A/N: After seeing all the released production photos of Hi-jacked Peeta and Katniss, I was inspired to write this one-shot! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Hunger Games. All rights belong to Suzanne Collins.
Gale walked through the blinding hallways of District 13. After living in a place as gray and dull as District 12 and even working in the dark underground of the coal mines, it was hard to adjust your eyes to something so bright. The walls were painted a simple white with long, fluorescent lights that lined the ceilings. If he didn't know better, he would have thought he had stumbled into the medical ward with how clean and sterile everything looked. But that's just how District 13 was; bright and white instead of dull and gray.
He walked past all the white doors, looking at the name plates, until he came across the one he was looking for.
The Everdeens.
He hadn't seen Katniss in over two weeks since they had rescued her from the arena and he had informed her of District 12's destruction. She was quiet for the rest of the ride to District 13 but he just assumed she was in shock. When they arrived, Dr. Aurelius and his medical team separated him from Katniss and took her to the medical ward to treat her injuries and run tests while he was ordered to speak to President Coin. After learning that he had rescued almost half of the residents of District 12 from the bombings, President Coin deemed him worthy enough to serve as a soldier in her army and even gave him a cufflink. After that he was sent to training and was asked to aid Beetee in the making of advanced warfare weaponry.
Today was his first day off from training and design so he decided to check on Katniss's progress. But he wasn't ready to learn how little progress she had made.
He knocked on the door and was greeted by Prim. "Hello Gale. What are you doing here?" She said with a pleasant smile.
"Hey Prim. I'm actually here to see Katniss." Prim's smile faltered the slightest but she was able to maintain her composure.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Katniss isn't...feeling well."
"What's wrong? Is she okay?"
"Yeah, just sick." Heart sick. Prim mentally added to herself.
"Maybe I can make her feel better." He said walking past Prim and into their new residence.
The sight before him was unexpected and...sad. Katniss sat on the couch with her back facing him. She was in baggy gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt and her hair was in a tangled mess. She sat crisscrossed and rocked herself back and forth while whispering to herself and clutching something, that wasn't quite visible to Gale, in her hands. She didn't even turn around to acknowledge his presence.
"What is this! What did they do to her?" Gale demanded looking at Prim.
"Nothing. She's been like this since she arrived."
"Didn't they run tests? You know, to check on her physical and mental well-being?"
"Yeah and she's fine."
"She doesn't look fine! Prim, why aren't you and your mother taking her to the doctor to get some medicine or something?" He said pointing towards Katniss.
"She doesn't need medicine."
"Than what does she need?" He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly showing that he was tired of beating around the bush with Prim's answers.
"She needs...someone." Prim quietly said.
"Well I'm here. I'll help her feel better."
Prim glanced his way. "She needs Peeta." And although she didn't mean for her words to hurt, they had. She needs the baker's son, not him, and he knew it. Of course he did. Everyone did. Except he tried to ignore it.
Gale dropped his arms to his side and looked away. On the kitchen table he saw the golden locket that Peeta gave to her on the beach. He remembered when he came by asking for a picture and explaining that it was his way of trying to convince Katniss to live and not sacrifice herself to die. The thought of Katniss dying was painful. The sight of seeing her kiss Peeta was worse.
He unlocked the latch on the locket, opened it, and was taken back when he noticed his picture had been removed. Not only his but Prim's and Mrs. Everdeen's as well. Instead, the pictures were replaced with two pictures of Peeta on the outside and one of him and Katniss in the middle. The pictures of Peeta were from his Capitol wedding portraits when he wore his white tux. But these pictures were not the sophisticated, serious photos that they took of him and posted all over the districts; instead he was smiling, maybe even laughing, and actually looked relaxed. The middle portrait was one that looked like the candid Polaroids that the Capitol took to capture the "moments" of the so-called Star-Crossed Lovers. Gale could always tell the poses were forced when he saw them, but this one, it seemed so natural and...real. Peeta and Katniss were sitting on a couch in what looked like to be on a train and she had her head resting on his shoulder with her hand on his chest while he had his own hand on top of hers and his arm wrapped around her in an embrace. Their eyes were closed and both their faces held content and peaceful smiles.
"What happened to the original pictures that were in here?"
Prim looked to see Gale holding the locket. She quickly grabbed it from his hand and closed it. "Katniss got the pictures from Cinna and I grabbed them from her room when the bombs began to drop. She was so excited to see them when she got here that she asked me to cut them and put them in the locket for her. She said this would be her way of remembering her promise to return to Peeta just like he promised her that she'd return to us."
Gale glanced at Katniss, "So why doesn't she have the locket with her now?"
"I have to give it back to her when she's coherent enough to answer me. When she gets into this state I can't even go near here because she's afraid I'm gonna take whatever it is she's holding. If I get near, she just pulls away and starts whispering something to herself about protecting Peeta."
"How long has she been like this?"
"It depends. It can last for minutes, hours, sometimes even days."
Gale could feel his anger beginning to boil, "Why hasn't Dr. Aurelius try to help her?"
"He is helping. He says Katniss is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. He thinks its best to let her figure out her own thoughts since she won't share them with anyone else. It's like she's performing a psycho-analysis on herself. Unfortunately, this is the side effect." She said with a sad expression. She paused for a moment before adding, "Katniss is strong and I know she'll get through this, I just don't know how long it will take."
What if she never gets through this? What if she never finds Peeta? Than what will happen to her? Gale thought as he looked back at Katniss and watched her.
This wasn't the girl he knew. The girl he knew would never let anything get to her and if something did, than she would swallow her emotions and move forward. But this...this was a side of her that even he has never seen. She seems so fragile and like she could break at any minute; and to think, that it's all the cause of one boy. And that boy wasn't him. As much as it hurt to admit, Gale would rather see Katniss happy with Peeta than not happy at all.
"Well this is crazy. If she loves him and needs him so badly than she should be looking for him, not sitting around. That's what I would do for her."
"No you wouldn't." Prim whispered. She looked back toward her sister, "Not if you thought the one you loved was dead."
On the other side of the country of Panem, across the thirteen districts, in a remote underground location beneath the Capitol, where even a rat couldn't go, came the blood-curdling screams from a boy with volts of electricity surging and piercing through his body.
President Snow watched as Peeta squirmed and his body pulsated out of the chair he was handcuffed to. His screams sounding like music to his ears. The visible bolts of electricity reflected in his eyes as they took the life out of Peeta's. He slowly lifted his hand signaling for the guard to cut the power. In an instant, Peeta's body slumped forward. Sweat dripping from his head and covering his body while his chest rose and fail trying to catch up to his heavy breathing.
President Snow walked towards Peeta and squatted in front of him, "You're a strong one my boy, I'll give you that. You'd be even stronger if you gave up the details to your rebellious plan that you unleashed in my arena!" He shouted into Peeta's face. The President took the handkerchief out of his suit pocket and dabbed his forehead and mouth and regained his composure. "Now, where is she?"
Peeta didn't look up. "I...told...you," He tried catching his breath, "I...don't...know."
The President stood up, stuffing the clothe back into his pocket and turning away,"Now you see, I don't believe that. Surely there had to be some sort of plan if rescue choppers were there in time to rescue the girl before we could get to her."
"Believe what you want but I know I'm telling the truth."
The President chuckled to himself. He was leading Peeta right where he wanted him. He turned back towards him, "Okay, let's say you are telling the truth. Than that would mean that there was a plan made up without your knowledge. That somewhere along the way, your Mockingjay and her team of rebels decided to leave you in the arena while they only rescued her."
"Katniss wouldn't do that."
"But wouldn't she? Face it my boy, you're just a liability to her. If she didn't try that stupid stunt with the berries in the first games than she would have never had to pretend to be in love with you for the second games. There would be no death threat on her family and no wedding in progress." President Snow paused then added as his voice slithered like a snake's and dripped with sarcasm, "You wouldn't be expecting a child. Tell me, how is the mother-to-be doing with having your child while she's kissing her "cousin?"
Peeta remained quiet but finally looked up to stare President Snow in the face. The President had his attention.
"Think about it! It all makes sense now!" President Snow said gesturing his hands around and walking around Peeta, "She pretends to be in love with you to distract you from the upcoming plan and her ultimate betrayal. And she seals the deal with that kiss on the beach! Now she has you the in palms of her hands and she just has to keep up with the charade long enough and wait for the right time to strike! She even has Beetee and Finnick in on it too!"
Peeta began shaking his head fiercely, "I don't believe you!"
"Believe what you want but just think about it. If you two are really as close as you think you are than wouldn't you have known? Aren't you two suppose to be like two peas in a pod? Two tributes in an arena? Two...Star-Crossed Lovers?" President Snow added with a vicious and sly smile. "Doesn't sound like it to me. I guess though, when you really consider it, what use are you to her anyway. She doesn't need you. She doesn't even love you. She's the Mockingjay. What are you?"
"You're lying!" Peeta spat back.
"I pity you my boy. Love has blinded you so much that you couldn't see treason while she was standing in front of you. You thought I was the enemy when the real enemy was fondling your lips."
Peeta tried to look everywhere but in the President's eyes. He was trying to gather his own thoughts and sort them.
Katniss would never do that. Would she?
She said she needed me. Doesn't she?
That kiss was real. Wasn't it?
One thought was still clear though, "I still don't know what plans you're asking me about."
President Snow could hear a hint of defeat and exhaustion in his voice causing his vicious smile to grow.
"Fine. We're done for today." And the President walked away and into the control room. He stood there, watching Peeta. Although his facial expressions didn't show it, President Snow knew Peeta was having an internal debate with himself.
"Sir," a rookie guard spoke up behind him, "What if the girl didn't really leave him? How will telling him that she did make him talk?"
President Snow felt to be in a good enough mood with the day's progress so he answered the young man, "This is just the beginning of his hi-jacking process. Plant tiny seeds of doubt in his mind now so that they will eventually grow and intensify when the tracker jacker venom is injected into his body. Turn the one thing that always protected Katniss into the thing that will kill her!"
"But Sir, he loves that girl. He would never betray her."
"Wouldn't you?," the President said as he looked back towards Peeta with a serpent-like smile spreading across his cheeks,"If you thought the one you loved left you for dead."
A/N: Thanks for reading! And in case you didn't know, the item Katniss is holding is the silver parachute containing Peeta's pearl.