Chapter 7

(Madge POV)

On Monday I'm sitting at my usual table at lunch, open book in front of me, mindlessly eating the sandwich Gertrude packed in my lunch when the chair in front of me is pulled out, startling me. My eyes snap up and find Tripp Krull.

"Hey, what happened with you and Marcus? Did something bad happen?" He leans in and whispers.

The fact that he's whispering seems odd to me. "What do you mean? I just told him I didn't see a future with us."

"Well, this morning, I saw Peacekeepers taking him over to the Justice Hall."

"What?" I ask, horrified. I wanted to stop seeing him, not get him in actual trouble!

"Yeah, I was coming back from picking up our bread order from the bakery and saw Peacekeepers, two of them, leading him out of the butcher shop. I watched them take him all the way over to the Justice Hall."

I lean back against my chair. What has my father done? What have I done?

"Madge? Did something happen?" Tripp asks again.

"I...I can't...I just..." I stutter, trying to form a coherent thought.

His hand reaches across the table and gently lays over mine. "It's okay, I didn't mean to upset you by telling you about Marcus. I just thought maybe something had happened. I'm sorry."

"No, it isn't you that has me upset. Something did happen with Marcus and I told my father about it, said I wouldn't be dating him anymore. I just didn't know my father would take things to that extreme." I manage to explain quietly.

"Something happened? Like he did something to you?" His voice rising in obvious anger.

"Tripp, it's fine. He just got pushy is all."

"Pushy how?"

I give him a look hoping to convey that I do not want to rehash the events of my date with Marcus. "Just pushy. But it was stopped and it's fine. I'm fine."

He pulls his hand back from mine and is quiet for a minute. "Madge, I don't know what exactly Marcus did to you, and it's probably better that I don't, but you should know that it's not okay, not even a little bit, if he crossed a line with you."

"Thanks Tripp. And thanks for letting me know about the peacekeepers."

He gets up from his chair and slides it back under the table. "You come see me if you need to, if you want to talk, okay?"

"I will." I promise him.

I spend the remainder of the school day playing out scenarios in my head as to what could possibly be going on with my father and with Marcus. Clearly my father had brought him in but was it just to speak with him? Was he investigating my claims? Was a punishment being imposed? Yes Marcus had gone too far and not taken no for an answer but wouldn't it be enough to just not date him anymore, to just not have to be around him? Did it really warrant legal action? When school is over, I head straight for the Justice Hall, wanting to see my father and find out what he's done. His secretary won't let me see him though. Says he's busy, booked with appointments for the rest of the afternoon and not to be disturbed. And I know better than to ask her if Marcus Landers was brought in today. She's been his secretary for my entire life and never once has she shared a single shred of information with me. I'd given up asking her anything years ago.

There's a viewing today, in just a little while. It's when they'll let us know the scores the tributes have been given at the training center. If Marcus was only brought in to speak with my father or for some sort of investigation, he'll be at the viewing and I'll be able to see that's all it was. But if he's not at the viewing, then that means he's being held with actual, pending charges in place. I show up early, wanting to be there to see if and when he comes in. I don't want to actually talk to him about it or anything but I do want to see if he's there. Seeing will give me answers I need right now.

I wait over to the side as the people of 12 begin to arrive for the viewing. I search the crowds but don't see Marcus anywhere. Or his parents for that matter. Not good, I think to myself, not good at all. I've just taken my seat when the anthem begins to play. I look over to where Gale is sitting with the Everdeens and his family. He's looking back at me. And his face is completely healed! He must have used the medicine I gave him! A big smile spreads across my face and I raise my finger, gesturing to my eye. He nods and smiles back, staring at me for just a moment longer before turning back to the viewing screen. I can't remember a time when he's smiled at me. It's new and it's different than what I'd normally expect from him but I kind of like it. A smile from Gale Hawthorne. I find myself keeping the smile on my face the rest of the viewing, especially when I find out that Katniss scored an 11. No one in our district ever scores that well!

When the viewing ends, my plan is to go home but my father comes over and tells me to come with him to his office. I nervously follow him all the way back to his office where he gestures for me to have a seat and closes the door behind him. He sits and places a sheet of paper and a pen in front of me.

"I need to collect your statement regarding Marcus Landers." He tells me as he takes the seat across the desk from me.

"My statement?" I ask, hoping he'll share specifics with me as to what he's doing.

"Yes, your statement. It's really just a formality though, the matter is already being handled."

"How is it being handled?" I ask even though I fear his response.

"As I told you before, that's really none of your concern."

"Then why do I have to submit a written statement?"

His face frowns in anger or annoyance, I'm not sure which, maybe both. "Madge, you came to me with claims of a serious nature. As Mayor of this district it is my duty to see that all matters are handled in sufficient manner and that includes collecting statements of complaint."

"But I came to you as my father, not as my Mayor! I only wanted you to see why I shouldn't continue dating him. I didn't want you to make a documented case out of this." I argue. I know for a fact that all official complaints are filed with the Capitol and that means that any punishment Marcus would receive, would be be from the Capitol itself. And they aren't exactly lenient with punishments.

"You'd rather I left the boy, running free about the streets of the district, posing a danger to yourself and to the other young ladies of town?"

"I'd rather you simply sit him down and tell him to stay away from me and leave it at that."

He laughs and shakes his head slowly side to side. "You are so naive Madge. So naive. His actions were actions which warranted punishment, not a conversation. You'll write the statement, exactly as the events occurred." And with that, he pushes the paper towards me, leans back in his chair and waits for me to write.

(Gale POV)

She'd looked up when I was staring at her just as the viewing was starting. I'd been watching her, no real reason why other than I'd noticed her, lingering off to the side, chewing her lip and looking like she was nervous about something. Or maybe waiting for someone to arrive. Either way, I'd noticed her and found myself just staring at her. When her gaze met mine and she'd seen my face, all healed and normal looking again, she'd pointed at her own eye and smiled real big. And it wasn't one of her usual, phony smiles. It was a real, genuine smile and her whole face had lit up with it. Seeing her smile, like that, about me, well it caught me a little off guard and I'd smiled back at her. And I'd stared for just a second longer and caught myself thinking how beautiful she really was, smiling that way. And then I'd turned back to the screen and tried to grasp what just happened. Had I just shared a smile with Madge and caught myself thinking she was beautiful? And had I really just been staring, watching her just before that? And hadn't she been on my mind a little more often than usual lately? What was wrong with me? All that Capitol medicine must be going to my head. I tun my attention to the screen and anxiously await Katniss's score. All the tributes are scored, based off what they've shown they can do during their time in the training center. No one from here ever gets a good score. I remember the first year I'd been in the reaping and guy from town had been reaped. He was scrawny and bookwormish. His parents owned the dress shop in town. He'd done so poorly that they scored him a 2. May as well have shot him right then and there. No one with a score of 2 would get sponsors. Hell, the best score I ever remember anyone from here getting is a 7 and that was a couple years ago. So I'm floored when they announce she scored an 11. So floored that I actually let a tiny bit of hope creep in that maybe, just maybe she has a chance at this thing.

When the viewing ends, I'm high fiveing Rory and a peacekeeper comes up.

"Mr. Gale Hawthorne?"

My excitement instantly fades to fear and I swallow, clear my throat. "Yeah?"

"You'll need to come with me." He says.

I nod at him and catch Rory's eye. He looks like he's about to cry. "Go on home Rory. Help Ma with getting dinner ready." I tell him, trying to be brave and not look scared in front of him.

I follow the Peacekeeper over to the Justice Hall, every step I take feeling like it's in slow motion. I'd never been called in by a peacekeeper. Never. Not one time in all these years that I'd been hunting. I hadn't even been trading at the Hob or anything today. What could they have caught me on? This is bad. So bad. And for me to be taken in right in front of my bother who no doubt ran all the way home chasing after my mother to tell her what just happened. So she'll be in a panic too.

Inside, he takes me to a room with a long table and tells me to sit, that someone will be in to speak to me shortly. I wait for what feels like an eternity though it's more likely just an hour and finally, in walks the Mayor, sheet of paper in hand. Shit. This is really bad if the Mayor himself is here to see me.

"Thank you for waiting Mr. Hawthorne, I do apologize for keeping you." He says as he takes a seat across from me.

I'm too speechless, too afraid to speak, so I just nod my head at him once in acknowledgement.

"I'll be brief as I'm sure you have other things to tend to. A complaint has been made against Marcus Landers and you've been named as witness to some of the events that occurred. All I need from you is to read over this complaint statement and sign your name, attesting to it's authenticity. If for any reason you feel the statement shows inaccuracies, you may note so in the section at the bottom of the page." He explains as he slides the paper across the table towards me.

Marcus? This is about freaking Marcus? I relax a little and pick up the paper to read it. It's handwritten, in perfect penmanship. My eyes drift quickly down to the bottom of the page where Madge's signature is. I read from the beginning about how Marcus had forced Madge to kiss him, how he'd held onto her, refusing to let her go until I'd happened to walk by and interrupt. Then I read about what happened next and all that was brand new information to me. She'd gone out with him again after that first night. And once again, he'd been forceful with her, kissing her and pressing her against himself while touching her bottom and ignoring her requests for him to stop. That little shit! He did it again? And why in the hell would she even see him again after what happened that first night? And hadn't she said they weren't together?

I look up at the Mayor. "I uh, only saw the first part. Wasn't there the second time."

"Understood. If the portion you did witness was correctly stated, please sign as witness below."

I take the pen from the table and scribble my name next to Madge's. I slide the paper back across the table towards her father. "That all you need?" I ask, hoping it is.

"Yes, you are free to go. I thank you for your cooperation as well as your assistance to Madge the other evening."

I leave as quickly as my feet will take me and head straight for the Seam. I may not have been in trouble but somehow just being in there makes me feel like I am. And I need to get home to my family and let them know that I'm safe. I have no idea how to explain all this to my mother but I think she'll just be so happy I'm home that she won't care too awful much about the rest of it.

When I burst through our front door, the little kids are playing quietly on the rug. Rory's at the table and my mother appears from the bedroom, her face tearstained and stressed.

"It's okay. It wasn't about me." I whisper quietly in her ear as she hugs me tightly. She'd thought I was gone. Caught hunting or trading and sent away to be punished.

After she gets the little kids to bed, she sits down with me, wanting the whole story. I explain about how I'd seen a guy from town being rough with a girl and interfered, broken it up and told her how they just needed me to sign a witness statement after the girl had filed a formal complaint. I leave out the part about it being Madge Undersee and about it being the reason I had that black eye but something tells me she's figured that part out on her own. Thankfully, as I assumed would happen, she's so glad I'm safe and not in trouble that she isn't pressing for every specific little detail.

I want to wind down some before going to bed so I leave to take a walk and end up in the meadow. It's clear tonight and it feels good to lay down in the grass. Katniss and I used to do this sometimes. We'd come out here and just sit. Not necessarily talking or anything but just sitting, enjoying the peacefulness of the meadow under the night sky. I'm laying there, thinking about how I miss her when somehow my thoughts lead me to Madge. Back to the thoughts I was having during the viewing, about how beautiful she looked when she'd given me that genuine smile. I'm laying there smiling like an idiot to myself when I hear someone walking up, through the deep grass. I sit up fast and turn towards the noise to find none other than Madge herself.

"Hey." I call out to her as she walks up. I don't usually greet her, don't usually chit chat with her, never hang out with her, but right now I kinda like the idea of talking to her for once. Like I just want to see if I can get her to smile like she did earlier. Want to see if it was a fluke or if maybe there's a little more to her than I originally thought.