The days turned into weeks, the weeks into months. There were two or three more bad storms, but then the snow started to melt with the arrival of spring. It was almost May, and Katniss had never been so lonely in her life.

Prim spent nearly all her free time with Rory, and her mother was busier than ever—it seemed she was always being called out to attend to a broken leg, a serious illness, or the arrival of a new baby.

She and Gale still had not reconciled. Katniss knew he must have heard the rumors about her and Peeta, and he probably thought she had lied to him. Katniss wished she could tell him the truth, but she was also still angry with him, and she couldn't bring herself to approach him. Still, the loss of his friendship left a gaping hole in her life.

Most of all she missed Peeta. The walks home after worked seemed longer than ever without him by her side, making her feel safe. She missed everything about him—his smile, his warmth, his ability to find the best in everyone, to find humor in even the darkest situations. She missed his stories, the way his hands would gesture wildly in the air when he was talking about art, trying to make her visualize colors and shades and light. She missed him so much she ached with it.

Many times she thought about going to him to ask for his friendship back, but something always stopped her. The truth was, she was afraid to be rejected by him—he avoided her completely now, careful to keep his distance at all times. The very few times they had accidentally made eye contact at school, he had looked right through her, his eyes dead. Katniss knew she had lost any chance to be a part of his life in any capacity.

She thought it would get easier with time, but it didn't. She only missed him more as the weeks went by. Her walks home at night became harder, not because she was afraid, but because that used to be time she had spent with Peeta.

To fill her empty days, Katniss haunted the forest beyond the fence. She spent most of her weekends there, bringing in as much game as she could hunting alone. The forest had always brought her peace and inner strength, and these weekend excursions did help, though not as much as she would have liked.

One early Sunday morning in April found her sitting on the rock she and Gale used to use as a meeting spot. She was lost in thought, staring out into the trees, when suddenly she heard a twig snap behind her. The next second she was on her feet, an arrow pointed straight at the intruder's heart.

It was Gale.

He quickly held up his hands, palms out.

"I come in peace," he joked.

"Gale," said Katniss, lowering her bow. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you," he said and gestured at the rock. "Mind if I sit?"

"Are you sure you want to associate with someone with a reputation like mine?" Katniss asked bitingly, but even as she said the words she was sitting back down, leaving room for him to sit beside her.

"Oh, wow," said Gale. "That was a pretty despicable thing for me to say, wasn't it? I'm sorry, Katniss. I really am. I didn't mean it."

"I know," said Katniss, her anger floating away with his words. "It's okay."

"I was just angry," said Gale. "And really, really hurt."

"I should have told you about Peeta," said Katniss. "I'm sorry, too."

"That's not really what I'm talking about, though," said Gale. "I mean, yes, it hurt that you hadn't told me, but it was more about the reason you hadn't told me. Or, the reason I thought you hadn't told me."

"Sorry, Gale," Katniss said with a small smile. "I didn't understand a word you just said."

"I thought you were hiding him from me because you were in love with him, and you didn't want to hurt my feelings."

"Oh," said Katniss.

"Yeah," said Gale. "There I am, still in love with you, still hoping you'll change your mind, and then you walk up with this boy you've become friends with without ever telling me. And he's a townie. And he had been there for you when I hadn't—he was your hero. I just…in that moment I knew I'd lost you for real, and I lashed out."

"Oh, Gale," Katniss sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Catnip. You can't help the way you feel any more than I can. And I understand why you didn't tell me about him—I've never exactly been reasonable when it comes to town people."

Katniss couldn't really argue with this, so she wisely kept silent on that point. Instead she just said, "I've missed you, Gale."

"Me too."

For a while they just sat there in companionable silence, enjoying being together in the forest again.

"If it helps," said Gale as though there had been no pause in the conversation, "I think our time apart will turn out to be good for us."

"What do you mean?"

"I just think it's helped me get some…perspective, let's say. I mean, Catnip, you have to know I'll always love you. But, it just doesn't hurt like it used to. I guess I needed some distance to starting seeing things for what they are—to move on. I don't ever want to lose your friendship again, and if I have to let you go a little to keep it, I'll do it. I've finally accepted that."

"I'm glad," said Katniss. "That it doesn't hurt anymore, I mean. I never meant to hurt you, Gale. And it's been terrible, being without you these last few months."

"So…friends?" Gale asked, holding out his hand.

"Friends," agreed Katniss, ignoring his hand and pulling him into a hug instead. He held on to her tightly for a minute and then released her.

"Okay," he said. "As your official friend, I feel I have the right to ask…what's going on between you and Mell…sorry, Peeta? One minute I'm hearing that you two are getting caught making out all over the District, and then the next that you're never seen together. And I can attest that you, at least, are starting to look like death warmed over."

"Gee, thanks, Gale," Katniss said drily.

"I'm serious, Catnip. You've lost weight, and you've got these nasty dark circles under your eyes. What's going on with you?"

Katniss hesitated.

"It's okay to talk to me about it, I swear," said Gale. "I don't mind. I just want to be here for you for a change."

"Okay," agreed Katniss, still not sure but wanting to meet him halfway. "Well, for starters, whatever you heard about me and Peeta making out all over the place is completely untrue."

"I didn't think that sounded like you," said Gale. "Go on."

"There was one kiss, one time, and we just happened to get caught by Mrs. Jessen."

"Rotten luck. Go on."

"That's it, really. Peeta wanted more than friendship, I couldn't give it to him, and I haven't talked to him since."

"Did you give him the same reasons you gave me?"

Katniss shrugged. "That, and the whole Seam/Town thing."

"Uh huh. And how does all this explain your current state of misery?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you turned me down, you were a little sad. I know you felt bad about it, but I don't remember you falling into a deep depression or anything. Am I wrong?"

"No, but we were still friends. You didn't disappear from my life the way Peeta has."

"I didn't disappear right away, no…but Catnip, do you realize we haven't spoken in like four months? Be honest…you haven't been pining away for me, have you?"

Katniss flushed. "That's not fair, Gale. I've missed you horribly."

"I know…I'm not saying you didn't. I'm just saying you were functioning just fine until you and Peeta had your falling out."

"Get to the point," said Katniss impatiently.

"My point, Catnip, is that you're in love with him."

Katniss shook her head, trying to deny it. "No. No, I can't."

"It's not a choice," Gale said calmly. "You either love someone or you don't. And I'm afraid, my friend, that you do."

Katniss put her face in her hands as the truth sank in. How had she let this happen?

Gale laughed at her. "Katniss, it's not a bad thing, you know."

"I don't want to get hurt," she whispered.

"Aren't you hurting already?" Gale asked, his voice soft now. "You can't go through life trying to avoid pain, Catnip. For one thing, it's impossible to do. For another, you miss out on all the good stuff that way."

"But that's not the only problem, Gale. There's still the fact that he and I come from two different worlds. His mother beat him when she found out about us."

"You can't let what that bitch does influence you, Katniss! Or anybody else, for that matter, including me. I think I may be to blame here…you've heard me rant so much about how awful townies are, I think some of it sank in against your better judgment. I mean, except for his mother, was anybody that horrible to you when those rumors were going around?"

"Not really," Katniss confessed. "I guess I always thought it would be worse than it actually turned out to be."

She suddenly remembered Peeta telling her that very same thing. She hadn't believed him at the time, but he had been right. He had always been right.

"So what do I do now?" she asked plaintively.

"You go to him and tell him how you feel," said Gale. "And then you live happily ever after."

Katniss rolled her eyes.

"You make it sound so easy. What if I'm too late?"

"Doubtful," said Gale. "You're not exactly an easy person to get over, Katniss Everdeen. Believe me, I know."

Katniss looked at him. "Gale…thank you. Really."

Gale just shrugged. "I just want you to be happy, Catnip. If that means you end up with some arrogant townie, so be it."

He cast an evil grin her way.

"Gale! He is not…!"

"I'm just teasing," Gale laughed. "Come on, let's go home so you can go meet up with Mr. Wonderful."

"No, wait," said Katniss. "Let's hunt for a while first."

"Really?" Gale looked at her cautiously.

"Yeah," she said. "I've missed this. Let's just stay out for a bit."

"Okay," Gale answered her happily, and went to fetch his bow.

They spent the rest of the morning in the forest, but they didn't have much to show for it when they were finished—they had scared off most of the game with their chatter. They had four months to catch up on, after all, and the conversation flew freely. Katniss felt happier than she had in a long time.

They finally decided to head back around noon. They went to Katniss' house first, and Prim came out to meet them in the front yard. Katniss could tell just from looking at her that something was wrong.

"It's the baker. Mr. Mellark," said Prim, wringing her hands and crying a little. "He's…he had a heart attack. They called Mom out over two hours ago. He's…Katniss, he didn't make it."

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AN: I bet you never guessed Gale would be the one to finally talk sense into Katniss, huh? Gotcha. I hope I didn't switch up Gale's personality too fast for you all. The idea I was trying to convey was that Gale was being extra jerkish at the beginning of the story because he was heartbroken, and still trying to deal with it. The time they spent apart helped him to start getting over Katniss, so he was changed when they finally reconciled. I mean, Gale's basically a good guy, he just lets his temper get the better of him sometimes. Katniss wouldn't care about him so much if he was always that awful. (To reviewer Kelly, you got ahead of me, girl!)

One more chapter to go, I think, and then a possible epilogue.

Finally, a quick note to reviewer "Anon." (Come on, sign in! I promise I won't bite!) I gave some serious thought to what you said. I respectfully disagree about the rating, but I did go back and add a warning to the beginning of Chapter One, since I know rape can be a very sensitive subject for many people. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!