Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure I'm not Suzanne Collins. Wait let me check…. nope.
Uptown girl
She's been living in her uptown world
I bet she never had a backstreet guy
I bet her mama never told her why
Gale Hawthorne sighed and ran his permanently coal stained hand through his hair. It was a nervous habit he had picked up from his father when he was young, and he was, nervous. He never liked shopping in the square, it was usually only the townies that came here, and besides he preferred to do his dealings in the hob, but no one in the hob sold child shoes, especially ones that were suitable for a little girl.
Gale stood in the doorway of the local shoe store, staring at all of the different styles. Why were there so many choices? Shoes were just shoes, but obviously this wasn't the case. He walked forward and picked up a pair that had pointy heels, they looked more like a torture device than anything someone would want to wear on their feet.
"I'm not sure they have those in your size." Gale whipped around to face the person talking to him. She was a pretty blond hair with big blue eyes, a townie, and she was teasing him. Just as he was about to reply with a biting remark a spark of recognition made him pause. This wasn't just some stuck up rich girl; it was the mayor's daughter, the stuck up rich girl. He tried to remember her name; Katniss had probably mentioned it once before but Gale had stopped listening. Molly? Megan? Not like it really mattered.
Gale realized he had gone a whole minute without replying and she was staring at him as if something was wrong. "Those shouldn't even be considered shoes." He said gruffly then hastily placed the shoe back on its shelf. She smiled at him and he suddenly remembered her name, Madge. Madge has a pretty smile, he thought. Whoa, were did that come from? Pretty smile or not she was still the mayor's daughter, he should definitely move along before he did something stupid like smile back.
Before he had the chance to walk away she started talking again. "They probably have something more your style over there." She gestured to a corner of the store were there was a very small shelf dedicated to boots.
"I'm not here for me," he said surprising himself, why was he still talking to her? "My little sister needs a new pair of shoes."
"Oh, I didn't know you had a little sister." She did that thing again were she smiled at him like she was trying to get something from him. "How old is she?"
Don't answer, don't answer, "Four." Damn it.
"Well they would probably have something for her over here." Madge started to walk away, farther into the store, Gale willed himself not to follow, and it didn't work.
Madge stopped in front of a row of little shoes that seemed to be about the size of Posy's foot. "These should work." She picked up a white pair of simple shoes. Posy would have them covered in dirt in minutes. Madge looked at him as if waiting for confirmation.
Why was she doing this? She wants something from me, he finally decided, he just didn't know what. "Yeah I guess." He shrugged, indifferent. Her smile got so big he swears her face was about to break. Then she turned and flounced toward the counter. Gale followed reluctantly again.
Madge walked up to the counter and the white haired man behind it smiled graciously at her, then glared distrustfully at Gale. "Hello miss Undersee, will this be all." He directed his gaze back to her.
"Yes, thank you Rick." It seemed this girl never stopped smiling. When she reached into the tiny money bag she had with her Gale grabbed her wrist, efficiently stopping her.
"I can get this myself," He growled, "I don't need your charity." A thousand expressions crossed her face before she settled on anger.
"It's not charity." She snapped before pulling her wrist away and then handing the money to the cashier. She forcefully grabbed the shoes of the counter the counter then marched out, a very bewildered Gale trying to keep up. She finally stopped in the middle of the square and whipped around. Her cheeks were a light pink and he realized with a shock that she was blushing, not many people blushed in the seam, they had neither the cause nor the energy.
She stuck up her chin and shoved the shoes into his arms. She reminded him of Posy, a very small girl trying to appear tougher, it didn't work. It only reminded him why they were there and he suddenly felt a rush of anger, he didn't want this townie's pity or her money. He balanced the shoes in one arm and reached into his pocket, digging up what little money he had to hand to her. Gale didn't know the price of the shoes but knew that even all of the money he had brought probably wouldn't cover it, they were real leather after all.
"I don't want your money." She snarled and it might have been menacing if she wasn't a good nine inches shorter than him.
"Well I don't want your pity, and I don't need it."
"I didn't pity you." There was a sound of disgust in her voice that he didn't understand.
"No one does something for nothing, so either you need something from me or you pity me and the first choice is unlikely." Gale glared at her in a way he only saved for peacekeepers, this look alone would have made most cringe away but Madge wasn't backing down.
"It was neither, I don't know what it is with you, why can't a person just be nice or perhaps I was repaying you a favor." Suddenly Gale felt stupid, he wasn't following.
"I never did you any favor." He sounded more confused than anything now. Madge looked down, her anger leaving her in seconds; she looked small and meek now, nothing like the girl that was yelling at him. When she spoke again it was in a quiet mumbled tone, but Gale got the gist.
"You talked to me; no one has done that since Katniss left." She turned suddenly and walked away quickly. He watched her disappear around the corner the last glimpse he got was blond curls tied up in a blue ribbon.
For some unknown reason he was sad that she wasn't talking to him anymore, even if she was screaming. He wondered what this feeling was; he hadn't felt it in a while, not since Katniss left…
Oh no.
I'm gonna try for an uptown girl