Things are different between us now.

We catch each other staring, and more than once we've snuck away for a few kisses. I don't know what it is, I just cannot get enough of her.

I think my mother has figured out that something is up, she just doesn't know. Thankfully, I have a few weeks before my next appointments. Madge, on the other hand, does not. She's gone day in and day out and I never know when I'm going to see her again.

There's one time, nearing the end of January when I find her in the little cabin in the woods. "Madge?" I ask, my brows furrowing, "what're you doing out here?"

Her head whips around and I'm shocked by her appearance. She's tired, and beaten. Literally. There are so many marks on her neck and wrists, and everywhere. "What the hell happened to you?" I murmur quickly, dropping to my knees and moving towards her. Madge bites back a sob and buries her face into my chest. "Hey," I whisper, running my hand through her hair softly, "hey, you're alright. You're okay now. I'm here. We're together." This, unfortunately, only makes her cry harder.

"N-n-no we're n-not." She whimpers and I pull her gently into my lap.

"And why are we not?" I ask quietly, her sobs wrenching my heart out.

Madge shakes in my grasp. "We," she takes a heaving breath, "we can never be together, Gale. Not even if this all passes."

It takes a second. And then, I spring into action. My heart pounds in my chest. "Hey," I murmur, brushing a curl from her face, "I like you, Madge. I truly do. And I'm willing to work through this." I've never completely admitted my feelings to a girl like this. There's never been a girl that I had to tell. "I want to do whatever I can to be with you, even if we can't be together in public." It's the little moments like this that count.

She sniffles. "Are you only saying that because of what's happened?"

"No, god no, Madge. How could you think that? You... you honestly intrigued me before all of this happened, I just didn't realize what was going on."

Madge sniffs once more. "Really?" I nod.

I hold her against me for another second before running my thumb down the bruises on her neck. "Now," I murmur, "what happened to you?"

"I... I had so many appointments. It was one after another, so many more than usual. And then..." Madge trails, and her eyes fill with tears and I wipe them away.

"What? Talk to me."

"It was Snow," she finally cries, dissolving into sobs.

Fury burns through my entire body. My hands shake and all I see is red. "Holy fuck," I force out through gritted teeth, "I'll kill the bastard. He has no right, no right at all..." Madge holds onto me tightly and I finally wrap my arms around her thin body, my entire being shaking.

Madge cries into my shoulder for eternity. I don't know what to say to her to make this any better, and then I realize, that nothing can make this better. We're stuck in this unforgiving loop for the rest of our lives. And there's no way we're going to get out of it unless we die.

"You're alright," I murmur, pressing kiss after kiss into her hair, "he can't get you. You're alright."

"D-don't leave me," Madge croaks, and I shake my head, gently kissing her bruised neck.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Posy demands that I walk her to preschool for the next few weeks.

"Pose, I have stuff to do." What Posy doesn't know is that she's cutting into my time with Madge, where we basically hide in the meadow all morning. My little sister gives me that big puppy dog eyed look and I give in. "Alright, alright. Only for you." Posy squeals and gets her stuff for the next day.

The next morning, Posy skips out of the house, her small little backpack hanging on her thin frame. Since we moved into the Village, my entire family has become much more healthy, and I love it. "C'mon, Gale! I'm gonna be late!" I laugh as my sister grabs my hand and guides me out of the small part of the district.

She talks and she talks about anything, especially the pretty blonde girl that's been over. "Posy, she's not my girlfriend." I lie through my teeth. Truth is, I'm liking her more and more everyday that I see her.

"But then how come you pinched her butt the other day?" I flush and stutter over my words.

"I did not." I huff, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Yes you did! I saw it!"

I crouch down to Posy's level, ruffling her hair. "You have such an imagination, Pose."

"But—!"

"No buts. Now go on, go to school." Posy huffs but throws her arms around my neck tightly before rushing into her school.

I sigh at my sister before making my way to the meadow. It's still a bit chilly outside, but given that it's March, all of the snows melting and spring has arrived. Madge is already waiting for me. She smiles widely when she sees me and my heart skips a beat.

"Hey," I breathe, laying down on the blanket we have just for this. Luckily, the grass is tall enough and thick enough that no one can ever see us. "Sorry I'm late, Posy wanted me to walk her to school."

"No worries," Madge responds brightly.

I raise a brow as she pecks my cheek. "And what's got you in a good mood today?"

"I don't have many more appointments for a while!"

A smile breaks across my face. "Really?"

"Really! I don't know why, but I'll take it." I laugh and pepper kisses down her face and neck, across her collarbone.

While she's distracted, I voice my concerns. "Posy's onto us."

"Hm?" She forces out, fingers fisting into my shirt.

"I think she saw us the other day when you were over."

Madge shrugs and throws her head back while I move her sweatshirt from her neck, "they're going to find out eventually, Gale."

"I just... I don't want the Capitol to find out and kill someone." Madge pulls away from me at these words.

"They won't," she reassures me, running her hands up my cheeks, "everyone adores your family, there would be an uprising in the Capitol if something happened. And, they couldn't kill off my father. He's the mayor. Besides, she murmurs, "they'll forget about us eventually, when some new Victor comes along."

I sigh, but pull her so she's closer to me. "I really hope you're right."

Madge presses herself against me and gives me a sweet, sweet kiss. "I always am."

My next appointment comes nearing the end of March. I'm in the Capitol for about a week, and it's the longest week of my life.

I'm stuck with women, and more women, and even some men. Some of my clients are nice and don't want much from me, just to be seen with me. Those are the ones I appreciate the most. And then there are some clients that want everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. The whole shabang. And it sucks.

After my last one for the week and after I've scrubbed myself raw for the thirtieth time, Snow calls me up to his office. I swallow thickly, remembering what happened to Madge, and just pray.

"Mr. Hawthorne," Snow says coolly when I enter the office. "How wonderful of you to drop by."

I nod curtly and take a seat in the chair. "Now, I'm not going to delay this any longer. You and Ms. Undersee..." my blood goes cold, "have an interesting relationship, Gale. I advise that you put a stop to it, or I will have to take drastic measures. Victors are not allowed to have sexual relationships with other Victors."

"Sir, we don't—"

I'm cut off. "Yes, you do, Mr. Hawthorne. I see everything, remember, we've had this conversation before." My throat closes up. We have. He threatened my family. "I will say it again, Gale, I expect you to put an end to it."

I nod curtly, while my heart cracks. "Of course, sir." But there's no way in hell I'm ending it with Madge. No way. She's one of the only ones who understands what's happening in my life.

Just as I'm out of the door, Snow stops me again. "Oh, and Gale?" I turn slightly, "I think you'll find our next announcement addressing the Quarter Quell to be lovely."

And the way he says it, I know that it's not.

As soon as I'm back, I'm able to pull Madge away from everything that's going on and into the woods. It's a school day, and I know that it'll be only me and her.

"Gale, what's going on?"

I keep pulling her until we're at that small shack. "He knows. Snow. He knows about this," I gesture between us, "and he's going to do something about it if we don't stop."

Madge sighs and plops down onto the pile of blankets Katniss and I keep out here. "We knew he would, Gale. We knew that. But I," she shakes her head, "I don't want to stop... stop doing whatever we're doing. I like you. A lot," she adds, rubbing her face.

"I know that. And I like you a lot too." I murmur, sitting down so I'm next to her. She crawls into my lap. "I just don't want anyone to get killed."

"Maybe... maybe we just need to stay away from each other except when we're out here."

I groan. "I don't want to do that."

Madge shakes her head. "I don't either," she admits, sighing again.

We're quiet for a little bit, mulling over our options. We don't have many. At all. Really, our only two are to stop seeing each other or take our chances. Neither are ideal. "He mentioned the Quarter Quell." I murmur.

"And?"

I shrug. "Said that it's going to be a lovely thing."

Madge groans. "Great. Absolutely fantastic."

Nodding my head, I finally look at her. "We'll be alright. I promise, okay?"

Madge nods again and I bend my head to kiss her. She responds eagerly, and soon enough, her small hands are pulling my shirt over my head, and hers soon follows. Madge's fingers tighten on my belt loops and I suppress a groan in the back of my throat. Her back arches into my body as I inch her jeans down her legs. "You're so beautiful," I breathe on her neck and my name falls in a whisper from her lips.

Madge laughs a little as our mouths collide and she sucks on my bottom lip, before I move my lips to her neck, kissing and sucking. I'm careful not to leave any marks, even though I truly want to.

"Gale," she whispers, and I nearly lose it. Hearing my name from her mouth gives me chills.

My hands reach behind her back to undo her bra strap and she lets it fall from her body. This is different from the first time we had sex. We had to put on a show, make everything we did a show. But this is just for us. No one's watching us, and no one is going to see this.

"Goddamn," I murmur and Madge giggles, a blush covering her face all the way down to the top of her breasts.

And when we're done, she's curled against me, our sweaty bodies mingling together. "Yeah, I'm not giving this up." I tell my girlfriend and she smiles a little, pressing against me to give me one more kiss.

"Me either."

A/N: Sorry if my updating for this story is scattered, I'm being biased and I like my other story more right now. We're just over 2/3 of the way through of this story, and honestly I'm ready to reach the last few chapters because I've been ready for those. Thoughts on their relationship, Quarter Quell, etc? Tell me anything, I love to hear your thoughts. Oh: poll on my profile for next story. Please help me choose if you haven't already.