When Madge pulls open the back door with a look of annoyance on her face, Gale can't help but let his face contort into a smile. She's dressed up, too nice, and he has to rest against the wall to catch his breath from laughing.
"For Christ's sake, Undersee! You can't wear that to a Seam party!"
She marches out the door quickly and pulls it shut behind her, balling her hands into fists in the process. She looks great, sure, but unless she wants to pay for extra dry cleaning then she's going to have to change. Madge is in some sort of party dress. Sparkly, short, strapless, shows off her legs. Like she's trying to impress people from the Capitol.
And the second this thought registers Gale hears a clinking of glasses echoing from inside, following by a chorus of laughter.
Madge growls. "Do you see the problem?" She lets out a deep breath. "I don't know if I can go to Rory's party and…" She trails off as Gale places his hand on her shoulder. "I want to go," she says quietly. "I just don't know how I'm going to get my father to let me."
Gale assesses the situation, his eyes narrowing at the state of her. Madge's golden hair flows gracefully down her back in curls. She's dusted in some sort of shimmery make up. And her dress really does look nice. But he wants her to come.
"Let's just go," he concludes. "Right now. You don't even have to go back inside."
She huffs. "I can't go like this!"
"I know that," he mutters, grabbing her wrist and pulling her toward the back fence.
"And my dad…"
"You're 23," Gale smirks. "You can make your own decisions." Madge slowly accepts this as an answer. Gale can tell by the way she straightens her back as she marches from her property line. "You can wear something of Vick's," he tells her as they walk. "Might be a bit big but it's the best we've got." With a smile he adds, "Unless you want to wear that…"
Madge shoves him sideway and he lets a laugh burst out of him. Tonight's going to be a good night.
Vick holds up one of his old flannel shirts to Madge. "I mean I guess this will fit?" Her cheeks are hot as she accepts the faded red and blue fabric. She's never worn a boy's clothes before, and even though it's only Vick it's still mortifying for her. She could feel his gaze on her in her party dress and it was overly embarrassing, but now with the shirt in the way she feels a bit better.
"Pants?" Both turn to Gale's voice as he enters the room. "She'll freeze."
Vick rolls his eyes and returns to the dresser. "Yeah, yeah, I'll find something." With a curt nod Gale makes his way from the room again. "Idiot," Vick mutters.
Madge rests herself on the foot of the bed as he continues to search. Her fingers cling to the hand-knit quilt that covers the mattress. She wonders if all the boys share this room. "I sense some tension in the Hawthorne household?" Vick doesn't respond, only continues to angrily dig through his belongings. "That a yes?"
"I'm just annoyed with him," says Vick. Madge leans her elbows on her knees and faces Vick head on. "He's got this girlfriend, right? Emely something. God, she's straight up awful."
She lifts an eyebrow in response. "You don't like her either?" Vick spins and lowers himself to sit against the hardwood floor. "Posy told me she was a witch," Madge admits.
"Witch doesn't even begin to describe her," he replies, lifting up a pair of old jeans for her. "These work?"
Madge nods and says, "They look about right."
Before Vick hands over the grayed denim he frowns. "No one likes her, Madge. Not even Ma. Ma! And she loves everyone! It's just so rare for Gale to actually be with someone that we don't want to say anything." As he stands up to exit the room so she can change he adds, "I'd rather him be with you."
Madge joins the party after she changes, feeling overly awkward in the clothes she's slipped into. They're a lot warmer than the party dress, and she'd rather be here than at some Capitol party anyway, so she won't mention it. She also won't mention the old sneakers she's wearing are eons more comfortable than the heels she was forced into.
Quickly she finds Katniss and Peeta, joining them on a log by the fire as they pass her a flask. A bit away she can see some people playing instruments that don't resemble the piano whatsoever. Something like a violin but for the Seam, and a type of flute that isn't as smooth. The breathtaking noises radiate from all directions and Madge finds herself smiling.
Peeta nudges her with his elbow. "Glad you came?"
"I've never been to a Seam party before," Madge admits with a shrug. "It's a lot different than a Capitol one."
"You've got that right," Katniss nods. "Hell of a lot more fun, less people to impress." Madge tips her head in agreement, and then tips the flask back and lets the alcohol sting as it makes it way down her throat. "Come on," Katniss wraps her fingers around Madge's wrist. "Let's dance."
Gale sits by the fire with his hands held up, trying to keep warm. After making his rounds and checking up on everyone, making sure everything was going smoothly, his fingers started to freeze and he needed the fire.
His eyes catch on Peeta Mellark who is absent of one Katniss Everdeen. After trailing the gaze of the smiling baker he realizes that Peeta is watching Katniss and Madge dance near the band. They're laughing hysterically and Gale's lips lift into a smile when he sees the one on Madge's face.
He can't help but chuckle to himself every time Madge disobeys Katniss' commands, telling her to step here and not there, like this and not that. Madge truly is a townie, reverting back to the classical style of dancing almost every chance she gets.
Just as he goes to push himself from the log he's on someone slips into the spot next to him. Emely wraps her hands around his arms and pulls herself closer, sighing against his body heat.
"Isn't this fun?" she asks, not really expecting an answer. "Shame Thom and Bristel couldn't come." Bristel's sick in bed, Thom would feel too guilty to leave her alone. "So many people are here for Rory." Gale wonders if she's one of them. "Wanna dance?"
He wrinkles his nose, slipping his arm around her waist. "No, I'm alright here." She nods and her hand awkwardly finds his. Wrong size.
Gale gets momentarily distracted when he hears Peeta's bright laugh burst out of him, and then his grey eyes follow as the blonde rushes over to Madge and Katniss. Madge has fallen to the ground with a grin on her face, he helps her up and then both Katniss and Peeta take turns trying to demonstrate how to dance.
Emely frowns when she realizes she doesn't have his full attention. "What are you looking at?" Her eyes follow his gaze though he tries to drop it quickly, and then she frowns. "Seriously Gale? You invited her?"
"Rory did," he shrugs, and then laughs as Vick steps in to take Madge from her friends. "And Vick. I think Posy might've too." Gale knows this is probably a lie, that he was most likely the only one to offer the invitation to Madge, but Emely seems subdued with his answer. Only for a moment, though.
Her ears perk up and she tightens her grip around him. "You were the only one to invite me."
"Yeah, and?"
She huffs. "Why doesn't your family like me?"
"They do," Gale says gently, leaning over and pulling her chin to face him.
"No they don't," Emely grumbles, snatching her chin from his grasp. "I don't know what else they want me to do. Isn't it enough that you like me? Can't they like me from that?"
Gale licks his teeth. "Evidently not."
Her eyes widen and she drops her jaw. "I thought you just said that they liked me."
"Well if you're hell bent on them not liking you there's no point in arguing," he shrugs and returns to watching Vick and Madge spin with smiles. Faster and faster until Madge's feet threaten to slip and Vick's eyes threaten to fall out of his head. "You're stubborn, nothing changes your opinion. Even if I had proof my family likes you, you wouldn't believe me."
Emely opens her mouth to respond but before she can get a word in a high pitched yelp is heard a few seats over. Everyone turns to find Primrose Everdeen on the ground, holding her hand out to show Rory the blood that's accumulating.
"Shit," Gale mutters, quickly bursting from his seat and over to Prim. In moments his shirt is off, considering Rory's too slow to respond, and he's wrapping the fabric over the wound. "We've gotta get that cleaned up," he tells her. Before infection sets in. Prim nods, tears pricking at her eyes as he stifles the blood flow. Though Prim is good at dealing with other people's injuries, she's not too spectacular with her own. "Primrose, look at me," he forces her blue eyes to meet his. "Go with Rory, he'll get you cleaned up real quick."
"I'm such a klutz," she sputters quickly, holding the shirt around her arm tightly. "T-too much to drink and,"
"Shush it," Gale helps her up and nudges her toward Rory. Looking at his younger brother he asks, "Do you have this?" Rory is shaken from his stupor and nods, quickly ushering Prim from the crowd that's beginning to form.
Gale shivers from a sudden burst of wind, turning toward the fire to get some heat before running inside to grab another shirt. Just as he goes to find Emely and tell her that he'll be right back he feels a hand against him, but it quickly pulls away as if it's been burned.
He snaps around quickly, face to face with Emely. Her face is morphed into terror, confusion. She's made a weak attempt at hiding her horror. She's seen the scars.
"What happened?" she asks quietly. There's no sympathy to her voice, no concern, only disgust. "Why didn't you tell me about that?"
"I was whipped," Gale grunts. "I was 19."
Her eyebrows knit angrily. "And you didn't think it right to tell me?"
"I figured the whole District knew," Gale shouts back. Emely takes a step away from him, her face not flooding with any sort of remorse at her questioning. He quickly rushes from her, from the crowd that is most likely listening, and inside to grab another shirt.
As Gale rifles through the drawers to find something that will cover his mistakes he throws clothing on the floor. It's not his fault his back is so gruesome. It's not his fault his skin isn't ivory smooth anymore, soft to the touch. With a swallow of pain he remember that yes, it is his fault. But it shouldn't be.
God, he hates the very mention of the whipping. Some nights he'll wake up with flashes of pain coursing through his back. He gets sore everyday in places where the scars are thickest. They're rough to the touch, unappealing to look at.
Why would anyone want damaged goods?
With a grunt he lifts his face to look in the mirror, studying the creasing of his eyebrows and the anger to his eyes. As he goes to lift his shirt on he hears the door creak open, and then he turns to find Madge Undersee staring wide eyed at him.
"Oh," she says softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't…" she holds up her hand and stumbles backwards, clearly drunk. "Vick puked," she rambles on. "Told me to find you and tell you before your mom found out and," Madge casts her eyes at the ground, her hands finding each other quickly. "I'm sorry."
Gale scoffs. "For what?" The intensity to his voice startles her, he can tell by the way she quickly picks her gaze back up to his. "Seeing the scars? Or the actual whipping?" Gale rolls his eyes and returns to face himself in the mirror. "Go on, Undersee. Say it. Say how disgusting my back is, how repulsive."
Madge makes her way into the room slowly, chewing on her bottom lip as her eyes scan across the welts on his back. "It's not disgusting," she shakes her head. "That's not what I'm sorry for, I—"
"It's not disgusting?" he snaps, turning and grabbing her hand, before forcefully pressing it to one of his scars. "How can you say that?" he growls. "Of course it's awful! It always has been!" He drops his grip on her wrist and expects her hand to fall, only her fingers remain where they are, slowly tracing over each wound gently. The gesture freezes him, and Gale allows his eyes to drift shut. "I know it's bad," he croaks. "Don't lie to me."
"They aren't," Madge breathes. He can feel her breath wrapping around his body as she continues to touch him. "Gale, I swear. The scars aren't bad at all."
His eyes snap open and he jerks back around, grabbing her hand and holding it up in the air. "Enough, Undersee," he swallows. They lock eyes for a long time, he studies the hurt hidden behind her crystal orbs but knows it isn't for walking in on the situation, it's for something else. His hand is still holding her wrist in the air but he can't find the strength to let go. "Then what are you sorry for?" Gale asks. "If they're not bad then what are you sorry for?"
Gale's fingers slowly uncurl from her wrist and she lowers it back to her side, blinking a few times before going to leave. "I'm sorry I didn't run fast enough," Madge tells him. "I'm sorry I didn't stop them like Katniss did. I'm sorry that I—"
"Saved my life?" he tries weakly. Because she did. Madge is sorry that she didn't run fast enough through a blizzard to get him medicine? He's lucky she ran at all. She's sorry that she didn't get a whip across her cheek? Gale's surprised she even considered jumping in. "Don't start," he shakes his head. "Because you're wrong."
"Then so are you," Madge concludes tiredly. "I'm going to find Vick," she says, and then she's out the door.
Madge takes a deep breath and forces herself outside. Vick is away from the party, hunched over on his hands and knees, hurling into the street. She makes her way over and pats his back weakly.
"Too much spinning," Vick groans. "Never drinking again."
"Sure," Madge chuckles. "Wait until you're actually legal." He nods awkwardly and forces himself up. "You okay?" Her fingers brush his sweat soaked bangs from his forehead and she offers a light smile.
Again Vick nods. "Just need to wash it down," he concludes, reaching for the flask in his back pocket. Madge snatches it from him before he can even get the top unscrewed. "Hey!"
"Hey, nothing. You just said you were never drinking again! And you're 17! You shouldn't even be drinking!" He mocks her voice, mimicking her words lamely before marching away to the fire.
Before Madge joins him she blinks a few times, forcing the images of Gale's back from her mind and taking a few swigs from Vick's flask. It isn't that she was disturbed by the sight of his back, she really wasn't. She just can't imagine the pain he must've felt, must still feel. And then he got all defensive like it was the worst thing, to have a bad back, it made her feel so weak. It still does.
She didn't imagine them to look like that, she imagined a lot worse. Claws of the Capitol digging through his skin, deep gashes. They honestly weren't bad at all. Light marks, like lipstick left on a wineglass from a night no one wanted to remember. In a way his scars are hauntingly beautiful, but she would never tell him that. Madge knew Gale would just shoot back another rude remark in an attempt to protect himself.
She had seen him exposed, and she knew he probably hated her for it.
Eventually, however, with each sip of the flask, the memory slipped from her and all she could feel was flying. Madge didn't think about her mother's passing or the cruelty of the Capitol. She laughed alongside Peeta and Katniss and Vick. She cheered when Rory got down on one knee and proposed. She teared up when Prim accepted. And when Madge overheard 'Emely' and Gale getting into a disagreement, she lost all control.
"I didn't mean anything," Emely insisted. Madge couldn't help but notice the similarities the girl shared with Katniss. Stubborn, long brown hair which was conveniently tied back in a braid, only spoke with a few people.
Maybe that's why Gale likes her.
"Sure, Em," he keeps trying to walk away from her but she follows like a lost duckling. "Can you just drop it?"
"She's annoying," Madge nods, openly pointing. "How does he stand her?"
"Madge," Peeta chuckles as Katniss clamps her hand over Madge's mouth. "I wouldn't."
"She openly insulted him!" Madge voice rises. "What are we, high schoolers? She needs to get over herself." Peeta continues to laugh at her as Katniss groans, dropping her head into her hands. "I think she has this problem where she wants to be liked by everyone, only she thinks she's better than everyone so no one actually likes her."
Vick snorts. "That's exactly what it is."
"Gale," Emely pulls on his shirt and pouts like some sort of child. "Will you listen to me?"
Madge throws her head back and laughs. "She's so whiney!" Emely snaps her head in Madge's direction, clearly indicating that she heard her.
"Aw Madge," Peeta tries to ease her from her laughter. "You don't even know her."
"Typical Peeta," Vick sighs. "Trying to find the best in everyone. Really though, there isn't any best in her."
Emely bares her teeth and marches across the small expanse between them. "I can hear you," she hisses. Her eyes turn to Madge, no longer caring what the young boy has to say. "Don't think I don't know who you are, Princess."
"Ouch," Vick rolls his eyes unenthusiastically. "That had to hurt." From across the way Gale lifts his eyebrows, clearly amused at the change of events.
"You're the mayor's daughter," Emely continues with fake happiness. "Best teacher in our District. Piano player! Charming, aren't you?"
"Yes," Madge smiles, "I am." Katniss tries not to laugh and it comes out as a snort.
"You're from town," she continues angrily. "You don't have to suffer; you don't know what it's like to live in poverty or pain." Madge yawns, sleepy from the alcohol. "Oh look!" Emely steps backwards and gestures to Madge. "She's bored with me! Bored with us!"
"Emely," Gale steps forward. "Don't go there."
"She thinks that she is so much better than us!"
"Emely Wright," Gale snaps.
Madge's eyes widen and her ears perk up. "Oh! You're Emely Wright, I know you!" The brunette narrows her eyes. Madge stands up, the alcohol making her giggle as she goes light headed. "I remember hearing about you in high school, probably like you've heard all about me! Are those slagheap rumors true?" Now it's Peeta's turn to snort. "Never mind, that's none of my business. Sorry."
"Where are you going with this?" she growls.
Madge taps her chin and takes another step closer. "Sure, I'm the mayor's daughter," she nods. "Therefore making me from town. I can play the piano, and yes, I suppose if you want to go by terms of wealth I do have it better than you." Madge jabs her finger into Emely's chest. "But I do know what pain is. Suffering. It might not be the same kind or even the same level of yours, but it still hurts. And I never degrade people because of where there're from. I don't care about social status." Another jab to the chest. "And I don't care about the amount of money anyone has. Because I don't judge people based on the color of their hair or the rumors that go around." Emely swallows tightly. "Like you're doing with me."
"You're pathetic."
"Because I speak the truth?" Madge hums, lowering her finger. "I don't think I'm better than you. I know I'm better than you because you are a lowlife brat who wants nothing other than to be the center of attention. It has absolutely nothing to do with wealth." Someone gasps and Emely locks her jaw. "And that's only from watching you for what, ten minutes?" Again Madge laughs, going to walk past her. "I think you're the pathetic one."
As Madge takes a step by Emely the brunette holds out her ankle, effectively tripping her and sending her plummeting toward the fire in the center of the pit. Vick, having stopped drinking after he threw up, is keen to realize what's happening. He lurches forward and grabs Madge before she takes a face full of fire, and then Emely marches off with a groan.
Gale stares at Madge and Madge stares back, still awkwardly cradled in Vick's arms. As she opens her mouth to say something, apologize for her un-ladylike behavior that her father would have her locked up for, Gale holds up a finger. She clamps her lips shut and stands up right, thanking Vick with her eyes for catching her. Both Katniss and Gale turn their heads, and then Katniss springs from her seat. Madge goes to open her mouth again but Gale rushes towards the crowd with one word on his lips.
"Peacekeepers!"
A/N: For those who think Madge is OOC while drunk just remember the first time we saw her drink she was kicking and screaming. She really just loses it. Madge feels awful next chapter about what she said. Will she get the chance to tell Gale or will he blow up? Make your predictions, yo. I love them! Thanks for reading!