Hiya :D

Okay, I'm warning you now this chapter is kinda random LOL.
It's probably not as good either, but here me out :L

Review! Or i will shoot you with a banana. :)

The Hunger Games is not mine. Neither is that jar of peanut butter.

Kay. Au revoir. :)

Gale stares at the television for a few moments, then walks out of the house, without talking to anyone.

Hazelle sighs tiredly and thanks Mother for letting them stay to watch. She picks up Posy, who's fallen asleep, and motions Vick and Rory towards the door. Posy's little brown head rests on her mother's shoulder, and Vick nudges at Hazelle's hand impatiently. Rory gives me a quick hug before taking Vick's hand.

"Prim," she says softly over her shoulder. I look up at her. She's peering at me with sad, grey eyes. "If you see Gale... tell him to come home please."

She doesn't expect us to see him. Her request is merely cautionary; she'd feel bad if she didn't say anything. She hoists Posy up and makes sure Rory and Vick are right behind, before heading out the door.

Mother seems far too stunned at Peeta's exclamation. I think everyone's overreacting, frankly. She's still staring at the television, even though it's off. As though she expects it to blow up in a few seconds or something. When I ask if I can go outside to feed Lady, she merely nods.

I really hope she's not depressed again.

I get up, brush the fresh creases out of my tunic, and head out the door. I pause in the doorway, turning to look back at Mother. Surely she's noticed I'm not there anymore? Or at least figured something might be wrong? She's still staring at the television. I let out an exasperated sigh.

It's freezing outside. There's a thin layer of ice on the dirt ground, and the air is brisk. My breath comes back out as fog. My pale skin looks almost translucent in the moonlight, and goose-bumps cover my arms. I shiver slightly and debate going back in to grab a jacket. I end up not going; I'll want to stay inside if I go back now.

I peer around the corner of the house, resisting the urge to tiptoe. It's so quiet... eerie. I bite my lip. If you were Gale, where would you go? I think to myself. It's ridiculous of course. If I were Gale? Why on earth would I-

Of course!

There's only one place Gale would go right now, when he's miserable and vulnerable and horribly mad.

I chew my lip, really feeling the cold now. It would be sensible to go get a jacket. Reasonable. The right thing to do. Stupid not to. Go back Prim. Go back. Now! You're going to freeze! I think. But as I think this, I'm burrowing underneath the fence.

-/-/-/-/-

"Gale," I call out softly, shivering. "Where are you? You can't stay here forever. Hazelle's worried sick."

I've been in the woods for an hour, just walking around, calling out. Maybe he's not out here, says a voice in my head.

"Gale, Come back. Stop overreacting."

I'm shivering harder now. I wish I'd gone back for that jacket. This is ridiculously stupid. You don't even know he's out here.

"Gale. I know you're out here. Come home."

My dress is awfully thin; not at all suited for this kind of weather. It's made up of some thin cotton material, calico or something. Whatever it is, it's not protecting me from the cold at all. If anything, it feels as though it's been soaking up the cold and transferring it to my body. The snow is melting on my skin, wetting the dress through. I cough loudly, ignoring the raspiness. What are you trying to prove, Primrose Everdeen?

"Gale! This is ridiculous! You need to go back!"

It's started snowing, and the temperature is literally dropping by the minute. The ice is hard enough to walk on as it is, but in ten minutes or so, I'll be trudging aimlessly through the snow. Aimless is right, the voice snorts.

"Gale, please."

It's so, so cold. He isn't out here, says the voice. Maybe you don't know him as well as you think you do. Maybe he's back home now, comforting Hazelle. He could've just gone to the Hob for a little while. He might not have come out here.

I'm vaguely aware that I'm crying, but the tears freeze quickly on my cheeks. It's so cold.

The weather in District 12 tends to swing between two extremes – extremely hot and extremely cold. Usually the lowest temperatures of the cold season are during the night, which means I've never really felt the cold this badly before. I shiver violently.

I'm trying to call out again when I lose my footing in the snow – when did it get up to my knees? How long have I been out here? I slip and fall face first into the snow. I roll onto my back, shivering so hard I could probably cause a minor earthquake.

He's not out here. It's taunting now. Who are you trying to be, Primrose Everdeen? Oh, I know. Katniss. Well, the jokes on you. Not only is he not out here, but you'll probably freeze to death from your own stupidity. Did you honestly think you could be like your sister? Haven't these past few days shown you? And why are you trying to be like her anyway? So that he'll like you? Pathetic. As if Gale Hawthorne could ever like you like that. He sees you as his little sister. Worse, his dream girl's little sister.

"Prim?"

I gasp in a breath. My body is shivering so hard, it's more like convulsing. I squeeze my eyes shut tighter. When did I shut them in the first place?

"Oh, Prim."

Strong arms lift me up out of the snow and fold around me. It feels as though I'm being pressed to a hot iron; my skin burns from the contact. I try and pull away, but his arms just close around me more firmly. I breathe in and out far too quickly; it comes off more like strangled gasping. I go into a coughing fit that lasts around four minutes and wince at the realisation that I've really done this to myself.

"What are you doing out here?" Gale demands, looking at me in disbelief.

I can't answer. I can barely breathe.

The last thing I'm aware of is the feeling of Gale's arms around me, and then I black out completely.