Hey, y'all! This is the rewritten version of the story! I will be putting my own family in here, mostly because I think it would be cool, just changing the names around. Please bear with me as I do have actual books to write as well. Love y'all!
I'm sorry if this seems a little rushed... At least, it seems that way to me.
Chapter 9:
Peeta was startled awake at the sound of a cannon blast. He blearily looked around the cave, and then rubbed his eyes before looking again. Nikki wasn't there! He sat up and then stood. He had to find her! She couldn't be dead! "Nikki," he called out, running out of the cave and into the woods. Ahead, he saw a helicraft lifting a body and his heart skipped a beat. "Nikki!"
~ Nikki ~
"Nikki!" Peeta's voice was heard from the woods nearby.
Nikki shook her head. She couldn't call out to him. She had to find and kill Cato. She hobbled forward until she got to the cornucopia. She was looking down at her feet, but she sensed eyes on her. Looking up, she acted surprised. "Cato! I thought you were in the woods!" She took a step back.
Cato smirked slightly. "No, I decided to stay here and wait for my district mate to come back with food. You wouldn't happen to see her, would you?" He tilted his head to the side as he watched her.
"I didn't see her, but I saw a body being lifted." Nikki shrugged. She looked down at the handkerchief in her hand as if just remembering that she had it. "You say you were waiting for food?" She asked, looking up at Cato. At his questioning look, she said, "They're berries. I know they're not much, but they should give you enough strength for you to find better food."
~ Haymitch ~
He watched the screen, worriedly biting his bottom lip before bringing his flask to his mouth and taking a swig. On the screen, Cato looked at Nikki suspiciously.
Then Cato motioned to Nikki. "I'll take some, thanks."
Nikki smiled. "Okay," she said. She walked towards the cornucopia, limping because of how her leg was bound, and offered the handkerchief of berries to Cato. The handkerchief was open for him to see the berries. As Cato took some of the berries, Nikki looked around their surroundings. "I wonder what Peeta is doing now."
"He's probably hiding until I find him and kill him. How do you feel about someone you love being killed?" Cato asked.
Nikki sighed sadly, looking down. "I'm sad that he could die, but he doesn't love me so I won't be the last person he thinks about."
Cato laughed and popped some berries into his mouth. With a small pop, he bit into the bunch and froze in shock as the juice flooded his mouth.
Nikki trembled slightly as he fell from his standing position. "Well, that was easier than I thought," she said morosely.
Haymitch watched as the camera switched to Peeta right before the second cannon blast sounded. Peeta's head snapped in the direction of the blast. "Nikki!" Peeta yelled. His face was pinched in worry and fear. "Where did she go?! I hope she's still alive."
Haymitch watched the sad scene, hoping against hope that both of his tributes somehow survived. He could see that Peeta was starting to love Nikki, and that Nikki had given up hope of having Peeta love her.
~ Peeta ~
Peeta ran through the woods towards the cornucopia. He hadn't seen a helicraft, so he realized that Nikki was probably with a body... or, if things were wrong... then she was dead and wasn't able to be picked up. Peeta had to find out either way. His feet pounded on the forest floor, as he continued to call out to Nikki, until he came upon the cornucopia and saw Nikki sitting next to Cato's corpse. "Nikki, stop!" He yelled when he saw her raise something to her mouth.
Nikki lifted her head and stared at him as he kept running towards her. "Peeta?"
Peeta huffed. "What are you thinking? Why are you going to kill yourself?!"
"Peeta?" She said again. She blinked up at him. "In order for you to get back to Katniss, I have to die. It's the way these games work."
"Why are you so blase about your death?!" It looked like there were tears in her eyes, and he felt his own eyes prickle with tears as well.
"I'm actually not." Nikki looked down at the handful of berries. "I don't actually want to die. I just want you to be happy."
"And you think that you dying will make me happy?" Peeta knelt next to her and made her look at him. "Nikki, I realized something while I was taking care of you with your fever." He smiled at her confusion. "I'm falling for you, Nikki Swift."
~ Nikki ~
Her eyes widened in her shock. He's falling for her?! "I... I don't know what to say," she said.
"You don't have to say anything right now," Peeta said, smiling. "Just live."
"But we can't both live, Peeta, not with how the Games are run." Nikki shook her head.
Peeta smiled sadly. "Then we both die. I can't live without you, not knowing if what we have can last a lifetime." He cupped her face. "I want to spend the rest of my life getting to know you, love you, and waking up next to you." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Nikki's. Their lips moved together, parting slightly, and tongues exploring. When they pulled apart, they were breathing hard. "Wow!"
"Yeah," Nikki replied. She looked down at the berries and back up at Peeta. "Just one should do the job." Peeta removed a hand from Nikki's cheek and took a berry from the handkerchief. Nikki also took a berry, and set the others down. She looked back up at Peeta. "Together?" she asked, eyes filling with tears.
Peeta choked back a sob, knowing that this was the end. "Together," he replied, voice coming out strained. They raised the berries to their lips, eyes never leaving the other's.
"Wait!" Came a voice. "Ladies and Gentlemen! The winners of the 74th Hunger Games!"
Nikki looked shocked. "What?" she asked.
Peeta's eyes were wide with shock too. "I think he just said that we both won..."
Nikki burst into tears, sobbing her relief and confusion. The berries fell to the ground as Peeta wrapped his arms around her shaking form. At first she buried her face in his neck, but then she pulled back to look at him. "We get to go home..."
Peeta smiled, tears flowing down his cheeks. "We do." He kissed her eyelids, her nose, her cheeks, and then her lips. A few minutes later, they saw a helicraft in the sky above them and a ladder lowered for them. Peeta helped Nikki up and they each placed one hand and one foot on the ladder, holding onto each other with the other arm. They were frozen in place and then lifted up to the craft. Peeta smiled at Nikki as they rose. Inside the helicraft, Peeta stepped off the ladder and helped Nikki.
Doctors and nurses helped Nikki onto a medical bed and hurried to stick her with needles. Nikki winced every time a new needle was added, even without looking at the needles piercing her arms.
This story is coming along a lot better than before. :D Please review!