Cato's POV:
I laid wide awake in the warm sleeping bag, Clove in my arms. I stroked her hair lightly as she snuggled closer to my chest. I smiled as I looked down at her relaxed face. I'd been awake all night thinking about what could've happened yesterday afternoon.
Clove could've died, and I wasn't there to stop Thresh from killing her. There was nothing I could've done to stop him. Clove could've been dead in seconds if it weren't for Fire girl. My arms tightened around Clove's body as I thought about this.
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly before she relaxed in my arms once more. I slightly doubted that the Capitol would let us win together, but I really hoped that we could. With a small kiss on Clove's forehead, I decided that it was time to wake her up.
"Clover," I whispered. "Wake up." She groaned slightly and wrapped her arms tighter around my torso.
"Two more minutes." She said while leaning back into my chest.
"Come on, Clover. It wouldn't be a very productive day if I let you keep sleeping." I said softly.
"Who cares? Let me sleep." She mumbled.
"I already let you sleep in." I chuckled. She groaned and sat up. I sat up right after her and hugged her close to me as she tried to redo her ponytail. She chuckled as I planted a small kiss on the back of her head. Finishing her ponytail, she turned her head slightly and kissed my cheek.
"Morning." She said before trying to get up.
"No, stay here with me." I whined.
"You're the one that wanted me up." She laughed as she turned around. After positioning her legs on either side of my waist, she placed her arms on her lap.
"Yes, so I could spend time with you and talk."
"So you don't want to be productive today?" She asked while repositioning her arms around my neck. "You want to talk? Nothing more?"
"Well, this would be productive for our relationship." I said innocently before leaning forward slightly. Her soft lips met mine in a soft kiss as my arms tightened around her waist. My hands rested on her lower back as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
She ended the kiss soon and placed her head in the crook of my neck while lowering her arms to my waist. I wanted to freeze this moment, just for a second. I wanted to live in this moment forever, just me and her.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" She asked as she lifted her head.
"Why don't you tell me about that necklace?" I said as I lifted the locket from inside her shirt. "I don't think I've ever asked about it."
"Well, it used to be my sister's necklace. She gave it to me before she died, so you can imagine how much sentimental value it has to me." After a small pause she continued. "After she died, mum and I never dared to go into her room, so this is pretty much the only thing I have to remind me of her."
I stared at the small locket and ran a finger over the cool metal. "It's really pretty. Anything inside?"
"No, we could never find the right picture for it." She explained. I tucked the locket back inside her shirt and smiled at her.
"We haven't done this in a while."
"Well, we've been a bit preoccupied." She joked.
"Did you like Marvel?" I asked randomly.
"Only as a friend. Why would you ask that?" She said, her smile disappearing.
"Well, you guys seemed pretty close when he was alive." Clove raised an eyebrow at me, so I continued. "You know, you would always talk to him and laugh with him..."
"Yes, I did that, because that's what friends do." She said, obviously trying to hide the anger in her voice.
"You guys seemed to be more than friends to other people."
"Cato, are you serious?" She said loudly. "We were friends, nothing more."
"And I'm just saying that you didn't seem like that! I mean, you two barely knew each other and you're suddenly so friendly." I practically yelled. "You know how long it took me to even become friends with you?!"
"Why does that matter?! I'm here with you, aren't I?" She yelled. "If I really liked Marvel better than you, why did I call out to you when I was in trouble?"
"Because Marvel was dead! You can't call out to a
dead person, can you?"
"He wouldn't have been dead if it weren't for me! I told him to go and check the other fire. I was the one that wanted you to stay near me. It could've been you that died, but it wasn't! I could've told you to go check them, but I didn't." She yelled and she stood up.
I looked at her as she glared at me, her chest raising and falling at a steady pace. "Clove, I'm sorry." I said softly as I stood and walked to her.
She stood, unmoving, as I looked at her. "You should be." She said before turning around and walking towards her discarded knife vest.
"Clove, please forgive me. I guess I was just jealous that you were spending so much time with him and not me." She turned to me and she zipped the vest.
"And you didn't think of just talking to me? Maybe I would've talked to you more if you talked to me first."
"I know, but you know how stupid I am." I said as I hugged her from the back. When she didn't respond, I placed my head in the crook of her neck.
"I seriously don't get you sometimes, Cato." She said as she turned around. She wrapped her arms around my waist and rested her head on my chest.
"Do you forgive me?" I asked while leaning my head on hers.
"Yes, you idiot." She replied while placing a small kiss on my cheek. I smiled at her and kissed her forehead.
"Have I ever told you that I love you?" I asked softly.
"What did you say?" She said, obviously taken aback by my words.
"Clove, I love you." I said softly. She looked at me in shock.
"Am I hearing you right?" She asked, her eyes wide.
"Yes, you are." I laughed. "Do you not feel the same way?" I asked, suddenly worried. Was it too soon? I knew that I shouldn't have said that.
"No, it's not that I don't feel the same way. I do, it's just that, no guy has ever said that to me before."
"Well, I guess I'm the first." I said with a smirk.
"I love you too, Cato." She said sheepishly. A small blush appeared on her cheeks as she placed her head back on my chest, probably to stop me from seeing her embarrassment.
"Hey, don't hide your face. I like seeing you blush." I said while pushing her chin up gently. Her already red cheeks turned a deeper shade of red as I smiled down at her. After giving her a soft kiss, I hugged her close to my chest while smiling like a fool.
To ruin the sweet moment, the canon went off with a loud bang. "Who do you think that was?" Clove asked.
"I don't know. I think either Lover boy or district 5." I said as I thought about who was left.
"I'm thinking 5 since Fire girl got away with her backpack. There was probably something in there to help him." Clove stated.
The rest of the day passed quickly, mostly consisting of the two of us talking. We stopped worrying about what the next day would bring, and got lost in our conversation.
The sun had set and we started eating whatever we had left. We decided that tomorrow we would go hunting, since we were now out of meat. The two of us sat and continued talking until the moon was at its peak in the sky.
Third person's POV:
As the happy pair talked, a low growl came from the trees around them. Clove's head snapped towards the sound and spotted two bright green eyes.
"Run!" She yelled to Cato as she gripped his arm. They both got up and bolted in the opposite direction. A large group of wolf-like creatures charged out of the shadows and towards the fleeing pair.
The two careers isn't dare to look back at the wild pack, afraid that it would cause them to slow down. The wolf mutts howled and sped up slightly, slowly closing the distance between them and the couple.
Branches whipped past them as they ran towards the opening that the mutts seemed to be leading them to. The cornucopia was ahead of them when they saw two others running out of the trees. The four tributes charged towards the cornucopia, desperately trying to get away from the mutts.
Cato, Clove and Katniss were quite far ahead, but Peeta was starting to fall behind. Clove seemed to have noticed this as she ran towards him and tried to drag him along faster. The mutts had caught up to them and one with light brown fur pounced. Clove pushed Peeta as far ahead as she could before the mutt grabbed hold of her leg.
She whipped out her knife and stabbed its head, before another one pounced. Cato rushes to the struggling girl as she tried to fight off the attacking mutts. He slashed his sword and grabbed the wounded girl before running off towards the cornucopia.
"Are you okay to climb?" He asked, clearly worried. She nodded slowly as he set her down on the floor near the cornucopia wall. She climbed the wall of the cornucopia with shaky arms and Cato soon followed.
As she reached the top, she laid down on the cold surface, completely ignoring the pair that watched her. Scratches and cuts were scattered over her fragile body as she bled. Cato kneeled next to her and stroked her bloody cheek.
His clothes were covered in scarlet blood that didn't belong to himself. "You're okay, Clove. We can win this." He said as a tear follows down his cheek. The weak girl nodded slightly before grabbing his hand with hers.
"Sing for me?" She whispered softly.
"You want me to sing?" He stuttered out. She gave a small nod as he tried to think of any song.
"Baby, to the moon and back
I will love you more than that
When your skies are grey and your whole world is shaking
To the moon and back
I'll love you more than that." He sang shakily as he thought about their date when this song was playing.
Clove gave him a weak smile before moving her arms up to her neck. She slowly unclasped the necklace around her neck and placed it in Cato's large hand.
"What are you doing, Clove?" He said as he stared down at it.
"Take it." She said before closing her eyes.
"No, Clover, please. Don't leave me." Cato sobbed.
She opened her eyes slightly before saying, "I love you, Cato."
"Clove, I love you so much. We can do this, just stay strong. Please," He pleaded. "I can't live without you."
She closed her eyes one final time before her chest stopped raising and falling. "No, Clove! Don't leave me." He pleaded as he held her body to his. The canon went off, but Cato barely noticed it.
He placed a kiss on her forehead as he sat on he floor and hugged her body. "Clover, don't leave me." He cried.
A tear rolled down Peeta's cheek as he watched Cato hold Clove's body. He slowly raised two fingers to his lips and held them up high in the air.
Cato took no notice of this gesture as he continued hugging Clove. "This is all your fault!" He yelled as his head snapped towards Peeta. "She wouldn't have died if it weren't for you."
He placed her body on the roof of the cornucopia softly before storming over to Peeta. Afraid that Cato would kill him, Peeta and Katniss backed up. Tears continued to roll down Cato's cheeks as he approached Peeta.
He stopped and looked back at Clove's body before raising his sword to his own throat.
"Cato, stop!" Peeta protested.
"Why should I?! All I want is to be with Clove, and this way, I can." He argued.
"She wouldn't want you to die. She wanted you to win." Peeta said, trying to be reasonable.
"How do you know what she wanted?" Cato yelled.
"She told me."
"Peeta, what are you doing?" Katniss whispered to him.
"Just trust me." He whispered back. "What if I told you that I knew a way so that all three of us will win?"
"Well, it's too late for Clove now, so no thanks." He said, raising the sword again. He thought back to when he and Clove were talking. He remembered her telling him to win her him, but he refused to promise.
"What are you planning on doing?" He asked while lowering the sword.
"Katniss, the berries." Peeta whispered to her. She quickly took out the stash of berries.
"There's enough for all of us." She said as she handed a portion to Peeta.
"What is that?" Cato said as Katniss cautiously walked towards him. She placed a few berries in his open hand as he looked at them.
"They're nightlock berries. It'll kill you in an instant." She explained.
"So your genius plan is to kill all of us?" He asked Peeta.
"They need their victor. They won't let us all die." Peeta explained.
"Whatever you do, don't bite or swallow them." Katniss commanded. "On the count of three."
"One." They all lifted the berries to their lips.
"Two." They all opened their mouths.
"Th-"
"Stop! Stop!" Claudius called. They all froze and looked up. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the winners of the 74th Hunger Games."
Cato quickly dropped the berries and ran over to Clove, while Peeta and Katniss embraced each other. Cato knew that he needed to let her go, so he gave her one last kiss and hug before standing up, clutching the locket to his chest.
A/N Hey everyone, this is the last chapter, but I will be making an epilogue. I'm thinking about making an alternative ending, but I would like to know if that's what you all would want. Please don't forget to comment and vote!