A/N: Hello, I am Chelsea and not only is this my first ever Gale and Madge story, it is my first Hunger Games story. I am the BIGGEST fan and have been for years but I just recently got back into fanfiction and was scared to take on this genre for some reason. I feel ready now! I hope you enjoy the first chapter. The next chapter will be from Gale's POV. I have the darnest time staying in the past tense because I have a natural tednecy to want to write in the present but it's too hard for me. So, if you find tense mistakes, let me know! Please review! Thanks, guys!

I thought I knew everything there was to know about Gale Hawthorne. I thought I had memorized the color of his eyes, a dull grey that somehow still managed to shine in the sunlight. I thought I understood the definition of his muscles and the way they were more defined when he lifted up his heavy game bag. I thought I knew his smiles: the one he put on to charm a girl, the fake one he plastered on when people were actually making him angry and he was fighting the urge to scream down their throat, and his real one, which he only used around Katniss. I thought I knew Gale Hawthorne but truth of the matter was I didn't know where he began or where he ended. I didn't know a thing about him, not the real him.

But I was about to find out.

It all started that fateful day. The day of the reaping, less than an hour after Gale told me I was wearing a pretty dress, less than an hour after he was clearly angry at me because I was the mayors daughter and his name was in the reaping ball more times than I could ever even imagine, less than an hour after all of that, his best friend was walking up the stage to secure her place in the hunger games, to secure her certain death.

My heart broke at the sight. Katniss and I weren't super close but she was definitely one of the only people I considered a friend. We sat together at lunch and partnered up in gym class frequently. As I felt my heart getting crushed under the weight of the matter, I had a feeling Gale was feeling this way as well. Because as far apart as Gale and I were, we had something in common; we both cared about Katniss.

He had carried off a screaming and crying Prim only moments prior. Katniss had taken her place. She had done so because she was Katniss and Prim was her entire life. I searched for him and spotted his dark hair and tall frame over by Miss. Everdeen. I tried to read his expression, but it was impossible to read. His eyes were locked on Katniss, his lips pressed together tightly. He was hurting, no doubt, but he had to be brave. For Prim. For his siblings who were probably watching him now just as I was.

Effie Trinket was reaching into the bowl for the male tribute. I was suddenly scared to death it would be Gale. I shut my eyes and clenched my fists together tightly, holding my breath. And when she announced the name, it wasn't Gale. It was Peeta Mellark. I sighed in relief until the guilt nearly knocked the wind of me.

Peeta Mellark was good. He was pure. He was also clearly taken with Katniss. I had seen it. I had caught the way his eyes would linger on her as Katniss and I ate lunch or the way he would lick his lips and walk determinedly in her direction only to suddenly pivot and walk away, fear overwhelming him.

Peeta Mellark did not deserve this. Katniss Everdeen did not deserve this. Nobody deserved this.

Suddenly and with a certain level of urgency, they were pushing Katniss and Peeta off the stage and into the justice building. And without waiting a beat, I rushed after them. I had to talk to her. I had to say goodbye. I had to give her my pin. It would keep her safe, it would keep her brave, and it would keep her determined. If she had that pin, she could hold onto the hope that maybe she could win this thing.

The pin was my mothers. It was a mocking jay. I had noticed the way Gale's eyes peeked at it earlier. When my mother gave it to me, she told me as long as I had it, nothing bad could happen to me. Katniss needed this pin, yes. Maybe more for my sake than her own.

When I reached the building, I was directed over to a bench to wait for my turn. I saw Gale already sitting down, his head buried in his hands. He was running his fingers through his dark hair but he must've sensed someone in front of him because he looked up and dropped his hands into his lap.

We stared at each other for a long moment, trying to figure out what to say. I eventually just sat down next to him on the bench wordlessly because it was the only thing I could think of. He looked down at his hands and for a moment, he appeared so vulnerable. It was such a different look from his usual stability. It wasn't a bad look, though. It wasn't a bad look at all.

Gale and I had never been friends. We had known each other through our mutual friendship with Katniss but it had never gone beyond that. His rude comment about my superiority before the reaping was usual for our interactions. They were always heavy with the indication that Gale thought I was stuck up and pretentious. His comments to me always held double meanings.

Through all of that, I had yet to figure out my feelings towards Gale. I had always noticed him to a very detailed level. I had always been fascinated with him for some reason. Whether or not that fascination meant I was romantically interested in Gale was irrelevant. He was in love with Katniss. She was his best friend. I would never be anything more than the mayor's daughter to him, the girl with the pretty dress, the girl who would never understand what it was like to go to bed hungry.

Gale must've caught me staring because he lifted up his head and focused his eyes on a clock across the hall. I felt it was about time I said something, anything.

"She can do it, you know." I stated simply, not even bothering to look at him. My eyes found a spot on the floor to fixate on. "She can win."

There was no response for a moment and I briefly wondered if he had even heard me. And then, he spoke. "Yeah, I know."

A peacekeeper appeared in front of us and told us the next person could go in. I waited for Gale to get up but instead, he glanced over at me, meeting my blue eyes with his grey ones.

"You can go first." He said.

I didn't ask why. I figured if people didn't give me an explanation, it was because they didn't want to. Instead, I shrugged and stood up, following the peacekeeper down the hall and into her room.

Katniss looked surprised by my presence. I guess that made sense. We were friends by my standards but Katniss didn't use that word lightly. She probably considered us nothing more than lunch buddies. We didn't talk much. She wasn't a big talker.

I rushed up to her, ready to get this goodbye over with, ready to get her into the arena so she could come back home. I spoke with urgency. "They let you wear one thing from your district in the arena. One thing to remind you of home." I lifted the pin out of my pocket and pressed it into my palm before showing her. "Will you wear this?"

She stared at the pin as I held out my hand to her. A look of confusion washed over her expression.

"Your pin?" She asked incredulously.

"Here, I'll put it on your dress, all right?" I fixed the bird to her blue dress, securing it safely against the fabric. "Promise you'll wear it into the arena, Katniss? Promise?"

"Yes." She said quickly. She swallowed and stared at me for a moment. I leaned in and kissed her cheek as my goodbye. I didn't want to say the actual words; I didn't want them to become real.

I rushed out the door and run straight into Gale in the hall. He wordlessly made his way around me and was practically sprinting into her room. I stood there until the door closed behind him. Then with a sigh, I turned and walked home, counting my steps as I moved as a distraction from everything actually going on.

One. Two. Three.

Katniss is going into the arena. She might die.

Four. .

Peeta Mellark will probably die. Along with many other innocent children.

Seven. .

And I couldn't do anything to stop it.

The distraction wasn't helping; it was only making matters worse. With a groan, I kicked at a stone on the ground and watched it fly through the air before falling back down about fifteen feet in front of me.

Once I reached my house, I swung open the front door and calmly walked up into my room. It wasn't until I was safely behind my locked door that I finally broke down. Sliding my back against the door frame, I fell to the floor and brought my knees up to my chest. And the tears that I had been holding back since her name was first announced finally come spilling out. I grabbed a pillow and sobbed into it until my throat was raw.

A/N: Again, please review and let me know what you think!