I don't own the Hunger Games.
Cato's POV
After being with Katniss, I had gone back to training, but my heart wasn't into it. She continued to linger in my thoughts, distracting me. Nobody mentioned anything so I hoped that they didn't notice. Later, I returned to my room to find a note on my bed. Next to it was a perfect, white rose. Perplexed, I read the note.
I know your secret.
Tell everybody or I will.
Wait. What? I figured it must have just been a prank. I didn't have any secrets that anybody could figure out. Scrunching it into a ball, I chucked it into the bin with the rose, and didn't think much more of it.
As the day dragged on, I didn't see Katniss until we began getting ready for the interviews. All of the tributes were together, waiting for their turn to talk on stage. One by one we would go up, hoping to leave the best impression. Before I left for my go, I spotted Katniss. To reassure her that everything would be okay, I nodded in her direction, and she gave a subtle nod back. Nobody noticed, and so I walked up. It went quite smoothly. When my time was up, I still hung around, watching the other tributes. Since Katniss is in District Twelve, I had to wait ages for her interview.
Eventually, her name was called. I watched intensely as she shook hands with Caesar Flickerman.
"So, Katniss," he began. "The Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" Worried, I noticed that her face was blank and she didn't reply. Did she not hear him? She looked into the audience for a moment and then answered the question.
"The lamb stew," she says. Caesar and the audience laughed, and then I found that I was laughing too. They continued talking for a while until I saw Caesar's expression change.
"Now, Katniss. When you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"
"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" she asked. I grinned. She was building her confidence and the audience already loved her charmingly witty way of talking.
"Yes. Start then." She gazed into the audience as she spoke.
"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it." Smiling, I remembered my first impression of her. Sure, the dress was pretty cool, but Katniss was the one that made it beautiful. Without her, it was nothing. Silently, I cursed myself for thinking that about my rival.
Out of nowhere, I felt something hit the back of my head. I turned around to find a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. I couldn't see anybody that would have a reason for doing that. Frowning, I picked it up and unfolded it. Inside were only a couple written words and a single, white petal. The paper said:
Last chance.
I sighed. Whoever was trying to prank me needed to stop. It really wasn't funny. Shaking my head of my thoughts, I put my concentration back to the interview. She was standing up. Wait, what did I miss? The time wasn't up, was it? Why was she getting up?
Mesmerised, I gaped at her beauty. She began twirling with flames engulfing her. Katniss didn't look like she was in danger though. As she spun, the fire danced around with her. It was like she owned it and was controlling the fire to do her will. They were one. How was she able to do that with her bad ankle? It was meant to be numb, so she was supposed to barely be able to walk. I looked down and her heels turned with her. However, they were wobbling, and I could tell that she was about to fall. I seemed to guess correctly as she began gracefully landing in a pool of flames. Instinctively, I ran to her, barrelling past other people.
I'm not going to make it to her in time... Forcing myself to use all of my speed and strength, I hauled myself towards Katniss.
Katniss's POV
I twirled and twirled, sensing the flickering flames revolve around me. As a loss of balance and dizziness overtook me, I remembered my injury. It was still far too numb, and as I attempted to regain my composure, I realised it was too late. I was falling. You know what? Forget it! I was tired of worrying about everything in life. I could just let myself fall and let it all be over with. I couldn't be bothered anymore.
Not only was my foot numb, but my whole body felt like it too. I became detached from the world and felt nothing, but coldness. I allowed myself to drop; giving up was much easier than always trying so hard. Expecting my face to smack dead into the floor, I found myself shocked instead.
Warmness enveloped me. Something firm. I suddenly felt very protected and alive again. I didn't collapse; I was safe. But how? Why? Was it my Guardian Angel come to save me? Or was it an Angel of Death, ready to take me to the next life. Whatever it was, I was ready for it. When I managed to find the face of my saviour, I saw that he was indeed an angel. The angel and I both lay together on the floor, side by side, his arms around me, and my face hidden in his chest.
Reluctantly, I inched backwards a little to understand who he was and what was going on. The prepossessing eyes of Cato bore into mine. How could such icy blue eyes be so tenderly warm and affectionate? They were filled with frosty fondness.
"What..." I struggled to speak.
Chuckling, he replied, "Did you forget already?"
"I don't under-"
"I told you I would always be there to catch you." In response, I laughed. He didn't exactly manage to catch me. He then added, "Or at least, if you fall, I'll fall with you." Slowly understanding what he was saying, a loud cough made us both jump a little. We both looked up to see Caesar giving us very strange looks. Sucking in a sharp breath of air, I gawped at the audience. They were all so silent, without making any noise.
Only then did I remember that we were still on stage. Oh my God. Oh my God. How could this have been happening? Cato and I both sat up, just as confused as everybody else. As if things couldn't get any worse, what happened next nearly killed me.
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