IT ALL STARTED WITH A WEDDING

-Chapter thirty four-

I can feel the blood rushing through my veins in my arms and legs. It's like everything froze and the only thing I can hear is my heart pulsing in my ears. I glance at the crowd for the final time, searching for my family. I see them on their feet yelling, but I can't hear a sound that comes out of their mouths. My eyes travel to the clock above me. Times running out, and the ball is still in my hands. Five. It shows in red, bright lights. I can feel the floor below me vibrate as I dribble the ball on the ground. Four. I hear them shout. Three. I look at my coach shouting at me from the bench. Two. I look into the eyes of the person that brings me back to reality, and it's the only thing I need. One. I shoot and in the same time I'm tackled to the ground, a red strand of hair blurring my vision. The sound of the ball going through the hoop is like music to my ears, and it's the last thing I hear before I pass out.

I begin to gain consciousness when I hear the sound of my mother's voice. After that, multiple sounds were reaching my ears at the same time. More people calling my name, and the sound of a machine beeping. I open my eyes slowly, the bright light blinding me. I bring my hands to cover my face almost immediately. A figure pulls my hand out of my face and the piercing light finds its way to my eyes again.

"She'll be fine," the figure speaks. He moves the flashlight away from my eyes, so I'm finally able to see his face. A man in his mid thirties moves over to my mother gesturing him to follow him outside the room. The last thing I see before he closes the door is his white coat.

"Katniss," I hear a familiar voice call out, and my head snaps in its direction. Byron. He positioned himself on the edge of the bed, gazing at me with a worried expression on his beautiful face. For a moment, I wish it was someone else beside me.

"Where am I? " I manage to choke out while taking in my surroundings.

"You're at the nurse's office. You passed out due to lack of blood pressure, so we called a doctor to check you up," he says while moving closer towards me, "You'll be fine. You just need to rest."

"Yeah, I think I'm starting to remember." I make myself comfortable on the bed and lie down while keeping my gaze on Byron. He seems to struggle to ask me his next question, so instead keeps his eyes fixated on the floor. The expression he wears is so unknown to me, maybe even for him. I'm used to him being cocky and arrogant.

"I'm moving to London in a few weeks," he blurts out with his head down. He slowly musters up his courage to look me in the eyes, while my mind is running wild.

"What are you talking about?" I yell out, clearly upset with his sudden decision, "Thanks for updating me on your decisions. The lack of information really brightens up my day."

"I made my decision today while you were asleep," he continues, making me furious," I got an outstanding offer to continue my medicine studies in London a month ago. I would be out of my mind to turn it down, they said. At first, I didn't care. As time went by I realized the reason I want to stay doesn't want me."

"Of course I want you to stay!" I yell out, positioning myself in front of him.

"Not in the way I want you to," he murmurs sadly. I can feel my face getting pale by the second while listening to what he says next. "I thought ," he continues, trying to find the right words," I thought I could make you love me, but I found out It was hopeless. You were already too much in love before you met me to feel anything more for another person. "

A tear finds its way to my cheek as I see him shatter to pieces. I've ruined yet another person, and a minute ago, I wanted to ruin him even more for my own selfish reasons. He manages out a smile and wipes the tear from my face. He stands up from the bed and moves over towards me to kiss me on my forehead for goodbye before he makes his way to the door. He looks at me one last time before walking out.

Soon after, the door is opened once again and I am greeted with two worried faces. Marvel and Glimmer walk towards me with slow steps, weighing me over, their bodies unbearably close together and fingers interwined. I let out a chuckle at their presence.

"I'm glad you two worked it out, " I laugh even though my chest is throbbing with pain.

"He's still on trial, " Glimmer says as a matter of fact, earning an irritated glare from Marvel. She mirrors his expression, but breaks out in a smile, not being able to contain herself. "How are you holding up ?" she turns around and her gaze locks onto my pale face.

"I'm fine," I mumble lousily, while turning my pillow on the side that is now colder, " My head is throbbing, but I feel much better."

"That's good to hear," Marvel says with a bright smile, "Cato has been asking to see you, but your mother decided it's best he doesn't for now."

Cato. The mere mention of his name makes my blood rush to my face. My heart is pounding fast against my chest. Why am I reacting in this way only by the sound of his name being said? I wonder if every person feels this way. Probably only the broken hearted.

"Oh," I blurt out stupidly ,"I guess she must be right. Perhaps it's better if I don't see him for a while."

"Well," he continues while trying to change the subject, since he noticed my discomfort ,"You'll be glad to hear Nicole has been kicked out of the team for various reasons. Now that I've informed you about pretty much everything, we'll leave you to rest. "

I slightly give him a nod as they grab the handle of the door. I see them close the door behind them, before my eyes shut and go to sleep.

A couple of months later

It's Winter. I've always loved the smell of it. I also love the sound of it when I crush it beneath my feet as I walk. A small amount of snow slides right down on my head from the top of the tree as Finnick and Annie laugh.

"What's so funny ? " I ask while pouting. Now is their turn to laugh even more. I quickly make two snow balls from the top of the nearby car and shove them right in their terrified faces.

"That was so unnecessary," Finnick shouts at me with an angry expression as he tries to clean himself up. Annie is nodding behind him while trying to spit out a chunk of snow that got into her mouth. I let out a giggle at the scene, then help them get cleaned up, even though I ended up paying for that with another snowball to my head.

We walked for what seemed to be half an hour before we reach the school grounds. I look at the cars in the parking lot, which remind me of how things have changed. I ended up transferring to my old school, since there was no reason for me to stay there anymore. Baron sends me letters every month. He is doing great. I still terribly miss a few people, but they come to visit me once in a while. Finnick and Annie don't have school for a week, so they take me to mine every morning. That includes filling my shoes and jacket full of snow before my classes start. They both embrace me into a hug as we reach the front entrance and part our opposite ways.

I inhale the refreshing air one more time before I'm forced to enter the school. I look at the breathtaking view of the city being flooded with snow along with the branches of the trees. I slightly smile to myself before I spot a familiar face cross the road a few steps from me. Ash blond hair. It can't be. I haven't seen or heard from him in a long time. My legs move on their own as I sprint across the road, a car almost running me over as I did. I take a look at my surroundings since I don't see him anymore. My face falls in disappointment once I realize I imagined him. I'm late for my first class and here I am left with my heart pounding hard against my chest while my hands cover my face. I'm about to walk away, until I hear my name being called. I turn around slowly and my eyes open wide in shock when I see him in front of me. Cato. The blood rushes to my face after all this time, as if it's the first time. I try to speak, but my voice is stuck in my throat, so instead I just look at him. He flashes me his recognizable smirk and his expression doesn't hold any hint of surprise from seeing me here.

"What are you doing here?" I manage asking, but end up sounding slightly rude," What I meant to say is I haven't seen you since…"

"Since you made changes to my car?" he lets out a laugh once he sees my face flushed with embarrassment ," Who needs a side mirror these days anyway?"

"I kind of forgot about that. Sorry. Is that why you're here? " I ask with a hint of sadness in my voice. I must have sounded silly again, since he is trying hard to contain his laughter.

"No, Katniss. I didn't show up in your neighborhood after six months because you smashed my car," he jokes while getting closer to me , " Your mother called me to pick up the cake."

"Cake?" I ask ,"What cake?"

"Marvel's birthday is in two days. My father wanted Mr. Mellark to make his cake like every year. I'm here to pick it up," he lets out a smile at my confusion.

I almost forgot Peeta and Cato used to be neighbors. I have gotten so used to them living with me since my mother's marriage, that I forgotten all about it. Kind of how I was used to seeing Cato every day.

"Do you want me to give you a ride? " he asks, snapping me back to reality ,"Don't worry. I don't have a habit of crashing my car."

I laugh at my expense and give him a light nod. Turns out I'm not going to school today. I stopped worrying about things like skipping classes a long time ago, since I'm back to my old school where I'm not on scholarship anymore. Primrose on the other hand is still going to Panem high school, considering Cato paid for her tuition fees. I'll owe him for that my entire life.

"How is your father?" I ask once we are in the car, "I heard he Is still single."

"Yeah, " Cato smirks then continues," He gave my mom another shot. It worked for a while, but we all knew their old problems would catch up onto them."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I say as he pulls over to park the car near my house. I look over to him and I find he is looking back at me with a smile. " What about you?" I blurt out, then flush once I realize what I've asked him. It's none of business anyway.

"What about me?" he raises his eyebrow , clearly amused by the question.

"Are you dating anyone?" I repeat, considering the damage is already done.

"No," he says, which makes my heart beat faster, until he continues," But there is this one girl. I've been meaning to ask her out for a couple of months now."

"Oh," I simply say, my stomach sinking while my throat closes up," I'm glad.

I get out of the car, him following close behind me. Before I open the door, I hear him say " So, what do you think about that?"

"What?" I ask, obviously confused by his sudden question.

"How about that date?" he smirks while moving closer towards me.

"Me?" I gasp.

"No, I was talking about your mom," he rolls his eyes in annoyance, " Yes, you."

"I'd love to," I let out a chuckle in joy, but my smile soon falls as his face gets real close to mine. I know what he is about to do. He grasps my face with his gentle hands and leans down to kiss me. Just as our lips were about to touch, someone throws a snowball at us. I try to shout at the two figures along with Cato, but we fail miserably seeing that the snow is covering half of our faces. Gale walks over with Sonia while holding hands, both of them having a fit.

"You should have seen your faces," Sonia laughs, but her smile fades once I pounce on her.

" After six months," Cato starts, turning his gaze towards Gale," I still don't like you."

We all end up on the floor before the door opens to reveal my mother and Mr Mellark. Glimmer, Marvel and Peeta following behind them. I wonder why everyone's here, but I don't care. I couldn't hope for more. Cato. Gale and Sonia together. And Peeta. He finally found someone who loves him in the same way. Surprisingly, he captured the heart of none other then Anabelle Tate. This was going to be a long year.

THE END

Author's note: Yes, after a milion years I finally updated. I am really sorry. I am extremely grateful for all of your support throughout this story. I love you guys ! :) I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I liked writing it for you.