Military School (Part 2)
(Gale/Madge)
(Modern Day)

A/N: Shout outs to: Fanficlauryn, Chasingcarsaroundourheads, Oha808, Gadge Lover, GADGE LOVER (guest), Future Light, and Baiter08 for the reviews/follows/favorites. They mean so much to me. And I love hearing your thoughts! You guys are awesome with extra exclamations points!

And thank you Gadge Lover for your awesome review and asking for something to be added into the story. No promises it will be in Part 2 but I'll try to at least hint at it! ;)

And anyone that wants to see something in this little series (whether in Military School Series or a random drabble) please do say!

"So what's your name?" Madge says as she shoves a mouthful of food down her throat. God, she doesn't know why she's so hungry all of a sudden. Maybe all this physical activity is getting to her…

The boy in question laughs, his purely whites flashing, "Gale." He replies.

"Gale….?" Katniss sticks her chin out a little.

He laughs again, "Hawthorne, with an e." Madge bursts out laughing like he said the funniest thing in the whole wide world. He cocks his head to the side, his eyebrows colliding in a furrow between his eyes. "Wha-What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just that you had to make sure we knew you had an 'E' at the end of your last name."

"Mmm." He still seems a little confused, but he doesn't say anything, just rolls his lips in and digs into his own serving of chow. It's silence at their little table for a while. No one says anything. The only thing you can hear from their table was the scraping of forks on metal prison plates and the occasional gulp from a small glass of water. None of them really knew what to say – let alone what they were eating at the moment, either – so no one questioned it.

Madge doesn't seem to notice the boy across from her stealing glances at her. Katniss does, however. She doesn't know what it means, but it could have something to do with the way Madge is shoveling food into her mouth at rapid speed like she's never seen food before in her life. But she couldn't pin it for only that. She had a feeling Gale (new new friend, as she referred to him in her head) likes Madge a little, or at least found her interesting.

"Are you going to eat that?" Madge asks Gale, pointing her shiny, silver fork at his bowl of strawberries. Her eyes are filled with lust as she stares at the measly bowl of untouched strawberries still on his plate. He gives her an incredulous look before pushing the bowl towards her. She moans as she bites into the ripe strawberry. "God, these are so good. Strawberries are my favorite." She moans again, her head tilted back.

"I can see that." Gale mutters under his breath. He finished his piece of meat and offers to take the two ladies plates to the trashcan. They agree, Madge barely able to understand the question because her brain of muddled in strawberry delight.

His friend, Kenji, meets him at the trashcan. His dark, tan skin looks almost black in the poor lighting of the cafeteria. Gale's own skin looked really tan; almost a burnt orange. The pair has known each other since last year when they met on their first day of Military School. Only Kenji was in here for being a rowdy kid his too conservative parents couldn't handle, and Gale was in here because he had a few too many run-ins with the police. It was this or a juvenile delinquent center until he was 18. He wasn't exactly proud of his actions, but he didn't exactly regret them either. Hmm, maybe he needed to be in here.

"Scooping out the newbies, huh? Which one you looking at? Blondie or Brownie?" Gale hits Kenji on the shoulder, shaking his head as he empties his trash into the trashcan. "Wanna make a bet?" Kenji raises his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"Oh yeah, what kind of bet?" Gale slaps the metal tray on top of the trashcan with the rest of the prison material before crossing his arms over his chest. This ought to be good…

"Who can score a newbie first?" Kenji smirks. Gale knows he thinks this is the best bet ever. Who can have sex first with a newbie that would be too tired or scared to deny. But that wasn't the way Gale roll these days, but it might be fun. He was stuck here all summer because his mother wouldn't pick up her delinquent until he was "fixed" and had "bettered" himself. So he may have been going a little bonkers waiting for "fun" to appear.

"You're on." But his stomach disagreed. For some reason Katniss and Madge's face popped into his mind and he felt a little queasy. "But let's keep it on the down low. Just between me and you." He leaned in closer to Kenji as he says this, using his index finger to gesture between the two of them.

"Oh…yeah." Kenji nods and smiles. "You've got a deal, there, Einstein." Gale groans at the nickname. It was one time! It happened one time and he was drunk! He hated that nickname.

Gale pats Kenji on the back and heads back to his table he shared with the girls. Madge had finished his strawberries and the bowl was in the middle of the table. She looked exhausted. She sat with her arms crossed and her back slouched forward. Her eyes were half lidded and she gave him a weak smile when he returned.

"How you feelin' there sleepy?" Her lazy smile heightens a little more up her face. She groans softly.

"Too. Much. Physical Activity!" A laugh bubbles out of Katniss and she gingerly covers her mouth. She slaps Madge on the back and shakes her head as if she is dazed how Madge is so tired. "I don't think I even have the energy to shower. Not that I want too with all those people…" she goes silent for a few moments before her back goes stiff and her eyes wide, she remember what she said earlier to Mr. Right, she thinks with a sneer, "We're making a schedule." The two other members of the table look at her as if she has grown two heads, "For the showers. Ya know, girls at this time, boys at that."

"Oh!" his face lights up in understanding. His eyebrow furrow together and his mouth fades into a dim line, "We've never had one before…" he trails off.

"We're making one!"

"You'll find with a schedule you'll miss your timed area for it because your schedule is ever changing. A lot of barracks do it, but it really doesn't work. I think we tried it for like, maybe, two weeks and then gave it up. It was a pain in the ass."

"Oh." Madge face falls in disappointment. Gale can see the looks of horror and insecurity swimming in her eyes like fish in a pond. She was terrified. He knew it. He understood it. The only difference is when Gale arrived here, well; he was already used to peeing in front of other cell mates from the downtown holding cell. But he had his moments of insecurity and the feeling of being uncomfortable. Madge will find it won't be so bad after the first few times. It never is. It's not like she can wait forever for someone not to use walk in to shit or something.

Gale had those experiences too. Especially when Kenji decided one day that he couldn't wait the 5 minutes for Gale to shower (he was oddly alone then) and sat there on the toilet shitting. And not only is it like a prison bathroom, but there isn't any magazines or anything to do so Gale had to withstand the comfortable starring on Kenji's part as he showered.

"It's really not that bad." Gale tries to comfort her. She shrugs just as the bell goes off, signaling they turn to departure back to their assigned barrack. Gale nods towards the door and the two follow closely behind. They don't know how to find Barrack 12 in the dark.

Once back inside, Gale immediately goes to his trunk and pulls out a fresh pair of pajamas and darts into the showers/ bathroom area. Others quickly follow suit, only leaving the majority of the newbies standing awkwardly around in silence. The only sounds coming from the bathroom was farts and laughter, people yelling over one another and the sound of running water. Steam billowed out the entrance way of the showering room like a cloud rolling across the sky during the day. The barrack almost immediately becomes sticky.

Most of those who aren't showering tonight are getting into the pajamas. Madge follows suit. She takes out a baggy top and blue shorts with an anchor printed on them (maybe the wrong symbol for this branch of the Military). She takes off her shirt first, turning her back to the other side of the room, more towards facing Katniss. She usually doesn't sleep in a bra but in her new environment she's not exactly comfortable not wearing one. She practically throws on the shirt in record's speed. The top hands down over her butt as she wiggles out of her pants and slips on her shorts.

She crawls under the thick, green blanket and curls up facing Katniss. Katniss and her talk a little about nothing in particular, both straying from the hard conversation of home. Katniss' eyes go wide at one point in the conversation and Madge glances over her shoulder to see what has Katniss all up in a pickle.

Her eyes widen too. Gale Hawthorne, with an 'e', is standing there topless. His hard chisels abs are taunt against his stomach and tattoos line up and down his body. The most distinctive tattoos were the black line or fire running up his left side and a dream catcher on his right. She almost noticed a cross and what appeared to be a name on his chest. She takes note of a pretty gruesome scar wrapping around his left shoulder too. And for the first time, she notices the tattoos lacing up his under forearms. She tries to turn back to Katniss as if she hasn't just seen what Jesus looked like (maybe he was the devil, he was pretty hot), but she couldn't seem to move.

He smirks. "Like what you see?" Her cheeks burn scarlet.

…

Madge wakes up early the next morning by habit. She makes her way to the bathroom with a new pair of fatigues and the destination of peeing before hopping into the shower. She yawns deeply, raising her arms above her head to stretch out her aching muscles. Her eyes shut as she walks.

Her hands find the frame of the door before the rest of her. She opens her eyes only to shut them again, a small scream escaping her throat. She opens her eyes again to make sure she was just imagining it. She wasn't.

There stands Gale Hawthorne…naked, showering. But didn't he shower last night?

He spins around quickly to see who it is. And Madge decides the front isn't any better to look at than the back. Too tempting. His eyes widen too when he recognizes her. His hands shoot to cover his crotch, his cheeks bright red.

"Morning, Madge." He says just as she says:

"What are you doing here!?"

"Showering." He answers. Her eyes dart to his hands and back up to his eyes, his checks (if possible) were even brighter red than before. They stand there in stunned silence; both their eyes are as wide as Jupiter. Madge glances anywhere but his eyes. The shampoo still in his hair, his V dipping into you know where, the metal showers.

"Imma…Imma going to go over here and pee."

"Yeah, you do that." He spins back around and begins frantically runs his fingers through his hair to get all the shampoo out before the water turns off. She walks around to the other side of the showers and toilets to piss. Her mind is running on a fast course.

Holy shit! She just saw bunk neighbor naked. Not that he's bad to look at, but still. God, how was she supposed to live? This was so unfair.

'Don't forget we love you, Madgie!' her father's voice rings throughout her head.

By the time she starts her own shower (on the other side), Gale was already dressed and had his teeth brushed. His hand lingers against the steamed metal of his section of the shower. He's mentally debating apologizing to Madge, but he doesn't know how or why he should.

"Hey Madge," he whispers. She makes a 'mmm' sound from the other side, "I'm sorry…about earlier. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't worry about. It's just sometime I'll have to get used to." She replies. Although he can't see it, her cheeks are burning a blood red color. Couldn't he just leave!?

And as she thinks this she can hear his retreating footsteps leave the room.

…

It's been a few days of awkward glances and bright cheeks. Neither one of them wanted to approach the other about the incident. And what is there to talk about? She saw him naked in the shower; so what, it was a fact of life here at Panem Military Academy.

But that wasn't the incident they were avoiding each other for. The incident happened four days ago, a day after she walked in on Gale (if that was even possible). She was the one showering and he walked in on her. It wasn't the walking in part that was making them go red in the cheeks, but the fact that his eye may have lingered a few moments too long and how Madge may or may not have dreamed about the moment happening a little…differently. It was like they were afraid that if they talked or even looked each other in the eye the other would be able to read their thoughts. It was embarrassing, what they were thinking that is. So they avoided each other.

So when midnight rolled around and neither one of them could sleep (their close proximity wasn't helping either), Gale rolled out of bed and shakes Madge's shoulder.

"Hey," he says as he jiggles her shoulder back and forth.

She rolls over slowly, "Hey?" a crease forms in her forehead and Gale has come to known that as her 'Confusion Wrinkle."

"Come outside with me." the 'Confusion Wrinkle' deepens, but she follows him anyways.

Once they were outside (way past curfew), they glided down the path to the small meadow behind Barrack 12. It was late summer and the flowers were bright and alive. The night air was humid, but it was a hell of a lot cooler than the barrack, and it was sticky. Gale's shirt instantly started sticking to his back and chest, making him even more awkward.

"So…" Madge drags out. She just wants this over with. It's awkward enough as it is.

"I'm sorry…about the other day. I didn't mean to stare…" she cuts him off.

"What…haven't seen a naked girl in a while?" she was joking but he didn't take it that way.

"Well, yes actually, but that wasn't the reason." Her cheeks burned pink, "I mean, Undersee, you have a great body. I'm not gonna lie about that, but I am sorry. I shouldn't have." Damn, has the Military drilled in courtesy into his head. Before military school, Gale wouldn't have thought twice (or even once) about staring and then apologizing, but times we different.

"I don't think I have another choice but to forgive you." She states.

He digs the toe of his boot into the ground. His arms cross over his chest. "I mean, you could totally not talk to me ever again." He says under his breath, hoping against hope that she doesn't hear. He didn't want her to not talk to him. He found her fascinating and clever. Something you don't find every day. He wanted more. No, he needed more.

She snorts in an unladylike fashion, "What fun would that be?"

Is she flirting with him?

His neck snaps so quickly towards her that he's afraid it might break off. She doesn't look up from the ground. Even in the dim moonlight he can tell she's blushing. It's a rose color and the way it mixed perfectly with her moonlit hair, she was beautiful. He had never thought that of a girl, but for some reason or another, he felt like she deserved that title.

He realizes he's staring again. He turns his graze to the stars and sits down, leaning back on his elbows. She follows suit, not sitting too far from him, but not close enough.

"Have you ever been kissed?" she blurts out after a long stretch of silence.

He snorts, "Yeah, what's it to ya?" he questions, his eyes alive with mischief.

She turns to him, her face molded into a perfect complexion of seriousness, "What does it feel like?" he stares at her, trying to gage how far to read into the question. Her blue eyes don't stray from his gray ones.

He leans in forward, slowly, as if asking if it's alright. She doesn't move again, if, in fact, she almost seems to move closer. If he wasn't kidding himself, he'd say she even relaxed more and more the closer he got to her.

His lips press against her gently, lingering just long enough that his body ached for him to lean in again and kiss her senseless. Their eyes burned into each other. "Like that." He whispers against her lips.

Neither of them moves. His lips hum with electricity from her lips. He has to do everything in his power not to dip that centimeter closer and kiss the crap of out her. He'd leave it at a lingering kiss if that's all she would give him. His stomach was filled with butterflies (something new for him), and his body buzzed with that feeling he hasn't felt since he arrived at Military School. He hasn't messed around with a girl in ages, but he didn't feel like he was messing around with Madge.

"Are you going to kiss me again?" she whispers, her lips brushing, feather lite, against his as the words tumbles out of her mouth.

"Do you want me too?" her eyes seem to burn more into his.

"Yes." She whispers. You don't have to tell him twice. He pressed her back into the ground and hovers over her. Soon enough she picks up the rhythm his lips are set on and her hand grip the front of his night shirt. Her legs were pinned in between his and the heat radiating off them make her feel warm inside. He was a heater, no doubt about that, and she loved it.

She hands slide into her hand and he groans into the kiss, his chest dipping down some. His chest brushes against her and she arches her back. Soon enough they're tumbling into the barrack and stumbling into the shower room. They both press a button on the wall and the showers come blazing down on them in an icy stream.

Madge was the first to tug at Gale's shirt; he helps her lift it above his head. It makes a slop sound as it hits the floor. Hers is next and next is his pants. Soon they're almost in their underclothes and their bodies are pressed tightly together under the cool spray.

They break apart at the sound of a groan as someone rolls over in the other room. Gale smiles at her and she tucks a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Well that was fun." He says.

"Yeah, fun." She says. She's embarrassed to have done that with a guy she barely knows, especially after the first kiss, her first kiss. "I'm a…Imma go to bed. Good night, Gale."

She goes to walk passed him when he grabs her wrist, pulling her towards his chest. The water still sprays down on them and Gale knows they only have a few minutes before it turns off, the water finally warmed up.

"Wait!"

"What?" she whispers angrily.

"I-I-I…"

"What?" she snaps.

"I'm sorry." She throws her hands up in the air. It's his turn to ask, "What, what did I do wrong?"

"I'm sick of hearing you say sorry about everything you do! You're fine, Gale. I let it happen. I wanted it to happen. Gale," she stresses his name, "I enjoyed it." A small smile returns to his face. "But, let's not make this a regular occurrence." He nods frantically like his life depends on it. He wants this too. He doesn't want it for the bet he made with Kenji. He wants it because for some reason Madge Undersee makes him feel like he should impress her, like he should be a better person. And he wants Madge to see that.

To be perfectly honest…he wanted someone to notice it. Even if Madge wasn't his mom, the one he hasn't seen in over a year, the one that he wants to meet again. But if Madge notices, it makes him feel better. Like he isn't the deadbeat that wasn't going anywhere in life like so many people has told him before. He didn't want to be that person anymore. He didn't want to be that failure everyone wasn't surprised about. He wanted to be worth something to someone.

That's all he was asking for.

A/N: I know, I know, a little depressing at the end but it came on a whim like the rest of it. Lol. I wanted to add some depth to it.

Anyways, did I give you Madge's fun, Gadge Lover?