SENIOR YEAR (college)

Late May

As much as Madge enjoyed a little peace and quiet, just a month after Katniss moved in with Peeta, she started to loose her mind. Growing up, with her father often working and her mother's bouts of crippling depression, she'd spend most of her time in solitude, something she'd never wanted to go back to. Often, she started talking to Katniss, only to remember that she wasn't there. She talked to herself sometimes, but wasn't crazy enough yet to answer herself.

"You just need to find a roommate," Peeta had told her last week, while Katniss, who still felt guilty about leaving, stuffed her mouth with pizza so she wouldn't have to contribute to the conversation. If only it were that easy. All of her friends, even her acquaintances, already had places of their own. With few options left, Madge decided it was time for desperate measures.

"Okay, how about this?" she said, stretched out on the couch with her laptop balanced on her knees. Gale was slumped in the broken recliner, his long legs hanging over the armrest. She read out to him the Craigslist ad which had taken her nearly an hour to compose. "I'm a twenty-one year old music major in search of a roommate for a cozy, two bedroom flat just outside of the Victor's Village. Rent is $400 a month, utilities included. Looking for someone tidy, respectful of personal space, preferably a non-smoker, and-"

"You're not going to find anyone like that on Craigslist," Gale interrupted.

Madge ignored him and kept reading. "-And not a heavy drinker. Dogs and cats are fine, but please no birds."

"Birds?" said Gale.

"They chirp too much. Drives me crazy. Now would you just let me finish?"

"Hey, you asked for my opinion," he said. Madge scowled at him over her laptop. Before she could say anything, he straightened up in the recliner, leaned forward, with his elbows resting on his knees and his chin cupped in one hand. "Seriously Undersee, the only people on Craigslist are creeps and freaks."

"I need a roommate," said Madge. "Unless you can pull one out of that smartass of yours, then this is my only option."

Gale grinned. Even though they were friends now, close friends actually, he still loved when she got testy with him. He glanced at his watch. If he didn't leave now, he'd be late for work. "I'll ask around, see if I know anyone looking for a place," he said, getting to his feet. He strode to the door, then paused and looked back at her, biting her nails as she stared at her computer screen. "Word of advice, don't put a picture of yourself in your ad."

"Why not?" she said.

"Because, pretty girl like you, you'll just get a bunch of pervs trying to hit you up." He lingered a moment longer to appreciate the blush spreading over her cheeks, and then stepped out into the hall.

Gale was right. Even without a picture, the only responses Madge got to her Craigslist ad were horny dudes. She finally turned off the e-mail notification to her phone, sick of getting her hopes up every time the cell pinged, only to have her eyes assaulted by another dick pic.

"You'd think people had better things to do," she said, complaining to Katniss as they strolled through the aisles of Target. Katniss hated shopping for clothes, but since she'd moved out, Madge could talk her into just about anything.

"People are stupid," said Katniss. She checked the tag on an argyle sweater and screwed up her face in disbelief. "These prices are beyond stupid." They were in the discount section. Then again, Katniss did most of her shopping at Goodwill, and even there she sometimes complained about the prices. Living with her for the past four years had taught Madge, who'd never even looked at a price tag until college, to be more frugal. She did love to shop, for clothes, but mostly books and antique trinkets. It was her stress relief. Today, it wasn't working.

"I don't get why you want a roommate, anyways" said Katniss. "Your dad's covering rent, so you don't need one."

"It's not a money thing," said Madge, blushing. She always got uncomfortable, talking finances with Katniss. When they'd moved off campus, she'd offered to pay for everything, but Katniss refused to live off of the mayor's charity, so she worked full time, on top of school, while Madge continued on, in self-loathing, with a love-hate relationship to her family's money.

"I don't like living alone," said Madge. "I…" She trailed off, lowered her eyes to the dresses on the rack between her and Katniss. How could she explain? Explain that she was afraid, not of robbers or axe-murderers, but of going crazy, like her mother. Really, she already was. Her depression wasn't as severe, yet, but she still had sporadic episodes.

Katniss read her friend's expression, explanation enough. "You can always call me," she said. "Whenever you need to."

"It's not that easy," said Madge. She touched one of the dresses on the rack. Flower patterned. In the clutch of a depressive episode, picking up the phone was about as daunting as climbing Everest.

"Come on," said Katniss, grabbing Madge's arm and pulling her away from the discount dresses. "I know what you need."

"What?"

"You'll see."

Thanks to Katniss, Madge had found a new roommate. They weren't ideal. They shed all over the place, peed on the floor, and scratched the furniture, but at least they didn't talk much.

"Of all the animals at the pound, why the hell did you pick that ugly thing?" said Gale, on his hands and knees, scrutinizing the squash-faced, orange furball hiding under the ottoman. The cat's slanted, yellow eyes glowed like a demon's.

"That thing's name is Buttercup," said Madge, kneeling on the other side of the ottoman. "And he's had a rough life on the streets. I thought he deserved a good home."

"There's a reason no one wanted it," said Gale. "Damn thing's evil."

"He's just scared," said Madge. Slowly, carefully, she offered her hand to the cat. "It's okay, Buttercup. You're safe here. I'm going to take care of-" Her fingertips just barely brushed the cat's coarse fur. Buttercup's reaction was quick and merciless. Madge yelped as claws tore her flesh. She withdrew her hand. Three bloody lines ran from wrist to elbow.

Gale was by her side in a flash. "Evil," he muttered under his breath as he inspected the damage.

"Just a scratch," said Madge. A scratch that hurt like a thousand paper cuts. Gale helped her to her feet, led her into the kitchen, and pushed her down into a chair by the table.

"Better clean it," he said, already going for the First Aid kit under the sink. He'd spent so much time here the past few months that he knew where she kept just about everything. "There's no telling what kind of diseases that beast has."

"Buttercup," corrected Madge. But he was probably right about the diseases. She pressed a napkin to the scratches until the bleeding stopped. The cuts were fairly deep.

"This is going to sting," said Gale, kneeling by her knees, before he began cleaning the scratches with an alcohol wipe. Madge winced. Okay, so maybe her new roommate wasn't ideal. Maybe I should've gone with a snake, she thought, no claws. Katniss had warned against her choice, but Madge pitied the mean, ugly cat. She'd always had money to blow on shopping sprees, vacation homes all over the world, and more food in the fridge than a family of twelve could eat in a week, yet for all of her wealth and privilege, she related to the strays of the world. She knew what it felt like to be unloved, neglected, given no choice but to fend for herself, at least emotionally.

"You should take it back," said Gale. "Or even better, find a volcano and throw it in. Bet that's the only way to kill the monster."

"His name is Buttercup," snapped Madge. She gave him that stern, no-use-arguing glare that Gale was all too familiar with. He didn't say anything more on the subject, just shook his head and finished wrapping her arm in gauze. Leave it to Madge Undersee to adopt a cat out of hell and name it after a flower.

Gale didn't leave Madge's place until well after midnight. He'd offered to stay the night, but like always, she turned him down. "I'm fine," she'd said. "Really."

Really, though, she wasn't fine. She was lonely. It didn't take a mind reader to realize that. Anyone desperate enough to take in a cat like Buttercup must be desperate for company. He'd asked everyone he knew if they were looking for a room, or if they knew anyone looking, and had come up with nothing. There wasn't much more he could do. She'll figure it out, he told himself, driving home. Madge Undersee always found a solution. Still, he worried about her, and he knew Katniss did too. At every intersection, he was tempted to pull a U-turn and go back, but she'd only turn him away if he did.

Just a few miles from home, his phone went off. His thoughts on Madge, he let it ring, and ring, and ring, and ring. "Shut up," he growled, shooting a glare at the phone, still ringing, in the passenger seat of his truck. Who the hell was calling him this late, anyway? The phone went silent and he turned his eyes back to the road. That's when he saw the smoke, black and ominous, blocking out the stars. What the…?

Gale made a sharp right onto his street and braked hard. Two patrol cars had the end of the street blocked off. He squinted against the flashing blue light of the squad cars and found the source of the black smoke. For a second, shock rippled through him, followed by gut-wrenching terror. He flung open his door and leapt down to the pavement. "Thom!" he yelled, racing towards the cop cars. People in pajamas and bathrobes swarmed the sidewalk. "Thom!" Gale shouted again, searching the crowd, his heart pounding.

"Over here!"

Gale spun around to find Thom hurrying towards him. They met each other halfway. Before Thom could say anything, Gale pulled him into a bone crushing hug. "Christ, Hawthorne, I'm fine," grunted Thom, barely able to breathe in his friend's embrace.

"What happened?" said Gale, taking a step back. He looked back to their apartment building. The flames had already been put out, leaving behind a charred and smoking husk. Glass from shattered windows littered the street.

"Faulty wiring," said Thom. "Knew there was a reason rent was so cheap. I don't think the landlord's had an electrician in there since the 80s."

"Did anyone-?"

"Everyone got out," Thom said before Gale finished the question. "They took a few people to the hospital for minor burns, smoke inhalation, but I've been asking around and it sounds like they'll all be alright."

Thank God, thought Gale, looking over his shaken neighbors. He didn't own much, so he hadn't lost much. He was just grateful that no one was dead. Judging from the ruins, this could've easily been a disaster.

"Well, looks like our lease is up," said Thom. Neither of them had renter's insurance. Too expensive. One of the reasons they'd chosen this building, despite its many flaws, was that the landlord didn't require them to. They were completely on their own, all of their earthly belongings smoked to ruin, but oddly enough, Gale wasn't worried. He knew exactly where they could go.

The universe certainly did have a funny way of solving problems.

Buttercup refused to come out from under the ottoman and, after that afternoon's disastrous attempts to coax him, Madge was content to let her new cat do as he pleased. She left a bowl of food and water nearby. So far, Buttercup didn't seem interested in either. She was curled up in the recliner, half watching an infomercial for non-stick frying pans. Maybe that's what she would get Peeta for Christmas. He was always complaining about his own set.

The other half of her thoughts circled around the roommate issue. Katniss' solution, to get a pet, was a good one, but it wasn't working. Madge blamed herself. She'd made the wrong the choice of furry friend, but she couldn't take the cat back now. No one else wanted him. Though her arm still throbbed, she wouldn't abandon Buttercup to euthanization. I can't even find the right pet, she thought, stroking her bandaged arm. How am I going to chose the right roommate?

"What do you think, Buttercup?" she asked. "Should I just give up? Accept my lonely lot in life?"

Buttercup was silent. She was right back to talking to herself. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. She brushed them away before they fell. She still had friends, people she saw everyday, people who loved her. No one had abandoned her. It was difficult to remember that, though, in the silence. All of her old insecurities and fears of being forgotten stirred in the quiet, dusty corners.

Then they were shattered by someone banging on her door. Startled, Madge tumbled out of the recliner. Buttercup hissed from his hiding place. It was almost three in the morning. As she crossed the living room, she looked around, thinking that maybe Gale had forgotten something. There was nothing of his that she could see, but sure enough, when she opened the door, she found him standing in the hallway. Thom, in a pair of ratty sweats, no shoes or socks on his feet, stood beside him. Madge looked from one boy to the other. Thom smiled at her, almost sheepish, an unusual expression for him. Gale, on the other hand, was smiling.

"What are you doing here?" she said. She glanced to Thom's dirty feet. "And where are your shoes?"

Thom opened his mouth to answer, but Gale beat him to it. "That's no way to greet your new roomies, Undersee," he said, strolling past her into the apartment.

AN: Honestly, not my best work, but it's been so long since I posted anything at all that I figured what the hell. This is really just an introduction to a longer thread of Gale & Madge's adventures as roommates.

P.S. Sorry that I've let the Incubate series go a little stale. I haven't given up on it, but I recently moved to a new city, got a new job, blah blah, boring life stuff, so things are pretty hectic right now.