"Just remember to get the careers to like you both. They are the ticket to winning the games without killing a lot of people." Newt said as we were getting ready for the first day of the training. I was tying the lace of my shoes and eating a piece of roll at the same time as we were quite late. "(y/n) you have to show off your perfection at aiming at stuff, and Chad you should show off your strength. But don't forget survival skills. Trust me, they are bloody important." He finished in his thick British accent.

"Don't worry Newt," I said, giving him a small smile "we'll be fine"

He pulled me into a hug and I returned the gestured. "I know you'll do great, I just hate the capitol to put us all in this twisted mess" he mumbled against my neck. I pulled away and gave him a huge smile before mumbling that things will be alright.

Chad and I made our way to the training center. We were around 20 minutes late and because of that when we entered, everybody dropped what they were doing and stared at us. After a moment, they resumed training when a lady in her late twenties approached us. "Hello there! Thought you both were going to skip the training today" she said, while Chad and I gave her sheepish smiles. "I am Atala, head trainer. Before you guys came in, I just briefed the other tributes about each training section. There are four compulsory exercises, and then then rest will be individual training. My advice is don't ignore the survival skills. Everybody wants to grab a sword, but most of you will die from natural causes. 10% from infection, 20% from dehydration. Exposure can kill as easily as a knife. And one main rule is that no fighting with other tributes till you get into the arena. Got it?" We both gave a nod and she dismissed us.

The tributes from 1 walked over to us and nervousness already took over my mind.

"You must be (Y/n) and Chad. Quite an entrance you made at the parade." The male Blondie said. "I am Jared and this is Isabella." He nodded towards the other girl who was still smiling like an idiot since the reaping. "Now that we are done with the introductions, let us go to the weaponry. District 2 is waiting there for us." I gave a curt nod and started walking with them. As we made our way I saw many of the tributes practicing at various sections. The temptation to run away from the careers and go towards survival skills was very high. But I resisted the urge because without the Careers, I knew I was doomed.

Upon reaching the weaponry, the tributes from 2 introduced themselves. Ashton was like a lost puppy behind Jared, while Stephanie was actually quite nice. She was the only person in the career pack who actually seemed like a true ally.

"C'mon (Y/n), show us what you got" Isabella said while pointing towards a spear. I doubted if she would be able to lift that considering her petite frame. "Show us if you are actually worth all the attention." She smirked. That made me want to give a snarky comeback on her stupid words, but I just gave a fake smile and grabbed the spear and went towards the target. The rest of the pack dropped what they were doing and paid attention to see me. I aimed for the target and took a deep breath. I closed one eye and pulled the spear back and launched it. It hit a few centimeters away from the center. I frowned at my result. I looked towards Isabella who gave a simple shrug and said, "Guess you aren't worth it after all."

A spark of anger ignited through my body. I grabbed another spear and threw it with such a force that it not only hit the target dead center, but pierced through it completely and hit the wall behind. Her smirk was completely wiped out of her face and I gave a reply, "Guess I can.", with an innocent smile. I looked around and saw the entire lot of tributes staring at me with mixed emotions. Jared had an impressed look while Stephanie looked at me with awe.

"That was freaking cool!" Ashton said, breaking the silence. "You, (Y/n), are my new favorite person!"

I gave a small chuckle and said, "Aren't I flattered!" With that I took some daggers and threw them at the targets, each hitting the center perfectly. Isabella was fuming and stomped off.

To say everyone was scared as I walked towards the survival section with Stephanie was an understatement. They cleared away from the path as we made our way through. "You have to teach me how to do that. That was pretty awesome.", she said. Steph was the only one who agreed to come along with me to have a go at the survival skills instead of the weaponry only. The rest, as expected wanted to only use knives and machetes.

"Definitely" I replied. We started off by making fire. I kept turning the stick between my palms for so long that blisters started to form, and still I had no smoke, let alone a spark. I looked over to Steph and she had an amazing blaze of fire going on. I gave her a look filled with surprise and she merely shrugged. "Teach me!!" I practically yelled with desperation and she chuckled at my situation.

She guided me through the whole process, from teaching me how to actually move the stick, to how to blow on the embers after getting a spark. With a few tries I finally got it. I let out a massive sigh of relief and she laughed at my reaction.

We moved on towards the section where we had to identify the poisonous plants from the edible ones. After listening to the instructor who briefed us each type of plant, I found that there was a berry called the nightlock. It was incredibly similar to an average blue berry, but apparently it was deadly. The only difference was that it was a little smaller and more oval that a blue berry. I decided to keep that in mind if I ever came across one in the arena.

Steph practically dragged me to the arrow section and begged me to teach her how to shoot.

"Alright!" I gave in. I made her stand in with the bow and an arrow perfectly positioned in her hands. I turned her towards the target and corrected her stance. "Remember, try to remain still and focus on the target. Take a deep breath, aim and shoot. It's quite simple really. You just need to practice." She nodded and took position to shoot. She released the arrow and it hit the target's outer circle. She gave me an unsure smile. "For you first try you did quite well. C'mon, again." She tried few more times and she improved considerably each time. Finally after 20 shots, she hit the center. She jumped up and down and hugged me. "That's great Steph! You are a fast learner." She gave a bow and we both laughed.

"Hey guys! Whatchya doing?" Came an annoying shrill voice which caused us to turn around. And of course it had to be Isabella.

"Playing hide and seek." I replied sarcastically. Steph snorted at this and Isabella chose to ignore it.

"It's lunch time. I just came here to tell you that we all have to act like we are above everybody. Jared and I already are at the top of the pack, so you just have to play along." This made me roll my eyes.

"Whatever" I mumble back. She left with a flip of her red hair. Steph and I exchanged a knowing glance about our mutual dislike for her. We left for lunch and that concluded our first day of training.

The tributes usually had the chance to mingle with each other and make allies during lunch. But being the careers, we knew that we were on the top and didn't need to have strategies. Just force and strength was enough.

After lunch we headed back to our respective floors and I plopped down on the sofa. It was a tiring day with all the aiming and shooting daggers, arrows and spears. I was on the verge of falling asleep on the couch when Newt came in along with Nat.

"How was training?", he asked. I grunted in response. He sat down next to me on the sofa and I, suddenly with a boost of confidence, rested my head or his shoulder. I could feel his body go tense and his breath hitch. I glanced over at Nat who had the look on her face. A look that made me blush. A look that said, 'what the hell is going on between you both'.

With a small smirk on her face, Natasha suddenly squealed making me jump, "(Y/n)! I need to talk to you about....something related to your fashion choices."

Lame excuse Nat. Seriously?

"Come with me to your room, yeah?" she finished with an innocent smile. I so badly wanted to wipe it off her pretty face. I mumbled a sure and to my dismay had to get up from the comfortable couch and went into my room with her following behind.

As soon as we entered my room, her blue eyes widened. "You and Newt. Since when did this happen?", she asked. More like demanded.

"We aren't together!" I exclaimed. "I....uh...we...ugh!" I stuttered as my cheeks were getting red.

"Go on, I need details!"

"Alright. I kind of like him? I guess. I've always felt something for him. Please don't tell anybody! Especially Newt. I wanted to tell him before he went into his games but couldn't find the courage to and then I just left it and never thought about it, but after I was reaped he was so caring and the feelings came back and-"

I was stopped when Nat put her hand on my mouth and had an amused look on her face. "Girl, you need to calm down. Listen, this life of ours is messed up, Trust me. I know you may feel that with everything going on, there is no room for love. Go and tell him as soon as possible. And stop fiddling with that pendant, you may break it!", she exclaimed.

Only then did I realize that I was constantly playing with the beautiful charm Newt had given to me all those years ago. I smiled sheepishly. She took a deep breath and continued. "I was in love once, you know? Back home in district 1." I had no clue she was from 1. "Charming guy he was. So funny, always took care of me... But then the games happened and he was reaped as a tribute. My mom was a victor, so she went as his mentor and I tagged along. He won, but the capitol saw me as a plastic doll and forced me to become an escort for the games. They even threatened me that if I refused, they would harm the people I love, they always do that. To everyone. So here I am as your escort, leaving him behind." She gave a sad smile. I immediately gave her a consoling hug. "(Y/n), don't let the chance go. Do how much ever you can before he slips between your fingers. But if you think for one second that, that lad doesn't like you back, then know that you're lying to yourself ." I hugged her tighter. I was really confused and I didn't know what to do. I really wanted to tell him, but if I didn't make it back from the games then he would be in more pain. And that is something that I never wanted to happen.