Always

Show down (revised)

The crunching of Peeta's heavy steps aren't helping the whole "stay quiet and covered" rule. "Peeta!" I whisper. "You have to walk quieter. The whole world can hear you." I say with a stern face, but a smile slips out.

"Sorry" he says sheepishly. As we continue to walk to the career camp, I hear a branch break. Except it's not Peeta breaking it.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here." I turn to see Cato standing in the woods. His blonde hair is almost white and his blue eyes are cold, nothing like Peeta's. Peeta reaches for his knife and I reach for my arrow.

"Oh I wouldn't do that." He says pointing his finger. "You see, I'm suppose to win. I have to, for my district. And I'm not going to let some 16 year old stop me." He says.

Before I know what's happening he grabs his sword and runs straight towards Peeta and I. The sound of metal hitting fills the arena as Peeta and Cato fight. I grab my arrow as quickly as I can and load it in my bow.

You can do this Katniss, it's just like killing an animal.  I think to myself.

Except it's not, he's a victim of the games just like us.

"Katniss, shoot!" I hear Peeta scream. Then another scream, except this time he's in pain. Cato turns around ready to kill me next when I release.

Blood drips out of his mouth as the arrow sinks into his throat. I drop the bow and sink down to my knees next to Peeta. The gash in his leg is back and bleeding rapidly. I apply pressure and wrap a piece of my shirt around it. We both stare at each other waiting for the game makers to announce we've won, but it never comes.

"Attention tributes, there has been a slight change in the rules. The previous rule of two winners has been....provoked. May the odds be ever in your favor." I feel a tear fall down my cheek as I look to Peeta.

He sits up and wipes it away. Kissing my cheek he hands me my bow and arrows. "Go ahead. You have to live, your family needs you." He says sweetly.

"What about you?" I ask him. Does he think I can just kill him? He has a sad smile on his face when he replies.

"Nobody needs me." I look at him and my heart breaks. He thinks that I could go on without him.

"I do, I need you." I lean in to kiss him and I know that neither of us could kill each other. I look around and spot a bush of nightlock berries. My dad said that if you eat one, it'll kill you before it even hits your tongue. I stand up and grab a handful. I show them to Peeta and he has a puzzled look on his face until I explain.

"Katniss, no!" I put my finger up to his lips.

"Shhh, do you trust me?" I ask him.

"With my life." He states plainly. I give him half of the berries and I leave the rest for me.

"On three." I say while he runs his fingers down my braid.

"One." We take a deep breath.

"Two." We look into each other's eyes.

"Three." We raise our hands to our mouths when all of a sudden a voice screams out.

"Stop! Ladies and gentlemen, your 74th hunger games victors. Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen." We drop the berries and embrace.

"We did it," he says while kissing me.

"We did it." I repeat.
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I toss and turn, but all I can see is Cato's face. What he looked like when I killed him. It plagues my nightmares and all I can do is scream. I lay completely still and close my eyes, but it doesn't help.

Blue eyes. Blond hair. Cold glare. "Why'd you kill me?" He says walking towards me. "I was a victim of the games too." He pulls out his long, shiny sword. "You're going to pay for what you did." It slices down and I scream out in pain.

I jolt up in bed still screaming and crying. Peeta comes running into my room with a scared look. Once he sees I'm alright he calms down. He comes to lay down next to me and I lay my head on his chest.

"Bad dream?" He asks while rubbing my hair. I dry my eyes and turn to face him.

"Bad dreams are what you have when you see a monster, this was a nightmare." I state. He frowns at me.

"I have them too." He says.

"What are they about?" I ask.

"Loosing you." He kisses my cheek. "I'm okay once I know that you're here." He kisses me one last time and makes a move to leave. But I grab his hand and intertwine our fingers, preventing him from leaving.

"Stay with me?" I beg him. He lays back down and places his head next to mine.

"Always." He replies so easily.
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They say his leg is fine, but I see his face when he tries to walk towards me. The only time he can walk normal is when I'm screaming. They say that the adrenaline of trying to save me is what keeps him going. Knowing that he saved my life, but lost part of his leg in the process makes me cry. He never deserved this. No one did. As they place the prosthetic on his stub, I can't help but frown. He'll never be whole again and it's because of me. Snow will pay for this.
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As I stand back stage before the victors interview I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around to see Haymitch and he's actually sober. "He's not happy with you." He says with a frown.

"Who's not happy?" I ask, even though I could care less.

"Snow. He didn't like your little trick with the berries. He's watching you, Katniss." I look up and see him take a swig of whiskey. Guess I was wrong on him being sober.

"It wasn't an act of defiance. It was an act of love." I say. Before he can respond, my name is called and I walk up the stage.
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I watch as the Capitol fades away and our home becomes closer. The trees are nothing but blurry blobs as we speed by on our train. "What do we do now?" Peeta asks. I take my hand in his and pull him to the window.

"We try to forget, we try to keep living." I say with a frown.

"Will you stay with me?" He asks as if he's unsure. I look him in the eyes and kiss his hand.

"Always." I whisper.

A.N. Oh my goodness! We have finished the first book! Can you believe this. It's hard to think it went by so fast. I promise that the second and third will be longer. Alright I'll try and post the first Catching Fire chapter by next week! Yay! Bye you guys.