The Past Returns

by tempestlester

Katniss Everdeen has a good life. She is the manager of a successful fashion company, has a secret boyfriend and a daughter that serves as a reminder of her dark past. What happens when someone from that past turns up and threatens to disrupt her carefully constructed life? Modern AU. Catoniss, one-sided Everlark

5. Chapter 5: Should've Said No

A/N OMG guys I'm sooo sorry I haven't updated in like forever! I have HUGE writers block and I wanted to make this chapter the best I could...

Some of you may have noticed that I have changed my pen name :) don't worry, it's still me :D... and I have also decided that this story will be Catoniss, but with some one-sided Everlark, as lots of people want it to stay as a Catoniss.

Shout-out goes to InLoveWithHG, as their review made me laugh when I read it, and their stories are truly AMAZING too! But, seriously, all of the reviews were awesome, so please keep reviewing!

Anyhoo, here is chapter 5!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games, although I wish I could... Also, the song belongs to Taylor Swift, not me, although it does say that Katniss wrote it...

Chapter 5

We watch the number above the lift decrease until it says 'G' for ground in stunned silence. We stay stood there for a few minutes, Cato's head resting on mine, his arms wrapped tightly around my body. I can tell he's fuming, but trying to control his anger, as I can feel his short, shallow breaths. Gradually he manages to gain control of his breathing, and then turns me around and looks in my eyes.

"What the fuck just happened?" he breathes in my ear.

"I really don't know, I've never seen Gale like that before. I mean, sure he gets angry, but that, that looked... I don't even know!" I say, and rest my head against his chest.

He sighs. "Well, you do realise that if he does follow through with that threat, I probably will get put in jail. The evidence is against me, after all."

Now it's my turn to sigh. "Cato, if that does happen, if it happens, then we'll just take it as it comes, alright?" I look up to see him nod before placing my head back on his chest and continuing. "Besides, Gale is normally just empty threats and I can usually convince him otherwise."

Cato lifts my chin so I am looking in his eyes. "Really?" I nod. "Hmm. I don't know, he seemed pretty serious when he said the whole 'I'm taking you to court, Ludwig' thing."

"Listen, I'll speak to him tomorrow so that we can put this whole thing behind us and get on with our lives," I say, in an attempt to end the conversation. He nods and starts stroking my hair, and I can tell that he's in deep thought.

"I'm sorry," he says after a few minutes.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "What for?"

"For ruining your birthday, and let's be honest, I really don't feel in the mood for sex anymore, after that."

"Cato, you did not ruin my birthday. if anyone did, it was Gale, because I told him not to come over tonight, yet he did. And he pissed you off, which in turn also pisses me off. And you do know we don't have to have sex every time we spend a night together."

"I never hear you complaining," he says, smirking. "In fact, I'm sure that I've heard you begging for more on more than one occasion..."

I slap his arm, hard, but he doesn't even bat an eyelid. "Cato!" I whisper-shout, glaring at him.

"What? It's not like there's anone else here, Kat," he says, with an innocent-looking smile on his face.

I roll my eyes at him and look around the room, desperate to find something that will help me change the topic. My eyes land on the kitchen counter and I can almost feel the lightbulb going off in my head. "Cato, it's like quarter past seven, the pizza will be cold!"

I see him glance at the clock on the wall, and his eyes widen almost comically when he sees the time. "Oh, shit, you're right! We better start eating then," he says with a grin. I get two plates out of the cupboard and pour wine into two glasses, before placing the pizza box, the plates, the glasses and the bottle of wine on the coffee table. As I'm placing a DVd in the TV, I hear Cato's voice: "So, what film are we watching?" I smirk to myself and make sure the DVD starts playing before sitting on the sofa next to Cato.

It's then I reply. "The Hunger Games."

I hear Cato snort. "Any particular reason?"

"No, I just felt like it," I reply, leaning into his chest as he places his arm around me.

"Fair enough. It's a good film, anyway," he says as the film starts with a scream from Willow, the little sister of the main character, Jennifer. We watch the film quietly, until the tributes are waiting for the parade to start, which is where Cato interrupts. "I think she should have ended up with the guy from District 2. What's his name? Alex? Alexander?"

"It's Alexander. And why do you say that?"

"Because, although he's seen as the supposed bad guy in this film, I think that they would have made a better couple than her and that Josh guy, or even that Liam dude that she hunts with. Plus, major plot twist!"

"Again: why? Do you not like Liam or Josh?" I decide to get his opinion on this matter.

"Well, I think that Liam seems to be a prick, kind of reminds me of Gale, which is never a good sign, and I just think that Josh is a pussy, going around painting and baking and not wanting to kill anyone, when that's how you win!"

"Wow, Cato, I didn't realise you were so opinionated," I say, teasing him now.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing!" he says, sounding fakely offended.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't," I reply, wanting to get back to the film. Cato continues to make remarks throughout the rest of the film, and we finish at around ten. All the pizza has been eaten, all the wine drunk and we dump the stuff in the dishwasher before going off to bed.

Snuggled up to Cato, with my head on his chest and his arms wrapped almost protectively around me, it's not long before the depths of sleep find and engulf me.

I am stood on another round pedestal, again facing a tall, golden cornucopia. Except this time, I'm surrounded by water. The horn goes off and I dive into the water and swimm towards the cornucopia. I grab a b ow when I get there and start talking to Finnick. Finnick? What's he doing there? He runs off and swims Peeta Mellark over to me. What, Peeta Mellark here as well? What is going on? And why is he in my dream again?

Now we're running through a forest, and suddenly Peeta's on the floor. I'm screaming, in hysterics, when Finnick starts performing CPR on him. He coughs back to life and I seem to calm down. We settle down for the night and are sharply awoken by a thick wall of fog descending upon us. We run from it, but quickly start to lose control of our bodies. We finally escape the fog, and are on the edge of another forest when we are attacked by monkeys. We manage to fend them off, and collapse on the beach.

We now have three more people in our little group: Jo, Beetee and another woman. Jo and Beetee here too? Who else is going to be here? the we're at the base of the cornucopia, fighting. Suddenly, it spins and we're on another beach. Then Finnick and I are chasing something through the forest. We are then crouching, covering our ears with our heads to drown out some sound.

I'm sat next to Peeta on a beach. He gives me a pearl and shows me a locket that has two pictures: one of Prim and my mother, the other of Gale. How does he have pictures of them? Finnick says something from behind us and I lie down and go to sleep.

Now I'm holding a wire, with Jo walking next to me, when she suddenly pins me down, holds my arm and cuts it with a knife. She runs away and I stagger back in the direction we were coming from. I reach a very tall tree, and see Beetee lying on the ground. I loom around, stare at a spot in the air that seems to be shimmering ans shoot at it. Then everything goes black.

My eyes shoot open and I'm looking at darkness. I lie ther for a second, wondering why I keep having tweird dreams like that, but push the thought out of my mind. I try to turn over to look at my clock, but it's then that I register Cato's arm draped protectively over my waist, so I just fumble in the dark, trying to pick it up. I finally feel it under my hand, and bring it up to my face, looking at it in the dim glow from the nightlight. 3:05. I sigh and place it back on my table and, deciding that I'm not going to get back to sleep quickly, carefully remove Cato's arm from around my waist and get up.

Initially I go stand on the balcony, watching the now-quiet city sleep. I stand there for a few minutes, taking in the fresh air, but then quickly decide that I have an urge to play my guitar. I open the door of the closet and fish my guitar out, trying desperately to be quiet. I then make sure that the door to the bedroom is closed properly, so I don't wake Cato up, before heading back onto the balcony.

I sigh and gaze back over the city once more as my fingers autoatically start to play a song I haven't played or had the need to sing for a long time. My fingers and playing are a bit rusty, but the song still sounds as it did all those years ago when I used to play it all the time.

It's strange to think the songs we used to sing
the smiles, the flowers, everything
is gone.
Yesterday I found out about you
even now just looking at you
feels wrong.

You say that you'd take it all back, given one chance
it was a moment of weakness and you said yes.

You should've said no, you should've gone home,
you should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go,
you should've known that word 'bout what you did with her
would get back to me.
And I should have been there, in the back of your mind,
I shouldn't be asking myself why,
you shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet
you should've said no, baby and you might still have me.

You can see that I've been crying,
and baby you know all the right things
to say.
But do you honestly expect me to believe
we could ever be the same?

You say that the past is the past, you need one chance
it was a moment of weakness and you said yes.

You should've said no, you should've gone home,
you should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go,
you should've known that word 'bout what you did with her
would get back to me.
And I should have been there, in the back of your mind,
I shouldn't be asking myself why,
you shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet
you should've said no, baby and you might still have me.

I can't resist, before you go tell me this
was it worth it, was she worth this?

No, no, no no no no, no

You should've said no, you should've gone home,
you should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go,
you should've known that word 'bout what you did with her
would get back to me.
And I should have been there, in the back of your mind,
I shouldn't be asking myself why,
you shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet
you should've said no, baby and you might still have me.

You should've said no,
baby and you might still have me.

I sigh, looking out over the skyline, and then close my eyes, engulfed in the memory that this song brings back.

A tear falls down my cheek, just as a voice rings out. "That song was beautiful." I jump and whirl around, and see Cato standing behind me.

"You... you heard that?" I ask.

He nods. "I was awake from the moment you moved my arm, and was about to speak when you walked out of the door, then Isnuck out when I heard music."

"Oh," I say, a blush on my cheeks.

"Seriously, that song was amazing."

The blush on my cheeks darkens. "I wrote it not long after I found you kissing Glimmer. I was so upset, and that song somehow got me through some of the heartbreak. It's been a long time since I played it, though."

I feel his arms wrap around my waist. "You wrote that song... about us?" I nod. "Wow. I didn't realise what I did affected you so much. I'm so sorry. Have you written anything else?"

"It's fine, Cato, it's all in the past. And no, I haven't written anything else." He just nods and we stand there for a while, both of us just looking over the city, thinking about our messed up past.

And there it is! I've got to be real quick, so I'll say it simple: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!

Ruth xx