A/N: Thank you, everyone, for all the kind words and for follwing this story. Now, we start Book 2!
Madge
Watching Peeta and Katniss' reunion with their families makes everything worth it. I'd go to the Capitol in a heartbeat for this moment of happiness it brings to the people of our District. Katniss and Peeta don't get too much time with their families though because it isn't about them. There's a show to put on for the Capitol and they're both whisked away in a real car. The train brought a few cars in it and these cars will leave when the festivities are over. I'm happy I got a chance to hug both Katniss and Peeta; it finally felt real that they came home when I could touch them. Katniss hugged Gale and held onto him for a long time; like me, she also draws strength from him. Gale's eyes stayed glued to mine the entire time. I'm happy but it doesn't last long. Corn slides his arm around me and says, "Come on, babe, my car is here too."
I smack his hand away and say, "Don't call me that." He's relentless though because he just puts his hand on my lower back and guides me into a tiny car. He knows I won't make a scene here and he takes advantage of the confusion and the crowds. I've never seen a car like this before. It's not much bigger than the battery car we have in the district but it's much more luxurious than the battery car. The car is yellow, it is air-conditioned, heated, and has a built-in music box. The seats are comfortable and made of leather. The top has a window you can look out of and it comfortably seats only two people. I've never seen a car like this. Ugh…why did I have to wear a yellow dress of all dresses today? Yellow seems to be his favorite color. Corn guides me into the car and then he closes the door. He walks around to the other side of the car and gets in. Corn starts the car by just pushing a button and turns the music box on. I hate being in such close quarters with him but thankfully it's a very short drive from the train station to my house.
Corn turns the car around in the opposite direction of the house and I roll my eyes as I say, "You're going the wrong way."
"Don't worry, babe. No one is going to miss us for a while. Everyone will be preoccupied with the victors. I thought we'd take a little tour of your District…get to know each other better. I have a few questions for you."
I turn to him and say angrily, "I told you, Don't. Call me. Babe."
"But you are a babe. Would you prefer darling or muffin?"
"No. You can call me Miss Undersee."
"Oh that's a mouthful and so impersonal. I like babe, but I wouldn't mind a mouthful of you." He grabs my hand and puts one of my fingers in his mouth before I even have a chance to react.
It's just a reaction, I try to slap his face but he catches my hand once again and kisses it this time. Ugh. What have I gotten myself into? I pull my hand back, cross my arms across my chest and turn away from him angrily.
"You are so irresistible when you're angry," he says. I ignore him; I know his game. He's just trying to get a rise out of me. Well two can play that game. I sit quietly looking out the window as he drives us around the District. Corn continues to ask me different questions about my life in the District to get a rise out of me. I don't give him what he wants. I answer his questions calmly with one word answers.
He's quiet for a couple of minutes and then he stops the car. We're on the outer edge of the District and there is nothing - nobody - here. He wants to intimidate me but I'm not scared of him. I know I could easily take him if he tried anything with me. He steps out of the car and comes around to my door to help me out of the car.
I step out and walk past him. Corn catches up to me and puts his arm around my waist as he says, "Wait up, babe, what's the hurry?"
I'm about to push his hand away when he surprises me by asking, "So, who was that hunk you were standing next to at the station?"
My breath gets caught in my throat; I feel like screaming. I want to keep Gale out of our conversation. Corn wasn't supposed to notice. But I calm myself before I answer, "Katniss Everdeen's cousin and for your information I was standing next to Katniss' sister not her cousin."
"Hmmm." Corn rubs his chin. "Good looking fellow." Corn looks at me; this time he's not ogling me, rather he is appraising me. A chill passes through my body. It's not so much what Corn said but the way he said it. There's a calculating look in his eyes and I'm scared. I am not afraid of too many things but even a possibility of any harm coming to Gale terrifies me. I'm lost in my thoughts when Corn says, "Maybe we should head back before we're missed. I need to call into my office anyway." Corn walks back to the car without waiting for me and I can tell by his body language that something changed in his mind.
I know Corn is up to something…but what? For once I can't read a person and this may be the most important person I need to be able to read. Who is Corn? Obviously he is important enough that his personal car was sent to the District for his use. We get back to my house and Corn tells me he needs to make a phone call. He doesn't come around to open my door; he just gets out of the car and leaves me sitting in the car. I hope his sudden cold demeanor isn't about Gale. Did he see me holding hands with Gale? I need to be more careful. I cannot bring Gale on the Capitol's radar. When I've calmed myself, I step out of the car. Corn parked the car on the side of the house and thankfully no one is here. I don't think I could face anyone right now.
As soon as I step out of the car, I'm yanked around the small gardening shed on the side of our house. I look up as I crash into Gale's chest. "Madge, where have you been?" he asks worried.
I lean into him and hug him tightly. "Gale, I think I'm being watched by Snow's people. I don't think we should be seen together." I hug Gale one more time before I take a step away from him.
Gale grabs my wrist and asks, "Madge, what's going on? Has anyone said anything to you?"
I take a deep breath and say, "No, not exactly. But they're keeping tabs on me. Please just trust me."
Gale pulls me a little closer and says, "Madge, of course I trust you. I was really worried about you because you just disappeared at the train station and then you weren't here when everyone got back to your house."
I touch his face and say, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"Madge, all I do is worry about you," he says, holding my hand to his face.
I close my eyes to enjoy this moment for just a moment and then I say, "I love you, Gale. Please just go right now. For me?"
Gale pulls me in for a quick kiss and whispers in my ear, "I love you too, Madge." Instead of leaving he turns me towards my house. He waits until I get inside and then he walks away towards the seam. It's these things that show me how much he cares about me that make me fall deeper in love with Gale. And it's these same things that terrify me about his safety. He puts me above himself and I'm afraid he's going to get in trouble because of me. I know Gale can do anything; I have faith in him. If he had to go up against Corn in a fair fight, Gale would win easily. But there are no fair fights with people from the Capitol.
I have to protect Gale. I need to stay away from him before Corn sees us together again. That's the thing about love…I've never been scared for myself but I'm terrified for Gale.
I spend some time with everyone being cheerful even though on the inside I feel anything but cheerful. Katniss and Peeta are busy with the reporters and the cameras so I sneak off to my room. I sit on my bed and try to calm myself by reading a book; I'd rather be playing my piano.
After about an hour, there is a knock on my door and I bid the person to enter - fully expecting Corn. He walks in as if he owns my room and looks around once again. "Still not a fan of the pink," he mutters as if I would've changed the color of my room in the last hour.
Then he turns to me and asks, "I missed you. What are you doing up here?"
I decide to play nice to Corn until I can find out more about him. "Just reading." I hold up my book for him to see. Corn drops down on my bed from the other side of the bed and lies back. I'm about to get up when he grabs my wrist to hold me in place. His familiarity with me is disturbing.
I think he's still trying to intimidate me so I free my wrist but hold my ground…I stay on the bed. I can play his game; I won't let him get to me.
Corn sighs and says, "I have to go back to the Capitol; I'm leaving in a few minutes. Duty calls." The way he says it almost sounds as if he's sad to leave.
I smile sweetly at him letting him know clearly that I'm happy he's leaving. Corn laughs, grabs my wrist again and pulls me down to him. My heart beats faster…he wouldn't dare try anything here. My door's open. The house is full of people. My parents are in the house. Corn lifts his head just a little and I think he's about to kiss me. I'm ready for him; he won't be able to kiss me.
But he doesn't kiss me, he whispers in my ear so softly that I barely hear him; he says, "No more holding hands with Gale Hawthorne." There's a warning in his tone that's chilling. In a flash he gets up from my bed and as he walks out he says, "Later, babe. I'll be back soon so we can get better acquainted."
I calm my hitched breathing. He knows…he saw. I was careless; it's my fault. I knew better than to hold Gale's hand in the middle of the train station. Gale and I have become too comfortable because everyone in the District minds their own business. No one pays attention to us or even gossips in general. For the most part, everyone has too many important things to do than gossip. But the Capitol people are all about gossip. If Corn was sent here to court me then of course he would be paying attention to my actions. I wonder if he also saw Gale and me at the side of the house.
The next day is better. Corn is not here. The victors' gathering at our house is more intimate. We are required to entertain each of the victor's families separately. So tonight Katniss' family is here. I wear the gray dress I wore for Gale's birthday and dinner is pleasant. Katniss sits next to me which is nice but we don't have a real conversation. We talk about her pretty dresses and other meaningless things - things that I know neither one of us cares about. I can't wait till all the people from the Capitol are gone and Katniss and I can talk...for real.
Gale, Rory, and Vick are here too but they are seated on the other end of the table. Hazelle opted to stay home with Posy. I think that was Gale's doing because Posy would probably want to sit in my lap the entire time and that would open up a whole new can of worms with the people here from the Capitol. Every now and then I let my eyes wander to Gale. He looks stunning. After dinner my dad asks me to play the piano. Gale raises his eyebrow at me and I had forgotten that I've never played for him so I slightly shrug my shoulders. I used to love to play the piano but lately I just haven't had much time to play it. I wish Gale could sit next to me when I play; I've dreamt about playing for him with him sitting shoulder to shoulder with me. I remind myself that I need to keep my distance from him while there are people from the Capitol still here. My main mission is to keep Gale off the Capitol's radar. Corn was paying plenty attention to me; I wouldn't be surprised if he has other people spying on me in his absence. Haymitch is here too but I can't talk to him inside my house.
Katniss sits next to me on the bench; everyone else is seated behind us on the sofas. Out of the corner of my eye I see Gale get up and walk around the room. He stops at one of the corners of the room and leans into the corner with his hands in his pant pockets. Gale's wearing the gray sweater his mom and Posy gave him for his birthday. The gray sweater makes his eyes look even smokier; they look sexy. He looks stunning and I know he walked around the room for me. Gale doesn't just want to hear me play; he wants to see me play. He's standing in that corner for me - the feeling is a rush of adrenaline through my body. I smile because I can also see him perfectly from where I sit.
I play an old opera piece that tells a forbidden love story. I think about myself…I think about Gale…I think about our forbidden love and lose myself in the piece I'm playing. I close my eyes and I can picture the girl in love, the girl in pain, the boy that dies. At the end the piece is painful as the boy dies and the girl cries for him. Everyone claps and when I open my eyes I find myself locked in Gale's gaze. His eyes have darkened and I know I should, but I can't drop my gaze from his eyes. There's a current that flows between us and in this moment I don't care who sees us. This moment is just for Gale; I want him to know that I played for him. I want him to know that I was thinking of him while playing. And I think he does. Suddenly Haymitch blocks my view of Gale and raises an eyebrow at me. I look down, flushed. I can't be sure but I don't think anyone else saw that. Once again I got lost in the moment and I was careless. Haymitch saw – I'll have some explaining to do later to him. But not tonight because they all leave right after my performance. Katniss hugs me warmly before leaving and I notice her cheeks are flushed. If I didn't know Katniss better, I'd say she was blushing. I shake my head because she couldn't be blushing - nothing happened here that could possibly make her blush.
Tomorrow is Gale's first day of training in the mines. They call it training but it's really a normal day of work. My stomach twists at the thought of Gale having to take the elevator to the underground mines. I hate to think about him working all day long. I know I promised Gale I wouldn't go to the seam in the middle of the night by myself, but some promises are meant to be broken. I sneak out of the house after everyone falls asleep and into Gale's bedroom through his window. Gale is fast asleep, but Rory wakes up when I jump in. I'm embarrassed, but I had to see Gale.
Rory whispers, "I'm glad you're finally here, Madge, I think Gale is really upset about starting in the mines tomorrow. He's been thrashing in his bed. He doesn't really talk to any of us about it though because he doesn't want us to worry."
I whisper back, "I'm sorry for coming so late, but there are so many people at my house that this was the only time I could get away."
Gale turns around and squints at us, "Madge, is that you?"
I move closer to Gale and Rory says embarrassed, "Um…I'll be outside on the sofa." And he leaves closing the door behind him.
Gale gets up and I run to him. I cling to him like he's the air I need to breathe. Gale hugs me back tightly and says, "I'm so glad you're here. I need you so much tonight." Gale kisses me and lowers us on the bed. "I keep thinking about the accident in the mines when my dad died. I just can't turn my brain off from that." Gale clings to me.
"Shh…I'm here. Nothing is going to happen to you; I won't let it. You're mine and no one is going to change that." We kiss for a while until both our fears dissipate a little.
"You need to sleep. You need to be well rested for tomorrow," I tell him.
Gale kisses me once again and says, "Madge, you looked gorgeous today. I had no idea you played so beautifully. I could watch you play for the rest of my life. When you closed your eyes and dove into your music it was as if no one else was in that room other than you and me. It felt like you were playing for me and no one else."
"I was…it was for you. Just you." We kiss again and Gale is still far too serious. So I say, "Did you notice we matched tonight?"
"Ah…hah!" he says kissing my neck.
"One day we'll go out on a date to dinner and maybe a musical show in matching clothes, holding hands in front of everyone. We won't have to hide from anyone. That's what I was thinking about…picturing us together as I was playing the piano.
"We'll make it happen, princess…add it to all the other things we want to make happen." He says nuzzling my neck.
"Look who's feeling positive again?" I tease.
"Madge, when you're with me, I feel like I can do anything. I'm not worried or scared about anything when you're next to me," he says seriously. I know he means it. Instead of letting the tears that threaten to spill, out of my eyes, I kiss Gale letting my kiss tell him I feel the same.
The next night Haymitch and Peeta's family come over for dinner. I do another piano performance for them and afterwards Peeta asks, "Madge, do you want to go for a walk?" I nod, grab a sweater, and we both leave the house.
We walk in comfortable silence for a while and then Peeta says, "Haymitch tells me I'm alive because of you. He said that Katniss risked her life getting that medicine for me, but you are the one that saved my life."
I laugh at that. "You are here because of you. You had some help but you saved yourself. You are the only person that gets that credit."
Peeta kisses my cheek and says, "Thanks, Madge, for whatever you did to save my life." He pauses, looks at me and with a playful look in his eyes he says, "Since you saved my life once you've now taken on full responsibility for me."
"Sure, Peeta. If that's what you want. So tell me do I see trouble in paradise between you and Katniss?"
Peeta laughs sadly and says, "You could say that. Haymitch and Katniss – they're a lot alike. I think they understand each other better. I don't feel like I fit in with them. I don't feel like I fit in with anybody. Winning the games isn't what it's cracked up to be. The price is too high. I keep trying to find words to describe me. I'm not the same person I was before the games; for the new me all I come back with are…killer, murderer, monster, Victor – do you see a pattern - they are all synonymous?" He sighs and continues, "You must be wondering why I'm telling you all this. Haymitch said you'd understand better than anyone else and at this point what else do I have left to lose?"
Haymitch was right. I do understand Peeta; I see the loneliness in his eyes - I hear it in his voice. I know a thing or two about loneliness too. Before Gale came into my life, that's all I had. I stop and turn around to face him. "Peeta, I should have done this in the Justice Building the day of the reaping…," I hold my hand out to shake his hand and when he takes my hand I ask, "Friends?"
"Friends!" he confirms.
"Peeta, when I see you I also see a new you too. But the new you I see is someone who is selfless, someone who sacrificed everything for love. We live in a world where love and humanity are discouraged and you've just given new meaning to both words. I see a wonderful person who did what he had to do to save the girl he loves. The sacrifices you made in that arena will help bring a change in all of Panem." I want to tell him that it's not that Haymitch understands Katniss better it's just that Haymitch knows Peeta did what he couldn't - Peeta brought the girl he loves home. Haymitch couldn't do that. But perhaps that is a conversation that Haymitch should have with Peeta.
Peeta laughs and says, "Madge, I never realized you were such a deep person."
"There's a lot you don't know about me. But we've just become friends and we have lots of time to get to know each other better."
Later that night I sneak out of the house again to see Gale. I find Gale asleep on the sofa and he looks exhausted. I don't wake him. I sit on the floor next to the sofa and put my head next to his head and fall asleep. I just need to be close to him; I just need to know that he is okay.
A/N: Gale and Madge have too strong a relationship for Gale to kiss Katniss. What do you guys think if I go a little AU from here - everything else will still follow the book - just Gale doesn't kiss Katniss? And if I go AU anywhere else, I'll just point it out at the beginning of the chapter. Will that work? I love Gadge fluff and I really want to keep writing that and have their relationship grow stronger as they plan the rebellion. Let me know what you think - review or leave me a PM. Thanks, B
