Note: Chapter 2! Some serious Gale-Sydney angst at the end. Make sure you rate and review and sorry this took so long!

As I took one last look around the compartment specially made for squad 451, I felt a pang of sadness deep down in my soul. This had been the only place I had ever really called home, and now I had to leave. Living with my mother had been torture, but here, I had gotten to live with people who actually cared about me, and who I enjoyed spending my time with. Moving on from that part of my life was the most difficult thing I had ever done.

I walked around the kitchen and touched each counter top, remembering the times I attempted to cook for the team, but I had burnt and blackened everything on the stove. "You're a fighter, not a cooker." I heard Peeta say, laughing and patting me on the back. I looked at the food, frustrated, and threw it angrily into the trash. He put his arms on my shoulders and moved me to the side. "Let me take over before you do anymore serious damage." I opened my mouth to say something, but his wide grin and sparkling eyes made it difficult to be angry with him. I heard Katniss' light laugh fill the air in the background. "Fuck off, both of you." I said, shaking my head and storming out of the kitchen.

"Ready to go?" Gale asked, appearing by my side. I didn't answer him, only stared at the counter top as the memory faded out from my mind. "What are you thinking about Sydney?" He asked gently, putting his hand on my arm. I felt like I had been shocked. I could feel my heart start to race like it did every time Gale touched me, but I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. He's only touching your arm Harper. I thought. Don't be such a desperate teenage girl.

"I was just remembering that night I tried to make dinner and it failed." I gave him a small smile, but I could feel my lips quiver. "I don't want to lose those memories Gale. I don't want to forget them. You guys are my family, and these past few months have been the best of my life, with the exception of the whole prisoner thing."

"You won't Sydney, I promise. Leaving the compartment doesn't mean losing the memories. They're inside your head, not sealed into these countertops. Sure it sucks to leave the place, but you'll never forget our experiences here." I looked into his deep grey eyes and knew he was right. Gale was always right about these sort of things. I realized how close he was to me. His hand was still on my arm, and his body was up against mine as I leaned back on the counter. He seemed to sense it too, and took a step closer to me, but I side-stepped my way around him.

"We should go." I said, and headed towards the front door. I heard him sigh.

"Yeah, yeah we should." I closed the compartment doors and Gale and I walked awkwardly back to my new compartment. Ever since the day when we had almost kissed, I had been avoiding him. I was afraid of my feelings, there was no doubt about that. It wasn't just rejection, it was being afraid to let myself love someone. I couldn't handle being hurt, so wasn't it easier to just not take the risk? Gale and I were good being friends. Yeah I wanted more, but I could push that away for the sake of my own sanity.

We reached my compartment door and I headed inside. "See you tomorrow. I'll come over for dinner or something." He nodded his head and gave me a pained smile. "Goodbye Sydney." He whispered, then he turned on his heel and left. I could hear the anguish in his voice, and there was no doubt that I felt like an outright bitch for putting him through this, but it was for the better. He was better off without me.

I went into the kitchen and picked up the phone. I needed to talk to someone right now. I heard the dial tone and input the number I had memorized so easily, then waited as the other line rang. I tapped my fingertips on the table in anticipation. It always took them so long to answer the phone. "Hello?" I heard the muffled voice on the other side of the line.

"Hey Peeta, it's Sydney." I answered.

"Sydney! How are you? We haven't heard from you in a while, and we were starting to get worried. Well, Katniss was worried. I knew you were probably just busy with your important leadership position. How is the job?"

"I'm doing alright Peeta. And the job is great!" I tried to muster up as much fake enthusiasm as I could, but I could tell Peeta wasn't buying it.

"Do you want to talk to Katniss? She's standing here holding out her hand demanding the phone, but I'm not giving it to her because she's cute when she's mad." I heard an "Ow!" and a few slaps from the other line, then there was some muffled sounds and a familiar voice rang out on the other side of the line.

"Hey Sydney! Sorry about that, my future husband is quite the asshole." I heard his deep laugh from behind her, and I could practically see her shaking her head at him as he walked away. I missed them so much.

I laughed, but I could hear the sadness in my own voice. I sounded pathetic. "It's ok. Men can be such a pain sometimes."

"What's wrong?" She asked immediately. I could hear the frown in her voice.

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Harper." She said sternly. Normally I was good at lying and putting on a façade, but not with her. My best friend could just read me like that.

I sighed. "I don't know what to do Katniss. This new guy on the general's squad who makes my skin crawl, but he seems to have everyone and their mother won over to his side. Even Commander Jacobs is impressed by him, but I know he's up to no good. He was President Snow's helper after all. Even if he was a double agent, he still learned from him and studied under him. With that and what Snow himself told me, its impossible to trust him."

"I know exactly how you feel, but if he really is a bad guy, he'll show it, and everyone will realize that you're right, you just have to give it time."

I told her about the last generals meeting. We had all been sitting around the huge round table discussing the best way to elect new leadership for Panem. We all agreed a democracy would be the fairest way to handle things, it was just defining it and setting it up that was proving to be difficult.

"How do we elect the President?" General Hartford snarled. "Everyone gets to vote I assume? What's the age limit? Do you have to register? How do we prevent fraud and corruption?"

Haymitch furrowed his brow and stared at the table. "Those are all good questions, but our ancestors managed to do it, so I'm sure we can figure it out too."

"O yes, it clearly went so well for them." My head snapped to the left as I heard Kane's silky voice enter the conversation. He sat with his hands clasped and his legs crossed, his eyes sparkling at the thought of debate and argument. "I think there was a clear problem with our ancestors and their system of government, and we can easily address it. The voting age should still be eighteen. Everyone must sign up and I'm sure technology has advanced enough for us to prevent voter fraud."

"So what's the problem genius?" I snapped at him. It angered me how everyone at the table sat on the edge of their chairs waiting for him to speak. Couldn't they see that he was full of shit?

He stood up and began to walk around the table. "Our ancestors defined democracy as letting everyone have a say. They believed every vote counted, and every single person, from the highest merchant to the lowest peasant, should have a say as to who leads them."

"Thank you for that history lesson, but I think we understand what democracy is." I answered sarcastically.

He laughed at me and shook his head. "I was simply setting up my point. I think that we should shake up that definition. The problem with the old system of election is that you didn't have to know anything to vote for the leader of your country. All you had to do was sign your name on a piece of paper and prove you weren't a felon, and you got to elect the president. That allowed the candidates to easily sway the majority of the population with false promises and flashing lights. In a perfect world, everyone would care enough about their country to be informed enough to vote, but the uneducated made the system fail. "

"What exactly are you suggesting?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm simply suggesting that there be some sort of…system to decide who gets to vote. Maybe those in the upper fifty percent of the class spectrum or only those who earn a certain amount of money each year. It would be better to keep the uneducated out of it."

I felt my mouth fall open. "You're defeating the purpose." I stammered angrily. "You're going to create a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and continue the oppression that caused this rebellion in the first place. The point was to overthrow the dictator who was putting down the little guy. We fought this war to give the people a chance to have a say in their future. Not giving everyone a vote would reflect poorly on us."

"We wouldn't let the new leader oppress the less fortunate. He would speak for all the people of Panem and make sure every decision he makes is just."

"That's bullshit and you know it. If the lower class doesn't get a say in who is elected, then their concerns can't be voiced, and their problems will go unnoticed yet again." I looked towards Haymitch. "Back me up Haymitch. Tell him his plan makes no sense."

Haymitch sighed. "He makes a good point. We don't want a leader elected on looks or personality. They need to have good values and be strong on the important issues, but you also make a good point in that all the voices in Panem need to be heard in order to prevent the type of rebellion that we ourselves organized. It's quite the dilemma." I relaxed my clenched fists. He wasn't totally siding with me, but he was taking my point into account unlike everyone else in the generals council. As the only female there, I was often ignored or scoffed at. Being eighteen didn't exactly help either.

I finished telling Katniss about the stalemate we had ended the meeting at. "You were right, and Haymitch knows that. Don't worry about it too much. He's on your side and he knows what he's doing."

I sighed. I knew she would say that. Haymitch had helped her out and saved her life countless times, so she had total faith in him, but I was less sure. I knew how people could be, and I had a nasty habit of not trusting anyone. I made up some excuse for getting off the phone, and wished her well as I hung it up. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to Katniss, it was just that I knew there was nothing she could do or say that could make me feel better. I took a deep breath and felt the heaviness flow through my chest. I don't know why happiness is so impossible for me. It just seemed like my life was one giant headache after another.

I walked into the bathroom and turned the water on as hot as it would go. I sat on the edge of the tub and waited for it to fill. I undressed quickly and sat down, letting the scalding hot water consume me. It stung my skin, but I didn't care. The slight pain felt good, and the warmth made my migraine subside into a dull throbbing. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples, trying to figure out what I was going to do about Kane.

It was obvious that confronting him didn't work. I hated him, but I had to admit that he was a manipulative son of a bitch, and he won over my colleagues with little to no effort. It wasn't that I had to get him away from them, I just had to make sure that they saw the error of his ways and that I wouldn't be alone in every argument. I wanted him off the general's council, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I could possibly try to out manipulate him, but there was no way I could get him kicked off. He hadn't even done anything to warrant expulsion from the council and the district, so it wasn't like I had evidence. I couldn't exactly waltz into the control room and point my finger at him, claiming we should kick him off based on the funny feeling in my stomach. That was bound to get me laughed out of the room.

I sunk down and submerged my head under the water. In an instant, all of the sound in the world was muted. Normally, I barely noticed the vague buzzing noise that constantly filled the rooms in thirteen, or the sounds coming from the radio or television, but when I went under water, I realized just how loud my life normally was. It was nice to just escape the noise and confusion and stress. I sometimes wished I could just stay in this under-water limbo forever. I wouldn't have to make a decision or face another enemy. I could just stay here in the calm forever.

Eventually, my lungs started screaming for air, and I began wishing I could force myself to stay under. I would drown here, but at least I would be at peace. Did it really even matter if I lived or died? It wasn't like anyone listened to me or cared about what I had to say, but my body said otherwise. The natural instinct to survive kicked in, and my head broke the surface of the bath. I took a few deep gulps of air, then leaned my head back against the thin metal rim of the tub. I would live another day because it seemed like no matter how hard I tried, the universe just wouldn't let me die.

I climbed out of the tub and dried myself off, squeezing my hair of the excess water. I didn't bother with the hair dryer because I realized just then how exhausted I was. The emotional turmoil with Gale and the stress with work had destroyed me, and all I wanted was to climb into bed. I threw on a pair of pajamas and climbed between the soft linen that covered my bed. I didn't even remember my head hitting the pillow or my eyes closing, but the next thing I knew, I was staring at Lexie.

I was standing on the edge of the woods outside of district thirteen. I saw a figure moving through the trees towards me, and I heard myself gasp when I realized it was her. Her head was hung low, but there was no mistaking her blonde hair and tribute uniform that she had worn during the games. I heard a low mumbling sound coming from her, and I started to move in her direction, her name forming silently on my lips, but right before I reached her, I was stopped by an invisible wall. I put my hand up against it, and felt nothing but air, and yet there was a barrier that I couldn't move through. I pushed against it, hoping that it would give way so I could go to Lexie, but I didn't budge. "Lexie!" I shouted punching the barrier again with my fist.

She turned her head up to face me, and I felt my eyes widen in horror at what I saw. Her face had the same twisted, terrifying look that it did when I found her after Emanuel had snapped her neck. Everything was just as it had been the last time I saw her, except her eyes. They weren't closed like I had left them. They were wide open and glowing white. I took a step away from the barrier, now grateful that it was up between us. She continued to move towards me, and I realized that the low moaning sound escaping her lips was her saying my name. Over and over again. It was growing louder and louder until it became and angry roar. The sound deafened me, and I reached my hands up to cover my ears.

I fell to my knees as the yelling turned into an anguished shriek. "Sydney!" She cried over and over again. It was horrifying. It was terrible. Then it wasn't just her voice. It was Prim. Then Peeta. Then Gale. Then Katniss. Then back to Lexie. Finally I heard my mother's maniacal laughing, all coming from Lexie's twisted mouth. I clenched my hands closer to my ears and shut my eyes, willing the sound to stop. I heard a deafening boom over the shouting, and looked up to see Lexie pounding on the barrier. Please don't break through. I prayed. "Just stay away from me!" I shouted at her. Her hand reared back and she pounded the barrier again. A small crack formed, and I screamed in horror as she began to break through. She couldn't come near me. I had to run, but I couldn't move. I couldn't breath or think or cry. The screams blocked out all of that. The screams blocked out everything. She reared back and gave the barrier one last blow, and it shattered into a million pieces. Light streamed through the holes and I closed my eyes. Just let me die already. I thought. Just let her kill me here.

I woke with a start. I screamed as I sat up in bed, sweat pouring down my forehead. I looked around frantically for the monster that was Lexie, but then I realized it was all just another sick dream. Another remnant of President Snow. Lexie was dead. She wasn't coming for me. She was gone and I was safe, for now at least. I tried to slow my breathing down as I panted in terror, but then I heard it again. The boom from my dream, only this time it was real. "Sydney!" I heard my name being shouted by a rough, yet familiar voice. "Harper! Wake the hell up. I know you can hear me. It's an emergency."

I jumped out of bed and threw on a robe, walking quickly to answer the door. When I opened it, I found a very distressed and very anxious Haymitch waiting there for me. "Get dressed. Meet me at the Command Room in ten. We have a situation." Without another word, he turned on his heel and left the room.

I ran back to my room and changed into pants and a cotton shirt, lacing up my boots and throwing on a sweatshirt. I stopped in the bathroom to rinse off my face. Every time I closed my eyes I saw the horrible zombie-Lexie, so I blinked a few times to try and get the image out of my head. I thought of happier things like my alone time in the woods or the nights I had spent playing cards with Gale. I took a deep breath and brushed my hair out, then I headed out of my compartment to face whatever was so important that it had woken me up at 3 a.m.

I was the last to arrive and I realized as soon as I walked in that this was no joke. The entire general's council had been summoned, and each person wore a look of pain and distress on their face similar to Haymitch's. They muttered amongst themselves, trying to fix whatever problem I had yet to be filled in on. Kane talked quietly to General Quan, and while normally I would've shot him a dirty look, when I saw his face, I knew now wasn't the time. Even he looked worried, and that was an emotion I had never seen on that perfect face of his.

"Sydney, welcome." Colonel Jacobs said. "Sorry we had to wake you, but we received a disturbing message about half an hour ago, and we needed the whole council here to figure out how to solve this little…issue."

"This is one hell of a little issue." Stone said from across the room. "The safety of Panem as at stake. I would say it's more than just an issue." What was he talking about? I opened my mouth to ask, but was interrupted.

"We can handle it." Hartford said angrily. "We just have to gather the army and reassemble what's left of the Peacekeeper's. We should start recruiting now when people are still full of Panem pride and before we do anything to upset them." An army? We had just won the war. There was nothing left to fight. It was about rebuilding.

"Make a draft if necessary." Lieutenant Maddock said anxiously. A draft? I opened my mouth again, but he kept talking. "We can have all able-bodied men help us if we need it."

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here!" I shouted. The generals all froze and turned to look at me. "I was not woken up at 3 o'clock in the morning to be kept in the dark." I followed up angrily. They all looked amongst themselves, waiting for someone else to fill me in on the distressing news. It was Kane who finally spoke up.

"A hundred and fifty years ago, there was a war that shook up the entire world, destroyed over half of the eight billion people who inhabited the planet, and caused so much radiation that five years later, half of the survivors were gone. It was known as the Great War, and it's the reason that Snow and his people were able to come into power here. Countless countries fought for the power to take over the world, but in the end, death and destruction were the only winners. Only three continents of the six that were inhabited at the time had people remaining on them who were healthy and stable enough to rebuild and repopulate. It was the most devastating war in human history, and it almost spelled the end of our race as a whole.

In order to prevent it from happening again, the three remaining powers came together and decided that it was best to stop all communications between each other, and to each survive as its own entity, severing all ties with the other two. They passed it into law that each continent was not to speak of the others, and that while the history of the war would be taught, it would be made clear that any attempt at reconnecting with the other continents would spell death for the individual who tried it. It was made official, and the three nations went back to their respective lands to try and rebuild. North America, which became Panem, Europe, which became Extasia, and Australia, which became Pacifica, have had no contact for over a hundred and fifty years, that is, until about a half hour ago."

Other nations may as well have been alien planets to the people of Panem. I knew there were other people on Earth, but we had never seen or heard from them, so they may as well have not existed. "We received a message from a secure channel set up about sixty years ago to monitor activity to and from the other nations. It was to ensure no citizen ever got curious enough to try anything, and there was never any activity on it, so it's usually ignored. When it does become active, that red light begins blinking, and I get a phone call that wakes me up no matter where I am." Haymitch said.

My head was spinning. What did this all even mean? Why would a foreign nation try and contact us? Maybe they were offering us help. I thought hopefully, but I remembered what Hartford had said about an army, and my heart sank. "What did the message say?" I asked quietly, although I was pretty sure that I already knew the answer.

Haymitch shook his head and input a series of commands into the computer. The giant screen lit up, and a man's face appeared. He wore a dark blue suit and an orange tie. His hair was gray and slicked back into a neat do, and it was clear that unlike the former Capitol leaders of Panem, he had never attempted to hide his old age. The wrinkles and age lines that covered his face were signs of that, but his stern blue eyes and hard expression gave him a look of authority, and I assumed he was an important man.

"Greetings citizens of Panem." The man began. His voice was strange and he spoke with an odd accent. All of the vowels were sort of drawn out, and I had trouble figuring out what he was saying at first. "My name is Prime Minister Fellows, and I am the leader of the nation Pacifica. It may seem strange that I am contacting you, and I understand that I am breaking the laws set out by the War Convention of 2056. I have heard that you recently went through a civil war, and I am here to offer my greatest congratulations to your new leader. I am also here, unfortunately, as a warning. All communications I've attempted in the past year have failed, and I'm truly sorry if this never reaches you or it's too late. I'm here to warn you that the third nation in our agreement has, regrettably, decided to break the treaty, and is currently waging war on my country. I would ask for your help, but I'm afraid it's too late. We've already lost. In fact, this will most likely be the last thing I ever record. As I speak, the leaders of Extasia have moved their minions into my office, and have begun the final stages of the takeover of Pacifica. They plan to take you all by surprise, but I hope this message reaches you in time. As of September 5, 2210, you will have exactly one year until Extasia invades your nation. Prepare your army now, as their technology is more advanced than I had ever imagined. I've included some footage that may help you, and as much intelligence as I can safely manage. Again, good luck to you, and God speed in your upcoming war. I pray you have a different outcome than we did."

I could've sworn I saw the man tear up before the screen flickered to black. I sat there in stunned silence for a moment, letting the message sink in. I had just fought in one war, and now we were about to enter another. I collapsed into a chair and ran my hands through my hair. This couldn't be happening. We were supposed to be rebuilding, not getting ready to battle a foreign nation.

"We can fight them." I said finally. "I agree with Hartford. Gather the troops. Begin training. Do everything we can to prepare, and when they get here, we'll be ready for them." I said with a new determination.

"When he said their technology was advanced…he wasn't kidding." Jacobs said. I could hear the sadness in his voice. "And their numbers are overwhelming, to say the least." He flashed another series of videos up on the screen, and I could feel the hope fleeing my body with each new scene. There were videos of vapor cannons and enormous tanks with the power to destroy an entire city. There was footage of scores and scores of perfectly trained Extasian soldiers, plowing through enemies like ants. Just when I thought everyone I loved was safe, it was almost a known fact that they would be dead or enslaved within the year. As I watched the footage of the enemy soldiers, I knew there was no way we could win this.

"We should just give up now." I heard Lieutenant Bryant say softly. "We can't win this war. If we give in, maybe they'll show us mercy." Part of me wanted to agree with him. Part of me wanted to put my hand in the air and beg that we use his plan. I wanted to give up and throw in the towel, but I thought about the lives we had lost winning this nation from President Snow, and I knew surrender wasn't an option. These men were clearly dictators, and I wouldn't let my people suffer like this. If these foreigners took over, life would be worse for the people than it ever had been under Snow.

"No." I said firmly. "We fight. There's no other choice. We defended the nation from President Snow. We fought the impossible fight and won. We've come so far, there's no way we can give up now." I stood up from the chair and put my fist on the table. "We start raising the army tomorrow. Training our soldiers to fight like they've never fought before. Get the tech department to start thinking fast about new weapon technology. We won't give in to these people. We're better than that. We won this post, now it's time to defend it."

I looked around the room, and I could see the determination creeping back into the faces of the generals. There wasn't much hope, but there was some, and my little speech seemed to make it glimmer for them. I glared at Kane, expecting him to defy me, but he nodded. "I'm with her." He said. "But I vote we keep it quiet for now. We need to give the people some time to recover. Start training the army and the tech crews of course, but don't reveal the purpose to anyone. Let them have a little peace." This was probably the first time I had agreed with anything Kane said, and it seemed like our combined voices had swayed the council.

"We'll begin tomorrow, but for now, let's get some sleep." Haymitch said. "We're going to need it." The council dispersed and each person headed back to their compartment.

"We make a good team Harper." I heard Kane's voice from behind me. I whirled around to face him, narrowing my eyes.

"What do you want Kane?" I asked suspiciously.

"Just to say that." He flashed me his perfect white smile. This was the closest I had ever been to him, and I realized that he couldn't be older than twenty or twenty-five. His face wasn't plastic like Snow's had been, it was just perfect. He was handsome, but there was a layer of invisible slime that covered him in my eyes.

"Well I still don't trust you. Don't think because you backed me up on one thing that we're a team now, Kane."

"War is coming Sydney. Don't you think it would be best if we stuck together? We are on the same side you know." He said with a smile.

"Are we?" I got up in his face and gave him one final glare, then turned on my heels and walked out the door. I would never trust him, no matter how many brownie points he tried to earn from me.

I began to walk back to my compartment, but I realized that I was headed the wrong way. Or maybe it was the right way. I no longer felt tired, and I had to talk about this with someone. Before I knew it, I was standing outside Gale's door, wondering if I should knock and if he would even answer at this time of night. I decided to just try the door, and to my surprise, it was unlocked.

I slipped off my shoes at the door and crept through the dark to his room. I knew where it was because had helped him move in, and as I tip-toed down the hallway, I realized just how creepy this was. I almost turned around, but I needed him too much to leave. I silently opened the door and there he was, sprawled out on his bed shirtless, sleeping like a baby. I moved over to the bed and bit my lip as I ran my eyes up and down his torso. He was so well built that it was hard not to stare, and I found myself reaching my hand out and touching his chest. My mind was going crazy, and I wasn't totally sure what I was doing. I just knew that I wanted to touch Gale and feel the muscles that rippled beneath his soft skin. I trailed my fingers down his abdomen and back up again, and my spine tingled. As I reached his lower abs just by his belt line, I felt him move and looked up as his eyes slowly opened. He shot up in bed and grabbed my arm, looking bewildered and defensively raising his fist. I covered my head with my other arm. "Gale it's me!" I whisper-shouted. He lowered his arm.

"Sydney?" He asked, confused. "What are you doing here?" He glanced at the clock and then back at me. "It's three in the morning." He looked down at his chest and back up at me. "Am I dreaming?"

"No, Gale." I rolled my eyes. "This is real."

"Were you just touching me?" He asked seriously, staring into my eyes. I looked away nervously and coughed.

"Of course not. I was j-just trying to shake you awake. I wasn't touching you. I just need to talk to you." I backed away from him a little to try and hide the fact that despite the imminent war and our impending doom, all I could think about was what was under Gale's shorts and how his hands would feel touching me like that.

"O." He said, clearly disappointed. "Well I'm always here for you, although I should start locking my door in case its not you that waltzes in here one day." He laughed nervously and released my arm, then he propped himself up on his elbows. "What's up Syd?" I sat up on the bed next to him and put my face in my hands. The fear of the unknown finally caught up to me, and I felt a sob shake my body. I felt the bed move as he sat up and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his chest. "Tell me who I have to kill." He said seriously.

"It's not just one person." I answered softly.

"Well I would take on ten for you. Twenty. A hundred. Just tell me how many so I can pick a gun with that many bullets." He joked.

"How about a whole army?" I said. I could feel him tense up and I looked at his face. His brow was furrowed and his eyes grew serious.

"An army?" I sighed and launched into my story, starting after the dream and ending before I molested his chest. He was quiet the whole time, but I could tell he was thinking about what to do, and probably planning out battles in his head. When I was finished, he stayed silent for a few more seconds, then he just shook his head and laughed.

"We beat one army and evil dictator, what's one more?" I hit his arm.

"This is serious Gale!" I said angrily. It wasn't some joke. We were on the edge of war.

"I know Sydney." He took my hands in his. "I wasn't trying to make a joke out of it, its just heavy stuff, and there's nothing we can really do about it right now. We can't stop it, so all we can do is train and hope for the best. Nothing is impossible. Its just…the odds aren't in our favor. But that doesn't have to stop us."

I let out an angry sigh and stood up. "That's not true Gale. There's no chance for us to win. I want to fight, but we just can't. We're going to lose everything." I thought about all the people here that I loved. I couldn't lose them. I couldn't lose anyone else. I wanted to defend them but I didn't know how. I looked at Gale and almost started to cry. I especially couldn't lose him. I knew I shouldn't have grown close to him. I would only hurt him in the end. I was a stupid, naïve girl to ever think that I could be happy. "I should go." I said, walking towards the door.

"So you're giving up?" He yelled, starting after me. "That's not the Sydney I know. We have to fight."

"Of course I'm going to fight Gale." I said as I reached the bedroom doorway. "But I'm going to lose. I'm going to lose everything. I always have. I shouldn't have come here. There's no point in this anyway, I'm just going to lose you."

"No point in what?" He shouted after me. "What is this?" He gestured between us. "What is this Sydney? I'm sick of side-stepping around it. I want to be with you. I want to define this. You said before you got captured we would try it out, then when you got back I gave you space, but I can't wait anymore. I want you. I want this. So why did you come here Sydney?"

"Because I need you!" I yelled back at him. I shook my head. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to take the leap. To take the risk. I wanted so badly to rewind tonight and just go back to my compartment. I heard Katniss' voice in the back of my mind, and I knew I couldn't run away from this. "Is that what you wanted to hear? I need you. Did you ever doubt it? I don't know why, and I can't explain it, but I need you. I'm just afraid Gale. I'm afraid of losing you. I can't risk getting close to you because I can't deal with the pain."

"I don't care. I'll protect you from that." He said, walking towards me. "I'll protect you from everything. I'll never let anyone or anything hurt you, and if its me you're worried about, then I'll do everything to stop myself from being injured. You thought it was a joke, but I would fight that army for you Sydney. I would go headfirst into a battle against a thousand people just to save you. I would give my life for you, and I'm done waiting. I'm done being afraid. I was always told that if I want something I need to go get it. Well, I want you." I tried to respond, but before I knew it his lips crashed into mine. He pushed me up against the doorframe, and I was so stunned I didn't know how to respond, but my body did. I gave in to him, and my lips pushed back against his. My hands grabbed onto his hips and pulled him closer to me as he ran his tongue along the bottom of my lip and pushed me harder into the wall behind me. There was a burning, aching feeling in my stomach that set me on fire, and I needed more of him.

His lips moved from my mouth to my jawline, and I gasped when they found my neck. My hands tightened on his hips as a shiver ran up and down my spine. I pulled his head back up and forced it to mine, my hands running through his soft, silky hair. He pulled away from me and gazed into my eyes, pulling my hand towards his bed and sitting down on it. I pulled myself on top of him and straddled him, feeling just how much he was enjoying this through the thin fabric of his pants. He moaned when I grinded against him, and my lips found his neck and chest. He was so warm and his skin tasted so good. How had I lived so long without him, without this? Suddenly, an image flashed in my head. It was the battle from Pacifica. The men dying in hoards as they tried to fight an indestructible enemy. Then I was back on top of Gale, lost in his eyes and his tongue. I could feel myself pulling away.

It flashed again, only this time I was in my dream, clenching my ears as I heard Gale scream in pain. Trying to make it go away, but knowing there was nothing I could do to help him. I was back in his room and he pulled away. "Are you ok?" He whispered breathlessly. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the memories. I nodded and kissed him again, and he flipped me over so he was on top of me, and our bodies moved together in perfect rhythm. He moved his hips against me, and I heard myself moan his name as his hands roamed down to unbutton my pants.

I felt myself panic. I was on the battlefield now, and I was watching him get shot. He turned to face me and he shouted out in pain. He fell to his knees as another bullet shot through his abdomen. He reached his arm out towards me, begging me to help him, but I couldn't. I was going to die too. We all were. I couldn't go through this. I couldn't lose someone I loved, but I knew I couldn't protect him or save him. I had to pull away. I had to shut him off so I wouldn't have to feel that.

"I can't." I said as I pushed him off of me. I rolled off the bed and re-buttoned my pants. "I can't do this, Gale."

"I'm sorry Sydeny. I didn't mean to move too fast for you. I just couldn't help myself. I'll do better I promise. That was stupid of me." He moved to the edge of his bed and held his hand out for me. I felt tears flood my eyes and shook my head. I didn't want to hurt him like this, but it was the best for both of us.

"It's not that Gale. I wanted it, trust me I did." He lowered his hand, bewildered. I realized I wasn't making any sense. "It's better this way. It's better for both of us. If we do this then we'll fall in love, and when the time comes and the war comes and they attack us, I'll lose you or you'll lose me and I can't handle that. It'll hurt so much and it's just easier if we don't do this. It's just easier if I don't have to lose you."

"You're not losing me Sydney." He said, standing up off of the bed and walking towards me. "I'm right here, and I'm always going to be right here."

I shook my head and the tear drops rolled down my cheeks. "You said that if we did this, we'd fall in love." He said, his hand cupping my cheek and his thumb wiping a tear away. "If that's what you wanted to prevent, then it's too late. I already fell for you. I already love you." He tried to kiss me again, but I pulled away.

"No, Gale. No. I can't. I just…I just…" I backed away from him and out the door. "I can't." I finished as I turned and fled the compartment.