After Katniss got back from retrieving her arrow, we sat in an uncomfortable silence. Katniss staring at a rock.
"Katniss you're going to have to talk about these things sometime you know? It's the only thing that will make them stop." I say, desperate to break the silence.
"I don't want to talk about it Gale, so don't push it!" she snaps.
"How's Peeta?" I ask.
She glares at me from the corner of her eye and then redirects her gaze back on the rock.
"Like you care." She says coldly.
"Of course I care, look I know you two, may or may not have something going on, but that doesn't mean I hate him you know." I reply.
"He's fine." She replies shortly.
After a slight pause she scoffs.
"More than fine really, he's been too busy taking care of Haymitch who's gone a little bit hay wire. He likes to pretend the whole games never happened." She says.
"Maybe you should try to be more like him." I reply
**Katniss's p.o.v**
I look at him again, my glare dropping slightly, I knew he was trying to help, and I hadn't exactly been the very best friend to him ever since Peeta and I got home.
"It's not that easy Gale, and no matter how hard I try to put it past me, it's still not going to stop the nightmares." I reply.
"Do you love him?" Gale asks suddenly.
I crinkle my eyebrows at him.
"Peeta?" I ask.
"No, President Snow, of course Peeta!" he says exasperatedly.
I sigh.
"I don't know, maybe." I say. Still not sure myself, it started out as an act, that much I was sure of…but now I wasn't completely sure.
"Hey look at me." Gale says softly.
I turn to look at him.
He traces my right cheek with his pointer finger, starting at my right temple making his way down my cheek, until he stops, his finger under my chin.
"Gale what are you doing?" I ask.
Without answering he pulls me closer to him, locking his lips onto mine.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't kiss back.
**Gale's p.o.v**
I feel her kiss back, which only made me kiss her harder.
Suddenly she pulls back and smacks me.
"OW! What the hell was that for?" I exclaim, rubbing my now inflamed cheek.
"What are you doing Gale? We're supposed to be COUSINS!" she hisses in a whisper.
"What?" I ask defensively.
"They could be watching!" she exclaims, still in a whisper.
"Who, the capitol?" I ask.
"YES the capitol!" she replies.
"Alright, I get the whole thing that happened between you and Snow, but do you HONESTLY think that they have ALL of district 12 under surveillance?" I ask.
"I wouldn't put it past them, I mean they had all that footage of the rebellion from the other districts, who's to say they're not watching us, right. Now?" she asks.
"Then let's just get away from here." I say with a mischievous grin.
This time she punches me in the shoulder.
"Don't talk like that!" she hisses.
"And besides, I would never leave Prim or my mother, you know that, and I know that you would never want to leave your mother, Posy, Rory, or Vick." She adds.
"I guess you're right." I admit.
"Just don't say stuff like that…we have to be careful, you know that." She replies.
I nod my head.
"Let's go." She says, picking up her bow and sheath of arrows as she gets up.
"It's morning, the peacekeepers will be doing a headcount soon." She finishes.
I get up after her, dusting off my pants, she tucks her bow and arrows back under her jacket, concealing them from unknowing eyes and we quickly make our way back to the security fence.