Chapter 2 - Katniss
She should have known he wouldn't stay. He'd never been good at confrontation, ever since she'd known him he'd always had more flight in him than fight. That was until the rebellion, he'd found all of the fight for that and more. Katniss had finally come to terms with everything that had happened to her. Peeta had made sure of that. The arrival of Rose into their lives had changed her, and him, for the better. The world they had brought their daughter into wasn't the same fearful one it had once been. Since the population in district 12 had been wiped out by the callous bombings Snow had ordered, it had been slowly rebuilding since the rebellion had ended. For this she was thankful. People seemed to enjoy the tranquility, especially those traumatised in the rebellion. The community felt safe and full of promise, she had hoped that her mother would move back one day but it held too many memories of Prim.
Katniss walked down the same stairs that Gale had just fled through, she had hoped to catch up with him. Now that she was thinking more clearly, she wanted closure on the situation. And she'd never get that holed up in district 12. She walked through reception and flashed the security guard her visitors badge as she passed through the barriers on her way out. "Ms Katniss, if you're looking for Gale, he ran that way." The guard looked straight at her and pointed left out of the doors. "Thankyou" she flashed the guard a brief smile and then walked left out of the building. There was a question that still haunted her and she needed to be sure once and for all, was she still in love with Gale? Had she made the right decision? Only seeing him could answer that one.
The light danced slowly across the water as Katniss walked around it, reflecting off onto the glass buildings that surrounded the man-made body of water. District 4 has become the main hub of finance since the rebellion and with finance comes money. The buildings that were destroyed in the rebellion had all been replaced with fancy, high rise office buildings made completely of reflective glass. It projected the wealth that the finance companies wanted to represent them, something which hadn't been allowed to happen under Snow's reign. With democracy came the freedom to create your own opportunities and people with money had grabbed these opportunities with both hands, creating businesses everywhere. Although the previous system had been flawed, this system in a lot of ways was worse. Dictatorship squashed creativity and fairness under Snow's reign but under a President like paylor, it could have flourished creating equal opportunities for everyone. Unfortunately, this natural progression of private ownership had kept the rich, rich and the poor, poor. This was something that none of the rebels, or Paylor, had intended.
Katniss kept scanning the area, hoping to see Gale so that she could speak to him. Or attempt to speak to him at least. She hadn't quite forgiven him yet for what happened. She had accepted that the way Prim died wasn't entirely his fault, but the idea that he created the weaponry that lead to her death was something that she would never be able to see past. This was the reason they had stopped speaking in the first place, the reason they had lost touch, and the reason why they might never be friends again. But she had to try. Because despite all of this, she missed him and she knew he missed her. She missed their life in District 12, despite its difficulties, in her mind it now seemed like a much simpler time. However, she couldn't dwell on that. She was proud of the Hunger Game free life they had fought for, future generations would be free of the burden of it. And she could never wish to take that back.
She stopped for a second to gather her thoughts. Did she want to find him? How had he ended up here anyway? When the rebellion was over and she had been sent back to 12 with Haymitch, Gale had got a job with the government in District 2, presumably working on security or something else related. And now he was working on the news in District 4. Something didn't add up and she wanted to find out what it was. She wanted to know why Gale had been transferred to 4 and also what he'd done to deserve it. Something moved in her peripheral vision. She turned to look and realised there was a figure slumped against one of the glass buildings just around the side of the water. Without looking properly, Katniss knew it was Gale. She'd studied his profile for years before the Games had taken her away from him and still she knew his mannerisms anywhere.
He didn't look up as he approached. He just kept staring out at the water. Katniss sat down next to him, not too close that they were touching but close enough to giver her flashbacks of sitting in the forest with him in 12. Back to that day when they wanted to run from everything but couldn't because they both had responsibilities at home. Half an hour passed before either of them spoke, neither of them wanting to break the comfortable silence they had once been so accustomed to. As the darkness descended and the building started reflecting the light from the moon, Gale finally glanced at Katniss's face. She turned to him and they just looked at each other. With a half smile and a sigh Gale said "It's been a long time Katniss." She smiled at him again and turned away, a single tear sliding down her face. She wasn't as hard as she had once been. Peeta had allowed her to show her emotions and she wasn't so scared of them appearing weak anymore. "I miss you Gale, despite everything." Gale stared up at the sky and stood suddenly, surprising Katniss. "Let's go get a drink, catch up. That's why you're here isn't it?" Gale said this with such finality, she was unable to refuse. She stood slowly, allowing herself time to take everything in and realise what she was doing. "Let's go" She walked on without looking at him. She needed answers and so did he.
