*author's note: oh look, My first song lyrics inspired fic. Inspired by Lana Del Ray's song 'Dark Paradise' I only had time to write this because I'm ill. Thanks a heap stomach flu. Anyways.*

"Why her Cato?" Thresh growled from across the fire, the big burly blonde boy eyeing him through narrowed eyes, his grip shifting on the handle of his finely sharpened blade. Cato took in shaky breaths, a red haze clouding his vision.

"oh I see." the big black boy grumbled "you're in love with her, right?" Thresh grinned maliciously at Cato's riddled expression. He did. With all his soul he loved the dark haired girl with the knives. She was His phoenix from the ashes of the vicious cycle of death. The only thing that made the mess of his life make sense, even if only for a little while.

"Always." Cato growled in answer his expression hardening more than he knew was possible. Something that felt so right couldn't be wrong, could it? Could his loving Clove with all the depths of his being be...bad? Thresh smiled, a sick twisted smile, and paced slowly towards the blonde boy. He caught a foreign smell on the wind. Tiger lilies. Like her perfume. And then Cato remembered her belt. His hand slowly moved to the pack on his waist. Cato finally smiled back at the approaching District 11. The idiot had no idea. The glint of a throwing knife lit up the night sky. Her life avenged, in the way she would have wanted.

A cannon fired.

Cato charged through the brush, fleeing from the dead District 11 kid. Her image danced across his vision, ghosted down his cheeks in the form of tears. Her voice like the sweet song of a mockingjay in his memory, her face lit up in laughter like a melody on repeat in his mind. He imagined her there, next to him, holding his hand, loving him. He heard her song-like voice. "you did the right thing." she whispered to him, "you can go home, and live for the both of us now." But that's not what he wanted, he'd never wanted that. A life without her. "a life without you is empty." he murmured, "I'd rather be dead." She vanished from beside him, as if displeased by his answer, and he pushed harder towards the woods.

He slouched against a tree as he reached the tree line, and his heavy eyes fell closed. His mind swirled up memories and sweet illusions like those of hallucinations before death. She was there, among the crowd on reaping day, her seemingly small and weak body draped with beautiful silks. The girls around her faded into gray compared to her. She didn't know him then, but still she was even then all he could think about. He had dreamed of kissing her, of touching her, of loving her for all the days they almost had. Tears glistened in the moonlight, like fading stories of the radiance of the past. Would his dark angel wait for him to join her on the other side? Or were his dreams of paradise be all he had for the eternity he'd have to face without her?

He sprinted towards the cornucopia, the bloodthirsty calls of the mutts tailing him shattering the calm of the night. Sweat and blood in his eyes, dripping off of him like water. He was overwhelmed with thoughts of her, dancing among the stars, her skin smooth and glittery, forehead once again without the mark of death. "Don't wake me." He shouted to the heavens above as whispers of her laughter rung in his ears "I don't want to leave this dream." She ghosted beside him as he leapt upon the giant metal structure. "You're doing perfect." Clove's voice came from all around her. "Win for me." He promised her that he would, but deep down inside, he knew he wouldn't, he couldn't. There wasn't any way he could live another moment of his life without her.

And he was grateful, as he collapsed into the mutts that hungered for his flesh. He could feel them tearing at him, he could see her elegant figure standing above him. She was smiling. Was she happy that he was going to join her now? Was she waiting for him? To take him to dance among the stars too? He called to her.

"please" he croaked. It was all he could manage, only a fraction of what he wanted to say. Please wait for me. He wanted to plead. But all the dark angel did was smile. An arrow pierced his torso, and he cried out slightly. "Win for me." he remember her calling to him. He closed his eyes. He would die for her instead.