AN: Thank you all so much for your reviews! I really appreciate them and, if you could, please continue to support me by reviewing it would mean the world to me. There will probably be more Dream Sequences in future one shots... but for now... back to normal story format. Thank you, once again. Enjoy.
It was dwindling down to the final eight. Gale braced himself for the inevitable onslaught of Capitol officials and news casters flocking back to District 12. Granted, he was thrilled -elated, even- that Katniss was still alive, he knew exactly what he was going to say to them if he got asked to comment on her success in the Games thus-far: a few nicely chosen explicative and maybe even a nice venomous, treasonous jab at the Capitol.
He voiced this one night over dinner which earned him a resounding slap across the face from his own mother.
She hissed that he was a fool as she got up to double check if the windows where tightly shut. Hazelle glared at Gale as she rounded back at him, scaring his other siblings, who sat frozen in their chairs. The candles lit around the small room flickered against her weary face, accenting the worry lines on her forehead.
"If you get arrested, who is going to look after them? Huh? Did you even think about them?"
Rory, Vick, and Posy looked up at him questioningly, as if not really understanding what Gale did wrong but are eager to find out so that they won't make the same mistake.
Hazelle walked straight up to her oldest son, noticing his cheek turning slightly red, before reaching out her hands to cup Gale's face. He flinched but only slightly. A pained expression replaced her anger and, finally, not being able to hold it in any longer, allows herself to silently cry. She leans her forehead on Gale's, which was only possible because he was sitting down, and tried to get her breathing under control.
But she falls apart again when she felt three more pairs of arms warp around the two oldest members of the Hawthorne family.
They stay there, clutched to each other, for a long time.
The knocking on her back door brought Madge's hand to still over the ivory keys of the piano, ceasing the music. It was still early, her father wasn't even up yet, so she will have to be the one to get it.
Then remembering it was Sunday, Madge quickened her pace, knowing that he wouldn't want to be kept waiting.
When she reached the backdoor, she wiped her palms on her skirt before she tucked her long, golden bangs behind her ear. Then she untucked it again out of nerves. She took a quick deep breath before she unlatched the door and turned the knob.
The scowl she was expecting to see was not there.
Instead a woman with eggplant purple hair and shimmering gold tattoos on her face nearly shoved a microphone in Madge's face before asking in shrill voice, "Are you Madge Undersee, Katniss Everdeen's friend?"
Madge's shoulders began to hunch forward in a protective gesture before shyly nodded.
The woman smile grew sly at Madge's meek demeanor and tried to push pass her to get into the house."Oh good! We have a few questions we would like to ask you about your dear friend."
Madge's eyebrows knit together at the woman's rudeness but instead asked, "Why did you use the backdoor and not the front?"
The woman's eyes gleamed as if she spotted something she was looking for, "Why not? A door is a door. Are there secrets you hide in your kitchen? Did Katniss use to cook for you in here or something? Was she your personal maid?"
A near blinding explosion of anger shot through Madge like a lightning bolt. The mayor's daughter was thoroughly offended for her friend that she had to calm herself down before she said anything that could reflect badly on her family or, worse, the district. In her most diplomatic tone, Madge said firmly, "She was not my maid or cook. And if you would excuse me, ma'am, right now is not a good time for interviews. My mother and father are still asleep. Perhaps if you could come by another time when it is more continent, I will be happy to answer any questions you have."
The purple haired woman looked at Madge as if she had just asked her to skip breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next month but soon obliged. But she didn't leave without loudly whispering to her camera man, "She didn't deny there are secrets in that kitchen. We might be able to do something with that... maybe something like... 'the Mayor's daughter's torrid affair with-'"
Madge slammed the door so hard, she was sure it woke up both her parents, but she didn't care. She was so furious that when another knock came on the door, she was grinding her teeth before she threw the door open and spat out a hoarse whisper, "What?"
Gale's expression of shock quickly turned to annoyance as he stood there with a small pail of strawberries. "Well, if you didn't want any more, I'll make sure not to come by next week-"
"No! I'm-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean you..." Madge's featured completely transformed to one of shame and hurt. 'Just my luck.'
Gale shifted his weight to his other foot before musing to himself, 'I don't think I have ever seen her so wound up.' But he shouldn't have been that surprised since the two aren't exactly friends. She could actually have a rich girl temper under that quiet, shyness. "Did... something happen?"
Madge twisted her fingers nervously before she said, "It's nothing. The reporters from the Capitol are here and their presence-"
"They're here already?" Gale said, clearly shocked that the Capitol doesn't like to waste time getting the inside scoop from back home. He cursed under his breath.
"Yeah." Madge nods sadly and then reaches in the cabinet for her "secret purse" and pulls out the money for the pail of strawberries. She hands him the money but he grabs her hand in his before she could pull back. His grasp didn't hurt but he placed enough force to make sure she can't pull away. Her wide blue eyes blink up at him questioningly as her heart begins to beat furiously.
"What did they ask you?" Gale asked, his voice was laced with intensity a even a hint of curiosity.
Madge's anger started to slowly return, remembering what the reporter implied about Katniss, but she closed her eyes and began to count. Calming herself before opening her eyes again and gently pulling her hand from his, Madge relieves him of the strawberries before saying, "Nothing worth repeating."
She looked down at the mound of fresh fruit and a small smile began to grace her face. At least, she had this.
"Well, if they bother you again..."
Madge incredulously looked up, wondering what he would actually offer her to do if they really do grate at her nerves again. The girl shook her head, "I'm fine, Gale. Thank you..."
The back door of the mayor's house silently closed behind the young girl's weary form.
