Hello! This is my first Hunger Games fanfic, so please be gentle. Here we go!

Also who can't wait for the VMAs tonight? Okay, here we go.

Now Or Never

A Hunger Games Fanfic

Clove is asleep next to me. She's sitting up, her head is on my shoulder and her arm is against mine. She looks peaceful when she's sleeping. I begin to stroke her soft, black hair with my hand. Then I drop it.

I shouldn't be doing this. I didn't volunteer to be in the Hunger Games to fall in love with a tribute. I came here to compete. To win.

Claudius Templesmith's voice rang in the arena. He greets us, then announces, "There has been a change to the rules. Under the new rule, both tributes from the same district can win, if they are the last two alive." He repeats the rules, then it's silent.

Clove looks at me, her ice blue eyes brightening.

"Wow. You know what this means, right?"

"Of course, I'm not stupid!" I crush her in my arms. "We can win together."

"Well, yeah, I'm not stupid," she says in a mocking tone and smirks.

I shake my head. "And here I was, planning your death..."

She raises her eyebrows at me.

I laugh. "I was kidding."

She punches me in the shoulder as I'm still laughing. "But really. I'm glad I don't have to kill you anymore."

"Me too," she answers. "And even if the rule didn't exist, I still wouldn't kill you."

This caught me off guard. "Why? Don't you want to win?"

"I do, but I like you too much to kill you."

I laugh again. "Same."

I had told her that I liked her. But what if she misunderstood? What if she thought I meant as a really good friend or a sister? I rest my hand on my forehead. Out of all the places in Panem, why the hell did I have to fall in love here? Where I'm supposed to look invincible! And not weak and in love and vulnerable!

The sun has now completely risen up in the air. Morning. I nudge Clove's shoulder. "Clove." She stirs, but she's still asleep. I nudge her harder. "Clove. Wake up, come on."

Clove's eyelids open. She lifts her head and turns to face me. Those blue eyes were piercing mine. "What?"

"M-Morning," I manage to get out. Come on, man. Look ruthless. Be cocky. Confident. Arrogant, maybe.

"Oh, morning." She stretches. "Anybody die while I was out?"

"No," I say. "Nothing." I give her a handful of berries I had picked out yesterday.

"Thanks." She smiles at me, catching me off guard again. How does she do that? I recover quickly.

"So what's our gameplan for today?" I ask confidently.

She chews slowly. Probably savoring the taste. "I still want to go after the twelve girl."

"I'm getting worried about Thresh."

"The guy from Eleven?"

"Yeah. We haven't seen him since the bloodbath. And we have to take him down since he's the biggest threat."

I wasn't worried about the other tributes as much as Thresh. Katniss, that simpleminded girl from Twelve? Clove and I could kill her easily despite that eleven she got in training. Lover Boy would probably bleed out from the cut I gave him. I can't believe he still hasn't yet. And that redhead from Five seemed pretty weak. She only got a six in training, and I haven't seen her since the bloodbath either. She'll probably starve if she doesn't come after us.

"I think Twelve is a bigger threat."

"What?" I try to sound pissed. Like I'm mad somebody is disagreeing with me.

"She got the highest score. Eleven."

"I don't need to be reminded..." I growl, remembering my ten in training. "We should go after Thresh."

"No. Twelve."

"Thresh." I argue.

"Twelve." She's getting pissed.

"Thresh."

"Twelve!"

"Thresh!"

"Twelve, dammit, TWELVE!" she shouts.

"Shut up!"

She realizes what she's done and her eyes widen. We both look around, expecting Katniss or Thresh to attack. My hand grips my sword handle. Clove slowly pulls out a knife. Nothing. I sigh in relief.

"I'm sorry." She whispers, putting away her knife. She looks so guilty, like a girl being scolded for stealing cookies from the jar.

"It's cool." Since when have I become so forgiving?

Clove nods, then gasps.

"What? You hear something?" I pull out my sword.

"I'm such an idiot."

I put away my sword. "You're not an idiot. If you were, you would have been dead days ago."

Clove rolls her eyes. Maybe that wasn't the best approach.

"But seriously, Clove. You're not an idiot. Why would you say something like that?"

"The feast is today. Everyone's gonna be there."

"Oh."

"See?"

"I forgot about it too. So I guess we're both idiots."

She laughs.

"I'll tell you what," I say. "I'll go hunting. You can head over to the Cornucopia. The feast is usually there. If I can't find anything, I'll meet you there."

"Okay. Sounds good."

"Besides, I should let you kill some more. I can't have all the fun," I joke.

"I appreciate your generosity," she replies.

We finish eating, then grab our gear and pack up. "So if anything happens, yell. Okay?"

"Got it." She starts walking in the other direction, then stops. "Hey Cato?"

"Yeah?"

"Um... be careful."

"Um, yeah. You too." I feel my face get hot. I turn away, trying to hide my embarrassment. I walk away. After a minute, I turn around. Clove's gone.

I start walking again, going deeper into the woods. I slash away any branches in my way. I spot a berry bush and pick a few for later. I stay quiet for a couple of minutes.

No rabbits. No deer. Nothing in sight. Where the hell were all the animals? Did our alliance kill them all already?

Guess I'm heading to the Cornucopia.

As I'm walking over, horrible images appear in my head. Clove being stabbed by a knife, shot by an arrow, beheaded by a sword. They make me break into a steady jog.

I try to force myself to slow down. I think positive. Clove will be fine. She can take care of herself. We'll be the victors of the 74th Hunger Games. We'll be rich and famous, and live in Victor's Village. Everyone will be intimidated by us. And...

"CATO!"

Oh God. Please tell me that's not who I think it is.

"CATO!"

"CLOVE!" I start sprinting to the Cornucopia. As I get closer, I make out a girl with long, dark hair. It must be Katniss. There's two other figures. One huge, looming figure who looks about my size. Thresh. He's holding something in one hand, and in the other, smaller figure that was wiggling and screaming.

Clove.

No, please, no...

I see the object in Thresh's hand smash into the side of Clove's head.

No! I sprint harder. I notice Katniss and Thresh staring at each other. Are they allies? Did they plan this? If they did, I'll kill them both right there! Then Katniss runs for it and Thresh takes off in the other direction.

I finally reach Clove. I see a big rock near her head. I throw down my sword and cradle her head in my lap.

"Clove, no, please don't die! Stay with me!"

But it's hopeless. Clove knows she's going and I know, too. It's now or never.

"Clove, I love you. Please, just don't leave me!" I beg.

"I love you, too."

My lips crash into hers. She kisses me back fiercely. When we break apart, her eyes are closed.

I hear her cannon. Boom!

I feel tears in my eyes. I break down. "Clove, NO!" Every swear word I know comes streaming out of my mouth. And I call her name over and over. After a couple minutes, I kiss her forehead and force myself to let go. The hovercraft has to pick her up soon. I wipe my eyes with my arm. I'm not gonna cry. I'm not gonna cry. I gotta look tough.

I get up, pick up my sword and walk away. When I look back, the hovercraft lifts her up into the sky.

Dead. My Clove is dead. I have to kill Thresh and win. For her. I turn back around and run in Thresh's direction.

Later...

I struggle through the forest. I can't walk. Those damn Muttations...

They really scared the shit out of me. Chasing me all the way in Katniss and Lover Boy's direction. I still don't get how he's still alive. Those Muttations tore me to pieces. Literally.

And that one that looked like Clove... that just broke my heart even more.

I pant, dragging myself by my good hand. Damn Katniss for shooting me in my other hand. At least the pain's not too bad anymore...

I see a figure up ahead. Katniss. Of course. Her arrow is pointed in my direction.

"Please," I choke out.

Katniss' face doesn't look like how I expected. She doesn't look eager to kill me. She looks like she's pitying me. Katniss shoots the arrow and everything goes black.

Line break (I don't know how to make those lines)

Am I in heaven? Let's see, there's a bright, white light. Yeah, I'm in heaven. But why? After all those people I killed...?

"Cato."

There she is, in a simple white T-shirt and matching pants.

"Clove."

I walk over and embrace her in my arms. She looks the same way she did before the Games. Her jet black hair was loose, falling to her shoulders. Her body no longer looked emaciated, her full figure returned.

Her arms wrap around my neck as mine wrap around her waist. My forehead rests on hers.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

And then her lips meet mine.

The end

So, that was my first Hunger Games fanfic! I hope you enjoyed it and please review. Seriously, it makes my day.

~LDD