Well my laptop is officially in the graveyard, but I got a new one so I wrote like a madwoman last night to redo this. So sorry for the extra-long wait, but I'm convinced technology hates me! Enjoy :)
anon: Thank you, that's what I was aiming for with Gale!
DancingDP: ha don't worry about the repeated words or being hyper-it makes me laugh everytime :)
kesia: wow thank you so much! I'm honored you think that :) Oh and if you like my Galeniss, then I'm doing my job-I love when normally Peeta fans like my stuff!
The next morning when I wake up, I half believe that I dreamed my meeting with Katniss. Was that real? Did she really agree to go along with the relationship thing? Did I…did I actually show her how broken I am? I get out of bed and look at myself in the mirror. One of my cheeks is a little red, and when I tentatively touch it it's a bit tender. Well, looks like I actually did get slapped at some point, so I guess that answers my question. It definitely wasn't a dream.
Shrugging to myself in the mirror, I go take a quick shower and change before coming out for breakfast. Since it's the day of the recap, I unfortunately have to go to the Remake Center later this morning. I don't know why I have to go so early since I'm not the Victor this year, but I am the mentor; guess they want to 'pretty me up' too.
When I walk into the dining room, the only person there is Jullus. He's reading something but once he sees me he puts down his book and gives me a warm smile, "Good morning. How was your meeting?"
"Better than I expected actually." I tell him frankly. In no way did I see half of what happened last night with Katniss coming. The slap and yelling-yes. The whole breaking down and her complying so fast-hell no.
"Sounds like it went well then." he replies as I sit down with a plate of food.
"It did. I can't believe it was only five minutes. It seemed longer." I state before I take my first large bite of my eggs.
"It was longer." he informs me, and I stop chewing immediately and my eyes go wide with guilt and panic. Shit, I was on camera for part of it? So they're going to know I broke their damn rules and saw her. I really should have been more careful; now not only am I going to be in big trouble but Jullus and his friend will be too.
Jullus sees my panic and he actually chuckles at it. Really? How the fuck can he be laughing when we're in such deep shit because I couldn't keep track of time? "Relax Gale, it's alright." He assures me.
"But how? How long was I in there?" I ask confusedly. Hopefully it was just like a second or something and he's just pulling my strings to make me panic.
"About six and a half minutes. But you weren't on camera at all." he informs me, to which I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "We turned the cameras off for ten minutes and I told you that you only had five just in case."
"Oh." I reply a bit relieved. I should be mad that he lied to me but I'm not. After all, a buffer on something like that was probably a good idea, especially with how dangerous it was for Jullus and his friend to help me on this. And if he hadn't lied to me, I would have definitely used up all if not more of those ten minutes and we really could have been in deep shit.
"Well, I'll let you get back to eating. I should be going anyway." Jullus says as he closes his book and stands up.
"Why?" I question. He's been here before and throughout the Games-I really don't know why he would have to leave now of all times. Wait am I not thrilled to see a Capitolite leave? Sure it's Jullus, but it's still a foreign concept to me.
"I'm not really managing you anymore, am I?" he states, and I give a shake of my head once in response, "Then that means that it looks suspicious that I'm still here. It will be better for both of us if I'm not."
I get it-we're still in the middle of a dangerous game, and we all have to play our parts. I'll admit it would look suspicious if Jullus was still hanging around if it's clear that he has no appointments to give me. For the last few days he could get away with it because he could write it off as he was still waiting for them, but it's been three days-if they haven't come yet, then they (hopefully) never will. Plus since he's been kind of helping me do things against the rules, he would be in even more hot water if they see he's still here. And if that happened, they might start questioning me as well. Plus I doubt most Victors actually like their managers being around, and since he's been lax about the appointments in the past other than when I practically begged him to get me more he could get into a lot of trouble. And I really don't want that for him or me.
"Oh okay then." I answer, but he can tell that I'm almost sorry to see him go.
"It's been a pleasure to manage you." He states formally for the cameras, and I give a small snort at that. Yeah, because I was such a good Victor to work with, what with me groaning every time he was on the phone or something to get me to appointments in the last year. "If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call me. I'm just a phone call away." He says, and I give him a grateful smile. I really doubt that I will, but it's nice to know that he will still help if I need it sometime in the future.
He walks to the elevator and before he steps into it, I call for him as I get up from the table and briskly walk towards where he is. He turns around, confused.
"I just…thank you." I say sincerely. He gives me one more warm smile as the elevator doors shut. I go back to the table and finish scarfing down my breakfast.
About an hour before the recap, I'm finished with the Remake center and I'm waiting for Portia, who has my outfit for today. Apparently she insisted that she dress me for the recap, even though I don't really have a stylist and normally dress myself for these kinds of things. I'm suspicious that she and Cinna wish to dress me and Katniss in complimenting outfits since we are a couple on that stage. I kind of mind because it annoyed me when she was dressed like Peeta, but not so much as before. For one, I find I don't mind as much when it's me (go figure) and second, it will help the couple image we're trying to pull off so that's good.
Portia comes in after a few minutes and tells me to close my eyes and I comply. She helps me into my clothes since I'm doing it blind, and once everything is on she adjusts a few things until she's satisfied that it's perfect.
"Okay, open!" Portia exclaims, and I do. I'm looking at myself in the mirror and I'm surprised to see that I actually sort of like what I'm in. I'm in a black suit with a red vest, and my tie and the lapels of my jacket have flame accents on them that when I move in the slightest they appear to be a blazing fire. Fire-now I'm almost certain that I'm complimenting Katniss's outfit.
"It's great." I tell her, and she gives me a grin filled with pride. I can tell she's proud of her work, and I don't blame her.
"Why thank you. Cinna and I thought it would be appropriate seeing as you're dating the Girl on Fire." she informs me. Well, guess she doesn't know that the relationship thing is fake. Though I have a feeling Cinna does-not that I think he would ever say otherwise because I think he genuinely likes Katniss.
"So am I assuming correct when I think we'll be matching?" I proclaim.
She gives me an almost devious grin, though I know it's playful, "Oh no, you'll get nothing from me. You'll have to wait to see it without any hints like the rest of Panem."
Yep, that confirms it for me. We're matching. "Well you're no help." I pretend to pout, and she giggles a little before giving me a mock stern look.
"Alright Gale, enough playing around. We've got to get you to the theater!" she declares, and I follow her with a roll of my eyes and a grin on my face.
A well-dressed Haymitch who is tugging on his tie that I'm assuming is too tight meets us outside the doors to where I will enter the stage and Portia waves goodbye to us as she goes to find her seat. He follows me inside the waiting room before speaking.
"You ready kid?" he asks me.
"Yep. Do or die." I reply with a shrug.
"You know that they want a short interview with you before sweetheart comes out?" he questions, and I give him a confused look. Why the hell does no one tell me these things? Not that it should really surprise me but still-it would be nice to have more than a five minute heads up just once in my life here in the Capitol.
"I'll take that as a no." Haymitch predicts correctly.
"Well at least it will be short." I exclaim with a sigh.
"They really just want you onstage for when sweetheart comes up." he guesses.
"Probably. All for a better show, right?" I declare. He nods in agreement and goes to his seat I'm assuming, leaving me alone for a minute. So they want me onstage, huh? Not exactly what I was planning but I can work with it. All it means is that our 'first reunion' will have to be a bit flashier than I thought. No big deal on my part, but I hope that Katniss isn't too thrown off by it. It's certainly not going to help seeing as she's actually just playing along with the whole thing and I'm only half playing along since I do love her.
First Katiss's prep team goes out on to the stage, and they are beside themselves, waving ridiculously like this is all about them. Then Cinna walks out, and the crowd cheers loudly for this newcomer stylist who started out with a bang. Next Effie walks out, and she gets a bigger cheer then the prep team but not Cinna. Next is my turn, I take a deep breath and put on a smile for the cameras as I step out. I'm blinded momentarily by the bright lights, and the roar of the crowd is deafening now. I give them a wave as I walk over to the chair where Ceaser is standing waiting for me and the crowd somehow gets even louder. When I get over to him he shakes my hand with a wide smile on his face and gestures for me to sit down. He waits for the audience to quiet before beginning.
"So Gale, wonderful night isn't it?" he starts off.
"The best. It's not every day that you get to see your girlfriend for the first time since winning the Hunger Games." I exclaim, to which the audience cheers to and I get a few awws.
"Right you are." Ceaser agrees, "So is this the first time you're seeing her since she went to the Games?" he asks with a curious look.
"I wish it wasn't but yes. I even tried to sneak in her room but turned right around when I saw the peacekeepers guarding her door." I lie, and the audience laughs along with Ceaser. I don't think he asked because he actually suspects I went there, but just in case I might as well make it look like I tried to go but didn't if I actually happened to be on a stray camera somewhere.
"Well we won't make you wait any longer." He assures me after the laughter has died down some. "Are you ready?" he turns to audience, and he gets an enormous cheer. He takes that as a yes, and says in his best showman voice, "Then let's have it! Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Girl on Fire, the Victor of the Seventy Fourth Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen!"
The crowd erupts in another deafening cheer as a hole in the floor opens up and Katniss rises up on the missing part of the circle. I can't help my ridiculously eager and thrilled grin when I see her come up, and my eyes once again go wide at the brilliance of Cinna's designs. She's in a red dress that falls to her mid-thigh that only has one sleeve. The sleeve is a flowing one to her elbow and it's the same fabric as the flames that appear to be blazing on my outfit, just as I suspected. On the arm that is sleeveless she has some sort of armband in the same flame fabric, and her shoes are as well. Her hair is down and curled in a way that I've never seen on her, but I can't deny that it looks gorgeous on her. She's stunning.
She gives the crowd a smile and glances around the crowd, probably looking for me. I'm almost wondering if this is going to totally throw off her confidence and her courage to pull off the couple thing. But when she looks to her left and sees me, her eyes light up and she starts running towards me with a smile on her face. I open my arms and when we collide I pick her up and spin her in a circle, much to the audiences delight.
When I put her down, I give her a look which says I'm impressed because I really am. She's pulling this off better than I expected her too. Who knew my Catnip was such an actress? First the cheery girl at the Opening Parade, and now this. When she sees my look she gives me a small smug smirk, just enough that I can see it but not the audience. The knowing look in her eyes tells me You think that's good? I'm not even done yet.
I start to question her with my eyes when with a look of pure courage and determination, she snakes her hand into my hair before pulling my head down to hers. I can tell that she is still a little unsure of herself so I close the inch wide gap between us fast enough so the audience can't see her hesitation and press my lips to hers.
I feel the same fire that I did on the roof as the pressure of her lips meets mine, but the inferno grows even hotter as she kisses me back for the first time. I pull her against me with my hands at her waist and let this moment of passion take over. I don't even hear the audience's shouts of joy and crying for us until we break apart breathless. I stare at her with a loving, triumphant grin that I couldn't hide if I tried. She stares right back at me in awe as she catches her breath and she blushes beet red when she sees the pure desire for her in my eyes. She only gets redder when she finally notices where we are, to which I give her a light chuckle. She grins bashfully and rolls her eyes at me before we break apart. But I entwine one of her hands in mine and walk her over to the chair that I just recently vacated. She sits down in it but I don't give her her hand back right away-if we're playing the couple thing I'm going to milk it for all it's worth. Besides, I've never seen her blush that hard before and it's kind of adorable-not that I would ever tell her that because she'd probably hit me for using the word. But it's just too much fun to tease her about this, especially now when she can't very well get back at me for it. So I bring our entwined hands up to my lips and lightly kiss her hand before letting go. As I wanted, she blushes again as the audience goes wild for the couple scene we just played out for them. With a grin on my face I walk off the stage to my seat. It takes a minute for the audience to die down, but when it does Ceaser gets the ball rolling.
"Well that was quite an entrance! I'm sure it was a relief to have Gale back again." He exclaims to her, to which she gives him a bashful smile.
"You have no idea." She says, and the audience awws again.
"Well I can tell that you two really love each other. But we'll talk about that tomorrow at the interview!" he grins, knowing he had the audience on the edge of their seats which is confirmed by their laughing boos and slight disappointment. He gives the audience a look of contemplation before glancing at Katniss and then me in the audience.
"Tell you what? I know you want to see those two together more, so why don't we have Gale up her with her?" he asks as if it's a spontaneous decision but I can tell it's probably not. The audience shouts their approval and I give a shrug and come back up to the stage much to the audiences delight. At first Katniss looks a bit paniced through her happy mask because this wasn't planned on our part and she doesn't know what to do, but then she gets an almost devious look on her face that everyone else would take as a winning expression as she stands up from her seat and gestures for me to sit down in it. I obey her but I'm curious as to what that look was for. It doesn't make a lot of sense.
She sits down in my lap and puts her arms around my neck much to the audience's glee. But then I feel a small sharp pain where her hands are and she gives me a look of challenge as I wince slightly. Well guess she got her retribution for that hand thing after all. Not that pinching me is all she wanted to do but it works for now. And that look of challenge also tells me that she knows her move of sitting in my lap is better than the hand move. Oh so she wants to one up me, huh? Well two can play at that game.
I kiss her cheek softly and I turn to Ceaser with a grin, "I have to agree with the audience-I like this much better than sitting by myself over there."
He laughs and so does the audience. I glance at Katniss again and she's frustrated that I'm winning again, but she can't do anything because the lights have dimmed some and the recap is starting.