"Gale, a word?"
I sigh, lifting my gaze a bit reluctantly to the middle-aged man that is leaning against the table in front of me. I haven't moved from my seat, even though the meeting has long been over. Neither has Beetee.
"Yeah, sure. Say as many words as you wanna say, Haymitch," I mumble, staring at him through half-lidded eyes.
"I meant in private," he says quietly, glancing at Beetee and then back to me. I chuckle quietly, shaking my head and sitting up, throwing an arm around Beetee's shoulders.
"Whatever you want to say, you can say around my good pal here, Beetee."
"Gale Hawthorne, get the hell over yourself." He pushes off from the table and grabs me by the front of my shirt, yanking me out of my chair. My eyes widen slightly and I shove his hand away roughly.
"Why do you care so much all of a sudden, huh!? Year after year, I watched you stumble around like a drunken fool and now, now you're a changed man? What happened?" I demand, taking a step away and clenching my hands into fists.
"Something good finally happened in my life. That's what happened," he says quietly, an intense look in his eyes as he stares at me. He has nothing to hide anymore, no pain to mask. He's found something worth living for, and something worth fighting for.
"Fine, fine." I whisper, moving past him and out the door. He follows after me, leaving Beetee alone in the large conference room.
The moment we're outside and the door is shut behind us, he comes around in front of me and clears his throat.
"Katniss sent me here, to try and get you out of punishment. You've probably already figured out that much," he says in a hushed tone. I nod my head slowly, flitting my gaze from the hall past him to his face. "That obviously didn't work. But we can still get you out of this."
I furrow my eyebrows, staring at him intensely. He's going to try and sneak around on Paylor's back.
"How?" I ask hesitantly, a frown on my lips.
"We fake your death." He pauses, gauging my reaction. I do my best to keep my face completely stoic, despite the shock I actually feel.
"Go on…"
"You're overcome by grief and guilt, and decide to take your own life," he says, folding his arms across his chest and tapping his fingertips against his upper arms.
"No. No way. Is that all you had to say to me? If so, get lost. I deserve what I'm getting. And it'll be good for Katniss to be away from me," I mumble, turning and grasping the door knob.
"That's not true. You're her best friend. She needs you right now, Gale. She just lost her sister!"
I lower my head and fight back the tears that have drowned me every night since Prim's death. My hand tightens around the knob so much that my knuckles begin to turn white. My entire arm is shaking.
"To my bombs," I whisper, before throwing open the door and storming inside, slamming shut the door after me.
He doesn't follow.