in everything she did. And honestly, I thought she would win. But she didn't." Elaina steps aside, and Cashmere presses 'play' on the video.

On the video:

"And our next tribute is one of our favorites, folks. Please give a warm welcome to Aliyanna Westress!" Ceasar Flickerman yells, making the crowd go crazy.

Aliyanna steps onto the stage, a cream colored dress flowing at her sides. She walks over the Caesar with a huge smile on her face. The both of them sit down in their seats, and the Capitol citizens finally calm themselves down.

"So, Aliyanna, I think we were all happy to hear that you got a ten in private sessions." Caesar starts, looking over at her.

"Well, Caesar, I was happy too." She giggles, making the crowd smile. Caesar chuckles.

"Such a delightful girl." He smiles. "So can you give us a little hint of what you did, in front of the gamemakers?"

"Yes, actually." She nods, keeping a sweet face. "I used all of my talents. Spears, knives, axes, swords, tridents, a bow and arrow, mostly everything in there."

"Wow." Caesar raises his eyebrows. "Is there something you didn't do?"

"Well, I didn't swim." She laughs, a harshness to her tone. A look of complete terror crosses over her features as she speaks of water.

The video is paused, and Elaina stands back up.

"As you all saw, even Aliyanna wasn't smart enough to hide her fears." She says. "When I was backstage, watching the interviews, I knew instantly that I had to use water against her. So when the time came in the arena, I shoved her into the first lake I found."

"So it's as easy as that?" Cato asks. "You just pay attention to what they say, then use it against them?"

"Sometimes, it's not easy." Brutus shakes his head. "So we'll be helping you."

"Well what about Everdeen?" Glimmer questions. "She doesn't seem like she has any weaknesses."

"Yes she does," Clove nods, a smirk on her face. "Peeta Mellark."

_______