Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games.
A/N: So what started out as a one-shot turned into a multi-chapter story in my mind and I thought I may as well write it down. Be warned…this chapter's kinda dry but I hope the next one will be a bit better with more interaction. I hope you enjoy it =)
I leave Gale's room, closing the door quietly behind me. I find Hazelle in the kitchen.
"What do you want me to trade for if the traps are full?"
Hazelle gives me a list before walking me to the door.
"Thank you for coming, Katniss. Gale has been waiting all day to see you."
"I'll be back in a couple of hours." Is all I say before leaving the Hawthorne's house.
I head for the fence that separates District Twelve from the rest of the world. After pausing to listen for the electric current I duck under it and retrieve my bow. I don't intentionally go out to hunt in the afternoons but should game stray across my path while I check the traps, I'd be a fool not to kill it.
I slowly make my way along the line of traps and snares Gale has set. He's more skilled with the traps than I am and although I can understand how he makes them, his fingers seem to comprehend their intricacy better than mine.
As I work my way further into the forest I allow my mind to process the events of the day. It feels like it was years ago that Gale and I were in the woods together, when I first noticed Gale's quietness. Looking back, I'm surprised I didn't suspect anything more was wrong. In fact, if I think hard enough, I can see that Gale had not even been the picture of health this morning.
The last hour or so comes to my mind. Wondering what it would be like to visit Gale and telling myself to calm down. I find it curious that I was so scared to enter his room and yet knowledge of Gale's illness has been the cause of my distraction all day.
It didn't surprise me that Gale told me that he didn't want to appear weak. We both know that to show weakness is the same as going hungry and we've always found it in us to push on, no matter what the circumstances. At this thought my mind flashes to the boy with the bread and how he saved me but I push him out; I do not need to be reminded that I am constantly in his debt.
The more I think about it, the more I find another double standard. If weakness is hunger, then why do I tell Gale that maybe there's some strength in surrender? Why do I say it's okay to admit he needs to rest?
"Gale's been waiting all day to see you."
Hazelle's voice echoes in my mind and I begin to wonder. Are the reason for the distraction, the double standard, and my eagerness to visit all pointing to something that I have never thought about? Do I care for Gale more than I realize? Does he think that way about me?
"No," I tell myself. I try to rationalize that we're just friends who care about each other. That friends can be worried and want what's best for the other. I'm having a hard time convincing myself when I reach the end of the traps. I loosen the wire from the rabbit's neck and attach it to my belt. I've had a successful afternoon, reeling in four rabbits and two squirrels from the snares. I waste no time going back under the fence and heading to the Hob. My mind is taken off Gale as soon as I enter the old warehouse and for the next hour, I'm busy trading, buying, and selling.
I get most of the things on Hazelle's list and I head of towards the Hawthorne's again. Part of me doesn't want to go there again because I know if I do my mind will start again and I don't want that but I've promised Hazelle and I can't go back on my word.
I reach their house and I knock on the door. Rory opens it for me and lets me in.
"Where's Hazelle?" I ask as he closes the door behind me.
"With Gale."
Instantly I'm aware something isn't right. Gale is not the type who likes to be coddled, in good health or otherwise, and it would drive him insane having his mother hovering over him. Hazelle knows this and for her to be in his room could only mean one thing: something was wrong.
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