Prompt: Character A kisses Character B to distract Character B from something.
Madge pulled her gun from its holster and held it up, trigger finger at the ready as she took one last glance out of her hidden alcove. Still in the clear. If she was lucky, she'd be able to sprint the short distance to the next alcove without being seen. Heart pounding, she took the two steps and froze when something hard and suspiciously gun-like pressed to between her shoulder blades. Well, she'd never been a lucky person.
"Hands up, Undersee," Gale's breath was hot against her neck. he was too close for her to even attempt an escape- one false move and he'd shoot. She couldn't afford that now.
Fuck.
"Turn around." His voice sent chills down her spine as she raised her hands and turned. "Slowly." She inhaled deeply and forced herself to keep her eyes open and face her enemy with courage.
it wasn't supposed to end this way.
-5 minutes earlier-
Madge huffed in frustration as she holstered her gun. For the past 15 minutes, she'd been on the receiving end an incessant barrage of attacks because of her ridiculously bright hair. Blonde hair and black lights did not mesh well. So when she saw that little nook, hidden away from the rest of the arena, she'd jumped on the chance to hide for a few minutes and secreted herself away- hoping for a quick reprieve. It wasn't out of cowardice- not at all. Despite what the rest of them thought- she was no lily-livered punk. She just needed a couple seconds to wrangle her hair into a braid or ponytail to get the literal target off her back. Shoving her hands into the tousled blonde waves, she quickly worked it into a braid and stuffed it down the back of her tank top. It was uncomfortable, but that was the price of survival in a situation like this.
As usual, she'd ended up in this rather problematic position because of her so-called best friends. Somehow, Katniss and Peeta had managed to coerce her into playing laser tag with them. Oh come on Madge, it'll be so fun, Katniss had promised-harping on and on about the many laser-tag birthdays she'd attended as a kid.
Katniss had been popular- part of the jock-squad all through high school, Madge had not.
At first, Madge considered saying no, more out of a lack of confidence than a lack of interest. But then she'd thought back to those lonely years in school and all those Friday nights spent alone in her room while everyone else was out having a blast and quickly reconsidered. She finally had the chance to be on the inside- one of the kids laughing and joking with her friends rather than the one dressed in pretty frocks who didn't have any friends. So with a wide grin, she'd said yes and made plans to meet up with Katniss and Peeta on a Friday evening.
She even began to look forward to it. But now, wedged away in a shadowy corner, she was absolutely kicking herself for coming. Things like this were only fun for people like Katniss who had perfect aim, or Peeta who had such a great personality that everyone loved him even if he was awful. There was a reason she'd never been invited to these parties when she was younger. As all the kids had been sure to remind her frequently, she was an uncoordinated loser. Who'd want to hang out with her? Of course, even then it would have been fine if it was just the three of them, and maybe Rory. She would have been able to laugh it off when she tripped over everything in the dark and scored the fewest points - but when she'd parked and met up with the group, her worst nightmare had come true.
It wasn't just Katniss and Peeta.
Slumped up against the counter was Katniss's old roommate and Madge's least favorite person, scratch that, her second least favorite person- Johanna Mason. She'd taken one look at Madge in her Nike sneakers, leggings, and light blue hoodie and cracked up.
"Who the hell brought blondie?"
A rather mean chuckle behind Madge sent her heart racing. Surely her luck couldn't be this bad, could it?
She took one quick glance over her shoulder, confirming her suspicion even though she knew who it was without looking.
Yes, her luck was absolutely wretched.
Gale Hawthorne.
Madge should have expected it. In fact, it was stupid of her to not have considered the possibility. Katniss and Gale were basically attached at the hip when they were kids. And he was the leader of the jock squad in high school, so of course, he'd be the first one invited. Now she'd be stuck in a dark room with her absolute least favorite person and her second least favorite person.
Before Gale could open his mouth to mock Madge, Peeta slung an arm over her shoulders and tugged her closer to the group, responding to Johanna, "I did," He casually replied, "you've never seen what this girl can do in there."
Madge looked at him in disbelief. What the hell was he saying? He knew perfectly well that it was her first time and that she'd most likely suck.
"Her?" Johanna scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah right- what're you gonna do, Undersee? Scratch me with your nails?" She ran her fingers through her short dark hair and shot Gale a look as he walked around Madge and Peeta toward the her.
Gale didn't even bother to spare Madge a glance as Joanna slid an arm around his waist and tugged him toward the massive doors into the arena.
"Just wait and see, Jo-" Peeta said, grinning encouragingly at Madge.
"Whatever" Gale shot a bored glance over his shoulder at Peeta, still ignoring Madge. "But you might want to tell her that sweatshirt's gonna glow like a fucking neon sign."
"You just focus on watching your own ass." Both Johanna and Gale ignored Peeta's remark and let the door fall shut behind them.
Madge's face burned with embarrassment as she blankly stared at the massive black doors. She knew Johanna didn't hate her, they were almost friends. More like acquaintances. But regardless, Johanna's words didn't bother her much, Madge had learned, over the years to ignore nearly everything that came out of her mouth. Gale, on the other hand, still had the ability to make her feel two inches tall just by looking at her- or, as he'd done today, by completely ignoring her presence. She didn't know what it was about him, but even after ten years of constant rudeness, she still cared what he thought about her.
Of course it helped that he was the hottest guy she'd ever seen in her life- tan skin, dark hair and gorgeous grey eyes. The man was perfection. And he hated her with breathtaking passion.
"You'll be fine, Madge," Rory nudged her shoulder as he walked past them into the arena. "See you inside!"
"Oh, uh- yeah. See ya, Rory." Madge cringed when she heard her waver in her voice but tried her best to shoot him a smile. Despite his older brother's low opinion of Madge, Rory had always liked her.
As soon as Rory shut the door behind him, Peeta rounded on Madge with a mildly panicked expression. "Tell me you're wearing soething black under that, Madge"
"Yeah, I am-" Madge looked up at him, baffled by his odd query. "A black tank-top, why?"
"Because" he grimaced, "She's right- you're gonna look like a lightbulb" he gestured toward the arena doors, "It's all black-light in there."
"Oh!" Madge cursed herself for her stupidity. "Ok, hang on," She unzipped the oversized pale blue hoodie and slipped it off, stuffing it into Katniss's hands as Peeta shoved a black vest over her head and buckled it at her waist. "Don't shoot me or Katniss, we're on your team." He said, thrusting a large plastic gun into her hands. "Gale, Johanna and Rory are on the other team."
"Right, ok," Madge took a deep breath and nodded as she glanced down at the gun in her hands. "Shoot them, not you guys. Got it."
A few minutes later, she'd found herself in a large room- blinking hard to adjust to the sudden darkness. As she gripped the plastic gun to her chest. Katniss gave her a quick shove and whispered instructions to 'shoot and don't get shot' and sprinted off in a different direction. It only took about three seconds to realize that the black-lights made her bright blonde hair look fluorescent, putting a giant bullseye on her head. She was the only one among them who had to worry about her hair, the rest of them pranced around in the dark with their brunette hair and Peeta with his black baseball cap. But Madge ran and jumped and ducked more than she ever had in her life to dodge the people shooting at her.
In a haze of panic, she found a little cranny and wedged herself into it- quickly braiding her hair and ramming it down the back of her shirt. It was definitely a disaster and probably looked like a rat had made itself a little home on her head, but at least it was hidden now- which made her less of an easy target than she'd been before.
She'd taken one last glance around, hoping she was in the clear and bounded two steps away when she felt the gun against her back. Please be Rory, please be Rory. She prayed silently for a few moments, knowing that if it was Rory, he wouldn't make fun of her for it later.
Nope. Of course it was Gale who'd found her. Her luck was absolutely atrocious.
She slowly turned toward him, glancing over their heads for Peeta or Katniss. Praying that one of them would be there to launch a sneak attack- but she was completely alone. She'd have to find her own way out of this.
"Looks like it's just me and you, Princess." Gale lowered his gun slightly, as he loomed over her with a smirk. "Thought Peeta said you could handle yourself?"
"I-" Madge's heart dropped when he called her Princess. He used to call her that mockingly in high school- constantly criticizing her for the littlest things and making her feel like she was less than him because her family had money. She'd thought they'd grown out of that phase.
Apparently not.
Despite the mean words, she couldn't help but admire the way his light grey eyes glittered in the dark. He'd always been too attractive for his own good, breaking hearts left and right. everyone had heard the rumors about Gale and his girls, the ones he took to the slag heap after their dates. Every girl wanted to be the one to make him settle down but clearly none of them had.
Madge would deny it to her dying day but secretly she'd always fantasized about being one of those girls. Would he be sweet and gentle with her? Probably not, he hated her too much for that. He'd probably be rough with her. And that turned her on even more. She'd gotten herself off countless times with the image of Gale pushing her against the wall and driving into her from behind or dropping to his knees and burying his face between her thighs as he fingered her to exhaustion. It made her wet just to think about it.
Even now, facing him in the dark, she had all sorts of dirty thoughts running through her brain. But that was all secondary to her main goal, she had to get away from him. There was no way she'd be able to face Johanna if Gale told everyone how she froze like a scared little puppy. She needed a distraction.
Gale's lips curved up in a malicious smirk, "Say your pr-"
Before he could finish the threat, she rose to her toes and kissed him.
Hard.
His lips were surprisingly soft despite all the harsh words he constantly threw at her. The rest of him was all unyielding muscle and hot flesh.
She felt him tense up and braced herself for the inevitable shove and cruel words that were about to come. But they didn't. Instead, he stepped closer and slowly brought his hands to her waist. His mouth opened under hers as his tongue pushed against hers, fignting for dominance. It was always a battle with Gale, but this was one Madge knew she could win.
She pulled him closer, fisting her hand in his hair and tugging, eliciting a low groan from his lips. God, this was everything she'd dresmed of- his body pressed to hers. She walked him back into the alcove and pushed him against the wall, closing the space between them as his belt buckle dug into her belly. He'd barely moved, clearly still in shock. But Madge took complete advantage of the moment, knowing she'd hate herself for it later. She gently bit his lower lip and gasped when he pulled her closer.
She wasn't the only one enjoying the kiss.
He tightened his figners at her waist, stroking the band of soft skin between her tank top and leggings. Just as he was about to turn them around to hoist her up against the wall, she tore her lips away and shoved him hard, knocking him off balance and buying herself a a few seconds. He caught himself on the wall and looked up, about to yell at her for pushing him, but she was gone. No sign of that long, blonde hair anywhere.
"What the fuck-" Gale slumped against the wall and stared into the darkness, confused and more than a little aroused by the Mayor's daughter.
These are all going to be unrelated one-shots unless there's a lot of interest/requests to turn one into a short fic!
-M-
