A few weeks passed after Cato arrived back from Two and Celeste had gone back to her usual business of avoiding Cato as much as possible. Only this time, she didn't seem to be trying as hard.
Occasionally, Celeste would even allow herself to be caught by him, giving him a few minutes before returning to her duties. And while it wasn't much, it was still progress.
Besides her habit of avoiding Cato, Celeste often found herself training for war. At first, Celeste and her doctors were against the idea of fighting again, worried that the battlefield would only trigger her time in the Capitol. But President Coin did not seem to care about that. Not when she needed as many victors on the field as possible -- especially the victors captured by the capitol.
And Celeste, according to them, was the only suitable option seeing how damaged the other three were. In truth, Annie was never in the running to be the star survivor, not with her reputation after the games. And Peeta was too much of a flight risk to even consider, at least for now.
So, that left Johanna and Celeste.
After the numbers were dialed down, both girls were put into training to prepare for a test of eligibility. Katniss, too, joined them during training sometimes after she healed up making for a surprising trio.
"Have you talked to Cato recently?" Celeste heard Katniss mutter as the three begrudgingly stretched. Unlike Celeste, Katniss and Johanna had an urge to fight. But even they despised training.
"A little," Celeste replied, continuing to pay attention to her stretches.
"Remind me why you're not talking to him again?" Johanna cut in, "I thought your sessions with the doctors were going well."
From beside her, Celeste could hear a smack before Johanna let out a quiet yelp, causing her to roll her eyes.
"They are," said Celeste, finally turning towards the other girls, "It's just complicated."
"Complicated like your fear to apologize to him?" Johanna teased, shooting Celeste a knowing look. Celeste rolled her eyes at this.
"Alright. Changing topics," Katniss cut in, growing visibly uncomfortable by the two's dynamic. Johanna and Celeste let out a chuckle at that but swiftly moved on.
"Hey did you hear about the big wedding?" Celeste chimed in, smiling ear-to-ear as she thought about two of her closest friends getting married. Both Johanna and Katniss nodded.
"I heard it's going to be extravagant," Johanna grunted, sarcastically throwing up air quotes around her words.
"Yeah right. With how strict Thirteen is? That's not happening," Katniss muttered, looking around the dull surroundings of Thirteen as the other two let out snickers.
"Fair point," Celeste laughed out, gaining the attention of Soldier York.
"Ladies. Get to work."
And with a loud huff, the trio began their training.
-
A few days later, it seemed like preparations for the wedding were complete. And finally, the big day arrived. Celeste smiled happily as she and her sisters helped Annie get dressed, dressing her in one of Katniss's green dresses before placing a simple veil over her head.
"This is beautiful, Cecilia. Thank you," Annie breathed out as she smoothed out the veil. Cecilia smiled brightly at the compliment, taking pride in her work.
"It was nothing. A bit harder than weaving a net, but manageable enough. Plus, I had some help," Cecilia replied, nudging Celine. Annie smiled nervously at that, hands shaking slightly as she thanked both the girls again.
"You ready?" Celeste asked, grabbing onto her friend's hand with a sincere look.
"Of course," Annie muttered, fidgeting slightly, "Will you be okay? With the whole wedding thing and all-"
"I'll be fine," Celeste reassured her friend, not letting her worried thoughts continue, "Now, let's get you married."
-
The ceremony was rather beautiful. Nothing too extravagant, and yet, the love of her two friends shined so brightly it rivaled one of the Capitol's.
With being the only one with personal experience of the rituals of a District 4 wedding, Celeste had been asked to act as the officiant. Of course, Celeste easily agreed, wanting nothing but the best for her friends.
Celeste could not stop herself from tearing up with happiness as she placed a net over the couple during their vows, wiping a few tears away as she listened to her friend's simple speeches.
Everything about the ceremony was perfect. From the singing of the wedding song to the saltwater kiss. And just as it started, it ended beautifully.
And quickly, the celebration began.
Celeste stood off to the side as she drank some cider, watching as a group of people danced in the center as the fiddler played.
"It was a beautiful ceremony, wasn't it?" Celeste heard from next to her, turning to see Cato. Celeste smiled softly as she looked from him to the happy couple.
"It was. I'm glad they finally get their chance to be happy," Celeste replied, having nothing but love for her friends. Cato smiled at that, nodding his head.
"And you did amazing. I didn't know you knew how to officiate a wedding," Cato replied, causing Celeste to laugh.
"I don't. But I was the only one with experience, so they asked me to do it," Celeste replied, remembering her own wedding. Something that has become a mere afterthought as of late.
Times were much simpler then, Celeste thought. When her biggest obstacle was whether or not Snow wanted to forcibly marry her and Cato for entertainment. What she'd do to go back there.
Cato also seemed to be reminiscing, smiling with his head down as he thought on.
"Well you did great," the boy muttered, causing her to smile.
"Thank you. It means a lot," Celeste replied, looking at the boy one more time before putting down her drink.
"How about a dance?" Celeste asked, eyeing the boy with a playful look.
"I don't dance," Cato shot back, clearly joking. Celeste rolled her eyes at this, grabbing onto his arm.
"Yes, you do. Let's go," Celeste urged pulling the two to the dance floor where a group of people flocked together for a spinning circle. Celeste spun around the room happily, finally enjoying herself for the first time in a while as the fiddler played. Cato, too, seemed to be having a wonderful time, keeping his gaze on Celeste as she let herself have fun.
The two danced with the crowd for three songs, before making a run for it out of the circle. Celeste laughed loudly as she stumbled away from the group accidentally bumping into Cato's chest.
"Oh. Sorry," Celeste breathed out, trying to catch her breath from all the excitement. Cato quickly waved her off with a smile.
"It's fine," Cato muttered, looking down at Celeste as she finally pulled her attention back toward him. For a moment, Celeste felt herself wanting to be closer to Cato, gulping as she looked up at the boy she loved.
And the look on Cato's face was more than inviting. Slowly, the boy started to lean down, hand reaching for Celeste's as he went to pull her closer. Celeste let herself be tempted for a moment, eyes wide as she thought of finally being close to Cato again.
But then, she heard a loud laugh from the crowd, pulling her back to her senses. Quickly, the girl pulled away, clearing her throat as she looked anywhere but Cato. Cato, too, backed away, awkwardly looking down.
"Um. Anyways, I should go see Peeta," Celeste muttered, bidding the boy an awkward goodbye before rushing off toward her friend.
Talk about awkward.
-
The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch and soon, everything came to an end. Celeste found herself spending the rest of the day with Peeta, isolating themselves as they hid from their companions. But it wasn't like Celeste minded. She rather enjoyed Peeta's company.
And for the next few days, Celeste found herself gravitating toward the younger boy when she wasn't training. Contrary to what some others may have believed about them, what they had was nothing but a friendship. One out of mutual understanding.
The nation's sweethearts turned sour.
Only Peeta and Celeste could understand that sentiment. No matter how much the others tried.
So, while Celeste was glad Peeta wasn't being forced to fight in the war any longer, she also was saddened that she would be losing her friend for a while.
At least she had Katniss and Johanna. Or so she thought.
On the day of Soldier York's decision, Celeste found herself dragging. Of course, she was in the best shape compared to the other two, relatively healed from any bruises the Capitol might've left on her, but it was her mind that was the biggest obstacle.
Still, Coin was insistent on at least one of the surviving captives going on the mission and so, Celeste knew her mental health would be disregarded.
The first thing Celeste encounters with the squad is a challenge of 'poisonous' gas. Thankfully, all three of the girls succeeded, getting their masks on in just enough time before they were knocked unconscious. Celeste's skin crawled as she inhaled an eerily familiar scent, but she tried her best to conceal her expression enough to pass the test.
Then, the group was taken to the firing range to asses their skills with a gun. Celeste struggled with this, eventually opting for a spear Beetee made for her rather than the gun. Soldier York complained about that, but Celeste refused to give in, explaining that she'd throw it if needed.
And finally, the physical assessment comes to an end with a solo assessment. As Celeste made her way into the block, she noticed two soldiers dressed as peacekeepers ready to fight her.
Celeste examined her surroundings before reaching for her spear, steadying her feet as she waited for the peacekeepers to lunge forward. Just as Celeste predicted, the one peacekeeper made a run for it, barely missing Celeste as she dodged out of the way.
Quickly, Celeste smacked the soldier in the head with the blunt edge of her spear before kicking them onto the ground, eliminating him. But before Celeste could even celebrate, she noticed the other soldier making their way toward her, shaving her to the ground.
Immediately, Celeste grabbed onto them, pulling them down with her to save herself from being eliminated. Celeste let out a loud grunt as her back hit the ground, struggling with the soldier for a while before swinging her ankle over their leg, allowing her to flip positions.
Without thinking, Celeste reached for her spear, ready to stab the soldier as if he were another tribute in the Hunger Games before hearing a loud scream.
"DON'T ACTUALLY STAB HIM, VISSER," Soldier York called out, causing Celeste to halt, finally realizing her surroundings. Quickly, the girl climbed off the soldier, muttering an apology before standing up. The soldier, however, did not seem bothered, patting Celeste on the back before stamping her hand with Squad 451.
"Congratulations, You've made it," said the soldier, "Welcome to my Squad. I'm Boggs."
Celeste stared up at the man in awe as she shook his hand, mentally regretting trying to stab her squad leader minutes before.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Boggs muttered, noticing the look on Celeste's face, "Let's go meet our squad."
And as Celeste made her way toward the wall, she froze in shock, noting her new squad.
Katniss. Her friend, Gale. Finnick. Cato.
And no Johanna.
-
a/n: hi guys !! I'm so sorry about last update not happening,,, if you didn't see my announcement, I got really sick and postponed it, but then I just decided to combine this week and last weeks updates together to make a bigger update as a way to make up for it.
I hope you guys like it,,, I actually think I really enjoy this chapter and I'm so glad we're starting to get some action !!! ahh it's almost the end ?? somewhat I still have some stuff planned but we are really close !! it's actually so exciting
as always, thank you guys so much for sticking by me and reading this fic,,, I really do appreciate it !!! all your support means a lot to me <333
love you guys,
hannah <33