A few hours later, after a good night's sleep with Peeta beside you, the rain finally stopped and you and Peeta were able to pack your things and head outside again, the fresh moist air seeping into your lungs and strengthening your esteem and confidence with a single breath. By this point, Peeta's ankle was almost healed, feeling very little pain when he put weight on it, and his burn was also improving significantly. Soon, the burn was hardly ever there. As for you, your head wound was healing a bit and you didn't feel much pain as the wound grazed against the bandage, and it stopped bleeding too. But you still kept the bandage on your head in case the bleeding started again.

"So? What are we going to do?" Peeta asked, the moment you both stepped out into the open.

You shrugged in response. "I really have no idea," you said offhandedly. "Though one thing's for sure--we already ate almost everything, and a few cookies isn't going to last us very long anyway." You shouldered your bag and took out a knife. "I guess we can hunt for now. If anyone comes by on our tails, we signal each other."

"How so?" Peeta raised his eyebrows in question.

You recalled the same day you and Rue were going to blow up the supply stash at the Cornucopia, and gestured to the necklace on your neck again. "We'll whistle something."

"Ah. And you know very well I can't whistle very well," Peeta pointed out. Then he caught your shocked response and laughed. "I'm kidding!"

"Okay then." You taught him a simple two-note whistle, which Peeta caught on very easily. Then you both went your separate ways--he to gather a few berries, and you to hunt down a few more animals.

Slowly, you tread through the woods, unable to believe your luck. Five tributes are left, and as Peeta mentioned yesterday, you two were the only team left. Two tributes from District 12. About to take the crown again after 24 years. You smirked to yourself, and just as you turned a corner you heard someone call your name, but to your surprise, it wasn't Peeta.

"(Y/N)! (Y/N)! Is that you?"

You glanced sideways, where the voice was coming from, and you were surprised to see Cato running full speed towards you, his spear in the ready. Without a second thought, you raised your bow and strung and arrow, but Cato kept running, a tired smile decked on his face.

"(Y/N)! Oh my goodness. It's so good to see you again!" Cato cried, throwing his spear down and hugging you, forcing you to drop your bow and arrow as you buried your face into Cato's jacket.

"Hey Cato," you managed to murmur through his tight embrace. "But how--how did you find me?"

Cato laughed as he let go of the embrace. "I was just there," he mentioned, gesturing to a very tall and sturdy tree which you assumed was his hideout. "And then I saw you hunting, so I thought, why not come to see you?"

You nodded as you tried to process what he said. "So...so you're not blaming me at all for what happened to Clove?"

This seemed to pull Cato up short. "Y-you heard about--oh. Of course you would. You were there when she died. You didn't kill her, didn't you?"

"No," you whispered, the memory once again swimming up to the forefront, and you shivered, as if Clove's cold blades and knives had touched your skin again. "Someone else did. But even so..." You bit your lip, unsure of whether or not you should continue.

"What? What happened?" Cato asked.

You shook your head, feeling your heart clench. "She...she said...really bad things about me," you finally blurted out. "Said that I was the reason you didn't want to fight. That she had to go to the feast in your place."

"And?"

"And..." You shook your head again, finally spitting out the last fact. "She said you were in love with me. Is that true?"

There! You just spilled out the fact that you really didn't want to mention. But you had to put it there. Rue told you, Clove told you, and now it just made your decisions all the more difficult.

Slowly, Cato nodded, reaching over and grabbing onto your hands gently. "(Y/N)...you know it was me who had to kill Pearl in the end, right? After I told you to run?"

You nodded, glancing down at your linked hands. "Yeah. I would figure."

"I had to," Cato admitted. "And then I tried to find you, but to no avail. You were just gone." A tear slid out of Cato's eye again, and you were quick enough to notice it and wipe it away with your sleeve.

"You...must have been very protective of me," you realized.

"I kinda had to," Cato said. "I mean, I knew you and Peeta wouldn't, you know...but you found him now, right?"

You nodded again, smiling up at him. "Yeah. I have. And we're good now."

"That's good to hear," Cato nodded.

For a moment, you both stood in silence, your fingers lightly grasped in his. Though the gesture gave you a warm feeling, you didn't feel anything strong towards him. You didn't feel the same quick heartbeat that you did with Peeta, nor did you feel the blush that always rose to your cheeks. The more you thought about it, you knew you couldn't come to love Cato. And something else had gone amiss--if Cato found you...

"Why didn't you just kill me?" you asked quietly, feeling your fingers slip away from his. "You know we're down to five of us, and...you have your district to think about. Why stand up for my district? What are you doing, anyway?"

Cato bit his lip in doubt, already noticing that your fingers were no longer in his gentle grip, unsure of whether he should tell you his plan. He already knew death was inevitable. And he kept convincing himself, if there is a proper pair to reach the finish line, it was you and Peeta. Besides, he can't always let the Capitol think that anyone with strength and power would always be able to win something like this. If he did, the Games would never leave his mind. But knowing you, he knew you could stand a better chance against the Capitol. You could turn the tide.

"You have a better chance of resisting the Capitol," he whispered, gently edging closer to you and cupping a hand to your cheek, which you leaned into, appreciating his touch. The memory of the conversation on the balcony the night before the Games began rushed to your brain, and you nodded.

"So you really are rooting for me and Peeta all along," you realized. "But you...fell for me in the process?"

Cato nodded slowly again. "It's okay if you don't accept it, (Y/N). I...I already know you won't."

"Cato. Of course I understand, and I do," you said firmly. "But I can't return it to you. I'm sorry."

"That's okay." Cato gave you a gentle hug, and his arms wrapped around you made you relax again and close your eyes, the last night on the balcony once again returning to the forefront of your mind.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a cannon boomed, and you jumped, breaking the embrace with Cato.

"Someone--" Cato murmured, picking his spear up.

You shook your head again, your eyes wide in fear. "I have to go. It might have been Peeta."

Cato nodded in understanding. "Then I'll leave you with him." He quickly gave you a kiss on the cheek again, though, before he turned on his heel and began to run away.

You also started to run back to the first meeting place you and Peeta parted. "PEETA!" you screamed. "Peeta, where are you?!" you cried, running by the meeting place to notice a couple dark berries wrapped tightly in your plastic sheet on his jacket on the ground. Then you heard a hovercraft coming over, and you inhaled sharply, holding your breath, hoping that it wasn't Peeta...

No. It wasn't. The body in the hovercraft's claws was female, her red hair glinting in the light, her emaciated form hanging limply in the air. You watched silently as the claw carrying her body retracted into the craft, and then it retreated, back through the air and out of sight.

Just at that moment, out came Peeta, his hand full of the same black berries you saw in the package. "Hello, (Y/N)," he said calmly. "You were calling for me?"

"I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!" you cried, throwing your arms around him as you cried. Then you glanced down at the berries. "What kind of berries are those?"

"I have no idea," Peeta admitted. "But I found them by the stream."

"Don't eat them," you warned him now. "Don't." The image of Foxface's emaciated body reappeared in your mind, and you shook your head. "Not these. NEVER these! They're poisonous. That's how she died."

"Who died, now?"

You groaned. "Really? You didn't hear the cannon? You didn't see the hover--"

"I heard the cannon," Peeta assured you. "Just...didn't see the body."

"It was Foxface," you murmured. "She was too clever...but you must have outfoxed her somehow."

Peeta shook his head. "I didn't even know she was following me."

"Well...she had to do something about her survival, right?" you asked, shrugging. "I mean, I've been keeping you resourceful, but she wasn't so lucky. Besides..." The full memory of the explosion came back and you told Peeta what happened then.

"Wow. And I thought I would be the unfortunate one," Peeta murmured. Then he pulled you into his arms again. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I should--I should have--"

"No. You have nothing to be sorry for," you said, burying your face into his body and smiling. Then you took the plastic sheet of berries and placed them in your bag.

"Why are we keeping them, if you said they were poisonous?" Peeta asked.

You shrugged. "There are only four of us left, Peeta. If one of us is unlucky enough to come across these--"

"Then hello District 12," Peeta smiled.

You nodded. "That's it."

Zipping your jacket up and shouldering your bag again, you smiled at Peeta, holding your hand out to him. Peeta smiled back as he took your hand, intertwining his fingers with yours, and the two of you continued to trek through the arena, hand in hand.