YOUR POV

It couldn't have come any quicker.

The thought that struck you the day before the reaping made its reappearance as you opened your eyes to see the sun peeking out from between the leaves in the trees. For a moment, you felt comforted, until you suddenly realized you had no one beside you.

In short, you were completely alone, for the first time in the Games. Cato wasn't there, Peeta wasn't there, Rue isn't even beside you anymore.

"And so it happens," you murmured to yourself. "I have to end up being alone."

You struggled as you got up now, awkwardly placing your wrists on the tree branches as you sat up, feeling a bit sore from lying in the tree for so long. The bread from District 11 and the circlet from District 1 still laid in your hands, so you quickly put them away in your backpack and started to search for any more food you might have. Luck didn't play on your side, however, and you realized there was nothing else in the pack that screamed out edible, so you resorted to eating the bread from District 11, taking small bites out of it. It tasted good, with its seeds--something that, for you, really hit home.

Taking care now not to make too much noise, you quietly packed everything up and made your way down the tree. The moment your feet hit the ground, you took out a knife and looked around for more tributes. Luckily, there weren't any, and you managed to breathe out a sigh of relief.

Wait a second. Exactly how many people are left in the Games? There's Cato, whom you know is probably still ranting and raging about leaving you alone and letting you go when Pearl came back to attack in her tracker-jacker trance. There's Clove, who you still haven't seen in the sky. There's Foxface, there's Thresh, there's Peeta...is that it? Just five other tributes?

It didn't matter, though. You still felt like you lost a lot of friends in the process. Of course you didn't mean to grow close to the tributes at all, but every time Cato's smile appeared in the back of your mind, the way Clove handled herself with the knives in training, Glimmer's smirk and charm, even Marvel's boyish qualities, and then Rue's determination...the happy memories made you feel sadder, mostly because most of them were either dead or just gone.

"Snap out of it," you scolded yourself. "You're going to be killed if you keep thinking like that."

Hesitantly now, you started stepping forward through the trees, trusting all of your instincts now to watch out for any more danger. Odds would probably be by this point that Cato would spring out and kill you or Peeta would--no. You refused to let your mind wander to Peeta. Maybe you'd accidentally come across some kind of poisonous fruit and eat it, or an animal would come and attack. It hurt you to even think about the fact that there are just so few tributes left, and the Games wouldn't be over until 5 more of you die.

Throughout the day, all you did was hunted, fished, refilled on water, and gathered. No tribute was in sight. No Foxface, Thresh, Cato, Clove, or Peeta. On the plus side, you didn't feel like fighting at all. The thought of being alone for the first time in the Games, with no one to stay beside you, greatly weighed you down, especially when the memories began to replay in your mind. Your conversation with Rue as she brought the pain out of your tracker jacker stings. Cato's arms wrapped around you in protection. Your conversations with Peeta before his confession. Clove's face when she saw how talented you were with a knife. On and on the memories flashed in your mind, and eventually you found yourself at the bank of the lake with your arms hugging your knees so tightly you felt like if you kept yourself too open you would lose all sense of rationality and go insane.

How could they, though? How could anyone in the Capitol bother doing this kind of thing to you and every other tribute? Or rather, every district who rebelled against the Capitol? There must have been reason behind it. You never talked about it with anyone other than Peeta, and even Cato made slight mention of it. But other than that, the Capitol would be listening. Any mention of you ticking them off...

You shook your head. Forget it. Right now, you have to focus on their game that they created. That they so evilly fabricated. Slowly, you lifted your head up and stretched your legs, cooking up your kills under the suddenly hot sun and eating them up, one by one, when an announcement made you jump.

"Greetings to the final six tributes. Congratulations on making it this far." There came a pause as the message sunk in to the tributes, and you smiled. "There has now been a slight change in the rules. This year, there will be two victors, if both of these victors originate from the same district. I repeat, if the last two in the arena are from the same district, both would be deemed victors."

A static spark ended the announcement, and you let the words hang in the air for a bit, registering every single thing Claudius Templesmith had just said. Two people could win. Two of them from the same district.

With a set jaw, you got up, packed your lunch, and began to look for Peeta.

CATO POV

I woke up in the morning to find tears streaming in my eyes. Of course, this has been happening for so long now. Almost 3 days now, to be exact. 4? 5? 6? It's not easy to keep track of the days in the arena. But it definitely felt like forever since (Y/N) left my side.

I glanced up now to see Clove already up and on the move, packing up her knives and our gatherings. She and I were the only tributes left in the Career pack, and I felt really bad for pushing (Y/N) away when she volunteered to fight Pearl with me, but this was her chance to make amends with Peeta. Now I wonder if that was the right choice, because then I saw the little girl from 11 tending to her. And I don't know where Peeta is.

"Morning, Cato," Clove greeted me sullenly. "Wow. You look terrible."

I was only hoping she meant that as a joke, but in my heart I knew she was right. "Yeah. Just...worried about (Y/N) again," I muttered defensively, feeling nothing but pure anger burn through my chest. "If only I didn't tell her to leave! She'd still be here with us..."

"Cato, snap out of it," Clove scolded me, snapping her fingers under my nose. "If you keep harping about (Y/N), we're not going to go anywhere."

"Why do you suddenly care?!" I cried. "I thought--"

"Well, she's gone now, so might as well forget about her!" Clove countered back, glowering at me. "Besides, she'll be better off right now. Rue's gone. I'm pretty sure Marvel did a good job killing her off, even though he got killed in the process. Relax, Cato."

That wasn't enough for me. I growled. "No, I can't. I promised to protect her."

And I promised I'd get her back to Peeta.

Odd enough how the plan got backfired. Now (Y/N) is completely alone, and she probably would never get on good terms with Peeta again. I mean, who can lie? The longer someone spends in a grudge with another person, the less they realize how much they depend on each other. And right now, I'm feeling that I've become such a bad friend for her. I can't even--

"Cato? I'm asking you if you want to move on."

"Huh?"

By now I was so zoned out that Clove sighed exasperatedly.

"Cato, you have to get over her," she said, emphasizing so hard on the last three words I had to throw my hands up in surrender.

"Clove. I want to. But I can't," I said defiantly.

To this now, Clove rolled her eyes. "Alright then. Fine. You say so." She sheathed her knives and stuffed her sleeping bag into her pack. "If you really care about her so much, then why don't you go look for her?"

"SHE COULD BE ANYWHERE!" I cried, balling my fists. Of course, that sounds childish, but what else could I do? "Why bother wasting time looking for her? In all due respect, I just wish I hadn't pushed her away." I recalled her arms around me for the very last time...and I shivered.

"So? What exactly are you telling me?" Clove asked. "Are we still in this together or not?"

In response, I pushed past her and walked away.

**************************

Let's just say, all day I was moping over her. I only made a few snares that she taught me to catch some rabbits and even a squirrel, which I decided to cook under the surprisingly and alarmingly hot sun, and while they were cooking I got some plants and berries, effectively making a good meal. The only thing that I missed was (Y/N), her ability to make me laugh with a smart comment or a good joke, her sparkling eyes filled with life...

Man. Maybe I really am overly obsessed with her.

Suddenly, in the middle of my meal, I heard Claudius Templesmith's voice boom all over the arena, making me jump.

"Greetings to the final six tributes. Congratulations on making it this far. There has now been a slight change in the rules. This year, there will be two victors, if both of these victors originate from the same district. I repeat, if the last two in the arena are from the same district, both would be deemed victors."

The truth finally sank in. I can't win with (Y/N). If I want to get out of the arena alive, I have to do it with Clove. But for the sake of (Y/N) and her undeniable love for Peeta, I have to make sure they both get out of the arena alive. Meaning...I have to die.

Packing up the rest of my food, I went to find Clove.

"Ow," I gasped, wincing as I got up from my resting spot near the river. I had done a good job camouflaging myself beside the rocks and the grass and everything. Ever since that run from the fire and the sudden encounter with (Y/N) and the rest of the Careers, I had been lying low. Cannons kept firing in the sky, and I was relieved whenever I looked up at the sky to see that (Y/N) wasn't one of them. But then last night I felt my heart twist when I saw Rue's face in the sky. Who killed her--the one whom I rooted for since the beginning? I was hoping it wasn't (Y/N). If she did, it wouldn't be forgivable.

Sighing, I squinted at the suddenly bright and hot sky. Is this even normal? I shrugged as I peeled the jacket off and my stomach growled. It was already really late into the day, and I was starving now. Which got my mind wondering to (Y/N). What's she doing now? Where is she? I really hope she wasn't still mad at me for that confession. And what about her and Cato? Are they still a thing, or have they broken the alliance off? I was secretly hoping they would, though it actually would be funny to hear Haymitch lecture her about it.

Suddenly, a voice that I haven't heard in forever boomed throughout the arena, and I almost cut myself on the rocks just jumping in shock.

"Greetings to the final six tributes. Congratulations on making it this far. There has now been a slight change in the rules. This year, there will be two victors, if both of these victors originate from the same district. I repeat, if the last two in the arena are from the same district, both would be deemed victors."

So, two victors from the same district. I know (Y/N)'s still alive, but if the entire nation is rooting for me to come home, I have to keep up my act. I have to keep acting like I love Katniss, and only see (Y/N) as my best friend. Though I guess it wouldn't hurt to change my game up just a bit. If (Y/N) is willing to, that is. I could go look for her, but what with my ankle feeling like it was going to fall off, I didn't dare. I put the camouflage back over me just as I heard hurried footsteps make their way to the riverbank.

"Where the hell could he be," you muttered to yourself, looking around wildly. Rocks and grass were pretty much everywhere, along with a faint smell of pus. You winced at the smell, recalling all the tracker jacker stings you got a few days back. But it could be a clue.

You immediately went to your right, where the smell was coming from, and you immediately felt woozy. Just as you were passing by a pile of rocks, you were surprised to hear a hoarse, yet familiar voice speak out.

"You here to finish me off, sweetheart?"