Cato now realized what had happened. He grabbed me into an embrace. Holding me tightly and not letting go until I was ready.
When I finally pulled away, Clove cleared her throat.
"Not trying to interfere in this moment of grief, but there are still others out there."
I spoke up, words coming out shakey.
"I want that bitch Katniss dead." I said, with no emotion but anger laced in my words.
(i'm so sorry i love katniss but for the plot we as athena need to hate her)
Clove smirked, for once we agreed on something.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Cato laughed. "Let's go kill the bitch!"
As we trecked along I couldn't shake the feeling of Marvel being gone. The image of the arrow impaling him, the blood drowning him.
We walked for a day and a half and I felt like running away from the group. They didn't need me. They could both go home if I died. And if I died I'd be with Apollo and Marvel, and I'd be happy.
I wanted to drop them so many times. Sure Cato cared about me, but this was the Hunger Games. We would never work. We were from two different districts. One of us would have to die for one of us to win. They didn't need me.
After a few days of walking and not finding a single sign of Katniss, the three of us gave up. We made camp in this area in the forest.
We waited there, when Claudius Templesmith made another announcement. This one inviting us to the Feast.
Cato let Clove go. Before she left I grabbed her wrist pulling her back.
"Remember Katniss is MY kill." she sighed.
"How about this, if I see her I'll give the audience one hell of a show."
I smiled and nodded. Either way she would be gone, couldn't argue with that.
Cato and I sat for a while Clove went to the Feast.
Cato looked at me longingly.
"Hey Princess." he smiled.
I turned my gaze to him. "Hey babe." I sheepishly replied.
"I'm really sorry about Mar-"
I cut him off. "Please, do not say his name. Not until I have killed the bitch who killed him."
"Athena-"
"What." I sniffled.
"I-"
I looked at him, whatever he was about to say would only make everything worse. I just a had a feeling.
"I love you, Athena."
I stared at him. This was bad, how could he love me. I mean either of us could die at any moment, how could he love me.
"You shouldn't." I responded dryly.
"Why are you like that?" he asked angrily.
"Like what?"
"You refuse anything good in life. I just told you I love you and you can't even say it back?"
Truth was, I wasn't sure what I felt for Cato. He made me feel safe, and made me feel like even when I'm ugly and gross I'm still beautiful. I've never doubted myself with him. He made me feel all the right things. Except, I felt like I didn't give him what he deserved at all. I treated him horribly, and he didn't deserve that. I would never be able to love him the way he loves me.
"Cato I don't know what you want me to say, me and you will never work. You're from a completely different district from me. One of us will have to die for one of us to go home."
"Then maybe I don't wanna go home!" he yelled.
"Well I can't live with knowing I could've saved you and didn't!" I yelled back.
"Athena, I'd rather love you 1,000 times in the afterlife than never have in the living again. I'd rather die with you and live without you."
"Cato-"
He placed his lips against mine. Not starved this time, and not panicked. This was real, and passionate. He painted the picture clearly for me.
We tore apart when all of a sudden, in the distance a canon boomed loudly. We made eye contact not knowing who it was.
However, when Clove didn't return with our packs, we knew. We walked toward the Cornucopia a little after the feast and got our packs.
We both got body armor. Then we went back to our camp and waited there.
A week had passed and nothing to drastic had happened.
Foxface had died. And Cato went after Thresh, killing him successfully. Other than that things were bland in the games.
Until we heard a low snarl, coming from a muttation of a wolf like animal. When it charged at us, we ran for our lives.
We made it to the Cornucopia and Cato helped me get on top of it, then I helped him get on top. We weren't the only ones with that same idea; as Katniss and Peeta were there too.
As I looked down at the mutts, one of the larger ones caught my eye. The caramel colored fur looked familiar. However, the ocean blue eyes were unmistakable. It was Marvel. Marvel, my Marvel, trying to murder us.
Katniss drew her bow at Cato, but two can play at that game; Cato grabbed ahold of Peeta. I stood there watching. My sword was just out of grasp. When I climbed atop the Cornucopia I just threw it up on top, and now it was out of reach.
"Go on! Shoot, then we both go down and you win, until Athena avenges me. Go on. I'm dead anyways."
My stomach dropped at what he just said, I'm dead anyways. An icy truth laced in it. The second he volunteered for the games, he was dead.
"I always was, right? I didn't know that till now." He choked back.
Cato then looked up toward the sky, signals he was talking to the game makers and the audience now.
"How's that? Is that what they want huh?"
"No." Peeta mumbled. I tried to step toward the two boys but Katniss moved her aim at me instead so I froze where I was.
"I can still do this." Cato mumbled. "I can still do this." He reassured himself.
I felt hot tears well in my eyes, and felt my chest tighten.
"One. More. Kill." he scoffed slightly. "It's the only thing I know how to do—bring pride to my district. Not that it matters."
A poisonous truth laced in that one. Careers are good at what we do because our whole lives we've been trained for this exact moment. We were trained to be killers. We don't know anything else.
Before anything could be resolved, Katniss had shot at Cato's hand and Peeta pushed him off the edge of the Cornucopia. Cato screamed in pain as the mutts tried to dig into him.
"CATO!" I screamed. "YOU GUYS ARE MONSTERS!" I screamed the district 12 tributes as I slid myself off the Cornucopia. A stupid move to some, but I was not going to live without Cato.
As Athena slid off the side of the Cornucopia Cato screamed in agony. The body armor protected him, but not entirely. The mutts ate at any flesh they could find.
"Cato!" Athena screamed in horror and agony as she, too, fell victim to being bit at.
"Athena?!" Cato yelled out.
Athena pushed her way toward Cato's body on the ground. She held onto his cheeks. Cato placed his bloodied hand against hers.
"Athena are you stupid? What are you doing down here?"
"I'd rather love you 1,000 times more in the afterlife, than continue on without you."
"Athena, you can't sacrifice yourself for me."
"I'd rather die with you, than live without you." Athena cried. Screams erupting out of her when one of the mutts sunk their teeth into her back.
Cato kissed Athena, even in a moment of agony, he kissed her. This would be their last kiss.
Over the span of seven hours the mutts would feast upon Cato and Athena's bodies. Screams of agony would fill the arena. Cato holding onto Athena's hand as they lie half dead.
"I love you too." Athena cried softly.
Then without any hesitation, Katniss shot Cato and Athena wither her last two arrows, putting them out of their misery.
Cato and Athena were now dead. Katniss and Peeta had won.
Until Claudius Templesmith announced the changed rule had been revoked. But Katniss was smart. She took out some nightlock berries, handing Peeta some. The star crossed lovers from 12 were about to kill themselves for eachother.
Claudius Templesmith stopped them before they could indulge the berries. The two of them had won, for real.
They were forver know as the star-crossed lovers. But Athena and Cato lay their love in the hands of each other. They were the true starcrossed lovers. Katniss prayed night after night that they got their happy ending in another life.
Athena Stevens and Cato Hadley, the true start-crossed lovers of the 74th Annual Hunger Games.
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okay sorry not sorry
this was ALWAYS the vision
that they'd die in the end.
i hope you guys aren't mad about that 😬
i hope you guys liked the story.
and sorry for not updating this story for sooo long
right now i'm hyperfixation on the musical ride the cyclone and im thinking about writing a fanfic where it's
mischa x oc
so if any of you guys are rtc fans as well lemme know if you'd be interested 🤭
thank you for reading my story!! i love and appreciate all of you!! xx
-amaryn