I open my eyes, ready to face the arena again and finish this…for Clove and for all the other Careers who have died in these Games, this year and in the past. I feel the need to win more than ever now. I start to walk away from the body towards the center of the clearing and I hear the hovercraft come to take Clove back home. Three left, that's it. Then it's just me and Katniss. I know that being in the final two with her will not do either of us any good if the Gamemaker's don't change the rules again. I need to make them want to. I need to make them want to show our relationship to Panem.

I decide my next step needs to be to find Thresh. He knocked me out, killed Clove, and took our backpack with the food and armor that I need. The feeling of hate overwhelms me when I consider all of this and I realize I've never wanted to kill someone so badly. I'm back. There's no more crying or getting emotional about Clove. I was born to be a killer and I need to show Thresh who he is messing with. I'm ready to kill again and make him pay for what he's done.

I continue walking again, this time back across the clearing towards my camp. But something makes me stop. I hear a whistle, soft but clear. It's coming from the edge of the woods. I look up and see her step out of the shadows of the trees. She stayed.

"Katniss!" I take off running towards her.

"Cato!" When we get close enough, she falls into my arms.

I wrap my arms around her tightly and she buries her head into my chest.

"I..I'm so sorry about Clove. You probably hate me now. Thresh killed her before she could kill me. He heard her talking about you guys killing Rue. Then, he just let me go Cato. I don't…I…" She begins to sob now.

"Shh…Katniss it's okay, calm down I'm not mad at you. I don't know what I would have done if Clove would have killed you. I mean that."

"Really? But she was from your District."

"Katniss don't you understand that you're the one I want? It's only ever been you, from the first time I saw you. I know you don't feel the same way though, don't worry about it."

"No, Cato, I don't know how I feel…it's too confusing to think about. But, I care about you. I just can't explain it. I can't explain why." She has stopped crying now and looks up at the wound on my head.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine. You should see the cut on your head." I say when I see her bloody forehead.

"Well, I'll be fine too. Thresh did this to you?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to find him and kill him as soon as I get this cleaned up." I can't help the anger that comes from me when I talk about him, even with my arms around Katniss.

"Stay with me. We can finish this together." I plead.

"Cato, you know that isn't possible. I have Peeta to take care of. We…this can't work." She mumbles and looks down with a pained expression.

"I know this is crazy! But, I also know you feel something for me. You may not understand it but we both know it's there. We can be the final two…and then...and then we'll figure something out! They'll have to change the rules." I'm frantic now, yelling out in frustration.

"You know they would never let us be together. We've been doomed from the start. You're from District 2…I'm from 12."

"Don't give up, Katniss. You never know, okay? I just can't think about being separated from you again. Please stay with me, just for awhile?" I place my hand on her cheek and look deep into her eyes, mine begging for a yes.

"Alright Cato, it can't be for long though. I have to get back to Peeta."

I smile at her and grab her hands. When I can't resist anymore, I lean in and press my lips against hers. They are soft and warm, exactly what I've been missing the past few nights. We press even closer to each other as we embrace. We stay kissing like this for what seems like forever. There's nothing else on my mind but her. The clearing, the trees, the lake, my camp, it's all a blur around us. When we break, I lead her over to the sleeping bags and we lay down, her head resting on my chest, and my arm around her. I kiss her softly on the head. I've never been as happy as I am now. I close my eyes and try to engrain this moment in my memory for as long as I live. No matter what happens between us in the rest of the Games, this will be what I always remember about her. I never thought I could feel this way about a girl, but she changed everything.

I lift her chin up to mine and kiss her again. "You saved me," I whisper in her ear. "I wasn't really living before I met you. My whole life was preparing me for death."

"What do you mean?" She asks puzzled.

"You were right about everything. As Clove was dying, she told me I needed to win for our District. Before I got here, that was everything I wanted in life. I realize now how much I've been deceived my whole life. Her death and her attitude about our District made me realize how wrong this all is. They killed her. The Games killed her. They made her come here to die for District 2, for pride. I don't want that anymore. I have been told my whole life that killing and winning was everything. But it is nothing compared to this…to this feeling here with you. Now, if I die it will be for the right reasons. Not pride, not fame, not fortune. I'll be dying for love, for you. If I die and you get to live a long and fulfilling life, then I die a happy man. I want you to have everything I can never give you, everything I would never be allowed to give you. I want you to have it all, even if it is without me."

A tear begins to roll down her cheek and she whispers, "Cato, don't talk like this. It's not over, remember?"

"It is over for us, Katniss."

"How can you say that? I'm sorry I can't explain how I feel about you. I want to, but I can't afford to let myself completely fall for you. If I say it out loud, that makes it real. I can't admit I have feelings for you without admitting at the same time that I will inevitably lose you." She pulls away from me and stands up.

I blurt out, "I know who I am, and who I was trained to be. I know how you see me. I am the guy you do not want to have feelings for…because I'm a killer, I'm a beast."

"No, you're not…It's just…"

"It's just you are against everything about me…where I was raised, what I was raised to do, and who they made me into." I stand up too, and turn away from her.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it. The more I get to know you, the more it changes. It would take a long time for me to forget everything I have ever been told about people like you." Her expression is full of hurt and sorrow. I sense the pain in her voice when she says this.

"It's okay Katniss. I never expected you to love me the way I love you. After all, how could you?" I begin to walk away from her so she does not feel the need to say anything else. I had a feeling she would be the only girl capable of changing me, I just did not realize how much.

"Please do not leave like this!" She yells and runs towards me.

I pull her into my arms again and we both just stand in silence holding each other. She brushes her hand across my chest, tracing the curves of my muscles, and whispers in my ear, "we could be perfect together…if these Games did not exist, and if we did not meet here. It would be magic. Absolutely incredible."

My mind flashes back to a similar thought I had about her. Fire and ice. We are exactly what we need to balance each other out. Fire and ice are the two most natural elements in the world; however, both cannot exist together.

I brush her hair from her face, look up and say, "You should get back to him. I promise we will be together again before the end of the Games."

She nods and kisses me passionately, stronger than I have ever been kissed before. Then, she turns and goes, running quickly into the woods and out of my life once again.