LOVELY

~ 3.10 ~

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'I can feel it in my chest.
This isn't over yet.
Check the locks,
Shut the windows down.'
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At dinner, Cato and Finnick sat on the edge of Katniss' bed, waiting to see the newest propo. Sharing their meal with the injured girl, they tried to cheer each other up as much as possible. However, Cato was in a dark and foul mood after his therapy session. Katniss was on edge due to the memories that had been haunting her and Finnick was still kind of out of it. All in all, they made one dysfunctional trio of friends.

Silence washed over the damaged teenagers/young adults as they watched and Katniss urged the oldest of the group to knock it off before they were forced to watch it again. However, as the unusually pale man's hand reached for the remote to switch the screen off, the dark haired girl cried for him to stop when the figure of a man appeared on the screen, tugging at her heartstrings.

Peeta Mellark was on the television screen. Except this time he didn't look healthy, shiny and well cared for. The young man appeared as though he had lost fifteen pounds and the tremor in his hands showed how badly damaged he had become; highlighted the terror they had instilled in a usually cheerful person.
In such a short time, Peeta Mellark had looked so completely different.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell her?" Caesar Flickerman asked the poor boy.

The trio couldn't help but notice the glaringly obvious absence of Indiana but neither Katniss nor Finnick dared risk bringing it up. Especially when they noticed the stark white sheen of Cato's knuckles from the sheer force with which he was gripping Katniss' blanket.

If she wasn't there did that mean she was being hurt?
Did she look to be in a similar state to Peeta?
Or was she worse because she knew more?

Millions of questions were running through the blond brute's head and his breathing became more ragged as the panic of not knowing wrapped around him once more.

Was this karma for Cato letting go of the woman he loved so deeply?

He had uttered his darkest thoughts to his therapist and now the universe was playing some cruel joke by pointing out that maybe Indiana truly was dead and Cato was forced to deal with the reality of his situation.

"Don't be a fool, Katniss. Think for yourself," begged Peeta, staring straight at the camera. "You've allowed yourself to become a weapon that may not save humanity. If you have any real power, use it to stop this thing. Use it to stop the war before it's too late. Do you really trust the people you're working with? Do you really know what's going on? If you don't, find out. Before it's too late."

The screen went blank.

Peeta disappeared from view.

Their connection to the prisoners of the Capitol and their only insight into their wellbeing was once again stolen from their grasp. Katniss gulped loudly and Cato let out a deep sigh as the reality of what they had seen settled in. Peeta may never be forgiven for the words that he uttered and his pardon could be completely dismissed.

"We didn't see it." Finnick's deep voice broke the other two out of their thoughts.

"What?" Katniss asked.

"We never saw Peeta. Only the propo on Eight. Then we turned it off because the images were upsetting. We never saw it. Got it?"

As the doors slid open, Katniss was shovelling food into her mouth and the two men were conversing about how photogenic Gale is. All seemed to be normal. Plutarch and Fulvia wandered over to the Tributes and immediately, the trio began praising the propo. Instantly, the implication that the screen was turned off after the segment on District Eight is thrown out into the air. Plutarch and Fulvia seem to gulp it down greedily. No one mentioned Peeta.

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Weeks passed but to those trapped in District Thirteen, desperate for news of their imprisoned loved ones, it felt like years. Every day that passed was another day where the already dwindling supply of hope diminished further.

During that period of time, there was another propo splashed across the screens of Panem. This one interrupted an announcement from Peeta about the need for a cease-fire – something that would cause turmoil and fury across the Districts. Thankfully, before he was beaten, the bruised boy was able to warn the rebels hidden in Thirteen that the Capitol was planning on bombing them before the night was through. That night had been a horrendous night for those trapped within the bomb bunker of Thirteen.

As Snow's plan to torment them became clear to Katniss, she rushed over to Cato and Finnick to inform them of it when it dawned on her.

"That's why he took Annie, isn't it?"

"He knows I'd never have risked telling her anything to do with rebel information so they didn't take her because of that. I refused to tell her anything. For her own protection."

Suddenly, Cato spoke up for the first time in a long time. In fact, he had been practically mute since his first therapy session.

"You know, it took me so long to figure you out. After the first Games, I was convinced your romance was just an act. After all, I had my own romance in the arena and you acted completely different to how I did. Even during the second Games, I couldn't understand why Indiana kept saving Peeta for you. I mean, you didn't truly love him so why would she? But it wasn't until Peeta hit that force field and his heart stopped that-." Cato's voice broke, as it became thick with emotion, his mind casting him back to that day.

"That what?"

"That I knew you loved him. The way that you reacted and the terror on your face was exactly how I felt when my Indiana died during our first Games. The reason why Indiana saved Peeta's life again and again was because she saw the love you held for each other, and she knew it was worth fighting for."

"How do you two bear it?" Katniss whispered, hugging her knees tightly to her chest.

"We don't."

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'This monster's back in town.
Danger knockin' at my door.
Don't come round here now more.'
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A/N: sorry for the late update and bad chapter. This is more of a filler because I needed to post something but also because everything is kicking off in the next two chapters.