For a second, Peeta is silent. Then he grabs my wrist, forcing me to look at him. "Katniss," he says. "Do you...have you even planned out what you're going to say?"

"I think we both know that I'm better unscripted," I answer. Isn't that the truth.

His eyes search mine for a second, and I look away. He's the one who went on and on about why I should forgive Gale, but now he doesn't want me to go?

"Be careful," he finally says, releasing his grip on my wrist. I nod, even though there's nothing that could hurt me. I'm only going to talk to Gale. The worst damage I could do is blow up at him. But he should expect that. He's known me for years.

"Thank you," I say quietly. I step outside and shut the door behind me. It's really cold outside today. I should've brought my jacket outside with me. I don't really want to go back inside, though, so I ignore the goose bumps on my arms and keep walking.

I'm not sure where I should look for him first. I try his house, since that was the last place I saw him, but there's no answer after I knock on the door. I roll my eyes, but I'm not sure why I'm annoyed that he's not here. Probably because I now have to put effort into looking for him.

"To the woods, then," I mumble to myself.

When I get near the woods, I hear voices, so I silently hide between the trees. I could've just turned around, but I didn't for some strange reason. Instead, I peeked through a narrow space in between two huge trees in front of me. I'm surprised to see Gale and his younger brother, Rory. They're both sitting on two large rocks. Gale has a squirrel in his hand, and he's in the process of removing its skin.

"Now, you always want to shoot them in the eye. It'll be a whole lot better," Gale says, looking at Rory. He glances in my general direction, so I shrink back against the bark of a tree, just to be on the safe side. There's no way he could've seen me. I was hidden too well. I don't think he did notice me, since he looks back at Rory. "Got it?" he asks.

"Show me how to shoot an arrow, Gale," Rory says giddily. Gale laughs at his younger brother's enthusiasm.

"All right," Gale says. "Stand up and hand me that bow." Rory does as Gale told him to, taking care to not touch the arrow already loaded in it. I didn't even know Gale owned a bow and arrow. He used to always use mine if he wanted to shoot something with an arrow, which was rare, since he's more of the snare type.

Gale's voice is muffled by the sound of scurrying feet above my head. I silently curse the animal in the trees. Then the running stops as the animal falls to the ground.

"How'd you do that?" Rory asks. He sounds like he's in awe, but I don't look at his face. I need to get out of here. I'm just about to go when Gale's answer stops me dead in my tracks.

"Katniss taught me. She was great with a bow and arrow, remember?" Gale says. Then, in a loud voice, he adds, "Right, Catnip?"

I hold my breath. He can't see you, he can't see you, he can't see you...I repeat over and over in my head. I didn't even make a sound as I attempted to leave! How could he have known? I don't dare to move, though. He'll definitely see me if I do.

"You'd think that a Hunger Games victor would be more careful with blending in," Gale says. I roll my eyes, knowing I have no choice but to face the humility that is sure to come. I find a big enough space to squeeze through and I'm face to face with Gale and Rory. Gale's face wears an amused smile, but his eyes hold something else. Doubt? Confusion? I can't tell.

"Hi, Katniss!" Rory greets me. I manage to smile at him, which seems to be plausible to Rory, since he smiles back.

"Rory, I'll teach more things tomorrow. Go home. Everyone should be home by now," Gale says. Rory hesitantly walks a few steps ahead, then stops to turn around and look at Gale. Gale makes a motion with his hand to signal that Rory should keep walking. Rory nods and sprints to his home, laughing a little along the way.

"You were the last person I was expecting to see," says Gale. "Actually, I didn't expect to see anyone. Especially not anyone hiding in the trees." He laughs at me, which makes me mad. I cross my arms over my chest and give him the deadliest look I can. That shuts him up.

"I didn't want to interrupt," I say, walking away from him toward a pile of mint leaves on the ground. I pick one up, examine it, and stick it on my tongue. "I know you've been wanting to teach Rory how to hunt. Thought it'd be rude to barge in."

Gale places a hand over his heart, wearing a mock look of shock. "Katniss Everdeen is afraid of being rude? Who are you and what have you done with my Catnip?" He laughs, but I'm in no mood for joking.

"I'm not your Catnip," I snap, sounding angrier than I meant to. He sucks in his breath, and I know that what I said stung. "I'm not anyone's anything," I add in a softer voice.

"Not even the baker's?" he asks icily.

I press my tongue down on the mint leaf in my mouth. "I don't need a romantic relationship in my life to make me happy," I say. It's true, though. I don't need one, nor do I want one. All I need is me, myself, and I. That's the way it's always been...since the rebellion.

"Of course you don't," he says. I can't tell if he's being sarcastic or genuine. He crouches down and picks up the squirrel that he shot before and tosses it into his game bag. He throws in the one that he was in the middle of skinning, too.

"Good. I'm glad you understand that," I say. "Look, I want to talk to you about your apology. I don't-"

Gale cuts me off by laughing bitterly. "No, I get it. Really. You don't want to forgive me. I understand. I might've made those bombs that killed Prim. She was your world, your everything, and I took that away. That's not something that's forgivable." He picks up his game bag and starts walking away.

"That's not what I was going to say!" I call out to him. He stops and turns around.

"What, then? What do you want to say?" he asks. He starts walking toward me until he's right in front of me.

"I want to hear you out," I say.

"Katniss," he says. "There's so much to say to you, but I don't have the time."

I sigh, exasperated with the situation. I come to let Gale apologize, and he says he doesn't have the time? What else does he have to do? "Yeah, well, when are you going to tell me?" I ask.

He contemplates this for a moment. "Come to the Meadow tomorrow morning, just after sunrise, and I'll say everything I need to say to you." With that, he picks up his game bag again and leaves me standing alone.