A/N: I just finished reading the first book and I really wanted to see Gale in the ending. So I wrote this. It's a continuation/extension of the ending. Please review (: . Oh, & I guess I should mention that I do not own The Hunger Games or any of the characters in this story. :]
I grip Peeta's hand tightly. The cameras are waiting ahead. I take a deep breath and try to sort out my thoughts. I think of Peeta, who thought of our "romance" on the Games as something more. I want to return the feelings, but I keep thinking of Gale. Why does he keep coming back into my head? I've never felt anything romantic for him, but now I can't help but wonder. Why is it that every time Peeta and I shared an inevitably on-screen kiss, I imagined Gale's face, confused and mocking? I'm itching to tell him it was all a façade, but I had a feeling he already knew. Gale understood me in a way no one else knew. He knew my thoughts before I knew them myself.
Lost in my reverie, I didn't realize the cameras were already trained on Peeta and me. I give them the fake smile I've been wearing quite often lately. The day drags on, and I get bored of the same basic questions and preppy interviewers. Finally, I get to go home and see my mother and Prim again. And Gale, though I'm trying to keep him out of my mind. By the time I'm home, it's almost midnight and I'm so tired that I fall asleep instantly. I give a quick "Hi" to my mother and a peek into the room where Prim is sleeping before going to my warm and loving bed. It feels good to be back in my own room, in my own bed, wearing my own clothes. I doze off and have the most sleep I've had in weeks.
That night, I dream. I haven't dreamt since the day of the Reaping. I felt a pair of soft lips against mine, a warm body enveloping me. I felt so at ease, so hungry for more, when I saw the cameras. They love this, I thought bitterly. They want Peeta and I to play the lovers thing until the end. Well, I won't. I break away from his embrace, as much as it pains me, and see that it is not Peeta standing before me, but Gale. A smile spreads over my face. I should have known, I'd never felt that way with Peeta. But this was a dream, after all, and anything can happen in dreams. I give his hand a squeeze, before I lean in to kiss him again, before we become one. But then I feel something being thrown at me. Burnt bread. I look in the direction of the crowd and see that it is Peeta. With a scowl, he continues hurling bread at me, so hot it's painful to the touch. I scream and am about to fall just as I wake up.
It was just a dream. Nothing more. That'll never happen. Don't freak yourself out. I glance out the window and see the bright and shining sun. Prim's head pokes through my door.
"Katniss!" she squeals. "Oh, I've missed you so much, I'm so glad you're alive!" she says as she hugs me tightly.
"Prim, I can't breathe!" I tell her, and she loosens her grip. "I've missed you, too. You don't know how horrible the Games really are." My mother walks in, and joins us.
"Girls, get ready. We're having a feast in your honor," my mother says. I perk up. This will be my chance to see Gale. I wash up and put on a navy blue shirt and black tights. I'm about to put my hair in its signature braid when my mother stops me.
"Wear it down, it looks nice like that." I oblige, and brush it out. Once my mother and Prim are ready, we leave for the square. I notice that it is swarming with people, all rushing up to congratulate me. The little ones just stare, wide eyed, at me. I see that Peeta is getting the same treatment. I flash him a smile that he does not return. Fine, if he wants to be that way, I don't care. It's not my fault I can't reciprocate his feelings.
There are no cameras today. It's just a celebratory feast, complete without cameras, interviews, and fake romance. I look around for Gale and spot him immediately. In the crowd of 8,000, our eyes meet and he starts to come over. I point to the fence. It's further away from the crowd, but close enough for them to know I haven't disappeared. We make our way over and I give him a big hug as soon as I'm close enough to touch him.
"Careful. Wouldn't want your boyfriend over there to get any ideas," he says, with a joking smile. Is that a trace of resentment I hear?
"He's not my boyfriend.
"Please. Yes, he is. I could see it all over his face."
"It was an act. To gain sponsors. Well, it might not have been entirely acted on his part…"
"Really, Katniss? I thought you were better than that. That's pretty shallow." There's no mistaking the contempt in his voice.
"I'm sorry. We had to do it to survive."
"You broke his heart and you lied!" he accused. We were shouting now, and a few faces from the crowd turned to stare.
"I don't see how it matters to you!" And then I realized. I saw the look in his eyes. He liked me, too. It mattered to him because he was in the same situation. Sort of. I looked into his eyes and I knew that I liked Gale. The kisses with Peeta were nothing. I was in love with Gale, and had been all along. He started to say something when I grabbed his head and kissed him. At first, he was startled, but then he started kissing back. Fiercely. Passionately. I knew he was the one. I was just too stubborn to realize it. Now it made sense why he was always turning down the swarms of girls who attacked him on a daily basis. It was because of me.
He pulled away, a huge grin on his face. "I have wanted to do that for the longest time," he said. I squeezed his hand in response. We turned to go back and saw the 8,000 faces of District 12 staring at us. Smiling, I said "Let's give them something to stare at." I kissed him again. I forgot about all that I'd seen, all that I'd been through, and just lost myself in his tangles of dark hair and piercing gray eyes. In Gale's warm embrace, everything was perfect.