star crossed lovers ➸ cato hadley

iii. the victory tour

Break up with Cato. Call of the engagement.

The words rang in Natalie's head as she sat in the car, dressed in a loose forest green shirt and black pants. She hadn't told any one about the encounter between President Snow and herself. She knew that all of her secrets was going to come out eventually, she just needed to find the right time and place to reveal them.

It was the eleventh of the Victory Tour, which meant they had finally reached the last district. Throughout the tour, it was nothing but glares towards Natalie and Cato. Peeta was the only one that the Districts liked. He was the Golden Boy; he never had to get his hands dirty. In some ways, Natalie hated her brother for it.

"Here are your cards." Effie says, holding out the queue cards with her perfectly manicured hand. Cato and Peeta both took theirs but Natalie made no attempt to take hers. She didn't plan on speaking at District 1. She had killed both of their tributes and she knew that whatever she said, it wouldn't make them feel any better. Whereas Cato was friends with them. They wouldn't hate him like they would hate her.

As they entered the Justice Building, Natalie could feel the anxiety rising in her chest. She knew that the quicker they got this done, the quicker they would get home. It was just the Capitol left, she could deal with that. But this, she couldn't deal with. "I can—" She trailed off, holding a hand against her chest.

Haymitch pulled her aside and blocked her view from Cato and Peeta, knowing that they could potentially triggering her further. He took her shaking hands and held them softly as he looked them straight in the eyes. "You can do this, sweetheart. You are Natalie Mellark, a Victor of the 74th Hunger Games. If anyone can do this, it's you. You just need to believe in yourself."

Natalie nodded and a moment later, she walked out with the two males beside her. Peeta began the speech, his eyes looking at the citizens of District 1, occasionally looking at the families of the fallen. Natalie tried to hide her still shaking hands behind her back and tried not to look the screens with Glimmer and Marvel on them. It was bad enough she could see them everywhere she went.

"You shouldn't be here." Marvel hissed in her ear. He was standing so close that she could almost feel him. Impossible considering he was just a fragment of her imagination. But he smelt just like the forest from arena. It almost felt like he was real.

"You should be rotting in a grave. That was the plan, wasn't it? Or was you planning to stab your brother in the back all along?" Natalie dug her nails in the palm of her hands, looking out into the crowd, acting like everything was normal despite the increase of her heartbeat.

"Go them how much you enjoyed killing us." Glimmer joined in. "Or better yet, go tell them how you wished you died in that arena. Maybe someone will do you in a favor and kill you off right now."

Natalie dug her nails in hard enough to draw blood. "Stop it."

"My bet is on Cato. He hates you, you know? He's only with you because that's what Snow wants. He saw an opportunity to survive and he took it. But that doesn't mean he isn't plotting your death." Glimmer teased.

"Stop it." Natalie said louder, closing her eyes.

"I think Peeta would gladly do it," Marvel chimed in beside her. "He's not as weak as you think. He would gladly drive a knife through your hear—"

"I said stop it." Natalie screamed, her eyes flying open as everything around her went quiet. She stared into the concerned faces of Cato and Peeta before running off the stage. All around her, the faces of those she killed popped up; the District 3 male all burned and unrecognizable, Marvel with his face covered in boils, Glimmer with blue stains covering her lips and poor young Rue with a knife sticking out of her chest.

They had haunted her day and night, never giving her a moment of peace. She knew that they were there for a reason, always lurking in the corner and ready to strike.

Natalie didn't know where she was going until she reached a kitchen of some sort. It was empty, but most of all, calm. They had vanished and she didn't know why until she had felt the handle of a kitchen knife in her hand.

Peeta appeared before her, helping her direct the knife towards her stomach. "You've tried before, so what's stopping you now?" Natalie looked at her brother with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't remember telling her brother about her attempt, the only person who knew was Haymitch. It was one of the reasons why he kept her on a tight lease. But she didn't know what was real or not these days. "Haymitch told me, if you was wondering dear sister."

She could hear several footsteps in the distance, growing closer and louder with every minute. "Ignore it. It's not real." Peeta spoke, his voice quickly silencing the room. "This is real. Focus on this. Focus on how much better you'll afterwards." He put his hand on top on hers, her hand gripping the handle tighter in response.

But a second later, his cold hand was immediately replaced by one that was warm. Cato had tried talking to his fiancee but he got nothing in return and when Natalie had finally looked at him, Cato saw nothing but emptiness in her eyes. The light had died out in her that day.

Natalie Mellark was now just a broken shell.

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now im just debating on whether or not the whole capitol party will be necessary? what are your opinions on this chapter? and should i do the capitol party or not?