The Winner Takes it All

Fear

Cato P.O.V.

We stay submerged until we are positive that the Tracker jackers had left us alone. Afterwards, I stuck my head out and heard a cannon fire. I nervously look around as two heads bob out of the water near me. CRAP!! I look at Clove and Marvel as they both look around in confusion and then all three of us walk out of the water.

"You don't think..." Clove whispers, scanning the lake for our three missing teammates.

"I'm such a dumbass!!" I yell, kicking a rock into the river. "I should've helped her, I mean them!!"

Marvel's eyes widen after hearing that. "Don't tell me that you actually cared about her?"

I angrily begin running back to that spot, ignoring his statement. I keep my eyes open for any sign of either one of them. Come on, please don't be dead...I can't lose her, not yet. Clove stops and looks at a tree branch, making me turn around and look at it too.

A blue seashell necklace is hanging on a tree branch with it's chain broken and a few strands of blonde hair caught on the chain. I take it off the branch and rub the rigid ends.

"Marin was here, but what about Glimmer?" Clove responds, looking over the shell.

"Why didn't they get away?!" I snarl, and keep running back to that tree Fire girl was in. I'm gonna rip her throat out with my bare hands, so she'd better hope I don't find her again. I hear Loverboy's voice yelling someone to run. Glad they're both together, I'm going to enjoy taking my time killing those two. Just as I suspected, Loverboy is blocking his partner as she tries to get away.

"C-Cato, what are you doing here?" he says, as he tries to back away.

"Just realizing that I should've killed you the first chance I had." I snap, as I draw my sword.

He panics once Clove and Marvel join me. "W-Where are Marin and Glimmer?"

I laugh and run my sword down his leg as he falls the the ground. "Save it, you'll be seeing them soon enough."

We jog back to the Cornucopia and see an uninvited visitor digging through our supplies. He barely dodges one of Clove's knives, and turns around to see us with a scared expression on his face.

"Oh crap."he mumbles once we surround him.

"Do you want to tell me why you were going through our crap." I asked.

"Looking for you guys?" he says, obviously lying.

"Do you really hate your life that much." Clove says smirking.

"I could help you guys, I know how to reactivate the landmines."

My smile vanishes as I here I wonder if he could actually do it. "Fine, but if you so much as run or turn on us, I'll break your spine."

Later that night I hear the Panem Anthem and join Clove and Marvel at the mouth of the Cornucopia and look up to see Glimmer's face. I force myself to keep watching and feel a huge sigh of relief as the her face disappears and the arena goes silent. She's still alive, I have to find her...I have to know that she's safe. I get up and am about to run into the forest, until Marvel and Clove both grab my arms.

"Let me go!!" I yell as I start to drag both of them. "I have to make it up to her, she needs me."

"CATO, STOP IT!!!" Clove yells. "She's obviously okay."

"You know this alliance is close to ending, so why do you care so much?!" Marvel plants his feet firmly on the ground and snarls.

Because she makes me feel a level of happiness that I never felt before. I touch my hand and remember the night she stargazed with me and the twinkle that was in her eyes when she showed me how to find Orion. "Because she's still a member of our team."

Clove pulls me aside from a confused Marvel and angrily whispers. "Remember what Enobaria and Brutus told you?"

I punch the Cornucopia trying to calm down and ignoring the bleeding. "Of course I do, and I was doing it but now, I'm not sure if I still want to do it."

Clove rolls her eyes and groans. "I don't think you do, Brutus specifically said that he wanted you to make the girls from 1 and 4 fall in love with you and get them to lower their guard around you so then it would be easier to eliminate them once the alliance ended."

I pull Marin's necklace out of my pocket and look up at Clove, "I tried, but I-."

"I get that you might like her, and as much as it sucks to say this, she has to die so one of us can get the hell out of here." Clove interrupts. "And don't think that she won't kill you in your sleep given the chance."

I pull her even farther from the Cornucopia and glare at her, "You don't know that. Did you forget that she had many chances to kill us, like when she brought us back fish, or during her lookout shift the first night."

Clove scoffs while as she starts heading back to the Cornucopia. "Like I told you before; I tolerate her, but I didn't like her. I promise you that once our alliance ends, the girl from 12 wll be my first target, and while I grew to like Marin...."

We head back to Marvel who's still staring at the sky. "She's really gone, Glimmer's dead."

I give him a sad look and smile, "At least she can rest now."

Marvel angrily looks at Clove and I and walks to to his sleeping bag. "Easy for you to say, Marin and I both outlived our partners while you two still have the other."

I lay down, still hold the necklace and revisit every moment that I had with her.

"Looks like Glimmer has some competition, what do you think Cato." Clove said smirking.

I shift my attention from Glimmer's mesmerizing eyes and look at the girl from 4. Glimmer was still the more attractive one of the two. This is gonna be easier than I thought. "They're okay I guess." I respond in an indifferent tone.

Then I'm at the sword station when she and her partner both wander over looking lost. I wipe a drop a sweat from my eyebrow and look at Marin as she's starting at me with her mouth wide open. "Like what you see?" I smirk at her, trying my best to sound seductive. She's so gullible, I almost feel bad for her.

The scene changes to the day of our private sessions and I let Glimmer run her hand down my arm as Marin shoots us jealous looks and claims to not care. Really, let's see how long it'll take before you crack.

Suddenly I'm waiting in line for our interviews and I found myself stealing glimpses of Marin in that dress and for the first time, not paying any attention to Glimmer that night. Damn, she's charming....and beautiful.

Tributes are running around and trying to kill me and as I fight off and kill a few with ease. Then I see Marin on the floor, about to be killed. I want to let him kill her but I find myself running over and killing him to save her. Then helping her cover her wound . Thank god it was nothing serious...if only I had the needle to help close up the laceration.

Then I'm on the floor...touching her...feeling her warmth and seeing her let down her walls and show a vulnerable girl instead of the queen of sass and solitude that she normally radiated. I'm finding myself telling her about about my parents and almost kissing her....

All night I toss and turn until I finally realize what I'd been denying since that night. I'm in love with her.