AN: Ok first and foremost a huge thank you and welcome to everyone who has Favorited and is now following this Fic (Swear I'm getting a new one every two days). Words cannot described how grateful I am to everyone who has left me kind reviews and PM. Also i decided to change the name of this story mainly because i just wasn't happy with calling it "Trapped" and anyway "Its ok, It's Just Me" is a phrase that kept cropping up so i decided to make it the title.

Secondly I'm so bloody sorry for making everyone wait for almost a month for this update, but I have had lot of stuff has been going on, writers block, falling sick, Mockingjay Premiere in London (Yes I did get to meet Jen and yes she is as wonderful as you think and even prettier in person *gush, gush* any other questions about it PM me!)

Gale Lover: Nope they really couldn't get much done in two hours but it's still earlier in their relationship. Posy and the rest of Gale's siblings… I have plans for no need to worry about that. I managed to get to the second row, got photos and autographs galore!

Katbow: Glad you like that little opening, there's a part towards the end of this part I think you'll enjoy. Yep I'm still trying to nail down a balance between gentleman Gale and the rebel Gale we know and love. We find out where the Hawthorne's were in this chapter.

Best Fan: Wow! Well thanks very much, welcome to the Galeniss camp, hope I can help you to stick around a little longer.

Ok guys enough talk on with the story. Errors are still my own, anyone out there volunteering to be my Beta is welcome with open arms.

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! All characters belong to Suzanne "Destroyer of Galeniss" Collins.

Sunday (Part 1)

A single ray of morning light breaks through a gap in the heavy gray clouds above illuminating my way. I jog through the morning fog, away from the still silent fence. My eyelids are heavy, the muscles in my thighs still stiff from deep sleep and I stifle a small yawn as I push the low hanging branch obscuring my path, away from me. The ground is a mixture of soft mud and decomposing leaves that rustle and crunch as I make my way to the hollow log. A chilled winds slides in-between the trees, making me wince and my braid flies off my shoulder. I lift my woolen scarf up over my nose until the gust pasts and dies. Though I'm wrapped up as warm as possible, my body is still shivering restlessly. I give my limbs a small shake trying to warm them as best as I can before I continue to make my way to where my weapons hide.

The hollow log is cold and rough. Small scratches appear on the back of my hand as I reach in and pull out a single waterproof sack containing my bow and arrows. I notice the form of the other sack neatly folded, lying underneath a nearby collection of heavy stones, keeping it safe from flying away by anymore-sudden gust. Instantly I know Gale has already come here collected his weapons and is probably waiting for me up at our meeting place. Waiting with that easy smile and open arms, I now want so badly to feel around me. I spot the deep track of fresh boot prints in the mud leading away from the log and I smile. It's almost as if I can hear him seductively speaking to me, "Hurry up, Catnip". As quickly as I can, I bunch up the sack, slip it into my bag and start to jog in the direction.

'Ready or not, here I come' I think, smiling to the forest.

I almost trip in my eagerness to see him but stop when I emerge into a small break in the tree line to find a large bush. Something about it, looks familiar and looking around I see the undisturbed paw prints and boot prints of two people standing very close in the dirt. I blush freely, remembering the night before last. Was it really only that long ago? Was it really, only 48 hours ago, that Gale and I had met here just too quickly check over the snare line before school?

I briefly wonder if the speed that we are moving at should bother me. Honestly, not once have I felt uncomfortable or uneasy over the past two days. In fact, they've been some of the best I've ever experienced. All right, I've blushed, giggled and been embarrassed more times than I can count but it doesn't bother me. I can be myself around Gale, he make me happy, always has done. His smile brings one from of me, his simple actions sooth any worries I have. Even in this unknown territory we've found ourselves in recently, I've felt perfectly safe with him. In fact more than safe, I've been the one to push us further each time. I smile to myself at how strange and how naturally we have gone from best friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. The thought of hearing people call me someone's "girlfriend" used to fill me with distaste and disgusted but remembering how Rory call me "Gale's girlfriend" brings an immense sense of pride and joy.

I find it so very odd that two days ago I had no interest or want to feel his hand touch me and sate my desires, where as now I can't wait to feel it again. There's a small sense of guilt when I think this but I'm not sure why though. Gale's hands move with such skill that I blush at the memory of his fingers sliding in and out of me. I know his hands are the only one's I ever want to explore my body and sate the deep ache within my very core. Then it hits me.

Gale has given me such joy and such pleasure. He's sated my newly found desires with such love and devotion. He's never denied me anything; he showed me just how amazing I can feel but what about him. I know the effect I can have on him, I remember feeling it both time's but what had I done to sate his own desires? Nothing. Sudden shame for my selfish actions washes over me. A gut wrenching feeling in my stomach replaces the warmth I felt at seeing him in moments. I'm sure he would like it, maybe he's even expecting me to touch him like he has touched me. I can't deny the idea of touching Gale like that intrigues me but also, largely due to my lack of experience, is intimidating as well.

"Getting idea's?"

His husky voice comes from next to my ear and I let out a small squeak of surprise as his arms wrap around my waist. My heartbeat picks up and my muscles pop as I jerk out of my thoughts. Warm fog flows over the back of my neck and I feel a pair of lips kiss my temple. I close my eyes, lean into the lips and sigh until my previous thoughts leave and my heart rate returns to normal. Shifting my body so I can slip my arms around him, I finally look up to see Gale's smirking grin within the hood of his jacket. I smile back at him, lift myself up and press my lips against his. His lips warm my own and after a long moment, I feel his body heat begin to warm my own.

"Do you think you could show up once in a while without giving me a heart attack?" I say, after our lips part.

"Probably" He chuckles, "But where's the fun in that? Now c'mon, you're freezing, I've already got a fire going."

I give my head a little shake as he pulls me by the hand to our meeting place. I'm not really mad at him, in fact I'm glad he didn't ask his original question again because I'm not sure what my answer would have been. Another freezing gust assaults us as we emerge from between two tree trunks and I see a small bonfire roaring happily and I can already feel the dancing flames starting to banish the remaining chill.

I rub my hands together as we sit on an old blanket Gale has thrown over the large rock, so we can be a little more comfortable. He lowers his hood, unzips his jacket, revealing one of Hazelle's hand knitted sweaters beneath. He rummage's around in his bag and pulls out a few strips of dried venison. Wordlessly he hands me some and I pass him half a roll of dense tesserae bread. The breakfast isn't much but it's as much as we can manage from our families dwindling food supplies. As I eat, my eyes alternate between watching the fire, scanning the foggy valley below and steal sidelong glances at Gale's jaw as he chews. After my third glance, his face turns as his arm rests across my shoulders as he grins at my little look of embarrassment that he's caught me.

"So, what did Prim say after we left last night?" he asks, leaning his forehead against my temple. My cheeks grow hotter that has nothing to do with the campfire.

When we arrived at my house, our families were sitting cosily by the roaring fireplace. Vick, Rory and Prim sat closest playing an old card game. Hazelle sat on the couch, holding a sleeping Posy against her chest while my mother watched the kids as they played. They all looked over as we came inside. I remember the reproachful look Hazelle shot over at Gale, who held up his hands in surrender as he apologize for us turning up half an hour later than we said we would. I was expecting questions about why we were late from our siblings but it appeared that they were too tired to care. I was grateful for their temporally lack of energy but I knew Prim wouldn't let me go to sleep without some sort of explanation.

Gale and his family left shortly after that and during everyone's else mutters of 'thank you's' and 'good nights' Gale tilted my head back and kissed me long and tenderly. My ache for him had stirred as I returned his pressure but I knew were not alone so I had to settle on just the kiss. I pulled his jacket off my shoulders, whispered a soft "goodnight" between kisses and hugged him as tight as I could. He returned the pressure, smiled as he reminded me that it was Sunday tomorrow and we had a full day of hunting ahead of us. Hazelle had practically grabbed his shirt collar to make him let go of me. We just laughed and held each other even more tightly. Prim and Vick giggled and Rory shook his head at our childish behavior. With one last quick kiss, we slid apart and I walked with him to the front door. I watched as he walked down the path with his family, throwing me backwards glances and waves that I returned until I couldn't see him anymore.

I beamed happy and dazed as I wondered back inside. I saw Prim looking towards me with raised eyebrows asking the silent question. I just shook my head, said I was going to bed and moved a little more quickly to the bedroom I shared with Prim. I lit a small candle, slipped off the dress but decided to keep on the leggings and put on one of my fathers old sweaters before sliding under the thin bed sheet. I laid there for a moment shivering; the evenings were getting much colder and I wiggled myself around trying to use the friction of the rough mattress to stir warmth into my bones.

Prim came in later, ready for bed, she threw another sheet over me before sliding underneath herself. She propped herself on one elbow and grinned at me expectantly. My eyes shifted from her soft blue eyes to the ceiling above; suddenly finding the splintering wood far more interesting and thinking absentmindedly, that id ask Gale to help me fix it. However, that was not a smart move as his sexy grin and the thought of his fingers sliding in and out of me filled my thoughts. Heat flooded my cheeks.

"It's no good trying to ignore me Katniss, I know your thinking about him." Prim said smugly.

"No I'm -" I began, shaking my head.

"Katniss!" she said, her eyebrows lifting higher.

I sighed deeply and any thought of lying to my sister died in my throat. I hated having to lie to Prim about why we couldn't do or say certain things in District 12 but I knew it was necessary. I was spared telling her exactly about how the Hunger Games work and how the tributes win by Rory who went pale and gasped, "they kill each other?" when he figured it out. They both began to cried and shake in pure terror at the thought of either of them being reaped and taken away. My mother made some camomile tea to help calm their nerves and Gale told them they didn't need to worry, as they would never have as many slips entered into the reaping bowl as himself. It took them a few more days to return to normal but after that their little faces joined in wincing if anyone so much as mentions the games.

However necessary and inevitable it was, it was still a very hard thing to see, my sisters angelic face fall like that. Gale hated to see it as well; I sometime see it in his face when he looks at Posy innocent smile, knowing he will have to explain it to her one day when she is older. For all our wanting to protect our siblings from the true horrors of life in Panem we cannot escape that fact.

In the candle light, I saw Prim's stern but expectant expression still looking at me. The prospect of telling her about how my relationship with Gale has changed didn't make me feel reluctant or fill me with dread. In fact I thought it might be a nice change to talk with her about something making me happy, rather than speaking about difficult subjects, injuries, the pile of things we needed or anything to do with the Capitol. So I gathered my courage, sighed deeply and turned to look at her.

"Ok I was" I said, smiling rather sheepishly. Prim bolted up into a sitting position next to me, her eyes shined brightly and she was almost panting in her excitement to hear.

"So what happened? Where did you go after you left us? What did you do?" she asked breathlessly. I slowly lifted myself up, mirrored how she was sitting and was tugging absentmindedly on a loose thread of my sweater. I knew she wanted details but there was no way I was going tell her everything, so I just settled on telling her how Gale and I walked back to his house, sat and talked by the fire.

"That's it?" she said looking thoroughly unimpressed. I shrugged, nodded and her brow furrowed as she frowned.

"We err… we cuddled a bit before. It was really…sweet you know, kinda cosy," I said trying to give her a little more information. That brought a tiny more interest out of her.

"And kissed?" she inquired. I swallowed audibly and nodded.

"Yeah… a lot" I said slowly, my neck growing hotter.

"What's it like, Katniss?" she asked dreamily after a pause. Her eyes shifted and became glassy as she look at a random point behind me. I was slightly curious about where her thoughts had taken her. I remember seeing her and Rory sitting close to each other as they talked at the festival but hadn't really taken much notice, as I was preoccupied with the rush of feeling as I danced with Gale.

"Prim, did something happen between you and Rory?" I asked.

She blinked twice as she came out of her reverie and her expression became hesitant, looking sheepish at me. After a long pause, she said barely audible "No but… he- he asked if he could walk me home from school one day."

"And what did you say?" I said thankful the attention was off me now.

"I told him, we all walk home anyway and he said he knew that but he was asking if I wanted to go for a walk with him around the Seam after school."

"And?" I smiled politely as I waited to hear her answer. Her cheeks grew pinker by the second.

"And…I- I said…yes." She said speaking to her crossed ankles.

We didn't speak about Gale or Rory anymore after that. We just laid back down, covered ourselves with the bed sheets and spoke about all the food, the dancing and how much fun we both had. After maybe half an hour, I yawned deeply and Prim giggled before she told me to get some sleep. Just as I felt myself begin to drift away into unconsciousness, Prim asked, "Katniss, do you love Gale?"

I made some vague noise in the back of my throat then, I was asleep.

"So, what did she say?" Gale asks again, running a gloved finger over my cheek. The ghost of Prim's last question lingers around my thoughts demanding my attention but with much force as I can muster, I turn to look at him still looking at me with a mischievous grin. I smile back at him and tilt my head to press my lips against his. The grip around my shoulders tightens as he tenderly kisses me back. I can still taste the salty remains of the venison on his lips mixing with the much more primal hunger to feel his touch upon me. I'm not sure how long we stay like this but by the time we break apart my joints feel stiff and I need to stretch.

"She said she's going to let Rory walk her around the Seam after school one day," I say standing up and walking in front of the fire, lifting my arms high. Gale's eyes go a little wider with surprise as he withdraws his arm from around me; clearly, he had no idea about his brother more or less, asking my sister out on a date. He recovers quickly enough and lets out a low chuckle.

"Well that explains why he looked so pleased with himself when we got home. Thought he was just happy to see me getting a stern talking to from ma." he shakes his head and sighs, "I swear you Everdeen's put us Hawthorne's under some sort of spell. Not that I'm complaining." he finishes with a smirk. His strong arms slip around my stomach as he stands closely behind me, the tip of his nose nuzzles the exposed skin of my neck. I hum deeply in my chest at the sensation.

"What did she…mmm…what did Hazelle say?" I ask breathlessly as I reach behind to pull his face closer to my neck. His arms tighten around my stomach as he presses himself against my back. In-between chased kisses around my neck, he explains.

"Well… she said that…even thought she trusts me…and you…and she knows…that I would never…ever…do anything…to hurt you…I should…act like a gentleman…and not like some sort of…hormonally fueled teenager…which its pretty unfair…considering I've just turned eighteen". We both laugh and our bodies begin to sway in unison. "Also that…the next time I…agree to have you home…at whatever time…you're meant to…and turn up late…she will make me…wash everyone's dirty underwear…for a week."

My head is swimming, feeling as if it is full of air. My body feels like it's on fire, drawing the heat from the slowly dying campfire in front and Gale's body, radiating more warmth behind me. The wind blows over me, whipping my braid off my shoulder but I'm so hot right now that I don't feel the biting cold. Every time his lips brush against the soft flesh of my neck makes my hands clench in his hair. When his lips meet my jaw line my body turns and I slam my lips against his, opening my mouth wide, my tongue seeking his. He eagerly response, his hot breath mixing with my own as our tongue dance, battling each others for dominance and neither one of us willing to giving in. His hands drop to my backside and he squeezes me firmly, my hands work frantically to slip quickly underneath his clothing to touch his bare skin. As soon as my fingertips make contact with his stomach, his whole body spasms.

"Cold hands" he says in-between frantic kisses.

"Sorry…I" I mutter.

"Don't be," he says and press his body into my touch. My fingertips slide up and down his stomach white our mouths remain firmly together. His skin is so hot that my hands warm up almost instantly. Underneath my touch, I feel the firmness of his stomach muscles and I lift my hands higher to his chest. He groans, deeply and squeezes my butt again when my hand glides over his harden nipples. My nails dig in and rake across his bare skin. Our groans mix and I can feel that coil of anticipation within my core begin to tighten. Gale shifts his weight from one foot the other and in the movement and I feel his arousal brush against me.

Remembering my earlier guilt about how selfish I've been, I withdraw one hand from his chest and without any intimidation or embarrassment, I press it against his crotch to feel him growing harder. From underneath my eyelashes I see his eyes go wide in shock, his breath catches in his throat as our lips break apart. I begin to move my hand up and down him, stroking him slowly yet firmly so he can feel the pressure of my touch under his clothes. His forehead lulls forward, his cheek brushes against my own as his forehead lands on my shoulder. I tilt my head so my lips can brush against his neck. I trail kisses from under his jaw line to his collarbone, the same way his kissed me and I'm rewarded with a heavy groan. His hot breath, rushes over my neck and I continue to rub feeling him grow harder and twitching slightly under my hand.

"Kat- oh god, Katniss, what are… what are you doing to me?" he moans into my skin. I can practically hear the smile in his voice. Remembering how his kisses to my neck set my body on fire I try to mimic it all the while my hand moving up and down him rhythmically.

"What…don't you…like this?" He groans and I feel his body shiver, so I continue. "You did this…to me…now it's… (I gulp) it's my turn," it's as far as I get before Gale's hand grips over both of mine tightly and stops me mid stroke. His body seems to go from scorching hot to ice-cold in a heartbeat as he slowly straightens up and takes a careful step back releasing my hand, which drops and hangs at my side. An icy gust that blows over us, stings my eyes, which now are open wide in panic and confusion. Looking at him, I see his gray eyes looking at me with an expression that looks half sorrowful, half annoyed.

My eyes drop to the ground and in my head I backtrack and try to figure out just want has happened. I'm sure I did something wrong but what could it have been. Did I not stroke him hard enough? Was it something else? Maybe he didn't like me kissing his neck like that, I just don't know. I find myself shivering again; the warmth within me seems to have vanished in the newest gust of wind. Even the campfire has died away, reduced to glowing embers and my eyes sting as tears of shame form. I wipe them away with my sleeve but soon they come faster than I can brush them away.

"Katniss…" he begins, he voice is calm but he still has that strange look on his face.

"I'm sorry!" I blurt out. His jaw just drops and he blinks, looking just as confused as I felt a second ago. I curse my inability to filter my words.

"What the hell are you saying sorry for?" he asks puzzled. It take me a long while to figure out just why I'm feeling so ashamed, so I take a deep breath and start talking to his knees.

"I did something wrong didn't I? I went too fast or- or too slow and I ruined what should have been a wonderful moment. Gale, you-you shouldn't be with me. I don't deserve to be anyone's girlfriend or wife or anything. I'm just too selfish. You've done so much for me and I can't even do anything to show you how much I care for you." I ramble on and on as the tears fall, my legs shake partly because of the cold but mostly because I know, deep down that it's all true.

My eyes shut as I begin to sob at the truth; the realization makes my heart shake, feeling like it's about to shattered and drop into the pit of my stomach. My arms wrap around my chest, as if I can stop myself from braking apart in front of him. Gale's strong arms quickly enclose me and I try to push him away, so I can run off but he refuses to release me.

"No Gale, let me go. Please I- I can't, I'm not good enough, I don't deserve-"

"Katniss, Katniss, shh, shh, come on, I don't believe that for a second, that's not true. Its not-"

"But it is, Gale, I'm-"

"No it's not!" he snaps and firmly lifts my chin so my eyes meet his. "Listen to me, that's not true, Katniss. You didn't do anything wrong… I did."

His declaration makes it easier to look at him. I can see he believes his statement deep in his eyes, however this brings more questions than it answers. "Listen to me, Katniss. I can see what my mom was talking about now." I shake my head in an attempt to clear away my confusion but my brain seems to have jammed to a halt. Gale gently leads me back to the rock, keeping his arms around me. After a long sigh, he begins to explain.

"When we saw the wolf that night, I was convinced that it was all over for us and if I was about to die I wasn't going to die without letting you know how much I care about you. You know, I'm no good with words so I decided to show you instead. I didn't intend to go as far as we did that night but I guess I just got carried away. Since then I've been holding myself back, remember when I said I wouldn't make you do anything you didn't want to. Well you see I've made you feel like you've got to…" His forehead furrows as he tries to find the right word, "return the favour?" he shrugs. "That's not what I wanted at all. Don't go thinking for a second that's what I'm expecting, Katniss. So when you said it was your turn, I was angry with myself because I didn't want make you to feel like you had to do anything. If I could have controlled myself and been more of a gentlemen like my mom said, then I could have slowed down and explained all of this to you." His eyes drift close and he gives another huge sigh.

He opens them a second later and I'm relieved to see the old familiar Gale smiling at me. "So you see Catnip, you didn't do anything wrong, in fact just the opposite, you've done everything right, maybe a little quicker then I thought you would but right none the less." My tears have stopped trailing as I listen to him and feeling relived, I let out a very small choked laugh as I return his smile.

"I guess I should feel guilty for going so quickly or for not telling to stop, but the thing is I'm not," I smirk after wiping my sleeve over my eyes.

"Me neither" he chuckles leaning down and kisses me tenderly. I sigh gratefully when his lips linger on my lips and I hold him tight feeling immensely relieved. All this time I thought my lack of experience would hold us back but in fact, it's my eagerness to experience these new sensations with Gale, mixed with his own knowledge and desires to show me. A powerful pull to never let this kiss end takes me and I pull his neck closer to deepen the kiss. His hot breath warms me once more but now with all the new knowledge we are both much more careful with where our hands go.

I feel something hot on the side of my face and reluctantly I break the kiss to see ray of fresh morning sunlight shining through a small gap in the clouds. Gale follows my gaze and squints against the light before it disappears. Judging from the suns position I guess it must be around mid morning and standing up again I pick up my bow, jerk my head in the direction the dense forest behind us. He beams broadly, grabs his bag, bow and arrows. "Alright Catnip, lets hunt!" he proclaims happily and follows me I jog into the woods.

The further we travel into the woods, the more we return to our old hunting routine. We first check over the snare line and come up with six rabbits and a nice Beaver close to a nearby stream. We set up a net further down and lay a long line of fishing wire to catch any smaller fish that may slip past the net. It's still too late in the year for greens so we track game for a few hours. I almost spoil a perfect opportunity to take out two squirrels as we crouch in the underbrush. Gale body molds against my back as he crouches behind me, I can feel every inch of him rubbing against me. The temptation to reach out and start stroking him again makes me grin mischievously. His face leans closer but neither of us breaks eye contact from the squirrels. He points to the one on the left, meaning that he will shoot that one and I can take the other. After a gently pat to my shoulder, I feel him draw back on his bowstring waiting calmly for me to shoot first. It's take me a few more moments than usual to take careful aim, feeling his body so warm against my own but I manage it and soon both squirrels lay death on the ground. I smile as we step forward to retrieve our prize and I notice Gale's closer squirrel first.

"You've been practicing" I point out impressed, noticing his arrow protruding from the animal's eye.

"Careful Catnip, that almost sounded like another compliment" he smirks with a raise brow.

"No, not quite, just an observation" I tease picking up my kill.

"Oh ok, well in that case I've 'observe' your getting a little better with your snares" he says matching my teasing tone as he strolls pass and gives my shoulder a small nudge. I roll my eyes and follow.

The rest of the afternoon is spent tracking, bagging more game, once we check the net, and fishing wire; our bags are full to bursting. We make our way back to our meeting place and decide to share half a squirrel each to tide us over until we can get home. Our little fire have burned itself out and Gale busy himself getting a new one lit and I hand him the carcass when the fire is ready. We both run over the list of things our families need and wonder dimly if certain traders in the Hob would have what we need.

The sky is beginning to grow darker when we finally see the fence come into sight. We scan the area and slip under once we are sure it's deserted. Gale's hand slips into mine as we make our way to the Hob, I smile to myself and give his hand a small squeeze at the contact and match his carefree smirk with one of my own. This is something I never saw myself doing before but I cannot deny just how natural it feels when it's linked with his.

When we enter the merchant square, now free of lights, bonfires and the dance floor, the first person I see is the baker and his wife exiting their shop and strolling away. Gale and I exchange a disappointed look, we were counting on trading with the man for some good bread but now that plan seems like it will be a little trickier. I suggest trading with one of his sons but Gale's shakes his head, uncertain if they would trade with us. We eventually decide to save two squirrels for the Baker and try again later, when hopefully the mans wife will have retired for the night.

Gale holds open the large door for me to walk through as we reach the Hob and I enter to happy to hear the familiar sounds of muttering as people talk and trade around us. Then it happens, first one person begins to clap then another and another and soon everyone in the warehouse is turned in our direction, echoing applauds mixing with cheers. Gale comes to my rescue and I bury my head into his chest to hide the embarrassing shade of red I'm sure is covering my face. I can feel his chest shaking and over all the noise, I can hear him chuckling deeply. I can't help but join him as I lift my face from his chest and smile sheepishly which gets a loud booming laugh from the crowd as their applauds slowly fades.

"Alright, Alright! That's enough! Everyone get back to whatever you were doing" Greasy Sae yells loudly from her stall. Everyone assembled slowly returns to their trading but the occasional smile or thumbs up is still thrown our way.

"Well, that could have been worse" Gale grins, rubbing my back comfortingly and I nod, shooting Sae a grateful look as I pull him into the crowd. We make our way around the Hob, going about our separate business and soon we've both finish our trading, nailing almost everything we needed and getting some extra money as well.

Finally we stroll up to Greasy Sae, sit ourselves on old wooden stools and get two bowls of her latest stew. When she slides the bowls to us, we offers her the money but she just shakes her head at our outstretched hand. We both frown at her and she crosses her arms over her chest and grins at our look of confusion.

"First ones are on the house today," she says kindly. The loaded spoon I was about to lift to my mouth, slowly falls back into the bowl and I look at her suspiciously. No one in the hob ever gives anything away for free no matter how friendly or what there trade is and Greasy Sea is no different.

"Alright Sae, what's the catch? This stew some new special concoction of yours?" Gale asks eying his own bowl. "What's in it? Tree bark?" he asks sniffing.

Sae snorts at him, looking affronted. "You never complained about my winter special before Hawthorne. Anyway that's real lamb and carrots in there!"

I take my spoon and stir it around, the thick broth smells pleasing enough. Tentatively, I lift a tiny mouthful to my mouth, chew thoughtfully and discover the meat is indeed lamb. I take a much bigger spoon full and force myself to chew slowly, savoring the taste of the tender meat. I close my eyes and moan as I detected a faint hint of rosemary within the broth. Gale has started eating as well and I can tell he is, (like me) trying to control a frantic urge not to wolf it down. It doesn't quite work and we finish our bowls within the next five minutes, still feeling hungry I look from Gale's empty bowl, to his face and see him eying Sae's green kettle that contains more of the stew.

"More?" she says looking smugly at Gale as he continues to gaze longing at the kettle. "I did warn you only the first ones were free" She chuckles. Gale looks at me and I nod slow and deliberately. He smiles, withdraws his early coins and slams them on the counter. She slips the coins into her pocket and busies herself before returning. However, instead of two small bowls with spoons, Sae slides one large bowl in between us and drops two new spoons inside.

"You two don't mind sharing now, right?" she says rather smugly. Gale looks a me and I can see his lips twitch as he tries to hold back the smirk. We turn back to Sae.

"Right" we say in unison and all three of us laugh. Gale loads his spoon and offers it to me with his hand underneath to catch any droplets of broth. "After you Catnip" he says, now smirking freely. I smile at his adorable gesture; my mouth opens widely as I gladly accept his spoon.

"So what's with the fancy butcher meat, Sae?" I ask thickly through a mouthful of stew, genuinely carious.

"Came into a small windfall during the festival last night, so I decided to get something a little special from Rooba this morning" she says shrugging.

"Couldn't have been that small of a windfall for this," Gale says blowing on his spoon. "How did you get the money? Challenge a bunch of Peacekeepers to a game of poker and clean them out?"

"I'll have you know I won a Hob bet," she says smugly.

"Which one?" I ask but not really caring. The Hob tends to have a few bets going on; the main one is what Haymitch Abernathy, District twelve's only surviving Victor of the Hunger Games, will do in his next drunken haze. No one really knows or likes him except Ripper and only because he pays her a lot of money for the alcohol he guzzles everyday. Gale won the bet once; he guessed that Haymitch would go nuts the next time Ripper was out of booze. Sure enough, the old Victor had almost torn the whole Hob apart in his struggle to fight off the effects of his alcohol withdraw. I've never bothered to enter a bet in, as I can't stand the thought of gambling away the money I earn from hunting but I do try to keep track more out of entertainment then anything else.

"Oh just the one about when you two would quit dancing around each other and get together" she says sounding completely unconcerned. I gag on my mouthful of stew, Gales spoon drops from his hand and lands back into bowl with a wet 'slap!' I cough violently, trying to dislodge the piece of food stuck in my throat. I manage to swallow it, assure Gale I'm all right and see him go back to glare at Sae. She just stands there looking calm and un-phased by his burning eyes. I cough one more time and offer Sae a glare of my own. Its one thing for our families to gossip about whether or not Gale and I would end up as a couple but it's quite another thing for our personal life to be bet on by the whole Hob.

"I told you to drop that bet, Sae," Gale growls at her bony face.

"It was, but I restarted it a month ago, just had an inkling…" her voice trails off as my head snaps to Gales in angry realisation.

"You knew!" I hiss at him. His head slowly terns to look at me, his face now a mixture of embarrassment, anger and shame. He gives Sae one last look of contempt before sliding off his stood and marching out of a nearby side door. The thunderous slam it makes echos around the Hob and every eye with looks from the door then to me. I can almost feel every one of them looking at me questioningly. I'm torn between anger that he knew and never told me about this bet; and a deep pull to make sure he doesn't do anything reckless.

"See Sae, told you it wouldn't last" sniggers a female voice from nearby.

"Shut up, Collins!" Sae snaps back angrily. She turns back to me, takes my hand and in a much more gentle tone says, "Don't be too hard on him. He really did try to stop everyone from betting." Her old seam eyes remind me so much of my father and I try to think what he would say to me in this situation. "trust your instincts" Yes, that's the sort of thing he would say.

So that's what I do. Gale didn't lie to me. True but he didn't go out of his way to tell me either. Why thought? Was he just trying to spare me the embarrassment of knowing that our friendship had become a form of entertainment to everyone else? Was it something else? I can still feel the deep pull towards him but it's less of a lustful desire and more of a deep ache in my chest. The feeling only gets more painful when I remember how hurt and guilty he looked. I need to find him; I don't want him to do something reckless in his guilt. My mind made up, I pat Greasy Sae's bony hand and take off out the door Gale had disappeared through.

AN: Sorry to leave it there but I couldn't resist, (I know, I know I'm terrible) but I can confirm that the second part will be up Christmas Eve as my little present to everyone who has stuck with me thus far.

Until next time

Wolfskin

P.S. Everyone seen Mockingjay Part 1 yet? I thought it was really good, District 12 ruins and The Hijacked Peeta was soooooo well done. Has everyone else bough "The Hanging Tree" i know i have :)