A/N: Hey there guys! LOVING THE REVIEWS. I know it's late, again TT_TT but it's difficult for me to put in writing when I have, chef classes, soccer camp meetings, and design classes this month. I try to write. I really do. But for now, let's just all enjoy the story? I hope it reaches your expectations. (CLOVE & PEETA's Pov's are just there to add more spice to the story or...at least I think it does.)
The Price of Winning
Chapter 4, Wishful Thinking
Peeta
Ceasar leads Peeta backstage then closes the show. Backstage, the second Peeta's eyes land on Katniss, she pushes him to the wall and makes sure he stays there.
"What the hell was that?" She yelled.
Peeta said nothing.
"Here I was thinking you hated me. And now you're saying you've got a crush on me?" she yells some more.
"Katniss," Haymitch successfully pulls her away from Peeta and grips her tight "He did you a favor."
"A favor? Are you joking?" she says as she tries to pull away.
"Star-crossed lovers of District 12, that'll earn you some sponsors."
"Cinna's designs earned us enough sponsors." she says.
"In your situation, you'll never have enough sponsors, sweetheart."
Katniss sighs, "Do we really need more?"
"I wish we didn't. But you will always need more, it's your life that's hanging on a thread, Katniss."
"Fine." She wobbles her way out of Haymitch's grip and heads to the elevator with Cinna, not once looking at Peeta.
"You okay kid?" Haymitch asks Peeta as he pats his back.
"Yeah." Peeta looks to the left and sees Cato smirking at him. "I think you should go talk to Katniss. You know, convince her to not go psycho and stuff." he says.
"You're joking, right? That girl is one second away from pulling out my eyes from it's sockets."
"Just try? I'm asking you nicely."
With a sigh, Haymitch pats Peeta's back once more, and goes to the elevator.
Peeta turns towards the District Two male tribute. Cato's smirk is still on but he turned around facing his partner, Clove. Peeta hesitatingly walks toward two's tributes. He taps Cato's back.
Cato faces him with a smirk, and Clove does the same. "The Capitol loved your confession, loverboy." Clove says.
"Too bad your princess didn't." Cato says, "So, you want in on the alliance now?"
It takes a long time for Peeta to say his answer, but eventually he does. "Yes."
Clove smiles and Cato starts to laugh, "I have to say, I thank Katniss for how she reacted. Otherwise, you'd have probably said no."
Peeta gives them a smile that just screams of guilt, "Yeah."
"Don't be like that loverboy, she'll pay for hurting your feelings." Clove playfully says.
Peeta just smiles. He had doubts about his plan. How on earth am I going to drive them away from Katniss without them knowing? He thought. He guessed that if he'd join forces with the careers he could buy Katniss some time or even save her if they happened to come across each other. But he'll do his best to keep them away from her before that. All he had to do is play along 'til the right moment.
Clove
"We'll see you tomorrow loverboy." Clove smirks.
"Don't get yourself killed before the hunt." Cato says.
With that, the District 2 tributes head to the elevator, leaving Peeta on his own.
Clove was all smiley about getting to kill Katniss Everdeen. She hated her. For her pretty little clothes and her innocent pale face. She hated the fact that she was one of the poorest of the poor and one of the least experienced of the inexperienced but was still able to score higher than her. A career, showed up by a District 12 rat. Now thanks to Peeta, she has the chance to prove to the Capitol that she was the superior female, before Cato kills her and becomes the victor. At least she'd be able to prove that much before her life ends. Then Clove's smile faded.
"Cato?" She calls.
"What?" He asks.
"Who gets to do it?"
"Do what?"
"Extinguish the princess' fire." She playfully says.
Cato takes a moment to think before he says something, "I have to."
"I want to."
"Look, I wanted her dead the moment I saw her on her chariot. I get to kill her."
"She'll be dead alright. But by my hands. I'll kill her."
"No you don't understand-"
"No! You're the one who doesn't understand." She yells, "She has no training. She didn't have to go through the suffers of being a career. She had no one thinking highly of her, no one to disappoint. I did. Yet she somehow made everyone think she's better than me, more superior. Our District will be ashamed of me. I just want District 2 to be proud of me before I-"
"She getting in my head." Cato interrupts.
"What?" Clove asks.
"Katniss? She's been messing up my mind."
"Are you saying that you like-"
"No. Of course not. I meant that she's pissing me off." He sighs, "I just need to kill her, it'll clear things up."
"Are you crazy? You want to kill her just so you can calm down?" Clove asks.
"She's annoying the hell out of me. I just want her dead. That's it, just dead."
After what seemed like an hour to them, the elevator doors finally slide open.
"You know what? Never mind, kill her if you want to. I don't care." Cato walks out of the elevator and heads to his room, slamming his door when he's in.
Clove just sits on the couch and plays with her knife as she muses.
I can still win this. Cato's guard is low. Katniss Everdeen is currently occupying his messed up mind. I can win this. She smiles. I love you Cato, you've been quite a friend over the years in training. But I'm going back home no matter what, and you can't stop me.
Katniss
It was already morning. Today, the games start.
Katniss knocks on Peeta's room. Everything was fine between them after their talk last night on the roof, Peeta always had a way with words. "Peeta?" she called.
"Yeah?" His voice sounded nervous and afraid. Katniss guessed that even Peeta couldn't pretend that he was prepared for the games. "I'm going to train before we have to go. Do you want to come?"
"No thanks. I'm good." he says.
"Okay." Katniss heads to the training center in a simple white shirt and a pair of black capris pants. She only had 2 hours before the prep time for the games, so she had to make the most of it. The games is almost starting and she wished it wouldn't. She even thought of the possibility of it being delayed because of some foreign attack or something. But that was just wishful thinking.
When she reaches the place, she starts to make her way to the bows and arrows. She runs her hands through it and breathes in. She was about to take a pair before she heard a thrashing sound. She followed the sound, silently walking towards it. She froze in her steps when she saw Cato, running his swords through the dummies and giving them a few kicks here and there. She swore her heart stopped when he noticed her and placed his hungry blue-colored eyes on her face.
"Katniss," He smirked then slowly approaches her with his sword in hand.
She doesn't say anything or do anything. She didn't show fear, but she wasn't showing braveness either. She just stood in her place, motionless. After all, she was alone in a room full of weapons with a career.
"I really want to kill you, you know that." He says, only inches away from her face.
Katniss still doesn't say anything, she just looks him in the eyes.
"Good thing the games start today, or I might have killed you by now."
Being snapped back in reality, Katniss takes a step back, "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?"
"Is it just because I scored higher than you and might have stole some of your sponsors?"
"Oh, you mean why I want to kill you? Yes, that's exactly why. You put me in a very bad place, princess. And I want you to pay, that's all." Cato says as he takes a step forward, leading Katniss to the wall.
"What are you doing?" She asks.
"Doing what you did to me, except, physically. I'm putting you in a place where you don't want to be in."
"Back off." She presses her hand on his chest in attempt to push him away.
"I hate to admit it, but you were also this difficult to push away princess."
"Stop calling me that. And just stay away!" Katniss struggles to push him away.
Cato bends down to whisper in her ear, "With the help of your lover, you'll be dead in the arena." Then he lets her go.
"What?" Katniss didn't get what he was saying. "You mean Peeta? What are you talking about, he'd never help you."
"Oh? Then why did he say he would?" Cato asks teasingly.
"H-he didn't."
Cato laughs, "Go ask him yourself princess," He says as he heads towards the elevator. "See you in the arena."
He wouldn't do that, She thought. Peeta would never help them, even if he hated me, he would never. Would he? Katniss once did think that he was just playing with her so he could kill her in the arena, but that was just the beginning. She couldn't have been right before, could she?
Cato
That ought to have dumbfounded her. By this point Cato would just do about anything to break her since he couldn't kill her now. Honestly, he blames District Twelve's pink-haired escort for all of this. If she hadn't pulled out Katniss' sister's name. The girl wouldn't have volunteered and he wouldn't be in the mental state he is in now. It would've been just fine. He would have been spending most of his time thinking on how to kill off the big guy named Thresh, and he and Clove wouldn't have been fighting over Katniss' head. It would've been just fine. But with her around, everything is just so complicated. And he still has to find out what got her that 11. Heck, she's probably doing whatever she did right now. He'd go back, but he promised his mentors that he'd be back in time before prep. Otherwise they'd kick his ass. Not that he was afraid.
When he gets to the second floor, Clove is already zipped up. Their assigned clothing didn't seem like much trouble, so Cato was able to easily put it on.
"Cato," Clove says, "I hope yesterday didn't make you out for my ass. I just have issues, just like you do, with the fire princess."
"Shut up."
"At least we know that she'll be dead. I'm not one to disappoint."
"Let's head to the hovercraft guys," One of their mentors said, "It's time."
Cato
After they put in everyone's trackers, the hovercraft rises to the air. Cato was bored for the most part of the ride. So he just silently observed each and everyone of the other tributes, since he never did before. Though, most of them looked away when they saw his eyes on them. They were clearly afraid of him, but Cato liked it that way. He took occasional glances at Katniss, wondering if she was able to ask Peeta about the alliance and wondering what's going through her head, since all she does is look down at her lap.
When they arrive in some kind of underground metallic barricade, they are ushered into separate areas and rushed into different rooms. When Cato enters his, he doesn't find much except for a closet, a table and the tube that's supposed to bring them up the arena. His stylist didn't do much except throw him his jacket and wish him good luck. Cato steps in the tube and wait for the last 20 seconds before they are brought up.
After a while, the circle that his feet stand on starts to rise and light starts to shine in his eyes. When he is in open air, he doesn't see anything at first except a white blinding light. But when his vision clears, he sees the golden Cornucopia, packed with weapons. He smiles when he sees this. He corrects his stance and wait as the countdown is on 0. He looks at Clove and sees her in the same position as he. She notices him and gives him a cunning smile. When he turns his face back, the countdown was almost over. Cato kept his eyes glued on the hologram on the Cornucopia. Everything goes silent and he feels his adrenaline pumping. This was going to be great.
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Everyone starts to run. Blood already splatters on the grass and screams echo all around. The 74th Hunger Games has started.
Katniss
Katniss dashes as soon as she realizes that the countdown has ended. She runs towards Peeta. It's not the wises thing to do after what happened during prep time, but she feels like she has to do it. She has to reason with Peeta.
Katniss dashes in the room, "Peeta?" She looks around for the baker's son. "Peeta!" She barges into the blue-eyed boy's room.
"Katniss? What's wrong?" He asks.
"Is it true? You're going to help the careers find me in the arena?" Katniss knew this was probably one of the stupidest things she has ever done. Confronting an enemy is not exactly a brilliant plan.
"It's not what you think-"
"Oh really?"
"Yes! Do you really think that I would let anyone kill you? Katniss, I wouldn't do that even if it meant that my life could be saved."
Katniss stays silent. She felt awkward. She was never good with these "intimate" moments in life. The closest she's ever been intimate with a boy was when she was with Gale, but even that wasn't this awkward. "Then why did Cato say you did?" she asks, using all her effort to act normal.
"I said so, but I had different plans. I was going to deceive them. I was going to keep them away instead of leading them to you."
"What? Peeta, You're crazy!"
"So you're mad either way. I don't get you."
"They'll kill you if they find out, you idiot!"
"I'm going to die even if I don't do it. At least this way, I can help you before I do."
"No. Don't."
"You can't change my mind Katniss. I'm doing it."
The bloodbath was happening before Katniss' innocent grey eyes. Everything was happening so fast and she felt hazy. At one point, she just stood there in shock. But she was able to regain her state of mind before anything bad was able to happen. She ran as fast as she could to the back of the Cornucopia. When she gets there, she sits, leaning her back on the metallic surface of the weapon house. She closes her eyes for a moment. Her heart beats loud as pictures of the bloodshed flashes through her mind. To think that last night, these bunch of tributes were just smiling in front of a cheering crowd.
Katniss wanted to run, far far away. Maybe she should have, maybe she should have gone with Gale and just disappear from their cursed country. But she knew better than to think wishfully. But the moment she opened her eyes, all she wanted was for that wish to come true.
"Hey there princess, having a little break?" Cato's ice cold voice echoes through Katniss' ears.
"C-Cato?"
"Yup, that's me. I didn't think it would be this easy to find you Katniss. I guess I was wrong."
Katniss' heart almost stopped completely when she sees something glisten near his hand.
A sword.
A/N: GOOD? BAD? OKAY? REVIEW? I hope this is fine with you. I hope the story is still as good as you thought it was or better or something. One question, IF YOU COULD ADD ANOTHER PAIR IN THIS STORY, WHICH PAIR WOULD IT BE? I have been thinking about this. If I do pursue this idea, there will still be more Cato/Katniss time of course. So don't worry. Actually, there will be a lot of scenes with both of them in it in the next few chapters, so KEEP READING. ;)