| " F I G H T . " |

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I let out a long yawn, and sit up. I furrow my eyebrows when I look around me. I'm in my room, on my bed. How did I get here? The last thing I remember, I was with Seth . . .

Seth. He probably brought me here.

I look over to my clock, and see it's nine o'clock in the morning. I guess I slept the rest of the day yesterday. Training doesn't start for another three hours, and no one else is up. I slip on some comfortable clothes, and head to the training center quickly.

After I throw my hair into a messy bun, I walk into the training center to see a few tributes.

But I know them. The careers. Laila, Raley, Jonah, and Triton.

They're laughing, and talking about the other tributes. I hide behind the door, but listen closely to what they say from the distance.

"So who's on your kill list?" Raley asks Jonah.

"Definitely Chris and Deedee. Probably Lance and Tristan, too." He replies, taking off his jacket to throw a sword into the head of a dummy. "What about you, Raley. Anyone you want to kill?"

"Leane. I want to be the one to slaughter that bitch. Maria, Seth, Grace and Lily are some that are pretty tempting. But I might not kill Seth," Raley says hesitantly.

"Why not? Do you have a crush on him?" Triton tilts his head, wiggling his eyebrows. She giggles, and shakes her head. It takes a lot for me to not scoff.

"No. It's obvious that he likes Lana. I actually think she likes him too. Lana and I are getting close, so I wouldn't do that to her. I'll spare Seth, but only because of her." She states.

Triton's expression grows annoyed, but I shrug it off in deep thought.

Do I really like Seth? Does he like me?

"Who's on your kill list, Laila?" Raley asks, changing the subject when she sees the frustrated expression on Triton's face.

"Trent, and Creve. Those for sure," She answers. "What about you, Triton?"

Triton smirks. "Seth and Bane."

This makes me furious. He has no right to take down Seth and Bane!

Well, he does. But I don't want him to. They are my allies, and so is Triton.

Well, he was. But not anymore. I step out of the corner, their eyes growing wide when they notice my presence. I take my place in front of Triton, seething as all of the careers stop what they're doing.

"It's nice to know that you care about my feelings. So you're just killing any guy who has even a slight crush on me? Well, I don't play that way. I'm done with our alliance. And don't even think about going after Seth and Bane. You'll kill them over my dead body." I snap.

"Better look out, Jonah. If you like me, he'll kill you," I say smartly. A smile tugs at the edge of Jonah's lips at my remark.

"Lana, I-" Triton starts.

"Shut it. Like I said, our alliance is over. Stay away from me, and my allies. And if you go after any of them, I won't hesitate to kill you." I glare up at him. "Sorry Jonah, Raley, and Laila. I won't kill you, or even try for that matter. I still love you guys." I grin as I turn to the others, getting smiles in responce.

"Oh, and one last thing." I say, looking to Triton. I slap him as hard as I can, his head snapping sharply to the side. "That's for kissing me."

I dash out of the training center, shoving my way through the double doors. Instead of making my way to the elevator like I planned, I'm pulled into two strong arms. I grow confused, struggling against the person's grip. I glance up to see Bane and Seth staring down at me.

"We heard everything," Bane explains.

"Did you mean it?" Seth questions.

"I wouldn't let him kill either of you. I won't let his jealousy get in the way of anything." I nod. "If he does try to kill either of you, I won't hesitate to snap his neck."

"Good to know." Bane says with a smile.

"Now go get your training clothes on. After breakfast, we have training."

"You'll have to catch me first!" I yell, then proceed to sprint down the hallway with a wide grin on my lips.

___♕___

Triton's P.O.V.

I've never been hurt so much before. Never in my life, and I'm eighteen years old. No, I'm not hurt because Lana slapped me, although that did hurt.

When she walked out from around the corner, I knew that she had heard everything. And it made me feel terrible. But of course I want to kill Bane and Seth. They like her.

She was right when she said I want to kill everyone that has a crush on her. But I also want to kill everyone that hates her. I feel the need to protect her.

She's my everything, and I just let her go. Laila, Jonah, and Raley are glaring at me from the other side of the training center. It's been under five minutes since Lana stormed out, and they're already mad at me.

I understand why. They all loved her. Well, as a friend. I'm the one who loves her. Yes, I love-love her. Not just as a friend, but as a soul mate. I want her for myself. But I can't have her.

It's been only a few days since we met, and I feel as though I've known her my whole life.

This is the Hunger Games, and only one person comes out of the arena alive. Even if she was mine, it wouldn't be for long. We have under a week left here in the living quarters. After that, we have the games.

I don't want her to love me, and me die in the end. It would break her all over again. I don't want her to break like she did when Hollon died- something Bane told me when we first met. But that was when we first arrived at the Capitol, before we hated each other.

I know Bane loves her, and not in the friend way. The way he looks at her, kills me. I should be the only one looking at Lana in that way.

And I know that she is starting to grow on Seth. They've only known each other for a short amount of time, but I can tell that they're starting to like each other. Seth likes her a lot more than she likes him. I can see it in his eyes.

At first, he wanted not only an ally, but a friend. He got a friend, but now he's falling for her. I'm trying my best to pull them apart, but I can't. Not now. Lana just broke our alliance.

But it's not like I'm going to try and kill her. I'm still going to protect her. But I have to do it without her knowing. I'll have to keep an eye on her.

It's a little creepy, but I have to. I have to keep her safe. I have to get her home. Hopefully, after she wins the games, she'll remember me. Not in a bad way, but a good way. She'll realize that I wasn't such a bad guy. That's what I need to prove to her.

I might be a career, but a career can love too.

___♕___

Lana's P.O.V.

After breakfast, Seth, Bane, and I head to the training room. When we get there, most tributes had already started to train. Then I feel a set of eyes on me. Triton.

I scoff, and walk away without looking at him. I pick up a knife.

"Shin!" I yell out, then throw the knife into the shin of the dummy.

"Throat," I mutter, throwing the knife into the throat. I'm gain everyone's attention as I snatch a few more knives from the rack beside me. "Shoulder. Stomach. Forehead."

"Chest," I finish, the knife landing right in the center of the target. I smirk when I see some jaws have dropped.

I flip my hair, and walk to a different station.

Tridents. I throw a trident into the target, and look over to see Triton. He looks at me with an extremely hurt expression. It makes my smirk falter for a moment, but I casually smirk again, like it didn't happen at all.

I'm hurting him.

But it's his fault. He threatened my friends. I step away from him, and go to the swords station to start working with Jonah. After a few minutes, he puts his finger on his lips, catching my attention. I furrow my eyebrows, turning to where yells begin to echo.

"Stay the hell away from her!"

"Keep that advice for yourself. You're just using her!"

Jonah's eyes widen, and my jaw drops.

Triton and Bane.

Jonah grabs my hand, yanking me closer to where they are. We hide in the corner, not being seen. Everyone is gathered, watching them yell at each other.

"I would never use her like that. But I'm not sure that you could say the same," Triton snaps, making Bane chuckle

"Then why would I volunteer? I'm literally killing myself by being here, and I'm doing it for Lana!" Bane growls back.

This fight is about me.

I struggle in Jonah's firm grip, trying to get to them. But he refuses to let go, his grip only tightening.

"Don't pull that bullshit with me! You didn't volunteer for her, so stop giving everyone that imression," Triton narrows his eyes.

"Well you definitely aren't making too much of an impression yourself, especially considering the fact that you're threatening her friends and allies." Bane retorts.

"The only allies of hers that I've threatened are you and Seth. But that's for one reason. We all know that the both of you are 'in love' with her."

"I am in love with her. How could you not fall in love with her? She's perfect," Bane says, his voice going from a yell to normal.

"I'm in love with her too, but she's mine. So stay away from her, and we won't have a problem," Triton says sharply.

"You see, that won't work. She's mine." Bane growls. They look like they're going to pounce at each other. I wiggle in Jonah's arms again.

"Let me go!" I snap.

"No way! There's no way in hell you're going over there. They're about to fight, and you don't need to be caught up in it," Jonah says quietly.

"Please, just let go!" I beg.

"No!" He argues. I roll my eyes.

When I look back to Bane and Triton, everything goes in slow motion. Triton's jaw clenches, and so does his fist. I yank myself from Jonah's hold, and run over to the two. Just as Triton shoves his fist at Bane, I jump between the two. But Triton realizes too late, and the hardest blow I've ever felt, lands to my jaw.

Triton backs away slowly, his eyes wide as I grip my jaw. The pain is unbearable, and it sends me to the floor.

But unfortunately for me, my head hits the floor with just enough impact to knock me out. With all of the pain drifting slowly, and my vision blurring, the darkness sweeps me into a black place, leaving me there to see nothing at all.

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