"Damn, I'm bored," he yawned, as his eyes flit to every single single girl present around the cafeteria.
"Not my fault, you ended up dating and breaking up with every girl of District 12. I wouldn't be surprised if you grow old and bald alone," Thom snickered but having himself throw a glimpse around. "Dear God, check that one out," he said pointing to a girl far back in the corner.
Since Gale was facing Thom, he turned around to get a peek on the mystery girl. Crimson red hair flowing in artificial curls down her back. That's all Gale needed to place the rest of the girl into the picture without having to turn around to see the rest of her.
Brown eyes, annoyingly high-pitched voice and the extravagant dresses. Sheesh!
"Don't," Gale simply mumbled, forking his way around the meagre vegetables. He couldn't think of stomaching the food when the rest of his family was on the brink of survival. He knew they were having their share of food right now but you never know. And he couldn't dare himself to eat one, even though he knew his siblings were hogging on in the food that very moment.
"Don't what?" Thom asked, annoyed.
"Yeah, Don't what?" Bristel piped in, sliding into the seat next to Thom.
"Don't date her," Gale supplied, waving a dissimisal with his hand.
"Why ever not? I mean look at her. Really, look at her," he said as he continued his ogling the girl, ignoring the bubbling batch of jealousy right beside him.
Gale was very well aware of the fact that the brunette here had feelings for his best friend and he knew it damn very well that it was that kind of a feeling. He wanted so hard to just slap his best friend for being the most dumb-ass of a guy in Panem, but it wasn't called for. Not from him anyway.
With a quick glance at Bristel's don't-you-dare-tell-him look on her face, he continued, "speaks."
"So what? Everyone speaks," Thom turned back to get his food inside of him but occasionally throwing a few glances.
"Speaks as in really speaks. Way too much. And it'd be no less of a victory, than a victor, to get her to just shut-up," a sip of water to calm his gnawing stomach, "Believe me, I know more about her family and her past than I care to, and I guess I know more about her past than her family themselves,"
"Okay, then what about that brunette over there who is your lab partner?" Thom asked.
"Jamie, you mean? She's all hollow. All she does is kiss and kiss and giggle and just plain bore," Gale yawned again seemingly to amplify his point, "Better to keep the relations to that of a lab partner only,"
Thom growled but kept on searching, "Then that one, 3'o clock, the blond hair," Gale peered to his right to see the jade green eyes looking back at him.
"Hell's teeth, not her. She is the 'overly-clingy' type of a girl. Wouldn't leave you alone. Is she still looking at me?"Gale said ducking his head to avoid the girl from looking at him.
"Annoyingly yes, and so is the one, one table over to her left and now she is glaring at the blond girl,"
"Then that must be Juniper, her ex-best friend," Gale looked up to see the two girls throwing daggers at each other from just looks. Gale turned to look at Thom who was watching him with a scrutinizing look, "They were best of friends. Guess, I helped them to see how much of a best friend they were to each other by dating both of them," Gale smirked smugly.
"Okay, since you really know everything about every girl then hook me up with someone," I would rather hook you up on the whipping post, Gale thought, for being such a blind guy, but didn't supply anything more than a scowl.
"Seriously Gale, who are you going to end up with if you continue being this choosy? It's always the hair or the face or the attitude or even the way she walks!" He threw his hands up in the hair.
"So?"
"So, the only two people who are left in your range are Unattainable Everdeen and the Out-of-limits Undersee," Thom scowled, but worry showed beneath all that.
Gale smiled inwardly to the fact that Thom did not include Bristel in the leftover-girls-in-his-range list.
"I know it's Katniss," Gale scowled back with a hint of I-know-it-all look and peered to check to see if he was really through with everyone of them.
Yep, he was.
"But you yourself said she wasn't committed to getting married at all,"
"I know what I said," Gale snapped, and uncertainty showed as clear as a day in that gesture but despite that he fought to regain control as he said, "But times change. Time changes people. By the time we get to that age, I bet she would change her mind and who would be there waiting for her?"
"You," Thom and the otherwise silent Bristel supplied, which made it seem that they had gone through this uncountable times.
"And what makes you think it isn't Ms. Undersee over there," Bristel piped up, clearly recovering from her fresh amount of jealousy.
Gale's eyebrows shot up to that and his eyes unwillingly wandered to the District Princess sitting a few tables over. His eyes on itself had blocked her when he swept the cafeteria for a potential girlfriend. That in itself should be the very reason he should not, definitely not, date her.
"Are you kidding me? Me and Undersee? For infinite and one reasons, there's no way I would-slash-get to date her," Gale felt a bit warm around his collar as he thought about him and Madge that way. His mind yet unwillingly wandered to wonder what it would feel like to run his hands through her hair, no less than sunlight made matter. How smooth her skin would feel like, under his rough calloused hands, as he would take hold of the nape of her neck. What it would be the feel of her red and full lips on his as he would attempt to breach that one rule he had meant to keep. The rule that Madge Undersee was out-of-bounds for him.
He wasn't kidding anyone. Madge Undersee was a Goddess to every guy in District 12. Thank God, his competition range was just District 12 and yet he stood no chance. He knew it will do him no good to even start thinking of her that way and so he thought of her as all beauty and no brains. Conjured enough hatred towards her that he wouldn't feel the need to pay attention to her. He alone knew how alarmingly he was failing at that.
"Well then, give me the infinite and one reasons for why there's no way you wouldn't-slash-couldn't get to date her?" Bristel asked through a thick coat of smirk.
"Well for one, I hate her," Gale said as if he had practiced it in front of the mirror his entire life. Gulping the rest of his water, he continued, "And there's nothing I can give to her that she doesn't have, for two,"
Thom nodded naïvely better than to question Gale but Bristel knew better. All she could think was Gale wouldn't back down on a challenge. That's for sure. Why not set him up for some real game, and looked with a malicious look towards him.
A shudder ran through Gale, detecting the look in Bristel's eyes and knew his pride would take a hit today.
"So," Thom turned to look at Bristel and then Gale, perplexed to see them having a stare off, "did I just hear Gale Hawthorne chicken out on a girl?"
Oh yeah, it has begun.
"It's not that Bristel, Gale's just being realistic," Thom cut in before Gale could answer.
To that Bristel threw a killer look in his direction, "Yeah, and you are the one to talk." That shut Thom up.
Gale grinned but it was short-lived. "Gale, why don't you ask Undersee out on a date? I mean one date wouldn't harm anyone, would it?" She looked questioningly at Thom but Thom knew better to go against Bristel and nodded.
"No. No way am I going to ask her out,"
"Gale," Thom looked at him, "I dare you," he said slowly to enunciate every word and Gale pushed his chair back to stand up and leave them both be.
But so they thought, for Gale walked briskly to Madge's table, feeling an unexplanable need to prove his skills at charming a lady which he prided himself for.
Thom and Bristel looked at each other, quite surprised because they never gave it as much as a second thought that Gale would actually go over and ask Mayor's Daughter/District Princess/Madge Undersee out. Guess his pride took a much bigger hit then they did want it to.
Turning back quickly they didn't see what they thought they did see. Gale, giving the girl the best of his charming smiles and making an idle chit-chat to warm the girl up. Asking about her whereabouts and then ultimately moving on with the matter of the subject: Would you like to go out with me, today? At night?
And the girl always ended up twirling her hair, giggling uncontrollably and nodding their head furiously to his request.
But not today.
definitely not.
For Gale himself seemed a little beside himself.
They saw him talking to her and the surprise was evident on Madge's face. Gale wasn't smiling, Madge wasn't giggling nor was she twirling her hair. They couldn't see much of their expressions after they turned a bit but body language suggested anything but shyness, as they were moving into a territory both were uncertain off.
At last, after having seen Madge say a few words, she got up and left the table, leaving Gale sitting there all by himself.
Shame and guilt filled them up as they made their way to the table Gale was sitting on. Whatever it is, however annoying their best friend was, that was no reason for them to make fun of him in a serious way. Sliding into place, Bristel spoke up, "I am so sorry Gale," and Thom continued for her, "We shouldn't have challenged you to do that," but Gale didn't move one beat.
"Gale," Bristel pleaded, "Don't act like that. You are worrying me. Don't trouble yourself too much. You will get someone else," and Thom nodded knowing nothing from him will pacify Gale.
"That's the least of my worries right now," Gale got up to leave.
Thom and Bristel followed him with their eyes, silently passing on their apologies when Gale turned around abruptly to address Thom directly, "Thom, do you, by any chance, have anything nice to wear?"
"Yeah, might have to look around," he raised his eyebrows, "Why?"
Gale turned around to hide the smug smile from them and walked away but not before adding up, "Because I have got myself a date today."
A/N:- I have decided that I will make it a three shot since I couldn't accommodate every single thing in this chapter.
And I just love this snarky side of Gale. Tell me how you liked this one?
