First one-shot! Okay so this was a request for a storyline based of Bruno Mars' song, When I was your Man. I'll probably do another chapter or to on this story but most fic will be one-shots. Please PM me or Review with any requests you have and i hope you like it!
When I was Your Man
It was almost humorous how much the sight of them took her by surprise. Everyone else saw the way his eyes followed the dark haired girl around, everyone knew what he was thinking. Everyone except Madge.
Because if she did know, if she wasn't so blatantly oblivious to the all the signs, then there is no way she would be standing here frozen shock.
This was meant to be a celebration for them, for her, Peeta and Katniss. They had finally graduated from the local university, and Madge's father was adamant he throw a party for their achievement.
Little did Madge know that the night was going to end with seeing her boyfriend of three years shoving his tongue down her friend's throat. If it was anyone else she would have laughed at how awkward they looked, how the boy had his hand at the back of the girls head, anchoring her there as her face contorted into a look of contempt.
Katniss finally was able to pull away and Madge slowly turned to walk back inside the house, her head dizzy and fuzzy, barely hearing the sound of a hand meeting a cheek as she closed the back door.
"Hey!" Peeta exclaimed when he saw her standing unmoving in the doorway. "Did you get the lemons?"
She blinked slowly, her mind unbelievable slow as she tried to remember what he was talking about. The lemons, the whole reason I went into the back yard, to pick some lemons to make more lemonade.
A string of yelled insults came floating in through the screen door and Peeta lifted his head to the noise, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Is that Katniss? Are her and Gale fighting?"
Bile built up in her throat as her mind tried to come up with an explanation, tried to find the words to tell her best friend since preschool that the love of his life was just locking lips with the man who held her heart . Instead, the only words to come out of her mouth were, "I have to go."
"What? Where are you going?" She shook her head as she began to walk past him, her legs steady underneath her as she pushed past friends of her fathers and old acquaintances of hers . "Madge! Wait!" Peeta called after her, straining to make his voice louder than the music playing on the stereo.
Mayor Undersee gave her a worried look from the other side of the room and he tried to follow her through the thong of people, but she was too fast for either Peeta or her father to catch her before she was out the front door.
Once her heeled feet hit the steps of her porch she began to run. She had always loved running, loved how the wind felt, how her legs and sides would burn hours after a good run. But now she felt no joy from it, with no destination in mind other than away from here.
It was not yet pitch black even though it was already late, the summer stars twinkling as she ran and ran. Her hair fell out of the delicate twist she spent hours on, because she knew that Gale thought her hair was prettier when it was up. Her dress, which now clings to her sweaty skin, was picked out especially because she knew how Gale liked the feel of the material while they danced. Which they only did if she begged and pleaded with him to do because he despised dancing at parties. And the heels, the little devils that were already making her feet scream were worn because she knew that Gale would tower over her without them and she wanted to make it a little more comfortable for him.
Everything I've ever done, I've done for him. Everything.
A small pebble tripped her and she nearly twisted her ankle as she tumbled to the ground.
"Fuck," she cursed under her breath, frantically trying to unclasp the dangerous little shoes from her feet.
Just as she rid herself of the contraptions she heard it, the all too familiar roar of the old pick up truck. She spun around, running again through the lit up street even though she knew she could not out run him.
"Madge! What the hell are you doing?" Gale yelled out the window, his truck slowly pulling up next to her. "Your father has half the police force out looking for you."
She doesn't turn to reply to him, instead keeping her head straight as her feet continue on her fast pace.
"What happened to your shoes?" he asked her, his voice more annoyed than concerned. Her silence is the only answer she gives him. "Okay come on stop acting like a baby and get in the truck."
Her hands balled into fists as she made a quick turn down a narrow one way street, crossing her arms as her swollen feet slowed to a jog. "Madge!" he shouted out again, cussing loudly before he got out of his truck, slamming the door.
She tried to walk faster but her ankle still stung and her body was exhausted, even if it was more emotionally than physically. A large warm hand grabbed her arm, yanking her harshly around to face him. "What the hell Madge. Care to tell me what's going on?"
For the first time she lifted her head from the ground, displaying her tear stained face. His expression instantly sobered and she yanked her arm free from him. "I can explain."
"You kissed my friend in my back yard." She cried out, her voice laced with pain and betrayal. Yet, something made her stay standing there, waiting for him to explain, waiting for him to make her feel better, telling her that she what she wanted to hear. Because more than anything she wanted to hear him say he was sorry, that she was all he wanted. But that's not what she got.
"I had to kiss her, at least once."
For a moment she thought she heard him wrong but when he made no move to take his words back her hand flew up, but Gale caught her wrist before it could hit its mark. By the red handprint that still adorned his face, it looked like he had had enough slaps in the face for one night. She reminded herself to thank Katniss about that later.
Gale's grip on her wrist was not tight enough to hurt but it was firm enough to not allow her to pull away again. "You have to understand. Me and Katniss, we're close. We've been close for years, ever since we were kids. And we're the same, her and I. I always thought that, when we were older, something would grow from that closeness, that we would end up together."
His grip tightened around her as Madge tried to pull away, no longer wanting to hear his confession. "And then when I graduated high school and started at the university she began dating Mellark. I thought it was just going to be a fling, that it would be over before you all started school but obviously that didn't happen. And I never got my chance; I never got an opportunity to tell her how I felt. Then when I heard that Mellark bought a ring, I knew I had to give it a go, I had to see if something was there. No damn it Madge let me finish!"
He pulled her closer when she tries to escape once more, grabbing onto both her wrists as he continued breaking her heart. "So I kissed her. And there was nothing. It was like kissing a mannequin, there was absolutely nothing." His eyes turned brighter as his lips turned into a smile. "Don't you see? I was wrong. For so long I thought we were meant to be together, but that's all over. Its over. So we're, you and me, we're okay."
His hands slowly released their grip on her wrists, traveling down until his fingers interlocked with hers. Her eyes fell onto their collapsed hands, a wave of fresh pain washing over her. "You never hold my hand."
Gale's smile grew as he took her words of hurt to be something else entirely. Her bottom lip quivered as she looked up at him, asking the question that she feared the answer to. "Did you ever love me Gale?"
The bluntness of her inquiry throws him off guard and his smiles falls into a scowl, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"Just what I said. Did you ever love me? Or was I just a stand in for Katniss, something to screw while you waited for her?"
"Madge-" he objects, never seeing this side of her before. "Don't say stuff like that."
More tears come falling down her cheeks but she makes no move to wipe them away. "Three years, three year I did everything for you, three years I put your happiness before mine. Three years I stayed up till four in the morning listening to you rant and rave, helped your study for your tests, took care of you when you were sick. Three years allowed myself to be put on the back burner, allowed myself to be second place in your life to everything you thought better than me."
Golden curls fall completely across her face as she shakes her head, her tearful blue eyes looking into his clear grey ones. "Maybe we're different you and I. Maybe I'm water and your fire. Maybe we'll never be able to mix."
She paused, and she hoped once more that'll he'll interject, that he'll tell her she's all wrong. And when he didn't it just hurt that much more. "Three years I've loved you. And for three years I thought you loved me back. But now I see I was very very wrong."
It's not until she takes a step back does she realize that he's still holding her hands, something he always averse to doing. Still, she didn't have to pull hard at all to release herself from his hold.
But before she can take more than ten steps away from him he shouts out to her. "But it's over! Whatever I thought might happen with Katniss, it's all over. It's over."
Her head turns around, looking at him one last time. "You're right Gale. It's over." And then she runs.
Okay so I know I ought to be working on the next chapter for Smoke and Music Notes, which I am I swear and it is about half way done, but this has been in my head for a while ever since someone asked for a one-shot based off of Bruno Mars, When I was your man. So please tell me what you think! I'm going to be posting one-shots here fairly regularly so please follow and favorite, also I might do a few multi chapter fics (if you guys are adamant that you want a follow up) so if you want me to make another chapter following this storyline please tell me in a review!
And just side note, all multi chapter fics will probably be only two to three chapter long, not a full story. Please PM me any request you have for one-shots, or leave a request in a review! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy, KISSES :D