Hey guys! So I'm back. I'm sorry about the delay, first my computer broke down, and second I've been feeling pretty down and uninspired given some reviews I have gotten over several of my stories. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter! I'm sorry about any mistakes made, I'm really tired but I wanted to get this all done for you before I went to bed!

Gale opened his front door, letting out a long sigh of relief as he stepped into his small apartment. It had been a long week at work, and he was looking forward to sitting down with his feet on the coffee table and a cold beer in his hand. As he dropped his bag down by the front door he smelt cigarette smoke, and knew that Katniss was there. He toed off his shoes and made his way down the short hallway to the tiny balcony, only big enough for two chairs and a dying pot plant. Katniss was curled up on one of the chairs, one leg under her body, the other propped in front of her so that her knee was under her chin. She was chain smoking, hair in a tangled mess around her face and only wearing an oversized hoodie and a pair of thin underwear. The makeup around her eyes was clumpy, smeared on her cheeks. He sat down on the seat opposite her, taking a cigarette from her pack and lighting it up. They sat in silence for a long time, puffing away on their cigarettes. Gale knew what Katniss was like when she got into these moods, it was better just to wait her out than to push her. Admittedly, though, when she picked up a bottle of Jack from the ground next to her and swallowed a mouthful, he wondered if he should say something. In the end, she made the next move, pulling out a scrunched up piece of paper from her hoodie pocket and holding it out to him. He took it silently, reading over it.

"This is for Prim?" He asked. She jerked her head in a nod. Gale took in a deep breath and then blew it out slowly, tugging in his lower lip. "Just for Prim?" She nodded again.

"Uh, Mrs Downer was that lady who took us in just before your family?" Katniss's voice sounded choked, although her expression was blank, emotionless. "The older lady, with that horrible cat that Prim loved?"

"Buttercup," Gale supplied.

"Buttercup," Katniss's smile was not a true one. Silence fell again, Gale watching Katniss out of the corner of his eye as she took another mouthful of Jack and lit up another cigarette. "I shouldn't be...Surprised, ya know?" She mumbled around the death stick perched on between her lips. "I mean, I was going to move out anyway if the next place was good, to give her a better chance of having a steady home, right? So why do I feel so fucking shit?" She pulled out the cigarette and stubbed it out, clenching her teeth together.

"Katniss, of course you feel shit," Gale leaned forward, reaching out a hand toward her. "You and Prim have always been together! It's completely normal-"

"I don't want to hear about normal, Gale," she spat out, jerking away from him and standing up. Gale tried not to roll his eyes at her abrasive attitude, a common fallback when she was feeling upset or threatened. "Look, there's a party tonight. Are you going to be home, or you going out?" He ran a hand through his dark hair.

"I'm having a few drinks with some guys from Uni, I'll be home by one or two," he replied. "You want me to pick you up."

"Ye," Katniss nodded, making her way back into the apartment. He heard her moving around in his bathroom, and then his room. She didn't own much, but what she did have was mostly spread throughout his apartment. He was reasonbly well off, his parents had a soft spot for her, so when he could, he went and brought her clothes. Most of his money went on his truck, or on books for his study, another sizeable chunk went toward the weed and alcohol, and what was left over went toward food, rent and other miscellaneous items. If he thought that clothes and shoes were what Katniss wanted, he would have gladly stopped spending so much on the drugs and alcohol, but that was the thing she craved the most. Gale picked up the Jack that she had left on the concrete of the balcony and looked down at it. Then he looked back at the letter she had recieved. His phone vibrated, and he pulled it out, the screen lighting up with a text. A smile played over his lips as he saw who it was from.

"Hey, do you need a ride to the party, or just home?" Gale called, getting up and walking back into his apartment.

"Uh," Katniss came out of his room, dressed only in a strapless cream bra and matching boyleg underwear. Despite the text he had just recieved, he couldn't help but feel himself getting hard at the sight of her tanned body standing before him barely clad. "I'm good. I think Johanna is going as well. I'll ask her to pick me up."

"I'd rather drop you off than let you get in a car with Johanna," Gale raised an eyebrow.

"It'll be fine," Katniss replied, turning and disappearing back into his room.

"Okay," Gale backed toward the door, grabbing his jacket off the couch where he had thrown it. "Keep your phone on you, okay? I'll come get you once I finish in town."

"Later!" Katniss shouted from inside the bedroom. Gale glanced once more over his shoulder down the hallway, to where he could see her shadow dancing on the wall as she dressed in his room, before turning and making his way from the apartment and back to his car.

Johanna was more into Marvel than she was letting on, that became very obvious to Katniss within about half an hour of joining them. It was one thing that they had had gotten a ride with him to the party, but when Johanna had disappeared almost straight away with him, Katniss gathered there was something going on. Katniss made a beeline for the kitchen, her only thoughts on finding alcohol and hopefully anything stronger to push down the horrible feelings that were building up inside of her. She had always prepared herself for when this would happen-hell, she was glad for her baby sister! Mrs Downer was a sweet old lady, she was even nice when Katniss had died her hair a horrible blonde colour that went a strange orangey shade. Prim would be happy there, and more importantly, safe.

Didn't make this easier.

Katniss found a bottle of vanilla vodka and a half a bottle of coke in the fridge. She stared at them both for a moment, then glanced around the kitchen. There were a few plastic cups laying around, all half filled or with a sticky substance at the bottom from prior liquid. She shrugged and tipped a good quarter of the vodka in with the coke, swirling it around and then taking a mouthful. The mix was dangerous, tasting almost exactly like vanilla coke and becoming so easy to drink. She took another long drink, the vodka mixed with the Jack she had been drinking earlier going straight to her head.

"Hey..." the voice slurred behind her. "You're Katniss, right?" She looked over her shoulder. One of the school's football players. A blonde guy, reasonably good looking. She pursed her lips and turned to face him, leaning her hip against the table. "I'm Finnick."

"Weird name," she stated.

"Weirder than Katniss?" He asked with a half smile that she could definitely grow to like. She nodded her head, conceding to his point. "So you're friends with that chick Marvel keeps disappearing with?"

"Yup," she raised her eyesbrows, popping the 'p'.

"Think anything is going to happen between them?" He asked. Katniss looked at him for a long moment, before dropping her eyes to the bottle in front of her, letting out a breath through clenched teeth.

"I'm getting bored," her tone was monotonous. "Was there something you wanted?" Finnick looked surprised.

"I just figured I should introduce myself, ya know, if they start going out, we're all going to be hanging out together," he grinned at her again. Katniss raised an eyebrow and took another long drink from the coke bottle, this time finishing off the liquid. She finished and threw the bottle in the general direction of the rubbish bin.

"The only time I hang out with jocks is in the locker rooms when everyone else has gone home," she told him quietly before pushing past him and making her way outside. The cold air rushed over her, cooling her cheeks which were burning from her alcohol intake. There were a few other people outside, a group of guys who were laughing and passing around a joint, a couple that looked as though they were about to rip each others clothes off who must have thought they were hidden by the shadows of the house. It was nearing midnight, and Katniss was bored. She had planned to hang out with Johanna tonight, get drunk, maybe high...Definitely get laid. But then Johanna had taken off with their dealer, which only left getting drunk and laid. Although with the way several of the boys with the joint were looking at her, she was guessing she could get a couple hits from them. She walked down the steps of the balcony, stumbling slightly, the alcohol impeding her vision as she made her way over to the four guys. They all turned to her in interest, the guy with the joint raising his eyebrows and holding it out to her. She took it from him, joining their semi-circle. She took a long hit, her cheeks hollowing as she sucked in. She let out a long stream of smoke and then handed the joint to the guy next to her.

"You want something stronger?" The first guy asked. Katniss eyed him warily. It was one thing taking a hit from the joint that they were all taking. It was another thing to accept a different drug all together. She usually didn't. Guess there was a first time for everything. She nodded. "Got X if you want that," he told her. She held out her hand and he dug around in his pocket, pulling out a little tube and tipping out pill.

"Got something to wash it down with?" She asked. He handed over his beer. She pressed the pill between her lips and swallowed the beer. The guy exchanged looks with his friend, who reached out an arm and put it around her waist. Katniss pushed at him lazily but didn't particularly care. It wouldn't take long for the ecstasy to sink into her blood stream and then she would be more than happy to fall into bed with one of the guys. Or two. They were cute.

"Oi!" Came a shout from behind them. The boys turned around, looking toward the person calling out. Katniss's body felt heavy as she tried to turn around as well. "Seriously? This is how you guys get laid? Force girls to take drugs and then wait for them to pass out?" She felt everyone around her shuffling, maybe moving away, she wasn't sure.

"Hey, dude, she came asking for it," she vaguely heard one guy say. Katniss shrugged and tried to say something, but her body just didn't feel right. Her head was beginning to pound, and her eyesight was starting to blur.

This didn't feel like any ecstasy she had ever taken.

"Fuck...What did you take?" The voice sounded far away. Everything around her was starting to fade out. She felt her body tipping forward and then a face swarmed in front of her.

"Fucking Prom King..." Katniss managed to stutter out. There was a laugh that sounded as though it was underwater, drowned out.

"As charming as ever," the voice murmured. Her limbs were all so heavy...She was being lifted, she felt strong arms surronding her and pulling her close. Warmth surronded her, and she felt herself turning toward the muscular wall of heat. "Let's get you out of here."

That was the last thing she heard before everything faded to black.

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