Chapter 11
(Gale POV)
The rain's been coming down for hours. Started late last night as I was coming home from walking Madge back to town. The thunder is full on booming and rain's pouring down but we're all still expected at the viewing. And I want to go, just to check on Katniss and make sure she survived the night. I don't however want to sit in the rain. Most of the townie's will have umbrellas and it won't be a huge deal. Seam folks will have to walk through coal swirled mud and gravel just to get into town and almost none of us own any type of rain gear.
I help my mother by carrying Posy on my shoulders. She's not bothered by the rain but she does get a little freaked by the thunder and covers her ears. Rory grumbles about having to go sit in the rain and Vick just sort of looks annoyed but doesn't complain out loud. I know my mother's main concern will be one of the kids getting sick.
In town, everyone looks downright miserable. The check in stations are covered of course but all the seating is all out in the open, rainwater pooling in the seat of every chair. On the Stage, there's a cover over the row of seats for the Mayor and his small circle of staff. Umbrellas dot the audience, identifying where town people are sitting. I don't see Madge anywhere yet but likely she's somewhere dry indoors, waiting until the last minute to get here. I know that's what I'd do if I lived right next to the viewing.
As my family and I take our seats, Madge comes up from behind us. She's fully clad in head to toe rain gear. Bright pink rain boots with matching pink slicker and umbrella. It's adorable on her. Like she stepped out of one of those shop catalogs or something.
"Hi! I come bearing gifts!" She announces as she holds out two, large, black umbrellas.
"Madge, you didn't need to bring us anything. We're fine. It's just a little rain." I tell her with a sigh. I love how thoughtful she was in bringing them but I can't deny it bothers me that she had to bring them because we can't afford such luxuries ourselves.
"Don't be ridiculous. It's raining cats and dogs out here! Besides, they're just a couple extras we keep on hand for guests." She insists as she hands one to my brother and the other to my mother who gives her a most thankful look of gratitude. She then takes her seat next to me and holds her own umbrella over our heads.
"Madge" I begin before she looks up at me and cuts me off.
"Gale, it's just a loan of a couple umbrellas." She tells me.
"Thank you. I know my mother will appreciate it."
"Just your mother?" She asks with a raised brow.
"Okay, fine. Me too." I concede and plant a kiss on her temple. She rewards me with a smile. Loan or not, it does still feel like a form of charity but at the same time, Madge was thoughtful in thinking of my family when she didn't have too.
"She's still okay." Madge leans in and whispers.
"She is?"
"Mhmm. I was listening to the broadcast station earlier."
Relief floods through me and I feel an invisible weight lift from my shoulders. "That is so good to hear."
"I can hardly stand to listen to it but at the same time, I can't handle waiting for the afternoon viewings to let me know how she is. It's awful." Madge whispers.
"Promise me something? If you're ever listening and …well, if you ever hear anything, can you come find me? I just…" I swallow the lump in my throat just even thinking about it. If anything happens to Catnip, I don't want to find out with all of 12 watching me.
"Gale, I'll make sure you know anything substantial as soon as I hear about it. No matter what time it is or what's going on, I'll come for you, I promise." Her voice serious and unwavering.
I wrap my arm around her, hugging her closer to me. I love how much she understands how hard it is for me to watch Katniss in the games. I feel so lucky to have her right now.
The viewing confirms what Madge already told me. Katniss is just fine. For now. It did reveal that the Careers are out to get her. I kinda figured that would happen after her big score and all. What I didn't figure on was old lover baker boy teaming up in the hunt for her. He's straight up helping them look for her. Course, they'd been right under her in the night as she hid out in a tree and they'd been none the wiser. She'd seen him with them. Heard all about him helping to look for her. And I'm glad. If they run into one another in there, I want her to know that he is an enemy, not an ally. He may have been trying to fool her with that whole love story during the interview but now she knows the truth and she'll know not to trust him.
After the viewing, my mother goes to hand Madge back the umbrella but she won't take it. "Just keep it for the walk home. I'll get it back from Gale tomorrow or whenever it finally stops raining." She tells her with the wave of her hand.
"Do you have plans this evening?" Madge asks me turning to me, still holding her pink umbrella over us.
"We can't go to the riverbed, Madge. Not with all this rain."
"Not the riverbed." She says with a sneaky curve to her smile.
"Okay, where?" I ask, my hands resting on the waist of her pink rain slicker.
"My house?" Her face hopeful and eager.
Instantly, I recoil at the idea. I can't go inside her house like this. I'm in wet clothing. Coal and mud cover my boots and about three inches of the hem of my pants. And even if I weren't a mess, I'd still be really uncomfortable at the idea of being in her house. "I don't know if that's the best idea." I tell her uneasily.
Her face falls and I know I'm disappointing her but I just can't go over there like this. I can't.
"All the Capitol reporters are gone. It's just me. My father probably won't even be there."
I smile down at her attempt to persuade me. "I'm a soaking wet, muddy mess. No way am I going to your house like this."
"But I really wanted to hang out with you." She nearly pouts.
I tap my finger over her bottom lip. She looks so darn cute, I just can't let her down and I myself would like nothing more than to spend some time with her. "What if I come over and we just sit out on your porch? That way I won't dirty up your fancy house."
"The porch works for me!" She says with a gleeful grin.
"Alright, lead the way."
At her house, we go around back and sit on her back porch. It's covered so the rain isn't pouring down on us but it's still not as private as the riverbed would be if we could've gone there. And it still feels like any second a Capitol person or her father will come around the corner any second.
"Stay here, I'll be right back." Madge tells me as she disappears through the screen door.
A few minutes later she's back with a fluffy white towel under her arm and a silver domed tray in the other hand.
"Here." She says as she hands me the towel and sets the tray down on a little table.
I look down at how messy I am and then at the very white towel. "Thanks but I'll ruin the towel if I use it. Seam mud has a lot of coal in it and that doesn't go well with white."
"It's just a towel, let's not make a bigger deal out of it than it really is. You're all wet and it might be nice to dry off." She says.
I know she won't give in so I hesitantly go ahead and use it. As I rub it over my head to dry my face and hair, I get a whiff of how clean and fresh it smells. My mother can do laundry like nobody's business but even still, our stuff never smells this fresh. Or felt this soft for that matter. After I dry off the rest of me, still avoiding the muddiest parts of my pant legs, I give Madge the towel back. She doesn't even glance at. Just throws it over the back of one of the chairs and then gestures to the little table.
"Are you hungry? Glennis always makes me dinner and leaves it for me." She asks as she lifts a silver dome to reveal a plate of spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and salad.
"Your dad not eating dinner tonight?" I ask as my mouth begins to water at the sight of all that food.
"He'll probably eat at his office. When we don't have company, he usually works late."
"So you just sit here all by yourself?"
"Yes, but that's alright. I'd rather that than have all those guests." She tells me as she twirls pasta around her fork.
"So I guess the fence is off then?" I say in a low voice.
She shrugs. "I assume so. The reporters left first thing this morning."
"I haven't checked the fence because of the storm."
She stops eating and looks at me. "Aren't you at all hungry?"
Yes. I'm starving. So much so it actually makes my stomach hurt. But I can't eat her food. I just can't.
"Nah, I'm good." I say casually. A split second later, my stomach growls and gives me away as a liar. She just looks at me.
"You know, it isn't a crime to share a meal with me."
"I don't take food I haven't earned." I explain.
"Gale, when someone invites you over and offers you dinner, it's rude not to partake."
"I'm not declining to be rude and you know it."
"True. But I also know that you are in fact hungry and you should just eat some of this delicious dinner with me." She smiles as she holds out a forkful of spaghetti for me.
I reluctantly open my mouth and let her feed me the bite. It is delicious, she wasn't kidding. I've never actually had spaghetti before. Seen it, but never tasted it. And maybe I'm just so hungry that anything would taste good but this is damn good dinner.
"It's good, right?" She says with an I-told-you-so grin.
"It's not entirely terrible."
"You have more pride than anyone I've ever met. You know that?" She laughs shaking her head as she pushes a fork in my direction.
After we've finished off her dinner, we sit on the swing. It's dark out now but still pouring down rain. Sitting here with her curled up against my side, full belly, and listening to the rain fall. It's almost peaceful.
"Tell me something, if you hadn't been all muddy from walking through the rain on your way into town, would you have come inside my house when I invited you?"
"I dunno." I tell her though deep down I think we both know I would've still found a way to say no. Heck, sitting on the porch is more than I ever expected I'd be able to do.
She's quiet for awhile and then asks "Why does my house make you so uncomfortable? It's just a house."
"Yeah, a gigantic, fancy Capitol house."
She sits up straight. "It's still just a house. Wood and plaster. Windows. Floors."
"Well maybe I'll show you my house sometime and then you'll see the difference." I joke with her. Just picturing her standing inside my dinky little overcrowded shack of a house is difficult to imagine.
She stands up. "Come on. I want you to come inside and I don't care if you're pants have mud on them."
"I am not about to track mud all through anyone's house."
"Boots off, you can leave them by the back door. Wipe your pants off with that towel." She commands.
"This is silly Madge…" I start and then stop when she folds her arms over her chest. She may be a tiny little thing but she's relentless when she wants to be. And something about her makes it incredibly hard to say no to.
I kick off my boots and ruin her towel as I wipe coal and mud off my pants. And then stand up to follow her inside. The first room we're in is a kitchen. A huge, sparkling clean kitchen. She leads me to a dimly lit staircase at the back corner of the kitchen. I always pictured her house to have some sort of grand staircase, not this. Once up a flight of stairs though, I realize we just took a different staircase than the real one. Must be one for maids or something. I don't ask though.
She leads me down a hallway with huge paintings hanging on the walls in heavy frames. The floor is covered in cream colored plush carpet that feels like silk between my toes. At the end of the hallway she opens a door and we go in.
"Is this your room?" I ask as I try not to let my mouth hang open. It's larger than my entire house and more fancy than I ever imagined it would be.
"Yes. But no wise cracks about how it looks. I didn't get to pick out anything in here." She warns. "Besides, I didn't bring you up here to talk about my room." She adds as she shuts the door behind us.
"And just why did you bring me up here?" I tease as I pull her a little towards me.
"Because I can't kiss you like this on the porch." She breathes as she reaches up, looping her arms around my neck and kisses me.
We make our way over to a velvet covered sofa and I sit back on it. She places herself on my lap, still kissing me. Her hands tangling in my hair. Mine gripping tightly to her waist. She leans more into our kiss and her top shifts, exposing my fingers to her bare skin. Never has the simple touch of someone's skin filled me with such wanting as hers does now. It takes every ounce of restraint I have to contain myself. I let my lips flirt along her neck, breathing in the sweet smell of her hair. The lightest of sighs escapes her and my hands take on a mind of their own, my mind no longer able to control them. They slide upwards under the back of her top, grazing over her skin and pulling her closer against me. My hands begin to wander and moments later, she pulls back.
"Sorry. Got carried away." I mumble, instantly worried I've freaked her out. She isn't going to be like the other girls I've fooled around with. And I know she's dated a boy or two in town but never once have I heard any of the guys in school talk about doing anything with her. It's most likely very new territory for her.
"No, I'm sorry. I'm just not ready for more than kissing." She says quietly, her face crimson red as if she's embarrassed to tell me that. I'm positive my reputation hasn't helped the matter. She shifts off my lap and onto the sofa next to me.
"I'm happy just kissing you." I tell her, hoping to ease her embarrassment.
She still looks mortified with her cheeks deep red and wringing her hands in her lap. And I feel downright awful for taking it too far and causing her to feel this way.
I reach over and drape my arm around her, hugging her against my side. "So, tell me about why you hate this room so much." Maybe changing the subject will help.
"It's okay I guess. It just feels so formal is all."
"Where do all these doors go?" I ask, suddenly realizing there are doors on every wall.
"What?" She asks finally looking up from her lap.
I point. "The doors. Where do they lead?"
She gives me a funny look. "Well, the one you're pointing at leads to my closet."
Closets. Right. We don't have those in the Seam houses. "Oh. Can I see it?"
Now she really looks at me funny. "You want to look in my closet?"
I shrug. "We don't have them. Never seen one outside of school and those are just for supplies and stuff."
Still with the funny look, she gets up and walks over, opening the door. I cannot believe what my eyes are seeing. Her closet is nearly the size of my house. And it's floor to ceiling shelves and racks are filled with more clothing than I've ever seen in my life. "Whoa." I say as I stand in awe. No wonder more girls don't like her. Probably jealous as hell.
"It's just clothes." She says quietly and suddenly I'm concerned I've embarrassed her in a whole new way.
"What's behind door number two over there?" I ask turning my attention to the next door.
She stifles a laugh. "My bathroom."
She has her own bathroom? Attached to her bedroom? Geez, if I lived her I'd never leave the room!
"You want to see it don't you?" She asks still trying not to laugh.
"I mean, I kinda feel like I should." I joke.
"Be my guest." She gestures for the door.
I walk over and carefully turn the crystal doorknob. Inside I find a marble floored room with a giant clawfoot tub with a chandelier hanging high over it. One wall is lined with marble counters with a little seat like area and mirror. The counters are filled with all kinds of products and there are fresh flowers in a large crystal vase. We don't even have running water in the Seam. This is insane.
"Alright, finally time for door number 3." I say as I point at the double doors on the far wall, opposite the door we entered through.
"That's the best one." She says as she takes my hand and leads me over to it. When she opens it, we walk through and suddenly we're outside. The balcony. The one you can see from the front of the house if you look up from town.
"This is my favorite part of my room." She says as she smiles up at me.
"Quite a view you've got here." I tell her as I gaze out over all of the town portion of 12. You can see practically everything from here. I sit down in the rocking chair and pull her to sit with me. When she doesn't hesitate, I know her embarrassment from earlier has faded and that we're okay. She comfortably sits in my lap and leans against my chest as I wrap my arms around her.
"I love sitting out here at night when it's all quiet in town."
"It was you watching me after the reaping wasn't it?" I ask her as I remember back to that night when I'd noticed I was being watched.
"It wasn't intentional at first. I'd been out here, trying to clear my head and saw someone sitting on the steps of the stage. When I realized it was you…you just looked so sad and I couldn't help but watch. It was like you were feeling all the same things I was, but worse."
I hug her a little tighter and kiss the top of her head. "Yeah, I wasn't doing so good. Being with you helps that though. It's like what you just said about us feeling the same thing. It's true. And it helps." I tell her.
"It does, doesn't it?" She whispers in somber agreement.
A/N: I know this was kind of a long fluff chapter but it's leading somewhere, I promise.