We Could Have Been Great

Chapter 18

Caesar's voice shouted their names and Clove and Cato walked onstage.

Smirks slid into place on their faces and they waved to the audience, sauntering over to the sofa opposite Caesar with confidence despite feeling anything but.

"So, how does it feel having won the 74th annual Hunger Games?" Caesar asked, leaning forwards.

"Well, not surprising. We always knew that we would win." Cato answered.

There was a brief cheer from the audience.

"And how does it feel knowing that you're not the only ones who won the Hunger Games this year?"

Both Clove and Cato's jaws tightened.

They should have been the only ones left. They should have killed 12 when they had the chance.

"Well, we most definitely would have won the Hunger Games if they hadn't been called off when they were." Cato says smugly.

Caesar laughs.

Cato and Clove's faces both remain unsmiling.

"So, what we really want to talk about is what we saw in the arena, that cute little moment you two had together. Let's replay it now, shall we?" Caesar turns his attention to the big screen they previously watched the 'highlights' of the Games on.

Now, it shows Cato dropping to the ground and pulling Clove into him, Thresh's bloody body in the grass near them.

The crowd swoons, a collective sigh of 'aw' as Cato kisses Clove's head.
Clove and Cato try to refrain from blushing bright red.

That was a moment they never intended to happen. It was the moment that won the Capitol's hearts and led to the Games being called off with four victors.
But it was also a moment that showed vile weakness.

The rest of the interview passes in a blur, a bright and colourful jumble of Caesar teasing them and Clove and Cato doing their best to remind the audience that they aren't just two kids in love but ruthless killers and the worthy victors of the 74th Hunger Games.

Before either of them know it, they're standing on the train platform.

It's a miserable day. The sky, the buildings, the ground, everything is grey. It looks like someone has sucked all of the colour right out of the world and all that is left is the dull, lifeless grey that surrounds them.

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Cato asks, tapping his foot against the concrete impatiently.

Clove leans forwards to look down the train track but it's empty, "I don't know. Brutus and Enobaria aren't here yet so we must be early."

Cato hums in agreement and they decide to take a seat on the bench behind them.

The thought of going back to District 2 is an odd one, Clove realises. So much has changed since they boarded the train to the Capitol that it almost seems wrong returning home. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Winning the Hunger Games has always been the dream. But that's all it ever seemed like it was going to be: a dream. But now, sat here on a miserably cold concrete bench at the empty train station in the Capitol, winning is no longer just a dream. She actually did it. She, Clove Kentwell, won the Hunger Games.

Of course she didn't do it alone, Cato is sat right beside her. And the gamemakers called the Games off before she had the chance to finish off the idiots from 12 but still, she did it.

And so returning home doesn't feel right. When she left District 2 to journey to the Capitol, she was just a tribute. She was a deadly knife-thrower who never missed. She had no blood on her hands.

Now, she's a victor. She's still a deadly knife-thrower who never misses but now she's The Girl Who Never Misses.
And now there is so much blood staining her hands that it's dripping onto the floor creating a permanent ugly stain around her feet, following her wherever she goes.

She doesn't feel guilty about it. Of course not. She's been trained to not feel. But it's still an uncomfortable feeling, knowing that soon, on the Victory Tour, she will have to look into the eyes of the families of some of the dead victors knowing that she is the reason their child is dead.

Her thoughts are interrupted by a loud announcement and she looks up. The train comes speeding almost silently into the station and she stands up.

Her and Cato walk forward and she realises that Brutus and Enobaria have turned up too.

The train doors slide open.

A deep breath.

A step forward.
And then another.

This is it.

They are finally going home.