A/N: Disclaimer: I know in the books, Gale is older than Katniss, but in this story they are the same age. Also, he and Peeta are friendly, which is to say that all characters are a least a little bit OOC.

I don't know how long I have stayed in bed. I sit here, staring out the window, listening to the mockingjays sing. It seems like it has been a few minutes, but judging by the sun, it's been a few hours.

I don't want to get up.

I don't want to have to go hunt.

I want my father.

"Come on, Katniss," Peeta says softly. "You can't stay in bed any longer. Gale already covered your rounds in the Hob, but you have to come to school."

"Not today," I whisper.

"Katniss, if Gale can do it, so can you,"

"Peeta!" I hiss. "Not today." I roll away from him, hoping he gets the point, but instead of hearing his departure, I feel his strong hands slip around my waist and lift me out of bed. He tosses me unceremoniously over his shoulder, and drapes my coat over me like a blanket, picking up my shoes as he carries me out the door.

"PEETA! PEETA PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW! PEETA!"

"Katniss, you have to go to school," Peeta says calmly. "You and I both know it's not a choice,"

That shuts me up. "I'm not even dressed," I say after a minute.

"Madge will take care of that," he says. I can hear his smirk.

"Shut up," I say, feeling a smile creep onto my face. "You suck, you know?"
"I know," He's still smirking.

"Will you put me down now?" I ask, even though I know he doesn't trust me not to run back to hide under my covers.

"And have you stay in bed all day and be punished by Peacekeepers? I don't think so,"

After me persisting and several well-placed punches to his back, he relents. I don't run.

"Thank you," I say, dusting myself off and putting my shoes on.

"For putting you down or for dragging your ass out of bed? Or maybe for being the best friend in the entire district? Oh, no, it's because I'm so handsome, isn't it?"

"Can't you just accept my gratitude without being a tool?"

He laughs, and I find myself smiling again. There's nothing quite as beautiful as Peeta's laugh, especially lately, when it's been rare. I touch his arm, to show my sincerity. "Thank you for being there today, for risking your ass with the Peacekeepers."

He smiles, but it's softer. "Not a big deal. What are friends for, right?"
I nod. We are on the school grounds, now, surprisingly early.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Wearing?!" I grimace, and Peeta bites back a chuckle.

"Hey, Madge," I say as she grabs my arm and pulls me into the nearest bathroom.

"Okay, I know it's a hard day for you, but that's no excuse to look like a Seam rat," she says impatiently.

"I AM a Seam rat, Madge," I roll my eyes.

"Hmph," she responds by pulling my ratty t-shirt over my head and shoving my arms through a worn pink blouse. She pulls off my flannel pants and forces my legs through denim. Although these clothes are nothing compared to what they wear in the capitol, it's practically silk for District 12. Madge doesn't let up until my hair has been brushed and braided, my eyes are lined and shadowed, and I have a little mascara and powder on my face.

"Madge, I'm telling you, this isn't necess—"

"Oh, hush. Today sucks for you. My whole life sucks for me. So let me do this, for me."

"Thank you," I say softly.

"Hush. I'm not interested."

I smile and try to remember the shy Madge I used to sell strawberries to. I guess grief changes a lot of things.

"All right, done," she says finally. "Let's go find the boys before class, shall we?"
"Yeah, um, have you seen Prim this morning?"
"Sometimes Katniss, you really are an idiot. Or maybe you just think I am. I dropped Prim off at school this morning because I knew you'd be in no shape to. Give me a little credit. I took the little Hawthornes, too."
"You're the best, Madge," I say sincerely.

"I know," she smirks. "Like I said, I know today is hard for you. And you and Gale and Peet are always there for me in May," she smiles sadly. "Oh, there they are!"

Gale and Peeta are leaning against a concrete wall outside of the cafeteria. I rush over and give Gale a hug. "Hey, thanks for covering for me this morning," I say into his shirt.

"No problem, Catnip," he says, his big hands grabbing my shoulders. "I needed to get out of the house this morning. Thanks for taking Rory, Vick, and Posy to school," he says to Madge.

"Not a big deal, Hawthorne," she says to him, smiling.

I leave Gale's embrace and move towards Peeta, whose eyes look sad.

"You okay?" I ask.

"Look at you, showing concern," he teases. His joke doesn't make it to his eyes.

"Peeta, really,"

He shakes his head. "I'm not okay, Katniss. None of us are." He smiles sadly.

"We have to get to class," Gale says. He's looking at Peeta and me like we're both about to break. Madge's jaw is set and her mouth is in a thin line. Peeta swallows and his eyes are filling up. I set my jaw and chin up, grabbing Madge and Peeta.

We walk to class hand and hand. Gale. Peeta. Madge. Me.

The Broken Children of District 12.

Peeta slides into the seat across from me at lunch, and Gale plops down into the seat next to mine.

"Where's Madge?" I question.

"She had to go make sure her dad took his medication," Gale says, draining his cup of soup in one swallow. It's mostly water, anyways. "She's excused," he adds quickly, seeing my alarmed expression. I nod.

"Peeta, my mom told me to tell you that she's going to check up on your dad later this week, tomorrow probably," I say. He nods stiffly. "She says he's showing remarkable improvement," I add. He nods again. "Peeta," I implore him to look at me. He hasn't been this bad in a while.

"It's hard to improve, after being whipped 40 times, at his age," he says softly. "Plus, I don't think he really wants to get better, after losing my mom."

Gale claps his hand on Peeta's shoulder. "Hey, man, he's going to be fine. We are all going to be fine. We have each other."

"Sometimes it's not enough, Gale," Madge says from behind me. She sits next to Peeta. "The reaping is in two weeks."

"Oh, come on, Madge," I say softly. "Tell me you aren't nervous about that already,"

"Tell me you aren't nervous! I mean, especially because it's a Quarter Quell!"

"Of course I'm nervous!" I hiss. "But not now, not when there are still 14 days for me to relax and not think about it!"

"What if it's me?" Madge says in a low voice.

"Madge, shut up right now, do you hear me?"

"Would you volunteer?"

"Madge, I would do anything for you, you know that, but I have Prim to think about."

"I would volunteer for you!" She says, hurt.

"Madge," Gale says quietly. "Stop talking like this."

"What about you?" She turns on him. "For Peeta, would you volunteer?"

"No," Gale says without hesitation. "And I wouldn't want Peeta to volunteer for me."

"Why not?"

"Because, Madge! No one volunteers. No matter how much you care about someone, volunteering is suicide. If it's your name drawn, it's your fate to go into that arena and fight like hell to come back out."

"Bu—"

"No, Madge!" Gale isn't backing down. "If it's your name, it's your fate. If someone volunteered for me, I would never forgive them, because if they died, I wouldn't be able to live knowing that it should have been me. It's your fate."
"

"Gale's right," Peeta says quietly. "It's fate, or maybe it's the Capitol, but the people the Capitol want dead end up dead anyways. So it's no use worrying about. And it's no use fighting over."

"Fine," Madge says softly. "But don't sit there and feed me shit about how we're our own family, and how everything's going to turn out just fine and whatever, because we can't protect ourselves from the Capitol! The Capitol kills two of us every year. This year, as a fucking anniversary celebration, the reaping is going to be special or shit. A surprise. They're enjoying it. They're murderers. The Capitol sent your fathers down into that mine five years ago today. The Capitol took my mother's sister and she became so depressed that she overdosed and killed herself. The Capitol killed Peeta's mom and tortured Peeta's dad. We may be close, and we may be able to help each other out, but we can't do shit about the Capitol."

"Madge, you shouldn't be talking about this here," I say quietly.

She crosses her arms and sits back in her seat.

And then the bell rings four times, and I want to bury my face in my head and start crying. Because that means four kids didn't come to school today. And one of them should have been me. Heather Griffin. Maggie Hopkins. Peter Whipple. Fred Townsend. All of their dads died in the mine explosion that killed my father. They line up, and are tied around the whipping post. The penalty for missing school is 5 strokes.

"Madge you're wrong," I say quietly. "Peeta protected me from the Capitol today. You all did."
I would leave, but it's mandatory that we watch the punishment.

I grab Peeta's hand under the table and squeeze it, watching as his face gets unbearably white. "Peeta, it's okay, everything's going to be okay," I say calmly, wanting to brush his tears away. "Peeta, 5 strokes, it's nothing. And it's winter! My mom will do an ice coat and they will be good as new! Their wounds won't even have to set, they will be able to come to school tomorrow. Everything will be okay."
He nods. I relax.

I miss whole Peeta. The Peeta who gave me bread when I was starving. The Peeta who snuck Prim cookies after my father died. The Peeta who was carefree and happy. He hasn't been that Peeta for six months. In July, two Peacekeepers came to his house to arrest his mother for assault against her three children. Someone had seen her backhand Rye in the town square the day before. Domestic abuse is a capitol offense, and she would be killed. Peeta's father tried to stop them, out of love for his wife, and was sentenced to receive 60 strokes for interfering with the arrest of a criminal. Because it was so hot, his wounds became infected, and he suffered mental damages from the high fever. He's doing much better now, and he has begun to work at the bakery again, but Peeta hasn't fully recovered.

I'm scared he never will.

Then I look at Madge, whose easygoing nature and caring spirit has been replaced with a controlling, angry girl looking for revenge. Her mother's suicide drove her over the edge, and she has anger for the capitol rivaled only by Gale's.

Gale, who is always rambling about running away. Gale, who is ready to lead the district in an uprising. Gale, who Posy, little Posy, called "Daddy" the other day.

No, Madge's anger will never subside, and Gale won't stop fighting the Capitol until he is killed.

And then there's me, who is depressed and angry, lashing out at everyone except for the three people around me, and Prim, who is the only person I'm sure I love. Me, who trusts no one but Peeta, rants only to Gale, worries only for Madge, and cares for no one but Prim. I'm an Ice Queen, protecting myself from feeling the way I did when I lost my father ever again.

We won't ever recover. We are irreparably broken.