A/N:- This story is inspired by the Japanese shōjo manga 'Bokura Ga Ita' that translates into 'We Were There'. It's a lovely manga and I am absolutely in love with it. If you read manga by any chance then you have got to read it. The concept has been imbibed but other than that the characters are from Hunger Games itself.

Disclaimer:- The characters are not mine but borrowed from Suzanne Collins' epic-est saga 'The Hunger Games Trilogy'. 'Bokura Ga Ita' is solely the property of Yuki Obata. The plotline, however, is my property and creation.

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Who would have known, the popular guy of the school, the captain of the soccer team, the Casanova of District 2 High, the teachers'pet and the all-rounder, was incapable of feeling the most simplest of emotion to its depth?

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No one. Nobody knew who this guy really was. And that's not anybody's fault. It's his. Because there was one thing this guy had learned very well. He had the art of superficiality perfected down to the T.

The nerves as usual are very high on the first day of the school. New school, new teachers, new people. And it didn't help that I was an introvert by nature. Though in the end I faired pretty well since most of the people are friendly enough to come talk to me and I consider myself a decent company.

And it didn't help that the first person I came across on my first day to this new school was him.

I took me a while to get to my locker. I had gone early in the morning to the administration office where the lady at reception, Ms. Effie Trinket, told me to wait it out for a few minutes. It wasn't very hard since the entire time, all I could do was sit and gawk at the lady's dressing sense. It wasn't…bad, just bizarre. I will end at that. She was nice though. Quickly, she handed me my locker number with its code, my timetable and a brochure about the school.

"Have a lovely first day, sweetheart!" she had said. If only.

He was leaning against the locker, this friends or should I say his lackeys, were standing around him in a circle. Apparently, something very funny was being discussed, because he was laughing very hard. Which annoyed me. Why did he have to laugh against my locker? Can't he go do it somewhere else? As it is I am a bit nervous. But no can do. So I walked up to their group and cleared my throat loudly.

No response.

I cleared my throat even louder this time.

"Geez, I heard you the first time girl," he snickered and nodded to dismiss his band of lackeys. He moved out of my way but stood back to watch. What? I found out a second later.

As soon as I opened my locker, blue paint splattered all over my, should I say white, shirt and went into my eyes, hurting as such. I stood there with my eyes closed shut tightly for a minute before clearing them and turning, only to see the sorry excuse of a guy laughing his ass off.

He was literally all over the floor. Call me a pessimist, I didn't find it funny. And it didn't even help that it was my first day of school and I was being bullied.

He got up and wiped the stray tear out of his eye. "I am so sorry," he said, trying to restrain his laughter with difficulty, "It was a dare."

He didn't look sorry to me at all. From any perspective. So when he extended his hand to me, an offer of friendship I believe, I completely ignored it and went in the opposite direction. Just before I rounded the corner, I threw one last look at him, thinking him gone.

But he hadn't moved at all. He was looking right at me, and this time my heart skipped a beat. Because, he didn't have any sort of expression on his face. None.

That was the first time I peeked behind the curtains of superficiality that was Gale Hawthorne.

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A/N:- Sounds promising?

General points to note.

There may be a few additional characters but that's it.

Gale and Madge (and thus by connection, Peeta, Thom and Katniss also) happen to be the same age as them)

There might be a few developments in the story that you might find unpleasant and for that I am absolutely sorry, though I will be more than happy to take your advice into consideration. I am, however under no obligation to follow them.