Turn Around

Disclaimer: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay, all plots, themes, characters, and quotes listed therein legally and rightfully belong to their legal owner, Suzanne Collins. I do not own any titles, ideas, characters, or plots listed herein, nor do I claim to.

When I finally reached the electric fence, I fell down on both my knees and put my face in my hands, hot, happy tears streaming down my cheeks. I could hardly tell how it happened, nor did I care. Be it the excitement of returning home for a short while, seeing Katniss again, or even the fact that my days of loneliness trekking through woods would finally end, I hardly cared.

Of course, I didn't have to walk. I could have taken a hovercraft, but I didn't, and it had taken me over a month to arrive. I didn't previously plan to walk, but a breath before I entered the hovercraft that was set to take me to District Twelve, I realized that it was important to walk. I remembered at one point, Katniss talking to me about leaving District Twelve, running away. At the time I had denied my longing to leave, to have a future with her, but I regretted that deeply. I wanted to walk, I wanted to prove to myself that I could have done it.

My old home was so different, when I arrived. Everything about it was different. The electric fence had been cut down to half it's size so that it could easily be jumped, and after I spent a few seconds climbing, and then fell over the other side, landing right on my tailbone, I realized that gates had been cut into the fence periodically to assist people in entering or exitting District Twelve as they wished.

I could hardly tell where I was when I arrived. I still think to this day that they ploughed everything and rebuilt the city from scratch with absolutely no concern or reminder as to where anything previously stood. Before me stood a magnificent town square, beautiful, intricately patterned stone floor, surrounded as it used to be, with nice little shops selling bread and scarves and leather boots. When I saw the podium atop the stage, though, I squeezed my eyes shut and kept walking. It was identical to the one all those years ago, the one that was used to announce the tradegy of my best friend becoming a tribute in the infamous Hunger Games. Whitewashed wood with a small, black microphone protruding from the left corner.

I opened my eyes again when I was sure it was out of my line-of-sight. I welcomed the sights of the rest of the District, the tall Mayor's house, certainly an update from the Mayor's house back when I was eighteen, just a child. I looked all around for inhabitants of the city, and finally spotted a young lady holding the hand of a small child, pushing an oversized navy carriage.

"Excuse me, Miss?" I called out, waving one hand above my head. She looked at me, just a quick glance, and suddenly her face became one filled with hate and disgust. She hurried away quickly, ushering the little girl walking alongside her to hurry along. I was confused, and a little disappointed. All I had wanted was to come back, to see Katniss and even Peeta, Greasy Sae, Haymitch, everybody who I left behind after the Capitol's defeat.

"Excuse me?" I shouted out, running after her. Seeing as I was obviously there on a bad day, as the town looked practically deserted, she was probably my only hope.

I had started out quite a bit behind her, but I knew I could catch up, especially with her pushing a carriage and watching over a small girl. My only hope was that she ran in a straight line, because after they renovated the District, I couldn't tell where I was going anymore.

"Miss, please slow down!" I said as I came up alongside her, and then my heart lurched, my stomach dropped, my head spun. I felt faint and dizzy and tired, all at once, and suddenly wished I had stayed home safe in District Two.

It was my longlost friend, my childhood companion, my first and only love. It was Katniss Everdeen, standing right in front of me. The reason I regretted coming was that her eyes were glitterig with malice, and her expression one of rage.

"What do you want from me, Gale? I thought I left you years ago," she said, her words both quiet and angry at the same time. She glared up at me defiantly while her daughter...

Oh God. That's when I realized it, and my stomach dropped again. Her children. She was that serious about Butter-Boy. I didn't know what else I was really expecting, she had loved him since she was a tender sixteen years old, what else would she have done? But it was like being shot all over again, like all of my years of shock and fear in the war condensed into one tiny moment.

"Katniss, look," I started, my speech coming off the top of my head. This wasn't how I planned it at all. "It's not like that, okay? I just wanted to come back for a visit..." she cut me off.

"Gale, we gave up on each other so many years ago, you know. When you killed Primrose, well, that was the final straw, okay?" I could see her beautiful grey eyes watering, her lip quivering, like she was about to break down and cry.

I gasped, horrified. She had yet to forgive me for that episode? I tried to keep my breathing even, tried to keep from getting aggrivated.

"Katniss, I'll tell you again, I only wanted to come to see you and Butter-b... Peeta and your children, and see District Twelve again. I've come all this way..."

She interrupted yet again. "Then you'd better turn around and go home."

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