Chapter Two: Sleepover

A/N: This chapter is longer than the previous one, and please expect for longer following chapters. I'm aiming to have a minimum of 3000 words.

Disclaimer: Suzanne Collins owns the Hunger Games.

After a refreshing time in the shower, I put on some of my comfortable clothes, the ones that I had usually wore when Katniss taught me about their hunting in the woods pass the meadow. I remember those days when I saw how great Katniss shoots rabbits and deers, and how she sets traps. She also showed me that river stream where her father used to take her when he's still alive. I even saw her dove like a pro. I was amazed how Katniss finds herself when she's in the woods. I look at myself in the mirror and somehow wish I could be Katniss just this once, brave and courageous yet so down to earth.

I turn to my window pane and peek at the now-obliterated Hob. And what steals my attention is the meadow not very far from it, which will be the graveyard of those people from this district who got killed when it had been bombed. The thought about those people's relatives that would flooding that area later, the ones that will be crying and will be blaming us, makes my whole body shiver. So I immediately grab my jacket and get moving, fearing that I may meet those people on my way. I grab a glass of water and drink it, and finally open the back gates to head on my way.

"Miss Madge?" I hear someone call me. I pretend not to hear it because I know what she wants. "Miss Madge, wait!" she calls as she catches up with me. It's Rose, daughter of our housekeeper, who lives with us almost half of her life. "Where are you going? Does your father know?" she continues while catching up for her breath.

"Yes." I say as I stop and turn to her. I'm just about to shout at her to leave me alone when I notice the fear in her eyes that remind me of something that I have left undone.

"Rose," I say in the most relaxed tone I can manage so that it won't show that I'm in complete irritation. "Father knows where I'm going. And listen, you don't tell mother I'm not home unless she asks, okay? And when she does, try to look a little less scared so that you won't scare her off. And go home now." I signal her to leave and turn back from her to continue on walking, but I could sense she's still not making any moves.

"Take care, Miss Madge." reminds Rose. Oh Rose. I don't blame her for being so nosy, she's just following orders. Only two years younger than me, but very small for her age, I know she already learned the values of commitment and loyalty.

Walking alone in these empty streets, I couldn't help thinking about my mother. She's still having really bad shot pains all over her body and has been bedridden for almost all of my existence. During our hiding in the war, she has been improving and had even walked the kitchen from her room once. Survival of the fittest, I guess. The fact that she'll eventually know where I'm heading, it won't help her case at all. But she has to face the fact that I can't be inside that house forever! I'm not a little girl anymore and I can take care of myself now. I keep on reminding these words to myself so I won't find myself walking back towards home.

"It's Miss Madge, Grandma!" I hear someone speak very softly. I turn to my left and find a girl holding an old lady who seems very familiar… it's Greasy Sae! I wave at them courteously and then find them walking towards me.

"Miss Madge Undersea?" I hear Greasy Sae.

"Yes." I say as I bow down slightly. That's what my mother taught me when showing politeness and respect, especially to the elderly. When I look at them, they bow down, too.

"What brings you here?"Asks Greasy Sae.

"I'm actually going to see Katniss." I say slowly.

"Alone?"

"Yes, Greasy Sae."

"You know me?" she asks again. Now with raised eyebrows.

"Well," I gulp, trying to remember what Katniss told me about her. "Katniss told me stories about you."

"Oh well, we're heading the same way. You want to come along?" she offers. I sigh in relief and nod. "Come along." she adds.

The three of us walk along the empty streets. We pass the hob, and then other houses that have turned into dark woods and ashes which some of them even look like someone's been occupying again. It took me some time that I am the only one who is actually paying attention in this devastating sight-seeing and the both of them is only watching their fronts. It seems that they're already used to the sight or they had already accepted what had happen here. I steal glances of Greasy Sae as she walks. She seems very healthy even though she's really old. She's a complete opposite of my mother who is very vulnerable and younger. This makes me envy the people from the Seam. How they survive days of hunger, how experienced they become, and how witty they can be. These are also my basis why I've come to think Katniss is more advantageous compared to the other tributes in her time.

The moment I think about Katniss, we're already reaching the gates of the Victor Village. I could see it's very quiet. Where are the peacekeepers? I remind myself. I don't think now there are peacekeepers around.

But as we walk closer, I have this feeling that someone's staring and following us so I look back. I search for anyone but there's no one. I drop the suspicions since Greasy Sae and her granddaughter are already far ahead from me. I run towards them and glances back for the last time and there, I catch a man's shadow. Scary.

I've been in Katniss' house twice only. This day would be my third to step in here. Greasy Sae knocks several times on the big door but we hear no signs of Katniss inside. Great. We couldn't get in. Greasy Sae's granddaughter give a big sigh of tiredness followed by a familiar voice from behind us.

"I'm right here, Greasy Sae." says Katniss softly. By the looks of what she's wearing, I'm guessing she just went hunting.

She walks slowly, looking very tired and exhausted, towards us. Oh Katniss, what happened? I keep these thoughts to myself because I don't know how to start. As she gets to the door, she gets keys from her pocket and opens it. Greasy Sae and her granddaughter walk in directly leaving the both of us outside. But she seems not to notice me so I haven't prevented my tears from falling down.

"Cara? Tell Greasy Sae I just want something soft for this morning." Katniss orders as she's busy cleaning and taking off her boots. Why isn't she lookin' at me? Oh I see, she had forgotten me! That's it! I'm done here.

By the time I turn back to leave, she holds my arm and hugs me. And so I let myself to cry away. It's so mean of her to treat me like that. Katniss hugs me really tight and I realize how badly I miss this girl.

"I missed you, Madge." whispers Katniss to my ear. She's not crying but I don't care.

"Oh Katniss, I missed you so much, too." There. I've said it. And I hope she understands that because my cry has turned into sobs that makes my words inaudible. "I thought you've forgotten about me." I add.

"Forget you?" asks Katniss as she wipes a lot of my tears with both of her hands. "That would never happen Madge." she adds, and then guides me inside her house.

She lets me sit down in a green comfortable sofa and still pats my shoulder trying to calm me down. Cara, Greasy Sae's granddaughter, offers us soup with bread and water, and lends me a handkerchief. I see Katniss taking one bowl of soup so I take the other. My eyes follow Cara as she returns to the kitchen, feeling a little bit guilty about how kind she's been to me when I haven't even made an effort asking her name.

Katniss finishes her soup when I haven't even touched mine. She notices I'm watching her so she fixes her eyes on me. "You'd not want the soup get cold, Madge." she says. So I eat a teaspoon-full. It's very tasty so I keep on eating while waiting for her to initiate the talk, like she always does when we hang out.

"How are you, Madge?" Katniss asks with concern looks. "You we're not in District 13, so we, Gale and I, thought you'd probably be dead."

"We're just lucky the bombs didn't destroy the house entirely." I decide to tell her about this thing only. But her stare implies for more information so I start to tell her everything I want to let her know. "Listen, Katniss. I'm really sorry for not making it to District 13. I mean, I wanted to but father didn't. He thought we would be safer here and… We were." I tell her everything from Gale's attempt to convince me up to my father's reasons for staying and how we survived here in District 12. I look at Katniss' expression once in a while. Now I really feel guilty for making her worry, so I just look down staring the shiny tiles inside this house.

"Hey, it's okay" she reassures. "I'm just glad you're safe." she adds. She leans closer to me and puts my head above her chest. I have never felt this intimate with Katniss before so I let my head rest on her, too.

"What about you?" I ask her.

I know from there that I trigger the bomb that's been waiting so long to explode inside her. She's been keeping this pain to herself. She's been keeping this from Greasy Sae and Cara, from Haymitch, and even from her mother. By this moment of hesitation, I know she's already going to drop it off. I think it would really help her a lot if she…

"I'm okay, Madge." she says in her normal deep and soft tone. Okay? How can she be okay? She's Katniss Everdeen, THE Mockingjay. Just 17, like me. But already had lost her most beloved sister in the war. And worst, she killed Coin. And then she's just okay? She tries to break off our moment for her own defense but I wrap my arms around her abdomen. I will not let go unless she tells me everything she wants to tell me. It just might lighten up her burdens. I'm here to help her, right?

"Oh Madge," she sighs, finally. And judging by her voice, she's tearing up. "Prim's dead." she starts, and her sobs follow wetting my hair and forehead.

Between her sobs I hear a lot of Peeta's and Gale's, her mother and some other names that I'm not familiar. Topics about family is a very touchy subject for me so we make a dramatic chorus when she says how much she misses them so much and questions why aren't they here for her now.

I hear her very depressing story; how much she felt being used by both Coin and Snow, how she watched Prim die and became a human torch when their side was already winning, how she witnessed a lot of people close to her let her live in expense of their own lives in order for her to play the role of 'the Mockingjay', and worst, how she found out how Coin strategized everything from letting her live down to planning on dispatching her resulting to the death of Prim. She even tells me that she thinks, everyone thinks, it was Gale's trap that killed Prim even though Gale doesn't really seem to know. I lose focus. Gale would do that? How could he? I just watch her with pity and also astonishment how she managed all of those.

…This is the reason why I admire Katniss so much. She's just as vulnerable as everyone is but only has the courage and strength to carry on and accept how things came out to be, I think. If I were in her situation, I'd prefer to die in the arena so that I won't have to undergo such traumatic moments.

It has probably been a whole day since we started crying. But Katniss, her eyes are still wet. Like now, we watch as the sun sets from her bedroom's balcony and she stares blankly at the setting sun, without a word, tears still falling off her cheeks. I wipe her tears with both of my bare hands because I don't really know what else to do. I wipe them off to make her feel that I'm here for her even though some people are not, just like what she made me feel a few hours ago. But she never seems to hold her gaze off of the setting sun.

"Orange" Katniss breaks off the silence. "just like this sunset, is Peeta's favorite color." She informs.

I stare at her, noticing her stare's still directed to the trailing orange streaks above skyline but her thoughts are so far. She probably misses Peeta's company. After all, they've fought death together and shared some moments. I'm waiting for her to tear up again but she's really into daydreaming. Atleast.

"Is Peeta ill?' I ask to steal her focus.

"I think he's okay now. Just the Capitol doctors holding him off for further experimentation." She replies, putting emphasis on the word "capitol".

"Is he going to see you?"

"Yes. I mean, I don't know." she pauses. "I hope so."

"I bet He's going to."

"Really?"I get her full attention. "Why do you say so?"

"Because he loves you." I say firmly.

She tries to open her mouth to say something back but instead diverts her attention back to the sky of the early night, with only little of orange streaks visible. I've seen how Peeta worked for their progress even though Katniss remained passive about it during the games and onwards. And it really showed his genuine affection towards her.

"Madge, would you stay here with me tonight?" Katniss asks. "I mean if you want to…" she adds.

I'm surprised by her invitation which made my mind mix-up all the thoughts I have, leaving me tongue-tied.

"Oh, I guess your parents will find you." she adds quickly noticing my silence, as she walks pass me to sit on her bed.

Yes. Katniss is right. My parents will surely find me, especially my mother. I keep on weighing things to help me discern, but then the image of my mother keeps poppin' out in my head. But I know I must stay with Katniss tonight. I want to stay with Katniss tonight.

Suddenly, a knock comes from the door that startles both of us.

"Katniss? Miss Madge?" asks Cara. "Can I come in?"

I look at Katniss who's already lying on her bed, looking away from the door and who seems not the mood to stand up. So, I walk towards the door and open it myself.

"Greasy Sae wants both of you to eat and finish this all up." Says Cara as she carefully puts down two large and steaming porridges on the small table near Katniss' bed. "And she said we really have to get going because it's already getting dark." she adds. She looks at me as if waiting for an answer, and it took me a few seconds to get that she's including me in the 'we' as in "we really have to get going". I look at Katniss and then thankfully, an idea hits me.

"Cara, would you mind dropping by our house and inform anyone you find there that I'll be sleeping the night off here with Katniss? And tell them I'll be home tomorrow." I say calmly. "Please?"

"Sure Miss Madge. You two have fun." She says and then flashes a smile.

"Thank you." I smile back. "Drop the 'miss' Cara. You take care on the way home. And tell Greasy Sae thanks for the dinner."

She nods and then walks out the room shutting it afterwards. So I then sit right next to Katniss.

"What?" I question her baffled face.

"Are you sure?" she asks back.

"Yeah. You want me to stay, right?" I ask with very concern look. Maybe she didn't really want me to stay.

"To be honest, Madge, I haven't had a good night sleep since I Prim died. I'm still having nightmares and I just can't fight them off alone." she admits and adds "I used to have Peeta sleep beside me but he's not here anymore. I just don't want to be alone."

"Don't worry Katniss, I'll be here." I reassure her and put my hand above hers.

"Thank you, Madge, really."

"Don't mention it. They say this is what friends do." I inform her. "We're friends, right?" Her eyes widens with my question. But she replaces it with a small smile. "Yes." she barely whispers. She stands up and walks towards the table with the porridge. "You hungry?" she asks as she gets one of the porridges. "Starving." I say as I receive the porridge. We both smile and start the night happily, eating the food and having updates about each other.

We are so full since we finished the large porridges. It was so delicious. That's why we find ourselves already lying down on our bellies, already. Katniss is nearly to doze off when she started singing.

Deep in the meadow, under the willow

A bed of grass, a soft green pillow…

"Sing with me!" Katniss demands. "I don't remember the lines anymore."

"Oh please, you sang it for us when we were what, first grade?" I say it right back at her.

"But you know the song so well, I know. I heard you singin' it when we were at the meadow." The Valley Song is really a popular song when we were still in elementary since most of our teachers taught it to us. So I fill in the next two lines:

Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes

And when again they open, the sun will rise.

Then we sing the remaining lines together.

Here it's safe, here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and

Tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you

I look at Katniss and see that she's now closing her eyes. I let her for a while and tuck behind her ears the hair that's covering her eyes. I notice the scars that the burns from the war gave her and it pains me to see it's from her neck and I think, down to her body, since only her hands are visible right now. By the time the clock strikes, I felt my weary eyes so I kissed Katniss on the forehead for a goodnight & thanking she's now safe. And I let myself doze off to sleep.

No dreams. This is the first thing that crosses my mind when I open my eyes. Another day has begun and I'm watching Katniss heavily breathing while still sleeping. No nightmares also for Katniss.

I get up from bed, carefully so that I won't wake up Katniss. I walk towards the balcony to meet my favorite part of the day, as usual. I stretch up some parts of my body, enjoy the early morning breeze and leans toward the barricade of the balcony to get a closer view from what's below. I stare at the pine trees in front of this house and behind one of the closer trees I spot a man's figure, again.

I carefully focus on this figure. I stare at it very carefully so that if ever, I may know who on earth this man is. I'm guessing he notices me already catching him because he's starting to walk out of the tree's trunk… to reveal himself. Even before he could fully reveal his identity, I immediately run back to the room and grab my jacket to dash off outside this house. I know this guy.

It's Gale.