Prom: Part 1
Gale Hawthorne wasn't sure how he came to be sat in his beat up truck, at the end of the Mayor's drive.
That was a lie, he knew exactly what and who was to blame. Sometimes he wasn't even sure why he and Katniss were friends.
Once upon a time it had been a great friendship but since she'd been dating bloody Mellark everything had gone to pieces. She'd swapped out hunting for movie nights and ratty jeans for short shorts and even the occasional dress. She didn't have much time for hunting anymore and on the odd occasion she did, he had to put up with her giggling at Mellark's corny texts or blushing at his dirty ones. She didn't repay favours anymore and Mellark's pain in the ass brother was around a lot. And now, he was taking the mayors brat kid to prom.
Okay so she wasn't a kid but she was a brat and Gale Hawthorne did not do high maintenance. Gale Hawthorne didn't do dates and he most certainly did not do prom. Yet here he was.
Katniss had asked him first, tried to drop it in to casual conversation as if that would make it any less weird. He hadn't even felt the need to reply until she brought it up again later when he dropped her off at the bakery.
"So about prom, you didn't go to yours so this is basically a second chance. You don't have to do anything, just pick her up, stay and eat free food and drop her off"
"Catnip, I'm not going to prom, two years late, with Princess Undersee"
"Fine be a jerk but could you just think about it please?"
"Whatever".
He didn't think about it, at all, didn't give it a second thought even. Until Undersee herself accosted him in the hall and offered to pay him. He needed the money, that much was obvious but he agreed because he felt bad she actually had to pay someone. That, and he was in shock from being slammed into a locker by a girl who probably weighed less than his gym bag.
The Mayor's drive was long but it was artfully lined by overgrown trees and fancy plants, so he didn't see the girl making her way down to his truck until she was at his window.
"Christ Undersee you scared the shit out of me! Why are you in a robe, have you changed your mind? Are those curlers? I thought people stopped using those in the fifties"
"Hawthorne, shut up. I need you to come inside"
"What? Why? No way!"
"I'll pay you double alright, my dad is insisting"
"You've got to be kidding me"
"Please, I'll make it worth your while"
"I didn't sign up for this"
"$200" he snorts, the silk robe she's wearing probably wasn't much less
"There isn't any amount of money that could get me in there"
"Do it out of the kindness of your heart then" he snorts again "Hawthorne … please" he growls, throwing his head back
"Five minutes and I want my $200"
"Of course, did you want to drive up?" she asks carefully
"Don't want this old rust bucket on your property huh?" she rolls her eyes as she climbs in through the passenger side, ignoring his murmuring to himself. She's fidgeting and nosing around the second she gets in and he glares at her
"Did you clean it?" she asks
"My truck is always clean"
"Hmm" she frowns as if that's a bad thing.
The drive is even longer than he first thought and opens out unexpectedly to reveal the grandness that is the Undersee mansion. $200 bundles were probably just laying around. The front door opens before they're even out of the truck and Gale hates to admit he's intimidated. The Mayor is a big man, tall, muscular, fitter than most and he has this air about him.
"I'm not exactly the type you introduce to the folks Undersee"
"I know"
"I'm not going to suck up, I don't care who your father is"
"I know"
"He's going to hate me"
"Exactly" she smirks "Daddy this is Gale Hawthorne. Gale, Daddy"
"Mayor Undersee" Gale nods, getting a stern appraising look in response
"Hawthorne? Any relation to the politician?"
"Not that I know of"
"Hmm" he hums it the same way his daughter had, with obvious disappointment
"I should go and get ready. You two, be nice to each other won't you" Madge stalks off smirking, leaving Gale fuming and thinking $200 isn't nearly enough
"So you're in school with Madge?" the Mayor asks, still pinning him with that look rich people have
"Yep"
"We don't meet many of Madge's friends. She hasn't spoken about you either" he smiles at the Mayor. If he actually was interested in Madge that one would have stung and he knows that it was intentional. Lucky for him, he's just here for the money. Gale shrugs
"I can't imagine she would" Gale shrugs and picks up one of the few silver photo frames on a mahogany bureau. It's Madge on a horse, a giant 1st place ribbon on her chest and a trophy taller than her resting on her thigh. The other pictures, all of Madge, tell similar stories. Cheerleading uniform, big trophy. Piano, fancy crystal plate thing. Pool, gold medal. There's about five more.
"What makes you say that?"
"She doesn't know me that well" the mayor's eyes narrow
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"I'm two years older than your daughter" the Mayor raises a groomed eyebrow "we're not friends, I'm just taking her to prom" Gale thinks winking as he said that might have been too much when the Mayor clicks his jaw and straightens his tie like they're in an old gangster film
"Listen here you little punk-"
"I'm ready!" Madge sings, as she canters up to them. She looks hot, there's no point in denying it. Her usual hot was subtle, tight jeans, the cheer uniform etc. This was another level entirely. She looked like a blonde Jessica Rabbit with her hair in smooth curls and her boobs pushed up to her chin. He couldn't remember her wearing much make up before but he never really paid that much attention. Beyond checking out her ass that is. Now though, she looked like a wet dream. She had nice skin and hadn't covered it up which was good, just brushed some bronze stuff on her cheeks. She had nice eyes too, big and sexy the way she'd done them up with charcoal and silver and long dark eyelashes. He'd always noticed her lips, a fact he was surprised to realise. It started as a game with his friends, Darius was just joking around when he started talking about BJ lips, it's not like it actually made a difference. But then Thom and Bristel had jumped on the bandwagon and they were all naming people. Undersee had happened to walk by and he'd automatically looked, they'd been her identifier with him ever since. Yeah, Princess had nice pouty lips and they only looked even better in ruby red. Maybe he paid more attention than he'd like to admit.
"What … is that?" the Mayor says, looking mortified
"My corsage?" Madge answers innocently, adjusting the lily on her wrist
"Madeline Undersee you are not leaving this house wearing that. Take it off right now" Gale could see where the Mayor was coming from. The dress was jet black, skin tight, backless, strapless and split up to her thigh on one side. As a hot blooded male, Gale approved, but he wasn't her father.
"Pretty dress" he smirked
"Thanks, shall we" Madge offered her hand to him and he tucked it into the crook of his arm, grinning like the Cheshire cat
"Madeline-"
"Don't wait up Daddy"
"Laters Mr Mayor" Gale tagged on. The Mayor glared at him as he pulled off in the truck but Gale couldn't wipe the smile off his face.
"Thanks for that. Was he really awful?" Madge asks, pulling her dress up at the bust
"I think I held my own"
"God this thing is uncomfortable" she says twisting and fussing with the top of her dress "turn around"
"Kinda hard when you're driving" Gale bites back sarcastically
"Fair point, just keep your eyes on the road then" he throws her a salute and watches her struggle from the corner of his eye. He smiles to himself when she starts muttering curses under her breath "much better" she proclaims, holding a black strapless bra and rolling her shoulders "does it look alright without this?"
"Did you just ask me if your tits look alright Undersee?"
"Well do they?" he takes a long look, best to make the most of it if he's got permission, before turning back to the road "they'll do"
"They'll do?!" she exclaims "what's wrong with them" nothing
"They're a little lopsided" Gale has to bite his cheek to keep from laughing at her grief-stricken expression
"The one sexy thing about me and they turn out to be lopsided" she huffs, looking down at her chest like it's betrayed her
"At least they don't jiggle like your ass does" he adds and she looks up horrified. She starts smiling as soon as he does
"You asshole" she laughs
"Serves you right for being so vain"
"Hey! I'm not vain, tonight is just a little different" Gale rolls his eyes
"It's Prom"
"I don't mean that, I don't care about prom"
"Then why all this?"
"All what?" he rolls his eyes again
"This. The dress, the make-up, caring whether or not your ass jiggles – it doesn't by the way"
"All I learnt from that is that you stare at my ass"
"I'm Gale Hawthorne, I stare at everyone's ass" he jokes
"No you don't, I doubt you even check out the girls you date all that much"
"What d'you mean?"
"You know, just because everyone labels you something, doesn't mean that's all you are"
"Well that was deep for a spoiled Daddy's girl" he doesn't get the retort he's expecting and when he looks over at her in the passenger seat, she's picking at her perfect nails in her lap "Undersee? Princess you alright?"
"Pull over"
"What?"
"Now, pull over right now" he does as she says and even runs around the truck to open her door, perhaps she's going to puke "you don't have to be a jerk all the time you know"
"What?"
"I've never done anything to you, is it so hard to just be nice?"
"I was- I didn't- I thought we were flirting" oh god he'd been flirting with Undersee
"You're unbelievable, you know that?"
"I get that a lot" he says, a satisfied smirk on his face "okay you're still pissed" he notices, the smirk slipping away
"I have no idea how you got all those girls to go out with you"
"Well you wanted to go out with me so drop the BS"
"Believe me it was not because I think you're irresistible Romeo"
"C'mon Undersee, you just wanted to be the girl who went to prom with a senior and wore a dress that made all the guys hard and all the girls want to stab her. This is about being prom queen and it's totally pathetic"
"Hawthorne" she sighs "you really need to learn when to shut the fuck up" Gale bites his lip trying desperately not to smile
"You have quite the potty mouth on you don't you princess"
"You're quite the shithead aren't you Hawthorne"
"Can we just get in the truck please, you wouldn't want to be late to pick up your crown"
"I don't give a damn about a crown! God it's so annoying, you don't even know me and you're giving me shit for something that isn't even remotely true"
"Everyone knows you Undersee. You're the perfect mayor's daughter, golden girl, wonder child"
"Like you're the douchebag, jock, manslag? How many classes are you flunking? None right? Contrary to popular belief. How many times have you been in trouble with the cops? None again. Despite what everyone thinks"
"What's your point?"
"Exactly what I told you earlier. You don't have to be what you're labelled, I like to think I'm more than my father's daughter and you deserve to be more than a high school jock with no future"
"This conversation is way too deep to have on the side of the road"
"This conversation is way too deep to be having with you"
"Hey, I'm more than the futureless jock remember?"
"But you'll never see me as more than the mayors daughter right?" she laughs airily
"You're making out you've got it hard, your stereotype will take you places. You could do or be anything you wanted being the mayors perfect daughter"
"Except myself. No one is interested in Madge the chick who dances around to rock music in her underwear or Madge who's deathly afraid of spiders. Everyone just wants Madge the pianist, the intellect, the goddamn good girl panty award"
"The what?"
"Never mind"
"What the hell is the good girl panty award?"
"You should know, you probably invented it" she mutters back
"Okay since you clearly think soooo much of me, why were you so insistent I be your date for prom?"
"I just wanted to be normal, for one night. I just wanted to do what everyone else was doing and I figured you wouldn't expect anything of me"
"Except your money"
"I meant, you wouldn't want to dance or flirt or … hook up. I thought you'd be less complicated" Gale sighs deeply, shaking his head then walks around to the passenger side of the truck
"Alright Princess, your chariot awaits. Or would you rather stand out here all night?" sighing in much the same way he had, Madge gets into the truck
"I'm sorry, I don't know where that came from"
"Nah, it's good to know you don't have it together one hundred percent of the time"
"I guess".
After starting up the engine he sits there for a minute in silence
"Hey Undersee, can I ask one thing?"
"What?"
"What's the goddamn good girl panty award?" she laughs and sighs, it's an odd mixture of the two
"A bunch of seniors have got a pool going, whoever gets into my good girl virgin panties takes the lot" that's a little twisted, but nothing his generation does surprises him anymore "other schools are getting involved, last I heard the jackpot is around $500"
"$500 and getting laid, might join myself"
"Nice Hawthorne"
"Honestly Undersee, it's creepy and weird but it's not like anyone's won. You haven't been dooped"
"You know, you're right, at first it was strangely flattering. Seniors were asking me out. Guys I didn't even know were making a real effort with me … And then I agreed to go out with one of them"
"You didn't-?"
"No I didn't let him into my panties" she rolls her eyes "but he tried. When I told him to back off, he kicked me out of the car and left me at the side of the road. Called me a cock teasing whore which I found quite ironic"
"Shit Undersee, are you serious? Who was this guy?"
"Just some guy from Harland Prep"
"The boys boarding school?" he can't help the way he makes it sound, every guy in that place is a jackoff
"I thought my dad would like him"
"So that's what all that was about, back at the house, trying to piss your dad off"
"A little. He's made all my decisions for me, my entire life. The walk home after I got ditched kind of decided enough was enough"
"Well power to you Undersee. I'm pretty sure you made your point"
As he pulls the truck into the main car park behind their school, Gale can't help feeling sick. He really didn't want to spend an evening with the type of inebriated assholes who were betting on a girl's virginity and left helpless teenagers in the middle of nowhere.
He's walking around the truck to open her door when she gets out herself and gives him a look he hasn't seen before
"You wanna get out of here?"
"You're joking"
"I don't want to go in there, and I know you don't. You wanna go someplace else?"
"But you're all dressed up?"
"So what! Come on, you'll still get your money"
"Women" he sighs heading back to his side of the cab
"Where are we going?" she asks, bouncing in her seat a bit. Great she doesn't even have anywhere in mind. He thinks about it, about where he really wants to go right now, about where he thinks she'd like to go and starts the engine
"I have an idea".