I know this is a day late and I am so sorry! My laptop won't turn on. I'm on my dad's. It makes me very sad because that's my baby and I don't know what to do. Thankfully, I can use my dad's and still update. Yesterday, it wouldn't turn on and I had a friend over so I didn't get a chance too. But here I am! Hopefully my laptop will be fixed by next Wednesday but if not, I have my dad's. So, Chapter Fifteen... there's only FIVE more chapters left. Crazy, guys, crazy.
Guest: Oh, I am NOT leaving this story! You don't have to worry about that. Actually, I have all the chapters already written so all I have to do is proof read and post. So this certainly won't be left behind, trust me.
Through Darkness and Light: Oh, what a beautiful speech! I loved it. Catpiss... that's so funny to me and you'll see why when you read this chapter. Of course you'll go for Cato, because he's, uh, amazing and all that good junk. Oh wow, you'd kill Katniss? Hmm, it would take one of the last ones out. Enjoy this chapter!
Setsuna Hyuga: Yay, I'm loved! I'm so glad you love my story... and me. Thank you for your support, it means so much!
DrarryFrerard: Ahaha! Yes, Katniss is something of a character, isn't she? Thank you for reading and reviewing, enjoy this chapter!
SakuraDrops141: Thank you for your support! I really enjoy seeing you review!
Guest: Thank you for saying this could be published, that means a lot a lot to me, since I am working on a book. I can't get this published, considering copyright and all that stuff, but it still means a lot. There's five more chapters after this so enjoy!
MangoMagic: I feel bad for Katniss at some points too but I really enjoy the drama. It's fun to write. And I hope you love this chapter!
mmleach: There's five more chapters and so, a lot more can happen. Remember that. I really hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a good one!
Mhardman: I'm glad you love it and I hope to see more reviews from you! Thank you for reading.
Lolitadelirium: I'm happy you're enjoying this story! Enjoy this chapter, I think you'll love it.
ZeroKirby: Of course I'm jelly, uh, nutella. Ugh, I suck lol. Yes, I have so much creativity with that last name. I'm a genius.
FiftyShadesofMakeup: Well, here's your update! I'm glad you like it and enjoy this chapter!
Chapter Fifteen.
Peeta's leg is feeling better, it's still sore so he's been limping his way through the forest. The sun was still high in the sky and he feels sweat dripping down the side of his face from the heat of the day. It's chilly at night but extremely hot during the day. The Gamemakers were annoying fucks. He hopes he's heading in the right direction. He's heading towards the lake that was near the Cornucopia, knowing Cato wouldn't be too far from the water source. Though, he did venture all the way to Peeta to give him the medicine... he glances down at his leg and sighs. Cato would probably kill him now. He did, after all, throw all the trust he had for Cato out the cave entrance. But what had Cato expected?
Cato had to understand where he was coming from. He would not be made the bad guy in this. He straightens his shoulders and walks with more purpose, determined to make Cato understand and for them to become a team again. He misses the warmth only Cato could provide him. He squints as he sees a slight shimmer through the leaves ahead. The lake! The sun was glistening off the surface and causing a calm, shimmering effect. He picks up pace, his luck in his favor right now. He was also very thirsty. Suddenly, he feels something hit him in the back of his head and hears it thud to the ground. He freezes and drops the sleeping bag, whirling around, his knife drawn. An apple core sits at his feet but as he scans the area, he doesn't see anybody. He narrows his eyes, wondering where the apple-thrower could be hiding, when he hears a scoff above his head.
"Eyes up, Lover boy." Cato's voice says, amused yet angry at the same time.
Peeta's blue eyes shoot up, scanning the branches and there, Cato is. He's on the lowest branch of a tree, a whole apple in his hand. He's tossing it up and down, catching it and eyeing Peeta close. Peeta relaxes a little but keeps his knife slightly rose, ready for an attack. If he needs too, he can kill Cato. He can. As Cato grins, so does he.
"Wow, surprised you got up there. Your tree-climbing skills doesn't seem the best," Peeta says, taking a blow at the time when he had tried to climb the tree after Katniss and fell.
He isn't sure why he said it but he's just glad to see Cato, healthy and well. It looks like he cleaned his clothes and himself in the lake. The anger grows in Cato's face and he throws the apple. It's so fast, Peeta doesn't move in time and it whacks him right in the forehead. He curses, reaching up and rubbing the spot, glaring up at the chuckling Cato. He bends down to scoop up the apple, intending to throw it back, but he hears shuffling and a loud thud and when he looks up, Cato's right in front of him.
He freezes and Cato takes this as his cue. He grabs Peeta and shoves him down, straddling his hips and pressing a small blade against his throat. Blue and blue connects and Cato looks angry and amused whereas Peeta looks angry and scared. Peeta feels that warmth melting his body, a slight stirring starting up in his pants. Not now, of all times.
"Did you ever think, Peeta," Cato purrs his name and Peeta tries to not shudder but does so unsuccessfully, receiving a wicked grin from Cato. He raises his blade and runs the tip down the side of Peeta's face, along his jaw line, "That I fell on purpose?"
Peeta blinks, confusion crossing his face. "What do you mean?" he asks, wondering what Cato was getting at. If he had the chance to get the Girl on Fire, he wouldn't had given it up for anything.
Cato's lips are at his ear, his voice angry, amusement gone. "I fell on purpose because you looked so goddamn scared for her," he hisses in his ear and pulls back, running the tip of his blade along Peeta's shoulder.
Peeta's breath catches. He wouldn't had given it up for anything but maybe for anyone, someone... that someone was Peeta. He knows he looks disbelieving before he believes him because, if Cato can climb that tree to get apples, then he could have gotten halfway up that tree with Katniss. He actually fell because of Peeta. His heart swells and he feels a freight train of emotions slam into him. Cato cares. He really cares. But the emotions die down when the blade is pressed back against his throat. "Do you think I'm going to kill you, 12?" he snaps, glaring down into his eyes.
"If you do," Peeta grins and Cato looks briefly surprised, "I'll kill you." he lifts his hand and lightly presses the tip of his blade to Cato's gut, not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough to pinch.
Cato frowns. Oh, he didn't expect that. "As I've said before, you've got balls, 12." he says and his lips are tickling his ear again. "Remember when we were like this last time? You got a little excited and I think it's happening again. You like it rough," he presses the blade closer to his skin and Peeta gasps lightly, "Peeta?" his name is a purr again, such a wonderful sound that Peeta feels the stirring in his pants grow.
"No," he whispers out and presses the knife harder against Cato. "Get off of me. We need to talk."
"Oh, are you breaking up with me?" Cato deadpans, staring him in the eye.
Peeta feels his cheeks heat up and he frowns up at Cato. "I'm serious." he says sternly.
Cato rolls his eyes but slowly, he pulls the blade away from Peeta's neck. In turn, Peeta drops his knife to the ground. Cato gets up and puts his hand out for Peeta. Peeta looks up at him and slaps his hand away before getting up himself, returning the knife back to the inside waistband of his pants. Cato scoffs and shoves Peeta roughly before grabbing up his blade and the apple and walking towards the lake. A small smile twitches at Peeta's lips. Oh, he's missed that brute more than he realized. And he had already realized he missed him a lot.
But still, him and Cato had things to talk out and he's sure it won't be the nicest talk. He grabs his sleeping bag and follows after Cato. He's surprised Cato didn't just jab the blade in his eye but it has been two days and by the things Cato has been doing, he really likes Peeta. Peeta feels his heart swell and hammer at the thought and he swallows, as they reach the lake. He's afraid of the outcome of the talk but he won't let Cato get away so easily if he doesn't want to be a team. And if Cato attacks him... well, it'll be a fight then. Cato whirls on him and leans against a tree over-hanging the lake and Peeta drops his sleeping bag before sitting on it. He sees a backpack at Cato's feet and he wonders if he was still camping out by the Cornucopia or if that's all he had left.
"Well? You wanted to have this talk." Cato says, frowning.
Peeta takes a deep breath and begins. "I'm sorry. For doubting you. For doubting your trust. It's just, you have to understand, Cato. Everything that happened between us..." he pauses as Cato narrows his eyes a little but keeps quiet and listens intently. "I thought you were messing with my head, playing a game with me. I convinced myself that's all it was and that I couldn't trust you. And with your upbringing... you can't blame me for reacting the way I did. The way you reacted with Clove's death, too... that just made me think-"
Cato finally cuts him off. "Over think."
"Huh?"
"Over think." Cato glares at him some. "You over thought everything. I was friends with Clove before all this, of course I'm going to be hurt by her death but..." his voice drops lower, to a small whisper that's so soft, Peeta can barely breathe, "I'm so glad it wasn't you."
Peeta stares at him, his heart doing flips along with his stomach. He hides his joy at hearing that sentence. "How did you get the syringe?"
Cato grins, looking amused again. "I put rocks in the bag, as you saw. I wanted to prove to you I could save you, not Katass."
"Her name is Katniss."
"Oops."
Peeta sighs and reaches up, running his fingers through his hair, making it stick up. "I used her." he finally says after a few minutes.
Cato's eyebrows shoot up. "Oh? So you weren't in-love with her?"
Here it is. A moment to lie or tell the truth. Everyone was listening. But, hadn't he already chosen? "Isn't it obvious?"
Cato looks away, out towards the lake over his shoulder. "You should be." he says.
"What?" Peeta snaps, jumping to his feet. "What do you mean, 'I should be'?"
Cato looks back at him, clenching his jaw, angry at Peeta's outburst at him. "Don't you see how fucked up this is, this thing between us?" he snaps and scoffs, turning away. "We aren't talking about this." he says like a child, crossing his arms over his chest.
No. Peeta doesn't care if everyone's watching. He has to hear it from Cato. They have to talk about it. "No. We're talking about us." he says, walking up and grabbing his arm, spinning Cato around with surprising strength. "We're talking about us because we might not have another chance too," he adds more softly when he sees the rage in Cato's face.
The rage dies down and a bit of sadness fills Cato's eyes. "I can't." he whispers and turns back around.
Anger stabs through Peeta. He can't? He can't? What the fuck was that suppose to mean. Of course he could! They might die and he doesn't want Peeta to know how he feels? Oh, the anger he was feeling was strong, making him shake a little. "You can't!?" he yells and shoves Cato, nearly knocking him into the shimmering water. "Yes, you can! Just open your mouth and speak, you jackass!"
Oh shit. He knows he's fucked up as Cato catches his balance on the edge of the lake and slowly turns to him. Pure rage is all over Cato's face, his hands clenched, his jaw set in place. Peeta doesn't back down though. He was scared, god was he, but he lifts his head up and glares at Cato. The air leaves him as Cato slams into him, knocking them both to the ground. A grabble ensues, both of them trying to get the upper hand, rolling around, throwing fists and angry words back and forth. And Peeta isn't sure who moved in first but when Cato has him pin, they're kissing. It's all lips and teeth and tongue and it's angry and it hurts but it feels so good. Their ragged breaths mingle as they continue to kiss roughly, Cato snapping his hips forward into Peeta's. Peeta lets out a little grunt around Cato's tongue, his heart out of control. And even though there's lava instead of warmth in his body and his hard-on is aching and the rough kisses feels so good, he wants to talk.
He feels like they aren't done with their conversation, feels like it's being left hanging. Or maybe Peeta's over thinking again. He isn't sure but he manages to get his mouth away from Cato's, turning his head. Instead of Cato taking the hint, his lips, teeth and tongue finds a new area to attack, starting at his jaw line and trailing down to his neck. Peeta lets out a little noise as he sucks roughly on his pulse point which he's sure is beating furiously. Quickly, before he did give in to these wonderful feelings, he kicks his leg out, soreness echoing above the pleasure for a second, and kicks Cato in the shin. Cato jerks back, hovering above Peeta, their breathing out of control. Peeta stares up at him through heavy-lidded eyes and jerks his wrists from Cato's hands. He pushes on his chest and gets Cato to lean up and he follows suit. But Cato remains in his lap, staring down at him, and Peeta keeps his hands on his chest, trying to collect his breath. Cato reaches up, slowly, and runs his fingers through Peeta's hair. Peeta blinks and bites his lip as Cato jerks on the blonde locks, sending a small tingle of pained pleasure down his spine. Their hard-ons are still pressing together and Cato tips his head down, staring down at Peeta.
"I fucking can't, okay?" he whispers, pushing Peeta back down and unsteadily getting to his feet. Peeta's head is whirling as he props himself up on his elbows, watching Cato. Cato shakes his head, backing away from him. "This fucking... it scares me. What you make me feel. I've had the thought of winning these damned games drilled into my head and it was all I knew, all I understood. These Games, winning them, it was my life." he scoffs, running his hands through his hair and shaking his head. Peeta swallows, listening intently, his heart pounding furiously in his ears. "But then you came along," Cato gives him a fierce glare, as if all this is Peeta's fault. But slowly, it softens into nothing and he looks away, out towards the lake.
"You came along and made me think there's more than winning these Games. There's more than fighting and killing. And I hate you for it. I hate you." the words stab Peeta right through the heart and then his heart threatens to come up and out as Cato grabs him by his shirt, forcing him to his feet. He slams Peeta into a tree and there's a knife at his throat, the blade biting into his skin. "All my instincts, all my thoughts, they're telling me to kill you. All I can hear is my parents, my trainers, my mentors, yelling at me, drilling it into my head to kill everyone, beating it into me." Peeta can't breathe. Is this the end? Is Cato finally snapping? Or was Cato lying the whole time? Everything was so confusing and their eyes lock. Cato's not breathing either and in a small, shaky little whisper, he gets a sentence out, "But then, I look into your eyes and I just can't. I can hear their words, I can feel the urge to just stab you, but I just can't." he steps back, throwing the knife aside, the glare back in his eyes. "What is it about you, Bread Boy, huh? What the fuck do you do that makes me forget everything I know?!"
Peeta slumps back against the tree, relief flooding him. Cato wasn't going to kill him. For one second, he doubted Cato again and this time, it was Cato's fault. Oh shit, Cato actually wants a answer. He sucks in a sharp breath. "You make me feel the same way," he says in a rush. At Cato's confused look, he continues, "I want to win these Games. Badly. I want to prove to everyone I'm not weak and can do this. I wasn't going to let anything get in my way but then... you came along." he throws the words back at him and straightens himself out, determined to not look like he was scared, even though he was shaking to his core on the inside. "What the fuck is it that you do that makes me want to just forget about winning and enjoy the time I have, Career, huh?"
Cato gets quiet, both of them staring each other down. Peeta feels a bit angry, scared, but overall, sad. Cato's just as confused as him. Just as scared. Just as lost. They both need someone to love them and they found that in each other, in the worse place, at the worse time. Fate was such a horrible thing. Slowly, Cato takes a deep breath and lets it out. "We're both pretty fucked-up... falling in-love in the fucking Games. Who does that shit?" even though Peeta's sure he didn't even realize it, Cato's words of falling in-love makes his heart thump.
"But there can be two winners now." Peeta adds softly, pushing himself away from the tree and getting closer to Cato.
Cato shakes his head, stepping back. Peeta frowns and keeps walking forward, as Cato walks backwards. "It's a damn trick," he whispers, stopping since he was at the edge of the lake. "You think they're going to allow two victors?" he reaches out, putting his hand on Peeta's chest, stopping him. "We... can't do this, 12."
"No!" Peeta reaches up, grabbing his hand and with the strength he didn't show often, pulls Cato to him and wraps him in a hug. He knows he's reacting too emotionally, showing how much he cares can be a danger but he doesn't care anymore. He just wants Cato by his side and he just wants these Games to be over with. He knows the rule change is a far shot but it's all they have right now. All they have. "I don't care if the rule change is a lie! I want to be a team, no matter what! I want to be with you, Cato," he whispers, hugging him as tightly as he can, burying his face in his shoulder.
Cato lets his arms hang at his sides, mixed emotions on his face. "We both can't win, 12."
"I don't care." Peeta's voice is thick as his eyes water. No, he won't cry. He refuses to cry. His heart jolts as he feels Cato's arms wrap around him, holding their bodies tight together.
"You know what, 12? I don't care either." he whispers in his ear, sending little shivers down his spine.
Peeta turns his head and their lips meet, in the softest kiss they've had yet. Peeta tightens his grip on Cato, the kiss telling him the unspoken promises, the sweet nothings, and the confessions Cato would never speak out loud. After all, Cato seems to be a man of action, not a man of words.
...
GASP. The end of Chapter Fifteen, five more chapters to go. The lovebirds are back together, yay. So, how was it? I really like this chapter... I hope you guys did too! Thank you guys for the endless support, it really makes my day and keeps me going! What time is it? No. Not Adventure Time. Question of the Chapter time!
How would you have reacted when Cato let the 'in-love' words drop?
I think my questions are getting crappy. Anyway, review. I love all my followers and readers and reviewers, you guys are amazing. Till next time, my lovelies. Much love, LW.