The Spark

If Katniss Everdeen was the girl on fire, then Madge Undersee was the spark that ignited that fire.

Disclaimer: All characters and most of the settings belong to Suzanne Collins. I am only responsible for the situation I created for the characters.

….

The morning of the 73rd Hunger Games dawned as any other day, the sun glowing a soft pink in the sky and it slowly ascended. With hands folded behind his head as he laid back in the dewy grassy, Gale Hawthorn quietly snorted in disdain. It was as if Mother Nature was completely ignoring the fact twenty three children would be condemned to death today, while one would be celebrated for murder.

Katniss soon joined him, as was their yearly tradition. The shared a breakfast of goat cheese and fresh bread as they ridiculed the Capitol. They talked about what it would be like to be out of the district. Free. But they were all fantasies. As much as the two would love to run off into the woods to fend for themselves, survival would be unlikely with their families in tow. So here they sat, discussing changes they would never see.

The sun was quickly rising as they collected strawberries and headed back over the fence. The first stop was the Mayor's house, where the juicy berries went for twice the going rate.

Also, there was Madge. The mayor's beautiful, but untouchable, daughter. Her porcelain skin, sapphire eyes, and golden ringlets of hair gave her an ethereal type of beauty. But as for her attitude, there was nothing angelic about that. For every snide remark Gale had ever made towards her she rebutted with a snarky remark of her own. According to Katniss, the attitude was his own doing. Apparently she was quiet and polite to everyone else in the district, save for him. It may have something to do with the fact he has made it his own personal sport to goad her, but he wasn't going to admit that much to Katniss.

Outwardly, Gale gave the pretense of hating everything about her- much to Katniss's chagrin. To some degree he did hate her. He hated how wealthy she was without having to work for it. He hated how she never had to know the hunger pangs like the residents of the seam. He hated that perfect white dress she wore to every reaping that wouldn't survive a minute in the seam. Most of all, he hated that gold pin with that damn bird that she wore that could feed his family for months.

But inwardly, he was enthralled by her. Her remarks were witty, not condescending. Whenever he insulted her or other Townies, she never stopped to his level and insulted the rest of the Seam, only him, which he had to admire. Every Sunday he made it his goal to goad her, to see that spark in her sapphire eyes when she was truly angry.

Today was no different. She met his snide remarks with those of her own, her sapphire eyes glinting with anger. She was beautiful. This was a thought he had never uttered aloud and never would. Nothing good could come of it, and he wasn't going to waste his time on frivolous thoughts of a relationship that could never happen.

Next to him, Katniss sighed and hung her head, tired of their endless bickering. But this was how he and Madge interacted. There were too many differences between them to ever be friends. Though Madge and Katniss had very little in common, it was enough for them to form some sort of friendship. But they were girls and in the same year in school, he reasoned. He was sure they had something that gave them common ground. But Madge and himself had nothing in common and friendship was out fo the question. That would never happen between him and Madge. Never.

Though her comments sometimes infuriated him, he looked forward to their banter. He got the feeling Madge did too. She could have asked Katniss not to let him come with on strawberry deliveries, but she never did. He had a suspicion she enjoyed it just as much as she did. It wasn't a friendship and never would be, but it was something.

"Well goodbye, Princess," he snidely remarked as he stepped off the porch once the strawberries were delivered and Madge gave her annual good luck speech to Katniss. "Try not to get your dress dirty before the reaping."

"Better not wash up before the reaping, Hawthorne. I'm afraid if you do your own mother won't recognize you."

Gale held back his laugh as he kept on walking.

…

The entire district was corralled into square to watch Effie Trinket in her unbelievable green outfit chose the unlucky tributes this year. Gale couldn't deny the pounding in his chest. There was too good of a chance that he or Katniss would be reaped. Thankfully no one else in their family was of age for the reaping this year. That was the only thing that kept Gale still in his spot. He slyly tried to wipe his sweating palms on his pants, but only succeed in creating dark lines of coal dust on his trousers. His mother would not appreciate that later.

The Capitol video droned on as usual as Gale searched for Katniss across the crowd. He found her a few rows over and ahead, standing in line with the other fifteen-year-olds. As if she could feel his eyes on her, she turned to look at him, her nervousness written across her face. She was a smart girl and she knew their odds. He gave her a small smile of reassurance before she turned back towards the stage. Before he could look away, the girl to her left turned and looked at him.

Madge. He should have recognized the bright white dress in this sea of filth.

Expecting to see her scrunch her face up at him in disgust, he surprised when she gave him a small smile a nod of support. He returned her nod and she turned to face the front. Surprised rocked through Gale. Did he and Madge actually just have some sort of pleasant interaction? This was a day that would make history, it seemed. A pleasant interaction with the Mayor's daughter, who would have thought? Maybe he was dreaming and this really wasn't the reaping. Maybe he was really at home asleep in his bed. Yeah, that sounded much better.

His hopes were dashed as the microphone screeched as Effie took control of the stage.

"Welcome, welcome. Now it is time to choose our lucky tributes this year! As always, ladies first!"

Gale watched and her hand dramatically fished around in the bowl for a scrap of paper that would condemn some girl to death. All he could repeat in his head was please not Katniss, please not Katniss.

"Our lucky lady is…" she said, pausing for dramatic effect. Please not Katniss! "Madge Undersee!"

Gale's stomach dropped. Madge. No way Madge Freaking Undersee had just been reaped. This had to be a dream. There was no doubting it now. This was a dream. In no reality he knew would the mayor's daughter be reaped for the Hunger Games.

But this was reality. He watched as Madge gave Katniss a tight smile and slowly made her way through the crowd. Everyone parted for her as if she were diseased. Everyone always distanced themselves from the mayor's daughter in fear of retribution from peacekeepers or The Capitol, but now she was also a tribute. A dead girl walking, essentially.

Gale's thoughts were jumbled as she made her way to the stage, chin held high. If he hadn't seen her every Sunday, he would have thought she was the image of strength, but he saw the almost imperceptible quiver of her chin.

The crowd was eerily silent. Everyone was in shock.

"No. No. No!" The Mayor began to cry as he was forced off stage by Peacekeepers.

This was unbelievable. There was no way this could be happening. He made eye contact with Katniss again and saw the look of disbelief upon her face. It was rare townies were even reaped, let alone the Mayor's daughter. He always assumed that she was protected from the reaping because of her father.

It looks like he assumed wrong. His mother did have a saying about assumptions that was not suitable for the ears of his younger siblings. Apparently he was living up to that saying.

Madge's eyes seemed to find his through the crowd as she took her place on stage and he gave her a nod of encouragement. She imperceptibly tipped her head in return. Pleasant interaction number two for the day. It looks like today really was a day for history, in more ways than one.

Gale didn't break eye contact with Madge as the reaping continued. He felt that he at least owed her that. How many times had he ridiculed her for dressing up for the reaping because she would never get chosen? At least a dozen. Yet her she stood, proud in her pristine white dress and that damn golden pin. How wrong he had been. She was going to her death and he had been nothing but a jerk to her at their last encounter. Well, wasn't he quite the winner himself?

"And now for the boys! Let's see who our lucky boy will be!"

For some reason, he was oddly numb and in that moment he didn't care if his name was called. His eyes never left hers and he saw her briefly close her eyes in dismay when the name of a thirteen year-old boy was read off to the crowd. He had seen the kid around the seam before. He was one of the community kids that was nothing but skin and bones and probably had never seen a proper meal his entire life. Gale had the fleeting thought that he should volunteer for this kid, but no, he couldn't. He had his family he had to provide for. He couldn't risk them as well as himself. This scrawny kid would be Madge's district partner. Between the two, he didn't see District 12 surviving the blood bath. Sad, but true.

What a team District 12 was sending in this year. The mayor's daughter who hasn't gone hungry a day in her life, and a scrawny boy that looked like a slight breeze would take him out. Yes, District 12 sure sent winners every year. He could see the same thought's reflected in Madge's gaze.

Soon they were dismissed and the tributes were taken into the Justice Hall for final goodbyes. He doesn't know what spurred it, but he sprinted to the Justice Hall and got in line to say goodbye to Madge. He had nothing to say to her. Sorry wouldn't do her any good and he couldn't teach her any survival tactics in three minutes. He had no clue what he was doing in line. Yet he stayed.

Katniss was surprised to see him in line, but wisely did not comment. After her sobbing parents exited the room, he motioned for Katniss to go before him. Still, he had no clue what he was going to say. He paced back and forth in the hallway, at a loss what he was doing here. He felt an unfamiliar feeling coursing through him, a sense of uselessness. Gale was many things, but useless was not one of them. He always prided himself in taking action and getting things done. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do here. He couldn't save Madge from death any more than he could stop the reaping. Some things were out of his control.

Katniss's three minutes were up and she exited the room, eyes rimmed red. She didn't look at him as she slowly walked out of the Justice Hall.

Still unsure of what he would say to her, he looked behind him to send the next person in, but there was no one behind him. Taking a deep breath of courage, he hurried into the room before he lost all his nerve.

There she stood, back too him as she gazed out of the window. Her golden curls fell in a cascade, the sunlight creating the illusion of diamonds. Her arms were wrapped around herself, as if she felt a chill in this unseasonably warm weather. Gale knew better though; he knew it was an attempt to hold herself together. The door swung closed behind him, causing her to turn around in surprise. There she was, the district's untouchable angel in her pristine white dress, her golden pin a stark contrast.

"Gale" she gasped in surprise. She obviously hadn't been expecting to see him. She quickly wiped at her face, but he saw the tear that had fallen and his heart broke for her. She didn't deserve to be here. No one did, but especially not her.

Without thinking he closed the distance between them and wiped away a new tear that was forming. He still didn't know what to say to her, but he could offer her that small comfort. He didn't care that his thumb left the slightest trace of coal dust across her skin. He knew he should care but he didn't. Those beautiful blue eyes looked up at him with an unimaginable sadness, a sadness she should never have to feel. Her skin was unbelievable soft beneath his calloused hand. He felt as if his grip could break her. There was no way someone so gentle would survive the games. If by some unforeseen miracle she did survive, she wouldn't return as the same person. Either way, this version of Madge Undersee would never return to District 12. His heart continued to break. She was one of the few beautiful things in this district, not just her physical beauty, but also her spirit. He'd never met someone as caring, as fair as Madge and she was going to die in the most unjust way. It wasn't fair. None of this was.

He looked at her angelic features and couldn't find the strength to verbalize his internal musings. He had never been one for words. He always thought of himself as a man of action. With that thought on his mind, he did the only thing he could think of.

He leaned in and kissed her.

At first she was rigid against him, but after that moment of hesitation she melted into the kiss. She pushed back against his lips, eager for more. She was sweet, like honey. No, like strawberries. Yes, like strawberries. He would never be able to see a strawberry again without thinking of the sweet taste of Madge Undersee's lips. Her soft lips that so sweetly yielded to his. Her arms snaked around his neck as he dg his fingers into the soft tendrils of her golden hair. The low moan that escaped her throat only prompted him to deepen the kiss. He had kissed plenty of girls, but not a single one came close to the passion he felt with Madge. This kiss was on a completely different level.

All too soon there was a knock on the door and the jumped apart. His time was up.

"Thanks," she whispered shyly. "I'd hate to die without ever being kissed."

His heart broken even more, if that was possible. He was her first, and predictably last kiss. She deserved so much more in life. She deserved to have her first kiss on her own terms, not when she was facing death. She deserved to go on dates, chose someone to marry and have a family. Maybe that isn't what she wanted, but either way the choice should have been hers. Instead, the only options she had were death or become a Capitol slave. Neither were particularly appealing.

He reached out and touched a golden curl. He wanted to tell her something, anything, that would help her come back alive. But there was nothing he could teach her in such short of a time. Wishing her good luck was out of the question. What short of luck would this innocent girl from the poorest district have against trained killers? None at all. He leaned in close, taking in her sweet scent and whispered the only thing he could think of.

"Give them hell."

A soft smile played on her lips. "I will if you do."

Of all things she could say, he wasn't expecting that. Here she was, facing her imminent death, and she still managed to bring a smile to his face. This is the Madge he wanted to remember, her feisty attitude and sparkling eyes. "Don't let them change you."

"I promise."

The door opened and the Peacekeepers grabbed his arm. "Time's up."

She gave him a soft smile as he was forcibly removed from the room. That was the Madge he wanted to remember.

The door closed, the sound not unlike the sound of a cannon from the games.

…

A/N: One more part to follow.

Thank you for taking the time to read this story. Feel free to leave a review if you would like.

This story has not been reviewed for grammatical errors; I barely checked it over myself. I wrote it and wanted to get it uploaded while the mood hit me.