I stare at those icy blue eyes. They're cold, deadly... But, for me, they're so familiar... I've missed them. More than anything. I have a secret, so does he. Cato and I have met before...
I'm twirl around him, the skirt of my dress swirling. I get so dizzy I end up falling, Cato lands beside me. He's laughing, so am I. We don't have a care in the world. We're just children, whose fathers are friends. Cato would sneak away from District 2, Cato with him, and come meet us. Cato was my friend. We met when we were four. Cato would come to visit twice a year. We were friends instantly.
But beautiful things like that don't last. Cato began to change... I noticed how he would enjoy killing animals. I would tell him to stop, but he would ignore me. And then he stopped coming when we were twelve. I cried for hours that day. I had lost my best friend...
I did lose him. But now I'm staring at him. He's in gold armor, and his cold blue eyes are locked on mine. He's so tall, so muscular. Changed. I feel Haymitch grab my arm, and he tows me away. I finally break eye contact from Cato. The pure look of hatred on his face is seared into my mind. How could he hate me? I thought I meant something to him. I guess not.
o0o
I'm walking to the water fountain, but then I see him. The blonde girl from District 1 is beside him, and she shoots me a scorn before grinning and turning back to Cato. Cato stands to his full height, sees me and then mumbles something to the girl. She whines, but he pushes her away. She walks away, anger making her pale skin red. Cato looks at me, raising his eyebrow. I'm frozen, and the memories flood back.
"What happened to you?" I choke out after a moment, and the painful wave of memories has subsided.
"I grew up," he hisses.
"You've changed," I whisper.
"That tends to happen," he snorts.
I look away, not wanting to face him. "Do you remember?" I whisper.
Cato freezes, his muscles locking in place. He swallows, and then he grabs my arm, harshly, pulling me close to him. "Listen to me, you are never to repeat what happened. No one can ever know. Forget everything... Especially me. I'm dangerous, Katniss. We're enemies." he whispers in my ear. I pull away from him.
"You were my friend once. My father talked about you all the time. He thought you were amazing, he thought you had so much potential. Now look at you. You're nothing but a monster," I tell him, and then I turn and leave him by the fountain. I don't know where my angry words came from... And I'm regretting them.
"Katniss," he calls out. I stop, but don't face him. He continues. "How is your father?" he asks.
"He's dead."
I walk away, but before I go through the doors, I glance behind me. Cato's gripping the water fountain... And I don't think I've ever seen such a look of sadness on someones face before.
o0o
The bloodbath is horrific. I finally force my feet to move, to run. I lurch forward, grabbing a bright orange pack. But then something comes down on top of me. A boy, from District 5. He jumps on me, trying to strangle me. I kick him in the ribs, and take off running. But he doesn't give up. He chases me into the woods, and he finally catches me. He jumps on me, and the impact of him makes me fall down, and down a steep him. We roll down, and when we eventually crash to the bottom, he's up and has a knife against my neck. Oh God, please no. Not yet... Not yet, I beg in my head. The boy raises his knife... but then his neck is snapped. He falls, lifeless, to the ground. I look up, and there stands Cato. I stare at him, and he stares back.
"That was for your father. He was a good man... And you're good too. Don't forget that, Katniss," he says softly. He walks away, but then he stops and glances at me. "I can't help you again." he says. I nod, and jump up, and begin walking away. But then I hear something, a whisper so soft I'm not sure if I even heard it properly, or if I imagined it.
"Please don't forget me."
o0o
We're on the Cornucopia, Peeta and I, the Mutts snarling and growling, trying to reach us. I cling to him. I've grown so fond of him, that I'm scared to lose him. I don't want to lose him like I lost Rue... I couldn't handle it. Suddenly, I'm ripped away from him. A bloody Cato stands in front of me, his back to me. He's snarling at Peeta, and Peeta runs forwards, crashing into him. Horror seizes me... but not just for Peeta. I don't want to lose Cato, either. I don't want to lose him at all.
"Peeta! No, please!" I cry and run forwards. Cato looks at me quickly, but then shoves me back, forcing me away from them. But then he seems to realize something... what that is, I'll never know. He stops fighting. His arm drop to his sides, and he looks at me.
"I'm sorry... Please don't forget me." he whispers. And then Peeta shoves him over the side.
"No!" I scream. I run forwards, but Peeta grabs me and hauls me backwards. "Cato! Cato!" I scream. But Peeta doesn't let me go. And Cato's cries fill the air. I need to make his suffering end. I break away from Peeta, and take the bow. I look at the arrow on Peeta's leg, and he understands. He takes it off, and I take it. I pull the string back, tears running down my face. And then I see his eyes... The ice blue eyes I will never see again. I release the arrow, and the canon goes off.
Peeta walks over to me, and I can barely look at him. We jump down, and I walk away from him, and over to the lifeless body. I kneel, and put my hand over his torn up, bloody hand. I put my lips against his ear, as if he's asleep.
"I'll never forget you. I promise." I whisper.
I stand, backing away from him slowly. Cato, the boy I grew up with. The boy my father loved liked a son. The boy who saved my life, the boy who didn't want me to forget him. And I won't. I will never forget him.
Hello! I was watching a Cato/Katniss video on Youtube, and I got the idea for this :P credit goes to the awesome person who made that video. I just wanted to write something not too sad today :P leave a review please!