Third Time's A Charm
(Gale/Madge)

Madge has her driver's test today for the third time. She just could not pass the driving section of it. And it was all because him.

The damn Sheriff – the one that always went with her, go figure – was smoking hot. Like drop dead gorgeous, makes you get all hot and bothered, oh my god his face HOT. Yeah, that one…She couldn't help it, he was literally radiating off sex appeal! She had to look, had too. How could she not!? With a body like his (and you know he had a body, just look at those arms!) it just "magically" made your eyes drift towards him in the passenger's seat. So yeah, she swerved a lot, and may have "straddled the line", took too long buckling her seatbelt just so she could look up through her hair at him, and drove a little under the speed limit to spend a little more time with him, but was that seriously a big deal!? She didn't think so.

Drop dead gorgeous was, well, drop dead gorgeous. And he was distracting. This time, the third time, he got a little uptight with her and (a little) harshly took the seatbelt out of her hands and buckled it for her. "Can we just drive already?" he had mutter under his breath a little too loud, she knew she was meant to hear it.

He clapped his hands together and said, "Alright, start whenever you're ready. We're going to go out of the left here and take a right out of the parking area. Remember, while you are taking this test, you are to abide by all traffic laws. If you do not understand my instructions, please say something and I'll rephrase it." He was filled with fake enthusiasm. He turned to her when he was done and gave her a soft, encouraging smile and nodded. He moved his hand in a gesture of let's start.

As she backed up, he watched her. Not to make sure she was looking behind her and checking her mirror, or even if she was in reverse, but the freckles on her nose and the bow of her lips. He knew he shouldn't, she was sixteen for crying out loud. But he was only nineteen. She drove slowly through the parking lot and made her left turn a little sharply, but he wasn't going to deduct points until she got on the road. She gently, well a little jerky, pulled to a stop with her right turn signal clicking, the only sound in the car. He took a deep breath and forced himself to look away from her and at his clipboard with her papers and the test paper on it.

He looked out the windshield and tapped his clipboard, "Third time's a charm, right?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her give him a soft small, a nervous laugh spilling from her pink lips, "Yeah." She said quietly.

She waited for a few more cars to drive passed before checking again to make sure she was okay to go and pulled out. "The speed limit is 45 here." He said, scanning through the possible things she could get wrong. Being this was her third time, he knew what her troubles were and what her strengths were, but he also knew this was either going to go really good or really bad.

"At the end of this street we will be turning left." His voice was airy, like he wasn't paying attention, but she knew better. He was, he may not look like it, but oh he was. She almost wished that he checked things off only to see her again, but she knew better. And he was too old for her, at least according to her father. Eh, maybe she'd break a few rules if Mr. Sheriff was into that kind of thing.

If wasn't against the law, after all.

Her first real left turn of the test and his pen is already scratching against the paper. Her heart sinks a little in her chest. As long as he doesn't write something on the bottom of the paper she'd be fine.

"Speed limit still 45?" she asks.

"He glances up from his paper and points, "Speed limit sign's right there."

"Oh." Silence follows. She drives, her stomach cramping with nerves and her heart pounding in her chest like a jackhammer.

God damn, I will pass today if it's the last thing I do! She chants in her head. If Peeta believes in you, you believe in you!

"Ok, we will be taking a right in this neighborhood a little ways up the street. It's a little hard to see, so keep an eye out. Oh – " he pauses, "Right where that car pulled out." She nodded, watching the burgundy car roll out of the neighborhood and down towards her. The driver nodded.

She made her right turn perfectly, she knew she did, but to be honest…Gale didn't know. He wasn't paying attention to her turning; he was paying attention to the muscles bulging out of her tense arm as she held the steering wheel. She clearly works out, he thought. Watch her driving, watch her driving, Gale.

"Take a left at the stop sign."

"Okay." She says quietly.

This time, he does take points off her sharp left turn. He bites the inside of her cheek. He'll admit it, even he's nervous for her. He's tired of watching her cry in the car at the end and having to walk in and fall against her father's chest in tears. He always, almost, pulled her into a hug on the sidewalk out the building, but he knew it was inappropriate. He was the test instructor, she was student.

He hated to tell her she failed. He hated telling anyone they failed, but he hated it more when she was the one he was delivering bad new too. She always looked so hopeful and nervous all wrapped up into one. And the second he said well… (something all officers said) tears sprung up in her eyes and his heart nearly broke in half.

"Damn it." She whispered as tears made the treacherous path down her cheeks the second time she failed. "God damn it." He couldn't even look at her. He had quietly exited the car and told her to come in when she was ready.

She had got out, tears still spilling down her cheeks, and slammed the doors. He had closed his eyes when he realized her purse was in the backseat (where her hand was heading for the handle) and she had locked the car. She had huffed out air and he heard her hit the car. The locks unlocked and she snatched her purse out with a look of pure hatred.

"Well?" her dad asked hopeful when the pair entered the building. She just shook her head and collapsed against him.

"I'll make an appointment for next week." He muttered and continued on to his station. Her father, the Mayor of the city, walked up to him and gave him a sad smile and took the paper Gale handed him.

"What did she do wrong?"

"It's on the paper." Gale swallowed thickly. He didn't want to tell him.

"Just tell me." he looked at his hands, "I thought she had it."

"She did, sir. She, um, well, she –" he swallowed again, "She pulled out in front of someone, automatic failure." The Mayor shook his head and said see ya next week.

And here they were. The next week.

They were almost done with the test. She had several points off but not enough to fail. One more wrong thing, depending on the point value, and he would be seeing her next week. Even if she didn't want to come back next week, her license expired next Friday.

"Watch out for this guy, his brake lights aren't working." Gale informed her, "Take the next right."

"Oh!" she said in surprise. She clearly hadn't noticed the other guy was slowing down and the brake lights weren't flashing.

He closed his eyes when she made the right turn. I didn't notice it. I didn't notice it. I didn't notice it. He wasn't going to fail her again; she was a turn into the parking lot away. She was too close for him to be mean and fail her.

"Take the second right by the mailboxes and pull into one of the designated spots that you were in earlier, and turn off the car." She did as she was told, her eyes lit up with nerves and hope, "Well," her eyes dimmed, "You barely passed. And that shouldn't happen with the third time coming…" and he continued to list off what she did wrong and how to fix it. She listened intently, or at least pretended too. He could tell, like most kids, that they didn't give a shit. They passed! She was probably thinking what they all did: Just shut the freak up and give me my license already!

His heart sank a little knowing this was the last time he would see her, get to sit with her in the car for ten minutes. His eyes scanned her features and imprinted them to memory. He gave her a sad smile, "Guess I won't be seeing you next week." He smirked.

"Guess not." She lingered in the car. "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"I know you could have taken off more points, but you didn't. That means a lot to me." she shot him a closed lip smile.

"Just be careful, no accidents now." He smiled back at her. "Come on," he jerked his head towards the car door, "Let's go get your license!"

She was smiling so brightly for her picture. It definitely wouldn't be the common mug shot picture, or the oh god, my smile, my hair, my face, etc. Her father gave her a side hug as she admired her new piece of plastic.

His feet move on their own accord. He causally has to "go to the restroom," which means he has to cross her path. This is stupid, Gale, just go back to work. But his feet only move faster.

He dips his head at them and Madge smiles, "Maybe I'll see you around. I'll try not to hit you with my car." He laughed and gave one more congrats before going into the bathroom. He leaned against the counter and waited for his heart to slow down. Thom, his best friend, came out from one of the stalls.

"You like her, don't you? The one I just issued her new license too?"

He gave his friend a sheepish look, "Is that bad?"

"Nah man, not when she's totally digging you, too." He slaps his hand on Gale's back before heading towards the door. Gale stares at Thom's retreating back.

"Well good, I wrote my number in the examiner's unit number." He smirked at his friend's back.

Thom spins around suddenly, "You. Did. Not!"

"Yes, I did!"

"Nice." He nodded, "I'll have to use that one of these times. I'll switch jobs tomorrow so I have your job."

"Gonna take bitch lady's job?"

"Don't lie, you'd rather have me over her any day."

"Anyone would, Thom, anyone." They walk out of the bathroom together. "See you at lunch!" Gale calls over his shoulder.

"Olive Garden, right?"

"Salad and bread sticks, man, salad and bread sticks."

…

And little did he expect, his phone lit up with a text message from an unknown number with a winky face and I see you. And of course, no other than Madge Undersee, new driver and one hell of a beautiful girl, was smirking at him from across the room.

A/N: Soooooo, I passed my driver's test today! This was a mixture of my test (not a lot of it) and the drive home (my sister was driving, whoop whoop (hate driving)) and of course (the majority of it) was fictional. Hope you enjoyed it and here's to never having to be forced to drive again! Whoop Whoop!

P.S. And sir, if your brake lights don't work and you have a latter on top of your SUV type car...Please drive a different car or HOW ABOUT YOU FIX YOUR DAMN BRAKE LIGHTS, YOU DANGEROUS JERK! (On the drive home, btw)

P.P.S Thanks GadgeLover (you go, girl/man/whatever you are, love you!) for the comment on Military School (Part 3).

And thanks Latinagirl-reader2010 and SiCamaron for the follows and favorites!